I feel like Substack is being turned into just another social media platform with Notes and 'Followers'. I'm not really interested in picking up random Followers on Notes - I write for a very specific audience and I want people for whom my content is relevant to sign up as Subscribers, not Followers, but now everyone has the option to make a half-assed commitment after which they can't be reached via email. What is the end game with Notes? Are you going to start selling ads? All these changes are helping Substack with engagement metrics but are not helping writers at all.
I keep getting more and more followers, but it seems like they're not really interested in what I'm writing because they never interact after the follow. I sometimes wonder why they followed. Maybe the fishing, like you said.
That’s the sense I get. People are using notes to fish or bait for my follow or subscribe and once I do, they think they have me hooked and have nothing to do with me again, never commenting or liking my posts again. It’s the old bait and switch game played on all social media.
This is another confusing aspect of the Substack world. I am onboard with increasing the crosstalk, but every time I look at this stuff I see two unrelated systems crammed into the same web interface.
For this particular area, maybe a clearer ladder of engagement would be helpful? And I have a dirty little secret - I subscribe to some Substacks, I am not sure if I follow any, nor how to check, but there are 112 occurrences of "substack" in the OPML file for my Inoreader. This web/mobile RSS reader offers a fantastic feature set - there are a bunch of Substacks I don't read, but which I do monitor for mentions of various keywords. Inoreader makes that easy.
Another reason I view Substacks through Inoreader is the folders feature. There are some things I always read, but there are a whole folder full of cranks that I would not reward by giving them a free subscription or a follower. Inoreader permits me to quietly observe.
Really? I wasn’t aware of this option. I may have to look into it because there are people who I subscribed to because we agreed on some things but it’s very clear that I disagree with them on many others. But I do like hearing from people I disagree with.
The biggest uncertainty that I have is how followers get counted. I have 2 active Substacks and the stats gives me two different numbers of followers. One is like 800 and the other is 200. Yet my understanding is that they are following my profile generally. So how does that work?
I genuinely felt like I have no idea how to actually use Substack and I just feel intimidated by using Notes, which is low-key ridiculous, but it's apparently actually "tricky." 😜
I completely agree. My Follower count has been going up quite nicely, but it's much harder to get the Subscriber count to move. The positive thing about a Follow, I guess, is that it does mean you haven't lost them completely, and there's still a chance they could go on to read a Post, or even Subscribe at some future point, after they've explored things more fully, but the conversion rate from Followers to Subscribers does seem to be very low... 😎
Substack prioritizes obtaining followers these days. I've noticed that when subscribing to a publication, there's a checkbox to also subscribe to maybe 3 others publications. But the checkbox they added a while back in the subscribe flow for followers contains dozens and dozens of people. Since the idea is to simply hit "Accept all" or whatever it's called, follower numbers are zooming up.
It's very annoying. I already have thousands of "followers" on FB, Twitter, LinkedIn etc who will never enable me to make a living. I don't need another bunch on Substack. I write for a B2B audience so not trying to appeal to casual consumers, who I'm sure will never pay for my content as it's not really that relevant to them. Substack should allow us to turn off the Followers feature.
Very pertinent questions that warrant answers. As for myself, I'm weighing up the enriching personal experience of writing a book against investing precious creative time on Substack. Bar brief connections, it's a bit like sending sound signals into dark holes, hoping that someone out there picks up the frequency. We shouldn't settle for likes and/or even followers as bellwether for affirming authentic authoring. Yet, the immediacy of Substack is possibly it's biggest draw.
To encourage people to want to subscribe to your newsletter, and not just "follow" it, or find it on search engines, I think this idea can work (maybe other people have spread it before, I don't know).
It is very simple, with 3 steps:
1- You write your post on Substack and send it to your subscribers (everyone can read it and comment).
2- Then you leave about 100 words (the minimum for Google to consider it), and replace everything else with a text or button that says something like this: "This article was visible to subscribers when it was sent".
3- You broadcast the article on Notes (followers won't be able to see the substantive content if they don't subscribe).
Yes, I have noticed that a lot of similar things I see on other social media is happening here on Notes. It’s becoming more and more like social media.
In a lot of ways, yes. I have noticed the evolution of language that Substack has had over time. They used to talk about social media as a problem. Making a clear distinction between what the platform does and what social media is. Then they started talking about how they won’t become like social media. Before more recently talking about themselves as “not like other social media”. Clearly implying that they look at themselves as social media.
It's really nice to know that I'm not the only one who has noticed that, Andrew. The evolution of language around the whole social media aspect. You've nailed it.
This is my biggest issue, too. Plus, I find that I often just don't have time for it and so worry that if I'm not posting on Notes then I'm not "engaging" enough and therefore am somehow going to be losing out on readership etc. I don't mind being on there occasionally, and it's a good way to see content being restacked that you may have already missed, but my Substack inbox is already becoming somewhat unmanageable (on top of trying to put my own content out), so trying to find time for Notes too is hard. I have this fear that everyone else is on there, and I'm the one sliding backwards by rarely being on there.
To encourage people to want to subscribe to your newsletter, and not just "follow" it, or find it on search engines, I think this idea can work (maybe other people have spread it before, I don't know).
It is very simple, with 3 steps:
1- You write your post on Substack and send it to your subscribers (everyone can read it and comment).
2- Then you leave about 100 words (the minimum for Google to consider it), and replace everything else with a text or button that says something like this: "This article was visible to subscribers when it was sent".
3- You broadcast the article on Notes (followers won't be able to see the substantive content if they don't subscribe).
Notes is fine and all, but I have some points of feedback:
- can I please stop seeing Notes in my feed that are about how great Substack is, or writers talking about writing? I would actually like some "content" in my content, if you know what I mean. And I even hate the word content.
- can we please see a scheduling feature for Notes soon? I want to be consistent, but many days I have my head down in, you know, writing. Every other social media platform allows me to schedule their posts, and it's been the biggest game changer in my ability to focus.
Yes, that does seem to be a consistent problem. So much of Substack seems to be people talking about how to become successful on Substack. It’s one of many reasons that I don’t really do anything like that.
Agreed - Substack used to do workshop series like Grow and Go to help writers become successful on the platform (I was part of Substack Go and it was the catalyst to my Substack growing) - I feel these kind of writers are filling in a gap. It's understandable if a bit unseemly.
I was never lucky enough to be invited into anything like that. At least as far as I can tell. But they are doing something similar. It’s just for video creators. Which seems like an odd thing to do when you are supposedly trying to build a platform for writers.
I would love to see Substack add the ability to schedule notes. I am a bivocational pastor who also has a family. Scheduling the distribution of notes would truly help me and I am sure others reach their audience more frequently.
That is exactly what I'm trying to do with Notes. I've made mine into a place for 'mini content' between Posts, and I publish Microfiction there, as well as facts about the day and other fun things... 😎
Unfortunately, however well the intention, Notes has altered the focus of Substack. In my experience at least, Notes is filled with the same silliness, memes, quicky one liners, and engagement voice tactics that made Twitter so boring.
Sometimes, there's substance, but it's overpowered by the rest of the stuff that (for me) holds no interest.
And now that Substack prioritizes the acquisition of followers over that of subscribers, it seems Substack has become more and more a circle of folks patting each other on the back, the way Twitter polluted itself with the whole follow for follow thing.
I get new followers every day. And you know what? They don't mean a thing. People with zero interest in what I'm doing (at least it seems that way because they never interact) follow me, probably because Substack presents potential followers by the dozens when someone subscribes to a publication.
I'm sure Notes is great for the people you mention in your articles, who are always folks with thousands and thousands of subscribers, but for smaller stacks, and for people like me who aren't into playing the social media game, it falls flat.
Yes, I've been trying to bring some substance to Notes. I post daily Microfiction and mini articles, that I was hoping would attract people to my main publication. But it seems to be very hit and miss whether things are seen or not... 😎
What percentage of Substack readers use Notes? Including Notes in posts and posts in Notes are good ways to drive traffic in both directions. If a Note goes viral, does it become... Notorious?
My two cents as someone who’s found Notes to be very beneficial in terms of growth and connection: treat it as the wide open end of your audience funnel. Having followers here negates the need to cross-promote on traditional social media (which throttles the life out of outbound links anyway, so what’s the point?) and means you can “market” your publication directly to people with a far greater chance of converting into subscribers. I’ve done almost zero external promotion for my publications and my audience has grown in leaps and bounds over the last 8 or so months. I’m a big fan of anything that helps me avoid having to do extra promo work online.
If Notes is so great, why the slobbering promotion?
We are all doing each other's laundry. All my readers came from elsewhere. The writers in my circle all subscribe to one another. Every now and there is a pointless flame war. If Notes disappeared tomorrow, I don't think we would miss it after a week or two.
I haven't quite gotten the hang of notes yet. I think that, if I'm not mistaken, it's mostly subscribers seeing them, if anyone. And I think I don't have enough subscribers (about 300) to see them. So I usually get little or no engagement when I post notes at this point. But looking forward to a day when I do!
Thank you so much to the Substack community for all the support on Notes. It's my favorite way to chat with everybody and test out ideas. Plus it's a great way to share what you're reading and support other writers. Zero downside.
I need a straightforward answer to this question: when I post something to Notes. who sees it? How is my list of Substack subscribers related to the set of people who see my Notes?
That is a great question. My understanding, is that when you post a Note, there is the potential for your Subscribers and Followers to see it if they are using Notes, as well as the wider Substack Community if they have their Notes on the Explore setting. If someone engages with your Note, and Likes it or Comments or whatever, there is then more chance it will be shown to their Subscribers/Followers and will start to move out further and be seen by more people. But I'm really not sure how it prioritises Notes in the Feed for people, because some of mine get seen and some don't. A lot of it seems to be just luck, and catching people at the right time... 😎
Substack - you HAVE to listen to what the people are saying. It’s clear from the comment section that the sentiment about notes is negative.
I signed up to Substack with the intention of being a creator - but I’m wondering if that was a mistake, and that this change you’ve implemented is going to cultivate the same short attention span as every other social media platform.
If that happens, you’ve not only throttled one of your most defining traits, but you’re putting yourself at odds with the calibre of creators that call Substack home.
In this age of TikTok and bite-sized media, any platform that prioritises in-depth and considered expression is much-needed. I feel like internet culture is eroding our ability to create authentically and think critically and it honestly scares me.
Please Substack. Change it back before it’s too late!
Bottom line is - you can take your subscribers with you when you leave Substack, but you can't take your followers with you. Substack is just trying to lock everyone into the platform. There are alternative platforms out there that don't do this. Substack needs to listen to its users who are not happy with the followers feature. At the very least, we should be given stats on how many followers are being converted into subscribers - and we should also be allowed to opt out of having followers. Are you listening Hamish?
I love using Notes. I think it's laid out well and simple to use, with some great Tools for formatting and things. I share Microfiction on there most days, and fun facts and jokes, if anyone is interested. I also Restack lots of great Posts from other writers you might have missed... 😎
I feel like Substack is being turned into just another social media platform with Notes and 'Followers'. I'm not really interested in picking up random Followers on Notes - I write for a very specific audience and I want people for whom my content is relevant to sign up as Subscribers, not Followers, but now everyone has the option to make a half-assed commitment after which they can't be reached via email. What is the end game with Notes? Are you going to start selling ads? All these changes are helping Substack with engagement metrics but are not helping writers at all.
Everyone who "follows" me are all pay sites fishing for subscribers. I NEVER follow back.
My site is FREE, so just subscribe for Pete's sake.
Notes is a really bad idea and I hope Substack doesn't follow it down the stairs.
I keep getting more and more followers, but it seems like they're not really interested in what I'm writing because they never interact after the follow. I sometimes wonder why they followed. Maybe the fishing, like you said.
That’s the sense I get. People are using notes to fish or bait for my follow or subscribe and once I do, they think they have me hooked and have nothing to do with me again, never commenting or liking my posts again. It’s the old bait and switch game played on all social media.
Yes, the fishing. Sadly.😔
For sure, it’s much more difficult to gain subscribers in many ways since followers became a thing.
This is another confusing aspect of the Substack world. I am onboard with increasing the crosstalk, but every time I look at this stuff I see two unrelated systems crammed into the same web interface.
For this particular area, maybe a clearer ladder of engagement would be helpful? And I have a dirty little secret - I subscribe to some Substacks, I am not sure if I follow any, nor how to check, but there are 112 occurrences of "substack" in the OPML file for my Inoreader. This web/mobile RSS reader offers a fantastic feature set - there are a bunch of Substacks I don't read, but which I do monitor for mentions of various keywords. Inoreader makes that easy.
Another reason I view Substacks through Inoreader is the folders feature. There are some things I always read, but there are a whole folder full of cranks that I would not reward by giving them a free subscription or a follower. Inoreader permits me to quietly observe.
Really? I wasn’t aware of this option. I may have to look into it because there are people who I subscribed to because we agreed on some things but it’s very clear that I disagree with them on many others. But I do like hearing from people I disagree with.
The biggest uncertainty that I have is how followers get counted. I have 2 active Substacks and the stats gives me two different numbers of followers. One is like 800 and the other is 200. Yet my understanding is that they are following my profile generally. So how does that work?
Yes, only one profile.
I genuinely felt like I have no idea how to actually use Substack and I just feel intimidated by using Notes, which is low-key ridiculous, but it's apparently actually "tricky." 😜
Good idea 💡
I completely agree. My Follower count has been going up quite nicely, but it's much harder to get the Subscriber count to move. The positive thing about a Follow, I guess, is that it does mean you haven't lost them completely, and there's still a chance they could go on to read a Post, or even Subscribe at some future point, after they've explored things more fully, but the conversion rate from Followers to Subscribers does seem to be very low... 😎
Substack prioritizes obtaining followers these days. I've noticed that when subscribing to a publication, there's a checkbox to also subscribe to maybe 3 others publications. But the checkbox they added a while back in the subscribe flow for followers contains dozens and dozens of people. Since the idea is to simply hit "Accept all" or whatever it's called, follower numbers are zooming up.
It's very annoying. I already have thousands of "followers" on FB, Twitter, LinkedIn etc who will never enable me to make a living. I don't need another bunch on Substack. I write for a B2B audience so not trying to appeal to casual consumers, who I'm sure will never pay for my content as it's not really that relevant to them. Substack should allow us to turn off the Followers feature.
I wrote about this here:
https://sassone.wordpress.com/2023/09/28/we-need-to-talk-about-substack/
I read all your posts. I agree on most.
Very pertinent questions that warrant answers. As for myself, I'm weighing up the enriching personal experience of writing a book against investing precious creative time on Substack. Bar brief connections, it's a bit like sending sound signals into dark holes, hoping that someone out there picks up the frequency. We shouldn't settle for likes and/or even followers as bellwether for affirming authentic authoring. Yet, the immediacy of Substack is possibly it's biggest draw.
I agree with you here. Followers makes not sense, I never see them either. So whats the point to follow in the first place 🤷♂️
To encourage people to want to subscribe to your newsletter, and not just "follow" it, or find it on search engines, I think this idea can work (maybe other people have spread it before, I don't know).
It is very simple, with 3 steps:
1- You write your post on Substack and send it to your subscribers (everyone can read it and comment).
2- Then you leave about 100 words (the minimum for Google to consider it), and replace everything else with a text or button that says something like this: "This article was visible to subscribers when it was sent".
3- You broadcast the article on Notes (followers won't be able to see the substantive content if they don't subscribe).
Advantages: see https://liderar.substack.com/p/idea-to-get-more-subscribers-from
The danger with notes is if it ends up breeding the same short-form attention span that Substack was meant to be an escape from.
Yes, I have noticed that a lot of similar things I see on other social media is happening here on Notes. It’s becoming more and more like social media.
I agree except that I wouldn't say "it's becoming" social media. I would say it has indeed become that.
In a lot of ways, yes. I have noticed the evolution of language that Substack has had over time. They used to talk about social media as a problem. Making a clear distinction between what the platform does and what social media is. Then they started talking about how they won’t become like social media. Before more recently talking about themselves as “not like other social media”. Clearly implying that they look at themselves as social media.
It's really nice to know that I'm not the only one who has noticed that, Andrew. The evolution of language around the whole social media aspect. You've nailed it.
Probably the biggest irony is that they created a platform for writers and expect people obsessed with words not to notice the language being used.
Good question 🙂
Yes it’s a very fine line; hopefully Substack can find that balance and maintain thoughtful writing as its competitive advantage.
That has already happened. I find myself skimming. I am sick of that. Many Notes are just restacks of other good posts, so that okay.
This is my biggest issue, too. Plus, I find that I often just don't have time for it and so worry that if I'm not posting on Notes then I'm not "engaging" enough and therefore am somehow going to be losing out on readership etc. I don't mind being on there occasionally, and it's a good way to see content being restacked that you may have already missed, but my Substack inbox is already becoming somewhat unmanageable (on top of trying to put my own content out), so trying to find time for Notes too is hard. I have this fear that everyone else is on there, and I'm the one sliding backwards by rarely being on there.
To encourage people to want to subscribe to your newsletter, and not just "follow" it, or find it on search engines, I think this idea can work (maybe other people have spread it before, I don't know).
It is very simple, with 3 steps:
1- You write your post on Substack and send it to your subscribers (everyone can read it and comment).
2- Then you leave about 100 words (the minimum for Google to consider it), and replace everything else with a text or button that says something like this: "This article was visible to subscribers when it was sent".
3- You broadcast the article on Notes (followers won't be able to see the substantive content if they don't subscribe).
Advantages: see https://liderar.substack.com/p/idea-to-get-more-subscribers-from
Notes is fine and all, but I have some points of feedback:
- can I please stop seeing Notes in my feed that are about how great Substack is, or writers talking about writing? I would actually like some "content" in my content, if you know what I mean. And I even hate the word content.
- can we please see a scheduling feature for Notes soon? I want to be consistent, but many days I have my head down in, you know, writing. Every other social media platform allows me to schedule their posts, and it's been the biggest game changer in my ability to focus.
Yes, that does seem to be a consistent problem. So much of Substack seems to be people talking about how to become successful on Substack. It’s one of many reasons that I don’t really do anything like that.
Agreed - Substack used to do workshop series like Grow and Go to help writers become successful on the platform (I was part of Substack Go and it was the catalyst to my Substack growing) - I feel these kind of writers are filling in a gap. It's understandable if a bit unseemly.
I was never lucky enough to be invited into anything like that. At least as far as I can tell. But they are doing something similar. It’s just for video creators. Which seems like an odd thing to do when you are supposedly trying to build a platform for writers.
You can schedule posts on Substack on the publish screen at the bottom
Are you talking about posts, or Notes? I'm talking about Notes. I'll edit it to be more clear.
I would love to see Substack add the ability to schedule notes. I am a bivocational pastor who also has a family. Scheduling the distribution of notes would truly help me and I am sure others reach their audience more frequently.
Oh I meant posts. I have never noticed a way to schedule Notes so far
I'll start soon my newsletter Life Stories Circle and I hope you'll read it. :)
That sounds great. Good luck with it! 😎
You can mute the notes you don't want to see and then the algorithm will stop feeding you those kind.
That is exactly what I'm trying to do with Notes. I've made mine into a place for 'mini content' between Posts, and I publish Microfiction there, as well as facts about the day and other fun things... 😎
Unfortunately, however well the intention, Notes has altered the focus of Substack. In my experience at least, Notes is filled with the same silliness, memes, quicky one liners, and engagement voice tactics that made Twitter so boring.
Sometimes, there's substance, but it's overpowered by the rest of the stuff that (for me) holds no interest.
And now that Substack prioritizes the acquisition of followers over that of subscribers, it seems Substack has become more and more a circle of folks patting each other on the back, the way Twitter polluted itself with the whole follow for follow thing.
I get new followers every day. And you know what? They don't mean a thing. People with zero interest in what I'm doing (at least it seems that way because they never interact) follow me, probably because Substack presents potential followers by the dozens when someone subscribes to a publication.
I'm sure Notes is great for the people you mention in your articles, who are always folks with thousands and thousands of subscribers, but for smaller stacks, and for people like me who aren't into playing the social media game, it falls flat.
Yes, I've been trying to bring some substance to Notes. I post daily Microfiction and mini articles, that I was hoping would attract people to my main publication. But it seems to be very hit and miss whether things are seen or not... 😎
I tried reading your comment, but it was too long—and it didn't have enough high-speed chases or special effects to capture my attention :(
What percentage of Substack readers use Notes? Including Notes in posts and posts in Notes are good ways to drive traffic in both directions. If a Note goes viral, does it become... Notorious?
Notes are good to push information into soft-brained Americans and to demoralize their nation.
Funy 😃
My two cents as someone who’s found Notes to be very beneficial in terms of growth and connection: treat it as the wide open end of your audience funnel. Having followers here negates the need to cross-promote on traditional social media (which throttles the life out of outbound links anyway, so what’s the point?) and means you can “market” your publication directly to people with a far greater chance of converting into subscribers. I’ve done almost zero external promotion for my publications and my audience has grown in leaps and bounds over the last 8 or so months. I’m a big fan of anything that helps me avoid having to do extra promo work online.
Same here David. I seem to attract hundreds of new subs each month and I'm not even on social media. I just write and use notes.
Exactly.
If Notes is so great, why the slobbering promotion?
We are all doing each other's laundry. All my readers came from elsewhere. The writers in my circle all subscribe to one another. Every now and there is a pointless flame war. If Notes disappeared tomorrow, I don't think we would miss it after a week or two.
I haven't quite gotten the hang of notes yet. I think that, if I'm not mistaken, it's mostly subscribers seeing them, if anyone. And I think I don't have enough subscribers (about 300) to see them. So I usually get little or no engagement when I post notes at this point. But looking forward to a day when I do!
If other users have their View set to explore, you’ll pop up. (If it is set on ‘following’ people will only see who they personally follow)
Thank you so much to the Substack community for all the support on Notes. It's my favorite way to chat with everybody and test out ideas. Plus it's a great way to share what you're reading and support other writers. Zero downside.
Yes, I love supporting other writers on there, too, and Restacking things I've enjoyed... 😎
I will be referring this comment to fact-checkers.
Thanks! I will be posting more notes, now. What a grand idea to make video notes as well. Success and meaningful connections to you all. 😊
Thanks! Success and meaningful connections to you, too... 😎
I need a straightforward answer to this question: when I post something to Notes. who sees it? How is my list of Substack subscribers related to the set of people who see my Notes?
That is a great question. My understanding, is that when you post a Note, there is the potential for your Subscribers and Followers to see it if they are using Notes, as well as the wider Substack Community if they have their Notes on the Explore setting. If someone engages with your Note, and Likes it or Comments or whatever, there is then more chance it will be shown to their Subscribers/Followers and will start to move out further and be seen by more people. But I'm really not sure how it prioritises Notes in the Feed for people, because some of mine get seen and some don't. A lot of it seems to be just luck, and catching people at the right time... 😎
Good advice 🙂
I do need to use Notes but ain't got enough highfalutin words to share 😞
Substack - you HAVE to listen to what the people are saying. It’s clear from the comment section that the sentiment about notes is negative.
I signed up to Substack with the intention of being a creator - but I’m wondering if that was a mistake, and that this change you’ve implemented is going to cultivate the same short attention span as every other social media platform.
If that happens, you’ve not only throttled one of your most defining traits, but you’re putting yourself at odds with the calibre of creators that call Substack home.
In this age of TikTok and bite-sized media, any platform that prioritises in-depth and considered expression is much-needed. I feel like internet culture is eroding our ability to create authentically and think critically and it honestly scares me.
Please Substack. Change it back before it’s too late!
Bottom line is - you can take your subscribers with you when you leave Substack, but you can't take your followers with you. Substack is just trying to lock everyone into the platform. There are alternative platforms out there that don't do this. Substack needs to listen to its users who are not happy with the followers feature. At the very least, we should be given stats on how many followers are being converted into subscribers - and we should also be allowed to opt out of having followers. Are you listening Hamish?
A follower ain't a suscriber
I love using Notes. I think it's laid out well and simple to use, with some great Tools for formatting and things. I share Microfiction on there most days, and fun facts and jokes, if anyone is interested. I also Restack lots of great Posts from other writers you might have missed... 😎