As Above ↥ (🎙️ Listen ), So Below ↡ ( Read📄)
The Library 📜 at the 🪄Business Witch Academy💸 is an edutainment series published by The Business Witch Academy which blends the magic of storytelling, the potent learning potential of humor and interactive components with tried and true business concepts and strategies to make learning how to maximize your business revenue fun, relatable, easy and affordable. This publication exists because of the paid support of readers like you. If you find value in what I’m doing here, please show your support by shopping in the store, becoming a subscriber (and getting all the perks that come with it) or joining my live business support group.
⚠️Burnout & Broken Funnels
Let’s be honest:
“Just show up consistently” is a lie.
You’re posting everywhere—LinkedIn, Instagram, your podcast, your blog—and somehow still hearing crickets.
It's not because you’re lazy. It’s not because you’re doing it wrong.
It’s because you don’t have a system.
You have scattered effort. And it’s slowly burning you out.
But that ends here.
🌀 The Solopreneur Spiral Is Real
We all know the cycle:
Post → Crickets → Burnout → Ghost your audience → Guilt → Try again harder.
Rinse. Repeat.
That hamster wheel isn’t your fault. It’s the natural outcome of trying to grow a business on platforms that don’t belong to you—where your visibility is throttled and your content disappears into the void 24 hours later.
So let’s flip the script.
What if your content didn’t just disappear?
What if it created connection—and that connection led to actual conversions?
That’s what happens when you use Substack strategically.
🧠 What Substack Really Is
Substack is not just a newsletter. It’s your:
Lead Generator
Authority builder
Content repurposing hub
Trust engine
Relationship nurturer
Income-generating machine
In short? Substack can become the hub of your entire business funnel.
💀 Are you sick of grinding yourself into dust with traditional business advice?
🛠 Want strategic, sustainable growth without the overwhelm?
🔥 Need clarity, automation, and high-impact action plans to reclaim your time?
🔮 Value authenticity and out-of-the-box thinking in business?
At the Business Witch Academy we are bringing action to inspiration and turning dreams into reality for freelancers, solo-preneurs, and new start-ups by ditching the hustle culture lies and teaching business owners like you how to reclaim your time, scale your operations, and find success in ways so easy, it feels like MAGIC.
It’s the support of readers like you, that keep our doors open & the magic flowing!
Here’s how:
🔧 What Substack Actually Does (That You Might Not Know)
Substack is a powerhouse of functionality that replaces a dozen other tools. You can use it as your:
All in one platform. No duct tape. No extra logins. No burnout.
🧭 Why Substack Belongs at the Center of Your Sales Funnel
Substack isn’t just a place to “share ideas.”
Used correctly, it becomes your entire sales system, powering every stage of your sales funnel:
Top of Funnel: Attract new leads
Middle of Funnel: Nurture trust & convert prospects
Bottom of Funnel: Sell your offer, subscription, or service
Back End: Retain clients & spark referrals
Think of it as the control room behind your visibility, sales, and client retention.
🔌 Map the Features to the Funnel
Substack has dozens of features you can take advantage of. It’s all connected—and it’s all built to work together.
But making it work? That requires strategy. Thought, planning, and a tactical deployment of those features.
Here’s how the pieces fit together:
Lead Generation:
Substack Notes
Social shares
“Refer a Friend” feature
Podcast distribution
SEO-indexed web pages
Substack Recommendations
Lead magnet delivery
Custom Domain
Nurture Relationships:
Email marketing
Long-form content
Video & audio
Live broadcasts
Case studies, storytelling, and thought leadership
Lead Magnet delivery
Sell The Thing:
Embedded CTAs
Paywalls
“Buy Now” buttons
Paid subscriptions
Premium chat access
Community features
Repeat & Refer:
Early access to offers
Subscriber-only sales
Exclusive content
Recurring subscriptions
Built-in referral tools
Newsletter style business updates
💥 Three Funnels That Actually Work
You don’t need to invent a brand new system, you don't need to duck-tape together a dozen platforms, you don't need to create custom content for 5 different platforms—you just need to implement a strategic system designed to support your business model.
There’s no one way to use Substack. It's versatile, which is it's strength, but without a stategy you won't maximize the power it offers.
Here are three example Substack funnels that real solopreneurs (myself included) use to grow without burnout:
Funnel 1: The Content Repurposing Funnel
Don't make more work for yourself. You're already creating content. Substack helps you do more with it.
The middle of your funnel is your core long form content. It builds trust, nurtures relationships, and ultimately, converts buyers. The true power of Substack over other platforms for hosting this long form content is the ability to directly deliver that content to your email list, rather than hoping they subscribe to your YouTube channel or podcast, or visit your blog on a regular basis.
All of your top of funnel, lead generation content on social media should be based on that long form content in the form of quotes, clips, shared links, and commentary about that content.
Your bottom of funnel, where you "sell the thing" is contained inside that long form content in the form of calls to action, buy buttons, and ads.
Then you're going to maintain your relationship with your entire network, especially former customers, the "back end" of your funnel by doing things like giving them early access to content, exclusive content, special discounts, and business news and announcements.
No more creating content for every platform. Substack becomes your hub, and everything else flows to and from it.
Funnel 2: The “All-In” Substack Funnel
Ready to stop platform-hopping? This is your move.
Go "All-In" on Substack, because you can. Substack itself is a full funnel.
Like the content repurposing funnel, you start with your long form content in the form of Substack "posts" which can be written, audio, and/or video content. You'll build trust, nurture relationships, and overcome objections.
You'll share that content and smaller content based on the long content to Substack Notes to generate leads at the top of your funnel. You'll also use features such as Substack Recommendations and Refer a Friend buttons.
You'll sell inside the long form content by monetizing your long form content using Substack's paywall features and sponsorships. Substack gives you a lot of flexibility in how this done - locking all content behind the paywall, some content behind the paywall, or even offering early access to paid subscribers and delayed access to non-paying subscribers.
Your back end of the funnel is built right into the bottom of your funnel because you're selling subscriptions, but you can also offer premium upsells to your paid subscribers too.
This one’s simple, sustainable, and wildly effective. Just publish on Substack—and grow.
Funnel 3: The Podcast Funnel
Already podcasting? Substack handles that too.
Record your episodes directly in Substack or upload your episodes if you prefer to edit first.
Distribute to your subscribers via email (middle of funnel) but also broadcast to all the major players to offer point of contact convenience for your followers and capture new audience members.
Drive traffic back to Substack for show notes, subscribe buttons, paid content, exclusive Q&A sessions and early access.
No third-party hosting needed. No extra tech. No separate podcast site. You own your content and your audience. It all lives here.
🔁 Substack Isn’t “Just a Platform”
It’s your sales system, client funnel, and business hub—all in one place.
It simplifies your tech stack, centralizes your audience, and lets you build a business that works without burning out.
You don’t need to be everywhere.
You just need one platform that’s built for solopreneurs like you.
Simplify. Systemize. Substack.
🛠 Ready to Build a Substack Funnel That Actually Works?
You’ve seen what’s possible.
Now let’s build it—together.
I’m hosting two hands-on workshops designed to help you stop guessing and start growing with Substack. Each one gives you the tools, templates, and strategy to make your content work for your business—not the other way around.
🚀Launch Sequence Activated: Substack Systems for Entrepreneurs Who Want to Be Free and Successful
Together we'll build a working Substack you can actually use to grow your audience, connect with clients, and generate consistent income—without feeling like you're screaming to the void.
📅 June 17th & 18th | ⏰ 1:30–3:30pm EST | 💻 Live on Zoom
🧱 Setup Your Substack Publication
This guided working session is for Substack newbies. Together we will get your Substack set up and optimized for success.
Over 2 sessions, we'll cover:
📍 Session 1:
Name and brand your Substack
Configure all core settings (welcome emails, logos, pricing, layouts, etc.)
Import your current list without tech stress
📍 Session 2:
Setup the framework template for your posts with key elements that will ensure quality branding, messaging, and conversions.
How to optimize for SEO, engagement, and sales - without being an SEO expert
Create a post-publishing promotional process that builds momentum
📅 June 17th & 18th | ⏰ 1:30–3:30pm EST | 💻 Live on Zoom
💸 Early Bird Discount! Register before June 1st and Save $50
🛸Broadcasting from the Mothership: How to Build Your Substack Business Growth Eco-System
A live working session for entrepreneurs who want to stop shouting into the void and start building a strategic business that responds.
📅 Tuesday, July 8 | ⏰ 1:30–4:30pm EST | 💻 Live on Zoom
🧱 Build Your Substack Funnel from Scratch
If you're starting fresh or feeling scattered, this one’s for you.
We’ll cover:
In depth discussion of sales funnels and client journeys
How to choose the right funnel for your goals (no more “should I podcast?” confusion)
Live working session to map your services, offers, and audience journey onto a Substack-based funnel
In depth discussion of Substack features and how to configure them
How to structure content that leads to real conversions—not just applause
Live working session to start configuring your Substack to align with your new sales funnel.
You’ll leave with a working Substack sales system strategy—designed for your business, not someone else’s template.
📅 Tuesday, July 8 | ⏰ 1:30–4:30pm EST | 💻 Live on Zoom
💸 Early Bird Discount! Register before June 1st and Save $50
Reminder!
I have 2 live talks coming up on 3 dates (Ladies only). If you’d like the chance to learn more about what Substack can do for your business and the opportunity to participate in the Q&A, join me at Virtual Networkers. (The First Meeting is Free - no registration - just show up!)
👽 One Platform. Three Funnels. Zero Burnout.
How Solopreneurs Can Use Substack to Attract, Nurture, and Retain Clients
📅May 6th | ⏰ 12-1pm EST | 💻Tuesday Chapter Zoom📅June 4th | ⏰ 10-11am EST | 💻 Wednesday Morning Chapter Zoom
🛸 Content Multiplication with Substack as Your Mothership
Beam Up Your Best Ideas, Multiply Your Content, and Reclaim Your Time
📅May 27th | ⏰ 12-1pm EST | 💻 Tuesday Chapter Zoom
📅June 12th | ⏰ 1-2pm EST | 💻 Thursday Chapter Zoom
Stay Magical,
Cheryl
P.S. Would you like to earn free access to The Library 📜 archives?
DISCLAIMER
Some outbound links may financially benefit me and the page through affiliate programs. The affiliate relationship doesn’t influence my opinion, and I would never endorse programs, products, or services I didn’t use, approve of or feel familiar with. So if you use it, I may get compensated — but there’s no additional cost to you.
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