Start Here: Launch / Reset Field Guide (1/3)
Find your focus, choose a path and make your next best move.
A lot of people are being forced (or finally allowed) to build their publishing life independently right now. This footnote will tell you about the guidance I’m offering Washington Post journalists right now.1
When the institutional container disappears — editors, slots, distribution, built-in cadence, even the subtle social proof of a masthead — your work doesn’t just need a platform. It needs a scaffolding that can actually hold it.
If you’re launching a new Substack publication (or resetting one that’s lost coherence), here’s the process I use inside the Substack Publication Intensive.
This is for writers, founders, journalists and public-facing experts who:
care about editorial substance (not content sludge)
already have an online presence somewhere (or a clear path to one)
want their publication to become a real business asset: income, offers, books, speaking, clients, community or professional footprint
This is not “post consistently and hope.” This is craft-forward scaffolding.
Foundations — what are you actually building?
Goal of this phase: clarity + coherence. Before you worry about growth, you need a structure that makes your work legible and repeatable.
1) Online Ecosystem Audit
What to do: Write down everywhere you have a substantive presence online (not one-off links).
Include:
places you control (website, email list, podcast, social)
places where your voice is regularly heard even if you don’t control the room (communities, professional groups, recurring columns, etc.)
Then estimate the size of each space: subscribers, followers, members, downloads, average views.
What matters here: We’re mapping the pull of attention — where your audience already gathers and what you can realistically centralize through organized messaging inside your publication.
If you want your work on Substack to make money, you need a plan for attention movement, not just great writing.
Common trap: treating Substack like it generates attention from scratch. It can help — but it’s strongest when it has something to pull from.
2) Publication Value Proposition
What to do: Write your value proposition in one sentence that’s not “essays + access to me.”
Then write a second sentence that answers: What changes for the reader if they subscribe?
Finally:
list 3 comparable publications
name how yours is meaningfully different (promise, angle, format, worldview, tone, methodology)
What matters here: On Substack, “good writing” is table stakes. The competitive advantage is fierce now.
Your reader needs to immediately understand why your inbox space is worth it.
Common trap: confusing “topic” with “promise.” Plenty of people write about the same things. Very few can say what actually happens to the reader here.
3) Audience Work
What to do: Define 1 – 2 core reader personas. Ask yourself:
Who are they?
What are they navigating?
Why would they trust an individual voice here?
What do they already read?
What would make them stay?
What would make them pay?
If you have an email list or social audience, scan replies/comments for repeated language patterns.
What matters here: Audience dynamics are changing fast: attention fragmentation, trust shifting away from institutions and people craving signal over noise.
“Everyone” is not a business model. Clarity here prevents you from writing into the void — and it prevents you from building paid offers on guesses.
4) Creative Direction + Design Aesthetic
What to do: Name 3 – 5 recurring themes you can write from for a year.
Choose 1 – 2 formats you’ll return to:
essay, dispatch, interview, field notes, annotated links, etc.
Decide what you want readers to feel when they open your work.
If you don’t have a substantial design budget, that’s not a huge problem in newsletter spaces — just don’t let the aesthetic become chaotic. Err toward a simple design container that matches your voice (color, imagery, tone, section naming).
What matters here: Your creative identity has to show up consistently in the publication — not just in a single strong post.
Substack makes coherence easier than most platforms. You can rely on that while you’re launching or resetting.
Common trap: trying to “brand” before you’ve clarified the editorial shape. Design should amplify signal, not substitute for it.
Up next (Parts 2 and 3)
Part 2 is coming on Wednesday and it’s where we talk about shaping your Substack publication: publishing queue + launch plan, first impressions, a sane nudge cycle and network strategy.
I’m talking to journalists and independent creators who are in career pivots and creative transition. If you need support now, check my calendar and book a Substack Gut Check.
