Easy stuff
Claim your subdomain here if you don’t already have one and pick a title
Connect Stripe and be sure to hide any personal contact info. Many publishers use a personal Google Voice account
Copywriting and strategy
Come up with your free vs. paid video content strategy for your subscribe page
Create an About page explaining who you are and what you plan to do on Substack with video, community and/or writing tools
Write a one-line description and set up your Welcome page
Write your welcome emails for free and paid subscribers
Website customization
Check out this guide for brand guidelines.
Select colors and homepage layout for your publication
Update your cover photo, logo, and watermark (if you have them)
Update the information in your Substack reader profile, including linking your social accounts
Enable Substack Chat
Launch
Be sure to drop in buttons to download the Substack app and reply to your Chat in the body of your post
Publish your launch post and grab the link in our share center
Announce your Substack launch on socials—check out @jenneatsgoood as an example
Send news of your Substack to all your friends and followers
Change bio links in your social channels to your new Substack
Ask friends to promote your launch posts or recommend your publication
Start a thread in your Chat—say hi, ask your subscribers to introduce themselves, and remind them to download the app for the best Chat experience!