27 Comments
May 24, 2023Liked by Astrid Bracke

This looks absolutely brilliant! I love how visual you've made the course, it really does feel anti-overwhelm and very valuable for anyone wanting to start using Substack for their business!

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Thank you Alice for your kind words 💛

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May 26, 2023Liked by Astrid Bracke

Can’t wait to get started Astrid ✨✨🙌🏻

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Yay, thank you for letting me know and enjoy! ✨

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Thank you so much for this - and for making it so affordable! I have just binge watched the whole thing and I am going to implement forthwith! I was most excited to see that there are Substacks that are artist based and focus on the images, not on the words. I love writing but it terrifies me so being able to share my art without having to write is so freeing! Thank you...

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Thank you Nathalie for buying the course and for letting me know how much you enjoyed it! Would it be okay with you if I use your words as a testimonial? Other people love hearing what someone thought about a product before they buy :)

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Hi Astrid, yes of course you can use what I wrote! I hope that it helps to convert lots of people! I haven't been into my account recently as I have been so busy with other work but when I had a quick glance after having been through your course, I saw that there was work to do! So will start on it this weekend...

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Thank you Nathalie and have fun! ✨

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This is great! I re-started my newsletter (on Mailchimp) in February and I'm barely at the point where I have a bit of a monthly rhythm going. I don't think switching at this point makes sense but I am drawn to Substack so I will probably invest in your course so I can understand the possibilities better.

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Thank you for the kind words Ana: do let me know if I can help you if you want to talk through making the move or not. In technical terms, switching over is really easy, but it all depends on what you want from Substack of course.

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The course was great, Astrid! I am still undecided in terms of why I would do it more than how to do it. How does it all fit into my content/website ecosystem? In searching for Substacks about photography I found that many of them are written by men so there could be an opportunity there... I just can't figure out where it fits. Any advice would be highly appreciated!

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I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed the course Ana! I might have shared this before, but last year I wrote a post about my own ecosystem (which at that point didn't yet include Substack but it did include my newsletter): https://astridbracke.com/the-marketing-strategy-that-works-for-me-in-2022/

I tried to visualise for myself how things fit together: for example, for me, Substack is about sending my newsletter and as such getting closer connection to people and sharing about my business--it's also a way in which I'm building community, which is a key value. And now, the paid subscriptions are an income stream. And apart from all that, I love being on here and feel inspired by it.

That so many photography Substacks are written by men is reason enough to start yours I'd say 😉 As for how it fits, perhaps instead of thinking that it has to be capital-u-unique, what is it that you want to share? What and for whom? You'll bring your own perspective no matter what. If you'd like some more formal/structured support with this, we can also have a 1:1 call sometime this month or next--I have space if you're interested in it (no pressure at all of course): https://astridbracke.com/smallbusinessmentoring/

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I had read your blog post before but somehow NOW is when it's finally sinking in. I think I'm understanding. And, best of all, I can envision how this can work for me. 🎉🎉🎉

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Yay, I’m so happy that it’s clicking for you Ana! Excited to see where you go next :)

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This:

>>instead of thinking that it has to be capital-u-unique, what is it that you want to share? What and for whom?<<

Excellent point!!

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How exciting - congratulations! x

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Thank you Jan! x

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Yay! This is the exciting. It was actually your blog pst about Substack that I first read when I had the idea of moving my newsletter to this space.

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Thank you Linn, and I'm happy to have inspired you! x

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Hi Astrid,

I have yet to do your course but I have noticed that you have a pop up on your website to sign up to your Substack newsletter. How do one set this up?

I can only seem to see the code to add to pages / blog posts. I would greatly appreciate your help as I am wanting for my Substack newsletter to be my main newsletter going forward.

Thanks again x

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Hi Linn,

Yes, this is a good question and at the same time the main (only?) downside for me in using Substack as a marketing platform. It doesn't as yet offer an easy-to-use pop-up like Flodesk, Mailerlite, etc. do.

There are many pop-up builders that you can install as a plugin on your website and in which you can either copy + paste the code of the Substack-form, or in which you can include a link that directs to your newsletter sign-up page or even to your Substack page. Alternatively, you can code a pop-up from scratch and put the code in--which is what my partner did for me.

I hope this helps even though it's somewhat of an unsatisfactory answer perhaps!

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Hi Astrid. Aww that makes sense when you say that your pop up is custom made. Clever. I do wish they had that as an option and when I saw your I thought I might have missed something.

I will have to see what work around I can figure out. Thank you for your answer. Much appreciated,

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This sounds great Astrid!! I’ll share this with my community too. Cx

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Thank you Claire! x

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I’ve got a post going out in two weeks I’ve popped it in. ✨🎈✨🏷️

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That is so kind of you, thank you for spreading the joy! Have a lovely weekend ✨

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Oh, that sounds exciting Vanessa! I think Substack would be a lovely way of embracing the capaciousness of your life and interests, and combine your way with words with your beautiful photographs (and maybe some pottery updates too? Or gardening?--ok, now I'm just being selfish... 😉) x

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