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I started my Substack at the same time I shut down a marketing newsletter I'd been writing weekly since 1998. I transitioned a good many of the subscribers on the original newsletter to the Substack, which is on a different topic but one that subscribers had seen my views on.
Had I not started the Substack, I would be mourning the old newsletter and feeling a bit lost. But now I'm excited about tackling new topics every week (how our society misunderstands and disparages introverts) and I'm full of energy and optimism.
Thank you for this. I am on my way to your Substack. I am the kind of introvert who considered the two-year period of lock-down during the pandemic as--FINALLY--an acceptable excuse to stay at home.
I also moved to Substack to let go of my marketing-centered newsletter I'd been writing! I didn't make quite the leap of changing topics entirely but I love that you went into exploring introversion. Subscribed!
Iโm an introvert in many ways - I can be outgoing but I write about being a homebody and a hermit in my personal stories. So I suppose that makes me check the introvert ( and comfortable with it) box. ๐๐ป
I so agree with you. I was shamed out of my introverted self... so I have the capacity to be extroverted, however, I prefer being introverted and capable of being external if necessary or required for a time.
I'd like to compare notes at some point, I have my own introversion blog but it's been dormant for years. The BBC found it once and interviewed me for their website, that was kind of fun.
I hear you Marcia on the introvert concept. I'm curious: how do you believe society misunderstands?
I believe society disparages due to how it perceives others as being selfish, when those others often time are doing what is needed to nourish Self. Ex: friends ask you out for drinks, you say you're going to get a massage, they say "c'mon, you can get that massage another time!"
Roman, There are dozens of ways in which introverts are misunderstood, and each week I tackle another one. For example, introverts are often seen as aloof, because they don't like to engage in small talk or don't feel the need to get enthusiastic about everything other people are saying. For another, introverts are often thought of as incapable of leadership, because the dominant image is of a commanding, rah-rah, expressive leader. Introverts are even tagged as mentally ill when they enjoy developing their inner world or dedicating themselves to some demanding art - like Emily Dickinson, my focus next month in the newsletter.
Marcia! I just subscribed. I'm a cartoonist who made a zine about introversion years ago and it's always been my top seller. I couldn't agree more that introversion is incredibly misunderstood and often disparaged by the world at large. I've had so many friends feel threatened by the fact that I've chosen to stay-in on weekends "without an excuse". It's really tiring to constantly feel like you have to explain that you don't need an excuse to want to relax at home.
The best conference dinner I attended was one I couldn't get to. I spent the evening in a restaurant where there was only one other diner and the Evening Standard. Sheer bliss!
Thank you Marcia. Very true - I recently read Linchpin, and Godin describes the way many people see Modern Art. They say "I can do that."
That's not the point. The point is that someone, an artist, had to take the risk of doing that work, dedicating themselves, and putting themselves out there.
The risk is underappreciated and overly feared, and as a result so is the artist.
As one who wasn't a big fan of small-talk, over the years I have taken to "listening" and "editing" small-talk to provide entertainment value to myself and others. As such, I think I have gotten the reputation of not being so serious.
For example: Say someone says the following:
"Harry needs to go see a doctor," someone says.
"What is it?" asked another person.
Here, I would inject "It's a professional who practices medicine on patients, but that's not important right now."
Small-talk does provide a valuable service as it allows us to "vet" fandangos from our lives. A "fandango" is someone who asks way to personal and intimate questions when first meeting someone new. The reason for small-talk is a way to signal to other people that we are normal, and establishing a baseline of what is considered to be socially acceptable.
I remember you from ages ago, and I think I even have a book of yours. Anyway, I just subscribed to your newsletter as (a) I always found your articles useful and (b) I'm an introvert too!
I quit my very lucrative job and was having a total mental breakdown. Found Substack though a silent writing hour your community manager was doing at the time. Started writing to cope (as usual) and after my therapist recommended Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way I realized "HOLY SHIT. I'm a writer." Started writing a book, this newsletter, and it helped me survive!
I use writing to cope, too (and help others cope). In fact, one of my Medium articles is titled, โThe Best Thing Iโve Done For My Mental Health is Write Online,โ and that is definitely the case!
Writing is a great coping mechanism, and a great way to handle "downtime." On top of that, I think it is very constructive. Instead of consuming, you are creating something.
I didn't know what else to do. Most of my life I didn't have people around that understood me very well. I had to rely on introspection. A purple Lisa Frank journal taught me how to cope. How has writing online been different for you? Do you change what/how you write knowing that it's not just for you?
I was a journaler too growing up! I also wrote little storybooks I recently found from my childhood haha.
I don't know if it's good or not, but I never found myself filtering myself online when I'd write. I moved online once I found out my mom read my diary back in middle school cause she didn't and still kinda doesn't know how to work the internet.
I just ended up blocking all of my family on social media or making certain things invisible to them so I didn't have to hear them talk about me or what I was doing.
(Once my grandma told on me for saying I couldn't wait to save up for a Sims game in high school. I was later yelled at for insinuating that I was poor when we were doing fine (??????).)
Dang. That's tough. My mom hates what I say about growing up too. It's got to be embarrassing for her to have me show my struggles under her roof, but us writers gotta write. ๐ญ
I wonder how many of us have this same thought. I am guessing quite a lot of us do. We understand and get "parts" of one another, but rarely do we understand the whole.
I also believe that one of the things that attracts us to writing is introspection. We are self aware, seek for self enrichment and growth, and thus writing becomes an exploration of that. So you will find, I believe and hope, kindred spirits here. We may not understand you well, but in a similar fashion we can at least empathize because we ourselves are not understood either.
And that is also a drive of writing. The constant drive to be understood and to seek out others that resonate with that. I don't know if I have ever written "just" for myself, but rather in an effort to find others who also have a similar drive.
This is exactly how I look at it. I write to express myself but am hoping someone can relate or wanna try something I mention or have something new to ponder on.
I remember when I went through my first big breakup and at that time I was flunking out of college and SO sad for months and.... All I could turn to when I felt so filled with sorrow was writing. It helped with the "overflow" of emotions and kept me stable and sane enough in a household that wouldn't allow me nor take me seriously about wanting to go to therapy.
I love writing and... I'm also grateful for it.
It's such an important part of my life and always has been!
My sister, an author, recommended The Artist's Way years ago. Never got around to it, but, shit, if it prompted you to start a book and newsletter, I might have to revisit! What a great story, Natasha.
Oh damn, I just clicked on the link and noticed I'll be in France at the same time. Too bad. The event looks great. I appreciate you thinking to send me the invitation though.
Agreed!! I have been writing more than ever since I started with my substack (been writing on and off for years ever since I was a little kid) and it's been working wonders for my mental health
I'm not familiar with this one, but I think I have a kind of open-house silent writing time on demand with individual friends. I am usually writing or editing most of every day and if a friend calls and wants to stop by, I usually say yes but with the condition that they bring something to do. And, over time, even those who were resistant to the whole idea now call to ask if they can come over to do some writing--everything from personal letters to grant proposals. I started this when I was teaching at a small college in Michigan and a friend would come over a day a month and we would spend the day, in different rooms, grading papers and writing up class preps. I have found over the years that the work//writing energy of two or three people is really electrifying and I and whoever else is there usually get twice as much work done.
I think I forgot to say a couple of important things. Sitting together in silence, especially writing silence, is a powerful path to friendship. How I discovered that is another long story. But the second thing I left out about the silent work time is that it's fun.
This is something I might like to write about in my newsletter! Can you please email me your contact information so I can follow up afterwards? (marcia@yudkin.com) Thank you very much.
We would sit and work for a few hours, then break for tea and chatter, then back to it. I love it. I'm so hopelessly addicted to writing that I seem to do it all day whether I intend to or not, but to sit in a quiet space with like-minded and similarly occupied friends is a whole other kind of pleasure.
It was! Sadly, they cancelled it, but it sent me on a quest where luckily I found The London Writer's Salon! Daily silent writing sessions, but LWS is SO much more. It's a community. https://writershour.com
Katie, I was pretty much resigned to losing a lot of my speaking gigs in the pandemic, maybe forever, and was working on a novel. I read about Substack, and had a eureka moment (voom, pow!) when I came up with the idea for Non-Boring History. I thought it would be a nice little side project for my spare time. Hahahahahaahahaha. That's a demented laugh, 18 months later. It ate my life. (not complaining! ๐)
Love the concept of things that sound boring and then making them fun again...I do this with couples' communication by focusing on the fun conversations we can have, rather than fights that are determined by an outcome. Fun conversations don't have to have an outcome!
I created my Substack three months ago right after checking my youngest child into rehab and learning I would be a stem cell donor for my brother (leukemia). I thought, โDammit, itโs time I do something for me.โ And so I am. This community is something I can count on regardless what storm Iโm walking through!
Thanks, Pablo! Writing my stories is definitely a form of therapy, and I love it when one resonates with even just one person. And I'm learned so much from my fellow Substackers!
I just posted this comment under Randall's comment, and I'm going to share it with you. See you on Release and Catch!
Collaboration
Connections
My first thought when I saw people offering to โcollaborateโ was that they were
trying to take a ride on someone elseโs connections to build their own subscription list.
I try to be โskeptical, but not cynical,โ butโฆ
However, after getting more interactive last week, I found myself โcollaboratingโ at some level with several people. โOn a second thought" I see that I collaborate automatically all the time.
Collaboration might be simple as giving some input on the fly or as extensive as co-writing a piece on something of mutual interest.
I have begun to collaborate with Jack Bosma just by checking out the idea of "microcontentโ and finding out that โ200 words/1200 characters" isnโt nearly as restrictive as I assumed. Even Twitter would be doable if I use the tweetstorm tactic.
Yes, 200 words would often be TB:HI (TooBrief:HenceIncomplete), but as a tease or the lede (newspaper style) it could preview something that some folks would label TL:DR.
TBD, Holly and S.E have also collaborated with me, although time constraints in my life has kept me from addressing the spiritual questions on ThanksForLettingMeShare, and the central importance of a good sister in a siblingโs life cannot be overstated is something I wrote about after reading the opening of Holly Rโs trilogy on stem cell donation on Release and Catch. And also the Midweek Musing on the return of her children who had flown the nest with a simple, โLooks like your โreleaseโ of them allowed them to be โcaughtโ in their own appropriate developmental stage. And S.E. Reid has also been leading me down the spiritual path through her Wildwood Forest, via her Parables posts.
Late again today due to family issues, but grateful to be able to provide support instead of needing it.
I will check back later today, but the morning has drained my brain, leaving only a desire to answer the call of the mattress from my dark and silent bedroom.
I was just sick of creating "marketing" type content and wanted a place to write what I wanted without worrying about keeping up with a blog.
I left for a few months to work on creating an income for myself, but came right back because I REALLY missed it and rebranded it to TRULY write whatever I wanna write because I LOVE writing and would love to create a community around my writing!
Just tired of churning things out for other people rather than a community by writing exactly what brings me joy!
Miss the more human side of the internet and wanna return to those conversations and feel with my newsletter, Tiny Moments!
Yeah, I haven't abandoned it but my service expires next May so I'm trying to figure out if I should move to a different server or abandon it completely.
Aww Iโm glad it resonated! And thank you so much! Iโm publishing the first of a โfriday coffee hourโ tomorrow where I share things I loved the past week (2 this one time) haha.
Also have a question lined up for the community to answer each week too!
Thanks! I definitely understand why itโs necessary at times, but I so so miss just writing what I want and makes me happy to share! Thank goodness for Substack!
I HEARD about Substack a while before I started actually writing on it. It was in some article in the corporate press about how dangerous the platform was. I was curious to see what this apocalyptic engine that would bring about the death of journalism, as the article framed it.
Took about five seconds to figure out why they were in such a huff. The writers on Substack are doing better journalism, with fewer resources, than ANY mainstream outlet - bar none. The platform is only a threat to the lazy outlets doing shoddy writing.
Of course, there are many other writers on here that don't consider themselves journalists, but that's the idea that first introduced me to the platform.
I think it's one of the great potentials of Substack. I'm a free subscriber to The Dispatch, but I can see how Substack could revive local journalism in really important ways.
You've really got me thinking here! The paper in our suburb is nice, but it's really paint-by-numbers, and not a lot of depth. If I'm honest, I only still subscribe for the crossword, and HS sports section (my son pays for his school).
I've always wondered if there's an appetite locally for more than what we get.
Ohmygoodness! I grew up in Indiana- in the cornfields just outside of West Lafayette. My mom talks all the time about the loss of local journalism around there. A local substack reporting would be amazing.
I feel like I read that article! I was already reading a Substack from another author, but that apocalyptic attitude got me more interested in this platform, haha.
Cole, I'm with you in that I heard about Substack from negative news stories, looked into it and decided it was actually a good platform for what I had in mind.
Gives new meaning to the old adage, "All publicity is good publicity."
I began my Substack as a way of healing from an abusive relationship. I thought the writing would be just for me, for my personal healing. However, as it turns out, I've resonated with hundreds of people and have now helped others heal by providing them with encouragement and education on all aspects of domestic violence. It's been quite a rewarding journey, to say the least!
I applaud you, Jenny, for rewriting your story. What you're doing is powerful and reaches so beyond your own healing. As we share our stories, we create new narratives and new possibilities that not only transform our lives, but transform the lives of others as well.
Just looked at your Substack and you have clearly been doing this work for quite a while, so you know well the impact you are making.
Are you attending the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago next August? I've presented at the last two (once as a presentation, the other as a workshop, both based on this: https://www.academia.edu/25660899/Reframing_Bible_Stories_for_Battered_Women) and don't think I will again because this is not the focus of my work these days. And, they are requesting proposals be for panels. If you're not already going to be there, perhaps we might talk? I'm very interested in your work.
I'd love to talk, Jan! I hadn't planned to go, although I do a strong contact in Chicago (Fr. Chuck Dahm of the Domestic Violence Outreach Program), he may be going. Anyway, let's chat! That would be great. You can reach me through my contact form, which will enable us to exchange email addresses. https://www.createsoulspace.net/contact.html
Awesome, Jenny! Iโve had a similar experience writing about mental health, and learned that sharing my wounds and what Iโve learned not only helps me heal, it helps others heal, too.
My husband and I had closed our bike shop + coffee shop, I had left acting and was reconsidering the interior design business I had started. We spent the next two years on the road traveling and imagining what was next. I kept finding myself returning to this idea of building a platform for myself where I had full artistic autonomy- I could create with freedom, in my own voice, so that those who spoke my language could find me. The first step was a writing project I wanted to launch and I kept coming back to Substack. I loved that it was exactly that- my own digital home- plus a built in community. This June, Outsourced Optimism was born!
Thank you Jessica! I do think Suleika is a perfect filter/ algorithm recommendation "If you like Isolation Journals, you will like Outsourced Optimism."
I had moved to New York in September 2020, had nine months of sobriety (the longest period of my life) and was writing about it and doing a Daily Gratitude List. I started my Substack newsletter about a year ago (https://thanksforlettingmeshare.substack.com) and the podcast in March. This is kind of becoming my primary pursuit and has changed my life. That's a good thing because it's also what helps keeps me sober.
I love to hear the "backstory" and I'm glad you shared yours. God looked at my plan for the day and laughed, so I just posted a hastily written piece about "collaboration" in general and am calling it a "morning." See you on ThanksForSharing.
I started Unruly Figures a few years after finishing my Master's. My advisors had talked me out of getting a PhD and becoming a professor for all the usual reasons--the adjuntification of higher ed, low pay, terrible hours, instability, low research/journal readership. One advisor told me, "You're a good storyteller, find a way to take teaching into the public sphere." I moved to LA thinking that I'd find a way to work at the History Channel or on historical fiction movies/TV shows, but it wasn't working out. Eventaully, I realized that if I learned how to make a podcast, I could just make the stories myself instead of relying on someone else to give me a job. Unruly Figures was born just about a year ago!
That's awesome, Valorie! I wonder how many of us culture-writing Substackers are on the run from academia. Even though I'm in some ways on the inside of academia, I also consider myself among those on the run from it! lol.
I love the premise of Unruly Figures! I am actively breaking out of my rule-follower/ afraid to get in trouble patterning and surrounding myself with stories of fellow independent spirits and visionaries who create their own way by making their own rules. Subscribed.
Heck yes, I love this! That's one of the best things I've gotten out of making this podcast--the courage to know which rules I'm fine breaking and which ones I want to adopt for myself. Welcome!
YES to making the rules. I really want to write serious analysis of genre fiction (mystery, thrillers, romance) but it can can be hard to find places to do that. So a friend and Ij just decided to start our own substack devoted to Louise Penny.
I started my newsletter 10+1 Things while I was going through a rut in my life. I was jobless and my health was bad due to bad habits. I decided to start my newsletter as a way to have some discipline and routine in my life. I structured it in such a way that it kept me busy by reading, writing and research on topics I care about.
I started it with zero audience and fast forward now, Iโm close to 2000 subs with a community of readers that I love my work. I still remember my days when I used to showup on writer office hours every week to collaborate with others and grow my newsletter. Iโm so grateful on my experience and cannot thank enough the team behind such a great platform.
P.S: If youโre starting out, don't worry about the numbers and just follow the process. Happy to help and collaborate with others on this platform!
This is awesome! I also started from a familiar space having never been fully consistent with my writing practice. A regular cadence and commitment to writing have helped me think better and sharpen my writing 'pen'
If I'm double posting I apologize but I think my original reply got lost. Anyway, the past 2+ years have been intense and difficult for all of us plus I've been doing some challenging work projects remotely. I've been active on Twitter for years and started to notice mentioned of Substack this year. Then some Twitter friends started their own and... something just clicked. I needed something significant to focus on outside of work.
I blogged regularly 10 - 11 years ago but binned it all due to time commitment and other priorities. Yet blogging was so exciting and fun at the time and I have missed it on some level.
So I dipped my toe in the Substack pool back in early May 2022, then my foot, my leg and... well, I'm neck deep now! The challenge of building a publication and an audience hit me in the right spot. Fumbled around for the first few weeks, got educated and connected with this great community (and others), hit upon a publication schedule, did a bunch of hustling... here I am! It's been wonderful to feel such enthusiasm for something old again (writing, creativity, etc.) but with an appealing new face and process.
That's muh story ('til I need to change it for legal purposes).
I set a goal for myself to lead a climbing expedition to a particularly famous Colorado peak. I originally intended the publication to be a kind of journal, detailing my progress as I worked to master the sport. A few things happened right after I published my first post.
1. I got a promotion at my job in news. The pay and hours were better, but I was under more direct supervision. I was getting told a lot that our audience probably didn't care about the outdoor stories I was pitching and wanted to write about.
2. My friend and I wound up saving a lost hiker from a really dangerous situation near a mountain peak.
I realized that I had a deep need to tell these outdoor stories, and if my job wouldn't pay me to do them, I'd do it myself. I also was terrified of seeing myself become another outdoor influencer. I want to be the person knitting together a great community. Over time, I launched a podcast to do interviews with the people I met. Then a few months later, launched a dedicated news section to my Substack. I've actually had some pretty big exclusives recently that I'm really proud of!
It's definitely not the publication I first envisioned. But I'm happy with where I'm going!
For me it was early 2022, and my aunt had gifted me a subscription to The Isolation Journals with Suleika Jaouad. I had a very rough last few years health-wise, and my aunt thought this newsletter would help me by reading stories on healing and also inspire my writing.
A couple of months later after a loving but messy family Zoom happened, I woke up with endless emotional thoughts racing through my head. From sex and family drama to work woes and hangovers, and I wanted to write them down. That's how my Substack, Morning After Thoughts was born! https://jessicabsokol.substack.com/
I was a Medium writer for about 2-3 years. Although Medium was a great platform, it's algorithm made it difficult to stay connected to my followers and it's pay method was largely dependent on how many likes and comments you got. So it was like Instagram. It's algorithm was mostly based on hyperconsumption and it got tiring having to feed that bottomless pit only to make less than $70 a month.
I eventually decided to try my hand at Substack and start fresh. I figured I would divide my time and attention between this and Medium, but I was tired of the Medium's algorithm and left completely (though you'll still find my page up and running).
I've been on Substack for a year now but I've really been struggling to grow my following. Does anyone have any tips?
I've kept a foot in Medium, partly to draw readers here. That has done at least as much for me as say Twitter (ugh, but necessary evil!) and FB. I have been careful not to replicate--I write different pieces for the two platforms. I put a LOT more effort in here, and it has paid off. It is slow though! But it's growing.
People connect with people. My first suggestion would be to include your name (real name, full name? not sure what Bih is) in your bio and then say something real about yourself. All marketing starts with finding a way to connect to your audience and your bio is the first place to do this.
Food for Thought is a good concept and I'll give it a read. And, honestly, I would slip right by it if I hadn't just met you here. Sounds like you really have something valuable to share and I wish you the best. Put yourself out there and let folks connect! :)
Jan, as someone who relocated very far away, the concept of "finding home" resonates. Thanks for sharing-I'm also working on building my newsletter following and my writing community. Will check out your posts! -Julia
Ha! I moved from Brooklyn, New York (where I grew up and have spent most of my life) to Anchorage, Alaska. I'm a public defender and had a great job opportunity there in an office that really cares about its employees, as well as our indigent clients. I love it and have decided to put down roots, but resettling is always hard. I just bought my first house (!) and am exploring what it means to build a true home.
Ah! I was wondering where you grew up. Putting down roots in a place so far from your original home is quite a feat. Congratulations on the new house! Wishing you the best as you create home. - Also, I admire the work you're doing. There's a lot of "home" in that work as well.
It's near impossible to get any attention on Twitter without being extremely inflammatory. I've heard several times (but not tried yet) that Reddit forums/groups are a good place to build community. But my understanding is you have to be careful about self-promoting because people get mad.
I've had some small accomplishments (as defined within the literary genre) what with books and essays in fancy journals, but as my 70th birthday approached I started redefining what success means. And I've grown impatient. I had written this environmental thriller and just didn't want to go my usual lengthy, full of rejections route to possible publication. So three days ago, I started serializing it here. I'm so glad.
Thank you all for joining today and sharing your stories! Today is our 50th (!!) Office Hours. I just went back to the first thread (https://on.substack.com/p/office-hours-1/comments) and it's so cool to see some of the writers who joined us that first time over a year ago here in the thread today, Jolene, Annette, Geoffery, and Sarah to name a few.
I appreciate you generously showing up to Office Hours, it has become a highlight of my week.
See you next week for more celebration at Shoutout Thread!
Katie, Bailey, Chris, Reid, John, Quinn, Tian, Michelle, Andew, and Sam
CONGRATS to the community team and your 50th thread! And so awesome to know that there are some regulars who were hear 50 conversations ago. Thank you for all you do, community team.
Free preview paywalls seem to work well when coupled with a seven day free trial offer. The key with previews seems to be to provide enough content to not irritate free subscribers who receive the preview. There should be some value in reading the preview for those who choose not to go paid. As a reader, I get annoyed when I receive a preview that hits a paywall a sentence or two into the email. Thatโs wasting the readers time imo.
That's always a tricky thing to balance. You want enough to entice but leave enough so that there's value for the paid subs. To your point, though, you don't want to turn off readers who get cut off before they even get going. I haven't figured out this strategy yet, which is why I haven't yet gone paid.
Most of my paid content is long form (often 4000-5000 words) so I can offer a 500-1000 word preview that has value without making the paid subs feel like they arenโt getting enough. Itโs definitely a tricky thing to get right.
Checking this out, but what is intriguing me is the idea of (in the next six months or so) putting my Archives about Jane Austen and classic lit behind a paywall (but to provide free access for any teachers, who can just email me and let me know their place of work.) So each post/essay would be free for two weeks, then go behind a paywall. If anyone has tips or stories on this, would love to hear them.
I've ben on the fence about using it, mostly because I can't decide on what period of time to use. A week? A month? Hoping others that are using it will chime in and share how it's worked for them.
Cool! My day-job is in public radio and I'm very interested in our Substack community observing what we might learn from (and also how we might diverge from or improve on) the NPR model, which has been going strong for 50 years based on simply reminding community members regularly what they are getting and asking them to pay for it, if they can afford to do so. It seems to me the NPR/publicmedia model is more about regularly communicating the relationship/collective/community we've created, and regularly issuing explicit invitations and ways to join/support it. We need a conference with Ira Glass, immediately!
Gonna start using that next month! Just went paid and need to announce it and everything next month once I play a little catch up the rest of this month)
I haven't tried to audio paywall yet, but I'm excited to! Free preview paywalls in general haven't done much for me--I think I converted one person to paid with one. No one has unsubscribed after encountering one though!
I usually dangle 700-1,100 words of content on the free side of the paywall and then ~2,000-3,000 words past the paywall. It's enough that it's a worthwhile read for people who are exclusively free subscribers, while also still having enough on the other side of the paywall to feel like you got your moneys worth if you paid.
Also important to restrict certain types of content to always being behind the paywall, so that you (the author) can give a coherent value statement about what you (the reader) will get if you pay to subscribe.
I was wondering how to go paid on the Substack platform. (ie. prerequisites, required number of views/likes/shares to get paid for writing pieces on here)
Also, how old does one have to be in order to join the Substack team?
Hello writers! Once again, here is a little bit of encouragement from one small newsletter to all of you: I believe that there's room for every single writer at the table, and that the best thing that writers can do is lift one another up. So tell us: how are you feeling about your journey as a writer this week? Share with us! See someone struggling? Reach out with some love! Let's show each other that we're not alone in this up-and-down writing adventure. And thanks to each of YOU for encouraging me every week simply by the way you engage here! I appreciate you all more than I could ever express. ๐ฟ
Mine is similar, except I usually donโt think about my newsletter post at all until the day I have to write it! Occasionally Iโll get an idea in advance and write it down, but usually end up writing something different anyway.
I have a similar thing, except mine also includes "To hell with it; nobody's going to read it anyway." I'm always pleasantly surprised when someone actually does!
Plus a weekly podcast and it appears like you are branching out to more projects. I haven't had the time to check out your (or anyone's) podcast, but I am sure it is well done, as well.
I am late to the game, again this Thursday, but I had something ready to go, regarding collaboration. If I can find it I will post it, but I see that Katie has sparked a good discussion already today.
Hi Matt, I just read one of your articles even though it's not my usual cup of tea, and it made me laugh. (I hope it was meant to.) So I've just subscribed :-)
Haha well, judging by your newsletter it might be the best thing you've ever written! Seriously y'all, subscribe to Matt's newsletter if you haven't already. It's fantastic.
Thinking about not letting perfect be the enemy of the good! Trying to be consistent to push myself as a writer and acknowledge that I am always growing. Hitting publish without being 100% confident is a leap of faith to my little circle of readers, one I want to take!
Interestingly, I have found on several occasions that just bashing out a quick article gets more traction than one I've spent hours researching, writing and refining!
Yep. Happens to me all the time. I need to adopt the "think less, write more" motto. For some reason, this has been a summer of distractions โ my business came back in a fury โ and I haven't had as much time as I'd like to write.
I grapple with this a lot. I always end up taking way too much time because I fixate on details no one else will likely pay attention to. I definitely need to streamline the process. I thought publishing once a week would be totally manageable, but I've drawn out the process.
Oooh I'll be using that today! I have my first "coffee hour fridays" series newsletter going out tomorrow covering A TON of things I loved (it's covering 2-week's worth of things I enjoyed lol) and a question for the community to answer.
I've wrote A LOT so I'm gonna keep going, then do a quick edit and make sure I post it instead of letting it go cause it's not "perfect."
I post a lot of personal writing in my newsletter, but I always try to relate it to my readers as well. Last week, I posted about a band I've loved for a long time (Guster!). I worried it was self-indulgent, but I was surprised by how many people related and told stories of their own Guster-like bands or similar fandoms. I also shared the post on a Guster fan Facebook page and got a lot of positive responses. So write what you love--people will still connect!
This is a great point, Jill! I write slice of life humor, but last week I decided to post about reading Nixonland. The post had some humor and some slice of life elements, but it was very different from my normal posts. After I scheduled the post I was a ball of nerves. I thought, what have I done? Will I lose subscribers? Will people complain? Will my comments section turn into a hellscape of political talking points? These were my fears. But as it turned out, my fears were unfounded. People liked the post, left great comments, and somehow Nixonland author Rick Perlstein even found the story and left a lovely comment! How did this happen? I wrote about something I loved and readers responded. Thank you for making this point, Jill!
I think trying new things is always a great idea, and Substack really allows a lot of room for experimentation. In fact, your post made me realize that from time to time I could do a version of a book review for my Story Cauldron substack since my whole premise is talking about storytelling. And that realization makes it a LOT easier to come up with a new topic when I'm stuck! So thanks for the idea.
It was a great post! I think we all got beat over the head with the idea that we had to fit into a niche and couldn't step outside of it, but our readers are smarter than we give them credit for! Stepping outside it every once in a while might even be good!
thank you! and i think you're right about fitting into a niche. you do need to be able to articulate a clear topic of what your newsletter covers, but i think you can be pretty expansive with how you interpret that, especially as time goes on and you develop deeper relationships with readers. as for how to get over that feeling of "stepping outside your lane," well, that's a work in progress for me.
Don't toss those long ones out because you think they're too long. I actually tackled it like a book. I waited until I had plenty of time and settled in for a reading session. It was a delicious break from my world!
that's good to know, thank you for sharing that! my top two posts are actually among my longest. i did get a little freaked out when i got that warning from substack about the post possibly being too long for some email providers, but i checked with a few other writers and they assured me that clipped messages haven't really hurt them.
first, thank you! second, that's a good point. i think it really helps to see the estimated read time because it sets expectations and allows readers to make time for a story.
This is awesome! A great reminder of what can happen when we take risks. I was sort of hoping a member of Guster would read my post but alas, nothing so far. Maybe someday. :)
For what it's worth, I had it on my Monday to-do list to email the post to Rick Perlstein. I didn't have any hope that he'd read my email or even respond, but he beat me to the punch. Point being, maybe email Guster!?
Writing about music, I feel like that a lot. I think as writers, we're worried about being self-indulgent when in reality it comes across to readers as excitement? That makes for a good read, even if it might not be an artist they're too excited about.
Excellent point. Really enjoy what you're doing with your newsletter. I meant to comment on your Replacements post but haven't. (Adds to growing dead sea scroll of a to-do list.)
I did the same thing last week with Elliott Smith.
I personally love to read stories where the writer knows a lot and is passionate about what theyโre writing whether I know anything about what theyโre writing or not!
Some of my comedian friends have a philosophy: Your audience doesn't have to be into the topic you're talking about, as long as you can convey that you're really into the topic you're talking about.
I've heard the same thing said by teachers. The best teachers are those who have a passion for the topic they are teaching. I had a geography teacher who had me really into geography because he was so passionate about teaching it. It also helped that he was a bit nuts.
THIS is what I like to see! I specifically rebranded my Substack newsletter because I wanted to write more humanly intimate, self-indulgent personal writings and essays and ALWAYS told myself on a subconcious level that that wasn't "good enough."
Love you getting self-indulgent and having people excitedly tell their own stories!
Indeed! I quit trying to define my Substack because...well, I don't write about particular topics. I write about my life. Maybe some will read, others won't, but in the end I am writing what I enjoy writing. And topics will range from cancer to curmudgeons, eyebrows to addiction, faith to foxes. You get it all here, folks.
Love it love it love it! I've fought that for so long because I wanted my work to be "valuable" enough, but I'm working on rewiring the part of my brain that thinks value has to come in one direct way.
Start with value. You're already are valuable; therefore, what flows from you will be, too. Perhaps not to everyone, but--my goodness!--there are plenty of someones out there who need your words.
Forgive this bit of adverbial indulgence, but specificity resonates generally. We all have our own specifics in life, and because of that, we can resonate with all those who also have their own specific things they are interested in and find important in their lives. I don't think this is self indulgent...because it awakens in us a curiosity to seek out and find out why it is that people like what they like.
You just have the best and most positive comments here on Office Hours, S. E. Reid! I THANK YOU for that! The journey this week has been pretty good for me as far as writing and editing. I hope it's been smooth for you as well!
I've hit a bit of a slowdown with all of my writing. I got to the point where it felt like I was trying to do too much all the time, and then a health issue arose that made writing a bit more challenging, and I just put everything aside for a bit. I didn't stop writing but I slowed it all down. And you know what? Life goes on. Not publishing as often might be disappointing for my regular readers, but I haven't seen my subscriber numbers falling off. So I guess it's okay. I don't want to stop doing everything I am doing, but I do want to try to reduce the expectations I've set for myself so I can get off the crazy treadmill I was on, where I was constantly writing the next article for one of my Substacks, and my offline writing (my novel work) was suffering. I'm still looking for the balance, but I'm glad that I gave myself some time to figure it all out.
Agreed. I switched from weekly to by-monthly because I couldn't keep up. But now I can put more thought into a piece. (And then I started a new publication...)
I totally feel this! I stopped doing as many posts to focus on other writing projects (AND my health). Subscribers has not dropped, in fact it has grown with fewer weekly musings. Thanks for sharing your experience. I just check out your 'Stack, and TWOO is my favorite movie of all time. It has been since I first saw it at two years old. I subscribed!
I just crossed the 2 year milestone and I'm genuinely worried about the lack of growth. I'm the daredevil who offered DAILY short fiction, so the work load is solely on me, but I really believed that by now I'd have better numbers, which would allow me to eliminate a few of my other side hustles and concentrate more on writing. As far as the writing itself goes, I'm proud of my accomplishments and confident in my ability to write good stories.
It's definitely a challenge. In many ways it helps with my sobriety-I'm focused on something proactive and positive every day-but it would be nice to have a larger audience, especially for the occasional story in which I address addiction and recovery.
I love the fact that you are pushing the "daredevil" edge. I also write fiction, and I am learning about the challenges of using electronic media for that purpose. Basically, the standard social media advice is to find a "niche" where people have an interest that can be targeted. Then you can "market" to your target audience. The problem is that fiction does not always fit neatly into a defined niche - other than "fiction". Using the niche approach generally means writing in an area that people find helpful for their own growth and development. I think that Substack is the best alternative to social media for fiction writers, but for those of us who do not have previous "built in" followers, it may mean we must find new techniques for gathering an audience.
I just try to do justice to the characters and the stories in a very limited amount of time.
If people want growth and development they can read and discuss the work with their friends and loved ones and with fellow readers right in my comment section.
I agree that writing with a diverse cast destroys any niche I might have, but I'm a writer first and a marketer 4892nd.
It sounds great, even though challenging, so congrats on your two-year mark! You have probably tried this, but many readers take regular vacations, even (or especially) the newsletters with huge followings. A scheduled break (or 2-3 scheduled throughout the year) might help?! Good for you for maintaining the pace as long as you have, and best of luck!
I took an unplanned 6 day break with Covid, so I'm gonna try to keep up the daily when I'm healthy. Some good days I can write two stories in one day, buying myself a small respite. I somehow managed to publish daily while I did 9 consecutive days shooting the film Good Thief ( It's on Tubi ). That gives me the confidence that I can write daily when I just have normal responsibilities.
Fiction Substacks can be a challenge to find and sustain an audience. If you don't think what you're doing is working for your audience, I would suggest changing it up. Maybe fewer posts (even if you are writing daily still). Maybe write a personal essay or thoughts on your writing process. Things you've learned after writing a story a day, etc. Or maybe something else. I'm a big fan of experimentation and trying new things when a process seems to be stagnating in some way, but what that looks like would be up to you.
I don't think for a minute that what I'm doing IS stagnant. I have sustained my audience, and they constantly give me positive feedback. I just hit a plateau in terms of growing. People can't seem to adjust to the idea that subscribing to fiction on Substack is the same basic value-if not a better value-than buying a few used books.
Feeling...like I am going to jump back on it again soon. I've had a three month break after surgery, I'm getting my mental ducks in a row and am inspired again. Fingers crossed it can last.
Crazily, my subscriber list has grown every day, even though there have been zero posts from me.
I think for me, I don't really feel like much of a writer myself when I look at others' substacks. I like sharing what I'm thinking about and doing, but as someone who is more into making visual and musical stuff. My newsletter is less about writing and more about keeping a record of my creative brain and recent projects/experiments. It's cool to see all the different ways people use substack!
Weโre all doing something different but I donโt feel very good looking at those who have already published novels. Makes me feel very behind. But weโre all on our own journey. Canโt compare.
Over at https://myvisual.substack.com/ we've been meeting for zooms and breakout rooms around our visuals, but it's been a wonderful support group for all of the writers involved too. Every substacker welcome of course!
I would like to express how much I appreciate you and what you write! I feel the same way you do about there being room for all of us. I have my ups and downs writing and watching people unsubscribe is particularly difficult for me. The thing that really keeps me going are the kind words and encouragement, especially from other writers here. Also, there is nothing that gets me more inspired to write than reading something great that one of you has written.
Agree totally that reading other newsletters is a great source of inspiration. In my newsletter last week I even quoted from and linked to Lisa Oliveraโs Human Stuff newsletter.
This week I feel organized and clear headed. I am trying to not become overwhelmed by the task ahead of me as I publish my serialized novel here. Iโve been able to accomplish this by putting anxious energy into steadily checking off my to-do list. Recently Iโve found myself saying that writing is hard, and like many things, maybe thatโs why we should do it.
Hi thank you for opening the space. I think it's really an up and down journey for me. On days when I think too much about the numbers, I do get fixated on it a bit. But honestly I just love writing so much, have been writing ever since I could put words onto paper and have made less than a couple of hundred bucks from it. Even if no one was paying me, I would still be writing so why rush the process :) I have been having lots of fun with reading and interacting with folks on this platform too so it's been a good time
Regarding my journey as a writer this week, I'm confident, but there's always room for one to improve as a writer. Any tips for making money by writing?
Taking a much needed break and working on a long form story for release in October. Itโs taken some pressure off to put my Substack on pause while I deal with life and get this composition done. Iโm feeling good about where itโs headed.
I always appreciate your encouraging words and agree that thereโs room for all of us and lifting each other up is very important. I have mixed feelings about my journey as a writer this week.
On the one hand, Iโm very proud of myself for pitching an article to a well-known website that would have paid me for it, even though they rejected it.
Iโm also grateful that I continue to get new followers on Medium almost every day and some new subscribers here occasionally.
I love the recommendations for sites to help promote our newsletters and other tips shared by my fellow writers here.
On the other hand, Iโm really struggling financially and realizing how hard it is for me to market my work and earn much income from it.
Not going to be able to make it to Office Hours today, but want to shoutout all the amazing people here -- keep doing what you're doing. The world needs your creativity (and your newsletter)!
Thanks to the Substack team for the awesome Download: Conversion event yesterday, for the new tools, and for all the hard work you all do in cultivating this community -- it's one of my favorite parts of being a Substacker ๐
I DID NOT! I havenโt been to a movie theater in years (even before the pandemic, I had little babies and it was just too hardโฆ this might be motivation enough).
Hi folks! I'm not the first to suggest this in these threads, but...
*Disable your "reader just unsubscribed" notifications.*
I know this is super-hard. I mean, it took me a good six months of running my newsletter before I built up the courage to do it. It's just HARD.
But every time an unsubscribe comes in, it's like a paper-cut on your soul. It hurts, and that hurt can happen at any time, including when you're really happy and in a good mood and feeling right in the zone and your writing is flowing - and suddenly there it is in your Inbox: a tiny reminder that someone read your stuff, and thought "Nah, I'm out." It's crushing. It never, ever gets easier.
And since it never gets easier, why allow it to strike at any time, with the ability to completely derail any point of your day? Why not *manage* that pain?
Do it by disabling those emails. Take away their power over you.
(Also, if you get to the point where your audience is big enough that you get a tiny flood of unsubscribes *every time you publish something*, which is absolutely normal for everyone beyond a certain list size, and you still haven't disabled unsubscribe emails? You'd have to be an absolute stone not to feel All The Bad Things - and that'll make it even harder to keep writing!)
Honestly, this might be the best advice people read today. Each one felt like a gut punch, but it took me forever to disable those notifications. Looking back, I wonder why it took me so long!
Maybe I'm projecting (I'm definitely projecting), but I feel like most writers are sensitive people who would be discouraged by unsubscribe notifications, especially early in. With encouraging dedication/growth/commitment in mind, maybe "Default Off"?
It should be Default OFF, and I'd go further and question why it is even a thing? I've never understood why notifications of unsubscribes from anything would be considered useful ๐คช
It should be default OFF for sure. Even the most popular and confident writer will feel the pain of an unsubscribe notification even if in the back of your head you know it's not a big deal.
Agreed. I turned off unsubscribe notifications day 1. Well, maybe it was day 5... not because it was challenging... I didn't know it existed.
My newsletter used to be on mailchimp and I had it turned off there as well.
I did, however, create a tool that lets me compare my subscriber list on day X and a list on day Y. I use it to see subscribes & unsubscribes 3 to 5 days after a post. But I'm neither bothered by unsubscribes or overly excited by new subscribes. It is best to be focused on your best content.
Good advice. I actually have disabled all email notifications. But thereโs no way to reduce the negative feeling that comes from looking at stripe and seeing โcancels onโ vs โactiveโ on the subscriber list. Churn is just a part of the business and shouldnโt be taken personally.
It's a rough thing! It's especially rough, I think, when your list is small & intimate enough that you know everyone on it. It is such a hard thing to see, in realtime, that someone you know is signing off. It's better to just not know until later - and maybe to be able to control when you allow that information to affect you? At least in my case it is - when I'm away from the laptop, I want to be mentally away from the newsletter and everything regarding it, and that involves relaxing properly. Getting a message shoved into that relaxing-time that says, basically, "I DON'T LIKE YOUR STUFF, BYE"? That's so, so much to bear. Too much for me!
Oof, having someone you know unsub would definitely be hard. I can only hope my first will be a random person! I completely understand the desire to protect yourself emotionally when you either need to really get stuff done, or when you need to just be away from Substack entirely and recharge...that is very smart self-care and Iโll be taking a page out of your book.
Agreed. I turned off those notifications on earlier blogs years ago--now I never know when people unsubscribe. I'm too sensitive and I would take every unsubscribe personally!
I knew I didnโt want to see that from the beginning. I was new and didnโt need that kind of hit to my baby writer soul. Thanks for spreading the word.
Greetings friends! I hope we're all doing well today!
My question is for my fellow Substackers: how many of you publish interviews in your newsletters? Do you find them to be a good way to attract readers and subscribers? Or are they distracting from your other articles, essays, etc?
I'm writing this from the perspective as a relatively new Substacker (almost four months under my belt) and I publish a lot of interviews (2 - 4 week, depending on the week). I get a lot of good feedback on them but I'd like to also build up the profile of my own writing because I think that's what I want to be known for long term.
I publish interviews as much as possible. For me, it's a bit of a forcing function to get me out of my own way (the older I get, the more introverted I become.).
More importantly, for my readers, it's a bit of variety and something different. Win-win.
it's made for a decent number of new subscribers. Those have mainly been driven by the interviewee sharing the article with their own audiences.
EDIT: If you are a musician, in the industry, or a fellow music writer, hit me up! :)
Dove-tailing off Kevin.....he mentioned musicians to hit him up, but he also said "fellow music writer," which made me think we music writers ought to think about a series where we, over a period of time, interview each other for publication!
We've always talked about collabbing, and such, but I'm not sure I've actually heard the intentional interviewing of one music writer of another! If it flies, mad props for original idea go in Kevin's general direction!
As your subscriber, I must say that, though I don't read all of the interviews, I do check out those who sound like interesting people (subjectively) and fairly enjoy them. Did I originally subscribe for something else? Yes. But do the interviews distract me from the experience I was expecting? No. If anything, it provides additional touchpoints, updates from you, and so on. So, overall, I think it's fab that you're combining both your own writing and interviews with interesting people. In fact, I know follow a couple of people you've interviewed, as your format/platform served as a good intro to their work.
Thanks for the perspective, Oleg! Sometimes it feels like a weird mixture of content and that eventually I should segregate at least some of the interviews to a different newsletter but things seem to be going well enough so maybe I should just keep going as I am!
I did a survey asking readers what posts they like the most and want more of, and it was really useful! It turned out interviews with other creatives was lowest on the list for my audience. I still do them around once a month, it's a good way to bring people to the newsletter I think because you can turn attention outwards away from yourself, but you could always try to speak directly with your audience to find out what they want!
I love interviews that are written as a narrative, but I personally find the Q&A structure less appealing to read. Tell me the person's story through their own words.
Well, you didn't ask ME, Jackie (few do), and I don't mean to butt in, but my 'Stack is chock full of narrative-formatted interviews (not Q&A)! You may choose to start here (and I'll let my lay-out explain the who/what, etc)!: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/career-chord-change-stephen-michael
It's, in essence, a series of interviews, as Stephen lays out his life story from his perspective as a singer/songwriter/guitarist who recorded an album for RCA Records in '74, and rubbed elbows with many of the artists we know and love from the classic rock '70s!
When I'm not on hiatus (like now) I publish interviews every week that I don't publish an essay. (https://valorieclark.substack.com/s/interviews ) I don't think they distract from the rest of the substack, and they definitely bring new eyes onto my project. I think as long as it all serves the same wheelhouse, it works.
I've started interviewing some of my subscribers who have interesting career paths and I tie that into the style of What's Curation? by asking them about a song they love. I started doing this because a newsletter feels very 1-to-1. The reader doesn't know who else is reading! For example they have no idea that an Australian author, a Kiwi musician, an American copywriter, a Canadian notebook enthusiast, a Baltic record collector and an Indian rap artist all read what I write. Interviews should be done well though--thoughtful, insightful questions are the key.
I publish long transcribed interviews here and there, but they're less about cross-promotion and more about exposing my readers to writers whose work complements mine. That way, the interviews don't distract from my own essays (I also get to spin mental wheels with great thinkers). Ultimately, it's a sort of communal act: communal thinking, communal narration for readers, etc. That's pretty valuable, I'd say.
Yes, useful perspective. I've interviewed a lot of people who don't have newsletters, Substacks, etc. so it's not so much a cross-promotional act at this point. I've learned a lot of cool things too, always a bonus.
I have not yet published any interviews but am following this because I'm intrigued. The interviews I read on many Substacks are engaging. I think it honestly depends on who you are interviewing and why you are interviewing them.
Autumn....if I may be so bold (not to mention uncharacteristically and shamelessly self-promoting), may I direct you Front Row & Backstage? Virtually half my content since February has been an exclusive interview with Stephen Michael Schwartz, a singer/songwriter (RCA Records, 1974) who's laying out his music biz autobio on my 'Stack!
Now, it, strictly, isn't an "interview" per se, as he sends me text, and I format, edit and research, while always using quote marks for his story, but I add "EXCLUSIVE INTERIVIEW" for each, because, technically, it is....just in straight, narrative format.
There are a few other clearly marked interviews, as well, and I guess I'll leave the links here. One is an interview I did with David Cassidy in 1975 (yes, the audio is available, also, along with my story about the interview)! That's here: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/in-a-houston-penthouse-with-david
I've also been able to include "instant" interviews, on occasion, when I write about an artist, and they see and read my article after I posted it on Twitter or FB. They'll thank me for writing about them, and I'll DM them a question or two, and after they answer, I go back and insert their answers into the article! This happened with Paul Bowen of The Starjets, and Jason Singh of Taxiride!
Anyway, enjoy, and welcome, Autumn, past the velvet rope, Front Row & Backstage!
Hi Mark, two months in, I've done two interviews. I've published one and will publish the other one in September. I publish a post a week (Thursdays). The first interview was my best day in terms of subscriber growth, which definitely had a lot to do with the person I interviewed. She has a robust audience and was great about promoting the interview. I'm still early in the process, but I think I'll probably shake out at one interview a month, which for me means a quarter of my posts. I like talking to people but I find writing pieces based on interviews to be way more time-consuming. Still, I enjoy those conversations and I it seems to be a good audience-building tactic.
Well, Mark, as you well know (and thanks for the lob!), so much of my content, from February anyway, has included articles written by singer/songwriter/guitarist/recording artist, Stephen Michael Schwartz!
On most, I tag the title with "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW," because I'm lucky enough to have had someone who was actually active in the '70s record biz (and beyond, with his children's music popularity and product for decades following) join me Front Row & Backstage, as he writes his autobio for my 'Stack, and I'm happy to be his editor, formatting each article with photos, copious research, and such!
I realize we all can't have a generous and fascinating cohort who literally falls into your lap, surprisingly, but also manages to fit so well into the goals and aspirations of your original 'Stack vision, but, to answer your question, I'd say, depending on topic and familiarity (of your audience) with the interviewee, maybe drop them in somewhat judiciously. Unless, of course, interviews are, quite clearly, a key and understood focus of your 'Stack!
Not sure how much any of that helps, but again, I couldn't help slam that lob back over the net! You're the best, Mark, and I always appreciate your loyalty and diligence to the cause!!๐ผ๐ถ๐น๐ธ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐
Yep! I've run over a half-dozen so far. My main reason for doing them is I want to introduce my readers to people whose work I really admire - It's a "for them" thing rather than a "for me" thing, so I'm not too bothered about what interviews do for me (although I do want decent engagement for them, because that means my audience will go sign up to the interviewed person's work!).
I've idly thought about doing an interview, but not too seriously. I think you already have some good original writing up on How About This, definitely enough to justify carving out further space for it if you want to.
Thanks William. For convenience sake I'm putting more emphasis on interviews, especially since I'm going to be traveling for the next 1 - 2 weeks, but definitely want to emphasize more original writing.
If you think it might help, Mark, you might consider a "series" connotation for your interview pieces, to help separate them out from your original pieces. You'll notice I have several, now, under the headings (or the first words of the title), "Audio Autopsy," "Inside Tracks," and the new, "GROW BIGGER EARS!"
I love the creative aspect of it, plus they help earmark a significantly different angle or purpose to each article. It helps to (as I did before I jumped in to each) foresee a sustenance for each, as they end up becoming a separate "brand" under the FR&B banner....you may have noticed, I've used "Audio Autopsy" quite proudly on my main page, with something like, "includes the popular Audio Autopsy series" (hey, who's gonna check?!?), and I'll shortly start using the others, as well, in a promotional way!
Ok great question. Just started "Discussions" not calling them interviews, bc... they're just not. But my transcript was 5000+ words. Substack could not handle this discussion. Womp womp. Not sure what to do now. Halp!
My newsletter grew out of my facebook account. For years, I'd write slice of life humor stories and share them on facebook. That platforming was always unsatisfying because my stories are much more likely to make you laugh than spark outrage, so there really wasn't much growth there. But even worse, I'd constantly hear from friends that they missed certain stories because the facebook algo didn't surface them.
About three years ago, I made the switch to email. I think I went with Tiny Letter first. It was a good product, but it wasn't being supported by its parent company, so things would break, and there wasn't really a community of writers to lean on and share information with. Then I went with Mailchimp for a hot minute, but I found that tool really hard to set up, and a lot of the features just weren't designed with editorial needs in mind (better for marketers, I think). Basically, it was overkill.
Eventually, my research led me to Substack. What hooked me right away was how easy it was to set up and start writing. I'm a big believer in a rolling start, meaning that I want to get stories up and out to the world while I figure out and tweak the newsletter as I go. Basically, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good is the philosophy there. Anyway, Substack was great on that front, but it also offered something I couldn't find with other newsletter tools -- growth! I started on here with about 100 subscribers (mostly friends and a few fans I had picked up along the way). As of this writing, I'm closing on 1,000 subscribers! That growth has been HUGE for me, and it's a big reason why I prefer Substack over the alternatives.
Love your thoughts on a rolling start and just getting your writing out to the world (says the writer who has procrastinated because of, well, literally every reason possible). This is the week I get back to regular posting, I swear! (chuckle.) - What would you say is one of the biggest contributors to your growth on substack?
I don't think there's one factor. Consistent posting is important because it's basically your foundation -- you can't promote a newsletter or ask people to share it and subscribe if you aren't, you know, creating material on a consistent basis. But beyond being consistent, I think what really helped was listened to how fans described my work and then using what they said to tweak my newsletter brand and my promotional efforts. Another thing that's really helped is being active as a reader. There are several humor and adjacent Substacks I subscribe to, and I try to leave really thoughtful comments there. That really helps open the door to new readers and also cross-promotion with relevant Substacks. But, and I can't stress this enough, the more stories I have, the more I have to work with in terms of marketing and promo. Hope that helps, Amy!
"...listened to how fans described my work and then using what they said to tweak my newsletter brand..." I'm just getting some recommendations, and I was just thinking about this the other day since I don't write about a specific topic. How do I define my writing? Mark from over at How About This said "Holly's combination of humor, frankness and faith makes for compelling reading." I'm saving that and creating an arsenal of feedback that will help me better market my space.
Honest question. Iโm exploding on TikTok right now. A recent music video has 20M views and the sound has become a trend with 20k videos created using the sound. I have 1.8M followers on that app and an urgent desire to harness the energy toward my Substackโฆ But theyโre such different worlds. (20 second videos vs. 1500 words) I know letting go of the urgency is first, but besides that, What would you do?
Hey Hal! I'm a musician too and had a similar but slightly different thing with an Instagram account I ran which was totally unrelated to music (stationery). I had about 8k followers on there and lots of engagement but when the time came to try and convert people to my music, not a lot of people took the bait! I think it comes down to accepting 'quality over quantity' when it comes to new fans, sadly.
Something that I saw someone do is actually create videos using excerpts of their newsletters as the voiceover. Might be a cool way to integrate the two? Check out Anna Vatuone on TikTok, she does this.
Hey! Thanks for that. I just discovered #writertok -- I think you're right about different audiences. I'm very glad to be slowly developing an audience for my writing.
Hal, I love your TikToks. This is your medium - the visual and audio components are very compelling. Congrats on the success - I'm so happy for you. We'd all love to have something cool like this happen.
In a sense, you are well on your way to building your brand "Hal Walker", which will easily work cross-media. Sounds like the time is right to work with an agent skilled in this. The Big Four publishers are hungry for connections with artists like you - you can check out Publishers Weekly, see examples of new publications similar to what you want to write, find out their publishers / agents, cold call them. Alternatively, I may have an agent friend who'll talk to you, refer, etc. Ping me via email gabthinking (at) gmail (dot) com.
Hereโs my advice. Do what @therapyjeff does. Look at his first pin directing traffic to his patreon account. He then also has started adding a red box with a callout to go to Patreon for more information. I believe he adds that red box in all of his TikTokโs now. I would start there.
As we say in the Taoist world, โWuWeiโ -- Do nothing, accomplish everything. In other words, I wouldnโt mess with the natural flow of how things are unfolding.
Since you asked, I wouldn't want to be active at all (so I'm not) on an app O&Oed by the CCP. I realize much, if not most, of the 'net is so (or similarly) intrusively connected, but TikTok is unashamedly run by China, and are, thus, in possession of your personal data. But, you do you!
Interesting. I've heard this and have mostly avoided thinking about it. For now, I'm not willing to let it go. The community and creativity is incredible over there.
Yes, I'd been using Mail Chimp for a long time and I grew to dread the time I needed to get out each newsletter - I was afraid Substack would be the same plus I would need to invest time in moving my subscribers list and learn how to use it. I was really pleasantly surprised when I discovered I could do all of that in a couple of hours! My husband had just died following an accident in another country, and Covid was ramping up, so it took me nearly a year to find the courage to sit down and work all of this out. And then it was so easy. A real blessing.
So, I learned about Substack from my wife, whose best friend is Virginia Sole-Smith, author of a very successful Substack newsletter, Burnt Toast. I had recently resigned a tenured faculty position and was trying to redefine myself as an independent writer, and I was flailing in the void of literary magazines, which typically take 6 months or more to respond to submissions, pay nothing, and almost never involve any sense of community.
My wife pointed out that Substack is a place to build community, that people do turn it into a paying gig, and that engagement is part of what readers expect from the writers they follow. Initially I worried that Substack would be too much like social media: an echo chamber that turns into a popularity contest. I'm not very good at social media, don't really know how to draw followers, and hate the crass strategies that people use on Twitter, like writer's lifts and following someone only so they'll follow you back. So I ran through all of these reasons and kept suffering in my isolation. While reading Bruce Feiler's Life Is in the Transitions, where he shows that people who develop new rituals directly tied to a major life transition navigate those lifequakes more successfully, I finally realized that a Substack could be just such a ritual for me. Hence, "The Recovering Academic" was born.
I'm not sure that I want to spend years writing about academe or my transition away from it, but I'm close to 700 followers now after launching in late March. I can see that writing honestly about my struggle has been useful to others, and I've recently started gathering some feedback from readers via a Google Form about the kinds of additional features they might find useful. It seems that most of my subscribers would enjoy a podcast featuring others who have left academe or found ways to stay and a discussion thread where they might interact with other recovering academics. Those are two things that I could see justifying a paid subscription, and I believe that if I hit 1,000 followers, I can reasonably expect to convert 80-100 folks to paid.
This is a long post, but I suppose if I have a question now, it is mainly about how to make the paid launch most successful. I've read a little bit about it, but any tips from those of you who have already done that (either mistakes you made that I can avoid, or things that really worked well for you) would be much appreciated!
Community, absolutely. I hear from readers every week and know that what I'm writing speaks to them. I've even had some dissenting views turn into productive conversations. The fact that Substack has promoted me as a 2022 recommended publication, and that I've established some virtual friendships with other Substack writers, also helps. Perhaps the biggest win was when my first viral post got the attention of The Chronicle of Higher Education, and they asked to republish it. I don't think I expected that what I wrote on a Substack could overlap with a traditional venue like that.
I'm still aware of chasing "likes" to some degree, and I don't always know what to make of 40-50% of my subscribers not opening an email, even though it seems like a 50-60% open rate is pretty good. I find myself torn between writing headlines that make people want to read on and leaning too far toward clickbait territory, but I know that is a question that all media wrestles with, not just social media. The biggest difference between social media and Substack is substance. I often post essays that run between 2,000-2,500 words, and people read them and have thoughts about them. That is infinitely better than anything I see on Facebook or Twitter (and those are the only two platforms I really have time for).
We had a really great thread going last week about putting together a community of travel/culture/personal essay-type writersโI am working on getting us dedicated channels within the Substack Writers Unite Discord, so watch this space! Link to the Discord server: https://discord.com/invite/q9S4feaDVz
Even if it doesnโt end being the ideal long-term solution, this will at least give us a place to organize while we figure out what works for us. Looking forward to seeing you there when the channels are up and running!
When I started on Substack Iโd moved to a 1927 kitchen and now Iโve moved again to a 1969 kitchen, my โTime Travel Kitchensโ. Writing over the past 18 months has been a very bright spot during my Motherโs illness, passing and now my grieving process. So grateful to have this place to write about food and life.
Hi, Katie, waving right back! ๐ I have family in town this weekend, the weather is gonna be good, enjoy the wedding! Thanks for your support of all of us here. :)
I started my Substack back in Mar 2022 as a way to publish chapters of my half-written book from last year on "How To Start". I thought rather than let them collect virtual dust in my Google Drive I'd hit publish to get back into the habit of writing 1,000 words a week.
Now, some 5 months later I'm thinking about how I can take the words I write on a weekly basis and reverse engineer them back into a book down the line. On 383 free and 5 paid subs now. Been quite the journey, but have been blown away by the Substack team's support and the community love.
This exact thing is what led me to Substack! I have a book draft I'm working on and wanted an outlet for "trying on" some of the chapters with real readers. Curious if you put any of your content behind a paywall or make it available to everyone?
Substack, we need a better way to track readers activity and opens. I have 5 star readers who are free and paid subscribers with few opens and no stars. I know it depends on a variety of factors but this could really help.
Thanks for these examples. It's interesting to be contemplating my first anniversary when I've barely begun ... it's making me think about how to produce what I want to be able to say a year from now.
I liked Jรธrgen Veisdal's idea for making the newsletter free but charging for archives. Is there a feature to automatically change a post from free to subscribe?
I'm changing careers and I needed to produce some content to demonstrate my knowledge to prospective employers. I had used another platform back when blogging was new and really enjoyed it. My 23 y.o. son told me that substack was the new hip-cool platform.
Hey Campbell, this is awesome. I'm exactly the same. I was a writer for pharma, but I wanted to write more creative/marketing copy and my hobby was to recommend music to my friends. So I started a newsletter here and I've been keeping my resume fresh with new skills! Good luck with BizPsych!
Hi Substack team! I know this is off topic, but I have what I hope is a simple (and fun!) feature request. Is it possible for Substack to support GIFs in the comments? I use GIFs in all my posts and that's encouraged some of my readers to leave GIFs in the comments. Unfortunately, in the comments all you see is a link to the GIFs, as opposed to the actual GIF. I'd really to see this because I think it helps drive conversation and community since some readers prefer to communicate with GIFs and emojis, as opposed to leaving written comments. Any way we can make this happen, Substack?
Funnily enough, I was actually trying to convince my husband to start a Substack. He's a virologist and, with the pandemic still raging, I thought people would benefit from his informed take on recent trends, research, etc. I kept bothering him about it until he finally said, "I'm not interested, but why don't YOU start a Substack since it seems so important to you!" So I did! โบ๏ธ
I started hearing about Substack on Medium towards the end of last year. At the time I was looking for a way to monetize my Gentle Creative blog. After a bit of research I took the plunge in January. I brought over my aweber list of 380 subscribers and now have 668 subscribers and a handful of paid subscribers. I'm so proud that I have written an article every week that encourages people to overcome the external barriers and inner peril of being a writer.
I've also made some amazing new writer friends through Substack. I love this community
I am brand new on substack and still learning about it. I had a WordPress blog for about 9 years that had a many as 6000 followers. I walked away from it about 4 years ago. Just didn't have anything to say I thought
My substack site is "Being poor and old in the United States.". It is about me but lots lots more
I have only been going and week but have 15 subscribers
I have never done anything for pay
That is one of the attractions of Substack to me
I would like to learn how to be successful at that
Thanks, Elizabeth. I've always tried to write for people, rather than SEO, and have always wondered if that was just silly. It's nice to feel vindicated at last!
I refused to deal with SEO for years and years (other than one joking post that used a celebrity's full name 50+ times, but it was explicitly making fun of SEO) so I feel EXTREMELY vidicated to see people stepping away from it.
From advice I've been given in these Office Hours, and from listening to my wife reminding me that my first newsletter took AGES to gather subscribers, I have now resigned myself to slow but steady growth. For me, the most comfortable thing to do is write, because I love writing, and promote my writing while trying not to be obnoxious about it. If I don't worry too much about the numbers, I feel alright about the whole thing. I hope this comment is helpful to others in some way.
Slow and steady wins the race! Explosions in subscribers are fun, but I find that people who subscribe outside those trending moments are actually more committed to what I'm writing.
After reading this week's grow interview, I have a question for those who have gone paid. I went paid several months ago and I'm trying to figure out best practices. I currently have about 150 free subscribers and two paid. Clearly I would love to significantly grow both. I currently have two paid posts a month. The interview suggested making the paid pieces free for seven days and then making them paid after seven days. I know I need to change something to improve all of my numbers. What have you all done? Do you think this is a good strategy? We will also be going paid in January for litthinkpodcast.substack.com and we are looking for best strategies there as well.
Hi Sarah, I'd recommend checking out the Going Paid guide compiled by our team: https://substack.com/going-paid-guide for more specific strategies and paid writer's stories!
I've checked out the guide but don't understand how to switch archived posts to paid after 7 days. Is there an automatic feature or do I need to manually change each post? Thanks for any info. you might have.
I started thinking about writing on Substack in 2020. A professor of mine told me to keep a journal of some kind. I eventually found a quote by George Orwell that gave the same advice:
"To see what is in front of oneโs nose needs a constant struggle. One thing that helps toward it is to keep a diary, or, at any rate, to keep some kind of record of oneโs opinions about important events."
That's how my Substack started out. It's since evolved into something that doesn't try to keep up with the news cycle. I'm experimenting now with writing "living" essays that evolve over time. Which isn't really new in terms of writing. Writers like Montaigne are known for having edited their essays over time as well.
I'm also adding a science fiction section, as a result of my research-focused newsletter. That's another thing I knew I wanted to do as a writer. I think now's the right time.
I had an idea. I wondered whether there would be interest in coming together in some kind of informal, promotional cooperative--maybe loosely organized by subject. I was thinking that we all have promotional resources (Twitter, IG, TikTok, FB) and I think my folks get kind of tired of me just flogging my stuff tirelessly. I thought they might actually enjoy it if I was flogging someone's else's content tirelessly.
I don't know about cooperative but I am planning a promotional drive in September (I am calling it SUBtember) and in all of my appeals I am listing 3 ways to support my substack:
1- Leave a like or comment so I know what you think
2- subscribe so I know you want to read more
3- show support for substacks I support
I have special posts planned outside of my normal schedule for Subtember and in each one I am highlighting someone else's substack. If a rising tide raises all ships then it's good to point people to the community around you!
So I think you benefit from flogging other people's content regardless. If you take the pov that you are the center of a microcommunity, then this is a good way to strengthen that microcommunity. The informal structures will grow organically the more you do this, and the microcommunity will grow into a macrocommunity. That's my take, anyway!
There's a Discord and Twitter group already out there for this, each called Substack Writers Unite. People explicitly join them to support each other. You could check those out!
You should absolutely be promoting other content than your own! People don't like self-promo, its subconscious! Try sharing the content of your newsletter rather than announcing it!
I was wondering if anyone here had advice on how to acquire a logo. Where did you get yours or how did you make it? Iโm no graphic artist and am looking for ideas.
Hi Kerry, some of us substackers have started meeting up on zoom to chat visuals. We talk Canva, and how to find the best visuals to match your words. You might like it. Next one is next wednesday: https://myvisual.substack.com
Everyone has said it already but I'll tip my hat for Canva as well. It's perfect and if you're creating a lot of graphics, get a paid subscription. It's worth it.
I am a graphic designer. Iโd be happy to help you with your logo and a simple style guide. I firmly believe in doing it right from the beginning then moving on to DIY everything else on Canva. I personally use Adobe Express because I have Creative Suite. They do offer a free version as well.
I've used Fiverr in the past. It can be a cost-effective way to get a logo, but make sure to do your due diligence, as the quality and reliability ranges.
I'm no graphic artist either! Canva is great, but if you're looking for something different, check out Jon Wilcox. He did the logo for the Fog Chaser Substack, and is now working with me to revamp mine. I wanted something that I could use both on & off the site. Very easy to work with, very reasonable $$$. Well worth a look, IMO.
I used a vector graphics program called Inkscape. It's a lot more involved than Canva, but if you want something simple it can work. Canva and other suggestions are probably more versatile with no prior Inkscape experience.
My daughter is an artist and she 'gave' me one of her digital paintings which I crop and use for my logo and email headers etc. It means there's an affiliation, or brand strength, across the whole of my site and it all comes from one image. Take a look, Kerry. See what you think.
Hi all! I had been reading newsletters on Substack for a long time before beginning my own in March (I write about music/pop culture/nostalgia and create weekly playlists), and I'm always surprised by how many of my own family and friends didn't know about Substack before subscribing to mine! So much room to grow.
I had a 1000 member mailchimp newsletter of music fans/listeners. Nothing wrong with mailchimp - in fact, it is a superior email newsletter for marketing campaigns. However, I wanted a more conversational/casual tone and place to post information. I wanted a place that lived on the web beyond the "view this newsletter in your browser" link. While I could use my wordpress website, I didn't want to be in the email system setup and monitoring business.
Substack gave me an excuse to port my users over and introduce broader topics on creativity, life, music, and other interests and pursuits. I am a formally published author - a couple books (Published through Pearson), dozens of articles, corporate pieces, poetry and essays - all paid gigs.
Substack provides a more "blog-like" permanence and feels more liberating than a traditional newsletter. I also tend to find the lack of formatting options and templates to be similarly liberating.
A couple months ago a few writer's recommended my substack and my list has grown by 400+ since then. I can't really take credit for this as I've been sporadic at best. New job writing software for META (Facebook), a bout of Covid, and preparing our condo for a move out of Los Angeles are the excuse(s) I've concocted so far. ;-)
The reality is we are shooting a music video and I am recording remotely with a few musicians. I wanted to have some of those projects behind me but I have a new post ready to publish this weekend, so there is that.
I answered "other" in the poll. My path to Substack was varied but, again, ultimately prompted by Starship Casual.
Thank you especially for the new audio tools. I am certain my incessant nagging finally caused you to capitulate and create those tools for me. ;-)
Hi I'm new here.. I've published a couple of poems.. I'm not getting the line breaks I want in my formatting. How to create spaces between verses as it were...? Thanks ! Jenniti
I started my Substack last week. I write an online legal guide for lifestyle entrepreneurs and content creators looking to add some peace to their businesses. Since I cant give my law degree away, I thought Iโd give away 12 years of experience as an intellectual property and small business attorney (and 3ish years of failing blissfully at mindfulness) in a series or chapter formula. Basically I didn't want to die with 100's of google docs of information that I never shared.
Thanks for doing thatโฆI just subscribed. I am woefully ignorant of the legal issues related to protecting my intellectual property and doing freelance work as an independent contractor, at what point I need a separate business account, an official sole proprietor business, etc. Looking forward to learning from an expert!
The key is NOT to promote too much. You hit a saturation point with your readers and that's a No-No. Focus on sharing and highlighting the works of your peers. Mutual respect leads to more opportunities to collab and exposure to new audiences.
I tweet out my articles, and put a link to newsletter in email signatures. So, not much, except that I (usually) write a lot (at least once a day), and send out dozens of emails each day!
I feel like I spend way too much time promoting my newsletter when I only publish once a week. I like Terry's routine better! Hmmm, maybe I'll dabble in twice-a-week postings...
Hello, my name is Eddie; I am seventeen. Alaskan-born and raised I heard about Substack from one of my new neighbors who told me about your (Substack Team's) platform, and I was intrigued. So, I created a Substack, and am currently picking my brain for some good things to post on here. I hope to eventually go paid on Substack if my writing is enjoyed by Substack readers.
Welcome! I am (fairly) new as well and have enjoyed it so far. I always heard the platform itself was super intuitive with a lot of creative freedom, but I didnโt realize (until now) that the Substack community is amazing.
Hello All! Three days ago I began serializing a novel here on Substack. I put three chapters up for free, posted two adjacent sort of essays in front of the paywall, and announced it on my FB and Twitter feeds. So far I have 19 subscribers. What else should I do? Are these numbers a success or a bust? Not that it much matters. I'm having fun.
Congrats! And welcome:) My advice would be, think about where the people you want to reach are, and go find them there. They might be on Twitter, Insta, even just here on Substack. See what works, and go from there. And have fun!
This is one of the main questions in the Grow series from Substack: Who are your people? Who is your ideal subscriber? What are they like? And then: Where do they hang out? But honestly, this is an ongoing question for writers here:) So don't sweat it... yet:))
This is a great conversation. I think it's sort of the same as when you discover the right literary magazines or publications for your work. You have to read and engage with other Substacks to develop the community and readers. It seems like that may be a good way. It takes time though.
My web designer suggested a newsletter on Substack to replace the email list on my travel website, which was no longer supported by WordPress. It was a game changer! So easy to set up and write my first post. I was able to transfer my email list and have gained subscribers for my travel journalism. Looking forward to growing even more.
I was introduced to the platform by a friend as I wanted to go paid with my blog and really happy I am where I am already within six months. Massive plans to keep growing the paid subscribers, have been concentrating on the free guys for a few weeks which has come up nicely, and am hoping to launch a free site on here alongside my paid site in the next few weeks. If you like soccer or football, you can find me at www.footballwriting.co.uk
I found Substack by seeing a reporter on tv. They kept saying he wrote on Substack. I thought, "Hmm...I don't know what that is." So then I looked him up and found out all about it. I did more research on it before starting my own Substack. I wanted to get my writing out for everyone to see instead of my writing sitting in my notebook and it being "lonely" with no one to look at it.. Ha Ha.
I rarely plug myself here, but I'm hitting 6 months writing What's Curation? and I'm having a discounted sale ending tomorrow. I invite you to come check me out and join our growing community. Also, managed to crack into the top 100 music newsletters on the leaderboard and so elated!
On topic: I've started two sections called "Guests" and "Interviews". Guests will be fellow substackers who will "take over" What's Curation? for a day and recommend music to my readers. Interviews will be email conversations with music artists, as well as fans and readers of What's Curation?--their lives, jobs and why they enjoy receiving my newsletter. I've also ordered BEAUTIFUL business cards with the brand colors and logo; should be coming in today!
I've become less focused on subscriber counts--I'm looking at putting content that people like to read and share. But I'm eyeing that 200 mark and I hope I hit it soon! Hope to see you in your inbox!
100% vouch for Nikhil's newsletter here. Great takes on music and the increasingly personal touch (loved your story about hearing vinyl for the first time) is definitely worth a subscription, free or paid.
Thanks so much for the shoutout, Oleg. It's a pleasure to meet you through Mark's newsletter. I've actually started a fledgling freelance consultancy to help newsletter writers write copy that's true to their tone of voice and help them build an organic audience from scratch. I will reveal the details next week! Scared, but good scared!
Iโm seeing a ~50% subscription rate from visitors who find me in the Substack app. Thatโs exciting as it's a substantially higher rate than I see with Substack.com visitors. The conversion rate difference makes sense to me because of the nature of Shift content so I expect it to continue.
Does anyone have ideas on I how might increase traffic specifically to the Substack app?
I had been subscribed to Mary Trump's "The Good in Us" ( https://marytrump.substack.com/ ) for a couple of months before I started my Newsletter in January. Before subscribing to her Newsletter, I had never heard of Substack.
I think the first I heard of Substack was from Austin Kleon's newsletter. Have been following him for a good few years and have always loved his insights. My latest newsletter actually talks a bit about how him and Lynda Barry have inspired me as an artist and notebook-keeper.
I think the other person I learned about Substack from was Marlee Grace, a writer, dancer, quilt-maker and everything-er. Her substack is always a joy when it arrives in my inbox.
What was going on in your life when you got started on Substack? We'd love to hear the story.
I started my Substack at the same time I shut down a marketing newsletter I'd been writing weekly since 1998. I transitioned a good many of the subscribers on the original newsletter to the Substack, which is on a different topic but one that subscribers had seen my views on.
Had I not started the Substack, I would be mourning the old newsletter and feeling a bit lost. But now I'm excited about tackling new topics every week (how our society misunderstands and disparages introverts) and I'm full of energy and optimism.
Fellow introvert and I'm subscribing!
Thank you for this. I am on my way to your Substack. I am the kind of introvert who considered the two-year period of lock-down during the pandemic as--FINALLY--an acceptable excuse to stay at home.
Me too! I loved the fact that I didn't have to attend parties, conference dinners or family gatherings (because there weren't any)!
I too felt the pandemic an award for finding my introverted birth identity and finally needed no excuse to indulge myself to stay home with me!
Another introvert who just signed up for a free subscription. Thanks!
I also moved to Substack to let go of my marketing-centered newsletter I'd been writing! I didn't make quite the leap of changing topics entirely but I love that you went into exploring introversion. Subscribed!
Iโm an introvert in many ways - I can be outgoing but I write about being a homebody and a hermit in my personal stories. So I suppose that makes me check the introvert ( and comfortable with it) box. ๐๐ป
I so agree with you. I was shamed out of my introverted self... so I have the capacity to be extroverted, however, I prefer being introverted and capable of being external if necessary or required for a time.
Another fellow misunderstood introvert. Iโm subscribing too!
Also fellow introvert (looks like we're in good company here) and very excited to join this (quiet) revolution.
I remember you! You were so prolific. Didn't you use to write for Writer's Digest?
I did write for Writer's Digest a few times and did a book on magazine article writing for their book division.
It's so good to see you on Substack. I know you'll do well. And I subscribed!
So cool. Glad you made the move to Substack, Marcia!
Fellow introvert. Subscribing!
I'd like to compare notes at some point, I have my own introversion blog but it's been dormant for years. The BBC found it once and interviewed me for their website, that was kind of fun.
My god, it's still there! https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17510163
I hear you Marcia on the introvert concept. I'm curious: how do you believe society misunderstands?
I believe society disparages due to how it perceives others as being selfish, when those others often time are doing what is needed to nourish Self. Ex: friends ask you out for drinks, you say you're going to get a massage, they say "c'mon, you can get that massage another time!"
Roman, There are dozens of ways in which introverts are misunderstood, and each week I tackle another one. For example, introverts are often seen as aloof, because they don't like to engage in small talk or don't feel the need to get enthusiastic about everything other people are saying. For another, introverts are often thought of as incapable of leadership, because the dominant image is of a commanding, rah-rah, expressive leader. Introverts are even tagged as mentally ill when they enjoy developing their inner world or dedicating themselves to some demanding art - like Emily Dickinson, my focus next month in the newsletter.
When I read Quiet, by Susan Cain, I realised for the first time that there wasn't anything wrong with me as a child.
Cain's book was a turning point for me too. I wrote about that in one of my posts.
This one I presume? It resonated with my own feelings and experience: https://morph01.substack.com/p/learning-about-introversion-changed?r=18suih&s=r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct
Marcia! I just subscribed. I'm a cartoonist who made a zine about introversion years ago and it's always been my top seller. I couldn't agree more that introversion is incredibly misunderstood and often disparaged by the world at large. I've had so many friends feel threatened by the fact that I've chosen to stay-in on weekends "without an excuse". It's really tiring to constantly feel like you have to explain that you don't need an excuse to want to relax at home.
The best conference dinner I attended was one I couldn't get to. I spent the evening in a restaurant where there was only one other diner and the Evening Standard. Sheer bliss!
Delighted to find you here. As a senior introvert who just moved into a senior community, I'm find this an interesting path.
Thank you Marcia. Very true - I recently read Linchpin, and Godin describes the way many people see Modern Art. They say "I can do that."
That's not the point. The point is that someone, an artist, had to take the risk of doing that work, dedicating themselves, and putting themselves out there.
The risk is underappreciated and overly feared, and as a result so is the artist.
I consider myself more of a mesovert.
As one who wasn't a big fan of small-talk, over the years I have taken to "listening" and "editing" small-talk to provide entertainment value to myself and others. As such, I think I have gotten the reputation of not being so serious.
For example: Say someone says the following:
"Harry needs to go see a doctor," someone says.
"What is it?" asked another person.
Here, I would inject "It's a professional who practices medicine on patients, but that's not important right now."
Small-talk does provide a valuable service as it allows us to "vet" fandangos from our lives. A "fandango" is someone who asks way to personal and intimate questions when first meeting someone new. The reason for small-talk is a way to signal to other people that we are normal, and establishing a baseline of what is considered to be socially acceptable.
Seems right up my street, so I've just subscribed.
I remember you from ages ago, and I think I even have a book of yours. Anyway, I just subscribed to your newsletter as (a) I always found your articles useful and (b) I'm an introvert too!
I am going from writing op-eds to substack. I love itโโall except there is no editor!
I quit my very lucrative job and was having a total mental breakdown. Found Substack though a silent writing hour your community manager was doing at the time. Started writing to cope (as usual) and after my therapist recommended Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way I realized "HOLY SHIT. I'm a writer." Started writing a book, this newsletter, and it helped me survive!
Life changer. Super grateful.
I use writing to cope, too (and help others cope). In fact, one of my Medium articles is titled, โThe Best Thing Iโve Done For My Mental Health is Write Online,โ and that is definitely the case!
Writing is a great coping mechanism, and a great way to handle "downtime." On top of that, I think it is very constructive. Instead of consuming, you are creating something.
Great way of putting itโcreating not consuming. I'm feeling better already!
yes
Totally agree.
I didn't know what else to do. Most of my life I didn't have people around that understood me very well. I had to rely on introspection. A purple Lisa Frank journal taught me how to cope. How has writing online been different for you? Do you change what/how you write knowing that it's not just for you?
I was a journaler too growing up! I also wrote little storybooks I recently found from my childhood haha.
I don't know if it's good or not, but I never found myself filtering myself online when I'd write. I moved online once I found out my mom read my diary back in middle school cause she didn't and still kinda doesn't know how to work the internet.
I just ended up blocking all of my family on social media or making certain things invisible to them so I didn't have to hear them talk about me or what I was doing.
(Once my grandma told on me for saying I couldn't wait to save up for a Sims game in high school. I was later yelled at for insinuating that I was poor when we were doing fine (??????).)
Dang. That's tough. My mom hates what I say about growing up too. It's got to be embarrassing for her to have me show my struggles under her roof, but us writers gotta write. ๐ญ
YES! We absolutely do! So sorry for the late reply! I'm glad I was able to find your comment again!
I wonder how many of us have this same thought. I am guessing quite a lot of us do. We understand and get "parts" of one another, but rarely do we understand the whole.
I also believe that one of the things that attracts us to writing is introspection. We are self aware, seek for self enrichment and growth, and thus writing becomes an exploration of that. So you will find, I believe and hope, kindred spirits here. We may not understand you well, but in a similar fashion we can at least empathize because we ourselves are not understood either.
And that is also a drive of writing. The constant drive to be understood and to seek out others that resonate with that. I don't know if I have ever written "just" for myself, but rather in an effort to find others who also have a similar drive.
Jimmy, I'd wager a lot more than can even admit it.
This is exactly how I look at it. I write to express myself but am hoping someone can relate or wanna try something I mention or have something new to ponder on.
Oh yes! Writing is my lifeline and outlet.
I remember when I went through my first big breakup and at that time I was flunking out of college and SO sad for months and.... All I could turn to when I felt so filled with sorrow was writing. It helped with the "overflow" of emotions and kept me stable and sane enough in a household that wouldn't allow me nor take me seriously about wanting to go to therapy.
I love writing and... I'm also grateful for it.
It's such an important part of my life and always has been!
My sister, an author, recommended The Artist's Way years ago. Never got around to it, but, shit, if it prompted you to start a book and newsletter, I might have to revisit! What a great story, Natasha.
Thanks Pablo... may I recommend...? Julia Cameron will be doing a session with LWS and they've given me free tickets... just use "NATASHA" as the code. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pursuing-the-artists-way-a-conversation-with-julia-cameron-tickets-392371041347
Oh damn, I just clicked on the link and noticed I'll be in France at the same time. Too bad. The event looks great. I appreciate you thinking to send me the invitation though.
The Artist's Way! Those morning pages really did it, huh?!
Did they ever!!
Agreed!! I have been writing more than ever since I started with my substack (been writing on and off for years ever since I was a little kid) and it's been working wonders for my mental health
There are so many people like us. Never realized why they write...
What is a silent writing hour? Sounds intriguing.
I'm not familiar with this one, but I think I have a kind of open-house silent writing time on demand with individual friends. I am usually writing or editing most of every day and if a friend calls and wants to stop by, I usually say yes but with the condition that they bring something to do. And, over time, even those who were resistant to the whole idea now call to ask if they can come over to do some writing--everything from personal letters to grant proposals. I started this when I was teaching at a small college in Michigan and a friend would come over a day a month and we would spend the day, in different rooms, grading papers and writing up class preps. I have found over the years that the work//writing energy of two or three people is really electrifying and I and whoever else is there usually get twice as much work done.
So interesting. Thanks for the explanation and examples.
I think I forgot to say a couple of important things. Sitting together in silence, especially writing silence, is a powerful path to friendship. How I discovered that is another long story. But the second thing I left out about the silent work time is that it's fun.
This is something I might like to write about in my newsletter! Can you please email me your contact information so I can follow up afterwards? (marcia@yudkin.com) Thank you very much.
It really is. They host mingles and other workshops as well.
We would sit and work for a few hours, then break for tea and chatter, then back to it. I love it. I'm so hopelessly addicted to writing that I seem to do it all day whether I intend to or not, but to sit in a quiet space with like-minded and similarly occupied friends is a whole other kind of pleasure.
It was! Sadly, they cancelled it, but it sent me on a quest where luckily I found The London Writer's Salon! Daily silent writing sessions, but LWS is SO much more. It's a community. https://writershour.com
I miss the Substack Writer's Hour so much! The London Writer's Salon is at awkward hours for me in LA. Maybe they'll bring it back someday? ๐ค
Bummer Valorie! They're adding another hour!
Oo that's great news!
Valorie- Same thing for me in LA. I always sit down to write just as they're wrapping up.
Oooh, good to know! Thanks!
Thank you! Just signed up. (And there are discrete London, NY, LA sessions.)
Thank you so much for sharing this, Natasha!
My pleasure Jessica. I'm trying to be a bit more vulnerable in certain areas.
Oh I've been meaning to join the London Writer's Salon. I always think of it too late, but I've heard such wonderful things about the community.
Do it. You won't regret it.
Katie, I was pretty much resigned to losing a lot of my speaking gigs in the pandemic, maybe forever, and was working on a novel. I read about Substack, and had a eureka moment (voom, pow!) when I came up with the idea for Non-Boring History. I thought it would be a nice little side project for my spare time. Hahahahahaahahaha. That's a demented laugh, 18 months later. It ate my life. (not complaining! ๐)
Love the concept of things that sound boring and then making them fun again...I do this with couples' communication by focusing on the fun conversations we can have, rather than fights that are determined by an outcome. Fun conversations don't have to have an outcome!
I had a similar thought Annette! "Unruly Figures will be a nice side project for me" HA HA HA
Annette - Just subscribed. Fabulous.
I created my Substack three months ago right after checking my youngest child into rehab and learning I would be a stem cell donor for my brother (leukemia). I thought, โDammit, itโs time I do something for me.โ And so I am. This community is something I can count on regardless what storm Iโm walking through!
It really is such a great community. Great to have you here, Holly.
Thanks, Pablo! Writing my stories is definitely a form of therapy, and I love it when one resonates with even just one person. And I'm learned so much from my fellow Substackers!
I just posted this comment under Randall's comment, and I'm going to share it with you. See you on Release and Catch!
Collaboration
Connections
My first thought when I saw people offering to โcollaborateโ was that they were
trying to take a ride on someone elseโs connections to build their own subscription list.
I try to be โskeptical, but not cynical,โ butโฆ
However, after getting more interactive last week, I found myself โcollaboratingโ at some level with several people. โOn a second thought" I see that I collaborate automatically all the time.
Collaboration might be simple as giving some input on the fly or as extensive as co-writing a piece on something of mutual interest.
I have begun to collaborate with Jack Bosma just by checking out the idea of "microcontentโ and finding out that โ200 words/1200 characters" isnโt nearly as restrictive as I assumed. Even Twitter would be doable if I use the tweetstorm tactic.
Yes, 200 words would often be TB:HI (TooBrief:HenceIncomplete), but as a tease or the lede (newspaper style) it could preview something that some folks would label TL:DR.
TBD, Holly and S.E have also collaborated with me, although time constraints in my life has kept me from addressing the spiritual questions on ThanksForLettingMeShare, and the central importance of a good sister in a siblingโs life cannot be overstated is something I wrote about after reading the opening of Holly Rโs trilogy on stem cell donation on Release and Catch. And also the Midweek Musing on the return of her children who had flown the nest with a simple, โLooks like your โreleaseโ of them allowed them to be โcaughtโ in their own appropriate developmental stage. And S.E. Reid has also been leading me down the spiritual path through her Wildwood Forest, via her Parables posts.
Late again today due to family issues, but grateful to be able to provide support instead of needing it.
I will check back later today, but the morning has drained my brain, leaving only a desire to answer the call of the mattress from my dark and silent bedroom.
I was just sick of creating "marketing" type content and wanted a place to write what I wanted without worrying about keeping up with a blog.
I left for a few months to work on creating an income for myself, but came right back because I REALLY missed it and rebranded it to TRULY write whatever I wanna write because I LOVE writing and would love to create a community around my writing!
Just tired of churning things out for other people rather than a community by writing exactly what brings me joy!
Miss the more human side of the internet and wanna return to those conversations and feel with my newsletter, Tiny Moments!
The upkeep required for a solid Wordpress site just got to be too much!
I do have a Wordpress but thinking of abandoning it, in favor of substack.
Yeah, I haven't abandoned it but my service expires next May so I'm trying to figure out if I should move to a different server or abandon it completely.
YES, verymuchso! I have the "create your own layout" up on mine but it's SUCH a mess... So glad to not have to worry about all that!
Hi Cierra, I 100% agree! Thanks for saying this, and I just subscribed to yours. Looking forward to diving in!
Aww Iโm glad it resonated! And thank you so much! Iโm publishing the first of a โfriday coffee hourโ tomorrow where I share things I loved the past week (2 this one time) haha.
Also have a question lined up for the community to answer each week too!
Felt this, Cierra: "...tried of churning things out for other people."
Thanks! I definitely understand why itโs necessary at times, but I so so miss just writing what I want and makes me happy to share! Thank goodness for Substack!
For sure. It's a great space.
I HEARD about Substack a while before I started actually writing on it. It was in some article in the corporate press about how dangerous the platform was. I was curious to see what this apocalyptic engine that would bring about the death of journalism, as the article framed it.
Took about five seconds to figure out why they were in such a huff. The writers on Substack are doing better journalism, with fewer resources, than ANY mainstream outlet - bar none. The platform is only a threat to the lazy outlets doing shoddy writing.
Of course, there are many other writers on here that don't consider themselves journalists, but that's the idea that first introduced me to the platform.
Hahah Dangerous indeed. Look at all of us writers assembling!
If I didn't have to keep my day job, I would totally start a Substack for our small town outside of Indianapolis to work on quality local journalism.
Wait, wait... as in Indiana? I'm from Indianapolis and have been there until 2 years ago! (Yaaay Hoosiers!)
"We named the dog Indiana."
Love that line
Just outside of Indy, yep!
As a fellow (expat) Midwesterner, I'd totally read that.
I think it's one of the great potentials of Substack. I'm a free subscriber to The Dispatch, but I can see how Substack could revive local journalism in really important ways.
You've really got me thinking here! The paper in our suburb is nice, but it's really paint-by-numbers, and not a lot of depth. If I'm honest, I only still subscribe for the crossword, and HS sports section (my son pays for his school).
I've always wondered if there's an appetite locally for more than what we get.
Ohmygoodness! I grew up in Indiana- in the cornfields just outside of West Lafayette. My mom talks all the time about the loss of local journalism around there. A local substack reporting would be amazing.
Right? But teenagers need to be taught, so...
You know, when I was 14 I took journalism as an elective and it changed my life. Maybe this is a journalism class project just waiting to happen.
I really just need to clone myself ;-)
Anyone else catch the recent Joe Rogan with one of the founders of Substack? It was a great three hours of listening.
I feel like I read that article! I was already reading a Substack from another author, but that apocalyptic attitude got me more interested in this platform, haha.
Cole, I'm with you in that I heard about Substack from negative news stories, looked into it and decided it was actually a good platform for what I had in mind.
Gives new meaning to the old adage, "All publicity is good publicity."
I began my Substack as a way of healing from an abusive relationship. I thought the writing would be just for me, for my personal healing. However, as it turns out, I've resonated with hundreds of people and have now helped others heal by providing them with encouragement and education on all aspects of domestic violence. It's been quite a rewarding journey, to say the least!
I applaud you, Jenny, for rewriting your story. What you're doing is powerful and reaches so beyond your own healing. As we share our stories, we create new narratives and new possibilities that not only transform our lives, but transform the lives of others as well.
Just looked at your Substack and you have clearly been doing this work for quite a while, so you know well the impact you are making.
Are you attending the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago next August? I've presented at the last two (once as a presentation, the other as a workshop, both based on this: https://www.academia.edu/25660899/Reframing_Bible_Stories_for_Battered_Women) and don't think I will again because this is not the focus of my work these days. And, they are requesting proposals be for panels. If you're not already going to be there, perhaps we might talk? I'm very interested in your work.
I'd love to talk, Jan! I hadn't planned to go, although I do a strong contact in Chicago (Fr. Chuck Dahm of the Domestic Violence Outreach Program), he may be going. Anyway, let's chat! That would be great. You can reach me through my contact form, which will enable us to exchange email addresses. https://www.createsoulspace.net/contact.html
Awesome, Jenny! Iโve had a similar experience writing about mental health, and learned that sharing my wounds and what Iโve learned not only helps me heal, it helps others heal, too.
Incredible story of turning a positive into a negative. Glad you've been able to help and heal, Jenny.
Powerful, Jenny. Love it.
My husband and I had closed our bike shop + coffee shop, I had left acting and was reconsidering the interior design business I had started. We spent the next two years on the road traveling and imagining what was next. I kept finding myself returning to this idea of building a platform for myself where I had full artistic autonomy- I could create with freedom, in my own voice, so that those who spoke my language could find me. The first step was a writing project I wanted to launch and I kept coming back to Substack. I loved that it was exactly that- my own digital home- plus a built in community. This June, Outsourced Optimism was born!
Sounds perfect for meโฆlove your title and concept and just subscribed!
Thank you so much Wendi! Cheers to all our life changing endeavors.
Hi Tami! Your 'Stack looks right up my alley, and I see we both follow Suleika. I just subscribed to yours!
Thank you Jessica! I do think Suleika is a perfect filter/ algorithm recommendation "If you like Isolation Journals, you will like Outsourced Optimism."
Thank you! I look forward to diving into your journey as well.
Oh...subscribed!!!
From one traveler to another, welcome aboard!
Thank you!
Just subscribed to yours too, Sarah! 100% here for all the travel content.
Thank you! And I'm working on it. If only I could quit my day job and travel full time ;-)
I had moved to New York in September 2020, had nine months of sobriety (the longest period of my life) and was writing about it and doing a Daily Gratitude List. I started my Substack newsletter about a year ago (https://thanksforlettingmeshare.substack.com) and the podcast in March. This is kind of becoming my primary pursuit and has changed my life. That's a good thing because it's also what helps keeps me sober.
I love it here,
Randall
I love to hear the "backstory" and I'm glad you shared yours. God looked at my plan for the day and laughed, so I just posted a hastily written piece about "collaboration" in general and am calling it a "morning." See you on ThanksForSharing.
I started Unruly Figures a few years after finishing my Master's. My advisors had talked me out of getting a PhD and becoming a professor for all the usual reasons--the adjuntification of higher ed, low pay, terrible hours, instability, low research/journal readership. One advisor told me, "You're a good storyteller, find a way to take teaching into the public sphere." I moved to LA thinking that I'd find a way to work at the History Channel or on historical fiction movies/TV shows, but it wasn't working out. Eventaully, I realized that if I learned how to make a podcast, I could just make the stories myself instead of relying on someone else to give me a job. Unruly Figures was born just about a year ago!
That's awesome, Valorie! I wonder how many of us culture-writing Substackers are on the run from academia. Even though I'm in some ways on the inside of academia, I also consider myself among those on the run from it! lol.
I suspect that it's a large number, just from looking at today's thread!
I love the premise of Unruly Figures! I am actively breaking out of my rule-follower/ afraid to get in trouble patterning and surrounding myself with stories of fellow independent spirits and visionaries who create their own way by making their own rules. Subscribed.
Heck yes, I love this! That's one of the best things I've gotten out of making this podcast--the courage to know which rules I'm fine breaking and which ones I want to adopt for myself. Welcome!
YES to making the rules. I really want to write serious analysis of genre fiction (mystery, thrillers, romance) but it can can be hard to find places to do that. So a friend and Ij just decided to start our own substack devoted to Louise Penny.
I'm going to need a link to that substack. ๐
LOL. I'd ask you to contribute but I know you have a book to finish.
https://notesfromthreepines.substack.com/p/coming-soon?showWelcome=true
It's due September 1, so I'm wide open after that!
I started my newsletter 10+1 Things while I was going through a rut in my life. I was jobless and my health was bad due to bad habits. I decided to start my newsletter as a way to have some discipline and routine in my life. I structured it in such a way that it kept me busy by reading, writing and research on topics I care about.
I started it with zero audience and fast forward now, Iโm close to 2000 subs with a community of readers that I love my work. I still remember my days when I used to showup on writer office hours every week to collaborate with others and grow my newsletter. Iโm so grateful on my experience and cannot thank enough the team behind such a great platform.
P.S: If youโre starting out, don't worry about the numbers and just follow the process. Happy to help and collaborate with others on this platform!
Link: https://rishikesh.substack.com/
Cool Rishikesh! I've just subscribed!
Rishi is great to collaborate with & 10+1 is well worth your time.
This is awesome! I also started from a familiar space having never been fully consistent with my writing practice. A regular cadence and commitment to writing have helped me think better and sharpen my writing 'pen'
What a great success story. Thanks for sharing, Rishikesh.
If I'm double posting I apologize but I think my original reply got lost. Anyway, the past 2+ years have been intense and difficult for all of us plus I've been doing some challenging work projects remotely. I've been active on Twitter for years and started to notice mentioned of Substack this year. Then some Twitter friends started their own and... something just clicked. I needed something significant to focus on outside of work.
I blogged regularly 10 - 11 years ago but binned it all due to time commitment and other priorities. Yet blogging was so exciting and fun at the time and I have missed it on some level.
So I dipped my toe in the Substack pool back in early May 2022, then my foot, my leg and... well, I'm neck deep now! The challenge of building a publication and an audience hit me in the right spot. Fumbled around for the first few weeks, got educated and connected with this great community (and others), hit upon a publication schedule, did a bunch of hustling... here I am! It's been wonderful to feel such enthusiasm for something old again (writing, creativity, etc.) but with an appealing new face and process.
That's muh story ('til I need to change it for legal purposes).
I set a goal for myself to lead a climbing expedition to a particularly famous Colorado peak. I originally intended the publication to be a kind of journal, detailing my progress as I worked to master the sport. A few things happened right after I published my first post.
1. I got a promotion at my job in news. The pay and hours were better, but I was under more direct supervision. I was getting told a lot that our audience probably didn't care about the outdoor stories I was pitching and wanted to write about.
2. My friend and I wound up saving a lost hiker from a really dangerous situation near a mountain peak.
I realized that I had a deep need to tell these outdoor stories, and if my job wouldn't pay me to do them, I'd do it myself. I also was terrified of seeing myself become another outdoor influencer. I want to be the person knitting together a great community. Over time, I launched a podcast to do interviews with the people I met. Then a few months later, launched a dedicated news section to my Substack. I've actually had some pretty big exclusives recently that I'm really proud of!
It's definitely not the publication I first envisioned. But I'm happy with where I'm going!
That's a fantastic story - congratulations on all you are achieving, indoors and out!
Hi Katie,
For me it was early 2022, and my aunt had gifted me a subscription to The Isolation Journals with Suleika Jaouad. I had a very rough last few years health-wise, and my aunt thought this newsletter would help me by reading stories on healing and also inspire my writing.
A couple of months later after a loving but messy family Zoom happened, I woke up with endless emotional thoughts racing through my head. From sex and family drama to work woes and hangovers, and I wanted to write them down. That's how my Substack, Morning After Thoughts was born! https://jessicabsokol.substack.com/
I think Isolation Journals was my first introduction to Substack too!
I was a Medium writer for about 2-3 years. Although Medium was a great platform, it's algorithm made it difficult to stay connected to my followers and it's pay method was largely dependent on how many likes and comments you got. So it was like Instagram. It's algorithm was mostly based on hyperconsumption and it got tiring having to feed that bottomless pit only to make less than $70 a month.
I eventually decided to try my hand at Substack and start fresh. I figured I would divide my time and attention between this and Medium, but I was tired of the Medium's algorithm and left completely (though you'll still find my page up and running).
I've been on Substack for a year now but I've really been struggling to grow my following. Does anyone have any tips?
I've kept a foot in Medium, partly to draw readers here. That has done at least as much for me as say Twitter (ugh, but necessary evil!) and FB. I have been careful not to replicate--I write different pieces for the two platforms. I put a LOT more effort in here, and it has paid off. It is slow though! But it's growing.
Hi, Bih,
People connect with people. My first suggestion would be to include your name (real name, full name? not sure what Bih is) in your bio and then say something real about yourself. All marketing starts with finding a way to connect to your audience and your bio is the first place to do this.
Food for Thought is a good concept and I'll give it a read. And, honestly, I would slip right by it if I hadn't just met you here. Sounds like you really have something valuable to share and I wish you the best. Put yourself out there and let folks connect! :)
Jan, as someone who relocated very far away, the concept of "finding home" resonates. Thanks for sharing-I'm also working on building my newsletter following and my writing community. Will check out your posts! -Julia
Thank you, Julia! Now I'm curious about your relocation and "very far away." Hope we connect again!
Ha! I moved from Brooklyn, New York (where I grew up and have spent most of my life) to Anchorage, Alaska. I'm a public defender and had a great job opportunity there in an office that really cares about its employees, as well as our indigent clients. I love it and have decided to put down roots, but resettling is always hard. I just bought my first house (!) and am exploring what it means to build a true home.
Ah! I was wondering where you grew up. Putting down roots in a place so far from your original home is quite a feat. Congratulations on the new house! Wishing you the best as you create home. - Also, I admire the work you're doing. There's a lot of "home" in that work as well.
Thank you for your suggestion! Also 'Bih' is my first name. It's a twin name that's popular in Cameroon in West Africa.
Similar story, which I wrote about at length in my Substack launch piece. If you're interested: https://agowani.substack.com/p/welcome-to-the-party-pal.
They suggest converting followers from other social media platforms by promoting your Substack there.
Any tips on how to do that on Twitter? I'm mostly talking to myself on there.
It's near impossible to get any attention on Twitter without being extremely inflammatory. I've heard several times (but not tried yet) that Reddit forums/groups are a good place to build community. But my understanding is you have to be careful about self-promoting because people get mad.
I've had some small accomplishments (as defined within the literary genre) what with books and essays in fancy journals, but as my 70th birthday approached I started redefining what success means. And I've grown impatient. I had written this environmental thriller and just didn't want to go my usual lengthy, full of rejections route to possible publication. So three days ago, I started serializing it here. I'm so glad.
Wow! I love the concept on your 'Stack. I just subscribed!
Thank you!
That's awesome!
Thank you all for joining today and sharing your stories! Today is our 50th (!!) Office Hours. I just went back to the first thread (https://on.substack.com/p/office-hours-1/comments) and it's so cool to see some of the writers who joined us that first time over a year ago here in the thread today, Jolene, Annette, Geoffery, and Sarah to name a few.
I appreciate you generously showing up to Office Hours, it has become a highlight of my week.
See you next week for more celebration at Shoutout Thread!
Katie, Bailey, Chris, Reid, John, Quinn, Tian, Michelle, Andew, and Sam
CONGRATS to the community team and your 50th thread! And so awesome to know that there are some regulars who were hear 50 conversations ago. Thank you for all you do, community team.
What have you learned about using the free preview paywalls? Anyone give the new audio paywall a spin yet?
Free preview paywalls seem to work well when coupled with a seven day free trial offer. The key with previews seems to be to provide enough content to not irritate free subscribers who receive the preview. There should be some value in reading the preview for those who choose not to go paid. As a reader, I get annoyed when I receive a preview that hits a paywall a sentence or two into the email. Thatโs wasting the readers time imo.
That's always a tricky thing to balance. You want enough to entice but leave enough so that there's value for the paid subs. To your point, though, you don't want to turn off readers who get cut off before they even get going. I haven't figured out this strategy yet, which is why I haven't yet gone paid.
Most of my paid content is long form (often 4000-5000 words) so I can offer a 500-1000 word preview that has value without making the paid subs feel like they arenโt getting enough. Itโs definitely a tricky thing to get right.
Checking this out, but what is intriguing me is the idea of (in the next six months or so) putting my Archives about Jane Austen and classic lit behind a paywall (but to provide free access for any teachers, who can just email me and let me know their place of work.) So each post/essay would be free for two weeks, then go behind a paywall. If anyone has tips or stories on this, would love to hear them.
I've ben on the fence about using it, mostly because I can't decide on what period of time to use. A week? A month? Hoping others that are using it will chime in and share how it's worked for them.
So true. Totally agree
Not a fan of paywalls. I use a NPR member supporter model
Cool! My day-job is in public radio and I'm very interested in our Substack community observing what we might learn from (and also how we might diverge from or improve on) the NPR model, which has been going strong for 50 years based on simply reminding community members regularly what they are getting and asking them to pay for it, if they can afford to do so. It seems to me the NPR/publicmedia model is more about regularly communicating the relationship/collective/community we've created, and regularly issuing explicit invitations and ways to join/support it. We need a conference with Ira Glass, immediately!
Gonna start using that next month! Just went paid and need to announce it and everything next month once I play a little catch up the rest of this month)
Hello Cierra. Not sure who to ask but I donโt know how to add a new article? I have one posted and I donโt know how to add another?
Ah you mean like a new post? Should be on the right hand side after clicking โdashboardโ
I haven't tried to audio paywall yet, but I'm excited to! Free preview paywalls in general haven't done much for me--I think I converted one person to paid with one. No one has unsubscribed after encountering one though!
Paywalls are the reason for my conversions, they rock!
I usually dangle 700-1,100 words of content on the free side of the paywall and then ~2,000-3,000 words past the paywall. It's enough that it's a worthwhile read for people who are exclusively free subscribers, while also still having enough on the other side of the paywall to feel like you got your moneys worth if you paid.
Also important to restrict certain types of content to always being behind the paywall, so that you (the author) can give a coherent value statement about what you (the reader) will get if you pay to subscribe.
I will check the new audio paywall right away!
Audio is on my list for September!
Greetings, Katie;
I was wondering how to go paid on the Substack platform. (ie. prerequisites, required number of views/likes/shares to get paid for writing pieces on here)
Also, how old does one have to be in order to join the Substack team?
Thanks
Eddie
Soldotna, AK, USA
Is the audio paywall a partial clip? Wow that would be cool. Does it work for podcasting?
Hello writers! Once again, here is a little bit of encouragement from one small newsletter to all of you: I believe that there's room for every single writer at the table, and that the best thing that writers can do is lift one another up. So tell us: how are you feeling about your journey as a writer this week? Share with us! See someone struggling? Reach out with some love! Let's show each other that we're not alone in this up-and-down writing adventure. And thanks to each of YOU for encouraging me every week simply by the way you engage here! I appreciate you all more than I could ever express. ๐ฟ
I post once every two weeks and have been doing so since March, the rollercoaster of emotions has yet to change.
Day 1: I have two whole weeks to figure something out
Day 2: I need to write something
Day 3: This is the worst thing Iโve ever written
Day 4: Iโm not doing this anymore
Day 7: Eh
Day 9: This is passable?
Day 10: Wait, thereโs something here
Day 12: Refine, refine, refine
Day 14: This might be the best thing Iโve ever written
Rinse and repeat.
haha this is very unlike my writing process. mine usually goes like this:
day 1: great, i have plenty of time to write a new post for next week
day 2:
day 3:
day 4:
day 5:
day 6: oh yeah tomorrow's newsletter writing day
day 7: .....shit
<chuckle>
Thanks for openly admitting this!!!!!!!!
This is my process too. Where do days 2-5 go?! How does this happen every time?!
Mine is similar, except I usually donโt think about my newsletter post at all until the day I have to write it! Occasionally Iโll get an idea in advance and write it down, but usually end up writing something different anyway.
Yeah, I'm more on this page.
I have a similar thing, except mine also includes "To hell with it; nobody's going to read it anyway." I'm always pleasantly surprised when someone actually does!
Thinking no one was going to read my writing gave me the freedom to say what I wanted. The challenge was to actually press SEND. ;-)
That's definitely relatable!
This is exactly how it goes... Writing is 10x more enjoyable when you're actually doing it rather than when you're procrastinating on it ๐
This is it exactly, except that I reduce this cycle to one day.
Plus a weekly podcast and it appears like you are branching out to more projects. I haven't had the time to check out your (or anyone's) podcast, but I am sure it is well done, as well.
I am late to the game, again this Thursday, but I had something ready to go, regarding collaboration. If I can find it I will post it, but I see that Katie has sparked a good discussion already today.
I donโt know how you do it, but I certainly appreciate it!
Hi Matt, I just read one of your articles even though it's not my usual cup of tea, and it made me laugh. (I hope it was meant to.) So I've just subscribed :-)
Thanks, Terry! Iโm glad it did, Iโve found dark things are best handled with a bit of humor.
Keep it up! I do Day 1 to 4 and then hit publish!
I love this. So relatable. Same here but mine is weekly. ๐คฏ
Haha well, judging by your newsletter it might be the best thing you've ever written! Seriously y'all, subscribe to Matt's newsletter if you haven't already. It's fantastic.
Youโre too kind to me! Thank you.
so true... oh my...!
Thinking about not letting perfect be the enemy of the good! Trying to be consistent to push myself as a writer and acknowledge that I am always growing. Hitting publish without being 100% confident is a leap of faith to my little circle of readers, one I want to take!
Interestingly, I have found on several occasions that just bashing out a quick article gets more traction than one I've spent hours researching, writing and refining!
I find this too! I think urgency and passion come across better when you don't have time to overthink what you're saying!
Funny how that happens sometimes.
Oddly, I have discovered this as well. Not always, but often the piece I just "threw together" has done better than the ones I labored over for hours!
Yep. Happens to me all the time. I need to adopt the "think less, write more" motto. For some reason, this has been a summer of distractions โ my business came back in a fury โ and I haven't had as much time as I'd like to write.
I grapple with this a lot. I always end up taking way too much time because I fixate on details no one else will likely pay attention to. I definitely need to streamline the process. I thought publishing once a week would be totally manageable, but I've drawn out the process.
Oooh I'll be using that today! I have my first "coffee hour fridays" series newsletter going out tomorrow covering A TON of things I loved (it's covering 2-week's worth of things I enjoyed lol) and a question for the community to answer.
I've wrote A LOT so I'm gonna keep going, then do a quick edit and make sure I post it instead of letting it go cause it's not "perfect."
Whoo!
I post a lot of personal writing in my newsletter, but I always try to relate it to my readers as well. Last week, I posted about a band I've loved for a long time (Guster!). I worried it was self-indulgent, but I was surprised by how many people related and told stories of their own Guster-like bands or similar fandoms. I also shared the post on a Guster fan Facebook page and got a lot of positive responses. So write what you love--people will still connect!
This is a great point, Jill! I write slice of life humor, but last week I decided to post about reading Nixonland. The post had some humor and some slice of life elements, but it was very different from my normal posts. After I scheduled the post I was a ball of nerves. I thought, what have I done? Will I lose subscribers? Will people complain? Will my comments section turn into a hellscape of political talking points? These were my fears. But as it turned out, my fears were unfounded. People liked the post, left great comments, and somehow Nixonland author Rick Perlstein even found the story and left a lovely comment! How did this happen? I wrote about something I loved and readers responded. Thank you for making this point, Jill!
I think trying new things is always a great idea, and Substack really allows a lot of room for experimentation. In fact, your post made me realize that from time to time I could do a version of a book review for my Story Cauldron substack since my whole premise is talking about storytelling. And that realization makes it a LOT easier to come up with a new topic when I'm stuck! So thanks for the idea.
You're welcome! I'm so glad it helped you see some more possibilities for Story Cauldron!
It was a great post! I think we all got beat over the head with the idea that we had to fit into a niche and couldn't step outside of it, but our readers are smarter than we give them credit for! Stepping outside it every once in a while might even be good!
thank you! and i think you're right about fitting into a niche. you do need to be able to articulate a clear topic of what your newsletter covers, but i think you can be pretty expansive with how you interpret that, especially as time goes on and you develop deeper relationships with readers. as for how to get over that feeling of "stepping outside your lane," well, that's a work in progress for me.
Exactly. I think you're absolutely right.
That post was verrrrry long, but you know what? I read every bit of it and LOVED it!
thank you! i think it's the longest post i've ever had on substack. this week will be much shorter :)
Don't toss those long ones out because you think they're too long. I actually tackled it like a book. I waited until I had plenty of time and settled in for a reading session. It was a delicious break from my world!
that's good to know, thank you for sharing that! my top two posts are actually among my longest. i did get a little freaked out when i got that warning from substack about the post possibly being too long for some email providers, but i checked with a few other writers and they assured me that clipped messages haven't really hurt them.
Counterintuitively, I saw the 20 minute read time in the app and thought, "Oh, this one's gonna be a banger." And of course it was.
first, thank you! second, that's a good point. i think it really helps to see the estimated read time because it sets expectations and allows readers to make time for a story.
Wow wow! So neat to even have the author pop over!
Also yaaaay slice-of-life newsletters!
This is awesome! A great reminder of what can happen when we take risks. I was sort of hoping a member of Guster would read my post but alas, nothing so far. Maybe someday. :)
For what it's worth, I had it on my Monday to-do list to email the post to Rick Perlstein. I didn't have any hope that he'd read my email or even respond, but he beat me to the punch. Point being, maybe email Guster!?
Carpe Diem! Maybe I will! (Just subscribed to your newsletter--fascinating story about being a PA at Nixon's funeral!)
thanks & welcome aboard!
Also, just subscribed to your substack, Jill! Looks super cool!
Writing about music, I feel like that a lot. I think as writers, we're worried about being self-indulgent when in reality it comes across to readers as excitement? That makes for a good read, even if it might not be an artist they're too excited about.
Excellent point. Really enjoy what you're doing with your newsletter. I meant to comment on your Replacements post but haven't. (Adds to growing dead sea scroll of a to-do list.)
Thank you! I really appreciate that, and I'm happy to hear you're enjoying it!
That's an excellent point!
I did the same thing last week with Elliott Smith.
I personally love to read stories where the writer knows a lot and is passionate about what theyโre writing whether I know anything about what theyโre writing or not!
Some of my comedian friends have a philosophy: Your audience doesn't have to be into the topic you're talking about, as long as you can convey that you're really into the topic you're talking about.
I've heard the same thing said by teachers. The best teachers are those who have a passion for the topic they are teaching. I had a geography teacher who had me really into geography because he was so passionate about teaching it. It also helped that he was a bit nuts.
I know my fiction is better because I'm a bit nuts.
Your post on Elliott Smith was awesome!
Thanks, Holly!
THIS is what I like to see! I specifically rebranded my Substack newsletter because I wanted to write more humanly intimate, self-indulgent personal writings and essays and ALWAYS told myself on a subconcious level that that wasn't "good enough."
Love you getting self-indulgent and having people excitedly tell their own stories!
Thank you for this validation!
Yes, exactly! We believe stories from our lives aren't "enough" but they're what we have! So important to share them!
Indeed! I quit trying to define my Substack because...well, I don't write about particular topics. I write about my life. Maybe some will read, others won't, but in the end I am writing what I enjoy writing. And topics will range from cancer to curmudgeons, eyebrows to addiction, faith to foxes. You get it all here, folks.
Love it love it love it! I've fought that for so long because I wanted my work to be "valuable" enough, but I'm working on rewiring the part of my brain that thinks value has to come in one direct way.
Write what you love, always!
Start with value. You're already are valuable; therefore, what flows from you will be, too. Perhaps not to everyone, but--my goodness!--there are plenty of someones out there who need your words.
Yesss, it really is! You never know who needs your words or will resonate with them! Also if it's just plain fun? Shoot... Do it!
Forgive this bit of adverbial indulgence, but specificity resonates generally. We all have our own specifics in life, and because of that, we can resonate with all those who also have their own specific things they are interested in and find important in their lives. I don't think this is self indulgent...because it awakens in us a curiosity to seek out and find out why it is that people like what they like.
Oooh very good point, Jimmy! Thanks for the insight!
Hi Jill, this is a great comment! I just checked yours out and subscribed.
Thank you so much! Yours looks great too--subscribed.
Oh awesome! Thanks so much, and looking forward to diving into yours.
You just have the best and most positive comments here on Office Hours, S. E. Reid! I THANK YOU for that! The journey this week has been pretty good for me as far as writing and editing. I hope it's been smooth for you as well!
I've hit a bit of a slowdown with all of my writing. I got to the point where it felt like I was trying to do too much all the time, and then a health issue arose that made writing a bit more challenging, and I just put everything aside for a bit. I didn't stop writing but I slowed it all down. And you know what? Life goes on. Not publishing as often might be disappointing for my regular readers, but I haven't seen my subscriber numbers falling off. So I guess it's okay. I don't want to stop doing everything I am doing, but I do want to try to reduce the expectations I've set for myself so I can get off the crazy treadmill I was on, where I was constantly writing the next article for one of my Substacks, and my offline writing (my novel work) was suffering. I'm still looking for the balance, but I'm glad that I gave myself some time to figure it all out.
Agreed. I switched from weekly to by-monthly because I couldn't keep up. But now I can put more thought into a piece. (And then I started a new publication...)
Hi Jackie,
I totally feel this! I stopped doing as many posts to focus on other writing projects (AND my health). Subscribers has not dropped, in fact it has grown with fewer weekly musings. Thanks for sharing your experience. I just check out your 'Stack, and TWOO is my favorite movie of all time. It has been since I first saw it at two years old. I subscribed!
I just crossed the 2 year milestone and I'm genuinely worried about the lack of growth. I'm the daredevil who offered DAILY short fiction, so the work load is solely on me, but I really believed that by now I'd have better numbers, which would allow me to eliminate a few of my other side hustles and concentrate more on writing. As far as the writing itself goes, I'm proud of my accomplishments and confident in my ability to write good stories.
The daily thing is kind of a challenge. Somehow, I signed myself up to write 7 mornings a week. I do worry about sustainability and burn-out.
It's definitely a challenge. In many ways it helps with my sobriety-I'm focused on something proactive and positive every day-but it would be nice to have a larger audience, especially for the occasional story in which I address addiction and recovery.
I love the fact that you are pushing the "daredevil" edge. I also write fiction, and I am learning about the challenges of using electronic media for that purpose. Basically, the standard social media advice is to find a "niche" where people have an interest that can be targeted. Then you can "market" to your target audience. The problem is that fiction does not always fit neatly into a defined niche - other than "fiction". Using the niche approach generally means writing in an area that people find helpful for their own growth and development. I think that Substack is the best alternative to social media for fiction writers, but for those of us who do not have previous "built in" followers, it may mean we must find new techniques for gathering an audience.
I just try to do justice to the characters and the stories in a very limited amount of time.
If people want growth and development they can read and discuss the work with their friends and loved ones and with fellow readers right in my comment section.
I agree that writing with a diverse cast destroys any niche I might have, but I'm a writer first and a marketer 4892nd.
It sounds great, even though challenging, so congrats on your two-year mark! You have probably tried this, but many readers take regular vacations, even (or especially) the newsletters with huge followings. A scheduled break (or 2-3 scheduled throughout the year) might help?! Good for you for maintaining the pace as long as you have, and best of luck!
And Thank You!
I took an unplanned 6 day break with Covid, so I'm gonna try to keep up the daily when I'm healthy. Some good days I can write two stories in one day, buying myself a small respite. I somehow managed to publish daily while I did 9 consecutive days shooting the film Good Thief ( It's on Tubi ). That gives me the confidence that I can write daily when I just have normal responsibilities.
Fiction Substacks can be a challenge to find and sustain an audience. If you don't think what you're doing is working for your audience, I would suggest changing it up. Maybe fewer posts (even if you are writing daily still). Maybe write a personal essay or thoughts on your writing process. Things you've learned after writing a story a day, etc. Or maybe something else. I'm a big fan of experimentation and trying new things when a process seems to be stagnating in some way, but what that looks like would be up to you.
I don't think for a minute that what I'm doing IS stagnant. I have sustained my audience, and they constantly give me positive feedback. I just hit a plateau in terms of growing. People can't seem to adjust to the idea that subscribing to fiction on Substack is the same basic value-if not a better value-than buying a few used books.
Feeling...like I am going to jump back on it again soon. I've had a three month break after surgery, I'm getting my mental ducks in a row and am inspired again. Fingers crossed it can last.
Crazily, my subscriber list has grown every day, even though there have been zero posts from me.
Wishing you speedy recovery - sounds like you have built a wonderful community on your Substack and they will be there when you return!
Welcome back! Hope the surgery went well.
day 1: Oops, I'm too busy to write my Friday Feels! Next week!
day 2: It's the weekend. Let's rip up carpet!
day 3: I'm tired. Ripping up carpet sucks. Lie in bed and read!
day 4: Cool, let's try and change our substack custom domain.
day 5: Fuck, that didn't go well.
day 6: Fuck... better get my Substack back up.
day 7: I want to write for hours but have almost no time. Tomorrow wine and Friday Feels. :)
I think for me, I don't really feel like much of a writer myself when I look at others' substacks. I like sharing what I'm thinking about and doing, but as someone who is more into making visual and musical stuff. My newsletter is less about writing and more about keeping a record of my creative brain and recent projects/experiments. It's cool to see all the different ways people use substack!
Weโre all doing something different but I donโt feel very good looking at those who have already published novels. Makes me feel very behind. But weโre all on our own journey. Canโt compare.
All you can control is your own thing. Tough to remember for all of us.
Over at https://myvisual.substack.com/ we've been meeting for zooms and breakout rooms around our visuals, but it's been a wonderful support group for all of the writers involved too. Every substacker welcome of course!
Highly recommend this!
I would like to express how much I appreciate you and what you write! I feel the same way you do about there being room for all of us. I have my ups and downs writing and watching people unsubscribe is particularly difficult for me. The thing that really keeps me going are the kind words and encouragement, especially from other writers here. Also, there is nothing that gets me more inspired to write than reading something great that one of you has written.
Agree totally that reading other newsletters is a great source of inspiration. In my newsletter last week I even quoted from and linked to Lisa Oliveraโs Human Stuff newsletter.
This week I feel organized and clear headed. I am trying to not become overwhelmed by the task ahead of me as I publish my serialized novel here. Iโve been able to accomplish this by putting anxious energy into steadily checking off my to-do list. Recently Iโve found myself saying that writing is hard, and like many things, maybe thatโs why we should do it.
Hi thank you for opening the space. I think it's really an up and down journey for me. On days when I think too much about the numbers, I do get fixated on it a bit. But honestly I just love writing so much, have been writing ever since I could put words onto paper and have made less than a couple of hundred bucks from it. Even if no one was paying me, I would still be writing so why rush the process :) I have been having lots of fun with reading and interacting with folks on this platform too so it's been a good time
S.E.,
Regarding my journey as a writer this week, I'm confident, but there's always room for one to improve as a writer. Any tips for making money by writing?
Thanks,
Eddie G.
Soldotna, AK 99669
Taking a much needed break and working on a long form story for release in October. Itโs taken some pressure off to put my Substack on pause while I deal with life and get this composition done. Iโm feeling good about where itโs headed.
I always appreciate your encouraging words and agree that thereโs room for all of us and lifting each other up is very important. I have mixed feelings about my journey as a writer this week.
On the one hand, Iโm very proud of myself for pitching an article to a well-known website that would have paid me for it, even though they rejected it.
Iโm also grateful that I continue to get new followers on Medium almost every day and some new subscribers here occasionally.
I love the recommendations for sites to help promote our newsletters and other tips shared by my fellow writers here.
On the other hand, Iโm really struggling financially and realizing how hard it is for me to market my work and earn much income from it.
Iโd like to see stats that exclude visits by myself.
I am my own number one substack visitor, if they took me out I don't think I would like how those stats would look! lol!
Hahahhaha! Maybe I *donโt* want this feature!
I am really close to liking all my posts and congratulating myself.
Yeah, I think enabling this would depress me, haha.
Agree, especially shares. I hate getting excited that someone shared my work only to realize that it's me. ๐
100% --except I'm afraid it will reveal that there are 8 actually reading the newsletter
Agree, that would be amazing!
+1 for this after realizing half the views on my first post were just me caressing the shiny new thing. LOL
I just caressed your shiny new thing. Don't tell anyone.
This would be great!
Yes please!
I agree!
lol. :)
Not going to be able to make it to Office Hours today, but want to shoutout all the amazing people here -- keep doing what you're doing. The world needs your creativity (and your newsletter)!
Thanks to the Substack team for the awesome Download: Conversion event yesterday, for the new tools, and for all the hard work you all do in cultivating this community -- it's one of my favorite parts of being a Substacker ๐
Sending extra <3 your way today, Sarah!
Right back at ya, Katie โบ๏ธ
Here is a shoutout to one of my favorite spots here on Substack! Did you know there is a Lyle, Lyle Crocodile movie coming out?
I DID NOT! I havenโt been to a movie theater in years (even before the pandemic, I had little babies and it was just too hardโฆ this might be motivation enough).
Hi folks! I'm not the first to suggest this in these threads, but...
*Disable your "reader just unsubscribed" notifications.*
I know this is super-hard. I mean, it took me a good six months of running my newsletter before I built up the courage to do it. It's just HARD.
But every time an unsubscribe comes in, it's like a paper-cut on your soul. It hurts, and that hurt can happen at any time, including when you're really happy and in a good mood and feeling right in the zone and your writing is flowing - and suddenly there it is in your Inbox: a tiny reminder that someone read your stuff, and thought "Nah, I'm out." It's crushing. It never, ever gets easier.
And since it never gets easier, why allow it to strike at any time, with the ability to completely derail any point of your day? Why not *manage* that pain?
Do it by disabling those emails. Take away their power over you.
(Also, if you get to the point where your audience is big enough that you get a tiny flood of unsubscribes *every time you publish something*, which is absolutely normal for everyone beyond a certain list size, and you still haven't disabled unsubscribe emails? You'd have to be an absolute stone not to feel All The Bad Things - and that'll make it even harder to keep writing!)
Honestly, this might be the best advice people read today. Each one felt like a gut punch, but it took me forever to disable those notifications. Looking back, I wonder why it took me so long!
Talking to our product folks ... should this be "Default Off" not "Default On" do y'all think?
Maybe I'm projecting (I'm definitely projecting), but I feel like most writers are sensitive people who would be discouraged by unsubscribe notifications, especially early in. With encouraging dedication/growth/commitment in mind, maybe "Default Off"?
It should be Default OFF, and I'd go further and question why it is even a thing? I've never understood why notifications of unsubscribes from anything would be considered useful ๐คช
I wholeheartedly agree that it should be "default off."
In general, I think notifications should be opt-in for everything. In other words, default off. Too many distractions otherwise.
It should be default OFF for sure. Even the most popular and confident writer will feel the pain of an unsubscribe notification even if in the back of your head you know it's not a big deal.
Absolutely
I'd vote for OFF.
Oooh... Hmmm. Interested to see what everyone thinks!
I love a little โunsubscribeโ pain every blue moon. Keeps me awake and aware. Disabling feels unnatural. But thatโs just me.
Yeah, I've seen a slight uptick in unsubscribes but I'd rather know, despite the jolt.
Exactly. I don't want to find out one day that I have drastically fewer subscribers all of a sudden.
Agreed. I turned off unsubscribe notifications day 1. Well, maybe it was day 5... not because it was challenging... I didn't know it existed.
My newsletter used to be on mailchimp and I had it turned off there as well.
I did, however, create a tool that lets me compare my subscriber list on day X and a list on day Y. I use it to see subscribes & unsubscribes 3 to 5 days after a post. But I'm neither bothered by unsubscribes or overly excited by new subscribes. It is best to be focused on your best content.
Good advice. I actually have disabled all email notifications. But thereโs no way to reduce the negative feeling that comes from looking at stripe and seeing โcancels onโ vs โactiveโ on the subscriber list. Churn is just a part of the business and shouldnโt be taken personally.
Thanks for this, Mike--I honestly live in fear of my first unsubscribe, but not being notified will make it easier when it eventually happens!
It's a rough thing! It's especially rough, I think, when your list is small & intimate enough that you know everyone on it. It is such a hard thing to see, in realtime, that someone you know is signing off. It's better to just not know until later - and maybe to be able to control when you allow that information to affect you? At least in my case it is - when I'm away from the laptop, I want to be mentally away from the newsletter and everything regarding it, and that involves relaxing properly. Getting a message shoved into that relaxing-time that says, basically, "I DON'T LIKE YOUR STUFF, BYE"? That's so, so much to bear. Too much for me!
Oof, having someone you know unsub would definitely be hard. I can only hope my first will be a random person! I completely understand the desire to protect yourself emotionally when you either need to really get stuff done, or when you need to just be away from Substack entirely and recharge...that is very smart self-care and Iโll be taking a page out of your book.
I turned off last week and I feel I can breathe again.
Agreed. I turned off those notifications on earlier blogs years ago--now I never know when people unsubscribe. I'm too sensitive and I would take every unsubscribe personally!
Good point, Mike. This hadn't occurred to me, but this is such a simple self-care tip. Thanks for sharing.
I knew I didnโt want to see that from the beginning. I was new and didnโt need that kind of hit to my baby writer soul. Thanks for spreading the word.
Waiting for the Android app !!!! :)
Thank you for your interest!
I'm sure you're already on the waitlist, but if you're not please sign up here: https://sublink.substack.com/android-waitlist
Iโm also curious about that. If itโs built on react, it should be pretty easy to port.
Greetings friends! I hope we're all doing well today!
My question is for my fellow Substackers: how many of you publish interviews in your newsletters? Do you find them to be a good way to attract readers and subscribers? Or are they distracting from your other articles, essays, etc?
I'm writing this from the perspective as a relatively new Substacker (almost four months under my belt) and I publish a lot of interviews (2 - 4 week, depending on the week). I get a lot of good feedback on them but I'd like to also build up the profile of my own writing because I think that's what I want to be known for long term.
So... what say you? Any thoughts?
Keep on powering on!
I publish interviews as much as possible. For me, it's a bit of a forcing function to get me out of my own way (the older I get, the more introverted I become.).
More importantly, for my readers, it's a bit of variety and something different. Win-win.
it's made for a decent number of new subscribers. Those have mainly been driven by the interviewee sharing the article with their own audiences.
EDIT: If you are a musician, in the industry, or a fellow music writer, hit me up! :)
Hands off Stephen! He's MINE!!!๐คฃ(Sorry, Kevin, couldn't resist! Thanks for your tolerance)!
That's also a good point of view.
Dove-tailing off Kevin.....he mentioned musicians to hit him up, but he also said "fellow music writer," which made me think we music writers ought to think about a series where we, over a period of time, interview each other for publication!
We've always talked about collabbing, and such, but I'm not sure I've actually heard the intentional interviewing of one music writer of another! If it flies, mad props for original idea go in Kevin's general direction!
I think it's a great idea!
WELL, OF COURSE YOU DO!!!!๐คฃYou're hilarious, Kevin....in all the best ways! Maybe we should start with each other..............talk tomorrow?
Sure!
As your subscriber, I must say that, though I don't read all of the interviews, I do check out those who sound like interesting people (subjectively) and fairly enjoy them. Did I originally subscribe for something else? Yes. But do the interviews distract me from the experience I was expecting? No. If anything, it provides additional touchpoints, updates from you, and so on. So, overall, I think it's fab that you're combining both your own writing and interviews with interesting people. In fact, I know follow a couple of people you've interviewed, as your format/platform served as a good intro to their work.
Thanks for the perspective, Oleg! Sometimes it feels like a weird mixture of content and that eventually I should segregate at least some of the interviews to a different newsletter but things seem to be going well enough so maybe I should just keep going as I am!
I did a survey asking readers what posts they like the most and want more of, and it was really useful! It turned out interviews with other creatives was lowest on the list for my audience. I still do them around once a month, it's a good way to bring people to the newsletter I think because you can turn attention outwards away from yourself, but you could always try to speak directly with your audience to find out what they want!
Yeah, that's a logical thing to do, ask for feedback. I may do that, thanks for the suggestion.
I love interviews that are written as a narrative, but I personally find the Q&A structure less appealing to read. Tell me the person's story through their own words.
Well, you didn't ask ME, Jackie (few do), and I don't mean to butt in, but my 'Stack is chock full of narrative-formatted interviews (not Q&A)! You may choose to start here (and I'll let my lay-out explain the who/what, etc)!: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/career-chord-change-stephen-michael
It's, in essence, a series of interviews, as Stephen lays out his life story from his perspective as a singer/songwriter/guitarist who recorded an album for RCA Records in '74, and rubbed elbows with many of the artists we know and love from the classic rock '70s!
If you'd like, you can "attack" Stephen, all in one place, on a Flipboard page I set up for him (all clicks lead back to 'Stack, of course): https://flipboard.com/@schwartzstories/front-row-backstage-with-stephen-michael-schwartz-fcjpqreoy
Enjoy, and again, thanks for your kind indulgence!----Brad
I thought this new interview series Emma Gannon is running - https://twitter.com/emmagannon/status/1562358171007598592
Would encourage you to use the guest post feature if you are doing this as well. It gets your interviewee some nice subscribers (if they have a substack or want to start one) - https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/4406178016148-How-can-I-add-a-guest-author-to-a-post-
Thanks Bailey, I should check that out!
When I'm not on hiatus (like now) I publish interviews every week that I don't publish an essay. (https://valorieclark.substack.com/s/interviews ) I don't think they distract from the rest of the substack, and they definitely bring new eyes onto my project. I think as long as it all serves the same wheelhouse, it works.
These are a great read, and I'm looking forward to their return!
Thank you! Me too!
I've started interviewing some of my subscribers who have interesting career paths and I tie that into the style of What's Curation? by asking them about a song they love. I started doing this because a newsletter feels very 1-to-1. The reader doesn't know who else is reading! For example they have no idea that an Australian author, a Kiwi musician, an American copywriter, a Canadian notebook enthusiast, a Baltic record collector and an Indian rap artist all read what I write. Interviews should be done well though--thoughtful, insightful questions are the key.
Keep rocking it, Mark!
Heh, thanks Nikhil and thanks again for being the first in the Creator Spotlight series!
I forwarded it to my mom and she loved it. Told me to thank "this Mr. Dykeman" on her behalf. :-)
Your mother is too kind, please send her my regards. :)
I publish long transcribed interviews here and there, but they're less about cross-promotion and more about exposing my readers to writers whose work complements mine. That way, the interviews don't distract from my own essays (I also get to spin mental wheels with great thinkers). Ultimately, it's a sort of communal act: communal thinking, communal narration for readers, etc. That's pretty valuable, I'd say.
Yes, useful perspective. I've interviewed a lot of people who don't have newsletters, Substacks, etc. so it's not so much a cross-promotional act at this point. I've learned a lot of cool things too, always a bonus.
I have not yet published any interviews but am following this because I'm intrigued. The interviews I read on many Substacks are engaging. I think it honestly depends on who you are interviewing and why you are interviewing them.
Autumn....if I may be so bold (not to mention uncharacteristically and shamelessly self-promoting), may I direct you Front Row & Backstage? Virtually half my content since February has been an exclusive interview with Stephen Michael Schwartz, a singer/songwriter (RCA Records, 1974) who's laying out his music biz autobio on my 'Stack!
Now, it, strictly, isn't an "interview" per se, as he sends me text, and I format, edit and research, while always using quote marks for his story, but I add "EXCLUSIVE INTERIVIEW" for each, because, technically, it is....just in straight, narrative format.
There are a few other clearly marked interviews, as well, and I guess I'll leave the links here. One is an interview I did with David Cassidy in 1975 (yes, the audio is available, also, along with my story about the interview)! That's here: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/in-a-houston-penthouse-with-david
Another interview is one another 'Stacker, Michael Acoustic (https://michaelfab.substack.com/) did of me: https://bradkyle.substack.com/publish/post/50161054
And, here's one by Louise Poynton of me (it also includes the audio of my interview with Cassidy) in podcast form:
https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/podcast-louise-poynton-author-of
I've also been able to include "instant" interviews, on occasion, when I write about an artist, and they see and read my article after I posted it on Twitter or FB. They'll thank me for writing about them, and I'll DM them a question or two, and after they answer, I go back and insert their answers into the article! This happened with Paul Bowen of The Starjets, and Jason Singh of Taxiride!
Anyway, enjoy, and welcome, Autumn, past the velvet rope, Front Row & Backstage!
very true!
Hi Mark, two months in, I've done two interviews. I've published one and will publish the other one in September. I publish a post a week (Thursdays). The first interview was my best day in terms of subscriber growth, which definitely had a lot to do with the person I interviewed. She has a robust audience and was great about promoting the interview. I'm still early in the process, but I think I'll probably shake out at one interview a month, which for me means a quarter of my posts. I like talking to people but I find writing pieces based on interviews to be way more time-consuming. Still, I enjoy those conversations and I it seems to be a good audience-building tactic.
OK, thanks for the perspective!
Well, Mark, as you well know (and thanks for the lob!), so much of my content, from February anyway, has included articles written by singer/songwriter/guitarist/recording artist, Stephen Michael Schwartz!
On most, I tag the title with "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW," because I'm lucky enough to have had someone who was actually active in the '70s record biz (and beyond, with his children's music popularity and product for decades following) join me Front Row & Backstage, as he writes his autobio for my 'Stack, and I'm happy to be his editor, formatting each article with photos, copious research, and such!
I realize we all can't have a generous and fascinating cohort who literally falls into your lap, surprisingly, but also manages to fit so well into the goals and aspirations of your original 'Stack vision, but, to answer your question, I'd say, depending on topic and familiarity (of your audience) with the interviewee, maybe drop them in somewhat judiciously. Unless, of course, interviews are, quite clearly, a key and understood focus of your 'Stack!
Not sure how much any of that helps, but again, I couldn't help slam that lob back over the net! You're the best, Mark, and I always appreciate your loyalty and diligence to the cause!!๐ผ๐ถ๐น๐ธ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐
Yep! I've run over a half-dozen so far. My main reason for doing them is I want to introduce my readers to people whose work I really admire - It's a "for them" thing rather than a "for me" thing, so I'm not too bothered about what interviews do for me (although I do want decent engagement for them, because that means my audience will go sign up to the interviewed person's work!).
That's a thoughtful approach, Mike, I'm sure they appreciate that.
I've idly thought about doing an interview, but not too seriously. I think you already have some good original writing up on How About This, definitely enough to justify carving out further space for it if you want to.
Thanks William. For convenience sake I'm putting more emphasis on interviews, especially since I'm going to be traveling for the next 1 - 2 weeks, but definitely want to emphasize more original writing.
If you think it might help, Mark, you might consider a "series" connotation for your interview pieces, to help separate them out from your original pieces. You'll notice I have several, now, under the headings (or the first words of the title), "Audio Autopsy," "Inside Tracks," and the new, "GROW BIGGER EARS!"
I love the creative aspect of it, plus they help earmark a significantly different angle or purpose to each article. It helps to (as I did before I jumped in to each) foresee a sustenance for each, as they end up becoming a separate "brand" under the FR&B banner....you may have noticed, I've used "Audio Autopsy" quite proudly on my main page, with something like, "includes the popular Audio Autopsy series" (hey, who's gonna check?!?), and I'll shortly start using the others, as well, in a promotional way!
Thanks Brad!
I add interviews within one section of my paid monthly editions. Very targeted, high value content. Great addition. Good to keep it tightly edited.
Hi, Mark -- Love interviews. In fact one of my most popular ones was a feature interview with fellow Substacker โHannah Griffinโ
https://greatbooksgreatminds.substack.com/p/books-and-the-art-of-breaking-bread
You have a very polished style!
Ok great question. Just started "Discussions" not calling them interviews, bc... they're just not. But my transcript was 5000+ words. Substack could not handle this discussion. Womp womp. Not sure what to do now. Halp!
Would it be just better to publish these discussions in audio form?
Yes, I am, but I thought for accessibilility, SEO, blah blah blah.
My newsletter grew out of my facebook account. For years, I'd write slice of life humor stories and share them on facebook. That platforming was always unsatisfying because my stories are much more likely to make you laugh than spark outrage, so there really wasn't much growth there. But even worse, I'd constantly hear from friends that they missed certain stories because the facebook algo didn't surface them.
About three years ago, I made the switch to email. I think I went with Tiny Letter first. It was a good product, but it wasn't being supported by its parent company, so things would break, and there wasn't really a community of writers to lean on and share information with. Then I went with Mailchimp for a hot minute, but I found that tool really hard to set up, and a lot of the features just weren't designed with editorial needs in mind (better for marketers, I think). Basically, it was overkill.
Eventually, my research led me to Substack. What hooked me right away was how easy it was to set up and start writing. I'm a big believer in a rolling start, meaning that I want to get stories up and out to the world while I figure out and tweak the newsletter as I go. Basically, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good is the philosophy there. Anyway, Substack was great on that front, but it also offered something I couldn't find with other newsletter tools -- growth! I started on here with about 100 subscribers (mostly friends and a few fans I had picked up along the way). As of this writing, I'm closing on 1,000 subscribers! That growth has been HUGE for me, and it's a big reason why I prefer Substack over the alternatives.
This is awesome to hear!!!
How long did it take you from 100 to 1000? That's quite an impressive leap!
Around 18 months.
Love your thoughts on a rolling start and just getting your writing out to the world (says the writer who has procrastinated because of, well, literally every reason possible). This is the week I get back to regular posting, I swear! (chuckle.) - What would you say is one of the biggest contributors to your growth on substack?
I don't think there's one factor. Consistent posting is important because it's basically your foundation -- you can't promote a newsletter or ask people to share it and subscribe if you aren't, you know, creating material on a consistent basis. But beyond being consistent, I think what really helped was listened to how fans described my work and then using what they said to tweak my newsletter brand and my promotional efforts. Another thing that's really helped is being active as a reader. There are several humor and adjacent Substacks I subscribe to, and I try to leave really thoughtful comments there. That really helps open the door to new readers and also cross-promotion with relevant Substacks. But, and I can't stress this enough, the more stories I have, the more I have to work with in terms of marketing and promo. Hope that helps, Amy!
Okay, okay, I'll get to writing already. LOL! Thanks for the insights and inspo. I appreciate the thoughtful answer!
sure thing & good luck!
Great advice, Michaelโthank you!
my pleasure!
"...listened to how fans described my work and then using what they said to tweak my newsletter brand..." I'm just getting some recommendations, and I was just thinking about this the other day since I don't write about a specific topic. How do I define my writing? Mark from over at How About This said "Holly's combination of humor, frankness and faith makes for compelling reading." I'm saving that and creating an arsenal of feedback that will help me better market my space.
Honest question. Iโm exploding on TikTok right now. A recent music video has 20M views and the sound has become a trend with 20k videos created using the sound. I have 1.8M followers on that app and an urgent desire to harness the energy toward my Substackโฆ But theyโre such different worlds. (20 second videos vs. 1500 words) I know letting go of the urgency is first, but besides that, What would you do?
I โค๏ธSubstack. :) Hal
Do you want to be known as a video person long term or as a writer?
Why not both? :)
I'm transitioning from being a musician to a writer... It's very new to me, but it's all about writing these days. I could see a book in my future.
WAIT NO SHIT! I posted your TikTok on my IG the other day and had no idea it was you - OMG SO FUNNY!
Ha! Thanks so much. :)
Hey Hal! I'm a musician too and had a similar but slightly different thing with an Instagram account I ran which was totally unrelated to music (stationery). I had about 8k followers on there and lots of engagement but when the time came to try and convert people to my music, not a lot of people took the bait! I think it comes down to accepting 'quality over quantity' when it comes to new fans, sadly.
Something that I saw someone do is actually create videos using excerpts of their newsletters as the voiceover. Might be a cool way to integrate the two? Check out Anna Vatuone on TikTok, she does this.
Hey! Thanks for that. I just discovered #writertok -- I think you're right about different audiences. I'm very glad to be slowly developing an audience for my writing.
Hal, I love your TikToks. This is your medium - the visual and audio components are very compelling. Congrats on the success - I'm so happy for you. We'd all love to have something cool like this happen.
In a sense, you are well on your way to building your brand "Hal Walker", which will easily work cross-media. Sounds like the time is right to work with an agent skilled in this. The Big Four publishers are hungry for connections with artists like you - you can check out Publishers Weekly, see examples of new publications similar to what you want to write, find out their publishers / agents, cold call them. Alternatively, I may have an agent friend who'll talk to you, refer, etc. Ping me via email gabthinking (at) gmail (dot) com.
- George
Hereโs my advice. Do what @therapyjeff does. Look at his first pin directing traffic to his patreon account. He then also has started adding a red box with a callout to go to Patreon for more information. I believe he adds that red box in all of his TikTokโs now. I would start there.
Wow. This is helpful. Glad to know about @therapyjeff. Thanks!
As we say in the Taoist world, โWuWeiโ -- Do nothing, accomplish everything. In other words, I wouldnโt mess with the natural flow of how things are unfolding.
Thanks. This is a great answer. I love it so much
Holy shit Hal! Congrats! I've had not nearly as much success on TikTok, but great conversions. Provide a direct link! Do it!
Are you referring to a link in my bio? I've got a link tree in my bio. I like your Beacons link tree. I should make mine look nicer.
Yeah, I had a ton of success when I had just the substack link. Less choices = more direct impact.
Hi Hal, WOW. I checked yours out, and you have such a story! I just subscribed to yours.
Thank you Jessica!
Since you asked, I wouldn't want to be active at all (so I'm not) on an app O&Oed by the CCP. I realize much, if not most, of the 'net is so (or similarly) intrusively connected, but TikTok is unashamedly run by China, and are, thus, in possession of your personal data. But, you do you!
Interesting. I've heard this and have mostly avoided thinking about it. For now, I'm not willing to let it go. The community and creativity is incredible over there.
Well done with your Tiktok explosion
Thanks Cali. It's fun... and distracting. :)
Was there something that almost prevented you from starting a Substack? What was it?
Perennial self-doubt. But I did it and the discipline of producing an article weekly for more than two years has somewhat quietened that voice.
The idea of having to cart all my articles to a new platform. And being a newbie again, trying to build an audience.
was it as hard as you feared? how could we have made it easier?
I didn't want to get back on the internet or social media to promote my work. I still don't really want to. But I want to write.
Concerns about staying anonymous. Got help here for that last week!
Yes, I'd been using Mail Chimp for a long time and I grew to dread the time I needed to get out each newsletter - I was afraid Substack would be the same plus I would need to invest time in moving my subscribers list and learn how to use it. I was really pleasantly surprised when I discovered I could do all of that in a couple of hours! My husband had just died following an accident in another country, and Covid was ramping up, so it took me nearly a year to find the courage to sit down and work all of this out. And then it was so easy. A real blessing.
For those of you who answered "I was subscribed to a Substack" -- which one? I'd love to hear the story of your decision.
Heather Cox Richardson
So, I learned about Substack from my wife, whose best friend is Virginia Sole-Smith, author of a very successful Substack newsletter, Burnt Toast. I had recently resigned a tenured faculty position and was trying to redefine myself as an independent writer, and I was flailing in the void of literary magazines, which typically take 6 months or more to respond to submissions, pay nothing, and almost never involve any sense of community.
My wife pointed out that Substack is a place to build community, that people do turn it into a paying gig, and that engagement is part of what readers expect from the writers they follow. Initially I worried that Substack would be too much like social media: an echo chamber that turns into a popularity contest. I'm not very good at social media, don't really know how to draw followers, and hate the crass strategies that people use on Twitter, like writer's lifts and following someone only so they'll follow you back. So I ran through all of these reasons and kept suffering in my isolation. While reading Bruce Feiler's Life Is in the Transitions, where he shows that people who develop new rituals directly tied to a major life transition navigate those lifequakes more successfully, I finally realized that a Substack could be just such a ritual for me. Hence, "The Recovering Academic" was born.
I'm not sure that I want to spend years writing about academe or my transition away from it, but I'm close to 700 followers now after launching in late March. I can see that writing honestly about my struggle has been useful to others, and I've recently started gathering some feedback from readers via a Google Form about the kinds of additional features they might find useful. It seems that most of my subscribers would enjoy a podcast featuring others who have left academe or found ways to stay and a discussion thread where they might interact with other recovering academics. Those are two things that I could see justifying a paid subscription, and I believe that if I hit 1,000 followers, I can reasonably expect to convert 80-100 folks to paid.
This is a long post, but I suppose if I have a question now, it is mainly about how to make the paid launch most successful. I've read a little bit about it, but any tips from those of you who have already done that (either mistakes you made that I can avoid, or things that really worked well for you) would be much appreciated!
Do you feel like you're created a community here in the end? And does it feel too much like social media?
Community, absolutely. I hear from readers every week and know that what I'm writing speaks to them. I've even had some dissenting views turn into productive conversations. The fact that Substack has promoted me as a 2022 recommended publication, and that I've established some virtual friendships with other Substack writers, also helps. Perhaps the biggest win was when my first viral post got the attention of The Chronicle of Higher Education, and they asked to republish it. I don't think I expected that what I wrote on a Substack could overlap with a traditional venue like that.
I'm still aware of chasing "likes" to some degree, and I don't always know what to make of 40-50% of my subscribers not opening an email, even though it seems like a 50-60% open rate is pretty good. I find myself torn between writing headlines that make people want to read on and leaning too far toward clickbait territory, but I know that is a question that all media wrestles with, not just social media. The biggest difference between social media and Substack is substance. I often post essays that run between 2,000-2,500 words, and people read them and have thoughts about them. That is infinitely better than anything I see on Facebook or Twitter (and those are the only two platforms I really have time for).
We had a really great thread going last week about putting together a community of travel/culture/personal essay-type writersโI am working on getting us dedicated channels within the Substack Writers Unite Discord, so watch this space! Link to the Discord server: https://discord.com/invite/q9S4feaDVz
Even if it doesnโt end being the ideal long-term solution, this will at least give us a place to organize while we figure out what works for us. Looking forward to seeing you there when the channels are up and running!
This is awesome!
๐
Congrats! You might also consider what we do in Fictionistas - create your own community Substack and do occasional Zoom calls. Just a thought.
Both great ideas--thanks for these suggestions, Jackie!
Heck yeah, keeping an eye out for this!
I love that!
Love this idea. Just joined the Discord. Thanks for the link!
When I started on Substack Iโd moved to a 1927 kitchen and now Iโve moved again to a 1969 kitchen, my โTime Travel Kitchensโ. Writing over the past 18 months has been a very bright spot during my Motherโs illness, passing and now my grieving process. So grateful to have this place to write about food and life.
Thanks for writing here Jolene! I hope your new kitchen is treating you well. Waving from down the street ๐ (I am home for a wedding)
Hi, Katie, waving right back! ๐ I have family in town this weekend, the weather is gonna be good, enjoy the wedding! Thanks for your support of all of us here. :)
I started my Substack back in Mar 2022 as a way to publish chapters of my half-written book from last year on "How To Start". I thought rather than let them collect virtual dust in my Google Drive I'd hit publish to get back into the habit of writing 1,000 words a week.
Now, some 5 months later I'm thinking about how I can take the words I write on a weekly basis and reverse engineer them back into a book down the line. On 383 free and 5 paid subs now. Been quite the journey, but have been blown away by the Substack team's support and the community love.
Onwards, one post at a time.
I love your Stack Charlie! Even though I'm on the wrong side of 20, I still get to learn a lot from your posts. Well done man.
This exact thing is what led me to Substack! I have a book draft I'm working on and wanted an outlet for "trying on" some of the chapters with real readers. Curious if you put any of your content behind a paywall or make it available to everyone?
Hey Jen! I put my chapters available to everyone. But, I write non-fiction so each section is a great stand alone piece that can be read by itself.
The decision could be pretty different if you're writing a novel. Though I'm following the Substack team's advice to keep the best content free.
From what I've found people pay for access to your viewpoint, not better content.
So, I'd suggest making the chapters free and then putting your writing process behind the paywall. Depends a lot on your situation though!
"I'd suggest making the chapters free and then putting your writing process behind the paywall."
This is a great suggestion, and I've actually come across a couple newsletters that do it this way. Thanks!
After a good chat with a couple of writers here last week - who's familiar with the 1000 true fans model?
(raises hand)
Me!
Here.
I learned about Substack in the pandemic from a news story and since then, it has changed my life. It can change your life too, if you stick with it!
<3 <3 <3!!
Substack, we need a better way to track readers activity and opens. I have 5 star readers who are free and paid subscribers with few opens and no stars. I know it depends on a variety of factors but this could really help.
Itโs two weeks until my Substack 1-Year Anniversary, how would you celebrate this and why?
Congrats, Adsum!
Anne Byrn shared how milestones have been meaningful for her publication: https://on.substack.com/p/office-hours-50/comments#comment-8622374
Here are some examples of how other writers celebrated with readers:
https://grantwahl.substack.com/p/grantwahlcom-is-turning-1-thank-you
https://annehelen.substack.com/p/two-years
Thanks for these ideas to review. I'm about three weeks a way and excited to do something fun to promote!
Thanks for these examples. It's interesting to be contemplating my first anniversary when I've barely begun ... it's making me think about how to produce what I want to be able to say a year from now.
Thanks Katie!
Some possibilities:
- Contact local media to suggest a feature story about your success on Substack.
- Run a "Best of the year" post showing which posts got the most shares/likes/comments or whatever
- Have a virtual celebration on Zoom or Facebook to which you ask subscribers to invite their friends
- Thank your subscribers and ask them to support Year 2 by becoming a paid subscriber
Great ideas, Marcia ... I just copied them into an Evernote file to think about next year. Thanks!
Love this! Such great ideas!
I put together a post for my 1-year anniversary running through some stats, insights, learnings, etc from my first year on the platform! https://www.nightwater.email/p/year-one-insights
I would publish a look back newsletter.
Congrats! Party ๐ at your house Adsum. You should publicly announce it on Reddit for the full effect.
I think we have a winner!
Congrats!
Substack has enabled me to start my own publishing company. Itโs been a blast!! Glad to be here.
I liked Jรธrgen Veisdal's idea for making the newsletter free but charging for archives. Is there a feature to automatically change a post from free to subscribe?
I'm changing careers and I needed to produce some content to demonstrate my knowledge to prospective employers. I had used another platform back when blogging was new and really enjoyed it. My 23 y.o. son told me that substack was the new hip-cool platform.
Hey Campbell, this is awesome. I'm exactly the same. I was a writer for pharma, but I wanted to write more creative/marketing copy and my hobby was to recommend music to my friends. So I started a newsletter here and I've been keeping my resume fresh with new skills! Good luck with BizPsych!
"Yeah!" to all 23 yr olds :) Mine is most helpful too!
Hi Substack team! I know this is off topic, but I have what I hope is a simple (and fun!) feature request. Is it possible for Substack to support GIFs in the comments? I use GIFs in all my posts and that's encouraged some of my readers to leave GIFs in the comments. Unfortunately, in the comments all you see is a link to the GIFs, as opposed to the actual GIF. I'd really to see this because I think it helps drive conversation and community since some readers prefer to communicate with GIFs and emojis, as opposed to leaving written comments. Any way we can make this happen, Substack?
I love this idea. I'll share it!
Awesome! Thank you, Bailey!
+1 for this feature! My Substack is brand new, but I plan to use gifs in every post and would LOVE gif comments in return!
Oooh yeah, GIFs in the comments would be great!
Seconded!
Totally support this! Would love to use GIFs in the comments!
Funnily enough, I was actually trying to convince my husband to start a Substack. He's a virologist and, with the pandemic still raging, I thought people would benefit from his informed take on recent trends, research, etc. I kept bothering him about it until he finally said, "I'm not interested, but why don't YOU start a Substack since it seems so important to you!" So I did! โบ๏ธ
Love that
haha that's kind of amazing.
I started hearing about Substack on Medium towards the end of last year. At the time I was looking for a way to monetize my Gentle Creative blog. After a bit of research I took the plunge in January. I brought over my aweber list of 380 subscribers and now have 668 subscribers and a handful of paid subscribers. I'm so proud that I have written an article every week that encourages people to overcome the external barriers and inner peril of being a writer.
I've also made some amazing new writer friends through Substack. I love this community
I am brand new on substack and still learning about it. I had a WordPress blog for about 9 years that had a many as 6000 followers. I walked away from it about 4 years ago. Just didn't have anything to say I thought
My substack site is "Being poor and old in the United States.". It is about me but lots lots more
I have only been going and week but have 15 subscribers
I have never done anything for pay
That is one of the attractions of Substack to me
I would like to learn how to be successful at that
Thanks
Larry Drain
Did you import your WordPress archive onto Substack? That's an option if you'd like to do so - https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037830351-How-do-I-import-my-posts-from-another-platform-such-as-Mailchimp-WordPress-TinyLetter-Revue-or-Medium-
For anyone interested in SEO, looks like Google is changing their algorithm: https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/08/helpful-content-update
The highlight: write stuff people want to read.
Thanks, Elizabeth. I've always tried to write for people, rather than SEO, and have always wondered if that was just silly. It's nice to feel vindicated at last!
Agree, Terry. Tracking SEO changes is akin to swinging at a gnat with a baseball bat.
LOL.
I refused to deal with SEO for years and years (other than one joking post that used a celebrity's full name 50+ times, but it was explicitly making fun of SEO) so I feel EXTREMELY vidicated to see people stepping away from it.
From advice I've been given in these Office Hours, and from listening to my wife reminding me that my first newsletter took AGES to gather subscribers, I have now resigned myself to slow but steady growth. For me, the most comfortable thing to do is write, because I love writing, and promote my writing while trying not to be obnoxious about it. If I don't worry too much about the numbers, I feel alright about the whole thing. I hope this comment is helpful to others in some way.
Slow and steady wins the race! Explosions in subscribers are fun, but I find that people who subscribe outside those trending moments are actually more committed to what I'm writing.
After reading this week's grow interview, I have a question for those who have gone paid. I went paid several months ago and I'm trying to figure out best practices. I currently have about 150 free subscribers and two paid. Clearly I would love to significantly grow both. I currently have two paid posts a month. The interview suggested making the paid pieces free for seven days and then making them paid after seven days. I know I need to change something to improve all of my numbers. What have you all done? Do you think this is a good strategy? We will also be going paid in January for litthinkpodcast.substack.com and we are looking for best strategies there as well.
I get up every morning, mash the Substack gas pedal and aim to hit some trees.
I'm curious about this too.
Hi Sarah, I'd recommend checking out the Going Paid guide compiled by our team: https://substack.com/going-paid-guide for more specific strategies and paid writer's stories!
I've checked out the guide but don't understand how to switch archived posts to paid after 7 days. Is there an automatic feature or do I need to manually change each post? Thanks for any info. you might have.
Hi! This is on our team's radar, but for now you need to manually change each post.
Thanks ... I don't think it's that hard but wanted to make sure.
I started thinking about writing on Substack in 2020. A professor of mine told me to keep a journal of some kind. I eventually found a quote by George Orwell that gave the same advice:
"To see what is in front of oneโs nose needs a constant struggle. One thing that helps toward it is to keep a diary, or, at any rate, to keep some kind of record of oneโs opinions about important events."
That's how my Substack started out. It's since evolved into something that doesn't try to keep up with the news cycle. I'm experimenting now with writing "living" essays that evolve over time. Which isn't really new in terms of writing. Writers like Montaigne are known for having edited their essays over time as well.
I'm also adding a science fiction section, as a result of my research-focused newsletter. That's another thing I knew I wanted to do as a writer. I think now's the right time.
You waxing philosophical is pretty badass Marco.
I had an idea. I wondered whether there would be interest in coming together in some kind of informal, promotional cooperative--maybe loosely organized by subject. I was thinking that we all have promotional resources (Twitter, IG, TikTok, FB) and I think my folks get kind of tired of me just flogging my stuff tirelessly. I thought they might actually enjoy it if I was flogging someone's else's content tirelessly.
Thoughts?
I don't know about cooperative but I am planning a promotional drive in September (I am calling it SUBtember) and in all of my appeals I am listing 3 ways to support my substack:
1- Leave a like or comment so I know what you think
2- subscribe so I know you want to read more
3- show support for substacks I support
I have special posts planned outside of my normal schedule for Subtember and in each one I am highlighting someone else's substack. If a rising tide raises all ships then it's good to point people to the community around you!
So I think you benefit from flogging other people's content regardless. If you take the pov that you are the center of a microcommunity, then this is a good way to strengthen that microcommunity. The informal structures will grow organically the more you do this, and the microcommunity will grow into a macrocommunity. That's my take, anyway!
Great ideas Scoot
There's a Discord and Twitter group already out there for this, each called Substack Writers Unite. People explicitly join them to support each other. You could check those out!
Thanks! Very interesting. When I search on Substack Writers Unite, I see a list of newsletters but am missing how to join in. ??
You should absolutely be promoting other content than your own! People don't like self-promo, its subconscious! Try sharing the content of your newsletter rather than announcing it!
https://newslettertosocials.com/blog
I was wondering if anyone here had advice on how to acquire a logo. Where did you get yours or how did you make it? Iโm no graphic artist and am looking for ideas.
I do all my graphics on Canva! I freakin' LOVE Canva haha!
I second Canva. It is very cut and paste so you can create something without a lot skill.
I third Canva. I'm not a professional designer but I created all my logos, leaders, and ads with Canva. Love it!
Check out canva for lots of free templates.
Hi Kerry, some of us substackers have started meeting up on zoom to chat visuals. We talk Canva, and how to find the best visuals to match your words. You might like it. Next one is next wednesday: https://myvisual.substack.com
See you soon maybe:)
Everyone has said it already but I'll tip my hat for Canva as well. It's perfect and if you're creating a lot of graphics, get a paid subscription. It's worth it.
Canva is a good place to start. Or hire someone on fiverr. My girlfriend is a photographer and graphic designer. She hardly charged me anything. ;-)
I am a graphic designer. Iโd be happy to help you with your logo and a simple style guide. I firmly believe in doing it right from the beginning then moving on to DIY everything else on Canva. I personally use Adobe Express because I have Creative Suite. They do offer a free version as well.
I've become a big fan of Canva, not only to do logos but for pictures with frames or designs for each of my new posts.
Definitely use Canva. It is a wonderful graphic design platform for non-designers.
I've used Fiverr in the past. It can be a cost-effective way to get a logo, but make sure to do your due diligence, as the quality and reliability ranges.
I'm no graphic artist either! Canva is great, but if you're looking for something different, check out Jon Wilcox. He did the logo for the Fog Chaser Substack, and is now working with me to revamp mine. I wanted something that I could use both on & off the site. Very easy to work with, very reasonable $$$. Well worth a look, IMO.
https://www.jtwilcox.com/logos-and-branding
I did mine in some free online tool, took me 5 minutes. :) I'd like to go more pro in the future, but for now it serves its purpose
I used a vector graphics program called Inkscape. It's a lot more involved than Canva, but if you want something simple it can work. Canva and other suggestions are probably more versatile with no prior Inkscape experience.
My daughter is an artist and she 'gave' me one of her digital paintings which I crop and use for my logo and email headers etc. It means there's an affiliation, or brand strength, across the whole of my site and it all comes from one image. Take a look, Kerry. See what you think.
Vistaprint has a section whereby they send your work proposals out to freelancers. I worked with one of their artists and loved their work.
Thanks George! I ended up using cava to make my logo.
Thanks for the help everyone!
Hi all! I had been reading newsletters on Substack for a long time before beginning my own in March (I write about music/pop culture/nostalgia and create weekly playlists), and I'm always surprised by how many of my own family and friends didn't know about Substack before subscribing to mine! So much room to grow.
I had heard about Substack but joined after reading Jeff Tweedy's Substack, "Starship Casual".
https://jefftweedy.substack.com/
I had a 1000 member mailchimp newsletter of music fans/listeners. Nothing wrong with mailchimp - in fact, it is a superior email newsletter for marketing campaigns. However, I wanted a more conversational/casual tone and place to post information. I wanted a place that lived on the web beyond the "view this newsletter in your browser" link. While I could use my wordpress website, I didn't want to be in the email system setup and monitoring business.
Substack gave me an excuse to port my users over and introduce broader topics on creativity, life, music, and other interests and pursuits. I am a formally published author - a couple books (Published through Pearson), dozens of articles, corporate pieces, poetry and essays - all paid gigs.
Substack provides a more "blog-like" permanence and feels more liberating than a traditional newsletter. I also tend to find the lack of formatting options and templates to be similarly liberating.
A couple months ago a few writer's recommended my substack and my list has grown by 400+ since then. I can't really take credit for this as I've been sporadic at best. New job writing software for META (Facebook), a bout of Covid, and preparing our condo for a move out of Los Angeles are the excuse(s) I've concocted so far. ;-)
The reality is we are shooting a music video and I am recording remotely with a few musicians. I wanted to have some of those projects behind me but I have a new post ready to publish this weekend, so there is that.
I answered "other" in the poll. My path to Substack was varied but, again, ultimately prompted by Starship Casual.
Thank you especially for the new audio tools. I am certain my incessant nagging finally caused you to capitulate and create those tools for me. ;-)
Wow this is awesome to hear more about your life. We are adding a cool new audio tool very soon... keep your eyes peeled.
Hi I'm new here.. I've published a couple of poems.. I'm not getting the line breaks I want in my formatting. How to create spaces between verses as it were...? Thanks ! Jenniti
If you want no space between each line, hit shift+enter.
If you want an actual line between verses/stanzas, the click "More," and select "Divider" from the drop down menu.
Thanks for the advice ... layout continues to aggravate me, but it's a speck compared to the advantages.
Jenniti, on the upper-right side of the Substack editor, click on "More", then select "Divider" to get a formatted horizontal line.
I've been wondering about that, thanks.
Divider also works by hitting three lines (---) and then Enter. :)
But it's even better if you can make your own custom .png line breaks.
Oooh! Happy to follow you. Is there an established poets' Substack community like there is for fiction?
I started my Substack last week. I write an online legal guide for lifestyle entrepreneurs and content creators looking to add some peace to their businesses. Since I cant give my law degree away, I thought Iโd give away 12 years of experience as an intellectual property and small business attorney (and 3ish years of failing blissfully at mindfulness) in a series or chapter formula. Basically I didn't want to die with 100's of google docs of information that I never shared.
Thanks. I just subscribed and tweeted it out. It looks great on the Twitter side and I'm going to go set up my twitter link. Appreciate your advice.
I appreciate that!
Thanks for doing thatโฆI just subscribed. I am woefully ignorant of the legal issues related to protecting my intellectual property and doing freelance work as an independent contractor, at what point I need a separate business account, an official sole proprietor business, etc. Looking forward to learning from an expert!
How many hours a week do you spend on promoting your newsletter? Asking for a friend ๐
Too many and not enough.
The key is NOT to promote too much. You hit a saturation point with your readers and that's a No-No. Focus on sharing and highlighting the works of your peers. Mutual respect leads to more opportunities to collab and exposure to new audiences.
I tweet out my articles, and put a link to newsletter in email signatures. So, not much, except that I (usually) write a lot (at least once a day), and send out dozens of emails each day!
Wow! I guess pushing more issues is usually going to be better than promoting!
I like to think so. I'm a newbie here though
I feel like I spend way too much time promoting my newsletter when I only publish once a week. I like Terry's routine better! Hmmm, maybe I'll dabble in twice-a-week postings...
Probably 5 or 6, and it feels like a drop in the ocean.
Hello, my name is Eddie; I am seventeen. Alaskan-born and raised I heard about Substack from one of my new neighbors who told me about your (Substack Team's) platform, and I was intrigued. So, I created a Substack, and am currently picking my brain for some good things to post on here. I hope to eventually go paid on Substack if my writing is enjoyed by Substack readers.
Welcome! I am (fairly) new as well and have enjoyed it so far. I always heard the platform itself was super intuitive with a lot of creative freedom, but I didnโt realize (until now) that the Substack community is amazing.
Best of luck!
Hi Eddie! Welcome to Substack, Iโm also new here ๐ค. Thatโs an exciting new beginning and Iโm looking forward to your newsletter.
Iโm writing a sci fi fantasy novel about the journey of the soul, and recently just made a section to talk about writing.
Hello All! Three days ago I began serializing a novel here on Substack. I put three chapters up for free, posted two adjacent sort of essays in front of the paywall, and announced it on my FB and Twitter feeds. So far I have 19 subscribers. What else should I do? Are these numbers a success or a bust? Not that it much matters. I'm having fun.
This post is a solid guide: "Getting your first 100 signups" https://on.substack.com/p/getting-your-first-100-signups
Thank you, Bailey.
I write about promoting your newsletter on these platforms! Curious how your announced it?
Congrats! And welcome:) My advice would be, think about where the people you want to reach are, and go find them there. They might be on Twitter, Insta, even just here on Substack. See what works, and go from there. And have fun!
Thanks, Jo. How did you reach out on Substack?
Sandra, I'm not sure I understand "reach out". Could you elaborate? Is this a technical question?:)
Oops. No, it's more a social connection question. You suggested finding the people I wanted to reach. How did you find your people?
This is one of the main questions in the Grow series from Substack: Who are your people? Who is your ideal subscriber? What are they like? And then: Where do they hang out? But honestly, this is an ongoing question for writers here:) So don't sweat it... yet:))
This is a great conversation. I think it's sort of the same as when you discover the right literary magazines or publications for your work. You have to read and engage with other Substacks to develop the community and readers. It seems like that may be a good way. It takes time though.
My web designer suggested a newsletter on Substack to replace the email list on my travel website, which was no longer supported by WordPress. It was a game changer! So easy to set up and write my first post. I was able to transfer my email list and have gained subscribers for my travel journalism. Looking forward to growing even more.
I was introduced to the platform by a friend as I wanted to go paid with my blog and really happy I am where I am already within six months. Massive plans to keep growing the paid subscribers, have been concentrating on the free guys for a few weeks which has come up nicely, and am hoping to launch a free site on here alongside my paid site in the next few weeks. If you like soccer or football, you can find me at www.footballwriting.co.uk
I found Substack by seeing a reporter on tv. They kept saying he wrote on Substack. I thought, "Hmm...I don't know what that is." So then I looked him up and found out all about it. I did more research on it before starting my own Substack. I wanted to get my writing out for everyone to see instead of my writing sitting in my notebook and it being "lonely" with no one to look at it.. Ha Ha.
Hence, why I started "Writer's Notebook".
Hello fellow writers,
I rarely plug myself here, but I'm hitting 6 months writing What's Curation? and I'm having a discounted sale ending tomorrow. I invite you to come check me out and join our growing community. Also, managed to crack into the top 100 music newsletters on the leaderboard and so elated!
On topic: I've started two sections called "Guests" and "Interviews". Guests will be fellow substackers who will "take over" What's Curation? for a day and recommend music to my readers. Interviews will be email conversations with music artists, as well as fans and readers of What's Curation?--their lives, jobs and why they enjoy receiving my newsletter. I've also ordered BEAUTIFUL business cards with the brand colors and logo; should be coming in today!
I've become less focused on subscriber counts--I'm looking at putting content that people like to read and share. But I'm eyeing that 200 mark and I hope I hit it soon! Hope to see you in your inbox!
With love,
Nikhil.
100% vouch for Nikhil's newsletter here. Great takes on music and the increasingly personal touch (loved your story about hearing vinyl for the first time) is definitely worth a subscription, free or paid.
Thanks so much for the shoutout, Oleg. It's a pleasure to meet you through Mark's newsletter. I've actually started a fledgling freelance consultancy to help newsletter writers write copy that's true to their tone of voice and help them build an organic audience from scratch. I will reveal the details next week! Scared, but good scared!
Goof for you man, sounds like there's huge demand for that.
Hello everyone :)
Iโm seeing a ~50% subscription rate from visitors who find me in the Substack app. Thatโs exciting as it's a substantially higher rate than I see with Substack.com visitors. The conversion rate difference makes sense to me because of the nature of Shift content so I expect it to continue.
Does anyone have ideas on I how might increase traffic specifically to the Substack app?
There is a "download the app" CTA button that you can put in your posts. It looks pretty nice.
I had been subscribed to Mary Trump's "The Good in Us" ( https://marytrump.substack.com/ ) for a couple of months before I started my Newsletter in January. Before subscribing to her Newsletter, I had never heard of Substack.
Thanks, Caroline. It's exciting to know that there's still a huge audience waiting out there!
I think the first I heard of Substack was from Austin Kleon's newsletter. Have been following him for a good few years and have always loved his insights. My latest newsletter actually talks a bit about how him and Lynda Barry have inspired me as an artist and notebook-keeper.
I think the other person I learned about Substack from was Marlee Grace, a writer, dancer, quilt-maker and everything-er. Her substack is always a joy when it arrives in my inbox.
I have just subscribed! Just read your constellation post and this is right up my alley!
brilliant -- thanks for the sub!
I found a YouTube video regarding starting a newsletter. I found it appealing, therefore started my newsletter the very moment.
Reasons I started a Newsletter:
1. Lesser barrier of entry compared to YouTube etc.
2. Introvert friendly
3. Love writing
To all my fellow introverts: โCongratulations on taking the first step! I wish you all the success in life!โ
Cheers!
Nithin
Besides using other social media to convert followers to Substack readers, what other ways have you been able to grow your Substack over time?
I've connected with other writers, which has led to recommendations and shoutouts. Both of these have brought me more readers than social media