Have questions about publishing, growing, or going paid on Substack?
The Substack team, and your fellow writers, are here to help!ย
Weโre gathering the writer community and members of the Substack team together in this discussion thread to answer writer questions for an hour. Drop your questions in the thread by leaving a comment, and weโll do our best to share knowledge and tips.
Our team will be answering questions and sharing insights with you in the threadย today from 10 a.m.โ11 a.m. PST / 1 p.m.โ2 p.m. EST. We encourage writers to stick around after the hour and continue the conversation together.ย
Some updates and reminders from the Substack team:
Audio updates: There are new ways to share your voice with readers!
Voiceovers allow writers to easily add a personalized voiceover directly in the โnew postโ editor without creating a podcast.
Audio embeds enable writers to embed multiple audio files anywhere in text posts without needing to create a podcast or anchor an audio file at the top of their post.ย
Text-to-speech technology is available for readers in the Substack iOS app, so some writersโ text posts convert into audio.
Got questions about Substack or feedback about whatโs new? Youโre in the right place! Leave a comment in this thread.
Next Thursday, weโll take a break from Office Hours to hold our monthly Shoutout Thread. Come ready to share what youโve been reading and inspired by recently on Substack. Save it to your calendar so you donโt miss it.
That's a wrap for Office Hours today! We hope to see you next week for our monthly Shoutout Thread (https://lu.ma/shoutout). Come with what you've been loving to read lately, or listen to if you are in the app!
In the meantime, if you have questions, please visit our Resource and Support Centers.
Hi Substack! Here's a little encouragement to take with you into the end of the week: no matter what your engagement looks like, your follower numbers, your ability to come up with new and fresh ideas, or any of those other metrics we use to measure success...you are showing up, and THAT is the most amazing thing you could possibly do! Someone out there, whether they comment or not, needs to read what you've written, so write for them! DON'T GIVE UP! ๐ฟ
In my (perhaps ignorant) opinion, Substack is still in its infancy. I think many of us are lucky to be getting started on the platform so early on as it continues to grow into the mainstream.
The way I see it, besides the time it may take, thereโs no downside to putting out consistent, quality content. Regardless of who engages or not.
I hear the 'Stack name a lot in any given week. On some cable news networks, "our" Glenn Greenwald is a frequent guest, and the host will always intone, "whose work can be seen on Substack!" I'll scream at the TV (I'm probably doing that anyway), "Hey, I work there!"
Yep... I think we are very fortunate to be working on this platform... I have tried others and Substack is definitely my favourite... I love every aspect of it - newsletter/podcast/vids! Fabulous. And I am getting way more response (even though fairly small) compared to Medium, which I consider a lost cause at this point... my intention is to focus on producing regular content for my Substack newsletter from this point on...
Am curious why Medium is a lost cause? I'm pretty new to blogging in general, so there's a lot that's happened in development in terms of history from where things started to where they are now that has escaped my notice.
I just meant that Medium is a lost cause for me. I put up several posts on Medium starting several months back and they didn't show any views whatsoever. I signed up on Substack the second week of June and have put up about 12 posts - a combo of writing, podcasts and video - and they have all recorded action. As such, I truly believe that Substack is the best option for me to promote my creativity and get great feedback along the way.
I used Medium for two years and tried to build an audience there for my comics but the end result was disappointing. I think Medium has a tendency to bury content plus I think whatever algorithm or curating system they use seems targeted to a very limited demographic.
I was reading on another Substack about how one should post on Medium and Substack, but honestly, I think using Medium is more trouble than it is worth. Especially when it comes to comics such as I create.
Hi, ER Flynn, do you happen to know if anything will glitch if I switch out one illo for another? I mistakenly posted the wrong version of an image. Will anything go wonky or awry if I delete the wrong version and replace with the correct one? Thanks in advance if you can help.
I started off on Medium and found the experience disappointing. The content ranking/algorithm-based approach is inscrutable, and nobody understands how it works. I confirmed that with a person who consulted for Medium. I wrote about the switch in my introductory Substack post here: https://agowani.substack.com/p/welcome-to-the-party-pal, if you're interested.
Rachael, I just checked out your Substack presence... very cool! May I ask how you set up the formatting on your Home page... is that an option offered by Substack, or ?? It's really appealing!
Medium is definitely not a lost cause for me, though my earnings are quite low. I have almost 1000 followers there and 25 or so people who subscribe to get every article I publish via email. There are lots of keys to success on Medium, and different ways to define success, but I love writing there. Many of my articles get fewer than 50 views, but some have gotten several thousand, and I get more comments on my articles there than on my newsletter here. The main thing is not to have unrealistic expectations of gaining a huge following or making big bucks right away. You have to publish consistently, and in publications rather than on your own profile, to build a following.
More to the point Medium is very specific to opinion, culture and politics. Also requiring a paid account to view more than one or two articles a month prunes the readership a lot. It's fine if you write trending current affiars articles but not for other forms of writing.
Personally I'm rarely interested in opinion pieces or current affairs so that platform was never going to be a fit for me. Nothing I do ever had a chance of being curated into one of their established publications. It was an easy decision to make.
I don't know that Medium's a lost cause, but I definitely enjoy being here more. Substack's team is eager to roll things out & iterate, while Medium keeps giving writers (and editors) reasons to leave.
And the physics are different. Medium is very much a social media platform, where as Substack isn't. I see this platform as much more intentional & long form, where as Medium is a literary Facebook.
That said, there's some thriving publications over there. Ignore the old guard/gatekeepers. Find one you like and submit your work!
Substack sent out a message a couple of weeks back mentioning that they were setting up a beta test for video. I applied and they set me up so that I can now upload video directly to the platform (no Youtube links...). So far, it's been great! I would just contact them directly and request that you be a beta video tester!
This. In 2 weeks on here my stories have received more reads than if they had been sitting on my blog for a year. Sometimes you just want to share what you do and there aren't viable commercial outlets for it. The short story format is something I completely overlooked as a writer, but it's incredibly fun to write. You can change up the theme, subject and characters week by week to keep your own engagement high.
Right after sending this as a โnakedโ comment, my mind cleared a bit and I found the original reply that I was basing my comment on:
Amran Gowani
Writes Field Research by Amran Gowani1 hr ago
"Slowly, then all at once."
Amran said all that needs to be said, but I can never pass up a chance to make something more complexโฆ
I just returned home from a โrescueโ mission, and started to reply to someone who posted something like, โit will start slow, then suddenly grow.โ Now, I canโt find my way back to that and it is past 1 pm CDT again, butโฆ
I had already located this old blog post. Iโm not convinced that it will link to that entire post, but here are the first two paragraphs and you *might* be able to follow this link to the rest:
In the business world, there is something called a โHockey Stick Graphโ that tracks the typical income stream when a successful new business starts up. First, the business goes in the hole due to start-up expenses, then slowly begins to see money coming in, a process that can be discouraging.
A hockey stick has a โbladeโ that briefy slants down from the tip and then turns sharply upwards at the โelbow.โ If the numbers along the bottom represent time and the numbers along the side represent profits for a new business, the graph line will come to resemble a hockey stick, if the business has a good idea, a good plan and the owner puts forth a good effort.
I just yesterday received an extremely kind email from someone who had been reading my blog but who had not subscribed--a "lurker". It is not often we get told of the impact we have, and for everyone one we hear there are probably many more we don't hear about. This kind writer told me that my writing was having an impact and they had even presented something I had written in a class. It was unbelievable. It motivated me to take a project off the shelf and get moving so I can bring it to substack. Blessings come from surprising places at surprising times!
It's good to remember that Substack's pageview / subscriber count numbers don't reflect the totality of who reads your publication. RSS feeds are still a thing, and Substack can't track all links and forwards that people are doing on their own.
RSS feeds allow a person to use a RSS Feed Reader to access stories. This way you can receive the feeds in your Reader and don't have to go out and find the feeds on all of the websites. I use Feedly and I have rss feeds to forty different publications / websites. It makes it a lot easier because they all come into the reader and then I can pick and choose which stories to go and view. So you can imagine if I had to go to 40 websites, how long that would take. With the push of a button, I get all of those conveniently in my reader.
I don't even know what a groat is... but I've found them. I do rejoice. Always.
I chalk it up to my loved ones on the other side who can see what I cannot and lead me in that direction. They leave signs all over.
I had my 1998 Toyota Corolla vandalized twice now. On May 18th, someone smashed the front passenger window. The only person that had the window was 25 miles away but it cost me $40-100 less than it cost others with the same damage in the same garage in the same month to fix. Today I'm seeking the part for the same door. The door is bungie-cord wrapped because it doesn't close.
On May 18th, I got two distinct messages from my dad with '309' showing up on my way there and way back... March 9th, the day he passed.
On the way I was thinking about what I'm writing and what my grandpa used to say about money. At that exact moment, the first 309 had a bk beside it. My dad knows I'm thinking about my book!
I celebrate these connections. My mom used to say, "All my favorite people are dead." It's not that I wasn't special. It's that when she was young and more needy than when she was my mom, those people were gone already. Now I talk to all of them and they are all with me.
How nice that I've got nothing to do but wait for a shop to call me back to see if they can help. I can read today's OFFICE HOURS with more focus to seek not only the wisdom shared, but also the joy and ecstasy from us creatives finding a home to share our hearts and souls, our genius and street smarts, our knowingness and our doubts.
Thanks for the encouragement. I have now been writing my newsletter every single week since November of last year. I had one bump in subscribers after one of the earlier substack events but since then, I just haven't been able to grow my readership. I love what I am doing and feel that there is a niche out there for me if I can only reach it.
Thanks, Matt. That's a good way of looking at it, and in fact is my attitude. However, I can't help feeling a bit of a failure, especially when I see people with hundreds of (paid) subscribers.
I agree. I think the trick is to realize the amount of luck involved as well. You could write the most revolutionary piece ever written, but for whatever reason it might not catch on.
However, I think the longer you stick at something the greater your luck becomes.
100% agree. Just have to look at the book publishing industry to see examples of award winning books that were rejected numerous times by publishers. The only way through is to keep writing, be like fire and hope for the wind.
Terry, it takes a while to grow an oak tree from an acorn. From the outside it looks everyone else has tons of subscribers, and it took no time for their success.
But you have to know that we are all doing what we can, and we all have similar challenges with the growth of our newsletter. (I didn't let anybody know I had started a newsletter for the first 5 months after starting last year - I started just building my small collection of articles without any feedback or even awareness from other people).
So stop with the failure talk. As long as you are participating in these forums, and taking small steps in the right direction, you will have what you wish. Just maybe not next week. Don't. Stop.
I love this. It's so easy to read the stories about people targeting "only" 5 new subscribers a week and feel defeated when 5 new subscribers would seem like a huge bump. Thanks for the redirection
I'm still getting over the psychic wound from some 'Stackers, here since, like, April, bemoaning "only" having 8,000 subscribers๐ญ, and "only" 600 paid! I've been hacking along for 11 months, now, and have just barely hit 120 subs, with about 4 or 5 monthly subs! But, I love doing in, so I'll just have to endure these petulant others!
Thanks, Paul, you're right. Must stop being negative. My wife reminded me that another newsletter of mine took ages to build up. That was brave of you I think, not telling anyone for 5 months!
I started posting my articles to LinkedIn and then saying that people could see the full article on my Substack. The only problem is that very few people have gone to those articles. I have more people visit the very short version on LinkedIn and then don't even visit the Substack. And I still have no people signing up. But I'll keep at it. I'm not going to give up.
Nice to hear others have written for months before telling anyone. I figured I needed to be consistent before sharing. I also needed to write for myself to not only built my confidence but to get over my shyness..
I LOVE writing, so I've got that bit right! Interesting comment though: I can always tell if someone hasn't enjoyed writing a piece. It somehow lacks spark
Everyone has to start somewhere. You have to figure out where people interested in your topic are and get your content in front of them. That could be Facebook groups or Reddit, or it could be at in-person events. Use Recommendations to broaden your reach. But most of all, write good content and keep going.
1) do not look at sub count at all; I turned off my notifications completely and just continue working,
2) spend some time analysing people you like to read. What do they write about and how?
This analysis made me realize that I need to write more well-researched topics that are adding to something; often just writing about my thinking on a subject matter does not feel enough.
Be creative about social media, Sharon and Terry! Make sure each new post gets a social media link to your new piece! Also, if you're in for the long haul, consider business cards to pass out, with a brief description of what your newsletter's about, as well as your Substack web address! I included QR codes on mine! Good luck, and hang in there!
For promoting on social media, I'd recommend avoiding things that look like self-promo and focus on extracting the "nuggets" of engaging content directly from your newsletter. Things like stats, quotes, and hooks, will draw in new readers.
I'll give that a shot, but inasmuch as I write about entertainment and rock stars, generally, I tend to lean on the "clickability" of my subject matter than to jump thru the SEO hoops that would tend to be more necessary if my 'Stack was "Macrame for Swedish Stevedores" or "Cindy's Plumbing Secrets for Alternate Tuesdays." But, I've been known to adapt!
Oh, that's so Kevin!!!๐ But, don't those sound like plausible 'Stacks?!? I have half a mind (should stop there, shouldn't I??) to search for those titles on 'Stack, and something tells me I'd actually find those exact titles!!! Frankly, I've been known to think up other faux 'Stack titles while waiting at a stop light or doing some other mundane task. I smell ANOTHER article!!!
I've been meaning to share this classic book title with our fellow writers riddled with the insecurity and self-doubt they seem to share often on these threads. From the great George Carlin, this tome: "Ridding Yourself of Doubt....Or, Should You?" Cheers!๐ค
So, on Panera and Starbux bulletin bds, I hang 2 cards...the front to show pic and info, and the back to show the QR codes! And, I make sure to show people I meet and talk to about my 'Stack, the codes, too!
YES! I've been wanting a way to be able to show my QR code on something more digital than my biz card! And, my original VistaPrint page to create my cards wouldn't allow me to cut'n'paste the codes!!
I've just put in an order for some book markers which publicise both my website and substack newsletter. Didn't think of putting QR codes on there. That would have been smart!
No excuse, Fiona! I'm 67, and knew that the kids today are all about da codes!!! 'Course, I'd-a never thought of it had VistaPrint hadn't offered it as an option toward the end of my ordering process!!๐Good idea about bookmarks!
Shhh...don't tell anyone, but I stopped by my local Barnes & Noble, and found a few books to slip my card into!! Hee hee....I'm so bad!๐ฌ
I'm just a well-brought-up kid from upper-middle-class Houston.....this is as deliciously subversive as I can get!! And, even then, I'm looking over my shoulder hoping no one's looking!๐ฒ
Thanks, Brad. That's very encouraging. I'm not too bad at self-promotion on social media, but so far it hasn't had much effect -- so obviously I'm NOT very good! Will try to overcome my despondency once again.
This is anecdotal, and based on a few short months, but I've found Twitter to be pretty ineffective as a promotional tool (especially since I'm an unknown). LinkedIn, however, has been much more effective. I have a decent following from my days in corporate, but even still sometimes as much as 10% of my traffic comes from there. I'm not on IG or other platforms, but based on your content, certain channels are much more effective.
Terry, Twitter has been absolutely useless to me, too, and probably LI, as well. But, it won't stop me from posting. It's like Vegas. As soon as I walk away from a slot, someone's bound to follow right behind, put in THEIR quarter, and hit the jackpot.
However pointless posting my link may be on any given site, it has a better chance of blowing up than if I'd never put it up! We soldier on!
I don't do well on Twitter at all. I use the hashtag #WritingCommunity and subscribe to the Substack Discord, and...slim beans.
Linkedin doesn't do it and neither does Facebook. I really don't know how to use social media to promote my newsletters, so I just struggle along, but I'm always open to new suggestions.
Well, and this is MY attitude....I only got on social media in August, when I started my 'Stack. So, while a late-comer to the "animal," I also am not about to allow SM's constructs to bully me around! If Reddit thinks I'm self-promoting, fine. Who needs 'em? I'll find another sub-reddit on which to post, or simply focus on another SM site! I am my own Redditor!!!๐
Golly, thanks, Jessica! Feel free to peruse my Archives! Also, let me know (here is fine) where you land, musically, and I'll see if I can point you in a direction in my Archives (I know what's hidden there!), and what you might like to see Front Row & Backstage in the future! Welcome behind the velvet rope line, Jessica!
Thanks Brad! I'm into Dylan, Waits, The Kinks, everything New Orleans, good 90s women country artists (Trisha Yearwood days), as well as Irish trad. My father was in the music industry for many many years, and still has the biggest record collection I've ever seen so my musical interests are wide! Looking forward to reading!
Mercy, that's quite a vast array of musical likes! My bro and I grew up (in Houston, so I know and love N.O. a LOT! In fact, I used to do radio in Baton Rouge, and would take trips to N.O. frequently: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/behind-the-mic-a-personal-peek-into-870) surrounded by 20,000 LPs and 78s! 'Tis a wonder we didn't contract PVC poisoning!
Dad had custom-made cabinetry made to house them all, wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling, plus he catalogued them religiously! I obviously caught the collecting bug from him, as my radio years and record biz work allowed me to amass a collection about a tenth of his!
I think you'd enjoy, Jess, the life- and music-biz-story of Stephen Michael Schwartz (RCA recording artist at age 20 in '74). He's been "writing for/with me" for 4 months, now, and his behind-the-rock-scene experiences are nothing short of eye-opening, and they're all in his own words!
He just celebrated his 69th birthday yesterday, and he's been so kind and generous sharing his autobio, and I'm happy to have his contributions highlighting my 'Stack! Anyway, enjoy!!!๐
I like this approach about social media. In fact, I think 'spamming' is essential part of the work, at least at the beginning. I recently also wrote about it.
If you write reviews, write a truncated review on a book website -- a place like Goodreads is a good start, or Amazon -- and leave something in the signature at the bottom of the review pointing to your work here. It may not be much for the short-term, but it's how reviewers like Khan the Grinch and Wendy Darling built audiences on Goodreads.
I keep forgetting one thing I did which I think was borderline brilliant: I changed my YouTube handle to Front Row & Backstage on Substack! I'm forever wanting to drop links on music-related vids (a no-no, of course!), so now I just say, "hey, check out what I wrote about this video's artist by searching my ID above," or words to that effect! So, there ARE ways to beat this hand-cuffing system!! Thanks for your suggestion, Rachael!
Sharon...I just had a peak at your newsletter and I like the concept of food for your brain - really something I can get behind. Might I also suggest moving to a different Substack layout...I think the magazine-style layout looks more polished to readers--- Best of luck and keep moving forward...
Iโm fairly new to Substack (my newsletter is only a couple of months old) and I didnโt even realize that there were options for different layouts! What would you say lends a newsletter to a magazine-style layout vs a more traditional layout? Or would you always suggest the magazine?
To me, the magazine style is more appealing when viewed on the web. Of course, if most readers access your information via email then the web layout is less important to your readers. Still, it may be worth considering for those who may window shop your site.
Perhaps you could think of this as a time when you are building your repertoire of finished pieces in preparation for the time when you do find that niche; then, your audience will have a good selection of pieces to read.
That has been my approach. Improve my writing, build a repertoire of finished articles as I find the right sources for my niche, which is older adults wishing to age well.
I've had the same experience with my education-related substack; growth is painfully slow, and I'm thinking of packing it in. The growth of my more general one isn't too bad. I thought it would be the other way round.
People underestimate this mentality, but I really hope that people take this to heart!
I had no reason to expect anyone to read my publication, and just had my first set of paid monthly and annual subscribers, and it's all thanks to people like you encouraging me to keep going!
If there is one person that is delighted by your creations, you have made a difference. Thank you for your encouragement S.E. You are making a difference!
Wow, this is just the encouragement I need today. I have been on Substack for a month now, and still do not even have one free subscriber. But I love to write and that is what matters. I am a religious person, so I understand that Godโs timing doesnโt always align with our timing, especially in a culture of instant gratification. There is a reason I was created to write, and I trust that eventually, what I write will make a positive difference in someoneโs life.
Hi Allison, have you considered calling your publication The Rivers of YOUR Life or The Rivers of Life. Readers are selfish! My first impression from your publication name was that your writing would be very introspective, all about you and would therefore not add value to me or to my life... hence the name didn't encourage me to click through.... I think Substack support can assist with a rename and new domain name if you ask them.
I attend a mega church and the bulletin doesnโt feature writing, just general announcements and an outline of the sermon for that weekend. But one of the pastors has a blog that Christian leaders sometimes contribute to that reflects on current events from a biblical perspective. Perhaps I could ask him if I could contribute something. Thanks for the suggestion.
Hi Allison, Ask whoever helps you with the tech to help you 1, make a personalized visual avatar; and 2, to fill the 'avatar hover' space โ I'm not even sure where that is โ to the theme of your Substack and not your personal biography. I just hovered and saw your personal bio, which doesn't explain your Substack's aim or purpose or theme. (I claim NO expertise here! I just happened to notice.) And other 'explanation' spaces aren't filled in. Ask your tech helper. ( Just suggestions.)
Very welcome, Venus 2.0! We try and help people with the things we actually need help with, right? If I had cracked the codes then I'd have a thousand paid subscribers... :-)
I havenโt been having anyone help me with the tech. But I will ask my parents to take a headshot of me for the visual avatar, and I could probably figure out how to correct what is displayed in the hover space. Substack has proven very accessible for me. I have been just so excited to start writing I havenโt given my profile much attention. Thanks for the suggestion!
Profile info is the first thing people look at: the 'About' and 'People' spaces, or whatever they're called.
Incidentally, speaking as an illustrator, I suggest that maybe a visual symbol of your faith "says" more about your Substack than your headshot will say? Your avatar can say A LOT in a split second. Don't undervalue it. It's valuable real estate!
(That said, one of my sons just called my avatar INCREDIBLY CREEPY, haha, so again I claim no expertise.)
Thank you as always. Yes to showing up! Today Iโm taking a chance and merging my two newsletters into one. For me itโs the right thing to do โ though Iโm nervous about alienating both (small yet mighty) audiences. We will see how it goes!
Thank you for that encouragement! I really need it right now as I have only been publishing for a few months and don't have many subscribers. I also keep asking questions and encouraging comments in my articles but don't get many (often not any) comments.
Once I thought before I pressed the comment button, I found my conversations and compliments went way farther and had better conversation ((seems obvious but to me it wasnโt))
Itโs not a critique, itโs a comment section...as a new writer I had to be reminded
Iโve always been someone who comments literally without hesistation, just whatever Iโm thinking....which is the opposite! Selfish! And rude! Office hours and other writers here taught me the kind and correct way to comment....
I can still give my opinion, just less self centered and trying to stay on topic hahaha
Suggestions (I'm packing them in since next week is a "shout-out" thread!)
1. Really love recommends, BUT I really *don't* love the feature that presents new readers with a ready-checked list of other newsletters they might want to sign up for, and stressed that these are "free". My observation so far is that people who onboard in this wasy really aren't good quality sign-ups, because people subscribe often without realizing they're doing it (and have no idea what they're signing up for). They dilute interest in Substack, and make people feel they were spammed.
2. I don't like everyone being able to see who left "likes". Many of my readers are readers, not writers, and they're shy (as I learned in my survey). They aren't eager commenters, and many don't want to be identified.
3. We need Substack to make it clear that this is a different kind of platform, not just more free writing. I know that at least one prominent Substacker got fed up of people who subscribed for a year or more, and opened everything, but who refused all entreaties to go paid. I think of these as the "No, I'm good" folks. No matter how deep the discount, they won't spend a dime. Yes, I can limit free posts, and yes, I can be patient, and yes, I know that those who pay will always be a minority. BUT I think much more can be done to adjust folks' expectations. Substack advertised itself as a place where writers can be paid, but needs to do more to promote the "paid" angle, especially to help those writers who aren't blue checks--money tends to follow celebrity, I get that.
I'm with you on #1. Yes, it feels too pushy. Subscribing to a newsletter should be a 1-click operation, but as it is, you have to dodge recommendations, "share this on your profile", "share your reason for subscribing on twitter", etc., ... too much.
I have to admit to starting the proverbial ball doing its thing, by "liking" my own posts :) Now I can't do that!
Agreed, Annette, about the mass reco's--when 5 or 6 pop up with the words about "if you like this, you'll like" or whatever the wording is. It's too much. I pick and choose newsletters one at a time.
And about #3 point, a very big yes! For so long, almost too long now, there's been this idea developing about everything being free and available. Substack is a new(ish) model, that takes us back to revisiting the old cable TV model. Yes, there were some free channels and a few fuzzy ones that come in if you got the rabbit ears just so. But then you could pay for cable!
With the advent of the net, we're back to thinking free and fuzzy. But fuzzy is fuzzy. I know I'd love to sub to more; my subscribing funds are finite, and have found homes. But I am subscribing, and enjoying so much the newsletters I can afford.
I've been mulling over the idea that Substack might have to actively encourage paid subscriber-ship.
There are three groups of writers, as I see it. 1) writers who come here with readerships already in place--the big $$ folks. 2) people--like me--who are serious writers, who are forming readership, who want to make a monthly sum that is FT or decent PT pay. 3) the writers who are doing this for fun and personal pleasure and challenge, who don't care so much to go paid or make $$.
The first groups is very much needed by Substack, to continue this whole thing for all of us, truly. The second group needs real support to grow; potential readers truly understanding what this is about, what it looks like, that it might mean shelling out the equivalent of a couple old-school magazine subscription--this is key. (Honestly, I subscribe to a handful of literary mags, and for each of those subs, I could sub to 4-6 Substacks... More commercial magazines, even more. How can Substack tap into this thinking??)
For the third group, they're here for fun, and God knows we need more fun! But I'd like to see more focus on the 2nd group, which has potential for growth, and for bringing more folks/readers here, if developed.
Good points, Alison. I'm in your second group and would dearly love to make more money here at Substack, but it's not happening. I'm sure I could do a lot more to market my newsletters but I cringe at that word 'market'. My cross to bear, I know, and that's why I lurk here and everywhere to see what everyone else is doing. Thanks for this!
Iโm also a lurker Ramona, confidence doesnโt come in a heartbeat ....*big gulp* going public with my own face!!! Scares me, I have to try to figure out a way to bring my actual social media followers to my anon Substack lol
This was such a good comment. Youโre so right about the 3 groups, I almost said monetization is what keeps Substack running so if thereโs job loss thatโs probably why
Iโm broke, wear my poverty with pride...but would spend my last $7 on a good article or subscription.
Thereโs so many ones I want to give all my monies too lol
Substack already defaults to "Top Paid" in it's search results which automatically eliminates all other relevant newsletters which are of the unpaid variety. As a user you have to specifically change that in order to see the full listing. It was several days before I realised this as a new user myself.
To be honest the automatic preferencing of particular writers over the rest of the community through various metrics is one of the downsides of social media and it's ilk. People who appeal to the mainstream find unlimited power on these platforms while fringe voices struggle for any space. That is what causes the platforms to eventually implode into conformity as users start changing their content to get into the rankings and then everything starts looking the same across all stacks. IG & YT are two notable examples both are unwatchable now. Populated with near identical filler over and over again.
This is an interesting take, and one I wasn't aware of. It seems to be the way of all aggregator websites, Medium included, and to their way of thinking it probably makes sense. More eyes, more money for them.
That said, I feel much more welcomed and accepted here at Substack than I ever did at Medium. The Substack crew listens to us and often makes adjustments that serve us better.
I don't know what IG and YT are. Could you spell it out please? Thanks.
Instagram & YouTube. This site at present is okay because there are still a large number of diverse newsletters although it is heavily weighted in some topics. Mainly opinion pieces which is the most common and least interesting form of content. I fell into the trap of writing opinion pieces on my blog and learned the hard way, unless you are a recognised personality/expert your opinion counts for little.
There is always a strong movement towards conformity in any community, merely because people are risk averse. They prefer to emulate known formula's and what works for others than go out on a limb and risk failure. Substack will also get to the point where the convergence of sameness outweighs the diverse aspects and that's just about the time the business model will start it's decline. It's the life cycle of everything, but in the digital landscape that cycle tends to run faster than otherwise.
I did the same with likes! Rather like nobody wants to be the first to cut the cake ( which is why savvy hosts always cut a slice first), I would do this if things were slow to start--and now we can't. :p
And of course I'm with you on the analysis. I'm in Group 2, and I have been spending time on Substack that I used to spend on other writing projects, plus arranging speaking gigs. I'm patient, but yes, I do need to see more folks go paid. I am trying everything I can think of, but the "Nah, I'm good" folks may break me! :) I fully understand that nobody can pay for everything, but profiles make it clear that there are folks who don't pay for any Substacks at all. I would rather return to writing a newsletter privately (and more rarely) than feel like I'm being taken for granted by thousands of people who don't return the love. Does that make sense?
I agree, I want to do any recommendations manually only, and not confuse or scatter the focus of my readers. They can find their own way elsewhere if they wish. I don't want to send them away to the complexities of more promotion of others that the algorithm recommends (or even that my other interests connect them to.)
Your first point is absolutely spot on. I second that.
Your second point is not really for me, but I can certainly understand how this can be important. So, I support that, too.
About your third point... I agree that we all should contribute to a culture change, in which content is no longer just seen as free and without value. However, I will never look down on my readers for not going paid (they can't even at the moment, but that's another matter). I am very happy with each and every subscriber and I will not think less of them for making a decision on how and where to spend their money. Some don't have much, some might have other priorities, some support my work in other ways, for example by sharing and promoting. I, for one, cannot afford to subscribe for all the paid versions of the Substacks I am a reader of. But all the poetry substacks that I know of, I am subscribed to and I promote the work to my audience on substack and beyond. A sum of $5 or $7 per month is not much, but that times 10 or 20 or more suddenly becomes a different story.
Having said that, I am preparing to go paid. One of the promises I will make to my paid subscribers, is that at least one third of what I will earn from it, will go in support of other writers/poets. I will commission poetry from others from that, for example. But I will not disrespect my readers who are not going paid. They are readers, too. And I love them for that.
Thank you for this sympathetic view. This is how I feel, and I am actually very turned off by the newsletters I subscribe to that aggressively hound subscribers to go paid. There are a host of reasons why a reader may or may not choose to commit their resources to a particular newsletter, even one they enjoy, and those reasons may not be visible to the author. Or, to be honest, a particular newsletter simply may not provide enough value, relative to all the other available reading, to warrant a fee. But shaming readers for not providing the author a living is not the way to foster mutual respect.
It's a tough line. I try to put in a gentle reminder, but am never sure it's too much or not enough. I'm growing slowly but steadily. I've got two years before pension kicks in, so it's a tight time. I try not to let it get to me. I could be back in the Uni, facing daily stress and bizarre behaviour... I remind myself! I appreciate your note here, as it's a solid reminder of the path.
I appreciate that and I understand that writers have to make their pitch as well. But Iโve seen cases where it comes off as pushy or desperate. (The reminder I saw on your seems very subtle :-) For me, the ones that express gratitude for their readersโ support (without seeming entitled to it) are also very effective.
Yes, we are all here for many reasons. I do not disrespect anyone for not paying--after a lifetime as a writer, I understand too well! I'm not "asking" to become wealthy; honestly, I'm talking $1000/month would make me VERY happy. But why this relatively small amount is so difficult, when I spend hours and have decades of knowledge, is a bit of a mystery.
One of my sons has just left school as of one year ago, and is making more than I've ever made, and I am so happy for him. But it makes me aware of the choices we make to be artists. And the reality.
I can't afford to give 1/3 of my income to other artists. I do do a secular artistic "tithe" and routinely give of my time to beginning writers and others. But I also need to eat and pay my hydro bill.
And there's the key: I even suggested to readers that they simply go paid on *a* Substack, even if it's not mine. But bottom line, writers were paid before the Internet, and they need to be again if, as a society, we're to have the reading we need. I don't agree that people who will only read what's free, but who could afford something (and that's most online readers) are doing their bit. As we always point out, it's the cost of a coffee these days, per month.
It really is. I have had a few angel-people offer "donate a subscription" and it's been a joy to hand these out to those who need. This has allowed me to include words in my newsletter to encourage those who can use such to connect. Substack has recently included this option, so do share it as a button!
It also comes down to a question of relative value. Many opinion pieces are things I like to read for example to get a handle on how more regular folks think. My life has taught me I think very differently to most people and should not apply my logic to others. So reading these kinds of pieces can clue me in on how society works, I don't intuitively get it the way other people do.
That doesn't mean I necessarily find so much value in opinions that I would rank them equally with my electricity bill for example. Yes it is only the price of a cup of coffee but I never buy coffee by the cup either. I don't frivolously spend $5 here and there and make a bunch of impulse purchases. A writer is going to have offer something of enormous value to me personally before I can justify paying them. I'm also the kind of person who checks the local library before purchasing a book in a bookstore, knowing that the value of a book to me is about 4 days.
And that's how I view unpaid subscribers, they are members of my personal library. They can check an item out any time they please for the cost of their email address and a comment if they feel like making one. I, as the writer, am still in control of what gets offered up in the library and what doesn't. What's in my library should not be seen as a threat to other writers. If people come to substack to read my library fiction then they might also see what else is here, paid or otherwise that pleases them.
>>Many of my readers are readers, not writers, and they're shy (as I learned in my survey). <<
I had someone ask me whether it's possible to leave comments anonymously or under an avatar name. I said I wasn't sure. Anyone know the answer to that?
This is important because I write about introverts, many of whom are super-concerned about privacy.
Okay, Marcia, since you write about introverts, I can absolutely see that your concern is a priority! I don't know how to do that, alas. I do worry that complicated workarounds are off-putting, plus there's a limit to my readers' interest in investing time in this sort of thing just to leave a "like"--and in dealing with tech in general. The best tech stays in the background, I think.
I agree with all these points. On #1, it would be good if the list of recommendations was easily and obviously accessible at a later date. I don't like having to decide whether to subscribe to a load of newsletters I know nothing about. I've sometimes subscribed to them all at once and then not looked at half of them, which presumably does nothing for their open rates.
Yes, open rates! I also don't want to think I'm doing better than I am at building a readership: I was happy with the rate at which I was accruing readers before, but now I look more closely at where they're coming from....
re: #2 and seeing likes - does the public see the names associated with the likes are just us, the writers? I need clarification on this. If the world can see that I liked something, I'm less inclined to like it and I'm sure that's true of others as well
Hi Annette, I shared your recommendations feedback with the team working on that feature, and I know they have heard similar thoughts from others, too.
Before I read this Annette, I was definitely a โno thanks Iโm goodโ, but didnโt realize the purpose of Substack was for more than just โfree writingโ and โjournal entriesโ ((plz donโt laugh at me))
Writers take this platform seriously, and I need to start doing the same. Thank you for your comment, an alternate opinion is always appreciated and opens my brain.
Not laughing at all, Venus! Indeed, this is very helpful in illustrating my point that better communication about this platform is imperative. We're all too busy to read all the signs, right? Thanks for your comment. :)
I don't know how I feel yet about the recommends when I sign up for a new newsletter. It does take more time to navigate, but on the other hand I've found some newsletters that interest me that I might have missed otherwise.
On the other other hand, signing up for dozens and dozens of newsletters means a whole lot of reading, and I'm afraid I'm neglecting some important or fun ones because I just don't have time to read them all.
I don't know the solution, but I do know there are a whole lot of really, really good writers here at Substack who deserve the time it takes to read. I have no idea how to resolve it, just wanted to throw this out there.
I sympathize on the problem of time for reading! My own approach to sticking with newsletters is "wand and wizard": There's a lot of good writing, and good ideas, but everyone has favorite voices with whom they "click" and look forward to reading. It's very subjective. I tend to unsubscribe if I stop opening, because I don't want to be a drain on open rates.
With re: to the Likes point, you can turn those off for your publication. Go to the dashboard --> community section --> Uncheck the checkbox next to "Enable community features / Give readers the ability to like posts and leave comments."
>>Many of my readers are readers, not writers, and they're shy (as I learned in my survey). <<
I had someone ask me whether it's possible to leave comments anonymously or under an avatar name. I said I wasn't sure. Anyone know the answer to that?
This is important because I write about introverts, many of whom are super-concerned about privacy.
>>Many of my readers are readers, not writers, and they're shy (as I learned in my survey). <<
I had someone ask me whether it's possible to leave comments anonymously or under an avatar name. I said I wasn't sure. Anyone know the answer to that?
This is important because I write about introverts, many of whom are super-concerned about privacy.
Hi Substack, I just want to express my gratitude for the platform and all the people who have been working so hard to allow creators to find an audience. I'm saddened by yesterday's news regarding the staff reduction. Obviously the economy is not strong, and people don't have as much disposable income as two years ago etc. It's a tough time for everyone, but economies always turn around eventually, and hopefully Substack will be able to weather the storm and come out stronger for it in the near future. ๐ค
Thank you so much everyone. The folks who were let go are tremendous, they did a lot for writers, and were our friends. It's a very sad and painful situation. The hope is that by making these cuts puts Substack in a position to be strong and grow even in challenging economic conditions, and to not need to raise money (weโll only do so on our terms and on our own time). We will continue to support you and show that Substack is a robust and dependable partner, no matter what the macroeconomic conditions throw at us.
Wow. Difficult. I admire Substack for sailing its own course. I really hope things turn around for the better, soon, and wish all of you, including those who were let go, all the best and much strength.
Thank you!! I'm confident that everything will work out in the end. Substack offers a valuable service that many people appreciate, and they will continue to support their favorite writers and artists in any way they can. โฅ๏ธ
Just to let you know, I personally am able to pay for having a platform that can allow readers to read without necessarily paying, just because the economy is in for a rough transition to "Deep Decarbonization Production Pathways" -- e.g., the price of fuel because the planet can't take anymore! I offered before, knowing what's coming because, "The Zeitgeist" is a changin'!
I can't emphasize enough how much I appreciate every facet of what Substack and the SS crew is about and what they accomplish.
Aside from the continual development of new and better tools for writers, it's the care and respect you demonstrate towards participants on the platform that inspires me most.
I've been active as a writer for close to 25 years online, and have never experienced any sort of personal engagement from within the monolithic tech infrastructure that dominates all things 'internet.' I can't imagine Mark Zuckerberg ever offering me a stipend for some of my health insurance coverage, as Substack did earlier this year.
So a huge thank you to all of you!
On another note: are there any plans to upgrade or offer more granular insights about traffic stats to my SS? I'd prefer not hooking myself into Google's analytics again. And I think my readers would appreciate one less set of cookies being dumped into their browser.
Definitely something that breaks things down chronologically. Or shows, like, say, numbers by month or week. Right now it says something like Facebook -- 498. Is that a total from day one when I started with SS? Or is that for the month, or week?
Also referring URLS. I know that might require way too much under the hood code on your folks' end, but thought I'd suggest it.
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 โ 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 Iโve tried a discussion thread, Iโve 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 โSunday Sobremesaโ discussion thread every other week on my newsletter, with each week focusing on a different food-related topic. Luckily Iโve 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 arenโt 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.
Thatโs amazing, Marcia! Itโs 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. Iโve noticed that even on more popular newsletters engagement in the comments isnโt 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 โfavoriteโ (my newsletter is focused on food culture, so things like a favorite family food tradition, or a favorite food eaten while traveling), and while Iโve consistently gotten responses, I am always looking to increase engagement. Maybe itโs 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 have seen a few new subscriptions each week from people I don't know. But it seems that my best luck has come from posting to Facebook Groups, like The Professor Is Out (for post-academe material) and Czech Genealogy (for two recent posts on how researching family roots can add stability during a life transition). I'd enjoy hearing about any other strategies along that line. I'm growing slowly, but steadily.
Two weeks ago, I crossed the 100 follower threshold, and I'm now over 50 and have only had one person unsubscribe. I'm sure everyone has a different pace for growth, but I'm feeling reasonably proud of tangible progress. See my series here: https://joshuadolezal.substack.com/
Posting in groups where your target audience hang out is really valuable and seems to be the case for you too! How did you find those groups? Are there more you could tap into?
Don't forget Reddit, also, although you have to wade through many knuckle-draggers as commenters, but just ignore them. Plus, sometimes Reddit gets hard-core about not allowing "self-promotion," which can sometimes mean Substack articles, they'll deem. So, fine, they just delete the post.
I'm lucky I write about music, rock stars, rock history, and decade-specific music, so the number of FB and Reddit pages/groups I can slap my pieces up to seems limitless...certainly a lot. Having said that, I'm entering my 11th month 'Stacking, and I'm only just now approaching 120 subs, with only about 4 or 5 paid (mostly monthly). Good luck!
A) I don't care. B) I've been banned from the Baseball sub, and have somehow managed to turn the page in my life and move on. But, I see your point, but again, I have a low tolerance for hoop-jumping...........but, that's just me................apparently.
Haha I totally understand! Reddit is just notorious at sniffing out self-promo. It may be hoop jumping, but if you present your content as "something I found" and not "something I wrote" it tends to be much more acceptable
I'll try it! I'm just enough of a rock'n'roll whore.....apparently......to do whatever it takes to make Massa Reddit happy!!! Thanks!๐I'd actually never thought about sort of "shielding" my authorship, and going, "Hey, look at this great new article I found!"
FB groups aligned with my topics have been the best source of subscribers for me. Reddit is great for my local history, but not at all for my fiction. But the point is, find the spaces where your readers go, and share your Substack there.
I've noticed the same thing - I get most of my subscribers from my Facebook groups. I also attend online meetings with Illinois Psychedelic Society that is both on meetup and FB. I'm also considering trying out Minds and Clubhouse as an alternative or in addition to Facebook.
Actually I didn't like using Clubhouse because it doesn't seem as serious as I would like. I like https://www.minds.com better because I found others interested in my topic. It seems to be fairly new so there aren't many subscribers, but I believe minds has promise to be an addition to Facebook for me.
I just wanted to note that based on some really sharp feedback we got in the breakout session we revamped our About page and I'm really happy with how it looks. So thanks to the Substackers I was with!
Wish I'd thought to do that. The main changes are that folks pointed out we had LOTS of info but all in text without any visual cues to break it up. They also pointed out our name is Brent and Michael Are Going Places but we had one boring picture of us down at the very bottom.
So with that feedback we created collages of us in different places we've lived and added them in to both breakup all that text and to show people who we are and where we traveled. We also used H3 to highlight important information such as Why A Newsletter and We Have Both Free and Paid Subscriptions. We also put a subscribe button much higher up.
I like what you did! I also recently decided to re-do it and chose a similar approach. At first I had it extremely dry (based on our GO! discussions) and then just decided to do more "me" in it as opposed to follow rules. Thanks for inspiring me to add some photos/graphics too.
Thanks very much! Just checked out your Substack and it sounds great, though not quite my thing, especially these days when I'm so swamped with stuff to read. But I'm sure you'll find your readers. BTW, one small typo -- you've got german instead of German in one spot.
Of course. I know how hard that are too catch. We sent out a newsletter yesterday taking about a live chat we're sing this week that said June instead of July. I wanted to murder something. Lol
It looks great! I think a lot of writers here underestimate the value of a good About page. It's definitely worth going back to your page periodically and checking it still gives a good view of what you do.
We just used all of the tools Substack has to design this as well as our front page. It's really a super robust system once you get in there and work with it.
I've previously had a dig around with no luck. If substack are watching, I'd appreciate a master-class... or at least one of those helpful emails. ๐
Today is the one year anniversary of my newsletter! Over this first year, I have found Substack to be an inclusive, safe, and caring space to write and also to create community...the later of which 25 years ago is something I would have said could never have happened on the internet. But, times change, it does happen, and here we are.
Many thanks to all at Substack for your vision and in creating this space, especially to Katie OโConnell and Bailey Richardson who have been so responsive and supportive over this first year!
Just saw the voice over option and I am eager to try it out. I enjoy reading aloud and feel that it adds inflections that don't always get into the writing!
Fellow writers, what are some suggestions for creating a brand/look and design illustration for your posts and page in general? What are your tools? Do you hire someone to design them for you?
I have been using photos on Unsplash but I have found using specialized design helps connect with readers better and stimulate thinking and discussion (from my personal opinion and experience with other
I hired someone to create a logo for me and then created a couple of page divider graphics in Canva that went with the logo. I do think it's worth paying for something like a logo unless you have particular skills in that. I put a photo in every article as it looks better on the home page and social media, a mix of things I've found on Canva, Unsplash and my own hard drive full of images. I definitely think it helps to have a consistent look for your publication, even if that is subtle.
I second the Canva as a DIY option as well. The free option is good, and the canva pro option is worth it if you have the budget and think you will be using it for creating social media posts as well.
Personally, I've had a lot of fun using procreate as a DIY option. I enjoy doodling, so it's worked well for me without having to put in an enormous amount of time on artwork, but also gives my substack a very specific look and feel that no one else can replicate in the same way.
I am a graphic designer. I suggest having your logo designed by a professional and creating a style guide for your brand. Then Iโd create one design for your thumbnail. Photo + Title or Maybe itโs all graphics and no photo. Iโd say coming up with graphic banners to use within your newsletter would be helpful as well. Itโs an initial investment that will save you time and money in the long run. Please feel free to reach out to me. If you have any questions.
Minh, I find Canva to be pretty great for basic branding and design needs. If you need custom illustrations and design work done, Iโve heard good things about Fiverr.
Iโve been writing a lot of content that isnโt really โnewsletterโ but more like โessaysโ that can be read any time. Iโd love for old essays to still be discoverable in the future, but it doesnโt seem as possible given how substack operates right now. Are there new features meant to help surface good old content?
Some people will occasionally write up a summary post with links to past "favorite" articles. If you copy/paste a link to a Substack article in your post, it will automatically generate a preview of the post. You can see an example of that here in mine: https://groundedinthebible.substack.com/p/welcome-to-grounded-in-the-bible
I have that post pinned to my home page so it's always one of the first things people see when they come to my page. Then I try to keep it updated with articles that I want to highlight.
Just like on a blog, you can create various categories for posts in your own mind and then at the end of a new post, link to, say, two past posts on a similar theme. "See also..." This works very well!
Really love the new speech-to-text feature! My only additional wish with that feature is that the audio stop to tell the reader that there's a photo or some other media inside the body of the post. That way, you can pause the audio and look at the pic, or the gif, or play a video or sound file.
One HUGE win. I went on vacation for two weeks, so I didn't post during that time. I assumed my subscribers would hold steady or shrink a little, but my subs GREW by nearly 100 people! Why? Because I've been seeing a lot of growth through recommendations and the app ecosystem. Really love that & I love the fact that when I came back with a funny vacation story, I had so many new subscribers to share it with! https://michaelestrin.substack.com/p/we-took-an-alaskan-cruise-i-kept?r=1fqhx&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I've had the same experience, Michael. I took all of February off (though I still scheduled two posts for paid subs) and I got hundreds of new subscribers. So... you like me better when I'm *not* writing? ๐
Personally, I'm not too interested in recording custom callouts for my posts. But I don't make any custom audio. As a reader / listener, however, it would be nice to have the option in settings to pause audio for embedded media. I'll give you an example. I'm a big fan of Garbage Day. I started listening to it while I do household chores, but usually Ryan has some media in each section and there's always an amazing TikTok at the end. I'd just like the speech to text function to recognize those media moments.
To build on that, you might check out what audiobooks do that rely heavily on supplemental PDFs and photos. Usually, that info is called out in-text so that the listener can pause and locate the relevant media.
Is anyone else dealing with impostor syndrome this week? Someone messaged me this week (I think they thought they were being helpful) to tell me they didn't subscribe to my Substack because it didn't offer anything that they couldn't get in the New Yorker or somewhere else. ๐ My questions are:
1) How do you deal with impostor syndrome? AND
2) What do you do to really define and carve out who your readers are?
The best way I have avoided impostor syndrome is to define why it is that I write. And ultimately, what I came to is that the best reason is to write for me. That way if I ask myself "am I happy with what I am writing" then less-than-helpful feedback like that matters less. "Ok, go get that from the new yorker. I'm going to keep doing my thing."
That also helps because I am less invested in who my readers are. If they find me, it is a happy accident. If they stay, it is a blessing. If they leave--I wish them well. As long as you stay happy with your writing, the rest will follow--just be patient with yourself!
That's a good way of looking at it, I think. And, truth be told, that's kind of the reason I started it in the first place: I had ideas I wanted to get out into the ether, and figured someone else had to be as much of a nerd as I am, right? Perhaps it's a bit of a Field of Dreams philosophy to some extent...
That second question I think is what helps answer the first question. You'll see yourself less as an imposter the more uniquely you can define yourself to readers. In general that means sharing a small part of your personality (whatever makes you comfortable), and then covering topics that aren't the "norm". People gravitate toward the fringe because it's too nuanced for mainstream outlets. It's one reason I dislike reading about politics. There is very little nuance. Anyway, hope that helps in some way.
That's actually INCREDIBLY helpful! I know intellectually I'm not an "impostor" because I am being true to myself, but that point of being able to clearly articulate what I am to my readers is a key part! Thank you for putting it so clearly for me!
I'm firmly in the camp that the "best" writers are the ones who just don't quit, no matter what. Fighting through impostor syndrome is part of that battle. I feel it all the time, then remind myself that, even though I'm just another person on the internet, my stuff is valuable and often times quite unique. You should do the same.
Also, since your newsletter's getting compared to The New Yorker, I'm definitely going to check it out. :-)
Different voices attract different readers. I suppose you can't undo decades of marketing and name building, but the New Yorker, for all it's name recognition, doesn't have something that you do...your voice. Your voice is independent, and can't be hammered into submission by bullies in a company slack channel. You seem to respect the independent thinking of others, and you seem to understand that you don't have to agree with other human beings in order to step into their shoes and look through their lenses.
I haven't read it yet, but I will give it a look! I'm in the Substack Grow program, and they mentioned him yesterday. I should really dig into his work.
Hey Kathleen, I'm sorry about that! What a bummer to hear.
I think part of what makes Substacks special is the way they allow writers to find their niche โ their "1000 true fans."
This resource focuses on how to identify WHO your readers are and WHY they come together, and then design a strategy around it: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-2
You can also simply ask readers who they are and why they're here. For example, ask for readers to introduce themselves and why they subscribed in your default welcome email, or use the subscriber dashboard to email a few folks for the same reason.
Thank youโthat article is helpful, and I like the idea of re-tooling my welcome email to get some more feedback from people. I hadn't thought of actually reaching out to people directly, either. Thank you!
1) I try to look at how far Iโve come and dig into what my purpose is. Staying grounding can help you keep going. Also knowing that otherโs comments are just their perception of you but donโt tell your story.
2) Thatโs hard because I think being yourself will attract the people who respond to your work. Some have a very clear vision of their target audience while others want whomever is moved by it.
Staying grounded in my purposeโI like that. I started this because I felt very purpose driven about my writing. I think Jasmine mentioned something to that effect above of asking people why they respond to my work. I think you're right that I don't need to change who I am, but just investigate why people read my work. Thank you for the pep-talk! <3
People hardly give feedback and when they do it's usually true.
Perhaps you can add your own spin on things.
I feel imposter syndrome is a genuine emotion and isn't something to run from. But if you're writing about your views can you be an imposter?
On understanding my readers, I generally just look at my best performing posts to get an idea of what my readers are interested in. And then I write more like that but only on topics that genuinely excite me too.
I'm definitely trying to see the grain of truth in that feedback (as vague as it was). I'm definitely writing honestly and truthfully, but I am having a hard time articulating who I am. I've always had that problem. I can tell you things I'm interested in all day, what my thoughts are, how I feel, but I have always struggled to articulate *who I AM.*
I should dig into those posts a little more and see what people really liked about them. That's a good idea. Thank you!
Nikhil, I subscribe to my own newsletter, so all of my posts are sent to my Gmail account. I also keep links in the Notion database I created for myself. Neither is a perfect system, but if anything ever happened to Substack, I would at least have the text of each post archived in Gmail.
I usually write my post outside of Substack (I use Word) and then copy/paste to Substack. That way I have at least some record of all my posts. It's not perfect, because sometimes I update directly in Substack, but at least I wouldn't have to start from scratch if I lost everything.
Oh I wish, Ryan. But I think I need to write more. A friend of mine openly admitted to me that he reads my newsletters for the writing and not for the song recommendations. Thatโs a hard-hitting compliment ๐
About Founding Members: I have a brand-new Substack and I was a little leery about offering a Founding Member option, but during the launch several people grabbed the opportunity to sign up at the $100 Founding Member option even though the only extra benefit over the $20 annual fee they'd get was "good karma for helping to spread the word about our culture's misunderstanding of introverts. (Which is the topic of my newsletter.) So I want to encourage others to offer that option - some people who believe in what you're doing may well step up for it.
Yes! You never know who's there excited to support you.
We also generally see that writers underprice themselves. I always recommend adding 10-20% to what you think you'd charge โ any reader who'll pay $5 for your work is almost certainly going to pay $6. It's not a big difference for them, but it adds up to a lot for writers.
Yes, I have definitely thought about this, and it would be good to be able to implement this when I move from promoting mainly to people who already know me to reaching out to strangers.
The new Recommendation Digests? weekly emails to my subscribers about the other newsletters I subscribe to? Aw come on. Please stop, Substack! That's way too much.
Yes, I opted out but I'm not thrilled that I have to. I feel like my readers are getting hit with WAY too many recommendations and extra emails. Yes, I support other writers and want to keep supporting other writers but personally, I'm already clearing unread emails out of my inbox every day - way too many! And I dont' want my readers to have to sort thru extra emails as well.
Yes, substack is great for introducing readers to new writers within the "substack universe" - but the reality is, if readers get too many emails, they will stop opening them. And in the end that actually hurts ALL of us.
I agree, I've done away with recommendations because I think the post-sign up implementation is a little aggressive. More power to those who like them, though.
Thanks so much for this feedback, Jan and Miguel. I've shared it with the product team.
One point of clarification: That feature doesn't email your readers weekly about other newsletters to which you subscribe. It only sends an email if you add one or more publications to your Recommendations, and only if you've decided to allow that email to be sent. But we do hear your feedback loud and clear.
Yes, I finally bent to the pressure and added publications to Recommendations. (
my preference is to simply feature guest writers on my substack but there has been SO MUCH hype about how we really should use this feature, that I finally added some)
But I do NOT want want my readers to have to sift through emails about other publications they have not subscribed too. This is way too pushy.
And yes, I have made sure the box is not checked that will do this but honestly, you made my heart race for a moment there when I opened my dashboard.!!!
Thank you for sharing with the product team and thank you for responding.
maybe could you also consider an anonymous survey about some of your features? There are other comments I would like to add but don't want to say here for fear of them being misconstrued as not supportive. And for all the writers that are not on Office Hours. Maybe stop implementing so much without getting more consistent feedback from your writers? Please?
Thank you to all of the Substack staff who have supported the writers, created programs that have built our great community, helped us with technical support, listened to our concerns, and added features based on our feedback.
This platform has done more to support its users, and has been more transparent about what's happening, than any other platform I have ever used, and I appreciate everything they have done.
I hope the Substack leadership understands and appreciates how important the writer resources and support are to its writers, and how much the writers value the Substack family.
I second that. I have gained so much as a writer from engaging with the Substack community. It's something that I really needed. And thanks to you personally Jackie, as it was your suggestion that I join NaNoWriMo which kickstarted a whole new writing journey
And yeah, I love the Substack community. I've made some great connections and I think some may become lasting friendships. I never would have expected that when I showed up to write my first newsletter!
Everyone knows I LOVE Substack and I've made it my home now, but I have one little request: (For this week; we'll see what I come up with in weeks to come.)
Can we PLEASE have a search bar on our home page? Once we get even a year's worth of posts it's really hard to go back and find one we might want to pull up again.
Just a simple search bar. That's all I ask.
And thank you, Substack crew. Not trying to butter you up but you really are the best!
I don't know where you mean. I'm talking about having one on my own newsletter homepage so I and others can find only the posts I've written myself. I don't see anything like that.
Go to Writer Everlasting right now, scroll down to The Obligatory Welcome Slot. Look above the photo with all the little trolls (??) -- see the magnifying glass right there?
LOL. By golly, you're right! I never knew it was there! Thanks. What a timesaver!
But if we had a visible search bar on our home page visitors could use it to easily find a post of ours they might want to go back to. ( I can hope...)
(They're gnomes, by the way, and they don't like being called 'trolls'. I wouldn't say it out loud if I were you!)
Ditto on your LOVE for Substack Ramona! I have not been working with it for long, but it gives all the options that I could hope for in as far as promoting my creativity in several areas - writing, podcast & video!
Hi, I have reached 1.3k subscribers and I'm wondering what should be done to reach my next milestone, at 10k. Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks in advance
I would add that this might be worth reading through - https://on.substack.com/p/grow-4 - and that if you want to grow your free list further, recommendations is a really powerful tool that shipped recently. Probably the strongest thing you could have working for you on Substack is recommendations from other writers.
Here is a point that is finally starting to sink in for me, and that is the idea of community. I believe Substack goes to amazing lengths to build community among its writers, and that has been incredibly helpful for me. But what I've come to learn ( I've only been publishing consistently since September 15, 2021), is that readers want a community, too. I added a paragraph to my posts a short while ago, that just simply told people that what I was trying to do with my newsletter was gather a community of committed readers so together we could effect change. This seems to have helped bring in new subscribers for me, so I thought I'd mention it. Any thoughts or tips on building community of readers is welcome! Thanks!
Yes!! You put it perfectly. I think one of the most motivating things for my own writing is having a reader reply to an email or reach out personally.
We're working hard on tools to enable more reader community-building on Substack. In the meantime, we've published some great resources for how writers can do this:
I love your approach, Joan! Asking folks to be part of a community working together to bring about change is a great initiative! I think I will borrow it! LOL!
Great! That's why I mentioned it. I've gotten so many great tips from writers here, that I thought I should pass on something that seems to have worked for me. It was out there all along, but it didn't sink in for me until recently... duh on my part!
Interesting that doing so seemed to help bring in new subscribers. Did it help at all with actually building community? I've included words like that from the beginning, since my newsletter is called "Changing Lives" and the whole reason I started it was to gather a community interested in "changing lives, starting with their own." It may have brought in a few subscribers, but almost no one ever comments, which is the only way to build community! I also include an email header with every newsletter asking for comments (and likes and shares if readers find the content valuable). I mention that is the only way for me to know which content readers find most helpful. In the first issue, I asked subscribers to introduce themselves in the comments. Very few did.
Thank you so much for this forum where you take in feedback and work on it at the back end. It shows that you really do want to make the product the best it can be. I have a slight gripe in terms of accessibility. The timings of these writer hours are always North America and Euro centric which I understand as being the current primary focus market. I run a niche newsletter that provides a platform to writers of creative non fiction while being based in Singapore and I feel rather overlooked because it's the middle of the night here for me(1:28 am right now). As you look to onboard more diverse voices and grow your presence in other regions, I request that you consider staggering the times of these office hours so a wider variety of people have access to this support
It's 6am in New Zealand right now, so I hear you. I host a network for Substack writers in time zones around the Pacific - we have occasional Zoom meetups to talk about our writing. These sessions would be morning, like 9 or 10am for you.
When I first turned to Substack about 9 months ago, my aim was to create a newsletter I could send to my existing customers as a tool to keep them engaged and up to date with my latest material on my subscription-based site. In other words, I viewed Substack as a replacement to MailChimpโฆit was my newsletter tool that I wanted to use to increase subscriptions on my own site.
Fast-forward 9 monthsโฆand things have changed considerably!
My strategy to increase subscribers didnโt pan out like I wanted. Insteadโฆand this was a big surprise to meโฆI attracted a number of new subscribers to my newsletter. And Substack kept adding attractive features I either wanted on my website or considered as a future addition. And then I realized โ the Substack platform and backbone is doing exactly what I wanted from my website without the hassle and cost of dealing with my web developer. Substack is not a perfect fit but it is damn close, and that has given me the space to reconsider my business and focus going forward.
I now view my substack newsletter as my main focus and my website is rapidly turning into a place I can archive my material. So, hereโs my questionโฆhas anyone successfully migrated their subscriber base from a subscription-based website to the Substack platform? If so, I would happily like to hear more about your experience or get any advice you would like to share. Ideally, I would like to be able to seamlessly transfer accounts (my site uses Stripe for payment and subscriptions) without having my readers cancel on one end and re-subscribe on another end.
Thanks for all inputโฆand thanks Substack team for your continued hard work and bringing us helpful and cool features.
I haven't migrated paying subscribers but have to say it's great not to have to pay Mailchimp to send out my newsletters. Like you I'm wondering if Substack is the future and the website (matchingfoodandwine.com) more of a static resource.
Also cool to meet you here - I subscribed to your newsletter as well...perhaps some time in the future we can discuss a collaboration of sorts (my wife is also quite into wine - she is level V WSET and she has read your work in the Guardian)...Matching food and wine was always one of our top courses back in the day when we were doing that sort of thing... Feel free to reach out to me on my website contact (https://myfreshattitude.com/)
It is interesting how quickly thinks have flipped in my mind...and yes, I can see a future where sites like yours and mine are static archives and the real engagement and information exchange takes place on Substack...
Maybe a dumb question: to activate text to speech is there anything as writers we'd need to do? I'd like my newsletter to be as accessible as I can make it, and this seems like an great step to take.
Just saying Thanks to everyone on the Substack team as well as the community of writers on here...my life has changed and my healing journey has started.
Iโve made a couple new friends, learned about myself AND get continuous guidance from these office hours
Thanks to everyone on here seriously, love and light to you allโค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธ
Are other publishers finding it effective to guest post or do exchanges? I did something this week where two other Substackers and I interviewed each other and we linked to each other's posts. Is anyone seeing something like this as an effective means to gain new readers and new subscribers? Thanks.
Hi Mark! Helen from Substack's PR team here. We've seen this be a very effective way to gain new readers and subscribers, and would encourage you to continue experimenting with it. Especially when you do an interview or guest post with another Substacker who writes about a very different topic, it can get your Substack in front of an entirely new audience.
I look forward to trying out the new audio options. I've been creating podcasts that aren't podcasts because I've just been reading my posts for visually impaired community or for those for whatever reason just prefer to listen. At times I've also wanted to embed other audio files so this improvement is really solving a pain point for me.
Thank you for the new audio features! Going to be adding some of my audiobook chapters to my serialized book and going to record some voiceovers of my non-fiction posts!
Anyone else having a problem clicking on the little hearts here at Office Hours? It happens every week for me--sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. They're not working for me today.
I am thinking of asking my social media followers WHY they read me. What are they getting out of my writing? It might help me figure out how to do it better.
I just did this last week with my most engaged free subs -- I sent a Google Form (before I knew about polls, which I am elated to see). I asked a handful of questions, the last of which was, "I'd love to know more: why do you open my emails? Why do you forward them to someone else? What keeps you coming back?" The answers were pretty interesting!
Hi team! Tom here from White Noise (www.whitenoise.email), my free, biweekly missive on books and behavior, philosophy and psychology. Has anyone used the new voiceover feature in a clever way? Looking for inspiration via examples!
Your post describes your newsletter as something which delves into philosophy. That's a welcome change on substack. With all due respect to my fellow writers, most authors on substack stick to subject matter that is as plebian and dirty, dull pavement. I don't mean to sound like a supercilious snot from hell (okay, maybe that's a lie.), but most people talk about the most quotidian, inane BS. Instead of dirty dull pavement, I try to write something that will approximate the Yellow Brick Road.
For the first time this week, when I sent myself a test email, all the links were redirects. (substack.com/redirect/gobbledeegook) Is this going to be the case with actual sent emails going forward? I'd love to know, because the redirects adversely affect the URL params that make some of my games work. Thank you!
Hi, Geoffrey, thanks for the message and sorry for the hassle here. We're aware of the issues in how URL params are affected in these redirects and we'll have fixes in place soon. In the meantime, I've configured Adventure Snack to use the previous system of email links, which shouldn't be affected by this. Please let me know if that's still an issue.
I'm thrilled to be on this site and love the freedom it offers as well as the great and supportive community. My newsletter is about writing, pop culture, and whatever else might spring to mind that week. You can find me over at : https://markfyve.substack.com/
Here is my reason and goals with building this site:
1. Grows your Newsletter
Once you have exhausted your personal audience, how do you grow a newsletter? For someone with little social media experience, it can be near impossible to crack social media on your own.I see most writers making the common mistake of simply announcing new issues on their social channels. This is not enough and is actually hurting you!Newsletter to Socials integrates directly with your publication and highlights engaging excerpts which will succeed on social media. It will then auto-generate tweets and images that you can schedule or download.
2. Saves you Time
Running social media can take many hours each day. For writers, this is a time commitment that is impossible to make on top of creating and publishing. I know this was certainly the case for me!With just a few minutes in Newsletter to Socials, you can generate and schedule weeks of quality social media content.
Question for Substack. Are there any plans to allow us to re-email an old post? I can see a way to update old posts on the site, but if they've already been sent to subscribers, it won't let me re-send it by email. This might be a good feature for writers who need a week off and just want to re-send an old "favorite" post to subscribers, or to send a popular old post out to subscribers if you've had a lot of new subscribers recently.
That's what I've done to this point, embedding the old post.
I have probably a unique situation where I'm writing Bible studies with multiple lessons, and occasionally (infrequently), one lesson will be appropriate for more than one study. So when I write the new series, I would re-send the repeat lesson where it is most appropriate within the new series. Yes, I understand most people won't have a need for this for this particular situation.
But I can see this feature being useful for people who just want a week off but still want to send an old post out, or they want to send an old popular post out after they've had an influx of new subscribers. I've found that only a small subset of subscribers will actually click through to read the embedded post, so just embedding the post in this case might not get a huge response. The embed is a nice option as a reminder, but it won't get as high of a read count as actually sending out the original post.
1. Technology topic is too generic, personally i search content on substack on 90% software and 10% everything else so it would be really nice to have 'software' as a topic.
2. The software engineer-development content market is huge
Question about tagging our โStacks - do you guys offer a โmental healthโ category? On your roadmap a while back I did not see mental health as an option and my Substack is all about PTSD and mental health awareness, normalization, and support. PS- thanks for the amazing audio updates and features!
Thanks for writing your newsletter, Adrian. I'm married to a combat veteran with PTSD -- we've been dealing with it for 18 years, which just blows my mind -- and it's rare to come across anything that's so honest (and that helps me stay empathetic, even after such a long time spent learning, working toward understanding, figuring out how this shows up in our marriage and co-parenting, the list goes on). Just want to say that I appreciate your effort.
Sarah, thank you for being willing to openly share your struggles with PTSD. My wife has been my caretaker for years and I believe you caretakers get the short end of the stick when it comes to complex trauma and PTSD. Youโve inspired me to do an issues (or potentially a series) on being the caretaker or loved one of someone struggling with this monster. YOU are not alone, though I imagine sometimes it can feel quite isolating and lonely. Thank you for your comment, your engagement, your love for your husband.
I canโt wait to read that post/series. Very few people in my life know, much less truly understand, what it has been like all these years. I think youโd be speaking to something rarely acknowledged, much less honestly addressed.
None! I turned mine on immediately! I actually have a small number of paid subscribers even though I started a few months ago. :) It's not like YouTube where you have to reach certain benchmarks. It's all up to you.
We don't have this feature yet and decided to focus on providing a beautiful reading experience, but we've heard this request and are considering adding some composition features in the future. In the meantime, you should be able to write posts in our mobile web editor.
Thanks for asking, Liam. It was a sad day yesterday. We said goodbye to 13 really awesome people. It was a decision the founders made, to make sure that Substack is financially strong no matter what happens in this choppy economy.
The big thing for you and all the writers on Substack to know is that you have no reason to worry: the business is still growing, and we're continuing to build and ship improvements to the product. We're willing to make hard calls where needed in order to ensure we stay a reliable partner to you over the very long term. The cut yesterday puts us on stronger footing -- but all that said, even though it was the right call, it still sucks. We're missing our former colleagues.
While it's too soon to say for sure, I am not concerned about the layoffs signalling the company's weakness or failure. It's more a reflection of the economy and the stage of Substack as a business. Many startups grow quickly and then have to reassess and adjust.
I am very sad to hear that some of our friends @ Substack lost their jobs, but I remain optimistic about the platform as a whole.
Hey... I now have a regular publishing schedule. My writing isn't really as good as I want it to be. I'm having difficulty adding new subscribers. I have twitter (but very few followers) and I think my friends and family on facebook are getting sick of me posting about substack.
I had a Japanese essay and I posted on a local Japan interest group I was already a member of. I got like 30 extra views but no likes/comments or subscribes.
Im a bit loathe to spam random facebook groups and reddits with my essays? It feels hard to get heard.
A key component to promoting yourself on social media is to make sure you're posting about things that aren't your main product, but still keeping it relevant to you. It's a basic principle of branding. Don't always link people to your Substack, but if you post 1 Substack to 3 other posts related to the subject you cover (without mentioning your Substack directly), you'll probably have more luck.
Grabbing the bits of engaging content from your newsletter is the way to go, without actually mentioning your newsletter. If someone wants to learn more about you, they will check your bio out and see your newsletter.
A consistent schedule is an amazing thing. Interaction with FB can be a challenge but having a way to share is good idea. If your friend group doesn't like it they don't have to click the link.
That's a wrap for Office Hours today! We hope to see you next week for our monthly Shoutout Thread (https://lu.ma/shoutout). Come with what you've been loving to read lately, or listen to if you are in the app!
In the meantime, if you have questions, please visit our Resource and Support Centers.
https://support.substack.com/
https://substack.com/resources
Keep going,
Katie, Bailey, Jasmine, Helen, Lulu, Dan, Tian, Becca, Ari, and Lisa
Thank you, team!
Hi Substack! Here's a little encouragement to take with you into the end of the week: no matter what your engagement looks like, your follower numbers, your ability to come up with new and fresh ideas, or any of those other metrics we use to measure success...you are showing up, and THAT is the most amazing thing you could possibly do! Someone out there, whether they comment or not, needs to read what you've written, so write for them! DON'T GIVE UP! ๐ฟ
In my (perhaps ignorant) opinion, Substack is still in its infancy. I think many of us are lucky to be getting started on the platform so early on as it continues to grow into the mainstream.
The way I see it, besides the time it may take, thereโs no downside to putting out consistent, quality content. Regardless of who engages or not.
Not so much in its infancy. Great platform and I'm happy to be part of it. You may be interested in this article; https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/05/substacks-founders-dive-headfirst-into-the-culture-wars
Thank you!!!
Good point, Jan. And thanks for the link!
Yes, this is a super article.
Thanks for sharing this, Jan!
Thank you for the link
Read that just the other week!
I hear the 'Stack name a lot in any given week. On some cable news networks, "our" Glenn Greenwald is a frequent guest, and the host will always intone, "whose work can be seen on Substack!" I'll scream at the TV (I'm probably doing that anyway), "Hey, I work there!"
I was trying to figure out how many people total are on this platform....itโs so big but so small at the same time
Right - I always see familiar names, which is a really nice feeling for community. And at the same time, there's always more to find!
Starting to feel a bit like this for me, too.
Yes! I just found a couple new good ones on the discover page...
You were one of my first people I subscribed to I think ๐ฅฒ
Oh wow! Thank you - that means a lot :). I hope you're enjoying it :).
Yep... I think we are very fortunate to be working on this platform... I have tried others and Substack is definitely my favourite... I love every aspect of it - newsletter/podcast/vids! Fabulous. And I am getting way more response (even though fairly small) compared to Medium, which I consider a lost cause at this point... my intention is to focus on producing regular content for my Substack newsletter from this point on...
Am curious why Medium is a lost cause? I'm pretty new to blogging in general, so there's a lot that's happened in development in terms of history from where things started to where they are now that has escaped my notice.
I just meant that Medium is a lost cause for me. I put up several posts on Medium starting several months back and they didn't show any views whatsoever. I signed up on Substack the second week of June and have put up about 12 posts - a combo of writing, podcasts and video - and they have all recorded action. As such, I truly believe that Substack is the best option for me to promote my creativity and get great feedback along the way.
I used Medium for two years and tried to build an audience there for my comics but the end result was disappointing. I think Medium has a tendency to bury content plus I think whatever algorithm or curating system they use seems targeted to a very limited demographic.
I was reading on another Substack about how one should post on Medium and Substack, but honestly, I think using Medium is more trouble than it is worth. Especially when it comes to comics such as I create.
Hi, ER Flynn, do you happen to know if anything will glitch if I switch out one illo for another? I mistakenly posted the wrong version of an image. Will anything go wonky or awry if I delete the wrong version and replace with the correct one? Thanks in advance if you can help.
Oh ok that makes sense. Hey you've got to go where it works, and if Medium isn't it, then onto greener pastures.
I started off on Medium and found the experience disappointing. The content ranking/algorithm-based approach is inscrutable, and nobody understands how it works. I confirmed that with a person who consulted for Medium. I wrote about the switch in my introductory Substack post here: https://agowani.substack.com/p/welcome-to-the-party-pal, if you're interested.
Rachael, I just checked out your Substack presence... very cool! May I ask how you set up the formatting on your Home page... is that an option offered by Substack, or ?? It's really appealing!
What I do is I republish my substack on medium and basically cover both sides at the same time for some extra exposure.
Medium is definitely not a lost cause for me, though my earnings are quite low. I have almost 1000 followers there and 25 or so people who subscribe to get every article I publish via email. There are lots of keys to success on Medium, and different ways to define success, but I love writing there. Many of my articles get fewer than 50 views, but some have gotten several thousand, and I get more comments on my articles there than on my newsletter here. The main thing is not to have unrealistic expectations of gaining a huge following or making big bucks right away. You have to publish consistently, and in publications rather than on your own profile, to build a following.
That is very wise and true :)
More to the point Medium is very specific to opinion, culture and politics. Also requiring a paid account to view more than one or two articles a month prunes the readership a lot. It's fine if you write trending current affiars articles but not for other forms of writing.
Personally I'm rarely interested in opinion pieces or current affairs so that platform was never going to be a fit for me. Nothing I do ever had a chance of being curated into one of their established publications. It was an easy decision to make.
I don't know that Medium's a lost cause, but I definitely enjoy being here more. Substack's team is eager to roll things out & iterate, while Medium keeps giving writers (and editors) reasons to leave.
And the physics are different. Medium is very much a social media platform, where as Substack isn't. I see this platform as much more intentional & long form, where as Medium is a literary Facebook.
That said, there's some thriving publications over there. Ignore the old guard/gatekeepers. Find one you like and submit your work!
HOW DO YOU UPLOAD VIDEOS!!! Iโve been trying to figure this out
Substack sent out a message a couple of weeks back mentioning that they were setting up a beta test for video. I applied and they set me up so that I can now upload video directly to the platform (no Youtube links...). So far, it's been great! I would just contact them directly and request that you be a beta video tester!
Thanks Boz๐โฃ๏ธ
This is pretty much how I see it, too. Iโm here to focus on my writing. If anyone else wants to engage, thatโs just a welcome bonus.
This. In 2 weeks on here my stories have received more reads than if they had been sitting on my blog for a year. Sometimes you just want to share what you do and there aren't viable commercial outlets for it. The short story format is something I completely overlooked as a writer, but it's incredibly fun to write. You can change up the theme, subject and characters week by week to keep your own engagement high.
Exactly ๐ฏ
Definitely still feels fresh. And I feel lucky to be getting started at such an exciting stage.
I completely agree Matt - there is no downside to putting out consistent, quality content...perfectly stated.
It feels like you create to a point where you might gain a critical mass and then the thing takes a life of its own. Hoping so anyway!
Slowly, then all at once.
Right after sending this as a โnakedโ comment, my mind cleared a bit and I found the original reply that I was basing my comment on:
Amran Gowani
Writes Field Research by Amran Gowani1 hr ago
"Slowly, then all at once."
Amran said all that needs to be said, but I can never pass up a chance to make something more complexโฆ
I just returned home from a โrescueโ mission, and started to reply to someone who posted something like, โit will start slow, then suddenly grow.โ Now, I canโt find my way back to that and it is past 1 pm CDT again, butโฆ
I had already located this old blog post. Iโm not convinced that it will link to that entire post, but here are the first two paragraphs and you *might* be able to follow this link to the rest:
Hockey Stick Graph
https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6402357994430594268/3415113712359865088
In the business world, there is something called a โHockey Stick Graphโ that tracks the typical income stream when a successful new business starts up. First, the business goes in the hole due to start-up expenses, then slowly begins to see money coming in, a process that can be discouraging.
A hockey stick has a โbladeโ that briefy slants down from the tip and then turns sharply upwards at the โelbow.โ If the numbers along the bottom represent time and the numbers along the side represent profits for a new business, the graph line will come to resemble a hockey stick, if the business has a good idea, a good plan and the owner puts forth a good effort.
Thanks matt!!! Itโs not ignorant! Highly valued and reasonable
I just yesterday received an extremely kind email from someone who had been reading my blog but who had not subscribed--a "lurker". It is not often we get told of the impact we have, and for everyone one we hear there are probably many more we don't hear about. This kind writer told me that my writing was having an impact and they had even presented something I had written in a class. It was unbelievable. It motivated me to take a project off the shelf and get moving so I can bring it to substack. Blessings come from surprising places at surprising times!
It's good to remember that Substack's pageview / subscriber count numbers don't reflect the totality of who reads your publication. RSS feeds are still a thing, and Substack can't track all links and forwards that people are doing on their own.
Speaking of RSS feeds.
I don't know what they are
Can you recommend a GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN SOCIAL MEDIA
Thank you
It's a little piece of code embedded in a website, blogpost, podcast, etc.
Stands for Real Simple Syndication.
Check out https://www.newsblur.com/ to see what it is and does.
RSS feeds allow a person to use a RSS Feed Reader to access stories. This way you can receive the feeds in your Reader and don't have to go out and find the feeds on all of the websites. I use Feedly and I have rss feeds to forty different publications / websites. It makes it a lot easier because they all come into the reader and then I can pick and choose which stories to go and view. So you can imagine if I had to go to 40 websites, how long that would take. With the push of a button, I get all of those conveniently in my reader.
hubspot has a number of glossaries, here's one for social: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/social-media-terms
I agree with you as it does seem that blessings come our way when we least expect it.
Blessings come my way when I am delusional.
Wow! So awesome!
I don't even know what a groat is... but I've found them. I do rejoice. Always.
I chalk it up to my loved ones on the other side who can see what I cannot and lead me in that direction. They leave signs all over.
I had my 1998 Toyota Corolla vandalized twice now. On May 18th, someone smashed the front passenger window. The only person that had the window was 25 miles away but it cost me $40-100 less than it cost others with the same damage in the same garage in the same month to fix. Today I'm seeking the part for the same door. The door is bungie-cord wrapped because it doesn't close.
On May 18th, I got two distinct messages from my dad with '309' showing up on my way there and way back... March 9th, the day he passed.
On the way I was thinking about what I'm writing and what my grandpa used to say about money. At that exact moment, the first 309 had a bk beside it. My dad knows I'm thinking about my book!
I celebrate these connections. My mom used to say, "All my favorite people are dead." It's not that I wasn't special. It's that when she was young and more needy than when she was my mom, those people were gone already. Now I talk to all of them and they are all with me.
How nice that I've got nothing to do but wait for a shop to call me back to see if they can help. I can read today's OFFICE HOURS with more focus to seek not only the wisdom shared, but also the joy and ecstasy from us creatives finding a home to share our hearts and souls, our genius and street smarts, our knowingness and our doubts.
Thanks for the encouragement. I have now been writing my newsletter every single week since November of last year. I had one bump in subscribers after one of the earlier substack events but since then, I just haven't been able to grow my readership. I love what I am doing and feel that there is a niche out there for me if I can only reach it.
Build it and they will come! And if they donโt, keep doing it for yourself.
Thanks, Matt. That's a good way of looking at it, and in fact is my attitude. However, I can't help feeling a bit of a failure, especially when I see people with hundreds of (paid) subscribers.
I agree. I think the trick is to realize the amount of luck involved as well. You could write the most revolutionary piece ever written, but for whatever reason it might not catch on.
However, I think the longer you stick at something the greater your luck becomes.
100% agree. Just have to look at the book publishing industry to see examples of award winning books that were rejected numerous times by publishers. The only way through is to keep writing, be like fire and hope for the wind.
Thanks, Matt, that's true. I think Mark Twain or someone said that the harder he worked the luckier he became!
Terry, it takes a while to grow an oak tree from an acorn. From the outside it looks everyone else has tons of subscribers, and it took no time for their success.
But you have to know that we are all doing what we can, and we all have similar challenges with the growth of our newsletter. (I didn't let anybody know I had started a newsletter for the first 5 months after starting last year - I started just building my small collection of articles without any feedback or even awareness from other people).
So stop with the failure talk. As long as you are participating in these forums, and taking small steps in the right direction, you will have what you wish. Just maybe not next week. Don't. Stop.
I love this. It's so easy to read the stories about people targeting "only" 5 new subscribers a week and feel defeated when 5 new subscribers would seem like a huge bump. Thanks for the redirection
I'm still getting over the psychic wound from some 'Stackers, here since, like, April, bemoaning "only" having 8,000 subscribers๐ญ, and "only" 600 paid! I've been hacking along for 11 months, now, and have just barely hit 120 subs, with about 4 or 5 monthly subs! But, I love doing in, so I'll just have to endure these petulant others!
Thanks, Paul, you're right. Must stop being negative. My wife reminded me that another newsletter of mine took ages to build up. That was brave of you I think, not telling anyone for 5 months!
I started posting my articles to LinkedIn and then saying that people could see the full article on my Substack. The only problem is that very few people have gone to those articles. I have more people visit the very short version on LinkedIn and then don't even visit the Substack. And I still have no people signing up. But I'll keep at it. I'm not going to give up.
Nice to hear others have written for months before telling anyone. I figured I needed to be consistent before sharing. I also needed to write for myself to not only built my confidence but to get over my shyness..
It's like writing books in general. If you don't like the process of writing itself, then it is likely to be a disappointing experience!
I LOVE writing, so I've got that bit right! Interesting comment though: I can always tell if someone hasn't enjoyed writing a piece. It somehow lacks spark
The other ingredient I've found is to link what I'm writing about with WHY it's important to me.
Everyone has to start somewhere. You have to figure out where people interested in your topic are and get your content in front of them. That could be Facebook groups or Reddit, or it could be at in-person events. Use Recommendations to broaden your reach. But most of all, write good content and keep going.
Thanks, Jackie. Yes, I ought to use FB and Reddit more. Writing good content isn't a problem (he says modestly!)
I suggest you:
1) do not look at sub count at all; I turned off my notifications completely and just continue working,
2) spend some time analysing people you like to read. What do they write about and how?
This analysis made me realize that I need to write more well-researched topics that are adding to something; often just writing about my thinking on a subject matter does not feel enough.
Be creative about social media, Sharon and Terry! Make sure each new post gets a social media link to your new piece! Also, if you're in for the long haul, consider business cards to pass out, with a brief description of what your newsletter's about, as well as your Substack web address! I included QR codes on mine! Good luck, and hang in there!
For promoting on social media, I'd recommend avoiding things that look like self-promo and focus on extracting the "nuggets" of engaging content directly from your newsletter. Things like stats, quotes, and hooks, will draw in new readers.
I created https://newslettertosocials.com to extract excerpts from your publication that will do well on social media
Iโm shocked at the amount of genius here, every day Iโm blown away!!!
This is what we need in this world!!! All the good minds cooking together -- this is so cool thank you krager
I hope you don't mind me asking, but out of curiosity do you pay for this service? And is it worth it if you do?
Sounds like a great tool! I do exactly this, but manually.
https://www.instagram.com/cocreate_space/
I'll check out your app, for sure!
Def following rn, Iโm obsessed w insta and never considered combining the magic of the two?! Iโm silly.
Telling you, thank god for writers hours and Substack as a whole
For sure, I'm always finding gems here!
Followed!
I'll give that a shot, but inasmuch as I write about entertainment and rock stars, generally, I tend to lean on the "clickability" of my subject matter than to jump thru the SEO hoops that would tend to be more necessary if my 'Stack was "Macrame for Swedish Stevedores" or "Cindy's Plumbing Secrets for Alternate Tuesdays." But, I've been known to adapt!
I'd subscribe to both. Just sayin'...
Oh, that's so Kevin!!!๐ But, don't those sound like plausible 'Stacks?!? I have half a mind (should stop there, shouldn't I??) to search for those titles on 'Stack, and something tells me I'd actually find those exact titles!!! Frankly, I've been known to think up other faux 'Stack titles while waiting at a stop light or doing some other mundane task. I smell ANOTHER article!!!
I've been meaning to share this classic book title with our fellow writers riddled with the insecurity and self-doubt they seem to share often on these threads. From the great George Carlin, this tome: "Ridding Yourself of Doubt....Or, Should You?" Cheers!๐ค
Taking a look at it now. Pretty cool.
*mentally pins comment*
THANK YOU!!! This is great
I also write about this exact topic! https://newslettertosocials.substack.com/
I've been thinking of doing this for a while! This is the sign - I just need to get this done!
QR code so smart!!!
So, on Panera and Starbux bulletin bds, I hang 2 cards...the front to show pic and info, and the back to show the QR codes! And, I make sure to show people I meet and talk to about my 'Stack, the codes, too!
If you could check this out and let me know if you think it would have any interest with our community. I am willing to partner if interested. https://pau1.substack.com/p/a1329926-d18b-4736-8fe1-3b1503113ff1
โ
YES! I've been wanting a way to be able to show my QR code on something more digital than my biz card! And, my original VistaPrint page to create my cards wouldn't allow me to cut'n'paste the codes!!
I've just put in an order for some book markers which publicise both my website and substack newsletter. Didn't think of putting QR codes on there. That would have been smart!
No excuse, Fiona! I'm 67, and knew that the kids today are all about da codes!!! 'Course, I'd-a never thought of it had VistaPrint hadn't offered it as an option toward the end of my ordering process!!๐Good idea about bookmarks!
Shhh...don't tell anyone, but I stopped by my local Barnes & Noble, and found a few books to slip my card into!! Hee hee....I'm so bad!๐ฌ
Nice work! ๐
I'm just a well-brought-up kid from upper-middle-class Houston.....this is as deliciously subversive as I can get!! And, even then, I'm looking over my shoulder hoping no one's looking!๐ฒ
Thanks, Brad. That's very encouraging. I'm not too bad at self-promotion on social media, but so far it hasn't had much effect -- so obviously I'm NOT very good! Will try to overcome my despondency once again.
This is anecdotal, and based on a few short months, but I've found Twitter to be pretty ineffective as a promotional tool (especially since I'm an unknown). LinkedIn, however, has been much more effective. I have a decent following from my days in corporate, but even still sometimes as much as 10% of my traffic comes from there. I'm not on IG or other platforms, but based on your content, certain channels are much more effective.
If you are trying to automate and improve your Twitter and LinkedIn operations, I created https://newslettertosocials.com exactly for this!
You got all the things Krager!
Thanks, Amran. I don't like LinkedIn much, but perhaps I should be more actively promoting there in view of what you've said.
Terry, Twitter has been absolutely useless to me, too, and probably LI, as well. But, it won't stop me from posting. It's like Vegas. As soon as I walk away from a slot, someone's bound to follow right behind, put in THEIR quarter, and hit the jackpot.
However pointless posting my link may be on any given site, it has a better chance of blowing up than if I'd never put it up! We soldier on!
Don't get me wrong - I don't like it either! But for my content in particular it's a good channel. The goal is to get eyeballs and subscribers. :-)
I don't do well on Twitter at all. I use the hashtag #WritingCommunity and subscribe to the Substack Discord, and...slim beans.
Linkedin doesn't do it and neither does Facebook. I really don't know how to use social media to promote my newsletters, so I just struggle along, but I'm always open to new suggestions.
Well, and this is MY attitude....I only got on social media in August, when I started my 'Stack. So, while a late-comer to the "animal," I also am not about to allow SM's constructs to bully me around! If Reddit thinks I'm self-promoting, fine. Who needs 'em? I'll find another sub-reddit on which to post, or simply focus on another SM site! I am my own Redditor!!!๐
I love, love this idea!!
Good advice, Brad! I just subscribed to yours.
Golly, thanks, Jessica! Feel free to peruse my Archives! Also, let me know (here is fine) where you land, musically, and I'll see if I can point you in a direction in my Archives (I know what's hidden there!), and what you might like to see Front Row & Backstage in the future! Welcome behind the velvet rope line, Jessica!
Thanks Brad! I'm into Dylan, Waits, The Kinks, everything New Orleans, good 90s women country artists (Trisha Yearwood days), as well as Irish trad. My father was in the music industry for many many years, and still has the biggest record collection I've ever seen so my musical interests are wide! Looking forward to reading!
If I may: when you get there, start with his "Audio Autopsies" articles; they'll take you down some fun rabbit holes!
Mercy, that's quite a vast array of musical likes! My bro and I grew up (in Houston, so I know and love N.O. a LOT! In fact, I used to do radio in Baton Rouge, and would take trips to N.O. frequently: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/behind-the-mic-a-personal-peek-into-870) surrounded by 20,000 LPs and 78s! 'Tis a wonder we didn't contract PVC poisoning!
Dad had custom-made cabinetry made to house them all, wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling, plus he catalogued them religiously! I obviously caught the collecting bug from him, as my radio years and record biz work allowed me to amass a collection about a tenth of his!
I think you'd enjoy, Jess, the life- and music-biz-story of Stephen Michael Schwartz (RCA recording artist at age 20 in '74). He's been "writing for/with me" for 4 months, now, and his behind-the-rock-scene experiences are nothing short of eye-opening, and they're all in his own words!
Here's how we managed to meet, digitally, anyway...he's in L.A., I'm in TX: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/in-a-houston-penthouse-with-david
If you get hooked on Stephen, I created this Flipboard page to gather all his FR&B articles in one place, so he can more easily share them with friends, family & colleagues (they're all linked back to 'Stack, of course): https://flipboard.com/@schwartzstories/front-row-backstage-with-stephen-michael-schwartz-fcjpqreoy
He just celebrated his 69th birthday yesterday, and he's been so kind and generous sharing his autobio, and I'm happy to have his contributions highlighting my 'Stack! Anyway, enjoy!!!๐
Thanks, I always feel encouraged after these writer office hours. I appreciate your ideas.
I like this approach about social media. In fact, I think 'spamming' is essential part of the work, at least at the beginning. I recently also wrote about it.
https://eightyfour.substack.com/p/ok-but-do-you-spam-enough
If you write reviews, write a truncated review on a book website -- a place like Goodreads is a good start, or Amazon -- and leave something in the signature at the bottom of the review pointing to your work here. It may not be much for the short-term, but it's how reviewers like Khan the Grinch and Wendy Darling built audiences on Goodreads.
I keep forgetting one thing I did which I think was borderline brilliant: I changed my YouTube handle to Front Row & Backstage on Substack! I'm forever wanting to drop links on music-related vids (a no-no, of course!), so now I just say, "hey, check out what I wrote about this video's artist by searching my ID above," or words to that effect! So, there ARE ways to beat this hand-cuffing system!! Thanks for your suggestion, Rachael!
Welcome
Sharon...I just had a peak at your newsletter and I like the concept of food for your brain - really something I can get behind. Might I also suggest moving to a different Substack layout...I think the magazine-style layout looks more polished to readers--- Best of luck and keep moving forward...
Definitely trying the magazine layout. Great idea!
Iโm fairly new to Substack (my newsletter is only a couple of months old) and I didnโt even realize that there were options for different layouts! What would you say lends a newsletter to a magazine-style layout vs a more traditional layout? Or would you always suggest the magazine?
To me, the magazine style is more appealing when viewed on the web. Of course, if most readers access your information via email then the web layout is less important to your readers. Still, it may be worth considering for those who may window shop your site.
This makes sense! Something to think about for the future. Thanks for sharing, Jack!
No problem... Best of luck to you in growing your newsletter
Perhaps you could think of this as a time when you are building your repertoire of finished pieces in preparation for the time when you do find that niche; then, your audience will have a good selection of pieces to read.
That has been my approach. Improve my writing, build a repertoire of finished articles as I find the right sources for my niche, which is older adults wishing to age well.
I've had the same experience with my education-related substack; growth is painfully slow, and I'm thinking of packing it in. The growth of my more general one isn't too bad. I thought it would be the other way round.
Hi Sharon, I just subscribed!
Likewise! Thanks!!
Thank you, Sharon! Looking forward to reading yours!
People underestimate this mentality, but I really hope that people take this to heart!
I had no reason to expect anyone to read my publication, and just had my first set of paid monthly and annual subscribers, and it's all thanks to people like you encouraging me to keep going!
If there is one person that is delighted by your creations, you have made a difference. Thank you for your encouragement S.E. You are making a difference!
Wow, this is just the encouragement I need today. I have been on Substack for a month now, and still do not even have one free subscriber. But I love to write and that is what matters. I am a religious person, so I understand that Godโs timing doesnโt always align with our timing, especially in a culture of instant gratification. There is a reason I was created to write, and I trust that eventually, what I write will make a positive difference in someoneโs life.
Hi Allison, have you considered calling your publication The Rivers of YOUR Life or The Rivers of Life. Readers are selfish! My first impression from your publication name was that your writing would be very introspective, all about you and would therefore not add value to me or to my life... hence the name didn't encourage me to click through.... I think Substack support can assist with a rename and new domain name if you ask them.
I didnโt ever think of it this way, thanks Karen !
Iโve been reading her work and itโs DEFINITELY worth a read and I see it adding so much value to my life, no matter what the name is
I definitely need to look into this , this is so smart
Allison, have you tried writing about it for your church bulletin, or giving a talk? The best place to start is with people you know. :)
I attend a mega church and the bulletin doesnโt feature writing, just general announcements and an outline of the sermon for that weekend. But one of the pastors has a blog that Christian leaders sometimes contribute to that reflects on current events from a biblical perspective. Perhaps I could ask him if I could contribute something. Thanks for the suggestion.
Hi Allison, Ask whoever helps you with the tech to help you 1, make a personalized visual avatar; and 2, to fill the 'avatar hover' space โ I'm not even sure where that is โ to the theme of your Substack and not your personal biography. I just hovered and saw your personal bio, which doesn't explain your Substack's aim or purpose or theme. (I claim NO expertise here! I just happened to notice.) And other 'explanation' spaces aren't filled in. Ask your tech helper. ( Just suggestions.)
Thank you Zelda, I needed this too:)
Very welcome, Venus 2.0! We try and help people with the things we actually need help with, right? If I had cracked the codes then I'd have a thousand paid subscribers... :-)
I havenโt been having anyone help me with the tech. But I will ask my parents to take a headshot of me for the visual avatar, and I could probably figure out how to correct what is displayed in the hover space. Substack has proven very accessible for me. I have been just so excited to start writing I havenโt given my profile much attention. Thanks for the suggestion!
Profile info is the first thing people look at: the 'About' and 'People' spaces, or whatever they're called.
Incidentally, speaking as an illustrator, I suggest that maybe a visual symbol of your faith "says" more about your Substack than your headshot will say? Your avatar can say A LOT in a split second. Don't undervalue it. It's valuable real estate!
(That said, one of my sons just called my avatar INCREDIBLY CREEPY, haha, so again I claim no expertise.)
Subbed !!!! Canโt wait to read, Iโm already inspired โฃ๏ธ
Thank you!!
I gotchu fam. Subscribed! I am happy to support the writing of fellow Christians, I look forward to seeing what you put out!
Thank you so much!!
Thank you for such a positive reminder. Never give up yourself, Underdogs! One step at a time. One sweet day at a time.
Thank you as always. Yes to showing up! Today Iโm taking a chance and merging my two newsletters into one. For me itโs the right thing to do โ though Iโm nervous about alienating both (small yet mighty) audiences. We will see how it goes!
Iโve had a couple things Iโve wanted to put out but stop myself every time! Needed to hear this, thank you
Thank you so much! I'm a bit of a newbie to this community and seeing all the threads is really inspiring. Thanks for the encouragement.
Thank you for that encouragement! I really need it right now as I have only been publishing for a few months and don't have many subscribers. I also keep asking questions and encouraging comments in my articles but don't get many (often not any) comments.
This helps, actually. Grateful for this resource.
Thank you! I've felt a lot of impostor syndrome this week! I really appreciate it!
There it is! :)
Hi Kevin! Happy Thursday! ๐
And to you too! :)
You're always so encouraging! Thank you!
Once I thought before I pressed the comment button, I found my conversations and compliments went way farther and had better conversation ((seems obvious but to me it wasnโt))
Itโs not a critique, itโs a comment section...as a new writer I had to be reminded
Iโve always been someone who comments literally without hesistation, just whatever Iโm thinking....which is the opposite! Selfish! And rude! Office hours and other writers here taught me the kind and correct way to comment....
I can still give my opinion, just less self centered and trying to stay on topic hahaha
Suggestions (I'm packing them in since next week is a "shout-out" thread!)
1. Really love recommends, BUT I really *don't* love the feature that presents new readers with a ready-checked list of other newsletters they might want to sign up for, and stressed that these are "free". My observation so far is that people who onboard in this wasy really aren't good quality sign-ups, because people subscribe often without realizing they're doing it (and have no idea what they're signing up for). They dilute interest in Substack, and make people feel they were spammed.
2. I don't like everyone being able to see who left "likes". Many of my readers are readers, not writers, and they're shy (as I learned in my survey). They aren't eager commenters, and many don't want to be identified.
3. We need Substack to make it clear that this is a different kind of platform, not just more free writing. I know that at least one prominent Substacker got fed up of people who subscribed for a year or more, and opened everything, but who refused all entreaties to go paid. I think of these as the "No, I'm good" folks. No matter how deep the discount, they won't spend a dime. Yes, I can limit free posts, and yes, I can be patient, and yes, I know that those who pay will always be a minority. BUT I think much more can be done to adjust folks' expectations. Substack advertised itself as a place where writers can be paid, but needs to do more to promote the "paid" angle, especially to help those writers who aren't blue checks--money tends to follow celebrity, I get that.
I'm with you on #1. Yes, it feels too pushy. Subscribing to a newsletter should be a 1-click operation, but as it is, you have to dodge recommendations, "share this on your profile", "share your reason for subscribing on twitter", etc., ... too much.
I agree. It's a bit much and feels spammy.
I really like all your points. Every subscription, whether free or paid, should be opt-in and not made too easy.
I agree that it is preferable to not show who has "liked" a post. Everything does not need to be made public.
I have to admit to starting the proverbial ball doing its thing, by "liking" my own posts :) Now I can't do that!
Agreed, Annette, about the mass reco's--when 5 or 6 pop up with the words about "if you like this, you'll like" or whatever the wording is. It's too much. I pick and choose newsletters one at a time.
And about #3 point, a very big yes! For so long, almost too long now, there's been this idea developing about everything being free and available. Substack is a new(ish) model, that takes us back to revisiting the old cable TV model. Yes, there were some free channels and a few fuzzy ones that come in if you got the rabbit ears just so. But then you could pay for cable!
With the advent of the net, we're back to thinking free and fuzzy. But fuzzy is fuzzy. I know I'd love to sub to more; my subscribing funds are finite, and have found homes. But I am subscribing, and enjoying so much the newsletters I can afford.
I've been mulling over the idea that Substack might have to actively encourage paid subscriber-ship.
There are three groups of writers, as I see it. 1) writers who come here with readerships already in place--the big $$ folks. 2) people--like me--who are serious writers, who are forming readership, who want to make a monthly sum that is FT or decent PT pay. 3) the writers who are doing this for fun and personal pleasure and challenge, who don't care so much to go paid or make $$.
The first groups is very much needed by Substack, to continue this whole thing for all of us, truly. The second group needs real support to grow; potential readers truly understanding what this is about, what it looks like, that it might mean shelling out the equivalent of a couple old-school magazine subscription--this is key. (Honestly, I subscribe to a handful of literary mags, and for each of those subs, I could sub to 4-6 Substacks... More commercial magazines, even more. How can Substack tap into this thinking??)
For the third group, they're here for fun, and God knows we need more fun! But I'd like to see more focus on the 2nd group, which has potential for growth, and for bringing more folks/readers here, if developed.
Substack is the new news-stand.
Nothing wrong with that!
Someone once told me that if I didn't like my own work, why would I expect anyone else to?
PERIANA kevin!!!
Good points, Alison. I'm in your second group and would dearly love to make more money here at Substack, but it's not happening. I'm sure I could do a lot more to market my newsletters but I cringe at that word 'market'. My cross to bear, I know, and that's why I lurk here and everywhere to see what everyone else is doing. Thanks for this!
Iโm also a lurker Ramona, confidence doesnโt come in a heartbeat ....*big gulp* going public with my own face!!! Scares me, I have to try to figure out a way to bring my actual social media followers to my anon Substack lol
This was such a good comment. Youโre so right about the 3 groups, I almost said monetization is what keeps Substack running so if thereโs job loss thatโs probably why
Iโm broke, wear my poverty with pride...but would spend my last $7 on a good article or subscription.
Thereโs so many ones I want to give all my monies too lol
Alison, I STILL like my own posts, even though everyone can see itโs me!
Substack already defaults to "Top Paid" in it's search results which automatically eliminates all other relevant newsletters which are of the unpaid variety. As a user you have to specifically change that in order to see the full listing. It was several days before I realised this as a new user myself.
To be honest the automatic preferencing of particular writers over the rest of the community through various metrics is one of the downsides of social media and it's ilk. People who appeal to the mainstream find unlimited power on these platforms while fringe voices struggle for any space. That is what causes the platforms to eventually implode into conformity as users start changing their content to get into the rankings and then everything starts looking the same across all stacks. IG & YT are two notable examples both are unwatchable now. Populated with near identical filler over and over again.
This is an interesting take, and one I wasn't aware of. It seems to be the way of all aggregator websites, Medium included, and to their way of thinking it probably makes sense. More eyes, more money for them.
That said, I feel much more welcomed and accepted here at Substack than I ever did at Medium. The Substack crew listens to us and often makes adjustments that serve us better.
I don't know what IG and YT are. Could you spell it out please? Thanks.
Instagram & YouTube. This site at present is okay because there are still a large number of diverse newsletters although it is heavily weighted in some topics. Mainly opinion pieces which is the most common and least interesting form of content. I fell into the trap of writing opinion pieces on my blog and learned the hard way, unless you are a recognised personality/expert your opinion counts for little.
There is always a strong movement towards conformity in any community, merely because people are risk averse. They prefer to emulate known formula's and what works for others than go out on a limb and risk failure. Substack will also get to the point where the convergence of sameness outweighs the diverse aspects and that's just about the time the business model will start it's decline. It's the life cycle of everything, but in the digital landscape that cycle tends to run faster than otherwise.
I did the same with likes! Rather like nobody wants to be the first to cut the cake ( which is why savvy hosts always cut a slice first), I would do this if things were slow to start--and now we can't. :p
And of course I'm with you on the analysis. I'm in Group 2, and I have been spending time on Substack that I used to spend on other writing projects, plus arranging speaking gigs. I'm patient, but yes, I do need to see more folks go paid. I am trying everything I can think of, but the "Nah, I'm good" folks may break me! :) I fully understand that nobody can pay for everything, but profiles make it clear that there are folks who don't pay for any Substacks at all. I would rather return to writing a newsletter privately (and more rarely) than feel like I'm being taken for granted by thousands of people who don't return the love. Does that make sense?
savvy hosts... very good :)
Hey, that's me! That way, it's guaranteed someone else will take a slice. Otherwise, they're afraid to muck it up!
I agree, I want to do any recommendations manually only, and not confuse or scatter the focus of my readers. They can find their own way elsewhere if they wish. I don't want to send them away to the complexities of more promotion of others that the algorithm recommends (or even that my other interests connect them to.)
Your first point is absolutely spot on. I second that.
Your second point is not really for me, but I can certainly understand how this can be important. So, I support that, too.
About your third point... I agree that we all should contribute to a culture change, in which content is no longer just seen as free and without value. However, I will never look down on my readers for not going paid (they can't even at the moment, but that's another matter). I am very happy with each and every subscriber and I will not think less of them for making a decision on how and where to spend their money. Some don't have much, some might have other priorities, some support my work in other ways, for example by sharing and promoting. I, for one, cannot afford to subscribe for all the paid versions of the Substacks I am a reader of. But all the poetry substacks that I know of, I am subscribed to and I promote the work to my audience on substack and beyond. A sum of $5 or $7 per month is not much, but that times 10 or 20 or more suddenly becomes a different story.
Having said that, I am preparing to go paid. One of the promises I will make to my paid subscribers, is that at least one third of what I will earn from it, will go in support of other writers/poets. I will commission poetry from others from that, for example. But I will not disrespect my readers who are not going paid. They are readers, too. And I love them for that.
Thank you for this sympathetic view. This is how I feel, and I am actually very turned off by the newsletters I subscribe to that aggressively hound subscribers to go paid. There are a host of reasons why a reader may or may not choose to commit their resources to a particular newsletter, even one they enjoy, and those reasons may not be visible to the author. Or, to be honest, a particular newsletter simply may not provide enough value, relative to all the other available reading, to warrant a fee. But shaming readers for not providing the author a living is not the way to foster mutual respect.
It's a tough line. I try to put in a gentle reminder, but am never sure it's too much or not enough. I'm growing slowly but steadily. I've got two years before pension kicks in, so it's a tight time. I try not to let it get to me. I could be back in the Uni, facing daily stress and bizarre behaviour... I remind myself! I appreciate your note here, as it's a solid reminder of the path.
I appreciate that and I understand that writers have to make their pitch as well. But Iโve seen cases where it comes off as pushy or desperate. (The reminder I saw on your seems very subtle :-) For me, the ones that express gratitude for their readersโ support (without seeming entitled to it) are also very effective.
Yes, we are all here for many reasons. I do not disrespect anyone for not paying--after a lifetime as a writer, I understand too well! I'm not "asking" to become wealthy; honestly, I'm talking $1000/month would make me VERY happy. But why this relatively small amount is so difficult, when I spend hours and have decades of knowledge, is a bit of a mystery.
One of my sons has just left school as of one year ago, and is making more than I've ever made, and I am so happy for him. But it makes me aware of the choices we make to be artists. And the reality.
I can't afford to give 1/3 of my income to other artists. I do do a secular artistic "tithe" and routinely give of my time to beginning writers and others. But I also need to eat and pay my hydro bill.
And there's the key: I even suggested to readers that they simply go paid on *a* Substack, even if it's not mine. But bottom line, writers were paid before the Internet, and they need to be again if, as a society, we're to have the reading we need. I don't agree that people who will only read what's free, but who could afford something (and that's most online readers) are doing their bit. As we always point out, it's the cost of a coffee these days, per month.
Yes, exactly. I'm very happy for your son.
I do believe art should be appreciated more, and valued more. I just don't want it to be only for those who can afford it. It's a bit of a catch 22.
It really is. I have had a few angel-people offer "donate a subscription" and it's been a joy to hand these out to those who need. This has allowed me to include words in my newsletter to encourage those who can use such to connect. Substack has recently included this option, so do share it as a button!
It also comes down to a question of relative value. Many opinion pieces are things I like to read for example to get a handle on how more regular folks think. My life has taught me I think very differently to most people and should not apply my logic to others. So reading these kinds of pieces can clue me in on how society works, I don't intuitively get it the way other people do.
That doesn't mean I necessarily find so much value in opinions that I would rank them equally with my electricity bill for example. Yes it is only the price of a cup of coffee but I never buy coffee by the cup either. I don't frivolously spend $5 here and there and make a bunch of impulse purchases. A writer is going to have offer something of enormous value to me personally before I can justify paying them. I'm also the kind of person who checks the local library before purchasing a book in a bookstore, knowing that the value of a book to me is about 4 days.
And that's how I view unpaid subscribers, they are members of my personal library. They can check an item out any time they please for the cost of their email address and a comment if they feel like making one. I, as the writer, am still in control of what gets offered up in the library and what doesn't. What's in my library should not be seen as a threat to other writers. If people come to substack to read my library fiction then they might also see what else is here, paid or otherwise that pleases them.
>>Many of my readers are readers, not writers, and they're shy (as I learned in my survey). <<
I had someone ask me whether it's possible to leave comments anonymously or under an avatar name. I said I wasn't sure. Anyone know the answer to that?
This is important because I write about introverts, many of whom are super-concerned about privacy.
โIntrovert book club!!!!โ Thatโs such a cool idea!!!
I have the opposite issue, but should start considering privacy for mine and my readers / characters sanity.
Thanks Marcia !
Okay, Marcia, since you write about introverts, I can absolutely see that your concern is a priority! I don't know how to do that, alas. I do worry that complicated workarounds are off-putting, plus there's a limit to my readers' interest in investing time in this sort of thing just to leave a "like"--and in dealing with tech in general. The best tech stays in the background, I think.
I agree with all these points. On #1, it would be good if the list of recommendations was easily and obviously accessible at a later date. I don't like having to decide whether to subscribe to a load of newsletters I know nothing about. I've sometimes subscribed to them all at once and then not looked at half of them, which presumably does nothing for their open rates.
Yes, open rates! I also don't want to think I'm doing better than I am at building a readership: I was happy with the rate at which I was accruing readers before, but now I look more closely at where they're coming from....
I wholeheartedly agree with Annette, particularly on points 1 & 3
I wholeheartedly agree with you.
re: #2 and seeing likes - does the public see the names associated with the likes are just us, the writers? I need clarification on this. If the world can see that I liked something, I'm less inclined to like it and I'm sure that's true of others as well
oh crap - I just looked via a private window and yes, EVERYONE can see who likes a post. That's a huge bummer.
Substack, WHY???? Can this please be changed?
Iโm so thankful for office hours bc seriously I didnโt know about seeing likes or archives at all!
Hi Annette, I shared your recommendations feedback with the team working on that feature, and I know they have heard similar thoughts from others, too.
Yes, Baily, please let them know others are also finding this auto-subscribe (almost) a bit difficult.
Thanks, Bailey!
Before I read this Annette, I was definitely a โno thanks Iโm goodโ, but didnโt realize the purpose of Substack was for more than just โfree writingโ and โjournal entriesโ ((plz donโt laugh at me))
Writers take this platform seriously, and I need to start doing the same. Thank you for your comment, an alternate opinion is always appreciated and opens my brain.
Not laughing at all, Venus! Indeed, this is very helpful in illustrating my point that better communication about this platform is imperative. We're all too busy to read all the signs, right? Thanks for your comment. :)
Substack taught me to stop and smell the roses! Youโre right.
I learn something new via sub every day....
Beyond thankful for the platform, would be lost without it...should start looking at monetization.
Have an iconic day miss Annette, thank you for being kind โฃ๏ธ
I don't know how I feel yet about the recommends when I sign up for a new newsletter. It does take more time to navigate, but on the other hand I've found some newsletters that interest me that I might have missed otherwise.
On the other other hand, signing up for dozens and dozens of newsletters means a whole lot of reading, and I'm afraid I'm neglecting some important or fun ones because I just don't have time to read them all.
I don't know the solution, but I do know there are a whole lot of really, really good writers here at Substack who deserve the time it takes to read. I have no idea how to resolve it, just wanted to throw this out there.
I sympathize on the problem of time for reading! My own approach to sticking with newsletters is "wand and wizard": There's a lot of good writing, and good ideas, but everyone has favorite voices with whom they "click" and look forward to reading. It's very subjective. I tend to unsubscribe if I stop opening, because I don't want to be a drain on open rates.
I am also finding this is becoming a dilemma. No time to read everything I've signed up for.
With re: to the Likes point, you can turn those off for your publication. Go to the dashboard --> community section --> Uncheck the checkbox next to "Enable community features / Give readers the ability to like posts and leave comments."
This is all super fair feedback. I'll make sure the product teams see it.
oh we still want likes and comments! We just want likes to remain anonymous.
Can we PLEASE have likes without everyone seeing the names of who liked?
There's only one check box, and it looks like we'd then be disabling comments, too!
It's a return to the anonymity of "liking" that we're asking about here. I do NOT want to lose the commenting capacity--that's what makes it fun :)
Ditto. I want people to be able to like, just anonymously, and comments are a must.
Anonymously?
>>Many of my readers are readers, not writers, and they're shy (as I learned in my survey). <<
I had someone ask me whether it's possible to leave comments anonymously or under an avatar name. I said I wasn't sure. Anyone know the answer to that?
This is important because I write about introverts, many of whom are super-concerned about privacy.
>>Many of my readers are readers, not writers, and they're shy (as I learned in my survey). <<
I had someone ask me whether it's possible to leave comments anonymously or under an avatar name. I said I wasn't sure. Anyone know the answer to that?
This is important because I write about introverts, many of whom are super-concerned about privacy.
Just a quick note to say how much we all appreciate the community team. Thanks for all you do!
<3
Thank you Elizabeth <3
YES! I agree. Great to write that out loud, Elizabeth.
Hi Substack, I just want to express my gratitude for the platform and all the people who have been working so hard to allow creators to find an audience. I'm saddened by yesterday's news regarding the staff reduction. Obviously the economy is not strong, and people don't have as much disposable income as two years ago etc. It's a tough time for everyone, but economies always turn around eventually, and hopefully Substack will be able to weather the storm and come out stronger for it in the near future. ๐ค
Thank you so much everyone. The folks who were let go are tremendous, they did a lot for writers, and were our friends. It's a very sad and painful situation. The hope is that by making these cuts puts Substack in a position to be strong and grow even in challenging economic conditions, and to not need to raise money (weโll only do so on our terms and on our own time). We will continue to support you and show that Substack is a robust and dependable partner, no matter what the macroeconomic conditions throw at us.
Wow. Difficult. I admire Substack for sailing its own course. I really hope things turn around for the better, soon, and wish all of you, including those who were let go, all the best and much strength.
Thank you!! I'm confident that everything will work out in the end. Substack offers a valuable service that many people appreciate, and they will continue to support their favorite writers and artists in any way they can. โฅ๏ธ
Just to let you know, I personally am able to pay for having a platform that can allow readers to read without necessarily paying, just because the economy is in for a rough transition to "Deep Decarbonization Production Pathways" -- e.g., the price of fuel because the planet can't take anymore! I offered before, knowing what's coming because, "The Zeitgeist" is a changin'!
Staff reduction? How did I miss that? Is there a link? Thanks.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31924622
Seconding!
RT
I can't emphasize enough how much I appreciate every facet of what Substack and the SS crew is about and what they accomplish.
Aside from the continual development of new and better tools for writers, it's the care and respect you demonstrate towards participants on the platform that inspires me most.
I've been active as a writer for close to 25 years online, and have never experienced any sort of personal engagement from within the monolithic tech infrastructure that dominates all things 'internet.' I can't imagine Mark Zuckerberg ever offering me a stipend for some of my health insurance coverage, as Substack did earlier this year.
So a huge thank you to all of you!
On another note: are there any plans to upgrade or offer more granular insights about traffic stats to my SS? I'd prefer not hooking myself into Google's analytics again. And I think my readers would appreciate one less set of cookies being dumped into their browser.
Thanks Frederick for being here!
What kind of stats would be most valuable to you when it comes to traffic?
Hey Katie
Definitely something that breaks things down chronologically. Or shows, like, say, numbers by month or week. Right now it says something like Facebook -- 498. Is that a total from day one when I started with SS? Or is that for the month, or week?
Also referring URLS. I know that might require way too much under the hood code on your folks' end, but thought I'd suggest it.
THANKS!
My thanks to the community team for everything y'all do, week after week. We appreciate you!
Seconded!
Thank you Geoffrey <3
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.
โA party no one showed up toโ 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 โ 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 Iโve tried a discussion thread, Iโve 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!
Canโt speak for anyone but myself, but your Chat Packs really make me think.
I host a โSunday Sobremesaโ discussion thread every other week on my newsletter, with each week focusing on a different food-related topic. Luckily Iโve 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 arenโt 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.
Thatโs amazing, Marcia! Itโs 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. Iโve noticed that even on more popular newsletters engagement in the comments isnโt 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 โfavoriteโ (my newsletter is focused on food culture, so things like a favorite family food tradition, or a favorite food eaten while traveling), and while Iโve consistently gotten responses, I am always looking to increase engagement. Maybe itโs 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!
I have seen a few new subscriptions each week from people I don't know. But it seems that my best luck has come from posting to Facebook Groups, like The Professor Is Out (for post-academe material) and Czech Genealogy (for two recent posts on how researching family roots can add stability during a life transition). I'd enjoy hearing about any other strategies along that line. I'm growing slowly, but steadily.
Two weeks ago, I crossed the 100 follower threshold, and I'm now over 50 and have only had one person unsubscribe. I'm sure everyone has a different pace for growth, but I'm feeling reasonably proud of tangible progress. See my series here: https://joshuadolezal.substack.com/
Posting in groups where your target audience hang out is really valuable and seems to be the case for you too! How did you find those groups? Are there more you could tap into?
Those are some very good tips. I had not thought about finding Facebook groups. Thanks!!
Don't forget Reddit, also, although you have to wade through many knuckle-draggers as commenters, but just ignore them. Plus, sometimes Reddit gets hard-core about not allowing "self-promotion," which can sometimes mean Substack articles, they'll deem. So, fine, they just delete the post.
I'm lucky I write about music, rock stars, rock history, and decade-specific music, so the number of FB and Reddit pages/groups I can slap my pieces up to seems limitless...certainly a lot. Having said that, I'm entering my 11th month 'Stacking, and I'm only just now approaching 120 subs, with only about 4 or 5 paid (mostly monthly). Good luck!
Just be careful not to self-promo on reddit! You will get eaten alive
A) I don't care. B) I've been banned from the Baseball sub, and have somehow managed to turn the page in my life and move on. But, I see your point, but again, I have a low tolerance for hoop-jumping...........but, that's just me................apparently.
Haha I totally understand! Reddit is just notorious at sniffing out self-promo. It may be hoop jumping, but if you present your content as "something I found" and not "something I wrote" it tends to be much more acceptable
I'll try it! I'm just enough of a rock'n'roll whore.....apparently......to do whatever it takes to make Massa Reddit happy!!! Thanks!๐I'd actually never thought about sort of "shielding" my authorship, and going, "Hey, look at this great new article I found!"
FB groups aligned with my topics have been the best source of subscribers for me. Reddit is great for my local history, but not at all for my fiction. But the point is, find the spaces where your readers go, and share your Substack there.
academic runaway here... just checked out your newsletter--looks very good!
I've noticed the same thing - I get most of my subscribers from my Facebook groups. I also attend online meetings with Illinois Psychedelic Society that is both on meetup and FB. I'm also considering trying out Minds and Clubhouse as an alternative or in addition to Facebook.
How has clubhouse worked?
Actually I didn't like using Clubhouse because it doesn't seem as serious as I would like. I like https://www.minds.com better because I found others interested in my topic. It seems to be fairly new so there aren't many subscribers, but I believe minds has promise to be an addition to Facebook for me.
I haven't started using it yet.
I just wanted to note that based on some really sharp feedback we got in the breakout session we revamped our About page and I'm really happy with how it looks. So thanks to the Substackers I was with!
https://brentandmichaelaregoingplaces.substack.com/about
I wish we could see the before and after! I'd love to compare.
All I know is the after is sharp, well done.
Wish I'd thought to do that. The main changes are that folks pointed out we had LOTS of info but all in text without any visual cues to break it up. They also pointed out our name is Brent and Michael Are Going Places but we had one boring picture of us down at the very bottom.
So with that feedback we created collages of us in different places we've lived and added them in to both breakup all that text and to show people who we are and where we traveled. We also used H3 to highlight important information such as Why A Newsletter and We Have Both Free and Paid Subscriptions. We also put a subscribe button much higher up.
So found all of that feedback super helpful.
This is brilliant and it looks great! Thanks :-)
Thanks!
I like what you did! I also recently decided to re-do it and chose a similar approach. At first I had it extremely dry (based on our GO! discussions) and then just decided to do more "me" in it as opposed to follow rules. Thanks for inspiring me to add some photos/graphics too.
https://eightyfour.substack.com/about
Thanks very much! Just checked out your Substack and it sounds great, though not quite my thing, especially these days when I'm so swamped with stuff to read. But I'm sure you'll find your readers. BTW, one small typo -- you've got german instead of German in one spot.
Cheers! Corrected.
Of course. I know how hard that are too catch. We sent out a newsletter yesterday taking about a live chat we're sing this week that said June instead of July. I wanted to murder something. Lol
It looks great! I think a lot of writers here underestimate the value of a good About page. It's definitely worth going back to your page periodically and checking it still gives a good view of what you do.
Agreed! Just recently did it and the previous one really felt odd :)
Wish I could "like" your about page :)
Thank you! Coming from you guys that's a huge compliment!
Looks great!
Yes, how on earth did you do that? Is it a trade secret? It's beautiful!
Thanks! No trade secret, I promise. My husband spent a few hours digging around the Substack settings and tweaked it until we had this.
It's really beautiful! How did you do it? It doesn't look as though the available settings in the edit area could accomplish it.
We just used all of the tools Substack has to design this as well as our front page. It's really a super robust system once you get in there and work with it.
I second this question! How did you do it?
We did it using Substack's own editing features. It's actually really robust once you get in there and start tinkering with it. Give it a shot!
I've previously had a dig around with no luck. If substack are watching, I'd appreciate a master-class... or at least one of those helpful emails. ๐
Ryan, I wonder if you could create a whole page in Canva and then post it onto Substack as an image?
I'm ashamed to say I wouldn't even know how to do that!
You are not alone here!
Canvas is pretty easy to use and free. I'm going to load up a template and see if I can get it to work.
Love your about page, Michael. Youโve inspired me to work on improving mine.
Thank you!
Today is the one year anniversary of my newsletter! Over this first year, I have found Substack to be an inclusive, safe, and caring space to write and also to create community...the later of which 25 years ago is something I would have said could never have happened on the internet. But, times change, it does happen, and here we are.
Many thanks to all at Substack for your vision and in creating this space, especially to Katie OโConnell and Bailey Richardson who have been so responsive and supportive over this first year!
Onward to Year 2!
โค๏ธ
Happy happy one year Kate! Cheers to many more <3
Thanks Katie! You are the best!
Congrats! Mine just turned one too. All the one years olds should have a virtual play date. ๐
Happy Birthday to The FLARE! Play date! Fun!
Congrats Kate <3 Substack, and the writer community, are so lucky to have you here!
Thank you very much Bailey!
Just saw the voice over option and I am eager to try it out. I enjoy reading aloud and feel that it adds inflections that don't always get into the writing!
We'd love to see you try it out.
Once you start recording your pieces it will change how you edit. At least it did for me. Improved my writing a lot.
I agree. Same here. You took the words right out of my mouth, Caitlin.
Fellow writers, what are some suggestions for creating a brand/look and design illustration for your posts and page in general? What are your tools? Do you hire someone to design them for you?
I have been using photos on Unsplash but I have found using specialized design helps connect with readers better and stimulate thinking and discussion (from my personal opinion and experience with other
creators)
I hired someone to create a logo for me and then created a couple of page divider graphics in Canva that went with the logo. I do think it's worth paying for something like a logo unless you have particular skills in that. I put a photo in every article as it looks better on the home page and social media, a mix of things I've found on Canva, Unsplash and my own hard drive full of images. I definitely think it helps to have a consistent look for your publication, even if that is subtle.
Canva is great! We also have a Substack Grow resource all about how to DIY a customized brand for your publication: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-3
(This is worth checking out / watching!)
I used Fiverr to hire someone to create my logo, and aligned all of my visual branding with that. I use my own personal photos, rather than Unsplash.
I'd recommend Canva for the DIY option.
I second the Canva as a DIY option as well. The free option is good, and the canva pro option is worth it if you have the budget and think you will be using it for creating social media posts as well.
Personally, I've had a lot of fun using procreate as a DIY option. I enjoy doodling, so it's worked well for me without having to put in an enormous amount of time on artwork, but also gives my substack a very specific look and feel that no one else can replicate in the same way.
Just checked out your page, I love your doodles
Thank you so much!!
I hired a local artist to create my avatar and then matched my page design with built-in Substack tools. Definitely was worth the investment.
This is her website if you're interested: http://shayneart.com/. We did everything remote.
I have an artist who does all the custom art.
I am a graphic designer. I suggest having your logo designed by a professional and creating a style guide for your brand. Then Iโd create one design for your thumbnail. Photo + Title or Maybe itโs all graphics and no photo. Iโd say coming up with graphic banners to use within your newsletter would be helpful as well. Itโs an initial investment that will save you time and money in the long run. Please feel free to reach out to me. If you have any questions.
I hired an artist for some and did Canva for other things.
Minh, I find Canva to be pretty great for basic branding and design needs. If you need custom illustrations and design work done, Iโve heard good things about Fiverr.
Thanks Chris! and agreed, I will probably use Fiverr for a logo
https://newslettertosocials.com can create quote-based images automatically from your publication!
Iโve been writing a lot of content that isnโt really โnewsletterโ but more like โessaysโ that can be read any time. Iโd love for old essays to still be discoverable in the future, but it doesnโt seem as possible given how substack operates right now. Are there new features meant to help surface good old content?
Your full archive of posts are here for your readers to access. https://sundogg.substack.com/
Some people will occasionally write up a summary post with links to past "favorite" articles. If you copy/paste a link to a Substack article in your post, it will automatically generate a preview of the post. You can see an example of that here in mine: https://groundedinthebible.substack.com/p/welcome-to-grounded-in-the-bible
I have that post pinned to my home page so it's always one of the first things people see when they come to my page. Then I try to keep it updated with articles that I want to highlight.
Just like on a blog, you can create various categories for posts in your own mind and then at the end of a new post, link to, say, two past posts on a similar theme. "See also..." This works very well!
Really love the new speech-to-text feature! My only additional wish with that feature is that the audio stop to tell the reader that there's a photo or some other media inside the body of the post. That way, you can pause the audio and look at the pic, or the gif, or play a video or sound file.
One HUGE win. I went on vacation for two weeks, so I didn't post during that time. I assumed my subscribers would hold steady or shrink a little, but my subs GREW by nearly 100 people! Why? Because I've been seeing a lot of growth through recommendations and the app ecosystem. Really love that & I love the fact that when I came back with a funny vacation story, I had so many new subscribers to share it with! https://michaelestrin.substack.com/p/we-took-an-alaskan-cruise-i-kept?r=1fqhx&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I've had the same experience, Michael. I took all of February off (though I still scheduled two posts for paid subs) and I got hundreds of new subscribers. So... you like me better when I'm *not* writing? ๐
Haha, yeah I kept telling my wife, "at this rate I should never post again!"
I'll bring that Text-To-Speech feedback to our teams! Thanks, Michael.
Thank you! And please tell them the feature itself rocks!
Yay! Happy for you! Also impressed you didnโt check your subs while on vacation!
Perhaps there could be an image description as well just for completion.
Personally, I'm not too interested in recording custom callouts for my posts. But I don't make any custom audio. As a reader / listener, however, it would be nice to have the option in settings to pause audio for embedded media. I'll give you an example. I'm a big fan of Garbage Day. I started listening to it while I do household chores, but usually Ryan has some media in each section and there's always an amazing TikTok at the end. I'd just like the speech to text function to recognize those media moments.
To build on that, you might check out what audiobooks do that rely heavily on supplemental PDFs and photos. Usually, that info is called out in-text so that the listener can pause and locate the relevant media.
Is anyone else dealing with impostor syndrome this week? Someone messaged me this week (I think they thought they were being helpful) to tell me they didn't subscribe to my Substack because it didn't offer anything that they couldn't get in the New Yorker or somewhere else. ๐ My questions are:
1) How do you deal with impostor syndrome? AND
2) What do you do to really define and carve out who your readers are?
The best way I have avoided impostor syndrome is to define why it is that I write. And ultimately, what I came to is that the best reason is to write for me. That way if I ask myself "am I happy with what I am writing" then less-than-helpful feedback like that matters less. "Ok, go get that from the new yorker. I'm going to keep doing my thing."
That also helps because I am less invested in who my readers are. If they find me, it is a happy accident. If they stay, it is a blessing. If they leave--I wish them well. As long as you stay happy with your writing, the rest will follow--just be patient with yourself!
That's a good way of looking at it, I think. And, truth be told, that's kind of the reason I started it in the first place: I had ideas I wanted to get out into the ether, and figured someone else had to be as much of a nerd as I am, right? Perhaps it's a bit of a Field of Dreams philosophy to some extent...
Dude! Someone compared you to the New Yorker!
YES! Exactly my thoughts. Could be worse, I guess. Seriously, though. Keep writing. Your audience will find you.
Lol! I'm trying to see it that way too!
That second question I think is what helps answer the first question. You'll see yourself less as an imposter the more uniquely you can define yourself to readers. In general that means sharing a small part of your personality (whatever makes you comfortable), and then covering topics that aren't the "norm". People gravitate toward the fringe because it's too nuanced for mainstream outlets. It's one reason I dislike reading about politics. There is very little nuance. Anyway, hope that helps in some way.
That's actually INCREDIBLY helpful! I know intellectually I'm not an "impostor" because I am being true to myself, but that point of being able to clearly articulate what I am to my readers is a key part! Thank you for putting it so clearly for me!
I'm firmly in the camp that the "best" writers are the ones who just don't quit, no matter what. Fighting through impostor syndrome is part of that battle. I feel it all the time, then remind myself that, even though I'm just another person on the internet, my stuff is valuable and often times quite unique. You should do the same.
Also, since your newsletter's getting compared to The New Yorker, I'm definitely going to check it out. :-)
Shucks! Thank you! And I think you're rightโprogress is not just a straight line upward. Thank you for the pep-talk!
You're welcome! Keep going.
Different voices attract different readers. I suppose you can't undo decades of marketing and name building, but the New Yorker, for all it's name recognition, doesn't have something that you do...your voice. Your voice is independent, and can't be hammered into submission by bullies in a company slack channel. You seem to respect the independent thinking of others, and you seem to understand that you don't have to agree with other human beings in order to step into their shoes and look through their lenses.
I say keep writing.
Thank you, Brett! ๐ฅบ I really appreciate the vote of confidence! (And it's pretty nice to not be subject to the whims of a boss or a Slack channel.)
Don't listen to one person, listen to yourself. You have something to offer!
Thank you! โฅ๏ธ
This just in from George Saunders might be worth reading: https://georgesaunders.substack.com/p/art-vs-commerce?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
I haven't read it yet, but I will give it a look! I'm in the Substack Grow program, and they mentioned him yesterday. I should really dig into his work.
Hey Kathleen, I'm sorry about that! What a bummer to hear.
I think part of what makes Substacks special is the way they allow writers to find their niche โ their "1000 true fans."
This resource focuses on how to identify WHO your readers are and WHY they come together, and then design a strategy around it: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-2
You can also simply ask readers who they are and why they're here. For example, ask for readers to introduce themselves and why they subscribed in your default welcome email, or use the subscriber dashboard to email a few folks for the same reason.
Thank youโthat article is helpful, and I like the idea of re-tooling my welcome email to get some more feedback from people. I hadn't thought of actually reaching out to people directly, either. Thank you!
Wow, that stings.
1) I try to look at how far Iโve come and dig into what my purpose is. Staying grounding can help you keep going. Also knowing that otherโs comments are just their perception of you but donโt tell your story.
2) Thatโs hard because I think being yourself will attract the people who respond to your work. Some have a very clear vision of their target audience while others want whomever is moved by it.
Staying grounded in my purposeโI like that. I started this because I felt very purpose driven about my writing. I think Jasmine mentioned something to that effect above of asking people why they respond to my work. I think you're right that I don't need to change who I am, but just investigate why people read my work. Thank you for the pep-talk! <3
This is not a kind comment! (Some people like to think theyโve โread it all.โ)
Or very helpful!
"I have some feedback for you!"
"Okay! What is it?"
"Your work is a steaming pile of crap."
"..."
"And I can find comparable work anywhere else."
"Okay... but WHY and HOW is it a steaming pile of crap?"
"I can read stuff like this anywhere."
"Okay, but WHY?!!"
I suggest just ignoring these types of comments. Ok, they hurt, but you will never have a situation when your work will please everyone.
Just continue!
I had impostor syndrome than realised I actually am an impostor. Once I'd accepted that, the syndrome was cured.
Lol! That can sometimes be the key!
Sounds harsh. But maybe they have a point.
People hardly give feedback and when they do it's usually true.
Perhaps you can add your own spin on things.
I feel imposter syndrome is a genuine emotion and isn't something to run from. But if you're writing about your views can you be an imposter?
On understanding my readers, I generally just look at my best performing posts to get an idea of what my readers are interested in. And then I write more like that but only on topics that genuinely excite me too.
Good luck
I'm definitely trying to see the grain of truth in that feedback (as vague as it was). I'm definitely writing honestly and truthfully, but I am having a hard time articulating who I am. I've always had that problem. I can tell you things I'm interested in all day, what my thoughts are, how I feel, but I have always struggled to articulate *who I AM.*
I should dig into those posts a little more and see what people really liked about them. That's a good idea. Thank you!
Is there a way to download a backup copy of all your posts? You know--for safety reasons?
Nikhil, I subscribe to my own newsletter, so all of my posts are sent to my Gmail account. I also keep links in the Notion database I created for myself. Neither is a perfect system, but if anything ever happened to Substack, I would at least have the text of each post archived in Gmail.
Thatโs a good idea!
Me too. Subscribe to my own newsletter
We make it pretty easy to export your posts: https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037466012-How-do-I-export-my-posts-
I usually write my post outside of Substack (I use Word) and then copy/paste to Substack. That way I have at least some record of all my posts. It's not perfect, because sometimes I update directly in Substack, but at least I wouldn't have to start from scratch if I lost everything.
When office hours I will be reading your page, I love your page
I do this too. As a bonus, looking at text in two different formats helps pick up more typos/ errors.
To submit those long form essays to a publisher?
Oh I wish, Ryan. But I think I need to write more. A friend of mine openly admitted to me that he reads my newsletters for the writing and not for the song recommendations. Thatโs a hard-hitting compliment ๐
About Founding Members: I have a brand-new Substack and I was a little leery about offering a Founding Member option, but during the launch several people grabbed the opportunity to sign up at the $100 Founding Member option even though the only extra benefit over the $20 annual fee they'd get was "good karma for helping to spread the word about our culture's misunderstanding of introverts. (Which is the topic of my newsletter.) So I want to encourage others to offer that option - some people who believe in what you're doing may well step up for it.
Yes! You never know who's there excited to support you.
We also generally see that writers underprice themselves. I always recommend adding 10-20% to what you think you'd charge โ any reader who'll pay $5 for your work is almost certainly going to pay $6. It's not a big difference for them, but it adds up to a lot for writers.
What a great subject for a newsletter. Love it!
Yes, I have definitely thought about this, and it would be good to be able to implement this when I move from promoting mainly to people who already know me to reaching out to strangers.
Keep on keeping on.
The new Recommendation Digests? weekly emails to my subscribers about the other newsletters I subscribe to? Aw come on. Please stop, Substack! That's way too much.
Yes, I opted out but I'm not thrilled that I have to. I feel like my readers are getting hit with WAY too many recommendations and extra emails. Yes, I support other writers and want to keep supporting other writers but personally, I'm already clearing unread emails out of my inbox every day - way too many! And I dont' want my readers to have to sort thru extra emails as well.
Yes, substack is great for introducing readers to new writers within the "substack universe" - but the reality is, if readers get too many emails, they will stop opening them. And in the end that actually hurts ALL of us.
I agree, I've done away with recommendations because I think the post-sign up implementation is a little aggressive. More power to those who like them, though.
Thanks so much for this feedback, Jan and Miguel. I've shared it with the product team.
One point of clarification: That feature doesn't email your readers weekly about other newsletters to which you subscribe. It only sends an email if you add one or more publications to your Recommendations, and only if you've decided to allow that email to be sent. But we do hear your feedback loud and clear.
Yes, I finally bent to the pressure and added publications to Recommendations. (
my preference is to simply feature guest writers on my substack but there has been SO MUCH hype about how we really should use this feature, that I finally added some)
But I do NOT want want my readers to have to sift through emails about other publications they have not subscribed too. This is way too pushy.
And yes, I have made sure the box is not checked that will do this but honestly, you made my heart race for a moment there when I opened my dashboard.!!!
Thank you for sharing with the product team and thank you for responding.
maybe could you also consider an anonymous survey about some of your features? There are other comments I would like to add but don't want to say here for fear of them being misconstrued as not supportive. And for all the writers that are not on Office Hours. Maybe stop implementing so much without getting more consistent feedback from your writers? Please?
Thank you, Jan. Couldn't give you another heart because Substack is not letting my finger give you such appreciation.
Thank you to all of the Substack staff who have supported the writers, created programs that have built our great community, helped us with technical support, listened to our concerns, and added features based on our feedback.
This platform has done more to support its users, and has been more transparent about what's happening, than any other platform I have ever used, and I appreciate everything they have done.
I hope the Substack leadership understands and appreciates how important the writer resources and support are to its writers, and how much the writers value the Substack family.
I second that. I have gained so much as a writer from engaging with the Substack community. It's something that I really needed. And thanks to you personally Jackie, as it was your suggestion that I join NaNoWriMo which kickstarted a whole new writing journey
Hooray! That's awesome.
And yeah, I love the Substack community. I've made some great connections and I think some may become lasting friendships. I never would have expected that when I showed up to write my first newsletter!
100% agree, Jackie!
Thank you Jackie! <3
Everyone knows I LOVE Substack and I've made it my home now, but I have one little request: (For this week; we'll see what I come up with in weeks to come.)
Can we PLEASE have a search bar on our home page? Once we get even a year's worth of posts it's really hard to go back and find one we might want to pull up again.
Just a simple search bar. That's all I ask.
And thank you, Substack crew. Not trying to butter you up but you really are the best!
There is one, Ramona -- it's about halfway down the page, a little (easy to miss) magnifying glass to the right of New and Community.
I don't know where you mean. I'm talking about having one on my own newsletter homepage so I and others can find only the posts I've written myself. I don't see anything like that.
Go to Writer Everlasting right now, scroll down to The Obligatory Welcome Slot. Look above the photo with all the little trolls (??) -- see the magnifying glass right there?
LOL. By golly, you're right! I never knew it was there! Thanks. What a timesaver!
But if we had a visible search bar on our home page visitors could use it to easily find a post of ours they might want to go back to. ( I can hope...)
(They're gnomes, by the way, and they don't like being called 'trolls'. I wouldn't say it out loud if I were you!)
Oh no! My deepest apologies to the gnomes. (Writing from the troll capital of the world -- not kidding -- I should know better.)
(Glad to help with the search bar -- it's NOT easy to spot and I agree that it could be so much more visible to visitors.)
๐๐๐ There's a troll capital? And you live there? Is it fun?
Thanks again!
Ditto on your LOVE for Substack Ramona! I have not been working with it for long, but it gives all the options that I could hope for in as far as promoting my creativity in several areas - writing, podcast & video!
Hi, I have reached 1.3k subscribers and I'm wondering what should be done to reach my next milestone, at 10k. Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks in advance
That's a big milestone! Congrats. Checkout this presentation with Ali from first 1000, he talks about how he grew his list https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d93YerASnCE&feature=emb_title
I would add that this might be worth reading through - https://on.substack.com/p/grow-4 - and that if you want to grow your free list further, recommendations is a really powerful tool that shipped recently. Probably the strongest thing you could have working for you on Substack is recommendations from other writers.
Definitely super powerful. Thanks for the insight!
Thanks for sharing!
Keep promoting
๐ก thanks
Get your social media operations down. The social media flywheel is powerful
https://newslettertosocials.substack.com/p/why-social-media-is-the-best-way
Very interesting read, thanks for sharing
- Launch on Product Hunt and get your readers to upvote you.
- Do a referral campaign
Good ideas! Tx
Here is a point that is finally starting to sink in for me, and that is the idea of community. I believe Substack goes to amazing lengths to build community among its writers, and that has been incredibly helpful for me. But what I've come to learn ( I've only been publishing consistently since September 15, 2021), is that readers want a community, too. I added a paragraph to my posts a short while ago, that just simply told people that what I was trying to do with my newsletter was gather a community of committed readers so together we could effect change. This seems to have helped bring in new subscribers for me, so I thought I'd mention it. Any thoughts or tips on building community of readers is welcome! Thanks!
Yes!! You put it perfectly. I think one of the most motivating things for my own writing is having a reader reply to an email or reach out personally.
We're working hard on tools to enable more reader community-building on Substack. In the meantime, we've published some great resources for how writers can do this:
- How to find and engage your readers: https://on.substack.com/p/how-to-engage-readers-substack?s=w
- Community case study with Suleika Jaouad of The Isolation Journals: https://on.substack.com/p/engage-1-suleika-jaouad?s=w
I love your approach, Joan! Asking folks to be part of a community working together to bring about change is a great initiative! I think I will borrow it! LOL!
Great! That's why I mentioned it. I've gotten so many great tips from writers here, that I thought I should pass on something that seems to have worked for me. It was out there all along, but it didn't sink in for me until recently... duh on my part!
Interesting that doing so seemed to help bring in new subscribers. Did it help at all with actually building community? I've included words like that from the beginning, since my newsletter is called "Changing Lives" and the whole reason I started it was to gather a community interested in "changing lives, starting with their own." It may have brought in a few subscribers, but almost no one ever comments, which is the only way to build community! I also include an email header with every newsletter asking for comments (and likes and shares if readers find the content valuable). I mention that is the only way for me to know which content readers find most helpful. In the first issue, I asked subscribers to introduce themselves in the comments. Very few did.
Thank you so much for this forum where you take in feedback and work on it at the back end. It shows that you really do want to make the product the best it can be. I have a slight gripe in terms of accessibility. The timings of these writer hours are always North America and Euro centric which I understand as being the current primary focus market. I run a niche newsletter that provides a platform to writers of creative non fiction while being based in Singapore and I feel rather overlooked because it's the middle of the night here for me(1:28 am right now). As you look to onboard more diverse voices and grow your presence in other regions, I request that you consider staggering the times of these office hours so a wider variety of people have access to this support
It's 6am in New Zealand right now, so I hear you. I host a network for Substack writers in time zones around the Pacific - we have occasional Zoom meetups to talk about our writing. These sessions would be morning, like 9 or 10am for you.
That would be amazing. I'd love to join - please send me details
When I first turned to Substack about 9 months ago, my aim was to create a newsletter I could send to my existing customers as a tool to keep them engaged and up to date with my latest material on my subscription-based site. In other words, I viewed Substack as a replacement to MailChimpโฆit was my newsletter tool that I wanted to use to increase subscriptions on my own site.
Fast-forward 9 monthsโฆand things have changed considerably!
My strategy to increase subscribers didnโt pan out like I wanted. Insteadโฆand this was a big surprise to meโฆI attracted a number of new subscribers to my newsletter. And Substack kept adding attractive features I either wanted on my website or considered as a future addition. And then I realized โ the Substack platform and backbone is doing exactly what I wanted from my website without the hassle and cost of dealing with my web developer. Substack is not a perfect fit but it is damn close, and that has given me the space to reconsider my business and focus going forward.
I now view my substack newsletter as my main focus and my website is rapidly turning into a place I can archive my material. So, hereโs my questionโฆhas anyone successfully migrated their subscriber base from a subscription-based website to the Substack platform? If so, I would happily like to hear more about your experience or get any advice you would like to share. Ideally, I would like to be able to seamlessly transfer accounts (my site uses Stripe for payment and subscriptions) without having my readers cancel on one end and re-subscribe on another end.
Thanks for all inputโฆand thanks Substack team for your continued hard work and bringing us helpful and cool features.
Hi Jack,
A number of writers have come over from Patreon and other subscription sites. Here is an announcement posts from two writers who came from patreon:
https://twobossydames.substack.com/p/coming-soon
And bloggers have come over too! More on that here: https://substack.com/for-bloggers?utm_source=menu-dropdown
Thanks Katie... I will dive in and check the links...
I haven't migrated paying subscribers but have to say it's great not to have to pay Mailchimp to send out my newsletters. Like you I'm wondering if Substack is the future and the website (matchingfoodandwine.com) more of a static resource.
Also cool to meet you here - I subscribed to your newsletter as well...perhaps some time in the future we can discuss a collaboration of sorts (my wife is also quite into wine - she is level V WSET and she has read your work in the Guardian)...Matching food and wine was always one of our top courses back in the day when we were doing that sort of thing... Feel free to reach out to me on my website contact (https://myfreshattitude.com/)
Yes, definitely! We should try and work out a way to do that!
I will reach out to you during the coming weeks...great to meet you here!
It is interesting how quickly thinks have flipped in my mind...and yes, I can see a future where sites like yours and mine are static archives and the real engagement and information exchange takes place on Substack...
Currently the recommendations show are in order of newest--> oldest. Are there any plans to change that or roll out customization options for writers?
Great feedback! Sharing with our team
Right on! Thank you!
Yes, a very simple drag and drop ordering would be great!
I second this idea.
Customization would be awesome.
Maybe a dumb question: to activate text to speech is there anything as writers we'd need to do? I'd like my newsletter to be as accessible as I can make it, and this seems like an great step to take.
No! But it's important to note that Text-To-Speech is only available for readers in the app now (not on the web yet).
Sounds good & thanks!
Just saying Thanks to everyone on the Substack team as well as the community of writers on here...my life has changed and my healing journey has started.
Iโve made a couple new friends, learned about myself AND get continuous guidance from these office hours
Thanks to everyone on here seriously, love and light to you allโค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธ
YES!
Are other publishers finding it effective to guest post or do exchanges? I did something this week where two other Substackers and I interviewed each other and we linked to each other's posts. Is anyone seeing something like this as an effective means to gain new readers and new subscribers? Thanks.
Hi Mark! Helen from Substack's PR team here. We've seen this be a very effective way to gain new readers and subscribers, and would encourage you to continue experimenting with it. Especially when you do an interview or guest post with another Substacker who writes about a very different topic, it can get your Substack in front of an entirely new audience.
Hello Helen, thanks very much for your feedback! I appreciate the engagement!
I find it very effective (and frankly fun to do).
This one certainly was!
I look forward to trying out the new audio options. I've been creating podcasts that aren't podcasts because I've just been reading my posts for visually impaired community or for those for whatever reason just prefer to listen. At times I've also wanted to embed other audio files so this improvement is really solving a pain point for me.
You were ahead of our curve <3 So glad we can help
That's amazing to hear! :)
Feel free to share widely as an exemplar ๐
Thank you for the new audio features! Going to be adding some of my audiobook chapters to my serialized book and going to record some voiceovers of my non-fiction posts!
Anyone else having a problem clicking on the little hearts here at Office Hours? It happens every week for me--sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. They're not working for me today.
Thanks for flagging this Ramona!
Thanks for responding. (I tried to 'heart' this and couldn't.)
Yeah it happens to me every week - I think it has to do with Javascript not firing or something.
Yes, it happens to me as well. Just give it a moment and it should work again.
I am thinking of asking my social media followers WHY they read me. What are they getting out of my writing? It might help me figure out how to do it better.
I am getting some results. People like the way I break down complex topics and make a reasonable argument.
Good idea, Annabel. Why not put together a poll with what they want to see?
I just did this last week with my most engaged free subs -- I sent a Google Form (before I knew about polls, which I am elated to see). I asked a handful of questions, the last of which was, "I'd love to know more: why do you open my emails? Why do you forward them to someone else? What keeps you coming back?" The answers were pretty interesting!
Yes, I think this is a great idea!
Hi team! Tom here from White Noise (www.whitenoise.email), my free, biweekly missive on books and behavior, philosophy and psychology. Has anyone used the new voiceover feature in a clever way? Looking for inspiration via examples!
Your post describes your newsletter as something which delves into philosophy. That's a welcome change on substack. With all due respect to my fellow writers, most authors on substack stick to subject matter that is as plebian and dirty, dull pavement. I don't mean to sound like a supercilious snot from hell (okay, maybe that's a lie.), but most people talk about the most quotidian, inane BS. Instead of dirty dull pavement, I try to write something that will approximate the Yellow Brick Road.
I will try to check out your newsletter
I hope you will check out mine
Thank you David! Will subscribe and spread the good news :)
Thanks for the new vocab Mr. Gottfried !! Lol
Some personal favorite examples of voiceovers that went out before our new product shipped:
Ira Glass reading an Etgar Keret story aloud - https://etgarkeret.substack.com/p/a-world-without-selfie-sticks#details
Olivia Coleman reading an edition of Letters of Note - https://news.lettersofnote.com/p/also#details
Professors doing voiceovers of essays - https://mattsclancy.substack.com/p/entrepreneurship-is-contagious#details
Voice messages from Patti Smith - https://pattismith.substack.com/p/a-message#play
Florence reading aloud their stories of Medieval women - https://florencehrs.substack.com/p/hild-of-whitby-politician-religious#details
Ariel Helwani's live updates from fights - https://arielhelwani.substack.com/p/friday-night-mini-pod-recap-ray-cooper#play
I second Toms comment!!
For the first time this week, when I sent myself a test email, all the links were redirects. (substack.com/redirect/gobbledeegook) Is this going to be the case with actual sent emails going forward? I'd love to know, because the redirects adversely affect the URL params that make some of my games work. Thank you!
Hi, Geoffrey, thanks for the message and sorry for the hassle here. We're aware of the issues in how URL params are affected in these redirects and we'll have fixes in place soon. In the meantime, I've configured Adventure Snack to use the previous system of email links, which shouldn't be affected by this. Please let me know if that's still an issue.
Hi fellow writers, if you'd like to submit your Substack to Google News and thus get more organic search and related traffic, I've written a quick guide on how I submitted my Substack: https://thoughts.jatan.space/p/how-i-got-my-blog-listed-on-google-news
Hi everyone! Back for another Writers Hour - I've really enjoyed interacting with writers here, so thank you for creating this!
I'm thrilled to be on this site and love the freedom it offers as well as the great and supportive community. My newsletter is about writing, pop culture, and whatever else might spring to mind that week. You can find me over at : https://markfyve.substack.com/
Best of luck to you all!
I have to disappear now, unfortunately. I just wanted to say thanks for all the support given here. It's always a great morale booster.
Hi all! I created a tool for Substack writers trying to grow on social media.
https://newslettertosocials.com
Here is my reason and goals with building this site:
1. Grows your Newsletter
Once you have exhausted your personal audience, how do you grow a newsletter? For someone with little social media experience, it can be near impossible to crack social media on your own.I see most writers making the common mistake of simply announcing new issues on their social channels. This is not enough and is actually hurting you!Newsletter to Socials integrates directly with your publication and highlights engaging excerpts which will succeed on social media. It will then auto-generate tweets and images that you can schedule or download.
2. Saves you Time
Running social media can take many hours each day. For writers, this is a time commitment that is impossible to make on top of creating and publishing. I know this was certainly the case for me!With just a few minutes in Newsletter to Socials, you can generate and schedule weeks of quality social media content.
Canโt wait to try out the new audio features.
The sound is very clear! I'm looking forward to using this.
The audio update looks fantastic....
Question for Substack. Are there any plans to allow us to re-email an old post? I can see a way to update old posts on the site, but if they've already been sent to subscribers, it won't let me re-send it by email. This might be a good feature for writers who need a week off and just want to re-send an old "favorite" post to subscribers, or to send a popular old post out to subscribers if you've had a lot of new subscribers recently.
Hi Karen, you can always send out a new post and an embed an old post.
What's the use case of entirely sending out an email again?
That's what I've done to this point, embedding the old post.
I have probably a unique situation where I'm writing Bible studies with multiple lessons, and occasionally (infrequently), one lesson will be appropriate for more than one study. So when I write the new series, I would re-send the repeat lesson where it is most appropriate within the new series. Yes, I understand most people won't have a need for this for this particular situation.
But I can see this feature being useful for people who just want a week off but still want to send an old post out, or they want to send an old popular post out after they've had an influx of new subscribers. I've found that only a small subset of subscribers will actually click through to read the embedded post, so just embedding the post in this case might not get a huge response. The embed is a nice option as a reminder, but it won't get as high of a read count as actually sending out the original post.
Hi Substack,
Congratulations for your awesome platform ๐
As a Software Engineer, we would appreciate :
- To have a "Software Engineer" and "Software Development" topic
- Code snippets with more code style formats
These 2 updates will help a lot Software Engineers to choose and write in Substack
Thanks a lot๐
Hi Ari,
I really appreciate to answer my comment.
1. Technology topic is too generic, personally i search content on substack on 90% software and 10% everything else so it would be really nice to have 'software' as a topic.
2. The software engineer-development content market is huge
Question about tagging our โStacks - do you guys offer a โmental healthโ category? On your roadmap a while back I did not see mental health as an option and my Substack is all about PTSD and mental health awareness, normalization, and support. PS- thanks for the amazing audio updates and features!
Thanks for writing your newsletter, Adrian. I'm married to a combat veteran with PTSD -- we've been dealing with it for 18 years, which just blows my mind -- and it's rare to come across anything that's so honest (and that helps me stay empathetic, even after such a long time spent learning, working toward understanding, figuring out how this shows up in our marriage and co-parenting, the list goes on). Just want to say that I appreciate your effort.
Sarah, thank you for being willing to openly share your struggles with PTSD. My wife has been my caretaker for years and I believe you caretakers get the short end of the stick when it comes to complex trauma and PTSD. Youโve inspired me to do an issues (or potentially a series) on being the caretaker or loved one of someone struggling with this monster. YOU are not alone, though I imagine sometimes it can feel quite isolating and lonely. Thank you for your comment, your engagement, your love for your husband.
I canโt wait to read that post/series. Very few people in my life know, much less truly understand, what it has been like all these years. I think youโd be speaking to something rarely acknowledged, much less honestly addressed.
PLEASE TELL ME: What does in mean to tag one's stacks.
SUBSCRIBING IMMEDIATELY. Thank you so much for saying this, mental health definitely needs itโs own category on here.
Thank you Adrian!
How many subscribers is too few to monetize ????
Depends on your goals! We have this resource to help you think through when to go paid: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-1
Thank you, and hi Katie !!! :)
None! You can turn on paid subscriptions with zero subscribers. The decision is entirely personal and totally depends on your specific newsletter.
None! I turned mine on immediately! I actually have a small number of paid subscribers even though I started a few months ago. :) It's not like YouTube where you have to reach certain benchmarks. It's all up to you.
Why doesnโt the app let you compose new posts?๏ฟผ
We don't have this feature yet and decided to focus on providing a beautiful reading experience, but we've heard this request and are considering adding some composition features in the future. In the meantime, you should be able to write posts in our mobile web editor.
Did anyone hear about the job losses at Substack. I hope this is not a sign of a general decay?
Thanks for asking, Liam. It was a sad day yesterday. We said goodbye to 13 really awesome people. It was a decision the founders made, to make sure that Substack is financially strong no matter what happens in this choppy economy.
The big thing for you and all the writers on Substack to know is that you have no reason to worry: the business is still growing, and we're continuing to build and ship improvements to the product. We're willing to make hard calls where needed in order to ensure we stay a reliable partner to you over the very long term. The cut yesterday puts us on stronger footing -- but all that said, even though it was the right call, it still sucks. We're missing our former colleagues.
Best wishes and big thank yous to all of them and the ones who stayed
While it's too soon to say for sure, I am not concerned about the layoffs signalling the company's weakness or failure. It's more a reflection of the economy and the stage of Substack as a business. Many startups grow quickly and then have to reassess and adjust.
I am very sad to hear that some of our friends @ Substack lost their jobs, but I remain optimistic about the platform as a whole.
The article made it seems like they were restructuring a bit and focusing on building out the platform. It was more a switch of focus I think
Thank heavens above, Iโd be toast without the writing community here.
This is the first I heard about this :(
same here
Hey... I now have a regular publishing schedule. My writing isn't really as good as I want it to be. I'm having difficulty adding new subscribers. I have twitter (but very few followers) and I think my friends and family on facebook are getting sick of me posting about substack.
I had a Japanese essay and I posted on a local Japan interest group I was already a member of. I got like 30 extra views but no likes/comments or subscribes.
Im a bit loathe to spam random facebook groups and reddits with my essays? It feels hard to get heard.
A key component to promoting yourself on social media is to make sure you're posting about things that aren't your main product, but still keeping it relevant to you. It's a basic principle of branding. Don't always link people to your Substack, but if you post 1 Substack to 3 other posts related to the subject you cover (without mentioning your Substack directly), you'll probably have more luck.
Yes! This!
Grabbing the bits of engaging content from your newsletter is the way to go, without actually mentioning your newsletter. If someone wants to learn more about you, they will check your bio out and see your newsletter.
I write and created a site to help with doing this!
A consistent schedule is an amazing thing. Interaction with FB can be a challenge but having a way to share is good idea. If your friend group doesn't like it they don't have to click the link.
The Sample will share your newsletter with a lot of people. :https://thesample.ai/?ref=b66a