Inviting people into your Substack world
Why it's time to own your space, own your movement, own your invitation.
I want to lovingly ask, how often do you explicitly, openly, warmly invite people to subscribe to your publication?
Not an invitation hidden in the depths of a post, or an invitation hidden in the footer (although I am a HUGE fan of the power of the footer), but a direct link to subscribe, shared overtly as a Substack Note.
I’m going to hazard a guess and say it’s probably not often enough.
Because in general, as women, we find it incredibly hard to put ourselves out there. To say: “I’m doing this thing. It matters to me. Come, be part of it.”
We were taught to be humble and polite and not to be too “full of it”, so we write beautiful posts and hope people find them. We build something real and trust the right people will find it. We create from a place of genuine service and then... we wait. We hope. We wonder why more people aren’t arriving.
Hope marketing isn’t a strategy. In reality, you’re required to be a co-creator. It requires strategy AND soul. And sometimes, this means you have to invite people in.
Not aggressively. Not in a salesy way. Just cleanly. Explicitly. Regularly. With clarity about what you’re offering and why it exists.
Because most people won’t stumble across you by accident. They might not find that one perfect post that makes them subscribe. They need to be invited. They need to hear from you, directly, that this world exists and that there’s a place for them in it.
Example of an invitation to Subscribe hidden in the depths of a post (this isn’t what I’m talking about here):
Ready to shape your Substack world? Press Publish is here to hand-hold you through the procrastifaffing, so you can create a meaningful container for your movement and legacy. Strong roots that hold. Subscribe, and let’s build your Substack together. START HERE
Normalising the ask is the work
This is the work we need to do as women building on Substack.
We need to get comfortable saying:
“Hey, here’s what I’ve created. Here’s why it exists. Here’s why I think you might want to be part of it. If this resonates, I’d love for you to join us.”
Not once. Not just in your posts and footers, but regularly.
Every week, ideally. In Notes. Wherever your people are, you’re gently, warmly, clearly inviting them in.
Because inviting is not the same as hoping.
Inviting is owning what you’ve built. Inviting is believing that it matters. Inviting is creating the structure that says: yes, I’m here to share something, and I’m not waiting for you to find it by accident.
If you’re reading this, you’re building something brilliant. It matters, and people deserve to know about it. It’s time to stop holding out on them.
Which brings me to your invitation exercise
This week, I’d love to invite you to create a explicit invitation to subscribe to your Substack.
Copy the link to your Substack publication. It will look something like this: https://presspublish.substack.com/welcome. Open a Note (or a social post, or an email to your list, or whatever platform feels right). And write about your publication.
Here are some prompts to get your creative juices flowing:
Why does it exist? Not what it is, but why it came into being. What gap was it filling? What were you feeling when you decided to create it?
What are you hoping to create? What transformation, what conversation, what community? What do you want people to experience when they arrive in your world?
Why now? Why is this relevant right now? Why does the world need this from you at this moment?
Who is it for? Not everyone. Your person. The one who’s been looking for exactly this without knowing it existed. “People like us do things like this” energy.
Then the ask: Without hiding, without embedding it in the depths of a post, invite people to step closer. Something along the lines of: “If this resonates, I’d love for you to join me. Subscribe. Be part of this journey. Let’s create this together.”
This becomes a practice
Do this every week, every month, whatever works best for you.
It doesn’t matter if no one “likes” the Note or Subscribes - we release attachment to that - what matters is that you’re getting used to owning your space with conviction.
So test our different angles. Different words. Different energies. Same core message: I’ve created something. It matters. This is why. Come and be part of it.
Some weeks you’ll invite people into a specific post. Other weeks you’ll invite them into the whole world. What matters is that you’re regularly, explicitly, warmly asking people to arrive.
This matters because it’s about normalising the ask. For you and for everyone watching.
When you own what you’ve created, others feel permission to own what they’ve created. When you invite people in, you’re modelling what it looks like to be visible, to be clear, to be proud of your work.
And that’s the shift we need.
Not hoping to be found. Inviting people in.
Not waiting for the algorithm. Creating the structure yourself.
Not hiding behind beautiful content. Saying clearly: This is why I’m here. This is what I’ve made. I’d love for you to experience it.
Start today
Copy your Substack link. Write your invitation. Share it.
Then show up and do it again next week. And the week after.
Because you’re not just building a publication. You’re normalising visibility. You’re showing other women that it’s okay to own what you’ve created.
You’re creating permission, for yourself and for everyone watching. And that’s more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
Just press publish.
Lucy x
PS. I took my own advice and did this earlier today on this Note. Feel free to tag me in your own Note or in your comments, and I’ll swing by and give you some support.
A little about me
Hi, I’m Lucy. I spent twenty years in corporate before walking away to build work that was actually mine. What I discovered on the other side — about energy, alignment, and what it means to express yourself honestly in business — is everything I teach from now.
I’m a brand, web and messaging designer working at the intersection of identity, brand energetics, and soulful expression - helping founders build a presence that feels as true on the outside as it does on the inside → Fresh Leaf Creative
Press Publish is the rolled-up-sleeves, hair-in-a-topknot version of its sister publication The Business of Becoming — where you’ll find musings on creative expression, anti-hustle marketing, building a sustainable brand ecosystem, and returning to your natural rhythms → The Business of Becoming
Need a little more support?
If you’d like some creative and energetic direction to help get your Substack world off the ground, I offer a Substack World Creative Direction Session for founders who want a designer’s eye on their identity decisions → Drop me a DM.
Lucy, what stood out most is that you framed visibility as stewardship, not performance. Your encouragement to “invite people in” with clarity and warmth names something many builders quietly wrestle with: creating meaningful work while hesitating to stand fully beside it. I also appreciated how you connected structure and soul, because sustainable work often requires both conviction in what we are building and the courage to say plainly that it matters. Thank you for offering a thoughtful reminder that invitation can be an act of ownership, generosity, and leadership.