Today’s live was phenomenal! Please listen to the podcast version while you’re cooking this weekend or walking or running or whatever.In my live with the amazing Austin Kleon reminded me that on Substack, we’re writing news-letters.I wanted an expert in letter writing to share how exactly the principles of letter writing could help us be better writers on Substack and write more engaging Substack articles.Lindsay Hurty offered a wealth of advice on how we can use letters and the act of letter writing in many different ways to nurture our subscribers and write better Substack articles. (You can subscribe to her Substack here.)Be sure to listen, too, because the story she tells in the beginning will (if I have anything to do with it) someday be a viral TED Talk.SW@W homepage | Premier homepage | Substack Starter Pack | 24/7 Community Chat | Manage your subscription | Book a 3-Month Substack Growth Package 1:1 with me This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.substackwritersatwork.comBrand sponsorships on Substack aren't just about some sort of weird brand placement that's awkward. It's about rethinking Substack and how you make money on here, and how we support each other in making money. In this episode, I give you everything you need to know about Substack's new brand sponsorships program — how it works, what brands actually want, and how to fill out your Creator Kit strategically, not generically.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

Welcome to our new series for paid subscribers: “The Minimalist’s Guide to Substack.” Declutter your Substack brain and life, so you can actually grow in what is an increasingly crowded Substack landscape.The biggest mistake I see on Substack is people making it way too complicated.Principle #1: Post when you have something worth sending.Each post should pass two tests: Is this something people need right now? Is this something they could get from ChatGPT?Enter the Golden Nugget post.It's an easy, short post you can create when you don't have time for a full, high-quality post. A gift—a book, a song—something that doesn't ask readers to do anything. A full post, not a Note, that comes from a genuine desire to share one thing that means something to you right now. No call to action, no questions for comments. Don't make readers do any work.But a Nugget post isn't about you. It's a gift to your readers—something they can absorb without much effort. The Nugget gives you and your readers breathing room while maintaining connection.Join SW@WBook a Substack Strategy 1:1 with me This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.substackwritersatwork.comNearly 250 paid subscribers came to the monthly paid-subscriber live with Seth Werkheiser of SOCIAL MEDIA ESCAPE CLUB.» I love when we all get to be together.Seth walked us through a 4-step approach to Notes that converts, pulls you out of your comfort zone by showing you how to engage with others, and stops you from feeling like you’re just posting into the void.Listen for more and if you aren't a paid subscriber to Substack Writers at Work, become one: www.substackwritersatwork.com

How your Substack posts land in your reader's inbox matters more than you think. In this live, I walk through what your subscribers actually see when your post arrives, how to find out where you're being read (email, app, or web), and why creating a familiar, consistent post structure is more important now than ever. I also cover what's working with images, why stock photos can devalue your writing, and how to think about your opening lines so readers actually want to stay.https://www.substackwritersatwork.com/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

Part of the Substack Writer at Work Series.In 2026, I’ll be giving paid subscribers and Premier members a taste of the writing guidance I use with my students at Northwestern and my Craft of Writing on Substack course. Today, we dive into Substack writer's block, a unique but common ailment. Substack writer’s block looks like not posting—or posting lifelessly. Or giving up entirely. There are a lot of dead Substacks:Many as a result of “writer’s block.”SW@W homepage» Thank you for being part of the best community on Substack! Please share Substack Writers at Work and invite others to join us for real, long-term Substack growth. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.substackwritersatwork.comNavigating SW@W:SW@W homepage | Premier Membership homepage | 2026 Notes Boost Challenge | Paid/Premier Chat | 2026 Substack Pathway | Upcoming courses & Intensives | Substack Essentials Workshop library | Archive | Index | Guidance on Notes, Growth, Revenue, Writing on Substack, Serialization

Maya C. Popa and I talk about self-promotion for the self-promotion averse.Find out why self-promotion is all about bravely falling backward into a ball pit and why we can blame our dislike of it on the Modernists, Roland Barthes, and the Iowa Writers Workshop. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe