How to Start Building Audience Trust Using Only Substack’s Tools

Two low-lift practices to strengthen connection before you scale or add on tools like MailChimp or ConvertKit

In most business contexts, it would be unthinkable to offer a paid product online without a complex marketing funnel behind it.

Nurture sequences. Multi-step segmentation. Behavior-based automations.

But Substack operates differently.

Discovery is democratized. Engagement signals are public. And I’ve watched plenty of well-positioned publications grow here — not because they built sprawling infrastructure, but because they stayed close to their work, their audience and the rhythms of the platform.

With all of that said, audiences still need to be nurtured.

Not just pitched to. Not just published at.

They need to feel connected to something alive, evolving and intentional.

And that doesn’t require a funnel.

It requires presence. Rhythm. Relationship. Trust

Take Our Substack Audience Trust Survey! Results will be shared next month with everyone.

Today’s post is about two low-lift practices that help you build that — using only what Substack already gives you.

Not to scale faster.

But to learn what’s resonating.

And to strengthen trust before reaching for more tools than you might need — and, yes, let’s talk about when you might need something a little beefier.

Let’s start here ...

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1️⃣ The Monthly Subscriber Check-In (Low-Tech, High-Touch)

Once a month, I block 30 minutes to gently re-engage readers who’ve opened recent posts but haven’t gone deeper.

Here’s how I do it: