[Start Here] Welcome to Substack, Simplified

Clean up your settings so you can hit publish without worrying. This isn't where you learn what to say, just where to click.

May 10, 2025

You joined Substack! You’re ready to create—

But then you got stuck trying to make sense of your publishing settings.

Which is a pretty big bummer.

You’re meeting lovely people. You start forming great connections. Only later do you discover, they’re confused, too! They were just too embarrassed to talk about it. Kinda like you…

No one tells you that joining Substack means building your own website.

But that’s exactly what it is—whether you’re ready for it or not.

Let’s play this out for a minute—

You heard about this new social media platform thing. Maybe a friend told you about it. Or someone sent you an article from one of the many talented Substack writers out there. So you signed up to take a look.

“Just what is all this hype about??” you think to yourself.

Luckily, it’s very easy to make an account. And that’s what gets you excited. But just as quickly, you got stuck... Because setting up your Substack site is not like creating a Facebook page, Instagram account, or LinkedIn profile...

On Substack, you suddenly become:

a performance marketer.
a UX design strategist.
a website admin.

That's... well c’mon, that's a lot! And then you still have to write the stuff you came here to publish.

Welcome to Substack, Simplified!

No, this isn’t another writing course.

If you’re here, you probably want to create. And getting things set up is just not as easy as you’d thought. Well, you’re certainly not alone.

We’ve all spent hours clicking through menus, settings, and tabs. Some of us published something, and couldn’t figure out where it went—talk about frustrating. You might even be one hidden setting away from calling it quits…

But maybe you don’t have to do that just yet.

Because you’re in the right place.

This space is for writers who want to hit publish without worrying about their settings.

And there are a few things you can do to get started.

Read for free.

No catch. No hacks.

Download the 5 Ps checklist (free).

Here’s your map. It’ll walk you through the five key areas of setting up your Substack.

→ Get your free checklist

Join the Substack Simplified Cohort (totally optional).

If you want help walking through setup with your 5 Ps map, I run a live program that gets your Substack up and running in under 30 days.

What it looks like:

Week 1: Substack Profile, and Publication Setup.
Week 2: Your "Welcome" Sequence & Post Settings.
Week 3: Building Your Newsletter Format & Workflow.
Week 4: Mastering Your Substack Stats.

→ Learn more about the cohort

About me

I’m Derek, a former wilderness guide turned systems consultant. For the past 15 years, I’ve helped hundreds of marketers, writers, executives, and industry leaders figure out the messy tech side of email software so they can create and publish without worrying about their settings.

I don’t teach writing.

I help simplify your tech setup.

So you can focus on what you’re actually here for.

Questions?

This space is designed to be simple, clear, and useful. Want to know more? Reply to a post, or reach out directly.

Glad you’re here.

onward.

-Derek

P.S. If you’re into systems thinking and doing meaningful work without burning out, check out my main publication,

Unobstructed

It’s a great next step once you’re set up here.

Note: this publication, the concepts described, and any resources shared here are not affiliated with Substack.