This is a guest post by Terrell Johnson, publisher of The Half Marathoner, who has mastered the art of the discussion thread on Substack. When I moved my newsletter from Mailchimp to Substack in the summer of 2018, I didn’t think a lot would change as far as how I went about publishing it. I’d still put together the same weekly issue, with the same basic structure, and that would be that.
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!
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!
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.
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.
How to use discussion threads to get closer to your readers
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!
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!
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.
Thanks for your wonderful advice on how to approach this awesome feature. :)
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.
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.
Thank you for sharing this! Great points
Thanks Terrell this is really useful to know about!
Great advice, thank you! jamesgarside.substack.com/about
Thank you for this write up it was really helpful
Why can't pasted hyperlinks be opened directly on web ?
I'd like to set this up, but my newsletter is free, no paid subscribers. Can I still get this going?