Sparkle on Substack

Hi folks,

I’m excited to bring you this conversation with Destini Copp. Hasn’t she got the most wonderful accent?

Destini and I connected because she wrote a killer headline in her email newsletter.

I reached out and asked if she fancied coming on my podcast.

At the time of recording Destini was fairly new to Substack.

She’s an expert in newsletters and runs the Newsletter Profit Club which I’ve been in for a while.

In her own words…

Hi, I’m Destini - a certified business growth coach, marketing professor, and host of the Creator’s MBA Podcast. I help digital product entrepreneurs go beyond funnels and build rinse-and-repeat growth flywheels (with a little AI magic) so sales feel consistent, not stressful.

Over the years I’ve:

* Taught 12,000+ students through online courses and programs

* Built multiple digital product brands (including my B2C brand, HobbyScool)

* Shared my expertise on 50+ top industry podcasts and events

At the heart of it all, my mission is simple: to help you scale a business that gives you freedom, flexibility, and predictable revenue — without burning out.

Connect on LinkedIn ».

https://www.destinicopp.com

https://www.instagram.com/destinicopp/

Podcast - The Creator’s MBA

AI summary

Claire sits down with Destiny, an online educator and newsletter powerhouse who has just launched The $1 Million Hobby School Experiment — a bold public journey to grow and potentially sell her B2C brand, Hobby School, for £1M by 2027. Every twist and behind-the-scenes moment is being published inside her new paid Substack.

Destiny brings serious depth to the conversation:

* She’s taught marketing online since 2005.

* She runs Creators MBA, helping thousands build and sell digital products.

* Her B2C brand Hobby School has 40,000+ subscribers — grown almost entirely through collaborations, not social media.

* She operates complex email systems, funnels, and a weekly newsletter outside of Substack.

She joined Substack for two reasons: her audience kept asking, and she needed the perfect home to document this high-stakes, build-and-sell experiment. Substack’s long-form, story-driven nature made it the obvious choice.

Claire lifts the curtain on how Substack really works — the mix of newsletters, social discovery, and Notes. Notes, she explains, rewards honesty, personality, and storytelling far more than promotional posts. The magic is that Notes activity naturally draws readers into the main publication, where the deeper connection happens.

Claire offers Destiny practical, strategic pointers:

* Use a clear publication name that situates the reader instantly.

* Add pinned posts, helpful site navigation, and hero posts to welcome newcomers.

* Keep everything under one publication for momentum and clarity.

* Pair Substack with existing email systems — they strengthen each other.

They dive into the power of discovery without traditional social media. Destiny has barely touched Instagram or TikTok, so Substack may become her first true social platform — one built for readers, community, and narrative rather than noise.

Together they explore:

* Storytelling as the engine of growth.

* Why people connect more deeply to humans than faceless brands on Substack.

* The pleasure of reading in the Substack app.

* How Claire has grown her own thriving community through Notes, meetups, and thoughtful collaborations — not virality.

* How even major brands are beginning to use Substack for storytelling.

Claire finishes by screen-sharing Destiny’s Substack, offering branding tweaks, and planning a future check-in as the experiment unfolds. Destiny also invites Claire to teach inside Creators MBA.

It was wonderful to catch up with Selina Barker ahead of the arrival of my new journal which happened live on camera!

Do connect in with her if you’d like to purchase them for you and/ or friends this winter.

I have a list of freebies too including my Substack planner. You can download it here…

Thank you Milli Hill, Louise Tilbrook, Alyssa Polizzi, The Artist's Toolbox, Daria Diaz, and many others for tuning into my live video with Nirja Joshi!

Here’s the very last call for the course and programme I run for business owners who use Substack! Join us for The Business of your Substack.

If you want to head into 2026 feeling more savvy about how Substack fits with a sustainable eco-system, this is the course you need. I bring my three years of experience here (successes and mistakes) and we work on the strategy that works for you for Substack WITH your business. Doors close 13th November.

Download my FREE Audience Alchemy class and kindle your understanding of your audience and your relationship to them. ⚡️

Hi folks,

I recorded this episode for you to bring you into my inner world when it comes to publishing here. You can listen or watch over on my YouTube channel.

🎙️ AI Episode Summary: Sparkle on Substack – Staying Creative Amid Change

Claire Venus reflects on her evolving Substack journey since 2022, exploring how the platform and her own creative practice have transformed.

She shares honest insights into:

* Recent platform changes (like the news feed and algorithm updates) that have shifted how creators experience Substack — sometimes feeling overstimulating, requiring stronger boundaries and intentional use.

* Creative sustainability, encouraging creators to focus less on metrics and more on intuition, depth of connection, and creative joy.

* Community and support, highlighting the power of memberships, hot seat calls, and peer spaces for creative growth and shared learning.

* Audience evolution, drawing on her background in audience development and reminding listeners to listen to and learn from their readers.

Claire opens up about:

* Experiencing slowed growth, subscriber churn, and algorithmic setbacks.

* Taking a period of deep rest over summer to reset her energy and perspective.

* Returning to her core values of depth, connection, and authentic creativity, rather than chasing fast growth.

She reminds listeners that:

* Paid newsletters and memberships still work — even in slower seasons.

* Churn is normal and not personal.

* Substack is still a place for long-term, meaningful audience building — not instant success.

Don’t forget it’s FREE to download my 2026 Substack planner if you’d like.

You can follow me on instagram - I love a chat! ✨

Thank you Louise Tilbrook, Kathy Slack, Practical Astros ⚕️, Jennifer Zarin, LCAT, Nicole Clark, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.

Here’s the challenge I reference which is live right now. All welcome and FREE to members. ✨

Thank you Chitra 🦋 Eder, Margaret Williams, MS, ACC, Your Menopause Toolkit, Louise Tilbrook, Lynn Hill, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.

Artist I mention…

https://www.yoshitomonara.org

More on Diamond membership if you are called to read/ join -

My FREE audience alchemy class that helps you discover your ideal reader and get more confident about where your writing meets them is here.

Thank you Alyssa Polizzi, The Artist's Toolbox, Daria Diaz, daphne cohn, Liisa Kovala, and many others for tuning into my live video with Substack Strategist Sarah Fay, PhD.

I hope you found it insightful.

I love Sarah’s frameworks and grounded advice. There’s not one thing she doesn’t know about how to get the most from this platform whilst keeping your integrity.

If you have a specific question about your Substack publication in 2026, drop them below in the comments and we’ll get to them next time.

Claire (and Sarah)

📔

If you’d like to do some gentle reflections and start to plan out your 2026 on Substack I’ve made my 123 page Substack Planner & Journal Companion free for a limited time.

Use this coupon and you can download it for free and print it so you’re ready to reflect and plan.

Hi Sparklers

I’m super excited to bring this cosy chat with Emma Carpendale to you today. Emma is an award-winning artist and illustrator who works from home here in the UK.

She generously shares more in her community The Creative Flock and on Substack live from time to time too.

We chat about…

* The subscription model

* Showing up with a multimedia approach and our chosen equipment

* The balance of free and membership content and the value

* Thematic anchors for our work

* Cultivating intimate spaces and deeper experiences

* How to deal with overwhelm and pulling back on showing up so much

* Balancing nervous system work, staying in your line with being online

* Finding good fit collaboration, unique creative practise and being live.

* Boundaries and balancing energy with long term goals

* Transitions between mum life and work

Through gentle imagery and storytelling, I aim to spark reflection, inspire care, and contribute to a more hopeful, compassionate world.

We also mention…

* Farrah @Substack and her wonderful publication Things Worth Knowing with Farrah Storr

* Sarah Raad over at Gather & Grow

* RAJ KAUR over at Art As Work

* Beth Spencer and Catherine Rayner at Introvert Drawing Club and Catherine Rayner’s Studio. Here’s the interview I mentioned.

* My post

Thank you so much to Emma Carpendale for podcasting with me. You can subscribe to her Substack publication, join her membership, visit her website and online shop or follow her on Instagram here. Remember, you have an exclusive 14day free trial if you’d like to use it.

We would LOVE for you to share this episode if it resonated with you. Remember you can also listen on spotify and apple podcasts.

Thank you Katie Chappell, Alyssa Polizzi, The Artist's Toolbox, Daria Diaz, New Harmony Homeopath, and many others for tuning into my live video with Russell Nohelty!

If you want more of Russell Nohelty and I, you can buy our Secrets of Substack Bestseller’s Masterclass. Two hours of the deep dive strategy that got us and our clients to be Substack bestsellers with 100s of paid subscribers.

This class is free to my 💎Diamond members

More on the overview of drip emails/ funnels from Substack here…

And Russell Nohelty’s take in a little more depth in this post too -

Thank you Georgina Dean, Annette Skye, Angela Limb, Catherine Davison, Beth Bastow, and many others for tuning into my live video with Claire Tomkins! Join me for my next live video in the app.

You can subscribe to Claire Tomkins here…

My free Audience Alchemy class is here if you want to get to know your audience better.