I Ignored This Substack Feature for Months and Now It’s the #1 Way I Convert Readers into Paying Fans

There are lots of other writing platforms out there.

• Medium

• Twitter (X)

• LinkedIn

• …

You name it.

But Substack is different.

It allows you to connect with your audience in an authentic, genuine way.

And I believe that there is one core feature that makes all the difference.

And no, I’m not talking about Substack notes.

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Do you want to bring your newsletter or products in front of 7,000+ creators and entrepreneurs? Reach out to me here.

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Today, I will talk about one feature that I started using too late in my Substack journey and which I believe can make a huge impact on how you

1. Connect with your audience

2. Convert free readers into paid ones.

Let’s jump in.

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Celeberate with me one entire year on Substack.

If you’ve followed my journey, you know I started from zero: no social media following, no email list, no other platform to post on.

I literally sat down, started writing on Substack every single day, and watched where it took me.

• After 3 months, I had my first two paid subscribers (both triggered by one single Note).

• After 6 months, I started making a decent income.

• After 11 months, I had the highest-earning month of my entire life.

I think it’s fair to say: Substack has changed my life.

As a writer. As a creator. As a solopreneur.

I made my dream come true—pivoting from a traditional entrepreneur, dictated by investor calls and outside opinions, to a solopreneur working on my terms.

I reinvented myself in under a year, and I’m here to help you do the same.

(And by all means: you don’t need a 100k subscriber list.)

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The Magic Starts Here ✨

Substack offers Chats. 1:1 messaging and even a group chat for your subscribers.

Chats have completely changed how I build my community. Through them, I've gotten amazing feedback, heartfelt messages, and landed most of my 1:1 coaching.

All thanks to the power of chats.

If you're not using chats yet, you're missing out big time on an incredible way to connect with your audience.

Here's what works for me:

1. I Message Every Subscriber. Not followers - subscribers. These folks have already shown they're invested in what I'm doing, so they deserve that personal touch. Focusing on people who are invested helps create meaningful connections right from the start.

   If you want to automate your messages to say hi to your subscribers, check out this tool. They offer a 7 day free trial now.

2. Personal and Group Chats. Start personal chats on day one to connect individually and answer questions. Add a group chat whenever you feel ready (suggestion: around 100 free subscribers) to create a space where everyone connects, supports each other, and grows together.

3. Chats + Publications. They're perfect together, but the real magic isn't promotion it's building real relationships one conversation at a time. It's simple, yet incredibly effective. In case you have more than one publication, every publication can have their own chat.

Tip #1: There are different ways in how you can use chats. For example, for my April bootcamp that is currently running, I have created a private publication that noone sees, added the bootcamp participants and now we use the group chat for supporting and pushing us through April. Pretty awesome!.

Tip#2: I waited too long to start my group chat, and it took longer than I expected to get people involved. Launch yours as soon as you have a few engaged members who can keep conversations flowing.

To grow my chat community, I:

• Drop chat invites at the end of my posts

• Include chat links in welcome messages (easy with this tool)

• Put the chat link right in my newsletter menu, next to the Notes section

What chat strategies are working for you?

Happy to brainstorm some ideas with you, whenever you need it.

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If this post was helpful, feel free to comment, like, engage - it really helps.

Seen my FREE subscriber chat? We help each other grow and connect.