Behind the scenes of my content strategy
What's coming up for paid subscribers
Last week I shared the exciting news that I’m moving to a paid Substack. This wasn’t a decision I made lightly but after 2.5 years of producing content (almost weekly) for free, I hope I’ve reached the point where my words are adding value.
Recently, I took the decision to split my Substack into three sections:
Business: My experiences of being a freelancer running a business of one.
Design: Service design thoughts, methods and ways of working.
Life: My experience as a child free woman on the cusp of 40.
The common thread across these sections is my open, honest and vulnerable approach. I write with the same style regardless of whether I’m talking about tax or death (yes, sometimes they can feel like the same thing to me too)! I write to connect with people in the hope that by sharing my experiences, others will feel less alone.
From 14th June (my 39th birthday) onwards, my ‘business’ content will be for paid subscribers only. This week, I want to give you a behind the scenes look into what I have planned for the first few weeks and months of running paid subscriptions.
Firstly I want to share that, when turning on paid subscriptions, I was nervous that the move would put too much pressure on me to write. The way I write is I wait for an idea to bubble to the surface. I know there is something in it when I start to write it in my head. Because of this, I didn’t want to make a hard commitment in terms of the number of pieces subscribers will receive for £4.50/month. However, I do have aims and plans and I want to share those with you.
Based on my writing pattern over the last few years, I find that the majority of my content falls into the ‘business’ category of my Substack. This section is aimed at other freelancers or business owners who are looking to learn from my approach to work. In the past I have written about things like being vulnerable with clients, working on multiple projects and building a business around your values.
I will aim to write 4 business posts a month, that’s less than £1.25 per piece for those that would like access to this content and it is definitely a justifiable business expense.
In the first month of paid subscriptions I will be writing:
The results of my recent career experiments
How to run a solo reflection retreat
Balancing retaining clients with finding new leads
A review of the professional development courses/conferences I attended recently
In addition to the paid business content I will continue to write about design. This section is aimed at people working in the service design industry. In the past I have written about things like the different flavours of service design and whether service designers should do user research.
I find I write about design much less frequently than I do business, perhaps once every other month. I will be experimenting with these pieces. Sometimes they will be free, sometimes they will be paid. Next up in this section will be a piece on my experiences of working with service delivery teams in local government.
Lastly I have recently broadened my Substack to include content about experiences in my personal life. This is because I want to write about more than work but I don’t really know what or why right now. This is a space for experimentation for me, and because of that all content in this section will remain free. I have a post coming up to coincide with my birthday on how it feels to be entering the final year of my thirties.
If you continue on a free subscription you can expect to receive around 1 post a month.
The plans I have outlined will take me up until the end of July when I plan to take a month long break from client work - more on this next week. So you can expect August to be a bumper month for writing. Plenty of summer reads hopefully - although I’m not sure I’ve cracked my chick-lit yet, I may throw in a few travel pieces for people planning trips away.
In addition to these ideas I would love to hear from you if you’re considering subscribing. Is there something that’s been playing on your mind about being freelance or running a business? I’m especially keen, as I move to paid subscriptions, to tackle some of the more vulnerable subject matters that might feel challenging to discuss in public. Hit reply and let me know.
As a paying subscriber you will be able to comment on all pieces and share your thoughts and experiences with other subscribers. Wouldn’t it be great if we could create a community of people learning from each other in this space.
Lastly, a massive thank you to those of you who have already subscribed, it means so much to have your support. I recognise it’s not possible for people to financially support every writer they love, I’m grateful to those of you who chose me.