CAT. 001 · LIVE SESSION

Writing for Transformation

Use your expertise to map the change your reader needs to make and build a writing pathway that helps them get there.

Thursday, September 17, 2026 10:30 PM UTC · 89 minutes

Most experts approach writing by asking, “What should I write about?”

That question often produces useful but disconnected posts.

In this workshop, you will start somewhere different: with the transformation your expertise can help create.

You will define who your reader is before they encounter your work, who they need to become, and what has to change between those two points. Then you will identify the pieces of your expertise that can help move them across that bridge.

Instead of leaving with a list of topics, you will leave with the beginnings of a deliberate writing pathway: a sequence of ideas designed to change what your reader notices, understands, believes, decides, or does.

This is the starting point for turning your expertise into a body of work rather than a collection of posts.

WHAT YOU'LL LEAVE WITH

Define the before-and-after transformation your expertise can help create for a specific reader.
Identify the beliefs, distinctions, decisions, behaviors, and capabilities that need to change along the way.
Match pieces of your expertise to specific points in your reader’s transformation.
Turn broad topic ideas into purposeful posts that each create a specific shift.
Build the first version of your Reader Transformation Map and identify your next three writing priorities.

SESSION AGENDA

0:00
Stop Writing About Topics
See the difference between publishing information and deliberately moving a reader toward a transformation.
0:00
Define the Before and After
Identify who your reader is before your expertise affects them and who they need to become on the other side.
0:00
Map What Has to Change
Identify the beliefs, distinctions, decisions, behaviors, and capabilities that form the bridge between those two states.
0:00
Find the Expertise That Belongs on the Bridge
Surface the knowledge, judgment, examples, patterns, and lessons from your experience that can help create each shift.
0:00
Build Your Breadcrumb Trail
Sequence your expertise so each piece of writing prepares the reader for what they need next.
0:00
Write One Transformational Piece
Use a guided prompt and timed writing session to develop a post designed to create one specific shift in your reader.
0:00
Plan What Comes Next
Identify your next three posts and locate where your reader will be after each one.

TOTAL 89 MIN

YOUR HOST

Shannon D. Smith

Expertise Excavator— Trainer, Facilitator, Speaker

Shannon helps experts and practitioners use Substack to turn their expertise into products, services, or systems they can sell, scale, and stand behind so they’re not the bottleneck in their business.\n\n\nHer approach draws from 10+ years or turning expert knowledge into training, tools & systems within corporate spaces. Graduate training in instructional design and industrial-organizational psychology gives her valuable insights and methods for surfacing the knowledge experienced people no longer think to explain.

CHOOSE YOUR ACCESS

Pick the access that fits

Same live session — what changes is your access after it ends.

Workshop ticket

Live access

$17

One-time payment

90-minute live workshop
Workshop Method Record
Live working time and Q&A

Live attendance only. Recording is not included.

Recommended

Annual membership

Workshop + the build that follows

$75/year

Workshop and recording included

Everything in live access
Future member workshops and build resources
Practical tools, prompts, and examples to help you turn expertise into frameworks, services, systems, and intellectual property.

Already an annual member? Your access is included.