There's a button under Create' most of you have never clicked and that ignorance is costing you money
When I came to Substack in 2024, I thought I was going to write about marketing and make money off writers and people who wanted to grow their brands.
Yup. Another one of those. Then I saw it everywhere. So I pivoted and tried a bunch of things including starting an MFA program then dropping out a year later.
In the process I’ve changed.
Coffee and Conversations. Then Copywriters Revolt. Then The Talentless Writer. And finally, the home of Something to Bury.
Four names in two years because I had no clue what I was doing. Still don’t. So decided to expose the secrets underneath it instead of selling them. You either see it or you don’t.
This was my attempt to see it back then.
Here’s my updated attempt to show you what’s actually possible on Substack.
Before I get into that, today’s the last chance to get the discounted rate on Something to Bury and The Rejects. Both fund writers getting paid. Two options because I want to know what works and what doesnt. And this is my place and my rules.
1. Automated Upgrade Emails
This one's quiet, almost sneaky and just figured it out a few weeks ago.
Substack tracks who's actually reading you and once a free reader hits a certain engagement score, the platform automatically sends them an upsell. I’m not going to give details because you can read Substack Team post about it here.
You can edit it to your own voice which is cool. I’ve gotten a few replies now so know it works. And what’s really cool is that nobody gets hit twice in six months. The algorithm does the ask you probably were afraid to do anyways.
2. The Home Page UpSell
Substack is evolving all the time and one of the coolest things I see is your ability to edit and customize your homepage. You have the option to edit it and customize what people will see depending on the tier they subscribe.
Ask a free reader one thing and tell a paid something else. Someone clicks in from a Note and that homepage is the only thing standing between them and the back button. Most writers leave it blank.
Don’t be most writers.
3. Recording Studio
This is new to me and only launched earlier this year in 2026.
You can now record a video conversation. Solo or with up to two guests without going live, and sit on it until it’s actually good before you publish.
Used to be video meant going live on Substack or editing and uploading from other platforms, but this seems easy to use and I’m excited to do some interviews for The Rejects and use it.
4. Scheduling.
You can write a note and schedule it whenever you want. If you’re like me and do a lot of voicememos in the car and random thougts on your phone, this is gonna be gold.
I like this and will report back soon after I try it.
5. Reply Rules
You set the rules and there’s a system that learns what you want in your comments section. Not sure how I feel about it yet because comments are fuel for content. But I know that I’ve been on the both ends of the comment section, so maybe this is a way of protecting your energy.
None of this works if you never change
You can automate , customize , and schedule the Note for peak hours and it still won’t matter if the writing doesn’t make someone feel something.
That’s always been the way. With headlines, with stories, with articles about marketing like this.
And back to what I said at the start of this thing.
The discount on Something to Bury ends tonight. Thirty-five dollars annuall back to whatever I decide it’s worth tomorrow.
Same goes for The Rejects, the fiction sub, if you’re the type likes to support writers.
Do it right and the hub works. Do it wrong and you’re just another automated email nobody opens, running on a homepage nobody reads and another Substack in the dust.
Maybe you’ve felt it too. The rot. Not metaphorical , you know like the actual, physical, like something gone soft in the back of the fridge you keep meaning to throw out. In your work. Your marriage. The version of yourself you trot out for an algorithm that doesn’t know your name and wouldn’t care if it did.
That’s what Something to Bury is for.
There’s a paid tier with honest parts. The too-much parts sometimes. And a ton of goodies as I figure this out.