The response is unique to me and my relationship with the words; “world class” and my trust in Russell. If Russell would have asked someone else to write a book with him they potentially would have had a different response to that title.
When I first started on Substack, I didn’t plan to build a ‘world class’ Substack. I didn’t know what Substack was and I certainly didn’t know my relationship with it and with you would be so positive.
I didn’t know I would be read in over 100 countries and have hundreds of people paying to read my writing and work with me. I didn’t know I’m be pushing myself to bring you MORE for your experience and joyful, sustainable growth here. I just came to a platform to share my voice and got curious about it all.
✨
STORYTIME
Why I’m comfortable (now) with building a “World Class” Substack
I used to work for a destination marketing company that delivered festivals. It’s strap line was ‘world class festivals and events’. The company was based in the North of England.
If you’re in the UK, you’ll know the North of England has a reputation for being ‘less’. Life expectancies are way lower than the rest of the UK, there is more poverty, the standard of education is lower, there is higher use of alcohol.
Our regional accent is ‘judged’ and ‘stands out’.
But… that’s not the only truth about being from the North East. We are some of the friendliest, most open people you’ll ever meet. We wear our heart on our sleeves, we aren’t conditioned to do anything else. Our roots are in a woven fabric of being supportive to our neighbours, being close with family, being happy with our ‘lot’ in life.
When I did the job, I walked along the riverside to work every day towards a vision of the city that was MORE possible. I brought in artists from across the world to deliver breathtaking culture. I had mind blowing conversations with children and families who before our invite had never left their postcode just a 10 minute bus ride away.
It felt like everyone I passed every day was working on the same vision. They weren’t, they were perhaps just out for a sandwich but in my heart they were.
One of my favourite ‘secret’ views - artwork Yoshitomo Nara, installed 2008
The statement ‘world class’ was audacious1 in relation to the work we did back then but it’s not now.
Why?
Because as a tiny cog in a wheel with a tonne of partners and funders, I worked towards a 20 year vision of re-inventing perceptions of the place I called home. We brought millions of people in to share experiences, art, dance, music, food. It all started with a blank page in someone’s note book.
You couldn’t have bottled the amount of passion we had for the work - it was insatiable. It’s the same right now on Substack for me. This is the work I am guided to do in the world. Everything feels effortless.2
Art work on Newcastle quayside 2024
It’s important to set our your stall in preparation for being seen
Imagine this, you’re at an arts and farmer’s market. There are hundreds of artisan stall holders. They spent thousands of hours spent on making jewellery and cheese and lovely trinkets.
You’re ready, you have everything carefully packed up in clear boxes, the sun is shining, you’re ready to meet your customers, sell some of your work, chat with people, this is THE day!
You set out your stall, cover it with a white cloth and then you freeze.
you can because of all these other people; look how great your colleagues are.
Look how wonderful it is to find a platform that has space for you, gives you easy tech, let’s you podcast for free, use the colours you want, enables you to meet new readers AND get paid for your work every single day.
You can do it because we are and we’re right here with you and we wrote a book to make it even easier. A compliment to our teaching and to other brilliant Substack educators like
You can build a world class Substack and if you shrink reading that, my challenge is to make a vision board for what you really want here and for the life of your art/ your writing/ your voice.3
I’ve seen visions come to life in front of my eyes, I’ve created thousands of them, worked on hundreds of them, I’m hear to say you can and might want to have a world class Substack and know we’re here to help you set out your stall and stand proudly behind it smiling in the knowledge that all you’ve created is a wonderful work of art whether one person experiences it or 1million do.
World Class starts with you; you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t want that and neither would I.
I am SO open to your thoughts on the title of our book and further comments on this topic. I love that people have told me they don’t want to build a world class Substack; maybe they don’t but they will. Why? Because art changes the playing field, art enhances our life, art and self expression heals and thrusts us into new paradigms.
You don’t have to want to be the best in the world to build a world class Substack, you just have to want to be the best in YOUR world. You have to be open to people liking and loving your work and compliments flowing in.
We’re living it out in real time through this platform with a beating heart! Thank you to EVERYONE who has already backed our book.4
Sending sparkles,
Claire
✨ 💖
PS - You might like my new podcast episode with street artist
Except trolls they don’t feel effortless but I’m working on it, boundaries and trusting myself are key…I didn’t make the book for me, I made the book for you - the book is an act of service, the partnership on kickstarter is an experiment, the flights to LA if I book them to meet Russell and sign books will be the next right thing to do in this journey of accepting what the universe has offered me here.
We couldn’t have called the book; how to faff around on Substack for a year or how to build a half arsed Substack - no one would have bought it but those things probably will happen and they are ALL part of the process. 😅
The design of the book cover feels less welcoming to me than the title. It looks like every generic business-bro make-a-profit book on Amazon that I know I don’t want to read as soon as I look at it. They all have that same look/feel.
That said, “world-class” does definitely make me think you’re talking to someone who isn’t me—someone who is all about that same business-bro mentality, not someone who is coming from a place of creative discovery and sharing.
If it weren’t for this post, I would assume you’re talking to someone else with this project, not me.
I use that word intentionally in the title, but that doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone.
Maybe you think “World Class” means making the most money. I don’t, personally.
To me having a world class publication means having the ability to connect on the deepest level with the most readers who resonate deeply with your message in a way that compels them to fall in love with your work.
That is a worldclass skill. If you are striving for at least that, you then will resonate with our book.
Branding, audience growth, monetization, and all that other stuff revolves around becoming a world class writer, and a world class writer means developing the skill to find and connect with your ideal readers on the deepest level.
If your ideal reader can come to your page, immediately know they are “home”, and have a visceral positive reaction to your work within seconds, then you have a world class publication. The rest of it is all semantics.
The design of the book cover feels less welcoming to me than the title. It looks like every generic business-bro make-a-profit book on Amazon that I know I don’t want to read as soon as I look at it. They all have that same look/feel.
That said, “world-class” does definitely make me think you’re talking to someone who isn’t me—someone who is all about that same business-bro mentality, not someone who is coming from a place of creative discovery and sharing.
If it weren’t for this post, I would assume you’re talking to someone else with this project, not me.
I use that word intentionally in the title, but that doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone.
Maybe you think “World Class” means making the most money. I don’t, personally.
To me having a world class publication means having the ability to connect on the deepest level with the most readers who resonate deeply with your message in a way that compels them to fall in love with your work.
That is a worldclass skill. If you are striving for at least that, you then will resonate with our book.
Branding, audience growth, monetization, and all that other stuff revolves around becoming a world class writer, and a world class writer means developing the skill to find and connect with your ideal readers on the deepest level.
If your ideal reader can come to your page, immediately know they are “home”, and have a visceral positive reaction to your work within seconds, then you have a world class publication. The rest of it is all semantics.