I went live with Claire Venus ✨ two weeks ago, and we talked about something that immediately resonated: how to close your Substack year without disappearing.
Full disclosure, this was supposed to land in your inbox a week ago.
But that run-up to Christmas? It was so full that I gave myself grace. (Novel concept, I know.)
I don’t know about you, but I was feeling deeply exhausted, the kind where even opening my laptop feels like a task, so that’s why you’re seeing this today instead.
I’m hoping some of these ideas support and inspire you to take time off this week or the first week in January. Your nervous system will thank you. ✨
But back to Claire, because she’s truly a gem that sparkles…💎
Claire helps writers build joyful, sustainable practices on Substack through her publication, ✨ Sparkle on Substack.
What I love about her approach is that she talks openly about the nervous system work that comes with being online, especially during a year when Substack evolved from a quiet reading platform into something much noisier.
For those of you who prefer reading over listening (I see you 👀), I’ve pulled the key insights below. But if you want the full conversation, complete with Claire pulling oracle cards and her four-year-old daughter calling her out for being on her phone…
👆 Listen to the full conversation above. 👆
The Paradox: The week between Christmas and New Year is when people are reading a lot on Substack, but it’s also when you need to rest. (AHEM - if you’re like me and need more than just ONE week, permission granted. 🪄)
What Converts: For Claire, most paid subscribers find her through podcasts and lives, not posts. So focus your energy where you have the most momentum.
Your Strategic Rest Plan:
Schedule roundups, book reviews, or republish your greatest hits
Update your “one place to land” (pinned post, header, footer)
Turn comments off on scheduled posts (or give yourself grace about commenting)
Close subscriber chat if you need to
Remember, you can’t create wholeheartedly when your system feels under threat
Here’s the thing about the holidays on Substack: between Christmas and New Year is a time when people read.
They have downtime. They’re not rushing through their inbox at 6 AM while making coffee. They want to curl up with something good that actually holds their attention.
But it’s also when you need to rest. Real rest. Not just “I’m resting but checking Notes every twenty minutes to see if anyone liked my post.”
So how do you serve your readers while protecting your own peace?
Claire and I talked through this, and what emerged was a reframe. Rest isn’t just self-care. It’s a strategy.
Before we get to the tactical tips, let’s talk about where to put your energy when you return in January.
Claire shared something that surprised me: most of her paid subscriptions come through podcasts and lives, not posts.
Not from her beautifully crafted essays or inspirational Substack Notes. But from the moments when people hear her voice and think, “I get what she’s about. I want more of this.” (And if you’ve ever talked with Claire, you’ll immediately understand why, because her warmth comes through instantly.)
She also said something that made me laugh: “I don’t want 30,000 followers on Notes. I’m not being rude, but it just makes no difference to my life or business. I want everybody gathering in the newsletter where the attention economy feels strong, and we’ve got something going on together.”
If you’re exhausted from trying to be everywhere (been there), what if you focused on creating one really good “place to land” for new subscribers?
What if you scheduled a few solid posts and let the rest go?
As Claire put it, “You can’t create wholeheartedly when you’re in threat.” And the constant pressure to show up everywhere? That’s absolutely a threat to the nervous system.
Okay, so here are a few ideas before you close your laptop for the year. (Which I highly recommend for at least a few days.)
These are things you can plan in advance that serve your readers while you’re offline:
📚 Roundups or book reviews: What are you reading in 2025? Books that loved you this year? Easy to write, valuable to readers.
📝 Republish your greatest hits: Especially posts from this time last year. New subscribers haven’t seen them, and honestly, most of your long-time readers probably don’t remember them either. As Claire reminded us: “Try and be really kind to the previous version of yourself...she or he is the person that has enabled you to be here.”
📋 “Did you miss this?” collection posts: Pull together related posts from your archive with brief context. It’s like serving a sampler platter of posts, making it easy for readers to try a few things.
✨ Claire has a post called 8 Sparkly Tips to Support Your Substack Growth that’s worth reading for more ideas.
📌 Pin a post to your homepage: This gets more views automatically. Make it your best work or your most recent. Either way, make it count.
✍️ Update your header and footer: If you’ve got a book, add the cover image and a buy link. If you have a welcome post, link to it.
📩 Check your About page and welcome email: Do they still sound like you? Do they invite people in?
Claire mentioned that Video in hero posts converts better than photos, but photos work too. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of scheduled. (Or in my case, don’t let perfect be the enemy of done.)
Here are the permission slips you might need:
Turn comments off on scheduled posts: If you want true rest, you don’t need to come back to 47 comments waiting for responses. You can turn them back on when you return.
Close your subscriber chat: Claire does this every year “for her own peace.” She knows if she leaves it on, she’ll check it. So she closes the portal. (Smart woman.)
Delete the app from your phone: Claire deletes both Instagram and Substack every weekend (Thursday evening through Sunday). You could do this for a week. Or two. The apps will still be there when you get back.
Between Christmas and New Year, people will still be reading. You don’t have to be “on” for them to get value from your work.
What struck me most about our conversation wasn’t just the tactical tips, it was Claire’s honesty about Substack’s evolution this year.
She said, “I cannot protect my peace and use Substack” because of how much the news feed appears now.
She also talked about hitting $92K this year and realizing she didn’t want the six-figure goal anymore. The growth trajectory had changed. The atmosphere had changed. What she wanted was a deeper connection with her subscribers.
“There’s always more you can do online,” she said. “There’s always more thoughts you can have, things you can try, experiments you can do, people you can go live with. Whereas when you turn it all off, everything’s quite still and you’re like, hello world, outside of my phone.”
That stillness? That’s not laziness. That’s where the actual work happens.
Claire called it “the nervous system work and the putting down of the things.” She said this is the work that allows you to hold bigger expansion later.
Which feels counterintuitive when we’re constantly told to do more, show up more, post more. But it’s SO true.
I did things a little differently (in true Jen style) because I had a few big client copy deadlines before the Christmas break. So I needed to give myself grace for those weeks just before. (Hence Claire’s conversation landed in your inbox today instead of last week.)
More than the tactics, though, I’m taking Claire’s reminder that nobody is as harsh on us as we are on ourselves.
If you miss a week, readers will understand. If you turn comments off, they’ll be fine.
And republishing an older post that performed well? That’s a gift to both new and seasoned readers who might have missed it the first time.
When January starts, I’m going to focus on what has momentum and converts.
If that’s not Substack Notes, I’ll pay attention to that without judgment. If it’s the deeper work, the Lives, the conversations, the posts that let people hear my voice and think, “This is for me,” then I’ll focus there.
And if you need permission to rest, you have it. 💌
Stay creative,
P.S. Next week, I’m sending you a few quick questions about what’s working for you and what you’d like to see more of (or less of) in 2026.
Think of it as a creative planning session where your input helps me focus on what actually serves you. And because I value your time, I’m raffling 10 free annual subscriptions to everyone who responds. (Your input is worth something, and I don’t take that for granted.)
Thank you Betina Cunado, Ricki Oldenkamp, and many others for tuning into my live video with Claire Venus ✨! Join me for my next live video in the app.
Available for iOS and Android
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.