The Substack Success Podcast

I love getting to do this with all of you. This goal-setting session is the best 40 minutes you can spend. I’m not just saying that. I did it this morning, too. Participating in this session will transform the next three months for you. Let me guide you for 40 minutes. You’ll leave knowing what matters to you and who you want to become; where to focus; and where to spend your time, attention, energy, and (yes) money. The 4 steps to achieving your Substack goal Having a goal is and isn’t about achieving the goal. It’s about four things: Having a ritual of appreciation, discovering what’s most important to you right now, knowing where to focus your efforts, and becoming the person you want to be. Step 1: Ritual of Appreciation Having a goal is about having a ritual to appreciate what you’ve done during a certain period of time, regardless of the goal, and what and who helped you get there. Right now: Write down three successes in your Substack. Those could be: * Subscribers * Paid subscribers * Producing posts you’re really proud of * Making connections * Getting engagement in the comments * Getting likes * Having people restack your posts * Showing up in the Notes Boost Challenge * Revenue Take a moment. Celebrate these. Really feel them in your body. Now, who helped you achieve them? * Family * Colleagues and friends on Substack * Friends * Substack guides/teachers * Substack—the platform * Food in your fridge that nourished you * Animals (maybe your cats :) * Sunlight and fresh air on your walks * The yoga mat you stretched on * The water in your tap that hydrated you * The bed you slept on Maybe send them a thank you. Step 2: What matters most to you (right now) Choosing a goal helps us discover what’s most important to us right now. * Choose one Substack goal for Q3 (July, August, September). One goal. The beauty of goal setting is that it also helps you determine what matters most to you right now. Start by eliminating from this list what’s non-essential: * Subscribers * Paid subscribers * Producing posts you’re really proud of * Make more connections * Get engagement in the comments * Get more likes * Have people restack your posts * Show up in the Notes Boost Challenge * Revenue That will lead you to the one goal that’s essential to you right now. Write it down. Step 3: Become who you want to be Trying to achieve a goal is about who you want to become. If I just want money or subscribers or likes or even connection, it will likely feel empty whether I achieve it or not. * Who do you need to become to achieve your goal? * Fill in the blank: * Someone who ______. Write as many as apply. Step 4: Focus your time, attention, energy, and money Where will you focus your time, attention, energy, and money in Q3 to achieve your goal in a way that going for it brings you more calm and health? * Time * Attention * Energy * Money From these, write down two small teeny action steps you can take and take them! Thank you (!) Meghan Daum [https://substack.com/profile/2291763-meghan-daum], Susie Bright [https://substack.com/profile/4410802-susie-bright], Debbie Weil [https://substack.com/profile/2457444-debbie-weil], Amy Gabrielle [https://substack.com/profile/5498662-amy-gabrielle], Francesco Turrisi [https://substack.com/profile/46754372-francesco-turrisi], and many others for tuning in. Share your goal or any part of this process with us. And then find someone to meet and say hello. Also, if you’re new or haven’t been to our paid-subscriber chat (!), please go and introduce yourself and your Substack. Our community is one of the best parts of your subscription. Don’t miss it! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe [https://www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Substack offers many features when it comes to posting. In this quick-guide, we go through them all. Some of the many highlights: * All your content is distributed simultaneously as both blog posts and emails, streamlining the publishing process. * Substack’s interface allows you to create text, video, or audio posts, with options to filter and organize content by date, subscriber access, and post type. * Formatting features include headings, text styles, image handling, audio embedding, and custom buttons for subscriber engagement. * Very important! You can preview your posts before posting to see what they’ll look like across mobile, desktop, and email formats before publishing. * And more… 00:00 Getting Started with Posting 00:22 Creating and Styling Your Post 00:54 Adding Media to Your Post 02:03 Advanced Formatting Options 02:17 Customizing Post Interactions 03:34 Managing Post Settings 04:39 Finalizing and Publishing Your Post * Want more help? As a paid member, you get 24/7 Substack help from the Substack Writers at Work community in the chat here [https://substack.com/chat/1376077]. * And don’t forget to bookmark the Substack Writers at Work homepage [https://www.substackwritersatwork.com/], where you’ll find everything that’s part of your paid subscription. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe [https://www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

So many writers want to be featured by Substack. It can bring thousands of new subscribers. Being featured signals you're producing authentic work, not AI content. It puts you in excellent company with other quality creators. Today, we're talking about the one thing that actually matters for Substack success—and it's not posting more, growing faster, or any of the surface-level tactics everyone's obsessing over. I take you inside how Substack decides who to feature. Go to www.substackwritersatwork.com [http://www.substackwritersatwork.com] and get the workflow I created to help you raise the quality of your posts to featured-Substack level. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe [https://www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com [https://www.substackwritersatwork.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] To listen to the full episode and watch the workshop, become a paid subscriber: www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe [http://www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe] Too often on Substack, we feel pressure to constantly produce lengthy, polished posts. Or we think that “quality” = more: longer posts or simply more “stuff,” i.e., video, audio, etc. We end up overextended and stressed, feeling like “nothing is working,” which really is a signal that we’re working too hard, i.e., putting too much energy into Substack in ways that don’t benefit us or our readers. What if we could make Substack much, much easier on ourselves and (maybe) give our readers more? → Enter the Nugget post. 00:00 Welcome and Introduction 00:20 The Stress of Growing on Substack 01:34 The Relaxing Approach to Substack 04:31 Introducing the Substack Nugget Post 08:26 Examples of Substack Nugget Posts 11:22 Creating Your Own Nugget Post 14:12 Sharing and Personalizing Your Nugget Post 22:51 Sharing Personal Experiences and Insights 23:37 The Concept of Roundup Posts 24:24 Staying Within Your Niche 25:37 Creating Genuine Content 26:42 The Importance of Authenticity 27:27 Balancing Paid and Free Content 27:55 Modeling Desired Behaviors 29:00 Engaging with Your Audience 30:46 Overcoming Perfectionism 31:36 Practical Tips for Content Creation 36:30 Final Thoughts and Encouragement

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com [https://www.substackwritersatwork.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] * Become a paid subscriber to listen to the replay: www.writersatwork.net Are you feeling confused, overwhelmed, or pretty much lost on Substack? Get clear, feel at ease, and feel confident that you belong on the platform.