"Simply post like yourself, post consistently, and let the algorithm do the rest. It turns out we can let go of a lot of the rules we think we're supposed to follow."
Now THIS is something I can happily do! 😊 Thank you for sharing such helpful insights!
I really like the concept of Claude Connect. Developing a simple connector is a great starting point, rather than building custom apps or investing in expensive IT platforms. Thank you!
I have been binge reading Cassandra's articles and applying what I have learned. I'm a new Substacker and she makes everything so clear and easy to understand.
Thank you for this. I have been on the app for 3 months writing short pieces while I work on my first novel. I got a paid subscriber very early. You are right - he doesn't "scroll", I think he has even more or less left the app, but he continues to be my paid subscriber. It's a totally different pattern.
Wow, I love the content, but above all, I love how u structured it!!! The way u started off strong and gave me a very good idea on what this article is about and supported it with a dialogue, put ur subscribe button which also told what ur publication is about, and so on is so smart!!! In fact, I would love to know if u have an article about that (written by u or anyone)!
Yupp. Like, what to write at the beginner to ensure the reader is attracted, how to place the buttons smartly, etc with eg. Ofc I understand if this doesn't exist, would just love some advice too.
Coz as a beginner at writing articles, I didn't even realise at first that my articles were not optimised for reading on mobile phones (coz I wrote them on laptop), so any advice would be invaluable
Ok, I don’t have/know of one article that covers all of this, but I can share a few pieces of it!
The best structure is going to depend on the topic and audience. The most important skill here is empathy: being able to put yourself in your audience's shoes and thinking about how they’re experiencing the content (and also what you ultimately want them to do or get out of it).
I typically spend a lot of time on the intro thinking about a hook that will pull readers in. Sometimes I write it first, and it shapes the article, and other times I’m struggling with it, and I come back and work it out at the end. I’m trying to build curiosity/relatability and create a slide that takes people right into the article without much effort. (I also have a Claude connector for RGBI premium members that has a hook writing/analyzing tool to help with this brainstorming: https://www.reallygoodbusinessideas.com/p/claude-connector).
For the bulk of the article, I generally try to write using the pyramid principle. There is a whole book on this by Barbara Minto that’s really great if you want to nerd out, but you can also find summaries online. I think this way of structuring information is very effective for business and educational content.
Part of what I’m doing with RGBI is trying to give expert-level advice in a way that’s still accessible to beginners, so I try not to assume that my readers will always know what I’m talking about. This means I often start by defining things or answering basic questions. For those sections, I use the inverted pyramid concept to put the simpler answer first before elaborating. More on that here: https://www.reallygoodbusinessideas.com/p/inverted-pyramid
In terms of calls to action, I just try to place them in a way that doesn’t disrupt the flow of content, while also making sure to put one earlier on since many readers will not make it to the end. I write a bit about how I think about CTAs for these buttons here: https://www.reallygoodbusinessideas.com/p/substack-buttons
It’s definitely good to look through all the previews as you alluded to. For example, on this article, when I preview it, I could really see it was a big wall of text that might feel overwhelming for a lot of readers, which is why I added the colorful TLDR blurbs at the top of each section.
I’m laughing out loud because I had no idea I was in your roundup, and I was reading it, thinking ooh this is good I’m going to get better at being on notes 😂❤️ thank you for featuring me! X
It does! It just wouldn’t be able to optimize showing your notes to people who are likely to upgrade. It will still optimize based on free subscribe signals :)
"Simply post like yourself, post consistently, and let the algorithm do the rest. It turns out we can let go of a lot of the rules we think we're supposed to follow."
Now THIS is something I can happily do! 😊 Thank you for sharing such helpful insights!
Isn’t this how we make friends in real life? We be ourselves, so it consistently, and let fate do the rest. Art imitating life.
Exactly!
I really like the concept of Claude Connect. Developing a simple connector is a great starting point, rather than building custom apps or investing in expensive IT platforms. Thank you!
IA with the other comments - clear and helpful - thank you.
I have been binge reading Cassandra's articles and applying what I have learned. I'm a new Substacker and she makes everything so clear and easy to understand.
Learned a lot from this!
A very helpful article, Casandra, thank you.
I'm relatively new here, and still testing and discovering, so your advice and findings are great. Thank you again. 😊
Welcome!
Clear, actionable info. Thank you!!
Easy to read and digest thanks for clarity.
I appreciate you organizing your thought on this in such a useful way!
Thank you for this. I have been on the app for 3 months writing short pieces while I work on my first novel. I got a paid subscriber very early. You are right - he doesn't "scroll", I think he has even more or less left the app, but he continues to be my paid subscriber. It's a totally different pattern.
How cool to they found you so early!
Enjoyed reading this as someone who’s never had much success with Notes, it’s giving me a renewed energy to give some more effort
The cool thing is you can reach new subscribers without necessarily getting a lot of Note engagement!
Wow, I love the content, but above all, I love how u structured it!!! The way u started off strong and gave me a very good idea on what this article is about and supported it with a dialogue, put ur subscribe button which also told what ur publication is about, and so on is so smart!!! In fact, I would love to know if u have an article about that (written by u or anyone)!
Aww thank you! An article about the structure?
Yupp. Like, what to write at the beginner to ensure the reader is attracted, how to place the buttons smartly, etc with eg. Ofc I understand if this doesn't exist, would just love some advice too.
Coz as a beginner at writing articles, I didn't even realise at first that my articles were not optimised for reading on mobile phones (coz I wrote them on laptop), so any advice would be invaluable
Ok, I don’t have/know of one article that covers all of this, but I can share a few pieces of it!
The best structure is going to depend on the topic and audience. The most important skill here is empathy: being able to put yourself in your audience's shoes and thinking about how they’re experiencing the content (and also what you ultimately want them to do or get out of it).
I typically spend a lot of time on the intro thinking about a hook that will pull readers in. Sometimes I write it first, and it shapes the article, and other times I’m struggling with it, and I come back and work it out at the end. I’m trying to build curiosity/relatability and create a slide that takes people right into the article without much effort. (I also have a Claude connector for RGBI premium members that has a hook writing/analyzing tool to help with this brainstorming: https://www.reallygoodbusinessideas.com/p/claude-connector).
On longer posts, or posts with a paywall, I typically add a table of contents after the introduction to help orient the reader or preview what’s behind the paywall. Here’s how I do it on Substack: https://www.reallygoodbusinessideas.com/p/substack-table-of-contents
For the bulk of the article, I generally try to write using the pyramid principle. There is a whole book on this by Barbara Minto that’s really great if you want to nerd out, but you can also find summaries online. I think this way of structuring information is very effective for business and educational content.
Part of what I’m doing with RGBI is trying to give expert-level advice in a way that’s still accessible to beginners, so I try not to assume that my readers will always know what I’m talking about. This means I often start by defining things or answering basic questions. For those sections, I use the inverted pyramid concept to put the simpler answer first before elaborating. More on that here: https://www.reallygoodbusinessideas.com/p/inverted-pyramid
In terms of calls to action, I just try to place them in a way that doesn’t disrupt the flow of content, while also making sure to put one earlier on since many readers will not make it to the end. I write a bit about how I think about CTAs for these buttons here: https://www.reallygoodbusinessideas.com/p/substack-buttons
It’s definitely good to look through all the previews as you alluded to. For example, on this article, when I preview it, I could really see it was a big wall of text that might feel overwhelming for a lot of readers, which is why I added the colorful TLDR blurbs at the top of each section.
Hopefully at least some of this is helpful!
Omg yesss, thanks a lot ☺️
I’m laughing out loud because I had no idea I was in your roundup, and I was reading it, thinking ooh this is good I’m going to get better at being on notes 😂❤️ thank you for featuring me! X
So… if you don’t have a paid tier yet, does Substack not show your notes?
It does! It just wouldn’t be able to optimize showing your notes to people who are likely to upgrade. It will still optimize based on free subscribe signals :)
I find this all so overwhelming, so appreciate how you laid out the information to be easily digestible.
I was hoping this would be easily-digestible, so thank you!
Thank you for this breakdown, Casandra!