I've been publishing here for almost 2 months and I revisited my description last night. Tweaked and streamlined it....and got rewarded with 3 new subscribers in just 2 hours!!
Great reminder to check all the things that you may have just filled out in the beginning but forgot, or maybe, like mine, your newsletter topics have shifted. Well done!
Karen, I appreciated the "set it and forget it" reference in the subtitle. Is that a Ronco reference?! This article is the bomb, thank you for writing it! Had to read it twice :)
Glad you liked it Rose. I would counsel you to be more specific: "Monday musings on x, y and z from a [two or three word description, e.g. rebellious Idaho grandmother; washed-up rocker; Millennial drop-out; single mother of poodles, water-skiing dad of six] writing a memoir."
This is excellent advice. It reminds me, however, of what a square peg I am in a round world. Much of my series chronicles my transition out of academe, including critiques of the failing system of higher ed and personal notes on grief. However, part of the recovery has been turning toward my own curiosity with interviews, craft essays that show proof of concept for my coaching business, and my own memoir and poetry. So I think I could use the XX YY formula if I were speaking either to folks disenchanted with higher ed OR to people looking for craft resources. But I'm kind of speaking to both at once, or to each at different times. This is definitely *not* a best practice on Substack, but it's a choice I've made to prioritize my own interests and to avoid becoming a more one-dimensional writer. I'm still struggling with it.
The best I could come up with for The Recovering Academic is "Notes on life after academe with exclusive interviews, essays, and craft resources."
On another note, I really like the templates that Jessica Abel describes in Out on the Wire. She describes a different XY formula: I'm doing a story on X. What's interesting about it is Y. Finding the right "Y" is really hard. But I could see that formula working for Substack descriptions.
Thanks Karen. Good tip. Do you still have telephone consultations? I would be interested in that, as I don't find Substack as easy to navigate as what some people say. Could you let me know, how much it would be, and how I would pay you?
I like it, Lisa! It's definitely not too long. It does a good job of saying who you are writing for.
I would swap "from an award-winning writer" with something that qualifies you as an expert homesteader. Except for literary essay newsletters no one really cares if you are a good writer or not... what they want to know is, have you got lived experience of your topic.. why would they trust/enjoy/believe your tips and tales?
Yeah, on second thought, this is taking me in the wrong direction. Words like "homesteading" and "foodie" can be so misleading. We don't have acreage, animals, and a pole barn, and neither am I jetting all over tasting the world's best cuisine. I find both those models just not obtainable for the average person, and increasingly so as we slowly collapse. Our point is that you can practice "homesteading" skills no matter where you are in life, age-wise and in terms of location--we're on 1/4 acre in the city, and we're not young. Here's what I had previously even though it does repeat "garden" 3X:
Brunette Gardens
Gardening and garden-based eating at empire's end.
LOL, maybe this:
Brunette Gardens
You can practice "homesteading" skills no matter where you are in life, age-wise and in terms of location - we're on 1/4 acre in the city, and we're not young! But we are experienced. Our platinum-certified yard was nothing but lawn 7 years ago.
But I realize you're busy and do this for a living. I just added myself to your wait list.
Yeah i share @JoshuaDoležal comments on the on the XX YY formula and i was thinking it from the point of view of Podcasts that are sometimes all over the place in terms of topics but nevertheless they might be super popular. I wonder if that is something that can be translated to writing or is something that just simply works for video and podcasts better
I've been publishing here for almost 2 months and I revisited my description last night. Tweaked and streamlined it....and got rewarded with 3 new subscribers in just 2 hours!!
Nice one! You're on fire, Abigail 😀
Definitely makes a difference
Great reminder to check all the things that you may have just filled out in the beginning but forgot, or maybe, like mine, your newsletter topics have shifted. Well done!
Karen, I appreciated the "set it and forget it" reference in the subtitle. Is that a Ronco reference?! This article is the bomb, thank you for writing it! Had to read it twice :)
I will put Monday musings from a memoir writer who overcame emotional over-eating. That's basically what the memoir is about.
Thank you for this. It couldn't have arrived at a better time as I was about to update my description!
Really helpful tips! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much Karen! This is exactly the information I need. I'm going to put "Monday musings from someone writing a memoir."
Glad you liked it Rose. I would counsel you to be more specific: "Monday musings on x, y and z from a [two or three word description, e.g. rebellious Idaho grandmother; washed-up rocker; Millennial drop-out; single mother of poodles, water-skiing dad of six] writing a memoir."
Love it and great advice Karen! One of my favorite things is naming new projects, businesses, blogs, etc. And then coming up with great taglines.
Some of the ones you've mentioned here are fantastic.
This is excellent advice. It reminds me, however, of what a square peg I am in a round world. Much of my series chronicles my transition out of academe, including critiques of the failing system of higher ed and personal notes on grief. However, part of the recovery has been turning toward my own curiosity with interviews, craft essays that show proof of concept for my coaching business, and my own memoir and poetry. So I think I could use the XX YY formula if I were speaking either to folks disenchanted with higher ed OR to people looking for craft resources. But I'm kind of speaking to both at once, or to each at different times. This is definitely *not* a best practice on Substack, but it's a choice I've made to prioritize my own interests and to avoid becoming a more one-dimensional writer. I'm still struggling with it.
The best I could come up with for The Recovering Academic is "Notes on life after academe with exclusive interviews, essays, and craft resources."
On another note, I really like the templates that Jessica Abel describes in Out on the Wire. She describes a different XY formula: I'm doing a story on X. What's interesting about it is Y. Finding the right "Y" is really hard. But I could see that formula working for Substack descriptions.
https://jessicaabel.com/xy-story-formula/
Thanks Karen. Good tip. Do you still have telephone consultations? I would be interested in that, as I don't find Substack as easy to navigate as what some people say. Could you let me know, how much it would be, and how I would pay you?
Hi Rose, I'd be delighted to help! The consultations are $20 for 40 minutes and you can book your slot here: https://karencherry.gumroad.com/l/help-with-Substack
Hi Karen, looking forward to our one-on-one tomorrow. If you can pls re-send link to log in will appreciate, thanks!
I love Elizabeth's formula!
I thought my description was good until I read this! You made me realize I repeated our Substack name in the description. Is this better?
Brunette Gardens
Where homesteading foodies find tips and tales to help them navigate a collapsing empire. From an award-winning writer and sometimes her husband.
Too long? Does length matter? I'm much better at essays than marketing.
I like it, Lisa! It's definitely not too long. It does a good job of saying who you are writing for.
I would swap "from an award-winning writer" with something that qualifies you as an expert homesteader. Except for literary essay newsletters no one really cares if you are a good writer or not... what they want to know is, have you got lived experience of your topic.. why would they trust/enjoy/believe your tips and tales?
Yeah, on second thought, this is taking me in the wrong direction. Words like "homesteading" and "foodie" can be so misleading. We don't have acreage, animals, and a pole barn, and neither am I jetting all over tasting the world's best cuisine. I find both those models just not obtainable for the average person, and increasingly so as we slowly collapse. Our point is that you can practice "homesteading" skills no matter where you are in life, age-wise and in terms of location--we're on 1/4 acre in the city, and we're not young. Here's what I had previously even though it does repeat "garden" 3X:
Brunette Gardens
Gardening and garden-based eating at empire's end.
LOL, maybe this:
Brunette Gardens
You can practice "homesteading" skills no matter where you are in life, age-wise and in terms of location - we're on 1/4 acre in the city, and we're not young! But we are experienced. Our platinum-certified yard was nothing but lawn 7 years ago.
But I realize you're busy and do this for a living. I just added myself to your wait list.
This is very helpful! Thanks!
Yeah i share @JoshuaDoležal comments on the on the XX YY formula and i was thinking it from the point of view of Podcasts that are sometimes all over the place in terms of topics but nevertheless they might be super popular. I wonder if that is something that can be translated to writing or is something that just simply works for video and podcasts better