BUILDING A SUBSTACK VOL. 1

While I am a mommy Substack-er by night, my full-time work, other than being a mom, is a partner of a digital talent management company. We manage the careers of 100s of digital creators, most of which have millions of followers on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. I always am telling our clients to diversify. Whether that’s via product, a podcast, or my favorite yet… a Substack. It’s not for everyone and most importantly, you need to love to write. First and foremost, Substack is for creative writers.

Why am I obsessed with Substack as a platform for current creators or the aspiring? You get a direct relationship with your audience and you don’t have a gatekeeper, like Meta. It has built-in email, it serves as both a blog and a newsletter, and has really simple monetization paths. Yes, there are multiple. If you’re craving a place to share in-depth, thoughtful content…you will find it in Substack. Plus, it’s not a bunch of creators chasing the same thing. It’s a place where unique creativity thrives. It’s not driven by virality; it values original voices.

I’ve lived by the motto “learn by doing.” I am one of these people who just likes to jump all in without hesitation. It’s how I started my company at 24 and sold it by 31. Launching my own Substack was the best way to understand the platform firsthand. My lived experience navigating growth, building and launching will ultimately help my clients.

This will be volume 1 of our ‘Building a Substack’ series. And just a week in, I am starting with things I wish I had done differently at launch. Learn from our mistakes.

1. Have multiple articles live once you launch. We had one. Which really doesn’t allow your potential subscribers know much of anything about why they should subscribe. In hindsight, I’d recommend 3-5 articles that highlight the depth of what you will be writing about. I am convinced this will help your subscriber count from the start.

2. Turn on paid immediately but lead with free content. From what I am gathering, to make any of the rising lists by Substack, you need to have your paid subscriptions on. Making a rising list is the best way to get discovered. While you don’t need to have expectations of 100s of paid subscribers overnight, at least the option is there and as you grow, you can dabble in paywalls.

3. Subscribe to other like-minded Substacks. Be part of the community before launching yours. You need to read, learn and understand what works.

4. Engage, comment and utilize Notes. I still don’t quite get the hang of what content works on Notes, but I am in the trial and error phase. It clearly is a place to get discovered and insert yourself into conversations.

5. Create sections. We have ‘Mom Chats’ and ‘Mom-Haves’ and plan to build this out as our content evolves and our pillars grow. This is going to organize your content and hopefully one of these sections will be attractive to a potential subscriber.

6. Create copy for your emails after someone subscribes. Prep this before you launch. Have it be enticing, share your best work and what the subscriber can expect.

7. Pick your categories with intention. We chose ‘Parenting’ for SAY MOMMY, even though it will encompass much more, the heart of it is in motherhood. This main category will place you in rising lists and will be key for discoverability.

8. Come up with your posting cadence and timing and stick with it. I am learning that consistency might be the most important thing on this platform.

9. Comment on other Substack articles. Look, you need to give to get.

10. Use the SEO area in settings and actually get the key terms down correctly. Getting discovered is important, especially in the beginning and this will help.

I did a video on this on my Instagram that I’d share because it simply breaks down my thoughts:

One week in, these are the takeaways. I’ll continue sharing what I learn as this Substack grows, so consider this the beginning of a practical, ongoing playbook.