Day 3 - A Substack menu to end all menus!
Meet Caroline!!
Hi Folks,
How are you getting on with
?Today, is a continuation of thinking about taking our subs deeper and giving them more context.
I wanted to show you around a BEAUTIFUL Substack publication from
at What to Cook when you Don’t Feel Like Cooking. Caroline has tens of thousands of paying subscribers and has been here since 2020 I think?
I find this interview article with Substack particularly inspiring -
A Menu…
This is the index post you need to check out just because it will give you a sense of your own potential legacy and what we can do here…
Notes
Your menu should help your readers find what is most valuable in your publication. Paid subs should be able to find what they need in a click or two. You need to think about non subs, subs and paid subs + founding members if you offer anything special for them.
You can run a menu from your navigation bar or hero post (pinned post), you could also use your about page but I wouldn’t as you really want the SUBSCRIBE there and not a thousand rabbit holes. Think about the position.
Caroline uses ‘anchors’ / ‘jump links’ in her menu post explained by Substack here
This is also a great resource from my pal
-
3 other great examples of contents/ menu pages from my Diamond Members
- has her archive library front and centre, she’s also made it super easy for people to manage their subscription from the nav bar.
- has a contents page, Beth works hard to keep everything simple - I’ve watched her beautiful work for 3 years now, she’s awesome and has over 18k subs…
A blend of a ‘start here and a menu’ from
- these links take you to the same place but people read the internet in different ways so I think this is great.
So menus then, ready to point people into the right and good direction? Let’s make the most of your archive and try and organise what you have? You can make a page for your menu as detailed in yesterdays post.
I link mine from the navigation bar and also in other places like my about page and footer.
Map it out on paper and your task for the day is done. See you tomorrow then we’ll have a break Sunday and come back for more design and to wrap up early next week.
Claire
✨
P.S - Comments off today as it’s my day off, so feel free to restack this one to Notes.
P.S - Need a more comprehensive resource. My month long course - Your Beautiful Digital Magazine on Substack is available to you to work through at your own pace. Over 50 tutorials like this one that take your page from bleugh to STUNNING and beautifully organised. Here’s what a recent participant had to say…
The course is packed with knowledge and information in a wide range of aspects, a smorgasbord of options where I pick whatever is nourishing for me now. Claire’s solid but gentle guidance is reassuring and I am convinced that I will transform my magazine into an inviting space and in a joyful and sustainable way.
I would say the holistic take on the magazine – sustainable for the writer, inviting for the reader and promoting a steady flow of subscribers.