Work With Me — Sarah Hartley Co.

I’ve been designing for my own business for years and have worked with dozens of clients on their products and services as well.

I started my design career back in 2015 when I created and designed my own magazine called Holl & Lane (which eventually became The Kindred Voice). This magazine taught me how to design to tell a story, visually, and I fell in love with the process.

In 2023 I found another obsession in Substack when I launched my own. I’ve fully immersed myself in learning all there is to know about this ever-evolving platform and how best to use it not only for my own writing but for others.

I now work with high-powered clients on their Substacks and design needs, with a roster that includes activists, executive directors, singers, television personalities, non-profits, and more.

See examples of my work below and then click the button below to get in touch to learn more about how we can work together.

Get in touch!

I have been lucky to work with Sarah Hartley for more than a year. Sarah is immensely talented in a variety of ways—design, ideation, marketing, and writing. But possibly the best parts of working with Sarah are her adaptability, her calm demeanor, and her swift problem-solving skills. I cannot recommend her highly enough!

Lisa Hazen, founder, Lisa Hazen Design & Editorial
I would not have been able to launch The Inner Work Dispatch without the invaluable experience and expertise Sarah provided making the process - from idea to the first post - streamlined and easy. Sarah understood my vision right away and she took that vision and she executed on it. I'm so happy I have Sarah as my partner in bringing my thoughts and reflections into the world every week and I could not do it without her detail oriented dedication. She's also a true pleasure to work with and working with her takes all of the stress and worry out of the entire process.

Zerlina Maxwell, Sirius XM Host, Writer of The Inner Work Dispatch on Substack
"I met Sarah through another of her clients, one who called her the Substack Sherpa -- and man, was that accurate! Sarah did her research by combing through my Substack, and then she painstakingly walked me through what was working for me, and what wasn't. The result has been a far more beautiful, readable, and logical Substack site. I couldn't be more grateful!"

Karen Walrond, speaker, author and creator of The Make Light Journal

Here’s how we can work together:

This is for you if you’re brand new to Substack and are feeling overwhelmed with where you should even start. Throughout that week together, we will:
- Do the basics of setting up your Substack, including welcome emails, importing current newsletter lists (if you have them), talking about paid strategies, learning how to interpret your Substack dashboard, etc.,
- Create your Substack graphic assets, like profile photo, welcome page, designing your Substack “website”, and anything else you might need,
- I’ll walk you through what each piece of Substack is for so that you know how best to utilize things like chat, lives, and notes,
- We’ll get your launch schedule set up and create coming soon information so that your first email is going out to people who are eager to get it, as well as create graphics that are ready to share on social media,
- Before the week is out, we’ll have a 30 minute call where we’ll discuss any questions you have and be sure you understand how to do it all on your own
- After two months, we’ll do a 30 minute check in to see how things are going and if you have any questions.
And then I’ll set you loose so that you can explore all of the magic that Substack has to offer!
Pricing: $800
You’re already on Substack and are feeling like you’re ready to go bigger. Maybe it’s to introduce a paid tier, maybe it’s to look at new angles to grow, maybe it’s to understand the new options Substack is now offering. This is what we’ll do together in 90 minutes:
- Prior to our call, I’ll hop into your Substack dashboard and take a look at your analytics so I can get a feel for content that is really strong and be ready to provide feedback for you,
- We’ll get on a 90 minute call where we’ll discuss what I have found as well as the suggestions for growth I have for you,
- This will also be a great opportunity to talk through any new ideas you have or the new options Substack has at your disposal
Pricing: $450
If you just need someone to dig into the data for you each month and provide suggestions, this is for you. At the end of each month, I’ll dig into what worked and what didn’t, where you’re seeing growth, and where it’s coming from. I’ll also provide suggestions of things to try in the next month to encourage growth. All the data will be put together into a Google Doc for you so that you can refer back to it whenever you need.
Minimum three month commitment
Pricing: $300/month
Whether you need ongoing graphic design support for your Substack promotional graphics, social media graphics, eBook design, flyers or service promos, author promotional graphics, etc. I’d love to help you. Let’s talk more about what you need!
Pricing: $90/hour

“Sarah Hartley is a Jill of many trades and Master of them all. Whether you need graphic design for social media, website design, or an expert to help you launch a Substack, Sarah should be your first and last call. Her specialty in Substack has added immeasurable value to my clients’ book launch campaigns—not only can she get a Substack up and running, she is an expert at best practices in maximizing visibility and impact, creating audience engagement and building community, and growing your audience in an authentic way. Sarah is also lightning fast, professional, and fun to work with. Hire her.”
—Emily Lavelle, founder,
Emily Lavelle Communications

"Sarah is not only deeply aligned with quality and efficiency, but also highly values listening, kindness, and integrity. That all combines for a really fabulous experience when working with her on graphic design, social media and marketing, and podcast production! Her innate business savvy is also an added bonus and I consider her such a valued and important strategy support team member for my business!"

Naomi Hattaway, Host of Leaving Well Podcast
"Partnering with Sarah was one of the best decisions I’ve made so far. I really didn’t know what I wanted, but she asked all the right questions that lead to the final product in such short time. I would highly recommend her and I personally look forward to partnering with her in the future."

Zachary, Zulu Tango Papa
"We have worked with Sarah on several design projects over the years including line sheets, order forms and brand decks, and she has always been excellent to collaborate with. She is thorough, efficient, and detail oriented, and communicates clearly and promptly. The materials she has created for us look beautiful and showcase our brand in an elegant and polished way. I would recommend Sarah to anyone seeking a professional graphic designer ~ she is wonderful!"

Courtney Tait, Skwalwen Botanicals