62 Comments

What are office hours? When do they come out and what do I do to engage with them fully? 😆 I’ve been here a year and still don’t get it

Notes too - they’re loud and busy and I don’t know if I like it. It feels like a place I need to show up and perform so people will find and follow me which isn’t what I wanted from here but maybe is also what I need? Who knows 🤔

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Sections truly are a gift to us multi-passionate beings. They can help with clarity around the different threads we are following. It took me awhile to find what each one was and will be but it has helped massively with knowing where what will live. P.S. Receiving own email is a brilliant idea. Thank you.

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It is so comforting to know it took you a while to figure out what to write. I sometimes feel my writing is all over the place and perhaps I am trying to work out what a) interests me and what b) interests my readers. Sections sounds like a good way of where it could go in the future if I felt the need to untangle the two main things I tend to write about. 🙌🏻

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Jun 17, 2023Liked by Claire Venus

I don't know what sections are... maybe I do and I may have used it? I think I've used "tags" thinking that it's good for SEO when people search for certain types of posts I make, haha. Still so much more to learn.

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I am unsure about sections...I am still figuring out my writing style and topics. But I did just recently start a section called 'Education', as I know one of my primary writing interests is different methods of education, home schooling, education philosophy, and so on. I also have a second Substack for fiction, as I feel that is a world apart from this newsletter.

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Happy Friday Claire! 🌸

I’m getting more comfortable with Notes. When it first came out, it felt very overwhelming but now I am making my way round it and I am okay with it now.

I don’t have sections on my Substack, but also I can’t see other sections on others Substacks on the app. Maybe I’m missing something?

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Hi, Claire! I am new to your Substack and am thoroughly loving it already! Thanks for creating such a lovely place to be.

I think I understand Sections, but haven't utilized it just yet. I've noticed that I can see people's Sections when I'm on the actual website. But when I'm on the mobile app, I can't see any of their Sections unless I tap on Manage My Subscription. I always see people recommending the app, but I don't understand why - if it doesn't resemble the website and allow us to see all the "extras". Maybe I'm misunderstanding something?

As for Notes, I haven't tried that either. I'm just not sure what to say. I have a very small audience with only a couple people who actually engage - sometimes. Is Notes something I should be utilizing now or do I wait until I have a good amount of subscribers?

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Hi Claire. I'm definitely on the side of confusion with sections! Maybe I need to give it more thought. And I totally agree about the tip around asking for feedback before publishing. My husband proofreads every newsletter of mine on a Thursday before it goes out on a Friday ... the things he does for love! But the great thing is that he gives me an honest review. You don't want someone telling you it's good or not pointing out a mistake because it may hurt their feelings. Honesty is required.

I was also battling between a couple of ideas this week and I had to quieten that noise to help me focus and make the right decision and I mean the right decision for me, not everyone else. It definitely helps :) x

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I have 3 substacks, lol! Though I did set the first 2 up before sections were announced and they have distinct audiences and functions. And since they were so specific, it made sense to have a 3rd for the art, and I love the focus, personally. Notes, though, really feels like I’m speaking into a void, and it makes me feel a bit anxious/left out. I have conversations with others on Notes, though, which is nice, but it does nothing to build traction for me. I guess part of the reason is because most of my readers aren’t part of the substack network...I’d love to figure out how substack’s network effect works. Have you written about that, Claire?

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Thanks for sharing your second Substack- I recently started a second one and was wondering if it was overkill. Same reason as you, though, as it has a completely different audience. I think it's the right step for me.

I love sections & tags! I started using them as soon as they were introduced and it keeps everything nicely organized. Love them as a reader, too.

Great insights on Notes - I'm very much still finding my feet with them, and as a new/small publication sometimes feel like I'm shouting into a void. Your perspective is encouraging 🙂

You can have two paid substacks. I do. Requires two different stripe 'accounts' but they're attached to the same email. Not sure about the nitty-gritty but it does work.

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Ooh this is very interesting and timely regarding sections. I considering introducing sections as way to give myself more space to write about things. Great to be able to see how other people use them and if they’re useful!

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i know i SHOULD use notes but I still can't quite figure out how to use them xD

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Morning Claire! Sounds like it’s been a very busy week for you 💛 I hope you get some time to rest. I like the idea of sections for creating a menu, and I don’t find them confusing personally. I think having a way for subscribers to choose between different sections to read is great, but it doesn’t allow for different types of paid options. I’m (very slowly) investigating a new thing, and I think I will have to have it as a separate publication, as any paid option wouldn’t work with my current substack. But it’s a lot of extra work to set up and manage a separate publication.. and I’m already incredibly time poor..

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Jun 16, 2023Liked by Claire Venus

Subscribe to your own publication was great advice, Claire, thank you! And getting someone else to look over your newsletters - early feedback - sometimes I feel like it isn't warranted here (code for: my publication isn't good enough to need this) but it's something I care about so why not put this back on the table?!

:)

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Brilliant and insightful Claire, thanks 💕

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I read a post on sections that really helped me figure out how to use and display (or not) them. https://open.substack.com/pub/authorstack/p/how-to-use-substack-sections-to-beef

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