Okay, so I see a branding problem first and foremost. As a chronic illness human with low spoons, the easiest lift is to get the branding right. I went to your publication and looked at your about page to find one paragraph.
Then, I went to your latest post and found what I think is a fiction story, but there are a bunch of poll questions…
Okay, so I see a branding problem first and foremost. As a chronic illness human with low spoons, the easiest lift is to get the branding right. I went to your publication and looked at your about page to find one paragraph.
Then, I went to your latest post and found what I think is a fiction story, but there are a bunch of poll questions, which makes me say “what is going on here”.
Your book as so fun and yet…I am not having fun here. I’m confused.
Then, I went to your site and I only see three books and one paragraph about you.
I thought you had a bunch of books, and so went to Amazon and book there they all are. It doesn’t look like your books are in KU, so can they be used as an archive for your paid members?
The second easiest lift for low spoon people is to make a big archive using their material so it can do work for you. I think Kristi Keller could even do this for you if you give her the books.
Then, it doesn’t matter what you do bc you have a powerful catalog for people to buy.
For low touch substacks, I will also say you should think about how you can offer paid membership for cheap so you can work for volume.
You say you want hundreds of paid subscribers, but what does that mean as far as revenue? I have 800 paid members, but I only make $15k from it.
Do you want to revenue or do you want a first point of contact for people to meet and fall in love with your work?
I don’t know your career. I see 54 books listed on goodreads. I think you are getting lost in the details. It doesn’t really matter if you have written 12, 50, or 509 books. My advice would be the same.
But how? What you have now is chaos. How do you expect somebody to reach your page, know they are in the right place, fall in love, and then be ready to buy?
Again, if you want this to be a fun. No stress thing you do for fun, everything you are doing is fine.
If you want to have hundreds of paid members, you need a strategy, and it should at least partially come from the 50+ book you have already written be added to your substack for paid members.
And it should at least partially come from a way better user experience when they hit your page.
I had a website. The payment lapsed, I missed the deadline, and lost it. I do have books out of KU. My substack is just for fun. The polls are supposed to be fun. I like writing it. But I don't have a business plan.
Jumping in to add some support as an other low spoons & chronic illness writer. I too had a website that I lost when my payment lapsed (my credit card expired) and I lost a lot of valuable writing. Thankfully I found almost all of it on the way back machine! It did take spoons to search through it - but it felt like reconnecting with an old friend.
It’s fine if you don’t have any of that stuff if this is just for fun, but if you want hundreds of paid members, you need a plan and a better user experience. And also more content for people to have, which I why I gave you options.
I worked hard on setting up my about page - but this is the first I’m hearing of a “hero post”. Do we all need one or is it specific to certain genres?
Everyone should have one. I don't think it really matters if you worked hard or not. What matters is whether it's effective. You usually only have one chance with a potential subscriber. Once they bounce, they have bounced.
Also, I looked at your About page, and it's all about you. The hard truth is that you are only an avatar for your reader. It doesn't really matter what you do or who you are. What matters is the transformation a reader can get through reading your work.
For instance, you say "That’s how this newsletter came to be. I decided to take the bad hand I had been dealt and hopefully use it to help others", but like...how? What is the transition and how are you guiding people through it?
Or, I mean, there's nothing technically wrong with it, but if you want to grow, you'll want to rewrite this with the above stuff in mind.
Forgive me for what I fear may be a stupid question (but I think there’s no stupid questions here at SmallStack!)… but shouldn’t an About page be all about me? Since I’m the one writing it?
Or are you saying it should be more focused on the publication and less on me as the writer?
I definitely want to make it shine and have it represent my publication in the best possible way - but it was also the first thing I did when I joined so perhaps it needs an overhaul.
Your about page has nothing to do with you, except as it relates to the reader and how you can take them on a transformation. Anything you tease out in your bio is only to show you are the right person to lead them on this transformation through your words.
So, I guess no, the about page is not about you. Yes, it is about your publication. Moreso it's about why you are the right avatar for your reader.
The problem with a bio is that it needs to go on podcasts and panels and other things, so maybe. I haven't seen a great example of somebody doing it, but definitely on your about page. I have a very Russell about page, but a bio that is more boring.
Hi. I’m USA Today Bestselling author Russell Nohelty. I write books filled with magic, monsters, and mythology.
I write the books you read. Some of them at least. Well, I hope you read my books. I guess that’s a bit of a presumption on my part.
At least I hope you will read my books now if you haven’t already. That would be cool.
I like to think of myself as Jason Pargin, Chuck Palahniuk, Naomi Novik, and Kurt Vonnegut’s love baby. Mix all that with some Terry Pratchett and a little Jim Butcher, and you got yourself a stew going. A Russell kind of writer-type stew.
That metaphor got away from me, but if you like those authors, you’re almost guaranteed to like my work.
Convinced already?
Then try out my free novel by clicking the link at the top of the page, or head to the books page to see what kind of stuff I’ve written in my career.
For the rest of you who might have other burning questions…
My books tend to be fast-paced, action-adventure fantasy thrillers injected with a hefty dose of humor. I pace by books for edge-of-your-seat excitement, then populate my worlds with characters you’re bound to fall in love with, and put them in situations that where it is nearly impossible for anybody to succeed, especially them. I would call my books, and the characters that populate them, fun and sassy.
Oh, and magic. There’s definitely a lot of magic and supernatural creatures in my books because reality is the worst.
If you hate reality as much as me, then my books are about as far from it as you can get. They are filled with fairy tales, mythology, magic, monsters, and other “m” words which are equally cool.
None of the uncool ones, though.
I have written oodles of novels and comics, which you can explore in the books section, including Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter, The Godsverse Chronicles, and The Obsidian Spindle Saga, as well as being the editor for the Cthulhu is Hard to Spell anthology series.
Along with my contributions to the Cthulhu is Hard to Spell anthology series, I have been featured in dozens of anthologies including Cthulhu Invades Oz, Monsters and Other Scary Shit, Parallel Worlds, The Edgar Allan Poe Chronicles, Modern Mythology, Becoming, Tales from the Tavern, War for Monster Earth, Death Saves, Not So Fair Tales, Zombies…We’re Humans, too, Why Faith?, The Great Command Meant, Charlie Foxtrot, Once Upon A Rebel Fairytale, Rising From the Ashes, Unpopular Tales, Myths and Monsters, and more.
I think it should be written like your books, so when people finish it they know whether to read more. This is very much like the human and ridiculousness of my books.
Oh and it's not a stupid question. It's something that is very hard to deal with and nobody will actually tell this stuff to people so they don't know it. Even people that know it don't want to believe it, but that's the secret of effective bios and about pages.
Well thank you for telling me - now I’ve got some thinking to do! It’s an incredibly important (and transformative) tip as I would have thought my “about” should be all about me.
The idea of showing them what journey I will take them on and how I’m the right person to do it makes a lot of sense … I’ve already got some ideas percolating. Thanks again!
Okay, so I see a branding problem first and foremost. As a chronic illness human with low spoons, the easiest lift is to get the branding right. I went to your publication and looked at your about page to find one paragraph.
Then, I went to your latest post and found what I think is a fiction story, but there are a bunch of poll questions, which makes me say “what is going on here”.
Your book as so fun and yet…I am not having fun here. I’m confused.
Then, I went to your site and I only see three books and one paragraph about you.
I thought you had a bunch of books, and so went to Amazon and book there they all are. It doesn’t look like your books are in KU, so can they be used as an archive for your paid members?
The second easiest lift for low spoon people is to make a big archive using their material so it can do work for you. I think Kristi Keller could even do this for you if you give her the books.
Then, it doesn’t matter what you do bc you have a powerful catalog for people to buy.
For low touch substacks, I will also say you should think about how you can offer paid membership for cheap so you can work for volume.
You say you want hundreds of paid subscribers, but what does that mean as far as revenue? I have 800 paid members, but I only make $15k from it.
Do you want to revenue or do you want a first point of contact for people to meet and fall in love with your work?
These are some of the things I am thinking.
And I was hoping substack could pay some bills. Books don't :(
I think I maybe wrote 12 books? Definitely not 50.
I don’t know your career. I see 54 books listed on goodreads. I think you are getting lost in the details. It doesn’t really matter if you have written 12, 50, or 509 books. My advice would be the same.
But how? What you have now is chaos. How do you expect somebody to reach your page, know they are in the right place, fall in love, and then be ready to buy?
Again, if you want this to be a fun. No stress thing you do for fun, everything you are doing is fine.
If you want to have hundreds of paid members, you need a strategy, and it should at least partially come from the 50+ book you have already written be added to your substack for paid members.
And it should at least partially come from a way better user experience when they hit your page.
I had a website. The payment lapsed, I missed the deadline, and lost it. I do have books out of KU. My substack is just for fun. The polls are supposed to be fun. I like writing it. But I don't have a business plan.
Jumping in to add some support as an other low spoons & chronic illness writer. I too had a website that I lost when my payment lapsed (my credit card expired) and I lost a lot of valuable writing. Thankfully I found almost all of it on the way back machine! It did take spoons to search through it - but it felt like reconnecting with an old friend.
It’s fine if you don’t have any of that stuff if this is just for fun, but if you want hundreds of paid members, you need a plan and a better user experience. And also more content for people to have, which I why I gave you options.
I need to figure out one small thing. Maybe getting someone to add all my books in. Even the thought of it is overwhelming :(
I don't remember having books listed on substack. If they are I probably ran out of energy adding them?
Mia - I'm just chiming in as Russell has given all of this a look over - here's a 30 day challenge to set up your home page including your about page that might help - https://sparkleon.substack.com/p/set-up-your-substack-homepage
Thank you for this! I’m going to check it out too!
If you want one thing. You need a way better about page and a hero post.
I worked hard on setting up my about page - but this is the first I’m hearing of a “hero post”. Do we all need one or is it specific to certain genres?
Everyone should have one. I don't think it really matters if you worked hard or not. What matters is whether it's effective. You usually only have one chance with a potential subscriber. Once they bounce, they have bounced.
Also, I looked at your About page, and it's all about you. The hard truth is that you are only an avatar for your reader. It doesn't really matter what you do or who you are. What matters is the transformation a reader can get through reading your work.
For instance, you say "That’s how this newsletter came to be. I decided to take the bad hand I had been dealt and hopefully use it to help others", but like...how? What is the transition and how are you guiding people through it?
Or, I mean, there's nothing technically wrong with it, but if you want to grow, you'll want to rewrite this with the above stuff in mind.
Forgive me for what I fear may be a stupid question (but I think there’s no stupid questions here at SmallStack!)… but shouldn’t an About page be all about me? Since I’m the one writing it?
Or are you saying it should be more focused on the publication and less on me as the writer?
I definitely want to make it shine and have it represent my publication in the best possible way - but it was also the first thing I did when I joined so perhaps it needs an overhaul.
Your about page has nothing to do with you, except as it relates to the reader and how you can take them on a transformation. Anything you tease out in your bio is only to show you are the right person to lead them on this transformation through your words.
So, I guess no, the about page is not about you. Yes, it is about your publication. Moreso it's about why you are the right avatar for your reader.
This is honestly transformative (no pun intended). I've never heard anything like this, and it's giving me a lot to think about with my own bios.
Would you say this applies even for a bio for a fiction writer?
The problem with a bio is that it needs to go on podcasts and panels and other things, so maybe. I haven't seen a great example of somebody doing it, but definitely on your about page. I have a very Russell about page, but a bio that is more boring.
Hi. I’m USA Today Bestselling author Russell Nohelty. I write books filled with magic, monsters, and mythology.
I write the books you read. Some of them at least. Well, I hope you read my books. I guess that’s a bit of a presumption on my part.
At least I hope you will read my books now if you haven’t already. That would be cool.
I like to think of myself as Jason Pargin, Chuck Palahniuk, Naomi Novik, and Kurt Vonnegut’s love baby. Mix all that with some Terry Pratchett and a little Jim Butcher, and you got yourself a stew going. A Russell kind of writer-type stew.
That metaphor got away from me, but if you like those authors, you’re almost guaranteed to like my work.
Convinced already?
Then try out my free novel by clicking the link at the top of the page, or head to the books page to see what kind of stuff I’ve written in my career.
For the rest of you who might have other burning questions…
My books tend to be fast-paced, action-adventure fantasy thrillers injected with a hefty dose of humor. I pace by books for edge-of-your-seat excitement, then populate my worlds with characters you’re bound to fall in love with, and put them in situations that where it is nearly impossible for anybody to succeed, especially them. I would call my books, and the characters that populate them, fun and sassy.
Oh, and magic. There’s definitely a lot of magic and supernatural creatures in my books because reality is the worst.
If you hate reality as much as me, then my books are about as far from it as you can get. They are filled with fairy tales, mythology, magic, monsters, and other “m” words which are equally cool.
None of the uncool ones, though.
I have written oodles of novels and comics, which you can explore in the books section, including Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter, The Godsverse Chronicles, and The Obsidian Spindle Saga, as well as being the editor for the Cthulhu is Hard to Spell anthology series.
Along with my contributions to the Cthulhu is Hard to Spell anthology series, I have been featured in dozens of anthologies including Cthulhu Invades Oz, Monsters and Other Scary Shit, Parallel Worlds, The Edgar Allan Poe Chronicles, Modern Mythology, Becoming, Tales from the Tavern, War for Monster Earth, Death Saves, Not So Fair Tales, Zombies…We’re Humans, too, Why Faith?, The Great Command Meant, Charlie Foxtrot, Once Upon A Rebel Fairytale, Rising From the Ashes, Unpopular Tales, Myths and Monsters, and more.
Alright. That’s me as a writer.
End of speech.
I think it should be written like your books, so when people finish it they know whether to read more. This is very much like the human and ridiculousness of my books.
Oh and it's not a stupid question. It's something that is very hard to deal with and nobody will actually tell this stuff to people so they don't know it. Even people that know it don't want to believe it, but that's the secret of effective bios and about pages.
Well thank you for telling me - now I’ve got some thinking to do! It’s an incredibly important (and transformative) tip as I would have thought my “about” should be all about me.
The idea of showing them what journey I will take them on and how I’m the right person to do it makes a lot of sense … I’ve already got some ideas percolating. Thanks again!