Behind the Substack with Daria Diaz
Read the full interview with a health and wellness coach, and author of Wellgevity Warrior
Welcome to the edition of Behind the Substack. Today,
from Wellgevity Warrior shares her approach to creativity, growing her readership, staying organised, favourite books, and self-care habits. If you enjoy this series, please let me know by leaving like, comment or subscribe for more conversations like this.
1. What’s your favourite coffee?
A little backstory before I give the answer. I never drank coffee until I was 27 or 28. I hated it! I was a tea drinker. Then, I moved to New Orleans where EVERYBODY drinks coffee and lots of it. When I'd order tea in a restaurant (while everyone else ordered coffee), I'd be served lukewarm water that would barely steep the tea. I finally gave up. I didn't immediately start drinking coffee, though. I started drinking coffee after trying café au lait at Café du Monde. It's half milk. Gradually, I grew to LOVE coffee, but always with cream. About 8 years ago, I had to give up caffeine. By this time, I lived for my coffee. Decaf—yuck! What's the point, right? But my taste buds wanted my coffee fix. After trying several decafs, I hit on Whole Foods 365 Brand Buzz Free Decaf mixed with Peets Decaf Major Dickenson Blend (Dark). For decaf, I have to have the Swiss water process because of the chemicals they use in decaf. This blend works for me. In the summer, I used my custom blend of these two decafs and add a scoop of a decaf vanilla flavored coffee from a local roaster, because I like it iced in the summer. The flavor gives it just what the iced coffee needs to be delish with a splash of unsweetened vanilla Nut Pods. Yum!
2. Can you tell me about the moment you decided to start writing? Where were you, and what inspired you?
I started to write on Substack because I met the wonderful
in a business membership I belong to. I'd been wanting to start writing a blog on wellness, longevity, and health topics. She told me about Substack, and I thought it sounded like a great option to post my blog. Wellness, fitness and health are lifelong passions, and I wanted to share information with people so they could live well for life. That's why I call my newsletter Wellgevity Warrior. It's wellness + longevity = wellgevity. My mother inspired me. She lived to be 93, but I believe her quality of life in the last year or so would have been much better if she'd been more physically active as she grew older. I want everyone to realize that getting older doesn't have to mean becoming physically and/or mentally decrepit (by the way, my Mom was sharp as a tack until she drew her last breath). I want to live my best life for as long as possible (hopefully for as long as I draw breath), and I want that for everyone else, too. I hope what I write helps people achieve that.3. How has using Substack changed or influenced your writing style or topics?
Well, before I started writing on Substack, the only writing I really did was legal writing as an attorney. So, it was legal briefs and memoranda—mostly. I'm not sure that Substack influenced my writing, because I knew what I wanted to write about before coming into Substack. I just published my 34th post this week. I've been writing a newsletter or blog weekly since I started on Substack in February.
4. What strategies or efforts have been the most successful in growing your readership on Substack?
Engaging with other writers on Substack has grown my readership. I also share my publication on my Facebook page. I tell everybody I know I write a Substack and ask them to subscribe. Sometimes they do; sometimes they don't. I also am very consistent. I publish once a week on Friday. So far, that's pretty much my strategy—if you can call it a strategy. I hope to get more subscribers and people who might be interested in health and wellness coaching. I'm exploring various options right now but haven't landed on anything definitive just yet.
5. Can you share an example of something you tried that worked better than expected?
Interacting with other Substack writers. I'd say that has had the most success. I didn't really do it as a strategy, but it seems to have been the most successful. As a bonus, I've met some really great people like you. It's such a supportive friendly community.
6. Since you’ve started your publication, what do you consider your biggest learning so far?
Hmm, that's a good question. I've learned that what I think might be a post that resonates with people isn't always what resonates. Sometimes topics I don't think will be that popular end up getting more likes and involvement. Different strokes for different folks. I just write what feels right for me any given week. I don't take it personally if my post doesn't get much engagement. I've also learned to dump or delay posting something if for whatever reason it isn't resonating for me. I have a bunch of draft posts that I may or may not come back to some day.
7. Can you walk us through how you plan and organise your content for your Substack publication?
If you're talking about my writing process, I don't do a lot of planning. I do a lot of thinking about what I may want to write about every week. I have many draft, unfinished posts that I will probably go back to at some point. For example, this week, I started writing about one topic, but I just wasn't feeling it. So, I scrapped it into the draft posts area and started over. I landed on the topic of music and its powerful effects on wellness and longevity. I ended up choosing that topic because I had leaned heavily on soothing music in the days leading up to my Board certification exam to calm my nerves and focus. So, it just came to me. That's how so many of my posts originate. I also keep a list of ideas that come to me randomly. As for the writing process, I just start writing. I also do a fair amount of research on the topic I select because I want to give my readers factual and scientific information without bogging them down. I try to link to studies and resources that I've used to research my post, but just relay the information that they need to know in my post. By linking to studies and other materials, it's up to them if they want to dive deeper. It's also very important to me that my readers know I'm speaking from trustworthy sources and information so they can feel confident relying on it.
8. What tools or methods do you use to stay on top of your writing schedule?
My method is pretty simple. I've committed to writing my Substack once a week. That's it. It's a commitment. I think it's important to be consistent. So, I've done it without fail even when I've had many competing commitments.
9. On average, how much time do you spend working on your Substack each day or week?
That really varies. I'd say on average 4-5 hours. That doesn't count all the time I think about what I'm going to write about. That's the time I spend writing, researching, and doing the graphics. To be honest, I've never really timed it. I probably should. It may be more than that, but some weeks it takes less time than others and other weeks much longer. My goal is to put out something good without spending too much time on it.
10. How do you juggle your Substack with other commitments in your life?
I'm amazed that I do. I started writing my Substack while I was enrolled in an intensive health and wellness coaching certification program. After I completed the program, I wanted to sit for the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches Board Certification exam, which required me to complete 50 coaching sessions in about 4 weeks. I sat for the exam on July 17th and spent most of my free time studying for the exam. I also am still working in my career as an attorney. I can't really say how I juggled it all, but somehow, I managed to keep all of the balls in the air during the past several months. It's funny, but the more I have to do, the more I get done. I'm much more efficient when I have a lot to do. Someone told me once, "If you want something done, give it to a busy person." I guess that's true.
11. How do you care for yourself?
Self-care is so important. I'm actually planning on writing about this—maybe this week.1 I make an effort to eat well. I walk (outside if possible) at least 5 days a week for about 45 minutes. I kayak a couple of times a week with a friend. And, I make an effort to get enough sleep (which admittedly doesn't always happen). I also try to not take things too seriously. I find I've gotten much better at this as I've gotten older. I also laugh. Laughing is wonderful for you. Reading for pleasure is also something I like to do and is part of my self-care, but that is one area that fell by the wayside the last few months while I was taking my classes, coaching, and studying. Something had to give, and I guess that was it.
12. What’s a book you’ve read recently that had a big impact on you?
I've loved reading ever since I was a child. I must confess that since February, my reading has mostly involved behavioural psychology books and other texts and books related to health and wellness coaching. These books and learning the tools to be a good health and wellness coach have been very impactful. I wish I could give you some great works of literature that I've read recently, but unfortunately, I had to give up something these past several months, and I guess that was it. I'm a mystery and thriller person. I read and loved Nancy Drew mysteries by Carolyn Keene2 when I was a child. I did manage to squeeze in the new Harlan Coban3 book for pleasure during this intense time frame. Please don't judge—I needed an escape.
13. Where are you finding joy when things don’t go to plan?
I've learned that when things don't go according to my "plan," they usually work out one way or another. The key is rolling with it and not reacting to it. That's easier said than done sometimes, but that's my goal. I find joy every day in the beauty that surrounds me, my family, and my faith. I try to do things that spark joy every day, like enjoying the beauty of nature by taking a hike or even just sitting on my porch and enjoying the view and the sounds of nature. Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful!
14. What are you working on right now?
Regarding my Substack, I'm planning to incorporate video and audio. I haven't quite figured out exactly what I want to do, so I may experiment a little and see what happens. I'm also working on the business part of my health and wellness coaching and getting that off the ground. I want to do some workshops, which I may include on my Substack for paid subscribers or as a stand alone offer. Right now everything is free. I haven't figured out how, when, or if to go the paid route. I do have subscriptions turned on, but so far, I've had only two subscribers. There's a lot to consider, but those things are a focus for me right now.
Thank you so much, Daria, for sharing your stories with us! What are two things that stood out to you or that you’re taking away from this interview?
If you enjoyed the interview with Daria, you might also enjoy this one with Elizabeth Austin:
As always, thank you for reading! If you enjoy this series, please let me know by leaving like, comment or subscribe for more conversations like this.
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Thank you for featuring me Jana! This is such a great feature. I'm looking forward to your next one. Oh, and I feel "famous" now.
Loved reading this Jana, so much of what Daria said resonates with me. Thank you for sharing 😊