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Amanda works with top Substack publications, bestselling authors and creative entrepreneurs as a publishing strategist — bringing together data, audience insight, voice and intuitive wayfinding to help build a body of work that works in harmony with publishing best practices and grows in a sustainable way.
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If you missed our live stream, the replay is here!
and I dove deep into why most Substack first impressions don’t work — and more importantly, what to do about it.Most folks treat their Substack like abstract poetry, expecting readers to decode what they’re about. It’s like my friend
learned as she was moving from writing poetry to prose: “stop ending things with jazz hands.” (Read Nancy’s Cave of the Heart interview here.) Instead of expecting your audience to figure out what they’re supposed to do next, it’s important to bring things to completion and offer a next step. Inside our Substack first impressions, we’re not writing poems in a vast, mysterious place; we’re inviting people into our work. And invitations need to be clear.Here’s Laura’s Framing About Why First Impressions Matter (More Than You Think)
In those first 5 seconds, readers are asking themselves one question: “Is this worth any more of my time, energy or headspace?”
They’re not deciding if they’ll subscribe. They’re not even deciding if they’ll read your work. They’re just deciding if they’ll stick around for the next 5 to 10 seconds.
If they can’t immediately see the connection, they’re gone. No second chances. No “let me dig deeper to figure this out.” Just... bounce.
Most first impressions fail because they:
Remove no friction (readers hit barriers everywhere)
Create confusion (vague bios like “writer, dreamer, coffee lover”)
Feel like work (too much jazz hands, not enough direction)
The fix? Giving direction is as important as creating connection when you’re hoping someone signs up or upgrades to your Substack publication:
If you take away all the barriers to someone doing the thing you want them to do and point them in a direction, conversion increases massively.
What We Covered
Laura brought her 10+ years of sales page and marketing expertise to break down exactly what readers are looking for in:
Personal bios — Make it so specific that “nobody could copy and paste your bio and put it under their name and it’d still be true.” Stop with the generic coffee lover descriptions.
Publication descriptions — Balance credibility with relatability. You need readers to trust you, but not feel like you’re so far above them that they can’t connect.
Home pages — Think strategically about what you pin. Don’t make readers click through three paywalled posts before they can experience your work. Laura suggested even using emojis or “unlocked” in headlines to make free content obvious.
About pages — These are “the soul of your business, the soul of your writing” and “an anchor” that brings you back to your purpose. Write them for readers AND for yourself.
Welcome emails — Your job is to reconnect readers to that moment when they thought “yes, I want more of this.” Keep it short. They haven’t fully committed yet—they just don’t want to forget you exist.
The biggest insight?
The bulk of the work [inside your Substack first impressions] is in removing friction, confusion, rejection — all of the stuff that nobody wants to feel. If you can just be clear and simple and give direction and be a human, you will be so far ahead of most people. - Laura Robinson
A Huge Thank You
I’m so glad Laura got to share her marketing expertise with us today. She’s been such a generous collaborator in this season of my business. Her sales page template has been a go-to resource (I used it for my publishing coaching page!) and having her perspective on what actually converts (vs. what we think should work) was invaluable.
What Should We Do Next?
Laura and I had such a blast doing this, and we want to know what would be most helpful for you:
What’s your biggest first impression challenge right now?
Drop it in the comments — we might tackle it in our next session!
Thank you
, , , , , who was with us in spirit (thanks for introducing us!) and many others for tuning into my live video with !
