How to navigate this post:
• Step 1: Watch the (short!) video above or read below.
• Step 2: Watch the (short!) bonus Notes-in-a-nutshell tutorial.
• Step 3: Watch the (short!) Get-Your-Notes-Boosted Networking Events overview below.
Some of you know that my mom has been sick, so there’s been a lot going on. I’ve been helping her get settled into a new place, or I should say get used to the idea of going to a place where she can have 24/7 care. It’s been a long process of many months, but we’re getting there.
I’m sending this post out like this because a lot of you feel like you have to be perfect and you can’t just say to your subscribers, Here’s what’s going on in my life. I’m saying to you all, Hey, this is what’s going on in my life. This is what’s happening. It’s all good. It’s all okay. This is not meant to invoke pity or sympathy. My mom’s an amazing woman and this is just how life is going. This is the path. But it’s been a thing.
Which means I didn’t have time to write the super long, in-depth post about how we need to shift our money mindset on Substack that I wanted to write.
The best part? I’m going to give you the short version here.
Money mindset shift #1:
Everyone deserves to be paid and paid well for their work. Yes, everyone deserves to be paid well for their work. From McDonald’s to Substack. Not just Jeff Bezos. Everybody.
Money mindset shift #2:
If you’re producing quality work, then your whole Substack is paid. (Note: This isn’t an invitation to overvalue you’re work, especially if you’re just starting out. Really ask yourself if someone would pay $25 for each post—that’s a good test.) It’s a paid newsletter and you give a lot away for free.
That’s very different than having a free newsletter and begging people to pay for it. (More on this at the end of September.)
Let me clarify: I’m not telling you to go paywall everything. This is about money mindset. The mindset I recommend is, I have a paid newsletter and I give a lot away for free, or I give all away for free if I choose to, but the quality is so, so high that I could be charging $80 a year or whatever it is.
My Substack is high quality and I give things away for free. Maybe I give everything away for free, but it is paid quality, which is very different than having a free newsletter low quality and I beg people to pay.
(I’m not telling you to charge $80 a year—that’s an example. This isn’t about paywalling. This is the mindset, folks—mindset.)
Two mindset shifts. That’s it. The whole world is going to change with these.
What’s next:
Below is a video to get you ready for what is now our bi-monthly Notes boost networking events.
Every second Tuesday and every final Friday of the month, you’ll get a notice in your inbox.
You’ll be able to go into the thread and have a note boosted by others in Substack Writers at Work—all of us just coming together to support each other.
These will last 24 hours, so everyone has a chance no matter your time zone.
Substack is about you finding your people:
That’s it. That’s all this is. It’s not a competition. It’s not about who’s the best or who’s the worst writer/podcaster/creator. It’s about you finding your people.
To do that, we have to get each other in front of people to find our people. And that’s what we’re doing in the Get-Your-Notes-Boosted Networking Events.
Note: These networking events are meant to be genuine. You won’t just randomly boost Notes, only those that resonate with you.
Get-Your-Notes-Boosted Networking Events explained:
Notes-in-a-nutshell:
You don’t need to feel like you’re posting into the void on Notes.
Give yourself the next year to really grow your Substack with the Get-Your-Notes-Boosted Networking Events.
Substack Writers at Work is the only all-in-one yearly membership to give you everything you need. ✨ Join 20,000+ active members in a top-5 bestselling, Featured Substack globally.
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Sarah, thank you for this mindset reset, and all good wishes to your mom and you. A question: I’ve noticed in readers who “grew up” in the age of blogs and know little about the Substack platform have a tendency to see a Substack publication as a blog (free; “you do this ‘on the side’”) even if they read it religiously. I have long wondered if Substack is doing any reader “education” and wonder if you have thoughts on nurturing a shift in reader mindset from blog to publication?
"I have a paid newsletter and I give a lot away for free" is so much more true and empowering than "I have a free newsletter and I need to get people to subscribe to it". Thank you!