Welcome to The How You Profit Show. I’m Jeff Herring—host and, for today, your guest. I’m stepping back to show you the behind-the-scenes system that makes HowYouProfit.com the place for creators who want to profit.
You’ll get two big ideas and then a practical demo:
the Substack Flywheel,
the Evergreen Profit Machine (EPM),
a live walk-through of how they work together.
Along the way, I’ll share what took me twenty years to learn (and plenty of mistakes to make):
how to stop building “random acts of products” and start building a system that stacks, connects, and recurs.
Why Substack (and Why Now)
I’ve built businesses on many platforms. Substack is the most creator-friendly I’ve ever used. It’s marketed as a “newsletter,” but it’s far more: posts (what we used to call articles), Notes (the lifeblood of community growth), Live sessions (like this one), and a native way to turn free readers into paid subscribers.
Most people don’t think of Substack as list-building. It is.
Your Substack subscribers are your list community. Treat them well, and they’ll take great care of you.
The Substack Flywheel
Here’s the flywheel in one sentence:
Substack attracts subscribers → your content compounds trust → readers convert to paid subscriptions → readers discover your other offers → momentum compounds → back to the top.
Think of Substack itself as a lead magnet that keeps on giving. Unlike a one-and-done freebie, your Substack keeps delivering new value—posts, Notes, Lives—so subscribers stick, engage, and ascend.
Key idea: Ongoing content creates ongoing on-ramps to your paid subscriptions and to your wider product ecosystem.
A Better Lead Magnet: One That Doesn’t End
Traditional lead magnets are consumed once and forgotten. Substack flips that script. Because people subscribe to your world, your “lead magnet” continues: every new Note, post, and live session re-engages them and points to the next step.
Write this down: Your Substack is a lead magnet that keeps on giving.
It continuously nurtures, educates, and invites—without you rebuilding a funnel from scratch each week.
The Evergreen Profit Machine (EPM)
Most creators build random acts of products—a thing here, a thing there, no connective tissue. I did that in the early days and left a lot of money (and impact) on the table.
The EPM fixes that by organizing your offers into four roles:
Prequel Products
Low-priced, high-value starters (e.g., $7–$27).
Purpose: spark buying behavior, build a buyers list, and naturally lead into your core offer.Core Offer
Your flagship solution—the transformative result you’re best known for.Sequel Products
“What’s next?” for buyers who finished your core and want more depth, support, or access.
Great place for recurring programs (membership, group coaching).Spinoff Products
Deep dives or playful side-paths that emerge from audience demand or a hot module in your core.
All four are on-ramps to your world. They are:
Stacked (visibly tiered and easy to navigate),
Connected (each offer points to the others),
Recurring (at least one offer generates monthly/annual revenue).
When you build this way, every product you create increases the value of every other product.
Pricing and Substack Tiers
Substack supports three native paid tiers—monthly, annual, and a premium “founder” level. You can map your EPM into these:
Monthly: access to your core/recurring program.
Annual: offer 2 months free compared to monthly.
Founder/Premium: an “all-you-can-eat” tier with lifetime or high-touch benefits for a premium one-time fee.
This serves your audience at multiple commitment levels while rewarding your most dedicated supporters.
Offering All 4 Parts of Your EPM on Substack
Here’s the secret sauce: you don’t need a complicated tech stack. Substack already gives you everything you need to deliver your Prequel, Core, Sequel, and Spinoff products under one roof.
Prequel Products on Substack
Use free posts, Notes, or even a free Live session to offer a bite-sized win. Think of it like your sample platter. A “two-template mini-pack,” a “quick-start checklist,” or a “15-minute crash training” can all live on Substack as gated posts or bonus downloads. This lets you turn curiosity into commitment with zero friction.Core Products on Substack
Your core solution deserves structure. Deliver it through:
• Paid posts or series (dripped modules, delivered weekly).
• Private Substack Lives (workshops or coaching sessions).
• Subscriber-only Notes & chats (for interaction and accountability).
Substack’s native paywall means you don’t need outside tools to protect premium material.Sequel Products on Substack
Sequel offers work beautifully in a paid subscriber-only community. Create an ongoing group coaching program or membership experience using:
• Weekly or monthly Lives.
• Private chat threads for Q&A.
• Recurring deep-dive posts that expand on your core program.
Substack is built for this rhythm—it rewards consistency and creates that “What’s next?” pull for your audience.Spinoff Products on Substack
When something inside your core product gets people buzzing—turn it into a spinoff. Examples:
• A workshop that becomes its own mini-course.
• A hot module expanded into a 4-part paid series.
• A playful live event or seasonal “bootcamp.”
Deliver spinoffs as standalone paid posts or time-bound Live trainings. Substack makes it easy to package and sell these without leaving the platform.
Bottom line: Substack isn’t just a newsletter. It’s a delivery system for your entire product ecosystem—prequels, core, sequels, and spinoffs—using the native tools you already have: posts, Notes, Lives, and chats.
A Live Demo: “Inside Out Creators”
Here’s how I stumbled into a powerful new application of this system.
A client asked for business coaching. On our first call she said, “I need help getting out of my own way.” That’s when my former life (licensed marriage and family therapist—30,000+ client hours) met my current one. The result: Inside Out Creators—profit from the inside out by removing the inner roadblocks that sabotage execution.
We built the EPM around it:
Prequel: Inside Out Consult — a one-time session to identify your primary sticking point (perfectionism, procrastination, imposter syndrome, starting-and-stopping, etc.) and give you targeted tools.
Core: Inside Out Package — a 4–6 session engagement to dismantle patterns, install new behaviors, and keep you moving when old habits try to pull you back.
Sequel: Inside Out Group — small-group coaching for momentum and accountability. Groups often accelerate growth because you learn from others’ patterns as you work on your own.
Spinoff(s): Inside Out Specific — deep dives on one of at least fifteen common sticking points creators face.
Notice the flywheel in action: Substack content draws people in → they book a consult → they upgrade to the package → they join group support → they pick up focused spinoffs → and the cycle repeats with new readers entering daily.
The Profit Starting Point
Many asked for a simple place to begin. Enter Profit Starting Point: a weekly group session where we go deeper on the basics that move creators from stalled to shipping.
It’s held most Tuesdays at 4:00 (details on the site).
One-time $27 gets you in—and you can come back as often as you like.
You’ll leave with clarity on your flywheel, your first (or next) prequel, and how to align everything to your core.
Final Encouragement
Stop building one-off offers. Build a system that stacks, connects, and recurs. Use Substack not just as a newsletter, but as the evergreen lead magnet that never stops compounding.
Your next step:
Visit jeffherring.com/startingpoint to lock in your spot and start building your own Evergreen Profit Machine.
As always: Go Use this Stuff. It works. And I’ll see you on the next show.
