Substack Live Podcast

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.substackwritersatwork.comBrand sponsorships on Substack aren't just about some sort of weird brand placement that's awkward. It's about rethinking Substack and how you make money on here, and how we support each other in making money. In this episode, I give you everything you need to know about Substack's new brand sponsorships program — how it works, what brands actually want, and how to fill out your Creator Kit strategically, not generically.

As people scramble onto Substack, it’s easy to overlook why it’s the platform to be on right now: Certain early adopters spent years creating Substack newsletters so good people would actually read and paid to read them. Which is why I’ve created an entire podcast to share them with you.My conversation with Mason Currey contains some of the best advice on how to stop feeling like you have to chase the algorithm and can set about owning your platform and doing your best work. Nearly 300 people showed up for the live recording. If you don’t know Mason, he’s the author of the Daily Rituals books and writes the Substack newsletter Subtle Maneuvers about how creative people get work done. Cal Newport called him “the undisputed master of finding, in the messy lives of great artists and thinkers throughout time, deeply human lessons about cultivating meaning in our current age.” * This is some of the best advice on how to build a Substack that people will spend their time and money reading.* + How to stop chasing the algorithm and own your platform.6 Ways to Build a Substack People Will Actually Spend Their Time and Money Reading1. Don’t call it your SubstackMason doesn’t say “my Substack.” He says “my newsletter.” The distinction keeps him focused on the writing, not the platform dynamics.“When you think ‘my Substack,’ you start thinking about Notes, recommendations, leaderboards, what other Substacks are doing. When you think ‘my newsletter,’ you think about your readers and your work.”2. His writing processWhen writing, Mason doesn’t necessarily think about what will get subscribers. He’s thinking about what hits him and what will hit his readers.“I’m always really thrilled when I read something or hear something in a podcast. I have my feelers out for that thing that makes me kind of sit up in my chair. When my spidey sense kind of tingles, I think okay, that could be a good newsletter. That’s something that I feel like really hit me and maybe it’ll hit my readers too.”3. You don’t have to be confessional to connect with your readersMany people aren’t comfortable with or don’t want to divulge every aspect of their personal lives on their Substacks. Mason doesn’t overshare but it still feels he’s talking to you. You experience his mind through what interests him, what he struggles with, what he finds in other people’s stories.“You don’t know a ton about me but I think it somehow influences when I’m writing about somebody else’s process—you can believe that there’s a lot of me hidden in there.”4. When to go paidMason started his newsletter in February 2020 with 74 subscribers. For two years, he built something good before going paid.When Substack introduced recommendations, his growth spiked because (that’s right) his Substack was really good.When I asked what made him decide to turn on paid subscriptions, he said: “I guess I just saw all these people making like six and seven figure incomes. And I was like, maybe I’ll just turn it on. I said, you know, it’s the same thing. But if you feel like you want to chip in to support it, feel free. And people did. It was wonderful.”Over time, he’s added community features—a morning co-working Zoom at 6 AM (which is wild), a book club. But the newsletter itself stays free.Mason said: “I’ve thought a lot about different things I could do and this is one that I feel good about. I don’t feel like I’m out there trying to sell, sell, sell. It feels sustainable and true to the spirit of the newsletter. Even if it’s not maybe as profitable as it could be.”You don’t have to wait two years or even two months, but don’t rush to it until you have something worth paying for.5. Go analogMason’s research process is tactile. He reads physical books from a physical library, marks pages with acutal sticky notes, scans those pages, prints them, then goes back through with a pen and makes notes.He said: “That way I feel like I get to sort of run it through my brain at least twice.”I know someone who does this with Kindle, where they print all their highlights and review them. You’ll only remember 20 percent of what you read if you don’t review it, but if you do review, you’ll remember 80 percent.Mason’s process can’t be rushed. It produces original thinking because it’s been filtered through his brain twice, processed through his hands, connected to his interests and the way only he sees the world.6. His advice for anyone just starting or who feels stalledWhen I asked Mason what advice he’d give someone starting out or feeling very frustrated, he said: “I would just figure out what writing you want to do that you would do for yourself or for your friends. Or if someone whose writing you like were to read it, what would you be happy for them to read of yours? I would just leave out the subscriber numbers and the money thing and just try to produce something you’re proud of that you can build up a collection of over time.”Mason’s new book is Making Art and Making a Living, coming out in March 2026. My passion is to help Substack writers reach the bestseller lists by leveraging the Substack network, so please pre-order now. » Pre-ordering a book is quite possibly the most important way you can support a writer. My interview with Mason is part of The Substack Live Podcast: Conversations with the best Substack early adopters who created amazing newsletters and continue to bring their good work to the world and make the world a better place in doing so. Plus updates and expert guidance on the platform as it changes and changes again and again, so you can use it to fuel your creative, professional, and financial life.For paid subscribers: 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

** Use the Know Your Subscribers Implementation Guide PDF below to make this much easier.Too often, when we try to get subscribers or likes or conversions, we don’t even know who we’re trying to engage or upgrade to paid.The tricky part is that our person changes and we change and Substack is always changing, so we always have to be checking in.In marketing-speak, they call it your “avatar.” Sometimes it can be helpful to approach it in the usual ways. But the world has changed and people have changed and their buying habits have changed and their subscribing habits have changed. In a world where AI can spit out information, we need to connect as actual humans. That means knowing exactly whom we’re writing for.What we coverI walk you through my process for getting to know your actual readers—not some made-up avatar, but the real people reading your work. We dug into where they’re reading you, what they're Googling at 2am, what they’re sick of reading about, and more.* (00:00:50) - Forget the Substack drama. Focus energy on “you and your people” rather than getting caught up in speculation about Substack’s future changes.* (00:02:59) - Move beyond traditional “avatar” marketing speak to understand your actual readers and their real experiences.* (00:08:27) - For Writers: Ask three key questions about your readers.* (00:10:03) - For Creators/Coaches/Teachers: Use these three questions to get at the problems your audience faces* (00:18:56) - Using this guide to find ideas for your next posts.* (00:23:47) - Differentiate from AI by sharing your experiences rather than just information.* (00:29:41) - Better CTAs than “support my work.”* (00:38:29) - On Substack, you play five roles: You’re writer, editor, publisher, salesperson, and publicist. Fill this out during our live workshop. If you’re watching the replay, set a timer for each, so you keep this short.Save this document. Bring it to the paid-subscriber-only workshop on Friday, 8/1, where we’ll go through your entire subscriber flow to grow your Substack. Details to come.Thank you Rachel Botsman, Darien Gee, Petya K. Grady, Debbie Weil, Alexander Verbeek, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.Use the Know Your Subscribers Implementation Guide PDF below.Word version: * https://tinyurl.com/3fz88zypPDF: 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

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 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.substackwritersatwork.comThank you Joy Sullivan, Jo Hutton, Dr Kondrot, Beth Spencer, Diana Spechler, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.

Live Substack Office Hours. Your Substack questions answered.Become a paid subscriber to Substack Writers at Work: www.writersatwork.net/subscribe.Yet another way SW@W is here to help you be your amazing self on Substack.Who?* Me, you, all of us.What?* Your Substack questions answered.When?* I’ll announce the day and time of each live Substack Office Hours every Tuesday in that week’s post.* We’ll also have popup Office Hours.Where?* You’ll be notified in email and the app when we’re live.* We’ll be live in the app.Why?* Imagine: Getting to ask me instead of the bot.* Imagine: No more confusion. No more frustration. No more feeling alone.* Office Hours are for paid subscribers.What are they like?* Watch the replay above to find out! (Great to listen to in the app or on Spotify or Apple. Timestamps are below.)* Basically, come on, be with each other, connect, put your questions in the chat, and I’ll try to get to each one.How?* Join us by upgrading to paid.Substack Office Hours, 11/8/24[00:04:17] Niches vs. being a generalist—my signature Substack DNA paradigm[00:07:35] Setting up subscriber challenges/workshops[00:09:33] Understanding the activity tab & metrics[00:14:18] Posting frequency - category differences & expectations[00:29:56] Balancing posts vs. notes - social media strategy[00:33:02] Monetization & subscription value[00:39:01] Headers, footers, and banners - design elements[00:42:02] Building audience—reality vs. perception[00:44:21] Custom domains and URLs[00:48:46] Selling/marketing without losing authenticity[00:51:31] Writing calls to action effectively[00:52:26] Community building among Substack Writers at Work subscribers 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

Subscribe to Substack Writers at Work: www.writersatwork.net.I’m so pleased to bring you my interview with Laurie Stone. She writes the literary Substack Everything Is Personal. In this conversation, we talk about how she grew her Substack so quickly—plus her writing process, her approach to “marketing,” Notes, publishing, the nature of narrative, and how she seduces the reader.She also shares her checklist for writing posts and Notes that resonate with her readers:* Start in the middle,* fail to arrive,* remember to love something,* make the reader hot,* make the reader laugh.She was a longtime writer for the Village Voice (1974-1999), which comes up here. She’s also the author of six books, most recently Streaming Now, Postcards from the Thing that is Happening (Dottir Press, 2022), long listed for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. She writes for The Paris Review, Evergreen Review, and Galerie. You can join her monthly Zoom conversations on writing craft by contacting her at lauriestone@substack.com. Subscribe to Everything Is Personal here: https://lauriestone.substack.com/Timestamps:00:15 Laurie’s Substack success02:14 Narrative techniques04:39 Using Notes and social media05:51 Teaching and workshops09:41 Laurie’s writing process17:37 Building a sustainable Substack25:47 What’s next for Everything Is Personal 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