Not sure why this popped up on my feed today, but I'm glad it did! I'm super inspired by what you wrote and it has really helped me wrap my brain about how to use Substack. I WAS using it as a way to send newsletters. I'm now seeing that it can be so much more! Thank you for your guidance!
So...following through with what you ask in your post...
I'm a paranormal fiction author and brought my mailing list over from MailerLite. I started with MailChimp, went to MadMimi, then ActiveCampaign, then moved to MailerLite. You are SOOOO right. EMSs are geared toward online marketing, not fiction (or non-fiction) writing and I didn't use 75% of the features. Substack seemed to be exactly what I was looking for - to build a community of readers! So, that's why I'm here and why I chose Substack.
I post two newsletters every week:
Tuesdays - I share book deals, book promos and writing updates with my readers. This is free.
Fridays - I started writing a short story every week, but that turned into a serial, which I'm also publishing on Kindle Vella. This is paid and I have a handful of subscribers.
I am totally changing up my Tuesday newsletter thanks to your article. What I've been doing on Tuesdays is getting REALLY old and I need to spice things up! THANK YOU FOR THE INSPIRATION!
I have only used Notes once or twice. I have no freakin' clue how to use them, so I will search your posts to see if I can find a follow-up article with examples. I would LOVE to learn how to maximize the Substack features! I'm off to comb your archive! Thank you!!
It really works like a guide! It also helps us to talk ourselves to spend with us our valuable time to write a page in meaningful manner. As rightly mentioned we should speak not spray on others whatever is in our mind. No doubt, our time should be worth for their money. Call to action is highlighted here to plunge into the action. Action gives results. Performance alone yields the fruitful results.
I wonder why so many don’t care about their About Page at all. I am coming from the ‘blogging business’ and the first thing we learn is: Write an awesome ‘about you/us’ page as that’s the one almost everyone visits. People are curious about you.
I don’t think it’s that they don’t care. More like they don’t know what to write. A lot of people, including myself, feel that if we don’t have any real “credits” to say about our creative career then why bother? No awards? No publications credits? What’s the point?
That’s why I wrote this. So that people can see there is more that can, and should, be said on an about page than just, “look at my accolades” especially if we don’t have any.
There are better things to say than saying nothing, or even worse just the default! And this post hopefully helps those people.
Great Info here. I don't have a custom about page but you inspired me: I write cyberpunk, horror, and dirtbag lit. My Special Sin series is an Amazon top seller and has disturbed a great number of people. If you too crave psychic damage, please subscribe.
Question: I have book content I'm posting as I get the lay of the land here, and then a goodly amount of content written and planned. Would you include a release schedule in the about page?
For things like release schedules I’d include them in a Navigation page. This is a Page you create in Substack that you’d update regularly with things already written and what’s to come. Then Pin that Navigation page to your Homepage so it’s the first thing people see when they visit your Substack. In the Killer series I’ve written there is one on how to write a Killer Navigation page.
Thanks for the info and taking the time to reply. I've been writing so long it feels like I should have all this knowledge already but whenever I need to write a new bio for a new project it feels like square one. As the annoyingly perky guy on my running app says, "It doesn't get easier. You just get better."
If this was written in ancient Chinese, I wouldn’t understand it less.
I just started on Substack yesterday.
I’m not using 99% of the features here because I have no idea what they are.
I’m sitting here trying to figure out where my profile page went and how to post my thought for the day. I see lots of icons, but nothing points me to my page so I can post.
I have no idea what a MailChimp or any of that other software you referred to is.
I didn’t know about the About page on Substack, so I was hoping for an explanation, but I’m left more confused and bewildered than before when it was just a vacuum.
I think we've all been there! I used to teach authors how to create newsletters, so know that you are not alone.
- MailChimp, MailerLite, Convertkit, etc. - email marketing services (EMS). These are online services used to send newsletters (aka emails) to your list of subscribers.
- WordPress - a blog or online public diary, so to speak.
- Patreon - an online platform where people can subscribe to the content you produce (e.g., videos, stories, articles, artwork, online meetings, etc.)
As for how to use Substack and its features, I recommend you check out the Support page: On Substack, click on your profile picture (top-right corner) and select "Support" from the drop-down menu that appears.
At the Support page, click on the "Writers" icon below the search text box. There's a lot of information there, but check out their help titles and just start digging in.
Also, try going to YouTube and look up "Substack explained" or "Substack tutorial" and you'll get a ton of videos to kickstart your experience.
Like anything you dive into, there's a learning curve. If you've never written a newsletter before, I can see how all of this can be overwhelming. Hang in there! You've got this! Just be patient with yourself. Good luck!
1) My original comment was in my 1st few days on Substack. I've learned a few things about how to navigate this interface in the intervening 5+ months.
2) The whole reason I came to Substack was because I struggled with basic stuff in Wordpress and all the additional EXPENSES (like MailChimp) that everyone was trying to tack on. Substack includes it all at the price that I can afford ($0). I spent over a year just to get a basic blog up with no newsletter, and I had nothing to show for it except a hole in my pocket where my monthly hosting fee used to be.
3) In the last 5 months I've gained ~20 followers and ran out of steam after writing daily for 3 months. My original article series got 1 like on each article from the same fan and no other interactions. I write more comments than articles now like any other social media.
I've been hesitant to build the "About" page because I'm not yet clear on what to write. Perhaps there's an element of procrastination in there somewhere. Or fear of the unknown, thrown in with a dose of "lacking" in self-awareness? Tell me I'm not alone?
Also, I think it might be instructive to read the very first post of someone who has now been writing for a while, say at least a year or so. Sort of to compare where they are vs where they started? Any suggestions? Or is my question here just another form of procrastination?
It can be difficult to find that first post of someone who has been writing for a year unless you’re willing to scroll back that far on their page or they have it easily accessible for you somewhere (which, I imagine most ppl don’t). It is a good idea to look at other people’s about pages though, which this post is about. To see what information they are sharing and how they are sharing it. That is what I’ve done and still do to this day. Steal like an artist.
Not sure why this popped up on my feed today, but I'm glad it did! I'm super inspired by what you wrote and it has really helped me wrap my brain about how to use Substack. I WAS using it as a way to send newsletters. I'm now seeing that it can be so much more! Thank you for your guidance!
So...following through with what you ask in your post...
I'm a paranormal fiction author and brought my mailing list over from MailerLite. I started with MailChimp, went to MadMimi, then ActiveCampaign, then moved to MailerLite. You are SOOOO right. EMSs are geared toward online marketing, not fiction (or non-fiction) writing and I didn't use 75% of the features. Substack seemed to be exactly what I was looking for - to build a community of readers! So, that's why I'm here and why I chose Substack.
I post two newsletters every week:
Tuesdays - I share book deals, book promos and writing updates with my readers. This is free.
Fridays - I started writing a short story every week, but that turned into a serial, which I'm also publishing on Kindle Vella. This is paid and I have a handful of subscribers.
I am totally changing up my Tuesday newsletter thanks to your article. What I've been doing on Tuesdays is getting REALLY old and I need to spice things up! THANK YOU FOR THE INSPIRATION!
I have only used Notes once or twice. I have no freakin' clue how to use them, so I will search your posts to see if I can find a follow-up article with examples. I would LOVE to learn how to maximize the Substack features! I'm off to comb your archive! Thank you!!
It really works like a guide! It also helps us to talk ourselves to spend with us our valuable time to write a page in meaningful manner. As rightly mentioned we should speak not spray on others whatever is in our mind. No doubt, our time should be worth for their money. Call to action is highlighted here to plunge into the action. Action gives results. Performance alone yields the fruitful results.
My About Page has been giving me anxiety for a few weeks now. I'm excited to use your suggestions and see the changes to come.
great advice! I will be killin— I mean writing a new about page soon!
I didn't know the about page was dreaded. haha. I never thought about putting recommendations on it. That's a good idea, I'll have to do that.
Love the homework sections.
Super helpful! Thank you.
I wonder why so many don’t care about their About Page at all. I am coming from the ‘blogging business’ and the first thing we learn is: Write an awesome ‘about you/us’ page as that’s the one almost everyone visits. People are curious about you.
I don’t think it’s that they don’t care. More like they don’t know what to write. A lot of people, including myself, feel that if we don’t have any real “credits” to say about our creative career then why bother? No awards? No publications credits? What’s the point?
That’s why I wrote this. So that people can see there is more that can, and should, be said on an about page than just, “look at my accolades” especially if we don’t have any.
There are better things to say than saying nothing, or even worse just the default! And this post hopefully helps those people.
Absolutely! ... and thanks!
This was super helpful! Thank you!
I've got a little bit more inspiration and I'm going to jazz up both my About pages!
Visuals—will think in visuals too—a lá David Tuft!
Great story and valuable advice
Great Info here. I don't have a custom about page but you inspired me: I write cyberpunk, horror, and dirtbag lit. My Special Sin series is an Amazon top seller and has disturbed a great number of people. If you too crave psychic damage, please subscribe.
Question: I have book content I'm posting as I get the lay of the land here, and then a goodly amount of content written and planned. Would you include a release schedule in the about page?
For things like release schedules I’d include them in a Navigation page. This is a Page you create in Substack that you’d update regularly with things already written and what’s to come. Then Pin that Navigation page to your Homepage so it’s the first thing people see when they visit your Substack. In the Killer series I’ve written there is one on how to write a Killer Navigation page.
Thanks for the info and taking the time to reply. I've been writing so long it feels like I should have all this knowledge already but whenever I need to write a new bio for a new project it feels like square one. As the annoyingly perky guy on my running app says, "It doesn't get easier. You just get better."
Or, “if it were easy everyone would be doing it!” Is a personal fave of mine.
This is a very useful post. Thank you.
This is so useful, thank you! In particular, the 'homework' sections that break your advice into small, manageable chunks 😊
“Homework” felt very writer’s prompt!
If this was written in ancient Chinese, I wouldn’t understand it less.
I just started on Substack yesterday.
I’m not using 99% of the features here because I have no idea what they are.
I’m sitting here trying to figure out where my profile page went and how to post my thought for the day. I see lots of icons, but nothing points me to my page so I can post.
I have no idea what a MailChimp or any of that other software you referred to is.
I didn’t know about the About page on Substack, so I was hoping for an explanation, but I’m left more confused and bewildered than before when it was just a vacuum.
I think we've all been there! I used to teach authors how to create newsletters, so know that you are not alone.
- MailChimp, MailerLite, Convertkit, etc. - email marketing services (EMS). These are online services used to send newsletters (aka emails) to your list of subscribers.
- WordPress - a blog or online public diary, so to speak.
- Patreon - an online platform where people can subscribe to the content you produce (e.g., videos, stories, articles, artwork, online meetings, etc.)
As for how to use Substack and its features, I recommend you check out the Support page: On Substack, click on your profile picture (top-right corner) and select "Support" from the drop-down menu that appears.
At the Support page, click on the "Writers" icon below the search text box. There's a lot of information there, but check out their help titles and just start digging in.
Also, try going to YouTube and look up "Substack explained" or "Substack tutorial" and you'll get a ton of videos to kickstart your experience.
Like anything you dive into, there's a learning curve. If you've never written a newsletter before, I can see how all of this can be overwhelming. Hang in there! You've got this! Just be patient with yourself. Good luck!
1) My original comment was in my 1st few days on Substack. I've learned a few things about how to navigate this interface in the intervening 5+ months.
2) The whole reason I came to Substack was because I struggled with basic stuff in Wordpress and all the additional EXPENSES (like MailChimp) that everyone was trying to tack on. Substack includes it all at the price that I can afford ($0). I spent over a year just to get a basic blog up with no newsletter, and I had nothing to show for it except a hole in my pocket where my monthly hosting fee used to be.
3) In the last 5 months I've gained ~20 followers and ran out of steam after writing daily for 3 months. My original article series got 1 like on each article from the same fan and no other interactions. I write more comments than articles now like any other social media.
It's just a page to write about who you are and what people can expect from your writing.
I've been hesitant to build the "About" page because I'm not yet clear on what to write. Perhaps there's an element of procrastination in there somewhere. Or fear of the unknown, thrown in with a dose of "lacking" in self-awareness? Tell me I'm not alone?
Also, I think it might be instructive to read the very first post of someone who has now been writing for a while, say at least a year or so. Sort of to compare where they are vs where they started? Any suggestions? Or is my question here just another form of procrastination?
It can be difficult to find that first post of someone who has been writing for a year unless you’re willing to scroll back that far on their page or they have it easily accessible for you somewhere (which, I imagine most ppl don’t). It is a good idea to look at other people’s about pages though, which this post is about. To see what information they are sharing and how they are sharing it. That is what I’ve done and still do to this day. Steal like an artist.