Dickie Bush & Nicolas Cole – Substack Starter Kit

Substack Starter Kit by Dickie Bush and Nicolas Cole is a launch system for writers building a subscription newsletter. It combines a Quickstart walkthrough with six mini-courses, short lessons, templates, and a pack of prompts and skills.

The course focuses on publishing, developing an offer, and converting readers to paid subscriptions. Its prompts can be used with Claude or ChatGPT to help produce first drafts.

Skills you’ll build with the Substack Starter Kit

• Master Substack setup with all growth settings configured from day one
• Develop a category-positioning angle that attracts subscribers organically
• Learn the Newsletter Offer Stack that turns visitors into subscribers
• Apply Substack tech stack including recommendations and referral system
• Build conversion assets: Welcome post, About page, Welcome email
• Implement Substack Monetization Mastery for paid newsletter revenue

What the Substack Starter Kit includes

The Quickstart Setup walkthrough and six mini-courses take a newsletter from its initial category through the mechanics of charging subscribers. Each module ends with a setup task, while templates and ready-made prompts support the work along the way.

Lessons are designed to be short and practical. The materials include documents, PDFs, and MP4 videos, alongside the prompts and skills pack.

The Quickstart and mini-courses

The Quickstart connects the course material through a 24-hour plan for getting a publication live. The six mini-courses include the following focused topics:

• Category Positioning: choose a sufficiently focused niche for the newsletter.
• Newsletter Offer Stack Generator: shape the combination of offerings readers are asked to pay for.
• Substack Tech Stack: set up the platform, a custom domain, and integrations.
• Conversion Secrets: work on the welcome sequence and the path from free readership to paid subscriptions.
• Monetization Mastery: explore pricing tiers, founding member offers, and recurring revenue.

Who the kit is for

The material is suited to writers, ghostwriters, and operators who already publish online and want to develop a subscription product. Course creators can also use a newsletter as the top of a funnel for their main offer.

The pace assumes familiarity with online writing. The curriculum concentrates on the newsletter and its paid offer rather than teaching Substack Notes growth.

About Dickie Bush and Nicolas Cole

Dickie Bush and Nicolas Cole co-founded Ship 30 for 30, a digital writing cohort built around a 30-day publishing sprint that has served thousands of writers. Both use their active Substacks as case studies in the kit.

Cole has written online since 2014 and was among Quora’s most-read writers during the platform’s peak. Bush built a six-figure writing business in his twenties while working in finance. Both report seven-figure results from their creator-economy businesses.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Substack Starter Kit cover?

It covers newsletter positioning, offer design, platform setup, conversion, and monetization. A Quickstart walkthrough brings the material together in a 24-hour launch plan.

Who is the kit designed for?

It is aimed at writers, ghostwriters, and operators who want to create a subscription product, as well as course creators using a newsletter to introduce readers to a main offer.

Do I need a Substack account before starting?

No. The Substack Tech Stack material covers account setup, publication settings, custom domains, and integrations.

What materials are included?

The kit includes a Quickstart, six mini-courses, templates, and a prompts and skills pack. Materials include documents, PDFs, and videos in MP4 format.

Does the course focus on Substack Notes growth?

No. Its emphasis is on the publication, the offer, and paid conversion, with relatively light coverage of audience growth tactics.