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Anyone planning for an upcoming break?

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We host Office Hours and programs like Substack Grow (https://on.substack.com/p/grow-summer-22) to help your better answer your questions about Substack. Plus we have our Support (https://support.substack.com/) and Resource (https://substack.com/resources) Centers.

How might we better help you answer your questions?

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What resources have been most valuable to you as you think about growing your free list?

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Thank you all for joining us at Office Hours today. Our team is signing off and will be back next week.

See you then,

Katie, Bailey, Jasmine, Aaron, Reid, Tain, Lucas, Kirthi, and Lucas

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What resources have been most valuable to you in getting started on Substack?

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Hi everyone! Here is a little encouragement from one writer to another today: are you calling yourself a writer, out loud and with honor for your creative journey? Because you ARE one! No matter your level of skill, your quantity and frequency of output, your number of followers. If you're writing, you're a writer. You've arrived! Don't let anyone, least of all your self-doubt, derail you from your creative path. Need a little boost? Let us know, and let's lift each other up today. Dig deep, rise up, keep going, DON'T STOP! 🌿

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What guidance has been most helpful in converting free readers to paid subscribers?

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What resources have you turned to for launching paid subscriptions?

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Hello substack, I had an idea the other day and I am excited to share it for your edification or maybe you can help me improve the idea.

I am committed to low and slow growth. I am not one for constant promotion--and that's OK, every substack has it's niche. But Even some non-profits do fundraising drives. So I was thinking of using September as SUBtember, and using one month to do a hard subscription drive.

My plan is to spend August telling my readers what is coming. And then, come September, I will make all of my paid content open for the month (no paywall, just a "free preview" timed to end 10/1. I will add special weekly promotional content, where I solicit reader archetypes to help out my substack.

-Lurkers, consider subscribing!

-Subscribers, consider (if you can) supporting my work with a paid subscription!

-If you cannot or don't want to get a paid subscription, consider telling one person about my publication?

-Paid subscribers, you are great! But maybe you can tell one person about my publication too?

-Everyone, likes tell me that you are reading and you support my work, please tell me you're here!

-Everyone, comments tell me more explicitly what you think, because you are commenting!

So that's the plan. This SUBtember I am going to do a bit of an aggressive push, but then the other 11 months I will go back to low and slow. What do you think? Does anyone do something similar? What has worked, what does not?

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Wanted to celebrate a win today… a Twitter follower subscribed to my newsletter! It’s my first conversion! 🥳

We talk a lot about what we’ll gain but sometimes being part of the community and not looking for anything helps good fortune find you. I might focus on that for a while.

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What factors contribute to each subscriber's starred "activity" rating besides email opens?

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Who is using cashtags? What are your thoughts/experiences so far?

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Is there a way to tell if subscribers are spam or bots? Every now and then I'll get a small influx of new subscribers, but it's hard to tell if they're real people. Just wondering if anyone else has run into this, and whether it's worth removing folks who have never opened an email from my subscriber list? (About 12% currently.)

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Over 600 signups through Recommendations so far. Most after a pretty big videogame YouTuber (800k-ish subs) referenced a Substack that recommends me. The writer of said Substack and I spoke briefly about it the day it started, and it seemed like between a quarter and a third of his new signups were also signing up to me off the Recommendations prompt. Whether they'll be as sticky as organic signups remains to be seen (open rates seem a little lower already) but will see how it goes.

Wasn't that impressed with the idea of Recommendations at first but seems I may have been wrong about that, haha.

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I just have to thank everyone from the Office Hours two weeks ago. I received some really good suggestions and have been able to slowly grow my readership. I write a substack that explores non-fiction in relationship to current events and the suggestions have helped me begin to find my tribe. As always, I am looking to connect with other writers who read a lot of non-fiction and want to connect the dots. I think the substack community really rocks!!! I would really love to try the idea of a guest author but don't feel comfortable approaching anyone until my readership numbers get a little higher.

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Today I'm sending an email to all my subscribers directly, because I don't want the content to be published on the web.

When you turn on paid, you can do this easily. Just make a regular post and click the "send to free subscribers only" button. But when your Substack is free, the option isn't there. You have to go into the subscribers tab, select all, then send as an email, and I'm not sure if you can schedule it. (I'm too afraid to click the red "Send Email" button to find out, lol.)

I'd love to see the paid feature available for free Substacks, too. It would make life a little easier for all users.

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Is there a way to “sort” or choose which recommendations are visible on one’s publication/home page? It’s not a big deal, but I’ve been wondering about this for a week or two. Thanks! 😄

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This isn't a question but just something I wanted to share about being in Substack Grow.

I assumed it would have valuable information -- and it definitley has!

But the most valuable aspect has been the networking I've done with other Substack writers. That was something I knew I should be doing but had been putting because I was too busy.

What a huge mistake! Thanks to grow I've not only made all sorts of new contacts, but have set up four different collabs with other writers.

I know most people aren't doing Grow but that doesn't you can't start networking with other Substack writers. Just reach and do it!

Don't make the mistake I made!

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Had some pretty good success joining Facebook groups that are related to my content. it's a bit of a slog because you have to pretend to be a 'normal member' for a few weeks before dropping in an advert for your Substack. Also - I have a Facebook account not in my name which helps with posting my links. I also spend an hour a week linking my Substack as replies to YouTube comments on videos of similar writers or content to mine. It's long-winded stuff, but I also built my business this way - it's no budget, labour intensive, guerilla marketing - but it works.

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I use the scheduling post feature so if I am traveling, my newsletter always goes out. I also have a f ew posts nearly ready... just in case!

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I'd like to share an experiment I did recently with Substack's audio embed feature. It's a great tool for music reviewers - you can add samples of songs to a post to highlight the particular aspect of the music you are discussing. You can look at how I used it here: https://www.ruins.blog/p/little-brother

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How do I branch out and get people interested in my newsletter?

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Just wanted to share a little finding. I post every Monday morning and was curious whether it made sense to go ahead and continue that schedule when Monday coincided with one of the many Monday holidays or to delay the post until Tuesday. So I did a little experiment.

The result....On Memorial Day weekend, I delayed publication and sent my newsletter on Tuesday instead. It had the same open rate as I usually get: about 66%.

When it came to the Fourth of July, I published on a Monday. The open rate was the worst I've ever experienced....even now 10 days later its still at 58%.

This is just anecdotal of course but going forward I'm going to avoid publishing on a holiday.

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What's great about these Office Hours is the opportunity to discover new writers. Already subscribed to two people from this thread and super happy to see some familiar faces!

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I had a break a couple of months back, the first time we'd been out of the country since the pandemic began. It turned out to be a really good excuse to talk about how travel influences fiction writing: https://simonkjones.substack.com/p/being-inspired-by-place

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Any wisdom on growing your free list?? Have been publishing once a week for 3-4 months— is that enough?? Would love to have an actual audience. I write about music & culture :)

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Is it possible to allow for image uploads in the comments?

I run blog where I share content related to the subject Public Administration. I would like to post questions and get the responses from fellow students. Some write on paper and would like to upload the scanned pics of the same. Kindly let me know if there is any work around for this issue.

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I'm looking for cross collaboration opportunities with another Substack author.

If you do comics or illustrations can you turn this article into a comic on your Substack?

https://mindvoyage.substack.com/p/level-up-your-mental-health-

If this sounds cool, reach out let's do it.

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How do opens on the Substack app translate to the open rates I'm seeing reflected on my dashboard?

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I'm struggling getting started. I plan to publish weekly and have 4-5 pieces complete. I just am not sure how to start my list. I'm hesitant to start with friends and family, but not sure how to get "strangers" lined up. Any advice?

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Do you all call your work a "newsletter?" I do not. Prefer to refer to it as my "column" or my "blog." Newsletter harkens back to those horrible days of creating marketing newsletters for clients.

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Can Substack release data on what % of writers have 1,000 or more subscribers (free and paid)?

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Hey...I'm publishing anthropology essays every Monday and Thursday. I managed to crank up my subscribers from 6-12 gouging my email lists on Yahoo. I even had a DJ on Irish national radio give me a shout out and read the URL of my substack but my subscribers didn't shift upwards.

At the moment Im listening to a podcast series called 'Crafting with Ursula Le Guin'. I find chasing fame, money and notoriety through social media a drag and Im now taking my process inwards again and finding out what motivates me to write beyond $$£££.

Liam xx - Peace and Love

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Sorry to be so inept at all this. I need to know how to access this discussion. I don't understand the meaning of a discussion "thread". I am a digital dummy.

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Hey Substack Team,

Few quick questions but first THANK YOU for building out this platform daily, adding features and listening to your writers.

1. I recently posted a video from my phone and it turned out very light. There was little contrast. I’m not sure if this has effected others.

2. Is there any plans to allow us to post to Instagram Stories?

3. Random question, should I start with a photo, or write some information then go to a photo?

Thank you again,

Aaron Pete

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I am interested in having other writers articles featured on my free substack newsletter. Does anyone have advice on recruiting contributors?

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Don't foresee any breaks on my end, but I do wish my fellow writers the best in this summer, break or not!

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While I love the recommendation feature on Substack, I have noticed a negative side effect.

If you have too many recommendations listed I've gotten comments that it's a bit off putting for a perspective subscriber. They see it as if their inbox is going to get flooded with emails. I'm thinking it might be best to keep the recommendations down to 3-4 out of the 8-10 you'd like to recommend, then also rotate the names on the list every week to give the various newsletter equal time in the recommendations. Think this makes sense?

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So how do I start charging? What new connections or whatever? Just make the announcement and some algorithm will take over?

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Jul 14, 2022·edited Jul 14, 2022

Hi everyone! I’m grateful to have discovered Substack. Thank you so much for this community. I’ve been working on a novel for about a decade now and decided I wanted to publish it as I write it as a way to make myself accountable and to finally begin sharing it with the world. My question is what is the dominant genre or theme on Substack, if any? I seem to find a lot of political writers, bloggers, and such but not so much fiction yet (I’m sure that’s partly because I haven’t looked hard enough). I’m sure engagement is a main way of getting free subscribers, but I’m more concerned about getting the right audience, if possible.

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Good day, fellows!! I began my Substack, "The Footloose Muse," about two months ago, and I am loving the platform, its capabilities, and the opportunity to monetize my content. I am a creativity coach, a creative midwife, if you will. As a published author and urbex photographer, I help men and women give birth to their creative ideas. I am looking for ways to convert free subs to paid ones. Thanks so much!!!

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Yooooooo Substack

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This is a great way to record my thoughts and perhaps gauge the sentiments of the readers on my writing.

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I'm struggling to grow my platform and I've been doing mini-marketing via Instagram stories and LinkedIn, but I'm not finding much traction from it. I've got friends and family already subscribed. What else can I do?

I'd love to know if there are any online communities that substack writers recommend joining for growing your platform and finding likeminded writers.

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Looking forward to the polling function -- was in the process of researching perhaps doing it with a Google Form. Integrated would be so much nicer, methinks...

~Graham

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I am new to Substack and have several questions. On average, about how long do people take (weeks, months, etc) building their audience before they go paid? Is there an average price that people tend to charge for subscriptions? Also, is there a word count on posts that people tend to stick with? Thanks!

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My newsletter has two kinds of post: position papers describing my views on software development (which are quick to write) and long-form, often multi-part, worked examples with lots of code (which take a lot of effort to create). I want to make the second kind of article (mostly) paid, but I'm struggling to pluck up the courage. What have others done to get across that confidence hurdle?

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How can I find a summary of all my subscribers?

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I keep having unintended breaks. For example, today I was going to research and write an article, but I had to deal with an unplanned for issue. As for proper breaks, I tend to read and write on them anyway!

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Can a substack article have text and video?

I signed up for substack several years ago..forgot my password. How can I recover it?

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