What Do Readers See? Upgrade Your First Impressions on Substack
6 high-impact areas to elevate your Substack publication's first impression
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What Readers Had To Say About Reader-Friendly First Impressions
This is very helpful- just the list and the questions to ask. Makes working through it so much easier… - Josie Beug, DVM, CVA
I love how clear and helpful this is… - Emmy Singer
… your advice is unfailingly perceptive and helpful. - Jeffrey Streeter
Today I’m sharing a framework to think about what you are inviting readers to experience in your writing. So if you are ready to flex your empathy muscles and use your imagination to step inside your readers’ online experiences, this is the essay to read today. This tool could also be helpful for writers who are seeing a rise in their views (More people are finding your writing! Huzzah!), but you aren’t seeing your overall newsletter subscriptions increase as well.
Note: this tool is modeled after a tool I use in one-on-one work with my editorial clients, and it does require a paid subscription to keep reading.
If I have a sequence of impressions to make, how do they sound to the reader?
To illustrate how I use this sequencing, I’ll be sharing screenshots from a client of mine,
. He and I began working together when he was just beginning to dip his feet in the Substack writing pond and he was finding some traction around his English Republic of Letters. He’s now grown from just under 100 readers to being a featured Substack publication that now reaches more than 1,500 readers every week. We’ve collaborated on his overall presence on Substack and also on some of his longer essays; this one, Introducing Mr. Vonnegut, is one that is very special to me.