Why do you people keep doing this? This one has to be the thirstiest post yet - you're not even promoting a new feature this time.
First, let's drop the whole "best version of you" nonsense. We all know what Substack's reputation is - that you are known for hosting some of the worst conspiracy theorists and bigoted cranks in the world. Yo…
Why do you people keep doing this? This one has to be the thirstiest post yet - you're not even promoting a new feature this time.
First, let's drop the whole "best version of you" nonsense. We all know what Substack's reputation is - that you are known for hosting some of the worst conspiracy theorists and bigoted cranks in the world. You accept them because they are profitable and they apparently don't hurt your reputation in any critical way. Fine - your business, your call.
Second, let's stop pretending that you're something other than a boutique service for people with preexisting followings. I don't believe for a second that you are interested in finding "new lights," not least because of what the comment section is going to look like. I guarantee that all of the other comments are going to be from people desperately hoping that they can scrape off another subscriber by commenting here. I guarantee that because leaving cynical, content-free comments all over the place is pretty much what Substack advises.
Let me tell you something about those dreaded algorithms that everyone sneers at. In a world where the gatekeepers won't even speak to anyone with fewer than 20k Twitter followers, those systems are the only means that small creators have to find an audience. You can claim that Substack is a great place to find an audience all you want, but everyone knows that it's nonsense because you have no systems for internal discovery. Followbacks and begging bigger creators for help are not valid alternatives to a real recommendation system.
Until you can offer some tools that are going to benefit someone who hasn't been a major media figure for two decades, I really wish you'd quit spamming me with your ridiculous blue sky posts.
😂😂 I love comments that buck the system! It's refreshing to see one or two people not all rah rah on the bandwagon.
You do raise a few valid points here but the one I could argue is discoverability. Compared to how Substack used to be before the app, it WAS a dismal place for new writers with no audience. It was impossible to build a following worth sticking around for.
But my brand new pub has only been alive less than 3 weeks and I've collected nearly 60 subscribers. I didn't bring any in with me. Let's assume I can keep moving at a rate of approximately 100/month without being famous. I can live with that.
How many of your subscribers are paid subscribers if you don’t mind me asking?
I ask because I have built an audience from scratch and yet failed to build an paid subscriber base. So I’m curious what other people’s experiences are in that regard.
I haven't unleashed a paid section yet. I'd like to have a good base of engaged subscribers and an active community first. I feel like readers should know who I am and what they can expect before I ask for money.
Andrew ... I've been here for a bit over a year and I've found writers who have changed my life, writers that I read rather religiously ... most of them don't have checkmarks or more than a thousand subscribers. I currently subscribe to about 200 Substacks and what I see is a huge range of skill at using the system put in place by Substack. For instance, many writers are still using the boiler plate Substack put into the system as a place holder for the Welcome Email. Some writers dismiss it as an unimportant email that readers don't open. Not true. It is a critical piece of beginning a relationship with a new reader.
I believe Substack can aid the discovery of "new lights" but I also believe that we writers ... whether we're going for money or just trying to get our voices heard ... have to treat Substack as a craft. Knowing how to engage our readers, how to attract and hold their attention, is a skillset that has to be learned, just as thinking is a skill, and writing with clarity and creativity is a skill.
I hope Substack does a good job with their development of the app ... but we can't expect it to well by us if we're not learning how to put our best writing forward and expertly using the tools they give us.
"It [the welcome email] is a critical piece of beginning a relationship with a new reader.'
I agree. There's even been an article or two from Substack about the importance of the welcome email.
It's a shame then how much it goes to waste because it doesn't work correctly with recommendations.
When someone signs up for Pub A and accepts the recommendations that Pub A offers, they don't receive the welcome emails from the recommended pubs, only from Pub A.
That's too bad. The welcome email could be the start of a good thing, but many never receive it.
Oops, I just realized (I was reading your article about Office Hours) that we talked about this earlier. :) Trying to get the word out in the hope that Substack will fix this glitch. And I see you mentioned me in your article. Thanks! I didn't know that, never received a notification. Hmmm. All the best!
Why do you people keep doing this? This one has to be the thirstiest post yet - you're not even promoting a new feature this time.
First, let's drop the whole "best version of you" nonsense. We all know what Substack's reputation is - that you are known for hosting some of the worst conspiracy theorists and bigoted cranks in the world. You accept them because they are profitable and they apparently don't hurt your reputation in any critical way. Fine - your business, your call.
Second, let's stop pretending that you're something other than a boutique service for people with preexisting followings. I don't believe for a second that you are interested in finding "new lights," not least because of what the comment section is going to look like. I guarantee that all of the other comments are going to be from people desperately hoping that they can scrape off another subscriber by commenting here. I guarantee that because leaving cynical, content-free comments all over the place is pretty much what Substack advises.
Let me tell you something about those dreaded algorithms that everyone sneers at. In a world where the gatekeepers won't even speak to anyone with fewer than 20k Twitter followers, those systems are the only means that small creators have to find an audience. You can claim that Substack is a great place to find an audience all you want, but everyone knows that it's nonsense because you have no systems for internal discovery. Followbacks and begging bigger creators for help are not valid alternatives to a real recommendation system.
Until you can offer some tools that are going to benefit someone who hasn't been a major media figure for two decades, I really wish you'd quit spamming me with your ridiculous blue sky posts.
😂😂 I love comments that buck the system! It's refreshing to see one or two people not all rah rah on the bandwagon.
You do raise a few valid points here but the one I could argue is discoverability. Compared to how Substack used to be before the app, it WAS a dismal place for new writers with no audience. It was impossible to build a following worth sticking around for.
But my brand new pub has only been alive less than 3 weeks and I've collected nearly 60 subscribers. I didn't bring any in with me. Let's assume I can keep moving at a rate of approximately 100/month without being famous. I can live with that.
How many of your subscribers are paid subscribers if you don’t mind me asking?
I ask because I have built an audience from scratch and yet failed to build an paid subscriber base. So I’m curious what other people’s experiences are in that regard.
I haven't unleashed a paid section yet. I'd like to have a good base of engaged subscribers and an active community first. I feel like readers should know who I am and what they can expect before I ask for money.
Andrew ... I've been here for a bit over a year and I've found writers who have changed my life, writers that I read rather religiously ... most of them don't have checkmarks or more than a thousand subscribers. I currently subscribe to about 200 Substacks and what I see is a huge range of skill at using the system put in place by Substack. For instance, many writers are still using the boiler plate Substack put into the system as a place holder for the Welcome Email. Some writers dismiss it as an unimportant email that readers don't open. Not true. It is a critical piece of beginning a relationship with a new reader.
I believe Substack can aid the discovery of "new lights" but I also believe that we writers ... whether we're going for money or just trying to get our voices heard ... have to treat Substack as a craft. Knowing how to engage our readers, how to attract and hold their attention, is a skillset that has to be learned, just as thinking is a skill, and writing with clarity and creativity is a skill.
I hope Substack does a good job with their development of the app ... but we can't expect it to well by us if we're not learning how to put our best writing forward and expertly using the tools they give us.
"It [the welcome email] is a critical piece of beginning a relationship with a new reader.'
I agree. There's even been an article or two from Substack about the importance of the welcome email.
It's a shame then how much it goes to waste because it doesn't work correctly with recommendations.
When someone signs up for Pub A and accepts the recommendations that Pub A offers, they don't receive the welcome emails from the recommended pubs, only from Pub A.
That's too bad. The welcome email could be the start of a good thing, but many never receive it.
I agree ... this is a system glitch that I hope gets fixed. I think you brought this up in Office Hours ... first time I knew about it. Thanks.
Oops, I just realized (I was reading your article about Office Hours) that we talked about this earlier. :) Trying to get the word out in the hope that Substack will fix this glitch. And I see you mentioned me in your article. Thanks! I didn't know that, never received a notification. Hmmm. All the best!