ANCHOR POST: Substack World Starter Path
Build your Substack world. Everything you need, in the order you need it. START HERE.
You’re here! I’m so excited!
Maybe you’ve been thinking about this for a while. Maybe you’ve been watching from the sidelines, seeing other people build something on Substack and feeling that pull.
Maybe you’re disillusioned by Instagram, exhausted by LinkedIn, tired of performing for an algorithm that doesn’t care about you or the people you’re help. And something about Substack feels different. Quieter. Real. More like the kind of space where what you actually have to say might actually land.
You’re not late to this. I want to say that before we go any further. You’re not late. Substack is not a trend you missed. Substack is just getting started, We’re just getting started.
There’s space for you here.
The draw you’re feeling is right on time.
You’re right on time.
What the Substack Starter Path is
This path is for you if you already have a sense of your brand and you’re ready to translate that into Substack and get your first posts live.
If you need deeper help at any point with fonts, colours, logos and other branding decisions - you can dive into The Brand Foundations Path.
We’re going to move through everything together, step by step. Setting up your profile. Writing your world into existence. Getting your first post published. Understanding what to do next. Building the foundations that mean you can keep going with confidence rather than second-guessing.
Every post on this path is labelled so you know exactly what you’re doing:
THEORY — the thinking behind the decisions, the why behind the what.
EXERCISE — the shaping work to draw out what’s already in you.
PRACTICAL — screenshares. Watch over my shoulder, pause and follow along.
Take it in order. Go at your own pace. Every single step has been built with you in mind. You have something to say and you just need the right container to say it in.
LET’S DO THIS TOGETHER. THIS IS WHERE THE PRACTICAL MAGIC HAPPENS.
Your Starter Path
Take a moment to save this post using the three dots top right so that you can navigate here at any point. Studio members: Have questions as you work your way through this pathway? Drop them in this thread, and I’ll do my best to help.
0/ Grounding (same for both pathways)
So you’re ready to start your Substack, here’s what you need to know
Orientation: Let’s have a look around Substack (screen share)
Build your Substack world: Your toolkit
The elephant in the room: Let’s talk about Ai
1/ Finding your words & core prep work
Exercise : Naming your Substack
Brand Theory: (Copy)writing Your World Into Existence
Exercise: (Copy)writing Your World Into Existence🗝
Exercise: Writing your welcome email🗝
Exercise: Crafting your post footer🗝
Exercise: Writing your first post🗝
Practical: Formatting your logos for Substack (screen share)🗝
Exercise: Writing your brand manifesto🗝
2/ Getting it live
Practical: Laying the foundations (screen share)🗝
Practical: Customising your Substack website theme (screen share)🗝
Practical: Customising your Substack welcome emails and settings (screen share)🗝
Practical: Customising your Substack personal profile (screen share)🗝
Practical: Let’s get your first post live (screen share)🗝
Practical: What to do straight after you publish your first post (screen share)🗝
Exercise: Getting started with Notes🗝
Practical: Getting started with Substack Chat threads🗝
Practical: Updating a post after you’ve pressed publish🗝
Brand Theory: How to use the post editor🗝
3/ Building momentum
Exercise: Your first five posts and the root system beneath them🗝
Practical: Organising your Substack Website with content blocks🗝
Practical: Adding a paywall to a Substack post🗝
Exercise: Turning on paid subscriptions🗝
Exercise: Creating an anchor post🗝
Practical: Using Pinterest to help promote your Substack🗝
This is a living path - This post will be updated as new steps are added. Bookmark it and come back whenever you need to find your place.
If you need deeper help at any point with fonts, colours, logos and other branding decisions - you can dive into The Brand Foundations Path.
One last thing before you begin.
I built Press Publish because I wanted to remember what it feels like to start from scratch. To be in it. To feel the friction and the nerve-citement of putting yourself out there on Substack.
I want you to know, it’s worth it, Substack has been one of the best things to happen to me and my business. Every single step of it is worth it.
I am so excited to be on this journey with you, and I mean that in the fullest, most genuine way.
If you get stuck, if something doesn’t make sense, if you just need a moment of encouragement or some hand-holding, come and find me in the chat.
I am there. Always.
Just press publish. 🌿
Lucy x
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.