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Although there are occasions where I need to dig a little deeper for an idea, or to express a thought, I don't find writing hard. I've been reading a lot of comments about how if you don't find writing difficult then somehow you aren't doing it correctly, or aren't pushing yourself enough. I don't buy that though. I'm not saying everything I write is of a much higher quality, but once I start it flows fairly easy, where I can write 2k words in a single sitting on a normal day. Now, editing that does often take me longer, but it's not "hard". It's fun! Am I crazy here, or am I missing something?
I'm with you, Brian. Maybe it's that I have written professionally for so many years, I don't even think about it anymore -- I sit down and I write and there's zero angst involved. Is it always my very best work? Do I feel 100% on point every day? Am I never tired or burned out? No, no, no. But the narrative that it's agony is so far from the truth for me, too.
I'm so happy to hear that Sarah. I thought maybe I was getting arrogant or something. I know I have many areas I can improve, and like you mentioned, I'm not always 100 percent, but I don't think I would have started a Substack if writing were creative agony.
Do plumbers feel angst when tackling a u bend? The tortured writer thing is largely self inflicted and self fulfilling as far as I can tell. Misguided romanticism, you know?
Well, I'm not really a writer at all...but my story needs to be told. I actually enjoy it, when I'm in the process. My main goal is to inspire others to have a go. Mental health is also a motivation. To find joy in your life EVERYDAY is important, because for years I only found joy now and then. If that makes sense:))
We're individuals. Some people have problems getting the words down, some people can get the words down but they're dull as fu*k, some people are constantly finding new ways to sabotage themselves and have a kind of novelty procrastination hit, and other people fly along writing without a care in the world but can't sleep because they're worried about the leak in the attic.
Exactly. For me, it depends what I'm writing and when I'm writing. Mostly, I enjoy it. Sometimes it's great fun. Sometimes its hellish. With my Substack, I do usually enjoy it, but some articles just turn out to be really hard to write, I just can't get into the flow. Oddly, I'm told that this struggle is not apparent in the writing.
If I am finding it difficult to get the words and thoughts down, I need to go back and check my preparation. I write non-fiction articles about health, well-being, and flourishing. All articles start with preparing a mindmap of the subject, showing how the points relate to one another. Writing from the mindmap is easy when I have done it well. If not, I struggle with bridging thoughts and getting words on paper. Don't know how this works with fiction, though.
I have endless ideas, and millions (probably literally) of atomic notes. Some on my digital brain, some on napkins, some on other things entirely.
Sitting down and cohering my thoughts on paper (or screen) is quite challenging, as my mind is always pulled into another direction, or I get too honed in on a sentence and completely lose sight of the whole piece.
I don't have this experience at all with painting or designing.
I find expressing my thoughts verbally is easier, but I cringe listening to myself speak so that's not a method I've adopted.
Have you tried using the voice to text function? I use Apple notes when I’m out and about - it writes out what I dictate (usually accurately) and I then add it into what I’m writing. That way, no wasted time …
Mentioned above, but "dragon" is a better program that is smarter about using context to put together what you actually mean. Counter-intuitively, the more you talk without pausing, the better it is at guessing what you said. Speaking one word at a time and waiting for the transcription to catch up actually deprives the software of the context it needs to work.
My idea of "Time wasting" is changing a lot. Currently, sitting for an hour with my eyes closed is actually time better spent for me than ticking off as many boxes on the daily to-do list.
If you have a bit of money to spare, I'd look into getting Dragon dictates. I don't use it *all* the time, but when I just want to word vomit, I can get up to almost 3,000 words per hour. It takes a lot of practice to use efficiently though.
On the plus side: I can now "write" in the car on my way to and from work.
Hey thanks for the sub! I just saw it on my email :).
I think it's a matter of practice as well though. Discipline isn't my strong suit, but actually I do find my ability to write improves the more I do it. At some point, I probably had to learn the same thing about illustrating, but I was younger and probably just wasn't judging myself too harshly...!
Yeah passion is totally different than discipline. I really like creating in a free form way...wherever the wind takes me, but bigger projects require focused time
For sure. And that's something I learned doing business. I started Co-Create because I wanted to bring what I learned from being in business and apply to creative projects. They may be passion-led but they take just as much structure, if not more, to really flourish.
I think it's misguided to think that pain is required for writing to be good - yes, sometimes it flows quicker than others, and sometimes it's better than others, but ... it shouldn't hurt.
I was forced to get over writers block ages ago. When I started working as an attorney, I had to write many different things, and I was compelled to write constantly,
Hence, writers block was precluded by the very terms of my employment.
Of course, my voluminous and steady work product is not always up to snuff. Writing that which is good -- That is the issue.
You have to produce bad or mediocre work in volume to produce excellent stuff. If 1% of your work is good, then the more work you, the higher the volume of that 1%!
And it's also not quite that linear so the more work you do, the excellent stuff is more like 5-10%. That's about the strength of my math but I think I've made my point.
i think a lot of it depends on what you're writing about. for me, the hard parts of writing come when i'm posing myself a question or problem i don't yet have a fully formed answer or solution to and writing to try to arrive at my answer. this, for me, is a laborious and often frustrated process that doesn't take a simple, straightforward course. it often requires several attempts, drafts, and rewrites before--if i'm lucky--i arrive at something i'm remotely satisfied with. sometimes i never get there. i'm glad others have a more uncomplicated process that brings them certainty or leaves them with fewer doubts, but for me, writing is _about_ the doubts. in my case, the whole point is to learn and challenge myself. if it wasn't at least a little hard, it wouldn't be worthwhile. of course, if i'm writing about something i already understand completely, that's much easier, though not always as interesting...
I value your frank and transparent and humble comment. And I agree with you, it depends on what we’re writing: whether we’re mining the depths of our soul — or writing content that is less intimate and calls on our intellectual resources.
I've been writing for so long that it is almost second nature. However, ideas don't always flow easily, but if I keep at it those little (or humongous) blocks eventually start to crumble!
You're absolutely on the right track. I'm glad you're not buying into the angst. Keep it that way. If you've decided that writing is your path, then writing should bring you joy and reward, not pain and torture. It is work, and sometimes we love our work and sometimes it gets us down a little. But it's a process, and we have to trust the process if we believe in it. As for those people who say they love writing but hate editing: editing is so much a part of writing that it’s impossible to separate the two or to measure the value ratio of one part of the process to the other.
"Editing is to writing as a buttonhole is to a button, as a bootlace is to a boot,
as water is to rain."
And if you think you want to write but you absolutely hate writing and are miserable and filled with angst, then I can only suggest that you do what I do with house cleaning: outsource it to someone who does it well and loves doing it, and spend that valuable time doing something you love doing instead. Yes, I mean don't do it - don't write! Let it go! Find a different dream. There are so many more dreams out there!
Then it all evens out in the end! The reason why I asked this question is because 5 or so years ago I went on an art journey. I improved greatly over those years, made some amazing friends and connections, but it never was easy. I could never get into a flow, and everything felt like work. I kept thinking I would get to a point where that would change, but it never did. Finally I decided to go back to my first creative love, which was writing. I find it very enjoyable, and is a great creative outlet.
I think the editing is hard when you are also the creator, seeing what we think we are saying clearly through our lens is not the same to others. I rarely get more than a draft or two before publishing which is part of the get it out first, then come back later and review with a fresh mind.
I am curious to know how people ask for feedback about their writing to their subscribers! I use a poll (I am hoping Substack will give this option too!) which basically is a link to a vote by Feedletter. Subscribers can click on three options:
👍 That helped me. Thanks.
😐 Meh - was ok.
👎 Not interesting to me.
Then people can leave anonymous feedback. Curious to learn about other people's experiences!
It's a combination. What I ask now mostly is about the subject, do they find it interesting? But I would love to get different kinds of feedback like asking:
- When would you like to receive the newsletter which time of day?
- Which topic do you find interesting/do you want to learn more about?
- How long would you like the newsletters to be etc.
ah! for these things, none of my readers will tell me directly. And honestly, I'm not sure I can answer them myself if other writers I subscribe to asked me. (with the exception of length - especially if you're sending 2 a week, I suggest shorter posts, but that's me)
I've only found the answers to these questions pretty much through test and trial
I send out all surveys via Google Forms and I ask specific questions about what I'd like to know. Sometimes I offer an entry to a giveaway as an incentive. Sometimes I send it in an email only to a targeted subgroup of my paid/free lists. It depends on the feedback I'm looking for, but every time I do it, I learn something valuable about my audience.
I too used Google Forms for a survey last December. I sent it to my entire subscriber list and got a 25% response which I thought wasn't too bad. I will probably do it again toward the end of the year.
Google Forms are a great idea. I'm just starting to explore the Google suite of apps. Completely in love with Google Keep! And emailing a targeted list...great tip. Thank you
Keep is a great asset for me too, Lloyd. I write non-fiction articles about wellbeing, health, and personal growth. There is a lot of research in each article, and I use Keep to gather all the quotes, websites, and images I want to use. The drawing feature is wonderful for mindmapping the outline of the article, and when I have done that well, the words just flow easily. I need to look into the other Google Suite apps.
I very much love and second the idea of polling being an option. A customizable poll usable for any purpose would be a fantastic addition to our writer’s toolkit.
One of my favorite Substackers does something similar with Google Docs. My question for you is: how do you think the response is? Are you happy with the number of people who give feedback?
I am. I mean, I always wish there was *more* feedback, but it's usually 10-15% of the number of people I send it to. (And the time I sent one to my free + paid subs together, with an incentive of being entered in a giveaway that included four prizes, the response was twice that).
I'd rather have honest, thoughtful feedback from a few people than slapdash responses from many more. (I sometimes reach out to my most engaged subscribers and with a survey tailored to them specifically, because they know my newsletter the best and I value their opinions the most. I've seen 100% response rates on some of those.)
I do the google docs, but I only send it too particularly engaged or invested readers/listeners/sponsors. I generally get about 80-90% feedback. Then for the larger audience, I use surveys through social media to ask specific one-off questions over time. It's a bit of a pain, but it helps me apply value to the opinions.
On a few posts, I've asked readers a question at the end to prompt feedback. That has helped. Everyone needs a prompt! Love the idea of the polls too, particularly as I debate the length of posts that work best. Short, pithy. Long and verbose (my tendency, unfortunately). Really appreciate the community here. Very helpful.
Hi Alf, It looks like you're getting a pretty good "like" response rate for a newsletter that is only a few months old. Congratulations! That's a great start !
I'm a former therapist and am more interested in mental health than in mental illness, and so much of our public conversation is about illness. In this post, and the one before it, https://findinghome.substack.com/p/i-am-not-okay?s=w, I'm trying to broaden the conversation. Perhaps what I'm saying in this reply is by focusing on health instead of illness, you may draw more people to your newsletter. I think everyone is struggling with mental health these days, but few identify as mentally ill. Do you know what I mean?
Also, in terms of feedback - this may or may not be helpful: I discovered that my readers want me to write as one of them, not as an expert in my field or with language of my discipline and/or academia. So, it depends on who your audience is. And from there you can figure out how your audience typically likes to give feedback.
What you say, Jan, is really valid. I too write about wellbeing and health, a bit broader than just mental health, and writing from the "we" perspective seems to engage my audience better than the "you" perspective.
How do you know when it's time to say no more, and the story is finished? I would like seventies sensual symbol and actor Charles Bronson to give me the answer. I day-dream about it - does that still count?
Some say that after five-years of drafts, Joseph Heller’s publisher told him “You need to stop and publish *now*. As I recall, *Catch-22” did rather well and even became a “catch-phrase,” but if he had just kept drafting, I’d have never been able to read it over ten-times over the years. And find new things every time.
You can tinker with something to death. I used to be that way pre Substack. But the regular deadline accountability got me just putting stuff out there come what may. I’ve sent out things with the odd horrific typo. No one cares if the writing is authentic though. This was a great lesson for me to learn tbh, broke a lot of unhelpful perfectionism which was really a mask for fear.
Thanks! I too have always been an “Imperfectionist.” That is true in my entire life, but as I work my way through my 80th-year on-the-planet, starting with triple-bypass-heart surgery, I have realized that I need to shitcan that trait. Easier said than done
No Bronson here, sorry, but I have something of a mental check list, including looking to the opening/beginning, and seeing if there is any connecting between that and the close. It should almost have the sense of placing the last piece of a puzzle. If I don't have that feeling, I know I have a bit more work to do.
When you can't think of anything else and when trying to force yourself. You can pause the story and revisit it in a couple days or a week to unwind and if you find yourself still not being able to add anything, then it might as well be finished.
How do you find that sweet spot of sharing enough but not too much of your personal life in your writing (for those who focus on that kind of newsletter)? Shannan Martin is a fave of mine who seems to find that balance. Shauna Niequist, too. I'd love for either to answer!
I'm also trying to figure this out (and I do write that kind of newsletter, I think). Currently what I'm experimenting with is to send two posts - a regular post (long-form on a particular idea/topic, sent to both free and paying subs) and an updates post (very personal, speaking directly to the person receiving the email, sent only to paying subs). So in the latter I go completely personal, whereas in the former I'd only use stories from my life to bring forward a wider point.
I find that sharing my current pain is not a good idea. It's better to draw examples from further back. Because then I have done healing work that I need to give clarity and compassion to a situation. I think both Shannan and Shauna do the same thing.
I'm intrigued what's been your no.1 new subscriber growth tactic?
For me, it's been one viral LinkedIn post that went to 4.5m views and then I dropped a comment below that thanked everyone for the great conversation and then soft pushed the newsletter. Literally accelerated the growth from 40 people to 240 people in a week!
Well, that is a great post. And an engaging topic. Well done. Now I'm going to wreck my brains the next few years on how I can translate that into something that fits with my poetry newsletter. I like that challenge.
A big thing for me is: is there such a thing as posting too much with a newsletter? Is daily too much or should I just be blogging instead? I'd ask people like Adam Grant or David Epstein that only post 1 - 2 times/month.
Thank you for asking this. There's a substack I follow which has great content but I've been thinking if there's a way I can tactfully tell them they post too much. Twice a day minimum, occasionally 3 times a day. They have great stuff but I find I am doing mental triage--I find myself categorizing their content as spam and not looking at it unless the title really, really appeals to me, and I decide to indulge my notifications. Once a day is probably fine, but I wouldn't do more than that.
There IS an option to publish without notifying people--I see some newsletters that are like "magazines" where they publish "quietly" and then do a roundup with a summary of everything they've posted since the last one. I think that is a GREAT solution if you find yourself with a lot to write about.
"There IS an option to publish without notifying people--I see some newsletters that are like "magazines" where they publish "quietly" and then do a roundup with a summary of everything they've posted since the last one. I think that is a GREAT solution if you find yourself with a lot to write about."
Are there buttons on substack one should click on to publish "quietly." Can you tell us the precise logistics of publishing quietly ?
When you go to publish an article, do not check the box that says "email subscribers and notify app users" or whatever it says. You can still publish, but no one will know about it. Later on, when you do a roundup, you can link to all your quietly published content.
Initially, I heard that one should post either every other day or once every three days.
Then, I heard a lot of people on substack say that one should post once per week
I have recently bifurcated my newsletter: One subdivision is devoted to political prose. The second section is devoted to prose on subjects outside of politics and to poetry too.
Since I have two sections in my newsletter, should I post twice per week, one item every week for the political section and one item a week for the non political section
Yes - unfortunately, ONLY you would know the answer to your dilemma!
Whilst we're on the subject, how *do* you create a separate section on your newsletter? I see it done, but I don't understand how to create a new section technically?
So far, I've found twice weekly - consistently and on the same days - works well for me. It's tempting to do more, but I don't want to saturate peoples' inboxes - and I hope they look forward to their Monday/Thursday diversion.
For me once per week is the sweet spot. I’ve tried prolific short posting, a consistent weekly output and taking 2-3 weeks to write a monster essay with reams of footnotes and all the rest of it, but in the end a new piece every Saturday has proven to be my bread and butter. But to each their own.
Mine is weekly, and I designed it to be no more that 1-2 minutes to read (because that's about the level of MY attention span).
Long-form writing, I like to receive less frequently. So I can really sit and enjoy them, and not have such a backlog of posts that I feel I'm missing out.
Daily ones are good when they're straightforward. Like 'poem-a-day', or a spotify playlist to click on each morning or whatever.
I have really been contemplating a lot lately and trying to answer "Why bother?" with writing and creating in general. What is the thing that drives you forward? I collected a couple of thoughts from fellow writers in the process and it was an interesting experience to self-reflect so deeply. I wish I could really ask Dostoevsky and Van Gogh about it ... because creating something is... a lot of hard work.
"I bother because I enjoy playing with words and editing my sentences. I bother because writing improves my thinking, and I bother because I like to ask, "What should we cook?" with my library. I bother because I like to test my perseverance, and I bother because I want to contribute and build. I bother because I am fortunate that I have the time, and I bother because I find it exciting when strangers like your work, too. And, finally, I bother because I hope to inspire others. Could this be vanity?"
Thank you for this, Igor. Thank you, because I wonder how many of us wonder, and contemplate our motivation, and ask ourselves why we bother to get up and get on it every day, when there's no guarantee of a 'like' or a readership. I believe we bother and continue to get on it every day because we need to stay connected with ourselves and with the world around us and inside us, and we can't ever give up on that. My job as a writer is to witness the world, and to write down what I witness, because somebody must. Could this be vanity? Yes, but I prefer to think of it as an act of giving, of doing my part, with the humble tools I was given.
Definitely bother because it helps me solve my own issues and think about them with a less biased mind...
Having me write it out causes me to think how others might perceive my feelings or my reactions which helps me kind of filter like “hey....this is how it should or could be”
Then I continue living with those new bits of info in my head
I write because I have to. It's an inner drive. I see things I feel the need to share about. I've been focusing on doing that in poetry form, now, and it is really a great way to get that urge out. Lately, I also feel the need to write and share it, because I see an increasing polarisation. I like to have and use a gentle voice. I hope my work inspires empathy. With my poetry, that I sometimes refer to as snapshot poetry, I hope to show a way on how you could see the world. Most of my poems are shared with a photo I took of the thing that inspired the poem. With that, I hope to show not just how I see the world, but also what I saw, so that my readers can compare and find out there are simply different ways of looking at the world. I think that is an important thing to realize. My way is not necessarily the only, the best, the logical way.
This is also why I try to share as much issues of substack newsletters that have original poetry as I can. I do have some room for growth, there, as there are some I don't share. I will, I just have to get over myself, and that takes a while. Also, I have a section in my newsletter where I always share three poems I've found elsewhere. For the same reason.
I wrote about that this week in a post about the shift from sabbatical work while I was employed by a college to the independent writing I'm doing now. The "so what" question is a big part of it. I like Gillian Welch's answer to it. See below.
Hey everyone! Happy Thursday! Hope all is well! I've been sitting on this question for a while...and I think it falls under writerly advice. Lol.
I'm thinking of starting to have Guest Posts on my Substack Newsletter. I hang out on Twitter 24/7 and I have a good idea of the wrestling writers that contribute to wrestling sites and sometimes just write for their own gain.
I have multiple questions (I think) but in the end I'm looking for guidance and confidence to open up - which I don't normally do - and ask for guest wrestling posts.
1. If anyone does guest posts, what made you decide to include that in your newsletter or work?
2. What red flags should I look out for venturing into this unknown territory for me?
3. Do you put the guest posts behind a pay wall or no?
4. Do you pay the guests for their guest posts? Not everyone likes exposure.
5. Do I have to think of contracts?
6. What's your editing process like?
7. How often do you post guests posts? Once a month, weekly, or other?
Let me pause on the questions. Lol. These might just be a guidence for me. Any answers or help or thoughts can help. Appreciate anything. Thanks!
I’ve done a few guest posts. Number question to ask yourself is if the guest’s writing fits in with your own. It doesn’t have to align exactly, either. For example, I wrote about music. On the surface that’s not a match, but a story about the music wrestlers use might be (I hope that makes sense).
Biggest red flag for me is when someone turns it into a homework assignment for you. If you’re guest posting, well, be a guest!
I don’t pay anyone, and haven’t asked to be paid. Im totally down for either, of course.
I run guest posts as I receive them… which is to say not that often. I’d run them regularly if the submissions were there.
I decided to do them for two reasons: to feature voices other than my own, and to give myself a bit of a break from cranking out content twice a week for years 😊
I didn't put out a blanket ask for guest posts; rather, I got in touch with people whose work I was already familiar with and went from there. Some people approach me, and if it's a good fit, we collaborate, and if not, I just gently say no thank you.
I do not pay for guest posts -- usually because I'm writing one for them and they're writing one for me, so it's a trade situation.
I have never had a contract for a guest post. That's way too formal for where I'm at.
My editing process is light. I make it clear that I will copyedit text but not fundamentally change the meaning. When I write guest posts for other people I usually say something along the lines of, "Edit as needed." It's definitely a point of trust between us but again, almost all of the people I've done this with are at least internet/Substack friends and so the relationship is already there.
I've set a schedule for one guest post a month. I don't want my subscribers to burn out on them, but I do like doing them and want to continue.
I agree with everything Sarah said and I would add that I always send a draft to the interviewee before publishing. I want them to be totally comfortable with the edits I’ve made. No one has ever made substantive changes and everyone seems to appreciate the opportunity to review.
this is a good option for ppl that don't have a platform or a place to showcase their writing. it keeps your content fresh and provides your audience with different perspectives. I see it as a great resource to connect, network and show good leadership
Thank you! I appreciate that. Part of me does want to showcase other's perspectives in wrestling. Part of me also wants to showcase women voices in wrestling because I know we are there in the community but we hardly Collab with each other. I collab more with the guys and at times collab with guys who happen to have another lady wrestling fan on as a panel guest. Thanks again!
Right now, you only have one thing on your feed and there isn't a lot of context for it. Your about page doesn't say much about what you newsletter is about either, so if I cam across it I'm unlikely to subscribe.
So I would deal with your first basics (about page, one liner, getting clear on the purpose of your newsletter and your target readers, and your schedule of posting), and then produce a good number of posts (or 1-2 EXCELLENT posts).
Then you can come to writers hour and interact with other writers who might check you out and subscribe. You can also spend time emailing everyone your know and cares about you to subscribe, and sharing on relevant platforms (discord, twitter, instagram etc.).
That's step one. Step two is promoting it, whilst improving your newsletter writing until you find a formula that works for you and your readers.
In all brutal honesty: I think your newsletter issues could use a bit of context. I have a hard time figuring out what the point is that you are trying to make. Admittedly, I'm European and I live in Europe, so the fact that we are living in two different worlds is one thing.
The post about the Mary Trump Twofer Tuesday thing was completely confusing to me.
Write what the younger you was dying to read and couldn’t find. Connect with people. Be patient and focus on the long term mastery of your craft. Subscriber numbers stay stagnant for ages and then they all come at once. It isn’t linear.
I also really enjoy Mason Currey. I recently became a paying subscriber of his and he also is building up a pretty nice Discord community to talk further about idea, advice, share work, etc.
I've noticed that in a single writing session I can have LOTS of ideas on how I want to write a post. How do you manage your ideas and how do you pick the best one and move forward?
Who has been using the video feature? Are you using it in addition to YouTube? Instead of YouTube? I have a super small following on YouTube and I was honestly happy to get 20 views on my last video. Would I be better off just posting them here in Substack? Also, is there a way to embed Substack video posts into additional newsletters?
Hey Sarah! I've been using the video feature! I completely stopped using my YouTube Channel despite some decent numbers when it comes to my niche passion for wrestling. Sometimes Youtube will hit my videos with a copyright strike when I create educational style wrestling videos - discussing storylines, character development, and more. So I decided to move and be free. My numbers fluxuates depending on who sees the email vs who doesn't see the email. And every hour it calculates how many minutes was watched. I have a wrestler interview up and last, I checked it was 6 video plays with 131 mins watched. I haven't decided is this is good enough for me. This wrestler interview video is for paid subscribers with a good chunk of it as a preview. I still have 2 paid subscribers. I also have a Tape Study Tuesday series where my twitch community and I watch wrestling matches from a specific wrestler, and I give commentary and even break down matches and stories if I can. I take that twitch stream, edit it, and put up the content as a video for my Substack community that didn't get the chance to watch it live with me via twitch. The last one I did has 6 video plays with 6 minutes. So yeah. I think we need more analytics or something. You can always experiment with the video feature and see how it works for you. That's my experience with it.
UPDATE! Being curious is awesome! So, you are able to click on the video plays to see more analytics like video playback duration to see where people dropped off in the video. Also, my podcast episodes get played more than the video posts. I have both audio and video in my newsletters.
You're welcome! Glad it was helpful. You can always still upload to YouTube but in a bite size videos and at the end and in the description encourage your followers to sign up to your newsletter. Passerby viewers may do the same. It can help as an extra step in marketing. I also added an update to my previous reply because I just found out you can see the playback duration!
Oddly, the book “Work Clean: The Life Changing Power of Mise-en-Place to Organize Your Life, Work, and Mind by dan Charnas is been an indirect source of deep wisdom for me about the writing process. For those who are unfamiliar with the term “mise-en-place” it literally means “everything in its place." In cooking and baking, it refers to the action of preparation before you start your recipe. The saying got its start in professional kitchens across the globe, as it's one of the first foundational techniques many chefs learn..The book “Work Clean” breaks this process down into three pillars that for me offer a lateral thinking way of looking at the writing process. (1) Pre-Prep -- i.e. outlining and organizing what I am going to write. (2) Process -- i.e. the actual writing of the draft (3) Presence -- The enjoyment of editing, vacuuming, dusting, and messaging the final product-- i.e like putting the final decorations on a birthday cake. For every article, I do each of these elements of the process on different days.
I'd like to add sections to my newsletter without creating separate newsletters. Is that possible? If someone is subscribed to my main newsletter, are free subscriptions automatically linked to all new sections created within it?
I ask this because my main idea was to just organize my archived materials by at least two themes: fatherhood and life after leaving academia.
I was only going to add new sections once I grew to the point that I could add paid content. But now that I've built a decent archive, I was hoping to organize some of it a bit more. Any thoughts welcome!
I have five sections enabled in my newsletter specifically to organize the "archive" into categories, and I also have another section that is for a comic and completely different from the rest of the newsletter, which is about movies. I recommended using the non-magazine layout in order to have the sections appear neatly as navigation tabs like so:
I think there is a setting that will let you decide whether subscribers are receiving the section or that is will be like a separate thing. So, play with the settings to see what works for you. I did something, and the result is fine for me. I think for me, my secondary section is completely integrated into the main section, but I do have a separate section for my podcasts where only they are visible (posts in that section). I hope that makes sense, otherwise click on the link next to my name to see what I mean.
What I want to say: I believe the section function is quite flexible, maybe a little too flexible to make it work perfectly. But I'm not sure. Will be experimenting with another section soon.
Hey Substackers! How are you doing in your creative journey today (be honest)? I know it's tough sometimes to feel like you're actually a writer. A "real" writer. I struggle with that, too. But if you're here, and you're showing up, and you're not giving up no matter what happens with your newsletter...then guess what? You're a writer! A real one! No one has to pick you or crown you. If you're doing the work, you're a writer. So wear the title proudly, and DON'T give up! 🌿
I tell people to use a newsletter as a journal of accountable writing, or as a portfolio. Be creative, bend the rules, write as if nobody’s reading you.
I agree with your "write as if nobody's reading you"! I see so many 'Stackers, especially on this thread, who are so consumed with subscriptions, going paid, etc! It wasn't a month before I found that to be a pointless exercise!
I write, and with any luck, folks read. With a little more luck (or someone feeling so moved), somebody will actually pay to subscribe.
The choices to subscribe are clearly outlined. I don't need to spend time wringing hands, or gnashing teeth as a member of my own "sales team"! I write, therefore I am!
My imaginary publicist does a fantastic job promoting my work, but I would like to pay her a wage at some point. Till the conversion rate improves I’m afraid she will have to remain imaginary 😂
Definitely agree. Hard to resist getting swept up in the analytics but eventually you have to focus on the writing (the thing you can control) rather than the sub count (something you can't control).
I suspect that quality of many writers work would improve if they could demetricate like this. Numbers can become tyrannical and metrics can pull us from our creative vision if we are not careful.
Yes, Brad. Akin to Tom Brady who is forever perfecting himself mentally, emotionally, physically along with his craft -- writers who produce elite content will never have to worry about subscribers and money. Maria Popova who produces ‘The Marginalian” is probably the greatest example of this. Millions of subscribers and a reported net worth of $14 million off of her digital newsletter that overflows with world class content.
And, in the tiny amount of time I've pondered it, the hope is that what I'm currently working on with singer/songwriter/guitarist, Stephen Michael Schwartz, might eventually turn into his autobio in some form, either e-book, paper, or both!
At that point, my tiny amount of subs (and even tinier paid) will be meaningless, and, subsequently, a wasted moment of worry. If that never pans out, I'm currently enjoying an embarrassment of riches in the emotional, fun, and personal fulfillment arenas!😁
That's how I try to approach it. Otherwise it is too tough and too much pressure to think of all the subscribers. If they want to read they will, and so far it seems many of them do.
Well said. This is what I'm focusing on doing. Honestly, don't really want people I know to find me just yet. I like the accountability of publishing regularly but the freedom of not having a large audience to worry about yet. This week I wasn't sure what I wanted to write and ended up including some content straight from my journal.
Oh, that is such a sad notion. I am a writer. I have doubst, of course, but they do not fill me or block me. I wish the writers here get the confidence to write, and use the doubts as sparks to grow.
If you write about motivation, self help and mental health, isn't suggesting that only the tortured and angst-ridden can call themselves writers a bit counter-productive?
I get that. But I can't see how it is (self) helpful to tell someone they can't be a writer unless they suffer from angst and doubt. Anyone can be a writer.
Too bad nobody handed a pad and pencil or a paintbrush and canvas to those hanging upside down and locked into stocks during the Middle Ages! Oh, the creations we missed.............apparently!
The angst ridden artist is a self fulfilling prophecy. Art is about expressing the whole gamut of human emotion and experience, the good and the bad, the sublime and the ridiculous, the mundane and the magnificent. Being doubt and angst focused exclusively is like deciding to only ever play an instrument in C#
Joy and happiness have borne a few jewels of barely passable content, as well, some on this thread will doubtless be saddened beyond consolation to hear.😭
You're absolutely right, S.E. It's always good to see your positivity radiate here. Thank you for that. To answer your question, these days my creative journey is actually going great. I am getting some positive returns on my writing. Sold a poem-NFT, I get an increasing number of subscribers to my Substack newsletter for which I have ideas to enrich the content of, and I will be a virtually exposing artist at an art festival in the town I lived in a few years ago. The cultural community center organizes a yearly art days event, which this time features a video-poetry collection by me.
I still can't wrap my head around NFT. Like I actually get the concept, but it looks like a LOT of self-PR in weird places on the internet to sell one thing?
Hahaha, yes, it partially is. I am exploring the space, as they say. I will start adding a sort of journal/log about that journey in my newsletter. About discovering all the curious things there are to discover about the NFTs (and the metaverse?). So, that wold be another weird place to put self-PR. Then again, is that not also precisely what we do when we promote an issue of our substack newsletters?
Yeah but I do quite little of that. I go about my life talking to people (including here) and then I tell them about my newsletter and if they’re interested they subscribe.
Discord communities are rammed with people selling pixelated rabbits, I don’t even know where to start.
I must admit that I have not yet fully embraced the discord phenomenon. I am also now finding out there are project that sell the "pixelated rabbits" and family, but there are also many artists that just find this an intriguing way to create an income from their work. I'm mainly on Twitter when I'm on NFTs. And I will bring my travelogue in NFT land to my substack newsletter.
Thanks, Arjan, and Happy Thursday! :) I'm so glad things are going well for you!!
Things are going pretty well here, too! I confess, I started a new freelance gig this week and it kind of ate my attention for other projects, so I've only done the bare minimum with my newsletter this week, but I'm extremely happy with the community that's joining me over there and I'm looking forward to staying consistent with it. 🌿
Take risks in life and make as few assumptions as possible about the future. That's the first step. Actually putting pen to paper is just writing up the report.
I’m excited about how I’ve been doing this far, as time has gone on I’ve felt more and more comfortable putting my ACTUAL writing out…rather than just putting out a ranting blogpost - I’ve even tried citing things (although I still need help on that)
One of the great things about Substack is this community of writers, all going through something similar in some ways, different in others, honestly helping each other whenever possible (and the occasional odd contributor who may or may not be a software bot or spam, so hard to tell these days :)
It's been a bit of a week of self-doubt here. My subscriber numbers are going up gradually and I'm getting more engagement in comments but by E-mail open rate is decreasing, which worries me a bit. I feel like I'm just throwing stuff at a wall to see what sticks. I'm 6 weeks in and I know from previous experience it's just early days but that is how it feels at the moment.
I totally get it, Mark. Sometimes I remind myself that weeks will go by when I'M not engaging with the emails I get, so my followers probably (definitely) have weeks like that, too. Just stay consistent, and the right community will show up and stick!
I think people get hung up on trying to be a writer, whether they are a writer or not. Much easier to just be someone who writes. Write whatever you want, whenever you want. 1 word a day or a 1000 words a day. Makes no difference. I believe that the majority of people who write are doing it because it is a need, they have to write to survive to get through the day, the week, the month. Not writing isn't an option, so just be someone who writes and leave the labels for the jam jars.
I think you're absolutely right, Ryan. I found that calling myself a writer before I felt I was "ready" was what propelled me into opportunities I didn't realize for there. It's a mindset, as cliche as that sounds!
And also, as someone who does quite a bit of canning...sometimes the jam jars don't even get labels. ;D
Thanks so much for the words of encouragement! They are much needed right now. I've had a newsletter now for just over 4 months and it takes a lot to stick to this. I'm constantly criticizing myself about my writing and of course, this causes me to freeze and deal with a lot of writer's block. So thank you again! It helps!!!
The best advice for this i've seen comes from one of my favorite authors, Max Barry. If you are having writers block in the middle of a book, delete the last thing you wrote. If it doesn't clear up, delete some more. Back track until you find your inspiration again, because its possible that somewhere along the lines you went astray and now you are trying to reconcile a decision you made earlier that brought you to a dead end.
This may not be applicable to you, but I wanted to share it just in case. Hopefully you find the path forward soon! Good luck!
I'm so glad to hear that, Robert! And YES, you should be calling yourself a writer from day one, if that's what you want to pursue! Names are important to the way we position ourselves. When you call yourself a writer (and, scariest of all, say it out loud in public) you're more likely to shift your mindset in the right direction. Thanks for being here! :)
Substack, I still think we need data on best days and times for open rates so we can deem when is best to send. My usual Sunday issue this week was a whopper yet a Tuesday issue sent at the same time has nearly a 1,000 less opens.
Don't worry about it. If people are going to read them they're going to read them. Having an audience of people who only open your links if they've got nothing else to do seems like a lot of work for some low hanging fruit. Ideally they'd be begging for it. That's my motto.
Hey! From what I know, we actually don't have super clear data on this - meaning there isn't a clean over-arching perspective on when is best. But let me ask our data team about this.
they don't want to give you CTR and all that because it's an ad model and they're trying to drive paid subs -- but more data especially on when users open would be so helpful for knowing when the best time to post is
Substack writers: has anyone decided not to go the paid route? This is a dilemma I’ve faced for a long time, and I’m still leaning toward keeping my newsletter free indefinitely. Is anyone else in this boat?
I write short fiction twice weekly. A part of my thinking is that I’d like to continue to increase my readership. Down the line my plan is to self-publish a collection of my stories. At that point I’d use the newsletter to promote it, while continuing to write new, original fiction for free.
Any thoughts or feedback on this? Are there any other fiction writers following a similar plan? Thanks in advance!
And thank you, Substack team, for hosting these office hours!
I'm a fellow fiction writer and wrestled with a similar issue. I ultimately decided to have a paid tier that got you early access. I post weekly chapters of my in-progress book that are behind the paywall and unlock one chapter each month for free subscribers. I also serialized twice a week the entirety of book 1 for free to bring in new readers, which I just wrapped up a few weeks ago.
In addition to early access, paid subscribers will get all of my ebooks included in the subscription when they are published. And I do exclusive art reveals for paid subscribers which don't take that long to create but provide value.
I can see the incentive there! Sounds like a solid plan for your paid content, Jon. I thought about serializing some of my “finished” novels, but I’m still on the fence.
I will never go paid. My reason for writing is not to get money; it's to connect with the broader community of people who are interested in the same problems I'm trying to address.
I hear you there. I see the draw for many to go paid, but I also understand this perspective, too. Mainly I want to share stories and connect with others.
I haven't gone paid yet, but I have a plan for it that I think would be pretty rad!
Here's the cold hard formula I use in my head to determine whether or not it's time for a paid tier. I estimate how many hours of work a month it will take to make content for the paid tier. I multiply that by my hourly rate. Let's call that my Paid Tier Budget.
Then I take my current subscriber count, multiply it by 5% (an estimate of how many will go paid), then multiply that by $5 (subscription fee). Let's call that my Paid Tier Estimated Income.
If the Paid Tier Budget is less than or equal to Paid Tier Estimated Income, then it might be time to consider going paid. In other words, is it worth your time?
I think you should build your brand up and create other opportunities from it. I have made far more money and valuable connections from my Substack than running ads and having a paid option. But paid is there because it is valuable.
i'm planning on keeping my newsletter free. i see it as a way to help build a readership for my historical trilogy which i also plan to self-publish, and i'd hate to exclude potential readers from content on the newsletter or the serialized first novel. also, i do this for my own enjoyment, and i worry that adding a monetary incentive might encourage me to compromise my writing in unintended ways. i'm happy doing my own thing for my own reasons, and i'm grateful if other people enjoy it too. but i don't want to become invested in anyone's support, emotionally or financially.
Thanks Nishant. I have considered that as I know a few other Substack fiction authors who do. However, I feel at this point in my life money is not a necessary objective, and I would prefer subscribers support authors financially who are trying to make a full-time career out of writing.
I'm writing travel humor, so it's non-fiction, but I have the same strategy as you've just outlined. I published my first newsletter yesterday and plan to do so monthly for free ad infinitum simply to have a place to announce my book when it's complete.
I will always be free. In a very distant future if writing were my full time job I could envision adding to my existing content, which would be paid. However, I would never reduce my current output for those subscribed now. Whatever expectation I set currently I want to continue to set. That paid content would not be writing additional stories or essays. It would be me offering assistance or teaching in some capacity to paid subscribers, and then sharing those insights with all of the paid subscribers.
Yes, agreed. I’m with you there. I don’t see myself going paid for the same reasons. I set up my publishing schedule a while back and I plan on sticking to it. I like your idea of offering assistance/services to paid subscribers, too - if you decide to go that route someday.
I'll likely keep mine free, indefinitely. The mentors that I have that have done similar things have also kept their content completely free in order to give the people who can't afford it access. It's an act of service.
I plan to continue FREE but I added a donation button through my PayPal donation link. Great idea I learned by another writer I subscribed to. I plan to continue FREE for now but I am open to all possibilities in the future. Honestly I just write to try to help those seeking easy healthy recipes and tips to be healthier.
Yep, I hear you there! I mainly just want to write and read quality fiction and share that experience with others who feel the same way. Luckily I’ve been able to find a nice little fiction community here on Substack. I like your idea of adding the donation link. Thanks for responding, Maria! 😀
I went paid because I wanted to publish my serial novel on Substack as well as Kindle Vella, and the terms of Vella allow you to share your stories elsewhere if they're behind a paywall.
I got a few paid subscribers immediately and several more over the next few months, which felt great, but eventually they stopped. Now that I'm almost done with my second novel, I've been giving away paid subs to friends.
If not for Vella, I'm not sure I would have put my novel behind the paywall, because as others have discovered, most people aren't willing to pay for serial novels on Substack. And without that, I haven't figured out another good strategy for making content paid. Would love to hear from anyone who has successfully used a paywall with fiction.
Interesting! I never knew that about Kindle Vella. I believe Jimmy Doom has quite a large number of paid subscribers, but he also publishes daily fiction. Thanks for sharing, Jackie!
I think it's a good idea, build a platform to promote your published work. Not sure that's what substack want you to do though. They get paid when you get paid.
Here we go again, people. Don't forget the top prize goes to that author best able to disguise the shilling of their own Substack while singing the praises of another Substack they never read. Let's do this....
Just a general comment that you guys seem to have added a feature where new subscribers are automatically signed up for all the emails on my recommendations list (unless they uncheck a box) and I really hope you get rid of it. I am getting complaints, accusations that I've "sold" peoples email addresses...it's not good. Please remove that feature!
Hi Jessica, thank you for this feedback! We've heard similar feedback from other writers and we have a new design in the works. Could you tell me approximately how many of your readers have complained about this?
That indicates a big failure on Substack’s part to properly explain to readers what they’re signing up for in a way that destroys trust for all involved.
I haven’t had complains but I agree that it is confusing. Someone in a hurry can just sign up without knowledge and then get mad at the newsletter author for perceiving that we are selling the info or providing them with unsolicited subscriptions.
Hi there Jessica - just to be clear, readers aren't automatically signed up! They choose in the flow if they would like to subscribe to anyone you recommend - each pub is listed with a check box, and any blurb you have added. But Dayne (who is in the thread) is working on this feature and it sounds like they have heard this feedback and are working on it.
All I know is I have been contacted by new subscribers who were very upset with *me* because they were "suddenly subscribed" to a bunch of newsletters they hadn't signed up for. I thought I was told this feature was automatically selected but whatever the case it isn't made clear to non-tech-savvy readers that they have to opt out of it.
At first I was quite excited about recommendations but the more I hear, the more I'm glad I didn't actually turn it on. An old-fashioned blogroll works just fine.
The biggest thing is how when one writer recommends a second writer's newsletter, that second writer is then prompted to recommend reciprocally. That seems a little bit too "quid-pro-quo" for my tastes; recommendations should happen organically. However, this might have been changed; I'm not sure if that still happens or not.
Secondly, I *really* like the way old blogrolls used to look: a list of a person's favorite sites, which reflected on them as well as on the writers that were featured. But Substack's recommendations tool seems to be emphasizing, not the content of the newsletters, but the fact that they are on Substack. Obviously I like Substack (since I'm writing on it), but foregrounding Substack itself, instead of the content, seems the wrong way round.
And if a person signs up for my newsletter, they are making a big commitment in reading time and mental effort; they might want to lurk around and read the archives before seriously diving in. But shoving a bunch of "recommends" at them right away, even if they don't get automatically signed up, just feels overwhelming. It suddenly becomes, not about the budding relationship with a reader and a writer, but a marketing ploy.
I'd like a way to get more information about people who unsubscribe. It would be useful to know how long they have been subscribed for, how active they were in reading, and also nice if there was an automated way to ask for feedback from them.
Could we fix the notification alerts so that the App doesn’t get pinged every time anyone just comments on this thread? I end up getting 50 or 60 notifications on each edition. Sometimes even after 6 six days when somebody comments.
I'll share this feedback with our team! You should just be getting notifications for people who respond to *your* comment, not the entire thread. Is that the case for you do you know?
This bug in the app started about a week ago. The notifications go to the whole thread so people have to read each one to find where to keep responding
I've had disappointing conversion with the paywalls. I think in all of the posts I've sent, only once has anyone decided to become a paid subscriber. I'll keep trying different things, but it kind of surprised me.
Ooo, good question. I've gone back and forth on this too. Right now I send it to everyone, but that's also because I only post paid content once a month and I figure that's not too spammy for people. But curious to see the other responses!
No. People get lots of email anyway; burdening them with a paywalled post they have to expend mental energy on, only to find they can't actually read it, is, in my mind, a little rude.
I've noticed people I follow doing this, but they'll put in enough in the email that you're at a natural break point and you don't feel as though you've been cheated. Not sure how it works out for them though.
It's a toughie. I'm trying everything. I know that paywalls are annoying (taking up my time to open it, and not letting me read! Pah!) but occasionally? As for folks who keep reading for months and months for free then decide to flounce off at the mere hint they should pay. . . I can't say I miss them. Boy, we need a convo about the stated purpose of Substack being for us to be paid.
I send 2 paywalled posts per month, but still give enough content in that particular post which could be interesting. So I paywall about halfway, not just after a few sentences with the free trial option. I've had about 8 people doing the free trial with a few cancelling them, others ended up paying.
If I see "preview" in the app, I won't open it. If I discover a newsletter has more paid than unpaid content, or if I get into an article and hit a paywall, I'll usually unsubscribe.
Same here; if a newsletter starts sending out too many paywalled pieces to the free list, I unsubscribe. I understand people are trying to make money from their work, but if I already decided not to join the paid tier, I by definition don't want the extra pay-only content. One newsletter I subscribe to comes out three times a week for free, and that's about all I need from that writer; getting their extra editions would be too much to read.
Hello dear fellow Substack writers! How are you all doing. Always when there are regular office hours, I miss the shoutout thread. Do you miss it, too? If so, I invite you to join the #substackshoutout thread on Twitter. Simply share a link to a substack newsletter or post you liked and add the hashtag. Read, like and retweet others. That would be nice. See you on Twitter (after these office hours of course).
You rock YouTopian Journey! You were probably the first “regular” and reliably supportive member of this community that I noticed when I began to lurk. One paradox: You are so warm and welcoming to all, but your profile picture strikes me as incongruent. More like disinterested (or stern, judgmental?) I know. I have no room to talk when I haven’t even added a picture to my profile. I tried to copy and paste my gmail photo, but…no dice. I tried to find the original, but…no dice.
Glad to hear that! To answer your question, the profile picture is based on the main character of my Substack. I prefer it to a logo as it draws more attention.
I think the app needs a way to bring a piece back from the archive. Like an undo button or something. Occasionally, I will accidentally archive something I didn’t intend to but there’s no way to fix that.
Yes, I'm aware that you can still view it. But I prefer to have all my posts in the main list. If there was an undo button or something, I could make sure I don't accidentally put it elsewhere.
Reading over the comments here and it seems like a universal theme is how to grow a subscriber base and I too face that dilemma like everyone else.
In some respects, since I publish comics it might be even harder becuase the equation of work per post vs. ROI is unbalanced as yet since it has been very hard to convert subscribers to paying subscribers.
However, I think it's important to remember what's also at play is that people have so many services/items seeking their attention and subscription dollars (streaming services, apps, etc.) that they tend to get overwhelmed with making the jump unless they really, really, really love what you are creating and to believe in your creation. Plus the dubious state of our economy doesn't help matters.
But I've accepted that getting a subscriber to that point of love takes a lot of time and which needs a pretty thorough and steady campaign that makes use of as many touch points to subscribers as possible. You have to get them to through this funnel: know you > Like you > Trust You > Love You > and then PAY You.
As hard as this journey seems, I still believe that for every writer/artist there's an appreciative audience out there somewhere. Thankfully Substack give us some great tools to help that journey.
But with that said there's also a fair amount of work one has to also do to promote, promote, promote. One place I recently found: If you search in the Reddit Substack a person put up a really useful link to a doc with a dozen different newsletter distribution sites where you can get listed.
Recommendations has been great for getting new subs, I think allowing users to refer and rewarding bonuses for 3,5,10,100, etc referrals would work great.
We often say to think about social media as the place to give potential readers a taste of your content. You can include teaser excerpts, screenshots, or share the research behind your work.
On Twitter, many writers create viral threads that summarize free or paid posts and link to their Substack. Also, connect Substack to Twitter in your Settings page to notify your Twitter followers about your publication.
In my view, the best way to use Twitter is by not just posting about your newsletter constantly. Throw in things about YOU. Hobbies, thoughts, etc. No one likes an account that is "buy / look at this" 24/7. It just feels very spammy, boring and a turn-off for most people.
Twitters algorithm rewards ‘time on site’. So if you write detailed threads they are more likely to be pushed and therefore get more likes, RTs and those sweet, sweet follows.
The secret is not to self-promo (For example, never say "Just published my new issue!") but instead, take the gold nuggets of engaging content from your newsletter (like the hooks, the stats, the questions, any images, etc) and shape those into tweets. You will come off as more authentic, and you are sharing the content that will get to potential subscribers.
I created newslettertosocials.com to help with this. It grabs the "nuggets" from your past issues and guides you through creating tweets. It will also schedule them ahead of time!
We aren't experts in social media! It's not intuitive and sometimes you need it to be spelled out haha. I had the same realization after speaking with some content marketers
It can certainly work! I know in the webtoon/novel space, many writers have effectively grown on social media. For your specific case, I'd think about who your target audience is. Really imagine them and think about what would catch their eye in their Twitter feed. Is it cliff hangers? Is it summaries? It may take some experimentation and time!
Same! I think it works well for promoting stuff when you already have a larger following, but getting traction with a smaller personal account is tougher than reaching out to your network on Insta/FB/LI.
Me too. Just started putting my real name and face out there and it seems to have helped. For a long time I went under theory_gang seems like people didn't trust me
I am working on a new podcast. I hope to start it within the next 30-60 days. Would I be able to apply for the audio intensive, given the fact that I don't yet have any audio content available? I'm incredibly hopeful that my podcast will take off and grow quickly—isn't everyone who starts a new podcast—but I feel that something like the audio intensive might give me just the boost I need to get this new project off the ground. Any thoughts on this? Many thanks for any answers or advice!
Hi Chris! For this particular intensive, we’re looking at supporting those who already have some experience with podcasting on Substack, but need help getting to the next level.
That said, we will certainly be releasing more information and resources to help those who are getting started right here on On Substack (one coming to your inbox shortly after Office Hours, in fact!)
I've got a question to those of you who have switched from sending your newsletter weekly to doing so several times a week. What prompted the switch? And do you stick to the same structure for all issues then or have different types of texts/content come out different days of the week?
Honestly I just had more to say/share than fit into the structure of my once-weekly post (on Wednesdays). So I created another one -- shorter, less structured where I do whatever I want (on Tuesdays).
Substack if we have more than five referrals on our page, I suggest you implement a feature that allows the referrals to switch/refresh (much like how you do on your homepage). This allows everyone to get some love and subs.
Thanks for the suggestion. There are 3 places that we display recommendations: in the subscribe flow, on the homepage (optional), and on your pub's recommendation page.
We show up to 7 recommendations in the subscribe flow, and these are selected and ordered randomly from the total list of recommendations.
We show up to 3 recommendations on the pub homepage, and these are also selected and ordered randomly.
We show all your recommendations on your pubs recommendation page; the order here is static. I believe pubs are sorted by date created, but I'll have to check.
Well the hour is almost up and I would particularly like an answer to this question I asked before about importing and exporting content between Wordpress and Substack. In exporting from my Wordpress site to Substack the feature images do not transfer. Is there anything I can do apart from putting them in manually. I am just one person and the more streamlined the process the better. This is the magazine on Wordpress: https://asenseofplacemagazine.com/ But when I put it over to Substack the feature images do not transfer automatically. https://asenseofplacemagazine.substack.com/ Is there a solution to this issue?
Hey there, I'm sorry I can't help with this. I simply kept my old Wordpress site and created a new Substack w/ a new name.
Which leads to this question: how did you choose your name? I just checked it out and very cool articles - only it wasn't the content I expected. My field is the psychology of home, place attachment, etc. And when I read your "About" I don't see the connection to the name either. Perhaps you could elaborate? Maybe explain who your reader is? What are the interests of mine that I'll find shared in your community?
Please - this is not a criticism!! I had to clarify this myself for my own newsletter. And I am genuinely interested in yours (firstly, of course, because of the name) and would like to know more. I hope to connect with you! You can reach me at FindingHome@substack.com
It's a spiritual concept about spirit and place. It's also the name of my niche publishing company. That is, A Sense of Place Publishing. It just came to me quite some years ago now and it just seems to fit. It doesn't necessarily match the content, often doesn't, but people are generally positive about the name and the sometimes eclectic mix of content. And I'm in Australia, which has never really claimed to be the centre of anything; although some of the indigenous regarded parts of the desert as the centre of the universe. I would have thought with all their staff Substack could have answered a specific, technical question like the one I was asking. So I was a bit disappointed in that. But I can see there are all sorts of people bouncing around. I'm a bit leery about connecting my email with Windows; probably just being superstitious. You can contact me on john.stapleton@gmail.com PS Your site looks nice; and that warm fuzzy feeling of home, I suppose we could all do with a bit of that right now. All the best.
How does one get and keep Readers when one's viewpoint or outlook resists easy classification ?
I don't want to appear snarky or cantankerous, but I think most readers want to read that which is in accord with and confirms their biases and prejudices.
Liberals want to read liberal writers and conservatives want to read conservative writers. Yada Yada Yada.
I, for whatever reason, subscribe to supposedly contradictory ideas. On economics, I am, for the most part, a fierce leftist. However, I tend to veer toward the right when identify politics screams its manifestos of multiculturalism.
I am gay, but at the same time I take issue with the salient concepts promulgated by the gay and feminist communities.
There is only one thing I can promise about my work: I will try very hard not to waste your time. I will try to ensure that my posts will say that which has not been said before. I will unceasingly knock my head against the wall to conjure up new and provocative ideas. Then again, maybe that imagery is all wrong: If I really knocked my head against the wall, I'd be at risk for traumatic brain injury and the consequent loss of IQ points might eviscerate the creativity of my output.
I'll give you two examples. Fog Chaser, and Karlstack.
Fog Chaser composes monthly "meditations," which are music clips that come along with pictures, and a write up of his inspiration. These take a ton of time to assemble, I imagine. Hence, his posting schedule.
Keep in mind that as you grow your subscriber list, you'll have what I call "realization loss." It's a number of subscribers who realize they're still subscribed to you, and don't want to be anymore. Your new email is the nudge in their inbox that makes them unsubscribe. It's okay. It happens to all of us. But this is an important factor to keep in the back of your mind. If people sign up expecting weekly updates and all of a sudden you're hitting the inbox daily, they might unsubscribe at a higher rate.
Since you're doing something episodic, I'd say weekly. But again, this depends on the expectations you set with your audience.
This week I posted to those that I subscribe to, asking for a mutual like or subscribe. I had several subscribe to my site. Thanks to those that did. I’m finding more and more really good writers. My main thing is music, not a writer, but Substack offers a great platform for me to share my work. Some have paid, though I don’t have locked content. I like to give everyone the goodies and if they can pay $5 $50 $100 fantastic.
Hi there - I just watched this and it looks easy but I'm tripped up on 1 thing: where do I find the Newsletter to Socials application? I just searched online and other apps come up but not this one. (Forgive me - I'm old school! But I'm trying to learn! :)
Two quick technical questions that I'm not sure are on-topic:
1) Has Substack considered a feature that would enable writers to schedule posts so that they e-mail subscribers at the chosen time in their time zone? (So that, say, everyone gets the e-mail at 10am their time?) It's tricky to pick a time to send posts so that folks in different time zones get them at a sensible hour.
2) I've noticed that the "share this post" button doesn't display in my actual posts, only in the editing window. Does it not display for authors viewing their own posts?
I would imagine that everyone on Substack would find it handy, but I'm also thinking that if a platform as powerful as Gmail doesn't offer that feature, then it must not be plausible.
I'm not seeing the actual button on >any< of my posts. If you look at the latest dozen or so, at the very bottom I have three buttons and the "share" button is missing, thanks!
I have questions about the adding of a section. I've done this--a workshopping section to my newsletter, for paid subs only. However, I find only some people seem to manage to register for notifications...and sometimes--they say--they don't receive notifications of comments. Overall, even, with my newsletter, the notifications (and potential community-building) seem not to function at times. I have no sense of what people know or are receiving about comments.
Is there any way for me to manually sign up subs to the section, so I know they're solidly "in" and receiving notification?
I HAVE given detailed explanations as to how to sign up... but some do, and others not.
I have a few sections. Two of them work fine, but one is kina effed, so I just put that one out under the main banner, then manually move each post to the section.
I haven't yet found sections useful, and would love to know the answer. And--aside-- explaining how Susbtack and sections and--most of all--paid subs work to sign-up folks feels like it all needs a semester to explain.
Hello Substack! I don't know if this is the place to put it, but while setting up my new publication I stumbled upon a feature request. Is there some way to choose what content shows up on your home page (when you have sections?) More specifically: I also write in French, and had set up a sub-section of my Substack that I figured my French-language subscribers could also subscribe to. But then, when I clicked to my home page, everything showed up as one bilingual mess! Oops! Anyway, I've heard similar requests from other writers and thought I'd elevate that thought. Sometimes we'd like to have stuff "available" but not necessarily prominent, to eliminate any confusion.
Oh, I don't think I did that! Are you seeing this on my homepage? (I don't.) I think, in my experience, that appears when I'm not yet subscribed to a publication.
Or perhaps you're referring to the Welcome Page? Which you can edit under settings.
Glad you are thinking about content organization. I will make my periodic plea for the ability to toggle one's posts in ascending or descending order. For serialized fiction writers, this is key. (For example, someone might click"Let me read it first" and like the current post. Scrolling down, they would more likely keep reading if they saw Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc. rather than Chapter 19, Chapter 18, Chapter 17... Thanks!
I created a Google Sheet to allow you to see who has unsubscribed and subscribed between two periods of time. I created this for me but decided I would provide it to anyone who wants to use it.
HOW IT WORKS:
You export your subscribers on a given day - for instance, prior to sending a new newsletter/article.
Then a few days after publishing, you export your list again.
Upload both lists to the Google Sheet and run a comparison. You'll get a list of unsubscribes and subscribes. You will, of course, need a Gmail account. This uses Google Apps Scripts - Google's javascript automation tool. Anyone who copies the sheet can view and change the code - for the nerds among us.
I have a shared Google Doc that explains it and gives you a link to the tool. You will need to copy it to your own Google Drive. It is all explained in the document.
Substack team (Katie, Bailey). If there is any issue with me posting this, let me know. There is no profiteering or promo - well, I do suggest, with some snark, that they might consider subscribing stuff. But I think some may find the tool useful.
I have detached from the people who unsubscribe to the point where I turned off the notification emails. I don't need to know when people leave -- I come up with dumb stories about why, which never does me any good -- though it would be amazing to get that feedback. You (I, we) could ask for that in the email opt-out message, which is automatically sent, which would save you time exporting your list and doing all that work.
True.. For me it was sort of an analytical tool of:
We were here at this time and now we are here. The net change was/is.
I've had a list of a couple thousand for almost 12 years. But I took a long hiatus when my youngest came to live with me full-time. Prior to that I was touring across country a couple times a year.
When I came back I felt I was sort of starting over. Then when I moved to Substack I put out a message of "warning" that I would be publishing more often. There was some loss - although a recent event caused a sudden surge in subscriptions.
Anyway.. I work in data analytics and tend to get weird/interested in data. I usually want to see more than the net gain over time and instead see the specific decrease/increase that led to net gain or loss.
Ha.. Send an angry, insulting email!!! No.. just kiddin' I sort of explain it in my document.
I want to know how long someone was a subscriber. I have also started sending a "Sorry to see you go. May I ask what prompted you leaving?"
I ended up getting a response from someone who re-subscribed. They said they had forgotten how the started following my newsletter back in 2010. So.. there is that.
Does anyone here have multiple sub stacks? Like for different subjects? Is that too much to keep track???? Should I organize my content that way??? Pros and cons plz :)
I have three: one which is for fiction and articles about storytelling; one for my local history articles; and one for people writing fiction on Substack (Fictionistas). I publish the first two every other week, which basically amounts to a weekly newsletter. But the history pieces take a lot of time, so it's a pretty heavy load. Fictionistas isn't as hard since I don't do a lot of writing, but there are also Zoom calls and other side work for the community that takes up about the same time as an article.
I started out by writing the history newsletter as a section under the other one, but the audience for the two is very different, and it was difficult to promote a section. So I ended up splitting them into 2 newsletters.
But after having done this for 6 months, my advice is to only take on multiple newsletters if you have the time and clear goals for each.
I started a secondary substack but it is for sure my neglected child. I try to keep my main writing in my main substack, and the auxiliary substack is just for fun--so in my mind as long as I am having fun with it, it's ok. If I were to charge money for it I would have to be more intentional about it, but for now I just needed a place to park a hobby-horse.
My secondary substack, by the way, is Gibberish.substack.com--a newsletter about learning and creating languages.
I have two substacks (one personal, one for the community I run) but generally I would say that for an individual one substack with different publications within it is the way
Me -- “Black Books, Black Minds” , an idea that was suggested by my vanilla brothas and sistas when the racial justice protests were full flame and “The Chocolate Taoist,” -- my musings as Black Taoist adherent, whatever the hell that is.
I haven't started my sub stack yet because I have this problem. I saw that you can have multiple publications, but within an umbrella substack if that makes sense. So now I'm like oh no I think I just set up a branch as a main trunk.
I am trying to launch a second one right now. I have been doing non-fiction book reviews and essays on current events every week since November and I am in a real groove. My new one is on a completely different track, RV Travel and I found I had to create a second account. I am worried it will be too much but really want to try.
Katie, I've just recently started on substack, covering topics like conspiracies, weird history, and other similarly related "strange" occurrences. Clearly its a niche topic, so how would you recommend gaining exposure while targeting people who're likely to enjoy the topics I'm writing about?
Hi, I'm in a similar position, wondering how to get going past my own initial circle of readers. My newsletter features indie music artists and I'm reaching out the them to do interviews which moves the dial slowly!
Social media takes time! But you need the right content with high frequency. I recommend checking out newslettertosocials.com to help schedule content ahead of time! I created it to help other writers and it is currently 100% free to use
If you just started, i recommend getting your content onto as many social medias as possible and see what sticks. It's important to be present everywhere in the early days!
Here's a specific question! I write about addiction and recovery at https://thanksforlettingmeshare.substack.com and host a podcast, "Breakfast with an Alcoholic" there, too. I'm struggling to find the right categories for the podcast in particular--health and wellness, spirituality and religion? Feels like I'm having a hard time finding the right category fit.
Hey Substackers! How are you doing in your creative journey today (be honest)? I know it's tough sometimes to feel like you're actually a writer. A "real" writer. I struggle with that, too. But if you're here, and you're showing up, and you're not giving up no matter what happens with your newsletter...then guess what? You're a writer! A real one! No one has to pick you or crown you. If you're doing the work, you're a writer. So wear the title proudly, and DON'T give up! 🌿
Yes, it would be nice not to have the repetitive promotional stuff like this and like the one commentor from last week that kept dropping links to something outside of SS in dozens of comments last week.
Is anyone other than myself serializing fiction? I'm currently over halfway through a 40,000 word adult genre novella that I've been publishing on my Substack for over a month now.
Yes, The Chilliad, Dreamer Weaver by Phoenix Ryder, Forever Fantasy Readers, The Novellist, The Storyletter, and A Tale of Two Times are all serializing novels. I'm starting a stack at the end of the month, Strange Wor/ds, that will serialize novellas by a few different authors.
Hi, I have a quick question. I just started a newsletter and added some friends and family as subscribers. Did the welcome email automatically get sent to them if this was a part of the set up process?
Hey Trevor, when you add subscribers to your list while you're setting up your publication, it will not send them a welcome email. If you add subscribers through your subscriber dashboard, you will have an option to send them the welcome email as well as edit it.
Hi everyone! The advice (my two cents) I'd like to share about writing regularly—which for me means one post per week—is to always be constantly mulling over ideas starting immediately after publishing an article. In other words, I feel that to write regularly one needs to be thinking about ideas for the newsletter at all times in the background. I find that if I disconnect my daily life from the newsletter, then it becomes much harder to write it than if I'm always in the lookout for how something makes me feel or think. Then, almost as if by magic, I have a new post to publish within a week.
My question to other writers is how to get better at writing humor/comedy? One of my goals is to develop this skill and I've dedicated a "section" of my newsletter, "moviewise: Life Lessons From Movies" to studying and practicing humor writing:
Thank you! Yes, I really find a lot of value in figuring out what the big, important message is meant to be in films. When movies have this, and most do, it's a pivotal moment in the film that is highlighted usually by dramatic music and/or a change in the cinematography. It's fun to explore what these scenes are trying to convey, and very often it actually is a helpful insight about life. I really enjoy it.
Hi team! I love Substack - thank you so much. My question has to do with VIDEO and AUDIO/Podcasting on Substack. Currently, I upload the mp3 audio for a podcast "Episode," which is then automatically added to Spotify. NOW, I would like to upload a video, and also distribute it as an audio/podcast. Can I somehow do simultaneously, or does it have to be two different posts? Is there a way that the audio portion of the video file will extract to podcast? Thank you!
I do audio and video, I actually connected my Substack podcast with apple etc, which you have to submit manually. Extract audio from video is a different issue,
thanks, yes, I've done that for Spotify podcasts, which is great. I hope it will translate to the video being on Spotify too. I'll try it, thanks for the encouragement.
I'm happy Substack is adding some social media automation! Promoting a newsletter on social media effectively takes almost as much time as writing itself!
This is why I created newslettertosocials.com, an all-in-one platform for generating and scheduling social media content directly from your newsletter. It will schedule weeks worth of social media content in a matter of minutes, so you can focus on writing! If you are trying to improve your growth on social media, this is a good place to start!
I struggle to figure out how to expand my reader base beyond my email subscribers. I have made comments on other similar Substacks, have added them as recommendations on my page, but see no new subscribers or viewers. and most everyone reads it in their email and rarely click the interactive audio or video links. I don’t use other types of social media so I know I’m limiting myself so I’d love advice specific to Substack. Thanks. I’m at earworm.Substack.com. Steve
Personally, I’ve opted to write for myself. I have hundreds of subscribers and not thousands and tens of paid instead of hundreds, but I’m happier writing for the sake of my writing and letting the people who connect with it come to me.
Am I in the write place at the right time? My email says Substack Writer Office Hours starts now. But I don't understand how it works. It looks like it's been and gone?
Yes apparently people come on early.... Also I've noticed doing this on my phone is challenging. Not easy to refer back to the threads you commented on etc.
Hey Substack, question: When folks open the newsletter in email on their computer, there is no like heart to click on. Could you please add a LIKE button that we can include in posts? There's a COMMENT, but no LIKE. I have some older subscribers who are confused and don't know how to like a post with no heart and no link to the heart.
Yeah I thought so too but on some reader’s email, it doesn’t show up. One friend sent a screen shot and another that I trust implicitly swears it isn’t there. On hers, the post even gets cut partially. No idea why
But all this aside, even for when the heart does show up, having a button to direct folks to like the post would be great!
Hey all, my paid subscription rate was great when I started TFP in Feb. But it’s now flatlined. I still give all my content away to everyone but ask for paid subscriptions in the SUBSCRIBE button and in email headers to help keep the newsletter going and to support independent journalism. Should I do an organized "re-launch" asking all subscribers to be paid, if they can afford it? Any other ideas?
I think another question I would have, though not entirely 'writerly' would be what avenues have you found to be the most successful in gaining subscribers? (Besides TikTok. I won't do TikTok)
Technical question from a newb. I've written my newsletter posts several months ahead because I'm neurotic like that, and I was wondering if there's a scheduler to auto post? I can't seem to find it if there is.
The percentage Substack mentions is approximately 10% conversion, if I remember correctly. Not sure there's any standard/"normal" percentage for unsubscribes, since it probably varies so widely between publications.
💌 Dear writers 💌
What writerly advice are you seeking the answer to? Who do you dream of answering your question?
Although there are occasions where I need to dig a little deeper for an idea, or to express a thought, I don't find writing hard. I've been reading a lot of comments about how if you don't find writing difficult then somehow you aren't doing it correctly, or aren't pushing yourself enough. I don't buy that though. I'm not saying everything I write is of a much higher quality, but once I start it flows fairly easy, where I can write 2k words in a single sitting on a normal day. Now, editing that does often take me longer, but it's not "hard". It's fun! Am I crazy here, or am I missing something?
I'm with you, Brian. Maybe it's that I have written professionally for so many years, I don't even think about it anymore -- I sit down and I write and there's zero angst involved. Is it always my very best work? Do I feel 100% on point every day? Am I never tired or burned out? No, no, no. But the narrative that it's agony is so far from the truth for me, too.
I'm so happy to hear that Sarah. I thought maybe I was getting arrogant or something. I know I have many areas I can improve, and like you mentioned, I'm not always 100 percent, but I don't think I would have started a Substack if writing were creative agony.
Do plumbers feel angst when tackling a u bend? The tortured writer thing is largely self inflicted and self fulfilling as far as I can tell. Misguided romanticism, you know?
Exactly.
Well, I'm not really a writer at all...but my story needs to be told. I actually enjoy it, when I'm in the process. My main goal is to inspire others to have a go. Mental health is also a motivation. To find joy in your life EVERYDAY is important, because for years I only found joy now and then. If that makes sense:))
We're individuals. Some people have problems getting the words down, some people can get the words down but they're dull as fu*k, some people are constantly finding new ways to sabotage themselves and have a kind of novelty procrastination hit, and other people fly along writing without a care in the world but can't sleep because they're worried about the leak in the attic.
Exactly. For me, it depends what I'm writing and when I'm writing. Mostly, I enjoy it. Sometimes it's great fun. Sometimes its hellish. With my Substack, I do usually enjoy it, but some articles just turn out to be really hard to write, I just can't get into the flow. Oddly, I'm told that this struggle is not apparent in the writing.
If I am finding it difficult to get the words and thoughts down, I need to go back and check my preparation. I write non-fiction articles about health, well-being, and flourishing. All articles start with preparing a mindmap of the subject, showing how the points relate to one another. Writing from the mindmap is easy when I have done it well. If not, I struggle with bridging thoughts and getting words on paper. Don't know how this works with fiction, though.
Ah I have the opposite issue...
I have endless ideas, and millions (probably literally) of atomic notes. Some on my digital brain, some on napkins, some on other things entirely.
Sitting down and cohering my thoughts on paper (or screen) is quite challenging, as my mind is always pulled into another direction, or I get too honed in on a sentence and completely lose sight of the whole piece.
I don't have this experience at all with painting or designing.
I find expressing my thoughts verbally is easier, but I cringe listening to myself speak so that's not a method I've adopted.
Have you tried using the voice to text function? I use Apple notes when I’m out and about - it writes out what I dictate (usually accurately) and I then add it into what I’m writing. That way, no wasted time …
Siri and Alexa have a vendetta on me. It comes out as a jumble, always!
Yep - I often wonder what it was I'd actually said!
Mentioned above, but "dragon" is a better program that is smarter about using context to put together what you actually mean. Counter-intuitively, the more you talk without pausing, the better it is at guessing what you said. Speaking one word at a time and waiting for the transcription to catch up actually deprives the software of the context it needs to work.
My idea of "Time wasting" is changing a lot. Currently, sitting for an hour with my eyes closed is actually time better spent for me than ticking off as many boxes on the daily to-do list.
If you have a bit of money to spare, I'd look into getting Dragon dictates. I don't use it *all* the time, but when I just want to word vomit, I can get up to almost 3,000 words per hour. It takes a lot of practice to use efficiently though.
On the plus side: I can now "write" in the car on my way to and from work.
How is it different from the native app on iOS?
I have similar problems.
Hey thanks for the sub! I just saw it on my email :).
I think it's a matter of practice as well though. Discipline isn't my strong suit, but actually I do find my ability to write improves the more I do it. At some point, I probably had to learn the same thing about illustrating, but I was younger and probably just wasn't judging myself too harshly...!
Yeah passion is totally different than discipline. I really like creating in a free form way...wherever the wind takes me, but bigger projects require focused time
For sure. And that's something I learned doing business. I started Co-Create because I wanted to bring what I learned from being in business and apply to creative projects. They may be passion-led but they take just as much structure, if not more, to really flourish.
I'm with you there. Too many ideas. I am currently learning how to focus. So I'm only doing my newsletter. And my podcast. And my NFTs. Oh, and I....
Ahhh.
Leave it.
I know what you mean.
Wait, I have an idea...
I think it's misguided to think that pain is required for writing to be good - yes, sometimes it flows quicker than others, and sometimes it's better than others, but ... it shouldn't hurt.
Sometimes it's kind of cathartic but that's different.
I was forced to get over writers block ages ago. When I started working as an attorney, I had to write many different things, and I was compelled to write constantly,
Hence, writers block was precluded by the very terms of my employment.
Of course, my voluminous and steady work product is not always up to snuff. Writing that which is good -- That is the issue.
You have to produce bad or mediocre work in volume to produce excellent stuff. If 1% of your work is good, then the more work you, the higher the volume of that 1%!
And it's also not quite that linear so the more work you do, the excellent stuff is more like 5-10%. That's about the strength of my math but I think I've made my point.
i think a lot of it depends on what you're writing about. for me, the hard parts of writing come when i'm posing myself a question or problem i don't yet have a fully formed answer or solution to and writing to try to arrive at my answer. this, for me, is a laborious and often frustrated process that doesn't take a simple, straightforward course. it often requires several attempts, drafts, and rewrites before--if i'm lucky--i arrive at something i'm remotely satisfied with. sometimes i never get there. i'm glad others have a more uncomplicated process that brings them certainty or leaves them with fewer doubts, but for me, writing is _about_ the doubts. in my case, the whole point is to learn and challenge myself. if it wasn't at least a little hard, it wouldn't be worthwhile. of course, if i'm writing about something i already understand completely, that's much easier, though not always as interesting...
I value your frank and transparent and humble comment. And I agree with you, it depends on what we’re writing: whether we’re mining the depths of our soul — or writing content that is less intimate and calls on our intellectual resources.
I've been writing for so long that it is almost second nature. However, ideas don't always flow easily, but if I keep at it those little (or humongous) blocks eventually start to crumble!
Hi Brian,
You're absolutely on the right track. I'm glad you're not buying into the angst. Keep it that way. If you've decided that writing is your path, then writing should bring you joy and reward, not pain and torture. It is work, and sometimes we love our work and sometimes it gets us down a little. But it's a process, and we have to trust the process if we believe in it. As for those people who say they love writing but hate editing: editing is so much a part of writing that it’s impossible to separate the two or to measure the value ratio of one part of the process to the other.
"Editing is to writing as a buttonhole is to a button, as a bootlace is to a boot,
as water is to rain."
And if you think you want to write but you absolutely hate writing and are miserable and filled with angst, then I can only suggest that you do what I do with house cleaning: outsource it to someone who does it well and loves doing it, and spend that valuable time doing something you love doing instead. Yes, I mean don't do it - don't write! Let it go! Find a different dream. There are so many more dreams out there!
Love the buttonhole to button!
You are not crazy
I might be crazy, but maybe just not about this :)
Rather than being crazy, you may be one of the few who’s sane.
Flow > grind
I also love editing. It feels like playing with puzzles!
Hmm that's an interesting way of looking at it! I try to will think like that next time. Thanks. 😉
Then it all evens out in the end! The reason why I asked this question is because 5 or so years ago I went on an art journey. I improved greatly over those years, made some amazing friends and connections, but it never was easy. I could never get into a flow, and everything felt like work. I kept thinking I would get to a point where that would change, but it never did. Finally I decided to go back to my first creative love, which was writing. I find it very enjoyable, and is a great creative outlet.
I think the editing is hard when you are also the creator, seeing what we think we are saying clearly through our lens is not the same to others. I rarely get more than a draft or two before publishing which is part of the get it out first, then come back later and review with a fresh mind.
Not me. I hate editing!
I enjoy editing, too. I call it my cut and polish.
I am curious to know how people ask for feedback about their writing to their subscribers! I use a poll (I am hoping Substack will give this option too!) which basically is a link to a vote by Feedletter. Subscribers can click on three options:
👍 That helped me. Thanks.
😐 Meh - was ok.
👎 Not interesting to me.
Then people can leave anonymous feedback. Curious to learn about other people's experiences!
Are you most curious reader's feedback on the subject, format, voice, or something else?
It's a combination. What I ask now mostly is about the subject, do they find it interesting? But I would love to get different kinds of feedback like asking:
- When would you like to receive the newsletter which time of day?
- Which topic do you find interesting/do you want to learn more about?
- How long would you like the newsletters to be etc.
I was thinking about the latter two as well. Time of day is a tricky one for me. I'm in Australia and my subscribers are all around the world.
ah! for these things, none of my readers will tell me directly. And honestly, I'm not sure I can answer them myself if other writers I subscribe to asked me. (with the exception of length - especially if you're sending 2 a week, I suggest shorter posts, but that's me)
I've only found the answers to these questions pretty much through test and trial
All good questions, but how do you find the answers from your readers?
I send out all surveys via Google Forms and I ask specific questions about what I'd like to know. Sometimes I offer an entry to a giveaway as an incentive. Sometimes I send it in an email only to a targeted subgroup of my paid/free lists. It depends on the feedback I'm looking for, but every time I do it, I learn something valuable about my audience.
I do this, too. Once a year. The feedback I get is invaluable!
Once-a-year feedback is a good idea. Do you ask for general feedback, or something more specific?
Love this idea, good way to get a read of the room so to speak.
I too used Google Forms for a survey last December. I sent it to my entire subscriber list and got a 25% response which I thought wasn't too bad. I will probably do it again toward the end of the year.
I think a 25% response rate is great, Lloyd!
That is a great idea, stealing it! :)
That's an extremely good response rate!
Google Forms are a great idea. I'm just starting to explore the Google suite of apps. Completely in love with Google Keep! And emailing a targeted list...great tip. Thank you
I love Google Suite and Google Keep. Keep is like Post it notes on steroids.
Keep is a great asset for me too, Lloyd. I write non-fiction articles about wellbeing, health, and personal growth. There is a lot of research in each article, and I use Keep to gather all the quotes, websites, and images I want to use. The drawing feature is wonderful for mindmapping the outline of the article, and when I have done that well, the words just flow easily. I need to look into the other Google Suite apps.
This is an excellent idea!
Steal it! 😉
I think I will. Thanks! :)
I very much love and second the idea of polling being an option. A customizable poll usable for any purpose would be a fantastic addition to our writer’s toolkit.
Agreed - on other platforms polls are good for engagement.
I've been hoping substack would add poll functionality for a while. This would be so useful!
Yes, me too!
Interesting proposal, Cole.
One of my favorite Substackers does something similar with Google Docs. My question for you is: how do you think the response is? Are you happy with the number of people who give feedback?
I am. I mean, I always wish there was *more* feedback, but it's usually 10-15% of the number of people I send it to. (And the time I sent one to my free + paid subs together, with an incentive of being entered in a giveaway that included four prizes, the response was twice that).
I'd rather have honest, thoughtful feedback from a few people than slapdash responses from many more. (I sometimes reach out to my most engaged subscribers and with a survey tailored to them specifically, because they know my newsletter the best and I value their opinions the most. I've seen 100% response rates on some of those.)
Well said. It's a case of less is more, really.
I do the google docs, but I only send it too particularly engaged or invested readers/listeners/sponsors. I generally get about 80-90% feedback. Then for the larger audience, I use surveys through social media to ask specific one-off questions over time. It's a bit of a pain, but it helps me apply value to the opinions.
And my response on the social surveys is 5-10%. Generally, low, but that also reflects how engaged the audience is.
On a few posts, I've asked readers a question at the end to prompt feedback. That has helped. Everyone needs a prompt! Love the idea of the polls too, particularly as I debate the length of posts that work best. Short, pithy. Long and verbose (my tendency, unfortunately). Really appreciate the community here. Very helpful.
Hi Alf, It looks like you're getting a pretty good "like" response rate for a newsletter that is only a few months old. Congratulations! That's a great start !
I'm curious what your take might be on my recent post: https://findinghome.substack.com/p/be-gentle-be-kind-be-honest?s=w
I'm a former therapist and am more interested in mental health than in mental illness, and so much of our public conversation is about illness. In this post, and the one before it, https://findinghome.substack.com/p/i-am-not-okay?s=w, I'm trying to broaden the conversation. Perhaps what I'm saying in this reply is by focusing on health instead of illness, you may draw more people to your newsletter. I think everyone is struggling with mental health these days, but few identify as mentally ill. Do you know what I mean?
Also, in terms of feedback - this may or may not be helpful: I discovered that my readers want me to write as one of them, not as an expert in my field or with language of my discipline and/or academia. So, it depends on who your audience is. And from there you can figure out how your audience typically likes to give feedback.
What you say, Jan, is really valid. I too write about wellbeing and health, a bit broader than just mental health, and writing from the "we" perspective seems to engage my audience better than the "you" perspective.
How do you know when it's time to say no more, and the story is finished? I would like seventies sensual symbol and actor Charles Bronson to give me the answer. I day-dream about it - does that still count?
Chris, George Saunders (who knows a bit about writing) posted this a few weeks back. He's just got the 10 ways of thinking about it...https://georgesaunders.substack.com/p/ten-ways-of-thinking-about-endings?s=r
Saunders has a great Substack - today he put out his Russian short story syllabus; lots to read!
Subscribing based on this alone :)
I don’t think you ever do. At some point you just hold you hands up, walk away and say ‘it’s done’
Some say that after five-years of drafts, Joseph Heller’s publisher told him “You need to stop and publish *now*. As I recall, *Catch-22” did rather well and even became a “catch-phrase,” but if he had just kept drafting, I’d have never been able to read it over ten-times over the years. And find new things every time.
You can tinker with something to death. I used to be that way pre Substack. But the regular deadline accountability got me just putting stuff out there come what may. I’ve sent out things with the odd horrific typo. No one cares if the writing is authentic though. This was a great lesson for me to learn tbh, broke a lot of unhelpful perfectionism which was really a mask for fear.
Thanks! I too have always been an “Imperfectionist.” That is true in my entire life, but as I work my way through my 80th-year on-the-planet, starting with triple-bypass-heart surgery, I have realized that I need to shitcan that trait. Easier said than done
I’ve got every faith in you. Just subbed for the use of the word ‘shitcan’ alone.
No Bronson here, sorry, but I have something of a mental check list, including looking to the opening/beginning, and seeing if there is any connecting between that and the close. It should almost have the sense of placing the last piece of a puzzle. If I don't have that feeling, I know I have a bit more work to do.
And this is a short answer to a long question :)
When you can't think of anything else and when trying to force yourself. You can pause the story and revisit it in a couple days or a week to unwind and if you find yourself still not being able to add anything, then it might as well be finished.
How do you find that sweet spot of sharing enough but not too much of your personal life in your writing (for those who focus on that kind of newsletter)? Shannan Martin is a fave of mine who seems to find that balance. Shauna Niequist, too. I'd love for either to answer!
I'm also trying to figure this out (and I do write that kind of newsletter, I think). Currently what I'm experimenting with is to send two posts - a regular post (long-form on a particular idea/topic, sent to both free and paying subs) and an updates post (very personal, speaking directly to the person receiving the email, sent only to paying subs). So in the latter I go completely personal, whereas in the former I'd only use stories from my life to bring forward a wider point.
I find that sharing my current pain is not a good idea. It's better to draw examples from further back. Because then I have done healing work that I need to give clarity and compassion to a situation. I think both Shannan and Shauna do the same thing.
Good tip!
This is a great question!
I typically use other names or think of metaphors that could apply!!!! Think of other situations you could use to explain the one you’re in
Wow, that's fantastic advice, and a great analogy!
Knocked it out of the park--helpful advice and a great visual!
Damn that’s good J Rollins, that’s real good
I'm intrigued what's been your no.1 new subscriber growth tactic?
For me, it's been one viral LinkedIn post that went to 4.5m views and then I dropped a comment below that thanked everyone for the great conversation and then soft pushed the newsletter. Literally accelerated the growth from 40 people to 240 people in a week!
Niiiice. Congrats. The big question is: what's the secret to writing a linkedin post that gets 4.5m views???
Pick a topic that's relatable, choose a content style that you've seen work and then add in a engaging "hook" first line. And then it does this: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6914481402906296321/
(before the comment, I didn't see any new subscribers, they only joined afterwards)
Well, that is a great post. And an engaging topic. Well done. Now I'm going to wreck my brains the next few years on how I can translate that into something that fits with my poetry newsletter. I like that challenge.
LinkedIn will be a tough crowd for poetry :)
A big thing for me is: is there such a thing as posting too much with a newsletter? Is daily too much or should I just be blogging instead? I'd ask people like Adam Grant or David Epstein that only post 1 - 2 times/month.
Thank you for asking this. There's a substack I follow which has great content but I've been thinking if there's a way I can tactfully tell them they post too much. Twice a day minimum, occasionally 3 times a day. They have great stuff but I find I am doing mental triage--I find myself categorizing their content as spam and not looking at it unless the title really, really appeals to me, and I decide to indulge my notifications. Once a day is probably fine, but I wouldn't do more than that.
There IS an option to publish without notifying people--I see some newsletters that are like "magazines" where they publish "quietly" and then do a roundup with a summary of everything they've posted since the last one. I think that is a GREAT solution if you find yourself with a lot to write about.
Just tell them, it will help, you are surely not the only one feeling that way. I like the idea with the silent posts!
i've been 'quietly' posting a few items here and there, and i love the idea of doing a roundup with a summary. thanks for that!
You said:
"There IS an option to publish without notifying people--I see some newsletters that are like "magazines" where they publish "quietly" and then do a roundup with a summary of everything they've posted since the last one. I think that is a GREAT solution if you find yourself with a lot to write about."
Are there buttons on substack one should click on to publish "quietly." Can you tell us the precise logistics of publishing quietly ?
You will see an option just before publishing (you untick a box of sending and notifying subs).
Dear Igor:
Substack informed me that you replied to my comment.
Your comment that begins with, "You will see an optoin...," is your response to my comment.
However, I don't recall what my comment is and I can't find it on here.
What a bitch
Thanks for responding to my comment
Yes, it is not really optimal. I think my reply was about you asking how to not send an email for your post.
When you go to publish an article, do not check the box that says "email subscribers and notify app users" or whatever it says. You can still publish, but no one will know about it. Later on, when you do a roundup, you can link to all your quietly published content.
I think it depends on what your readers have come to expect.
And how lengthy your articles are. If they're long people are less likely to keep up and maybe podcast would be a better medium.
This is a great topic.
Initially, I heard that one should post either every other day or once every three days.
Then, I heard a lot of people on substack say that one should post once per week
I have recently bifurcated my newsletter: One subdivision is devoted to political prose. The second section is devoted to prose on subjects outside of politics and to poetry too.
Since I have two sections in my newsletter, should I post twice per week, one item every week for the political section and one item a week for the non political section
I really don't know.
Yes - unfortunately, ONLY you would know the answer to your dilemma!
Whilst we're on the subject, how *do* you create a separate section on your newsletter? I see it done, but I don't understand how to create a new section technically?
So far, I've found twice weekly - consistently and on the same days - works well for me. It's tempting to do more, but I don't want to saturate peoples' inboxes - and I hope they look forward to their Monday/Thursday diversion.
For me once per week is the sweet spot. I’ve tried prolific short posting, a consistent weekly output and taking 2-3 weeks to write a monster essay with reams of footnotes and all the rest of it, but in the end a new piece every Saturday has proven to be my bread and butter. But to each their own.
It depends.
Mine is weekly, and I designed it to be no more that 1-2 minutes to read (because that's about the level of MY attention span).
Long-form writing, I like to receive less frequently. So I can really sit and enjoy them, and not have such a backlog of posts that I feel I'm missing out.
Daily ones are good when they're straightforward. Like 'poem-a-day', or a spotify playlist to click on each morning or whatever.
I have really been contemplating a lot lately and trying to answer "Why bother?" with writing and creating in general. What is the thing that drives you forward? I collected a couple of thoughts from fellow writers in the process and it was an interesting experience to self-reflect so deeply. I wish I could really ask Dostoevsky and Van Gogh about it ... because creating something is... a lot of hard work.
Anyway, here is the piece https://eightyfour.substack.com/p/why-even-bother and my answer attached. What are your thoughts on this?
"I bother because I enjoy playing with words and editing my sentences. I bother because writing improves my thinking, and I bother because I like to ask, "What should we cook?" with my library. I bother because I like to test my perseverance, and I bother because I want to contribute and build. I bother because I am fortunate that I have the time, and I bother because I find it exciting when strangers like your work, too. And, finally, I bother because I hope to inspire others. Could this be vanity?"
Thank you for this, Igor. Thank you, because I wonder how many of us wonder, and contemplate our motivation, and ask ourselves why we bother to get up and get on it every day, when there's no guarantee of a 'like' or a readership. I believe we bother and continue to get on it every day because we need to stay connected with ourselves and with the world around us and inside us, and we can't ever give up on that. My job as a writer is to witness the world, and to write down what I witness, because somebody must. Could this be vanity? Yes, but I prefer to think of it as an act of giving, of doing my part, with the humble tools I was given.
That was lovely, Janette! Thank you so much!
Beautiful thoughts. Thank you for sharing. I like the idea of seeing it as giving!
Definitely bother because it helps me solve my own issues and think about them with a less biased mind...
Having me write it out causes me to think how others might perceive my feelings or my reactions which helps me kind of filter like “hey....this is how it should or could be”
Then I continue living with those new bits of info in my head
Writing as a healing or growth process. Or both. I like the idea.
Great answer, thanks!
I write because I have to. It's an inner drive. I see things I feel the need to share about. I've been focusing on doing that in poetry form, now, and it is really a great way to get that urge out. Lately, I also feel the need to write and share it, because I see an increasing polarisation. I like to have and use a gentle voice. I hope my work inspires empathy. With my poetry, that I sometimes refer to as snapshot poetry, I hope to show a way on how you could see the world. Most of my poems are shared with a photo I took of the thing that inspired the poem. With that, I hope to show not just how I see the world, but also what I saw, so that my readers can compare and find out there are simply different ways of looking at the world. I think that is an important thing to realize. My way is not necessarily the only, the best, the logical way.
This is also why I try to share as much issues of substack newsletters that have original poetry as I can. I do have some room for growth, there, as there are some I don't share. I will, I just have to get over myself, and that takes a while. Also, I have a section in my newsletter where I always share three poems I've found elsewhere. For the same reason.
TL;DR: I feel the need to share the beauty I see.
Beautiful, thank you, Arjun!
I wrote about that this week in a post about the shift from sabbatical work while I was employed by a college to the independent writing I'm doing now. The "so what" question is a big part of it. I like Gillian Welch's answer to it. See below.
https://joshuadolezal.substack.com/p/leaving-acadame-is-not-like-sabbatical?s=w
Also recently came from a sabbatical, an excellent experience!
Hey everyone! Happy Thursday! Hope all is well! I've been sitting on this question for a while...and I think it falls under writerly advice. Lol.
I'm thinking of starting to have Guest Posts on my Substack Newsletter. I hang out on Twitter 24/7 and I have a good idea of the wrestling writers that contribute to wrestling sites and sometimes just write for their own gain.
I have multiple questions (I think) but in the end I'm looking for guidance and confidence to open up - which I don't normally do - and ask for guest wrestling posts.
1. If anyone does guest posts, what made you decide to include that in your newsletter or work?
2. What red flags should I look out for venturing into this unknown territory for me?
3. Do you put the guest posts behind a pay wall or no?
4. Do you pay the guests for their guest posts? Not everyone likes exposure.
5. Do I have to think of contracts?
6. What's your editing process like?
7. How often do you post guests posts? Once a month, weekly, or other?
Let me pause on the questions. Lol. These might just be a guidence for me. Any answers or help or thoughts can help. Appreciate anything. Thanks!
I’ve done a few guest posts. Number question to ask yourself is if the guest’s writing fits in with your own. It doesn’t have to align exactly, either. For example, I wrote about music. On the surface that’s not a match, but a story about the music wrestlers use might be (I hope that makes sense).
Biggest red flag for me is when someone turns it into a homework assignment for you. If you’re guest posting, well, be a guest!
I don’t pay anyone, and haven’t asked to be paid. Im totally down for either, of course.
I run guest posts as I receive them… which is to say not that often. I’d run them regularly if the submissions were there.
Thank you for your response!
Thank you for your response!
I decided to do them for two reasons: to feature voices other than my own, and to give myself a bit of a break from cranking out content twice a week for years 😊
I didn't put out a blanket ask for guest posts; rather, I got in touch with people whose work I was already familiar with and went from there. Some people approach me, and if it's a good fit, we collaborate, and if not, I just gently say no thank you.
I do not pay for guest posts -- usually because I'm writing one for them and they're writing one for me, so it's a trade situation.
I have never had a contract for a guest post. That's way too formal for where I'm at.
My editing process is light. I make it clear that I will copyedit text but not fundamentally change the meaning. When I write guest posts for other people I usually say something along the lines of, "Edit as needed." It's definitely a point of trust between us but again, almost all of the people I've done this with are at least internet/Substack friends and so the relationship is already there.
I've set a schedule for one guest post a month. I don't want my subscribers to burn out on them, but I do like doing them and want to continue.
I agree with everything Sarah said and I would add that I always send a draft to the interviewee before publishing. I want them to be totally comfortable with the edits I’ve made. No one has ever made substantive changes and everyone seems to appreciate the opportunity to review.
Thank you for adding on!
Thank you for adding on!
Thank you for your response!
this is a good option for ppl that don't have a platform or a place to showcase their writing. it keeps your content fresh and provides your audience with different perspectives. I see it as a great resource to connect, network and show good leadership
Thank you! I appreciate that. Part of me does want to showcase other's perspectives in wrestling. Part of me also wants to showcase women voices in wrestling because I know we are there in the community but we hardly Collab with each other. I collab more with the guys and at times collab with guys who happen to have another lady wrestling fan on as a panel guest. Thanks again!
I think I'd keep them outside the paywall. That way your guest can direct their audience to the post and you benefit from new readers.
Thank you for response!
How do I boost my subscribers?
Right now, you only have one thing on your feed and there isn't a lot of context for it. Your about page doesn't say much about what you newsletter is about either, so if I cam across it I'm unlikely to subscribe.
So I would deal with your first basics (about page, one liner, getting clear on the purpose of your newsletter and your target readers, and your schedule of posting), and then produce a good number of posts (or 1-2 EXCELLENT posts).
Then you can come to writers hour and interact with other writers who might check you out and subscribe. You can also spend time emailing everyone your know and cares about you to subscribe, and sharing on relevant platforms (discord, twitter, instagram etc.).
But first things first.
I have been posting regularly for several months but I do not have many subscribers.
That's step one. Step two is promoting it, whilst improving your newsletter writing until you find a formula that works for you and your readers.
In all brutal honesty: I think your newsletter issues could use a bit of context. I have a hard time figuring out what the point is that you are trying to make. Admittedly, I'm European and I live in Europe, so the fact that we are living in two different worlds is one thing.
The post about the Mary Trump Twofer Tuesday thing was completely confusing to me.
Thanks, Arjan!
Hope it helps you.
Write what the younger you was dying to read and couldn’t find. Connect with people. Be patient and focus on the long term mastery of your craft. Subscriber numbers stay stagnant for ages and then they all come at once. It isn’t linear.
I think your first step would be to create content. Step one is regular posting.
I often turn to Mason Currey (Subtle Maneuvers) for writing advice. And it was a delight to find him featured in Vox today: https://www.vox.com/even-better/23144784/why-rituals-not-routine
Subtle Maneuvers is chock full of wonderful tips and inspirations: https://masoncurrey.substack.com/
I also really enjoy Mason Currey. I recently became a paying subscriber of his and he also is building up a pretty nice Discord community to talk further about idea, advice, share work, etc.
Hi everyone,
I just published my 5th post this morning! I am a recent college graduate writing about my "freshman year of life." https://journeywithjess.substack.com/p/back-to-athens?r=jck67&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I've noticed that in a single writing session I can have LOTS of ideas on how I want to write a post. How do you manage your ideas and how do you pick the best one and move forward?
Read it out loud 10000000 times and whatever sounds best , plug in the different options! I typically go w the one that makes me laugh most hehe
I LOVE the laughter approach! Maybe a little bit of chaos is just part of the process ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I just commented on someone else’s post about chaos coordinating !!!! Love a good chaotic messy drama with some good laughs
Only if it’s good laughs. Nobody likes evil laughs
But I’m also not perfect and do such a bad job at keeping my ideas together ((learning, together!))
Jane Austen or one of the greats - but I know there’s talent like that all over Substack!!!!
I like that, "Jane Austen or one of the greats" - Poor old Jane Austen.
I don’t mean It lke that!!!! Oops
Don't worry, she's not great.
Good thing opinions aren’t facts Mr. Dangerfield !!!
Ha ha. I know exactly what you mean.
lol
You. Smile.
Who has been using the video feature? Are you using it in addition to YouTube? Instead of YouTube? I have a super small following on YouTube and I was honestly happy to get 20 views on my last video. Would I be better off just posting them here in Substack? Also, is there a way to embed Substack video posts into additional newsletters?
Hey Sarah! I've been using the video feature! I completely stopped using my YouTube Channel despite some decent numbers when it comes to my niche passion for wrestling. Sometimes Youtube will hit my videos with a copyright strike when I create educational style wrestling videos - discussing storylines, character development, and more. So I decided to move and be free. My numbers fluxuates depending on who sees the email vs who doesn't see the email. And every hour it calculates how many minutes was watched. I have a wrestler interview up and last, I checked it was 6 video plays with 131 mins watched. I haven't decided is this is good enough for me. This wrestler interview video is for paid subscribers with a good chunk of it as a preview. I still have 2 paid subscribers. I also have a Tape Study Tuesday series where my twitch community and I watch wrestling matches from a specific wrestler, and I give commentary and even break down matches and stories if I can. I take that twitch stream, edit it, and put up the content as a video for my Substack community that didn't get the chance to watch it live with me via twitch. The last one I did has 6 video plays with 6 minutes. So yeah. I think we need more analytics or something. You can always experiment with the video feature and see how it works for you. That's my experience with it.
UPDATE! Being curious is awesome! So, you are able to click on the video plays to see more analytics like video playback duration to see where people dropped off in the video. Also, my podcast episodes get played more than the video posts. I have both audio and video in my newsletters.
That is helpfu! I guess with as little traffic as I'm getting on YouTube, it probably is better to give Substack a genuine try.
You're welcome! Glad it was helpful. You can always still upload to YouTube but in a bite size videos and at the end and in the description encourage your followers to sign up to your newsletter. Passerby viewers may do the same. It can help as an extra step in marketing. I also added an update to my previous reply because I just found out you can see the playback duration!
Oddly, the book “Work Clean: The Life Changing Power of Mise-en-Place to Organize Your Life, Work, and Mind by dan Charnas is been an indirect source of deep wisdom for me about the writing process. For those who are unfamiliar with the term “mise-en-place” it literally means “everything in its place." In cooking and baking, it refers to the action of preparation before you start your recipe. The saying got its start in professional kitchens across the globe, as it's one of the first foundational techniques many chefs learn..The book “Work Clean” breaks this process down into three pillars that for me offer a lateral thinking way of looking at the writing process. (1) Pre-Prep -- i.e. outlining and organizing what I am going to write. (2) Process -- i.e. the actual writing of the draft (3) Presence -- The enjoyment of editing, vacuuming, dusting, and messaging the final product-- i.e like putting the final decorations on a birthday cake. For every article, I do each of these elements of the process on different days.
I'd like to add sections to my newsletter without creating separate newsletters. Is that possible? If someone is subscribed to my main newsletter, are free subscriptions automatically linked to all new sections created within it?
I ask this because my main idea was to just organize my archived materials by at least two themes: fatherhood and life after leaving academia.
This post would live in both sections: https://joshuadolezal.substack.com/p/do-you-really-lose-a-book-for-every?s=w
But one like this is more about fatherhood:
https://joshuadolezal.substack.com/p/are-the-alpha-dad-and-the-clown-really?s=w
And one like this is much more about life post-academe:
https://joshuadolezal.substack.com/p/leaving-acadame-is-not-like-sabbatical?s=w
I was only going to add new sections once I grew to the point that I could add paid content. But now that I've built a decent archive, I was hoping to organize some of it a bit more. Any thoughts welcome!
I have five sections enabled in my newsletter specifically to organize the "archive" into categories, and I also have another section that is for a comic and completely different from the rest of the newsletter, which is about movies. I recommended using the non-magazine layout in order to have the sections appear neatly as navigation tabs like so:
https://moviewise.substack.com/
Great idea and question! I'm interested in the feedback you get on this.
I think there is a setting that will let you decide whether subscribers are receiving the section or that is will be like a separate thing. So, play with the settings to see what works for you. I did something, and the result is fine for me. I think for me, my secondary section is completely integrated into the main section, but I do have a separate section for my podcasts where only they are visible (posts in that section). I hope that makes sense, otherwise click on the link next to my name to see what I mean.
What I want to say: I believe the section function is quite flexible, maybe a little too flexible to make it work perfectly. But I'm not sure. Will be experimenting with another section soon.
The Substack team is signing off from today's Office Hours thread.
If you are hosting your podcast on Substack or posting other audio work here, don't apply for Summer of Sound audio intensive: https://on.substack.com/p/summer-of-sound?s=w
We'll be back same time next week.
See you then!
The Substack Team
Katie, Bailey, Kelsa, Amanda, Peter, Ashley, Dayne, Christina, Mary, Mike, and Kamil
Thanks everyone!
Hey Substackers! How are you doing in your creative journey today (be honest)? I know it's tough sometimes to feel like you're actually a writer. A "real" writer. I struggle with that, too. But if you're here, and you're showing up, and you're not giving up no matter what happens with your newsletter...then guess what? You're a writer! A real one! No one has to pick you or crown you. If you're doing the work, you're a writer. So wear the title proudly, and DON'T give up! 🌿
I tell people to use a newsletter as a journal of accountable writing, or as a portfolio. Be creative, bend the rules, write as if nobody’s reading you.
I agree with your "write as if nobody's reading you"! I see so many 'Stackers, especially on this thread, who are so consumed with subscriptions, going paid, etc! It wasn't a month before I found that to be a pointless exercise!
I write, and with any luck, folks read. With a little more luck (or someone feeling so moved), somebody will actually pay to subscribe.
The choices to subscribe are clearly outlined. I don't need to spend time wringing hands, or gnashing teeth as a member of my own "sales team"! I write, therefore I am!
My imaginary publicist does a fantastic job promoting my work, but I would like to pay her a wage at some point. Till the conversion rate improves I’m afraid she will have to remain imaginary 😂
Definitely agree. Hard to resist getting swept up in the analytics but eventually you have to focus on the writing (the thing you can control) rather than the sub count (something you can't control).
Sometimes I wish I could turn off pageviews, the subscriber graph, etc. for this exact reason.
I suspect that quality of many writers work would improve if they could demetricate like this. Numbers can become tyrannical and metrics can pull us from our creative vision if we are not careful.
I love that!
Yes, Brad. Akin to Tom Brady who is forever perfecting himself mentally, emotionally, physically along with his craft -- writers who produce elite content will never have to worry about subscribers and money. Maria Popova who produces ‘The Marginalian” is probably the greatest example of this. Millions of subscribers and a reported net worth of $14 million off of her digital newsletter that overflows with world class content.
And, in the tiny amount of time I've pondered it, the hope is that what I'm currently working on with singer/songwriter/guitarist, Stephen Michael Schwartz, might eventually turn into his autobio in some form, either e-book, paper, or both!
At that point, my tiny amount of subs (and even tinier paid) will be meaningless, and, subsequently, a wasted moment of worry. If that never pans out, I'm currently enjoying an embarrassment of riches in the emotional, fun, and personal fulfillment arenas!😁
That's how I try to approach it. Otherwise it is too tough and too much pressure to think of all the subscribers. If they want to read they will, and so far it seems many of them do.
It's a choice: Have subs consume you, or just write, and let those chips fall, figuratively and literally, where they may.
That is my plan. . . .although I must confess to keeping an eye on subscriber numbers.
That's a good point. Writing the newsletter keeps me focused and often a topic that initially seems trivial takes on meaning with exploration.
Well said. This is what I'm focusing on doing. Honestly, don't really want people I know to find me just yet. I like the accountability of publishing regularly but the freedom of not having a large audience to worry about yet. This week I wasn't sure what I wanted to write and ended up including some content straight from my journal.
If you aren't filled with doubt and angst, you can't call yourself a writer.
Oh, that is such a sad notion. I am a writer. I have doubst, of course, but they do not fill me or block me. I wish the writers here get the confidence to write, and use the doubts as sparks to grow.
Well said.
Thank you.
Many writers are filled with confidence and are generally at peace with the world.
And many aren't.
And many are. Read it and weep.
I don't buy into the tortured artist trope. Anyone can write, it's just putting words down in order.
Agreed. The mythologizing is banal and creatively immature. I get it though, there's a bit of romance in all of us, but you know, leave it at home.
But only the tortured can create!
If you write about motivation, self help and mental health, isn't suggesting that only the tortured and angst-ridden can call themselves writers a bit counter-productive?
No. Man cannot remake himself without pain for he is both the sculptor and the clay.
I get that. But I can't see how it is (self) helpful to tell someone they can't be a writer unless they suffer from angst and doubt. Anyone can be a writer.
Too bad nobody handed a pad and pencil or a paintbrush and canvas to those hanging upside down and locked into stocks during the Middle Ages! Oh, the creations we missed.............apparently!
Boethius was handed a pad, perhaps you should read his work. So have the many other great philosophers, writers, creators and more.
I don't have time. I'm off to go hang pads of paper, paints and pencils onto area gas pumps. I can't wait for the results!
The angst ridden artist is a self fulfilling prophecy. Art is about expressing the whole gamut of human emotion and experience, the good and the bad, the sublime and the ridiculous, the mundane and the magnificent. Being doubt and angst focused exclusively is like deciding to only ever play an instrument in C#
I’m not only focused on that!!!! I’m just saying I hold a healthy spot for those feelings and write from them which helps me be better
Great analogy.
Thanks Ryan.
Interesting perspective.
You can write whole albums in one key but eventually either the audience or yourself will really tire of it.
Perhaps.
Of maybe not. Some bands find their extremely rigid sound and stick to it relentlessly and to great success. Depends on the given artist ultimately.
What would you write about if you weren’t !!!!
Joy and happiness have borne a few jewels of barely passable content, as well, some on this thread will doubtless be saddened beyond consolation to hear.😭
You're absolutely right, S.E. It's always good to see your positivity radiate here. Thank you for that. To answer your question, these days my creative journey is actually going great. I am getting some positive returns on my writing. Sold a poem-NFT, I get an increasing number of subscribers to my Substack newsletter for which I have ideas to enrich the content of, and I will be a virtually exposing artist at an art festival in the town I lived in a few years ago. The cultural community center organizes a yearly art days event, which this time features a video-poetry collection by me.
How is your journey going?
I still can't wrap my head around NFT. Like I actually get the concept, but it looks like a LOT of self-PR in weird places on the internet to sell one thing?
Hahaha, yes, it partially is. I am exploring the space, as they say. I will start adding a sort of journal/log about that journey in my newsletter. About discovering all the curious things there are to discover about the NFTs (and the metaverse?). So, that wold be another weird place to put self-PR. Then again, is that not also precisely what we do when we promote an issue of our substack newsletters?
Yeah but I do quite little of that. I go about my life talking to people (including here) and then I tell them about my newsletter and if they’re interested they subscribe.
Discord communities are rammed with people selling pixelated rabbits, I don’t even know where to start.
I must admit that I have not yet fully embraced the discord phenomenon. I am also now finding out there are project that sell the "pixelated rabbits" and family, but there are also many artists that just find this an intriguing way to create an income from their work. I'm mainly on Twitter when I'm on NFTs. And I will bring my travelogue in NFT land to my substack newsletter.
Thanks, Arjan, and Happy Thursday! :) I'm so glad things are going well for you!!
Things are going pretty well here, too! I confess, I started a new freelance gig this week and it kind of ate my attention for other projects, so I've only done the bare minimum with my newsletter this week, but I'm extremely happy with the community that's joining me over there and I'm looking forward to staying consistent with it. 🌿
Well said. And thank you for the hopeful words of encouragement. We all could use such a pick-me-up reminder from time to time.
A little “Zap” of liveliness 🤩👍🏽
No problem at all, Chris! Thanks for being here! :)
Take risks in life and make as few assumptions as possible about the future. That's the first step. Actually putting pen to paper is just writing up the report.
100%!! You know what they say about assumptions... ;) Love this approach!
I’m excited about how I’ve been doing this far, as time has gone on I’ve felt more and more comfortable putting my ACTUAL writing out…rather than just putting out a ranting blogpost - I’ve even tried citing things (although I still need help on that)
It's like anything, the more you do it, the easier it gets. Good on you for trying new things.
Thank you! I never thought of myself as a writer but I actually think I kinda like it!!
One of the great things about Substack is this community of writers, all going through something similar in some ways, different in others, honestly helping each other whenever possible (and the occasional odd contributor who may or may not be a software bot or spam, so hard to tell these days :)
It's been a bit of a week of self-doubt here. My subscriber numbers are going up gradually and I'm getting more engagement in comments but by E-mail open rate is decreasing, which worries me a bit. I feel like I'm just throwing stuff at a wall to see what sticks. I'm 6 weeks in and I know from previous experience it's just early days but that is how it feels at the moment.
I totally get it, Mark. Sometimes I remind myself that weeks will go by when I'M not engaging with the emails I get, so my followers probably (definitely) have weeks like that, too. Just stay consistent, and the right community will show up and stick!
Thanks!
My first six weeks I was happy with 200 email opens. Now I average over 3k almost every issue. You just have to keep at it!
I have like 3% email opens but just got over 150 views on my one article...small but big accomplishment to me
I think people get hung up on trying to be a writer, whether they are a writer or not. Much easier to just be someone who writes. Write whatever you want, whenever you want. 1 word a day or a 1000 words a day. Makes no difference. I believe that the majority of people who write are doing it because it is a need, they have to write to survive to get through the day, the week, the month. Not writing isn't an option, so just be someone who writes and leave the labels for the jam jars.
I think you're absolutely right, Ryan. I found that calling myself a writer before I felt I was "ready" was what propelled me into opportunities I didn't realize for there. It's a mindset, as cliche as that sounds!
And also, as someone who does quite a bit of canning...sometimes the jam jars don't even get labels. ;D
I'm not sure where the jam jar analogy came from. Never made jam in my life! 😀
Thanks so much for the words of encouragement! They are much needed right now. I've had a newsletter now for just over 4 months and it takes a lot to stick to this. I'm constantly criticizing myself about my writing and of course, this causes me to freeze and deal with a lot of writer's block. So thank you again! It helps!!!
Just keep writing. There'll be good days and bad days. Kind of like life.
If you write every day you are a writer. It’s a process not a designation based on external results.
I couldn't help but think of this video of one of my favorite authors, who made a book trailer for one of his books.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEN10axDJtA
"I'm a writer!"
Thank you for this!
Fantastic, Scoot!! Thanks for sharing! :D
The best advice for this i've seen comes from one of my favorite authors, Max Barry. If you are having writers block in the middle of a book, delete the last thing you wrote. If it doesn't clear up, delete some more. Back track until you find your inspiration again, because its possible that somewhere along the lines you went astray and now you are trying to reconcile a decision you made earlier that brought you to a dead end.
This may not be applicable to you, but I wanted to share it just in case. Hopefully you find the path forward soon! Good luck!
I'm so glad to hear that, Robert! And YES, you should be calling yourself a writer from day one, if that's what you want to pursue! Names are important to the way we position ourselves. When you call yourself a writer (and, scariest of all, say it out loud in public) you're more likely to shift your mindset in the right direction. Thanks for being here! :)
Substack, I still think we need data on best days and times for open rates so we can deem when is best to send. My usual Sunday issue this week was a whopper yet a Tuesday issue sent at the same time has nearly a 1,000 less opens.
Don't worry about it. If people are going to read them they're going to read them. Having an audience of people who only open your links if they've got nothing else to do seems like a lot of work for some low hanging fruit. Ideally they'd be begging for it. That's my motto.
Agreed! Encountered this nail-biting question trying to decide when to send my first newsletter (yesterday!)
Congratulations!
Congrats on the first newsletter :-)
I imagine that when you consistently send it on the same day/hour, readers get used to it and maybe then open rates go up.
I strongly second this! It would be so useful to so many of us.
Oh yeah... that would be super helpful!
Hey! From what I know, we actually don't have super clear data on this - meaning there isn't a clean over-arching perspective on when is best. But let me ask our data team about this.
Thank you!
I just petitioned the case for you!
Yeahhhhhhhhh!
they don't want to give you CTR and all that because it's an ad model and they're trying to drive paid subs -- but more data especially on when users open would be so helpful for knowing when the best time to post is
Substack writers: has anyone decided not to go the paid route? This is a dilemma I’ve faced for a long time, and I’m still leaning toward keeping my newsletter free indefinitely. Is anyone else in this boat?
I write short fiction twice weekly. A part of my thinking is that I’d like to continue to increase my readership. Down the line my plan is to self-publish a collection of my stories. At that point I’d use the newsletter to promote it, while continuing to write new, original fiction for free.
Any thoughts or feedback on this? Are there any other fiction writers following a similar plan? Thanks in advance!
And thank you, Substack team, for hosting these office hours!
I'm a fellow fiction writer and wrestled with a similar issue. I ultimately decided to have a paid tier that got you early access. I post weekly chapters of my in-progress book that are behind the paywall and unlock one chapter each month for free subscribers. I also serialized twice a week the entirety of book 1 for free to bring in new readers, which I just wrapped up a few weeks ago.
In addition to early access, paid subscribers will get all of my ebooks included in the subscription when they are published. And I do exclusive art reveals for paid subscribers which don't take that long to create but provide value.
I can see the incentive there! Sounds like a solid plan for your paid content, Jon. I thought about serializing some of my “finished” novels, but I’m still on the fence.
I will never go paid. My reason for writing is not to get money; it's to connect with the broader community of people who are interested in the same problems I'm trying to address.
I hear you there. I see the draw for many to go paid, but I also understand this perspective, too. Mainly I want to share stories and connect with others.
I haven't gone paid yet, but I have a plan for it that I think would be pretty rad!
Here's the cold hard formula I use in my head to determine whether or not it's time for a paid tier. I estimate how many hours of work a month it will take to make content for the paid tier. I multiply that by my hourly rate. Let's call that my Paid Tier Budget.
Then I take my current subscriber count, multiply it by 5% (an estimate of how many will go paid), then multiply that by $5 (subscription fee). Let's call that my Paid Tier Estimated Income.
If the Paid Tier Budget is less than or equal to Paid Tier Estimated Income, then it might be time to consider going paid. In other words, is it worth your time?
Makes sense, Geoffrey. It sounds like you have a great plan and vision in mind for your newsletter!
I think you should build your brand up and create other opportunities from it. I have made far more money and valuable connections from my Substack than running ads and having a paid option. But paid is there because it is valuable.
I love this! Yes, making connections often leads to other creative opportunities. I’m happy to hear you’ve seen so much success going this route!
Thank you!
i'm planning on keeping my newsletter free. i see it as a way to help build a readership for my historical trilogy which i also plan to self-publish, and i'd hate to exclude potential readers from content on the newsletter or the serialized first novel. also, i do this for my own enjoyment, and i worry that adding a monetary incentive might encourage me to compromise my writing in unintended ways. i'm happy doing my own thing for my own reasons, and i'm grateful if other people enjoy it too. but i don't want to become invested in anyone's support, emotionally or financially.
Well said! Exactly - we are all here for our own reasons. And all reasons are equally valid.
You could make a paid tier and still continue to post everything for free. It can be a way for readers to support you.
Thanks Nishant. I have considered that as I know a few other Substack fiction authors who do. However, I feel at this point in my life money is not a necessary objective, and I would prefer subscribers support authors financially who are trying to make a full-time career out of writing.
A solid idea! Thanks, Nishant.
I'm writing travel humor, so it's non-fiction, but I have the same strategy as you've just outlined. I published my first newsletter yesterday and plan to do so monthly for free ad infinitum simply to have a place to announce my book when it's complete.
That’s awesome! Best of luck to you as you roll out your newsletter and book! I’m happy to hear others are thinking along the same wavelength as me.
If it feels right then do it. You’re on your own path as are we all.
I will always be free. In a very distant future if writing were my full time job I could envision adding to my existing content, which would be paid. However, I would never reduce my current output for those subscribed now. Whatever expectation I set currently I want to continue to set. That paid content would not be writing additional stories or essays. It would be me offering assistance or teaching in some capacity to paid subscribers, and then sharing those insights with all of the paid subscribers.
Yes, agreed. I’m with you there. I don’t see myself going paid for the same reasons. I set up my publishing schedule a while back and I plan on sticking to it. I like your idea of offering assistance/services to paid subscribers, too - if you decide to go that route someday.
I base this kind of creative quandary on how skint I am.
I'll likely keep mine free, indefinitely. The mentors that I have that have done similar things have also kept their content completely free in order to give the people who can't afford it access. It's an act of service.
This makes sense! I appreciate your perspective on this. Thanks, Sarah.
I plan to continue FREE but I added a donation button through my PayPal donation link. Great idea I learned by another writer I subscribed to. I plan to continue FREE for now but I am open to all possibilities in the future. Honestly I just write to try to help those seeking easy healthy recipes and tips to be healthier.
Yep, I hear you there! I mainly just want to write and read quality fiction and share that experience with others who feel the same way. Luckily I’ve been able to find a nice little fiction community here on Substack. I like your idea of adding the donation link. Thanks for responding, Maria! 😀
I went paid because I wanted to publish my serial novel on Substack as well as Kindle Vella, and the terms of Vella allow you to share your stories elsewhere if they're behind a paywall.
I got a few paid subscribers immediately and several more over the next few months, which felt great, but eventually they stopped. Now that I'm almost done with my second novel, I've been giving away paid subs to friends.
If not for Vella, I'm not sure I would have put my novel behind the paywall, because as others have discovered, most people aren't willing to pay for serial novels on Substack. And without that, I haven't figured out another good strategy for making content paid. Would love to hear from anyone who has successfully used a paywall with fiction.
Interesting! I never knew that about Kindle Vella. I believe Jimmy Doom has quite a large number of paid subscribers, but he also publishes daily fiction. Thanks for sharing, Jackie!
I think it's a good idea, build a platform to promote your published work. Not sure that's what substack want you to do though. They get paid when you get paid.
Thanks Ryan. Haha, that’s very true. I’ll just quietly walk away... 😅
I've seen a couple of newsletters do sponsorship or maybe advertising. I am not sure how well it works.
Here we go again, people. Don't forget the top prize goes to that author best able to disguise the shilling of their own Substack while singing the praises of another Substack they never read. Let's do this....
What’s the top prize?
A year's subscription to What's Curation (which I do read every day).
I think you won in the "Subtle self-promo" subdivision, while I get an honorable mention. :)
For drawing some potentially valuable attention to my sneaky double-bluff, you do Annette Laing (who Writes non-Boring History)
Ha ha. So true.
Ha ha. So true.
LOL
Just a general comment that you guys seem to have added a feature where new subscribers are automatically signed up for all the emails on my recommendations list (unless they uncheck a box) and I really hope you get rid of it. I am getting complaints, accusations that I've "sold" peoples email addresses...it's not good. Please remove that feature!
Hi Jessica, thank you for this feedback! We've heard similar feedback from other writers and we have a new design in the works. Could you tell me approximately how many of your readers have complained about this?
TBH it was only 2-3, but they were all very angry.
That indicates a big failure on Substack’s part to properly explain to readers what they’re signing up for in a way that destroys trust for all involved.
Yeah it's been a huge turnoff for new subscribers and I've been forced to waste time explaining that it's not me doing it. VERY frustrating.
I haven’t had complains but I agree that it is confusing. Someone in a hurry can just sign up without knowledge and then get mad at the newsletter author for perceiving that we are selling the info or providing them with unsolicited subscriptions.
Hi there Jessica - just to be clear, readers aren't automatically signed up! They choose in the flow if they would like to subscribe to anyone you recommend - each pub is listed with a check box, and any blurb you have added. But Dayne (who is in the thread) is working on this feature and it sounds like they have heard this feedback and are working on it.
All I know is I have been contacted by new subscribers who were very upset with *me* because they were "suddenly subscribed" to a bunch of newsletters they hadn't signed up for. I thought I was told this feature was automatically selected but whatever the case it isn't made clear to non-tech-savvy readers that they have to opt out of it.
Holy cow... Big NO to that. Thank you, Jessica. That's awful.
what box should I be unchecking? Where is it located?
At first I was quite excited about recommendations but the more I hear, the more I'm glad I didn't actually turn it on. An old-fashioned blogroll works just fine.
Hi William, could you tell me what you've heard about recommendations that puts you off?
The biggest thing is how when one writer recommends a second writer's newsletter, that second writer is then prompted to recommend reciprocally. That seems a little bit too "quid-pro-quo" for my tastes; recommendations should happen organically. However, this might have been changed; I'm not sure if that still happens or not.
Secondly, I *really* like the way old blogrolls used to look: a list of a person's favorite sites, which reflected on them as well as on the writers that were featured. But Substack's recommendations tool seems to be emphasizing, not the content of the newsletters, but the fact that they are on Substack. Obviously I like Substack (since I'm writing on it), but foregrounding Substack itself, instead of the content, seems the wrong way round.
And if a person signs up for my newsletter, they are making a big commitment in reading time and mental effort; they might want to lurk around and read the archives before seriously diving in. But shoving a bunch of "recommends" at them right away, even if they don't get automatically signed up, just feels overwhelming. It suddenly becomes, not about the budding relationship with a reader and a writer, but a marketing ploy.
where is that button located? I want to make sure it is not turned on. Thanks!
I'd like a way to get more information about people who unsubscribe. It would be useful to know how long they have been subscribed for, how active they were in reading, and also nice if there was an automated way to ask for feedback from them.
Could we fix the notification alerts so that the App doesn’t get pinged every time anyone just comments on this thread? I end up getting 50 or 60 notifications on each edition. Sometimes even after 6 six days when somebody comments.
I'll share this feedback with our team! You should just be getting notifications for people who respond to *your* comment, not the entire thread. Is that the case for you do you know?
This bug in the app started about a week ago. The notifications go to the whole thread so people have to read each one to find where to keep responding
Hi Bailey,
I get notifications for ALL comments on the thread, not just the ones who reply to me.
You can mute those notifications on your mobile. I have muted mine.
I just did, Maria, but I think the staff have taken note of this problem.
Oh awesome 👏
You can do that on your phone !!!
A few weeks ago I put a callout on Writer Office Hours looking for a collaborator on a boxed mac and cheese review, and this week the review is out! https://www.nightwater.email/p/camp-cheetos-mac-cheese-review
Thanks to Office Hours for helping to make the connection.
Love to see it! This is great, Adam. I had no idea flaming hot 'mac was a thing!
Substack, is it better to send a paid issue to all my subscribers with a paywall or just to paid subscribers only?
We have been seeing that the paywall + free preview is more effective at converting free to paid subscribers!
Is it a good idea for you to choose where the paywall is or can Substack insert it in a way that is most beneficial?
Paywall it is, thank you!
I've had disappointing conversion with the paywalls. I think in all of the posts I've sent, only once has anyone decided to become a paid subscriber. I'll keep trying different things, but it kind of surprised me.
Ooo, good question. I've gone back and forth on this too. Right now I send it to everyone, but that's also because I only post paid content once a month and I figure that's not too spammy for people. But curious to see the other responses!
I think you should send it with a paywall so people know what they’re missing out on.
Do people like that sensation when opening and email?
No. People get lots of email anyway; burdening them with a paywalled post they have to expend mental energy on, only to find they can't actually read it, is, in my mind, a little rude.
I've noticed people I follow doing this, but they'll put in enough in the email that you're at a natural break point and you don't feel as though you've been cheated. Not sure how it works out for them though.
I don't - I tend to unsubscribe immediately.
Got it, thank you Andrew.
It's a toughie. I'm trying everything. I know that paywalls are annoying (taking up my time to open it, and not letting me read! Pah!) but occasionally? As for folks who keep reading for months and months for free then decide to flounce off at the mere hint they should pay. . . I can't say I miss them. Boy, we need a convo about the stated purpose of Substack being for us to be paid.
Every subscriber is a gangsta until they need to pull out a credit card.
Remember, it is in Substack's interest to hype the "get paid though your newsletter!" angle.
I send 2 paywalled posts per month, but still give enough content in that particular post which could be interesting. So I paywall about halfway, not just after a few sentences with the free trial option. I've had about 8 people doing the free trial with a few cancelling them, others ended up paying.
Alf you are a rockstar!
Paywall!
People don't like to be reminded they're poor.
If I see "preview" in the app, I won't open it. If I discover a newsletter has more paid than unpaid content, or if I get into an article and hit a paywall, I'll usually unsubscribe.
Same here; if a newsletter starts sending out too many paywalled pieces to the free list, I unsubscribe. I understand people are trying to make money from their work, but if I already decided not to join the paid tier, I by definition don't want the extra pay-only content. One newsletter I subscribe to comes out three times a week for free, and that's about all I need from that writer; getting their extra editions would be too much to read.
Hello dear fellow Substack writers! How are you all doing. Always when there are regular office hours, I miss the shoutout thread. Do you miss it, too? If so, I invite you to join the #substackshoutout thread on Twitter. Simply share a link to a substack newsletter or post you liked and add the hashtag. Read, like and retweet others. That would be nice. See you on Twitter (after these office hours of course).
https://twitter.com/hashtag/substackshoutout
If you are doing an original poetry substack, please tag me or reply here. I promise I will follow and share in the shoutout :)
You rock Arjan!
You rock YouTopian Journey! You were probably the first “regular” and reliably supportive member of this community that I noticed when I began to lurk. One paradox: You are so warm and welcoming to all, but your profile picture strikes me as incongruent. More like disinterested (or stern, judgmental?) I know. I have no room to talk when I haven’t even added a picture to my profile. I tried to copy and paste my gmail photo, but…no dice. I tried to find the original, but…no dice.
Anyone have a tip for that?
Glad to hear that! To answer your question, the profile picture is based on the main character of my Substack. I prefer it to a logo as it draws more attention.
I think the app needs a way to bring a piece back from the archive. Like an undo button or something. Occasionally, I will accidentally archive something I didn’t intend to but there’s no way to fix that.
Hey Andrew 👋🏻 You can still view all your archive posts in the app via the Library tab > Archive. Hope that helps! xx
Yes, I'm aware that you can still view it. But I prefer to have all my posts in the main list. If there was an undo button or something, I could make sure I don't accidentally put it elsewhere.
I second this. Also having a bookmark or save for later would be incredibly useful.
Reading over the comments here and it seems like a universal theme is how to grow a subscriber base and I too face that dilemma like everyone else.
In some respects, since I publish comics it might be even harder becuase the equation of work per post vs. ROI is unbalanced as yet since it has been very hard to convert subscribers to paying subscribers.
However, I think it's important to remember what's also at play is that people have so many services/items seeking their attention and subscription dollars (streaming services, apps, etc.) that they tend to get overwhelmed with making the jump unless they really, really, really love what you are creating and to believe in your creation. Plus the dubious state of our economy doesn't help matters.
But I've accepted that getting a subscriber to that point of love takes a lot of time and which needs a pretty thorough and steady campaign that makes use of as many touch points to subscribers as possible. You have to get them to through this funnel: know you > Like you > Trust You > Love You > and then PAY You.
As hard as this journey seems, I still believe that for every writer/artist there's an appreciative audience out there somewhere. Thankfully Substack give us some great tools to help that journey.
But with that said there's also a fair amount of work one has to also do to promote, promote, promote. One place I recently found: If you search in the Reddit Substack a person put up a really useful link to a doc with a dozen different newsletter distribution sites where you can get listed.
When will you release a referral system?
Recommendations has been great for getting new subs, I think allowing users to refer and rewarding bonuses for 3,5,10,100, etc referrals would work great.
I can tell you that they are working on it.
How best to gain reach on social media like Twitter?
We often say to think about social media as the place to give potential readers a taste of your content. You can include teaser excerpts, screenshots, or share the research behind your work.
On Twitter, many writers create viral threads that summarize free or paid posts and link to their Substack. Also, connect Substack to Twitter in your Settings page to notify your Twitter followers about your publication.
In my view, the best way to use Twitter is by not just posting about your newsletter constantly. Throw in things about YOU. Hobbies, thoughts, etc. No one likes an account that is "buy / look at this" 24/7. It just feels very spammy, boring and a turn-off for most people.
Yes! Think of it as a funnel. Get people to engage with you, and only then do they discover your writing
Exactly!
^this^
Twitters algorithm rewards ‘time on site’. So if you write detailed threads they are more likely to be pushed and therefore get more likes, RTs and those sweet, sweet follows.
The secret is not to self-promo (For example, never say "Just published my new issue!") but instead, take the gold nuggets of engaging content from your newsletter (like the hooks, the stats, the questions, any images, etc) and shape those into tweets. You will come off as more authentic, and you are sharing the content that will get to potential subscribers.
I created newslettertosocials.com to help with this. It grabs the "nuggets" from your past issues and guides you through creating tweets. It will also schedule them ahead of time!
Seems so obvious...🤣 So why am I not doing it?
We aren't experts in social media! It's not intuitive and sometimes you need it to be spelled out haha. I had the same realization after speaking with some content marketers
WORD. Thank you.
It can certainly work! I know in the webtoon/novel space, many writers have effectively grown on social media. For your specific case, I'd think about who your target audience is. Really imagine them and think about what would catch their eye in their Twitter feed. Is it cliff hangers? Is it summaries? It may take some experimentation and time!
I write about this topic more at https://newslettertosocials.substack.com/
My tweets have an average life span of 12 seconds. Tough platform!
Same! I think it works well for promoting stuff when you already have a larger following, but getting traction with a smaller personal account is tougher than reaching out to your network on Insta/FB/LI.
Same!
Me too. Just started putting my real name and face out there and it seems to have helped. For a long time I went under theory_gang seems like people didn't trust me
I am working on a new podcast. I hope to start it within the next 30-60 days. Would I be able to apply for the audio intensive, given the fact that I don't yet have any audio content available? I'm incredibly hopeful that my podcast will take off and grow quickly—isn't everyone who starts a new podcast—but I feel that something like the audio intensive might give me just the boost I need to get this new project off the ground. Any thoughts on this? Many thanks for any answers or advice!
Hi Chris! For this particular intensive, we’re looking at supporting those who already have some experience with podcasting on Substack, but need help getting to the next level.
That said, we will certainly be releasing more information and resources to help those who are getting started right here on On Substack (one coming to your inbox shortly after Office Hours, in fact!)
Thanks, Kelsa!
Ching Ching just got another $50 a year subscriber, thanks Substack……
Congrats!
I've got a question to those of you who have switched from sending your newsletter weekly to doing so several times a week. What prompted the switch? And do you stick to the same structure for all issues then or have different types of texts/content come out different days of the week?
Honestly I just had more to say/share than fit into the structure of my once-weekly post (on Wednesdays). So I created another one -- shorter, less structured where I do whatever I want (on Tuesdays).
I sometimes send an issue during the week just as a surprise or a heads up.
Sometimes I can't shut up.
Short on M/W/F, longer on Thursdays.
I switched because it became a forcing function for me.
Substack if we have more than five referrals on our page, I suggest you implement a feature that allows the referrals to switch/refresh (much like how you do on your homepage). This allows everyone to get some love and subs.
I thought this was already happening?
Is it?
Hopefully someone from the Substack team can jump in with confirmation/clarification here -- I really thought it *was.*
Thanks for the suggestion. There are 3 places that we display recommendations: in the subscribe flow, on the homepage (optional), and on your pub's recommendation page.
We show up to 7 recommendations in the subscribe flow, and these are selected and ordered randomly from the total list of recommendations.
We show up to 3 recommendations on the pub homepage, and these are also selected and ordered randomly.
We show all your recommendations on your pubs recommendation page; the order here is static. I believe pubs are sorted by date created, but I'll have to check.
What would be your preferences?
Well the hour is almost up and I would particularly like an answer to this question I asked before about importing and exporting content between Wordpress and Substack. In exporting from my Wordpress site to Substack the feature images do not transfer. Is there anything I can do apart from putting them in manually. I am just one person and the more streamlined the process the better. This is the magazine on Wordpress: https://asenseofplacemagazine.com/ But when I put it over to Substack the feature images do not transfer automatically. https://asenseofplacemagazine.substack.com/ Is there a solution to this issue?
i had the same problem transferring from blogger. i can't imagine going back and doing them manually...
Hey there, I'm sorry I can't help with this. I simply kept my old Wordpress site and created a new Substack w/ a new name.
Which leads to this question: how did you choose your name? I just checked it out and very cool articles - only it wasn't the content I expected. My field is the psychology of home, place attachment, etc. And when I read your "About" I don't see the connection to the name either. Perhaps you could elaborate? Maybe explain who your reader is? What are the interests of mine that I'll find shared in your community?
Please - this is not a criticism!! I had to clarify this myself for my own newsletter. And I am genuinely interested in yours (firstly, of course, because of the name) and would like to know more. I hope to connect with you! You can reach me at FindingHome@substack.com
It's a spiritual concept about spirit and place. It's also the name of my niche publishing company. That is, A Sense of Place Publishing. It just came to me quite some years ago now and it just seems to fit. It doesn't necessarily match the content, often doesn't, but people are generally positive about the name and the sometimes eclectic mix of content. And I'm in Australia, which has never really claimed to be the centre of anything; although some of the indigenous regarded parts of the desert as the centre of the universe. I would have thought with all their staff Substack could have answered a specific, technical question like the one I was asking. So I was a bit disappointed in that. But I can see there are all sorts of people bouncing around. I'm a bit leery about connecting my email with Windows; probably just being superstitious. You can contact me on john.stapleton@gmail.com PS Your site looks nice; and that warm fuzzy feeling of home, I suppose we could all do with a bit of that right now. All the best.
The recommendations feature rocks Substack!
How does one get and keep Readers when one's viewpoint or outlook resists easy classification ?
I don't want to appear snarky or cantankerous, but I think most readers want to read that which is in accord with and confirms their biases and prejudices.
Liberals want to read liberal writers and conservatives want to read conservative writers. Yada Yada Yada.
I, for whatever reason, subscribe to supposedly contradictory ideas. On economics, I am, for the most part, a fierce leftist. However, I tend to veer toward the right when identify politics screams its manifestos of multiculturalism.
I am gay, but at the same time I take issue with the salient concepts promulgated by the gay and feminist communities.
There is only one thing I can promise about my work: I will try very hard not to waste your time. I will try to ensure that my posts will say that which has not been said before. I will unceasingly knock my head against the wall to conjure up new and provocative ideas. Then again, maybe that imagery is all wrong: If I really knocked my head against the wall, I'd be at risk for traumatic brain injury and the consequent loss of IQ points might eviscerate the creativity of my output.
I welcome your responses.
Check out David’s writing. If you want to learn about history, politics, social studies, rock and roll… David has a way with words!
What is the optimum number of times to post? I am posting my memoir as an episodic. I've only posted the intro so far last week.
The most annoying answer: it depends.
I'll give you two examples. Fog Chaser, and Karlstack.
Fog Chaser composes monthly "meditations," which are music clips that come along with pictures, and a write up of his inspiration. These take a ton of time to assemble, I imagine. Hence, his posting schedule.
https://fogchaser.substack.com/p/meditation-010?s=r#details
Karlstack is a news publication exposing corruption in economics and academia.
He posts basically whenever news breaks.
https://karlstack.substack.com/
Keep in mind that as you grow your subscriber list, you'll have what I call "realization loss." It's a number of subscribers who realize they're still subscribed to you, and don't want to be anymore. Your new email is the nudge in their inbox that makes them unsubscribe. It's okay. It happens to all of us. But this is an important factor to keep in the back of your mind. If people sign up expecting weekly updates and all of a sudden you're hitting the inbox daily, they might unsubscribe at a higher rate.
Since you're doing something episodic, I'd say weekly. But again, this depends on the expectations you set with your audience.
Thanks, Kamil, I really appreciate that a lot. Weekly it is!
I second weekly ✌️
Thank you for your input. I will do my best to commit to weekly!
This week I posted to those that I subscribe to, asking for a mutual like or subscribe. I had several subscribe to my site. Thanks to those that did. I’m finding more and more really good writers. My main thing is music, not a writer, but Substack offers a great platform for me to share my work. Some have paid, though I don’t have locked content. I like to give everyone the goodies and if they can pay $5 $50 $100 fantastic.
Hi all! I just published my first video on how to create social media content for your newsletter! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TzyMaABQGU Hope it helps!
Hi there - I just watched this and it looks easy but I'm tripped up on 1 thing: where do I find the Newsletter to Socials application? I just searched online and other apps come up but not this one. (Forgive me - I'm old school! But I'm trying to learn! :)
newslettertosocials.com !
No worries! Yes I should probably link it in the description
Good day everyone,
I'm Lenny and I write about personal development.
My most popular article so far is about learning on my own after dropping out from school
https://mindvoyage.substack.com/p/a-dropouts-guide-to-self-education?s=w
I love telling people that I dropped out of college - TWICE. Ha. Will read your post.
Dope!
Two quick technical questions that I'm not sure are on-topic:
1) Has Substack considered a feature that would enable writers to schedule posts so that they e-mail subscribers at the chosen time in their time zone? (So that, say, everyone gets the e-mail at 10am their time?) It's tricky to pick a time to send posts so that folks in different time zones get them at a sensible hour.
2) I've noticed that the "share this post" button doesn't display in my actual posts, only in the editing window. Does it not display for authors viewing their own posts?
re: your first point - I would love this option as well!
I would imagine that everyone on Substack would find it handy, but I'm also thinking that if a platform as powerful as Gmail doesn't offer that feature, then it must not be plausible.
I'm not seeing the actual button on >any< of my posts. If you look at the latest dozen or so, at the very bottom I have three buttons and the "share" button is missing, thanks!
I have questions about the adding of a section. I've done this--a workshopping section to my newsletter, for paid subs only. However, I find only some people seem to manage to register for notifications...and sometimes--they say--they don't receive notifications of comments. Overall, even, with my newsletter, the notifications (and potential community-building) seem not to function at times. I have no sense of what people know or are receiving about comments.
Is there any way for me to manually sign up subs to the section, so I know they're solidly "in" and receiving notification?
I HAVE given detailed explanations as to how to sign up... but some do, and others not.
I have a few sections. Two of them work fine, but one is kina effed, so I just put that one out under the main banner, then manually move each post to the section.
I'll gave to take a look to see what you mean... thank you for jumping in here!
I haven't yet found sections useful, and would love to know the answer. And--aside-- explaining how Susbtack and sections and--most of all--paid subs work to sign-up folks feels like it all needs a semester to explain.
Hello Substack! I don't know if this is the place to put it, but while setting up my new publication I stumbled upon a feature request. Is there some way to choose what content shows up on your home page (when you have sections?) More specifically: I also write in French, and had set up a sub-section of my Substack that I figured my French-language subscribers could also subscribe to. But then, when I clicked to my home page, everything showed up as one bilingual mess! Oops! Anyway, I've heard similar requests from other writers and thought I'd elevate that thought. Sometimes we'd like to have stuff "available" but not necessarily prominent, to eliminate any confusion.
YES! I would love to be able to customize my homepage.
Yeah, like Kamil said, I use the magazine layout and pin posts to the top.
Alicia, quick question on the SUBSCRIBE button under your newsletter name. How did you get it there? I can't seem to find that option. Help?
Oh, I don't think I did that! Are you seeing this on my homepage? (I don't.) I think, in my experience, that appears when I'm not yet subscribed to a publication.
Or perhaps you're referring to the Welcome Page? Which you can edit under settings.
Glad you are thinking about content organization. I will make my periodic plea for the ability to toggle one's posts in ascending or descending order. For serialized fiction writers, this is key. (For example, someone might click"Let me read it first" and like the current post. Scrolling down, they would more likely keep reading if they saw Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc. rather than Chapter 19, Chapter 18, Chapter 17... Thanks!
Hello Substackers.. Wanna know who's unsubscribed?
=====
I created a Google Sheet to allow you to see who has unsubscribed and subscribed between two periods of time. I created this for me but decided I would provide it to anyone who wants to use it.
HOW IT WORKS:
You export your subscribers on a given day - for instance, prior to sending a new newsletter/article.
Then a few days after publishing, you export your list again.
Upload both lists to the Google Sheet and run a comparison. You'll get a list of unsubscribes and subscribes. You will, of course, need a Gmail account. This uses Google Apps Scripts - Google's javascript automation tool. Anyone who copies the sheet can view and change the code - for the nerds among us.
I have a shared Google Doc that explains it and gives you a link to the tool. You will need to copy it to your own Google Drive. It is all explained in the document.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/124jECm4K5CV-rioMxvzUvkCMd1F1m1hk6awpb8N1xkY/edit?usp=sharing
Substack team (Katie, Bailey). If there is any issue with me posting this, let me know. There is no profiteering or promo - well, I do suggest, with some snark, that they might consider subscribing stuff. But I think some may find the tool useful.
Curious, Matthew, what you do with this information once you have it?
I suppose it could tell me topics that turn people off - though I suspect that is known to most of us.
Interesting.
I have detached from the people who unsubscribe to the point where I turned off the notification emails. I don't need to know when people leave -- I come up with dumb stories about why, which never does me any good -- though it would be amazing to get that feedback. You (I, we) could ask for that in the email opt-out message, which is automatically sent, which would save you time exporting your list and doing all that work.
True.. For me it was sort of an analytical tool of:
We were here at this time and now we are here. The net change was/is.
I've had a list of a couple thousand for almost 12 years. But I took a long hiatus when my youngest came to live with me full-time. Prior to that I was touring across country a couple times a year.
When I came back I felt I was sort of starting over. Then when I moved to Substack I put out a message of "warning" that I would be publishing more often. There was some loss - although a recent event caused a sudden surge in subscriptions.
Anyway.. I work in data analytics and tend to get weird/interested in data. I usually want to see more than the net gain over time and instead see the specific decrease/increase that led to net gain or loss.
Data people generally do tend to get weird/interested in data 😊 Thanks for sharing your spreadsheet and for all the instructions you included.
Ha.. Send an angry, insulting email!!! No.. just kiddin' I sort of explain it in my document.
I want to know how long someone was a subscriber. I have also started sending a "Sorry to see you go. May I ask what prompted you leaving?"
I ended up getting a response from someone who re-subscribed. They said they had forgotten how the started following my newsletter back in 2010. So.. there is that.
Does anyone here have multiple sub stacks? Like for different subjects? Is that too much to keep track???? Should I organize my content that way??? Pros and cons plz :)
I have three: one which is for fiction and articles about storytelling; one for my local history articles; and one for people writing fiction on Substack (Fictionistas). I publish the first two every other week, which basically amounts to a weekly newsletter. But the history pieces take a lot of time, so it's a pretty heavy load. Fictionistas isn't as hard since I don't do a lot of writing, but there are also Zoom calls and other side work for the community that takes up about the same time as an article.
I started out by writing the history newsletter as a section under the other one, but the audience for the two is very different, and it was difficult to promote a section. So I ended up splitting them into 2 newsletters.
But after having done this for 6 months, my advice is to only take on multiple newsletters if you have the time and clear goals for each.
I started a secondary substack but it is for sure my neglected child. I try to keep my main writing in my main substack, and the auxiliary substack is just for fun--so in my mind as long as I am having fun with it, it's ok. If I were to charge money for it I would have to be more intentional about it, but for now I just needed a place to park a hobby-horse.
My secondary substack, by the way, is Gibberish.substack.com--a newsletter about learning and creating languages.
Good luck!
Thank you :)
I have two substacks (one personal, one for the community I run) but generally I would say that for an individual one substack with different publications within it is the way
Thank you Thomas !!
My pleasure.
Me -- “Black Books, Black Minds” , an idea that was suggested by my vanilla brothas and sistas when the racial justice protests were full flame and “The Chocolate Taoist,” -- my musings as Black Taoist adherent, whatever the hell that is.
I haven't started my sub stack yet because I have this problem. I saw that you can have multiple publications, but within an umbrella substack if that makes sense. So now I'm like oh no I think I just set up a branch as a main trunk.
Shit I think I might have too....I don’t know what I’m doing yet it’s a trial and error situation going on over here
Talking about it is helping me get unstuck though. I think the important thing is that we just keep going anyway
Touché ,, the more I do the better I feel , also I feel less self conscious!!!
I am trying to launch a second one right now. I have been doing non-fiction book reviews and essays on current events every week since November and I am in a real groove. My new one is on a completely different track, RV Travel and I found I had to create a second account. I am worried it will be too much but really want to try.
Katie, I've just recently started on substack, covering topics like conspiracies, weird history, and other similarly related "strange" occurrences. Clearly its a niche topic, so how would you recommend gaining exposure while targeting people who're likely to enjoy the topics I'm writing about?
Hi, I'm in a similar position, wondering how to get going past my own initial circle of readers. My newsletter features indie music artists and I'm reaching out the them to do interviews which moves the dial slowly!
Subbing rn!!!! Do you listen to tame impala? That’s my favorite KEVIN PARKER FOREVER
Social media takes time! But you need the right content with high frequency. I recommend checking out newslettertosocials.com to help schedule content ahead of time! I created it to help other writers and it is currently 100% free to use
This post might be worth reading! https://on.substack.com/p/how-to-engage-readers-substack?s=w
If you just started, i recommend getting your content onto as many social medias as possible and see what sticks. It's important to be present everywhere in the early days!
I write about why here: https://newslettertosocials.substack.com/p/why-social-media-is-the-best-way?s=w
Thanks so much, lots of good info. on the links you've shared, most appreciated!
Here's a specific question! I write about addiction and recovery at https://thanksforlettingmeshare.substack.com and host a podcast, "Breakfast with an Alcoholic" there, too. I'm struggling to find the right categories for the podcast in particular--health and wellness, spirituality and religion? Feels like I'm having a hard time finding the right category fit.
Thanks--love Substack and these office hours!!
Hey Substackers! How are you doing in your creative journey today (be honest)? I know it's tough sometimes to feel like you're actually a writer. A "real" writer. I struggle with that, too. But if you're here, and you're showing up, and you're not giving up no matter what happens with your newsletter...then guess what? You're a writer! A real one! No one has to pick you or crown you. If you're doing the work, you're a writer. So wear the title proudly, and DON'T give up! 🌿
Hi there Kafi. It appears you copied and pasted S.E. Reid's comment? https://on.substack.com/p/office-hours-50/comment/7170582?s=w
We've already had one major plagiarism scandal in Australia this week 🤣
Yes, it would be nice not to have the repetitive promotional stuff like this and like the one commentor from last week that kept dropping links to something outside of SS in dozens of comments last week.
I hope this isn’t off-topic.
But I would love to see the Substack techs devise better stat tracking than what’s currently available.
I really don’t want to hook my Substack into Google’s analytics matrix. 😩
Checked it out and subscribed. Thank you.
Is anyone other than myself serializing fiction? I'm currently over halfway through a 40,000 word adult genre novella that I've been publishing on my Substack for over a month now.
Yes, The Chilliad, Dreamer Weaver by Phoenix Ryder, Forever Fantasy Readers, The Novellist, The Storyletter, and A Tale of Two Times are all serializing novels. I'm starting a stack at the end of the month, Strange Wor/ds, that will serialize novellas by a few different authors.
Thanks for the tips. I look forward to dropping in on your Substack.
Hi, I have a quick question. I just started a newsletter and added some friends and family as subscribers. Did the welcome email automatically get sent to them if this was a part of the set up process?
Hey Trevor, when you add subscribers to your list while you're setting up your publication, it will not send them a welcome email. If you add subscribers through your subscriber dashboard, you will have an option to send them the welcome email as well as edit it.
Hey Peter, thank you sooo much!!
Hi everyone! The advice (my two cents) I'd like to share about writing regularly—which for me means one post per week—is to always be constantly mulling over ideas starting immediately after publishing an article. In other words, I feel that to write regularly one needs to be thinking about ideas for the newsletter at all times in the background. I find that if I disconnect my daily life from the newsletter, then it becomes much harder to write it than if I'm always in the lookout for how something makes me feel or think. Then, almost as if by magic, I have a new post to publish within a week.
My question to other writers is how to get better at writing humor/comedy? One of my goals is to develop this skill and I've dedicated a "section" of my newsletter, "moviewise: Life Lessons From Movies" to studying and practicing humor writing:
https://moviewise.substack.com/s/ready-to-laugh
I also created a Discord channel to meet other humor/comedy writers to discuss and share tips, tricks and give feedback on each other's work.
If anyone here is interested in humor/comedy writing, please join us 🤗:
https://discord.gg/bzMsYwdw
Love this. I think there's so much to learn from pop culture.
Thank you! Yes, I really find a lot of value in figuring out what the big, important message is meant to be in films. When movies have this, and most do, it's a pivotal moment in the film that is highlighted usually by dramatic music and/or a change in the cinematography. It's fun to explore what these scenes are trying to convey, and very often it actually is a helpful insight about life. I really enjoy it.
Hi team! I love Substack - thank you so much. My question has to do with VIDEO and AUDIO/Podcasting on Substack. Currently, I upload the mp3 audio for a podcast "Episode," which is then automatically added to Spotify. NOW, I would like to upload a video, and also distribute it as an audio/podcast. Can I somehow do simultaneously, or does it have to be two different posts? Is there a way that the audio portion of the video file will extract to podcast? Thank you!
I do audio and video, I actually connected my Substack podcast with apple etc, which you have to submit manually. Extract audio from video is a different issue,
Substack provides your url to manually submit to stitcher etc,
thanks, yes, I've done that for Spotify podcasts, which is great. I hope it will translate to the video being on Spotify too. I'll try it, thanks for the encouragement.
You need a iTunes connect account to post to apple which I do for my Substack podcast, my stats show that’s getting good coverage.
I'd also like to be able to do this!
Substack provides a url to manually submit to other podcast platforms,
I'm happy Substack is adding some social media automation! Promoting a newsletter on social media effectively takes almost as much time as writing itself!
This is why I created newslettertosocials.com, an all-in-one platform for generating and scheduling social media content directly from your newsletter. It will schedule weeks worth of social media content in a matter of minutes, so you can focus on writing! If you are trying to improve your growth on social media, this is a good place to start!
Excellent! This is what I was looking for! thank you!
I struggle to figure out how to expand my reader base beyond my email subscribers. I have made comments on other similar Substacks, have added them as recommendations on my page, but see no new subscribers or viewers. and most everyone reads it in their email and rarely click the interactive audio or video links. I don’t use other types of social media so I know I’m limiting myself so I’d love advice specific to Substack. Thanks. I’m at earworm.Substack.com. Steve
I love the approach you’re taking with your letter, Steve. Maybe we can do a little cross promotion in the future.
Yeah, same here, I made a comment that I actually posted to my subscriptions post asking for a mutual subscribe, several did.
Good idea. I am unfortunately not the most motivated self-promoter. But I’ll try and work against my nature on this one.
Oh, I see, it's questions and answers right here. Got it. :)
My question is as follows:
In a sea of content that gets bigger by the day, how do we stand out? Do we "write for our audience" or for ourselves? Or...? What say you? :)
Personally, I’ve opted to write for myself. I have hundreds of subscribers and not thousands and tens of paid instead of hundreds, but I’m happier writing for the sake of my writing and letting the people who connect with it come to me.
Same. Though I do gripe about it from time to time.
Thank you, Miguel! Seems to me if we're writing for the content engines or the culture's direction, we'll all eventually be writing the same drivel...
Am I in the write place at the right time? My email says Substack Writer Office Hours starts now. But I don't understand how it works. It looks like it's been and gone?
Yes apparently people come on early.... Also I've noticed doing this on my phone is challenging. Not easy to refer back to the threads you commented on etc.
impossible to do from your phone--won't take you back to the thread!! That would be a great feature!!
You are in the right place! Welcome!
Hey Substack, question: When folks open the newsletter in email on their computer, there is no like heart to click on. Could you please add a LIKE button that we can include in posts? There's a COMMENT, but no LIKE. I have some older subscribers who are confused and don't know how to like a post with no heart and no link to the heart.
Thanks so much!
You should have a heart on all posts by default.
Yeah I thought so too but on some reader’s email, it doesn’t show up. One friend sent a screen shot and another that I trust implicitly swears it isn’t there. On hers, the post even gets cut partially. No idea why
But all this aside, even for when the heart does show up, having a button to direct folks to like the post would be great!
Hey all, my paid subscription rate was great when I started TFP in Feb. But it’s now flatlined. I still give all my content away to everyone but ask for paid subscriptions in the SUBSCRIBE button and in email headers to help keep the newsletter going and to support independent journalism. Should I do an organized "re-launch" asking all subscribers to be paid, if they can afford it? Any other ideas?
That's not a bad idea.
I think another question I would have, though not entirely 'writerly' would be what avenues have you found to be the most successful in gaining subscribers? (Besides TikTok. I won't do TikTok)
Reddit, Quora, Twitter, and Substack recommendations. I won't TikTok either.
I'm all over Twitter, Instagram and FB. I will give the other 2 you mentioned a look, as well. Thanks!
Technical question from a newb. I've written my newsletter posts several months ahead because I'm neurotic like that, and I was wondering if there's a scheduler to auto post? I can't seem to find it if there is.
There is — when you hit the "publish" button (nerve-wracking, for sure), there is an option to "schedule" on the next page, at the very bottom.
What percentage of total subscribers going paid is “normal”? How about unsubscribes?
The percentage Substack mentions is approximately 10% conversion, if I remember correctly. Not sure there's any standard/"normal" percentage for unsubscribes, since it probably varies so widely between publications.
I'm at about 10%.
Hi Annabel! There is no "normal"! :) But we do tell writers 5% - 10% is a strong conversion rate.
I’d say somewhere between 5-10% conversion. I’m currently right in the middle of that FWIW