The One Page 99% of Substack Creators Overlook That Kills Subscriber Growth
It takes 10 minutes to fix and works for every visitor you'll ever get
Howdy, Wealth Gang🤠
Every single person who clicks on your Substack publication lands on one page before they see your content.
The welcome page.
(Half of you just asked yourselves, “What’s the welcome page again?” Don’t worry, screenshot below so we’re all on the same page. Literally🤠 )
Looks like nothing special, right?
No crazy design, or something that screams “optimize me!”
So most creators just… ignore it.
They don’t understand that EVERY-SINGLE person who clicks on your publication lands on THIS page..
Not some of them. ALL of them.
That means every visitor you’ve ever gotten — and every visitor you’ll ever get — walks through this door.
So if that door isn’t doing its job, you’re leaking subscribers every single day without even knowing it.
Today I brought in no other than Jess, The Creator (built multiple Substack best-seller publications, with 8.7K+ subscribers combined) to make sure your welcome page is optimized for subscriber growth. :)
Here’s what you’ll get from Jess in Part 1:
✓ What the welcome page actually is and where to find it
✓ Why leaving it on default leaks subscribers every single day
✓ The biggest mistake most welcome pages make
✓ Her 3-Part Framework to make the right visitor think “this is for me” the second they land
Then I’ll take over in Part 2 with two specific fixes:
✓ How to set up your welcome page so not hitting “subscribe” feels like a loss
✓ How to add testimonials through a hidden Substack feature most creators never find
Let’s get into it! :D
What Is The Welcome Page & Why It Matters (By Jess)
This simple screen has a name and it’s called your “Welcome page.”
It’s the moment between:
Discovering your publication and deciding whether to stay or leave
It’s simple:
A headline.
An email field.
A decision.
If it’s unclear, you’re leaking subscribers every day.
Not because your content isn’t good, but because your positioning isn’t clear yet.
Before we get deeper into this it’s important to know where to locate the Welcome page:
Go to your publication “Dashboard.”
Scroll down on the left side to “CREATOR TOOLS.”
Under CREATOR TOOLS, click “Website editor.”
Once in the Website editor, click “Welcome page” on the left side.
Now you will be able to customize your Welcome page.
Remember, to always click save on the right side of the Website editor.
Here’s an example of what the Website editor for Unstuck to Published.
You want to customize your:
Welcome page image.
Your colors.
Your Display.
Enable “show name” & “show description.”
This is your “publication short description” under the Settings of your publication. You go to Dashboard, Settings, and edit it under “Basics.”
Your skip button.
And, one more very important part of the Welcome page that’s not included here in the Website editor.
Timo is going to show you actually how to add testimonials from subscribers to your Welcome page!
The Foundation Most People Skip (By Jess)
Most people focus on content first, but this page is part of your foundation.
Your Welcome page sets:
Expectations.
Direction.
Perceived value.
Before someone reads a single word.
Weak foundation → They skip.
Strong foundation → They subscribe.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
I’ve built 11 Substack publications over the past 2 years.
3 have reached Best-Seller status.
Across all of them, one pattern is consistent:
The ones that grow…Start with clarity.
The ones that stall…Don’t and are unclear.
The Biggest Mistake (By Jess)
Most welcome pages say:
“Subscribe for updates.”
Or:
“Enter your email to receive new posts.”
That tells the reader nothing.
There’s no outcome, no audience, and no reason to stay.
So they leave.
The Goal:
Your welcome page has one job:
Make the right person think: “This is for me.”
The 3-Part Welcome Page Framework (By Jess)
Most people overcomplicate this and you don’t need to
You only need three things:
1. A Clear Outcome
What does your publication help someone do?
Weak:
“Welcome to my newsletter.”
Strong:
“Build and publish your Substack the right way from day one.”
Clarity converts.
2. A Specific Audience Signal
Who is this for?
Weak:
“For anyone interested in writing.”
Strong:
“For creators who want to start a Substack, but feel stuck before publishing.”
When people feel seen, they stay.
3. A Simple Reason To Subscribe
Not features, not templates, and not frequency.
A result, outcome, or a transformation.
Examples:
“Get step-by-step frameworks to go from idea → published.”
“Learn how to turn your Substack into a paid income stream.”
What This looks Like in Real Practice (Simple)
Publication name: “Unstuck to Published”
Description: “Helping writers get unstuck, stop overthinking, and start publishing with clarity and structure.”
Skip button: “don’t get unstuck”
That’s it.
Build it right the first time and everything else becomes easier.
2 Changes That Convert More Visitors Into Subscribers (By Timo Mason🤠)
Jess just covered what the welcome page is, how to build it right, and what it should say.
Now I'm going to show you two sneaky optimization fixes that take your visitor-to-subscriber conversion rate to the next level. :D
Fix 1: Make Your “Skip” CTA Negative
Let me tell you about a mistake I caught on a client’s welcome page.
His “skip” button said: “Let me see the content :D”
Looks harmless, right?
It’s not.
Here’s something important to understand:
The user experience is the same whether they click “subscribe” or “skip”. They see your content after either way, the only difference is that one of them is now subscribed to you, the other isn’t.
If your “skip” button says something exciting like “Let me see the content :D” you’re basically telling them: “Hey, no need to subscribe to me. Just go right ahead!”
The Fix: Make not subscribing feel like losing.
Instead of a positive CTA like “Let me see the content :D” use something flat and slightly uncomfortable like:
“I’m not interested”
“No thanks”
“I’ll pass”
Nothing aggressive, just… not exciting.
When clicking away feels neutral or slightly bad, more people default to the better-feeling option, which is subscribing.
The rule: never make it feel good to “not subscribe.”
Fix 2: Add Testimonials to Your Welcome Page
Testimonials on your welcome page build instant trust and social proof, which means more visitors hit subscribe.
Simple as that.
Substack has a built-in testimonials feature to display 3 testimonials on your welcome page.
The reason 95% of creators don’t use this feature is that it’s buried deep inside settings you never stumble across…
How To Find The Testimonials Feature
It’s NOT in your welcome page editor where you changed the button from Fix 1.
Here’s where it actually lives:
Go to your Recommendations tab in Substack settings
Scroll all the way down
Find “Manage Recommendation Blocks”
There you’ll see the option to add testimonials
What If You Don’t Have Any Testimonials Yet?
If you’re just starting out, this page will probably have no testimonials yet, which is completely fine. :)
Let me show you my exact workflow that brough me in testimonials from big creators like Wyndo and Dr Sam Illingworth.
It all comes down to genuine connections with other Substack creators.
I wrote a full Substack networking playbook for that, but here’s my specific workflow for getting testimonials:
When you recommend someone on Substack, you can add a “Reason to subscribe”. Most people just recommend without a reason, but that text IS the testimonial, you can add into your welcome page. (confusing, I know).
So what I do is, I write testimonials for other creators, I’m recommending and then send them a quick message like this:
“Hey, I wrote this testimonial for you. (Showing Screenshot) Do with it whatever you want. And if you ever feel like doing something similar for me, I’d really appreciate it. :D”
Most of the time people are genuinely happy to return the favor. :)
Give first. The rest usually takes care of itself.
Welcome Page In Place
Here’s everything we covered today:
Jess walked you through the foundation most creators skip, what the welcome page actually is, why clarity converts, and her 3-Part Framework to make the right visitor think "this is for me" the second they land.
Then we fixed it together:
✓ A negative opt-out CTA so leaving feels like a loss
✓ Testimonials hidden inside your Substack settings that build instant trust
Every visitor from today onwards hits a page built to convert with 0 extra work from your side.
Huge thanks to Jess for Part 1, if you’re not already following her, go fix that now!
Your welcome page is optimized. Now let’s optimize the rest of your Substack! :D
I broke down everything else inside the Substack Side-Hustle Sprint, a free 5-day masterclass toward a $2K/month newsletter that replaces your 9-5.
Subscribe to Write Your Way To Wealth and get it for free →
See ya soon
Timo Mason🤠
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 | A guest post by
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Most people try to fix growth with more content.
But if the foundation is off, it won’t convert.
This is where to start.
This article came out amazing, Timo! thank you so much for asking me to collaborate with you! I updated and optimized my Welcome page since implementing your two fixes. thank you again! Jess