Use These 6 Essay Building Blocks For Your Substack Publication
How to shape a publishing plan that evolves with you
During the past few weeks, I’ve been sharing tried-and-true publishing resources I rely on: my editorial building blocks.
I’m not one for formulas and “magic-in-a-box” kind of fixes. But, gosh, when original thoughts and creativity are in the mix, a good container can really make a difference in getting your work into the world. Because, after all, that’s what we’re here to do, right?
We’re here to help you get your voice, in your own way, into the world — in a way that no one else can copy or replicate it.
I’ve really enjoyed deep diving with everyone around three essay building blocks:
The Invitational Essay — a compelling, accessible way to welcome new readers into your world.
The Core Publication Essay — the steady, recurring format that defines your publication.
Guest & Sidebar Contributions — a way to bring in fresh voices while staying true to your vision.
These formats are designed to help give your publication a little bit of rhythm without squelching your creative vibes. So if you ever feel like your essays are just being thrown into the void and instead want an intentional, evolving structure to help give your publication a little nudge in the right direction, I think these essay formats really do make a difference. (And they’re designed to serve both you and your readers.)
The Publishing Studio Has the Other 3 Essays For You To Explore
Now as we’re wrapping up the month of March and preparing for April (when we’ll host our first Q2 paid member data audit), I want to announce that the remaining three essay building block are available.
→ The Community-Nurturing Format, the News & Announcements Essay and the Insight Essay are available inside the Publishing Studio for paid members to explore independently.
How To Incorporate the Essays Into Your Publishing Plan
1️⃣ Whether you have a month or a decade of publishing under your belt, I know how appealing it can be to launch into doer mode when a framework seems like it can simplify your life — and simplify it quickly. So my first point of guidance here is: start slow.
→ These essays are building blocks, not a complete template to copy and paste, whole hog, and publish one of each every month with robotic AI writing that you read somewhere would gain readers quickly.
→ The essays are designed to make you think, filter and test. Please do this work inside what you know about your work, voice, creative needs and especially your readers.
2️⃣ Instead of trying to implement every editorial structure at once, choose one format that intrigues or jumps out at you the most — and refine it. Experiment, see how it feels and do a bold experiment inside it. Sometimes I find a new format is what I need to unlock something creatively.
3️⃣ Experiment intentionally and then watch the data inside a limited scope editorial experiment. Pick one essay type, publish it three months in a row (give the experiment a chance to “lift”), and then watch the data to see if/how your readers engage differently with what you have to say inside that format.
Where To Find All 6 Essay Building Blocks
The 3 We Explored Together
📖 The Invitational Essay — Designed to introduce new readers to your world.
📝 The Core Newsletter Essay — The foundational format that defines your publication.
🎙 Guest & Sidebar Contributions — A way to incorporate outside voices while keeping your editorial identity strong.
The Three Inside the Publishing Studio
💬 The Community-Nurturing Format — Lighter, interactive touchpoints that spark conversation. Paid Subscriber Access →
📆 The News & Announcements Essay — A structured way to share updates while keeping engagement high. Paid Subscriber Access →
🔍 The Insight Essay — A way to distill your expertise, lived experiences, or observations into a compelling essay. Paid Subscriber Access →