Friday, October 10
12 - 3 PM CT
Replay available, but you're strongly encouraged to attend live for the full experience
*Limited space available
Substack has never been busier or noisier.
Most Substacks aren’t profitable.
They don’t generate an engaged email list—or grow.
Because most Substacks are generic and utterly forgettable.
→ The top Substacks—the ones with engagement and staying power—are unique.
- They look and sound like no one else.
- They take us to a place no one else can.
→ They know their Substack DNA.
No strategy in the world will help you build an engaged platform and earn an income without knowing your Substack DNA.
In this 3-hour intensive, I’ll take you through my proprietary method to find yours.
Your Substack DNA =
Knowing the core of who you are (your gifts, talents, perspective)
How they’ll work best on the platform
Why someone would subscribe to you above all others
Making that clear to subscribers
Not easy to do.
And I’m the only one who can help you.
"This opened up the world of creative possibilities available on Substack and the tools to make that world of possibilities a reality."
—Cherry Damianoff
My ability to do this for you is partly because I’ve done it for myself as
- The creator two bestselling, featured Substacks starting from zero and with no platform
- Someone who's been on Substack for half a decade
- My twenty years teaching in graduate programs at the University of Iowa and Northwestern and elsewhere
- My time as an advisory editor at The Paris Review
But mainly becuase I created the process of finding your Substack DNA™ based on my success with 700+ private clients.
This intensive is the only setting you’ll be able to discover yours outside my premium 1:1s.
When we first met, David Roberts wrote about culture and literature.
Not compelling.
So many people are doing that.
We drilled down into who he is, what has shaped his views and approach to those topics. For him, it was culture through the lens of generational wealth.
Setting himself apart triggered his growth from 400 subscribers to 4000 a year later.
He’s now at over 7000.
Doors close 10/3 at midnight
- 00 Days
- 00 Hours
- 00 Minutes
- 00 Seconds
This is the same process I reserve for my private clients
Kate Hill increased her revenue from $21,000 to $26,000 in just 6 weeks.
Jeannine Ouellete’s paid subscriptions (at $50/year) increased from 560 to 953 in 70 days.
“Sarah is the best teacher I’ve had. Sarah helped me find my writing groove. I continue to work with Sarah because she continues to make me better. She is a superb teacher.”
David Roberts
“Sarah was just the perfect combination of practical and validating. She never made me feel like an amateur and for that I am really grateful.”
Petya Grady, "A Reading Life"
“Working with Sarah has been my secret weapon. And I had so much fun doing it. I feel more confident and I know how to continue improving. I can honestly say she sped up my learning curve by years.”
Latham Turner
Itinerary
100% interactive.
Get work done.
You’ll leave confident and clear about your Substack and why people should and will subscribe.
Plus an About page, short description, title, and bio that set you apart from personalized feedback so you know they’re resonating with other people.
Friday, 10/10
12 - 3 PM CT
- 12-12:15 PM CT Welcome + Discovering your talents, gifts, and/or expertise
- 12:15-12:45 Finding your Substack DNA, the core, what makes your Substack different from any other
- 12:45-1:15 Personalized feedback
- 1:15-1:30 Break
- 1:30-2 Communicating what makes your Substack unique + my proven template to revamp your About page so people actually read it and create a scroll-stopping short description
- 2-2:20 You’re so much more interesting than you think you are + my proven bio template
- 2:20-2:30 Title test
- 2:30-2:50 How to use your Substack DNA on Notes
- 2:50-3 Wrap up and what’s next
*all times are CT
My Substack DNA method has helped hundreds of my private clients:
- Become Substack bestsellers
- Double and triple and quadruple and 10x their subscribers
- Substantially increase their revenue
- Establish six-figure incomes
- Build engaged communities of loyal readers
- Create additional revenue streams
- Attract the attention of literary agents and sponsors
- Build genuine connections with their readers
- Create sustainable systems that work for them
- Develop skills they can use anywhere
- Gain clarity on their unique path
- Find their authentic voice on the platform and off
My clients include:
- CNN political analyst Kirsten Powers
- Publisher’s Weekly editor, poet, and entrepreneur Maya Popa
- Former CNN commentator Chris Cizzila
- Influencer Ajiri Aki
- Bestselling author and entrepreneur Joy Sullivan
- Author, podcaster, and viral TED speaker Sarah Knight
- Publisher, podcaster, and bestselling author Zibby Owens
- Activist and founder of Moms Demand Action Shannon Watts
- Organizations like Five Things I’ve Learned and Resolute Square
- Bestselling author Jennifer Lauck
- Award-winning authors Robin Hemley and Esme Weijun Wang
- Life coaches Caitlin Faas and Jane Pilger
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is this for?
Substack writers and creators at all stages, those with no experience and those who’ve been on the platform for years.
Will the replay be available?
Yes, within 24 hours of the intensive, but to get your money’s worth, I highly recommend attending live.
Can I get a refund if I don’t feel like it was helpful?
If you do the work and don’t see transformation, I’ll make it right.
Will I get personal feedback from Sarah?
No, but you will get feedback based on her customized direction. You can also schedule a 1:1 Substack Strategy Intensive.
Isn’t this just more Substack information?
No. This is the step most Substacks skip. It takes deep work and the process I created to go beyond topics, tricks, categories, and niches.
Isn’t this just another scam on how to make money on Substack?
No. It’s the deep work others don't do, a proven method that leads to opportunities on and beyond Substack.