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For the past couple of years I’ve quietly been building a newsletter on Substack. Unsurprisingly it’s called “Creators Getting Paid” and it has been a really fun experience growing community, having conversations in real time with other creators who are my peers, friends and colleagues and doing cool shit online. The longer I build my newsletter on Substack and the larger the list gets I feel like there’s a question that every newsletter builder needs to ask themselves. Is your Substack newsletter the product or a tool to grow something else? That something else could be community, income, expertise, brand authority or all of the above. While I think you don’t have to know the answer to this question when you start your newsletter, I do think that it’s important to reflect on this question at least once a year. I’m currently in the process of making my final decision (for now) about what I would like my newsletter to be. Listen on as I share what I’ve asked myself-you may find it helpful too.
Disclaimer
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Your Next $1000 (Dollars)
Are you needing inspiration and community to earn your next $1,000 dollars? I’m launching a live challenge that starts in June. It’s free, be encouraged inspired and stay focused as you continue to earn with your online brand as we go into the summer months. Why am I launching this challenge in June? Because summer can often be a slower time of year for many online brand builders-let’s not lose momentum and continue to stay focused. Go to creatorsgettingpaid.com/challenge to get on the waitlist.
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Show Notes
It’s so much fun as a user to scroll through Substack and enjoy the amazing projects being built on the platform. There are creatives who are curating art, film and music. Other folks are talking about politics, some people are sharing how to make money or grow your Substack and then there are the many writers who are the heart and soul of the platform.
For creators building on the platform sooner or later they will begin asking themselves the following questions.
- Does anyone like what I’m building?
- Should I charge for this project (or add paywalled content)
- How do I define success
- What am I selling (if anything)
- Is my Sustack newsletter THE product?
- Or am I using Substack as a tool to move my audience towards something else?
What is That Something Else?
That something else could be a book, a community, an art purchase, a live event or live event. Maybe the question that I’m really asking is the following “Is your newsletter hosted on Substack the thing you’re selling or is it the top of your business funnel?”
For me, it is clear that the Creators Getting Paid newsletter is the top of my brand funnel. What wasn’t so clear to me and my audience was what is the next step in their journey with me? In reflecting on this question I realized a couple of things.
- I was missing a signature product or offering-I’m working on building that product right now and I’m deciding what that structure will be. I wasn’t really sending my audience to a next step. I’d tried out some different things such as a mastermind group and a writing cohort, they just didn’t have the level of interest and enthusiasm that I was hoping for in order to move forward with those offerings.
- In order to create a signature offering or next step, you have to talk to your audience. I’ve been so fortunate to have met a lot of the creators who are a part of Creators Getting Paid in person. It’s easy for me to ask people directly-what are you needing from me? What do you need help with? The tricky part is that you may have observed an area of need that your audience hasn’t voiced to you.
Having my Substack as the tool takes away a lot of the pressure that people may be feeling related to having Substack as the product. If your Substack is the product then you may feel a lot of pressure to get paid subscriber conversions which can be difficult to do as I discussed in a previous podcast episode “Should You Add a Paywall to Your Substack” (I’ve included a link to that episode in the show notes)
I also think having using Substack as a tool takes away some of the emotional attachment that many creators have for the platform. We all have a favorite platform or platforms (Substack and Threads) currently are my favorites. I just add a splash of cynicism attached to the idea that I will always use a certain product or tool. It’s likely that I won’t or that my usage will change over time.
There’s no right or wrong answer to this question. Knowing the answer will help you as you decide what you’ll be doing next as you grow and build your newsletter. Just some food for thought.
Creators Getting Paid
Don’t forget to join Creators Getting Paid. Creators Getting Paid is a community resource that shares online money making strategies, case studies and more. For $8 a month or an annual payment of $76 you’ll gain access to workshops, case studies, creator conversations, co-working days and more. Go to creatorsgettingpaid.com/newsletter to begin your Creators Getting Paid journey.
