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How I make my Substack newsletter work for and in my business
When I decided to move my small business newsletter to Substack in late 2022, I did so because I wanted to build more community around my newsletter and because I liked the idea of creating additional resources for paid subscribers. But from the beginning I’ve also been really clear about wanting my Substack newsletter to be more than justmy newsletter—I wanted it to be for my business as well as part of my business.
In this post, I share how to make your newsletter work for and in your business, whether you’re on Substack or not.
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Your newsletter as a marketing tool
If you have a newsletter you’ll probably will have started it for marketing purposes. You might genuinely love writing, or maybe you use your newsletter only for shop updates, or you’ve just heard that a newsletter is a good thing to have for your business (which it is).
Newsletters are a great marketing tool, because people sign up for them deliberately and because they bring you directly into someone’s inbox.
Yet newsletter growth is slow for many small business newsletter. So often I work with small business owners who are excited about setting up their newsletter and then…crickets. Their family members sign up, maybe two or three friends. I’ve been here. It took me two and a half years to get to 250 subscribers (and bizarrely, I’m now at nearly ten times that number).
Your newsletter is a chance to create a personal connection and to be a human in someone’s inbox.
There is a slower, gentler and more profitable way of running your business.
Discover your way of doing your business with my 1:1 mentoring support.
No hacks, no hustle.
Instead: marketing and launching that is slow, gentle and gets results. Clear boundaries and priorities that encourage you to live a life next to your business. Accountability and support to help you create the live and business you crave.
Slow growth can be so disheartening, but remember: you don’t need thousands of people on your list. And, the people that are on your newsletter list really want to be on your list. I’d much rather have 250 people that really want to be on my list, than 1,000 social media followers (which I never had, I think).
I will often tell my clients that their small business newsletter can really stand out from the crowd and the noise. Because your newsletter is not like Amazon’s newsletters, or like emails with dental bills, or like reminders to rate your hairdresser on Google. Your small business newsletter is a chance to create a personal connection, to be a human in someone’s inbox.
If my newsletters and free resources resonate with you, I might just be the right mentor for you. I don’t believe in 10-step-plans, or get rich quick schemes. I do believe that it is possible to create and run a business that fits you and your life: your values and rhythms, your strengths and passions. I strongly believe that you don’t need to do all the things, or be on all the channels to make your business work.
I’m here to help you feel more supported in your business. I’m here to give you the confidence to run your business from that place of deep inner knowing inside of you, offering my signature blend of mindset shifts and practical steps.
Your newsletter as part of your business
But the secret to having an effective newsletter that feels genuinely good to write, is to have it be more than a marketing tool.
An effective, joyful newsletter is an intricate part of your business. It is an organic part not just of your marketing but of your offerings, your products and services.
For me, this means that I see my newsletter as offering exactly what I do through my products and 1:1 mentoring, just at a different degree. Whether it’s my newsletter, 1:1 mentoring, my group programme Marketing without social media or the self-paced course Substack for small business owners, freelancers and creatives, all of these provide the same thing: my support to help you create a slow, gentle and profitable business. What differs is the level and extent of support, which is naturally far greater in 1:1 mentoring than in my free newsletters.
Having your newsletter be an organic part of your business has two benefits:
- It makes your audience truly familiar with what you provide and especially with your vision, values and approach. Whenever people are considering working with me through 1:1 mentoring, I always recommend that they read my newsletters if they haven’t done so already, to get a sense of me, of my values and approach.
- It makes it much easier to come up with topics. When you no longer see your newsletter as additional to your business, but part of your business, everything you do in your business becomes a possible topic (yes, even if you run a product-based business). Every question from a (potential) client, every decision you make about materials, every choice you make in how you run your business, becomes a possible topic.
In my recently relaunched course Substack for small business owners, freelancers and creatives I explain how this works in more detail, and give an example of what this looks like in a product-based business (Curious? Click the video below for a peek at the behind-the-scenes video).
In addition to 3 foundational videos and 2 update videos with new Substack features, Substack for small business owners, freelancers and creatives now also includes a bonus behind-the-scenes video in which I share how I use Substack for and in my business. That video includes my strategy, but also how I’m building community and how I’m setting boundaries around Substack for myself.
I’d love to know which of these strategies to feel more supported in your business you’ve tried, and which you’re going to try out? I’d love to know!
Please feel free to share this post it with business friends, in your newsletter or on social media. 💛
I’d love to support you in all phases of your business. Providing clarity, focus and next steps is something that my clients tell me I’m really good at. If you’re curious about how we can work together through 1:1 mentoring, check out what I offer or send me an email–no strings attached. I have payment plans available, and flexible options for mentoring calls (30 or 60 minutes).
Join the newsletter club for more like this
Sign up with your email address to receive strategies, experiments and tips to create a slow, gentle and profitable business–no hustle, no hacks.