Ok, so she “had a mailing list of 10,000 (on Mailchimp) before I joined Substack and an Instagram following of 50,000”. Well that’s great: good for her. It makes Substack look great too (which it is, I’m not knocking it)...
HOWWWWEVER...
What about accounts that started from 0 followers on instagram and 0 followers on Substack? Are there a…
Ok, so she “had a mailing list of 10,000 (on Mailchimp) before I joined Substack and an Instagram following of 50,000”. Well that’s great: good for her. It makes Substack look great too (which it is, I’m not knocking it)...
HOWWWWEVER...
What about accounts that started from 0 followers on instagram and 0 followers on Substack? Are there any success stories with those demographics? Those who grew from nothing? I think you’d be hard pressed to find one, especially a poetry account. Lemme know if you find one.
I don’t mean to whine but rather to manage expectations. If you bring a following from another account or have an already huge email client base, odds are you will do well on Substack.
So what is an outlier poet doing with 17 instagram followers and 110 followers on Substack? Reading posts and interacting with others as much as time will allow (like I am right now). Following those who follow me, post poems when I can (these full time jobs sure get in the way of that dang it!). I’m not going to set up subscriptions because I don’t produce enough content to warrant that. As of now I’m a part time poet in search of full time glory. I’m extremely grateful for the subscribers I have and am thankful they’re getting something out of it.
As Amanda herself says, she didn't start on Substack with zero subscribers. She brought her community with her. We don't know whether that total is 60K; I'm sure at least some of the Mailchimp/IG audiences overlap. But those are large figures, and explain what initially might look like a stratospheric rise. Again, as Amanda says, it took her 13 years to build all this interest.
Extrapolating from this, then, I'd say anyone starting here with all zeroes, is likely going to face as challenging a time as Amanda did when she started out from ground zero. Perhaps more, perhaps less.
I would say not to worry so much about precise numbers but to be clear about the purpose, intent, and fulfillment that your Substack brings you. I much prefer Substack to the traditional social media platforms, and find growing a community here so much more fulfilling and meaningful than on Twitter or IG or FB. I recognize it will take time to build up the paid subscribership, but that's ok. I'm here for the long haul.
Thank you for sharing that perspective too, Brigitte. I agree that we should not dismiss the fact that most of the writers who have a large following on Substack spent YEARS growing their audience on other platforms or through publishing their work elsewhere. So their “overnight success” on Substack is a result of the hard work they have done previously. However, the question I have is whether Substack is suitable for growing from zero.
I think right now it’s a great platform to consolidate a writer’s offerings but it’s not a replacement for the growth that other platforms can offer (even though I do not like the algorithms). For those just starting out Substack cannot be the sole focus of their efforts.
I do have hope for Notes if there is going to be some hashtag/topic system so the notes can be discovered by people from outside of your reading bubble. And I also see collaborations as a great way to get additional exposure. But that’s all that I know can help growing within Substack.
The answer to your question about Substack's potential to grow a writer from seed-stage is likely the same answer for most other platforms... and I'd say even more so given how dedicated this community is to good writing and, well, community. That said, I don't think any one single platform is the answer... we all should be active in as many other communities and platforms as our time and schedules allow.
Yes, collabs are great. I've done guest posts for people with large newsletters here, that have driven significant upticks for me. Being consistently engaged works too, although you do have to balance that. Likes and comments don't necessarily translate to paid subscriptions, but they do carry their own value and currency, if you will.
Wishing you the very best on your Substack journey Nika! I like the name of your publication :)
Agreed! Growing my audience was not the result of just one platform. It began by me growing my name IN MY OWN COMMUNITY here in LA. Then local journalists and other "influencers" wrote about it, which helped me get name recognition nationally. It took me about 8 years to grow my Instagram platform, which was greatly assisted by my podcast, my book, and my media appearances, not just posting. So I would say that the best way to grow is to follow your passion and talk about the things you'd want to talk about even if you never would get "successful" at it. I think the important thing to remember is that you don't need EVERYONE to like or follow your work. You only need enough people to support you financially while you make the work FOR THEM. You don't need 50k people - you just need enough to get you a livable income.
Yes, and all the "growth tips" come from that select group of newsletters. I have no idea what the numbers are, but I suspect there are far more of us are out here trying to grow a Substack from scratch than those coming in with their previously existing platforms, social media followings, book deals, etc. It would be nice if some posts were from and for the rest of us
I agree. But they always focus on these big newsletters, probably because those are the ones that make Substack money. The rest of us are forgotten and made to feel like we don't count.
True. Substack brags about all these ‘Success’ stories but fails to mention (or is not clear) that all these writers who ‘suddenly’ gain a large subscriber base actually already had a large following on Mailchimp or Medium or Twitter etc and they followed on SUBSTACK. These writers were promised (or bribed) such exposure if they brought their following to Substack. In some cases, Substack even paid certain writers advance fees to lure them and their large following to substack. If you are starting from ZERO on Substack, without any followers on other socials or heavy marketing, forget about gaining large subscribers base.
Glad you raised this point. Also glad that she was transparent about it in the article. It would be so brilliant if Substack started sharing success stories of newbies too, even if that version of success is different.
Ok, so she “had a mailing list of 10,000 (on Mailchimp) before I joined Substack and an Instagram following of 50,000”. Well that’s great: good for her. It makes Substack look great too (which it is, I’m not knocking it)...
HOWWWWEVER...
What about accounts that started from 0 followers on instagram and 0 followers on Substack? Are there any success stories with those demographics? Those who grew from nothing? I think you’d be hard pressed to find one, especially a poetry account. Lemme know if you find one.
I don’t mean to whine but rather to manage expectations. If you bring a following from another account or have an already huge email client base, odds are you will do well on Substack.
So what is an outlier poet doing with 17 instagram followers and 110 followers on Substack? Reading posts and interacting with others as much as time will allow (like I am right now). Following those who follow me, post poems when I can (these full time jobs sure get in the way of that dang it!). I’m not going to set up subscriptions because I don’t produce enough content to warrant that. As of now I’m a part time poet in search of full time glory. I’m extremely grateful for the subscribers I have and am thankful they’re getting something out of it.
As Amanda herself says, she didn't start on Substack with zero subscribers. She brought her community with her. We don't know whether that total is 60K; I'm sure at least some of the Mailchimp/IG audiences overlap. But those are large figures, and explain what initially might look like a stratospheric rise. Again, as Amanda says, it took her 13 years to build all this interest.
Extrapolating from this, then, I'd say anyone starting here with all zeroes, is likely going to face as challenging a time as Amanda did when she started out from ground zero. Perhaps more, perhaps less.
I would say not to worry so much about precise numbers but to be clear about the purpose, intent, and fulfillment that your Substack brings you. I much prefer Substack to the traditional social media platforms, and find growing a community here so much more fulfilling and meaningful than on Twitter or IG or FB. I recognize it will take time to build up the paid subscribership, but that's ok. I'm here for the long haul.
Thank you for sharing that perspective too, Brigitte. I agree that we should not dismiss the fact that most of the writers who have a large following on Substack spent YEARS growing their audience on other platforms or through publishing their work elsewhere. So their “overnight success” on Substack is a result of the hard work they have done previously. However, the question I have is whether Substack is suitable for growing from zero.
I think right now it’s a great platform to consolidate a writer’s offerings but it’s not a replacement for the growth that other platforms can offer (even though I do not like the algorithms). For those just starting out Substack cannot be the sole focus of their efforts.
I do have hope for Notes if there is going to be some hashtag/topic system so the notes can be discovered by people from outside of your reading bubble. And I also see collaborations as a great way to get additional exposure. But that’s all that I know can help growing within Substack.
The answer to your question about Substack's potential to grow a writer from seed-stage is likely the same answer for most other platforms... and I'd say even more so given how dedicated this community is to good writing and, well, community. That said, I don't think any one single platform is the answer... we all should be active in as many other communities and platforms as our time and schedules allow.
Yes, collabs are great. I've done guest posts for people with large newsletters here, that have driven significant upticks for me. Being consistently engaged works too, although you do have to balance that. Likes and comments don't necessarily translate to paid subscriptions, but they do carry their own value and currency, if you will.
Wishing you the very best on your Substack journey Nika! I like the name of your publication :)
Agreed! Growing my audience was not the result of just one platform. It began by me growing my name IN MY OWN COMMUNITY here in LA. Then local journalists and other "influencers" wrote about it, which helped me get name recognition nationally. It took me about 8 years to grow my Instagram platform, which was greatly assisted by my podcast, my book, and my media appearances, not just posting. So I would say that the best way to grow is to follow your passion and talk about the things you'd want to talk about even if you never would get "successful" at it. I think the important thing to remember is that you don't need EVERYONE to like or follow your work. You only need enough people to support you financially while you make the work FOR THEM. You don't need 50k people - you just need enough to get you a livable income.
I agree. Unfortunately, Substack usually only features newsletters with big (and usually pre-existing) audiences.
Yes, and all the "growth tips" come from that select group of newsletters. I have no idea what the numbers are, but I suspect there are far more of us are out here trying to grow a Substack from scratch than those coming in with their previously existing platforms, social media followings, book deals, etc. It would be nice if some posts were from and for the rest of us
I agree. But they always focus on these big newsletters, probably because those are the ones that make Substack money. The rest of us are forgotten and made to feel like we don't count.
True. Substack brags about all these ‘Success’ stories but fails to mention (or is not clear) that all these writers who ‘suddenly’ gain a large subscriber base actually already had a large following on Mailchimp or Medium or Twitter etc and they followed on SUBSTACK. These writers were promised (or bribed) such exposure if they brought their following to Substack. In some cases, Substack even paid certain writers advance fees to lure them and their large following to substack. If you are starting from ZERO on Substack, without any followers on other socials or heavy marketing, forget about gaining large subscribers base.
💯 Truth
Glad you raised this point. Also glad that she was transparent about it in the article. It would be so brilliant if Substack started sharing success stories of newbies too, even if that version of success is different.