Creating that effortless flow between your Substack and your website

The digital world just feels so overwhelming sometimes. Here are some small, yet impactful, tweaks for a more manageable online ecosystem that feels like you

I’m seeing, hearing, and feeling more and more just how much people are itching to expand beyond using just Substack as their business hub and contact point with prospective clients and customers.

Maybe because the shiny and newness of the platform has worn off

Maybe because their growth feels sloooowwwwwwwwwer than they expected

Maybe because they are feeling pulled towards creating an online presence that’s just…more official

Maybe they want to own and have more creative control over their content and how it’s shared and displayed

Maybe because of some less-than-ideal ethical and financial decisions being made by those in command…… not gonna go into this right now though

And if you’re loving the platform, great! I never want to convince you to move beyond Substack. But as a web designer (aka maker of digital scrapbooks) and developer (aka digital architect hehe), I’m definitely gonna share my opinions on some of the risks vs. rewards in staying, leaving, or just expanding. And I definitely want to be here for you if you need a metaphorical website-building hand 👋

Know exactly where you want your dream client to go (digitally)

Even if someone finds you on Substack, is that where you want them to “stay”?

The first simple step: Think about the #1-2 things you want your dream client to do. Most likely, that’s something like book a call with you, pay for a service, or buy a digital product or course.

You don’t need to reference these things allllll the time in your Substack, but it can be great to keep this one (or two) most important things in mind when you’re writing a post. Where can it naturally be woven in? Or do you want to just write freely and maybe add a link to your website as a part of your sign off/signture at the very end of your posts. That’s a great option too!

But the intentional decision is most likely the best one for you right now.

And kind of related to this point, another thing to thoughtfully consider is how you want your dream clients to contact and interact with you.

How you want your people to contact you

What’s the main place you want people to go to start a conversation with you?

Especially for sensitive humans, it can be really beneficial to have just one digital place, just one spot, to check in and communicate with your audience, patients, clients, and/or customers.

It’s ok to have more contact points (for example, you share your email address or a link to schedule a call with you because that’s where you want people to contact you, but you can also prompt people to send you a message on Substack if that’s they’re more comfortable with that…AND that feels good for you too)

But starting with ONE main entry point can feel so much better, even when you have both a Substack and a website.

The first simple step: Choose your one entry point and plan to include just that in your posts going forward.

Organize your brand assets for consistency

You’ve probably heard this one before, so I don’t want to repeat to much here other than: it’s a good idea to have the same or similar, slightly different brand variations for your website and Substack.

I’m gonna add the caveat here though that most people don’t mention: it doesn’t have to be this way. Having complimentary branding can be even more impactful in some cases, but if it’s easier for you to have the same branding with both, please don’t overthink it and just do that :)

The first simple step: Organize your brand assets (color hex codes and fonts, photos and imagery, and all your logo variations) into one folder on your phone/computer/Google Drive/iCloud/whatever. Bonus if you can update your Substack and website to reflect these!

Set up your Substack and your website to support each other

It can be tempting to think of your Substack and your website as separate entities entirely, especially if you’re afraid of duplicating content because SEO purposes.

But the truth is, even just a bit of thought and restructuring can make your efforts, intention, creativity, and expertise go even further with a seamless website and Substack ecosystem.

But what content goes where?!?

I think of this interplay as a beautiful dance between the two - you can absolutely use just Substack or just your website to reach your goals, but having both can be an awesome biz decision for many heart-led sensitive creatives and service providers (let me know in the comments if you’d like a full post on knowing when it’s time to expand beyond Substack).

The first simple step: Create a page or document with 2 columns, 1 column for Substack and one for your website. List 2-4 related but different topics under each column to help you decide which posts to post where to avoid duplication.

A great rule of thumb is to use your blog posts on your website for sharing strong, informational, well-researched, and/or in-depth how-to content that is answering the big, staple questions your customers or clients often ask (or that you think they would ask).

Your Substack can have related posts, but with more personal stories and creative expression added. The focus of your Substack posts can be a bit more broad. The pure “value” of a Substack post doesn’t have to be held completely in the name of adding more keywords to your online ecosystem, like you maybe would be focused on when writing a blog post.

But, also like pretty much everything I share here…you know yourself and your audience best. Don’t ignore what intuitively feels right for you.

And if you have or are planning on starting or launching a website with Squarespace, have I got an extra bunch of goodies for you…

One of my grounded & calm Squarespace website design templates

Extra tips for any current or prospective Squarespace website users:

Here are few simple yet impactful design and code tweaks (have no fear, it’s maybe easier than it sounds!) you can add to your Squarespace website this week, free in my newest blog post.

You’ll learn how to:

• connect your Substack subscribe form to your Squarespace website

• change that generic social link icon to a Substack icon in your header - this is an awesome one!

• and/or add your Substack as one of the pages displayed in your header navigation - great option if you don’t want to display all your social links there

Check out this and more in the the full post Grow your Substack with Squarespace

Feel like it’s almost time for you to expand beyond Substack?

If you haven’t started your website yet, or have but want a little more structure, guidance, design technique, and overall support as you build your site, you might be interested in the next Squarespace website template I’m building.

This template is intentionally created not only to connect your website and Substack effortlessly, but also give you simple, streamlined, beautiful, manageable ways to display and sell your services, digital products, courses, and memberships all in one contained place that you OWN (without paying 10+% to Substack or Gumroad ;0 every time you make a sale).

Get on the waitlist for this premium Substack to Squarespace template and complete strategy guide (plus, AMA support!) to boost your efforts and impact across both platforms

I also offer complete done-for-you website design and development services if that feels like a better fit for your current needs/capacity: INQUIRE HERE

And…they tell me not to say this when “selling” ughhhh, but I will anyway: even though I’m a website designer, here’s a gentle reminder that having a website is not the best option for everyone, so please send me a message if you’re unsure whether launching a website is the right next step for you (or keep an eye out for a post about this, coming soon!)

I’d love to hear what you think. Will you try any of these tweaks to refresh your online presence? Is there anything else you’re wondering about when it comes to creating a beautiful dance between your Substack and your website?

And as always, thank you for being here, and for choosing depth in a sometimes fast-paced world.

Sending lots of love,

Katie is an occupational therapist, web designer, and HSP mentor and nervous system specialist on a mission to help heart-led aspiring entrepreneurs feel safe being seen online and build aligned, embodied business success.

*Medical disclaimer: Although I’m a licensed and registered occupational therapist (OT), I am not your OT. Any information I provide in these posts are for educational purposes only and not a substitute for personalized OT assessment, intervention, or medical advice of any kind.