20 Comments
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Keith Monaghan's avatar

Thanks for this. I’ve been struggling to understand how discussion threads could serve my readers and, just like you explained, sharing your experience was super helpful. Great stuff!

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Terrell Johnson's avatar

Thanks, Keith!

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AI Creator House's avatar

I never thought of even having a mailing list, because I don't join or read them. But, I'm surprised how many people are joining. I'll give the discussion threads a shot too - see what happens. Thanks!

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Matt Civico's avatar

This is great advice and I want to start using Threads more frequently, but I have a question.

When I look at the settings for threads the only two options are "Public" and "Paying Subscribers Only." Does this include subscribers I've comped a full subscription to? It's worded differently than the options for emails.

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Chris Best's avatar

Yes, this includes anybody who has subscriber status including comps. (I can see how that's confusing)

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Matt Civico's avatar

Thanks for the clarification!

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Terrell Johnson's avatar

That's a great question, I'll have to defer to Hamish or Chris on that. From what I understand, everything I send out for paid subscribers includes ones I've given comps to -- whether that's discussion threads, podcasts or emails. Good question, though.

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Matt Civico's avatar

Thanks! That makes sense.

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Rizwan's avatar

Thanks for your wonderful advice on how to approach this awesome feature. :)

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Mark Isero's avatar

Thank you very much for sharing your experience. I especially like the advice to focus on (specific) personal questions, rather than questions about the news / current events.

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Terrell Johnson's avatar

You're welcome, Mark! I've found over time that certain questions/topics resonate with readers more than others, but it's hard to predict. Each publisher's audience is unique (and they're not static -- they change over time as subscribers come and go), so the topics that resonate today might be different six months from now. It's all an experiment. :)

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Walter McLeod's avatar

Hi Terrell,

I read your guide and found it inspirational, but still have a few questions:

1. How did you launch the thread? (any fanfare or advance notice to readers)

2. If you start at 8:30-9am, how long do you "live post" during the discussion? or float into and out of the thread?

3. Have you ever used invited/featured "guests" to host the thread?

Thanks for your time and consideration. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

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Genevieve Kim's avatar

Thank you for sharing this! Great points

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Bill Murphy Jr.'s avatar

Thanks Terrell this is really useful to know about!

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Terrell Johnson's avatar

Thanks, Bill!

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James Garside's avatar

Great advice, thank you! jamesgarside.substack.com/about

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Uba Hope's avatar

Thank you for this write up it was really helpful

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waterzeong's avatar

Why can't pasted hyperlinks be opened directly on web ?

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Carol Sill's avatar

I'd like to set this up, but my newsletter is free, no paid subscribers. Can I still get this going?

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Chris Best's avatar

Yes! You can still start a public discussion thread. Just hit the "New thread" button that's below the "New post" button.

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