7 Tips for Updating Your Stack
Lessons From A Retrospective
It has been over a year and a half since I started writing on Substack. Back then, I started The Wildroot Parables as an extension of my Instagram presence and as a “better way to blog.” But in the time since, the platform has evolved and shifted so far past my original vision, and I have learned SO MUCH from my time here!
When I started my fiction stack—Talebones—this year, I was able to set it up in a way that was informed by the lessons I had learned on the platform. And now, I’m attempting to bring The Wildroot Parables up to speed.
In this guide, I’m going to chronicle the tips and suggestions I’ve learned over the past year-plus, and the things I wish I had done differently when setting up Substack for the first time.
We’ve got a few of these to get through, so let’s go!
Tip #1: Forgive yourself.
The first and best tip, whether you’re starting out or updating a long-running Stack, is to forgive yourself for not getting things “right” the first time. There’s no need to get bogged down in the frustration of not starting off on the right foot. Taking these changes as slow as you need to, and communicating well with your readers as you go, is the best way to learn.
The most ideal time to fix what you need to fix is today, so let’s move forward!
Tip #2: General admin is vital.
As annoying as it is (and it is), it’s vital that you start with a short, snappy, easily understood About page AND clear, concise welcome emails. Do as I say, not as I do; the welcome emails frequently fall out of my radar, so be better than I am at that. Your About email should include, front and center: who you are, what you do, and how often your readers can expect to see stuff from you. That should be at the top. Other than that, you can add as much extra info as you think they need after, but the top portion should be clear for those who simply won’t scroll too far down. Oh, and make sure you’ve got a subscribe button up there, too!
Every time you implement big changes in your structure or schedule, your About page and emails should be the first things you revisit!
Tip #3: Sections are your friend...and your readers’, too!
To be fair, Sections weren’t a thing when I started The Wildroot Parables. But they were launched not too long into my journey, and I really should have learned how to use them a lot faster. If I had a do-over, I would separate my three categories of posts on The WP—devotionals, discussions, and essays—into different Sections and let readers decide which ones they would like to receive emails for. This is a change I probably will implement, though I need to roll it out in such a way that folks don’t get confused.
If you post multiple times per week, Sections can really help you keep everything tidy and let your readers have a bit more control over their experience on your site.
Tip #4: Make sure your paid structure makes sense.
I’ve fought against this SO MUCH during my time with The WP. And I should have known better, because every time I explained it to people in my offline life, they seemed confused about what I was offering. That should have been my first clue. If you can’t explain it to someone you’re sitting across from over coffee, how do you expect a stranger on the Internet to understand it?
Paid perks should be super duper clear. Substack isn’t Patreon; you don’t have to stress about increasingly elaborate tiers and bonuses and perks. But you DO have to be as clear as possible about what people are paying for, if they’re paying at all. Are they supporting what you do? Are they going to receive a perk? How often? Is that going to be too much for them?
My paid folks on Substack aren’t very talkative, so paid-only discussions were a silly thing for me to try and do. And they seemed a bit overwhelmed by extra emails, so when I tried to send them a perk, it wasn’t always well received, and rarely got feedback. These should have taught me a lesson earlier, but I’m finally listening.
What you end up doing for your paid folks is up to you, but make sure it’s crystal clear.
Tip #5: Five dollars a month is a lot.
I know Substack has a minimum because they want us to charge a good price for our work, but yikes. Five dollars a month is a lot to charge people on the regular, especially if you’re unclear about what you’re giving them.
You can use the “Special Offers” tool that Substack provides in the Payment section of the Settings page to permanently knock your price down to whatever you want. On Talebones, I’m asking $2.50/month (or $30/year). To me, that feels a lot comfier for what I can offer. I’ve just changed that over on The WP, as well. Be realistic about what you’re asking your subs to pay, and make sure you’re matching that amount.
Tip #6: Navigation is huge.
We’ve all done it; you land on someone’s Substack, and you’re confronted with an unclear title, a boiler-plate About page, and a bunch of posts that seem disjointed. What does this person write? How can I find what I want?
A dedicated Navigation page, pinned to the top of your homepage, can work wonders for helping people find their way around your site. On this Navigation page you can put links to the most important stuff you want people to find, like the first chapter of your serial, the essay you think captures your style best, or a resource that you know people will like. Tags, Sections, and other pages can be clearly outlined and linked here, too. It may seem like overkill, but you should always make things stupid-easy for people, because what seems obvious to you may NOT be obvious to others.
Tip #7: Be considerate of your reader.
This is the foundation for ALL of the other tips, really. Substack can be a great place to share your personal thoughts and feelings, and test things out. But if you’re hoping for higher engagement and more eyeballs on your work, you really need to think like a reader, landing on your page for the first time. Especially a reader who may not be familiar with Substack.
It may seem silly or infantilizing to you, but it’s really not. You need to overcommunicate. People who are confused will click away, and that’s not what you want. Be clear, be obvious, highlight things you want people to see, and double-down on links to help people navigate. This isn’t about handholding, it’s about courtesy. Your readers are your guests, and you are the host. It is up to YOU to show them around, or they will be lost…and probably just leave.
Conclusion
Substack provides SO MANY amazing tools to help us create amazing sites. And as intimidating as those can feel, especially when they’re brand new, it’s worth learning about them in service of giving your readers an incredible experience while they’re with you.
There’s no “perfect way” to use Substack. But thanks to the framework they’ve given us, we can each find our own ideal. And that’s pretty darn cool.
Thanks for reading, and I hope this was helpful!
Written by S.E. Reid The Wildroot Parables (nonfiction) and Talebones (fiction)