Field Guide 2/3: Build Your Substack Foundation
First impressions, reader nurture, Notes and a system you can sustain.
Build — shape the publication
Goal of this phase: create a repeatable shipping system and a sane distribution plan — so you don’t confuse readers or burn out your creative core.
5) Publishing Queue + Launch Plan
What to do: Separate launch phase from ongoing rhythm.
Create a 30 – 45 day queue that introduces the work and sets expectations for how readers should interact with it.
Then design a sustainable cadence (what your real life can hold).
Make the transition explicit: tell readers what changes after launch.
What matters here: Launch intensity is not your forever pace.
If you don’t distinguish these two phases, you will either burn out or train your readers to expect a pace you can’t maintain.
Common trap: trying to “act consistent” instead of designing a rhythm that’s actually repeatable.
6) Substack First Impressions
What to do: Review your personal bio, publication description, About page and homepage layout as if you’re a new reader.
Ask:
Do I immediately know why I’m here?
Do I know what this is?
Do I know what to do next?
Could this language be copy/pasted onto someone else’s publication?
What matters here: Substack’s first impressions are robustly standardized across the network: face + publication name + quick path to About/Subscribe.
That consistency is a gift — but only if your positioning is distinct.
Common trap: having a strong writer voice but generic publication language. Your voice has to show up in the structure, not just the essays.
7) Nudge Cycle Plan (Promotion On + Off Substack)
What to do: Choose 2 – 3 promotion channels you can sustain while you’re in launch mode.
A simple stack is plenty:
Substack Notes
one external platform
one relationship channel (DMs, email list, colleagues, community)
Then decide how you will “nudge” a post after it’s published:
day-of
next-day
end-of-week
one evergreen reshare later
What matters here: You still have to move your work through the world.
But you can do it sanely — in a rhythm that honors the work rather than turning you into a brand performing for attention.
Common trap: posting once, watching it sink and calling that “data.” A nudge cycle is what makes the signal visible long enough to learn from it.
8) Network Strategy (Recommendations + Relationships)
What to do: Identify 5 – 10 publications that overlap with your readers without directly competing with your exact promise.
Then:
set recommendations
engage thoughtfully and consistently
reshare work that genuinely aligns
consider guest essays or cross-posting where it makes sense
If you feel stalled, it’s often because you need to shift toward publishing a little less, nudging a little more — and building actual relational adjacency.
What matters here:
Network strategy is one of Substack’s most underrated growth engines — and it’s the least burnouty when you do it through genuine editorial relationship, not transactional swapping.
Common trap: treating recommendations like a growth hack instead of an editorial map. The network is how readers find their way to you—so it needs discernment.
Up next
Part 3 (Sustain) is where we make publishing on Substack more durable: Notes strategy, paid offering design, a monthly publishing check-in and the data literacy that helps you stay steady instead of reactive.
P.S. 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.