R.I.P Publication Short Description Long Live Profile BIO
Substack just buried the Publication short description you've worked so hard to perfect!
Hi friends!
Something strange happened! I was welcoming some premium members into the community and… I could not find their publications anymore from their profile.
Substack is a little like a tidiness obsessed person that keeps changing where they keep their things… we all know this… but just hiding the publications made no sense!
Had you noticed that your publication(s) link(s) are gone? (Let me know in the comments)
Before…if you didn’t pay attention… they looked like in this desktop version- see pic below. If someone had several publications, you’d see them all listed there.
See Me Time? See The Fine Print?
What about from the app?
Gone!
To find a person’s publication from the app you need to:
Go to their profile
Press on posts
Pick a post
Press on the publication name there
E voila! You have found the publication- 4 STEPS -
The publication description is hidden 4 CLICKS deep!
Some hours later I found an easier name to find the publication! Duh!
But still hidden. Now your publications are hidden in that tiny link icon! 🫠
Seriously! Who thought this was a good idea!? Anyhow… with this development, we need to adapt! Here are the next steps:
What should we do?
Firstly, I recommend to update the BIO under your Substack Profile. Ready?
This is how you do it:
Go to your profile, click “Edit profile”, then edit the text box labeled BIO.
It says bio 3 fields down. you cannot miss it.
What to write in your BIO….
If you have one publication:
What you write about (get specific)
For what type of people (be specific)
What are the outcomes (be super specific)
Why are you writing about this (this is the authority part- why are you an expert or passionate about this)
Something about you (if there is room).
The order is not super important. Precision is.
This is basically a mix of what we spoke of in the Publication Short Description with a splash of who you are.
If you have 2 publications, either focus on one or find a way to mix the two! Space is limited!
Pro tip:
Many give you recipes for the bio, for the publication short description…
literally formulas… do a search, you will find many!
But ditch the templates!
You are a creator, you are a writer trying to stand out→
You need to find your own way, otherwise you will sound like everyone else.
I have tried recipes and at the beginning I thought buch better! Then… I realized… I was sounding like everyone else!
The point of the description is to be yourself!
Authentic!
Uncensured!
In your own words!
If you feel totally lost…
Do get inspired by looking at the BIOs of some people you admire here. Then try your hand at your own!
This is the longer way… they way you work on every piece of your publication fully…
And guess what? You need this for your publication and business! You need to say in 2 sentences what you do. If you can’t you need to work on your business. Get to clarity.
P.S. Founding members get my help you with your Substack and business strategy! We start from the publication basics and go from there! So everyone knows exactly what they get from your site and newsletter! Check out the benefits now.
Do you have any questions?
Ask in the comments.
Thanks for the update ☺️
Thanks for the reminder and update, Noemi!!