How to START on Substack
For all my Substack newbies out there 🧡
I started my Substack in May last year with no following or experience. Six months later, I’m earning $1,500/month. If you want to start earning from your writing in 2025, let’s do it together.
How to Start on Substack
Recently, I’ve welcomed quite a few new subscribers who are just starting out on Substack. Many people find the setup process challenging, so today, I’m here to help you get started.
Starting on Substack can feel overwhelming.
I totally get it. It took me two tries, and I gave up after my first attempt. But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered with some simple steps to get started.
1. Use Your Computer
Substack works best when you set it up on your computer, so I recommend using one for the initial setup and configuration.
2. Configure Your Publication
Your publication is essentially your own mini-homepage on Substack. Here's what it includes:
Posts and Newsletter Articles: A place to list all your content.
Links to Your Products: Add any relevant links.
Links to Your Notes: A space to post short updates or engage with your audience.
What other two pages are important:
Your Profile: Found by clicking on your name or picture. This is where your personal notes and "restacks" (shares) appear.
Home Feed: A feed where you’ll see other people’s notes and articles.
Tip: At the top of your home feed, you can explore Substack categories and discover other publications.
3. Update Your Bio
Make sure to personalize both your profile bio and your newsletter bio. This helps potential subscribers understand what you’re all about.
4. Get Comfortable with the Basics
Spend some time navigating your publication homepage, posts, notes, and chats. It’s important to understand how everything works:
Posts: These are articles that stay on your publication homepage and can also be emailed to your subscribers.
Pro Tip: You can disable email delivery if you want an article to only appear on your homepage. Conversely, you can send emails that don’t appear on your homepage.
5. Create Initial Content
Write 1-2 posts to show what your newsletter is about.
Start writing daily notes to grow your audience and engage with other Substack users.
6. Leave the Extras for Later
Don’t worry about setting up everything right away. Things like welcome emails, chats, going paid, and homepage design can all come later once you’re more comfortable.
I also created a video tutorial to help you get started. Hope it makes the process easier for you 😊.
If you found this helpful, I’d love to hear your thoughts, feel free to share a comment.
Check out my products to help you grow on Substack:
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Thanks! I hadn't thought of starting with notes. I was working on content first, but that process can take up time, especially with rewriting and editing. Do you recommend writing a note first thing in the morning? Do you just wing your notes or spend a day or two planning your notes?
Thank you, Claudia. As one of your paid newbie subscribers, I look forward to helpful posts like this from you. Perhaps in a future post you could discuss how to differentiate among your publication short description, your publication introduction, your profile bio and your about page. What works best to maximize each of these and how should they fit together?