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(I was massively late for the last Office Hours and I don't think anyone saw what I wrote, so with the danger of sounding like an equally massive bore, I'm copying & pasting:)
Here's an idea I've put into action that you could steal if you think it might work for you.
I've been working in seasons of maybe 10-ish weeks of stuff, with a clear beginning and end. This has been helping me enormously in three ways:
- refreshing what I'm doing by having a few different themes for each season, within the overarching focus of the newsletter (in my case, the science of curiosity, awe & wonder). New season = new themes, new niche audiences to try to get the attention of, new stuff for me to learn & write about, etc.
- gives me a proper break occasionally! I'm always running a bit behind because of other writing commitments and a between-season break gives me a chance to get a little ahead of myself again and just...not write? (Just occasionally, not-writing is super nice.)
- getting new paid subscribers! At the end of the season I sing & dance about the benefits of a paid subscription, just to my free list, giving it a proper push with time-limited discounts and everything. So if you work in seasons, it'd allow you to have maybe 3 or 4 chances every year to push for paid subscriptions and solely focus your time & energy around that goal for around a week. And each time you can experiment with a slightly different way to attract them in, with different types of writing, different offers etc....
None of this is original & new. It's what podcasters, NPR, Netflix shows etc have been doing for ages in many different ways. But it's working well for my newsletter, so I thought it might work for yours too. Please adapt/steal wildly from me if you like the sound of it!
Seasons...In the new year goals I set for writing, I assigned each of my big WIP projects to a season. "Seasons" feel more poetic and freer than "quarterly goals" which reminds me way too much of my past corporate overlords
I love this idea, Mike. I haven't been writing consistently for the past few weeks, but your post has motivated me to think of my posts as episodes. I will try this out! Thank you.
This is great--thank you. I've been doing short series, 2-3, posts, breaking down some element of writing, but this is really good--and you're so right about the opps arising naturally then, to solicit paid subs, yes.
This is a really great concept. I have always loved the idea of beginnings and endings. I believe that is what people respond to in an almost subconscious way. Just like a story. Thanks for sharing!
A pleasure! And yeah, me too - I did some work on storytelling in marketing for a while, and beginnings and endings are so, so critical for making people care. And also making yourself care! Nothing like the thrill of launching into something new, or wrapping something up that you've been grinding your way through for weeks/months...
Dovetails nicely with what I've been thinking about. Segmenting the flow into groups/series/seasons - gives me some beats to work within, so it isn't just a weekly je ne sais quoi. Plus since I've just Finally! gone paid, this will help me structure offers etc.
Great idea. I have clients who work within the Wheel of the Year, which begins Nov 1 and to me that feels seasonal as well. I shall adapt/steal wildly, although I do love to acknowledge my sources. Thank you!
This is an interesting idea. I kind of do this naturally with mine because I post Bible studies that come in series, but I've never thought of using the time between series as a "break" for me. I might have to ponder on that more.
That sounds interesting as I will be launching a podcast on the 28th, and may look into seasons. I actually plan to add some storytelling to this as well. Right now, is just the warm-up. But the good stuff will come next week.
This sounds like a great idea! I notice that I write in spurts also, but not in a deliberate way. Also since my subject matter very broad, focusing on only one thing for a while would help. I will have to implement this practice going forward -- thank you!
My pleasure! You might feel recognised by what Mason Currey said here about the ebb & flow nature of writing for a lot of people: https://on.substack.com/p/growing-advice-mason-currey Or "attack and retreat", as he puts it so well...
Hey Substackers, just wanted to share a pro tip that I've found *really* helpful: use Google Translate to copy edit your work before publishing. Google Translate (and many other programs and word processors) has a free 'read aloud' feature. I use this to check for typos, missing words, and other small mistakes, since often my ears will catch what my eyes miss. I discover errors every time.
To get it to work, copy and paste your text into translate.google.com. You can ignore the translation; simply click the "Listen" button below the English-language text. Google will read your stuff back to you. Listen along, and fix any problems you find on the way!
If you write in WORD, rather than directly in Subsatck, there is also a read aloud function under the review tab. I second the advice to read aloud as an editing technique.
I am DELIGHTED TO HAVE SEEN YOUR MOST INFORMATIVE POST. Half of the posts on here are cluttered with computer jargon that I don't understand or refer to conversations that I can't find on the page and are valueless.
YOUR POST CAN REALLY HELP ME. I SPEND 20 MINUTES OF PROOFING FOR EVERY TWO MINUTES OR WRITING BECAUSE I READ WITH MY MIND, NOT MY EYES.
I will read your newsletter and I am predisposed to love it.
I love Grammarly too. I also like to run my articles through Hemingway, which is a free online tool for checking readability. https://hemingwayapp.com/
Very excited this week as my newsletter has officially crossed 100 subscribers. Was hoping to get 100 subs before my first year writing was out and I've hit that goal.
Two wishlist items for the Substack team:
1) The ability to set distinct SEO titles and descriptions, separate from the social title/description.
2) The ability to set a description for podcast episodes that shows up in the feed/podcast apps--right now it just pulls from the post subtitle, which is unideal for those who might want to share more robust shownotes.
Yes to 1 and more SEO! I totally miss having tags and categories for each post and not just the mere 3 tags for my newsletter in general. If I podcasted, I'd want 2, too.
Congratulations! I'll share the first one with our SEO team (I suspect it may be a little to specialized to be a priority for our product teams right now). And we are working on #2. More soon!
Hi everyone! If you're interested in being part of the fiction writers Zoom call tomorrow, we'd love to have you. We removed the Zoom info from the post to try to forestall any random Zoombombers but if you drop us an email or hop over to the Discord (both in the post linked in the announcement above) we'll get the info to you. And I encourage all fiction writers who are interested in our community to subscribe to our Substack, https://fictionistas.substack.com , as we send out the Zoom info in email (as well as occasional other information pertinent to fiction writers). We also would love to have guest posts about writing on Substack, the art of fiction, etc.
Oh and if you can't make it tomorrow, we will be doing them regularly, so subscribe to find out when we'll be doing it again!
I will check this, I plan to be creating a fictional story, but my newsletter is about tarot and mental health, and I will be intertwining those things with some storytelling. It may be different from what you see from most fiction writers but this may apply to what I am doing. This will go hand in hand with the podcast I am setting up.
Hi everyone, I have a question and a *protip*. Question: have there been any updates from the Substack team about best ways to help get Google to index our newsletters?
And the protip: many of you likely already know this but when you post your newsletter to Facebook, post the link to the newsletter in the first comment (this is true in LinkedIn as well). Facebook's algorithm downranks links in posts so the workaround is posting it in the comment. I've done this my last few posts and it's been really helpful at driving more traffic!
If you're not familiar with my substack, I write Dad Stories, a collection of parenting "unwisdom" as my friend describes it (honestly, the most accurate thing anyone has ever said about me). I tell humorous stories about parenting, stories about my crazy dad, etc. Check it out please! dadstories.substack.com
ah good call! don't know why I didn't think of that. so a follow on question: would having a dedicated domain name (instead of being on the substack.com domain) enhance SEO?
Hey, Anne! I've also been using this tactic for awhile to circumvent the FB algorithm. What I tend to do is offer some explanation/commentary on the post that I'm putting in the comment. Maybe some general invitation to come over and check out the newsletter. Then I also attach a picture. Either one that's already in the newsletter, or another one that I like. Pictures always bump posts up in FB.
Oh hey, I love these threads! No real question, just a bump on last week's "please implement a referral system" :)
I am getting started on a scrap art business, I just got my welding machine to work from the trunk of my car, and am excited to get that started again, and magnetfishing for scrap in rivers to clean them up. Hop on board if you are interested in that journey, I love this hobby.
Very cool! I have a new newsletter called 50Things (50things.substack.com) that highlights new activities I want to try and resources for others who want to do the same. One of the things on my list is to learn welding. When I write a post about that I would love to link to your newsletter.
Hi Linda, absolutely! And thanks. I just wrote a post on my mobile welding setup that I whipped up to weld from my car, https://codingtofreedom.substack.com/p/carrying-the-spark. But if you have a garage or open space, then all you really need is a hundred dollar hardware store welding machine, an angle grinder and an auto-darkening mask. I was surprised how simple it is to get into that (as a hobby of course), and it's immensely fun.
I just hopped aboard your newsletter, that sounds interesting!
Something that lets us reward readers for referring new readers. There is this site: https://viral-loops.com/ but it is very expensive for those of us not making money (yet). Many of the big newsletters have good success with this method, and it seems that this is a real market opportunity to get traffic for new newsletters.
"Magnetfishing for scrap" -- I had no idea this was a thing! I hate regular fishing (but tag along often with my angler husband, whether it's a trout stream or ice fishing on a lake) --magnetfishing sounds kind of fascinating.
It absolutely is! I was really big into it with my own truck and YouTube channel, and in the city where I lived I could pull out half a metric ton from one bridge in one weekend (no joke). You wouldn't imagine the things we found, from bikes and shopping carts to broken-into safes and bolt cutters.
It was amazing, sadly the city outlawed it after it got more popular (very shortsighted) and even though I worked my way through the bureaucracy I couldn't get a permit (nobody gets one there). That was a pity, but I moved out of the city into a different state where it's all good, and so I'll start up again once the winter is over.
And I still have lots of scrap metal to make scrap art with until the cold temperatures are over :)
I am in Germany, and it's different from state to state here. Nobody "on the ground" ever minds, but because we made videos of it there were a lot of eyes on what we were doing. So in general, I would say just go ahead, everyone you meet locally is sure to say thanks for cleaning up the waterways. We even had police officers coming around to watch our finds for a while and great talk, and sometimes called them when we found those stolen safes and whatnot.
If you end up getting into this, I recommend to get a strong magnet over a weak one, not only do they pull more, but also they are a bit heavier to get through the mud on the bottom of the water. Also get something like a steel bar that fits into the eyelid, that way you can always pry the magnet off when it gets stuck. And clothes you don't mind getting dirty haha, it's a muddy business :)
Hi all! I was wondering - I am more than willing to commit to up to, say, 10 substacks. To reading them, commenting on them, supporting them as possible, etc. Would anyone else be interested in doing the same? And I don't mean you not contributing and expecting everyone else to follow you and comment on you with you not doing the same. I would love to have an actual micro community within substack. I think we could help each other grow.
My substack is https://wholehealth.substack.com/ - I focus on wellness, spirituality and healthy food. I'm also writing a fictional book so will eventually put bits about that in my newsletter also.
Is anyone interested in actually growing our substacks together?
And my second thought - is Clubhouse totally dead? Would anyone like to do a weekly room to talk about how we're doing? I saw that there's a clubhouse group or room but it's not used. I'm not sure if clubhouse is still relevant enough. Thoughts? Double thanks!
Hi Diane. I would love some feedback/comments on my Substack. I'll go take a peek at yours and give you some feedback. Do you have somewhere I can DM you? Thanks in advance for your kind offer to give feedback on Rosy's Ramblings.
Hi Rosy - I'm not looking to give feedback. I'm looking to have a two-way professional relationship with a few other writers so we can help each other grow, so we might be looking for different things.
Thanks, Anne - let's do it! I left NYC a year ago after 30 years there, 25 in the East Village. I'm in Santa Fe now and LOVE it here!.... I'm subscribing now.
Yes, mainly..I live in in Brooklyn Heights and write about what I see and hear around me and the folks I meet. Thanks for subscribing! Checking out your newsletter now :)
Hey Diane, it was great "meeting" you the other day!
You might consider doing what we're doing for fiction writers and the food writers are doing, which is to create your own Substack community for fellow health writers (or whatever category suits you best). In our case, we created a separate Substack (Fictionistas) and do regular Zoom calls, and find people in these threads and in the Substack Writers discord. And a lot of people follow each other and help promote each other, so it's a win-win for everyone.
Thanks, Jackie! I just joined your substack. I don't want to create an actual substack about it - I'm already overwhelmed with mine and writing a book. I'm hoping to get a few people who are fairly new like me to have direct connections with - as well as the larger community. Thanks for the suggestion though - if I can't get this to work loosely, I'll consider it.
Well, for what it's worth, I am crazy busy but running Fictionistas hasn't really taken a lot of my time. But it's just an idea and certainly won't work for everyone.
I’m on Clubhouse. I don’t really know if it’s popping like it used to be but I’d hop on to talk. There are also Twitter Spaces which maybe more accessible to those who aren’t on Clubhouse.
I only know one Twitter space - do you have a list and can I find them just by searching in Twitter? (I don't know a lot about spaces yet...) And re clubhouse - would you like to cohost a room with me and just see how it goes? I'm @dianehatz on there.
I've not been on clubhouse. But I'd be more than happy to trade subscriptions and write comments for one another. I focus on the outdoor community, with a lot of hiking and focus. I think there's a little bit of overlap there!
I'll subscribe to you if you do same. I'm going to be doing some posts about road tripping so there will be some overlap. And even if there isn't, I think just commenting on each other's posts will help. And I'm sure I'll learn things from yours! Thanks! Headed over to subscribe now!
Just wanted to encourage folks out (including me) there to keep posting, collaborating, cross posting, and sharing. You never know how things will turn out. I was nervous about most recent newsletter but everything turned out great and I got compliments from some folks I respect.
I’m new to Substack and am glad to say I’ve gotten 300 subs in 2 weeks (1.5M followers on TikTok) - for now, I’m keeping the free benefits the same as the paid in hopes that the people who can pay WILL pay. Is anyone else trying this approach? Does it work? It seems to be working for me so far.
Dan Rather does this. I know he's a huge journalist and obviously a wonderful platform, but he will often encourage people who can, to subscribe so that he can keep it free for everyone.
That is what I do. I am at 55 subscribers 6 paid. Tic Toc is, sadly, not a good fit for me. But there are enough people who like my work to continuously increase my paid base.
If offering the same benefits works for you, I say keep it up! I like your equitable approach. I'm also interested to hear if anyone else on Substack has had success doing this.
Right now, everything I publish is free. Think I have 69 subscribers with 5 paid, but they paid ones are all friends and family. I'm pretty sure I don't have enough subscribers or engagement via comments to put anything behind a paywall yet. I definitely need to do more targeted marketing.
Happy New Years! This year I am writing about how writers should think about social media for their publications. You want to focus on writing, but you also have to think about growing. My goal is to save writers time and advise them on how they should treat social media in their workstreams. HTTPS://NewsletterToSocials.substack.com
Hi Debra! Would love to give some tips on traffic. Please DM me on twitter, would love to dig a bit deeper and brainstorm some ideas! https://twitter.com/n2s_app (same goes for anyone else too!)
This week I'm trying a thread for the first time! Today I did a post on tips for layering clothes on cold weather hikes -- with a gear guide for first time buyers. Sunday I'm doing a companion thread to answer any questions people may have had in the post.
Any thread masters here have tips for me? Appreciate any and all advice
When you do a thread, be sure to ask a provocative question that will inspire people to comment. Don't just ask something like, "what did you think of my post" but instead something like, "Tell me what your favorite cold weather garment is and why everyone should get one!"
Cole, Hello! Hello! Threads are not about YOU (fabulous as you are!) Threads are about your readers----and readers LOVE to talk and tell stories about the time THEY forgot to layer and nearly froze to death on a hike up the Spanish Peaks in Montana. So this means YOU are not answering questions. Your readers are answering YOUR questions. It's gonna be fantastic!
I subscribed too. I'm not into climbing but I do a lot of walks and love the outdoors. I also changed my newsletter to magazine mode and it sure looks much better.
Hey, everyone. Still quite new here (5 subscribers), so I hope that gives the rest of you perspective lol!
I describe my newsletter, "Writers' Haven, by Christine Wolf" this way:
"I'm a writing coach exploring writers' real lives, shared through essays, interviews, tips, & raw vulnerability. Paid subscribers receive bonus content, access to my memoir-in-progress, and your name on the 'Substack Supporters' page when it's released."
I've added a category (separate newsletter) for the memoir-in-progress, which I'd like to make exclusive for paid subscribers. Is there a way to do that, or am I off my rocker?
Also, I'm looking to interview and write inspirational profiles about Substack writers for my newsletter. To lmk if you're interested, please shoot an email to christine (at) christinewolf (dot) com with a link to your Substack. Thanks everyone.
Hi Christine! I'm going to share your newsletter with a friend who is a memoir writer! She's taken numerous classes so she may be a good gauge to see if folks with pay for this extra content. Claudia Aulum is her name (in case you see her subscribe)
Also, I just subscribed to YOUR newsletter and love the layout. I'm intrigued by how you got those sections running along the right side...with your professional website and other ways to organize your writing. How did you do that? I'm inspired!
1. I'll shoot you an email, I'd love to chat with you for an interview about writing
2. You can set up a separate "section" for your memoir-in-progress. I don't know if you can mark an entire section as paid only, but you could set "paid" when you send out the individual posts, and then the section will appear paid only
I'm an ACA and trauma survivor so subscribed! Looking forward to reading your work! I wasn't able to leave a comment on your article or like it - it's probably on my end. My computer is acting funky this morning.... But thanks for sharing!
Just here to shamelessly plug a few writers I'm digging:
1. Holy Wr*t by Michael Reed - smart, clever, and whimsical Bible-based short stories.
I found this on Fictionistas, which lists a ton of fiction authors who share their work via Substack.
2. Guest author Noah David Elkins, writing on my own newsletter Shelf of Crocodiles.
Check out his thoughts on the trailer-park ghetto called Frogtown, not far from where he grew up in rural Oklahoma, and why Flannery O'Connor would have a lot to say about the hardscrabble denizens who live there.
Great suggestions! I found Holy Wr*t here 2 weeks ago and am loving his work and have been sharing it. I'm also rather new to OK (moved here 3 years ago) so anyone who is writing about this state, I'm willing to read!
Really appreciate the new update that allows us to toggle images to fill the full screen width! Would love to be able to move images around and allow text to fill space to the side of an image. Or place two images side by side. Just hoping for a little more freedom in how visuals can be placed in a post.
Hi Kate, I use Canva, a free design app, to create a new "image" that has two photos side by side. You can see an example here—scroll down to the feature at the end: https://annekadet.substack.com/p/captain
yep, it would be great if your engineers could rollback whatever update they made over the past few months that makes images in newsletters appear compressed!
Great! thanks so much Chris. BTW, I checked other newsletters—they have the same issue. It looks like the change happened sometime in late December. Pre Dec, images looks wonderful. After that, they look blurry. It's a huge issue for people (like me!) who publish chart data, which really needs to look sharp. Thanks again!
Just a note to say thanks to Substack for the Health program, and to encourage anyone who qualifies for it to apply. If you're paying for your own health insurance in the USA, it's found money: $500. Every little bit helps! Thanks!
Hello! I have been writing A Small Drop of Ink since April 2021, and am thrilled that my readership has grown so much. Some months ago, I investigated setting up a paid subscription, but after long conversations with Stripe, I learned that I cannot do that because I don't have a mobile phone. Seems rather unfair, and wonder if there are any alternatives in the works. Stripe's reply to my comment was "why don't you just buy a mobile phone!" But the thing is this. I'm 92 years old and really have no use for one, and also don't feel I can afford the expense. In spite of what people think, most writers don't make big bucks during their active careers. In fact, all too often they are expected to donate their talent and services. I don't expect to make a lot from Substack, but a little would help.
Hi Dorothy, I just subscribed to your newsletter but I don't see anything current. Am I on the wrong page?
I'm sorry about Stripe, but, as others have said, you can sign up with other payment sources. I have Stripe for subscriptions, but I use Kofi for one-time tips. I believe you can also create a payment schedule there. It's not hard to set up with them.
Ramona, thanks for signing up. I post something every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, including today. Perhaps you are on the wrong page. Please try again.
Oh, I see the problem. I clicked on "Writes Dorothy's Newsletter" above, and it looks like it took me to an old newsletter. When I clicked on your avatar I see "A Small Drop of Ink". Thanks!
Hi Dorothy, I'm disappointed to hear you had that experience with Stripe - how frustrating. I've seen some Substack writers end their newsletters with a link allowing readers to tip them, using Paypal, Kofi, or other payment websites. I'm not sure if these payment sites also require a mobile phone, but maybe you can find a suitable option among such online 'tipping' websites. You make a beautifully compelling case for being paid for your writing - I would include such wording alongside your payment link!!
I'm having the same problem. It's really frustrating. How about opening an account on Patreon, maybe? But I'm not sure if Patreon requires a mobile too.
I find my subscribers are pretty shy. They rarely, if ever, respond to prompts to share thir own thoughts or experiences in the comments. Any advice out there on how to create a more participatory vibe?
I've only done one thread but I do think it helped that I went first -- i.e., when asking the question, I answered it myself. I have no idea if that made people more comfortable or if it was just a really good prompt, but I was expecting crickets (which is what usually happens when I ask for comments or replies of some kind) and instead got actual responses.
Thanks, Sarah! The crickets when I ran a thread confounded me, since I have an otherwise engaged audience, so this is helpful. I also think I have a tendency to ask complicated/two-part questions, which is completely daft of me . ..
I tried to be very clear and direct with what I was asking, and left it up to people to decide how in-depth they wanted to get (i.e., it was possible to answer the question very simply, OR to dive deep, that may have helped).
I bet it helped. As a chatty and writerly person, I forget that not everyone is as comfortable pouring thoughts onto a page, especially for consumption by others. Thanks for the sage advice!
Good suggestions, Sarah. I soon will try my first Thread, and it I a good idea for the author to answer the question to get things started—I've had discussion threads when I was teaching students online...but they were required to comment:-)
I have this same problem. I went to a social media training thing (more focused on Facebook but still good advice). They recommended that you have to start with easy questions that people have definite opinions on. If it's an easy response, people are more likely to contribute. Then over time, as you build engagement, you can increase the complexity of the feedback you ask for. I don't know if it works. I'm just starting to try it out myself.
Agree with Sarah that responding yourself is a good way to open it up. Also, saying something like, "I am going to think about this and respond later." may help others feel like they can take time to consider their response.
I find the same, even at Writer Everlasting, my newsletter for writers. The same group of writers respond consistently, and I'm grateful to them, but it seems odd that writers, of all people, hesitate to give their opinions. We're usually full of opinions!
I've tried asking questions and encouraging them in playful ways to join in, but nothing seems to work. So frustrating!
Sometimes they'll even email me with a compliment or comment but won't 'go public' on Substack. That really confuses me!
When they email you, rather than comment I think it's because they may not be signed in. Having to go back and sign in is kind of a block to spontaneity. Easier to just send an email. I've been told this by subscribers.
I've also found that they will comment on a post or discussion thread if I post it on social media, like Facebook, but they won't actually go to the post itself to add their comments.
Yes, I've noticed this too and it's frustrating. When I put out a new post on FB, I usually ask them to comment on Substack right under the post to little avail.
Hello Joan, be careful with words such as: like, comment, share, click, open, etc. on Facebook. The platform may decide this is click-bate and show your post to fewer people.
Yes, I've had that, too. It's as if they're afraid to get involved in anything new. I make it a point in my intros and on my "About" page to try and put readers at ease about what they'll find there. But first they have to read it!
One of the best community builders on this platform is Anne Helen Petersen. I recommend subscribing to her and seeing how she does it! https://annehelen.substack.com/
OK, ridiculous question: I figured I should do a thread but don't understand how it works. Is it that you do a post that's asking readers a question and hoping they'll all answer in comments and then...keep coming back to that post to see the other answers?
Not a ridiculous question: you start a thread by choosing Create a thread on the upper right-hand side of the dashboard, right where you'd Create a new post. You ask a question, and people leave comments with their responses. It's just like this, like Office Hours -- Office Hours is a thread.
I've never tried this either. How is this different from just posting a piece that includes a question? Is the format different? Or is it just comments under a much shorter bit of text? Thanks.
It's not different, really, though I think the more threads one does, the more people come to recognize the format -- i.e., my subscribers immediately know, "Oh, this is a conversation," versus, "This is a post." They look different when they arrive in your inbox, though not radically -- threads still obviously come from you. (You can send yourself a test thread to see what I mean if you're curious.)
Sending one to myself is a great idea! Thanks. I'll do that. It may be just the thing to add to my Writer Everlasting newsletter. I'm always asking questions but seldom getting many answers! https://writereverlasting.substack.com/
That last point has been pivotal for me in how I understand what matters to the people, I’ve found that people seem most engaged when the topic allows them to share something about their own experience. By contrast, I’ve found that when they’re asked to share opinions about things in the news, they’ve been less engaged.
Hey, all. Just checking in. A couple of updates, which are helping me keep going as we proceed through what is here in Upstate NY a very cold, isolated winter. (Thanks, Omicron!) One, I got the heads up from my friend E Jean that my newsletter has been climbing the Faith newsletters leaderboard. I started out at #25 this fall when I originally went paid, and now I'm up to #18! Woot! I have no idea how these things get figured (though I'd be curious to know), but since I'm still not great at promotion generally it's heartening to know that more eyes can find me that way.
Two, I wrote a post for MLK Day on Monday. It was a step aside from what I generally do with the newsletter, but also relevant. And it was definitely a piece that came straight from my heart. It seems to have really resonated with people, and has now gotten more opens and views than anything I've ever sent out. You can read it here, if you like. https://ashasanaker.substack.com/p/a-dangerous-unselfishness
It's not the sort of thing I would transition to doing every time, but it's worth remembering that vulnerability, authenticity, and heartfelt communication can really win the day.
Good to see you, too! Yes. It's easy to gloss over the good things because there's always more to write and do, but there are definitely bright spots at the moment and motivation is slowly returning after the darkest moments of the winter.
I love the magazine layout, too. It looks more professional to me. I wish there were easier ways to move the front page content around, but I like that I can place any story at the top. I've taken to placing stories that didn't get much attention there, hoping to breathe some new life into them.
I haven't even tried moving things around at this point. I'll have to figure that out sometimes soon, or maybe whether or not it's important enough to me to fiddle with.
Just click the three dots at the top of your edit page and you'll see 'add to home page'. It'll give that post top position. The tricky part is when you add more than one to the home page. You can't just keep a particular post at the top and add more. They'll rotate.
It depends on how you want your front page to look.
Just went to your newsletter to check out the layout (I'll pass) but I subscribed. You are speaking to the things that I am here for. I look forward to reading more.
I switched to the new layout too. It looks nice but seems a tad bit confusing to me, hope it doesn't dissuade readers from looking around. The jury is still out.
Just read thru it quickly and bookmarked it—it resonated because it is a unique take and wonderfull!!!!! I'm publishing a post later this evening on MLK with a focus on his proposal for a Universal Basic Income, which I've written about before. I love hearing his voice, and am "old enough" to remember him and his assassination—a brutal day...
I never knew he supported UBI! Though it doesn't surprise me. He was so far ahead of his time in so many respects. I particularly loved watching this interview with him on Monday. It was done 11 months before he was assassinated and is a must watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xsbt3a7K-8
Way ahead of his time—brilliant and powerful man. I live close to Yellow Springs, Ohio, home of Antioch College, where Coretta Scott King graduated . MLK gave the commencement address there in '65, I believe. I visit Yellow Springs quite a bit, and Antioch has a small Coretta Scott King Center on campus–I tear up just seeing the sign—hallowed ground. Thanks so much for this extra link!
My February newsletter (which drops on the 1st) is A Love Letter to Dark Chocolate, and features an interview I did yesterday with Dr. Pam Taub of UCSD who's an expert on the cardiovascular benefits of dark chocolate. There will be two recipes as well. Hope you will join me, and share with your friends!
Hey Substack people! One of my favourite elements of Substack is that I own the mail list. I got a notification that X person unsubscribed. (She was one of those people that subscribed to ALL my stuff, and was getting repeats. Even my Mum doesn't want to hear from me that often.) I just like knowing that detail because I'm a stats addict. Maybe a little too much. :D
If you go to your dashboard, you should see an option at the top click "subscribers." Click that and scroll to the bottom of the page. You'll see your subscribers. You can export the list too.
Thanks! It's so simple, but I never scrolled down past the graphic at the top. I was looking for another tab. I'm still not used to the fact that websites now are mainly vertical for mobile use instead of horizontal for desktop/laptop.
Thanks to everyone for the energy each week. I started substack this year and am approaching it with the intention to just write for me first. My writing flies largely under the radar by choice, meantime, it's nice to learn all the ways I *could* eventually promote my work. Peace and love to substack BTW
I have gotten conflicting advice re a VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE
Some people on this board have said that one must INDEX ONE'S newsletter on Google chrome to maximize, or at least facilitate, the dissemination of your name and your work on the internet.
Other people have said that this is unnecessary and that nowadays our newsletters are automatically indexed.
So what's the story. Should we index on Google (And I have no idea how that is accomplished) or is indexing on google superfluous.
I added my personal Substack to Google Console because it was not showing up on Google, not even the Substack title, beforehand. But now our Fictionistas Substack, which was not added to Google, shows up just fine. Somewhere along the way the folks at Substack sorted out the problem concerning Google indexing our content.
Good morning Substack. I have a feature question today -- I like to embed videos of my hikes in posts. Right now, I can only make the embed feature work with Youtube. Is there any plan to add compatibility for other alternative video platforms like Rumble in the future?
I see a lot of the same questions. Here is what I have been doing, hope it helps. I promote the hell out of my newsletter. I cross promote with other newsletters, companies, and organizations. I write consistent content that is both unique and entertaining. I interact with my readers. I spend money when needed and I always explore new ways to grow. If you need any further help, you can hit me direct at info@shaungold.com.
When people switched to their own domain, did readers find that confusing. I mean since we go right in people's inbox, I would think it wouldn't matter.
I'm actually letting people know I have a substack so I'm keeping the url that we get when we sign up.... I think there's power in that - says I'm a part of something bigger.
I'm curious how much people grow using only Substack. I'm not a social media person at all. My Facebook is just close friends and family, and I don't use other social media. I tried posting on reddit forums for the topics I write about, but I found that to be something draining for me and didn't really get results. I publish regularly, twice a week, but I've had no new subscribers for months. I'm just doing this for fun, so I don't want to devote a lot of time outside of the writing itself. It's not a big deal if I don't grow a lot, but I wonder how other people who don't promote outside of Substack are doing with subscriptions.
In my experience, there's very little growth in readership if you don't promote your newsletter. I hadn't thought about that at all when I started writing, but I discovered that a big part of being an independent writer is promoting your work. You're right, it is draining.
We've seen writers have success with cold emailing writers and potential collaborators. We shared a bit about that in our Substack Grow materials here: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-4
We have an interview with a writer who grew their list over the course of a year from 1 to 2000 primarily through this method and with little social media. It will be out very soon. Keep your eyes on your inbox and on.substack.com
I've had really good luck with The Sample, which is a meta-newsletter that shares issues of other newsletters with their subscribers and facilitates subscriptions: https://thesample.ai/?ref=0a3e (This is a referral link, but I'd share the service even if it wasn't.)
You can use FB and start a mailing list campaign, yes it costs money, but I have found this to be the most effective use of FB during COVID when going out and meeting people is challenging.
God, I'm just really beginning to post on Facebook, joining Groups that make sense. I post daily on Twitter and that's going well but yes--draining. Time consuming. Finally my question: Um, what's a mailing list campaign on Facebook? Or maybe that was entirely separate and you mean a promotional campaign that goes straight to your subscriber list.
Sorry to be so dim about this. I didn't realize I could have a separate email list that is not subscribers, free or paid. Yet a promotional campaign to get people to subscribe would collect the emails directly, so this is something different. If you have time, would love to hear a concrete example of a promotion--exactly what it looked like, what it was (social media posts?), what reason is given for asking people to type in their email (it must be something different than "get this free content you read all the time anyway delivered straight to your email box"). Thanks either way!
Yes, exactly. Writing is a community. It is a conversation. Who is your community? Who do you talk to, start there? If that doesn't apply then you will have to build one and start a conversation that people want to respond to.
It could be a religious org, your alumni association, a trade organization, a club you belong to....
There's something curious that just happened to me this week. Usually Gmail puts my emails into its Promotions tab, but for reason, this time it put one of my daily emails into its Primary tab. The response was surprising, my opens and my open rate multiplied by three for this email as a result. What can be done for emails to end up in the Primary tab, be it from Substack's or from a writer's input, especially since that effectively means Gmail automatically prevents the audience I have accrued on Substack from even knowing that they've suscribed?
Hi Luther! This is entirely determined by Gmail. Asking your readers to drag the emails back to the primary inbox may help. This helps train Google's algorithm about where the emails should go. Encouraging your writers to add your email address to their contact list or send a message to your @substack.com address may also help.
I also have this problem! Every once in a while I get moved to primary but find my emails usually ending up in folks' promotions tab. Very frustrating and not entirely sure how to go about fixing it...even when I've advised people to drag the email into their primary tab, future emails still end up in promotions.
Going Paid Question: Are there any Substacks whose paid subscriptions offer membership perks beyond access to further Substack content? Indeed, are off-platform membership perks frowned upon/permitted by Substack? E.g. Sending paying subscribers a physical zine from time to time? (Yes, I realise a zine isn't likely to be feasible due to prohibitive production & postage costs!)
I created a PDF download (in alignment with my subject matter and newsletter content) that subscribers can access instantly when they go paid. I don't think it's a huge incentive for people -- more like a bonus -- but it's nice to be able to offer some little perk right away.
I offer A LOT of perks beyond the deeper content in my paid newsletters and with almost every issue, my paid subscribers receive everything from templates, to ebooks, to access to a lending library. I recently sent handwritten notes to my paid subscribers and in most cases, I had to do a lot of sleuthing to find their mailing addresses but in almost all cases, I did. My year anniversary is coming up and I am trying to do all that I can to encourage people to resubscribe. If there was an easier way to collect physical addresses, that would be a huge help.
Linda, thank you so much for sharing your approach. Your offering to members sounds really wonderful, and a lot like what I hope to do once I go paid. I'm so inspired, thanks again! - Zita
If you get a paid subscription to Dan Jones's History Etc. (https://danjones.substack.com/) you can email him and he will send you a signed postcard (which may not seem like much, but he is a popular commercial author and does TV documentaries).
For my paid members of Story Cauldron, they can access my serial novel, but anyone who signs up also gets a link to download my previous novel(s) as ebooks as well.
Hi everyone! Just wanted to thank the Substack team for the new full width feature on photos. That was the feature I never knew I needed, and I LOVE the way it makes my posts look. I use photos and gifs as "chapter" breaks in my stories and toggling to full width is just so much better looking than having an image just float there. Again, THANK YOU, Substack team!
I'm late to this!! Love this feature too, BUT please, please can we return the "Your Post is Too Long" bar to the bottom of the page? I have to scroll up to be sure I have cut enough to send an email. Hoping Katie or another Substack staffer sees this . . .
I am doing the very same right now. I've written eight books, one traditionally published and seven short books self-published through Amazon. I did not find that Mailchimp was particularly help in promoting my work. So, it is time to change. Thanks.
When I used Mailchimp, I never used it. I hated the process of sending out a newsletter so much I couldn't bring myself to do it. But since I moved over to Substack, I have sent out a newsletter every single week since May, and a paid newsletter every week since this summer. It is literally night and day. Plus, the way the web archive works on Substack, I can really build an audience which I simply could not do with Mailchimp.
This is really interesting, and I'd love to hear more about your experience self-publishing through Amazon and why you've chosen to publish via newsletter instead (if that's what you're saying). As someone who dreams of writing a book but isn't quite sure where the right venue is to publish, I wonder if I should publish here instead of going the self-publishing route on Amazon.
I have another question: my mother says a "newsletter" is several bite-sized news items in one newsletter, I say it can be thematic (I write in depth about how to draft a contract and other issues you need to be aware of to be commercially savvy) - who's right?
You both are! Typically in the past newsletters were what your mother described, first as actual paper letters and then via email, but like all things on the Internet, things have changed. Some people (probably most, in fact) still send out traditional newsletters, but more and more you're seeing people do more with the newsletter medium such as what is happening on Substack. And honestly I would much rather read a Substack than a traditional "this is what I have been doing the past month" newsletter.
You have spelled out the division in understanding exactly. I will not be lording it over her, but gently point out that this is how "the kids are doing it now" LOL!
Jackie Dana's answer is very good. I would add, the word "newsletter" became richer in meaning just like the phrase "above the fold". Now it means the top part of a website that you see without scrolling, but it used to mean the top part of a newspaper that you see when it is folded.
You both are! Not just trying to be diplomatic here (although keeping mothers happy is super important!). A newsletter is simply a communication sent via email. So, it can be snippets, it can be recipes, it can be longform articles or tutorials; it can be whatever you wish it to be. Now I have to go call my mother...
I writing and sharing a free deep dive analysis on a company called Toast this weekend. The company provides an operating system for the restaurant industry to automate billing, inventory management etc... Will be my first free post in a while to thank all my subscribers paid and free for their continued support.
Hi all! I don't have anything to add this week. But I wanted to pop on and say hello to everyone — I'm so grateful for the Substack staff and this community. Keep at it!
And, of course, I should mention that if you like chill, instrumental music, would love for you to check out my newsletter for my original work.
Thank you, Hal — I just subscribed to your newsletter. I really appreciate you sharing your journey and experiences as a creative person living with ME/CFS.
Curious to hear what others have to share here today! You might check out our Substack Grow materials for inspiration: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-4
How do you set up categories at the top of your homepage? I see this at the top of https://katemcdermott.substack.com/ (great newsletter, btw) and would like to organize my posts this way as well.
You do this using the Sections feature. You can add Sections from the Settings page, and then you can go through each post and designate which Section it goes in.
These look like sections. I use that feature too, although I just have one extra section so far. To set up a section, you can scroll down your settings page to "add a section". You can then edit any posts you have and decided which section they should go into.
I was worried about doing it too, but it's fine. You'll have to pick titles and logos for each section and enter, and then go through old posts and assign them to sections, but it's fine. And just pick the option where everybody gets all sections--they don't have to be separate.
You have to assign a section, but one "section" is your main newsletter, so in effect those aren't in a section. If that makes sense. So I have "The Turnstone" and my section is "The Turnstone: talking about vaccines" as options, and if I chose The Turnstone, then the post basically isn't in the section, it's just onthe main page
oh wait, but that says "create a new newsletter that subscribers can subscribe to separately." That's throwing me off. I don't understand what that means. ?
It wants a new name and a new photo... I'd like sections that relate to Travel and one that relates to Myth and so on but I still want them to be a part of the Finding Home newsletter.
It is unnecessarily confusing. But you can set it up so people who are signed up to Finding Home automatically get signed up to the new sections. Subscribers are able to turn off individual sections under their settings, but they likely won't unless you advertise that feature.
Thanks! I’ve been hesitating on this because I didn’t know you could have your existing subscribers automatically added. This is super helpful and I have been having readers ask me to organize my posts by topic so I guess I will have to give this a try!
QUESTION 3 (Questions 1 and 2 posted few minutes ago)
Sorry, as usual I am percolating with questions.
ISSUE: Some people say one must get indexed on google; more rcently, someone on the board said indexing on google is no longer required and that we are automatically indexed. PLEASE ARBITRATE.
1) Some people in this forum said it was imperative to have one’s newsletter indexed on google to get a decent measure of circulation. However, more recently, someone on this forum said that we were now all automatically indexed on google, contending, “Your site is being indexed in Google. To see which pages are starting their road to ranking, go to this url site:https://davidgottfried.substack.com It takes some time to start ranking for keywords, etc. I have an article if you check my substack.”
Please arbitrate between the two conflicting opinions. Should we get indexed on google or is indexing now an automatic process.
Besides substack, where else do you post your writing? Medium to me has been only useful for SEO but looking for other avenues to drive new readers to subscribe.
I was cross-posting to Medium, but even with a relatively small subscriber base I was seeing 10x the traffic on my Substack as on Medium, so I stopped bothering with that. Medium has become pretty much a black hole for me (whereas it used to be pretty decent). So now I just post on Substack and then try to drive traffic to it on social, Reddit, etc.
Thanks! I am still trying to figure out what's going to work best. Reading through comments gave me an idea, so I am going to try to get that done this week.
Right now I'm concentrating on Substack only, as a blog site. I have a Medium page and now and then I'll cross-post something, but I really want to try and make Substack my home base. I've just opened both of my blogs to paid subscriptions and have two annuals already, so I'm feeling energized! Also a paid reprint. Nice!
Hi! I write a story-recipe newsletter called “Food & Fodder” where I pair creative nonfiction essays with recipes. Has anyone had success by promoting somewhere other than Instagram/Facebook? I’ve also promoted at the signings for my book (“No Regrets” published by Indie Publisher in NYC). Thanks!
For example, some writers have found success in Reddit communities around an interest/hobby, by doing partnerships with local radio/news stations, etc.
Another idea is to promote within the Substack network: writing thoughtful comments on larger writers' posts (since people can see what you write from your commenter profile) or doing cross-promotions with publications that have audiences similar to yours.
Hi there, thanks for this, great to see such support from the platform.
My question is whether there will be (or are if I haven't found them yet) other subscription options than monthly/annually. I'm thinking of a project-based series, e.g. a 6-week get-ready-for-tax-season bootcamp. I think I can work my way around to that by creating a new substack with annual subscription and have that as the only component, then do another one for a different project, or I may just not be using the right tool for the idea...
What's the optimal time of day to schedule the release of an email? I know things are going to vary based on time zones, but curious if anyone has settled on the best time of day to release new content to maximize engagement.
I don't think there's a universal optimal time. So maybe experiment and see what works for your audience. But then once you have a time / day, I think it's important to stay consistent since people will come to expect your emails on a specific day. For example, I send early Sunday morning and a lot of my readers have told me my newsletter is part of their Sunday morning routine. Then again, plenty of people save the email for Monday. So go figure :)
Thanks! Yeah, consistency is something I really want to focus on as one of my main writing goals for 2022. Stick to a consistent number of posts per week at regular times.
I've been perfectly consistent with two a week, but at vastly different times and sometimes different days—it's basically whenever I think I'm done writing and editing, it goes out. Probably not the best, but would love to learn to get more on top of the timing if that's possible.
Lately I've mostly been writing my piece the day before and using the schedule feature to make sure it comes out at a consistent day/time. Not sure I've got the right day/time, but it's at least keeping me consistent. Ha.
Just looking at your substack. Seems like you have a tech / biz focus. So I'd experiment with times that you think will hit a sweet spot in someone's work week.
Hi John! We've seen writers have success with asking their readers directly how often/when they want to see newsletters arrive, as well as questions about what topics they want to read about. Tapping your readers directly might be a useful experiment for you to try.
I release my new content between midnight and 1a.m. EST. That way it's one of the first emails received by readers in the new day. At least in most of the U.S. I get a pretty good open rate so it seems to work for me.
Research has suggested that between work hours on Tuesdays or Thursdays is best. Hopefully the content is so great that it is read whenever convenient.
I think they're helpful at every stage. I often ask my most engaged subscribers (a small handful) for feedback, in addition to asking the larger audience. Your biggest fans know your newsletter the best so they usually have insight that the others don't (but the opposite is true, too!)
Yes, Google Forms. Substack is aware (at least I think they're aware) that people have requested the ability to create surveys, but for right now, this works just fine.
I use different days and times for the same post on different platforms. For example, the email for substack subscribers launches Friday at 7 am MST. I then promote on Saturday on Twitter with an early morning tweet and link, then 2 days later on Insta with 1-2 lines from the post and refer to the "link in bio" in which I've enabled LinkTree for various publishings: newsletter, blog, published writing.
It can partially depend on content -- for example, if you're writing something that's best read first thing in the morning, you want to send it out super early so that its in everyone's inbox for breakfast. For my newsletter, part of the conceit is that it's meant to be read at night, so it goes out at 11 pm eastern. Probably not the most optimal time if you map it out, but it fits with the content and the value prop of signing up.
I think it may depend on the kind of content you produce and your audience. I tend to read longer article early to mid week and have more interest in link round-ups come end of the week.
In my experience with digital marketing, every audience varies and the best way to find out what works for your unique audience is test, test, test! (As much as realistically possible if deploying newsletters on a consistent day is part of your strategy...!)
The Substack team is signing off for today! We invite you to keep chatting and we will region the conversation with you all next week.
In the meantime, please visit our Support Center and Resource Center with your questions:
- https://support.substack.com
- https://substack.com/resources
And, if you'd like to join us and write with fellow writers, we are now hosting Writing Hour on Tuesdays: https://lu.ma/writing-hour
See you next time!
Katie + Bailey + Kelsa + Rose + Jasmine + Chris + Hannah + Kevin + Maggie
Yes, thank you for the session! I appreciate reading everybody's tips and encouragement.
Thanks again for the session
Hi everyone!
(I was massively late for the last Office Hours and I don't think anyone saw what I wrote, so with the danger of sounding like an equally massive bore, I'm copying & pasting:)
Here's an idea I've put into action that you could steal if you think it might work for you.
I've been working in seasons of maybe 10-ish weeks of stuff, with a clear beginning and end. This has been helping me enormously in three ways:
- refreshing what I'm doing by having a few different themes for each season, within the overarching focus of the newsletter (in my case, the science of curiosity, awe & wonder). New season = new themes, new niche audiences to try to get the attention of, new stuff for me to learn & write about, etc.
- gives me a proper break occasionally! I'm always running a bit behind because of other writing commitments and a between-season break gives me a chance to get a little ahead of myself again and just...not write? (Just occasionally, not-writing is super nice.)
- getting new paid subscribers! At the end of the season I sing & dance about the benefits of a paid subscription, just to my free list, giving it a proper push with time-limited discounts and everything. So if you work in seasons, it'd allow you to have maybe 3 or 4 chances every year to push for paid subscriptions and solely focus your time & energy around that goal for around a week. And each time you can experiment with a slightly different way to attract them in, with different types of writing, different offers etc....
None of this is original & new. It's what podcasters, NPR, Netflix shows etc have been doing for ages in many different ways. But it's working well for my newsletter, so I thought it might work for yours too. Please adapt/steal wildly from me if you like the sound of it!
Seasons...In the new year goals I set for writing, I assigned each of my big WIP projects to a season. "Seasons" feel more poetic and freer than "quarterly goals" which reminds me way too much of my past corporate overlords
I love this idea. I'll have to try it!
Thanks for so generously sharing your formula and your wisdom, Mike! I'm inspired to explore how I might implement something similar!
I love this idea, Mike. I haven't been writing consistently for the past few weeks, but your post has motivated me to think of my posts as episodes. I will try this out! Thank you.
Thanks for the great ideas! And thanks for your great ideas here as well, though I still need to implement your fantastic suggestions: https://join.substack.com/p/how-do-you-turn-views-into-signups.
Great suggestions!
This is great--thank you. I've been doing short series, 2-3, posts, breaking down some element of writing, but this is really good--and you're so right about the opps arising naturally then, to solicit paid subs, yes.
This is a really great concept. I have always loved the idea of beginnings and endings. I believe that is what people respond to in an almost subconscious way. Just like a story. Thanks for sharing!
A pleasure! And yeah, me too - I did some work on storytelling in marketing for a while, and beginnings and endings are so, so critical for making people care. And also making yourself care! Nothing like the thrill of launching into something new, or wrapping something up that you've been grinding your way through for weeks/months...
Thank you for that.
I’ve been trying to find ways to break up my content and help deal with the difficulty of writing an article on a daily basis.
One of the ways I’m dealing with this is to do either a “Top 10” list or a more in-depth “Top 5” list. So far, it’s working pretty well.
That way, I keep my content up to date without the stress of writing a long laborious article every single day.
Dovetails nicely with what I've been thinking about. Segmenting the flow into groups/series/seasons - gives me some beats to work within, so it isn't just a weekly je ne sais quoi. Plus since I've just Finally! gone paid, this will help me structure offers etc.
Congratulations! I'm so glad it's giving you a few ideas.
(If you want a concrete example, I just this afternoon published my end of season wrap-up & started the latest paid subscriber drive: https://everythingisamazing.substack.com/p/its-a-wrap-heres-whats-next)
Great idea. I have clients who work within the Wheel of the Year, which begins Nov 1 and to me that feels seasonal as well. I shall adapt/steal wildly, although I do love to acknowledge my sources. Thank you!
Great idea. I'm just getting going but this is something to think about
These are fantastic!
This is an interesting idea. I kind of do this naturally with mine because I post Bible studies that come in series, but I've never thought of using the time between series as a "break" for me. I might have to ponder on that more.
That sounds interesting as I will be launching a podcast on the 28th, and may look into seasons. I actually plan to add some storytelling to this as well. Right now, is just the warm-up. But the good stuff will come next week.
This sounds like a great idea! I notice that I write in spurts also, but not in a deliberate way. Also since my subject matter very broad, focusing on only one thing for a while would help. I will have to implement this practice going forward -- thank you!
My pleasure! You might feel recognised by what Mason Currey said here about the ebb & flow nature of writing for a lot of people: https://on.substack.com/p/growing-advice-mason-currey Or "attack and retreat", as he puts it so well...
Yes. That's exactly how I feel about writing.
Really fun idea!
Hey Substackers, just wanted to share a pro tip that I've found *really* helpful: use Google Translate to copy edit your work before publishing. Google Translate (and many other programs and word processors) has a free 'read aloud' feature. I use this to check for typos, missing words, and other small mistakes, since often my ears will catch what my eyes miss. I discover errors every time.
To get it to work, copy and paste your text into translate.google.com. You can ignore the translation; simply click the "Listen" button below the English-language text. Google will read your stuff back to you. Listen along, and fix any problems you find on the way!
Oh wow, you're telling me everyone doesn't force their partner to sit through a series of dramatic readings of their work each week before posting?
well, there's that too ;)
I like to use Grammarly as well. Surprisingly good checker.
I know - it is good isn't it. Much better than the old Word tool. I wrote a newsletter about some other writing tools here...https://newfangled.substack.com/p/bonus-post-on-writers-block?r=reqnw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
My favourite one is Written Kitten that gives you a cute cat picture every 100 words. Just in case anyone has writer's block this week!
Perhaps grammerly is good, but I am allergic to them because I have heard so many obnoxious ads from them.
I use the free version too. Besides checking my spelling, it also highlighted a couple of words I seem to be in love with that I tend to overuse.
On the other hand, there are times when it seems to be a little too strict about the way one uses or does not use certain things, like commas.
Me too!
Great tip :) I also find that even reading my own posts aloud myself (out loud is key!) helps with finding typos and awkward phrasings.
reading out loud is imperative , vital, freeing and.... fuuuun!
If you write in WORD, rather than directly in Subsatck, there is also a read aloud function under the review tab. I second the advice to read aloud as an editing technique.
Thank you! This is a handy tip.
I am DELIGHTED TO HAVE SEEN YOUR MOST INFORMATIVE POST. Half of the posts on here are cluttered with computer jargon that I don't understand or refer to conversations that I can't find on the page and are valueless.
YOUR POST CAN REALLY HELP ME. I SPEND 20 MINUTES OF PROOFING FOR EVERY TWO MINUTES OR WRITING BECAUSE I READ WITH MY MIND, NOT MY EYES.
I will read your newsletter and I am predisposed to love it.
Nice!
I love Grammarly too. I also like to run my articles through Hemingway, which is a free online tool for checking readability. https://hemingwayapp.com/
I use both as well.
I didn't know that one. Thanks for the tip.
It works nicely … appreciate the tip of having a robotic editor! I suspect. I can toggle to a male voice if i prefer.
Very excited this week as my newsletter has officially crossed 100 subscribers. Was hoping to get 100 subs before my first year writing was out and I've hit that goal.
Two wishlist items for the Substack team:
1) The ability to set distinct SEO titles and descriptions, separate from the social title/description.
2) The ability to set a description for podcast episodes that shows up in the feed/podcast apps--right now it just pulls from the post subtitle, which is unideal for those who might want to share more robust shownotes.
Yes to 1 and more SEO! I totally miss having tags and categories for each post and not just the mere 3 tags for my newsletter in general. If I podcasted, I'd want 2, too.
Congrats on 100 subscribers!
Congratulations! I'll share the first one with our SEO team (I suspect it may be a little to specialized to be a priority for our product teams right now). And we are working on #2. More soon!
Hi everyone! If you're interested in being part of the fiction writers Zoom call tomorrow, we'd love to have you. We removed the Zoom info from the post to try to forestall any random Zoombombers but if you drop us an email or hop over to the Discord (both in the post linked in the announcement above) we'll get the info to you. And I encourage all fiction writers who are interested in our community to subscribe to our Substack, https://fictionistas.substack.com , as we send out the Zoom info in email (as well as occasional other information pertinent to fiction writers). We also would love to have guest posts about writing on Substack, the art of fiction, etc.
Oh and if you can't make it tomorrow, we will be doing them regularly, so subscribe to find out when we'll be doing it again!
You’re FAMOUS dahling. FAMOUS.
I have to admit, when I saw my name in the announcement post, I was just a tiny bit excited! 🤩
I shat myself metaphorically.
As long as it was metaphorically.
hahahahahaha!
Looking forward to this tomorrow! I'll be bringing snacks (for myself, since I love snacks).
I hope the meetup (and the snacks) are great!
Thank you! Trader Joe's has the good stuff. ^_^
TJs is my fav!!! The elote chips 🙃
Jealous Canadian here - we don't have Trader Joe's :(
But you have poutine and maple sugar candy! Well, at least some places in Canada do.
RIP Pirate Joe's
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_Joe%27s
Wow, I never heard of that before. Seems dumb to fight them if the guy was buying products at full price. But you know corporate America!
They really are good for snacky food.
I think everyone should have snacks. Then it will be more of a party!
What would the creator of Adventure Snack have… for a snack?? 😨
Can we guess?!
YES!
By all means, guess away!
I'm thinking there must be crunchy snacks. Flavored crackers, maybe?
Please tell me you’re a Cheetos Crunchy type of guy.
I like Cheetos, but I can't eat them a lot due to dietary restrictions. For this meeting, I'm thinking either fancy crackers or pretzel rods.
I will check this, I plan to be creating a fictional story, but my newsletter is about tarot and mental health, and I will be intertwining those things with some storytelling. It may be different from what you see from most fiction writers but this may apply to what I am doing. This will go hand in hand with the podcast I am setting up.
Sounds like a very interesting project!
indeed it does!
I agree with Geoffrey, it sounds interesting. Fiction is fiction. You are more than welcome to join us.
Hi everyone, I have a question and a *protip*. Question: have there been any updates from the Substack team about best ways to help get Google to index our newsletters?
And the protip: many of you likely already know this but when you post your newsletter to Facebook, post the link to the newsletter in the first comment (this is true in LinkedIn as well). Facebook's algorithm downranks links in posts so the workaround is posting it in the comment. I've done this my last few posts and it's been really helpful at driving more traffic!
If you're not familiar with my substack, I write Dad Stories, a collection of parenting "unwisdom" as my friend describes it (honestly, the most accurate thing anyone has ever said about me). I tell humorous stories about parenting, stories about my crazy dad, etc. Check it out please! dadstories.substack.com
I can confirm: the comment link tip works. huge difference in engagement and distribution
Thank you both. That is indeed a top tip!
Hi TJ. Google is indexing your site. Here is how to tell...add [site:] no brackets, no spaces, to the beginning of your url and hit enter.
ah good call! don't know why I didn't think of that. so a follow on question: would having a dedicated domain name (instead of being on the substack.com domain) enhance SEO?
Here is an article I wrote that answers most of your questions. https://pau1.substack.com/p/6-steps-for-more-substack-subscribers
This is fantastic. Thanks!
I didn't know this! But then how do you keep the link with the shares?
I don't think you can? But the # of shares I think is only a vanity metric?
Hey TJ, I did NOT know that about posting in the first comment line. Thank you!
That is a super helpful tip! So a question for folks who already use this..what do you put in the main post?
Also i just subscribed to your newsletter. You got me with "please send your trash pics to....". Already love it.
Haha thank you TJ! Subscribing atchoo!
Hey, Anne! I've also been using this tactic for awhile to circumvent the FB algorithm. What I tend to do is offer some explanation/commentary on the post that I'm putting in the comment. Maybe some general invitation to come over and check out the newsletter. Then I also attach a picture. Either one that's already in the newsletter, or another one that I like. Pictures always bump posts up in FB.
Great, I'll try this going forward. Thank you Asha!
I typically write a short summary of the article.
Thanks for letting me know about LinkedIn - I thought it was only FB!
I knew about this for LinkedInn but not Facebook. Thanks!
Twitter actually does it too! I think the workaround there is to write a thread and then include the link in the last tweet.
I didn't know that! Do people read through threads?
I don't have any stats handy but I think threads are a pretty effective tool to use in Twitter.
And Tw too? Thanks for letting us know!
Oh hey, I love these threads! No real question, just a bump on last week's "please implement a referral system" :)
I am getting started on a scrap art business, I just got my welding machine to work from the trunk of my car, and am excited to get that started again, and magnetfishing for scrap in rivers to clean them up. Hop on board if you are interested in that journey, I love this hobby.
Oh, and I love the new magazine theme!
Very cool! I have a new newsletter called 50Things (50things.substack.com) that highlights new activities I want to try and resources for others who want to do the same. One of the things on my list is to learn welding. When I write a post about that I would love to link to your newsletter.
This is an awesome idea, Linda
Hi Linda, absolutely! And thanks. I just wrote a post on my mobile welding setup that I whipped up to weld from my car, https://codingtofreedom.substack.com/p/carrying-the-spark. But if you have a garage or open space, then all you really need is a hundred dollar hardware store welding machine, an angle grinder and an auto-darkening mask. I was surprised how simple it is to get into that (as a hobby of course), and it's immensely fun.
I just hopped aboard your newsletter, that sounds interesting!
Thanks!
What kind of referral program specifically would you want? Paint a picture for us!
Something that lets us reward readers for referring new readers. There is this site: https://viral-loops.com/ but it is very expensive for those of us not making money (yet). Many of the big newsletters have good success with this method, and it seems that this is a real market opportunity to get traffic for new newsletters.
Woah what an interesting hobby...!
Thank you! I missed your reply somehow. It keeps me occupied for sure, very relaxing hobby and interesting finds :)
Right?!
"Magnetfishing for scrap" -- I had no idea this was a thing! I hate regular fishing (but tag along often with my angler husband, whether it's a trout stream or ice fishing on a lake) --magnetfishing sounds kind of fascinating.
It absolutely is! I was really big into it with my own truck and YouTube channel, and in the city where I lived I could pull out half a metric ton from one bridge in one weekend (no joke). You wouldn't imagine the things we found, from bikes and shopping carts to broken-into safes and bolt cutters.
It was amazing, sadly the city outlawed it after it got more popular (very shortsighted) and even though I worked my way through the bureaucracy I couldn't get a permit (nobody gets one there). That was a pity, but I moved out of the city into a different state where it's all good, and so I'll start up again once the winter is over.
And I still have lots of scrap metal to make scrap art with until the cold temperatures are over :)
Interesting! How does one check for these types of regulations?
Here's one of our old videos if you want to take a peek, I think that was a good one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwomEPYC7yo
I am in Germany, and it's different from state to state here. Nobody "on the ground" ever minds, but because we made videos of it there were a lot of eyes on what we were doing. So in general, I would say just go ahead, everyone you meet locally is sure to say thanks for cleaning up the waterways. We even had police officers coming around to watch our finds for a while and great talk, and sometimes called them when we found those stolen safes and whatnot.
If you end up getting into this, I recommend to get a strong magnet over a weak one, not only do they pull more, but also they are a bit heavier to get through the mud on the bottom of the water. Also get something like a steel bar that fits into the eyelid, that way you can always pry the magnet off when it gets stuck. And clothes you don't mind getting dirty haha, it's a muddy business :)
Hi all! I was wondering - I am more than willing to commit to up to, say, 10 substacks. To reading them, commenting on them, supporting them as possible, etc. Would anyone else be interested in doing the same? And I don't mean you not contributing and expecting everyone else to follow you and comment on you with you not doing the same. I would love to have an actual micro community within substack. I think we could help each other grow.
My substack is https://wholehealth.substack.com/ - I focus on wellness, spirituality and healthy food. I'm also writing a fictional book so will eventually put bits about that in my newsletter also.
Is anyone interested in actually growing our substacks together?
And my second thought - is Clubhouse totally dead? Would anyone like to do a weekly room to talk about how we're doing? I saw that there's a clubhouse group or room but it's not used. I'm not sure if clubhouse is still relevant enough. Thoughts? Double thanks!
Hi Diane. I would love some feedback/comments on my Substack. I'll go take a peek at yours and give you some feedback. Do you have somewhere I can DM you? Thanks in advance for your kind offer to give feedback on Rosy's Ramblings.
Hi Rosy - I'm not looking to give feedback. I'm looking to have a two-way professional relationship with a few other writers so we can help each other grow, so we might be looking for different things.
Your newsletter got a cool name
What a nice idea Diane. I'd love to do a support swap with you!
Thanks, Anne - let's do it! I left NYC a year ago after 30 years there, 25 in the East Village. I'm in Santa Fe now and LOVE it here!.... I'm subscribing now.
Great Diane. Looking forward to reading (and commenting!)
ps - my early posts in Whole Health Journal are about me moving from NYC
I do a quirky slice of life/human interest newsletter but there is some overlap as I try to maintain a positive and good humored focus
Anne, your newsletter is amazing!!
Oh wow thank you Emily! I'm having a lot of fun. Just subscribed to yours and am looking forward to reading!
I just checked out (and subscribed) to your newsletter. It looks like you focus on NYC?
Yes, mainly..I live in in Brooklyn Heights and write about what I see and hear around me and the folks I meet. Thanks for subscribing! Checking out your newsletter now :)
Hey Diane, it was great "meeting" you the other day!
You might consider doing what we're doing for fiction writers and the food writers are doing, which is to create your own Substack community for fellow health writers (or whatever category suits you best). In our case, we created a separate Substack (Fictionistas) and do regular Zoom calls, and find people in these threads and in the Substack Writers discord. And a lot of people follow each other and help promote each other, so it's a win-win for everyone.
Thanks, Jackie! I just joined your substack. I don't want to create an actual substack about it - I'm already overwhelmed with mine and writing a book. I'm hoping to get a few people who are fairly new like me to have direct connections with - as well as the larger community. Thanks for the suggestion though - if I can't get this to work loosely, I'll consider it.
Well, for what it's worth, I am crazy busy but running Fictionistas hasn't really taken a lot of my time. But it's just an idea and certainly won't work for everyone.
Thanks, Jackie! I'll seriously consider it!
I’m on Clubhouse. I don’t really know if it’s popping like it used to be but I’d hop on to talk. There are also Twitter Spaces which maybe more accessible to those who aren’t on Clubhouse.
I only know one Twitter space - do you have a list and can I find them just by searching in Twitter? (I don't know a lot about spaces yet...) And re clubhouse - would you like to cohost a room with me and just see how it goes? I'm @dianehatz on there.
Sure! I’d be happy to. I’m @theone_chiv on Twitter.
Thanks! Following you now. I'm @wholehealthygro and @dianehatz
I've not been on clubhouse. But I'd be more than happy to trade subscriptions and write comments for one another. I focus on the outdoor community, with a lot of hiking and focus. I think there's a little bit of overlap there!
I'll subscribe to you if you do same. I'm going to be doing some posts about road tripping so there will be some overlap. And even if there isn't, I think just commenting on each other's posts will help. And I'm sure I'll learn things from yours! Thanks! Headed over to subscribe now!
Hello! 👋🏾
Just wanted to encourage folks out (including me) there to keep posting, collaborating, cross posting, and sharing. You never know how things will turn out. I was nervous about most recent newsletter but everything turned out great and I got compliments from some folks I respect.
https://theflare.substack.com/p/make-sure-youre-protected
As always, happy to collaborate. Email me at theflare@substack.com
Thanks for the encouragement!!
Just clicked through - I particularly love the line to connect "with me on twitter as I am hilarious there". Bravo!
Ha! Thank you. Gotta accentuate the positive.
I’m new to Substack and am glad to say I’ve gotten 300 subs in 2 weeks (1.5M followers on TikTok) - for now, I’m keeping the free benefits the same as the paid in hopes that the people who can pay WILL pay. Is anyone else trying this approach? Does it work? It seems to be working for me so far.
Dan Rather does this. I know he's a huge journalist and obviously a wonderful platform, but he will often encourage people who can, to subscribe so that he can keep it free for everyone.
That is what I do. I am at 55 subscribers 6 paid. Tic Toc is, sadly, not a good fit for me. But there are enough people who like my work to continuously increase my paid base.
If offering the same benefits works for you, I say keep it up! I like your equitable approach. I'm also interested to hear if anyone else on Substack has had success doing this.
Right now, everything I publish is free. Think I have 69 subscribers with 5 paid, but they paid ones are all friends and family. I'm pretty sure I don't have enough subscribers or engagement via comments to put anything behind a paywall yet. I definitely need to do more targeted marketing.
But, just out of curiosity, how many paid out of 300?
19 paid out of 300
You received 300 subscribers from 1.5 million views?
No. I have 1.5M followers on TikTok, so I have a large platform elsewhere which has helped growth here
Happy New Years! This year I am writing about how writers should think about social media for their publications. You want to focus on writing, but you also have to think about growing. My goal is to save writers time and advise them on how they should treat social media in their workstreams. HTTPS://NewsletterToSocials.substack.com
Just subscribed!
Looks good! Just subscribed and I'm looking forward to reading your posts, as traffic is my number-one problem right now.
Hi Debra! Would love to give some tips on traffic. Please DM me on twitter, would love to dig a bit deeper and brainstorm some ideas! https://twitter.com/n2s_app (same goes for anyone else too!)
wonderful! thank you. Just subscribed!
What a great tool!
Thanks Cole! Love the publication
This week I'm trying a thread for the first time! Today I did a post on tips for layering clothes on cold weather hikes -- with a gear guide for first time buyers. Sunday I'm doing a companion thread to answer any questions people may have had in the post.
Any thread masters here have tips for me? Appreciate any and all advice
When you do a thread, be sure to ask a provocative question that will inspire people to comment. Don't just ask something like, "what did you think of my post" but instead something like, "Tell me what your favorite cold weather garment is and why everyone should get one!"
Good advice!
Cole, Hello! Hello! Threads are not about YOU (fabulous as you are!) Threads are about your readers----and readers LOVE to talk and tell stories about the time THEY forgot to layer and nearly froze to death on a hike up the Spanish Peaks in Montana. So this means YOU are not answering questions. Your readers are answering YOUR questions. It's gonna be fantastic!
What a great response! And I totally agree with this!
I've only had one, but I asked friends and family ahead of time if they would participate. Maybe seed a few questions to get things going?
I really like the layout - is that the magazine option? (I also subscribed, to get the layering lowdown!)
Thank you twice! Yes it is the magazine option.
I subscribed too. I'm not into climbing but I do a lot of walks and love the outdoors. I also changed my newsletter to magazine mode and it sure looks much better.
Nice Cole!
I've subscribed for the low down on all the layers!
Thank you, pleased to have you!
Hi Cole, my advice is to tell a few friends about the thread in advance and ask them to participate, as imposters, just to have a strong beginning.
Hey, everyone. Still quite new here (5 subscribers), so I hope that gives the rest of you perspective lol!
I describe my newsletter, "Writers' Haven, by Christine Wolf" this way:
"I'm a writing coach exploring writers' real lives, shared through essays, interviews, tips, & raw vulnerability. Paid subscribers receive bonus content, access to my memoir-in-progress, and your name on the 'Substack Supporters' page when it's released."
I've added a category (separate newsletter) for the memoir-in-progress, which I'd like to make exclusive for paid subscribers. Is there a way to do that, or am I off my rocker?
Also, I'm looking to interview and write inspirational profiles about Substack writers for my newsletter. To lmk if you're interested, please shoot an email to christine (at) christinewolf (dot) com with a link to your Substack. Thanks everyone.
Hi Christine! I'm going to share your newsletter with a friend who is a memoir writer! She's taken numerous classes so she may be a good gauge to see if folks with pay for this extra content. Claudia Aulum is her name (in case you see her subscribe)
Also, I just subscribed to YOUR newsletter and love the layout. I'm intrigued by how you got those sections running along the right side...with your professional website and other ways to organize your writing. How did you do that? I'm inspired!
Thanks, Jan. I'll check her out now!
I just sent you an email :)
Welcome!
1. I'll shoot you an email, I'd love to chat with you for an interview about writing
2. You can set up a separate "section" for your memoir-in-progress. I don't know if you can mark an entire section as paid only, but you could set "paid" when you send out the individual posts, and then the section will appear paid only
Welcome Christine!
I'm an ACA and trauma survivor so subscribed! Looking forward to reading your work! I wasn't able to leave a comment on your article or like it - it's probably on my end. My computer is acting funky this morning.... But thanks for sharing!
I’m emailing you. I’m fond of Evanston. I used to work at the Noyes Cultural Arts center. (1984-88)
Here we goooooo!
Always here with the energy :D
Yeahhhhhhhh
Howdy you two!
Hey everyone!
Just here to shamelessly plug a few writers I'm digging:
1. Holy Wr*t by Michael Reed - smart, clever, and whimsical Bible-based short stories.
I found this on Fictionistas, which lists a ton of fiction authors who share their work via Substack.
2. Guest author Noah David Elkins, writing on my own newsletter Shelf of Crocodiles.
Check out his thoughts on the trailer-park ghetto called Frogtown, not far from where he grew up in rural Oklahoma, and why Flannery O'Connor would have a lot to say about the hardscrabble denizens who live there.
https://crocodileshelf.substack.com/p/flannery-oconnor-goes-full-frogtown
Noah's a riot, and his approach to self-reflection, faith, and Southern culture is as genuine as at gets.
He even met Joe Exotic when the guy was running for state governor, before he was famous.
Happy writing, editing, posting, plugging!
Hey, I know that first one! *deep blush* You're very kind! I'm gonna check out your stuff as well ;)
Nice : ) Love your concept and looking forward to reading more of what you've published!
Great suggestions! I found Holy Wr*t here 2 weeks ago and am loving his work and have been sharing it. I'm also rather new to OK (moved here 3 years ago) so anyone who is writing about this state, I'm willing to read!
Oh, cool! I'm in Sacramento myself but my guest author's OK born and raised. Best of luck settling into a new state!
Really appreciate the new update that allows us to toggle images to fill the full screen width! Would love to be able to move images around and allow text to fill space to the side of an image. Or place two images side by side. Just hoping for a little more freedom in how visuals can be placed in a post.
Hi Kate, I use Canva, a free design app, to create a new "image" that has two photos side by side. You can see an example here—scroll down to the feature at the end: https://annekadet.substack.com/p/captain
I use Canva for just about everything! I love it! For Substack, it helps me make better borders instead of the simple line that Substack offers.
I'm a big fan of Canva, too! Can't imagine going without it, it is so helpful.
I definitely like the simplicity and clean visual of Substack's line, but: tell me more! What does this look like?
Canva is an awesome tool.
For example, Alison Roman has custom headers (https://anewsletter.alisoneroman.com/p/shrimp-cocktail-video) and so does The Fast Times (https://www.thefasttimes.net/p/vol-23-13-heavens-and-9-hells) if that helps for inspiration!
Ah, thank you for this!
That's a great idea! I may use that for the time being :)
Anne! That's such a good idea! I never thought of using Canva for this -- thank you so much.
https://www.canva.com/ I made my logo with it too!
I've used Canva too. Good suggestion @Anne
Looks great, Anne - thanks for the tip. Canva rocks!
Agreed -- more freedom, especially a side-by-side option, would be great.
or to add photos in a tiled block of groups of 2 to 5
I second that - those options would be nice to have.
yep, it would be great if your engineers could rollback whatever update they made over the past few months that makes images in newsletters appear compressed!
Great! thanks so much Chris. BTW, I checked other newsletters—they have the same issue. It looks like the change happened sometime in late December. Pre Dec, images looks wonderful. After that, they look blurry. It's a huge issue for people (like me!) who publish chart data, which really needs to look sharp. Thanks again!
thanks for addressing this guys—i just checked and it is indeed fixed. Phew!
Just a note to say thanks to Substack for the Health program, and to encourage anyone who qualifies for it to apply. If you're paying for your own health insurance in the USA, it's found money: $500. Every little bit helps! Thanks!
Thank you Bill! Great to see that it's helping.
If you want to learn more - https://substack.com/health
Hello! I have been writing A Small Drop of Ink since April 2021, and am thrilled that my readership has grown so much. Some months ago, I investigated setting up a paid subscription, but after long conversations with Stripe, I learned that I cannot do that because I don't have a mobile phone. Seems rather unfair, and wonder if there are any alternatives in the works. Stripe's reply to my comment was "why don't you just buy a mobile phone!" But the thing is this. I'm 92 years old and really have no use for one, and also don't feel I can afford the expense. In spite of what people think, most writers don't make big bucks during their active careers. In fact, all too often they are expected to donate their talent and services. I don't expect to make a lot from Substack, but a little would help.
It's a terrific newsletter, Ms. Turcotte!!
Thanks, E. Jean. Wonderful to hear from you.
Hi Dorothy, I just subscribed to your newsletter but I don't see anything current. Am I on the wrong page?
I'm sorry about Stripe, but, as others have said, you can sign up with other payment sources. I have Stripe for subscriptions, but I use Kofi for one-time tips. I believe you can also create a payment schedule there. It's not hard to set up with them.
I have signed up with Paypal, as I already had an account with them. It will be interesting to see if it works.
Ramona, thanks for signing up. I post something every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, including today. Perhaps you are on the wrong page. Please try again.
Oh, I see the problem. I clicked on "Writes Dorothy's Newsletter" above, and it looks like it took me to an old newsletter. When I clicked on your avatar I see "A Small Drop of Ink". Thanks!
Hi Dorothy, I'm disappointed to hear you had that experience with Stripe - how frustrating. I've seen some Substack writers end their newsletters with a link allowing readers to tip them, using Paypal, Kofi, or other payment websites. I'm not sure if these payment sites also require a mobile phone, but maybe you can find a suitable option among such online 'tipping' websites. You make a beautifully compelling case for being paid for your writing - I would include such wording alongside your payment link!!
Thanks for your suggestions. I will check them out.
I'm having the same problem. It's really frustrating. How about opening an account on Patreon, maybe? But I'm not sure if Patreon requires a mobile too.
I have opened one with Paypal, as I already had an account with them. Hope it works!
It does work! I just received $13.54!
Glad to hear that!
I find my subscribers are pretty shy. They rarely, if ever, respond to prompts to share thir own thoughts or experiences in the comments. Any advice out there on how to create a more participatory vibe?
I've only done one thread but I do think it helped that I went first -- i.e., when asking the question, I answered it myself. I have no idea if that made people more comfortable or if it was just a really good prompt, but I was expecting crickets (which is what usually happens when I ask for comments or replies of some kind) and instead got actual responses.
Thanks, Sarah! The crickets when I ran a thread confounded me, since I have an otherwise engaged audience, so this is helpful. I also think I have a tendency to ask complicated/two-part questions, which is completely daft of me . ..
I tried to be very clear and direct with what I was asking, and left it up to people to decide how in-depth they wanted to get (i.e., it was possible to answer the question very simply, OR to dive deep, that may have helped).
I bet it helped. As a chatty and writerly person, I forget that not everyone is as comfortable pouring thoughts onto a page, especially for consumption by others. Thanks for the sage advice!
It may be more sage-adjacent than actually sage 😊 but I hope it helps, and good luck!
Sage-adjacent? LOL! Thanks, Sarah!
Good suggestions, Sarah. I soon will try my first Thread, and it I a good idea for the author to answer the question to get things started—I've had discussion threads when I was teaching students online...but they were required to comment:-)
I have this same problem. I went to a social media training thing (more focused on Facebook but still good advice). They recommended that you have to start with easy questions that people have definite opinions on. If it's an easy response, people are more likely to contribute. Then over time, as you build engagement, you can increase the complexity of the feedback you ask for. I don't know if it works. I'm just starting to try it out myself.
Sounds like excellent advice!
Agree with Sarah that responding yourself is a good way to open it up. Also, saying something like, "I am going to think about this and respond later." may help others feel like they can take time to consider their response.
It really depends on the topics. I have had 50+ comments one week and then the next none.
Thanks. Do you have a sense of what distinguishes the comment-y topics from the non-comment-y ones?
No, I am still experimenting to be honest. You can visit my substack and see for yourself and maybe make sense of it.
I find the same, even at Writer Everlasting, my newsletter for writers. The same group of writers respond consistently, and I'm grateful to them, but it seems odd that writers, of all people, hesitate to give their opinions. We're usually full of opinions!
I've tried asking questions and encouraging them in playful ways to join in, but nothing seems to work. So frustrating!
Sometimes they'll even email me with a compliment or comment but won't 'go public' on Substack. That really confuses me!
When they email you, rather than comment I think it's because they may not be signed in. Having to go back and sign in is kind of a block to spontaneity. Easier to just send an email. I've been told this by subscribers.
I hadn't thought of that, but how do they get my email address if they haven't subscribed?
That's an interesting insight.
I've also found that they will comment on a post or discussion thread if I post it on social media, like Facebook, but they won't actually go to the post itself to add their comments.
Yes, I've noticed this too and it's frustrating. When I put out a new post on FB, I usually ask them to comment on Substack right under the post to little avail.
Hello Joan, be careful with words such as: like, comment, share, click, open, etc. on Facebook. The platform may decide this is click-bate and show your post to fewer people.
Yes, I've had that, too. It's as if they're afraid to get involved in anything new. I make it a point in my intros and on my "About" page to try and put readers at ease about what they'll find there. But first they have to read it!
Reciprocity usually works. If you give something of value first, they will be more likely to comment and or share.
One of the best community builders on this platform is Anne Helen Petersen. I recommend subscribing to her and seeing how she does it! https://annehelen.substack.com/
I do subscribe but much of what she does is behind a paywall.
OK, ridiculous question: I figured I should do a thread but don't understand how it works. Is it that you do a post that's asking readers a question and hoping they'll all answer in comments and then...keep coming back to that post to see the other answers?
Not a ridiculous question: you start a thread by choosing Create a thread on the upper right-hand side of the dashboard, right where you'd Create a new post. You ask a question, and people leave comments with their responses. It's just like this, like Office Hours -- Office Hours is a thread.
I've never tried this either. How is this different from just posting a piece that includes a question? Is the format different? Or is it just comments under a much shorter bit of text? Thanks.
It's not different, really, though I think the more threads one does, the more people come to recognize the format -- i.e., my subscribers immediately know, "Oh, this is a conversation," versus, "This is a post." They look different when they arrive in your inbox, though not radically -- threads still obviously come from you. (You can send yourself a test thread to see what I mean if you're curious.)
Sending one to myself is a great idea! Thanks. I'll do that. It may be just the thing to add to my Writer Everlasting newsletter. I'm always asking questions but seldom getting many answers! https://writereverlasting.substack.com/
I also have a feast or famine response to my threads. I'm going to try asking simpler questions. I think experimentation is the key.
The finish line
That last point has been pivotal for me in how I understand what matters to the people, I’ve found that people seem most engaged when the topic allows them to share something about their own experience. By contrast, I’ve found that when they’re asked to share opinions about things in the news, they’ve been less engaged.
Hey, all. Just checking in. A couple of updates, which are helping me keep going as we proceed through what is here in Upstate NY a very cold, isolated winter. (Thanks, Omicron!) One, I got the heads up from my friend E Jean that my newsletter has been climbing the Faith newsletters leaderboard. I started out at #25 this fall when I originally went paid, and now I'm up to #18! Woot! I have no idea how these things get figured (though I'd be curious to know), but since I'm still not great at promotion generally it's heartening to know that more eyes can find me that way.
Two, I wrote a post for MLK Day on Monday. It was a step aside from what I generally do with the newsletter, but also relevant. And it was definitely a piece that came straight from my heart. It seems to have really resonated with people, and has now gotten more opens and views than anything I've ever sent out. You can read it here, if you like. https://ashasanaker.substack.com/p/a-dangerous-unselfishness
It's not the sort of thing I would transition to doing every time, but it's worth remembering that vulnerability, authenticity, and heartfelt communication can really win the day.
Asha! Good to "see" you. The year is off to a good start in writing it sounds like.
Good to see you, too! Yes. It's easy to gloss over the good things because there's always more to write and do, but there are definitely bright spots at the moment and motivation is slowly returning after the darkest moments of the winter.
Oh! P.S. I switched to the new Magazine layout and I LOVE IT. Thanks, Substack team!
I love the magazine layout, too. It looks more professional to me. I wish there were easier ways to move the front page content around, but I like that I can place any story at the top. I've taken to placing stories that didn't get much attention there, hoping to breathe some new life into them.
I haven't even tried moving things around at this point. I'll have to figure that out sometimes soon, or maybe whether or not it's important enough to me to fiddle with.
Just click the three dots at the top of your edit page and you'll see 'add to home page'. It'll give that post top position. The tricky part is when you add more than one to the home page. You can't just keep a particular post at the top and add more. They'll rotate.
It depends on how you want your front page to look.
Just went to your newsletter to check out the layout (I'll pass) but I subscribed. You are speaking to the things that I am here for. I look forward to reading more.
Great to have you! Thanks for coming over.
I switched to the new layout too. It looks nice but seems a tad bit confusing to me, hope it doesn't dissuade readers from looking around. The jury is still out.
I grew up in upstate. Sending you warm and sunny vibes!
Thank you for these updates Asha! Love to see it!
Just read thru it quickly and bookmarked it—it resonated because it is a unique take and wonderfull!!!!! I'm publishing a post later this evening on MLK with a focus on his proposal for a Universal Basic Income, which I've written about before. I love hearing his voice, and am "old enough" to remember him and his assassination—a brutal day...
Also, just subscribed to your newsletter! What a great project.
Thank you so much, Asha!
I never knew he supported UBI! Though it doesn't surprise me. He was so far ahead of his time in so many respects. I particularly loved watching this interview with him on Monday. It was done 11 months before he was assassinated and is a must watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xsbt3a7K-8
Way ahead of his time—brilliant and powerful man. I live close to Yellow Springs, Ohio, home of Antioch College, where Coretta Scott King graduated . MLK gave the commencement address there in '65, I believe. I visit Yellow Springs quite a bit, and Antioch has a small Coretta Scott King Center on campus–I tear up just seeing the sign—hallowed ground. Thanks so much for this extra link!
Hi fellow Substackers!!
My February newsletter (which drops on the 1st) is A Love Letter to Dark Chocolate, and features an interview I did yesterday with Dr. Pam Taub of UCSD who's an expert on the cardiovascular benefits of dark chocolate. There will be two recipes as well. Hope you will join me, and share with your friends!
Dark chocolate with peanuts and kaki-pi (soy-flavored rice crisps) are a recent favorite of mine!
That sounds lovely!
Sounds very good. More motivation to nibble on chocolate.
What do you guys think about the various comments here (https://join.substack.com/p/how-do-you-turn-views-into-signups) and will you leave your own comments?
Thanks!
👀
Hey Substack people! One of my favourite elements of Substack is that I own the mail list. I got a notification that X person unsubscribed. (She was one of those people that subscribed to ALL my stuff, and was getting repeats. Even my Mum doesn't want to hear from me that often.) I just like knowing that detail because I'm a stats addict. Maybe a little too much. :D
Hi Adam, how do you access your mailing list? I can't find it.
If you go to your dashboard, you should see an option at the top click "subscribers." Click that and scroll to the bottom of the page. You'll see your subscribers. You can export the list too.
Thanks! It's so simple, but I never scrolled down past the graphic at the top. I was looking for another tab. I'm still not used to the fact that websites now are mainly vertical for mobile use instead of horizontal for desktop/laptop.
What she said.
Thanks to everyone for the energy each week. I started substack this year and am approaching it with the intention to just write for me first. My writing flies largely under the radar by choice, meantime, it's nice to learn all the ways I *could* eventually promote my work. Peace and love to substack BTW
Recently coming up to substack really helped as a beginner cause got to learn many exiting things just want my newsletter to gain traffic..
As it intakes millions of thoughts to right one newsletter,
By the way
<3 Substack
I've been missing these discussions so often because I keep missing where it is that we talk. I finally found it!
Welcome Winta!
I have gotten conflicting advice re a VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE
Some people on this board have said that one must INDEX ONE'S newsletter on Google chrome to maximize, or at least facilitate, the dissemination of your name and your work on the internet.
Other people have said that this is unnecessary and that nowadays our newsletters are automatically indexed.
So what's the story. Should we index on Google (And I have no idea how that is accomplished) or is indexing on google superfluous.
Hi again, David! Sorry for the confusion here - can confirm you do not need to take any steps on your end to have your publication indexed by Google. This happens automatically with time. However, you can find some tips for improving your publication's SEO here: https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/4407702258836-How-can-I-optimize-my-Substack-publication-for-SEO-
Thanks for the clarification
I added my personal Substack to Google Console because it was not showing up on Google, not even the Substack title, beforehand. But now our Fictionistas Substack, which was not added to Google, shows up just fine. Somewhere along the way the folks at Substack sorted out the problem concerning Google indexing our content.
Thanks for the clarification
Good morning Substack. I have a feature question today -- I like to embed videos of my hikes in posts. Right now, I can only make the embed feature work with Youtube. Is there any plan to add compatibility for other alternative video platforms like Rumble in the future?
I see a lot of the same questions. Here is what I have been doing, hope it helps. I promote the hell out of my newsletter. I cross promote with other newsletters, companies, and organizations. I write consistent content that is both unique and entertaining. I interact with my readers. I spend money when needed and I always explore new ways to grow. If you need any further help, you can hit me direct at info@shaungold.com.
When people switched to their own domain, did readers find that confusing. I mean since we go right in people's inbox, I would think it wouldn't matter.
I'm actually letting people know I have a substack so I'm keeping the url that we get when we sign up.... I think there's power in that - says I'm a part of something bigger.
I’ve been wondering the same.
I'm curious how much people grow using only Substack. I'm not a social media person at all. My Facebook is just close friends and family, and I don't use other social media. I tried posting on reddit forums for the topics I write about, but I found that to be something draining for me and didn't really get results. I publish regularly, twice a week, but I've had no new subscribers for months. I'm just doing this for fun, so I don't want to devote a lot of time outside of the writing itself. It's not a big deal if I don't grow a lot, but I wonder how other people who don't promote outside of Substack are doing with subscriptions.
In my experience, there's very little growth in readership if you don't promote your newsletter. I hadn't thought about that at all when I started writing, but I discovered that a big part of being an independent writer is promoting your work. You're right, it is draining.
I wonder if using a service like FloDesk to promote substack to your email list might be useful? I haven't figured it out yet but I may start...
We've seen writers have success with cold emailing writers and potential collaborators. We shared a bit about that in our Substack Grow materials here: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-4
We have an interview with a writer who grew their list over the course of a year from 1 to 2000 primarily through this method and with little social media. It will be out very soon. Keep your eyes on your inbox and on.substack.com
I've had really good luck with The Sample, which is a meta-newsletter that shares issues of other newsletters with their subscribers and facilitates subscriptions: https://thesample.ai/?ref=0a3e (This is a referral link, but I'd share the service even if it wasn't.)
I just signed up for this last week and received 4 new subscribers. Plus the guy at The Sample is really nice.
Thank you Jan I'm going to follow through on this.
Thanks! I've tried that and got 2 subscribers early on, but nothing for a while. Still worth it and I recommend it as well.
This is a very good question. I'm interested in hearing the answer.
You can use FB and start a mailing list campaign, yes it costs money, but I have found this to be the most effective use of FB during COVID when going out and meeting people is challenging.
God, I'm just really beginning to post on Facebook, joining Groups that make sense. I post daily on Twitter and that's going well but yes--draining. Time consuming. Finally my question: Um, what's a mailing list campaign on Facebook? Or maybe that was entirely separate and you mean a promotional campaign that goes straight to your subscriber list.
You can do a promotional campaign that collects emails, then you download the email list and upload them onto to substack.
Sorry to be so dim about this. I didn't realize I could have a separate email list that is not subscribers, free or paid. Yet a promotional campaign to get people to subscribe would collect the emails directly, so this is something different. If you have time, would love to hear a concrete example of a promotion--exactly what it looked like, what it was (social media posts?), what reason is given for asking people to type in their email (it must be something different than "get this free content you read all the time anyway delivered straight to your email box"). Thanks either way!
Yes, exactly. Writing is a community. It is a conversation. Who is your community? Who do you talk to, start there? If that doesn't apply then you will have to build one and start a conversation that people want to respond to.
It could be a religious org, your alumni association, a trade organization, a club you belong to....
Yep! Half my subscribers are friends and family :)
There's something curious that just happened to me this week. Usually Gmail puts my emails into its Promotions tab, but for reason, this time it put one of my daily emails into its Primary tab. The response was surprising, my opens and my open rate multiplied by three for this email as a result. What can be done for emails to end up in the Primary tab, be it from Substack's or from a writer's input, especially since that effectively means Gmail automatically prevents the audience I have accrued on Substack from even knowing that they've suscribed?
Hi Luther! This is entirely determined by Gmail. Asking your readers to drag the emails back to the primary inbox may help. This helps train Google's algorithm about where the emails should go. Encouraging your writers to add your email address to their contact list or send a message to your @substack.com address may also help.
I also have this problem! Every once in a while I get moved to primary but find my emails usually ending up in folks' promotions tab. Very frustrating and not entirely sure how to go about fixing it...even when I've advised people to drag the email into their primary tab, future emails still end up in promotions.
This happens to me every week, it is very random.
Did you make any significant changes to the title of that email vs previous ones?
Nope, I wrote it the same way I do most of my titles.
Going Paid Question: Are there any Substacks whose paid subscriptions offer membership perks beyond access to further Substack content? Indeed, are off-platform membership perks frowned upon/permitted by Substack? E.g. Sending paying subscribers a physical zine from time to time? (Yes, I realise a zine isn't likely to be feasible due to prohibitive production & postage costs!)
I created a PDF download (in alignment with my subject matter and newsletter content) that subscribers can access instantly when they go paid. I don't think it's a huge incentive for people -- more like a bonus -- but it's nice to be able to offer some little perk right away.
Ooh, I think your approach of thanking paying subscribers with a downloadable gift upfront is lovely. Thanks for the inspiration, Sarah!
You're welcome!
I offer A LOT of perks beyond the deeper content in my paid newsletters and with almost every issue, my paid subscribers receive everything from templates, to ebooks, to access to a lending library. I recently sent handwritten notes to my paid subscribers and in most cases, I had to do a lot of sleuthing to find their mailing addresses but in almost all cases, I did. My year anniversary is coming up and I am trying to do all that I can to encourage people to resubscribe. If there was an easier way to collect physical addresses, that would be a huge help.
Linda, thank you so much for sharing your approach. Your offering to members sounds really wonderful, and a lot like what I hope to do once I go paid. I'm so inspired, thanks again! - Zita
If you get a paid subscription to Dan Jones's History Etc. (https://danjones.substack.com/) you can email him and he will send you a signed postcard (which may not seem like much, but he is a popular commercial author and does TV documentaries).
For my paid members of Story Cauldron, they can access my serial novel, but anyone who signs up also gets a link to download my previous novel(s) as ebooks as well.
Hi Jackie, thanks a million for sharing your insights, I really appreciate it. All the best!
I know of at least one writer who has a discord server for paid subscribers.
Oh yeah, Anne Helen Petersen has a Discord, of course! Thanks for your input, William.
Oh yeah, a lot of Substack authors have a private Discord. This is pretty common for larger Substacks actually.
Hi everyone! Just wanted to thank the Substack team for the new full width feature on photos. That was the feature I never knew I needed, and I LOVE the way it makes my posts look. I use photos and gifs as "chapter" breaks in my stories and toggling to full width is just so much better looking than having an image just float there. Again, THANK YOU, Substack team!
Thanks for the love, Michael! Our team is happy to hear you like it.
I'm late to this!! Love this feature too, BUT please, please can we return the "Your Post is Too Long" bar to the bottom of the page? I have to scroll up to be sure I have cut enough to send an email. Hoping Katie or another Substack staffer sees this . . .
I am doing the very same right now. I've written eight books, one traditionally published and seven short books self-published through Amazon. I did not find that Mailchimp was particularly help in promoting my work. So, it is time to change. Thanks.
When I used Mailchimp, I never used it. I hated the process of sending out a newsletter so much I couldn't bring myself to do it. But since I moved over to Substack, I have sent out a newsletter every single week since May, and a paid newsletter every week since this summer. It is literally night and day. Plus, the way the web archive works on Substack, I can really build an audience which I simply could not do with Mailchimp.
I feel the same way. I'm looking forward to the opportunities that come from using Substack.
Same. Mailchimp user, NOT a big fan.
Welcome, Ed!
Thank you.
This is really interesting, and I'd love to hear more about your experience self-publishing through Amazon and why you've chosen to publish via newsletter instead (if that's what you're saying). As someone who dreams of writing a book but isn't quite sure where the right venue is to publish, I wonder if I should publish here instead of going the self-publishing route on Amazon.
Let me add that I have an existing newsletter; this is a new project I'm currently brainstorming 😃
Hey there my substack peeps!
I just posted my 4th book summary, this time a marketing classic Positioning! Check it out, maybe it helps you to position your Substack better! :)
https://eightyfour.substack.com/p/positioning-ries-trout-summary
Awesome! I love a good book summary / book report.
I have another question: my mother says a "newsletter" is several bite-sized news items in one newsletter, I say it can be thematic (I write in depth about how to draft a contract and other issues you need to be aware of to be commercially savvy) - who's right?
You both are! Typically in the past newsletters were what your mother described, first as actual paper letters and then via email, but like all things on the Internet, things have changed. Some people (probably most, in fact) still send out traditional newsletters, but more and more you're seeing people do more with the newsletter medium such as what is happening on Substack. And honestly I would much rather read a Substack than a traditional "this is what I have been doing the past month" newsletter.
You have spelled out the division in understanding exactly. I will not be lording it over her, but gently point out that this is how "the kids are doing it now" LOL!
Jackie Dana's answer is very good. I would add, the word "newsletter" became richer in meaning just like the phrase "above the fold". Now it means the top part of a website that you see without scrolling, but it used to mean the top part of a newspaper that you see when it is folded.
You both are! Not just trying to be diplomatic here (although keeping mothers happy is super important!). A newsletter is simply a communication sent via email. So, it can be snippets, it can be recipes, it can be longform articles or tutorials; it can be whatever you wish it to be. Now I have to go call my mother...
Jinx! 🤣
LOL!! Great minds think alike!!
Good to know there's so much freedom in this format. And a relief we're both right! Say "hi" to Mom!
Hi fellow Substackers!!
I writing and sharing a free deep dive analysis on a company called Toast this weekend. The company provides an operating system for the restaurant industry to automate billing, inventory management etc... Will be my first free post in a while to thank all my subscribers paid and free for their continued support.
My substack is https://goldenlake.substack.com/ where I focus on company analysis in the energy, software and crypto sectors.
Don't have a question for now. Good luck to all in this amazing journey! God bless!
Hi all! I don't have anything to add this week. But I wanted to pop on and say hello to everyone — I'm so grateful for the Substack staff and this community. Keep at it!
And, of course, I should mention that if you like chill, instrumental music, would love for you to check out my newsletter for my original work.
Looking forward to listening
Thank you, Hal — I just subscribed to your newsletter. I really appreciate you sharing your journey and experiences as a creative person living with ME/CFS.
Looks interesting; I just subscribed. Have you checked out Paul the Trombonist? He has a free class aimed at creative people trying to monetize: https://www.passionbuildersonline.com/pb-on-demand-web-reg-yt
Thanks Debra! I have not seen that before — I will check it out!
are there any poets among you?
Hi Traff. Yes, me.
I just wrote one one.. The Ramblings of Traff
I have a similar background and have written a poem about it
Most of my writing isn't poetry, but I recently shook things up and did a poetry post. My readers seemed to like the surprise!
My question is about traffic - it's so hard to get! What have some of you done to drive traffic successfully? TIA
Curious to hear what others have to share here today! You might check out our Substack Grow materials for inspiration: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-4
My biggest boosts (and those are admittedly quite modest) have all come from other people sharing my content on social media.
That is helpful, Nikko, thank you!
I'm here! YOP!
Crap salad! The Fictionistas are FAMOUS now!!
Fictionistas, that name is so cool. I'm going to look them up.
Please do! Some great writers are among the ranks.
How do you set up categories at the top of your homepage? I see this at the top of https://katemcdermott.substack.com/ (great newsletter, btw) and would like to organize my posts this way as well.
You do this using the Sections feature. You can add Sections from the Settings page, and then you can go through each post and designate which Section it goes in.
Thank you1
Thank you OP and the replies. I learn something every week.
These look like sections. I use that feature too, although I just have one extra section so far. To set up a section, you can scroll down your settings page to "add a section". You can then edit any posts you have and decided which section they should go into.
Thank you!!
I was worried about doing it too, but it's fine. You'll have to pick titles and logos for each section and enter, and then go through old posts and assign them to sections, but it's fine. And just pick the option where everybody gets all sections--they don't have to be separate.
Thank you. and moving forward, each new post needs to be assigned to a section? Can some posts be without a section?
You have to assign a section, but one "section" is your main newsletter, so in effect those aren't in a section. If that makes sense. So I have "The Turnstone" and my section is "The Turnstone: talking about vaccines" as options, and if I chose The Turnstone, then the post basically isn't in the section, it's just onthe main page
Yes, some posts can be without a section. They get defaulted to your home newsletter if they don't have a section.
oh wait, but that says "create a new newsletter that subscribers can subscribe to separately." That's throwing me off. I don't understand what that means. ?
It wants a new name and a new photo... I'd like sections that relate to Travel and one that relates to Myth and so on but I still want them to be a part of the Finding Home newsletter.
It is unnecessarily confusing. But you can set it up so people who are signed up to Finding Home automatically get signed up to the new sections. Subscribers are able to turn off individual sections under their settings, but they likely won't unless you advertise that feature.
You can read more about setting up sections here: https://on.substack.com/p/a-guide-to-publication-sections
If each section is related to the main newsletter, I recommend checking both boxes to sign up new/existing subscribers by default.
Thanks! I’ve been hesitating on this because I didn’t know you could have your existing subscribers automatically added. This is super helpful and I have been having readers ask me to organize my posts by topic so I guess I will have to give this a try!
SORRY I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS:
QUESTION 3 (Questions 1 and 2 posted few minutes ago)
Sorry, as usual I am percolating with questions.
ISSUE: Some people say one must get indexed on google; more rcently, someone on the board said indexing on google is no longer required and that we are automatically indexed. PLEASE ARBITRATE.
1) Some people in this forum said it was imperative to have one’s newsletter indexed on google to get a decent measure of circulation. However, more recently, someone on this forum said that we were now all automatically indexed on google, contending, “Your site is being indexed in Google. To see which pages are starting their road to ranking, go to this url site:https://davidgottfried.substack.com It takes some time to start ranking for keywords, etc. I have an article if you check my substack.”
Please arbitrate between the two conflicting opinions. Should we get indexed on google or is indexing now an automatic process.
Thank you for your response
Besides substack, where else do you post your writing? Medium to me has been only useful for SEO but looking for other avenues to drive new readers to subscribe.
I was cross-posting to Medium, but even with a relatively small subscriber base I was seeing 10x the traffic on my Substack as on Medium, so I stopped bothering with that. Medium has become pretty much a black hole for me (whereas it used to be pretty decent). So now I just post on Substack and then try to drive traffic to it on social, Reddit, etc.
Thanks! I am still trying to figure out what's going to work best. Reading through comments gave me an idea, so I am going to try to get that done this week.
I've been getting more Likes and replies on Medium, but a lot more views here. I also comment a lot on Medium, and haven't done that much here.
Right now I'm concentrating on Substack only, as a blog site. I have a Medium page and now and then I'll cross-post something, but I really want to try and make Substack my home base. I've just opened both of my blogs to paid subscriptions and have two annuals already, so I'm feeling energized! Also a paid reprint. Nice!
Hi! I write a story-recipe newsletter called “Food & Fodder” where I pair creative nonfiction essays with recipes. Has anyone had success by promoting somewhere other than Instagram/Facebook? I’ve also promoted at the signings for my book (“No Regrets” published by Indie Publisher in NYC). Thanks!
This might be the kind of content that would do well posted on Reddit, if you can find the right subreddit for it. Good luck!
Hi Juliana! We always recommend to identify who your readers (or ideal readers) are, then find them in the places they already hang out.
We have some recommendations in this resource: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-4
For example, some writers have found success in Reddit communities around an interest/hobby, by doing partnerships with local radio/news stations, etc.
Another idea is to promote within the Substack network: writing thoughtful comments on larger writers' posts (since people can see what you write from your commenter profile) or doing cross-promotions with publications that have audiences similar to yours.
Have you chatted with Jolene at time travel kitchen? She runs the food group and is a lovely person who I bet could offer you some thoughts.
I haven’t! I do subscribe to her though. I’ll have to get in touch. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your help and advice! I will look into all of this.
Hi there, thanks for this, great to see such support from the platform.
My question is whether there will be (or are if I haven't found them yet) other subscription options than monthly/annually. I'm thinking of a project-based series, e.g. a 6-week get-ready-for-tax-season bootcamp. I think I can work my way around to that by creating a new substack with annual subscription and have that as the only component, then do another one for a different project, or I may just not be using the right tool for the idea...
Thanks;
This is super interesting! I've thought about this for my own personal projects. I am going to share this feedback with our team.
This is a great idea....to be able to package "sprints" instead on monthly/annual.
That's a super interesting concept!
What's the optimal time of day to schedule the release of an email? I know things are going to vary based on time zones, but curious if anyone has settled on the best time of day to release new content to maximize engagement.
I don't think there's a universal optimal time. So maybe experiment and see what works for your audience. But then once you have a time / day, I think it's important to stay consistent since people will come to expect your emails on a specific day. For example, I send early Sunday morning and a lot of my readers have told me my newsletter is part of their Sunday morning routine. Then again, plenty of people save the email for Monday. So go figure :)
Thanks! Yeah, consistency is something I really want to focus on as one of my main writing goals for 2022. Stick to a consistent number of posts per week at regular times.
I think consistency is smart.
I've been perfectly consistent with two a week, but at vastly different times and sometimes different days—it's basically whenever I think I'm done writing and editing, it goes out. Probably not the best, but would love to learn to get more on top of the timing if that's possible.
Lately I've mostly been writing my piece the day before and using the schedule feature to make sure it comes out at a consistent day/time. Not sure I've got the right day/time, but it's at least keeping me consistent. Ha.
Just looking at your substack. Seems like you have a tech / biz focus. So I'd experiment with times that you think will hit a sweet spot in someone's work week.
Thanks, Michael! I appreciate you taking a look at my page.
Hi John! We've seen writers have success with asking their readers directly how often/when they want to see newsletters arrive, as well as questions about what topics they want to read about. Tapping your readers directly might be a useful experiment for you to try.
Thanks, Rose! Definitely a theme I've been hearing from other writers here as well. Something I'll definitely do!
I release my new content between midnight and 1a.m. EST. That way it's one of the first emails received by readers in the new day. At least in most of the U.S. I get a pretty good open rate so it seems to work for me.
Oh, interesting! I would never have thought to try that. Thanks!
Research has suggested that between work hours on Tuesdays or Thursdays is best. Hopefully the content is so great that it is read whenever convenient.
Thanks, Paul! That's helpful.
It depends entirely on your unique newsletter. I've determined what's best for mine by directly asking my subscribers (via a survey).
Thanks! I'm still building up from a low number, but I'd love to run reader surveys in the future once I reach a bit of a higher number.
I think they're helpful at every stage. I often ask my most engaged subscribers (a small handful) for feedback, in addition to asking the larger audience. Your biggest fans know your newsletter the best so they usually have insight that the others don't (but the opposite is true, too!)
Do you use a third-party survey tool?
Yes, Google Forms. Substack is aware (at least I think they're aware) that people have requested the ability to create surveys, but for right now, this works just fine.
Awesome. Thanks!
I use different days and times for the same post on different platforms. For example, the email for substack subscribers launches Friday at 7 am MST. I then promote on Saturday on Twitter with an early morning tweet and link, then 2 days later on Insta with 1-2 lines from the post and refer to the "link in bio" in which I've enabled LinkTree for various publishings: newsletter, blog, published writing.
Thanks, Amie! Although I didn't bring it up in the question, I'm also really curious about how people promote their content, so that's really helpful.
It can partially depend on content -- for example, if you're writing something that's best read first thing in the morning, you want to send it out super early so that its in everyone's inbox for breakfast. For my newsletter, part of the conceit is that it's meant to be read at night, so it goes out at 11 pm eastern. Probably not the most optimal time if you map it out, but it fits with the content and the value prop of signing up.
That's really interesting, and a unique niche!
I think it may depend on the kind of content you produce and your audience. I tend to read longer article early to mid week and have more interest in link round-ups come end of the week.
Nice! That's really good feedback.
In my experience with digital marketing, every audience varies and the best way to find out what works for your unique audience is test, test, test! (As much as realistically possible if deploying newsletters on a consistent day is part of your strategy...!)
Thanks! I definitely need to experiment with some different times. I tend to release Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10 AM.
Wondering this as well. Have been doing every Sunday at noon but interested to hear what others do.