Have questions about publishing, growing, or going paid on Substack?
The Substack team, and your fellow writers, are here to help!
We’re gathering the writer community and members of our Community, Product, and Writer Development teams together in this discussion thread to answer writer questions for an hour today. This will be the last Office Hours thread of the year.
Drop your questions in the thread by leaving a comment, and we’ll do our best to share knowledge and tips. Our team will be answering questions and sharing insights with you in the thread today from 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PST / 1 p.m.–2 p.m. EST. We encourage writers to stick around after the hour and continue the conversation together.
Some updates from the Substack team:
Editable comments: Readers and writers can now edit comments they’ve made on posts and threads. To edit, click on the three dot menu under your comment, then select “Edit comment.”
Version history: While crafting posts in the Substack editor, writers can now access past versions of their drafts. Click the new “Version history” button at the bottom of any Substack post to review or revert to past versions of that post.
You’re invited! To mark the end of the year, we're inviting all the writers who’ve engaged with the Substack community to a virtual Holiday Party on Monday, December 20. We’ll kick off this celebration with small group discussions, sprinkle in some surprises, and finish with a toast. Details and RSVP.
We hope you’ll join us at the party on Zoom next week, and we look forward to our first office hours of 2022, which will be held on Thursday, January 6. Add it to your calendar so you don’t miss it.
Our final Office Hour of the year is in the books. In 2021 we came together for 24 Office Hours! We are excited to get back in it with you in the new year.
Katie + Bailey + Jasime + Sergey ... thanks for all you do. It has been great to get to know you better and look forward to more great conversations in 2022.
The problem I had before was that I was working in the “intro-about”, but then I could not see where the message went and by the time I find the intro, it won’t do it, but doubling the message once again and again. It was odd.
As you can see my profile picture is half way even after making the changes for 3 or more times.
Katie+Bailey+... Can someone PLEASE email me, to help set up substack, have posted a couple of times and have the banking set up - I think. Email with a time to chat or Phone # to text to or call. PLEASE & THANKS, Mark
I want to mention a way to grow your newsletter that is probably overlooked. I just got an email saying someone liked a comment I made on another Substack newsletter. Then I got an email saying the same person subscribed to my newsletter. Thoughtful commenting is a good thing that may encourage readers to check out your newsletter also. I didn’t comment hoping to get subscribers, but it was a nice bonus.
Yes! Receiving comments is one of the highest forms of a compliment as a Substack writer because you get to tangibly see your readers (also human, hopefully haha) on other side of the screen, too!
Good reminder. I used to do more comments on other newsletters but have been a bit slack lately - I must get back to it as I know it means a lot to me when I get nice comments
I love leaving comments, but I get discouraged by all of the writers who make commenting available only for paid subscribers, and it makes me less inclined to leave a comment unless it's on a Substack I am already familiar with (such as yours) that I know will allow me to respond.
Unless you are battling trolls, I don't see any reason to make comments on free posts paid only. It discourages community and possibly new paid subscribers.
Yeah, that's my thinking too. I get it for Heather Cox Richardson - she said once that she does it for that reason. But she has a TON of readers. For smaller newsletters, though, I really wonder if the loss of engagement is worth it.
I’ve received wonderful surprises from commenting. Like you, it was never my intention to get anything in return. I just enjoy being able to “talk” to other people, whether it’s fellow writers or my readers.
Very true. I sometimes feel burned out and don’t know where to start, but when I receive emails with a kindly reminder or simply to see just a like in a comment, it helps a lot.
Thought I'd share a pretty big win we had today. We were featured in an CNN article that's probably going to lead to our biggest jump in subscribers ever. As always, thanks to Substack for creating this great platform.
Appreciate it. Someone just asked us how we did it and I explained we approached then for something else that wasn't quite right for them. But they wanted to interview us for this, so win/win.
Continued thanks to Substack for more enhancements! I'm wondering if 'templates' is on the drawing board. It would definitely be a time saver. Happy holidays and Happy New Year everyone!
PS - If you're looking for some yummy holiday treats to make, check out Time Travel Kitchen by Jolene. https://timetravelkitchen.substack.com. Old time recipes made from her old time kitchen, with flare.....
Could you guys create a Drip system. Locked posts, after so many days/months become free automatically and are sent out to free members. People can pay to get the post first, but everyone eventually gets to read it to help grow the Substack.
Happy Holidays! Thank you for the best Christmas gift ever: the poetry block feature! One request: would it be possible to retain the original post font for this or have choice over the font?
Your friendly reminder to check out the holiday themed posts on pop culture I have up at PopPoetry: https://poppoetry.substack.com/
I just want to second this request for font control in the poetry block; I was excited to see this option while working on my most recent post but then decided not to use it when the font of the poem looked so different. Would love to be able to have it match!
Yep! I'm aware of that feature, but the poetry block makes it much easier to retain all kinds of precise formatting in poetry that makes unusual use of white space (e.g., https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47247/in-just)
It basically preserves the spacing for poetry or anything else with unusual spaces, indents, line breaks, etc. You can access this mode from the "More" dropdown in the post editor.
Just have to say I'm really enjoying this community. Have to go get some work done, but wanted to say Happy Holidays everyone, and keep doing your thing! -Aaron
I recently recorded my first ever guest podcast episode as a result of writing on Substack!
The genesis of how this episode came to fruition: a fellow reader of mine loved a piece I wrote so much that he sent it to a FinTwit podcast host and said, "if there's one piece I need you to read to better understand Bionano Genomics — it's this article."
humbled and grateful for all the serendipitous connections I've made these past 4 months!
I would like that option, but as an option. In other words, it would be great to have a discussion thread of "show me a photo of your pet" but not have photos or GIFs or whatever in every comment thread. If people could post images in every comment thread I'd be inclined to turn them off more often.
Yes to this! That is, the capacity for subs to post images. This would be useful. I had a discussion thread that looked at found-notes as sources of writing inspiration, and I ended up with subs having to email me the pics and re-posting... very time-consuming. And I think more would have posted interesting pieces if they could have done it themselves.
Hey folks! I wanted to my open doors to cross-promotions for 2022. I write about climate change and approachable ways people can make a difference. I try to keep it positive and actionable. If this up your alley, please shoot me an email. lindsay@saveourhappyplace.com. Thanks! :)
Hey again! sorry I completely spaced on replying to our last discussion, but I'd love to collab with you about the outdoors and sustainability in the coming year!
Hey y'all. I share stories, news, and interviews about the outdoors.
I have a humble feature request: The ability to have a vanishing subscribe button (one that disappears to readers who are already signed up.) I think this may make for a better scrolling experience if signing on eliminates some of the clutter and buttons.
Hey Cole: A workaround may be to write your article, without subscribe buttons (Can customize BTW: https://pau1.substack.com/p/get-readers-to-smash-that-subscribe), publish to your list, then after sent, go back and edit your post, adding in the subscribe now or whatever buttons to live on your post website.
I've actually experimented with this before when trying to hide some fun little easter eggs for email subscribers. It works 90% of the time, it's just a pain. plus, a lot of my readers tell me they like to read on web to leave their comments and whatnot... then they're still seeing the buttons!
I think what would also be cool is the option to have the buttons flip to something more useful. i.e. once you're subscribed: subscribe buttons flip to a "thank you" message.... or even a "share to social" button.
Is there a way to push a previously paid-only post to free subscribers other than manually emailing them the unlocked link? I'm unlocking one paid post a month and am telling free subscribers about it in a monthly wrap-up post, but it would be nice to be email to send out the full post to them via email.
My hope is to connect with folks out there though my work and grow together. I’m open to cross promotion and guest posts. Some have graciously allowed me to write or promoted my work and I thank them.
Question: What’s a unique benefit you’ve provided paid subscribers? I like the idea of poetry or short story readings, short fiction drafts, open threads, AMAs… thoughts?
I've got an offer for yearly subscribers. I do Great Grandma's Kitchen, about learning to cook. I offer 5 "translations" of handwritten recipes. Many times, people have their grandmother's recipes, but can't figure out what they are or how to make whatever. Old recipe cards are notorious for having no info but a list of ingredients and and an oven temp. https://greatgrandmaskitchen.substack.com/
A "unique benefit" I came across and found endearing was from https://raha.substack.com/ - "I host a bi-weekly online Bollywood cardio dance class. They’re free for subscribers. Message me to learn more."
Did I say I’d write something for you? I have a newsletter scheduled for next week that has some music I’ve been listening to. I could drop your Substack link in.
Newbie here. I just want to say that I like the idea of making content free to attract and grow an audience. As we know, it's difficult to grow an audience and not everyone has the disposable funds to subscribe to a writer, especially unknown writers. I was wondering what more can be done to promote and feature new writers (not me necessarily) that can introduce them to their market/target? My worry is that niche and working class voices, without influence and funds/tools to expand their reach, will be left behind and yet again we'll have another platform/publication whereby everyone is writing to their audiences about how society is under represented without actually boosting their platform. I would obviously love to earn an income as a writer, but what with the dense tax process and the fiddly payment/electronic transfers/bank charges, as well as low discoverability, in an ocean, it's not viable for the vast majority of talent. That said, I like the potential, the respect for independent thought/debate and the design.
I feel the same, but I figure you’ll never know who will see you work or what the effect will be. We have an opportunity to inspire, humor, or entertain someone. There’s no guarantee. The best thing for us to do is just keep putting work into the universe. I think for the work you really put your heft behind, though, has to have value and command a price. But I think you’ll be surprised once you have an audience, who will support you.
Hi there. I'm with you on this one. I get stressed sometimes about the slow growth but then, like all writing, I know it the writing that matters, and the ass in seat every day commitment. Being satisfied just writing. When I get hung up on subscriber growth (see my first comment) it just distract from why I'm writing. The readers you have are your support and that's pretty awesome.
I hear this. It can be discouraging to spend hours crafting content for a handful of readers. But writing a newsletter is playing the long game. You will put in a lot of time for a handful of readers at first, but recognize that these are people who believe in you and want to read what you have to say. Over time, if you keep at it and get better at what you do, and maybe do some promotions, your list will grow, and maybe one day you write something that really takes off, or the right person finds you and shares your Substack with a huge mailing list of their own. You just never know.
Very excited to attend the Holiday Party! Thank you so much for creating this community and developing such a supportive, fun environment for writers!! Wish you all a very happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year 🥳
I'm interested in implementing a logo on my Substack (I review books that matter for readers who care about nature and climate change at frugalchariot.substack.com) and taking advantage of the headers and footers. Any recommendations of newsletters that do an especially good job with their visual design? Thanks in advance and thanks to the Substack team for all your good work this year!
I have friends telling me that email subscribing is old fashion and people are not faithful to the newsletter they subscribe to. I am fed up with social media… but there is where I get some readers. I hope in time I’ll have the right crowd .I still think that less readers really interested in my work is better than 1000 likes.
Have a super weekend and a joyful season.
I have super powers when it comes to life with children.
Maybe email subscribing is old fashioned, but it is effective.
Here's how I see it, you have a product -- for me, as a writer, the product is my words. In essence, when I go "out there" into the world with my words it's kind of like I am selling them. Well, there are tons of ways to do that and the Internet has put them all at our fingertips.
Having a blog of our own is like opening up our own storefront somewhere in the city. It's our store, it has just our product in it, but people have to know it exists and it's address to even begin to look around. When social media starting booming it was like all these cool shopping malls opened up where everyone was hanging out and we all had a chance to open up shop inside and business was BOOMIN' because the foot traffic was bananas. But now the mall owners have started getting shady. They're changing mall hours without telling the store owners, changing the locks on our store doors every third day, and they are threatening to shut off our store's power if we don't pay up just to light the sign outside. So, we have email subscription lists. This IS old fashioned selling -- it's door to door, but we are only allowed to go to the doors of the people who gave us their address. Then, when we ring the doorbell, they get to choose if they even want to open the door. We KNOW when they see us outside that door and open it up for us, they are actually interested in what we have to offer! We visit regularly just to hang and once in a while we share an offer. It's our address book, and they get to choose when to open the door. I think it is the best way to genuine connection.
Now, Substack, did this awesome thing where our door-to-door selling is also building our own personal store without us having to do any extra work. I think that's incredible.
OK, so this isn't my first rodeo -- I was a blogger for ten years. But I'm having trouble finding information on podcasting. My training is in radio, so I can edit audio, etc., no problem. But how do we submit our podcast to the the major podcast groups, i.e. Apple, spotify, etc.? Do they have specific audio standards, as the audiobook producers have?
I have a podcast outside of substack (I am new here, but have podcasting since 2019). To set up with Apple, you need to head to Podcast Connect and jump through their hoops: https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/login
Many other places pick up the feed from Itunes, so once you are on there, you are in most other places, but Spotify has a separate sign up and so does Stitcher, I believe. The great thing is, you just have to do all of that once and you are set. Which is my problem right now in trying to help you with this question because I did it back in 2018!
I was able to successfully do this on Apple Podcasts and Spotify earlier this week. As Cole suggested, the links on the Substack Settings tab in the Podcast section are easy to follow and submit. Spotify happened near instantly...Apple took a day or two to process. My super basic approach was to record a Voice memo on my Mac and upload that to Substack, which then fed to Apple/Spotify on publication. I use Overcast as my podcast player, subscribed to my feed there, and it popped up on publication.
Hey! substack has some links on setting up podcasts. I set up mine to get syndicated to everything accept apple.... at the time, there was a glitch preventing android users from agreeing to the TOS so I couldn't complete my podcaster account.
It's beneath the link for your podcast RSS feed in "podcast settings" under "general settings" on your writer dashboard. Here is the link tree for all the different providers:
Hey Substack! New writer here - I've written about 20 articles so far and now I'm looking to boost viewership and outreach. Do you have any general tips?
Hi everyone! Loving these writer hours, I learn so much! Thank you Substack for doing these. I usually don’t sign up for online party’s but I have signed up for this one 🙌🏼 I’m open to collaborations if there are any working mums writing on here, do send me a message!
Just started my Substack, with only a few posts so far. No existing reader base to build on. Beginning to engage others' Substacks, but looking for more ways to attract readers and subscribers from the ground up. Suggestions?
My friend, Jackie Dana, is sharing her serial fiction over on Story Cauldron. I have been sharing stand alone stories, but today's post is my first toe-dip into thinking about adding a serial fiction portion to my substack as well. I think it has always been in the back of my mind as a future plan for Story Hoarder, but I am still a baby substacker so I am taking it slow.
hi / thanks for hosting office hours / for the last two or three months i have been including a podcast with my newsletter (great feature) the last few weeks they have included soundtracking like this one https://rohn.substack.com/p/tis-the-christmas-season / i edit the music and the voice in final cut pro / it really adds so much to the newsletter / what i'd like to know is :: is there is any way to know how many people listen to the podcast ?? i was under the mistaken impression that 'podcast downloads' meant the number of people who had listened to the podcast and couldn't figure out why that number was so low - about 20% then i realized (with the help of my house guest) that it was podcast downloads not necessarily the number of people listening to the podcast / thanks
Hey Rohn! I'm doing something similar — sharing original music using the podcast feature. Would be great to know how many folks click the "play" button. But it isn't super clear unless you go deep into a subscriber's activity/stats.
If you go to your subscriber list, and click on any user, it opens a screen that shows "Events", "Stats", and "Comments". The "Events" tab should show you some of the actions taken by a subscriber. (You can also access this by clicking on the open rate of a given email — it will show you who has opened. When you click on their email, it will show you the "Events" list there, too).
1. Over the span of a couple weeks, I got a bunch of new subscribers, more than normal. Initially, that's great, right? But then I noticed that all the email addresses had a similar format, they all came from gmail, and none of them have ever opened a single email. So I'm thinking they are spam? Is there a way to know that for sure? Is there a way to detect or prevent spam signups?
2. Is there a better way to tell where new signups are coming from? I know we have the stats page on the dashboard, but it tells an incomplete story. For example, during a span when I had a dozen new signups, only half of them showed up in my stats. Where are the others coming from? And the stats page is really vague for where the signups are coming from. I mean, what's the difference between facebook, facebook (post), and facebook (substack)? That doesn't seem helpful to me. Maybe I'm just not tech savvy enough to understand the stats. Is there something that tells us what the difference is between different designations in the stats?
I did that, and I think it has helped, but it doesn't help me know whether the previous ones were spam or real. Since the subscribing rate has dropped to what was typical before that rush, maybe that indicates they are spam. But I would also hate to cut someone off who was a real subscriber and just hasn't opened emails yet. Feels like being caught between a rock and a hard place.
You could send a special email to the suspicious addresses, and ask them if they are still interested in your newsletter, as you are trying to weed out bots. If they don't reply, unsub them.
That’s good observation. A high risk to take between wanting to eliminate weeds and in the process affect the good seeds subscribers. I believe Cole good advice of turning on a setting called “double opt in” is a great advice to take in consideration. ♥️
I had a similar group of new subscribers, about 10 of them over a week which is quite a few for me, most from Rad Letters. But it's stopped now and I'm back to my usual rate and a mix of different email addresses, and I didn't change anything. So maybe it was just a temporary issue. I don't have a double opt-in
Oh. I thought of another question. Sorry. They've been building and I've had to miss the last couple weeks.
3. Is there a way to tell if an email address is incorrect or not being delivered? I've found that the number delivered is a couple less than my number of subscribers, and when I look at the email list of who got the email, it's about 6-7 shorter than the number of subscribers. Is there something I can do to weed out the undeliverable emails?
From own experience and from regular email list from gmail for example. When an email does not go through out of all from the email list; the automatic system reply back just in seconds with an email that says: “email didn’t go through wether the email is incorrect or the the email is spam”. Thanks for posting your concerns and questions. ❤️
I have this problem too. it's usually only 3-4 for me. I don't know if it's undeliverable emails, or emails that bounce back from spam or get blocked...
At least I know it's not just me! But even spam gets delivered to the spam folder in most email systems. It's not just not delivered at all usually unless the address is incorrect. Right? Maybe I just don't understand how all the tech stuff works good enough.
Is there a way to update or edit the "Launched x days ago" text? I created my newsletter a while back but published my first post several months after that creation date. I would like to have the same launch date as my first post. Is that possible? thanks.
TLDR: I’ve written bi-weekly since May ‘21 & want to keep some cadence for updates on emerging health tech trends, but also want to free up time and release in-depth pieces exploring intersections between health + tech.
I was wondering:
1) Have you seen any great examples of writers transitioning from a traditional “newsletter” to exploring more in-depth writing, or any popular writers who have achieved a healthy balance between newsletters (updates) and long-form thoughts & deep dives?
2) Any best-in-class principles to keep in mind while making that transition?
3) Anything that would be top of mind when communicating the why in this transition to my readers & community?
I'm going paid right as I write this! I'm a healer who does sexy sound healings for nerds. My teaser goes out Monday of a channeled piece about hope and betrayal set to the Dune soundtrack. I'm having such a better time on here than on Medium. Thank you!!!
One thing I've mentioned before (sorry for being repetitive) is that because I share original music, having an MP3 upload/download option would be awesome, and would help me go paid.
You can always link to your music to an outside source host. Soundcloud, Spotify, and YouTube work well with this platform. But you can always link to anywhere else you host your files, and the user will be directed to a new page.
Thank you both. I'm thinking more of the way that we can now add XLS and PDF files subscribers can download. If MP3 were an option, I could let my subscribers download that month's song for free (without having to use a third-party), if that makes sense.
I love the editable comments. No more typos lasting forever. But Substack is currently kicking me out of the comment box after each letter I type. I had to type this in a text editor and paste it in. I am using Safari browser. Once this bug is fixed, it will be great!
Betje! Hi there. I believe what you are seeing is based on the free 14 day trial you set up. If you think there’s something else going on, our support team can take a closer look for you. Just send them a note here: https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
Did you offer a gift discount? I just started an optional pay with heavily discounted annual gift subscriptions. It is 25 per cent off the annual rate that will begin January 1, 2022. Those appear as "coupons" automatically, I think. You don't need to create one. Substack or Stripe ("the bank") does it.
Someone from Substack might have more technical details. All I know is that I did not create a coupon, but subscribers evidently use them. If you're still confused, draw it. Possible topic?
Nuts! I missed another one (appointment ran over time). Really wanted to put in a plug for being able to paste Markdown into the editor, instead of having to write on Substack. Oh, well. I will try in '22! Happy holidays to all.
Just wonderful!! Going through this thread. It’s great that Substack does this to encourage writers. I am a food writer and presenter and I write Cook With Lerato, https://leratofoods.substack.com/ a newsletter with a good dose of wanderlust through vibrant recipes especially celebrating African cooking. I have made it my mission to make African food mainstream, and so my writing and work in general is aimed at delivering sunshine on your plates. So any food loving, flavour chasing, spice boys and girls out there, I’d love to ‘meet’ you. I love travel, music, dogs so enjoying discovering great writers amongst you. Best of luck everyone and happy holidays. X
"I guess I am getting ready for Passover rather early" Haha! That was my first thought. (Why is this Substack different from other Substacks?) Re Q:2, I can click on your name and go to your page, but there really isn't a DM option, is there? I suppose one can put contact info on their page, but that involves a lot of steps.
Thank you. You are so clear and precise in your advice. By the way, I followed your recommendation made in writers office hours last week (if it was last week).
I posted a THREAD. (You suggested that writers post threads) I think it appears in my second to most recent post. I asked if Erica Jong's assertion, in "Fear of Flying," was correct. Her second chapter titled consisted of the assertion that "Every woman loves a Fascist." My outlook re sexuality may conflict with what I presume is your feminist sensibility. If my comments annoy you, just criticize them in a comment.
They don't take down the Office Hours posts for a while, so you can definitely keep commenting/reading after this for at least a few weeks. They do shoutout threads once a month. I assume all of this will start up again in January and they will email us with a schedule soon!
Substack I am wondering what the average open rates are for large newsletters on your platform? Trying to see how they make it past the spam blocks/junk folders while having tens of thousands of subscribers.
Thank you Substack! Tom White from White Noise here (www.whitenoise.email). Many of my emails seem to be finding their way to subscribers’ spam folders — is there any way to mitigate this? It’s hurting my growth and is discouraging.
One thing you can do is encourage readers to add you to their contact list and drag from spam to their inbox. It's also helpful when readers click links in your email, it signals to their email host that this is an address they want to keep getting messages from.
Hi! I'm planning to launch a second newsletter (and possibly a third) in 2022. The new newsletters are complimentary in the sense that I make my living as a writer and the two new substacks will explore two different aspects of my writing. What I'm wondering is if it makes sense to launch these under my current substack url, or start new urls for the new substacks. Is there an article that walks me through the pros and cons of this question? I couldn't seem to find one in the Help section. My main concern, at the moment, is that I want to drive all potential readers & subscribers to one place, but I want to make sure that when they land on my personal url for the first time, they see that I write 3 newsletters and that they can subscribe to none, one, two, or (gasp) all three!
Someone else had this question as well! People advised sections if your bio and premise were the same. But if the topics were very different, they suggested a new Substack. Readers could opt into sections they wanted or you could automatically subscribe them.
That might have been my comment. Two subjects connect, but not enough that a subscriber would be interested in both. One is about water issues and the other is "How to be An Artist." I was a freelance Op-Ed contributor to the "Sacramento Bee," and so miss that gig. Just starting on Substack, so time will tell.
Thanks! Wondering if you can point me to any examples of someone who does multiple newsletters under one URL? I kinda need to see it to *get* if you know what I mean.
I have my regular Story Cauldron newsletter for free subscribers which is largely nonfiction. I also have my paid section which is my serialized novel. And then I have Unseen St. Louis, also free, which goes into the history of different things in my hometown.
In my case, everything is tied together by my fiction - the St. Louis stuff relates to settings in my novels (at least to an extent) and my nonfiction is about ideas I have had about my writing, creativity, things I'm thinking about that are relevant. I'm trying to rein in the topics I'm considering for my nonfiction a bit so the audience for that content would hopefully also be an audience for my fiction.
If your newsletters are about you and your interests, but one is funny things that happened to you and the other is something different, as one of your fans I would be interested in both. Just my 2 cents.
If I do launch multiple newsletters, what does it say next to my avatar when i comment? For example, it says "Michael Estrin writers situation normal" right now, but does it say all three of my newsletters when I launch those under my personal url, or does it just say "Michael writes a bunch of stuff."
I am planning on having a section on my Acc so I can have my newsletters in a different language. Not sure how I’ll handle it. But it makes sense to have a section of is under same subject and open a whole new on of it is totally different.
But… the more readers the better: why not name the posts with the main section. For example I wrote Fridays random thoughts, and on Sunday I write parenting tools: so I am trying to have the same big title: parenting. It’s repeating every Sunday but some readers don’t want blah blah stories of mine, they want the practical tools on parenting so they just open the door on Sunday.
His engagement is outstanding. It's almost like being in an actual class but without the tuition and airfare. The comments from his participants are nothing less than incredibly informative, literary, and also intimidating.
Thank you. I've had some interaction on FB. I only have 9 subs (but more readers) at this point. Perhaps I need more readers for that to work. Threads are a mystery to me. I'll check out your link.
Our final Office Hour of the year is in the books. In 2021 we came together for 24 Office Hours! We are excited to get back in it with you in the new year.
We hope that you can join us for our Writer Holiday Party on Monday: https://lu.ma/holiday-party
Happy Holidays!
Katie + Bailey + Jasmine + Sergey :)
Katie + Bailey + Jasime + Sergey ... thanks for all you do. It has been great to get to know you better and look forward to more great conversations in 2022.
Guys I just told my readers they can edit comments and they all replied they cannot. So I tried myself and there is no edit function. Ugh
I agree. We cannot edit.
Thank you Emely Miller for the clarification.
Sorry for any troubles! Are you still having this trouble Rose and Emily?
Here it is your post. Emely.
I I still think we cannot edit.
The problem I had before was that I was working in the “intro-about”, but then I could not see where the message went and by the time I find the intro, it won’t do it, but doubling the message once again and again. It was odd.
As you can see my profile picture is half way even after making the changes for 3 or more times.
Now is something I am getting along with.
Thank you for asking.
♥️
Happy Holidays, Katie, Bailey, Jasmine, Sergey. Have a great Writer Holiday Party! I’d love to join, but it’s gonna be 2 am here.
Happy Holidays, Melinda! We will be celebrating you too at the party
Katie+Bailey+... Can someone PLEASE email me, to help set up substack, have posted a couple of times and have the banking set up - I think. Email with a time to chat or Phone # to text to or call. PLEASE & THANKS, Mark
You can e-mail support and they always reply. They don’t do phone.
Thanks for chiming in Emily! Mark, you can write our support team here https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
I want to mention a way to grow your newsletter that is probably overlooked. I just got an email saying someone liked a comment I made on another Substack newsletter. Then I got an email saying the same person subscribed to my newsletter. Thoughtful commenting is a good thing that may encourage readers to check out your newsletter also. I didn’t comment hoping to get subscribers, but it was a nice bonus.
Thanks for thoughtfully showing up to be part of the conversations here too!
Thank you Katy for the email. It must have been a while since last time I post because I don’t remember the issue I had back them.
I appreciated your acknowledgment in your email.
Thank you.♥️
My pleasure. I look forward to these user gatherings.
More Substack meetups in 2022
Yes! Receiving comments is one of the highest forms of a compliment as a Substack writer because you get to tangibly see your readers (also human, hopefully haha) on other side of the screen, too!
I agree. Way better than numbers on a chart.
Good reminder. I used to do more comments on other newsletters but have been a bit slack lately - I must get back to it as I know it means a lot to me when I get nice comments
Exactly. I enjoy getting and responding to comments, so I try to comment on the newsletters I read frequently.
Same here. It’s the interaction that makes it even more meaningful. And less lonely.
Agreed. It's the best part for me.
I love getting comments/feedback! I like to think of my newsletter as a two-way discussion.
Very true. Comments and feedbacks are good way to grow in community. Planning to do better in 2022.
It just sometimes, I cannot find the thread, until someone reminds me by email and click there right away.
true (already a subscriber, Mark)
Thank you, Paul!
Cool! That's a great way to build community.
Agreed. I love getting comments on my newsletter.
I love leaving comments, but I get discouraged by all of the writers who make commenting available only for paid subscribers, and it makes me less inclined to leave a comment unless it's on a Substack I am already familiar with (such as yours) that I know will allow me to respond.
Unless you are battling trolls, I don't see any reason to make comments on free posts paid only. It discourages community and possibly new paid subscribers.
Yeah, that's my thinking too. I get it for Heather Cox Richardson - she said once that she does it for that reason. But she has a TON of readers. For smaller newsletters, though, I really wonder if the loss of engagement is worth it.
I feel exactly the same way. A community doesn't feel welcoming if you have to pay to engage.
Great advice, Mark! I've had this happen several times.
Plus, comments are the best part to me. 🙂
I’ve received wonderful surprises from commenting. Like you, it was never my intention to get anything in return. I just enjoy being able to “talk” to other people, whether it’s fellow writers or my readers.
Good advice, Mark! :)
Very true. I sometimes feel burned out and don’t know where to start, but when I receive emails with a kindly reminder or simply to see just a like in a comment, it helps a lot.
Thank you, Mark.
Always a great idea. I wonder if Substack would consider adding more than 24 hours to a day so I can do everything that needs to be done! LOL!
🤣 That would definitely make them popular.
Thought I'd share a pretty big win we had today. We were featured in an CNN article that's probably going to lead to our biggest jump in subscribers ever. As always, thanks to Substack for creating this great platform.
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/older-travelers-backpacking/index.html
Woah! Go Michael!
and Brent!
Congratulations! I'm curious - how did CNN find you?
We actually pitched them with an article we wrote. They didn't want to use it but they wanted to interview us for this article.
Congrats, Michael!!
Thanks!
Congrats, Michael! Well deserved :)
Appreciate it. Someone just asked us how we did it and I explained we approached then for something else that wasn't quite right for them. But they wanted to interview us for this, so win/win.
that is awesome Michael — I love you sharing your wins!
Thanks!
That's awesome! Nice work!
Appreciate it!
Wow! Good for you-s! :)
Than you very much.
That's awesome! Congratulations
Thanks!
This is really cool, Michael!!
Thanks! We just keep plugging away looking for opportunities!
Congrats! I’ve enjoyed the read about older travelers backpacking. Though, I wouldn’t call 50s old. 😄
I wouldn't either but try telling that to the twenty something reporter who interviewed us! 😂
Amazing! You guys deserve it.
Thanks!
So exciting love you guys and your posts ... shout you out when I can ... learn so much ... no one deserves it more than you Michael and Brent.
Thanks so much, Liz. That's incredibly flattering, though I wouldn't say we deserve it more than anyone else!
Congrats! That is wonderful news.
Thanks!
Congratulations!!
Thanks!
Awesome! Kudos!
Appreciate it!
That's amazing, congrats!
Thank you very much!
Continued thanks to Substack for more enhancements! I'm wondering if 'templates' is on the drawing board. It would definitely be a time saver. Happy holidays and Happy New Year everyone!
PS - If you're looking for some yummy holiday treats to make, check out Time Travel Kitchen by Jolene. https://timetravelkitchen.substack.com. Old time recipes made from her old time kitchen, with flare.....
LOVE Jolene's work :)
Right back at you, Alison!
Thank you, Jolene!
Jolene fan club here.
I just saw this 😂 Right back atcha.
Hey Heather! I just submitted this request to the team as well! Template feature would be so helpful (or even a "duplicate" option).
Yes! I have a couple new features I'm adding in 2022 that would definitely benefit from a template or duplicate option.
We've heard that one a few times! In the meantime, I know some writers will create drafts for post templates and copy paste them when writing.
That is what I do. But a true template would be incredibly appreciated by me. 🙂
Though I usually leave the cooking to my wife, I always read Jolene's newsletter with great pleasure. And she reads mine!
I do, enthusiastically!
That sounds like an awesome name! I'll have to check it out, and your newsletter too!
Thank you, Heather! ❤️
Could you guys create a Drip system. Locked posts, after so many days/months become free automatically and are sent out to free members. People can pay to get the post first, but everyone eventually gets to read it to help grow the Substack.
We’ve heard writers ask for unlocking posts (and also, locking them) after time elapses before and have let our product team know about the idea :)
Awesome!
I like that idea!
Happy Holidays! Thank you for the best Christmas gift ever: the poetry block feature! One request: would it be possible to retain the original post font for this or have choice over the font?
Your friendly reminder to check out the holiday themed posts on pop culture I have up at PopPoetry: https://poppoetry.substack.com/
Yes, the poetry block is awesome! Before I basically had to make a photo of a poem to try and post it!
I wrote my last post yesterday as a poem and didn't even know about the poetry block feature!
Cole - Your poem with the pictures was great!
Hi Caitlin! So glad to hear you’re enjoying the poetry block. I let the product team know about this request re: fonts!
How do you delete the poetry block coding if you decide not to use it? I'm having trouble doing that.
I just want to second this request for font control in the poetry block; I was excited to see this option while working on my most recent post but then decided not to use it when the font of the poem looked so different. Would love to be able to have it match!
Hi Caitlin, you can also try shift+enter, this will keep your next line of verse in single spacing. Hope this helps.
Yep! I'm aware of that feature, but the poetry block makes it much easier to retain all kinds of precise formatting in poetry that makes unusual use of white space (e.g., https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47247/in-just)
Oh -- What is this feature? I quote poetry in most issues and am very keen to make it look better. Thank you!
It basically preserves the spacing for poetry or anything else with unusual spaces, indents, line breaks, etc. You can access this mode from the "More" dropdown in the post editor.
Hooray! Huge thanks for this.
Just have to say I'm really enjoying this community. Have to go get some work done, but wanted to say Happy Holidays everyone, and keep doing your thing! -Aaron
Happy holidays :)
Happy Holidays!
Sharing a win! 🎉
I recently recorded my first ever guest podcast episode as a result of writing on Substack!
The genesis of how this episode came to fruition: a fellow reader of mine loved a piece I wrote so much that he sent it to a FinTwit podcast host and said, "if there's one piece I need you to read to better understand Bionano Genomics — it's this article."
humbled and grateful for all the serendipitous connections I've made these past 4 months!
https://healthandwealth.substack.com/p/bionano-podcast-interview
Wow thank you for sharing! And keep up the good work :)
Health & Wealth is also on Youtube, thanks to a fellow investing Youtuber who made a summary video about my article:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJOY4qnoiU8&ab_channel=Hassan%26Investing
It means a lot to me when people engage with my work and find it valuable enough to share it. So cool!
Thank you, Substack, for the new comment-editing... I had a sub JUST asking about that! Very good.
+1 on this! It would also be awesome if you could attach images within the comments. Often times when I want to respond, an image is worth 1000 words
I would like that option, but as an option. In other words, it would be great to have a discussion thread of "show me a photo of your pet" but not have photos or GIFs or whatever in every comment thread. If people could post images in every comment thread I'd be inclined to turn them off more often.
Yes to this! That is, the capacity for subs to post images. This would be useful. I had a discussion thread that looked at found-notes as sources of writing inspiration, and I ended up with subs having to email me the pics and re-posting... very time-consuming. And I think more would have posted interesting pieces if they could have done it themselves.
If added I hope it will be an option that the Newsletter Writer can add or delete as I would not want this for my newsletter.
I am not sure. I prefer the visual break here.
I agree I LOVE THE VISUAL Break. I hate all the other platforms now that they have gone to blaring video breaking in when i scroll.
Thank you for organising these threads. I learn something new every time. Much appreciated. And Merry Christmas everyone.
Glad to hear Helen! Happy holidays
Merry Christmas, Helen!
Thank you for comment editing! I’m just starting to focus on developing conversation, so the timing is perfect.
Hey folks! I wanted to my open doors to cross-promotions for 2022. I write about climate change and approachable ways people can make a difference. I try to keep it positive and actionable. If this up your alley, please shoot me an email. lindsay@saveourhappyplace.com. Thanks! :)
I might be interested. I write about science and environmental issues including climate change
Ooo… I’m a proponent of (almost) zero waste. I’d love to guest post or cross promote.
Hey again! sorry I completely spaced on replying to our last discussion, but I'd love to collab with you about the outdoors and sustainability in the coming year!
Hey y'all. I share stories, news, and interviews about the outdoors.
I have a humble feature request: The ability to have a vanishing subscribe button (one that disappears to readers who are already signed up.) I think this may make for a better scrolling experience if signing on eliminates some of the clutter and buttons.
Hey Cole: A workaround may be to write your article, without subscribe buttons (Can customize BTW: https://pau1.substack.com/p/get-readers-to-smash-that-subscribe), publish to your list, then after sent, go back and edit your post, adding in the subscribe now or whatever buttons to live on your post website.
I've actually experimented with this before when trying to hide some fun little easter eggs for email subscribers. It works 90% of the time, it's just a pain. plus, a lot of my readers tell me they like to read on web to leave their comments and whatnot... then they're still seeing the buttons!
Nothing is as easy as we would like, eh? Keep up the good work, Cole.
That's what I do.
Oh I like that idea! I feel as if I'm leaving "For Sale" signs all over...and then I'll need a real estate agent car, too...
I think what would also be cool is the option to have the buttons flip to something more useful. i.e. once you're subscribed: subscribe buttons flip to a "thank you" message.... or even a "share to social" button.
Hellooo everyone, and happy holidays!
Happy holidays! Thanks for joining us.
You’re very welcome. Always enjoy seeing what y’all are up to 🙂
Woo editable comments!
Is there a way to push a previously paid-only post to free subscribers other than manually emailing them the unlocked link? I'm unlocking one paid post a month and am telling free subscribers about it in a monthly wrap-up post, but it would be nice to be email to send out the full post to them via email.
Yes, manually sending the link like you mention is the only way I can think of now. We can flag to our product team however!
Thank you!
I can’t wait to write stupid stuff and then be able to change it later! 😅 haha
Hello! 👋🏾
My hope is to connect with folks out there though my work and grow together. I’m open to cross promotion and guest posts. Some have graciously allowed me to write or promoted my work and I thank them.
https://thelinks.substack.com/
https://theturnstone.substack.com/
https://joewrote.substack.com/
Question: What’s a unique benefit you’ve provided paid subscribers? I like the idea of poetry or short story readings, short fiction drafts, open threads, AMAs… thoughts?
I've got an offer for yearly subscribers. I do Great Grandma's Kitchen, about learning to cook. I offer 5 "translations" of handwritten recipes. Many times, people have their grandmother's recipes, but can't figure out what they are or how to make whatever. Old recipe cards are notorious for having no info but a list of ingredients and and an oven temp. https://greatgrandmaskitchen.substack.com/
That sounds really cool, actually. I’ll check it out.
A "unique benefit" I came across and found endearing was from https://raha.substack.com/ - "I host a bi-weekly online Bollywood cardio dance class. They’re free for subscribers. Message me to learn more."
Came here to ask the same thing!
Did I say I’d write something for you? I have a newsletter scheduled for next week that has some music I’ve been listening to. I could drop your Substack link in.
Yes please! I'd really appreciate the signal boost.
You haven't mentioned writing something for me, but I'm always open to guest posts/cross-promotion. :)
Great! What’s your email?
Kevinaalexander@gmail.com
Now that you mention this, I wonder if a benefit might be guest posts. In my case, maybe fictional stories from others? Hmmm...
😈
That's really generous of them!
Newbie here. I just want to say that I like the idea of making content free to attract and grow an audience. As we know, it's difficult to grow an audience and not everyone has the disposable funds to subscribe to a writer, especially unknown writers. I was wondering what more can be done to promote and feature new writers (not me necessarily) that can introduce them to their market/target? My worry is that niche and working class voices, without influence and funds/tools to expand their reach, will be left behind and yet again we'll have another platform/publication whereby everyone is writing to their audiences about how society is under represented without actually boosting their platform. I would obviously love to earn an income as a writer, but what with the dense tax process and the fiddly payment/electronic transfers/bank charges, as well as low discoverability, in an ocean, it's not viable for the vast majority of talent. That said, I like the potential, the respect for independent thought/debate and the design.
Hello! 👋🏾
I feel the same, but I figure you’ll never know who will see you work or what the effect will be. We have an opportunity to inspire, humor, or entertain someone. There’s no guarantee. The best thing for us to do is just keep putting work into the universe. I think for the work you really put your heft behind, though, has to have value and command a price. But I think you’ll be surprised once you have an audience, who will support you.
Hi there. I'm with you on this one. I get stressed sometimes about the slow growth but then, like all writing, I know it the writing that matters, and the ass in seat every day commitment. Being satisfied just writing. When I get hung up on subscriber growth (see my first comment) it just distract from why I'm writing. The readers you have are your support and that's pretty awesome.
I hear this. It can be discouraging to spend hours crafting content for a handful of readers. But writing a newsletter is playing the long game. You will put in a lot of time for a handful of readers at first, but recognize that these are people who believe in you and want to read what you have to say. Over time, if you keep at it and get better at what you do, and maybe do some promotions, your list will grow, and maybe one day you write something that really takes off, or the right person finds you and shares your Substack with a huge mailing list of their own. You just never know.
Very excited to attend the Holiday Party! Thank you so much for creating this community and developing such a supportive, fun environment for writers!! Wish you all a very happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year 🥳
We are excited to cya!
🤗
Thank you so much for the edit in comments! I can't wait to tell my readers this exciting news.
I'm interested in implementing a logo on my Substack (I review books that matter for readers who care about nature and climate change at frugalchariot.substack.com) and taking advantage of the headers and footers. Any recommendations of newsletters that do an especially good job with their visual design? Thanks in advance and thanks to the Substack team for all your good work this year!
Hi Nicie! Love your newsletter's topic. Here's a couple newsletters with design I love:
- Dumplings: https://abovethefolddumplings.substack.com/
- Gen X: https://www.thefasttimes.net/
Could you ask these writers for referrals for graphic artists or sites that make these? Thanks!
You could try reaching out to these writers (replying to a post via email will reach them).
We also have a guide here with some basic design tips and resources (e.g. Canva, free stock photos, etc.): https://on.substack.com/p/grow-3
Thank you, Jasmine. These are great (and great topics!).
Here's another lovely one: https://unrulyfigures.substack.com/
Nicie, I don't have any suggestions, but I just took a look at your Substack and think it's terrific.
Oh! Thank you so much for the kind words, Paul. Looking forward to checking out yours. 🌏
I tried this on mine. Take a look at the ones from the last few weeks.
Thanks, Hillarie. Yours looks great!
I would love recommendations from writers for graphic artists who can do this to hire!
I designed mine using Canva, if you are feeling DIY.
Thank you for all the insights.
I have friends telling me that email subscribing is old fashion and people are not faithful to the newsletter they subscribe to. I am fed up with social media… but there is where I get some readers. I hope in time I’ll have the right crowd .I still think that less readers really interested in my work is better than 1000 likes.
Have a super weekend and a joyful season.
I have super powers when it comes to life with children.
Maybe email subscribing is old fashioned, but it is effective.
Here's how I see it, you have a product -- for me, as a writer, the product is my words. In essence, when I go "out there" into the world with my words it's kind of like I am selling them. Well, there are tons of ways to do that and the Internet has put them all at our fingertips.
Having a blog of our own is like opening up our own storefront somewhere in the city. It's our store, it has just our product in it, but people have to know it exists and it's address to even begin to look around. When social media starting booming it was like all these cool shopping malls opened up where everyone was hanging out and we all had a chance to open up shop inside and business was BOOMIN' because the foot traffic was bananas. But now the mall owners have started getting shady. They're changing mall hours without telling the store owners, changing the locks on our store doors every third day, and they are threatening to shut off our store's power if we don't pay up just to light the sign outside. So, we have email subscription lists. This IS old fashioned selling -- it's door to door, but we are only allowed to go to the doors of the people who gave us their address. Then, when we ring the doorbell, they get to choose if they even want to open the door. We KNOW when they see us outside that door and open it up for us, they are actually interested in what we have to offer! We visit regularly just to hang and once in a while we share an offer. It's our address book, and they get to choose when to open the door. I think it is the best way to genuine connection.
Now, Substack, did this awesome thing where our door-to-door selling is also building our own personal store without us having to do any extra work. I think that's incredible.
Thank you. Awesome perspective!
Agree 100%.
I think the adage of establishing 100 true fans rings true here in the newsletter space!
In my opinion, people are't unfaithful, but simply overwhelmed with things to read.
Yes. That’s why Substack make sense to me: subscribe to only what I treats you the most.
Have to run early today. Thank you Substack! Happy Holidays everyone, maybe see you at the party!
We will see you at the party Lloyd!
OK, so this isn't my first rodeo -- I was a blogger for ten years. But I'm having trouble finding information on podcasting. My training is in radio, so I can edit audio, etc., no problem. But how do we submit our podcast to the the major podcast groups, i.e. Apple, spotify, etc.? Do they have specific audio standards, as the audiobook producers have?
I have a podcast outside of substack (I am new here, but have podcasting since 2019). To set up with Apple, you need to head to Podcast Connect and jump through their hoops: https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/login
Many other places pick up the feed from Itunes, so once you are on there, you are in most other places, but Spotify has a separate sign up and so does Stitcher, I believe. The great thing is, you just have to do all of that once and you are set. Which is my problem right now in trying to help you with this question because I did it back in 2018!
Well, I tried the Apple one, but apparently you need to own Apple products. Everything I've ever had has been Android. Oh, well...
Hope this helps: https://macreports.com/how-to-create-an-apple-id-without-an-apple-device-credit-card/
I thought you could get an Apple ID without Apple products. Is that not the case? I can’t imagine that everyone on iTunes is Apple only.
I was able to successfully do this on Apple Podcasts and Spotify earlier this week. As Cole suggested, the links on the Substack Settings tab in the Podcast section are easy to follow and submit. Spotify happened near instantly...Apple took a day or two to process. My super basic approach was to record a Voice memo on my Mac and upload that to Substack, which then fed to Apple/Spotify on publication. I use Overcast as my podcast player, subscribed to my feed there, and it popped up on publication.
also as a public service, here is the link a bit faster:
https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038462911
Thanks for sharing this, Cole!
Great! THX!
Hey! substack has some links on setting up podcasts. I set up mine to get syndicated to everything accept apple.... at the time, there was a glitch preventing android users from agreeing to the TOS so I couldn't complete my podcaster account.
I've been looking for those links and can't find anything. Where are they? maybe I'm looking in the wrong places...
It's beneath the link for your podcast RSS feed in "podcast settings" under "general settings" on your writer dashboard. Here is the link tree for all the different providers:
https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038462911
Thanks for sharing Cole!
Got it! THX! But are there standards for these podcast providers?
Hey Substack! New writer here - I've written about 20 articles so far and now I'm looking to boost viewership and outreach. Do you have any general tips?
Earlier this year, Substack ran a programme called "grow". You can access all the material here - heaps of useful information on this topic. https://on.substack.com/s/resources?sort=search&search=grow
Awesome, thanks Melanie!
Thanks for sharing Melanie! And welcome to Substack, Simon. The Grow materials are a great place to start. Especially these two resources:
https://on.substack.com/p/grow-4
https://on.substack.com/p/grow-6
Woo version history for the win! Awesome upgrade. Thank you!
Hi everyone! Loving these writer hours, I learn so much! Thank you Substack for doing these. I usually don’t sign up for online party’s but I have signed up for this one 🙌🏼 I’m open to collaborations if there are any working mums writing on here, do send me a message!
We are excited to cya! Thanks for being here
Just started my Substack, with only a few posts so far. No existing reader base to build on. Beginning to engage others' Substacks, but looking for more ways to attract readers and subscribers from the ground up. Suggestions?
Promote, promote, promote.
LinkedIn was a surprisingly good place to post for subscriptions
I'm sharing links to social media, but I hadn't thought about Linkedin.
Thanks for the comments, guys!
Welcome. For starters, I will subscribe to you, and you, hopefully, will reciprocate by subscribing to me.
This resource may be worth digesting! https://on.substack.com/p/grow-4
I got my first readers by talking things up and through social media.
I'm using Substack to share my serial fiction. Any other serializers here?
There’s a bunch. You’ll definitely find some. Subscribe to https://fictionistas.substack.com/
Thanks for the share! We're going to be doing a Zoom call in January with all the fiction writers we can find!
Done! Thanks! :D
Also if you're on discord I'm pretty sure there's a great big serial party on the substack writers community
My friend, Jackie Dana, is sharing her serial fiction over on Story Cauldron. I have been sharing stand alone stories, but today's post is my first toe-dip into thinking about adding a serial fiction portion to my substack as well. I think it has always been in the back of my mind as a future plan for Story Hoarder, but I am still a baby substacker so I am taking it slow.
hi / thanks for hosting office hours / for the last two or three months i have been including a podcast with my newsletter (great feature) the last few weeks they have included soundtracking like this one https://rohn.substack.com/p/tis-the-christmas-season / i edit the music and the voice in final cut pro / it really adds so much to the newsletter / what i'd like to know is :: is there is any way to know how many people listen to the podcast ?? i was under the mistaken impression that 'podcast downloads' meant the number of people who had listened to the podcast and couldn't figure out why that number was so low - about 20% then i realized (with the help of my house guest) that it was podcast downloads not necessarily the number of people listening to the podcast / thanks
Hey Rohn! I'm doing something similar — sharing original music using the podcast feature. Would be great to know how many folks click the "play" button. But it isn't super clear unless you go deep into a subscriber's activity/stats.
i don't see that metric in subscriber's activity/stats
If you go to your subscriber list, and click on any user, it opens a screen that shows "Events", "Stats", and "Comments". The "Events" tab should show you some of the actions taken by a subscriber. (You can also access this by clicking on the open rate of a given email — it will show you who has opened. When you click on their email, it will show you the "Events" list there, too).
Thanks for this! I'd love to know more about my reader's habits.
I have two questions this week:
1. Over the span of a couple weeks, I got a bunch of new subscribers, more than normal. Initially, that's great, right? But then I noticed that all the email addresses had a similar format, they all came from gmail, and none of them have ever opened a single email. So I'm thinking they are spam? Is there a way to know that for sure? Is there a way to detect or prevent spam signups?
2. Is there a better way to tell where new signups are coming from? I know we have the stats page on the dashboard, but it tells an incomplete story. For example, during a span when I had a dozen new signups, only half of them showed up in my stats. Where are the others coming from? And the stats page is really vague for where the signups are coming from. I mean, what's the difference between facebook, facebook (post), and facebook (substack)? That doesn't seem helpful to me. Maybe I'm just not tech savvy enough to understand the stats. Is there something that tells us what the difference is between different designations in the stats?
You can turn on a setting called "double opt-in." This requires new subscribers to confirm your welcome email otherwise they won't be subscribed.
I did that, and I think it has helped, but it doesn't help me know whether the previous ones were spam or real. Since the subscribing rate has dropped to what was typical before that rush, maybe that indicates they are spam. But I would also hate to cut someone off who was a real subscriber and just hasn't opened emails yet. Feels like being caught between a rock and a hard place.
You could send a special email to the suspicious addresses, and ask them if they are still interested in your newsletter, as you are trying to weed out bots. If they don't reply, unsub them.
That’s good observation. A high risk to take between wanting to eliminate weeds and in the process affect the good seeds subscribers. I believe Cole good advice of turning on a setting called “double opt in” is a great advice to take in consideration. ♥️
I had a similar group of new subscribers, about 10 of them over a week which is quite a few for me, most from Rad Letters. But it's stopped now and I'm back to my usual rate and a mix of different email addresses, and I didn't change anything. So maybe it was just a temporary issue. I don't have a double opt-in
Sometimes the double opt in email goes to their spam though, so it is difficult.
I suppose that's true, but then you may have to choose which problem gets priority treatment.
Cole, thank you for the answer to Karen post.
That’s great takeaway.
👏👏👏
Oh. I thought of another question. Sorry. They've been building and I've had to miss the last couple weeks.
3. Is there a way to tell if an email address is incorrect or not being delivered? I've found that the number delivered is a couple less than my number of subscribers, and when I look at the email list of who got the email, it's about 6-7 shorter than the number of subscribers. Is there something I can do to weed out the undeliverable emails?
Good question Karen.
From own experience and from regular email list from gmail for example. When an email does not go through out of all from the email list; the automatic system reply back just in seconds with an email that says: “email didn’t go through wether the email is incorrect or the the email is spam”. Thanks for posting your concerns and questions. ❤️
Must ask, must know how to detect and delete bounce emails from my list.
I have this problem too. it's usually only 3-4 for me. I don't know if it's undeliverable emails, or emails that bounce back from spam or get blocked...
At least I know it's not just me! But even spam gets delivered to the spam folder in most email systems. It's not just not delivered at all usually unless the address is incorrect. Right? Maybe I just don't understand how all the tech stuff works good enough.
I am seeing this as well.
Karen, interesting post.
It’s an eye opener. Thank you.♥️
Is there a way to update or edit the "Launched x days ago" text? I created my newsletter a while back but published my first post several months after that creation date. I would like to have the same launch date as my first post. Is that possible? thanks.
Hi there! We have heard that this text is not ideal from many writers and have asked our product team to fix it. Sorry for the issue.
thanks!
Hey Substack Team! Happy Holidays & thanks for hosting these. :)
TLDR: I’ve written bi-weekly since May ‘21 & want to keep some cadence for updates on emerging health tech trends, but also want to free up time and release in-depth pieces exploring intersections between health + tech.
I was wondering:
1) Have you seen any great examples of writers transitioning from a traditional “newsletter” to exploring more in-depth writing, or any popular writers who have achieved a healthy balance between newsletters (updates) and long-form thoughts & deep dives?
2) Any best-in-class principles to keep in mind while making that transition?
3) Anything that would be top of mind when communicating the why in this transition to my readers & community?
I'm going paid right as I write this! I'm a healer who does sexy sound healings for nerds. My teaser goes out Monday of a channeled piece about hope and betrayal set to the Dune soundtrack. I'm having such a better time on here than on Medium. Thank you!!!
Congratulations Cris on going paid since it is a great opportunity.
Going paid as a writer is
one of my desires, but as for right now, I am just a beginner.
That sounds pretty cool! And I agree, I much prefer writing here to writing on Medium (and I like the community much better too!)
Thanks for the feedback and enjoy your holidays. Gotta go.
Version history is a great tool to add - thanks Substack!
Happy Holidays, Substack team!!!
Thank you so much for your continued improvements!
Q: my newsletter doesn't pop up when I search "food". Why is that, and how can I fix it? Thank you!
Hi Rachel, happy holidays!
Our search pulls up a handful of publications for each search and as you grow, the more likely you are to end up at the top of the search.
Thank you, Katie! Just to clarify, I don't pop up in the search at all... not even at the bottom.
Thanks Substack for hosting these Office Hours.
One thing I've mentioned before (sorry for being repetitive) is that because I share original music, having an MP3 upload/download option would be awesome, and would help me go paid.
Thanks!
Matt / Fog Chaser
We hear you — while you can upload MP3 by creating a "podcast" now, it's on the roadmap to find easier ways to embed audio anywhere in a post.
You can always link to your music to an outside source host. Soundcloud, Spotify, and YouTube work well with this platform. But you can always link to anywhere else you host your files, and the user will be directed to a new page.
Yep, Soundcloud/Spotify/YouTube links will create embeds when you paste them in.
Thank you both. I'm thinking more of the way that we can now add XLS and PDF files subscribers can download. If MP3 were an option, I could let my subscribers download that month's song for free (without having to use a third-party), if that makes sense.
I love the editable comments. No more typos lasting forever. But Substack is currently kicking me out of the comment box after each letter I type. I had to type this in a text editor and paste it in. I am using Safari browser. Once this bug is fixed, it will be great!
Hey Mark there seems to be a bug of sorts. I flagged that with our team
I see you edited this comment! 🤣
!!
It’s the little things, really.
Yup. 🙂
I think this is an issue with Grammarly! I turned it off and it stopped
Yes. I did the same. Problem gone.
That is the culprit. I turned Grammarly for Safari off and the comment box works fine.
Appreciate the new features, and ongoing work on bugs, especially on mobile. Thanks.
Thanks Annette! We are glad you are enjoying the experience
Question; I just saw some new paid subscribers come in with a coupon. I didn't make a coupon, is this something Substack gave out?
Betje! Hi there. I believe what you are seeing is based on the free 14 day trial you set up. If you think there’s something else going on, our support team can take a closer look for you. Just send them a note here: https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
Bailey, I noticed of your constant supporting us here. Grateful to you.
Did you offer a gift discount? I just started an optional pay with heavily discounted annual gift subscriptions. It is 25 per cent off the annual rate that will begin January 1, 2022. Those appear as "coupons" automatically, I think. You don't need to create one. Substack or Stripe ("the bank") does it.
No, I only have a free 14 day trail on a year subscription. These come is as monthly payments.
Someone from Substack might have more technical details. All I know is that I did not create a coupon, but subscribers evidently use them. If you're still confused, draw it. Possible topic?
Haha! Yes, confusing is always good. Or, I could ask those new subscribers. I think I must have their email somewhere :D
Also, are you in the Netherlands? You may reside in an entire different Substack financial system! (I liked your cartoon about naming "lizards.")
Thanks! Yes I'm in the Netherlands, we lived in the US for 5 years, that's why my kids speak English as well.
So excited !! Can't wait😩
Nuts! I missed another one (appointment ran over time). Really wanted to put in a plug for being able to paste Markdown into the editor, instead of having to write on Substack. Oh, well. I will try in '22! Happy holidays to all.
Thanks substack, this was dope! Happy holidays and rock on!
Just wonderful!! Going through this thread. It’s great that Substack does this to encourage writers. I am a food writer and presenter and I write Cook With Lerato, https://leratofoods.substack.com/ a newsletter with a good dose of wanderlust through vibrant recipes especially celebrating African cooking. I have made it my mission to make African food mainstream, and so my writing and work in general is aimed at delivering sunshine on your plates. So any food loving, flavour chasing, spice boys and girls out there, I’d love to ‘meet’ you. I love travel, music, dogs so enjoying discovering great writers amongst you. Best of luck everyone and happy holidays. X
Happy Holidays! We are glad you are here
Four questions (I guess I am getting ready for Passover rather early)
1) How long will these posts be available. It is already well after 1:30.
2) Can we write to people, who wrote posts here, after the conclusion of office hours
3) When is the next office hours scheduled for
4) When are shout outs scheduled. When is the next shout out scheduled.
Hi David,
1. You can access these threads forever our team is just here for the time noted.
2. You can contuse to leave comments at any time.
3. The next Office Hours will be in the new year on January 6
4. We are going to be back in the new year with something special. You can stay tuned here https://substack.com/events
"I guess I am getting ready for Passover rather early" Haha! That was my first thought. (Why is this Substack different from other Substacks?) Re Q:2, I can click on your name and go to your page, but there really isn't a DM option, is there? I suppose one can put contact info on their page, but that involves a lot of steps.
You can email anyone at substackname@substack.com - for example, mine would be storycauldron@substack.com.
Thank you. You are so clear and precise in your advice. By the way, I followed your recommendation made in writers office hours last week (if it was last week).
I posted a THREAD. (You suggested that writers post threads) I think it appears in my second to most recent post. I asked if Erica Jong's assertion, in "Fear of Flying," was correct. Her second chapter titled consisted of the assertion that "Every woman loves a Fascist." My outlook re sexuality may conflict with what I presume is your feminist sensibility. If my comments annoy you, just criticize them in a comment.
Thanks for your humor. What does DM stand for. Abbreviations drive me mad
Direct Message (in this context, anyway. :D )
They don't take down the Office Hours posts for a while, so you can definitely keep commenting/reading after this for at least a few weeks. They do shoutout threads once a month. I assume all of this will start up again in January and they will email us with a schedule soon!
Substack I am wondering what the average open rates are for large newsletters on your platform? Trying to see how they make it past the spam blocks/junk folders while having tens of thousands of subscribers.
If anyone needs help with their substack, marketing tips, etc. shoot me an email at info@shaungold.com. I have been helping multiple writers as of late. You can see my substack here. https://youtopianjourney.substack.com/
So nice of you, I may take you up on your offer!!
Thank you Substack! Tom White from White Noise here (www.whitenoise.email). Many of my emails seem to be finding their way to subscribers’ spam folders — is there any way to mitigate this? It’s hurting my growth and is discouraging.
Hey Tom,
One thing you can do is encourage readers to add you to their contact list and drag from spam to their inbox. It's also helpful when readers click links in your email, it signals to their email host that this is an address they want to keep getting messages from.
Thanks Katie! I do all of those things, but it still occurs. Any other tips?
I am also having this problem.
It also helps if they reply to your emails, so encouraging that is both good for the spam problem and growing engagement.
Hi! I'm planning to launch a second newsletter (and possibly a third) in 2022. The new newsletters are complimentary in the sense that I make my living as a writer and the two new substacks will explore two different aspects of my writing. What I'm wondering is if it makes sense to launch these under my current substack url, or start new urls for the new substacks. Is there an article that walks me through the pros and cons of this question? I couldn't seem to find one in the Help section. My main concern, at the moment, is that I want to drive all potential readers & subscribers to one place, but I want to make sure that when they land on my personal url for the first time, they see that I write 3 newsletters and that they can subscribe to none, one, two, or (gasp) all three!
Someone else had this question as well! People advised sections if your bio and premise were the same. But if the topics were very different, they suggested a new Substack. Readers could opt into sections they wanted or you could automatically subscribe them.
That might have been my comment. Two subjects connect, but not enough that a subscriber would be interested in both. One is about water issues and the other is "How to be An Artist." I was a freelance Op-Ed contributor to the "Sacramento Bee," and so miss that gig. Just starting on Substack, so time will tell.
Thanks! Wondering if you can point me to any examples of someone who does multiple newsletters under one URL? I kinda need to see it to *get* if you know what I mean.
I have my regular Story Cauldron newsletter for free subscribers which is largely nonfiction. I also have my paid section which is my serialized novel. And then I have Unseen St. Louis, also free, which goes into the history of different things in my hometown.
In my case, everything is tied together by my fiction - the St. Louis stuff relates to settings in my novels (at least to an extent) and my nonfiction is about ideas I have had about my writing, creativity, things I'm thinking about that are relevant. I'm trying to rein in the topics I'm considering for my nonfiction a bit so the audience for that content would hopefully also be an audience for my fiction.
If your newsletters are about you and your interests, but one is funny things that happened to you and the other is something different, as one of your fans I would be interested in both. Just my 2 cents.
Really appreciate the two cents! thank you!
Here's a couple newsletters with sections:
- Food: https://www.bittmanproject.com/
- Local news: https://charlotteledger.substack.com/
If I do launch multiple newsletters, what does it say next to my avatar when i comment? For example, it says "Michael Estrin writers situation normal" right now, but does it say all three of my newsletters when I launch those under my personal url, or does it just say "Michael writes a bunch of stuff."
Testing this with my personal Substack account to check!
I think it lists your "primary" publication, which you can select at https://substack.com/profile/edit
thank you, Jasmine!
I am planning on having a section on my Acc so I can have my newsletters in a different language. Not sure how I’ll handle it. But it makes sense to have a section of is under same subject and open a whole new on of it is totally different.
But… the more readers the better: why not name the posts with the main section. For example I wrote Fridays random thoughts, and on Sunday I write parenting tools: so I am trying to have the same big title: parenting. It’s repeating every Sunday but some readers don’t want blah blah stories of mine, they want the practical tools on parenting so they just open the door on Sunday.
Any tips for getting engagement on my posts?
You should try threads if you haven’t to get that interaction going with readers!
I love the concept of “roll call” or “intro” posts to get to know your readers. George Saunders just did one of these that blew my mind: https://georgesaunders.substack.com/p/getting-to-know-you/comments
Great idea. I'm going to do the same. I'm also amazed at his readers' comments. They are so long and detailed.
His engagement is outstanding. It's almost like being in an actual class but without the tuition and airfare. The comments from his participants are nothing less than incredibly informative, literary, and also intimidating.
Wow! Amazing response and responses!
Thank you. I've had some interaction on FB. I only have 9 subs (but more readers) at this point. Perhaps I need more readers for that to work. Threads are a mystery to me. I'll check out your link.
Here are some more great resources on threads! https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037462672-How-do-I-start-a-discussion-thread- & https://on.substack.com/p/how-to-use-discussion-threads-to
How can you do a thread with a handful of readers?! They barely click on a heart to make it read, writing something!!? Too much for them. Ha ha ha
Engage with others and they’ll usually start returning the favor.
We also have more growth tips here! https://on.substack.com/p/grow-4