How to find and engage your readers
Writing is so much more than hitting “publish.” Writing naturally brings together people who share an interest in a topic or a perspective on the world. By shifting from “writing for an audience” to having a conversation with readers, writers can unlock inspiration, motivation, and new growth opportunities. And readers will appreciate the in-depth discussions, the chance to help shape your work, and the sense of belonging that comes from being among like minds.
As Anne Helen Petersen of Culture Study writes to her readers in her one-year post:
“You made the subscriber threads the highlight of my week. You shared your stories of grief and place and weird neighbors. You asked and sought advice, and reliably suggest at least 500 new books every month. You sent me tips, and interviewed your kids about their video games, and suggested and then set the agenda for the money advice column… You made the comments section a place where you might actually want to hang out again. Whether you’re the first person in the Tuesday thread or just open the email once a week and sit with it, you have made all of this feel like community.”
Additionally, subscribers who participate in comments are more likely to keep reading, become paid subscribers, and tell their friends about your work.
On Substack, it’s easy to start conversations with and get feedback directly from your readers. In this resource, we’ll dive into tips and ideas for engaging your readers, drawing on advice from People & Company’s guide Get Together:
Pinpoint your people: Get specific about who you are talking to
Find your readers where they are: Engage with communities that might be interested in your writing
Start a conversation: Get to know your most engaged readers via a discussion thread
Do something together: Find ways to connect your readers with one another and meet them yourself
Pinpoint your people
Newsletters, like other subscription-based media, perform best when they’re highly targeted to your readership—if you’re writing for everybody, you’re writing for nobody.
Start by asking a simple question about your readers:
Who do you want to be a reader?
You can help answer this question by thinking about your current active readers, as well as who could be your most important target readers and what kind of reader your writing could resonate with.
Then get specific to describe your target reader persona:
Describe this group of people in 1-2 sentences
Include key traits they bring as readers (e.g. relevant skills, interests, motivations, experiences, or backgrounds)
Describe their reading habits and name one or two other publications they might read (you might even include these on your About page)
What gaps exist in their current reading repertoire, and what differentiates your publication from the rest?
Bonus: Add specific names/personas to bring these readers to life
The authors of Animation Obsessive, who worked on defining their readers as part of their Grow fellowship, reflected on how they understood their Substack readers in comparison to other platforms. They said:
“We learned a few things about our long-form readers. For one, they’re older. While Generation Z is an important part of our audience on Twitter, most of our Substack audience is over 25, and usually over 30. Our readers’ backgrounds are different too. It’s probably safe to say that animation fans and students form the bulk of our audience on Twitter—but that’s not the case on Substack. Our subscribers are working artists, teachers, animators, filmmakers, writers, and designers, alongside a group of big names in Hollywood and beyond. We have student readers who love the newsletter, which is wonderful. But their numbers are smaller than you might expect.”
For inspiration, check out Femstreet (“Where women in tech lead, shape and fund the future”) or The Isolation Journals (“A newsletter for people seeking to transform life’s interruptions into creative grist”).
Why do they read?
Now that you know your “who,” you need to understand why your readers will return to your writing. Your “why” is the core purpose driving your content that keeps readers coming back.
This can be difficult to figure out. To help, consider some of these reasons why readers might rally around your publication, and see what resonates with you:
Asking more about your readers and why they show up could even shape your publication’s description and About page.
Read: Pinpointing your “who” and “why”
Find your readers where they are
Now that you’ve identified your target reader, you’ll want to go to where they might be congregating on- and offline, whether conferences, a Facebook group, a subreddit, or a Discord server. These readers are likely already connecting with each other in another space, and they need to discover you!
Once you’ve pinpointed who your readers are, identify and visit the spaces they’re already a part of. This can both help new readers find you and help you understand them better too. Some examples of how writers are accomplishing this:
Jessica Wilen of A Cup of Ambition is a member of Facebook groups for moms
The authors of Brent and Michael Are Going Places contribute to a subreddit for digital nomads
The writers of Reboot are frequently in conversation with professors and students on college campuses
Tony Mecia, who writes The Charlotte Ledger, finds new readers by partnering with a Charlotte radio station and local Facebook groups
Elizabeth Held sent cold emails to other Substack writers in her field when she started What To Read If saying she was a fan of their work. In turn, they featured her Substack and helped her find her first readers
In these spaces, you get what you give.
Ali Abouelatta, who writes First 1000, sets aside time every Thursday to contribute to the online communities he’s a part of, including Quora, Discord servers, WhatsApp groups, and Slack channels. Ali said in a live Q&A for Substack Grow that this goodwill went a long way in creating reader advocates for his writing.
Start a conversation
Begin by getting to know your readers. This can happen in many ways, and you might want to start by brainstorming “what” exactly you will do together.
According to People & Company, the best community activities often have the following traits:
Purposeful: Brings your community’s “why” to life
Participatory: Gives others the chance to contribute
Repeatable: Takes place regularly, which builds a habit or ritual
One of the simplest things writers can do with their readers on Substack is post discussion threads or add Chat to their publication.
Terrell Johnson of The Half Marathoner writes:
“[Threads have] become one of the best things I offer my subscribers. I was impressed by the level of knowledge that my subscribers demonstrated in the conversation, but also by the back-and-forth chats once the conversation got going.”
In his guide to discussion threads, Terrell recommends that writers ask specific questions rather than vague ones, respond to as many people as possible, post threads at a regular day and time, and encourage readers to share personal experiences.
Some other examples of creative discussion threads:
Marc Stein hosted an NBA prediction contest
E. Jean Carroll solicits hilarious breakup stories
New_Public prompts readers to imagine a public library for the internet
Sarah Bessey asks for help assembling a Christmas gift guide
To create a discussion thread, go to your publication dashboard and click “New thread” in the right-hand sidebar.
In contrast to discussion threads, Substack Chat is a dedicated space for casual conversations with your subscribers.
The Chat space in the Substack iOS app allows you to share quick updates, photos, and discussion prompts on the go; and makes reader engagement more vibrant through features like image replies and emoji reactions. Notifications for new chat threads and replies will use push notification instead of email.
See how other writers are using Chat:
Suleika Jaouad kicked off with a huge introduction thread
3W/3M hosted a live watch party for the movie Alien
Bernard Hickey shares news updates every morning
Hunter Harris solicited reactions to the latest episode of Love is Blind
WendyMac asked readers to share their drawings
TicTocTrading gave out midday trading tips
Elle Griffin shared a favorite recent read
Darryl Cooper prompted readers to react to his latest podcast
It should feel low pressure, like sending a text to your subscribers.
Read more: Getting started with Chat
Do something together
Threads aren’t the only way Substack writers are engaging with their readers. Return to the reason your readers come together, and design a shared activity around that purpose. A few ideas to get you started:
Reader Q&As: Nick Offerman of Donkey Thoughts follows his Saturday threads with in-depth answers to a selected reader question posed in the comments. Emily Oster of ParentData publishes responses to questions her paid subscribers submit, covering topics from baby burping to the Doman Method.
Live virtual events: Ruth Ben-Ghiat of Lucid hosts conversational weekly Zoom Q&As for paid subscribers in addition to her essays and interviews. Suleika Jaouad of The Isolation Journals offers virtual “Studio Visits” with creatives like Lena Dunham as a subscriber perk.
In-person events: Randa Sakallah of Hot Singles and Natalie Cruz of Food For Thought take their communities from online to IRL, hosting parties and pizza tours, respectively, for their NYC-based readers.
Subscriber benefits: Michael Fritzell of Asian Century Stocks invites his paid subscribers to a private Telegram chat for discussions about stocks. Etgar Keret of Alphabet Soup offers an especially unique benefit to founding members: having a “problematic character” named after them.
Community spotlights: Mike Sykes of The Kicks You Wear describes his publication as a grassroots “community hub,” coming together around rituals like #TheKicksWeWear, a section of his posts devoted to highlighting fit pics his readers submit via Twitter.
Advice columns: Katherine Dee of Default Friend co-hosts a dating advice column called Default Wisdom with fellow Substack writer Delicious Tacos. Read more tips on differentiating and growing a Substack advice column in our conversation here.
Roll calls: Ilana Wiles of Apparently encouraged her readers to meet in real life via a roll call thread asking readers to volunteer their location. George Saunders of Story Club called for a round of introductions as if it were the first day of class.
Reader contests: Scott Alexander of Astral Codex Ten is known for his in-depth book reviews and active comments section. He brought his community deeper into the discussion by hosting a book review contest, allowing subscribers to vote and awarding winners both cash and a lifetime subscription. Three’s a party invites readers to guess the common thread between the songs they choose.
Make suggestions: Mia Billetdeaux of Borscht for Breakfast has a regular feature called the dinner conjurer, where a reader sends her five recipes they’ve enjoyed and she sends back a recipe recommendation, directly inspired by The Biblioracle Recommends.
Publishing doesn’t have to be a one-way street. We hope this resource has given you ideas for identifying and starting conversations with your readers to build a strong and loyal community around what you do.
How are you building your reader community on Substack? What great examples have you seen from other writers? Where are your favorite reader communities? Leave a comment to share your approach.
I think my most successful reader engagement tactic so far is asking subscribers to submit photos of weird trash heaps they’ve spotted on the street for a regularly occurring “weird trash heap” feature in which I analyze the trash heap contents and speculate on the back story. Readers tell me they are always keeping an eye out now for weird trash—which I think helps keep my newsletter top of mind.
This is incredible haha, just subscribed :)
That is hilarious. I love it
Brilliant, Anne!
okay, consider me fascinated (as I was obsessed with free piles during my years in portland....!)
Would love to see your photos!
We are our trash, your idea is amazing, Anne.
I was shocked. Weird, but I like it 💖. It sounds fun.
That is hilarious! I love it!
That's a super creative idea for a feature, Anne.
There's a collage and installation artist I follow on Instagram who creates the most incredible art. His "art supplies" are all discarded objects that he finds on the streets of Berlin. He's made entire massive art pieces from old lighters and bottle caps; it took him decades to collect them all. I find his work truly inspiring.
I think it's commendable to be able to look at a pile of physical trash and have the vision to imagine a treasure that it could become. But I hadn't even considered the idea of turning trash piles into writing prompts. Kudos!
Plus, the world never runs out of trash, Amy!
I love this so much
Thank you Baxter! Past newsletters have included Weird Trash Heap submissions from Dublin and Philadelphia so I am for sure global on this front. Please send!
I've been writing a daily music recommendation Substack this past month and I've used the following points to build an audience (would love to have you! <3):
1. Who would like to subscribe to my 'stack?: People who don't like curated genre playlists and want to discover different music more organically.
2. What is my differentiation factor?: I give my readers ONE track a day. No long playlists. People have limited time and I respect that. I give a short write-up to add why that song means so much to me. It's crisp, yet personal.
3. Periodicity and consistency: I do daily. This is a LOT more effort, but I've nearly figured out a system to sustain long term. I want to be part of my readers' day/evening. You earn respect for showing up everyday. It's almost a month in; if I do this 11 more times, that's a solid year!
4. Showing gratitude and having fun: I do shout-outs to my readers on occasion (only first names!) Although I haven't yet asked officially, a fellow 'Stacker linked to me in one of their posts. That was nice of them!
5. Understanding that building an audience takes time and it will be anxiety-inducing: Easier said than done, but try not to stress over page visits and subscriber numbers. This is a long-term engagement. Focus on getting 10 sign-ups first. Celebrate 50. Go nuts when you hit 100. Faint when you hit 250. Full blown asthma attack when you reach 500. People will drop off along the way and that's ok too!
Hope these tips help!
AFTER I finished reading this, I IMMEDIATELY (OK, at 5:53 pm) posted a question about "The Slap Heard Round the World." 58 comments in 48 minutes! Thank you for this marvelous tip! https://ejeancarroll.substack.com/p/the-slap-heard-round-the-world?s=w
I wrote a take on this too! I need to do better about posting questions to the audience! And getting them used to responding!
Okay, I have a TINY readership but my partner encouraged me to add a "call to action" question at the end of my last post, and the two comments I received were so many more than "a mere two" - they both really made me smile : )
Badass tips. So useful. I’ll be integrating three of these ideas this week.
Great feed and I love having some new ideas and thoughts to play with. One way I've engaged with my community is to get them to submit ideas and answers for my posts. I put together an "Ultra tips from Ultra Runners piece" that had 29 runners submit their ideas. If they weren't on the mailing list already, they were as soon as the post went up :)
I've got another piece coming out this week where I've done something similar, and had great luck getting new subscribers and some great participation from current ones.
Historically speaking, Substack is more like broadcasting than magazines or books. Radio stations developed a HUGE variety of clever interactive promotional methods. Look through the archive of Broadcasting Magazine, especially in the late 1930s. Each issue has a 'Merchandising and Promotion' column about 2/3 of the way from the start, and each column is packed with real ideas.
https://worldradiohistory.com/Broadcasting-Magazine.htm
Great advice. I’m just starting out and my target reader is probably not very engaged on social media, so I have fewer options for connecting with like-minded people. I’m open to suggestions…
Guest articles in magazines, trade journals or newspapers
This is easier said than done. As someone with autism, I've been trying to "find my community" for decades. Part of the problem is it's hard for me even to accept myself. My fear is that after I put in all this work, I'll have nothing to show for it. It's absolutely happened before.
William, My writing teacher, the super wonderful Natalie Goldberg, just shared three principles with her students. The ones I leave here for you is this: “Don’t be tossed away.” And “continue under whatever circumstances.” In ireland you have an organization called, AsIAm, helping people with Autism. I work with children with additional learning needs. I find people with Autism incredible creative and totally focused on what they love doing. That is an asset. Maybe get in touch with AsIAm? They love promoting peoples abilities and ventures. See if there is anything they can do? Tell them about your newsletter ? Also there are many such organizations. Scottish Autism is another. Don’t know where you are, but do a search and check what is on offer. Write to them and propose something? The important thing is not to get discouraged. Do it for the love of doing it. Good luck!
Thanks! I love Natalie Goldberg. Recently read Writing Down the Bones.
Fantastic read is it not?
I've read Natalie, too, though long ago--and I teach creative writing, have for more than two decades. Great reminder here!
Hi William! I studied communities for almost 5 years and you’re not alone in this. All the community leaders were spoke to, some of whom had cultivated thriving basketball teams or events series, said they always had the same fear before each event - that no one was going to show up. The persistence is crucial, and why I think it’s essential to build communities around a passion point - some activity that you’d show up to do even if no one else joined you.
I love that you are bringing YOU! Alot of my favorite people are autistic. Have you come across Suzy Miller or Susan Oros' work? They look at autism from a spiritual and multidimensional perspective. Some of my favorite people are autistic.
I work with children with additional learning needs. Yes different but incredibly talented .
Yes it does, complete sense. Just different.
<3<3<3 And soul beautiful!
Well said, but all humans are soul beautiful no?
I agree!
Some humans have more layers covering their soul - autists are not even all the way in their body, usually. Also they often have a connection to energies that the human population in general does not access...that is part of what some autists DO as I understand it, is transduce those frequencies so that the rest of us can get them. There must be overlap...make sense?
This is wonderful advice.
Once in a while I’ll ask my readers for feedback about what’s working, what isn’t, etc. I’m always pleasantly surprised at what they say. It has proven to be incredibly helpful! I also tend to pose questions or writing prompts at the end of each newsletter/story to help build engagement.
I am the person who disagrees with something in everyone's "target" audience because the truth is hardly ever found in one place, unless it is a perfect truffle. I am the person who's always had friends in all sorts of groups and belonged to none. I am the one who wants to build a bridge across the divides, not through compromising but through uncompromising love of truth and a value on speaking the truth in love, with love, for love. Hence the name of my substack. I also swear sometimes. This began when I was five, standing on my chair in the middle of a restaurant. It's one of the few times I've been really peer influenced.
I like your thoughts. A contrarian of sorts. Maybe a rebel. I'm not sure. Might have to subscribe and dig further into this assessment. lol
Please let me know what you think. I am very hard to box in. Not even my husband has found a box for me but he has, joyfully, given up trying. :) )
https://lilychili.substack.com/
My latest video is a bit more rebel. Other of my posts are more spiritual, nature, uplifting or nerdy, with a hope we can bring people together in the end, remembering we are all family, regardless of our differences.
I’m a true crime writer. Having read this I have an idea to do some unsolved cases and then start a discussion thread as to who the readers thought did it. Thanks for the inspirational article and comments.
Ooh very fun idea! I have been in some FB groups for true crime podcasts where episode/case-specific comment threads can get very engaged.
Wow, this community is more than a group of crazy writers and readers are the most important part. We write for them!!
Thanks for the advices, I will pick some ideas to grow my little pile.
So, agree!
Love the list of ideas here!! The [NBA] prediction thread could be my next experiment!
Spoiler alert: Bucks are taking it all next year. 😎
You’ve given me plenty to think about- I’ll need to return to this👏
I really enjoy these posts.
Thanks, Katie!
I should look back and see what really resonated with audiences. It’s been the work that’s spurred conversation. I have only done one thread in the beginning, which actually tanked.
Looking forward to applying some of these tips.
thanks for sharing this!
I'm a little late to the party, but tonight I'm getting into this article a bit. Exciting!
I think it’s more important to know who you are, than how you feel.
This is helpful — Thank you! I'd love to hear from some of the writers out there. Have you found that readers who aren't already Substack writers are compelled to create a Substack account to participate? I can see the appeal of doing this — many folks in the photography community I serve are weary of the Facebook/Instagram empire and eager to find new ways to engage with each other. I'd love to find a creative way to do that here, but I wonder if people who aren't already on Substack are inclined to join Substack. Maybe the Community team has written about this previously? Thanks in advance for sharing your insights.
A lot of my Instagram people followed me over to Substack. My newsletter link is in my bio & I occasionally promote it there
I have a music newsletter, and recently started kicking off each week sharing what I’ve been listening to, and asking everyone the same.
That has led to some really great threads, engagement, playlist sharing, and more.
Can anyone help me? I am new to substack as I am here to see if I should move my newsletters to substack (the current newsletter service is a hassle).
I write for parents, so we have 6 different newsletters for separate subscribers. Can I set up separate paid newsletters? I didn't see a discussion about it, so my next move will be to set them up, and then test after logging out, but I thought someone might already know.
Thanks in advance for any advice on this (or anything else as I poke around here on substack).
Very inspiring indeed.
Really helpful to start on the right foot. Glad to see that Xanda’s Haiku Newsletter ( coming soon) has quite a few of these features attached to it. With much more to come. “Basho said that in one life time writing 5 haiku makes you a writer, writing 10 haiku makes you a master” excerpt from my first newsletter. Thread for first newsletter: who else out there dreams of writing perfect haiku? Wishing you all a wonderful day.
Thank you. Trying my best to keep up with it all. It is nice to receive reminders about new things to try. Like actually interacting with this post, I saw it and like it, but then it took me quite a while to get back to it. I seem to have two Newsletters. I am live with one of them, (the one with an eclipse as its symbol). Not sure how it happened, but it is doubled up. I am on the road already, and for the past six weeks.
Is it possible to erase the other one? I haven’t been able to find a way of doing it - and it may confuse people since one is permanently on “Coming Soon”. Any help on this would be great.
I feel like my newsletter is so different that I need to lower the standard. I made it more professional instead. This article served what I had in mind for the future of my content newsletter, (which talks about soft life lifestyle, agriculture and updates on my life.) This publication has opened my eyes to threads and the fact that I need to participate more at social settings in real life. I will move the update on my life to the thread section. Can't wait to see you there!
This article provides valuable tips for writers to engage with readers, emphasizing community building through targeted content, meaningful conversations, and shared activities. By fostering connections, such as through Substack threads, chats, or events, writers can create loyal, interactive communities. Including FMWhatsApp as a tool to share updates or engage audiences could enhance this strategy. For more, visit https://fmwhatsupp.com/.
I appreciate this article's insights on engaging readers and building a community around writing. It's a great reminder of the importance of connecting with your audience beyond just publishing content. For a more personalized messaging experience, try GBWhatsApp! Check out the latest features at https://gbpro.pro and enhance how you communicate.
Some great tips. Dazzling for a newby on Substack, but thank you so much. The tips in the comment section are extremely inspirational as well. Thank you all for sharing. After I learn, I will pay it forward!
HOW do I ask people to subscribe to my newsletter?! I don't get what link to use, where to find that link to share with people. Help?
I joined substack by accident, but now it's decided that I'd like to start posting. Even so, I have no idea on how to begin. Your article of advice is very good and would be useful IF it was explained on HOW to set up and begin posting.
Great platform truly
I’m just enjoying getting to know more people and having their thoughts revealed in how they write! Cheesy as it sounds, it’s like making friends and it takes time.
Love this!
For someone who just arrived in the Substack world, these are very useful information. Thank you very much!
Love all this information. I am researching/writing an article on substack. How do I get in touch with anyone who works at substack? Please let me know. Thanks you.
I love it 🤩🤩🤩
thank you this was very helpful
I'm not sure where else to ask this question, so I'm trying here: What happened to the Inbox?? I keep my substack inbox tab open in my browser ALL THE TIME, so I can quickly scan and read the most recent posts from my subscriptions anytime during the day. In the last couple days, something changed so that it now shows at most 12 stories. I can't scroll below that to see more. Is this intentional? If so, it's a terrible design. If not, are we trying to fix it? Thanks!
I do a monthly Q&A. I try to ask specific questions to get the conversation started, but the idea is this is the time to ask me anything.
I feel like it’s missing something though.
I used to do regular Q&A’s in Instagram & feel like that was more interactive. si moved them over to substack to have a premium offering for my paid subscribers.
Great tips
The only thing that truly works in making enough money to make a good living is using ads.
My older, experienced, active and probably successful readers don't like to talk about their stock picking and options trades. So I don't get many comments.
But every time I post and article, I get more opens, especially if I've taken a break while the markets sink.
Why? I am assuming investors and speculators don't want to admit how much they are making or losing in the markets.
Or it may be that I write such great stuff that they have no questions or comments. That has to be it! :)
I've given up asking questions and asking for comments. That doesn't work for my investors.
What puzzles me is that SeekingAllpha.com readers post dozens of smart, civil and interesting comments. But SA has 10s of thousands of readers. What I've learned during some 40 years on online forums is that maybe one in ten or a hundred lurkers has something to say.
So it helps to have a huge audience. At this point, I have about 200 free followers after my first four months.
To me, my posts are opening posts for a thread. But it's not working out that way. So I'll try starting a thread and see what happens.
Otherwise, I'm okay. I got at least five replies to a comment I posted on The NY Times this morning.
Good
Thanks ! Very helpful:)