There’s an exhausted marketing rule that says: give away the what and the why, but hide the how.
We hate that rule. And we’re not doing it.
This piece is a full breakdown of what’s actually working — and what isn’t — on Substack for two Christian women entrepreneurs building businesses on their own terms. No gatekeeping. Just the how.
1. Who This Is For [00:01:47]
If you’re a kingdom woman called to the online business marketplace, you are called to create wealth that blesses, gives, and disrupts broken systems. Substack and podcasting are key tools in that ecosystem — for building trust, engaging with followers, growing your subscriber base, and generating sustainable revenue.
This conversation is for you if:
You’re tired of being a slave to social media
You want to monetize your expertise and thought leadership
You’re curious about subscription tiers and paywalls but don’t know where to start
You want to use Substack as the front door to your mid or high-ticket offers
2. Why Substack — Not Social Media [00:04:01]
Kristin put it plainly: on Facebook, even long, high-value posts reach only 2–3% of your audience. And one hack, one bad algorithm day, one policy violation — and everything you’ve built is gone.
Substack is different. It’s a culture of depth. Readers come here expecting to invest. They understand that going deeper means upgrading to a paid tier. That built-in mindset shift is exactly what we want for our ideal clients — because on the other side of that investment is where transformation happens.
3. The Facebook Hack That Changed Everything [00:05:46]
In early 2025, one week before a nine-day live launch, Kristin was hacked. She lost her Facebook community of over 1,000 members, her Instagram, and every personal group she had ever created — including family videos of her child’s first steps.
She pushed through. And somehow, 2025 became her best revenue year since starting her business in 2019 — with 2026 on track to break six figures.
What saved her? Her email list and Kingdom Collaborations — relationships she owned and had invested in. Social media is rented land. The hack was an eviction notice she didn’t see coming.
The lesson: Build your business on what you own. Email, relationships, and platforms like Substack that put you in control.
4. The “Be a Human First” Framework [00:09:08]
After the hack, Kristin didn’t rebuild a Facebook group. Instead, she hosted what she calls activation events — live Zoom sessions that moved people off her email list and into a real-time room with her.
The formula:
Give away the frameworks. Don’t gatekeep.
Ask specific questions that get people to raise their hand.
When they do, slide into the DMs — not to pitch, but to be a human first.
In 2026, especially with AI making everything feel fake, people need to know you’re real. The activation event → DM conversation is how Kristin turns warm subscribers into ready-to-invest clients.
5. Substack Is the Vehicle. Your Business Is the Destination. [00:12:22]
This is Kristin’s core framework and it’s worth writing down.
Substack is not the end goal. It’s the front end — the trust pathway that pulls subscribers toward your paid tiers, and then from your paid tiers toward your mid or high-ticket offers.
Her structure looks like this:
Free Substack content → establishes thought leadership and earns trust
Paid tier → delivers a “no-brainer yes” offer packed with value (e.g., her movement-based marketing message framework)
Paid tier → advisory or high-ticket program → the real transformation
Substack doesn’t replace your business. It feeds it.
6. Pricing Strategy: Start Cheap, Create Momentum, Then Raise [00:21:46]
Here’s what Kristin actually did when she launched:
Started at $5/month and $50/year as a founding member rate
Hosted a three-day Substack intensive priced at $397 — but offered annual subscribers a $100 coupon
Result: she was ranking #69 then #21 Rising in Business within two weeks of launching on Substack
The move? Incentivize people to subscribe by tying a launch offer to the paid tier. Whether it’s a beta program, a course, or a live intensive — give them a reason to come in at the subscription level now.
Her current rates ($7/month, $57/year) are still, by her own admission, dirt cheap. She’s raising them on May 20th. If you want to lock in founding member pricing, now’s the time.
The tip you can steal: If you’re not ready to commit to annual subscribers, price your annual plan at something like $100,000 and let people come in monthly. Jen shared the same strategy — it removes the pressure to over-commit while you figure out your offer stack.
7. What Is a Substack Bestseller? [00:25:30]
Two rankings to know:
Rising in Business — based on the rate of new subscriber growth, not total size. You can fluctuate up and down. Kristin hit #95 the week of this live after a fresh influx of new subscribers.
Bestseller Badge — believed to require approximately 100 paid subscribers. Once you earn it, you keep it. Substack then pushes your publication out to others in your category. It’s a compounding visibility advantage.
To get there, you need a strategic push — a launch, a campaign, a reason for people to subscribe now. If you want the badge, you have to go get it.
8. The Biggest Mistake — And How to Avoid It [00:28:34]
Kristin’s answer was immediate: not putting herself out there sooner.
She started her business in 2019. By 2020, the online space exploded and people who simply showed up and provided value became multi-millionaires. She hid behind her email list, worried about what people would think.
“Entrepreneurship is personal development. And sometimes it takes a lot longer than it should because of that.”
The second mistake? Staying in student mode. Consuming content, taking courses, preparing forever — instead of doing.
Every new level of your business will feel terrifying. That’s not a sign you’re not ready. That’s what a real promotion feels like.
9. Moving Your Podcast to Substack [00:39:36]
Should you move your podcast to Substack? It depends on your goals.
Move if:
You don’t need download analytics for sponsorships
You want one streamlined place to publish, email, and monetize
You’re focused on selling your own offers, not ad revenue
The process:
Takes about 30 minutes
Set up a redirect from your old host (Buzzsprout, Libsyn, etc.) to Substack
New episodes publish on Substack; old episodes follow via the redirect
Kristin’s workflow went from 90 minutes per episode down to 30 minutes after the switch
Jen’s philosophy: sell your own stuff on your podcast. Don’t give your best real estate away to sponsors.
10. Restacking Strategy — Stop Saying “Love This Post” [00:37:55]
Restacking is one of Substack’s most underused growth tools. But how you restack matters.
When you restack or comment, add a real thought. Explain why it resonated. Share a different angle. Ask a question.
Why? Two reasons:
You encourage the creator
You showcase your own thinking to their audience
When you add a meaningful comment on someone else’s post, their followers see it — and they click on you. “Love this post” does nothing for either party.
Pro tip from Kristin: she restacks her own quotes from longer posts to create notes with a fresh perspective. It extends the life of her content without creating anything new.
11. What’s NOT Working on Substack [00:44:56]
Kristin’s honest answer: the community feature.
Substack chats are either open to everyone, subscribers only, or paid subscribers — but there’s only one publication chat. For those who want the energy of a real community space (like a Facebook Group), it doesn’t fully deliver that yet.
The good news? Substack knows this. They’ve added email automations for new subscribers, they’re evolving fast, and they’ve stated explicitly that Substack is no longer just a newsletter platform. Early adopters who understand this are already ahead.
12. The Real Results [00:46:06]
In her first two months on Substack — before paid tiers, without even trying to monetize — Jen earned $6,000 through connections and conversations.
Kristin’s first month: approximately $1,500 on Substack and another $4,500 in program sales from subscribers she moved to her advisory. Close to $6,000, just like that.
“Did anybody earn $6,000 in their first two months on LinkedIn or Facebook or Instagram?”
The difference is the culture. Substack subscribers come ready to invest. Activate the right people, and they want to move forward.
13. Managing Your Email List + Substack [00:47:26]
Kristin’s system (using GoHighLevel as her CRM):
She did not import her original email list into Substack. She started fresh.
Every Friday, her VA exports new Substack subscribers as a spreadsheet and imports them into GoHighLevel with two tags: “Substack” and either “Substack free subscriber” or “Substack paid subscriber.”
When she publishes something on Substack, that post goes to her Substack subscribers automatically.
She then sends a curiosity-driven email to her GoHighLevel list (minus the Substack-tagged contacts) with a few tips and a link to come over to Substack.
The result: two separate streams funneling toward the same destination, without duplication.
15. Final Word — Do the Thing Scared [00:53:40]
If you feel called to get off the rat race of social media and stop being a slave to the algorithm — do the thing.
Ask for help. Enlist someone who has done it. Every new level will feel uncomfortable. That’s not a red flag. That’s a promotion.
“If it’s a real promotion, you have no freaking clue what you’re doing. And you’re in there saying, ‘I’m going to figure it out.’ But inside, you’re terrified. That is the journey of entrepreneurship.”
You’re in exactly the right place.
Resources Mentioned
Kristin Dronchi — Business by God’s Design | Kingdom Business Revolution Podcast
Subscription pricing raises May 20th — subscribe before then for founding member rates
Substack Authority & Monetization Mapping Intensive — DM Kristin to learn more
Jen Rogers — Substack Podcast Studio | Virtual Podcast School
Episodes 1–5 of the Substack Podcast Studio are live now
Want to practice going live on Substack? Reach out — Jen will go live with you
