REPLAY - Home Page INVITES to new readers...

Home Page tweaks and BOLD invites to encourage and support your subscribers

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Hi Sparklers,

We’re meeting on Thursday to talk about how best to invite folks in as they land here on Substack. To make a home people understand and connect with.

To make sure the right people want to subscribe.

If you’ve not yet caught my about page masterclass with

Aimée Francis

this is a great thing to listen to/ do ahead of the Home Page workshop tomorrow.

✨

Think about the invites…

Think about the invites you receive off line. In real life… paper or email, sealed in pretty envelopes or crumpled in school bags.

There are a lot of them at this time of year.

How do they make you feel?

Joyful, excited, welcome? Exhausted? ¹

I’m in the phase of whole class parties for my daughter and as an introvert they absolutely exhaust me.

The best party I planned was our wedding or maybe my 30th - everything on our terms and we all had a ball.

There was glitter and gold and some quirky stuff. Everyone danced and smiled and the colours of autumn shone like starlight. Rain then fell in darkness and our photographer invited us to dance.

Magic, sparkle, something borrowed, something blue - celebrating 5 years married this Autumn.

Thank you for reminiscing with me, for that moment of indulgence…

Let’s take a look at our Substack invitations.

Here are my journalling prompts for a mini self audit ahead of class (if you get chance)… you have time, there is so much time for you to make your home here one you are proud of…

• How do you want new readers to feel when they arrive at your Substack?

• How long do you want them to stay?

• What do you want them to click?

• Looking at your invite, what do you think they click/ do after they subscribe?

• How do you aspire to hold them as they press the Subscribe button as a free or a paid member?

My original coming soon post was never emailed out but as a static post it’s done well. Time for me to write and send a new one I think!

You usually find your first links in a post get the most clicks and there is lots we can learn in investigating WHAT people click and how many of them…

At class we cover…

Our agenda;

• The clarity and congruence of our trio of invites - our about page, hero post and welcome emails and refreshing these often. I’m advising at LEAST every 3 months, ideally every month and get a critical friend to help.

• The importance of clear, concise headings a 10 year old would understand

• Our navigation bar - like a good set of holiday trifles!

• Our home page blocks and whether tags or sections are the best fit here.

Claire

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