Big thanks to
for being our featured guest for the BFF bonus Q&A session last week! We’re grateful for her generosity in taking 90 minutes to give us the full scoop on the platform—detailed show notes are below.If you’re here as a free subscriber to Time Well Spent, you’ll get all the resources mentioned and a 15-minute audio preview. Upgrade to paid or Founding membership (BFF) to unlock the full audio, our upcoming quarterly office hours in November, and 11 nitty-gritty things I wish I knew before migrating 20K subscribers.
📆 Upcoming Events
Founding Members (BFF): Upcoming Brilliance Barter
Per
’s great suggestion, we will dedicate the September Brilliance Barter Zoom session to helping each other brainstorm and problem-solve around Substack setup. That’s coming up on September 20 at 3:30 p.m. ET. If you want to Brilliance Barter on other topics, you will go into a breakout room as usual, so please still feel free to join us! Those of us discussing Substack will stay in the main room.🥂 Last week to apply for Business Bestie Brunch + Q4 Mastermind!
On Sunday, October 22 (in-person) or Sunday, October 29 (virtual) Sarah Young and I hosting a three-hour VIP brainstorming extravaganza with hot seats to help you set a clear vision and strategy for 2024, with 1:1 coaching before and after the event.
This VIP day is supported by a three-month-long program designed to surprise and delight you. Together with a small, curated group of Heart-Based Business owners, you’ll get a mix of 1:1 coaching and group calls to implement the most joyful, abundant next steps for you and your business.
The final deadline to enroll is September 15. Get all the details and apply here »
🔗 Resources Mentioned
Connect with Linda: Start your Substack
Resources for getting started: On Substack (
), Office Hours every Thursday at 1pm ETJenny’s writing/Substack coach:
(she has lots of great workshops too; $25 if you’re not a paying member, free if you are)Other Substackers mentioned: Cofounder
, , , , , and (showing all three publications and two podcasts in one feed!)Jenny’s Zapier zap for passing Substack unsubscribes to a Google sheet (then removing them from Kajabi; I have another app that tells me when stragglers unsubscribe from Kajabi so I can remove them from Substack)
‘Doh posts mentioned: Writing My Way Out, On Starting Friction and Aaron Sorkin, Weight Lifted (Part One, Part Two), Love That! For You 🙄
Jenny’s “We’ve Moved!” Announcement to Free Timers (if you want to see the invitation to pay language and benefits; Founding Members join BFF). Here’s the Pivot version (Founding Members get a 1:1 call while availability lasts).
BFF Posts in Circle for Founding Members: Unified thread on Substack, Jenny’s answer to Jacq with tons of lessons learned post-migration in the comments
I ❤️ TO READ sweatshirt I was wearing came from a fellow Substacker,
👇 Scroll to the very bottom for everyone who shared a Substack publication or profile link in the chat! If you weren’t there live, share yours in the comments :)
💬 Questions Covered (In Order)
Jenny: Substack’s goals as a company; the types of writers and creators they are most interested in working with; how to make the mindset shift toward inviting paying subscribers; monetization strategies that are working best; importing feeds
Melani: Balance of quality of leads and volume of leads for the network effects
Maya: Can it ever replace segments and lists and automated sequences?
Jacq: SEO considerations of publishing in duplicate places
Lauren: What if you feel like you’re not a true “writer” but rather a curator? Could it be a replacement for a website presence too?
Wade: Curious to learn how podcasts episodes get integrated (along with importing existing feeds, and paid vs. free episodes)
Dimple: Do you keep something like MailChimp for marketing info about upcoming offerings?
Patrick: Content categories and if Substack does any outreach to more esoteric communities
Pegge: On naming (handle and multiple businesses)
Lauren: Learning curve, any shortcuts you can point us to
🎧 Related Episodes
Free Time: 222: Why I migrated my three email lists to Substack (BFF Bonus Replay) — goes live on the free time feed on 9/8 at 5pm ET, or it’s in your private feed archives
