The Owner of NYC's Famed Bottom Line Night Club Asked My Husband What It Was Like to be Married to Lucy...
As In Lucille Ball in "I Love Lucy." I'll tell you.
Substack advised me to do the following:
1. Share your personal story.
Who you are, why you’re making this Substack, why now.
Who am I, why am I making this Substack and WHY NOT NOW? The odds are good that my personal story is weirder than yours. You may want to know how that affected me and how that might have affected you. For example, and this is true: My brother is a convicted felon. But I’m the black sheep of the family.
2. Tell readers what to expect.
What will you post about, how often, details about paid subscription, etc.
I’ll TRY TO POST ONCE A WEEK. I’LL POST ABOUT ME, UNLESS I WANT TO POST ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE. I’M NOT GOING TO SEEK PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS YET, BECAUSE FIRST YOU HAVE TO LIKE ME… and WHAT IM WRITING ABOUT.
3. Use subscribe buttons and calls to action.
Make it easy for your readers to support you!
OKAY… GOING TO POST SOME STUFF TODAY AND ASK YOU ABOUT IT IN MY NEXT SUBSTACK POST. OR, MAYBE YOU’LL COMMENT ABOUT IT!
SUBSTACK ALSO ADVISED ME TO INCLUDE THIS:
1. Why this, why now
Tell your readers why you are launching this space. What brought you here and what inspired you to do it now. Think of it as a mini personal manifesto.
Because I’m like Lucy and she made people laugh. Also because I used to be tortured and tormented, but now I’m old! So I no longer have black moods and scare people. Now I’d rather make people smile and laugh. But don’t go thinking that being old is so great. And I’m gonna tell you why it’s not so great. As in, consider the alternative.
2. What kind of community are you looking to build here
You are not just starting a newsletter when you start a Substack, you are starting a community. You are inviting people to subscribe to your thinking. What kind of space will this be?
I’m going to build a cult, awright? And you’re all gonna be part of it.
Oy vey. I dont want to build a cult andI dont want to lead one.
All I can think about after I wrote that is the 2024 Presidential Election.
I’ll stick to being Lucy. And getting out the vote but not for that stable orange genius cult figure.
3. Be specific
Readers love clarity. Be clear when you explain what they should expect: how often will you be posting? Can they expect certain posts on specific days? What will the free subscribers get? What does a paid subscription buy them? (You can list these benefits in bullets.)
I don’t know answers to any of the above yet. As soon as I do I will let you all know. As of now, this is free, and I will make an effort to post once a week, hopefully on Friday.
4. Use an image and “subscribe” buttons
A picture will look nicer when you share the post on your social media (click the image icon in the editor to search for copyright-free photos), and it will give color to your archive as you build it.
Yeah, okay.
5. Ignore our advice
There is no one true way to go about building a Substack. This is your playground, experiment with it. If you’re having fun, your readers will too.
(But trust us on the “subscribe” buttons!)
i want to be in the cult!!! ohhhh shit just realised i already have been for many months now
such an original first post and rather than wonder why before now you haven't brought your memories friendships travels experiences delight to this community full bore and not just in comments i'll never know but suffice to say fucking looking forward to THIS
will listen to the songs here as the thunder rumbles overhead but mild got all the doors open
love you Amy!!!!
All right! There you are. Last did get me up out of my chair, dancing, and you will thank me for not posting a video of the effort. Please do not disappear behind a pay wall too early, I can’t wait to keep up with you!