How to Get More Subscribers with a Hero Post

... possibly the best way to showcase your mission and inspire new readers to sign up

Image created with DALL-E

Hi, Happy 2024.

It’s great to be back in your inboxes. Thanks for having me here.

This post was inspired by Tom Orbach of Substack publication Marketing Ideas who wrote about the success of his ‘Hero Post’ for getting new subscribers in this week’s Substack Office Hours.

I’m a huge fan of the hero post and have one on each of my publications. They generate more sign-ups than all my other posts combined. I’m currently writing one for another creator too, so Tom’s comment was timely for me.

What is a Hero Post?

A hero post is pinned at the top of your Substack homepage. It stays there permanently, introducing new readers to you and your publication.

Tom Orbach of Marketing Ideas, says of his pinned post “People keep telling me that it's the #1 thing they saw, and it's the one thing that made them subscribe (since they easily understood what my newsletter is about and where it is going)”.

He’s such a fan of the hero post that he says it is the BEST thing you can do for publication growth.  

Tom’s pinned post features a large sign saying “START HERE”. 

The pinned post on Marketing Ideas’ homepage is the biggest driver of new subscribers, according to its creator, Tom Orbach

My hero post is titled “Helloooo Newsletter Writer!” because I want casual visitors to instantly know exactly who my publication is for (newsletter writers). I’ve used unconventional spelling to convey a casual style and a hint of quirkiness.

Hero posts are permanently pinned to the top of the homepage and serve as an on-page introduction to a publication

Why hero posts work for growth

When a visitor lands on your Substack homepage, you have just 4 seconds to get their attention and assure them that they have landed in the right place. There is nothing more annoying than going to a website and having to work to figure out what its purpose is.

Your homepage needs to be very (very) obvious.  People who are confused by your homepage will just click away.  That’s not what you want. 

When new readers understand your website – why it exists, and why they might be interested – they are more likely to stay.  Clear communication on your homepage helps readers find what they want and creates a positive experience for them.  And happy readers equals more subscribers.

To achieve this level of understanding you need to overcommunicate.  It might feel silly or too ‘dumbed down’ but people expect obvious when they first visit a website.  Don’t forget, it is new visitors you need to appeal to if you want growth. 

If you want readers to stick around, your homepage needs to let visitors know:

• Your publication’s purpose;

• Its benefits for readers;

• What actions people can take.

For example, your publication’s purpose might be to inspire people to cook; its benefits – what the readers get - would be recipes; the action you want them to take is to subscribe.

You can convey your publication’s purpose through its name and the headlines on your homepage. For example, headlines like “How to Make a Cheesecake” and “How to Make a Lemon Tart” convey the purpose of a cooking publication quickly. 

But the most effective way to convey your publication’s purpose and benefits is to create and pin a featured post to the top of your home page. 

Does this work?  In August 2023, in my paid publication, I replaced a pinned hero post of my face titled “Why I Launched This Newsletter” with a post called “Ten Best Posts of This Newsletter (So Far)”.  My growth rate fell dramatically, from around 20% per month to 5% per month.  When I switched back to a hero post, my growth improved again. 

Best practices for hero posts

If your publication’s About page is mostly for the ‘What’ of your newsletter, then the hero post is for the ‘Why’ and the ‘How’.

It’s okay to have some overlap between your About page and your hero post. Many readers don’t bother navigating to an About page, but most will click through to your hero post if they end up on your homepage. At least they will if it has a compelling image and headline.

Your hero post can focus on the mission of your newsletter, such as why you created it, and what you are trying to achieve for your readers; or it can function more as a guide to using your website, perhaps including a directory to help people find their way around.

Choose a compelling title that will encourage casual readers to click. For informational publications with a large archive of knowledge, ‘Start here’ is a great headline. For a new publication try ‘Why I’m launching [publication name]’

Choose the best picture you can find. If your publication is personality-based (hint: most are!), use a photograph of your face as the preview image for the post.  Pictures of faces work because newsletters are about building relationships between readers and writers and it’s easier for readers to trust a person than a company or business.

Include two ‘subscribe’ buttons in your hero post; one near the top of the page and one near the bottom.

What do you want people to do?  Subscribe!

Take inspiration from other publications. Every hero post is different, but the best allow their creators’ voices and personalities to come through loud and clear. Make sure your hero post conveys your unique voice and perspective.

How to pin a hero post to your homepage

To have a pinned post at the top of your homepage, create the post and then publish it without emailing.

After the post is published, find it on your publication dashboard and select ‘Pin on homepage’ from the three-dot menu on the right of your screen.

Publication dashboard > Posts > Three dot menu > Pin on homepage

Set your homepage design settings to include the ‘feature' option, as per the screenshot below. Your pinned post will then appear at the top of your homepage.

To pin a featured post on your homepage, use the ‘Feature’ option in the Hero settings for homepage customization

Publication dashboard > Settings > Website > Site Design > Customize (button) > Hero > Feature (dropdown selection)

There you have it, how to create a ‘hero post’ to educate new website visitors about your Substack publication and inspire them to subscribe.

If you decide to write a hero post, have fun with it. And let me know how you go.

Karen