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Jeffrey Streeter's avatar

I'm not only impressed by what you write but what you do, Amanda. The two—as I have seen in Notes—are completely congruent. You are teaching by example. Thank you!

Almost the hardest part for me is making myself go on Notes to put this into action...

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bee choi's avatar

what timing. i saw the impact that a recommendation can have and doubled my humble subscriber base. i now feel a bit paralyzed. i'm overly worried that the post i plan to publish tomorrow is far from what they expect based on the substack they found me through. however, the tips you share, especially how to use notes and write clearer headlines gives me a wonderful boost. if i lose any i can bring more on board! 🙏👏🏼

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Amanda B. Hinton's avatar

You’ve got this, bee!! ☀️☀️☀️

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Michelle Spencer (she/her)'s avatar

Thank you for your always insightful guidance Amanda.

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Amanda Cooke's avatar

What Michelle said 🫶🏼

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Donna McArthur's avatar

This is pure gold, thank you Amanda! I change my header with every email and this article gave me an idea of where to put an offer I have for my paid subscribers.

Your alternative headlines are so good! I appreciate the input on that.

After attending your recent workshop I plan to work on my nudges. This is a Note I have not yet used. While it lines up with my general way of showing up it is not specific to the message of my newsletter which is about learning to hear our inner voice and having the courage to follow it. I am going to tailor future Notes to be more streamlined with that message.

Anyway...I'll just leave this hear for the rest of us since I won't post it.

Good Morning!

Today we are remember that most people are trying their hardest, grief and joy can exist at the same time, and moving our body is like a massage for our brain.

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Martin Hughes's avatar

Detailed and thorough stuff, Amanda. Thanks for the wealth of ideas to jump off and work with.

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Jen Zug's avatar

You are so great at titles. Does the “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmitt and Me” essay exist? Because I would read that! 😂 I love your header/footer suggestions, too. My footer is pretty static, so I will think about how I can change it up periodically.

I sometimes wonder about using the actual headers/footers versus adding the text to the top and bottom in the essays, because headers/footers don’t show up when folks read in the app. For that reason, in my header I welcome readers to another edition of Pretend You’re Good At It, including my tagline. I figure if people are reading in the app, they know where they are. But if they are opening an email, they might need a reminder as to the context of who I am and why I’m in their inbox.

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Amanda B. Hinton's avatar

There's definitely a case to be made for the headers and footers not being relied on TOO heavily. However, right now, the majority of my posts are still read in email, so I think it's worth it to have some in-house, information-sharing strategy. You should check your last 5 - 10 posts to see how they were viewed; that could help you brainstorm a bit more confidently.

Also, no, the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmitt essay doesn't exist — but it has been rolling around in my head for two years. Maybe it'll come to life before Evagene graduates from elementary school. ;-)

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Debbie Weil's avatar

Amanda, love your ideas for what to put in an email header to free subscribers. Thank you!

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Mesa Fama's avatar

Thank you for sharing this, Amanda!

Especially the information about headers/footers (those have confounded me from the beginning).

I love using Notes for announcements and to share things that are on my mind as it relates to my writing or having human moments. Some of more successful notes were people focused.

Here’s an example: https://substack.com/@mesa/note/c-65520900?r=u0g4m&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

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Amanda B. Hinton's avatar

Loved that note, Mesa!!!

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Mesa Fama's avatar

Thanks, Amanda :)

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