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Hi writers! Katie is out today, but our team will be logging in soon to hang with y'all.
I'm a community-building nerd, so curious to ask for your thoughts on that this week -->
✨ How are you interacting and building community with your readers? This week we asked Suleika Jaouad in our Engage interview (https://on.substack.com/p/engage-1-suleika-jaouad?s=w) and now we want to hear from you!
For me it's straightforward: (1) I leave on community features, and respond to every comment or email, even if it's just to say thanks for reading (2) I try to leave something unanswered so that readers have an open invitation to comment and fill in the gap (3) I write what I want to read instead of what I think will be popular. This means my subscribers ultimately like to read what I like to read. (4) My essays are slice of life, which means I share at least one thing that is personal so they can feel connected, closing the gap between author and reader. Hope that helps someone out there!
Well said. I couldn’t agree more with writing what YOU want to read versus trying to tweak every aspect of a blog to capture and cater to audience preferences. You build a more lasting connection with readers around authenticity and shared interests—or at least a more satisfying one…
Very true. I also find that writing mostly what's popular means a much greater level of competition. It's a popular topic, which is great, but there is a thicker stack of articles to rise up through to get noticed.
Perhaps “would have wanted to read.” Mostly, I write fiction, so it’s not really an issue. But for my nonfiction pieces, there was a moment prior to my knowledge or insight of the things I write about where reading about them from others would have been deeply appealing to me. I want to write the kind of pieces I’d still read if I came across them in a magazine somewhere—even if I already knew about the topic. Also, if someone wrote about them from a slightly different angle, or added to them in some way, they would still excite me. I’ve never claimed to know anything so we’ll that I couldn’t look at it through another’s perspective and learn something. And what’s more, this is exactly the frame I used when writing my historical trilogy. I had a unique book in mind that I wanted to read, but I wasn’t able to find anything like it on the shelves. So I wrote it myself. If someone comes along who also wants to read it, I know they’re in the right place. That’s a special feeling. I wrote a brief post about it here: https://jmelliott.substack.com/p/write-the-book-youve-always-wanted?s=w
Heheheh...would it be true to both of you to say "Write your inner Truth/Alignment vs moving off the dial of your inner Truth in order to cater an audience"?
I totally get what you're saying. The best way I can frame it is there are certain topics that are either popular in the public's consciousness, or they fit a mold for what's considered par excellence in a given genre of fiction. Writers strive for that because it's perceived to be a quicker path to success. However, some writers would admit they don't like reading it -- it just so happens to be popular -- it's like they are "supposed" to like it. My question is, if you don't really like reading it, then why write about it? In my case I'm a big fan of reading low fantasy. I don't like high fantasy, but it's way more popular. Do I choose to write high fantasy instead, or do I write something I would want to read because my real passion comes across. I don't know if I explained it very well, but that's how I see it :)
You never know. If you can get people to share your passion they might experience something they haven't before. That kind of thing is contagious. Don't sell yourself short and keep writing :)
Really like the idea of leaving something unanswered. I have an impulse to try and answer everything in my essay, but I agree that this strategy might actually inhibit engagement. I'm going to try and leave things a little more open ended. Thanks for that advice!
Kate, I've switched from responding to all, too. Jury is still out, but I felt so pounced on by the author in the comments of another Substack that I unsubscribed (and I was paid). I tried not to be silly about it, but it was awkward, and I felt I needed to at least take a break from it. I think it's good to avoid debates, let's put it that way.
This is also one of my background concerns. I want to 'protect' the people sharing their work on my newsletter, and I don't want them to have to see troll comments.
I'm sorry you had that experience, Annette! I've found the comment section of Substack to be more tame than Twitter is (thank goodness), but that doesn't mean I still haven't seen some nasty stuff go down. I hope this doesn't inhibit your writing in any way.
Oh, no worries!! I'm an old pro. The real danger is me never shutting up! 😀This happened on someone else's Substack, and reminded me that it's so hard to communicate like this. As I have just demonstrated again. 😂
I am just very direct with people, in a loving way. Some people ask me to click on links and if my intuition is not to, I just tell them to post it in their own words on my substack. Often it's their own page, but for whatever reason my spidey sense is that isn't "right" for me, I honor it. I have been blessed with kind people of diverse viewpoints so far here on substack, but I know what it's like when people get into debate mode and they forget the humanity of the person they are speaking with...I would love to see more circle type sharing, more deep listening, as I think we NEED to expose ourselves to diverse viewpoints if we want to avoid a civil war. Yet doing so in a peaceful, loving way. How can we honor the different opinions we have in a safe space? And yes, boundaries of stepping away if it isn't good. Lee Harris has some wonderful teachings on boundaries that i enjoy.
I think it's up to you as the moderator to set the tone, create the space and hold it. SE Reid does a beautiful job on her substack of creating safe space, and based on the title of your substack, I think you might find a kindred spirit!
I like "Jury still out". I haven't had any negative experiences with comments on Substack, but I expect it is only a matter of waiting. I've never been on a platform that was free of trolls, and knowing the state of our social standards for thoughtful communication, I can only expect some negativity soon. I actually only let my paying subscribers comment on most things, which works. There are times when I will ask for feedback, and open comments to all, but those are pretty rare.
That is good advice, Brian. Of course, I do respond to every comment, but since I don't get that many comments...it's not too time consuming, and I enjoy it.
That's a great practice of responding to every comment / email. I also liked this insight from the interview with Suleika: "engage your readers with a direct question. Sometimes I think the call and response is implied, but I’ve found there’s value in asking a direct question in your newsletter—even if the readers don’t answer it, even if they just use it as food for thought." Have you tried that? Have others? Does it work?
I was just commenting on another thread here saying I’m going to start asking more specific questions! This quote just solidified it for me. Thanks Bailey!
My community is still small but I do have engagement on my questions. And I respond to every comment. It does work, even if it is just the confirmation that genuinely interested people are reading, however few.
I always have several direct questions (it's the pub-radio host coming out) and just like on public radio, people rarely respond to the direct question but what you just said is what's happening, that it's providing food for thought and they answer the question they wish you'd asked! All that to say: Yes, direct questions seem to work!
Thanks for this. I think I haven't really considered sharing much on a 'personal' level, because I wanted the newsletter's focus to be on the community's creative work. But actually I think that's a missing piece.
That's also given me an idea to maybe have a 'community spotlight' newsletter that goes out every month (or even less frequently), which is an in-depth podcast/interview with a member of the community.
So there's an opportunity to share personal things in context of something that's still in line with the purpose of the publication.
I once heard someone describe Substack writers as "trail guides" - readers subscribe to them because they want to learn about a topic, or explore a world, through that person's unique viewpoint. I tend to agree with that perspective, and I sense that it means some personal layer is especially important in the Substack context.
Great analogy. This is what I'm trying to achieve. I try to include a level of personal experience on the topics I cover...a kind of we're-all-in-this-together approach. I don't want to set myself up as the authority or expert.
This is intriguing to me - I have not inserted personal moments in my Substack yet, but this is definitely giving me something to think about. I think I'm a little afraid that if I begin, it'll never end and it'll become all about me (and currently my Substack is a me-free space, it's even anonymous!) But, I might try this a bit if I can get up the courage!
Yes, this was my train of thought as well. I really want it to be not about me.
But I think there is a way of sharing personally that's a contribution to whatever you're writing about. Using one's own experiences as material to demonstrate a phenomenon/experience shared by others.
Where I resist is it probably means doing enough work that I can share in this way, rather than it being a dramatic story that nauseates people!
You can share personal experiences that connect back to the essay, but aren't personal in the sense that reveal too much about your interpersonal relationships. If you have a powerful experience on the subway or in a restaurant with a stranger it's very possible you can tell that story to convey a point in an essay without exposition. Others can empathize or relate, and you get your point across. Those intersections are where a lot of my inspiration happens. Have you ever noticed why almost every TED Talk starts with an anecdote? To the point where it's become a trope.
No problem! One example I can give is in my essay The Death Of Creativity https://brianreindel.substack.com/p/the-death-of-creativity -- I start off by sharing an experience I had that was meaningful to me. It's personal, but not in a way that I shared something I wouldn't be comfortable with others knowing. With slice of life there is a loose connection in the essay back to that story, but the personal connection doesn't have a beginning/middle/end.
Hi, David! "Community features" are likes and comments, and you can tell if they're enabled by heading to your publication Settings page and scrolling down to the "Community" section. "Enable community features" is the first setting at the top of the section, and if the box next to it is checked, they're "on."
My writing style is very open, accessible, and conversational, and I try to mirror that whenever I interact with my readers. I also look for ways to show my appreciation to them, above and beyond just thanking them repeatedly (which I also do); giveaways, comps, guesting opportunities, things like that. I also respond to every comment and every email (so long as it doesn’t get buried quickly).
Basically, I try to adopt an attitude of “there are no strangers, just friends we haven’t met yet,” and apply it to my publication as much as possible.
And it seems to be working! In fact, I hit 500 SUBSCRIBERS just this morning! 🤩🥳🙀
Thanks, Bailey! Another favorite saying, from my late grandfather: “always keep a bottle of champagne in your fridge.” Naturally, for occasions like these 😄🍾
I'm kicking off my second annual Summer Reading Bingo challenge on Tuesday! Subscribers receive a bingo card with prompts and fill it in with books they read over the summer. If you get bingo, you get entered into a prize for a raffle. Last summer, I had a good chunk of subscribers participate and am hoping for the same this years.
This year, I asked my subscribers if they'd like to contribute prizes and a lot of people did! Which further strengthens the community.
I also did a paperback swap this winter. People agreed to send a stranger a book and then receive one in the mail.
I like doing things that intersect between real life and online.
Subscribed! How absolutely fun!! I thought about doing a giveaway of a sort of manifestation box once I reached a 3-month mark of consistency with my newsletter (it’ll be around my birthday and I may switch to have some posts and features be paid).
I’m loving your newsletter! Shamelessly plug away!
I didn't remember the book swap but I was thinking wanting to do that today -- selfishly, I'm looking for copies of certain books and have plenty to spare and I suppose others do too. How did that one go?
I'm all for building communities on Substack. It's the perfect environment for them, considering we create newsletters that readers receive in their inboxes by choice. They've subscribed and we writers can assume they want to read what we write. So while we may be writing on universal topics we can't help but remember our subscribers and try and speak to them. They're our most important asset.
Beyond that, I make sure they feel welcome when they get to my parlor. Comments are always open and I encourage interaction by asking questions I hope they'll want to answer.
I write in first person and try and stay away from bullet points or lectures. Short paragraphs seem to work best, too.
I've set up paid subscriptions, and I would wish I had more paid subscribers, but my pages are open to everyone. That works best for me right now, since I am concentrating on building a community. I don't want anyone to feel left out.
You have such an active, vibrant comment section, Ramona! Your recent question about writers as readers has stayed with me and I've been mulling over it this whole past week.
Do we find subscribers hesitant to engage? I get so many emails, retweets, DMs, and texts from subscribers but likes and comments on the actual page are hit and miss.
At least for me personally an open is a big win. If I continue to see subscribers opening then it feels like good progress. I don't necessary solicit other engagement, but I have started putting in my footer that hitting the like button is a way to communicate to others that they might also like my writing. I hope to see some fruit from that.
I'm around 40% but I also migrated over an old list when I switched to Substack about three months ago. I'm hoping to get that number up as we get into summer. Also, subscribed to yours!
I was the digital director at newspapers and magazines for years, and I managed huge lists. I started out thinking the size of the list was what mattered, and I was always bragging (usually to advertisers) about how many people we could reach. Truth was, our lists needed desperately to be cleaned. Once I did that, the engagement skyrocketed. Now, with personal projects, I don't even think about how big my audience is. Migrating lists is always a good time to think about cleaning. These days, I don't migrate. I send a message out to the old list asking those who are interested to subscribe to the new list. Seems to work pretty well.
Interesting, I've not really been tracking open rates, so I just went back and looked. On some things, they are 60% on others as low as 40%. I wouldn't say the difference is discernible by the content, but I would say the higher open rates are since I started being more consistent with the timing of my newsletters. I send a shorter piece with a single photograph once a week, an audio piece every other week, and one longer written piece once a month. I'm finding if I stick to this, my engagement and my audience growth are good.
I took a hint from someone on here and just put a simple ask at the bottom of the post. Went from around 8 likes to 30. I also retweeted you this week 🙂
Glad that it’s working for you, I’ve been trying this since almost a month and the situation is still the same, subscribers prefers to message or email me instead of interacting on the post
I've mentioned this on a past writer thread, but something I've done since the start is do a "Comment Highlight" on my Monday posts. I post a meaningful comment from the previous week's posts along with the links to the person's social media or Substack (if applicable).
I find people hesitant to comment. I don’t know if it’s the effort of signing in and typing something out? Or maybe virtual shyness? I make requests like “tell me what you thought” but I might start making more specific ones soon.
A more specific question helps the readers allude to the things you wanted them to pull from the reading! Direct questions are very helpful for someone like me with scrambled lizard brains!
I have that experience as well. A lot of people reach out privately. I think that just because we are being vulnerable online doesn’t mean that other people are ready and willing to be vulnerable online.
I'm in the same boat. They engage with me on Facebook and LinkedIn, and my subscribers respond via email, but comments/likes on the site itself are scant.
Yes, "hesitant to engage" if you want to call it that. But I think plenty of people engage when they want to—look at the number of comments on the newsletters written by people who are well known—it's voluminous. I can only surmise that readers are not engaging much with my newsletter, because they don't feel compelled to, I'm just not writing about something they want to comment on.
Yoooo! Jumping on my weekly office hour to encourage everybody. This community is cool and people genuinely want each other to succeed. Just remember that growth is slow. It's built that way. It's okay. Keep writing and engaging. Reply to this and tell me what you like to write about. I like threading good conversation. I write about mental health, self-help, and encouragement!
Totally agree with your comment Eric. The community is genuine, writers are open-minded, helpful and the staff at Substack have inspired everyone into this creative and productive atmosphere.
On my side, I love to bring historical depth and perspective to contemporary events / narratives and bring readers to analyse some subjects with a different angle. My newsletter offers short essays in English and French.
Yes yes yes! I recently started a Substack and LOVE that they focus on the writers and their love to write! That's all I ever wanted and am so glad I've given myself permission to show up for my writing.
It's been a blast!
I can't wait to implement some of these ways to increase community and engagement!
I love to self-express through writing, personal essays, and poems about life experiences... Also am into personal development, ranting about observations in some Christian communities and how I practice more "woo woo" things like manifestation, oracle cards, Human Design, etc. while still being a believer in the Christian God.
There's somewhat of an overlap with talking to creatives (more specifically writers) and spiritually-curious Christians: both want to pursue things they're told they "shouldn't", and need a supportive community that allows them to navigate their desired journey without judgement or threats about how bad an idea it is.
Followed! It's like a diary and I always enjoy a good sneak peek into others' thoughts. Yeah you should totally share! Share all you want about anything you want. :)
I’ve found that the community has been growing since I’ve 1) connected and cooperated with other bookstackers who share similar interests and audiences and 2) responding to everyone who comments or emails me. Like Brian, I write what I want to read or write that week and I ask a lot of questions aimed at generating discussion. May I ask a question about recommendations? I thought that if we had more than five, the ones listed would rotate automatically. Is this correct? I can’t tell if it is happening or not and I recommend more than five newsletters. I did it because the guidance was that these would rotate without my intervention.
I've seen this a few times in the replies and like many others, I try to keep my writing style really open and conversational. I write how I sound in real life and really lean on the humor and the connection that comes from acknowledging how hard it is to be a human these days. There are definite forays into vulnerability in the newsletter as well, because of the nature of the personal essay type format and subject matter, which is both scary and also makes me feel a strong bond with people reading.
As of right now, my subscriber base is mostly people I know and I do hope my list keeps growing beyond that but it is so nice when the people reading tell me that they can really hear me in my writing and that's one of the reasons they read. Sometimes sending the newsletter can feel a bit like talking to the ether so any likes or comments or chances to talk about it, I grab hold of.
I also try to be responsive to newsletters I read, at least with a heart here and there, and definitely a comment as often as possible. It's also great to build community with other writers in that way and let them know that for sure, people are reading.
Even a small community is a community and I am grateful to feel connected to any and everyone reading.
It's interesting how being a writer can make you a better reader - I've had that experience myself. I try to comment and engage with the newsletters I read because I know how meaningful that is as a writer!
Yes, I agree. It's great to support other writers by liking and commenting on their work. Connecting with a community of other Substack writers has been really important to me when times have been difficult and I've struggled to keep going.
It's so so so refreshing to read about other people who write how they talk and are more conversational writers that naturally write how they'd sound in real life!
I had this narrative in my head that that wasn't good enough. That I needed to do more or just writing personable and about more slice-of-life things wasn't good enough.
I'm breaking that unhelpful thought process and LOVE seeing so many people in this space that are here because they love writing and sharing. I've always always always loved being able to get peeks into people's lives and seeing how they expressed themselves to others.
Just took a look at your newsletter and subscribed, of course, when I saw what cause I'm supporting. Your selfies series is hilarious. Can't wait to spend more time over there with you! Maybe I'll even bake.
Hi everyone! I ask readers to contribute a lot. Most recently I had them submit questions for a game of Senior Citizen Roulette in which I asked random questions to random old people on the streets of NYC.
I also have readers submit photos of weird trash heaps they've spotted on the street.
At the start of the year I had them send ideas for what topics they wanted NYC bodega workers to forecast for 2022 and based a story on those interviews.
Some of my most popular issues recently covered topics suggested by readers. One was a Q&A with NYC chess hustlers, another was an investigation into where NYC street cart donuts come from. My readers are a lot of fun and I really enjoy the engagement!
One tip I’ll highlight: Readers might not have much to say about your post, but they likely enjoy talking about themselves. A question at the end that allows them to share their opinion or experience is a good entry point for conversation.
This is something I’m actively trying to improve! I have discussion threads after each podcast episode and I try to engage with readers on Twitter and Instagram. When I can, I hold contests for people to guess the next episode and get a free month of paid subscriber content. I’m thinking about seeking out movies and TV shows about historical people that I’ve covered and creating watch-a-longs! I’d be interested in knowing if anyone else has tried this and how it worked.
Oh..I'm interested. We have a podcast made up of two English teachers that analyze media through the eyes of the English classroom (litthinkpodcast.substack.com) and as a history major I also find your concept fascinating. I think that sounds like a great idea. I subscribed!
Thank you so much for subscribing! I am going to subscribe to yours too! My MA was in history and lit, all about applying historical movements to fiction to see what I could glean about how people understood their own present through fiction. (Gosh, did that make sense?) So your concept is right up my alley!
Hello! Hello! Substackians! Thank you for the great question, Bailey! I've been "building community" by being GENUINELY fascinated by my reader's opinions.
I feel lucky to have ANYBODY read my Substack, and, as I've gotten to know my readers, I've come to learn that THEIR lives are just as chock full of marvels as my own, and many readers' lives are just wayyyyyy more interesting than mine, so I engage them every which way I can. Many of MY readers don't open my newsletter to read me---they open my newsletter to read the community's comments.
I did not give The Conflab (The Ask E. Jean Community is called The Conflab) one prompt, I gave them FIVE:
1. Johnny is suing Amber in Virginia for $50 million, saying that she defamed him when she described herself—in a Washington Post opinion essay that didn’t mention Depp—as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” Has Johnny got a good case?
2. Do you believe Amber’s version of events? Or Johnny’s?
3. What about the poop in the bed? Pardon me, I am asking this question because Amber is counter-suing Johnny for $100 million, and when there’s this much money at stake every single horrible, exaggerated, strange, sad detail of the marriage has to be dragged into public.
4. We’ve all been on this planet long enough to see through the thick layer of male bullshit, but have you ever witnessed world-wide, nuclear-level woman-hating like this?
And here's the best part: I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR WHAT THEY SAY!! I reply to every comment. I never write a post WITHOUT ending with two or three or four PERSONAL questions about how The Conflab thinks and feels----------and usually because my questions are so nosey, the readers end up telling personal and quite riveting stories.
I'm still in the first three months of building my newsletter, but I guess the ways I've been interacting and building community is by keeping my tone light and conversational, linking to things I think are interesting and might spark a response from readers.
As a songwriter I share bi-weekly songs I'm working on, and this often prompts responses.
As someone who is really interested in geology (my newsletter is a weird mix of songwriting, geology and collages), I love to share interesting stories I've been reading about and I feel like that is an invitation to reply/comment as well.
What I'm mostly focussed on is creating a newsletter which is so memorable, unique, and _me_, that people could be walking down the street, see something, and think "oh, that reminds me of Olivia's newsletter. maybe i should share that with her."
Hi! I'm fairly new :). This is my second writer's hour. Last time I connected with a lot of people and gained 5 new subscribers. Which I know isn't epic growth, but I felt like they were genuinely interested readers with potential to be active community. So I'm back!
Hi, Kathleen! I signed up for your free subscription. Like you, I'm a freelancer. I'm also a dance/concert/many other things writer/photographer and have been writing a series about being the parent of a professional child (now adult) performer. Looking forward to exploring your work and hope it goes well for you!
It's an obscure term, but I love the concept of various experts combining their ideas to come up with an even better idea. Maybe someday I can round up some contributors to add their insight as well. :)
I started my Substack at the beginning of the year because I've long felt confined by the ideological constraints that are prevalent in music journalism. You could say I'm a leftist who's vehemently opposed to the leftist orthodoxy that's currently dominant. All the covid science that was shared via Substack sealed the deal for me. That plus I'm looking to write with a much broader scope than the typical music outlet is looking for.
In an unexpected twist, it turns out that Substack is ideal for my writing practice - it gives me a platform to write with a more conversational tone while I stick to a semi-formal sense of structure - and I realize that's the perfect sweet spot for me. I wasn't expecting that Substack would be such a godsend, but it's really sparked me to write more and increase my output. I'm in a routine flow now where I wasn't before.
Hi...started my substack in April, up to 150 free subscribers, but only 2 paid. Average open rate is about 40%. I love to write, but have also found that I am an obsessed chatterbox. I LOVE the discussions, reading and responding to comments. I am lucky to have some really smart subscribers (and good writers!). 90% of all comments come from the same few people. I get an average of 3 comments per post (not counting my replies.) I remember reading paid subscribers comprise about 10% of free subscribers...I am no where near that. The people that comment always say nice things about my posts...so not sure if I am doing something wrong. Also, subscriptions have slumped to about 2 a day...I had 30 in one day at one time but it seems that was not authentic! HELLO everybody!!!!!
Hi Todd! This article may be worth reading through if you're worried about conversion rates - https://on.substack.com/p/grow-1?s=w. There's context in there on what to expect, and also what levers you should think about playing with to grow your newsletter. (At the stage you're at, I would encourage you to focus on growing your free list! )
Thank you! Yes, my focus really is on free subscribers, but I was just concerned that maybe I was doing something wrong not to be getting the 5-10 paid that is typically expected. Thanks for the link!!
I migrated my newsletter over from a Wordpress plugin held together with hope. Though errors aren’t why I switched: I shifted lanes after seeing newspapers complain about the platform. For better or worse, anything competitors warn you against is the next big thing.
I’m satisfied so far, there’s a nice sense of community (when I leave my cave) and the newsletter site looks nice and modern (making me look tech-savvy is an achievement). I wish I could center text, and plot a text-alignment revolution every day. For now, we’re watching and waiting for an opening.
With web traffic shriveling up and blowing away, it’s nice to have a new way to send people punchlined. That and promote my first book. But it’s at least fifty percent about smiles.
The thing I'd most like to centre is a note under each video. If substack would add the possibility for a caption underneath a video (as is already possible with an image) that would solve the problem. There must be a way - it can be done on Medium.
PS Still waiting for the possibility of showing Rumble, BitChute, Odysee videos as well as YT & Vimeo. Are they coming soon?
Hiiiii! I'm pretty new! Just officially launched (aka screamed about my Substack to everyone I could) my Substack May 16th and this is my first, albeit late Writers Hour. Added it to my digital calendar so I don't miss it next next week (I saw next week is shoutout week!).
I'm finally, once again after like seven years, giving myself permission to write exactly what I wanna write because I truly find joy in writing more slice-of-life, personal essays, self-expressive poetry and such. I love sharing and writing is truly my lifeline and creative outlet of choice and I'm SO glad to have found a platform that wants writers to get paid, BUT keeps the value and importance of writing and community at the top of mind.
I really, REALLY love it here!
I write about being a creative and spiritually-curious Christian and things that are on my mind and stuff I wanna share. Both overlap because there's desire to pursue things we're told we shouldn't dive into yet there's rarely support around us to get curious and go down unknown paths. I talk about Human Design, manifestation, and some random things I get a kick out of sharing once I discover it.
So far I've gotten 10 subscribers in less than two weeks of my newsletter being out and I'm truly, genuinely excited about it! Legit butterflies when I see anyone subscribe, buy me a matcha, or leave a comment of praise or a convo-starter under anything I write because it's something I REALLY love doing and love that others love it too!
Since I'm so new, I'm still playing with what I post and when (it's at least every Monday, and I wanna write about ALL the things! But I'm holding back to make sure I post at least my one quality newsletter for the week before I just churn out all I want to).
Hi--I’ve been writing about addiction and recovery over at thanksforlettingmeshare.substack.com and a podcast “Breakfast with an Alcoholic” and am very eager to develop more of a community feel--but it’s been a challenge to generate much feedback, even with explicit prompts. Would love some ideas!
I subscribed to your Substack. I have no advice on growth as I'm new here as well, but I liked the straightforward-ness of your publication, as well as the topic.
I also think it's a good example of how community accountability can be really powerful.
Hello all. I started my Substack almost a year ago, and have read through Office Hours threads before but not participated much... and I thought it was really time to give it a try.
I'm a policy geek, really interested in migration, and so that's what I write about in Mixed Migration—hebdo. Most of my substack collates and presents the week prior's important international news concerning global migration. I spend the week running news searches and identifying important stories, and then each Monday I run the collection down. Most, but not all weeks, I accompany this with a bit of editorializing at the top (e.g.: last August, when Afghanistan fell and refugee flows became an urgent issue: https://bit.ly/3lM6Ut3 or last November, when Polish border forces overreacted to irregular arrivals from Belarus: https://bit.ly/3PMxIHc). My most recent issue is from a couple weeks back because I took a break to go backpacking, and I'll come back to the grind in early June.
I've enjoyed writing Mixed Migration—hebdo and learned a ton through the process, but I've had a hard time getting feedback from readers (even though I consistently ask for it!). So I'm wondering who else there is here who has found that, despite a consistent format and publishing schedule, consistent calls-to-action, and lots of cross-promotion on other social media platforms, are still struggling to grow their readership and to cultivate engagement? My emails consistently hit a 40%-50% open rate, so I know there's a loyal readership out there... I just haven't worked out (short of directly reaching out to people to ask them to share MMh) how to leverage the existing readership into more audience growth.
Any advice or feedback much appreciated! Thanks all!
I'm (very) new here! And I'd like some resources or guidance on how to be consistent with my newsletter... Any time management or any advice would be helpful!
Also, I have a lot of ideas about the content in my newsletter so I'm not sure how to focus on one topic.. How do I decide that?
Hi Pratibha, welcome! A key strategy to stay consistent is to lay out an editorial schedule for yourself. Setting up a plan for when you're going to post, and sketching out your themes and topics in advance, will help you with getting into a routine. More advice on this topic: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-2?s=w
I try to batch a lot of my writing on one day (Friday, in my case). Then block time on another day to edit. The other thing worth noting is that I have 1-2 days where I intentionally /don't/ write. It's a great way to avoid burnout.
What has worked for me is to have a particular time when I write every day. Its embedded in my routine now (in my case I get up at 5am to write, but you don't have to do something as crazy as that).
I'm sort of new. I started publishing about 2 years ago but it was pretty infrequent, and am trying to up my rate of publication to 1x / wk. The newsletter is about markets, geopolitics, and the big-picture themes around the world order.
Hi folks - I'm still ramping up to a launch for Strong99 (https://strong99.substack.com) and I'm battling with a) my pre-launch perfection demons and b) the part where I actually put it out there and ask friends and family for subscriptions. I'll get there :-)
I launched Field Research, a dark comedy newsletter, one month ago. Loving the experience so far and really having an impact with my readers! Link here: https://agowani.substack.com/ if interested.
I have questions about stats reporting. Is there a way to see overall traffic numbers by month? Is this something Substack is working on. I'm already liking working here much better than Wordpress (it just works better for what I want out of my writing) but it would be nice to get those total stats over time.
Next week we are taking a break from Office Hours as usual for our monthly shoutout thread. Save it to your calendar so you don't miss it: https://lu.ma/tour-shoutout
See you soon,
Bailey, Kelsa, Jasmine, Kevin, Hannah, Claire, James, Josh, Alex, Linda, Thomas, & Chloe from the Substack Team
Hi everyone! Regarding the topic of growing your publication, this isn't a question, but - if you're feeling in need of a bit of inspiration or a kick up the bahookie*, this post by Katie Hawkins-Gaar that went up two days ago may be exactly what you need:
"The more I’ve witnessed other people pour time, energy, strategy, and, yes, self-promotion into their work, the more I realize how much I’ve been short-changing myself. Although I’ve been losing paying newsletter subscribers, I continue to gain new readers. My ideas have value. My essays are worth reading. My work means something."
So if you're having a rough time with your newsletter for whatever reason, please keep going. Because your ideas have value, your words are worth reading (or hearing) - and your work means something.
Ta.
*Scottish for "bottom". (I'm living in Scotland right now. The words keep creeping into my writing.)
Thanks for this Mike. I'm at the 2 month mark... the point where I need to commit fully to moving forward with my newsletter or give it away. I really want to make it work and I love what I'm writing so I just need to be patient and let the rest take care of itself. Great post.
The Substack recommendations feature has been super dope, 16 newsletters are now recommending mine and I have sent almost 500 new subscribers to the newsletters I recommend, well done Substack!
Nonoo, that was not what I meant. I really meant to say that it is awesome you are helping others grow. Just the example you lead by in that respect is an awesome one. Keep at it!
Hi writers, and happy Thursday! Do you feel like there's room for all of us at the table, or do you get caught up in competition? The truth is, when writers support writers--instead of comparing and competing--magic happens, and everyone wins. So tell us: how are you doing this week in your writing journey? How are you feeling? If you're feeling discouraged, tell us so we can support you. If you're feeling on top of things, reach out to someone below who is feeling discouraged. Let's lift each other up today! 🌿
I've been reflecting on Haley Nahman's voice note from this past Tuesday where she asked "What would you do if you knew you would not succeed?" (the analogue to Elizabeth Holmes's question "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?"). Nahman means what if you never become famous, or you never have a post go viral, or your subscriber list always stays small. Would you still continue to write in the way you do currently? As someone who has debilitatingly high expectations, I find this framework a freeing way of approaching writing. I may never get huge, and that's okay. I still love my corner of the internet and am trying to channel energy in support of other writers rather than worrying too much about self-promotion (which is important, but can be blinding).
I just came over to Substack this month, and what I immediately noticed is that writing here feels like I have a direct relationship with my readers and supporters. After just my second post, I started to include more personal snippets and anecdotes, because I wasn't just dumping something into the internet ether, I was communicating with real people. That is to say, more readers would certainly be great, but knowing I'm connecting and resonating, even with a small cohort, is more important.
This is SUCH a useful thing to meditate on!! My husband is always challenging me to grow a community, not an audience, and I find that it's a simple distinction that has huge ripple effects in the way I write. I don't want to grow for the sake of growth; I want the people who read what I write to feel seen and nurtured by it, even if that's only a handful of people. Thank you for sharing this, Kate! 🌿
Yes, this is a mindset shift I am also trying to develop. If I'm focused on commununity, the people who want to read my stuff will actually be intentional about reading it and will also be more likely to share. I also JUST changed to a new email for all of my writing so that I can ensure that all of my Substack subscriptions go directly to one email address that isn't bogged down with all of the other things. I want to be intentional about reading and responding to the writing I've personally subscribed to.
This is where I find the app helpful. I can see all the Substacks I have subscribed too. I don’t read them all. But I commit to opening and hitting the like button on as many as I can.
As I start preparing to self-publish some of my old blog posts into a book of essays and with all of the freelancing I do, I decided my personal email had become a mess and if I was going to clean it up I needed to keep my writing and personal emails all separate 😊 Better already.
This is a VERY good idea. I probably need to do something similar; I always feel guilty if I don't get a chance to read the newsletters I subscribe to.
Well, school is out tomorrow and I'm doing this while my students are taking finals, so I'm hoping I can be more interactive when we're actually home this summer 😜
I love the usage of community rather than audience.
Audience implies they just listen, a community brings fourth their talents and trades to add to the overall well being of the issue or situation at hand…
I always hope that the words I’ve written will properly convey my love for learning!!! Learning for the good of the COMMUNITY!
Quality always beats quantity. Here is a great article by Kevin Kelly titled "1000 true fans". (https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/). I know 1000 seems like a lot. The article could have been titled "100 true fans" to get the gist of the theory. Enough ≠ Infinity.
This is a fantastic question to contemplate. It gets at the core of our “why”. I do this for myself and to build on a dream. The dream expands as the successes do.
I like that question! I think I honestly would still maintain my newsletter even if nobody read it. But that people do read it is beneficial for the community whose work I feature (that's the core content of the newsletter), so that's also a clear intention I have.
Hey I checked out your substack - I like how you ask us to hold you accountable for your commitment to writing! A mentor of mine once told me that he promised his friend $500 (which was a lot in the '70s) each time he smoked again. He paid the firs $500 and never smoked again!
I agree. There are a handful of people in my life who I go to as 'accountability buddies'.
They don't ever buy my bullshit, and if I tell them I will give them $500 if I don't do something I said I would do, they would be sending me transfer requests for $500. They don't take my accountability idly!
I've only had to pay up once... never again, I think! This quite extreme method also gives me the prompt to really question - is this commitment true for me? Is it worth losing that kind of money?
It's a good way of filtering out 'noise' activities, and focusing on commitments that will really move the dial towards my bigger intentions.
Kindness always works. I am doing fine. I am quite excited to have found a nice community of poets here on Substack (always looking for more poet-friends), and am also exploring other avenues.
And, how about you. How are yo doing this week in your writing journey?
Hi, Arjan! I'm so glad you're finding a community; it's SUCH a good feeling! How did you connect with the poetry community? Through seeking out their newsletters, or did you find other ways?
And thank you for asking! I know it's a small milestone, but I just passed 60 free subscribers and considering I don't have a lot of ability to promote myself aside from Instagram it feels really nice to hit that milestone. I'm just honored people are reading! lol
Congrats on the milestone. I'm just a little ahead of you. I am finding my community mainly here (by searching for poetry newsletters with original work, but also on socials as Instagram and twitter. And then engage with them. I also have a podcast in which I feature other poets. That also helps the connection along.
Again: congrats with the milestone. And remember: every single heart you touch means you made one life a little better. Even if it was for just a brief moment. That is miraculous work.
Agreed, Instagram is a tough platform to promote on nowadays (especially for those of us sticks-in-the-mud who have been on IG since the start and are VERY resistant to making Reels, ahem). I can't complain, though; most of my earliest Substack subs were conversions from IG, and I still get one or two a week who suddenly decide to get the emails. Consistency is key, I guess!
Have noticed the real writers support each other here. It quickly becomes apparent who has decent motivation for writing and who does not. Many readers and writers appear to have a good built in nonsense detector. This is just what we need. Everyone gets discouraged at times but it is just part of the process.
You're right, KW! I hate to think how many writers give up when they get discouraged. I think that's why I like to "set the table" for everyone here, as it were; I hate to think that anyone is lurking in the thread, wanting to speak up, but afraid of jumping in. In my view, writers supporting writers is powerful. 🌿
Totally agree. It is - and I think it's also how everyone thrives online. Not just in business, but particularly there. I've seen this again and again: folk starting an online venture with the old competitive "crush the competition, be a unicorn" mindset (which doesn't fit the essentially infinite nature of the internet), and it just kills their ability to get going, because all the bigger fish in the pond who *could* be cheering them on and becoming great, wise friends, they're thinking "this person is such a jerk". And they walk away. And person by person, that person's business withers in all the ways that actually matter.
But it's not just about Machiavellian tactics and all that. It's just decent and open-minded. The more you help, the more you learn (and feel) the value in just helping, without thinking of how you'll benefit. It just makes everything feel a bit more doable. Kindness is the source of a lot of things, and one of them is hopefulness.
Moral fiber is a valuable thing to have. Other animals, including humans, understand genuine kind motivation. Somebody get your hackles up? Figure out where the problem lies and fix it. Works online and sometimes even works in real life.
My husband and I talk often about "success" online, and it does seem like it's possible to get massive followers and massive money and massive everything very quickly...but there's a catch. There's always a catch. And for so many people, that catch is that you have to trade something of yourself. Integrity, maybe. Honesty. Authenticity.
I'm not saying every hugely successful online person is secretly (or openly) a villain, but I do think it's worth asking ourselves: what is (a very narrow version of) success worth, if it means I can't be "me" anymore? Am I willing to trade away what makes me a decent, genuine human? 🌿
I hear you. The thing about short-cuts is always that catch, that clock ticking down before it all falls apart because the foundations aren't solid. And - exactly as you say, deciding what version of ourselves we're putting out there, because of how it'll have an impact on other people...
The adventure writer Brendan Leonard said something similar in a wonderful two-part thing he wrote called "How to be Positive":
And in the second part he essentially said he'd rather "make positive things that don't get shared as quickly but also don't make everyone feel worse". And that's integrity, I think.
There’s room for everyone though we can’t help but be envious sometimes. It’s hard to out your heart out there and have little to no response. But having laid out that burden is enough.
I try to keep my eyes on my own paper. Sure, I learn from others but I’m on my own path and can’t try to be anyone but myself. People appreciate that and will continue to. I’ve stayed consistent almost one year. That’s an achievement unto itself.
That is an INCREDIBLE achievement, Chevanne!! Honestly, just showing up is the hardest part.
And I know what you mean. When I recently read through "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron (it's a classic for a reason) I discovered that the main negative self-talk I hear is, "Why bother? You can send this out, but no one will care."
Crickets, silence, is my worst fear. But you know what? It's not a reason to stop doing what I love. And the people who are really listening show up, and stick around. <3
It’s really the whole idea behind my Substack is sending out work into space. Eventually someone will receive it. Each piece is a time capsule containing our thoughts and dreams. There’s value in that.
Not to sound cliche', but the only writer I compete with is myself. I think constantly striving to be better is healthier, emotionally. At least for me :)
I can get behind this! However my biggest struggle both as a writer and off book…is that I hold myself too high of a standard so when I don’t achieve or get the reaction I hope for..I beat myself up!
Thanks to Substack this IS changing though, if it weren’t for writing about it I probably might not know I had this issue
Oh, 100%! I've been struggling with that a lot, lately. Something I try to do is just keep reminding myself that (at least for me) this is a marathon and not a sprint. I'll trip and fall, but as long as I keep getting back up, I'll eventually hit my stride. That's when the real fun starts :)
I don't think that's a cliche at all! I think it's a very very healthy mindset to have. Comparison is the thief of joy, so they say. If you can keep your eyes on your own goals, the more the better! :)
Love your questions S.E. I’ve found that when I let go of attachment to outcomes, my Substack goes Zoom! I love the sharing on this forum. So with my dirty chai in hand, I’m taking it all in!
I definitely feel like there is room for everyone and I want to make sure everyone feels like that too. It's a big myth we've been fed that there is only so much room and it's always a goal of mine to be inclusive.
In terms of my writing journey, I feel pretty good about my newsletter. It's a couple of months old and the subscriber base is still relatively small but it definitely helps me feel connected to a people. Substack, in general, is a great tool to feel connected to other writers. I am in the middle of a searching for a job so having my newsletter is a great way to keep getting consistent work out there and have something to look forward to doing every week. Searching for jobs is not super fun so having an enjoyable weekly task is very much appreciated.
I was quite surprised to find how connected the writers are here! I didn't know much about Substack when I signed up, only that the platform was well thought of on a technical level. But the emotional/spiritual component of being in community with readers and other writers has been such a huge and appreciated bonus!
I agree! Just knowing that there is such a huge community of writers from all over the place working through the same or similar journeys is so helpful.
I’d say just like my moods, my posts’ tone change every day. I try to keep a hold on all the information going in, but sometimes when I’m trying to relay it put it back out…it gets jumbled…
Jumbled with emotion!
How do you find the perfect balance between emotional and logical thinking…in terms of writing?
How do you not let your emotions get the best of your phalanges!
Ooo, that's a very good question! I think that's a tricky balance for a lot of writers, especially if we rely on storytelling for our work (as I tend to). I hope other writers will jump in with advice here, but two things spring to mind:
1) You never really know what will resonate with readers. There have been some of my posts that I've found I didn't connect with very well, but for some reason readers did! We're not always the best judges of our own work and its impact; sometimes you just need to post it and let it be what it is, jumbled or not.
2) If you're worried about balancing emotion and logic, the best way out is through...just keep practicing! The more you write, and the more you share your writing, the more you'll find your own balance of those things. And some days you may be more one than the other; it's just the way of things.
Bonus tip: I find that a regular practice of "morning pages" has really helped my writing (as inspired by Julia Cameron). First thing in the morning with my cup of coffee I sit down and handwrite three pages in a cheap notebook. It's a braindump; it's not meant to ever be read again. It's not really writing, it's not journaling. It's just literally filling three pages with junk, stream of consciousness. But it really helps me cut through the crud and wakes my brain up. Might be worth a try!
I try to do my yoga first thing in the morning, before “the day” takes over, but my brain often has me off the mat and standing in front of my laptop shelf. I find that most of my “Did *that* come out of me?” sentences (Gilda Radner voice) occur at that time. My own crackpot theory on that is that dreams arise from the “connections” being made between yesterday’s experiences/thoughts and everything already stored in my own edition of “The most complex structure/system in the known universe.” Like sorting a stack of papers, and having fleeting thoughts about the content. Hence the “weird” nature of “the visions of my sleep” (*Pure Prairie League) where a familiar room will have a non-existent stairway in it. Maybe my brain was exploring a possible connection, then discarded it.
With my Random Access Memory temporary storage space rebooted, my brain has “room” to explore some of those new connections or old connections seen from a new perspective. I call it my Magic Time, because my fingers seem to conjure those sentences out-of-nowhere. It is literally more like “reading” than “writing” as the vague, fuzzy notion I start a sentence out with, resolves into a phrase I had no clue was in there. Two different lyrics from Dylan, seems to indicate that he had a same issues. “I need a dump truck baby to unload my head,” and “I got a head full of ideas that are driving me insane.”
Although it is the noon hour now, so very little magic is occurring, I see I am veering off topic already, considering “the importance of sleep for a healthy mind,” etc. and our Magic Hour is nearly over and I wanted to “reply” to a couple of other folks, and then a friend drops by…
I do this but with doodles - I think my biggest issue is the computer itself (literally). I’m such a hands on, artsy fartsy gal that I think I’m pictures or moments, it’s really hard for me to get my brain to get everything organized and legible… Maybe I should try words or short phrases
I learned this in 7th grade from an exchange teacher, her name was Angus, and she called it the “brain map”
10 things I learned while growing a daily newsletter to 140k subscribers and making every mistake along the way. (I write Understandably.com for those who don't know.)
1. Content matters most! If the content isn't great, fix that first. :)
2. Consistency matters second-most. My advice is to start slow and manageable, and increase pace as you go along. I started as a daily newsletter which was INSANE. But it would not have grown this big if it were not daily.
3. Choose growth over monetization. If your'e 100% confident you can make a lot of $$$ right away, that's different. But if you're starting without a big following, grow big first. I kept mine free (and daily!) for more than a year.
4. Try lots of stuff. Try Twitter, try other socials, try giving talks, try cross-posts, try YouTube, try lead magnets, try everything. I know this is a Substack board, but I would try other ways to share content, too. Heather Cox Richardson is the master at this - she posts every word on Substack, on Facebook, etc.
5. Love your readers. Example: I try to reply almost everyone who replies to the newsletter. It's gotten harder as the list grows bigger, but I still do as much as I can.
6. Have a healthy respect for numbers. Study what works well (based on analytics). But don't obsess.
7. Make mistakes. Even though there are a lot of us here, we're still in the early days of this media. Make mistakes and learn from them.
8. Create tools. Example: I created a hacked-together "one-click feedback system" with 5 stars at the end of all of my newsletters that gets me TONS of feedback.
9. Ask for help. This forum is a good place. Also, ask your readers. And other writers. People who are into this are REALLY into it and will talk for hours.
10. Pay it back (and forward). Every problem you face and solve is probably something others are grappling with. Help them. They'll help you!
Disclaimer: I'm not sure these are my "top 10" or "10 most important..." they're the "10 I pulled together in 10 minutes because I hoped they might help someone!" Also, while I put this in another post here... I'm recruiting writers ... details here ... https://www.journalismjobs.com/1674777-newsletter-writereditor-understandablycom
Some great suggestions here. I think that the first two are especially important - they've been important for me after two years on Substack now. I'm in awe that you can write daily though.
Awesome stuff here! I started with a daily and then had to scale back. May I ask you how you did step 8? 8. Create tools. Example: I created a hacked-together "one-click feedback system" with 5 stars at the end of all of my newsletters that gets me TONS of feedback.
Check it out here: https://www.understandably.com/p/apps? (I used to put it at the bottom of each email body, now it's in the footers so I don't have to repeat every time. But that also means you can only see it on the website on old posts if that makes any sense.) Anyway, it's five stars (just star characters), each pointing to a different bitly link (so I can count easily) and then forwarding to five different different carrd.co pages. I used to use Google Forms as they are free but I pay for Carrd.co anyway. My 1-star page includes detailed instructions on how to unsubscribe, btw.
Just crossed 100 subscribers this week. Also featured in Substack’s Discovery page, and recommended by 2 readers. This brought in a decent trickle of newcomers.
Meaningful engagement is key. As is finding your brand and building it.
This seems to be a mystery. Some folks in the music newsletter category are always there (I.e. evergreen). Mine appears and disappears. I think there’s some sort of internal tracking on sign up frequency, maybe open rates?
There seems to be an aura of mystery about it all.
Who else can't wait for the shoutout thread? I always try to share the individual issues of the newsletters I recommend, but the shoutout is a nice thing, too. So, for today, I'm launching something new: the #substackshoutout on Twitter. What should I read? https://twitter.com/search?q=%2523substackshoutout
What happens to writing when other side-hustles out-hustle writing? I'm fascinated because I've been posting once a week for 1.5 years now. Other things have been started and abandoned during that time. But not writing. It's not a hassle or a burden. Sometimes, I worry that my head is empty or that the words will sound hollow or forced. Just to meet a deadline. The blank screen just taunts, not helps. But a word or thought falls out of the jumble and finds its way onto the page, and another one follows, then too many randos to count. The story is born, and the post writes itself. People read it and like it. Or don't. Readers make comments. The whole process is fascinating. I'm so glad I found Substack.
One of the most fascinating things I've read recently - can't remember where - is that it's natural to feel like your writing ideas will be limited and finite. But it's quite the opposite. Writing that great idea spurs even more ideas, and then those great ideas spur their own great ideas. One of the few but amazing virtuous cycles out there.
Hi! I’m looking for a writer who might be interested in collaborating on a post. The idea is that the post would be split between us—I would be reviewing a vegan mac and cheese from a company called Camp and you would be reviewing Cheetos mac and cheese. Two very different products. I’d use the guest writer feature on Substack so it would link back to your profile and promote your newsletter at the end. If you’re interested feel free to email me at adam@nightwater.email !
Oh I'd also be very curious about this! I saw someone list her newsletter as top 100 in a category, but that doesn't seem like a stat visible to most of us.
Hello friends, I'm weighing in with a celebration and milestone: On May 30, my Substack turns 1 year old!
a Question: How do you celebrate a milestone with your community? Let me know any ideas!
And a Share: Here are my two biggest surprises from the first year:
-That Substack is a community of writers. I thought it would be more oriented toward digital; and there's plenty of savvy on the digital side but also a real commitment and passion for the practice and art of writing. Also, key word: Community.
-Second surprise: My day job is as an audio producer and my expectation was that it would be the podcast that would bring the audience, and that people might put up with the posts/essays I write (spoutiing off about the badassness of Jane Austen). The surprise: The writing actually gets the biggest hits.
Thank you for being here. You all make this a joy, and in these times community and joy are precious. .
Hello!! I am not able to make the call - I busting to connect with other Stackers. I am 2 weeks new here. I imported my email list and 2 years of weekly emails. The open rates are blowing my mind!! Is this true?? Does Substack have a secret key to deliverability? I have 6600 subs and a 51% open rate here. With similar engagement as previous emails but in replies not comments. I am working on increased engagement in comments, I think it will take time for the community to adjust to the feature. The entire experience is unbelievable, really. I am pinching myself.
thank you Bailey!! good to know it is a thread!! Much easier to check in. Yes, very much impressed with the stats. I am getting used to the platform but so far it is really working out for me/my community. Thx for connecting.
Hi everyone. I'm recruiting writer-editors (paid of course) for my daily newsletter. Started here on Substack 2 years ago, 600+ daily editions later we're at 140k subscribers! If you're interested or know someone who might be, I'd love to hear from them! Details: https://www.journalismjobs.com/1674777-newsletter-writereditor-understandablycom
Hi everybody: This is my first post. I'm launching a substack called Newspeak. It's about the language of power and influence, and I provide insight on usage of buzz words on the internet. I plan to put together a critical mass of several posts before promoting this. I would like to invite others with a passion for free speech to contribute, or republish other substack posts along these lines. Can I do that? If so, please share best practices for building community, aligning with other blogs or syndicating content on substack. Many thanks for your comments.
Welcome William! Will check out your letter! You can do or ask anything you want. Substack is very openminded and is all about free speech. Collaboration is a good way to leverage other peoples subscriber lists. Good luck to you!
Hey.... My name is Liam. I am a writer/essayist. I write about anthropology, specifically Japan and Korea (north and south). I posted one old essay today to get the ball rolling but my writing tutor says I need more structure in my work. I dont have many contacts or fans on social media (the biggest is a mind dump wordpress blog with 320 followers). I dunno how to promote my blog. Im trying to improve my writing style as it needs some improvement but how do i crank the organ of social media when im basically starting from a big fat zero? My aim is not to make money but to develop my style and share my writing. My schtick is that im an armchair anthropologist doing web based research on the culture and language of asia. I might be going to Japan over the summer (radio is my profession - BBC style stuff).
There's a very deliberate social media strategy you can take that will convert to new subscribers. I also created https://newslettertosocials.com/ to help with this!
Social media, yes--and continue to develop your writing. I'd suggest you check out Non-Boring History here. Annette, who writes it, has just nailed the tone and voice, and her writing is clear and engaging. https://annettelaing.substack.com/
I dont actually feel I ought to be earning money for my writing right now. Its not a polished product. Hopefully I can find the right tone. I'll check out Annette's blog.
I included a Zoom Monday Lunch when I launched the paid version. My first guest was a local legacy newspaper columnist and next was a popular Iowa Public Radio host. My subscribers asked great questions and they feel there is great value for their $65 a year. So far. Future guests include a writer for the Economist who covers the US Supreme Court, and a whole bunch of other Iowa notables (that’s my focus; Iowa).
I think a lot of it is about making a big moment; e.g. publishing a personal launch post about why this is a big step for you, telling people you know in advance to reshare it, etc.
I think just having engaging social media makes all the difference. Not just announcing on social media, but taking your tidbits of engaging content, and using that as a hook to get new readers through the door. https://newslettertosocials.com/
Question for the collective: if you take an extended writing break, do you pause subscriptions, or just ask people to hang with you? Any tips for navigating this?
In my case, I take a break in one sense and not in another. (Signs of workaholism: check.) I run my newsletter in seasons, and between seasons I throttle back on my free-list newsletters for a few weeks to a month - but during this time I send (or try to send) a newsletter a week to my paying subscribers. But if I decided to stop doing both and take a 100% break, I'd definitely pause subscriptions, yep. I've seen many friends doing this elsewhere (Patreon etc.) and it seems like a good way to keep goodwill high.
But - if you can find a way to throttle back for a short while without actually stopping, I reckon most (or all!) readers would be fine with it, maybe?
I took February 2022 off -- the shortest month, for a reason. I prepared two paid posts in advance so that my paid subs would still receive something from me, but everyone else just had to wait. I think if I were to pause longer than a month or six-ish weeks, I'd pause paid subscriptions.
I haven't gotten to taking a break yet, but since we can schedule posts at least three months in advance, I'm making sure I have content scheduled through to the end of the summer so I don't have to worry about it while we are on multiple family summer trips.
Oh Sarah, I envy your writing style! I am an "of the moment" writer, so I tend to write about what's coming up for me in the present. BUT that being said, I do have a few topics that have been rattling around in my head. I'll explore this option!
Oh, I write in the moment too 😜 But I'm working to currate my Substack to fit both. I have travel podcast episodes (for everyone) and travel posts (for paid subscribers). Then I have two other categories that allow me to be more irregular and "in the moment." I may get struck with an idea and write down a title and a few words, but then it will sit there for months. For example, my post from yesterday. I had the title "I Don't Want to Be Numb" sitting there for months because it was a thought I kept coming back to. The shooting in Texas gave me the words to put into that title. My draft folder is a hot mess, but it was that way LONG before I moved to Substack 😂
Thanks for starting this thread, Katie. Am in the midst of this very conundrum. Trying to frontload draft materials so that I can publish on schedule without upsetting the kids during summer vacation. Not easy...
Hey, everyone! I’m a new writer on this platform, and I’m curious about your opinions on a few things...
I recently lost my job, and it has made me realize that I would actually like to write full time (as opposed to what I was doing before). And Substack is such a great way for me to have a creative outlet, showcase my writing skills, and possibly make some extra money while I’m at it.
So I’m curious:
1) When is a good time to start paywalling posts (after a certain number of posts or months?) and what point in an essay is a good time to throw up a paywall?
2) Beyond sharing on social media and with friends, what are some ways you’ve built your subscriber base?
3) How do find quality subscribers who you know will enjoy your work and want to engage with it?
Deliberate social media activity. Not just announcing you have published, but taking the tidbits and highlights from your newsletter and bringing those to social media. Announcing a new issue will reach your existing user base, but it won't really bring in new subscribers!
I’ve been about to launch my new Substack newsletter/blog called Advocacy School for several months now. My main hold-up (among others) has been a parallel need to redo my website. Do I need it to have a website for a Substack presence? Do you provide any support / advice for that?
Substack is essentially a blog with an email (and an app, if your readers want to read there as well!). You don't need a perfect website to host a Substack!
Any data on what day/time is best for sending out a newsletter? I have been consistent on Sundays for over a year but experimenting with mid week issues as well. Any data you can share would be helpful.
I'm nowhere near an expert on this, but I was always told that if you're going to post something midweek it should be either between 8am-11am or during the lunch hour, based on people's typical work schedules and their ability to sit and read something. Your actual mileage may vary since I have a fairly small newsletter, but I post Mon/Wed/Thu at 8am every time and my open rates have been pretty consistently great.
That just made me realize how important understanding Time-zone is. I don't think Substack right now gives us geographical data to track but I know it is out there because Wordpress gives a nifty map. Your newsletter comes out at 11am my time, and that is when I schedule most of my stuff. I like to post my stuff in the morning so that people have the whole day to find it, but that's just me.
Good point, Scoot! It's funny, I always make a note on Instagram (the only place I promote my Substack) that it's 8am PST, but for some reason the timezones of the people subscribed to me who aren't on Instagram didn't click before. Does 11am seem late for you to get the email, out of curiosity, or does that still fit in your "reading time"?
I have no complaints, I read throughout the day and am pretty fastidious about reading and/or clearing out my notifications so your timing works for me!
Learning as we go: do you have any learnings from your experiment. I do Friday afternoons (European time) and it works okay for me. I ocassionally post podcast issues on Tuesdays, and they go rather well as well by themselves. This seems a good moment for me to post. I think it heavily depends on your audience, and where they are. My Friday afternoon is for some the middle of the night and for others early morning....
Hi, for every post that our Substack called DemocracySOS publishes, we select the button "Subscribe with Caption" for the bottom. That button inserts this language: "DemocracySOS is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber." This language is not right for our Substack, since we have several authors. So I have been pasting in our preferred language. I have to do this every time, which is a pain. Is there a way to customize that language so that it uses our preferred language every time? I have searched and searched on Substack but cannot find a way to do it. CAn you help? Thank you!
I love engaging with readers on my newsletter as well as sharing insight on others’ newsletters. That’s really what makes the community great. I try to give as much (if not more) than I receive. I ask questions at the end of a post or even invite readers to compose the ending to a story. I am so thankful for my tiny but mighty readership.
Audio! It’s so nice to hear people’s voices! There’s an intimacy to hearing someone’s emotions come out in a piece and I can’t wait to see what others come up with. It’s a great step for the platform and it’s definitely in the pipeline for The FLARE in the future.
Special thanks to those recommending my Substack. Great returns so far. As always, I look forward to more collaboration and creating for the future. Email at theflare@substack.com.
I’ve been thinking about adding audio versions of my current posts, reading the essays I wrote. I’m curious if this is what you mean by hearing people’s voices? I wonder if this would seem more engaging.
We are all in that boat. There are many ways of sharing a single post. You can re-purpose your writing, by turning it into a podcast, a Twitter Thread, a List, a Video, TikTok clip, a Tutorial, a Guide, a Slideshare Presentation or an InfoGraphic.
I'm using a dedicated Instagram account for my newsletter. I post a preview the day before it's released with the title and a (hopefully) arresting quote as well as a great pic from unsplash. I use that post to particularly invite people to subscribe. The next day, about 30 minutes after the newsletter launches, I repost the title and a brief excerpt from the article. I use a different picture to grab attention. Don't forget to use hashtags too. Check out Paul Macko's Deplatformable Newsletter... he's got some great info on using various SM avenues.
I’m going to start using Canva templates for quotes on my social media. I don’t promote a lot there, it’s more being a person and not a brand, but I want to shift that slightly.
Canva templates are a good idea. I usually have 2 or more unsplash pics to choose from for my actual newsletter pic, so one of the unchosen ends up on IG. Maybe I'll try posting the excerpt in a template as the pic.
I believe so! I’ve been an at-home caregiver for my mom for about 7 years now so through that whole time I’ve worried about how to create an income from home, but almost nothing excited me to just dive into and try to force to sell.
But I LOVE writing and gave myself permission to FINALLY just do what I love and see where it takes me!
Being online for so long has built me connections with all sorts of people.
So because of that, I believe, and actually WANTING to scream from the rooftops about my newsletter (and making Canva templates help too) I just mention when a new post is published all on IG, FB, and Twitter and will share a quote, sometimes I post the same on Tiktok... I have a narration version I make for accessibility and I’m thinking of playing a clip from that on IG, or reading a snippet like... oh goodness.. internet princess? I think that’s her name on here! They do that on TikTok.
Just playing with ways, sometimes I watch some videos on IG and what to do and not do and just post with that in mind. I don’t spend a TON of time trying to make a strategy about it but I try to talk about it often cause I love it and pretty much eat, breathe, and sleep my newsletter now haha!
I created https://newslettertosocials.com/ which is social media automation specifically for newsletter creators! The site connects to your newsletter, suggests engaging content, and automates scheduling across all the major social media platforms.
We have a free plan and a paid plan with more features. Currently, most of our features are free since we are celebrating our launch! Would love to hear more about your use case. Feel free to email me: matthew@newslettertosocials.com
Also saw you signed up! Were having some issues so please try again now as the issues have been fixed. Thanks!
Here's a really basic question. When I post comments here, next to my name it says I write Eclecticism (which I do). But I also write another newsletter. How to I make that come up instead? Do I have to log in with a different email address? Thanks
If you go over to your profile (by clicking profile pic top right) and then pick profile from the menu on the left, there are some settings you can make that could help here. I only write one newsletter, so I can't see if that would work.
Thanks, Arjan. I can't see anything there that would do it, unless I could find a way of changing the order in which my newsletters appear, which I can't!
And if you click Edit profile? I think you can switch on and off publications. So that would be a workaround. But I hope someone from the substack team will answer you.
Hello everyone! I took my project about the history of video games from Blogspot to Substack a month and a half ago and I'm enjoying it, thanks to the interface made available. I have a question for you: have you ever thought about creating specific tools for people who manage a newsletter in languages other than English (mine is in Italian) ? I am talking about, for example, categories and tags to select and see languages during search activities for users. Thank you, kind regards
Greetings! I have so many questions. I’ve been writing a Substack column for 1.5 years and just started a paid component a couple of weeks ago and have 68 onboard. It’s a gratifying start. I would like to find other Substack writers with a focus on Iowa for the purpose of collaborating to build our paid subscriber base. I’d also like to expand the free subscription base. I hold a writers’ retreat in the Iowa Lakes area in the fall, and it’s proving to be a lovely cross-promotion. Www.okobojiwritersretreat.com. My Substack is called Julie Gammack’s Potluck. I look forward to learning from all of you.
So, this has probably been asked before, but now that we have the office hours, and in light of knowledge always evolving... I would like to go paid, but I don't want to put content behind the paywall. Can I, with some other benefits, launch without putting content (or commenting) behind a paywall? And my second question: how many of subscribers did you have when you went paid?
Yep, there are quite a few folk with paid subscribers and no paywall! Sari Botton's Oldster is one of them: https://oldster.substack.com/ And it's doing really well. So her approach is maybe one to study, to see how she's proving the value of it and asking people to sign up for paid...
(As for me: I had around 600-ish subscribers when I went paid. I was less concerned about numbers and more concerned about having made my case, since my newsletter's topic - the science of curiosity - is maybe a bit of a weird one. So I spent 6 months trying to show my readers I knew what I was doing and where I was going and wasn't just having a midlife crisis...)
I had a total of...3 when I set up paid subscriptions; two of those people call me "dad," and I'm married to the other one.
I wish I had some cool origin story about how it all came to be, but the truth is I set it up when I first set my account up. I just thought that's what you did...
Hi Arjan—I added a payment option to Mixed Migration—hebdo a couple of months ago, after passing 300 free subscribers, but I've kept all my posts open. I rely on journalism I can access for free to populate my Substack, so I felt hypocritical throwing up a paywall, and I also worried that I would lose readers given that I only had a modest readership.
My formula is an ask: if you can afford to pay for, please feel free to do so; if you can't, please continue reading for free (a bit like what the Guardian does). Here's a link to the post where I announce this: https://mixedmigration.substack.com/p/february-28-march-7-2022-mixed-migrationhebdo?s=w—and I now have an ask at the top of every newsletter, thanking my paid subscribers and inviting other readers to switch to a paid sub if they can afford, but also to not worry if they don't.
I hope this helps! Like investing in the Indian stock market, tracking global migration news is a bit of a niche... good luck growing your readership!
I probably didn't exactly follow the formula, but I went paid with only a handful of subscribers (maybe...20? 30?) because I knew exactly what my minimum paid model was going to look like: paid subs are paying for a monthly issue of my prayer-poetry e-book. Easy. I definitely want to throw in a few bonuses here and there for my paid subs, but it's clear to them what they are getting and it's clear to me, too, so I don't have to panic that I haven't given them "enough".
Full disclosure: I learned this lesson the hard way. Years ago I had a Patreon and ZERO idea of what I was doing with it. I kept up at first, but there were two months when I posted nothing and people were still paying, and the guilt ate me alive. I ended up having to refund the money, and I was mortified. I told myself: never again. If anyone is going to pay for my work on a subscription basis, I'm going to make it super duper clear for both of us. So far it's working great! :)
I've done this, because I'm writing about the science behind important issues and a lot of my motivation is the public good of more people understanding important science topics. So I've given people the option to pay me but have not paywalled my work. I've had a fairly low rate of free subscribers converting to paid, but I've been quite happy with the results.
Thanks for your reply, Melanie. I was wondering indeed how much of my free subscribers would convert and not expecting very much from that. However, I was also thinking that by going paid, I might attract a new audience, that are convinced because of it being paid. Did you notice a difference in new signups when you went paid?
I'm not sure that I noticed a difference, although I admit I haven't been doing much in terms of promotion lately, I've been a bit slack there as I've got a deadline coming up for my main job.
When you publish, where do you post besides socials/hacker news/discords/reddits, trying to see where else we can share our work and get new eyes. Also, we have some room in the Twitter Hype pod I believe for a few writers, follow @youtopianj and I will see what I can do.
Running multiple social channels can be a lot of work. I know it was for my newsletter. That's why I created https://newslettertosocials.com , which will suggest engaging content directly from your newsletter, and automate the scheduling process on Twitter + LinkedIn (Instagram soon to come!)
Hey fellow writers! Has anyone experimented with their domain name (i.e., transitioned from one domain to another)? I'm considering it, but I feel like updating links could be a massive undertaking. I'm also anxious about potentially tanking my SEO.
When I ported the contents of a WordPress site to Substack (100+ articles), I opted to use a custom URL for Substack. Once that process occurred, I went through each article and updated the in-article links pointing to my WordPress site to point to articles on the Substack site. It took a few hours but was straightforward. Also, I set up a process so anyone hitting an article on my WordPress site is automatically routed to the same article on Substack. I don't know if that helped things, but if I google at article title or topic, the Google results commonly show my Substack link rather than the WordPress link. (I've been in Substack for only a month or so.
This should be possible technically without too much setup. However like you pointed out, your SEO might be hurt a bit.
If you would like to do this though, the way to do it would be to use a service that lets you do a host level redirect. This way it should preserve any path parameters. There are probably multiple ways to set this up. One example is CloudFlare and they have community contributed documentation for this: https://community.cloudflare.com/t/redirecting-one-domain-to-another/81960
When this is setup, what would happen is that anyone that goes to:
There will be a brief moment of downtime (probably a few minutes) as you would have to switch to the new domain within Substack and then save that rule to CloudFlare.
I'm toying with the idea of adding a podcast to my newsletter. Interview-based. Not sure if I want to a micropod of 5 mins or something 15 mins or maybe 25. Have no idea how difficult or easy Substack interface is to use. I suppose I just don't know how difficult this could be.
I have two newsletters and podcasts (my second one is litthinkpodcast.substack.com). The interface is super easy to use. I record on Audacity, edit, and upload.
Depends 😂 When it's just mine, it's easy because I just have to add the music and edit out all of the mistakes I make while recording (and the episodes are shorter). When it's the two of us, I have to mix and edit more. That's why I'm really hoping we can start making some extra cash on the side. But it's doable and as long as you create a reasonable schedule (every other week or once a month), it's fun!
Apologies if this has been asked here before but I can't see the answer elsewhere: is it possible to send an email only to 'founding' level paid subscribers (rather than just all free or all paid)…?
Andrew, you can email individual subscribers, or a subset of subscribers, by going into Subscribers and checking the box next to their names. (You could also filter by Subscription type to make sure you're choosing all your Founders.)
Lovely proverb, Luigi. Don't forget who you are writing for; don't forget your people. In my case, I write what I love which is personal development. I'm confident that those who love that too will eventually find me.
Hi I'm new to Substack. Wondering how to go about getting/growing subscribers when most people can just click on the link I share when I promote it and read rather than subscribing?
Coming to this late, but wondering if anyone else is experiencing a sudden jump in subscribers. Like hockey-stick level growth? (For me, that means more than 150 new signups in the last 36 hours). What I'm wondering is where this is coming from and whether these are spam accounts. I've scoured the web and social media and found no evidence that anyone with a truly BIG following suddenly decided to point people my way. Also, a lot of these email addresses are suspicious like mlassiter304@gmail and forbeshamilton238@gmail and majicman1973@gmail and jcp61874@gmail. It frankly looks too good to be true, and while I suppose it doesn't matter all that much, gaining hundreds of fake subscribers will just make my open rates less meaningful. Anyone else seeing this or have ideas?
I WISH that would happen! I don't see that your gmail examples might be illegitimate. What is there about them that causes you concern? A lot of people add numbers after their email names, my daughter included. I don't know why, frankly, but it's pretty common.
I only use gmail for my accounts, and I have three of them, so I don't pay much attention. Anyway, congratulations on the surge. Send some of them my way!
Ah! I’m very new to Substack and hate that I missed this chat about community-building! Adding it to my calendar for sure.
Because I’ve finally gotten to a headspace where I’m giving myself permission to finally show up to do what I love (writing about what I wanna share!!), it makes every subscriber genuinely make me SUPER excited!
I’ve never felt such joy any time I see views go up, another subscriber, if people buy me a matcha and write supportive messages, comments...
I LOVE when people resonate with something I truly love doing so it makes it so much more easy for me to show up to talk about it all with anyone who takes time out to show up for me!
I am very, very new to substack. Just got my account created and still preparing the first post, my introduction to the weekly newsletter. These features - this discussion and the emails and the other resources - are great. Really great. Exactly what I need and hoped to find. The possibility of finding this kind of support from the platform and from other writers is almost as important to me as the ability to directly engage with the (future) subscribers. Looking forward to learning and interacting and, later, making contributions to my new home. Randy Green
Hi, I have a question. Has anyone found a best day of the week (for those who publish weekly) to release their newsletter? Do weekends work better than weekdays? Or is consistency the key?
Hi Sharon, I haven't found a best day yet, but weekends seem to be slow for me. Mondays, too, for some reason. Everyone will tell you something different because we're writing for different audiences so there probably never will be a consensus. Some writers only publish on Sunday, for instance. It'll be trial and error for a while until you get a feel for what your readers want.
Thank you for responding, Ramona. I currently publish on a Tuesday, but I may trial later in the week to see how that goes. I read that James Clear, who authored Atomic Habits, published his newsletter every Monday and Thursday without fail for several years to a wide audience. Possibly consistency is more important than timing after all.
Trying it out to see how your readers react is time-consuming and the outcome can still be iffy. Consistency may be the answer, but if James Clear has built a loyal enough audience, I suspect they're going to read him, no matter when he publishes.
Wondering if shorter newsletters have lower open rates? Or do longer newsletters have higher because the reader has to come back to read the piece multiple times? Thoughts?
My newsletters are between 1200 and 1600 words, or a six minute read according to the post stats. Not sure if that qualifies as a short or long newsletter, but I have around 72% open rate currently. It's dropping as I get more subscribers though.
Newsletter length/content shouldn't impact open rates - rates look at a distinct number of subscribers that opened the email so opening multiple times shouldn't impact this metric. I can imagine longer newsletters getting more total opens for the reason you mentioned (though I haven't validated this myself)!
Some from Australia and New Zealand have formed a collective to support each other. Melanie of The Turnstone can speak to that. Also, Jackie Dana writes about St. Louis, Missouri and has gotten good responses to her work.
Hello! I have been writing an entertainment newsletter for several months, and I’m thinking about writing another newsletter that features slice-of-life essays.
Have any of you written two separate newsletters that have different focuses/tones and potentially different audiences? If so, how has it worked for you?
I've given this a lot of thought b/c I write about music/culture (with a lot of personal anecdotes woven-in) but then I have a lot of works in progress related to parenting and anxiety, and I've also started writing on "culture-war" issues as a way of combating/remedying "woke" dogma (from the perspective of a leftist who rejects it).
I've also had concerns that this is going to confuse my audience, but the advice I got from someone I know who's really up on media trends was "People are ultimately coming to your page b/c they want YOU - so if that stuff is all you, then you might as well have it all under one roof."
Very interesting. I recently published a very personal post about grief in my current pop culture/entertainment newsletter, and my audience loved it. I was worried that I would turn them off, but I wanted them to know why I was taking a break from my otherwise very consistent publishing schedule.
Writing as our whole selves does make sense, but I worry about genre and audience and marketing.
I just thought I'd share a video I made about the beauty of connection, since I know there is plenty of the opposite out there...hugs to all who need them.
:) You're so welcome! Beautiful souls find each other. We link up arms and hugs across the stratosphere and we create a holy grid of loving solidarity that dissolves out all darkness.
If any of you are writing content on growth, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical and financial growth for creators or for millennial & GenZ then I would like to collaborate with others you for my latest newsletter getschooled.Substack.com
"But yet, I write. Because for me, writing contains multitudes.
To write is to wade, alone, into the vast, murky ocean of thought and idea. It is equal parts treading water and drowning, a haphazard stumbling toward insight and inspiration. It is plumbing into the depths of your soul, groping around to grab hold of something true and real and unique and you. It is casting and reeling, changing the tackle and hoping that the Big One doesn’t just nibble at your hook, but firmly latches on. And that you can successfully reel it in."
Hi writers! Katie is out today, but our team will be logging in soon to hang with y'all.
I'm a community-building nerd, so curious to ask for your thoughts on that this week -->
✨ How are you interacting and building community with your readers? This week we asked Suleika Jaouad in our Engage interview (https://on.substack.com/p/engage-1-suleika-jaouad?s=w) and now we want to hear from you!
For me it's straightforward: (1) I leave on community features, and respond to every comment or email, even if it's just to say thanks for reading (2) I try to leave something unanswered so that readers have an open invitation to comment and fill in the gap (3) I write what I want to read instead of what I think will be popular. This means my subscribers ultimately like to read what I like to read. (4) My essays are slice of life, which means I share at least one thing that is personal so they can feel connected, closing the gap between author and reader. Hope that helps someone out there!
Well said. I couldn’t agree more with writing what YOU want to read versus trying to tweak every aspect of a blog to capture and cater to audience preferences. You build a more lasting connection with readers around authenticity and shared interests—or at least a more satisfying one…
Very true. I also find that writing mostly what's popular means a much greater level of competition. It's a popular topic, which is great, but there is a thicker stack of articles to rise up through to get noticed.
Perhaps “would have wanted to read.” Mostly, I write fiction, so it’s not really an issue. But for my nonfiction pieces, there was a moment prior to my knowledge or insight of the things I write about where reading about them from others would have been deeply appealing to me. I want to write the kind of pieces I’d still read if I came across them in a magazine somewhere—even if I already knew about the topic. Also, if someone wrote about them from a slightly different angle, or added to them in some way, they would still excite me. I’ve never claimed to know anything so we’ll that I couldn’t look at it through another’s perspective and learn something. And what’s more, this is exactly the frame I used when writing my historical trilogy. I had a unique book in mind that I wanted to read, but I wasn’t able to find anything like it on the shelves. So I wrote it myself. If someone comes along who also wants to read it, I know they’re in the right place. That’s a special feeling. I wrote a brief post about it here: https://jmelliott.substack.com/p/write-the-book-youve-always-wanted?s=w
love it - stay in the beauty of your magickal place!
Heheheh...would it be true to both of you to say "Write your inner Truth/Alignment vs moving off the dial of your inner Truth in order to cater an audience"?
<3
I totally get what you're saying. The best way I can frame it is there are certain topics that are either popular in the public's consciousness, or they fit a mold for what's considered par excellence in a given genre of fiction. Writers strive for that because it's perceived to be a quicker path to success. However, some writers would admit they don't like reading it -- it just so happens to be popular -- it's like they are "supposed" to like it. My question is, if you don't really like reading it, then why write about it? In my case I'm a big fan of reading low fantasy. I don't like high fantasy, but it's way more popular. Do I choose to write high fantasy instead, or do I write something I would want to read because my real passion comes across. I don't know if I explained it very well, but that's how I see it :)
You never know. If you can get people to share your passion they might experience something they haven't before. That kind of thing is contagious. Don't sell yourself short and keep writing :)
Really like the idea of leaving something unanswered. I have an impulse to try and answer everything in my essay, but I agree that this strategy might actually inhibit engagement. I'm going to try and leave things a little more open ended. Thanks for that advice!
Kate, I've switched from responding to all, too. Jury is still out, but I felt so pounced on by the author in the comments of another Substack that I unsubscribed (and I was paid). I tried not to be silly about it, but it was awkward, and I felt I needed to at least take a break from it. I think it's good to avoid debates, let's put it that way.
This is also one of my background concerns. I want to 'protect' the people sharing their work on my newsletter, and I don't want them to have to see troll comments.
So far, none of that though!
Yes, comments here are definitely more tame than Twitter! I hope you go right back to commenting, Annette.
I'm sorry you had that experience, Annette! I've found the comment section of Substack to be more tame than Twitter is (thank goodness), but that doesn't mean I still haven't seen some nasty stuff go down. I hope this doesn't inhibit your writing in any way.
Oh, no worries!! I'm an old pro. The real danger is me never shutting up! 😀This happened on someone else's Substack, and reminded me that it's so hard to communicate like this. As I have just demonstrated again. 😂
I am just very direct with people, in a loving way. Some people ask me to click on links and if my intuition is not to, I just tell them to post it in their own words on my substack. Often it's their own page, but for whatever reason my spidey sense is that isn't "right" for me, I honor it. I have been blessed with kind people of diverse viewpoints so far here on substack, but I know what it's like when people get into debate mode and they forget the humanity of the person they are speaking with...I would love to see more circle type sharing, more deep listening, as I think we NEED to expose ourselves to diverse viewpoints if we want to avoid a civil war. Yet doing so in a peaceful, loving way. How can we honor the different opinions we have in a safe space? And yes, boundaries of stepping away if it isn't good. Lee Harris has some wonderful teachings on boundaries that i enjoy.
Hi, Jane! To add to Lily's comment, we offer several tools to help you moderate your comments section, and we're also always here if you're having issues. You can find more info on those tools here: https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/5780832770452-Can-I-moderate-comments-on-my-Substack-posts-
I think it's up to you as the moderator to set the tone, create the space and hold it. SE Reid does a beautiful job on her substack of creating safe space, and based on the title of your substack, I think you might find a kindred spirit!
I like "Jury still out". I haven't had any negative experiences with comments on Substack, but I expect it is only a matter of waiting. I've never been on a platform that was free of trolls, and knowing the state of our social standards for thoughtful communication, I can only expect some negativity soon. I actually only let my paying subscribers comment on most things, which works. There are times when I will ask for feedback, and open comments to all, but those are pretty rare.
No problem Kate, hope you see some good engagement from it!
That is good advice, Brian. Of course, I do respond to every comment, but since I don't get that many comments...it's not too time consuming, and I enjoy it.
That's a great practice of responding to every comment / email. I also liked this insight from the interview with Suleika: "engage your readers with a direct question. Sometimes I think the call and response is implied, but I’ve found there’s value in asking a direct question in your newsletter—even if the readers don’t answer it, even if they just use it as food for thought." Have you tried that? Have others? Does it work?
I was just commenting on another thread here saying I’m going to start asking more specific questions! This quote just solidified it for me. Thanks Bailey!
I find a direct question works very well. In fact, I’ll put three in a newsletter, so the reader hopefully finds one that inspires them to comment.
My community is still small but I do have engagement on my questions. And I respond to every comment. It does work, even if it is just the confirmation that genuinely interested people are reading, however few.
I always have several direct questions (it's the pub-radio host coming out) and just like on public radio, people rarely respond to the direct question but what you just said is what's happening, that it's providing food for thought and they answer the question they wish you'd asked! All that to say: Yes, direct questions seem to work!
Thanks for this. I think I haven't really considered sharing much on a 'personal' level, because I wanted the newsletter's focus to be on the community's creative work. But actually I think that's a missing piece.
That's also given me an idea to maybe have a 'community spotlight' newsletter that goes out every month (or even less frequently), which is an in-depth podcast/interview with a member of the community.
So there's an opportunity to share personal things in context of something that's still in line with the purpose of the publication.
I once heard someone describe Substack writers as "trail guides" - readers subscribe to them because they want to learn about a topic, or explore a world, through that person's unique viewpoint. I tend to agree with that perspective, and I sense that it means some personal layer is especially important in the Substack context.
I totally agree Bailey and it is definitely a variable that attracts me to other writers on Substack.
Great analogy. This is what I'm trying to achieve. I try to include a level of personal experience on the topics I cover...a kind of we're-all-in-this-together approach. I don't want to set myself up as the authority or expert.
LOVE that
This is intriguing to me - I have not inserted personal moments in my Substack yet, but this is definitely giving me something to think about. I think I'm a little afraid that if I begin, it'll never end and it'll become all about me (and currently my Substack is a me-free space, it's even anonymous!) But, I might try this a bit if I can get up the courage!
Yes, this was my train of thought as well. I really want it to be not about me.
But I think there is a way of sharing personally that's a contribution to whatever you're writing about. Using one's own experiences as material to demonstrate a phenomenon/experience shared by others.
Where I resist is it probably means doing enough work that I can share in this way, rather than it being a dramatic story that nauseates people!
So true, it will probably require some work to make it seem natural, but that's always the way!
You can share personal experiences that connect back to the essay, but aren't personal in the sense that reveal too much about your interpersonal relationships. If you have a powerful experience on the subway or in a restaurant with a stranger it's very possible you can tell that story to convey a point in an essay without exposition. Others can empathize or relate, and you get your point across. Those intersections are where a lot of my inspiration happens. Have you ever noticed why almost every TED Talk starts with an anecdote? To the point where it's become a trope.
So true! Love it, thank you, Brian.
Mine is 100% personal, but hopefully relatable. If you write about what you know and are passionate about, Jane, doesn't that make it personal?
No problem! One example I can give is in my essay The Death Of Creativity https://brianreindel.substack.com/p/the-death-of-creativity -- I start off by sharing an experience I had that was meaningful to me. It's personal, but not in a way that I shared something I wouldn't be comfortable with others knowing. With slice of life there is a loose connection in the essay back to that story, but the personal connection doesn't have a beginning/middle/end.
Eggzactly, Brian!
Thanks Brian, I'm doing the same things as you. Good to know someone else is like-minded.
Fantastic and new-to-me advice, thank you!
I hope I don't sound too insistent or impatient, but I am dying to understand precisely what you are talking about:
A) You write, "For me it's straightforward: (1) I leave on community features..."
What are community features
How can I tell if my community features are "on" or "off" ??
Sorry if I sound irritable or ornery.
Hi, David! "Community features" are likes and comments, and you can tell if they're enabled by heading to your publication Settings page and scrolling down to the "Community" section. "Enable community features" is the first setting at the top of the section, and if the box next to it is checked, they're "on."
Haha, no problem David. You can turn off likes/comments in your Substack settings. I subscribe to at least one newsletter that does that.
My writing style is very open, accessible, and conversational, and I try to mirror that whenever I interact with my readers. I also look for ways to show my appreciation to them, above and beyond just thanking them repeatedly (which I also do); giveaways, comps, guesting opportunities, things like that. I also respond to every comment and every email (so long as it doesn’t get buried quickly).
Basically, I try to adopt an attitude of “there are no strangers, just friends we haven’t met yet,” and apply it to my publication as much as possible.
And it seems to be working! In fact, I hit 500 SUBSCRIBERS just this morning! 🤩🥳🙀
Congrats, Jay! Well deserved! I love that phrase as well - “there are no strangers, just friends we haven’t met yet”
Thanks, Bailey! Another favorite saying, from my late grandfather: “always keep a bottle of champagne in your fridge.” Naturally, for occasions like these 😄🍾
Well done, Jay! Very, VERY well done!
Congrats Jay!
Cheers, Joan! 😊
CONGRATS!!!
Thank you!! 😄😄😄
Congrats on that milestone!
Thanks, Claire! 😊
Wow! Amazing work, Jay!
Thanks, Kelsa! 😄😅
Awesome!! Congrats!
Cheers, Jessica! 😄
🍾🍾🍾🎉🎉🎉 RICHLY DESERVED.
Thanks, Mike!! Oh, and you’re gonna guest on my podcast one of these days, btw. One way or another 😏😁
DEAL!
(It would be an honour.)
Excellent! Be on the lookout for an email within the next day or so 📧📲
Grand! That'll kick my ass to answer your last email before it arrives!
Wow, that's great! Congratulations!
Thanks Brian!
Thanks, Robert! Yeah, definitely try them out. A properly-executed giveaway especially seems to get people excited
I'm kicking off my second annual Summer Reading Bingo challenge on Tuesday! Subscribers receive a bingo card with prompts and fill it in with books they read over the summer. If you get bingo, you get entered into a prize for a raffle. Last summer, I had a good chunk of subscribers participate and am hoping for the same this years.
This year, I asked my subscribers if they'd like to contribute prizes and a lot of people did! Which further strengthens the community.
I also did a paperback swap this winter. People agreed to send a stranger a book and then receive one in the mail.
I like doing things that intersect between real life and online.
P.S. Shameless promo to join us for Bingo!
Edited to add subscribers contributing prizes.
Such a clever idea! Subscribing to yours now!
Thanks!
Just did as well!
love the paperback swap idea! building community is absolutely about strengthening relationships between readers as well as reader/author.
I love your ideas here, Elizabeth. the paperback swap sounds like fun, as does the Bingo. I'm going to have to take a look!
That's so sweet Ramona. Thank you.
I love this, Elizabeth!!
Oh my god! Thank you. Means a lot coming from you.
Subscribed! How absolutely fun!! I thought about doing a giveaway of a sort of manifestation box once I reached a 3-month mark of consistency with my newsletter (it’ll be around my birthday and I may switch to have some posts and features be paid).
I’m loving your newsletter! Shamelessly plug away!
That's a great way to build a community. I love the Paperback swap. Your post here convinced me to subscribe :)
I didn't remember the book swap but I was thinking wanting to do that today -- selfishly, I'm looking for copies of certain books and have plenty to spare and I suppose others do too. How did that one go?
what a great idea!
These are such great ideas!
Woah contributing prizes is such a neat idea! <3
I've just subscribed
sounds a great idea
I'm all for building communities on Substack. It's the perfect environment for them, considering we create newsletters that readers receive in their inboxes by choice. They've subscribed and we writers can assume they want to read what we write. So while we may be writing on universal topics we can't help but remember our subscribers and try and speak to them. They're our most important asset.
Beyond that, I make sure they feel welcome when they get to my parlor. Comments are always open and I encourage interaction by asking questions I hope they'll want to answer.
I write in first person and try and stay away from bullet points or lectures. Short paragraphs seem to work best, too.
I've set up paid subscriptions, and I would wish I had more paid subscribers, but my pages are open to everyone. That works best for me right now, since I am concentrating on building a community. I don't want anyone to feel left out.
You have such an active, vibrant comment section, Ramona! Your recent question about writers as readers has stayed with me and I've been mulling over it this whole past week.
Oh, that was a good discussion thread, it really was.
seriously has opened my eyes to what both writers and readers WANT! From their readers
All of you are the most amazing participants! And writers! It's a joy to spend time with you. I can't thank you enough for joining in.
"I make sure they feel welcome when they get to my parlor." Love this!
That means you, too, of course!
I love that you describe your publication as a "parlor"!
I noticed that! A lot of warmth and invitation in that one word...
I love that I can feel that way about it!
I just subscribed too. Looking forward to diving in.
Thank you, Ryan. I look forward to seeing you there.
Count me in too.
Great! Thank you.
I just subscribed to the free content (for now). Want to look into your site further.
Thank you!
I love your free content, so thank you 😊
I love that you come and visit!
Do we find subscribers hesitant to engage? I get so many emails, retweets, DMs, and texts from subscribers but likes and comments on the actual page are hit and miss.
At least for me personally an open is a big win. If I continue to see subscribers opening then it feels like good progress. I don't necessary solicit other engagement, but I have started putting in my footer that hitting the like button is a way to communicate to others that they might also like my writing. I hope to see some fruit from that.
I tried a call out early on that fell flat. Haven't tried again. What are people's open rates? I'm between 70-75%.
I'm around 40% but I also migrated over an old list when I switched to Substack about three months ago. I'm hoping to get that number up as we get into summer. Also, subscribed to yours!
Hi Sarah! I am at a 65% open rate. Subscribing to yours now!
Thank you so much! Subscribed to yours as well.
Just subscribed to yours, Jessica. You won me with your post about JazzFest!
And I yours. Looking forward to digesting the Bourdain piece.
Thank you! I subscribed both of yours.
Thank you!
I was the digital director at newspapers and magazines for years, and I managed huge lists. I started out thinking the size of the list was what mattered, and I was always bragging (usually to advertisers) about how many people we could reach. Truth was, our lists needed desperately to be cleaned. Once I did that, the engagement skyrocketed. Now, with personal projects, I don't even think about how big my audience is. Migrating lists is always a good time to think about cleaning. These days, I don't migrate. I send a message out to the old list asking those who are interested to subscribe to the new list. Seems to work pretty well.
I'll probably wait until the end of the summer before I do a "cleanse," just to see if people start opening the emails over the summer months :-)
Interesting, I've not really been tracking open rates, so I just went back and looked. On some things, they are 60% on others as low as 40%. I wouldn't say the difference is discernible by the content, but I would say the higher open rates are since I started being more consistent with the timing of my newsletters. I send a shorter piece with a single photograph once a week, an audio piece every other week, and one longer written piece once a month. I'm finding if I stick to this, my engagement and my audience growth are good.
I’ve two newsletters on thetreasurebox.Substack.com I’m getting around 60-65%
While on getschooled.substack.com, so far it’s 95-100%
Those are incredible open rates!
That is HUGE! Congratulations, Ryan!!
Hi Ryan! I am at 65% open rate, and I just subscribed to yours.
Yours looks interesting, so I just subscribed
Thank you, Terry. I've returned the favour. I look forward to reading your work.
Thanks, Ryan!
10-15% but I have thousands of subscribers, if I just focused on my main readers, I am sure it would be higher
How do you mean by focused? Just content for them or culling non-opens?
I'm averaging around 70 percent, but I think that will fall over time as I get new subscribers. Just a hunch.
Mine are usually in the low-to-mid 50's.
Some email systems don’t show if an email has been opened, so don’t get too worried about open rates.
Thanks Roland, that's good to know!
I took a hint from someone on here and just put a simple ask at the bottom of the post. Went from around 8 likes to 30. I also retweeted you this week 🙂
I include something like "Hitting the heart each week is a great way to support my newsletter." People like to support you.
Novice question: Do likes and comments feed into some curation algorithm? Or just help signal to other readers that your post was good?
They signal to email providers (i.e.) gmail that your email isn't spam and that people want to receive it.
I never knew that - thank you, Elizabeth!!!
Thanks!
I always comment, Ryan, that’s a guarantee.
And it is appreciated!
If you don’t ask you don’t get is an old saying of mine! No harm in asking. The worst that can happen is nothing changes.
I might try that. I'm not proud!
👀 👀
Glad that it’s working for you, I’ve been trying this since almost a month and the situation is still the same, subscribers prefers to message or email me instead of interacting on the post
You rock, thank you!
I've mentioned this on a past writer thread, but something I've done since the start is do a "Comment Highlight" on my Monday posts. I post a meaningful comment from the previous week's posts along with the links to the person's social media or Substack (if applicable).
I'm genuinely not trying to make everyone go look at one of my posts, haha, but here's my example from last Monday: https://sereid.substack.com/p/hummingbirds?r=1bv6fk&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I'm going straight to look at your post!
Hey, I really like this "Comment Highlight" idea. It provides continuity from one post to the next, too!
I absolutely love this! Looked at your post and love the way you did the highlight and call to action at the end!
I find people hesitant to comment. I don’t know if it’s the effort of signing in and typing something out? Or maybe virtual shyness? I make requests like “tell me what you thought” but I might start making more specific ones soon.
The specific questions definitely help more. You may still find hesitancy, but not as much when it's a general question.
Right ,,, less emotion! I’m too emo hahahahahahah
A more specific question helps the readers allude to the things you wanted them to pull from the reading! Direct questions are very helpful for someone like me with scrambled lizard brains!
I too have faced the same challenge, subscribers write to me on social or on email but they hardly comment or like the actual post
I've found open rates relatively high, but very few people like or comment. I haven't invited users to engage, however, which may be a problem ... ?
Thanks for sharing, Greg! I'd be curious to see what happens if you try popping a "comment" button & prompting your readers to engage!
I recommend trying if it is important to you.
I experienced this just today. Wrote something controversial/topical, and many people reached out directly instead of leaving a comment.
I have that experience as well. A lot of people reach out privately. I think that just because we are being vulnerable online doesn’t mean that other people are ready and willing to be vulnerable online.
Good point. Not everyone wants their views or experiences made public.
I'm in the same boat. They engage with me on Facebook and LinkedIn, and my subscribers respond via email, but comments/likes on the site itself are scant.
I was up front with readers. Hit the heart button, I need the dopamine hit.
I have not made a request for readers to hit the "Like"/Heart Button—I'll try it!
Thanks.
Good luck. I think our readers appreciate what we do and want to support us. They probably don't realise how easy it is to do that.
I’ll have to consider this next time I read…every time I read I was always responding….but never directly! It might help me sort out my thoughts too
Yes, "hesitant to engage" if you want to call it that. But I think plenty of people engage when they want to—look at the number of comments on the newsletters written by people who are well known—it's voluminous. I can only surmise that readers are not engaging much with my newsletter, because they don't feel compelled to, I'm just not writing about something they want to comment on.
I’ll have to give it a read! This is my first time seeing it, I’ll try my best to offer valuable feedback :)
Yoooo! Jumping on my weekly office hour to encourage everybody. This community is cool and people genuinely want each other to succeed. Just remember that growth is slow. It's built that way. It's okay. Keep writing and engaging. Reply to this and tell me what you like to write about. I like threading good conversation. I write about mental health, self-help, and encouragement!
Totally agree with your comment Eric. The community is genuine, writers are open-minded, helpful and the staff at Substack have inspired everyone into this creative and productive atmosphere.
On my side, I love to bring historical depth and perspective to contemporary events / narratives and bring readers to analyse some subjects with a different angle. My newsletter offers short essays in English and French.
Yes yes yes! I recently started a Substack and LOVE that they focus on the writers and their love to write! That's all I ever wanted and am so glad I've given myself permission to show up for my writing.
It's been a blast!
I can't wait to implement some of these ways to increase community and engagement!
I love to self-express through writing, personal essays, and poems about life experiences... Also am into personal development, ranting about observations in some Christian communities and how I practice more "woo woo" things like manifestation, oracle cards, Human Design, etc. while still being a believer in the Christian God.
There's somewhat of an overlap with talking to creatives (more specifically writers) and spiritually-curious Christians: both want to pursue things they're told they "shouldn't", and need a supportive community that allows them to navigate their desired journey without judgement or threats about how bad an idea it is.
Hopefully that made sense!
Makes tons of sense !!!!! Understandable af
Hmmm maybe I should post about my tarot cards!!! Follow me and stay tuned
Followed! It's like a diary and I always enjoy a good sneak peek into others' thoughts. Yeah you should totally share! Share all you want about anything you want. :)
Just posted a tarot pull before work!!! Let me know what you think :) p.s. 5:55 time stamp on your comment
I've been getting SOOOOooOoOoOOOOooooO many angel number the past few weeks! Love this! And off to check it out; have a good day at work!
Me too! But I also write about my confusion and struggles which I think brings a more genuine aspect to it.
Sending love and light to you!!!! It’s cool that we get to share our self help journeys in hopes to help others …
++
I’ve found that the community has been growing since I’ve 1) connected and cooperated with other bookstackers who share similar interests and audiences and 2) responding to everyone who comments or emails me. Like Brian, I write what I want to read or write that week and I ask a lot of questions aimed at generating discussion. May I ask a question about recommendations? I thought that if we had more than five, the ones listed would rotate automatically. Is this correct? I can’t tell if it is happening or not and I recommend more than five newsletters. I did it because the guidance was that these would rotate without my intervention.
Yay! Bookstackers.
Bookstacker love!
I've just subscribed to yours, Elizabeth. I want to see if your book reviews are as acerbic as mine!
Hi Elizabeth, do you find those bookstackers mostly through Substack, or are there other writing communities or forums that you can recommend as well?
Right now it is largely through Substack but I have found some others and am reaching out.
I've seen this a few times in the replies and like many others, I try to keep my writing style really open and conversational. I write how I sound in real life and really lean on the humor and the connection that comes from acknowledging how hard it is to be a human these days. There are definite forays into vulnerability in the newsletter as well, because of the nature of the personal essay type format and subject matter, which is both scary and also makes me feel a strong bond with people reading.
As of right now, my subscriber base is mostly people I know and I do hope my list keeps growing beyond that but it is so nice when the people reading tell me that they can really hear me in my writing and that's one of the reasons they read. Sometimes sending the newsletter can feel a bit like talking to the ether so any likes or comments or chances to talk about it, I grab hold of.
I also try to be responsive to newsletters I read, at least with a heart here and there, and definitely a comment as often as possible. It's also great to build community with other writers in that way and let them know that for sure, people are reading.
Even a small community is a community and I am grateful to feel connected to any and everyone reading.
It's interesting how being a writer can make you a better reader - I've had that experience myself. I try to comment and engage with the newsletters I read because I know how meaningful that is as a writer!
Absolutely! I think it can never be underestimated how much even a little acknowledgement can buoy someone to keep going.
Yes, I agree. It's great to support other writers by liking and commenting on their work. Connecting with a community of other Substack writers has been really important to me when times have been difficult and I've struggled to keep going.
It's so so so refreshing to read about other people who write how they talk and are more conversational writers that naturally write how they'd sound in real life!
I had this narrative in my head that that wasn't good enough. That I needed to do more or just writing personable and about more slice-of-life things wasn't good enough.
I'm breaking that unhelpful thought process and LOVE seeing so many people in this space that are here because they love writing and sharing. I've always always always loved being able to get peeks into people's lives and seeing how they expressed themselves to others.
I’ve been sinful in replying to newsletters…which is somewhat selfish!
Gosh did this help me
Just took a look at your newsletter and subscribed, of course, when I saw what cause I'm supporting. Your selfies series is hilarious. Can't wait to spend more time over there with you! Maybe I'll even bake.
Thank you so much! That's so lovely.
Suleika is who inspired me to start my Substack after my wonderful Aunt Jojo gifted me with her subscription!
Hi everyone! I ask readers to contribute a lot. Most recently I had them submit questions for a game of Senior Citizen Roulette in which I asked random questions to random old people on the streets of NYC.
I also have readers submit photos of weird trash heaps they've spotted on the street.
At the start of the year I had them send ideas for what topics they wanted NYC bodega workers to forecast for 2022 and based a story on those interviews.
Some of my most popular issues recently covered topics suggested by readers. One was a Q&A with NYC chess hustlers, another was an investigation into where NYC street cart donuts come from. My readers are a lot of fun and I really enjoy the engagement!
And I always respond to every email and comment.
Had to subcribe after reading about senior citizen roulette!!!
Life Advice Chess hustlers! Anne, this is a brilliant Substack!!!
Thanks E Jean! It’s so great that SS gives us a platform to finally do whatever we want!
You had me at "weird trash heaps," Anne!!
I ask people what they’re listening to this week, and what they think we should all hear. I also try and answer every comment people leave.
I see people posting here early and then my question or comment never gets addressed as it is buried under the others.
Hi Branwen! Sorry to hear that. These threads have lots of people in them, and we know that means they can get unwieldy! How can we help?
How can I get more control over the placement of images< such as text wrapping around or making them left or right justified?
Michael Estrin (Situation Normal) wrote a great piece on Fictionistas about building community through the comments section.
https://fictionistas.substack.com/p/how-to-get-more-comments?s=w
One tip I’ll highlight: Readers might not have much to say about your post, but they likely enjoy talking about themselves. A question at the end that allows them to share their opinion or experience is a good entry point for conversation.
Yes the fabulous Mr. Estrin does a great job with this. His prompt are really fun to respond to!
This is something I’m actively trying to improve! I have discussion threads after each podcast episode and I try to engage with readers on Twitter and Instagram. When I can, I hold contests for people to guess the next episode and get a free month of paid subscriber content. I’m thinking about seeking out movies and TV shows about historical people that I’ve covered and creating watch-a-longs! I’d be interested in knowing if anyone else has tried this and how it worked.
I’d be a Guinea pig for ya!
Watch along is such a good idea! I think Netflix has an app that you can watch at the same time or share screen. Even zoom share screen ???
That's a good idea! Planning out the logisitics has definitely been part of my hesitation to get started doing it.
Oh..I'm interested. We have a podcast made up of two English teachers that analyze media through the eyes of the English classroom (litthinkpodcast.substack.com) and as a history major I also find your concept fascinating. I think that sounds like a great idea. I subscribed!
Thank you so much for subscribing! I am going to subscribe to yours too! My MA was in history and lit, all about applying historical movements to fiction to see what I could glean about how people understood their own present through fiction. (Gosh, did that make sense?) So your concept is right up my alley!
Excellent! And this is why I am doing Office Hours while my students take final exams 😜
Oooo what a fun contest!
Hello! Hello! Substackians! Thank you for the great question, Bailey! I've been "building community" by being GENUINELY fascinated by my reader's opinions.
I feel lucky to have ANYBODY read my Substack, and, as I've gotten to know my readers, I've come to learn that THEIR lives are just as chock full of marvels as my own, and many readers' lives are just wayyyyyy more interesting than mine, so I engage them every which way I can. Many of MY readers don't open my newsletter to read me---they open my newsletter to read the community's comments.
So how do I get them to engage? Take my latest post about the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial. https://ejeancarroll.substack.com/p/i-introduced-amber-and-johnny?s=w
I did not give The Conflab (The Ask E. Jean Community is called The Conflab) one prompt, I gave them FIVE:
1. Johnny is suing Amber in Virginia for $50 million, saying that she defamed him when she described herself—in a Washington Post opinion essay that didn’t mention Depp—as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” Has Johnny got a good case?
2. Do you believe Amber’s version of events? Or Johnny’s?
3. What about the poop in the bed? Pardon me, I am asking this question because Amber is counter-suing Johnny for $100 million, and when there’s this much money at stake every single horrible, exaggerated, strange, sad detail of the marriage has to be dragged into public.
4. We’ve all been on this planet long enough to see through the thick layer of male bullshit, but have you ever witnessed world-wide, nuclear-level woman-hating like this?
5.How do you deal with trolls?
And here's the best part: I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR WHAT THEY SAY!! I reply to every comment. I never write a post WITHOUT ending with two or three or four PERSONAL questions about how The Conflab thinks and feels----------and usually because my questions are so nosey, the readers end up telling personal and quite riveting stories.
I'm still in the first three months of building my newsletter, but I guess the ways I've been interacting and building community is by keeping my tone light and conversational, linking to things I think are interesting and might spark a response from readers.
As a songwriter I share bi-weekly songs I'm working on, and this often prompts responses.
As someone who is really interested in geology (my newsletter is a weird mix of songwriting, geology and collages), I love to share interesting stories I've been reading about and I feel like that is an invitation to reply/comment as well.
What I'm mostly focussed on is creating a newsletter which is so memorable, unique, and _me_, that people could be walking down the street, see something, and think "oh, that reminds me of Olivia's newsletter. maybe i should share that with her."
still learning though!
✋ Roll call: Who's new here? Tell us about you and what's on your mind as you get started on Substack.
Hi! I'm fairly new :). This is my second writer's hour. Last time I connected with a lot of people and gained 5 new subscribers. Which I know isn't epic growth, but I felt like they were genuinely interested readers with potential to be active community. So I'm back!
Just keep coming, it'll add up
Welcome back!
Good day everyone, I started publishing on Substack this year.
My main goal this month is to get my first 1,000 views for this article I wrote about self education
https://mindvoyage.substack.com/p/a-dropouts-guide-to-self-education?s=w
I'm about 50 views away, so please help out.
Wow nice work!
Thank you
Hello! I’m new, and I am rediscovering my love for writing! I recently lost my job (which I talked about on my Substack: https://thecharrette.substack.com/p/between-ballet-and-social-media), and I’ve enjoyed using the platform as a way to showcase my writing.
I’m also devising plans to hopefully turn this into a side hustle, so I can continue to write about the things I’m passionate about.
I may have also convinced an old colleague of mine to start a Substack publication for performing arts coverage. Stay tuned. 😉
Hi, Kathleen! I signed up for your free subscription. Like you, I'm a freelancer. I'm also a dance/concert/many other things writer/photographer and have been writing a series about being the parent of a professional child (now adult) performer. Looking forward to exploring your work and hope it goes well for you!
Intriguing. I've just subscribed. I write about life, literature and other stuff which I wish I could find a word beginning with 'L' to describe
Hello! Thank you so much! With that great of a pitch, I had to follow you back!
I've seen your publication! It's gorgeous. Tell me how you chose the name? Update: I see! https://thecharrette.substack.com/p/what-exactly-is-a-charrette?s=w
I worked at IDEO (a design agency) and we used the word charrette a lot, but haven't heard it much outside of that context.
Yep! High praise indeed!
It's an obscure term, but I love the concept of various experts combining their ideas to come up with an even better idea. Maybe someday I can round up some contributors to add their insight as well. :)
Hi Kathleen! This is awesome, subscribing now!
Thank you so much! :)
I'm also using Substack as a means of showcasing my writing. I've just subscribed to yours
Thank you so much! <3
I started my Substack at the beginning of the year because I've long felt confined by the ideological constraints that are prevalent in music journalism. You could say I'm a leftist who's vehemently opposed to the leftist orthodoxy that's currently dominant. All the covid science that was shared via Substack sealed the deal for me. That plus I'm looking to write with a much broader scope than the typical music outlet is looking for.
In an unexpected twist, it turns out that Substack is ideal for my writing practice - it gives me a platform to write with a more conversational tone while I stick to a semi-formal sense of structure - and I realize that's the perfect sweet spot for me. I wasn't expecting that Substack would be such a godsend, but it's really sparked me to write more and increase my output. I'm in a routine flow now where I wasn't before.
Hi...started my substack in April, up to 150 free subscribers, but only 2 paid. Average open rate is about 40%. I love to write, but have also found that I am an obsessed chatterbox. I LOVE the discussions, reading and responding to comments. I am lucky to have some really smart subscribers (and good writers!). 90% of all comments come from the same few people. I get an average of 3 comments per post (not counting my replies.) I remember reading paid subscribers comprise about 10% of free subscribers...I am no where near that. The people that comment always say nice things about my posts...so not sure if I am doing something wrong. Also, subscriptions have slumped to about 2 a day...I had 30 in one day at one time but it seems that was not authentic! HELLO everybody!!!!!
Hi Todd! This article may be worth reading through if you're worried about conversion rates - https://on.substack.com/p/grow-1?s=w. There's context in there on what to expect, and also what levers you should think about playing with to grow your newsletter. (At the stage you're at, I would encourage you to focus on growing your free list! )
Thank you! Yes, my focus really is on free subscribers, but I was just concerned that maybe I was doing something wrong not to be getting the 5-10 paid that is typically expected. Thanks for the link!!
Helpful, thanks!
I migrated my newsletter over from a Wordpress plugin held together with hope. Though errors aren’t why I switched: I shifted lanes after seeing newspapers complain about the platform. For better or worse, anything competitors warn you against is the next big thing.
I’m satisfied so far, there’s a nice sense of community (when I leave my cave) and the newsletter site looks nice and modern (making me look tech-savvy is an achievement). I wish I could center text, and plot a text-alignment revolution every day. For now, we’re watching and waiting for an opening.
With web traffic shriveling up and blowing away, it’s nice to have a new way to send people punchlined. That and promote my first book. But it’s at least fifty percent about smiles.
The center text battle is one to be had directly with Chris Best, the founder and CEO! :) He has opinions about this I believe!
The thing I'd most like to centre is a note under each video. If substack would add the possibility for a caption underneath a video (as is already possible with an image) that would solve the problem. There must be a way - it can be done on Medium.
PS Still waiting for the possibility of showing Rumble, BitChute, Odysee videos as well as YT & Vimeo. Are they coming soon?
I'm not really "new", but feel like I am. I'm an infrequent Substack author but want to up my participation level and engagement. I love the format.
Great, Mark! We're here every Thursday if that community connection helps with accountability :)
Hiiiii! I'm pretty new! Just officially launched (aka screamed about my Substack to everyone I could) my Substack May 16th and this is my first, albeit late Writers Hour. Added it to my digital calendar so I don't miss it next next week (I saw next week is shoutout week!).
I'm finally, once again after like seven years, giving myself permission to write exactly what I wanna write because I truly find joy in writing more slice-of-life, personal essays, self-expressive poetry and such. I love sharing and writing is truly my lifeline and creative outlet of choice and I'm SO glad to have found a platform that wants writers to get paid, BUT keeps the value and importance of writing and community at the top of mind.
I really, REALLY love it here!
I write about being a creative and spiritually-curious Christian and things that are on my mind and stuff I wanna share. Both overlap because there's desire to pursue things we're told we shouldn't dive into yet there's rarely support around us to get curious and go down unknown paths. I talk about Human Design, manifestation, and some random things I get a kick out of sharing once I discover it.
So far I've gotten 10 subscribers in less than two weeks of my newsletter being out and I'm truly, genuinely excited about it! Legit butterflies when I see anyone subscribe, buy me a matcha, or leave a comment of praise or a convo-starter under anything I write because it's something I REALLY love doing and love that others love it too!
Since I'm so new, I'm still playing with what I post and when (it's at least every Monday, and I wanna write about ALL the things! But I'm holding back to make sure I post at least my one quality newsletter for the week before I just churn out all I want to).
I'm subscribed. I'm willing to follow for awhile to see how your journey goes 😊
Thank you so so much! I truly appreciate your interest in coming along for the ride! 🥰
Hi--I’ve been writing about addiction and recovery over at thanksforlettingmeshare.substack.com and a podcast “Breakfast with an Alcoholic” and am very eager to develop more of a community feel--but it’s been a challenge to generate much feedback, even with explicit prompts. Would love some ideas!
I subscribed to your Substack. I have no advice on growth as I'm new here as well, but I liked the straightforward-ness of your publication, as well as the topic.
I also think it's a good example of how community accountability can be really powerful.
Hello all. I started my Substack almost a year ago, and have read through Office Hours threads before but not participated much... and I thought it was really time to give it a try.
I'm a policy geek, really interested in migration, and so that's what I write about in Mixed Migration—hebdo. Most of my substack collates and presents the week prior's important international news concerning global migration. I spend the week running news searches and identifying important stories, and then each Monday I run the collection down. Most, but not all weeks, I accompany this with a bit of editorializing at the top (e.g.: last August, when Afghanistan fell and refugee flows became an urgent issue: https://bit.ly/3lM6Ut3 or last November, when Polish border forces overreacted to irregular arrivals from Belarus: https://bit.ly/3PMxIHc). My most recent issue is from a couple weeks back because I took a break to go backpacking, and I'll come back to the grind in early June.
I've enjoyed writing Mixed Migration—hebdo and learned a ton through the process, but I've had a hard time getting feedback from readers (even though I consistently ask for it!). So I'm wondering who else there is here who has found that, despite a consistent format and publishing schedule, consistent calls-to-action, and lots of cross-promotion on other social media platforms, are still struggling to grow their readership and to cultivate engagement? My emails consistently hit a 40%-50% open rate, so I know there's a loyal readership out there... I just haven't worked out (short of directly reaching out to people to ask them to share MMh) how to leverage the existing readership into more audience growth.
Any advice or feedback much appreciated! Thanks all!
Hello everyone!
I'm (very) new here! And I'd like some resources or guidance on how to be consistent with my newsletter... Any time management or any advice would be helpful!
Also, I have a lot of ideas about the content in my newsletter so I'm not sure how to focus on one topic.. How do I decide that?
Hi Pratibha, welcome! A key strategy to stay consistent is to lay out an editorial schedule for yourself. Setting up a plan for when you're going to post, and sketching out your themes and topics in advance, will help you with getting into a routine. More advice on this topic: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-2?s=w
Very helpful, thanks!
I try to batch a lot of my writing on one day (Friday, in my case). Then block time on another day to edit. The other thing worth noting is that I have 1-2 days where I intentionally /don't/ write. It's a great way to avoid burnout.
What has worked for me is to have a particular time when I write every day. Its embedded in my routine now (in my case I get up at 5am to write, but you don't have to do something as crazy as that).
I'm sort of new. I started publishing about 2 years ago but it was pretty infrequent, and am trying to up my rate of publication to 1x / wk. The newsletter is about markets, geopolitics, and the big-picture themes around the world order.
Good on ya! That's a great goal.
Hi folks - I'm still ramping up to a launch for Strong99 (https://strong99.substack.com) and I'm battling with a) my pre-launch perfection demons and b) the part where I actually put it out there and ask friends and family for subscriptions. I'll get there :-)
Thanks for sharing, Brad - you got this!
I launched Field Research, a dark comedy newsletter, one month ago. Loving the experience so far and really having an impact with my readers! Link here: https://agowani.substack.com/ if interested.
Awesome to have you Amran! Love that you're a professional dad!
Haha - thanks! Being a professional doesn't mean I'm good at my job... :-)
I'm new here! ---Ah, actually, I'm old here, but I'm here to learn new stuff, meet new writers, hear new ideas! And I am NEVER DISAPPOINTED!!
I have questions about stats reporting. Is there a way to see overall traffic numbers by month? Is this something Substack is working on. I'm already liking working here much better than Wordpress (it just works better for what I want out of my writing) but it would be nice to get those total stats over time.
You can't do this now, but I shared your request with the data team.
Thank you for coming to Office Hours! Our team is signing off for today.
In the meantime, our resources are here for you.
https://substack.com/resources
https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us
Next week we are taking a break from Office Hours as usual for our monthly shoutout thread. Save it to your calendar so you don't miss it: https://lu.ma/tour-shoutout
See you soon,
Bailey, Kelsa, Jasmine, Kevin, Hannah, Claire, James, Josh, Alex, Linda, Thomas, & Chloe from the Substack Team
Thank you all!
Hi everyone! Regarding the topic of growing your publication, this isn't a question, but - if you're feeling in need of a bit of inspiration or a kick up the bahookie*, this post by Katie Hawkins-Gaar that went up two days ago may be exactly what you need:
https://mysweetdumbbrain.substack.com/p/am-i-selling-outor-selling-myself
Especially this bit:
"The more I’ve witnessed other people pour time, energy, strategy, and, yes, self-promotion into their work, the more I realize how much I’ve been short-changing myself. Although I’ve been losing paying newsletter subscribers, I continue to gain new readers. My ideas have value. My essays are worth reading. My work means something."
So if you're having a rough time with your newsletter for whatever reason, please keep going. Because your ideas have value, your words are worth reading (or hearing) - and your work means something.
Ta.
*Scottish for "bottom". (I'm living in Scotland right now. The words keep creeping into my writing.)
This post was so meaningful for me to read <3
It can be very hard to remain positive sometimes, but that's a good mindset to have. Thanks
Thanks for this Mike. I'm at the 2 month mark... the point where I need to commit fully to moving forward with my newsletter or give it away. I really want to make it work and I love what I'm writing so I just need to be patient and let the rest take care of itself. Great post.
I needed a new word today, "bahookie" !!!
I'll buy every employee of Substack lunch if you come up with a poll feature that can be restricted to paying subscribers
It's on its way!!
🙏 🙏 🙏
let me know what kind of pizza you guys like
REALLY?????!!!!!!!!!!
GREAT! THANK YOU, JASMINE!
Is there a poll feature in general?
Not yet! But soon.
Y'all are so great. Thanks.
The Substack recommendations feature has been super dope, 16 newsletters are now recommending mine and I have sent almost 500 new subscribers to the newsletters I recommend, well done Substack!
I second this -- it has been an awesome way to support other writers (and I'm grateful to be supported, as well).
Recommendations has been the most impactful thing Substack has done to help my growth.
Those are cool numbers. Pretty sure I'm not on your recommended list (not a complaint), but thank you for helping others. That's simply cool.
Not yet!
Nonoo, that was not what I meant. I really meant to say that it is awesome you are helping others grow. Just the example you lead by in that respect is an awesome one. Keep at it!
I like the possibilities, just waiting for it to help me 😊
Do you recommend more than five newsletters and if so, can you tell if they rotate so a different set of five shows up on a rotating or random basis?
I only recommend three so far.
This is so cool. Did you ask them to recommend you? How did that happen?
Hi writers, and happy Thursday! Do you feel like there's room for all of us at the table, or do you get caught up in competition? The truth is, when writers support writers--instead of comparing and competing--magic happens, and everyone wins. So tell us: how are you doing this week in your writing journey? How are you feeling? If you're feeling discouraged, tell us so we can support you. If you're feeling on top of things, reach out to someone below who is feeling discouraged. Let's lift each other up today! 🌿
I've been reflecting on Haley Nahman's voice note from this past Tuesday where she asked "What would you do if you knew you would not succeed?" (the analogue to Elizabeth Holmes's question "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?"). Nahman means what if you never become famous, or you never have a post go viral, or your subscriber list always stays small. Would you still continue to write in the way you do currently? As someone who has debilitatingly high expectations, I find this framework a freeing way of approaching writing. I may never get huge, and that's okay. I still love my corner of the internet and am trying to channel energy in support of other writers rather than worrying too much about self-promotion (which is important, but can be blinding).
I just came over to Substack this month, and what I immediately noticed is that writing here feels like I have a direct relationship with my readers and supporters. After just my second post, I started to include more personal snippets and anecdotes, because I wasn't just dumping something into the internet ether, I was communicating with real people. That is to say, more readers would certainly be great, but knowing I'm connecting and resonating, even with a small cohort, is more important.
Agree!
This is SUCH a useful thing to meditate on!! My husband is always challenging me to grow a community, not an audience, and I find that it's a simple distinction that has huge ripple effects in the way I write. I don't want to grow for the sake of growth; I want the people who read what I write to feel seen and nurtured by it, even if that's only a handful of people. Thank you for sharing this, Kate! 🌿
Yes, this is a mindset shift I am also trying to develop. If I'm focused on commununity, the people who want to read my stuff will actually be intentional about reading it and will also be more likely to share. I also JUST changed to a new email for all of my writing so that I can ensure that all of my Substack subscriptions go directly to one email address that isn't bogged down with all of the other things. I want to be intentional about reading and responding to the writing I've personally subscribed to.
This is where I find the app helpful. I can see all the Substacks I have subscribed too. I don’t read them all. But I commit to opening and hitting the like button on as many as I can.
Which is why they need to launch the Reader app for Android...
Hear, hear! My Android-user patience is wearing thin!
Love this Caitlin, subscribing to yours now!
I did the same. All of my Substack emails go to a separate address and I'm loving the ease of it!
As I start preparing to self-publish some of my old blog posts into a book of essays and with all of the freelancing I do, I decided my personal email had become a mess and if I was going to clean it up I needed to keep my writing and personal emails all separate 😊 Better already.
Good idea!
This is a VERY good idea. I probably need to do something similar; I always feel guilty if I don't get a chance to read the newsletters I subscribe to.
Well, school is out tomorrow and I'm doing this while my students are taking finals, so I'm hoping I can be more interactive when we're actually home this summer 😜
This is brilliant .
I love the usage of community rather than audience.
Audience implies they just listen, a community brings fourth their talents and trades to add to the overall well being of the issue or situation at hand…
I always hope that the words I’ve written will properly convey my love for learning!!! Learning for the good of the COMMUNITY!
Venus🫧
++! One quote I love is that the difference between an audience and a community is which way the chairs face
I don't see any chairs, Bailey, just very VERY comfy love seats
Oh, that's awesome!
Yes, cultivating a community is an art form in itself.
Quality always beats quantity. Here is a great article by Kevin Kelly titled "1000 true fans". (https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/). I know 1000 seems like a lot. The article could have been titled "100 true fans" to get the gist of the theory. Enough ≠ Infinity.
YES, I love the "true fans" mentality! I find it very helpful in clarifying who I'm writing for and staying consistent. 🌿
Wonderful thoughts.
Yes, yes, yes. I don't intend to even go paid let alone dream of making it. For me it's the writing. Just something I need and love to do.
And it helps me think out my own emotions ! Someone just said to me the only way out is through !!!! Through writing !!
I write to process. I always have. If folks want to read the result of that, then I'm beyond happy.
It helps me once more to not feel alone, and also feel like hey...here’s another way to describe that feeling....
I love this question.
I’ve been through a lot of strife in my life, however I feel like when I stay true to who I am, as a writer…the notoriety comes naturally.
That being said, as long as one person reads it, and it triggers their rhetorical thinking ((even if that one person is me)) I’m happy!
I use Substack as an anonymous journal, which keeps it personal…but also relatable.
I find it also helps me tell the full truth….
This is a fantastic question to contemplate. It gets at the core of our “why”. I do this for myself and to build on a dream. The dream expands as the successes do.
I like that question! I think I honestly would still maintain my newsletter even if nobody read it. But that people do read it is beneficial for the community whose work I feature (that's the core content of the newsletter), so that's also a clear intention I have.
Wow. That sounds like a very modern twist on the question. So interesting
Love this!
Hey I checked out your substack - I like how you ask us to hold you accountable for your commitment to writing! A mentor of mine once told me that he promised his friend $500 (which was a lot in the '70s) each time he smoked again. He paid the firs $500 and never smoked again!
So accountability works.
I agree. There are a handful of people in my life who I go to as 'accountability buddies'.
They don't ever buy my bullshit, and if I tell them I will give them $500 if I don't do something I said I would do, they would be sending me transfer requests for $500. They don't take my accountability idly!
I've only had to pay up once... never again, I think! This quite extreme method also gives me the prompt to really question - is this commitment true for me? Is it worth losing that kind of money?
It's a good way of filtering out 'noise' activities, and focusing on commitments that will really move the dial towards my bigger intentions.
Kindness always works. I am doing fine. I am quite excited to have found a nice community of poets here on Substack (always looking for more poet-friends), and am also exploring other avenues.
And, how about you. How are yo doing this week in your writing journey?
Hi, Arjan! I'm so glad you're finding a community; it's SUCH a good feeling! How did you connect with the poetry community? Through seeking out their newsletters, or did you find other ways?
And thank you for asking! I know it's a small milestone, but I just passed 60 free subscribers and considering I don't have a lot of ability to promote myself aside from Instagram it feels really nice to hit that milestone. I'm just honored people are reading! lol
Congrats on the milestone. I'm just a little ahead of you. I am finding my community mainly here (by searching for poetry newsletters with original work, but also on socials as Instagram and twitter. And then engage with them. I also have a podcast in which I feature other poets. That also helps the connection along.
Again: congrats with the milestone. And remember: every single heart you touch means you made one life a little better. Even if it was for just a brief moment. That is miraculous work.
I think my project https://newslettertosocials.com/ could benefit you! We have twitter and LinkedIn and are in the process of adding Instagram
Sharing on IG is hard. I usually put a link in my stories. Sometimes people come.
Agreed, Instagram is a tough platform to promote on nowadays (especially for those of us sticks-in-the-mud who have been on IG since the start and are VERY resistant to making Reels, ahem). I can't complain, though; most of my earliest Substack subs were conversions from IG, and I still get one or two a week who suddenly decide to get the emails. Consistency is key, I guess!
Have noticed the real writers support each other here. It quickly becomes apparent who has decent motivation for writing and who does not. Many readers and writers appear to have a good built in nonsense detector. This is just what we need. Everyone gets discouraged at times but it is just part of the process.
As someone who’s not on my phone as much (on work days) it’s hard to keep up with the constant emails!
I’m babysitting hehe but I came upon this discussion post literally 30 minutes ago and I’ve been knee deep in it!!
I’ve always been the kid in class who shows up late, but always participates — not much has changed 😂
You're right, KW! I hate to think how many writers give up when they get discouraged. I think that's why I like to "set the table" for everyone here, as it were; I hate to think that anyone is lurking in the thread, wanting to speak up, but afraid of jumping in. In my view, writers supporting writers is powerful. 🌿
Totally agree. It is - and I think it's also how everyone thrives online. Not just in business, but particularly there. I've seen this again and again: folk starting an online venture with the old competitive "crush the competition, be a unicorn" mindset (which doesn't fit the essentially infinite nature of the internet), and it just kills their ability to get going, because all the bigger fish in the pond who *could* be cheering them on and becoming great, wise friends, they're thinking "this person is such a jerk". And they walk away. And person by person, that person's business withers in all the ways that actually matter.
But it's not just about Machiavellian tactics and all that. It's just decent and open-minded. The more you help, the more you learn (and feel) the value in just helping, without thinking of how you'll benefit. It just makes everything feel a bit more doable. Kindness is the source of a lot of things, and one of them is hopefulness.
Moral fiber is a valuable thing to have. Other animals, including humans, understand genuine kind motivation. Somebody get your hackles up? Figure out where the problem lies and fix it. Works online and sometimes even works in real life.
Love this, Mike. Beautifully put!
My husband and I talk often about "success" online, and it does seem like it's possible to get massive followers and massive money and massive everything very quickly...but there's a catch. There's always a catch. And for so many people, that catch is that you have to trade something of yourself. Integrity, maybe. Honesty. Authenticity.
I'm not saying every hugely successful online person is secretly (or openly) a villain, but I do think it's worth asking ourselves: what is (a very narrow version of) success worth, if it means I can't be "me" anymore? Am I willing to trade away what makes me a decent, genuine human? 🌿
Perfectly said!
I hear you. The thing about short-cuts is always that catch, that clock ticking down before it all falls apart because the foundations aren't solid. And - exactly as you say, deciding what version of ourselves we're putting out there, because of how it'll have an impact on other people...
The adventure writer Brendan Leonard said something similar in a wonderful two-part thing he wrote called "How to be Positive":
Part 1: https://semi-rad.com/2020/11/how-to-be-positive-part-1/
Part 2: https://semi-rad.com/2020/11/how-to-be-positive-part-2/
And in the second part he essentially said he'd rather "make positive things that don't get shared as quickly but also don't make everyone feel worse". And that's integrity, I think.
There’s room for everyone though we can’t help but be envious sometimes. It’s hard to out your heart out there and have little to no response. But having laid out that burden is enough.
I try to keep my eyes on my own paper. Sure, I learn from others but I’m on my own path and can’t try to be anyone but myself. People appreciate that and will continue to. I’ve stayed consistent almost one year. That’s an achievement unto itself.
That is an INCREDIBLE achievement, Chevanne!! Honestly, just showing up is the hardest part.
And I know what you mean. When I recently read through "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron (it's a classic for a reason) I discovered that the main negative self-talk I hear is, "Why bother? You can send this out, but no one will care."
Crickets, silence, is my worst fear. But you know what? It's not a reason to stop doing what I love. And the people who are really listening show up, and stick around. <3
It’s really the whole idea behind my Substack is sending out work into space. Eventually someone will receive it. Each piece is a time capsule containing our thoughts and dreams. There’s value in that.
Beautifully put! 🌿
Not to sound cliche', but the only writer I compete with is myself. I think constantly striving to be better is healthier, emotionally. At least for me :)
I can get behind this! However my biggest struggle both as a writer and off book…is that I hold myself too high of a standard so when I don’t achieve or get the reaction I hope for..I beat myself up!
Thanks to Substack this IS changing though, if it weren’t for writing about it I probably might not know I had this issue
Oh, 100%! I've been struggling with that a lot, lately. Something I try to do is just keep reminding myself that (at least for me) this is a marathon and not a sprint. I'll trip and fall, but as long as I keep getting back up, I'll eventually hit my stride. That's when the real fun starts :)
I don't think that's a cliche at all! I think it's a very very healthy mindset to have. Comparison is the thief of joy, so they say. If you can keep your eyes on your own goals, the more the better! :)
Writers understand the unique struggles that each person is going through. Connecting with other writers strengthens my writing and my engagement.
I’ve just been a tad shy - but then I remember I am venus! And not my real name 😂
Agree 100%, Caitlin. That's why I enjoy our group so much.
My goal this month is to get my first 1,000 views on this article
https://mindvoyage.substack.com/p/a-dropouts-guide-to-self-education?s=w
Did my part to help!
Thank you
Ooooo, that's a great goal!!
I think there's room for everyone.
Love your questions S.E. I’ve found that when I let go of attachment to outcomes, my Substack goes Zoom! I love the sharing on this forum. So with my dirty chai in hand, I’m taking it all in!
Attachment to outcomes really can be the death of us, can't it? Phew! Thank you, truly, for being here. 🌿
Subscribed to you now. I think we share some overlap. Looking forward to reading more.
Also, you're absolutely right we DO have overlap! Subbed! :)
Oh thank you so much, Caitlin! I really really appreciate it. 🌿
I definitely feel like there is room for everyone and I want to make sure everyone feels like that too. It's a big myth we've been fed that there is only so much room and it's always a goal of mine to be inclusive.
In terms of my writing journey, I feel pretty good about my newsletter. It's a couple of months old and the subscriber base is still relatively small but it definitely helps me feel connected to a people. Substack, in general, is a great tool to feel connected to other writers. I am in the middle of a searching for a job so having my newsletter is a great way to keep getting consistent work out there and have something to look forward to doing every week. Searching for jobs is not super fun so having an enjoyable weekly task is very much appreciated.
I was quite surprised to find how connected the writers are here! I didn't know much about Substack when I signed up, only that the platform was well thought of on a technical level. But the emotional/spiritual component of being in community with readers and other writers has been such a huge and appreciated bonus!
Agreed! One might say it keeps me going 🥹
I agree! Just knowing that there is such a huge community of writers from all over the place working through the same or similar journeys is so helpful.
Hi my fellow Substack Writer -
I’d say just like my moods, my posts’ tone change every day. I try to keep a hold on all the information going in, but sometimes when I’m trying to relay it put it back out…it gets jumbled…
Jumbled with emotion!
How do you find the perfect balance between emotional and logical thinking…in terms of writing?
How do you not let your emotions get the best of your phalanges!
Asking for a friend ((I am the friend))
Ooo, that's a very good question! I think that's a tricky balance for a lot of writers, especially if we rely on storytelling for our work (as I tend to). I hope other writers will jump in with advice here, but two things spring to mind:
1) You never really know what will resonate with readers. There have been some of my posts that I've found I didn't connect with very well, but for some reason readers did! We're not always the best judges of our own work and its impact; sometimes you just need to post it and let it be what it is, jumbled or not.
2) If you're worried about balancing emotion and logic, the best way out is through...just keep practicing! The more you write, and the more you share your writing, the more you'll find your own balance of those things. And some days you may be more one than the other; it's just the way of things.
Bonus tip: I find that a regular practice of "morning pages" has really helped my writing (as inspired by Julia Cameron). First thing in the morning with my cup of coffee I sit down and handwrite three pages in a cheap notebook. It's a braindump; it's not meant to ever be read again. It's not really writing, it's not journaling. It's just literally filling three pages with junk, stream of consciousness. But it really helps me cut through the crud and wakes my brain up. Might be worth a try!
I try to do my yoga first thing in the morning, before “the day” takes over, but my brain often has me off the mat and standing in front of my laptop shelf. I find that most of my “Did *that* come out of me?” sentences (Gilda Radner voice) occur at that time. My own crackpot theory on that is that dreams arise from the “connections” being made between yesterday’s experiences/thoughts and everything already stored in my own edition of “The most complex structure/system in the known universe.” Like sorting a stack of papers, and having fleeting thoughts about the content. Hence the “weird” nature of “the visions of my sleep” (*Pure Prairie League) where a familiar room will have a non-existent stairway in it. Maybe my brain was exploring a possible connection, then discarded it.
With my Random Access Memory temporary storage space rebooted, my brain has “room” to explore some of those new connections or old connections seen from a new perspective. I call it my Magic Time, because my fingers seem to conjure those sentences out-of-nowhere. It is literally more like “reading” than “writing” as the vague, fuzzy notion I start a sentence out with, resolves into a phrase I had no clue was in there. Two different lyrics from Dylan, seems to indicate that he had a same issues. “I need a dump truck baby to unload my head,” and “I got a head full of ideas that are driving me insane.”
Although it is the noon hour now, so very little magic is occurring, I see I am veering off topic already, considering “the importance of sleep for a healthy mind,” etc. and our Magic Hour is nearly over and I wanted to “reply” to a couple of other folks, and then a friend drops by…
I do this but with doodles - I think my biggest issue is the computer itself (literally). I’m such a hands on, artsy fartsy gal that I think I’m pictures or moments, it’s really hard for me to get my brain to get everything organized and legible… Maybe I should try words or short phrases
I learned this in 7th grade from an exchange teacher, her name was Angus, and she called it the “brain map”
Yes to all of this!
10 things I learned while growing a daily newsletter to 140k subscribers and making every mistake along the way. (I write Understandably.com for those who don't know.)
1. Content matters most! If the content isn't great, fix that first. :)
2. Consistency matters second-most. My advice is to start slow and manageable, and increase pace as you go along. I started as a daily newsletter which was INSANE. But it would not have grown this big if it were not daily.
3. Choose growth over monetization. If your'e 100% confident you can make a lot of $$$ right away, that's different. But if you're starting without a big following, grow big first. I kept mine free (and daily!) for more than a year.
4. Try lots of stuff. Try Twitter, try other socials, try giving talks, try cross-posts, try YouTube, try lead magnets, try everything. I know this is a Substack board, but I would try other ways to share content, too. Heather Cox Richardson is the master at this - she posts every word on Substack, on Facebook, etc.
5. Love your readers. Example: I try to reply almost everyone who replies to the newsletter. It's gotten harder as the list grows bigger, but I still do as much as I can.
6. Have a healthy respect for numbers. Study what works well (based on analytics). But don't obsess.
7. Make mistakes. Even though there are a lot of us here, we're still in the early days of this media. Make mistakes and learn from them.
8. Create tools. Example: I created a hacked-together "one-click feedback system" with 5 stars at the end of all of my newsletters that gets me TONS of feedback.
9. Ask for help. This forum is a good place. Also, ask your readers. And other writers. People who are into this are REALLY into it and will talk for hours.
10. Pay it back (and forward). Every problem you face and solve is probably something others are grappling with. Help them. They'll help you!
Disclaimer: I'm not sure these are my "top 10" or "10 most important..." they're the "10 I pulled together in 10 minutes because I hoped they might help someone!" Also, while I put this in another post here... I'm recruiting writers ... details here ... https://www.journalismjobs.com/1674777-newsletter-writereditor-understandablycom
Some great suggestions here. I think that the first two are especially important - they've been important for me after two years on Substack now. I'm in awe that you can write daily though.
Awesome stuff here! I started with a daily and then had to scale back. May I ask you how you did step 8? 8. Create tools. Example: I created a hacked-together "one-click feedback system" with 5 stars at the end of all of my newsletters that gets me TONS of feedback.
Check it out here: https://www.understandably.com/p/apps? (I used to put it at the bottom of each email body, now it's in the footers so I don't have to repeat every time. But that also means you can only see it on the website on old posts if that makes any sense.) Anyway, it's five stars (just star characters), each pointing to a different bitly link (so I can count easily) and then forwarding to five different different carrd.co pages. I used to use Google Forms as they are free but I pay for Carrd.co anyway. My 1-star page includes detailed instructions on how to unsubscribe, btw.
Very bottom of the post btw.
And I subscribed!
Thank you for this, Bill!
Yeah!
Thanks, Bill !
I have thanked you before, Mr. Murphy, and now I thank you again! Can you please elaborate on #8. What is your "one-click feedback system???????"
Ahhh! I just saw you answered this question.....further down!
Ok just launched my first article yesterday after thinking about it for 1 1/2 years! It’s called “unintended consequences” and it is free now.
Congrats! It's so exciting when you finally make it happen :)
Congratulations, Victoria! Keep going!
Thanks for the support! I have been writing on blogspot for the last 7 years and decided to make this leap.
Oh, you will like Substack.
I LOVE Substack, I’m obsessed. It’s like the ‘hen house’ for intelligent people!!
Just crossed 100 subscribers this week. Also featured in Substack’s Discovery page, and recommended by 2 readers. This brought in a decent trickle of newcomers.
Meaningful engagement is key. As is finding your brand and building it.
Next target milestone is 200!
Congratulations! Almost there myself. 🙂
I believe in you, Chevanne! I look forward to it next Office Hours!
Good work Nikhil! I'm enjoying the recommendations!
And my thanks for the recommendation 🙏🏽🤩
Most welcome. How did you get on the discovery page?
This seems to be a mystery. Some folks in the music newsletter category are always there (I.e. evergreen). Mine appears and disappears. I think there’s some sort of internal tracking on sign up frequency, maybe open rates?
There seems to be an aura of mystery about it all.
BRAVO!!!!!
Congrats! So, what's your Substack about in one sentence?
Escape the algorithm and broaden your horizon with one track daily; genre and language no bar.
Yeahhhhhhhhh
Who else can't wait for the shoutout thread? I always try to share the individual issues of the newsletters I recommend, but the shoutout is a nice thing, too. So, for today, I'm launching something new: the #substackshoutout on Twitter. What should I read? https://twitter.com/search?q=%2523substackshoutout
Really cool idea. Heading over to Twitter now!
See you there. Thank you!
Nice! I'll go make some noise there soon.
Fantastic
I am in!
Awesome!
Good on you Arjan!
Thanks Rachel!
Yooooooo Substack!
yo yo yo!!!
Hi Friends,
What happens to writing when other side-hustles out-hustle writing? I'm fascinated because I've been posting once a week for 1.5 years now. Other things have been started and abandoned during that time. But not writing. It's not a hassle or a burden. Sometimes, I worry that my head is empty or that the words will sound hollow or forced. Just to meet a deadline. The blank screen just taunts, not helps. But a word or thought falls out of the jumble and finds its way onto the page, and another one follows, then too many randos to count. The story is born, and the post writes itself. People read it and like it. Or don't. Readers make comments. The whole process is fascinating. I'm so glad I found Substack.
One of the most fascinating things I've read recently - can't remember where - is that it's natural to feel like your writing ideas will be limited and finite. But it's quite the opposite. Writing that great idea spurs even more ideas, and then those great ideas spur their own great ideas. One of the few but amazing virtuous cycles out there.
Amran, definitely!
Yeahhhh!
Love this, ric, I feel the exact same way. And I just subscribed.
Hi! I’m looking for a writer who might be interested in collaborating on a post. The idea is that the post would be split between us—I would be reviewing a vegan mac and cheese from a company called Camp and you would be reviewing Cheetos mac and cheese. Two very different products. I’d use the guest writer feature on Substack so it would link back to your profile and promote your newsletter at the end. If you’re interested feel free to email me at adam@nightwater.email !
So fun!!!
Shooting you an email!! This seems like fun, and I like to shoot my mouth of!!!
Dear Substack, I have a question about leaderboards by categories.
Is it possible to see our exact position overall even though we don't appear in the top 50 for example ?
It would be nice to know the evolution of our reach within the Substack ecosystem.
Thanks.
Oh I'd also be very curious about this! I saw someone list her newsletter as top 100 in a category, but that doesn't seem like a stat visible to most of us.
Hello friends, I'm weighing in with a celebration and milestone: On May 30, my Substack turns 1 year old!
a Question: How do you celebrate a milestone with your community? Let me know any ideas!
And a Share: Here are my two biggest surprises from the first year:
-That Substack is a community of writers. I thought it would be more oriented toward digital; and there's plenty of savvy on the digital side but also a real commitment and passion for the practice and art of writing. Also, key word: Community.
-Second surprise: My day job is as an audio producer and my expectation was that it would be the podcast that would bring the audience, and that people might put up with the posts/essays I write (spoutiing off about the badassness of Jane Austen). The surprise: The writing actually gets the biggest hits.
Thank you for being here. You all make this a joy, and in these times community and joy are precious. .
My Substack turns one next month. There’s lots (maybe too much) that I’m doing.
Good for you! I'll check it out!
Hello!! I am not able to make the call - I busting to connect with other Stackers. I am 2 weeks new here. I imported my email list and 2 years of weekly emails. The open rates are blowing my mind!! Is this true?? Does Substack have a secret key to deliverability? I have 6600 subs and a 51% open rate here. With similar engagement as previous emails but in replies not comments. I am working on increased engagement in comments, I think it will take time for the community to adjust to the feature. The entire experience is unbelievable, really. I am pinching myself.
That's awesome. Congrats!
We work super hard on deliverability! Glad you've noticed :)
Also this isn't a call, it's just a text-based thread !
thank you Bailey!! good to know it is a thread!! Much easier to check in. Yes, very much impressed with the stats. I am getting used to the platform but so far it is really working out for me/my community. Thx for connecting.
Hi everyone. I'm recruiting writer-editors (paid of course) for my daily newsletter. Started here on Substack 2 years ago, 600+ daily editions later we're at 140k subscribers! If you're interested or know someone who might be, I'd love to hear from them! Details: https://www.journalismjobs.com/1674777-newsletter-writereditor-understandablycom
This is interesting. Will give it a look!
Great numbers, Bill. Looks like a great opportunity.
I applied, I think there could be a synergy.
Interesting.
Bravo, Bill !
Hi everybody: This is my first post. I'm launching a substack called Newspeak. It's about the language of power and influence, and I provide insight on usage of buzz words on the internet. I plan to put together a critical mass of several posts before promoting this. I would like to invite others with a passion for free speech to contribute, or republish other substack posts along these lines. Can I do that? If so, please share best practices for building community, aligning with other blogs or syndicating content on substack. Many thanks for your comments.
Welcome William! Will check out your letter! You can do or ask anything you want. Substack is very openminded and is all about free speech. Collaboration is a good way to leverage other peoples subscriber lists. Good luck to you!
Hey.... My name is Liam. I am a writer/essayist. I write about anthropology, specifically Japan and Korea (north and south). I posted one old essay today to get the ball rolling but my writing tutor says I need more structure in my work. I dont have many contacts or fans on social media (the biggest is a mind dump wordpress blog with 320 followers). I dunno how to promote my blog. Im trying to improve my writing style as it needs some improvement but how do i crank the organ of social media when im basically starting from a big fat zero? My aim is not to make money but to develop my style and share my writing. My schtick is that im an armchair anthropologist doing web based research on the culture and language of asia. I might be going to Japan over the summer (radio is my profession - BBC style stuff).
I actually write about this topic! https://newslettertosocials.substack.com/
There's a very deliberate social media strategy you can take that will convert to new subscribers. I also created https://newslettertosocials.com/ to help with this!
Social media, yes--and continue to develop your writing. I'd suggest you check out Non-Boring History here. Annette, who writes it, has just nailed the tone and voice, and her writing is clear and engaging. https://annettelaing.substack.com/
I dont actually feel I ought to be earning money for my writing right now. Its not a polished product. Hopefully I can find the right tone. I'll check out Annette's blog.
This sounds super cool! We've published a few different growth resources:
- Getting your first 100 subscribers: https://on.substack.com/p/getting-your-first-100-signups
- Lots of tips for growing your free list: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-4
My name is Jack I’ve written for Democracy Chronicles for about 3 years now
Hi everyone! I'm 30 subscribers away from when I told myself I'd launch a paid version of my newsletter.
I'm planning on adding additional posts throughout the week, a monthly zoom call for the community, and access to occasional long-form pieces.
Any ideas on how to promote the launch outside of sharing with subscribers and typical socials channels?
Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated! :)
I included a Zoom Monday Lunch when I launched the paid version. My first guest was a local legacy newspaper columnist and next was a popular Iowa Public Radio host. My subscribers asked great questions and they feel there is great value for their $65 a year. So far. Future guests include a writer for the Economist who covers the US Supreme Court, and a whole bunch of other Iowa notables (that’s my focus; Iowa).
So exciting! We published a launch guide here: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-5
I think a lot of it is about making a big moment; e.g. publishing a personal launch post about why this is a big step for you, telling people you know in advance to reshare it, etc.
I think just having engaging social media makes all the difference. Not just announcing on social media, but taking your tidbits of engaging content, and using that as a hook to get new readers through the door. https://newslettertosocials.com/
If you have a sizable audience already you can launch on Product Hunt.
Interesting idea! How "sizeable" of an audience do you think would be viable?
500 to 1,000 subscribers would be nice. They can help provide the initial push on launch day.
I'm not quite there yet numbers-wise, but I'm really intrigued by your idea.
Question for the collective: if you take an extended writing break, do you pause subscriptions, or just ask people to hang with you? Any tips for navigating this?
In my case, I take a break in one sense and not in another. (Signs of workaholism: check.) I run my newsletter in seasons, and between seasons I throttle back on my free-list newsletters for a few weeks to a month - but during this time I send (or try to send) a newsletter a week to my paying subscribers. But if I decided to stop doing both and take a 100% break, I'd definitely pause subscriptions, yep. I've seen many friends doing this elsewhere (Patreon etc.) and it seems like a good way to keep goodwill high.
But - if you can find a way to throttle back for a short while without actually stopping, I reckon most (or all!) readers would be fine with it, maybe?
I took February 2022 off -- the shortest month, for a reason. I prepared two paid posts in advance so that my paid subs would still receive something from me, but everyone else just had to wait. I think if I were to pause longer than a month or six-ish weeks, I'd pause paid subscriptions.
I haven't gotten to taking a break yet, but since we can schedule posts at least three months in advance, I'm making sure I have content scheduled through to the end of the summer so I don't have to worry about it while we are on multiple family summer trips.
Oh Sarah, I envy your writing style! I am an "of the moment" writer, so I tend to write about what's coming up for me in the present. BUT that being said, I do have a few topics that have been rattling around in my head. I'll explore this option!
Oh, I write in the moment too 😜 But I'm working to currate my Substack to fit both. I have travel podcast episodes (for everyone) and travel posts (for paid subscribers). Then I have two other categories that allow me to be more irregular and "in the moment." I may get struck with an idea and write down a title and a few words, but then it will sit there for months. For example, my post from yesterday. I had the title "I Don't Want to Be Numb" sitting there for months because it was a thought I kept coming back to. The shooting in Texas gave me the words to put into that title. My draft folder is a hot mess, but it was that way LONG before I moved to Substack 😂
Great idea, especially for those who don’t usually have a lot of lead time.
Thanks for starting this thread, Katie. Am in the midst of this very conundrum. Trying to frontload draft materials so that I can publish on schedule without upsetting the kids during summer vacation. Not easy...
I'm doing the same here. We leave on two days and I'm not planning on doing anything but travel.
Hey, everyone! I’m a new writer on this platform, and I’m curious about your opinions on a few things...
I recently lost my job, and it has made me realize that I would actually like to write full time (as opposed to what I was doing before). And Substack is such a great way for me to have a creative outlet, showcase my writing skills, and possibly make some extra money while I’m at it.
So I’m curious:
1) When is a good time to start paywalling posts (after a certain number of posts or months?) and what point in an essay is a good time to throw up a paywall?
2) Beyond sharing on social media and with friends, what are some ways you’ve built your subscriber base?
3) How do find quality subscribers who you know will enjoy your work and want to engage with it?
Thank you all!
Hi Kathleen, you may find some of these resources helpful -
On going paid:https://on.substack.com/p/grow-5?s=w
On growing your list: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-4?s=w
Thank you! These are definitely helpful!
Deliberate social media activity. Not just announcing you have published, but taking the tidbits and highlights from your newsletter and bringing those to social media. Announcing a new issue will reach your existing user base, but it won't really bring in new subscribers!
https://newslettertosocials.com/ can also help
Thank you!
Oh! And I forgot to add—I wrote about losing my job here. It was a transformative experience: https://thecharrette.substack.com/p/between-ballet-and-social-media?r=wri5d&utm_medium=ios
I’ve been about to launch my new Substack newsletter/blog called Advocacy School for several months now. My main hold-up (among others) has been a parallel need to redo my website. Do I need it to have a website for a Substack presence? Do you provide any support / advice for that?
Substack is essentially a blog with an email (and an app, if your readers want to read there as well!). You don't need a perfect website to host a Substack!
Thanks
I'd suggest you focus here on Substack... I have had a long-term site...but this does it. I can probably let go of the site.
Thanks
Would also like to know about this!
Any data on what day/time is best for sending out a newsletter? I have been consistent on Sundays for over a year but experimenting with mid week issues as well. Any data you can share would be helpful.
I'm nowhere near an expert on this, but I was always told that if you're going to post something midweek it should be either between 8am-11am or during the lunch hour, based on people's typical work schedules and their ability to sit and read something. Your actual mileage may vary since I have a fairly small newsletter, but I post Mon/Wed/Thu at 8am every time and my open rates have been pretty consistently great.
Anecdotally this tracks, though I don't have a massive following. I've only put one post out on Saturday morning, but it got a much higher open rate.
That just made me realize how important understanding Time-zone is. I don't think Substack right now gives us geographical data to track but I know it is out there because Wordpress gives a nifty map. Your newsletter comes out at 11am my time, and that is when I schedule most of my stuff. I like to post my stuff in the morning so that people have the whole day to find it, but that's just me.
Good point, Scoot! It's funny, I always make a note on Instagram (the only place I promote my Substack) that it's 8am PST, but for some reason the timezones of the people subscribed to me who aren't on Instagram didn't click before. Does 11am seem late for you to get the email, out of curiosity, or does that still fit in your "reading time"?
I have no complaints, I read throughout the day and am pretty fastidious about reading and/or clearing out my notifications so your timing works for me!
Learning as we go: do you have any learnings from your experiment. I do Friday afternoons (European time) and it works okay for me. I ocassionally post podcast issues on Tuesdays, and they go rather well as well by themselves. This seems a good moment for me to post. I think it heavily depends on your audience, and where they are. My Friday afternoon is for some the middle of the night and for others early morning....
It is the same more or less but the Sunday issues get read throughout the week at a much higher rate so comments and engagement continues.
Hi, for every post that our Substack called DemocracySOS publishes, we select the button "Subscribe with Caption" for the bottom. That button inserts this language: "DemocracySOS is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber." This language is not right for our Substack, since we have several authors. So I have been pasting in our preferred language. I have to do this every time, which is a pain. Is there a way to customize that language so that it uses our preferred language every time? I have searched and searched on Substack but cannot find a way to do it. CAn you help? Thank you!
Hello! 👋🏾
I love engaging with readers on my newsletter as well as sharing insight on others’ newsletters. That’s really what makes the community great. I try to give as much (if not more) than I receive. I ask questions at the end of a post or even invite readers to compose the ending to a story. I am so thankful for my tiny but mighty readership.
Audio! It’s so nice to hear people’s voices! There’s an intimacy to hearing someone’s emotions come out in a piece and I can’t wait to see what others come up with. It’s a great step for the platform and it’s definitely in the pipeline for The FLARE in the future.
Special thanks to those recommending my Substack. Great returns so far. As always, I look forward to more collaboration and creating for the future. Email at theflare@substack.com.
I’ve been thinking about adding audio versions of my current posts, reading the essays I wrote. I’m curious if this is what you mean by hearing people’s voices? I wonder if this would seem more engaging.
Yes! I’ve seen a couple people read out their essays and it’s been interesting. I might add audio to future posts for now.
Yeah I don’t know if I have the bandwidth to go back and record old posts too!
That's a great idea. You can also share either on other social media to get even more eyes and ears to experience your ideas.
I do share on social, but probably not as much as I should!
We are all in that boat. There are many ways of sharing a single post. You can re-purpose your writing, by turning it into a podcast, a Twitter Thread, a List, a Video, TikTok clip, a Tutorial, a Guide, a Slideshare Presentation or an InfoGraphic.
Hi! Is anyone effectively using social media to promote their newsletter? If so, what is your strategy?
Social media boosts have been hit or miss. This forum is actually been the most lucrative.
Posting across all socials, it helps here and there
I'm using a dedicated Instagram account for my newsletter. I post a preview the day before it's released with the title and a (hopefully) arresting quote as well as a great pic from unsplash. I use that post to particularly invite people to subscribe. The next day, about 30 minutes after the newsletter launches, I repost the title and a brief excerpt from the article. I use a different picture to grab attention. Don't forget to use hashtags too. Check out Paul Macko's Deplatformable Newsletter... he's got some great info on using various SM avenues.
I’m going to start using Canva templates for quotes on my social media. I don’t promote a lot there, it’s more being a person and not a brand, but I want to shift that slightly.
Canva templates are a good idea. I usually have 2 or more unsplash pics to choose from for my actual newsletter pic, so one of the unchosen ends up on IG. Maybe I'll try posting the excerpt in a template as the pic.
I believe so! I’ve been an at-home caregiver for my mom for about 7 years now so through that whole time I’ve worried about how to create an income from home, but almost nothing excited me to just dive into and try to force to sell.
But I LOVE writing and gave myself permission to FINALLY just do what I love and see where it takes me!
Being online for so long has built me connections with all sorts of people.
So because of that, I believe, and actually WANTING to scream from the rooftops about my newsletter (and making Canva templates help too) I just mention when a new post is published all on IG, FB, and Twitter and will share a quote, sometimes I post the same on Tiktok... I have a narration version I make for accessibility and I’m thinking of playing a clip from that on IG, or reading a snippet like... oh goodness.. internet princess? I think that’s her name on here! They do that on TikTok.
Just playing with ways, sometimes I watch some videos on IG and what to do and not do and just post with that in mind. I don’t spend a TON of time trying to make a strategy about it but I try to talk about it often cause I love it and pretty much eat, breathe, and sleep my newsletter now haha!
I created https://newslettertosocials.com/ which is social media automation specifically for newsletter creators! The site connects to your newsletter, suggests engaging content, and automates scheduling across all the major social media platforms.
I'm interested in checking this out; is there a fee associated with it?
Hey Sheryl!
We have a free plan and a paid plan with more features. Currently, most of our features are free since we are celebrating our launch! Would love to hear more about your use case. Feel free to email me: matthew@newslettertosocials.com
Also saw you signed up! Were having some issues so please try again now as the issues have been fixed. Thanks!
Thx for your reply. Not sure if I formatted my domain correctly (sent you an email); thanks!~
Here's a really basic question. When I post comments here, next to my name it says I write Eclecticism (which I do). But I also write another newsletter. How to I make that come up instead? Do I have to log in with a different email address? Thanks
If you go over to your profile (by clicking profile pic top right) and then pick profile from the menu on the left, there are some settings you can make that could help here. I only write one newsletter, so I can't see if that would work.
Thanks, Arjan. I can't see anything there that would do it, unless I could find a way of changing the order in which my newsletters appear, which I can't!
And if you click Edit profile? I think you can switch on and off publications. So that would be a workaround. But I hope someone from the substack team will answer you.
Thanks, Arjan. I think that was it!
Yes it was! Thanks again
Good question!
Hello everyone! I took my project about the history of video games from Blogspot to Substack a month and a half ago and I'm enjoying it, thanks to the interface made available. I have a question for you: have you ever thought about creating specific tools for people who manage a newsletter in languages other than English (mine is in Italian) ? I am talking about, for example, categories and tags to select and see languages during search activities for users. Thank you, kind regards
Greetings! I have so many questions. I’ve been writing a Substack column for 1.5 years and just started a paid component a couple of weeks ago and have 68 onboard. It’s a gratifying start. I would like to find other Substack writers with a focus on Iowa for the purpose of collaborating to build our paid subscriber base. I’d also like to expand the free subscription base. I hold a writers’ retreat in the Iowa Lakes area in the fall, and it’s proving to be a lovely cross-promotion. Www.okobojiwritersretreat.com. My Substack is called Julie Gammack’s Potluck. I look forward to learning from all of you.
So, this has probably been asked before, but now that we have the office hours, and in light of knowledge always evolving... I would like to go paid, but I don't want to put content behind the paywall. Can I, with some other benefits, launch without putting content (or commenting) behind a paywall? And my second question: how many of subscribers did you have when you went paid?
Yep, there are quite a few folk with paid subscribers and no paywall! Sari Botton's Oldster is one of them: https://oldster.substack.com/ And it's doing really well. So her approach is maybe one to study, to see how she's proving the value of it and asking people to sign up for paid...
(As for me: I had around 600-ish subscribers when I went paid. I was less concerned about numbers and more concerned about having made my case, since my newsletter's topic - the science of curiosity - is maybe a bit of a weird one. So I spent 6 months trying to show my readers I knew what I was doing and where I was going and wasn't just having a midlife crisis...)
Cool. Thank you for your reply. Proof of work. Your newsletter sounds great. I'm doing poetry, which is a niche market.
Thank you!
Also, am I right in thinking you're also a story consultant for small businesses? (That was my thing a while back too...)
I had a total of...3 when I set up paid subscriptions; two of those people call me "dad," and I'm married to the other one.
I wish I had some cool origin story about how it all came to be, but the truth is I set it up when I first set my account up. I just thought that's what you did...
Hi Arjan—I added a payment option to Mixed Migration—hebdo a couple of months ago, after passing 300 free subscribers, but I've kept all my posts open. I rely on journalism I can access for free to populate my Substack, so I felt hypocritical throwing up a paywall, and I also worried that I would lose readers given that I only had a modest readership.
My formula is an ask: if you can afford to pay for, please feel free to do so; if you can't, please continue reading for free (a bit like what the Guardian does). Here's a link to the post where I announce this: https://mixedmigration.substack.com/p/february-28-march-7-2022-mixed-migrationhebdo?s=w—and I now have an ask at the top of every newsletter, thanking my paid subscribers and inviting other readers to switch to a paid sub if they can afford, but also to not worry if they don't.
I hope this helps! Like investing in the Indian stock market, tracking global migration news is a bit of a niche... good luck growing your readership!
Thanks Joel. Those are great tips. I have been looking at The Guardian model as well.
I probably didn't exactly follow the formula, but I went paid with only a handful of subscribers (maybe...20? 30?) because I knew exactly what my minimum paid model was going to look like: paid subs are paying for a monthly issue of my prayer-poetry e-book. Easy. I definitely want to throw in a few bonuses here and there for my paid subs, but it's clear to them what they are getting and it's clear to me, too, so I don't have to panic that I haven't given them "enough".
Oh, that's a great advice. Clarity. Being open and clear about what's in it, is actually super fair. Great tip, thanks.
Full disclosure: I learned this lesson the hard way. Years ago I had a Patreon and ZERO idea of what I was doing with it. I kept up at first, but there were two months when I posted nothing and people were still paying, and the guilt ate me alive. I ended up having to refund the money, and I was mortified. I told myself: never again. If anyone is going to pay for my work on a subscription basis, I'm going to make it super duper clear for both of us. So far it's working great! :)
I've done this, because I'm writing about the science behind important issues and a lot of my motivation is the public good of more people understanding important science topics. So I've given people the option to pay me but have not paywalled my work. I've had a fairly low rate of free subscribers converting to paid, but I've been quite happy with the results.
Thanks for your reply, Melanie. I was wondering indeed how much of my free subscribers would convert and not expecting very much from that. However, I was also thinking that by going paid, I might attract a new audience, that are convinced because of it being paid. Did you notice a difference in new signups when you went paid?
I'm not sure that I noticed a difference, although I admit I haven't been doing much in terms of promotion lately, I've been a bit slack there as I've got a deadline coming up for my main job.
When you publish, where do you post besides socials/hacker news/discords/reddits, trying to see where else we can share our work and get new eyes. Also, we have some room in the Twitter Hype pod I believe for a few writers, follow @youtopianj and I will see what I can do.
I post on twitter, insta and LinkedIn (mines about quitting bullshit jobs so kind of relevant). Is reddit useful to anyone?
Reddit has been great for me but a lot of the sign ups are hit or miss.
Running multiple social channels can be a lot of work. I know it was for my newsletter. That's why I created https://newslettertosocials.com , which will suggest engaging content directly from your newsletter, and automate the scheduling process on Twitter + LinkedIn (Instagram soon to come!)
Just on Twitter right now. I was trying to post in a bunch of places, but it just wound up being inconsistent.
I think you mentioned this a few weeks back? I'm following.
Yes, still exploring new avenues for new readers.
Yes, I'm only doing socials, but I can certainly grow. A lot. So I'm following this thread closely :)
Hey fellow writers! Has anyone experimented with their domain name (i.e., transitioned from one domain to another)? I'm considering it, but I feel like updating links could be a massive undertaking. I'm also anxious about potentially tanking my SEO.
When I ported the contents of a WordPress site to Substack (100+ articles), I opted to use a custom URL for Substack. Once that process occurred, I went through each article and updated the in-article links pointing to my WordPress site to point to articles on the Substack site. It took a few hours but was straightforward. Also, I set up a process so anyone hitting an article on my WordPress site is automatically routed to the same article on Substack. I don't know if that helped things, but if I google at article title or topic, the Google results commonly show my Substack link rather than the WordPress link. (I've been in Substack for only a month or so.
Hey Carter!
This should be possible technically without too much setup. However like you pointed out, your SEO might be hurt a bit.
If you would like to do this though, the way to do it would be to use a service that lets you do a host level redirect. This way it should preserve any path parameters. There are probably multiple ways to set this up. One example is CloudFlare and they have community contributed documentation for this: https://community.cloudflare.com/t/redirecting-one-domain-to-another/81960
When this is setup, what would happen is that anyone that goes to:
- stockduediligence .com/p/what-if-the-stock-market-crashed
would be redirected to:
- yournewdomain .com/p/what-if-the-stock-market-crashed
There will be a brief moment of downtime (probably a few minutes) as you would have to switch to the new domain within Substack and then save that rule to CloudFlare.
Hope that helps!
Hi everyone!
I'm toying with the idea of adding a podcast to my newsletter. Interview-based. Not sure if I want to a micropod of 5 mins or something 15 mins or maybe 25. Have no idea how difficult or easy Substack interface is to use. I suppose I just don't know how difficult this could be.
Any tips? Success stories? Resources?
Barry.
Exciting! Writers have gotten pretty creative with podcasts on Substack — interviews, post read-alouds, etc.
Here are some ideas on audio post types: https://on.substack.com/p/how-to-bring-more-audio-into-your?s=w
There's some great advice shared in our Podcast Office Hours from a couple weeks ago: https://on.substack.com/p/office-hours-40/comments?s=w
And for inspiration, here's a curated compilation of writers using audio on Substack: https://on.substack.com/p/what-to-read-podcasts?s=w
This is all so helpful, Jasmine. Thank you!
I have two newsletters and podcasts (my second one is litthinkpodcast.substack.com). The interface is super easy to use. I record on Audacity, edit, and upload.
Thanks so much, Sarah! Will check out. Do you think learning to edit is a steep curve?
Depends 😂 When it's just mine, it's easy because I just have to add the music and edit out all of the mistakes I make while recording (and the episodes are shorter). When it's the two of us, I have to mix and edit more. That's why I'm really hoping we can start making some extra cash on the side. But it's doable and as long as you create a reasonable schedule (every other week or once a month), it's fun!
You're convincing me! Thanks, Sarah!
Apologies if this has been asked here before but I can't see the answer elsewhere: is it possible to send an email only to 'founding' level paid subscribers (rather than just all free or all paid)…?
Andrew, you can email individual subscribers, or a subset of subscribers, by going into Subscribers and checking the box next to their names. (You could also filter by Subscription type to make sure you're choosing all your Founders.)
Ah that's great - thank you!
I think community is the key word. It can take a long time to build a community. It is one of the things that really attracted me to Substack.
In New Zealand we have a Maori saying that I really like. It goes He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
It comes from a proverb. What is the most important thing in the world? It is the people, it is the people, it is the people.
Lovely proverb, Luigi. Don't forget who you are writing for; don't forget your people. In my case, I write what I love which is personal development. I'm confident that those who love that too will eventually find me.
Hi I'm new to Substack. Wondering how to go about getting/growing subscribers when most people can just click on the link I share when I promote it and read rather than subscribing?
Try asking them to subscribe and tell them why it is important to you. That should encourage some kind of engagement with you, I think.
Thanks!
Coming to this late, but wondering if anyone else is experiencing a sudden jump in subscribers. Like hockey-stick level growth? (For me, that means more than 150 new signups in the last 36 hours). What I'm wondering is where this is coming from and whether these are spam accounts. I've scoured the web and social media and found no evidence that anyone with a truly BIG following suddenly decided to point people my way. Also, a lot of these email addresses are suspicious like mlassiter304@gmail and forbeshamilton238@gmail and majicman1973@gmail and jcp61874@gmail. It frankly looks too good to be true, and while I suppose it doesn't matter all that much, gaining hundreds of fake subscribers will just make my open rates less meaningful. Anyone else seeing this or have ideas?
I WISH that would happen! I don't see that your gmail examples might be illegitimate. What is there about them that causes you concern? A lot of people add numbers after their email names, my daughter included. I don't know why, frankly, but it's pretty common.
I only use gmail for my accounts, and I have three of them, so I don't pay much attention. Anyway, congratulations on the surge. Send some of them my way!
Ah! I’m very new to Substack and hate that I missed this chat about community-building! Adding it to my calendar for sure.
Because I’ve finally gotten to a headspace where I’m giving myself permission to finally show up to do what I love (writing about what I wanna share!!), it makes every subscriber genuinely make me SUPER excited!
I’ve never felt such joy any time I see views go up, another subscriber, if people buy me a matcha and write supportive messages, comments...
I LOVE when people resonate with something I truly love doing so it makes it so much more easy for me to show up to talk about it all with anyone who takes time out to show up for me!
I am very, very new to substack. Just got my account created and still preparing the first post, my introduction to the weekly newsletter. These features - this discussion and the emails and the other resources - are great. Really great. Exactly what I need and hoped to find. The possibility of finding this kind of support from the platform and from other writers is almost as important to me as the ability to directly engage with the (future) subscribers. Looking forward to learning and interacting and, later, making contributions to my new home. Randy Green
Hi, I have a question. Has anyone found a best day of the week (for those who publish weekly) to release their newsletter? Do weekends work better than weekdays? Or is consistency the key?
Hi Sharon, I haven't found a best day yet, but weekends seem to be slow for me. Mondays, too, for some reason. Everyone will tell you something different because we're writing for different audiences so there probably never will be a consensus. Some writers only publish on Sunday, for instance. It'll be trial and error for a while until you get a feel for what your readers want.
Thank you for responding, Ramona. I currently publish on a Tuesday, but I may trial later in the week to see how that goes. I read that James Clear, who authored Atomic Habits, published his newsletter every Monday and Thursday without fail for several years to a wide audience. Possibly consistency is more important than timing after all.
Trying it out to see how your readers react is time-consuming and the outcome can still be iffy. Consistency may be the answer, but if James Clear has built a loyal enough audience, I suspect they're going to read him, no matter when he publishes.
Last August I asked my newsletter readers about publishing too frequently, and about sticking to a schedule vs. publishing sporadically. The comments are interesting! https://writereverlasting.substack.com/p/how-often-is-too-often?s=w
We are finding a good number read our articles but few subscribe. Any tips?
We are experiencing a small amount of subscribers each time but nothing exponential.
Have you been adding header and footer notes, as well as “subscribe” buttons? Those help with conversion and context for new readers
Hi Bailey, yes we put subscribe and share buttons throughout the articles. If there's anything else we would definitely be open to it.
Wondering if shorter newsletters have lower open rates? Or do longer newsletters have higher because the reader has to come back to read the piece multiple times? Thoughts?
Multiple opens don't affect the open rate. Open rate is number of unique opens/number of recipients.
My newsletters are between 1200 and 1600 words, or a six minute read according to the post stats. Not sure if that qualifies as a short or long newsletter, but I have around 72% open rate currently. It's dropping as I get more subscribers though.
Newsletter length/content shouldn't impact open rates - rates look at a distinct number of subscribers that opened the email so opening multiple times shouldn't impact this metric. I can imagine longer newsletters getting more total opens for the reason you mentioned (though I haven't validated this myself)!
I’m curious if others have found it helpful to focus on a community or your state?
Some from Australia and New Zealand have formed a collective to support each other. Melanie of The Turnstone can speak to that. Also, Jackie Dana writes about St. Louis, Missouri and has gotten good responses to her work.
Thank you.
Hello! I have been writing an entertainment newsletter for several months, and I’m thinking about writing another newsletter that features slice-of-life essays.
Have any of you written two separate newsletters that have different focuses/tones and potentially different audiences? If so, how has it worked for you?
I've given this a lot of thought b/c I write about music/culture (with a lot of personal anecdotes woven-in) but then I have a lot of works in progress related to parenting and anxiety, and I've also started writing on "culture-war" issues as a way of combating/remedying "woke" dogma (from the perspective of a leftist who rejects it).
I've also had concerns that this is going to confuse my audience, but the advice I got from someone I know who's really up on media trends was "People are ultimately coming to your page b/c they want YOU - so if that stuff is all you, then you might as well have it all under one roof."
Very interesting. I recently published a very personal post about grief in my current pop culture/entertainment newsletter, and my audience loved it. I was worried that I would turn them off, but I wanted them to know why I was taking a break from my otherwise very consistent publishing schedule.
Writing as our whole selves does make sense, but I worry about genre and audience and marketing.
I worry about that too, but I'm giving it a try. I'm sure I'll pick things up by trial and error.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your optimism with me!
I just thought I'd share a video I made about the beauty of connection, since I know there is plenty of the opposite out there...hugs to all who need them.
https://lilychili.substack.com/p/friendship-island-stories-of-connection?utm_source=%2Finbox&utm_medium=reader2&s=w
Wow, you are truly a beautiful soul. Thanks for the virtual hug!
:) You're so welcome! Beautiful souls find each other. We link up arms and hugs across the stratosphere and we create a holy grid of loving solidarity that dissolves out all darkness.
If any of you are writing content on growth, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical and financial growth for creators or for millennial & GenZ then I would like to collaborate with others you for my latest newsletter getschooled.Substack.com
I could be down.
Let’s connect sometime and see how we can collaborate for our newsletters
Sure, info@shaungold.com
Perfect my email is drhimannshusharma@gmail.com
"But yet, I write. Because for me, writing contains multitudes.
To write is to wade, alone, into the vast, murky ocean of thought and idea. It is equal parts treading water and drowning, a haphazard stumbling toward insight and inspiration. It is plumbing into the depths of your soul, groping around to grab hold of something true and real and unique and you. It is casting and reeling, changing the tackle and hoping that the Big One doesn’t just nibble at your hook, but firmly latches on. And that you can successfully reel it in."
From: https://www.whitenoise.email/p/why-i-write?s=w
Well-put. Who is that quote from?
Me, via my newsletter! :)
On, nice! That's what I thought at first, but the quotation marks threw me off.