Think Substack is a long game? Then explain this: New subscriber… $14k client.
Introducing the 'Welcome Funnel'
Think Substack is a long game?
Then explain this: New subscriber… $14k client.
This wasn’t my PLAN... but 45% of my sales came from New Subscribers last year. And it wasn’t even optimised then.
If you told me a welcome email could do that, I’d say you were nuts.
But... It’s not JUST the welcome email.
I’ll explain.
Oh, and this doesn’t work just for me; I’ve shown my clients:
➤ Her FIRST EVER client “came out of nowhere”. Once we dug around, we discovered the starting point was the welcome email.
➤ Another got 2 new clients @ $2700, with less than 50 subscribers
➤ Another gets waitlist signups DIRECTLY from the welcome email
It doesn’t matter how many subscribers you have or how often you publish. It doesn’t matter how many CTAs you have in your posts; it doesn’t even matter how many people read each week. It’s “cascading epiphanies” from New Subscribers that get a quick ’yes’.
Before I lay it out, here’s the headline:
Experts start on Substack because they want off social media.
But early traction is tricky, so they think Substack must be a slow burn... treating it as email nurture... (completely missing the point) and after weeks or months, many stop posting.
...they find themselves back on social, playing the algorithm.
Trying to get leads.
Again.
So to get around this, we want leads IMMEDIATELY from Substack.
A hyper SUBSCRIBABLE profile is like moth-flame for ideal READERS. This casts a wide net, scooping your target market into your world. The bio, the CTA, and the incentive to subscribe all must be on point.
Give new subscribers WHO ACTUALLY COULD USE HELP RIGHT NOW a path for more. They explore on their own (no selling). Positioned based **on them**, NOT what you want to sell. This isn’t a time to add value. They MUST quickly understand that you ‘get’ them, their problems, and their desire. This causes a series of epiphanies, like dominoes falling.
KEY: Instead of making your welcome email a lukewarm, blah, forgettable experience — cut straight to the point.
For example:Make your welcome email no bigger than one page
Scrap the usual stuff Substack recommends in their Welcome Email template
Give them your freebie incentive, be brief
1 or 2 sentences maximum about them and their world (so they realise you understand them), and reassure them you’re in safe hands.
This is the perfect place for a “learn more about solving your problem” video, or
link to a ULM (Unique Lead Mechanism), or
link to your best long-form educational content that converts new visitors (give them something to binge), or
link to your ‘Foundational Series’ to bring average readers up-to-speed on the fact that you know your shit and can genuinely help them
Provide a method for them to enter your sales process. THEY are motivated. But they know that by interacting or reaching out, you’ll respond. Meaning = they’re prepared to take a chance that what follows might be annoying or icky (salesy), BUT there’s hope that it won’t be like that, and that, in fact, you might actually be the real deal. You might be their solution. They come to you.
For example (in your welcome email still):In your sign-off, stick a photo of yourself. People can more easily realise you’re a real person (the internet is full of weirdo’s, but you’re not, of course) and are more likely to feel comfortable taking a risk, such as…
Use your ‘PS’ to link to your best offer. Don’t pussy foot around. What’s the thing you KNOW will help your ideal client? This is you giving your new subscriber the ‘skip the line’ fast pass, to get help now.
That’s ^^ your ‘Welcome Funnel’.
And when it’s dialled in, every new subscriber is a potential new client. For real.
NOTE: My quickest stranger-to-client... They subscribed, they followed their nose, and they booked a call. The next day, we spoke, and they enrolled. Zero follow-up or outreach from me. That process took 34.5 hrs, with $7K cleared in the bank.
Ok, so what’s the fastest solution?
Announcing:
Substack ‘Welcome Funnel’ Challenge 2026
We start SOON... Only 6 spots.
Each person will be challenged to build a world-class ‘Welcome Funnel’ for their Substack, test it, use it, get leads, and make sales.
Lucky 6 get:
→ Step-by-step instructions/screen-shares to set up the entire funnel, broken down into daily bite-sized challenges.
→ Templates for formatting, sentence structure, etc, to plug in your own info and offers (or use your AI), to trigger epiphanies and compel the right people to take action.
→ Me personally, live, throughout the challenge, guiding, pushing, and sharpening your ‘Welcome Funnel’, so that in just 7 days, your Substack will be a high-ticket client-generating machine.
→ BONUS: There are also side-challenges planned every day of the challenge, designed for growth, to get new subscribers into your world USING your new ‘Welcome Funnel’.
Whether you want more from your Substack, or want a tune-up, or you haven’t even started one yet...
I have a Google Doc with details about the challenge and pricing.
We start soon.
Say 👋🏼 in the comments and I’ll send it to you.
Cheers,
Pat
PS: This is early, I haven’t had time to build a landing page etc. The only way to learn more about the challenge — say 👋🏼 in the comments and I’ll send you the Google Doc.
Hi there Mr Pat
Hi Pat.