You get to stop doing Substack the hard way
Doors are open for the January 2026 Substack DNA Intensive!
It’s exhausting to feel like you’re doing Substack the hard way.
You’ve been told to try this or that strategy, “earn trust,” “be unique,” “offer value” and given more and more Substack information.
But generic advice—even good advice—and information aren’t enough on Substack.
To get engagement and earn an income, you need to find what’s clear and valuable to Substack subscribers: You need to know your Substack DNA.
Without your Substack DNA, you’ll likely waste years flailing around or assuming your Substack is one thing when really it’s another entirely.
With your Substack DNA, you stop guessing. You get clear. You grow.
In this 3-hour intensive, we’ll find your Substack DNA together using my Substack DNA Growth Framework™—built on years of pattern recognition across 1000+ clients and tens of thousands on Substack Writers at Work.
Substack DNA Intensive
Friday, January 16, 12-3 PM CT (includes our interactive, community-based, one-week lab component in our private Substack for honing the material)
$225 | Paid subscribers & Premier members get 10% off (code below)
Doors close 1/15 at 8 PM CT
What participants from the October 2025 Substack DNA Intensive are saying:
“Phenomenal. A transformative experience and worth every penny! I have already seen an uptick in engagement, followers and Subscribers.” — Denise Pyles
“Our DNA work was a huge help in sharpening my sense of my Substack’s value to readers... After the intensive I don’t feel I’m stumbling around Substack in the dark anymore.” — Sara Engram
“Sarah cuts through the red tape and makes it all so much easier... I’ve been on Substack for more than a year... I wish I’d known her when I started.” — Lynda McDaniel
“Sarah’s methods will undoubtedly help you differentiate in a crowded Substack environment. If you want to build a platform, then the unique selling proposition exercises [are] 100% worthwhile.” — Catherine Palmer
“Sarah really knows her stuff. She gets to the heart of the matter and gives it to you straight.” — Deborah Svec
“It booted me out of the nest [and] gave me the courage to start.” — ML Healey
Helping you find your Substack DNA is my specialty. It comes from my deep fluency with how the platform actually works; my experience building two bestselling, featured Substacks from zero; and my twenty years teaching in graduate programs at the University of Iowa, Northwestern, and elsewhere.
It’s the method that’s led my clients—including CNN political analyst Kirsten Powers, publisher Zibby Owens, viral TED speaker Sarah Knight, and hundreds of others—to:
Become bestsellers
Double, triple, and 10x their subscribers
Establish six-figure incomes
Build engaged communities and a loyal readership
Itinerary
100% interactive.
Get work done.
You’ll leave feeling confident and with a Substack that’s clear and compellingly obvious why people should must subscribe.
Plus a short description and bio that set you apart and personalized feedback so you know they’re resonating with other people.
Friday, 1/16 | 12 - 3 PM CT
12-12:30 PM CT Welcome + Discovering your talents, gifts, and/or expertise
12:30-1 Substack DNA creation lab: Finding the core of what makes your Substack different from any other
1-1:10 Break
1:10-2 Personalized feedback
2-2:20 Communicating your Substack DNA in a scroll-stopping short description
2:20-2:50 You’re so much more interesting than you think + my proven bio template—according to the new Substack bio requirements
2:50-3 Reflection
1/16-1/23: ONE WEEK in our interactive, community-based, lab in our private Substack for honing the material and testing your title
*all times are CT
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is this for?
Substack writers and creators at all stages, those with no experience and those who’ve been on the platform for years.
Will the replay be available?
Yes, within 24 hours of the intensive, but to get your money’s worth, I highly recommend attending live.
Can I get a refund if I don’t feel like it was helpful?
If you do the work and don’t see transformation, I’ll make it right.
Will I get personal feedback from Sarah?
No, but you will get feedback based on her customized direction. You can also schedule a 1:1 Substack Strategy Intensive.
Isn’t this just more Substack information and a how-to-make-money-on-Substack scam?
No. This is the step 99 percent of Substacks skip. It takes deep work and the process I created to go beyond topics, tricks, categories, and niches.