I'm curious about others' experiences with discussion threads. I know the topic needs to be short and in my other work, I know specific and targeted questions tend to yield better quality responses.
But logistically on Substack: did you line up a couple of people to respond so readers wouldn't be shy about going first (it always seems li…
I'm curious about others' experiences with discussion threads. I know the topic needs to be short and in my other work, I know specific and targeted questions tend to yield better quality responses.
But logistically on Substack: did you line up a couple of people to respond so readers wouldn't be shy about going first (it always seems like readers are more likely to respond if they aren't the first). How long did you actively keep the thread going? How did you handle it if you got no/little response -- did you transparently acknowledge that with an edit in the original post for archive purposes?
I waited forever to post a thread because I thought it would be like hosting a party no one showed up to. It turned out to be just the opposite, and is now a regular feature of my newsletter. I've been very happy to see it unfold the way it has.
I've not tried a discussion thread for fear of this. I've posted a few prompts and questions and got zero response even though my posts are receiving between 30 and 50 likes. Seems it is just easier/ safer for people to hit the heart.
For the newsletter specifically, I learned that it was a great way to accelerate my goal of it becoming a discussion. People generally want to share, and willingly do so when asked (my question each week is some variation of "What're you listening to?).
On the abstract side, it drove home the idea that I need to get out of my own way and just "do" the things I'm nervous to try.
I think it's a great idea to seed the conversation with friends or readers you know personally. I don't think you have to acknowledge low responses — it's really a process of trial and error, and it can be hard to predict in advance what'll resonate.
Thanks for everyone's tips and encouragement. To follow-up: I went for it and posted my first discussion thread. Three comments so far. It's not blazing up the internet, but I'll take it for the experiment/experience!
Whenever I’ve tried a discussion thread, I’ve gotten way more engagement than with comments being open on a traditional post. But I think your idea of lining up a few people to reply is a good one.
Thanks for everyone's tips and encouragement. To follow-up: I went for it and posted my first discussion thread. Three comments so far. It's not blazing up the internet, but I'll take it for the experiment/experience.
I do Q&A's now and then and they're by far my most popular posts. I usually preface them with a few paragraphs of my own thoughts on the subject and then ask my readers to chime in.
I think because most of my readers at Writer Everlasting are writers, they aren't afraid to express their opinions!
Ugh, I only host one discussion thread a month and I feel way more anxious about it than I do posting other writing. I got the most engagement on the first discussion thread that I did, and I'm still not sure if people liked that prompt more or just clicked because it was something new and different. I think it's good practice for me to do them, even when not a lot of people show up, as I do really care about building a community, but it's scary!
I host a “Sunday Sobremesa” discussion thread every other week on my newsletter, with each week focusing on a different food-related topic. Luckily I’ve gotten at least one to two responses every thread so far, but some have been more popular than others. For the ones that have less responses, I try to just chalk it up to people being shy or not having much to say about that particular topic. I actually put up a poll in the one from this past Sunday asking if readers would prefer to move it to a once-a-month schedule, and I was surprised to see that so far everyone has voted to keep it to every other week. That tells me that even if they aren’t commenting, readers must be getting something out of it!
Kiki, before starting my new Substack, I closed down a newsletter I had published every week for 24 years. (Yes, you read that right!) From my "sayonara" post I received quite a few emails from people who said they'd been on my list for 10-20 years and wanted me to know how much they appreciated it. What was interesting was that quite a few of those people had never responded to the newsletter, that I knew of, in all that time! They simply read, stayed on the list and read again.
That’s amazing, Marcia! It’s been encouraging to me to see my open rates (shout out to the Substack team for making this info possible!). I can tell that people are consistently opening my newsletters so it makes me feel better when likes or comments are low. I’ve noticed that even on more popular newsletters engagement in the comments isn’t as high as I would have expected. I wonder what makes readers less likely to comment/engage on Substack vs other mediums?
I've only done one but it resulted in the highest amount of engagement I've had so far. I think it was the result of asking a question (about a popular subject, gin!) rather than expecting people to pitch in with their thoughts on a particular topic. Here if you want to take a look https://fionabeckett.substack.com/p/how-many-gins-do-you-have-in-your/comments
I like your idea of asking a more concrete question! Most of my discussion threads have focused on either sharing an opinion or a “favorite” (my newsletter is focused on food culture, so things like a favorite family food tradition, or a favorite food eaten while traveling), and while I’ve consistently gotten responses, I am always looking to increase engagement. Maybe it’s worth asking something with a definitive answer from time to time rather than something so open-ended?
I still haven't done this - I have loyal readers but mostly not regular commenters (interestingly, it wasn't really a problem on Instagram). I'm worried about starting a thread and nobody joining in! I think that's partially because I have to make a real effort (like I am today) to participate in threads myself!
I haven't had good luck with discussion threads. Given how much engagement I get in FB groups on my topic, I thought that would translate to Substack, and I was surprised that my threads have fallen flat. What was interesting to me is that on my most recent one, I also gave the readers the opportunity to email me, and that got me better responses. I think people are a bit shy to express their opinions or reminisce on Substack specifically.
I find that overcommunication makes discussions move smoothly. I do weekly discussions as part of my schedule, so readers know to expect them. I set the expectations at the top of each discussion post. They are always related to the "topic" of my weekly posts on Mon/Thurs. And early on, I got crickets, but that's okay! Try to move past the perceived embarrassment of no responses and stay consistent. Eventually someone will start. I also have family members who pitch in occasionally, but it's not as necessary anymore. I still get some discussions that are more active than others, but consistency and communication seem to be key!
Thanks for all the tips. I especially like how you emphasized in your thread example that this was a space for readers to engage with each other (not just you). Thank you!
You just need a few talkative people to get the ball rolling, and then it's just not a problem any more.
Don't get concerned if some threads get a lot more responses and some very few or none. It's all part of you learning what your members most want to discuss. After a while you will see patterns, sometimes surprising ones!
I'm curious about others' experiences with discussion threads. I know the topic needs to be short and in my other work, I know specific and targeted questions tend to yield better quality responses.
But logistically on Substack: did you line up a couple of people to respond so readers wouldn't be shy about going first (it always seems like readers are more likely to respond if they aren't the first). How long did you actively keep the thread going? How did you handle it if you got no/little response -- did you transparently acknowledge that with an edit in the original post for archive purposes?
Thanks for any tips as I ponder some experiments.
I waited forever to post a thread because I thought it would be like hosting a party no one showed up to. It turned out to be just the opposite, and is now a regular feature of my newsletter. I've been very happy to see it unfold the way it has.
“A party no one showed up to” I felt that! It stops me every time!!!
I've not tried a discussion thread for fear of this. I've posted a few prompts and questions and got zero response even though my posts are receiving between 30 and 50 likes. Seems it is just easier/ safer for people to hit the heart.
What have you learned through the process? What seems to work best for starting a regular thread on your newsletter?
For the newsletter specifically, I learned that it was a great way to accelerate my goal of it becoming a discussion. People generally want to share, and willingly do so when asked (my question each week is some variation of "What're you listening to?).
On the abstract side, it drove home the idea that I need to get out of my own way and just "do" the things I'm nervous to try.
That is not abstract at all, that is great advice for everybody, everywhere, always. Just try and see what happens.
By the way, maybe you've noticed, but I've fallen in love with Songwhip. I didn't know it until I saw you using it.
And to answer your question (the one from your discussion thread), today it was, amongst many other things, this:
https://songwhip.com/the-white-stripes/my-doorbell
Songwhip is a miracle!
Terrell Johnson of The Half Marathoner wrote this amazing resource on doing threads that I always recommend: https://on.substack.com/p/how-to-use-discussion-threads-to
I think it's a great idea to seed the conversation with friends or readers you know personally. I don't think you have to acknowledge low responses — it's really a process of trial and error, and it can be hard to predict in advance what'll resonate.
Thanks for the link!
Thanks for everyone's tips and encouragement. To follow-up: I went for it and posted my first discussion thread. Three comments so far. It's not blazing up the internet, but I'll take it for the experiment/experience!
https://pressahead.substack.com/p/discussion-journalism-newsroom-schedule/comments
Whenever I’ve tried a discussion thread, I’ve gotten way more engagement than with comments being open on a traditional post. But I think your idea of lining up a few people to reply is a good one.
Thanks for everyone's tips and encouragement. To follow-up: I went for it and posted my first discussion thread. Three comments so far. It's not blazing up the internet, but I'll take it for the experiment/experience.
https://pressahead.substack.com/p/discussion-journalism-newsroom-schedule/comments
I do Q&A's now and then and they're by far my most popular posts. I usually preface them with a few paragraphs of my own thoughts on the subject and then ask my readers to chime in.
I think because most of my readers at Writer Everlasting are writers, they aren't afraid to express their opinions!
Ugh, I only host one discussion thread a month and I feel way more anxious about it than I do posting other writing. I got the most engagement on the first discussion thread that I did, and I'm still not sure if people liked that prompt more or just clicked because it was something new and different. I think it's good practice for me to do them, even when not a lot of people show up, as I do really care about building a community, but it's scary!
Can’t speak for anyone but myself, but your Chat Packs really make me think.
I host a “Sunday Sobremesa” discussion thread every other week on my newsletter, with each week focusing on a different food-related topic. Luckily I’ve gotten at least one to two responses every thread so far, but some have been more popular than others. For the ones that have less responses, I try to just chalk it up to people being shy or not having much to say about that particular topic. I actually put up a poll in the one from this past Sunday asking if readers would prefer to move it to a once-a-month schedule, and I was surprised to see that so far everyone has voted to keep it to every other week. That tells me that even if they aren’t commenting, readers must be getting something out of it!
Kiki, before starting my new Substack, I closed down a newsletter I had published every week for 24 years. (Yes, you read that right!) From my "sayonara" post I received quite a few emails from people who said they'd been on my list for 10-20 years and wanted me to know how much they appreciated it. What was interesting was that quite a few of those people had never responded to the newsletter, that I knew of, in all that time! They simply read, stayed on the list and read again.
That’s amazing, Marcia! It’s been encouraging to me to see my open rates (shout out to the Substack team for making this info possible!). I can tell that people are consistently opening my newsletters so it makes me feel better when likes or comments are low. I’ve noticed that even on more popular newsletters engagement in the comments isn’t as high as I would have expected. I wonder what makes readers less likely to comment/engage on Substack vs other mediums?
I've only done one but it resulted in the highest amount of engagement I've had so far. I think it was the result of asking a question (about a popular subject, gin!) rather than expecting people to pitch in with their thoughts on a particular topic. Here if you want to take a look https://fionabeckett.substack.com/p/how-many-gins-do-you-have-in-your/comments
I like your idea of asking a more concrete question! Most of my discussion threads have focused on either sharing an opinion or a “favorite” (my newsletter is focused on food culture, so things like a favorite family food tradition, or a favorite food eaten while traveling), and while I’ve consistently gotten responses, I am always looking to increase engagement. Maybe it’s worth asking something with a definitive answer from time to time rather than something so open-ended?
I suspect it is. Give it a try anyway!
I still haven't done this - I have loyal readers but mostly not regular commenters (interestingly, it wasn't really a problem on Instagram). I'm worried about starting a thread and nobody joining in! I think that's partially because I have to make a real effort (like I am today) to participate in threads myself!
I had one for my last post and there was a good response. My first many moons ago, flopped. Nothing to do but try, fail, then try again.
I haven't had good luck with discussion threads. Given how much engagement I get in FB groups on my topic, I thought that would translate to Substack, and I was surprised that my threads have fallen flat. What was interesting to me is that on my most recent one, I also gave the readers the opportunity to email me, and that got me better responses. I think people are a bit shy to express their opinions or reminisce on Substack specifically.
I find that overcommunication makes discussions move smoothly. I do weekly discussions as part of my schedule, so readers know to expect them. I set the expectations at the top of each discussion post. They are always related to the "topic" of my weekly posts on Mon/Thurs. And early on, I got crickets, but that's okay! Try to move past the perceived embarrassment of no responses and stay consistent. Eventually someone will start. I also have family members who pitch in occasionally, but it's not as necessary anymore. I still get some discussions that are more active than others, but consistency and communication seem to be key!
Edited to include a link to one of my more active past discussions so you can see my format: https://sereid.substack.com/p/lets-discuss-gateways?r=1bv6fk&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct
Thanks for all the tips. I especially like how you emphasized in your thread example that this was a space for readers to engage with each other (not just you). Thank you!
I've only done one and I did ask a few friends/family to post. They were happy to help and I think it kicked off the convo.
You just need a few talkative people to get the ball rolling, and then it's just not a problem any more.
Don't get concerned if some threads get a lot more responses and some very few or none. It's all part of you learning what your members most want to discuss. After a while you will see patterns, sometimes surprising ones!