Lulu Cheng is Hosting a Twitter Spaces for Substack Tips
Twitter Space Audio event today at 18:00
Hey Guys,
Just a quick note, I’ve come to really enjoy Lulu Cheng’s Twitter Spaces with Substack Creators and to the world about PR for Substack. She often teams up with investing writers to share about the economy and bigger issues.
However today’s Twitter Space is a bit different. Read on.
You can follow her on Twitter here. @lulumeservey
So for context you might enjoy this: (click this if you want to see the video by Chris Best being interviewed by Yahoo).
Today they are doing a Twitter Space that will feature Hamish among other internal Substack experts on the Newsletter craft.
Audio Space at 6:00 pm.
So this is just a reminder if you want to tune in:
This could be useful for some of us Creators perhaps.
For me personally I resonate most with Hamish in terms of the Substack co-founders, employees and leaders since he actually has a journalism and writing background. Still these topics seem oddly useful for Substack’s internal audience.
I may update this post and cover some of the debate and sharing (if I happen to catch it, no promises).
Instead why not just listen on Twitter while you work or eat your dinner? I am imagining Lulu meant 6pm EST, but who knows.
I hope you are all having a great week!
Heads-Up
The Twitter Space starts in 5 min.
Let’s go!
This was all edited while the Event was on-going:
The Twitter Space Event
Live Link. (I have no idea how to link a Twitter Space, haha).
How to Build an Audience on Substack
Linda said you ideally already have 1000 true fans (cult niche following).
Substack mostly caters to skilled writers thus far.
The ability to be consistent is rather important.
More Substack experts joined the room…
Top Tips - how to succeed and grow
You need a good way of describing to your readers what you want this to be (clarity)
Hanne: one-liner, about page, very clear value proposition.
Framing a compelling value proposition
Christina: having a unique viewpoint (Unpublishable - Jessica)
Lulu: is that similar to finding a niche?
Sophia: To just start writing and create intimacy between writer and reader. If you build it they will come. Learn by doing. Addictive to building a strong connection with your audience.
To actually love doing it! (w/ velvety voice).
Katie: Starting on Substack and growing on Substack are two different things.
Who is showing up and why are they showing up? (Cognitively clear on the WHY)
Linda: Produce great content and make friends! (e.g. Finance writers with topic overlap and Twitter cross-pollination).
Writers often find “networking” is the best Substack Grow takeaway.
Boosting each other from 1 to 1,000 free subscribers.
Hamish: Don’t overthink it, just enjoy get feedback, keep iterating and find your groove.
Mistakes
Don’t put everything beyond the Paywall (Hanne)
Put the main stage concert for free (backstage pass for paid)
Keep some of your best content (if not all) free for all.
You want your readers to fall in love with you (the free) and others to get married to you (paid).
(Linda) Monday to Thursdays has the best open-rates, but there is no Formula.
It’s different for every audience (Linda).
Noah Smith (Lulu) says growing your free subscriber list is the critical thing.
Twitter isn’t the only way to grow your Substack.
(Linda) is Bullish on LinkedIn, as an alternative to Twitter if not finance.
Think laterally about what the other places work: Reddit, Facebook Groups, etc…
On Self-Promotion / Tips
Writers dislike self-promotion as a rule (Sophia)
How you use social media / you should show your work (reward readers who share your work).
Get over self-promotion shyness. “Giving yourself a promotion” (Hamish)
Personalizing how you share to your super readers can work wonders. (a Substack writer does this)
Make friends within the Substack ecosystem, cross-promoting your work. (Christina).
(Hanne) You are creating your own Universe (microcosm) with your readers to share. You can share this in a genuine way.
About 125 in the Twitter Space at this point.
(Lulu) articulate the value you are offering
How do you actually tell that to people? (Reddit groups, on Twitter, other things you are doing)
Introducing your personal brand with authority and social proof (as an expert or at least with experience)
Share credentials
Doomberg go on a ton of Podcasts, establish yourself as an expert by participating in events, podcasts, etc…
Mike Sowden on going “viral”
Turned Newsletter into Twitter Threads
Curiosity inducing WoWs
Going viral on Twitter can accelerate free subscriptions
Found a strategy to go viral that is “fun”
Has been a writer and travel writer for 10+ years
Finds Twitter threads very relaxing
Reached 9 million views on a single Twitter thread that gave him 6k (?) free subs?
He has accelerated free signups via Twitter threads.
He now has 40k Twitter followers.
(Linda) Make a Twitter thread, has a hook, has the link to your Substack near the end.
Crypto writer Dan Held is good at this.
Case study:
Posting screenshots can be a quick way to create an infographic on Twitter in Finance/Investing/Crypto.
Screen-shots of the start of a Substack on Instagram is also a tactic that can work.
Who Should go Paid?
(Christina) Start paid so you can monetize right from the start. Even if you don’t yet write behind a paywall, offer your audience a way to support you.
(Katie) Having time to grow your free list, having paid on but not yet behind the paywall.
Paid content can create “pressure” on writers, so take your time.
What Should be Paid?
(Katie) Writers thinking there is a trick of what to do behind the paywall (not necessarily).
Literature writers often think "serializing” behind the paywall is expected
Could be research, interviews and other stuff behind, instead.
If not sure if committed, reason not to turn paywall on.
A million reasons why your audience might want to pay you, to get a more intimate relationship with you (e.g. backstage pass feeling).
(Hanne) Backstage snippet that builds intimacy
Community (inner circle benefits)
Don’t put star content that could give you new readers behind a paywall
Ideal vs. Benefit
What are you supporting, furthering in the world and helping to be a part of as a paid subscriber?
Access
Intimacy
What are you helping to build?
Support the cause
Support “accountability” journalism
e.g.: https://twitter.com/juddlegum
116 at this point.
People tend or can subscribe due to emotional reasons then later rationalize it (Linda).
What is Consistency?
What is a good cadence for writing (Lulu).
(Hamish) 1-3 posts a Week is good. One showpiece (high-quality), and then two shorter ad-hoc posts.
Put the “showpiece” for free. One of the three could even be a discussion thread. Don’t burn yourself out.
Two or three times a week is a pretty good spot to be in.
Heather Cox model:
She writes nearly every night after Teaching
Was doing this on Facebook for free for a while.
Obviously nobody can post each day.
(Hanne) some of the best performing posts are about their projects and writing (that develop intimacy).
“Manifesto” posts.
Re-introducing what you do to your new-ish readers, reminding people what this is.
Posts that frame what you are trying to build as a movement or mission statement.
(Christina) A matter of knowing your audience really well.
(Lulu) Interviews can be your worst or best performing posts, so it’s interesting.
Tactics
How much should I charge?
(Sophia) start low, e.g. $5.00. ($50.00 a year) Pretty elastic once you get a loyal readership that has grown.
Better to charge less and get more people than charge more and get less people!
Many readers in investing/Finance charge it to their work as “education”. So it can be $20 or $40.
(Linda) Higher price means higher churn rates.
In Finance, Wall Street prices are possible (e.g. over $75 a month).
How do you Create a Cult Following?
How do you turn readers into fans?
(Linda) This is a deep question.
How can I create that 1000 true fans? How to make people watch till the end? (YouTube).
Utility: Give people something they can use, helping their life! (e.g. cutting edge of news)
Emotional: Feel connected to you as a person (they identify with you, intimacy)
A good essayist can create an emotional bond with their fans. E.g. advice.
(Sophia) What people pay for is love, the emotional part is very persuasive. People want to support something they feel should exist in the world!
Can readers fall in love with them? Readers want to show gratitude in how that makes them feel.
(Sophia) Freedom with a capital “F”. Use your full creative freedom.
Around 88% of Twitter Space listeners stayed the entire hour, assuming obviously many came and went.
My Take on the Twitter Space
Lulu was a great mod and Linda in particular gave some great advice, although it was nice to hear some of the input from the other experts.
I keep craving more data that would correlate on things for different audiences, but Substack enjoys the case study approach and the very general motivational advice. It is what it is.
Sophia, Hanne and some of the others I’m sure have more lucid opinions that we never got around to hearing.
Lulu’s Twitter Spaces are pretty valuable if you are into the Finance/Investing realm of Twitter.
I’m pretty interested in how Substack portrays itself to early-stage Creators.
Tl;dr: Creating a bond to a “common shared cause” for our readers may be the most critical factor of creating a paid audience.
While Substack Case studies can demonstrate this in hindsight, how to do it for different Niches for new creators isn’t as easy to illustrate.
Internet Princess would not trend as a “mental health essayist” without her TikTok cult fan base, for example. An audience really has to come from somewhere, in spite of Substack Network emergence in 2022.
Anyways guys! Hopefully someone finds this useful out there. Don’t quote me on my notetaking abilities. I just wasn’t sure if Substack will provide recorded versions of the Twitter Space somewhere eventually.
I love these guys, but I got like three data points in one hour (wicked smile). Indeed it was obvious to me that open-rates declined on Friday and the Weekend.
My take: to be customer-centric for Substack employees is not all about telling stories. Sharing data insights that are replicable works much better for many of us in reality!
I’m not totally familiar with Hanne, Christina or Sophia (who work behind the scenes with writers). But it was nice to hear their actionable insights.
Thanks for skimming!
It turns out you can literally play the recording:
In total, 453 turned in. We all have to start somewhere, even Substack’s own events.
