Our Valentine’s Day gift to you!
Loved this! There’s so much Substack wisdom here—and don’t miss Beth’s chihuahua.
Thank you,
, , , , , , , and many others for tuning into my live Substack Summit with , , and !» Highlights and insights about Notes, getting engagement and having an active email list, and not being salesy, plus timestamps are below.
On making money on Substack:
Sarah:
Your email list—free and paid—is worth so much money. If you’re a writer, creator, professional, or visionary, that’s your list forever.
Don’t sell; promote. At the end of this month, I’m doing a whole training on this for paid subscribers.
If you hold a sale, don’t give more than 10 or 20 percent off because it devalues the work.
Beth:
I don’t like asking people to give me money. I’ll just tell them what I’m up to and heres what our amazing paid members get.
Jo:
I’m ultra non-salesy on purpose.
If they ask in the comments, then I’m there. I’m present. And I will answer with a link.
Denyse:
Before we went live, Denyse talked about the fact, which I totally agree with, that we have a right to be paid for our work.] Right now I’m at 240 subscribers and five paid, which is very exciting to me. And I just picked up those five paid in the last week.
Engagement:
Beth:
Never just ask a question to get engagement because if it’s not something I’m genuinely curious about, it’s going to come off as phony.
I want my notes and everything to be conversational, just like I would ask them in person.
Jo:
On Notes, it’s very much who I am as an artist. It’s a communal feeling about a love of animals.
Denyse:
[While posting and on Notes], I think, Would this be empowering for somebody else to read? Does this make their day better or worse?
All things Notes:
Notes is really where all the growth is on Substack right now.
Join the Notes Boost Challenge to get engagement on Notes.
Access the weekly Friday Notes Boosts.
Notes is our internal social media network. It’s separate from your Substack. Think of your substack as your home and Notes as a river separate from your home.
Followers see your notes. All of your subscribers are your followers automatically. But your followers don’t see your posts and only your subscribers who are actively on Notes see your Notes.
What’s getting engagement on Notes:
Notes should be shareable!!!!! That’s it.
If you’re an amazing artist like Beth and Jo, post your artwork on Notes.
Otherwise, Notes get engagement if they’re text only (or maybe with a photo of you or some other human):
Facebook life updates—tell us about your life
Facebook personal stories with a beginning, middle, and end—stay tuned for our March event with micro-storytelling expert
.Instagram motivational/inspirational
Twitter topical (but not like a jerk)
How to write your notes and who to write them to:
Beth:
When I’m making a note, I think about it like I am sharing this with all my coworkers. Instead of thinking about them like as my friends... it’s my coworkers that I love. There are always some coworkers that you share a little less with at the water cooler.
Jo:
Write for friends, family...old customers, new customers.
Denyse:
I write for a two-year-younger version of myself.
I’m trying to post what I think of as organic Notes... versus something that’s calculated or plotted.
Would this be empowering for somebody else to read? Does this make their day better or worse?
I don’t post complaints. I don’t post gripes, I don’t post hot takes on whatever’s going on in the world.
Format notes with maybe ten words and then a line break, and then maybe five words and a line break... because people are scanning.
The Notes algorithm privileges engagement, not frequency. You really don’t have to do more than one note a day.
Top Substack tip at this moment:
Beth: When I got featured in 2023, I said, I’m going all in. I’m going to make this the thing I promote because if I want to open up a shop or ever make another book again, then I’ll be able to sell that somewhere else.
Jo: Play. Have fun and enjoy yourself with it.
Denyse: Focus on writing something that hasn't been written before...the unique thing that only you can write.
Join me for my next Substack Summit in the app:
If you got something from this, become a paid subscriber to get all of the amazing AMAs with Substack Writers at Work in 2025, so you can build the Substack you really want:
00:00 Welcome and Introductions
00:19 Meet Charles the Chihuahua
02:09 Substack Writers at Work Philosophy
03:00 Exploring Substack Notes
03:22 Jo Scott’s Experience with Notes
11:11 Beth Spencer’s Substack Journey
14:15 Engagement Strategies and Challenges
19:52 Denyse Allen’s Substack Experience
36:48 The Power of Notes on Substack
38:28 Effective Strategies for Using Notes
41:54 Promoting Without Selling
44:51 Top Tips for Substack Success
49:38 The Importance of Email Lists
53:54 Engaging with Notes and Subscribers
01:06:08 Final Thoughts and Valentine’s Day Wishes
Become a paid subscriber
Or get access for $10 without upgrading to paid
