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Paid episode

The full episode is only available to paid subscribers of Substack Writers at Work with Sarah Fay

Substack in 23 Minutes: From Newbie to Knowledgeable to Ready to Grow

Confused, overwhelmed, or pretty much lost on Substack?

Get clear, feel at ease, and feel confident that you belong on the platform.

Highlights:

  • Your Substack operates on multiple levels: a newsletter reaching email subscribers, a blog appearing on the web, a mobile app, and an internal social network called Notes.

  • Three common emotions Substack writers experience are confusion (due to platform updates), overwhelm (from numerous features), and feeling alone.

  • The platform requires three essential settings: dashboard settings (main design resources), post settings (subscriber access and comments), and profile settings (account management).

  • Tags on Substack are not hashtags for discoverability—they function solely for homepage design organization.

  • Success requires clarity on three elements: who you are (your core traits), who your subscribers are, and what problem you're solving for them.

  • The short description/tagline should be leadenly obvious rather than clever or poetic to clearly communicate your Substack’s value.

  • And more…

Enjoy!


00:00 Introduction and Welcome
01:05 Understanding Substack Emotions
03:48 What is Substack?
05:47 Building Your Substack Home
06:02 Key Substack Tech Skills
07:05 Navigating Substack Settings
13:46 Clarifying Your Vision on Substack
20:20 Personal Journey and Success on Substack
22:29 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

This post is for paid subscribers