Have questions about publishing, growing, or going paid on Substack?
The Substack team, and your fellow writers, are here to help!
We’re gathering the writer community and members of the Substack team together in this discussion thread to answer writer questions for an hour. Drop your questions in the thread by leaving a comment, and we’ll do our best to share knowledge and tips.
Our team will be answering questions and sharing insights with you in the thread today from 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. PDT / 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. EDT. We encourage writers to stick around after the hour and continue the conversation together.
Some updates and reminders from the Substack team:
Introducing Chat: Substack Chat is a new space for writers and creators to host conversations with their subscribers. Now available in iOS, you can host quick commentary and brainstorm ideas on the go with photo replies. Think of it like your own private social network where you make the rules. Take a tour of Chat and get started in four simple steps.
Introducing mentions: It’s now possible to link any mentions of other Substack writers or publications in your own Substack posts. Simply search to tag writers and publications in the Substack network from within the editor using the “@” key. Learn more here.
Now in beta: Cross-posting. The new cross-posting feature provides a way for you to share another publication’s post with your audience. With this feature, you’ll be able to add your commentary and share the post with your audience via email. Learn more about cross-posting by watching this demo video or visiting our Support Center.
Have questions about Substack or feedback about what’s new? You’re in the right place! Leave a comment in this thread.
I'm sitting by my poor, sad Android phone, looking at the chat feature, wondering when I will get the love. I know, it's coming soon. I just thought I would be a pest 😉
I downloaded the app specifically for this, but I don't seem to get it. Do you have to be a certain size before you can use it? I press the little conversation icon and nothing happens.
If you head to the Chat tab you should see a row for your publication, tapping into that row will let you start your first thread. If for some reason you don't see a row for your publication, a few ideas...
- Make sure you're logged into the app using the same email address you use to manage your publication
- It's only available on iOS at the moment (but Android is coming very soon!)
- Head over to your publication dashboard and you should see an option to toggle it in from there
I did a poll to see how my subscribers are reading my posts and less than 5 percent use the Mac App. Most read in their email, whether phone, tablet or laptop/desktop. I think this really only works for those with high percentage Substack writers as subscribers or those with lots of loyal followers who will do what their “leaders” ask.
I think a lot of it has to do with training your readers to expect conversations in the Chat. Get them used to looking in there for additional content from you and as a place where they can experience the back and forth of a good conversation.
I do think that when it goes live on Android that it's going to lead to a big jump in use.
Definitely fair, and we want to build a web client too. In the meantime, we have seen a lot of writers using the chat announcement template to convince a lot of readers to join their chats in the app, even if they didn't have too many there to start with.
I agree with this – while many of my readers say they’d like an alternative to the email experience, they don’t subscribe to enough Substacks (yet) where downloading another to their phone makes sense to them. But once they do (a few have), they see the benefit. One reader liked getting a notification that my newsletter was published. Another liked that she could turn off emails.
I like the idea of chat - I can think of several ways to use it - instant feedback/conversation after publishing my weekly food information/recipes, getting my readers to share their interpretations of my recipes through photos, etc... Unfortunately, I am an Android user, so I haven't dived in yet, and I'm awaiting word on that update.
It would be best classified as conversations instead of chat - Chat to me seems Twitter- or Facebook-like, while Conversations seem more in-depth and Substack-like...at least in my head!
Personally I feel it’s disruptive and unnecessary. The only way I’d use it is as a way for readers with the app to dm me if they wish but I don’t know if that’s possible with the feature. It seems like just another space to interact in within the space that we already interact in. I feel that discussions are for public forums on posts where they will be seen by everyone.
Yep! It’s not bad, gets the point across. Still training many in my audience to use the Substack app, so it’s mostly Substack network folk that are using it. I’m looking forward to using it for process work though, rough artworks and idea sharing
My goals would be to use Chat threads as a means of quick updates, to show off rough concepts / drawings, stuff like that.
I'd say it's probably a tool for retention / engagement - a way to keep interacting with your audience with a conversational tone. When you're not trying to blast your subscribers with another email, you know?
As a subscriber, I'm not yet sure what value the chat adds. I agree with others who prefer substack as a different type of engagement than other apps/social media generally. I enjoy reading newsletters mostly on my laptop, not my phone. And I'm a bit worried that, for those who rely on substack as their primary source of income, it creates pressure to be more "present" than they typically would be, or is healthy... though the latter issue is "not my circus" so to speak
Good point. Many of the newsletters I subscribe too have started chats but I have yet to read or participate in any of them. I can't even keep up with reading all of the newsletters I'm subscribed to every week. Also, I read directly from emails; I never even had the app until I downloaded it to enable chat in case my subscribers are more comfortable chatting with only each other instead of interacting online where non-subscribers can read their comments, too. My newsletter covers mental health issues and many of my readers don't want to be as public about their issues as I am about mine.
That's a good point too! About how the chat could perhaps be a private ("safe"?) space for discussions about sensitive topics. Thanks for the perspective Wendi :)
I haven't used it--partly because it doesn't seem like many of my readers are using the ios app, and partly because I don't want to hear crickets from the little handful of readers who do. I guess I'm curious to know if it's gone well for anyone else, though.
I'm still a little ignorant of the feature. I'd thought that threads were more community-oriented, though I have yet to use that feature, either. What is the advantage of Chat versus a thread? I don't really want to be available to readers at a moment's notice, and I'd prefer an email exchange or the kind of follow-up we typically do in the comments. I'm not sure my readership is really interested in chats, except for people who are close friends or relatives, who wouldn't need a Substack app anyway, since they could just text me for a personal conversation. Maybe I need to read up on the new features.
I think one feature I'd love to see would be a way to create archive folders. My understanding is that the only way to do that now is by creating separate newsletters (that's how people have themed tabs, I think). But I don't want to nest multiple newsletters under one parent site -- I just want a way to organize previous posts. Mine typically cover critiques of academe, the experience of leaving academe, fatherhood, career and identity, and the writing life. If this were WordPress, it would be easy to create categories to organize old content. Seems like it should be an easy feature to add?
1) Chats are not sent by email and threads (for most writers) are. Outside of the very first time a writer hosts a Chat space, which lets readers know Chat is live for that publication.
2) Chat threads can be started from within the app.
1 & 2 means writers can host more lightweight and on-the-go conversations there, should they choose
3) You can post photo replies in Chat comments, but not in Threads
This is helpful. I'm still a bit confused though--is chat something that you do at a certain time, like a one-hour chat at a certain day/time? Or is a chat ongoing? What happens to the chat once it's finished?
Threads are sent by e-mail? How does that work? I thought threads were only active after the reader receives the e-mail that a new newsletter is published... (sorry to butt in)
The goal of chat is to give people something lower-pressure and lighter weight than a discussion thread, which is always emailed out. We're also hoping the ability to add photos easily and emoji react will make it feel more dynamic.
Feel free to check out some writers with active chats to get a sense of whether it might work for you. For example, slowboring.substack.com hosted a fun midterms thread, and slowdownfarmstead.substack.com often shares photos of her work on the farm.
They should have released it for the web first because that crosses platforms. The last thing I need is more apps! I’m sure substack’s internal stats told them iOS is their biggest user source but if you aggravate all the ways to interact, browser versions are still more important. This may be a feature we don’t need. We have comments and threads already.
We will get the web out eventually for Chat! But we have threads for the web/email already. This was meant to be a more lightweight, on the go chat option for writers.
Even though none of my subscribers has posted in the chat I started yet, and I don't anticipate spending a lot of time chatting there, what I love is that I can use it instead of creating a private Facebook group for subscribers. For now I'm making chat available to all subscribers, but ultimately plan to make it a benefit for paid subscribers.
I am trying to see if it will help with either engagement with subscribers or with other writers. If it is just another social media time suck, I will not use it , except to monitor it.
Great point, Jo. Also I’m nervous that if I encourage folks too strongly to switch over from email to the app, they’ll open / read less. (The data so far does not match my fear.)
Thanks everyone for joining the thread today and sharing your ideas and feedback! We had a huge number of Substack employees in the thread today - too many to list here!
Hello all, and happy Office Hours! Here’s a little bit of encouragement from one small newsletter to all of you: Today, let's celebrate the lurkers. The folks who read your posts every single time without fail. They never comment and never click the little heart, but they love what you do so much that they tell their friends and family about it. You may never know how much your writing means to them, but when you DON'T post, they feel the loss. These are your true fans, your real audience. You may have two of them, or you may have 200 of them, but that doesn't matter. They're yours. Every time you feel like giving up, like no one is listening, like what you write doesn't matter...think again! Celebrate your lurkers, write for them, and keep going. Trust me. Every time you post, someone out there needs to read it. So keep going, keep writing, and DON'T GIVE UP! 🌿
This is so true. I recently published my one year anniversary newsletter and it did cause some of those lurkers to speak up and tell me how much they like and admire what I do. It meant a lot and gave me enough encouragement to try and hit a two year anniversary.
Hi and wow, thank you! I love this, because i never thought of our silent readers that way. This helps me to breathe a sigh of relief with regards to my silent fans as a musician, too. So thank you! Let's celebrate them! 🙌
YES! I have people all the time comment to me in person that they enjoyed one of my posts and I find out they aren't even subscribed or they never engage with it. It is those comments that help keep me going!
I'm fully on board with celebrating the lurkers. I just wanna know what the secret sauce is to activate them to like and comment. Or maybe that's just never gonna happen...
I finally realized that 1) I too have a lot of lurkers, and 2) I often do not like or comment on the articles from even my most favorite writers. So I stopped worrying about it.
Damn, I've never looked at it that way. Nice shift of perspective ☺️ Now I think of all these quiet lurkers, busy-bees, and people who surprised me by complimenting my Midweek Crisis in person and who I didn't suspect about reading it at all
Thanks for this! A great reminder of how we just don't know how our words affect others. It's hard to not be affected by numbers. But it's true. We don't know who we matter to :)
Yep! Thanks for this reminder. It’s the lurkers that have kept me writing every week for now 28 weeks without skipping. I’ve maintained a solid 50-60 percent open rate on my twice-weekly posts (out of 125 subscribers) so I’m reading that stat to mean I’ve got a stable, lurking base.
I've had the same - people commenting in person who I was sure were ignoring me virtually! I write a little bit through music too. I've been dissecting the my life through the songs in my family's piano roll collection that we still pump on an pianola. I call the section The Pianolist. I haven't established a consistent timeline on that topic but I've been having fun looking at life through that lens. I admire your consistency.
You never know who you might help with your words. Whether it is a funny story, a sad story, or an informative story, you might reach someone who needs to hear your words. Maybe they have something in common with you and you've helped them or they can help you!
Yes, love to the lurkers! I discovered last week that one of my favorite writers, whose work I published on Fiction Attic nearly 20 years ago, is now reading the new stories published on substack. She even submitted new work, which I'm publishing this week. It's encouraging to know the readers are out there.
I was a lurker for a long time--on several newsletters, but also the Office Hours! Finally participating gave me the courage to publish my first newsletter!
Trust that you are growing! Be grateful for the subscribers you have, I promise it will turn into more! I have 57 subscribers now :) it grew from 28! lol
I never knew how far my reach was until a couple of people at work came up to me and said thank you for writing a recent article on mental health. I didn’t even know they had read the post but there were there reading it and enjoying it.
Celebrating that I'm 20 subscribers away from hitting 100, and I'm still maintaining open rates above 70%! This is a huge confidence boost as my goal has been more about engagement than subscriber growth. I mean obviously I would love more subscribers, but I only want them if they read my stuff. :)
Cross-promoting this week with Punit over at Hello Universe. I authored a section of his post this week, and he's authored a section on my upcoming Saturday post. So much fun!
I launched subscriptions last week and to see people subscribe monthly, annually, and even a few founders - wow! So fun! I hesitated, not knowing if it was too soon to add subscription, but went for it. Glad I did!
Also celebrating that talking to my readers more as a community is feeling really good. Our vision at The Thread is untangling the stories that make us who we are so we can show up to our lives with spacious presence, brave honesty, radical love, and wild curiosity.
Grateful for Substack creating this space for writers to create and readers to grow together.
I decided not to. Everything is free to everyone. I'm sending a bit of extra content to paid subscribers but that's the part I thought might be too much for my rhythm. Keeping it simple for now.
I finally spent the better part of 3 hours today working on a piece for the writer's collective I'm part of. It's a terrible, disjointed first draft, but at least I'm very close to getting the bare bones of it down and capturing the basic ideas!
Congrats on hate mail! (Really -- you know you're doing it right if you don't please everyone, right?) My accomplishment is that it's been one month since I moved over to Substack, and so far it has been great.
Well done 👏 Fingers crossed for you reaching it soon!
Almost same situation here 🙋♀️ missing 10+ people to hit 250. Also really proud with the newest issue of my music newsletter: https://midweekcrisis.substack.com/p/vol40 Yesterday I've shared the shocking story of the iconic version of "Bam Bam" song by Sister Nancy
I set up two chapters of the serialized novel to post while I was away exploring places without an internet connection and it worked! Also, I'm so very close to $1000/net. And Substack continues to be fun.
I find that the ability to schedule ahead helps me to be consistent without the stress of "I have to write this right now." I can batch, write and record ahead of time, and the post on a schedule that works for me, especially if I am gone or SUPER busy.
Just wanted to thank those who’ve worked so hard on this platform. It’s been a perfect place to host the writing I’ve been wanting to do.
I also appreciate that there isn’t a constant pressure to publish content constantly. At least for me, it allows me to post much more quality stuff. In fact, I will be taking a break over the holidays to refresh (and I don’t even feel bad about it!)
Sure! Hopefully it’s helpful advice, but I make sure the writing comes first (if that makes sense). I’d rather have a handful of really good, well-researched, authentic pieces than just a pile of ephemera.
After that I try to listen to what my body’s telling me. There’s always going to be pressure, but if it becomes too much I know I need to either take a break or change cadence.
I love Office Hours! I learn so much from all you lovely folks - thank you for your generosity and kindness. There really is a different atmosphere here on Substack and it is so refreshing. As I think of how to make the most of every opportunity and learn *all the things* I’m noticing an urgency and hustle bubbling up in me that I came to Substack to get away from. So, a word of encouragement to anyone who can relate: we don’t have to do it all. We don’t have to incorporate every new feature (now or ever). It isn’t a race or a competition. There is a big tool box that Substack is constantly adding to and we can pull out what works well for us when we need it.
Oh god, THANK YOU for this comment. I start to feel that same anxiety (will I fall behind? Am I missing out on new subscribers if I don't adopt everything?) but the big thing I come back to is the quality of my own work and whether I'm publishing to my own standards. Everything else is secondary.
To quote @AliciaKennedy who writes *From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy* (“mentions” not available when commenting?) “I tend not to give my readers too much to do.”
Absolutely. I understand all the bells and whistles but anything adding more stress, in my mind, isn't worth it. I find Office Hours, while exhilarating to be overwhelming. So much more to look at and explore, and I never finished the week prior, or the week before that.... etc
I so feel that overwhelm! I came to substack so I would feel less behind!! How true about the added stress... is this helpful or am I adding unnecessary stress to my life?
What a great question to ask, Erin! I need to ask that of the things I'm doing. I feel like I've pared down a lot, but there's still part of me that's thinking about all the articles I've saved to read, friends' pieces I haven't gotten to, the Discord communities I just joined because I've no idea how I'll get more visibility for my writing if I'm not somehow "in a community..."
Starting to wonder if it's actually possible to get a following just by showing up and doing the thing like Seth Godin advocates. Can we truly just WRITE and generate an audience from our passions and craft?
I'm struggling just to reclaim the freedom of writing without feeling like it has to be regimented, perfect, or monetized. I used to write literally ALL THE TIME and not concern myself with getting it right the first time. Now I feel like everything has to be done with an eye for publishing, and I'm starting to create all these rituals and rules for it that shouldn't be there.
Yes, writing used to come naturally through me. I prefer it that way. When I start to worry what others will think, or how they'll criticize, I find the joy of the healing process that writing is, is diminished. For me writing is a miracle. I always felt if I wrote long enough, through any disturbance or stress, a voice of understanding and guidance would come through. Relieving my angst. I understand that my process isn't important to others. Anais Nin said, "The personal life deeply lived always expands into truths beyond itself."
I hear you, Theresa! Perfectionism - in all its forms - is such a creativity killer! Feeling like we have to perform and have everything just so, conform and be palatable to the masses... it's all too much. I have to remind myself frequently why I am showing up here in the first place and give myself that space for it all to be "enough".
Agreed! I am still feeling into how I feel about the Chats, for now I'm very happy with my once a week posting on Sunday nights. I think my readers appreciate it too, so we'll just go from there :)
I'm curious to know what everyone thinks about all the new features. I love the cross-posting and mentions, but not sure how I feel about chat. It seems like a suck back into social media (which I left when I came over to Substack), but I do appreciate that I have the option to take it or leave it for my subscribers.
Chat feels very much like a solution in search of a problem. We already have comments sections and readers can simply reply to emails. I have a Discord server for Hit Points so Chat would be doubling up on that. Plus a couple of Substacks I follow tried it out and I got an email every time they started a new discussion. I don't need that in my life at all.
I realise the tech team are in ship mode, and they've delivered some very useful stuff this year. Obviously not everything is going to come off, and I don't believe this has. Generally speaking I'd rather see new features than not, so it's all to the good; I just hope they're learning the right lessons from the things that don't really stick the landing.
Great response! I also appreciate what the Substack team is working on--making a more robust platform for writers. And I like that they are here each week listening.
"...I got an email every time they started a new discussion. I don't need that in my life at all."
This is big for me. I work as an IT security analyst, own an event venue, and am very active in my community. I just don't need anything else coming into my inbox. Well, tbh I filter everything into a folder because I exclusively read/interact via web or iOS app.
Oh, yes! I think it has great potential. I also fear an increased echo chamber that it may cause. Also, I would like to get away from other social media. There's a lot here to unpack.
Just to clarify, the email only goes out for the *first* chat thread a publication sends out. Afterwards it will just be push notifications. Sorry for not making that clear enough.
Jasmine, thanks for your great thoughts and work. I'm loving substack. Do you know someone I can pay to help me create a bigger subscriber and paid subscriber base on my site at jimmydunne.substack.com? Thanks, Jasmine.
Not everything is for everyone. If the chat feature isn't your cup of tea, don't use it! Hundreds, if not thousands of Substack writers have started the chat features in just the week it's been available.
Ha. Agreed. There are still some basic issues with very basic posting functions yet to be addressed/solved..(photos...text alignment)...'Chat' sorta reminds me of a joke back in telephony days. The DEFINITION of the (then) new ISDN..."Innovations Subscribers Don't Need"...
Ugh, an email every time? Who thought that was a great idea? I’m already sending 2 emails weekly and worry about wearing out my welcome with any more. I regularly unsubscribe when someone sends me too many emails. Getting subscribers is an honor and one I want to respect in a world where we already receive too much information daily.
Subscribers only get an email when you first enable chat and create your introductory message to let them know. One email, that's it's. Not one every time you start new chats.
I wrote a piece about it, mourning the loss of the "magazine rack" feel to this space. (though I intend to keep my own as "mag rack!" Others can do whatever they wish with options!)
What WAS heartening was the responses I got--the most ever., and feeling the same.
Obviously we attract each our own set of readers for good reason :)
Reading your post makes me want to just sit down and write more and stop struggling with whether I'm turning out a literary masterpiece each time. I feel like I've lost that wonder of getting an idea and letting it lead me...like I have to do a ton of prep work on EVERY piece to make it shine.
Interesting Post and a subject that I find appearing in my dream work occasionally. I have a question for you - were you able to ost the Youtube video without paying any licence or royalty fees? I would like to post some similar things but in my discussions with the lawyers they have cautioned me about Fair Use issues. Are things easier in Canada?
Thanks for posting the link, Holly. I love your post, Alison! And I agree. I like the magazine rack aspects of Substack. And maybe Substack readers will divide into magazine rack browsers and those looking for a Twitter substitute (via the chat). All I know is I'm looking for slower (mag rack) experiences more now.
I've been listening to and reading Jack Hart's Wordcraft and Storycraft books, and it's making me want to hunk down Pulitzer-winning narrative nonfiction pieces. I want to get a feel for that experience—maybe even go back to a bookstore and actually browse the magazine rack again someday!
There is a large chain bookstore in my town that is pretty terrible as a bookstore, but has a phenomenal magazine rack. I go there maybe once a year, but it's always fun to see all the magazines I've never heard of.
Same concern. I love the new features but I don’t want Substack to lose it’s essence and definitely don’t want it to become like any other social media platform.
I think for those who want a Twitter replacement, they will possibly find it with chats. But that's not me. I've actually considered unfollowing a Substack because I don't want to see a little orange dot appear multiple times throughout the day. I want to read meaningful writing and digest it, not discuss what I had for breakfast.
Love how you've expressed this and I personally agree. I too am craving meaningful pieces that I can soak up and digest intentionally vs navigating countless notifications every day. To that effect, I much prefer the once a week rhythm of a newsletter format (aka the core presence of Substack).
"Soak up and digest intentionally"...I'm getting so much encouragement from this thread to slow down, stop feeling like I need to read ALL THE THINGS and keep up with everything that's going on around the internet. I'm feeling inspired to just read, digest what I read, and think.
“I think for those who want a Twitter replacement, they will possibly find it with chats.” I think you’re right. It’s funny - I joined Substack because it was the antithesis of Twitter! 🤣 But it’s fine, because I can just choose to not chat. Happy with that!
This. They need to give us more control over notifications. I have stopped having a couple of newsletters appear on my feed because of a busy chat. Maybe there is already a way to silence chat and keep the posts on. Does anyone know if this is true?
Yes there is a way to do so! Go to your profile tab in the app, then the settings gear, then "notifications." You can toggle off chat notifications there. You can also mute notifications for a specific chat thread via the 3-dot menu.
I guess that depends on what you mean by notifications, Steve. Are you referring to email notifications, notifications that appear in the activity "bell" icon, or audible notifications? I've actually gotten my system of not-being-bothered-unless-I-want-to-be down to a science if you want to discuss.
Yes! I’d love to hear your process. I mean all 3 sorta. Mostly activity bell and on screen notifications for every post and comment. I keep my sound off most of the time so that is less a bother.
For starters, I have notifications turned off in settings for nearly every app I have on my phone, including Substack. My exceptions are Messages, Phone, Reminders, and a couple of apps for my day job.
In Gmail, I set up filters each time I subscribe to a new newsletter. "Skip the inbox, Mark as read, Send to folder." I call my folder ".Substack Reading."
In my Substack app settings, I have push notifications turned off (which is actually configured in the notifications settings in your phone). I *did* have New Threads turned on, but I just turned that off, and I have replies and reactions on. I like being notified of replies and reactions via the little bell icon or the activity feed, but I don't want to actually get a notification on my phone.
So in short, I control most of the bothersome stuff through the notification settings on my phone and gmail filters.
Even right now, I’m typing this on my phone and there’s a constant stream of notifications popping up from the live writers’ discussion threads. Ones from more than 30 minutes ago which I’ve already read. I am imagining there is some customization to pop up notifications that I’m just not finding.
However, a positive side of this was that I could directly interact with Hamish on his chat thread since I’m subscribed to his newsletter. This way I can directly send him the concerns or feedback about recent features.
Yes!! I'm already sick of the red dot coming up all hours. I'd love to be able to toggle on or off the pubs I want to see - and to have the option to toggle off all chat notifications but keep notifications for when newsletters are published.
Hi! You can do this by going to your app -> profile -> settings gear -> notifications. Just turn off all the notifications in the Chat/Threads section.
The thing I appreciate about Chat, and all the other new features Substack has recently rolled out, is that they're optional. They can be used (to great effect), or they can be ignored. Meaning that (a) everyone can choose a different way of doing things, and (b) if someone wants to just have the boiled-back model of running a newsletter and nothing else, they can do that. They are given complete freedom to choose to do that.
That is massive, quite frankly. And it's NOT what the big social media platforms are doing. Particularly the one that's showing every sign of imploding right now...
Empowering users is one thing. But empowering them with the choice to *not* use your newer upgrades and add-ons and *still* have an effective model for growing an audience around your writing? That's the way it should be - and yet it's so rare.
I don't see Substack losing its essence and its core model because they're too smart to do that, they've given zero sign of doing that, and they now have plenty of horror-story case studies to look at elsewhere on the internet, where big platforms did that and were totally eviscerated by their users - including the one happening right now!
I trust the folk whose actions mirror their promises. :)
Agreed actually- I have avoided chat so far, as it feels like I then have to be „on“ to facilitate it, which is extremely draining for this introvert 🫠
100% agree with this...except I'm an extrovert! I stepped away from social media to reclaim more time to write. I don't want to go back to that "instant" type of format.
Me neither! I popped into a Discord server I'm part of today and found 14 messages I hadn't read yet in a thread where I really should be participating, and it was overwhelming. My brain needs a break from the dopamine hits.
I’m new to Substack so I’m still getting adjusted to just the bare bones. I wonder if I’ll find a use for the chat feature down the road but if I do it’ll have to be organic. I see the potential for it but it brings up the same unwelcome stress I feel on social media platforms. So I’m pretending it’s not there for now and staying focused on the reasons why I came to Substack. The chat function will be there if I find I want/need it later.
Makes total sense :) It's a completely optional thing for writers to use only if they think that community/social dynamic will enrich their publication.
What I imagine might be helpful with Chat is to be a participant on others' to get a better look at how it might fit within your NFTW. For me, I'm pretty sure I couldn't care less, as one who only signed up for ANY social media site for the first time in Aug '21, when I started my 'Stack! In other words, I haven't been married to social media for two decades like many/most seem to have been.
I've participated in a few. So far I just don't see how they can augment my newsletter. But I'm sure eventually there will be a use case that will be the aha! moment for me.
Wish I'd never gotten as involved as I had. I've wasted years of my life in IRC chat, AIM (anyone remember that??), online RPGs, and social media. And my brain has suffered for it--now that I've quit the socials, I'm struggling to reclaim the ability to focus for any length of time and to stop and THINK about what I've just done before moving on to another task.
I'm excited by the potential of chat but I would only use it for paid subs I think so that it's an added bonus of being a paid up member. I'm going to use it sparingly, once or twice a week perhaps, to prompt my subscribers to tell me what interesting art they have seen that week. I used to do that with my members when I was on Mighty Networks and it was one of the best methods of engagement I found. What I like about it is that members can upload images. Plus it's a way for my members who are artists and art lovers to talk amongst themselves and make connections. It's a great community-building feature and I'm really excited about it! Haven't launched that aspect yet, but will do in the next few weeks. Waiting on the Android roll out. But maybe I should just crack on.
Ah, that's a great use case, Victoria. You've just made me remember that sharing photos is only available in chat, not comments. I can see how this would be beneficial.
I've mostly needed more time to think them through. I've given Chat a bit of thought, but I can't go much further without an Android App. Cross-posting is something I could use - maybe. Mentions seem way too social media-like...
And before I can even finish my thoughts on these new features, enter the Bestseller Badge...and my first thought is not favorable. The Badge feels like a reaction to the Twitter controversy with the blue check mark. I also think the Badges create a class system within the writing community...it reminds me of the theory behind supply-side economics - the riches trickle down to benefit everyone. Only in this case, a displayed badge lends a lot of credibility to an established writer and makes it that much harder for people just starting to succeed.
Agreed. I've never done well in popularity contests, and this makes me disheartened. I was hoping to make Substack a part of my writer's journey, something that might become a significant source of income in the future while still allowing me to explore different topics and types of pieces, but it's starting to feel like I should run in the other direction before I get crushed under the super-successful Substack celebs.
I just saw the badge feature and have lots of feelings about that...especially after reading the announcement, which seems to say: You're only successful if you are making money.
What about the success of writing what you love and sharing what's true and real? And the success of having the courage to put it out there without ever knowing if anyone will read it? And the success of overcoming the need to be validated by metrics or shiny digital awards?
Yes, it's a complicated world. While I understand the idea behind the Badges, and I imagine feels really good for those who have them (like the belt system in martial arts), it can feel discouraging for the newbies. Keep you head down and carry on!
Kevin, you know I'm a huge fan, but I do not want to hear from you any more than I already do. Hahahaha! (You know how I keep it real!) I enjoy getting your 4 x week posts to jumpstart my day with some great tunes. If I don't have time for it one morning, I definitely go back to it in the next couple of days. There's such value there.
But even if I could eat a prime meal every hour on the hour, would I want to? Hell no.
I work on product research at Substack, and one of the learnings that led to the Chat feature was hearing readers in user interviews constantly say that they *love* hearing from their favorite writers. It won't be all readers — and they don't have to get the app or have chat notifications on — but a lot of people appreciate it!
I was about to say the same thing - we won't annoy readers who don't want to chat, other than the one and only email letting them know it's an option. Also, how often we post something new in the chat is up to us, as is how often we check it and reply if a reader does engage there. We also have the option to turn off chat notifications, as does every subscriber.
I’m with Holly -- we get the perfect amount of you each week. It’s like dessert. You want it four or five days a week, any more than that, you start to feel nauseated and begin craving vegetables (just kidding -- your posts are a well balanced meal).
I've played around with it, but I am waiting for the web-version to really start pushing it with my readers. I want to spend less time staring at my phone!
Totally agree with you Seth. I love having it as an option on my phone, but having it as part of the web app would mean it's easier to engage in conversation back and forth rather than using my phone all day.
Yeah, I second this point. If it were available on the website, I could see a lot more of my readers using it. And I could see myself using it too (I just can't bring myself to use the app.)
You hit the nail on the head, Seth. I've been curious about whether this would work for me, but I can always find out later when it's accessible to everyone.
THanks! Yeah, always best to see how other people are using it, and seeing what works, and then thinking about doing the same with your own readership. Just because it's a feature doesn't mean we have to use it! haha
Chat stays off for me. Most of my readers get What's Curation? via email, and <4% use the app. The whole point of a newsletter is that people CHECK their email. I essentially see the Substack app and the chat feature as a creeping walled garden tying people (and engagement) to the platform, making it difficult for people to leave.
Besides, communication should be democratic--and there's nothing more open, and easy, to do, than hitting the reply button on an email. Having to install an app only selects for the more vocal audience members and leaves out the others.
Chat doesn't fit my work--but it will be useful to others. I'll do some mentions, don't know about cross-posting. Those are features that individual writers can choose to use, or not. But! My heart sank when I saw today's announcement about "badges." That affects the whole atmosphere of Substack, and in my view, brings an unwelcome change.
I'm starting to question the value of hustling for visibility and spending time "contributing to communities." What if we all just showed up, did the thing, and waited to see what would happen?
Oh my gosh, I just skimmed that email, and it made my heart sink, too. I'm sad to see this platform becoming a popularity contest. It's supposed to be a place where we can come and just be writers instead of feeling like we have to compete with everyone else.
I feel the same about the chat feature, Holly! I’m not tempted to go down that rabbit hole. As you say, nice to have the option, but no thanks, I’ll pass!
Sounds like we might be kindred spirits in the way we're thinking about writing. :) I've been thinking a LOT about the old blogging days, the journaling days when things were more personal and had a home-grown feel. Like the knitting blogs I used to read where the writers actually chronicled things that were happening in their lives and shared what they were making instead of posting "5 Knitterly Tips to Make Your Knitting More Knitterly."
I felt sucked back into social media too! I also worry about over-taxing my readers. People only have a limited amount of time and asking them to suddenly chat with me on top of the comments sections seems a little overloaded.
Yes, this is a good point. I feel glad that readers or listeners (as I use the audio as well) read and check in and I know people's time is really valuable. Right now it feels like asking for attention. Later, if a particular subject feels relevant for my readers/listeners, maybe. Now? Not convinced.
Agree. I've never been on any social media and I came here because it felt somewhat divorced from all that. I certainly don't want to import the feel of social media (already the 'mentions' are giving me a bit of an icky vibe.) Also, I really dislike using the app. I prefer taking the leisurely time to read and respond on my laptop. Chat feels like the antithesis of that. Nice that we all have the control to opt in to out, but so far I'm out.
I prefer Substacking on my computer, too. If I'm out and about I'll sometimes check in on the app, but I reserve a spot of time each day to properly go through my SS inbox and notifications at my computer. At my desk. With a cup of tea.
You put my feelings into words, Holly! I'm still unsure about chat myself. It feels like a lot to keep up with, especially in large publications. For now I think I'll just stick to comments!
"a lot to keep up with"<--this. I have enough balls in the air without another thing. I'm wondering how many of my subscribers feel the same way. Quality over quantity.
I'm sure there are more ways of attracting new readers then just your social media profiles and Substack recommendations (which are great BTW!).
If you haven't tried The Sample yet, I highly recommend it to all. It's basically a servce that sounds out a sample of your NL to hundreds of readers, and some of them might even subscribe! There's both a free and a paid option, I've tried both and helped me get new readers and subscribers. It can also be a good tool to discover new writers in the area you're intrerested in (be it on Substack or other platforms). Here's a link - https://thesample.ai/?ref=850d (full disclosure - this is a referral link, hope that doesn't go against the rules, happy to remove it if it does).
Another example of such a service is htttps://inboxreads.co. Doesn't cost a thing and can help you find new readers who share the same interests.
At the last Office Hours, I learned about The Sample from Oleg and signed up. Only two of my fiction pieces have passed through their system, but I have already received a few subscribers through them. Really appreciate the tip Oleg!
Thanks, Oleg! This is very timely. Newsletter directories and discovery services are next on my list to try for visibility and distribution now that I'm off social media.
The Sample was confusing for me. They have something called a "Paid subscribe" but that appears to be where I pay THEM to get a FREE subscriber, not when a reader pays me. No thank you.
It's there for people that might want to take advantage of it, but it's totally optional. As a user, you get to set the limits on how much you want to spend.
I didn't sign up for the paid option. I see it as advertising if you want to expand your reach. But I've gotten subscribers on one of my newsletters without paying anything for it. I would give it a shot.
I use The Sample too, thanks to a post here a while back recommending it. I only use the free option, which is quick and easy to sign up for, and have gotten a few subscribers from there.
These are rad new features. I’m excited to try cross-posting! I think it’ll be a great way for guest authors to promote their work on other Substacks.
Speaking of features, there are two blogging-type features I’d love to see Substack add for newsletter websites: Search and Post Tagging.
For newsletters with long archives, being able to search would be helpful to find posts. And it’d be great to be able to tag posts to categorize them on my site without having to create a whole section. Tagging could potentially be used for cross-newsletter discovery, too.
Agreed! With Fictionistas being an all-volunteer publication that depends on guest posts to keep the gears turning, it is great to see people can share their brilliant ideas with us first and then cross-post their articles to their own Substacks if they wish.
And I second the request for individual Substack search functionality and tags. These options would do so much to help surface our older content. I looked back at the performance of my older posts, and their stats are so much lower than my current posts. The only way right now anyone would really see them (with so many posts overall) is to either stumble across them in a Google search or for me to post a retrospective post pointing people to them. It would be really nice if I could use tags so people could read all of the posts about X, or search for themselves for topics of their own choosing. It would also help ME find my old posts - right now I actually use Google to find stuff because it's easier than scrolling through two years of content.
Yes to tagging - I've been thinking about using sections as a workaround for not having tags, and while it seems like it will be useful for clearcut different kinds of writing, it is pretty clumsy as a replacement for tags.
Good morning substackers! I wanted to share a bit of encouraging news for those of you who are beginners on this platform, as I am. I realized a few days ago that my subscriber list (which includes both free and paid) has grown by about 40% since July when I began my Substack newsletter. That is amazing considering that in the three years of blogging on Wordpress and using social media (somewhat) to promote it, I was lucky if I got two new readers a month, not including friends.
And what is important about this, is that I’m currently recommended by only one other newsletter (I had two recommending me but one of them just quit the platform—-drats), so these new readers aren’t coming because someone with a large audience has showcased my work. They are arriving just by virtue of being on the site and getting to know others, discovering writers that I enjoy, participating on these Thursday posts, etc. 40% is a formidable number, right? so I just wanted to share that.
With that said, feel free to showcase any of my posts you’ve enjoyed or add my newsletter to your Recommendations list, I’m good with that. No, seriously, it’s fine by me.
And I just saw the email about mentions and crossposts, very exciting.
Thanks for sharing. I am new and I am enjoying Substack - the Office Hours are a rich diversity of voices - and like learning about what others are doing. Congratulations on your growth - 40% is exciting and worth celebrating!
I have been her a few months past a year and very much love these Thursday get-togethers and find them both fun and extremely helpful! Thanks for hosting!
I believe that most of my new readers are coming from Substack, but I do still post my links on FB and Instagram, for whatever that's worth, which I don't think is much at this point.
I'm curious because I left social media. It wasn't generating anything for me, even for my business. And I'm overwhelmed by the prospect of trying to get involved in multiple communities just to distribute what I write.
I hear you. I'm only staying with social media at this point because I do have followers there, but most of them are friends. Substack is a nice alternative that seems to offer a great opportunity to meet other writers and grow your readership. It's a fun community from my experience so far.
We're over a thousand subscribers strong and growing. We encourage one another through helpful articles, virtual monthly meetups and all around awesomeness.
Tired of Twitter drama? Lamenting the political landscape? Got questions about writing fiction on Substack? You need Fictionistas!
Sincerely,
Brian Reindel
Fictionistas Supreme Ambassador of the Highest Order
Yes! I missed the last one for no good reason at all because I didn't set a reminder. After going back and watching it, I was disappointed I missed a great discussion! However, I was also impressed that you were the only one wearing a costume. I expect you in a Santa Claus outfit for December.
We did a late Oct call for Fictionistas, and November is nutty for me with NaNoWriMo and write-ins plus Thanksgiving in the US, so our next Zoom call will be in early December. We will send out an email to all subscribers shortly with the date, time, and Zoom link, so be sure you're subscribed!
Hi Marcia, we have a Zoom call once a month (ish). They are always on different days of the week and at different times so we can accommodate as many people's schedules as possible and to have times that aren't completely insane for folks in Europe or Asia (they aren't ideal but we do our best).
We always announce these on Fictionistas at least a couple weeks in advance, and then post the video recordings afterwards for those who can't make it live.
If any Fictionistas wanted to organize an in-person meetup, we would be totally supportive of that, but so far I haven't seen a critical mass developing in any given location. One day, though! (And any Fictionistas in St. Louis MO should reach out to me because I am running a few local write-ins for NaNo!)
You can watch previous videos over on Fictionistas to get a feel for how they are run and organized. We're all very respectful of one another and the discussions are around how to help one another in the fiction space on Substack.
Hi Marcia, they are virtual. If you subscribe to the newsletter, an email goes out the week before with all of the details, including how to connect and the time. The organizers try to pick various times so that different time zones can have an opportunity to connect each month.
It's great that we can now mention people, but are there any plans to roll out @ usernames/personalised URLs for our profiles (rather than just URLs for our publications)?
(So that our profiles aren't like this: substack .com/ profile/ 49352822-firstname-lastname)
Lots of good stuff coming from Substack these days; cross-posting and mentions are very good ides. That being said, in my opinion the badges feature was a terrible move, and needs to be reconsidered. Substack should be about the reader-writer relationship; adding badges at the end of names with lots of paid subscribers will turn the platform into just another hustle-forward, money-driven popularity contest. Substack team: please get rid of badges! They don't promote what Substack is really about!
Thanks for listening. New Substack writer here. Please take this feedback seriously. Substack is a special place in the digital ecosphere precisely *because* it's avoided a "lords and peasants," rich-get-richer ethos. When we skip the ever-present urge to rank one another, we can connect as a community, cooperate, and deepen our relationships to readers and other writers. Sharp status markers immediately change these dynamics. Love Substack, but please get rid of badges.
I have hundreds of subscribers to my free newsletter and I admit that I would like that to be acknowledged somehow because I think it helps to signify to potential subscribers that the newsletter is of good enough quality that many others also read it.
Hence, I think the badges should include free as well as paid newsletters. Otherwise the high quality free newsletters get lost and stigmatized as low quality because even if you have thousands of readers the current badge system would effectively push them to the bottom. This is not only unfair, but will limit the growth potential of free newsletters, most of which probably can turn into paid newsletters once the subscriber count is up.
Anyway, the solution may be to give everyone a badge, both for free and paid newsletters, for four main tiers, plus an additional badge for paid, and the option for writers to "opt out of badge participation":
New or less than 100 subscribers (gray)
Hundreds of subscribers (white)
Thousands of subscribers (orange)
Tens of thousands of subscribers (purple)
Paid subscribers (no number listed, just a different badge, maybe red)
So a free newsletter like mine with hundreds of subscribers would get one badge, white, but if it was paid, it would get two badges, white and red, even if I only have one paid subscriber.
Hi Kate, I commented on a story today and used a mention. But it didn't seem to work. I think I did it right, but it doesn't seem to work for comments.
Hello fellow Office Hours-ers! I'm celebrating today because I'm two months into this thing and recently hit 80 subscribers! But more importantly, in my growth I'm still maintaining an open rate above 70%! I'm a big fan of the slow and steady growth, so while I would love hundreds and hundreds of subscribers, I'm tickled that the subscribers I do have are reading and engaged.
What are the small victories you're celebrating this week?
just saw this, Jen, congratulations!! That must feel amazing! I, too, just noticed that my last post had a 73% open rate! So here we are again about celebrating the silent ones!
Thanks Jen for sharing your numbers. That is really great! Two months and progress :) I am three weeks in and while subscriber growth is slow, I have had over 1300 reads and listens to my writing and audio. It's good to look at numbers and see progress, and then get back to the task at hand - write and share <3
Agreed... the numbers are secondary to me, like dessert. Still worth celebrating! My #1 goal through the end of the year is to be consistent and write on a schedule -- I tend toward procrastination.
The workflow isn't bad within Substack but it helps to have your own editing software. I use Audacity. The nice thing is if I misread, I just stop, clip the audio, and re-record. Then I export the file and upload to Substack
I'm so excited about the chat feature but I use Android. Do we know when that will possibly be available?
I've made some subscriber progress this week. I got brave, asked people on FB, and I'm almost to 200! (7 away) I also took FB off of my phone in an effort to work towards more responsible social media use and cutting down my "need" to check it all of the time. So far, so good.
And thank you to whomever made the recommendation for The Sample. It has been a huge boost for litthinkpodcast.substack.com
Hi. I'm on the Android team. Chat is coming soon! I'm not able to share a date yet, but it's getting close. Thank you for both your excitement and your patience! 🙏
Congrats! While I try not to make it about the numbers, I do enjoy seeing my reader base grow. It puts wind in your sails knowing others are out there reading.
Yes. I mean, I write because I WANT to and sometimes need to but it feels good to know that what I am producing is also appreciated by others. Especially important as I work (slowly) on a self-published book of esssays.
Congrats, Sarah! I got to 200 subbies a couple weeks ago (I've been on here since 8/21...I know...laughable numbers to many, some of whom have 10 times that amount in 3 months!), while also noticing a drop in average open rates.
So, I decided it was time to do my occasional weeding out of subbies who (after about 4-6 months) have never opened anything. That brought me down to about 170, but I'm now back up to over 180. It's a balancing act, I guess...for me, anyway. Keep it up, Sarah!
I sometimes get half of my PVs from FB, but I suppose writing exclusively about a pop culture element (rock music, and the behind-the-scenes-access therein) might tend to garner more immediate "yippee!" reactions than might posts about Plumbing in the Baltics, Canned Ham on a Budget, or Animals Who Get in My Way on Walks. But, I could be wrong.
Hey Tobi, can you share which strategies are working for you on Linkedin?
The results I get are pretty random, to be honest.
I have +2.5k followers, but still sometimes I get very little impressions.
For my experience, what matters is mostly tags, likes and comments you get in the first minutes. But I have not fully understood how it works yet and which post types work the most.
This is MOSTLY because the social media platforms limit your reach when you include links in your posts... try experimenting with some 'link in bio' posts! I mean, this isn't the 100% CURE ALL, but it's worth ttrying out.
I'm fairly new here and have been enjoying connecting / reading / learning. I decided a little while ago to take control of my odd fiction and get in out there without the sending/waiting loop that takes too long.
So far, so good. I'm slowly getting some traction. More importantly, by having a weekly schedule, it's forcing me to stay on track. I'm kind of like that. Deadlines are my friend, at least most of the time.
That's been a huge benefit. Plus I'm discovering others and learning a lot of new things. That's been great.
Glad you're here, Victor! I love seeing fiction writers give it a solid go and you're on the right path. I'm sure after keeping up with the consistent posting you'll continue to see growth.
With the current Twitter implosion and general uncertainty / malaise surrounding social media, there seems to be no reason to NOT start a Substack publication. My prediction is we'll see even more of the mid-tier journalists taking their followers to this platform. The next five years will be epochal in the history of publicly-disseminated writing.
Subtack, Inc. has REALLY "cleaned up" with Twitter folks thinking of leaving Twitter and starting their own Substacks in the two weeks since Twitter went crazy! They even re-tweet your mention of your Substack. SMART!
Hi all. I’ve brought my print magazine readership over to Substack. As a result many of my readers are new to the platform and have questions about how to use it. For example I get questions like “Can I turn off emails and just read at the site…” and “As a comp subscriber can I still pay for an additional subscription or support you.” I wonder if there is a sort of FAQ that others have used? I’d like to send one to all of my readers. And one more question: I use quite a few writers for my content. Is there a way to change the language that says “subscribe to support ME..” to make it “support US”?
One of my subscribers told me she loved my publication (https://wearespeaking.substack.com), but since I publish/record 8X/week, she was getting overwhelmed with emails. Since I already published a summary of the previous week's articles/podcast episodes every Sunday, I got the great idea to have the weekly summary as a separate section. Then I taught my current and new subscribers how to "uncheck" the sections they didn't want and just leave checked that summary section. There's an article in the Substack help section... That way they get only one email per week and can still read all of the articles at once. It's worked like a charm so far.
On your second question, Yes! You can alter the caption on your Subscribe button to say anything you like. I publish a bunch of people too, and I customized that language to bring in the group dynamic.
Re: your comp subbies can pay and support you using other sites like ko-fi etc. I know 'Stack (and/or writers) want the site to devise a ko-fi-like payment element to keep people from leaving the site, but until then.........Plus, I suppose, your compers can always buy a gift subscription (see button at top of Create page).
And, if I understand your last question, Joshua, you can edit and change any/all the words in the default message in the "Subscribe" button that attaches to your article.
Thanks, Brad! On the last question: I was referring to this default text—can't seem to find where to edit it: "Small Craft Advisor is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber."
Here's mine, edited: "Front Row & Backstage is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free subscriber! GOLD PASS Paid Upgrade available, featuring exclusive Bonus Posts!" You edit it actually within the box that appears on your post when you click the button!
Hola. Not an illustrator but if you're interested in collaborating I'm always interested in writing. My theme is 'counter-intuitive insight' and I'm always curious about how people create art.
I really appreciate the constant innovation from the Substack crew. They really put their hearts and minds into the work and have always been responsive. The support on this platform really make the difference.
I might use Chat as a subscriber benefit which takes it off the main archive. I find it better to not be met with a wall of paid posts and threads. It also has benefits as a community builder too. I’ll chew on it and see what I think later on.
One thing I’d like to see is post templates! It’s a time saver to open up a template with your graphics and links rather than pasting it in every time. Also, text wrapping and left, right, center, and justified text.
I agree on post templates! I have a post called "draft" that I use, but it's clunky to grab things from there, and would be much, much easier if there was a template.
1) Ability to schedule regular mailings, e.g. "every Monday at 21:00 EST." Would take a lot of the stress and confusion out of this platform.
2) Ability to save modifications to both the "Subscribe" text blurb and the button itself. Every time I insert this, I have to fix the text from "support my work-->support our work." And nobody wants the hassle of reinventing a custom button every single time they use it.
3) When a user replies to a newsletter, where does the reply go? My co-author and I each have our own emails linked to Substack, but can we designate a shared address for users to reply to?
4) Can you please permit blurbs from people who read the newsletter but do not have a Substack of their own? Some of our most prestigious subscribers, who could really help us by endorsing the newsletter, do not have Substacks. Potential readers have no idea how beneficial the publication might be for them.
Product person here. Regarding #1 and #2, I imagine a "recently used" feature for recently used schedules and buttons would pretty useful. That way you could just select a previously used schedule rather a specific date/time over and over. I'll see if it's something we can work on.
You can incorporate blurbs from non-Substack luminaries very simply on your About page or in a header or footer of your newsletter. So to say such blurbs are not permitted is inaccurate.
Is anyone else having problems with the latest draft of a newsletter reverting to a previous draft?
This happened to us several times over the past several months while working on a newsletter, which is bad enough. But last week we almost sent out a scheduled email that had reverted to a half-written newsletter. This would have made us look very unprofessional.
I messaged the Substack help folks three days ago, but have yet to hear back from them.
Hi Michael! No idea if this applies to you, but I’m sometimes guilty of having my draft open in multiple tabs, and have noticed this can happen when I do that and unwittingly toggle between the two tabs. Were you able to use the “restore another version” editor feature to get your finished draft back, or was it totally gone?
Good point, Samantha. I'm having some issues lately with Evernote notes not syncing properly, and its because I work from my laptop and the app on my phone interchangeably throughout the day. It's like I'm too much for Evernote. LOL!
Ha! I do this too! If I could actually sit down at my laptop and work rather than constantly roaming around my apartment with my phone, maybe I wouldn’t have this problem!
I noticed this as well but ultimately when I reloaded the latest draft had actually saved. It seemed like the screen was almost like a delayed preview but the content was up to date. I’m curious if you see the checkmark in the bottom left updating as you write?
This happened to me this week, too. I opened a draft and it had reverted to a very old version, not reflecting any of the *many* changes I had made the day prior. I had to open the version history to select the 2nd to most recent version to get the right one. Not great!
Hi Michael. When is the last time this occurred? As Samantha mentioned, this could have been an issue with having a draft open in multiple tabs/windows. We've made some recent changes which should prevent this from happening.
Just happened a few days ago and it couldn't have been multiple tabs as the newsletter had been saved several days before and we'd moved on to other content.
I've also struggled with this, it's a deeply frustrating problem. If you try clicking on version history and go back, you should eventually find the actual up to date version that you can restore. Though for some reason I usually have to restore a few times to make it stick.
I haven't had this happen to me, Michael, but it seems like someone else mentioned this a few Office Hours ago. Definitely going to keep my eye on this.
I like all the new options, but waiting a bit on chat till I understand it better. The idea of tagging other writers, as you mention them in your posts is excellent, and... I can only hope someone will think enough of my posts to "cross-post" one out to their readers. If you already put out a lot of content, though, sending your readers someone else's post might be one too many. I will use this option occasionally, for sure.
I like the new cross-posting and tagging options, too, though I haven't tried them yet. Rather than sending my readers one more piece of content, I would use the cross-post as my regular newsletter post for that week, and add in a few comments about why I like what I cross-posted and thought my readers might appreciate it.
Thanks Wendi, that's a good idea! I need to review the details Substack offers on this new option, but I am assuming... all the writers who allow cross-posting (or is there an option to allow or disallow cross-posting of one's writing?) would be happy that you shared their writing to your subscribers, and also whether they would receive a notice that their work had been cross-posted? if you happen to know, feel free to share it here for the benefit of others—thanks!
Somewhere in this chat, a Substack staff member commented that other writers would be notified if you cross-post their work. I don't know if there's an option to allow or disallow it; can't imagine anyone wouldn't want their work shared as widely as possible.
After 15 years of being a devoted Twitter user I deactivated my profile last week and don't plan on returning. I don't know of Substack or related apps will completely replace that experience but right now I'm bearish on Twitter.
1. I don't have any confidence in the new owner and what he's going to do with the site.
2. My observation over time was that I had basically converted everyone (Twitter users) I was going to convert to a subscriber so I didn't see that as a benefit.
Thanks. #2 I get but I'd love some color on #1 as I have no idea what anyone thinks Elon will do except STOP shadowbanning and censorship of non-Democrat talking points.
First, one of the things I love about free speech is it allows for people to identify themselves. Not sure what you think people who are into free speech are into, but I'm not into the use of the "n" word, but I am for people speaking about things I might find offensive because who am I to say what is right or wrong to say?
Also, there will be consequences. If I somehow stumble on a yelp review of someone's restaurant and there is a link on yelp to his twitter rant involving the n word, guess where I'm not going to eat that night?
Also, all I know about advertisers is that a huge one was Pfizer, and guess where a lot of censorship occurred in regards to the platform?
I just started on Substack after 2 years on wordpress + mailerlite. So amazing to feel the pain disappear.
Is there anything in the roadmap to support the referral program for free subscribers? Some kind of internal sparkloop features? It is the only missing piece to grow the upper funnel.
Hello! I am new to Substack and loving what it stands for and the opportunity it gives everyone. I was curious your thoughts on going paid - when should you if you should? What do you offer of value that makes a paid subscription worth it? Thanks!
I feel like you can go paid whenever you want if there aren't "extras." But if you have extras you'll want to have a subscriber base first. In other words: Is it worth sending one "paid subscriber only" post every week to only one person? Probably not. That's a lot of work for a very small audience. But if you don't plan on doing that, why not have one paid subscriber!
Or maybe lock something that isn't time consuming. Like commenting. Or you could add a paygate to the very end of a post, with some extra information beneath it?
I have recently added paid levels and am curious about others replies to thus as well. For me, I plan to be more interactive and reveal more behind the paywall and also to offer more directly educational content (I teach / coach writers, so would share more specific tips and tutorials to paid subscribers) How were you thinking of using it?
We were completely free until I had 100+ subscribers after a couple of months. I went back and forth about free/versus paid and finally decided on a few things: 1) We publish every day of the week with a designated topic for each day, including an OpEd on Mondays and the podcast episode on Saturdays. IMHO, all of our posts are our "best stuff!" LOL. 2) So I came up with the idea to stagger the paid only posts: T/Th one week and W/F the next week, etc. The OpEds and podcast episodes are always free, but free subscribers may miss articles on some of their "favorite days." I also just started turning all of the articles in the archive prior to a certain date to paid only. Free subscribers can see the archive articles only for the current month. 3) Starting in January, we will have a monthly AMA just for paid subscribers. I've had a few people who decided to become paid so that they can receive/read/listen to all of our articles and podcast episodes. (We have two separate podcasts on Substack.) Besides just supporting us financially because you love us (LOL), there are perks for being a paid subscriber.
I love this strategy- I‘m close to 200 free subscribers and am planning to add new features and content as well that’s paid only, maybe with a taster option for some of those in the future.
I think in a few more months, the archive paywall would be a good option too. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Caroline. Lovely to see you on Substack. I love getting your your Footnotes newsletter. I haven't yet done your latest prompt in my journal (I'm the writer who...) but it is on my radar.
I really want to offer my best to everyone. So I was thinking of keeping my newsletter free and then add certain aspects paid such as all of the archive, maybe begin an off the cuff recording of what led me to write certain things, maybe a certain prompt that is only accessible through paid...hmm not sure what else!
That's a good point, Kevin. I am starting to consider going paid. I don't feel its' the right time yet, but the ideas being offered helps me see others' decision-making process. Since I do a podcast reading, that is also on Apple, it is required to be free there. So many considerations!
Like Kevin, I turned on "pay" Day 1 (Aug '21). Granted, my paid subs are not even close to double-digits, but it's there. As for bonus posts to paid subbies (I have about a dozen I've comped...considered on 'Stack as "paid," because they're recording artists/songwriters/record biz folk that I wanted to "reward"), I include exclusive stories from my behind-the-scenes of my days in the record biz and radio....shorter stories than I'd otherwise make FR&B posts out of.
I might also include a specially-selected short playlist, sneak peeks of upcoming articles (with occasional snippets), etc. NOW what I need to do is send an e-mail to all my subbies, letting the free ones know (like I just described here, with examples) what they're missing, hoping to get more paids on board! Go get 'em, Jonathan!
Well I started doing paid posts as early access pieces. It’s for the longer stuff that I write. I have some exclusive paid posts planned but don’t yet have enough to start posting them. I also offered people a chance to suggest content as well.
I did it after I got my first paid subscriber but they only lasted 6 months and now I have none. Now I’m just trying to encourage people to go paid with special offers. For instance, I’m in the middle of a series and I give people a discount for a year on those posts.
Hello everyone! I'm really enjoying connecting with my community through Chat, and I'm excited to see more features being rolled out.
I am having a bit of a problem with the notifications in Chat, however. I get a push notification for all comments in a chat on the home screen of my phone, but in the app itself, I only have notifications on the notifications tab for new comments - not replies. This has made it nearly impossible to keep up with people responding in the little sub threads, and I have to regularly go through every single one to make sure I've missed something. I'd love if it was possible to just have notifications from everything so I can easily tap into each new comment without having to look for them.
Thank you so much! It's super hard to keep track otherwise and I end up spending a lot of time scrolling through every breakout reply thread to make sure I haven't missed anything. The only way I don't miss stuff is if I respond as soon as I get the notification on my home screen, which I'd prefer not to do!
This week I launched a podcast as part of my Substack! I have no idea what I'm doing, what future episodes will be like, or what my marketing strategy will be. But it was super fun to learn and be new at something.
Just shouting out the fact that I really enjoy Substack as a vessel for poetry (both sending and receiving). It would be awesome to develop and highlight that community even more here. Thanks Substack team!
I'm excited about cross posting. I generally right to a niche that enjoys history, so being able to share my fave substacks that way will be awesome. I hope to eventually migrate off of wordpress onto substack 100%
I can definitely see how some audiences for sensitive topics would be , absolutely. I don't think mine (and similar ones) would because they're about hobby discourse or industry discourse. It's so easy to read and reply, it could foster community without extra friction.
I know I use that feature a lot in Asana for work.
It's SO wonderful that Substack continues to deliver thoughtful products and services. THANK YOU!
🤗🤗🤗
There is a lot of potential in "Chat" and I wonder if a voice function can be added so that writers can meet in real time to actually have a conversation as is possible on Discord?
For example, I run a Discord for animation and comedy writers, and we meet to do table reads of our scripts, which is tremendously helpful. By the way, anyone here who is interested in screenwriting is welcome to join: https://discord.gg/6KbUKFP6
I just had an idea for a future Substack feature... it would be great if more experienced writers could be given the chance to mentor newer writers... just a thought!
My posts tend to be longer and in sections. It would be great if the Editor had the capability of creating a "jump down" menu, i.e. instead of having to scroll to a particular section, you could create clickable links at the top of the post that would take you to a specific section below (and also links to take you back to the top). Anyone else feel this would be a good additional editing feature?
Chat: Is there an estimated date for when it will be available to use on our laptops? I am so unwilling to type for any length into my phone. Yes, I'm old.
Hi. I'm thinking of ways to entice more people to a paid subscription. I did some research a few weeks ago with my free subscribers and one of the ideas they liked was doing author interviews on a podcast. I'm sure it would be easy to find people to interview, but if these interviews are behind a paywall, then the guest and their network won't be able to access it, which is a loss of publicity opportunity.
Does anyone else do a similar thing and how do you handle that?
@substack - how about a facility where you could send out a special link to a paid post that allows the person to bypass the paywall? Medium does this with the friend link so that you can still distribute the content to people who aren't members.
I have +2.5k followers on Linkedin, but it is revealing quite tough to turn them into (free) subscribers. People like, but it is difficult to get new reader emails.
What are the recommended strategies to gain subscribers from Linkedin?
My publication is Think Twice, It's All Right.
I write for fellow overthinkers, articles on decision making, personal & career growth in conditions of high uncertainty.
Tobias, in another comment mentioned that if you put an external link in a post on LinkedIn, then LI (who doesn't want people leaving their platform) doesn't show the post to many people. He suggested that you make the post, but put the external link in a comment.
Every week, I go to LI and make a short announcement about my new fiction post. Next time I'm going to try what Tobias suggested and see if it makes a difference.
Hope that helps. I'm no social media expert that's for sure.
I've heard that about LinkedIn too, and I've had both experiences. One of my friends who's on LinkedIn and on Substack writes a post and then tells people to check the comments for the "link-y goodness." I love that fun term and told her I was going to steal (I mean, borrow) it!
I'm sorry Livio. It's almost impossible for me to find a comment again. When I click on the notification (like yours), it takes me to your comment for instance, but out of context with the previous comments. But here's his stack. Hope that helps.
I have more than 7,000 followers on LinkedIn, and my left-leaning substack is completely different from my primary business of a branding and marketing academy for creative professionals (https://teamowens313gcc.com). There are some people on LinkedIn who get their panties in a bunch if you post anything they think is not "professional" or "work/business related" enough for them, but I don't care. I work for myself and they're not the boss of me! LOL. I immediately post my daily articles on my LinkedIn and those who don't like them can keep scrolling. I have gotten good responses from many and about 15 free and paid subscribers from LinkedIn since I started a few months ago!
Oh, if anyone has ideas for this, I would love to hear them. I need help getting my LinkedIn followers here. I really don't want to keep posting there and getting no traction.
Hey fellow authors, it took a while, but I managed to take the time to (partially) reply to my own question.
I have analysed some of my past LinkedIn posts.
Put together a comparison table.
Developed some templates.
In short, my findings are:
- The post composition matters. Most posts above 1.5k impressions follow certain writing rules, being personal, short, provide a core lesson and invite to click to know more (= use a checklist!)
- It is better to add the article link in the post body (I have not found any evidence of the "link in the comment" rule)
- There is a strong correlation between likes, impressions and time. Get people to like your post quickly after they're out (should we do a group with authors?)
- Similar posts produce less impressions over time (= vary the posts!)
I am sharing with you the analysis and the detailed recommendations.
With actionable advice and downloadable checklists.
I’ve just shared my first newsletter and am excited to grow my Substack, but what do you do when you’re at a loss for ideas? I ideally want to write a weekly newsletter, and have plenty of themes to explore for now... but, as always, am worried about writer’s block!
I can see how cross posting would be a good antidote for that, but curious to know if anyone has any other thoughts?
I think it's worth having a file or notebook you constantly add to as you think of things. At least that's the way I manage to come up with subjects for my Friday 5!
- I keep a content schedule in a spreadsheet so I can see everything laid out. You can also use this to plug in content ideas around dates, like holidays or events or special memories.
- Pace yourself. I'll write a few meaty posts, then take a break and talk about my favorite book or react to a move I saw. You don't have to go balls to the wall each week.
- Take a chance and write about something you think is mundane and see what happens, especially if you have a distinct point of view on it. You might think about the topic all the time and assume it's ordinary, but your "take" on it could be a new perspective for someone else to consider.
I love this! I agree, there are some posts I go all out for, and then on weeks where I feel tired, I'll write a shorter but still genuine post. I think people appreciate the variety :)
Truly though, I probably have about 50 ideas for posts in my phone, but week to week I feel into the flavor of the season and pull on that. For example, I might hear something on a podcast that might inspire me, or feel into the energy of the week and just "know" what to write about. I use my intuition a lot in the creation process.
Similar to what others have said, keeping a list is a great idea. I also recommend reading work that inspires you / covers similar topics to yours. This can lead to cross promoting when you 'tag' the author because they'll receive a notification. Almost commenting on others work as way to reach a wider audience and engage in conversation can help kick start a few ideas. Congrats on launching and welcome! x
I teach this to my business coaching clients: keep an editorial calendar of future posts. I use an app, but you can do it just as easily in your online calendar. Write down an idea for a date (the date can easily be changed) and in the "notes" section of your calendar event, leave links to the research you've found for the topic. Before you know it, you'll have weeks and months of potential topics scheduled!
I started https://beyondbelief.substack.com/ in June and https://ronarobertsdishes.substack.com/ in August. At first I tried a content calendar but have ended up using and loving a google sheet, with quite a few separate pages for different types of content. I simply copy and drop URLs that catch my attention or spark a new notion, or I add notes when I have ideas for which I haven't done research yet. I'm not highly systematic (yet). I already know, though, that it is important to note when I've used an idea. I convert the font to green when I've put it in a post. I wish for more of an indexing and search function inside the Substacks, and hope that's coming.
I agree with what others have said about keeping track of ideas! I just started using Notion, and I've been using it to write down ideas I have for things to post. I don't use all of them, but the act of writing one thing down often leads to another idea.
Congrats on launching your substack Amy! I agree with Fiona & Astrid on making sure you have a place to add ideas when they come to you to pull from later. I also think just having the consistency of knowing when you're going to post every week encourages the generation of ideas and can get you out of writer's block. I only work well with a deadline so knowing that I'm going to send out my newsletter (Cheers!:https://cheerskelley.substack.com/) every Friday makes me think about it throughout the week. I'm sure once you get into a rhythm the ideas will flow. Best of luck!
I really like the idea of shaking up your format regularly! (and the file of ideas too.) I can start to think I need to write 2-3k words each time, and then I get panicky when the next essay just doesn't flow like the last one did. Switching up to a different format can loosen all that tension and open up possibilities!
I just subscribed to your Substack! My Substack is different and doesn't really mesh with my business, but I look forward to your articles. My company is a branding and marketing academy for independent writers and creative professionals. Check it out if you like: https://teamowens313gcc.com. Thanks!
How do I get my first set of subscribers? I have a limited personal network for people who would be interested in my newsletter, so I guess my question is, how do I get the word out in the beginning without having a lot of personal contacts?
You're in the right place, Kate! I chose not to share my substack with many personal contacts at first. I resisted sharing on social media. My growth has been slow, but it's been organic--which is exactly what I wanted.
So how did I grow? I show up in places like this for discussion, I follow lots of other substacks and post meaningful comments, and I do cross-promoting (for an example, this week I was a guest author for Hello Universe (https://hellouniverse.substack.com/p/a-ticket-made-of-gold) and Punit will be a guest author on my upcoming Saturday post. When you engage with other newsletters through comments/discussion, people will naturally want to know more about you if you say something that resonates with them. They'll check out your profile and maybe a post or two. If they like what they read, they'll subscribe.
Those are great tips Holly, thanks for sharing. I'm in a similar boat to Kate! I was wondering how you started the conversation for cross-promoting. I'm interested in doing cross-promoting for a cooking / recipe sharing newsletter I run but I'm not sure where to start! I'd love to work with a few people - Any tips on how you did it?
Punit reached out to me directly and asked if I'd be interested in collaborating--and I said yes!
Suggestion: if someone comments that they plan to make one of your recipes or if they tell you they did, ask if they'd be willing to do a guest post on how it went.
Hi Kerry. Yes, these are all free. Some have a paid option if you want more exposure, but so far I haven't tried that. Just the basic free. The Sample has been the best so far.
Edit: I should add that I haven't tried all on the growgetters page. Some might not be free.
Hi Kate, you could try signing up for The Sample (https://thesample.ai/?ref=850d) of a bunch of other newsletter diectories (see my comment above for more). That way you can get your NL in front of new people for free.
Reading this made me tired, lol. I'm trying to find the most low-effort, low-energy way to promote and distribute right now. I just don't have time to do it all...
Anybody else here write about movies (or TV?). I just recently moved my newsletter What's in Theaters + (you can guess what it's about) that I've been writing weekly for five (!) years. Curious to see if there's any others here writing about similar topics. Would love to check 'em out.
I don't on my personal Substack but I do have a podcast with a teacher friend and we talk about pop culture through an English teacher lens: litthinkpodcast.substack.com
Love this platform as an outlet for my new book that I'm serializing once a week. But man, I have to say that it's exhausting constantly begging people to subscribe. I feel like a carnival barker or a dude spinning a sign on the corner of an intersection. I just broke 40 subscribers, which is nice I guess but far from where I want to be.
Much appreciation to the Substack team for constantly trying new features!
You and me both. I just did a FB blitz where I sent messages to 50+ people and begged them to subscribe. I gained at least 20 more when I did that. As much as I hate asking people personally, it paid off.
20 out of 50 is great! I blasted a message out to LinkedIn and got a too sad to report amount of subscribers from my over 500 connections. Still beats querying an agent though :-)
I just broke 40 myself. :) I've signed up for several distribution / announcement type services (free) and gotten a few through those channels. Also, from within Substack itself. Slow and steady.
As a creative solopreneur who coaches and teaches other creative professionals, I say that we have to get past being "embarrassed" to ask for support for our work. As a marketing professional, I also teach people that it takes anywhere between 5-7 "touches" (notifications/requests) before people take action. If you value your publication, show others how valuable it can be to them. Ask people to subscribe every single time and don't be shy! It also helps to have an excellent "About Page" that explains why people should subscribe. That page has its own URL and you can use that for promotion.
I want to know how to promote to readers beyond social media... is that crazy hahaha 😅 I am 47 and spend as little time as possible on social media. I will not spend my days with my phone stuck in my hand. I work full time, have a dog and spend tons of time outside in nature living. I think I have all of MAAAYBE 150 friends on FB and only created a Twitter account because I starting writing on SubStack what not even 2 weeks ago.... the struggle seems a bit real in my case but I’m here for the long haul. I’m going to keep writing that’s what I love to do and anxiety is a thing for so many ppl.
But how do I get more ppl interested in reading? Maybe I should follow every “writer” based group on FB? Has anyone accomplished much in doing that?
I largely avoid social media too, it was bad for my mental health. I've found new readers by connecting with other writers, especially those writing about similar topics to me, but all writers really. For a start, you can subscribe to other Substack writers who are writing about similar topics, and read and comment on their articles.
TY! I need to set aside the time to do that I have so much going on and am starting a new job Monday. My last job really. I’ll never leave lol 😁 but I will absolutely do that I’m off for the next few days before I start!
Try The Sample. If you sign up your newsletter it sends your posts to its community and encourages them to sign up. Usually you get 5-10 subscribers from this.
How are ppl finding the video posts? I really love using it! I get to share my illustration process and subscribers have been enjoying it and I'd like to share more things this way. I'm curious, how do other people use the video feature?
Curious to hear: Who has used Chat with their subscribers? What's worked? What could be better?
I'm sitting by my poor, sad Android phone, looking at the chat feature, wondering when I will get the love. I know, it's coming soon. I just thought I would be a pest 😉
Also browser support please!!!!
Completely agree. I love to use my computer keyboard when chatting. Maybe I'd even like to start a discord channel as well.
Cannot wait for chat to come to android!
Why does APPLE never have to wait? Just sayin'! :-D
👆
It's coming soon. I promise.
I trust that! Thanks Cain!
I'm very excited to get the android chat!
Me too!
And me too!
I'm with you Brian
me too
ditto
+1
I downloaded the app specifically for this, but I don't seem to get it. Do you have to be a certain size before you can use it? I press the little conversation icon and nothing happens.
Are you on iOS or Android? If Android, you should add your name to the waitlist and we'll get you in ASAP - substack.link/chatwaitlist
If you head to the Chat tab you should see a row for your publication, tapping into that row will let you start your first thread. If for some reason you don't see a row for your publication, a few ideas...
- Make sure you're logged into the app using the same email address you use to manage your publication
- It's only available on iOS at the moment (but Android is coming very soon!)
- Head over to your publication dashboard and you should see an option to toggle it in from there
That's likely due to none of the newsletters you subscribe to having started a chat yet. Once they do, you'll see it in the app.
I'm trying to do it for my newsletter.
Me too.
Same!!!
I did a poll to see how my subscribers are reading my posts and less than 5 percent use the Mac App. Most read in their email, whether phone, tablet or laptop/desktop. I think this really only works for those with high percentage Substack writers as subscribers or those with lots of loyal followers who will do what their “leaders” ask.
I think a lot of it has to do with training your readers to expect conversations in the Chat. Get them used to looking in there for additional content from you and as a place where they can experience the back and forth of a good conversation.
I do think that when it goes live on Android that it's going to lead to a big jump in use.
Definitely fair, and we want to build a web client too. In the meantime, we have seen a lot of writers using the chat announcement template to convince a lot of readers to join their chats in the app, even if they didn't have too many there to start with.
That said, I use it and like it. I’m all for more tools and options, not less.
I agree with this – while many of my readers say they’d like an alternative to the email experience, they don’t subscribe to enough Substacks (yet) where downloading another to their phone makes sense to them. But once they do (a few have), they see the benefit. One reader liked getting a notification that my newsletter was published. Another liked that she could turn off emails.
I’ve used it and it’s been fun so far! It would be nice to be able to tag people or tag your own posts in there though!
This is a cool idea!
I'd love to tag people for discussions in there!
Seeing this all over today...+1
I like the idea of chat - I can think of several ways to use it - instant feedback/conversation after publishing my weekly food information/recipes, getting my readers to share their interpretations of my recipes through photos, etc... Unfortunately, I am an Android user, so I haven't dived in yet, and I'm awaiting word on that update.
Love these ideas. I think sharing photos will be so fun for food publications :)
I can see you using chat in this way, Jack. Because I have lots of photos of my Vegan Weekly recipe attempts!
It would be best classified as conversations instead of chat - Chat to me seems Twitter- or Facebook-like, while Conversations seem more in-depth and Substack-like...at least in my head!
Chat for Android is getting close and coming soon! It's the Android team's top focus.
Personally I feel it’s disruptive and unnecessary. The only way I’d use it is as a way for readers with the app to dm me if they wish but I don’t know if that’s possible with the feature. It seems like just another space to interact in within the space that we already interact in. I feel that discussions are for public forums on posts where they will be seen by everyone.
I've been thinking about waiting for Android to launch the chat to all my subs. How long is it likely to be?
A matter of weeks. Our Android engineers are in the thread today, so they will be extra motivated reading all of these comments I am sure!
Android Engineer here. Yep.. Chat for Android very close and our main focus until it's in your hands.
Yep! It’s not bad, gets the point across. Still training many in my audience to use the Substack app, so it’s mostly Substack network folk that are using it. I’m looking forward to using it for process work though, rough artworks and idea sharing
same with me, Clyde. not quite there yet.
Me too. Can I ask: Why are you trying to have your audience switch over to the Substack app? Do you think reading / engagement will increase?
My goals would be to use Chat threads as a means of quick updates, to show off rough concepts / drawings, stuff like that.
I'd say it's probably a tool for retention / engagement - a way to keep interacting with your audience with a conversational tone. When you're not trying to blast your subscribers with another email, you know?
As a subscriber, I'm not yet sure what value the chat adds. I agree with others who prefer substack as a different type of engagement than other apps/social media generally. I enjoy reading newsletters mostly on my laptop, not my phone. And I'm a bit worried that, for those who rely on substack as their primary source of income, it creates pressure to be more "present" than they typically would be, or is healthy... though the latter issue is "not my circus" so to speak
Good point. Many of the newsletters I subscribe too have started chats but I have yet to read or participate in any of them. I can't even keep up with reading all of the newsletters I'm subscribed to every week. Also, I read directly from emails; I never even had the app until I downloaded it to enable chat in case my subscribers are more comfortable chatting with only each other instead of interacting online where non-subscribers can read their comments, too. My newsletter covers mental health issues and many of my readers don't want to be as public about their issues as I am about mine.
That's a good point too! About how the chat could perhaps be a private ("safe"?) space for discussions about sensitive topics. Thanks for the perspective Wendi :)
I'm waiting for android since I don't have apple products myself.
https://polymathicbeing.substack.com/
It's coming soon. I'm on the Android team, and it's our main focus right now. 🙏
I haven't used it--partly because it doesn't seem like many of my readers are using the ios app, and partly because I don't want to hear crickets from the little handful of readers who do. I guess I'm curious to know if it's gone well for anyone else, though.
I'm still a little ignorant of the feature. I'd thought that threads were more community-oriented, though I have yet to use that feature, either. What is the advantage of Chat versus a thread? I don't really want to be available to readers at a moment's notice, and I'd prefer an email exchange or the kind of follow-up we typically do in the comments. I'm not sure my readership is really interested in chats, except for people who are close friends or relatives, who wouldn't need a Substack app anyway, since they could just text me for a personal conversation. Maybe I need to read up on the new features.
I think one feature I'd love to see would be a way to create archive folders. My understanding is that the only way to do that now is by creating separate newsletters (that's how people have themed tabs, I think). But I don't want to nest multiple newsletters under one parent site -- I just want a way to organize previous posts. Mine typically cover critiques of academe, the experience of leaving academe, fatherhood, career and identity, and the writing life. If this were WordPress, it would be easy to create categories to organize old content. Seems like it should be an easy feature to add?
Hi Joshua! Great deep thinking here.
The key differences between Chat and threads are:
1) Chats are not sent by email and threads (for most writers) are. Outside of the very first time a writer hosts a Chat space, which lets readers know Chat is live for that publication.
2) Chat threads can be started from within the app.
1 & 2 means writers can host more lightweight and on-the-go conversations there, should they choose
3) You can post photo replies in Chat comments, but not in Threads
This is helpful. I'm still a bit confused though--is chat something that you do at a certain time, like a one-hour chat at a certain day/time? Or is a chat ongoing? What happens to the chat once it's finished?
Threads are sent by e-mail? How does that work? I thought threads were only active after the reader receives the e-mail that a new newsletter is published... (sorry to butt in)
This post you're on is an example of a Thread post that was sent by email!
Now i understand. Thanks Bailey!
The goal of chat is to give people something lower-pressure and lighter weight than a discussion thread, which is always emailed out. We're also hoping the ability to add photos easily and emoji react will make it feel more dynamic.
Feel free to check out some writers with active chats to get a sense of whether it might work for you. For example, slowboring.substack.com hosted a fun midterms thread, and slowdownfarmstead.substack.com often shares photos of her work on the farm.
They should have released it for the web first because that crosses platforms. The last thing I need is more apps! I’m sure substack’s internal stats told them iOS is their biggest user source but if you aggravate all the ways to interact, browser versions are still more important. This may be a feature we don’t need. We have comments and threads already.
We will get the web out eventually for Chat! But we have threads for the web/email already. This was meant to be a more lightweight, on the go chat option for writers.
feels more like a knee jerk reaction to the furore over twitter, vs a well thought out product extension plan.
Even though none of my subscribers has posted in the chat I started yet, and I don't anticipate spending a lot of time chatting there, what I love is that I can use it instead of creating a private Facebook group for subscribers. For now I'm making chat available to all subscribers, but ultimately plan to make it a benefit for paid subscribers.
I’m right with you, Wendi. I like your idea of making it a benefit for paid subscribers. Not sure if they’ll be interested, though – will ask them.
I am trying to see if it will help with either engagement with subscribers or with other writers. If it is just another social media time suck, I will not use it , except to monitor it.
Not yet, Bailey. Still trying to get my subscribers to read the posts on the app instead of just on e-mail...
Great point, Jo. Also I’m nervous that if I encourage folks too strongly to switch over from email to the app, they’ll open / read less. (The data so far does not match my fear.)
i'm glad to hear that, Mark.
I have used Chat, it hasn’t been a success so far, but I hope it takes off soon!
Thanks everyone for joining the thread today and sharing your ideas and feedback! We had a huge number of Substack employees in the thread today - too many to list here!
We'll see you next week.
Hello all, and happy Office Hours! Here’s a little bit of encouragement from one small newsletter to all of you: Today, let's celebrate the lurkers. The folks who read your posts every single time without fail. They never comment and never click the little heart, but they love what you do so much that they tell their friends and family about it. You may never know how much your writing means to them, but when you DON'T post, they feel the loss. These are your true fans, your real audience. You may have two of them, or you may have 200 of them, but that doesn't matter. They're yours. Every time you feel like giving up, like no one is listening, like what you write doesn't matter...think again! Celebrate your lurkers, write for them, and keep going. Trust me. Every time you post, someone out there needs to read it. So keep going, keep writing, and DON'T GIVE UP! 🌿
Love this! Some of my longest running supporters qualify as lurkers.
Mine are stalkers.
This is so true. I recently published my one year anniversary newsletter and it did cause some of those lurkers to speak up and tell me how much they like and admire what I do. It meant a lot and gave me enough encouragement to try and hit a two year anniversary.
Hi and wow, thank you! I love this, because i never thought of our silent readers that way. This helps me to breathe a sigh of relief with regards to my silent fans as a musician, too. So thank you! Let's celebrate them! 🙌
YES! I have people all the time comment to me in person that they enjoyed one of my posts and I find out they aren't even subscribed or they never engage with it. It is those comments that help keep me going!
I'm fully on board with celebrating the lurkers. I just wanna know what the secret sauce is to activate them to like and comment. Or maybe that's just never gonna happen...
I finally realized that 1) I too have a lot of lurkers, and 2) I often do not like or comment on the articles from even my most favorite writers. So I stopped worrying about it.
Damn, I've never looked at it that way. Nice shift of perspective ☺️ Now I think of all these quiet lurkers, busy-bees, and people who surprised me by complimenting my Midweek Crisis in person and who I didn't suspect about reading it at all
and thanks for the words of support and encouragement! 🙏😊
Celebrating the lurkers--hear! hear!
There is room for shyness in an egotistical world, after all!
If I wasn't an introvert I'd shout "Let's hear it for the introverts!".
Lol
Indeed, although it's nice when at least some of them turn into non-lurkers!
Thanks for this! A great reminder of how we just don't know how our words affect others. It's hard to not be affected by numbers. But it's true. We don't know who we matter to :)
Yep! Thanks for this reminder. It’s the lurkers that have kept me writing every week for now 28 weeks without skipping. I’ve maintained a solid 50-60 percent open rate on my twice-weekly posts (out of 125 subscribers) so I’m reading that stat to mean I’ve got a stable, lurking base.
I've had the same - people commenting in person who I was sure were ignoring me virtually! I write a little bit through music too. I've been dissecting the my life through the songs in my family's piano roll collection that we still pump on an pianola. I call the section The Pianolist. I haven't established a consistent timeline on that topic but I've been having fun looking at life through that lens. I admire your consistency.
28 weeks, well done, Steve!
You never know who you might help with your words. Whether it is a funny story, a sad story, or an informative story, you might reach someone who needs to hear your words. Maybe they have something in common with you and you've helped them or they can help you!
Defo! Totally agree, Matthew
Yes, love to the lurkers! I discovered last week that one of my favorite writers, whose work I published on Fiction Attic nearly 20 years ago, is now reading the new stories published on substack. She even submitted new work, which I'm publishing this week. It's encouraging to know the readers are out there.
I was a lurker for a long time--on several newsletters, but also the Office Hours! Finally participating gave me the courage to publish my first newsletter!
Yay for stepping out of the comfort zone, Katie! And i mean this in the most loving of ways 💖
and I take it that way! I am a creature of habit, and this has been SO very good for me!
I can't tell you how many of them tell me about how much they love my newsletter in person (or via text!) lol
Ooh I just got that the other day...as a new writer, it was so encouraging!
Love that and congratulations!! <3
I can relate to this so much, it's really encouraging but also I wish they'd like the post so I can grow a bit lol
Trust that you are growing! Be grateful for the subscribers you have, I promise it will turn into more! I have 57 subscribers now :) it grew from 28! lol
I love this! <3 such a beautiful perspective and a reminder that we all create ripples with our words!
Your reminder about lurkers is so important - I remind myself of that every time I get discouraged.
This is such a great post thank you.
I never knew how far my reach was until a couple of people at work came up to me and said thank you for writing a recent article on mental health. I didn’t even know they had read the post but there were there reading it and enjoying it.
What’s your biggest accomplishment this week, writers?
I’ll go first: I’m 10 subscribers away from 250 (?!?!!) and I’m really proud of the piece I wrote on Friday (and Wednesday): https://open.substack.com/pub/thecharrette/p/twitter-performance-art-for-the-common?r=wri5d&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
Also, I got my first piece of hate mail. I think I made it. 😂
I got an email from Substack informing me I'd made my first $1,000. Wahoo! Way to go yet to make it a living wage, but that felt really good.
Congratulations that's awesome!
Congratulations!! May that turn into more :)
Congratulations!! That’s awesome!
I turned on paid subscriptions last week and I have two subscribers now! Including one TOP H.A.T.T.E.R. Also getting close to 700 subscribers!
I just want to say I'm really loving your newsletter.
Gosh, thank you so much! Getting into yours, too.
Your niche of notebooks and lovely, calm interviews is the feel-good read in my inbox.
Cool! You absolutely deserve it too!
Celebrating that I'm 20 subscribers away from hitting 100, and I'm still maintaining open rates above 70%! This is a huge confidence boost as my goal has been more about engagement than subscriber growth. I mean obviously I would love more subscribers, but I only want them if they read my stuff. :)
Making it to my first Substack Writer Office Hours ;)
Woohoo!!
Congrats, Jessica! You'll love these Thursday sessions. Great place to network and discover what others are doing.
I've gone from 28 subscribers to 57 since I switched to substack, 5 weeks ago! I'm super pumped and grateful <3
Congrats! I'm seven away from 200 and really proud of the piece I wrote about social media earlier this week: https://sarahstyf.substack.com/p/what-do-i-do-about-social-media
love it, Sarah! I will subscribe!
What a great piece! It looks like we’re on the same wavelength this week.
So far don't miss FB on my phone ;-) It's also helped to pull me away from using it too much, which has been nice this week with the election.
Now, if I could just convince myself that I don't want to check Twitter...nah. Still love it over there, for now.
Subscribed! I wrote about something similar: phantom buzzing https://www.tobiwrites.com/p/phantom-buzzing-evolutions-latest
Cross-promoting this week with Punit over at Hello Universe. I authored a section of his post this week, and he's authored a section on my upcoming Saturday post. So much fun!
https://hellouniverse.substack.com/p/a-ticket-made-of-gold
Brilliant idea!
I launched subscriptions last week and to see people subscribe monthly, annually, and even a few founders - wow! So fun! I hesitated, not knowing if it was too soon to add subscription, but went for it. Glad I did!
Also celebrating that talking to my readers more as a community is feeling really good. Our vision at The Thread is untangling the stories that make us who we are so we can show up to our lives with spacious presence, brave honesty, radical love, and wild curiosity.
Grateful for Substack creating this space for writers to create and readers to grow together.
Congratulations on launching paid subscriptions!!
That's wonderful, I just launched paid subscriptions myself last week! Are you paywalling any content at this point?
I decided not to. Everything is free to everyone. I'm sending a bit of extra content to paid subscribers but that's the part I thought might be too much for my rhythm. Keeping it simple for now.
Similar here. No paywalled content for me.
I like your style, Jenny, and the photos, so I've just subscribed. Looking forward to delving into it.
I finally spent the better part of 3 hours today working on a piece for the writer's collective I'm part of. It's a terrible, disjointed first draft, but at least I'm very close to getting the bare bones of it down and capturing the basic ideas!
must start somewhere!
Mine is kicking off my voiceovers and then linking them to podcast services. I'm getting a lot of good feedback from that!
https://polymathicbeing.substack.com/
So cool! I also just got my voiceovers going! Had no idea you could link them to podcast services. I'll have to look into that.
And it works!
https://polymathicbeing.substack.com/p/new-podcast
Yep! Pretty slick
https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/9442047052436-Can-subscribers-listen-to-a-voiceover-on-a-podcast-player-
I got three likes on my last podcast episode! I think the story is getting better as it goes along and I’m proud of what I’ve done so far.
Congrats on hate mail! (Really -- you know you're doing it right if you don't please everyone, right?) My accomplishment is that it's been one month since I moved over to Substack, and so far it has been great.
Well done 👏 Fingers crossed for you reaching it soon!
Almost same situation here 🙋♀️ missing 10+ people to hit 250. Also really proud with the newest issue of my music newsletter: https://midweekcrisis.substack.com/p/vol40 Yesterday I've shared the shocking story of the iconic version of "Bam Bam" song by Sister Nancy
This was a great read, btw. Meant to say something earlier.
Thanks Kevin! That's so nice to hear that you liked it
subscribed. Right up my street.
That's awesome, welcome aboard! 👋😊⛴️
Hate mail--YES! You know you're doing something right when you receive hate mail!
I set up two chapters of the serialized novel to post while I was away exploring places without an internet connection and it worked! Also, I'm so very close to $1000/net. And Substack continues to be fun.
I find that the ability to schedule ahead helps me to be consistent without the stress of "I have to write this right now." I can batch, write and record ahead of time, and the post on a schedule that works for me, especially if I am gone or SUPER busy.
Congrats on all of that!! Yeah, I got a hate comment on one of my first posts and felt an odd sense of peace emerge. :)
Just wanted to thank those who’ve worked so hard on this platform. It’s been a perfect place to host the writing I’ve been wanting to do.
I also appreciate that there isn’t a constant pressure to publish content constantly. At least for me, it allows me to post much more quality stuff. In fact, I will be taking a break over the holidays to refresh (and I don’t even feel bad about it!)
I'd like to hear your secret to taking the pressure off yourself. I'm not publishing regularly yet, but I feel like I should be!
Sure! Hopefully it’s helpful advice, but I make sure the writing comes first (if that makes sense). I’d rather have a handful of really good, well-researched, authentic pieces than just a pile of ephemera.
After that I try to listen to what my body’s telling me. There’s always going to be pressure, but if it becomes too much I know I need to either take a break or change cadence.
Good for you, Matt! Looking forward to your newsletters when you return. I always love reading your stories.
Hi everyone!
Hey Chris, good to see you in the chat!
I love Office Hours! I learn so much from all you lovely folks - thank you for your generosity and kindness. There really is a different atmosphere here on Substack and it is so refreshing. As I think of how to make the most of every opportunity and learn *all the things* I’m noticing an urgency and hustle bubbling up in me that I came to Substack to get away from. So, a word of encouragement to anyone who can relate: we don’t have to do it all. We don’t have to incorporate every new feature (now or ever). It isn’t a race or a competition. There is a big tool box that Substack is constantly adding to and we can pull out what works well for us when we need it.
Oh god, THANK YOU for this comment. I start to feel that same anxiety (will I fall behind? Am I missing out on new subscribers if I don't adopt everything?) but the big thing I come back to is the quality of my own work and whether I'm publishing to my own standards. Everything else is secondary.
I also worried about wearing out my readership. They might like my product but maybe there's a limit? I don't want to be a pushy Tupperware lady.
To quote @AliciaKennedy who writes *From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy* (“mentions” not available when commenting?) “I tend not to give my readers too much to do.”
“...the quality of my own work and whether I’m publishing to my own standards”. Yeeeesssss! Love that, Tonya!
Absolutely. I understand all the bells and whistles but anything adding more stress, in my mind, isn't worth it. I find Office Hours, while exhilarating to be overwhelming. So much more to look at and explore, and I never finished the week prior, or the week before that.... etc
I so feel that overwhelm! I came to substack so I would feel less behind!! How true about the added stress... is this helpful or am I adding unnecessary stress to my life?
What a great question to ask, Erin! I need to ask that of the things I'm doing. I feel like I've pared down a lot, but there's still part of me that's thinking about all the articles I've saved to read, friends' pieces I haven't gotten to, the Discord communities I just joined because I've no idea how I'll get more visibility for my writing if I'm not somehow "in a community..."
Starting to wonder if it's actually possible to get a following just by showing up and doing the thing like Seth Godin advocates. Can we truly just WRITE and generate an audience from our passions and craft?
I'm struggling just to reclaim the freedom of writing without feeling like it has to be regimented, perfect, or monetized. I used to write literally ALL THE TIME and not concern myself with getting it right the first time. Now I feel like everything has to be done with an eye for publishing, and I'm starting to create all these rituals and rules for it that shouldn't be there.
Yes, writing used to come naturally through me. I prefer it that way. When I start to worry what others will think, or how they'll criticize, I find the joy of the healing process that writing is, is diminished. For me writing is a miracle. I always felt if I wrote long enough, through any disturbance or stress, a voice of understanding and guidance would come through. Relieving my angst. I understand that my process isn't important to others. Anais Nin said, "The personal life deeply lived always expands into truths beyond itself."
Oh, I love this! (And what a quote!!) Thank you for the reminder of the beauty of the process.
For me, writing seems to be what I was made to do. I need to rediscover that freedom of flow.
Yep, it's the flow that is delicious!
I hear you, Theresa! Perfectionism - in all its forms - is such a creativity killer! Feeling like we have to perform and have everything just so, conform and be palatable to the masses... it's all too much. I have to remind myself frequently why I am showing up here in the first place and give myself that space for it all to be "enough".
Agreed! I am still feeling into how I feel about the Chats, for now I'm very happy with my once a week posting on Sunday nights. I think my readers appreciate it too, so we'll just go from there :)
I'm with you, Angeli! No need to complicate what is working for us!
I'm curious to know what everyone thinks about all the new features. I love the cross-posting and mentions, but not sure how I feel about chat. It seems like a suck back into social media (which I left when I came over to Substack), but I do appreciate that I have the option to take it or leave it for my subscribers.
Chat feels very much like a solution in search of a problem. We already have comments sections and readers can simply reply to emails. I have a Discord server for Hit Points so Chat would be doubling up on that. Plus a couple of Substacks I follow tried it out and I got an email every time they started a new discussion. I don't need that in my life at all.
I realise the tech team are in ship mode, and they've delivered some very useful stuff this year. Obviously not everything is going to come off, and I don't believe this has. Generally speaking I'd rather see new features than not, so it's all to the good; I just hope they're learning the right lessons from the things that don't really stick the landing.
Great response! I also appreciate what the Substack team is working on--making a more robust platform for writers. And I like that they are here each week listening.
"...I got an email every time they started a new discussion. I don't need that in my life at all."
This is big for me. I work as an IT security analyst, own an event venue, and am very active in my community. I just don't need anything else coming into my inbox. Well, tbh I filter everything into a folder because I exclusively read/interact via web or iOS app.
Me too re the email filter. I only use web and iOS app.
I prefer keeping things simple, so I agree.
Oh, yes! I think it has great potential. I also fear an increased echo chamber that it may cause. Also, I would like to get away from other social media. There's a lot here to unpack.
Just to clarify, the email only goes out for the *first* chat thread a publication sends out. Afterwards it will just be push notifications. Sorry for not making that clear enough.
Thanks, Jasmine. That's great too know!
Jasmine, thanks for your great thoughts and work. I'm loving substack. Do you know someone I can pay to help me create a bigger subscriber and paid subscriber base on my site at jimmydunne.substack.com? Thanks, Jasmine.
Not everything is for everyone. If the chat feature isn't your cup of tea, don't use it! Hundreds, if not thousands of Substack writers have started the chat features in just the week it's been available.
Agreed! As I said--"I do appreciate that I have the option to take it or leave it for my subscribers." Substack is very good about that!
Ha. Agreed. There are still some basic issues with very basic posting functions yet to be addressed/solved..(photos...text alignment)...'Chat' sorta reminds me of a joke back in telephony days. The DEFINITION of the (then) new ISDN..."Innovations Subscribers Don't Need"...
Ugh, an email every time? Who thought that was a great idea? I’m already sending 2 emails weekly and worry about wearing out my welcome with any more. I regularly unsubscribe when someone sends me too many emails. Getting subscribers is an honor and one I want to respect in a world where we already receive too much information daily.
Subscribers only get an email when you first enable chat and create your introductory message to let them know. One email, that's it's. Not one every time you start new chats.
Fully agree!
Yeah...I'd like the option to turn off email notifications for these.
I wrote a piece about it, mourning the loss of the "magazine rack" feel to this space. (though I intend to keep my own as "mag rack!" Others can do whatever they wish with options!)
What WAS heartening was the responses I got--the most ever., and feeling the same.
Obviously we attract each our own set of readers for good reason :)
I didn't know The Writer Magazine existed.
Reading your post makes me want to just sit down and write more and stop struggling with whether I'm turning out a literary masterpiece each time. I feel like I've lost that wonder of getting an idea and letting it lead me...like I have to do a ton of prep work on EVERY piece to make it shine.
Loved it. Finally subscribed also.
Me too!
Interesting Post and a subject that I find appearing in my dream work occasionally. I have a question for you - were you able to ost the Youtube video without paying any licence or royalty fees? I would like to post some similar things but in my discussions with the lawyers they have cautioned me about Fair Use issues. Are things easier in Canada?
That's a brilliant post, Alison. "We'll lose the wonder of the rack." That hits.
Here's the link for anyone else who wants to read Alison's post:
https://unschoolforwriters.substack.com/p/eulogy-for-the-magazine-rack
Thanks for posting the link, Holly. I love your post, Alison! And I agree. I like the magazine rack aspects of Substack. And maybe Substack readers will divide into magazine rack browsers and those looking for a Twitter substitute (via the chat). All I know is I'm looking for slower (mag rack) experiences more now.
I've been listening to and reading Jack Hart's Wordcraft and Storycraft books, and it's making me want to hunk down Pulitzer-winning narrative nonfiction pieces. I want to get a feel for that experience—maybe even go back to a bookstore and actually browse the magazine rack again someday!
There is a large chain bookstore in my town that is pretty terrible as a bookstore, but has a phenomenal magazine rack. I go there maybe once a year, but it's always fun to see all the magazines I've never heard of.
There's a chain bookstore and a local bookstore nearby. Not sure if the local one has a mag rack, though.
Same concern. I love the new features but I don’t want Substack to lose it’s essence and definitely don’t want it to become like any other social media platform.
I think for those who want a Twitter replacement, they will possibly find it with chats. But that's not me. I've actually considered unfollowing a Substack because I don't want to see a little orange dot appear multiple times throughout the day. I want to read meaningful writing and digest it, not discuss what I had for breakfast.
Hi Holly,
Love how you've expressed this and I personally agree. I too am craving meaningful pieces that I can soak up and digest intentionally vs navigating countless notifications every day. To that effect, I much prefer the once a week rhythm of a newsletter format (aka the core presence of Substack).
"Soak up and digest intentionally"...I'm getting so much encouragement from this thread to slow down, stop feeling like I need to read ALL THE THINGS and keep up with everything that's going on around the internet. I'm feeling inspired to just read, digest what I read, and think.
Now to rearrange my schedule to start doing that.
“I think for those who want a Twitter replacement, they will possibly find it with chats.” I think you’re right. It’s funny - I joined Substack because it was the antithesis of Twitter! 🤣 But it’s fine, because I can just choose to not chat. Happy with that!
Yay Rebecca!
Hopefully this doesn't mean we'll now have Substack Chat Bros or Substack Thread Bois....
This. They need to give us more control over notifications. I have stopped having a couple of newsletters appear on my feed because of a busy chat. Maybe there is already a way to silence chat and keep the posts on. Does anyone know if this is true?
Yes there is a way to do so! Go to your profile tab in the app, then the settings gear, then "notifications." You can toggle off chat notifications there. You can also mute notifications for a specific chat thread via the 3-dot menu.
I guess that depends on what you mean by notifications, Steve. Are you referring to email notifications, notifications that appear in the activity "bell" icon, or audible notifications? I've actually gotten my system of not-being-bothered-unless-I-want-to-be down to a science if you want to discuss.
Yes! I’d love to hear your process. I mean all 3 sorta. Mostly activity bell and on screen notifications for every post and comment. I keep my sound off most of the time so that is less a bother.
For starters, I have notifications turned off in settings for nearly every app I have on my phone, including Substack. My exceptions are Messages, Phone, Reminders, and a couple of apps for my day job.
In Gmail, I set up filters each time I subscribe to a new newsletter. "Skip the inbox, Mark as read, Send to folder." I call my folder ".Substack Reading."
In my Substack app settings, I have push notifications turned off (which is actually configured in the notifications settings in your phone). I *did* have New Threads turned on, but I just turned that off, and I have replies and reactions on. I like being notified of replies and reactions via the little bell icon or the activity feed, but I don't want to actually get a notification on my phone.
So in short, I control most of the bothersome stuff through the notification settings on my phone and gmail filters.
Even right now, I’m typing this on my phone and there’s a constant stream of notifications popping up from the live writers’ discussion threads. Ones from more than 30 minutes ago which I’ve already read. I am imagining there is some customization to pop up notifications that I’m just not finding.
I totally understand why you would want to that.
However, a positive side of this was that I could directly interact with Hamish on his chat thread since I’m subscribed to his newsletter. This way I can directly send him the concerns or feedback about recent features.
Yes!! I'm already sick of the red dot coming up all hours. I'd love to be able to toggle on or off the pubs I want to see - and to have the option to toggle off all chat notifications but keep notifications for when newsletters are published.
Hi! You can do this by going to your app -> profile -> settings gear -> notifications. Just turn off all the notifications in the Chat/Threads section.
This does not turn off the "dot" that shows up on the chat icon. While that seems like a small thing, it's difficult to ignore for some of us.
thanks!
We are working on mute or hide chat features so you can stay subscribed without having to be in the chat. Thanks for the feedback!
+1
"Mute" and "DND" help me manage my life better.
The thing I appreciate about Chat, and all the other new features Substack has recently rolled out, is that they're optional. They can be used (to great effect), or they can be ignored. Meaning that (a) everyone can choose a different way of doing things, and (b) if someone wants to just have the boiled-back model of running a newsletter and nothing else, they can do that. They are given complete freedom to choose to do that.
That is massive, quite frankly. And it's NOT what the big social media platforms are doing. Particularly the one that's showing every sign of imploding right now...
Empowering users is one thing. But empowering them with the choice to *not* use your newer upgrades and add-ons and *still* have an effective model for growing an audience around your writing? That's the way it should be - and yet it's so rare.
I don't see Substack losing its essence and its core model because they're too smart to do that, they've given zero sign of doing that, and they now have plenty of horror-story case studies to look at elsewhere on the internet, where big platforms did that and were totally eviscerated by their users - including the one happening right now!
I trust the folk whose actions mirror their promises. :)
Exactly
I agree! I am seeking to keep it simple but am curious to see how these tools develop!
Agreed actually- I have avoided chat so far, as it feels like I then have to be „on“ to facilitate it, which is extremely draining for this introvert 🫠
it can definitely become draining, Caroline, i agree (introvert here, too!).
100% agree with this...except I'm an extrovert! I stepped away from social media to reclaim more time to write. I don't want to go back to that "instant" type of format.
Me neither! I popped into a Discord server I'm part of today and found 14 messages I hadn't read yet in a thread where I really should be participating, and it was overwhelming. My brain needs a break from the dopamine hits.
I’m new to Substack so I’m still getting adjusted to just the bare bones. I wonder if I’ll find a use for the chat feature down the road but if I do it’ll have to be organic. I see the potential for it but it brings up the same unwelcome stress I feel on social media platforms. So I’m pretending it’s not there for now and staying focused on the reasons why I came to Substack. The chat function will be there if I find I want/need it later.
Great attitude, Erin! I'm waiting for that compelling use case to make me get onboard.
"compelling use case" - well said Holly.
Makes total sense :) It's a completely optional thing for writers to use only if they think that community/social dynamic will enrich their publication.
What I imagine might be helpful with Chat is to be a participant on others' to get a better look at how it might fit within your NFTW. For me, I'm pretty sure I couldn't care less, as one who only signed up for ANY social media site for the first time in Aug '21, when I started my 'Stack! In other words, I haven't been married to social media for two decades like many/most seem to have been.
I've participated in a few. So far I just don't see how they can augment my newsletter. But I'm sure eventually there will be a use case that will be the aha! moment for me.
(Brad, are you a linux guy? Who knew?!)
Linux? No....say, isn't he the Peanuts kid with the blanket?
Wish I'd never gotten as involved as I had. I've wasted years of my life in IRC chat, AIM (anyone remember that??), online RPGs, and social media. And my brain has suffered for it--now that I've quit the socials, I'm struggling to reclaim the ability to focus for any length of time and to stop and THINK about what I've just done before moving on to another task.
I'm excited by the potential of chat but I would only use it for paid subs I think so that it's an added bonus of being a paid up member. I'm going to use it sparingly, once or twice a week perhaps, to prompt my subscribers to tell me what interesting art they have seen that week. I used to do that with my members when I was on Mighty Networks and it was one of the best methods of engagement I found. What I like about it is that members can upload images. Plus it's a way for my members who are artists and art lovers to talk amongst themselves and make connections. It's a great community-building feature and I'm really excited about it! Haven't launched that aspect yet, but will do in the next few weeks. Waiting on the Android roll out. But maybe I should just crack on.
Chat for Android is coming soon. It is our top priority on the Android team.
Ah, that's a great use case, Victoria. You've just made me remember that sharing photos is only available in chat, not comments. I can see how this would be beneficial.
Love this idea of connecting readers to each other.
I've mostly needed more time to think them through. I've given Chat a bit of thought, but I can't go much further without an Android App. Cross-posting is something I could use - maybe. Mentions seem way too social media-like...
And before I can even finish my thoughts on these new features, enter the Bestseller Badge...and my first thought is not favorable. The Badge feels like a reaction to the Twitter controversy with the blue check mark. I also think the Badges create a class system within the writing community...it reminds me of the theory behind supply-side economics - the riches trickle down to benefit everyone. Only in this case, a displayed badge lends a lot of credibility to an established writer and makes it that much harder for people just starting to succeed.
Agreed. I've never done well in popularity contests, and this makes me disheartened. I was hoping to make Substack a part of my writer's journey, something that might become a significant source of income in the future while still allowing me to explore different topics and types of pieces, but it's starting to feel like I should run in the other direction before I get crushed under the super-successful Substack celebs.
I just saw the badge feature and have lots of feelings about that...especially after reading the announcement, which seems to say: You're only successful if you are making money.
YES.
What about the success of writing what you love and sharing what's true and real? And the success of having the courage to put it out there without ever knowing if anyone will read it? And the success of overcoming the need to be validated by metrics or shiny digital awards?
Yes, it's a complicated world. While I understand the idea behind the Badges, and I imagine feels really good for those who have them (like the belt system in martial arts), it can feel discouraging for the newbies. Keep you head down and carry on!
LOVE upgrades to cross-posting/mentions.
Still on the fence about Chat. Not of it's utility- it's clear people like it- but of how it fits in with /my/ audience.
On one hand, it mixes things up a bit. On the other: do they really want to see hear from me more than they already do?
Kevin, you know I'm a huge fan, but I do not want to hear from you any more than I already do. Hahahaha! (You know how I keep it real!) I enjoy getting your 4 x week posts to jumpstart my day with some great tunes. If I don't have time for it one morning, I definitely go back to it in the next couple of days. There's such value there.
But even if I could eat a prime meal every hour on the hour, would I want to? Hell no.
Lol. See? Exactly.
(and thank you for the kind words!)
I work on product research at Substack, and one of the learnings that led to the Chat feature was hearing readers in user interviews constantly say that they *love* hearing from their favorite writers. It won't be all readers — and they don't have to get the app or have chat notifications on — but a lot of people appreciate it!
I was about to say the same thing - we won't annoy readers who don't want to chat, other than the one and only email letting them know it's an option. Also, how often we post something new in the chat is up to us, as is how often we check it and reply if a reader does engage there. We also have the option to turn off chat notifications, as does every subscriber.
I’m with Holly -- we get the perfect amount of you each week. It’s like dessert. You want it four or five days a week, any more than that, you start to feel nauseated and begin craving vegetables (just kidding -- your posts are a well balanced meal).
Nothing wrong with a plate full of vegetables...
"On Repeat by Kevin Alexander--a calorie-free dessert that really is good!"
Just read some of your posts Steve and they're great! I talk about music a bit too - at least it always seems to make an appearance even when I'm not dissecting old piano roll songs. Would love for you to check it out. https://open.substack.com/pub/jodiemeynwrites/p/the-cheeseball?r=lzbdm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thanks, Jodie! So glad to hear you like them. I just followed you too! Will look at your writings this weekend…thanks for reaching out!
I've played around with it, but I am waiting for the web-version to really start pushing it with my readers. I want to spend less time staring at my phone!
Yeah, because that phone text gets smaller and smaller the older I get. Hahaha!
And our fingers get bigger and fatter as our eyes get blurrier and blurrier.
Upgraded my prescription to progressive lenses this year, so YEP!
Totally agree with you Seth. I love having it as an option on my phone, but having it as part of the web app would mean it's easier to engage in conversation back and forth rather than using my phone all day.
Yes.. let me add it to my already 23 tabs on my laptop! hahah
Yeah, I second this point. If it were available on the website, I could see a lot more of my readers using it. And I could see myself using it too (I just can't bring myself to use the app.)
You hit the nail on the head, Seth. I've been curious about whether this would work for me, but I can always find out later when it's accessible to everyone.
THanks! Yeah, always best to see how other people are using it, and seeing what works, and then thinking about doing the same with your own readership. Just because it's a feature doesn't mean we have to use it! haha
Chat stays off for me. Most of my readers get What's Curation? via email, and <4% use the app. The whole point of a newsletter is that people CHECK their email. I essentially see the Substack app and the chat feature as a creeping walled garden tying people (and engagement) to the platform, making it difficult for people to leave.
Besides, communication should be democratic--and there's nothing more open, and easy, to do, than hitting the reply button on an email. Having to install an app only selects for the more vocal audience members and leaves out the others.
Chat doesn't fit my work--but it will be useful to others. I'll do some mentions, don't know about cross-posting. Those are features that individual writers can choose to use, or not. But! My heart sank when I saw today's announcement about "badges." That affects the whole atmosphere of Substack, and in my view, brings an unwelcome change.
I agree completely. This is the first time, as a relatively new writer of two Substacks, that I have considered leaving the platform.
I'm starting to feel that way, and I've just barely gotten started with my newest newsletter.
I'm starting to question the value of hustling for visibility and spending time "contributing to communities." What if we all just showed up, did the thing, and waited to see what would happen?
Oh my gosh, I just skimmed that email, and it made my heart sink, too. I'm sad to see this platform becoming a popularity contest. It's supposed to be a place where we can come and just be writers instead of feeling like we have to compete with everyone else.
Why must people try to fix what isn't broken?
I feel the same about the chat feature, Holly! I’m not tempted to go down that rabbit hole. As you say, nice to have the option, but no thanks, I’ll pass!
I look forward to finding your posts waiting for me each Saturday morning. I feel like a kid again watching Saturday morning cartoons! :)
Awww, what a lovely thing to say - thanks, Holly! Right back atcha!!!
Agree with you. Personally I want to focus on using Substack more like a traditional blog. Chat might be great for other users though.
Sounds like we might be kindred spirits in the way we're thinking about writing. :) I've been thinking a LOT about the old blogging days, the journaling days when things were more personal and had a home-grown feel. Like the knitting blogs I used to read where the writers actually chronicled things that were happening in their lives and shared what they were making instead of posting "5 Knitterly Tips to Make Your Knitting More Knitterly."
I felt sucked back into social media too! I also worry about over-taxing my readers. People only have a limited amount of time and asking them to suddenly chat with me on top of the comments sections seems a little overloaded.
Yes, this is a good point. I feel glad that readers or listeners (as I use the audio as well) read and check in and I know people's time is really valuable. Right now it feels like asking for attention. Later, if a particular subject feels relevant for my readers/listeners, maybe. Now? Not convinced.
Agree. I've never been on any social media and I came here because it felt somewhat divorced from all that. I certainly don't want to import the feel of social media (already the 'mentions' are giving me a bit of an icky vibe.) Also, I really dislike using the app. I prefer taking the leisurely time to read and respond on my laptop. Chat feels like the antithesis of that. Nice that we all have the control to opt in to out, but so far I'm out.
I prefer Substacking on my computer, too. If I'm out and about I'll sometimes check in on the app, but I reserve a spot of time each day to properly go through my SS inbox and notifications at my computer. At my desk. With a cup of tea.
Same here :-)
You put my feelings into words, Holly! I'm still unsure about chat myself. It feels like a lot to keep up with, especially in large publications. For now I think I'll just stick to comments!
"a lot to keep up with"<--this. I have enough balls in the air without another thing. I'm wondering how many of my subscribers feel the same way. Quality over quantity.
I'm sure there are more ways of attracting new readers then just your social media profiles and Substack recommendations (which are great BTW!).
If you haven't tried The Sample yet, I highly recommend it to all. It's basically a servce that sounds out a sample of your NL to hundreds of readers, and some of them might even subscribe! There's both a free and a paid option, I've tried both and helped me get new readers and subscribers. It can also be a good tool to discover new writers in the area you're intrerested in (be it on Substack or other platforms). Here's a link - https://thesample.ai/?ref=850d (full disclosure - this is a referral link, hope that doesn't go against the rules, happy to remove it if it does).
Another example of such a service is htttps://inboxreads.co. Doesn't cost a thing and can help you find new readers who share the same interests.
There's also 15+ different newsletter directories here - https://www.growgetters.co/post/newsletter-directory. Some of them probably work better for certain niches, like tech.
Any other channels you know of?
At the last Office Hours, I learned about The Sample from Oleg and signed up. Only two of my fiction pieces have passed through their system, but I have already received a few subscribers through them. Really appreciate the tip Oleg!
I also just signed up for Sample and I've already received two subscribers! I look forward to using more of their features.
Thanks, Oleg! This is very timely. Newsletter directories and discovery services are next on my list to try for visibility and distribution now that I'm off social media.
It's not a silver bullet, but it surely helps!
+1 for The Sample. It's great-both as a reader and a writer.
Oh yeah, I even forgot about mentioning it's great for discovering good writing!
thanks for sharing!
The Sample was confusing for me. They have something called a "Paid subscribe" but that appears to be where I pay THEM to get a FREE subscriber, not when a reader pays me. No thank you.
It's there for people that might want to take advantage of it, but it's totally optional. As a user, you get to set the limits on how much you want to spend.
I didn't sign up for the paid option. I see it as advertising if you want to expand your reach. But I've gotten subscribers on one of my newsletters without paying anything for it. I would give it a shot.
Just signed up for The Sample, so easy. Thanks Oleg!
Thank you for these recommendations! This is super helpful.
That's really useful, Oleg. Thankyou
I use The Sample too, thanks to a post here a while back recommending it. I only use the free option, which is quick and easy to sign up for, and have gotten a few subscribers from there.
Glad you found it useful!
I definitely took your suggestion to do the Sample and Inbox Reads and received a few new subscribers that way! So grateful!
Happy you found it worthwhile :)
This is fantastically useful! Thanks!
https://polymathicbeing.substack.com/
I'm finding that the Sample has been huge for my podcast newsletter. Not so much for my personal yet...
Thanks for the links, Oleg! Much appreciated.
These are rad new features. I’m excited to try cross-posting! I think it’ll be a great way for guest authors to promote their work on other Substacks.
Speaking of features, there are two blogging-type features I’d love to see Substack add for newsletter websites: Search and Post Tagging.
For newsletters with long archives, being able to search would be helpful to find posts. And it’d be great to be able to tag posts to categorize them on my site without having to create a whole section. Tagging could potentially be used for cross-newsletter discovery, too.
Thanks for this feedback!
Happy to help!
Agreed! With Fictionistas being an all-volunteer publication that depends on guest posts to keep the gears turning, it is great to see people can share their brilliant ideas with us first and then cross-post their articles to their own Substacks if they wish.
And I second the request for individual Substack search functionality and tags. These options would do so much to help surface our older content. I looked back at the performance of my older posts, and their stats are so much lower than my current posts. The only way right now anyone would really see them (with so many posts overall) is to either stumble across them in a Google search or for me to post a retrospective post pointing people to them. It would be really nice if I could use tags so people could read all of the posts about X, or search for themselves for topics of their own choosing. It would also help ME find my old posts - right now I actually use Google to find stuff because it's easier than scrolling through two years of content.
+1 to all of this!
Yes to tagging - I've been thinking about using sections as a workaround for not having tags, and while it seems like it will be useful for clearcut different kinds of writing, it is pretty clumsy as a replacement for tags.
You can search your own pub archives, but you mean searching the site - is that right?
That’s right. Like a little search bar on the home page.
Those are great ideas
Now THOSE would be useful functions!
I'm definitely in favor of a search function.
Good morning substackers! I wanted to share a bit of encouraging news for those of you who are beginners on this platform, as I am. I realized a few days ago that my subscriber list (which includes both free and paid) has grown by about 40% since July when I began my Substack newsletter. That is amazing considering that in the three years of blogging on Wordpress and using social media (somewhat) to promote it, I was lucky if I got two new readers a month, not including friends.
And what is important about this, is that I’m currently recommended by only one other newsletter (I had two recommending me but one of them just quit the platform—-drats), so these new readers aren’t coming because someone with a large audience has showcased my work. They are arriving just by virtue of being on the site and getting to know others, discovering writers that I enjoy, participating on these Thursday posts, etc. 40% is a formidable number, right? so I just wanted to share that.
With that said, feel free to showcase any of my posts you’ve enjoyed or add my newsletter to your Recommendations list, I’m good with that. No, seriously, it’s fine by me.
And I just saw the email about mentions and crossposts, very exciting.
Thanks for sharing. I am new and I am enjoying Substack - the Office Hours are a rich diversity of voices - and like learning about what others are doing. Congratulations on your growth - 40% is exciting and worth celebrating!
I have been her a few months past a year and very much love these Thursday get-togethers and find them both fun and extremely helpful! Thanks for hosting!
Thanks, Faith. Welcome to Substack! Yes, Office Hours are very helpful!
This is awesome. Congrats, Sue!
Yeah I've been working to increase my reading and it's been slow but steady.
https://polymathicbeing.substack.com/
Congrats Sue!
Nice! Congrats!
Congratulations Sue!!!!!!
Wow, so the only thing you're doing for visibility is being part of the Substack community?
I believe that most of my new readers are coming from Substack, but I do still post my links on FB and Instagram, for whatever that's worth, which I don't think is much at this point.
I'm curious because I left social media. It wasn't generating anything for me, even for my business. And I'm overwhelmed by the prospect of trying to get involved in multiple communities just to distribute what I write.
I hear you. I'm only staying with social media at this point because I do have followers there, but most of them are friends. Substack is a nice alternative that seems to offer a great opportunity to meet other writers and grow your readership. It's a fun community from my experience so far.
Yes it is fun, and a very generous community, too!
If you desire a diverse fiction community on Substack, then look no further. You need Fictionistas!
https://fictionistas.substack.com
We're over a thousand subscribers strong and growing. We encourage one another through helpful articles, virtual monthly meetups and all around awesomeness.
Tired of Twitter drama? Lamenting the political landscape? Got questions about writing fiction on Substack? You need Fictionistas!
Sincerely,
Brian Reindel
Fictionistas Supreme Ambassador of the Highest Order
https://brianreindel.substack.com
We’ll be announcing a December holiday meetup very soon. Should be a fun one! ⛄️
Yes! I missed the last one for no good reason at all because I didn't set a reminder. After going back and watching it, I was disappointed I missed a great discussion! However, I was also impressed that you were the only one wearing a costume. I expect you in a Santa Claus outfit for December.
*Frantically scours costume bin*
I love your title! And it is well-deserved. Thanks so much for always helping us get the word out!
Putting in the work for the fiction community this morning I see. Much thanks to you Fictionistas Supreme Ambassador of the Highest Order!
It's a wonderfully delusional title I gave myself 😂
I'm jealous. I may call myself the Opinion Empress!
Love your community! Thanks for all you do for fiction writers. 🥰
When is the November meetup?
We did a late Oct call for Fictionistas, and November is nutty for me with NaNoWriMo and write-ins plus Thanksgiving in the US, so our next Zoom call will be in early December. We will send out an email to all subscribers shortly with the date, time, and Zoom link, so be sure you're subscribed!
Got it, thanks!
Hi Kerry, if you subscribe, the organizers send out the date about a week in advance.
Okay, I am subscribed but dont remember receiving the dates. I’ll keep a careful lookout for them.
Excited to check this out! It looks like a great place to engage with other writers
Could you say more about the meetups, how you organize and run them? Are they virtual or in real life?
Hi Marcia, we have a Zoom call once a month (ish). They are always on different days of the week and at different times so we can accommodate as many people's schedules as possible and to have times that aren't completely insane for folks in Europe or Asia (they aren't ideal but we do our best).
We always announce these on Fictionistas at least a couple weeks in advance, and then post the video recordings afterwards for those who can't make it live.
If any Fictionistas wanted to organize an in-person meetup, we would be totally supportive of that, but so far I haven't seen a critical mass developing in any given location. One day, though! (And any Fictionistas in St. Louis MO should reach out to me because I am running a few local write-ins for NaNo!)
You can watch previous videos over on Fictionistas to get a feel for how they are run and organized. We're all very respectful of one another and the discussions are around how to help one another in the fiction space on Substack.
Hi Marcia, they are virtual. If you subscribe to the newsletter, an email goes out the week before with all of the details, including how to connect and the time. The organizers try to pick various times so that different time zones can have an opportunity to connect each month.
It's great that we can now mention people, but are there any plans to roll out @ usernames/personalised URLs for our profiles (rather than just URLs for our publications)?
(So that our profiles aren't like this: substack .com/ profile/ 49352822-firstname-lastname)
I would love this too! Can I get /profile/ellegriffin ?
Yes! Also, I’d rather see my subscribers as names rather than emails, as well as the ability to direct message them.
Also the name of their publication, if they have one. Please put a column on the subscription list.
Ooh yes, that's a great idea!
Yes, we at least need their first names!
This is a great idea!
Good idea!
Yes, absolutely that Ben. Sharing our profile links as well as publication links.
Yes, I share the link to my profile frequently!
Lots of good stuff coming from Substack these days; cross-posting and mentions are very good ides. That being said, in my opinion the badges feature was a terrible move, and needs to be reconsidered. Substack should be about the reader-writer relationship; adding badges at the end of names with lots of paid subscribers will turn the platform into just another hustle-forward, money-driven popularity contest. Substack team: please get rid of badges! They don't promote what Substack is really about!
Thanks for your feedback!
Thanks for listening. New Substack writer here. Please take this feedback seriously. Substack is a special place in the digital ecosphere precisely *because* it's avoided a "lords and peasants," rich-get-richer ethos. When we skip the ever-present urge to rank one another, we can connect as a community, cooperate, and deepen our relationships to readers and other writers. Sharp status markers immediately change these dynamics. Love Substack, but please get rid of badges.
I have hundreds of subscribers to my free newsletter and I admit that I would like that to be acknowledged somehow because I think it helps to signify to potential subscribers that the newsletter is of good enough quality that many others also read it.
Hence, I think the badges should include free as well as paid newsletters. Otherwise the high quality free newsletters get lost and stigmatized as low quality because even if you have thousands of readers the current badge system would effectively push them to the bottom. This is not only unfair, but will limit the growth potential of free newsletters, most of which probably can turn into paid newsletters once the subscriber count is up.
Anyway, the solution may be to give everyone a badge, both for free and paid newsletters, for four main tiers, plus an additional badge for paid, and the option for writers to "opt out of badge participation":
New or less than 100 subscribers (gray)
Hundreds of subscribers (white)
Thousands of subscribers (orange)
Tens of thousands of subscribers (purple)
Paid subscribers (no number listed, just a different badge, maybe red)
So a free newsletter like mine with hundreds of subscribers would get one badge, white, but if it was paid, it would get two badges, white and red, even if I only have one paid subscriber.
Agreed
Love the new features.
Chat: I am planning on announcing a first chat for paid subscribers who have pie questions as we near Thanksgiving.
Mentions: Can these be used in comments also?
I would LOVE to use them in comments!
I love the Thanksgiving plan!
Exactly...I see a lot of uses for chat in the food writers' world - your idea Kate is a great example!
I mentioned it at the end of today's free post with a link to the App to make it easy for those who want to join.
Hi Kate, I commented on a story today and used a mention. But it didn't seem to work. I think I did it right, but it doesn't seem to work for comments.
I think that is a great use of chat, Kate! And I also want to be able to mention someone in comments.
Sounds like a great plan for a Thanksgiving chat! Pie baking is definitely an art that all of us who enjoy baking can learn more about...
Hello fellow Office Hours-ers! I'm celebrating today because I'm two months into this thing and recently hit 80 subscribers! But more importantly, in my growth I'm still maintaining an open rate above 70%! I'm a big fan of the slow and steady growth, so while I would love hundreds and hundreds of subscribers, I'm tickled that the subscribers I do have are reading and engaged.
What are the small victories you're celebrating this week?
That's a great open rate !
Yes it is! I'm super proud and working hard over here to grow a community of engaged readers.
just saw this, Jen, congratulations!! That must feel amazing! I, too, just noticed that my last post had a 73% open rate! So here we are again about celebrating the silent ones!
Thanks Jen for sharing your numbers. That is really great! Two months and progress :) I am three weeks in and while subscriber growth is slow, I have had over 1300 reads and listens to my writing and audio. It's good to look at numbers and see progress, and then get back to the task at hand - write and share <3
Agreed... the numbers are secondary to me, like dessert. Still worth celebrating! My #1 goal through the end of the year is to be consistent and write on a schedule -- I tend toward procrastination.
Ah yes, procrastination... the devil we know
Congrats to you! I have published two posts, and I am celebrating that I actually DID it--after months of overthinking;)
Yay! Writing on a consistent schedule is actually one of my Substack goals, so I feel this accomplishment for you!
Yes, I feel like since I told my readers that I would publish at certain intervals I really have to stick to it! Otherwise I am not so disciplined!
I kicked off voice-overs and linking them to podcast players.
https://polymathicbeing.substack.com/
Cool! Have not tried voice overs yet. How's the workflow for that - simple or involved?
The workflow isn't bad within Substack but it helps to have your own editing software. I use Audacity. The nice thing is if I misread, I just stop, clip the audio, and re-record. Then I export the file and upload to Substack
I'm so excited about the chat feature but I use Android. Do we know when that will possibly be available?
I've made some subscriber progress this week. I got brave, asked people on FB, and I'm almost to 200! (7 away) I also took FB off of my phone in an effort to work towards more responsible social media use and cutting down my "need" to check it all of the time. So far, so good.
And thank you to whomever made the recommendation for The Sample. It has been a huge boost for litthinkpodcast.substack.com
Hi. I'm on the Android team. Chat is coming soon! I'm not able to share a date yet, but it's getting close. Thank you for both your excitement and your patience! 🙏
Been enjoying your stuff. Totally get the excitement about the milestone. I am getting close to 150 myself.
Congrats! While I try not to make it about the numbers, I do enjoy seeing my reader base grow. It puts wind in your sails knowing others are out there reading.
Yes. I mean, I write because I WANT to and sometimes need to but it feels good to know that what I am producing is also appreciated by others. Especially important as I work (slowly) on a self-published book of esssays.
Congrats on getting close to 200! I'm getting close, too!
Congrats, Sarah! I got to 200 subbies a couple weeks ago (I've been on here since 8/21...I know...laughable numbers to many, some of whom have 10 times that amount in 3 months!), while also noticing a drop in average open rates.
So, I decided it was time to do my occasional weeding out of subbies who (after about 4-6 months) have never opened anything. That brought me down to about 170, but I'm now back up to over 180. It's a balancing act, I guess...for me, anyway. Keep it up, Sarah!
Haven't had to clean out for awhile, so hopefully I'll be well over 200 before I have to do that ;-)
I've been posting on FB and LinkedIn with slow, but steady growth. I'm right near you in subscribers.
https://polymathicbeing.substack.com/
I get hardly any traffic from FB. It's SOOO frustrating.
I sometimes get half of my PVs from FB, but I suppose writing exclusively about a pop culture element (rock music, and the behind-the-scenes-access therein) might tend to garner more immediate "yippee!" reactions than might posts about Plumbing in the Baltics, Canned Ham on a Budget, or Animals Who Get in My Way on Walks. But, I could be wrong.
same here, only LinkedIn works for me
Hey Tobi, can you share which strategies are working for you on Linkedin?
The results I get are pretty random, to be honest.
I have +2.5k followers, but still sometimes I get very little impressions.
For my experience, what matters is mostly tags, likes and comments you get in the first minutes. But I have not fully understood how it works yet and which post types work the most.
This is MOSTLY because the social media platforms limit your reach when you include links in your posts... try experimenting with some 'link in bio' posts! I mean, this isn't the 100% CURE ALL, but it's worth ttrying out.
Nice work!
Taking FB off one's phone does wonders.
It's amazing how much of a difference it has made in less than a week.
But still have Twitter. I've learned to love Twitter and I'm so sad to see it imploding.
Hello Everybody and thanks for your support.
I'm fairly new here and have been enjoying connecting / reading / learning. I decided a little while ago to take control of my odd fiction and get in out there without the sending/waiting loop that takes too long.
So far, so good. I'm slowly getting some traction. More importantly, by having a weekly schedule, it's forcing me to stay on track. I'm kind of like that. Deadlines are my friend, at least most of the time.
That's been a huge benefit. Plus I'm discovering others and learning a lot of new things. That's been great.
Glad you're here, Victor! I love seeing fiction writers give it a solid go and you're on the right path. I'm sure after keeping up with the consistent posting you'll continue to see growth.
Thanks for the kind words, Brian. Really appreciate it!
With the current Twitter implosion and general uncertainty / malaise surrounding social media, there seems to be no reason to NOT start a Substack publication. My prediction is we'll see even more of the mid-tier journalists taking their followers to this platform. The next five years will be epochal in the history of publicly-disseminated writing.
Subtack, Inc. has REALLY "cleaned up" with Twitter folks thinking of leaving Twitter and starting their own Substacks in the two weeks since Twitter went crazy! They even re-tweet your mention of your Substack. SMART!
That is a good move, but wow, I could not be madder about the new badges feature right now. https://on.substack.com/p/badge
Hi all. I’ve brought my print magazine readership over to Substack. As a result many of my readers are new to the platform and have questions about how to use it. For example I get questions like “Can I turn off emails and just read at the site…” and “As a comp subscriber can I still pay for an additional subscription or support you.” I wonder if there is a sort of FAQ that others have used? I’d like to send one to all of my readers. And one more question: I use quite a few writers for my content. Is there a way to change the language that says “subscribe to support ME..” to make it “support US”?
One of my subscribers told me she loved my publication (https://wearespeaking.substack.com), but since I publish/record 8X/week, she was getting overwhelmed with emails. Since I already published a summary of the previous week's articles/podcast episodes every Sunday, I got the great idea to have the weekly summary as a separate section. Then I taught my current and new subscribers how to "uncheck" the sections they didn't want and just leave checked that summary section. There's an article in the Substack help section... That way they get only one email per week and can still read all of the articles at once. It's worked like a charm so far.
That's a great workaround.
On your second question, Yes! You can alter the caption on your Subscribe button to say anything you like. I publish a bunch of people too, and I customized that language to bring in the group dynamic.
Re: your comp subbies can pay and support you using other sites like ko-fi etc. I know 'Stack (and/or writers) want the site to devise a ko-fi-like payment element to keep people from leaving the site, but until then.........Plus, I suppose, your compers can always buy a gift subscription (see button at top of Create page).
And, if I understand your last question, Joshua, you can edit and change any/all the words in the default message in the "Subscribe" button that attaches to your article.
Thanks, Brad! On the last question: I was referring to this default text—can't seem to find where to edit it: "Small Craft Advisor is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber."
Here's mine, edited: "Front Row & Backstage is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free subscriber! GOLD PASS Paid Upgrade available, featuring exclusive Bonus Posts!" You edit it actually within the box that appears on your post when you click the button!
Aha! OK, that's a big help. Thank you. I only see the text pop-up occasionally and never knew how to fix.
*waves to any illustrators* hi friends!
Hola. Not an illustrator but if you're interested in collaborating I'm always interested in writing. My theme is 'counter-intuitive insight' and I'm always curious about how people create art.
https://polymathicbeing.substack.com/
I illustrate the four panel comic strip I write, "It's ALL Good Times":
https://moviewise.substack.com/p/its-all-good-times
I really appreciate the constant innovation from the Substack crew. They really put their hearts and minds into the work and have always been responsive. The support on this platform really make the difference.
I might use Chat as a subscriber benefit which takes it off the main archive. I find it better to not be met with a wall of paid posts and threads. It also has benefits as a community builder too. I’ll chew on it and see what I think later on.
One thing I’d like to see is post templates! It’s a time saver to open up a template with your graphics and links rather than pasting it in every time. Also, text wrapping and left, right, center, and justified text.
I agree on post templates! I have a post called "draft" that I use, but it's clunky to grab things from there, and would be much, much easier if there was a template.
I'll keep pushing the product team on templates!
Thanks! Substack is terrific and you guys keep making it better.
Post Templates! YES!!! I keep forgetting to put repeating things in and a template would be SO
helpful.
Shoutout to everyone writing on Substack. Keep going. This platform is going to continue to explode.
thank you Jeff!
Hello. A few suggestions and questions:
1) Ability to schedule regular mailings, e.g. "every Monday at 21:00 EST." Would take a lot of the stress and confusion out of this platform.
2) Ability to save modifications to both the "Subscribe" text blurb and the button itself. Every time I insert this, I have to fix the text from "support my work-->support our work." And nobody wants the hassle of reinventing a custom button every single time they use it.
3) When a user replies to a newsletter, where does the reply go? My co-author and I each have our own emails linked to Substack, but can we designate a shared address for users to reply to?
4) Can you please permit blurbs from people who read the newsletter but do not have a Substack of their own? Some of our most prestigious subscribers, who could really help us by endorsing the newsletter, do not have Substacks. Potential readers have no idea how beneficial the publication might be for them.
Product person here. Regarding #1 and #2, I imagine a "recently used" feature for recently used schedules and buttons would pretty useful. That way you could just select a previously used schedule rather a specific date/time over and over. I'll see if it's something we can work on.
You can incorporate blurbs from non-Substack luminaries very simply on your About page or in a header or footer of your newsletter. So to say such blurbs are not permitted is inaccurate.
Is anyone else having problems with the latest draft of a newsletter reverting to a previous draft?
This happened to us several times over the past several months while working on a newsletter, which is bad enough. But last week we almost sent out a scheduled email that had reverted to a half-written newsletter. This would have made us look very unprofessional.
I messaged the Substack help folks three days ago, but have yet to hear back from them.
Hi Michael! No idea if this applies to you, but I’m sometimes guilty of having my draft open in multiple tabs, and have noticed this can happen when I do that and unwittingly toggle between the two tabs. Were you able to use the “restore another version” editor feature to get your finished draft back, or was it totally gone?
Good point, Samantha. I'm having some issues lately with Evernote notes not syncing properly, and its because I work from my laptop and the app on my phone interchangeably throughout the day. It's like I'm too much for Evernote. LOL!
Ha! I do this too! If I could actually sit down at my laptop and work rather than constantly roaming around my apartment with my phone, maybe I wouldn’t have this problem!
Yes the dreaded multiple open tabs that can confuse the most advanced of technology!
I noticed this as well but ultimately when I reloaded the latest draft had actually saved. It seemed like the screen was almost like a delayed preview but the content was up to date. I’m curious if you see the checkmark in the bottom left updating as you write?
This happened to me this week, too. I opened a draft and it had reverted to a very old version, not reflecting any of the *many* changes I had made the day prior. I had to open the version history to select the 2nd to most recent version to get the right one. Not great!
Hi Michael. When is the last time this occurred? As Samantha mentioned, this could have been an issue with having a draft open in multiple tabs/windows. We've made some recent changes which should prevent this from happening.
Just happened a few days ago and it couldn't have been multiple tabs as the newsletter had been saved several days before and we'd moved on to other content.
I’ve had this problem too
I've also struggled with this, it's a deeply frustrating problem. If you try clicking on version history and go back, you should eventually find the actual up to date version that you can restore. Though for some reason I usually have to restore a few times to make it stick.
I haven't had this happen to me, Michael, but it seems like someone else mentioned this a few Office Hours ago. Definitely going to keep my eye on this.
I like all the new options, but waiting a bit on chat till I understand it better. The idea of tagging other writers, as you mention them in your posts is excellent, and... I can only hope someone will think enough of my posts to "cross-post" one out to their readers. If you already put out a lot of content, though, sending your readers someone else's post might be one too many. I will use this option occasionally, for sure.
I like the new cross-posting and tagging options, too, though I haven't tried them yet. Rather than sending my readers one more piece of content, I would use the cross-post as my regular newsletter post for that week, and add in a few comments about why I like what I cross-posted and thought my readers might appreciate it.
Thanks Wendi, that's a good idea! I need to review the details Substack offers on this new option, but I am assuming... all the writers who allow cross-posting (or is there an option to allow or disallow cross-posting of one's writing?) would be happy that you shared their writing to your subscribers, and also whether they would receive a notice that their work had been cross-posted? if you happen to know, feel free to share it here for the benefit of others—thanks!
Somewhere in this chat, a Substack staff member commented that other writers would be notified if you cross-post their work. I don't know if there's an option to allow or disallow it; can't imagine anyone wouldn't want their work shared as widely as possible.
Thanks for the feedback! We've been watching cross-posting closely since the launch, and it's been so cool to see writers supporting each other.
After 15 years of being a devoted Twitter user I deactivated my profile last week and don't plan on returning. I don't know of Substack or related apps will completely replace that experience but right now I'm bearish on Twitter.
Have you checked out Mastodon or any of the other options?
Hi, yes, I'm signed up with Mastodon, just easing into it.
Me, too ... still waiting for a response from a server ... probably a bit busy. ;-)
How odd. Now that you have access to double the market audience, why would you deactivate your profile?
Two things:
1. I don't have any confidence in the new owner and what he's going to do with the site.
2. My observation over time was that I had basically converted everyone (Twitter users) I was going to convert to a subscriber so I didn't see that as a benefit.
Thanks. #2 I get but I'd love some color on #1 as I have no idea what anyone thinks Elon will do except STOP shadowbanning and censorship of non-Democrat talking points.
Hi, I spelled it out in some detail here, if you'd like the Too Long version: https://howaboutthis.substack.com/p/so-long-and-thanks-for-all-the-tweets
What made you decide to quit Twitter?
Lack of confidence in the new ownership and what they might do with the site.
And how is that different than the previous ownership and what they did with the site?
First, one of the things I love about free speech is it allows for people to identify themselves. Not sure what you think people who are into free speech are into, but I'm not into the use of the "n" word, but I am for people speaking about things I might find offensive because who am I to say what is right or wrong to say?
Also, there will be consequences. If I somehow stumble on a yelp review of someone's restaurant and there is a link on yelp to his twitter rant involving the n word, guess where I'm not going to eat that night?
Also, all I know about advertisers is that a huge one was Pfizer, and guess where a lot of censorship occurred in regards to the platform?
I just started on Substack after 2 years on wordpress + mailerlite. So amazing to feel the pain disappear.
Is there anything in the roadmap to support the referral program for free subscribers? Some kind of internal sparkloop features? It is the only missing piece to grow the upper funnel.
They juuuuuust debuted a referral program! https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/8946512015892-Does-Substack-have-a-referral-program-
It may also be worthwhile to turn on Substack Boost - https://on.substack.com/p/growth
Yeah I have to try this one!! but, is there anything like this in the free tier?
Hello! I am new to Substack and loving what it stands for and the opportunity it gives everyone. I was curious your thoughts on going paid - when should you if you should? What do you offer of value that makes a paid subscription worth it? Thanks!
I feel like you can go paid whenever you want if there aren't "extras." But if you have extras you'll want to have a subscriber base first. In other words: Is it worth sending one "paid subscriber only" post every week to only one person? Probably not. That's a lot of work for a very small audience. But if you don't plan on doing that, why not have one paid subscriber!
So you're saying try it out as a sort of "if you like this, you can support it" tool?
Or maybe lock something that isn't time consuming. Like commenting. Or you could add a paygate to the very end of a post, with some extra information beneath it?
I have recently added paid levels and am curious about others replies to thus as well. For me, I plan to be more interactive and reveal more behind the paywall and also to offer more directly educational content (I teach / coach writers, so would share more specific tips and tutorials to paid subscribers) How were you thinking of using it?
We were completely free until I had 100+ subscribers after a couple of months. I went back and forth about free/versus paid and finally decided on a few things: 1) We publish every day of the week with a designated topic for each day, including an OpEd on Mondays and the podcast episode on Saturdays. IMHO, all of our posts are our "best stuff!" LOL. 2) So I came up with the idea to stagger the paid only posts: T/Th one week and W/F the next week, etc. The OpEds and podcast episodes are always free, but free subscribers may miss articles on some of their "favorite days." I also just started turning all of the articles in the archive prior to a certain date to paid only. Free subscribers can see the archive articles only for the current month. 3) Starting in January, we will have a monthly AMA just for paid subscribers. I've had a few people who decided to become paid so that they can receive/read/listen to all of our articles and podcast episodes. (We have two separate podcasts on Substack.) Besides just supporting us financially because you love us (LOL), there are perks for being a paid subscriber.
I love this strategy- I‘m close to 200 free subscribers and am planning to add new features and content as well that’s paid only, maybe with a taster option for some of those in the future.
I think in a few more months, the archive paywall would be a good option too. Thanks for sharing!
You are quite welcome!
Hi Caroline. Lovely to see you on Substack. I love getting your your Footnotes newsletter. I haven't yet done your latest prompt in my journal (I'm the writer who...) but it is on my radar.
I really want to offer my best to everyone. So I was thinking of keeping my newsletter free and then add certain aspects paid such as all of the archive, maybe begin an off the cuff recording of what led me to write certain things, maybe a certain prompt that is only accessible through paid...hmm not sure what else!
My .02: Offer your best stuff for free. Don't offer "more" to paid subs; offer something "different."
That's a good point, Kevin. I am starting to consider going paid. I don't feel its' the right time yet, but the ideas being offered helps me see others' decision-making process. Since I do a podcast reading, that is also on Apple, it is required to be free there. So many considerations!
Like Kevin, I turned on "pay" Day 1 (Aug '21). Granted, my paid subs are not even close to double-digits, but it's there. As for bonus posts to paid subbies (I have about a dozen I've comped...considered on 'Stack as "paid," because they're recording artists/songwriters/record biz folk that I wanted to "reward"), I include exclusive stories from my behind-the-scenes of my days in the record biz and radio....shorter stories than I'd otherwise make FR&B posts out of.
I might also include a specially-selected short playlist, sneak peeks of upcoming articles (with occasional snippets), etc. NOW what I need to do is send an e-mail to all my subbies, letting the free ones know (like I just described here, with examples) what they're missing, hoping to get more paids on board! Go get 'em, Jonathan!
Set it up on Day 1. Can't win if you don't play. You might not get any for a while, but you never know...
I went paid right away but I don’t promote it. Just give people the option to sign up as a paid subscriber if they want.
Did you offer anything of value for paid subscribers or was this more of a donation with everything still accessible?
Well I started doing paid posts as early access pieces. It’s for the longer stuff that I write. I have some exclusive paid posts planned but don’t yet have enough to start posting them. I also offered people a chance to suggest content as well.
I did it after I got my first paid subscriber but they only lasted 6 months and now I have none. Now I’m just trying to encourage people to go paid with special offers. For instance, I’m in the middle of a series and I give people a discount for a year on those posts.
I'm debating when to go paid as well. I've liked how some writers use it as a "donation" essentially, so I'm leaning toward that option.
This post is probably worth a read through if you haven't yet! https://on.substack.com/p/free-vs-paid
I'm struggling with that too. Part of me wants to build my base and get them hooked before switching. Still building right now.
https://polymathicbeing.substack.com/
Hello everyone! I'm really enjoying connecting with my community through Chat, and I'm excited to see more features being rolled out.
I am having a bit of a problem with the notifications in Chat, however. I get a push notification for all comments in a chat on the home screen of my phone, but in the app itself, I only have notifications on the notifications tab for new comments - not replies. This has made it nearly impossible to keep up with people responding in the little sub threads, and I have to regularly go through every single one to make sure I've missed something. I'd love if it was possible to just have notifications from everything so I can easily tap into each new comment without having to look for them.
Thank you!
I have this exact same problem!!! @Bailey this is the notification issue I'm referring to!
oh interesting! Noting you'd want to see both comments and replies show up in your notifications tab
Thank you so much! It's super hard to keep track otherwise and I end up spending a lot of time scrolling through every breakout reply thread to make sure I haven't missed anything. The only way I don't miss stuff is if I respond as soon as I get the notification on my home screen, which I'd prefer not to do!
This week I launched a podcast as part of my Substack! I have no idea what I'm doing, what future episodes will be like, or what my marketing strategy will be. But it was super fun to learn and be new at something.
Hell ya
Oh snap dude I follow you. Great 'stack you have going on.
hell ya man, just sub'd to yours too.
Hey, guys! I started Casey's Catch four weeks ago and am loving this. I reached 100 subscribers 3 weeks in. Woo-hoo!
Just shouting out the fact that I really enjoy Substack as a vessel for poetry (both sending and receiving). It would be awesome to develop and highlight that community even more here. Thanks Substack team!
Anybody on this office hours writing/publishing poetry? I'd love to check it out!
I am sometimes inspired to write poetry, such as the one at the bottom of this article:
Movies To Help You Love Life: Ten Life-Affirming Films
https://moviewise.substack.com/p/movies-to-help-you-love-life
I also sometimes quote poets 🤗
I am excited to use cross-posts and mentions. There are so many Substacks I want to mention!
Great update, Substack team. 🙌🏽
I'm excited about cross posting. I generally right to a niche that enjoys history, so being able to share my fave substacks that way will be awesome. I hope to eventually migrate off of wordpress onto substack 100%
Week one of the newsletter being on Substack! Love it so far.
www.mondaypickmeup.com
Any feedback?
Hard to say Jen. You might want to check your link. It says the site cannot be found when I try it.
EDIT: Should be:
https://pickmeup.substack.com/
or
http://mondaypickmeup.com/ (without the www, forwards to the substack)
Welcome!
Welcome!
With the dumpster fire that's Twitter now, I'm working on building a Substack community even more, trying to foster discussion and connections.
One thing I've noticed is that replies to my emails don't show up as comments on the post itself. Is there a way to enable that for a publication?
Interesting idea. Do you think that your readers would maybe feel like they didn't want those replies to be public?
I can definitely see how some audiences for sensitive topics would be , absolutely. I don't think mine (and similar ones) would because they're about hobby discourse or industry discourse. It's so easy to read and reply, it could foster community without extra friction.
I know I use that feature a lot in Asana for work.
It's SO wonderful that Substack continues to deliver thoughtful products and services. THANK YOU!
🤗🤗🤗
There is a lot of potential in "Chat" and I wonder if a voice function can be added so that writers can meet in real time to actually have a conversation as is possible on Discord?
For example, I run a Discord for animation and comedy writers, and we meet to do table reads of our scripts, which is tremendously helpful. By the way, anyone here who is interested in screenwriting is welcome to join: https://discord.gg/6KbUKFP6
We've heard this feedback, and I really dig it. Will make sure the team hears us!
That would be so great Bailey!
♥️♥️♥️
I just had an idea for a future Substack feature... it would be great if more experienced writers could be given the chance to mentor newer writers... just a thought!
My posts tend to be longer and in sections. It would be great if the Editor had the capability of creating a "jump down" menu, i.e. instead of having to scroll to a particular section, you could create clickable links at the top of the post that would take you to a specific section below (and also links to take you back to the top). Anyone else feel this would be a good additional editing feature?
Great idea!
Chat: Is there an estimated date for when it will be available to use on our laptops? I am so unwilling to type for any length into my phone. Yes, I'm old.
And be able to edit easily! Hah.
Thank you, Jane. The first few chapters of the novel and all the essays are free.
Hi. I'm thinking of ways to entice more people to a paid subscription. I did some research a few weeks ago with my free subscribers and one of the ideas they liked was doing author interviews on a podcast. I'm sure it would be easy to find people to interview, but if these interviews are behind a paywall, then the guest and their network won't be able to access it, which is a loss of publicity opportunity.
Does anyone else do a similar thing and how do you handle that?
@substack - how about a facility where you could send out a special link to a paid post that allows the person to bypass the paywall? Medium does this with the friend link so that you can still distribute the content to people who aren't members.
I haven’t tried it but you can add a guest to a podcast. Perhaps the invite bypasses the paywall and makes them a co-host?
Hi 👋, this is Livio.
I have +2.5k followers on Linkedin, but it is revealing quite tough to turn them into (free) subscribers. People like, but it is difficult to get new reader emails.
What are the recommended strategies to gain subscribers from Linkedin?
My publication is Think Twice, It's All Right.
I write for fellow overthinkers, articles on decision making, personal & career growth in conditions of high uncertainty.
https://livmkk.substack.com/
Tobias, in another comment mentioned that if you put an external link in a post on LinkedIn, then LI (who doesn't want people leaving their platform) doesn't show the post to many people. He suggested that you make the post, but put the external link in a comment.
Every week, I go to LI and make a short announcement about my new fiction post. Next time I'm going to try what Tobias suggested and see if it makes a difference.
Hope that helps. I'm no social media expert that's for sure.
I've heard that about LinkedIn too, and I've had both experiences. One of my friends who's on LinkedIn and on Substack writes a post and then tells people to check the comments for the "link-y goodness." I love that fun term and told her I was going to steal (I mean, borrow) it!
Thanks. Who's Tobias? Can you link to the comment? Or if you give me the full name I can tag him here (so we also test the new feature).
I'm sorry Livio. It's almost impossible for me to find a comment again. When I click on the notification (like yours), it takes me to your comment for instance, but out of context with the previous comments. But here's his stack. Hope that helps.
https://www.selfmasterysunday.com/
I have more than 7,000 followers on LinkedIn, and my left-leaning substack is completely different from my primary business of a branding and marketing academy for creative professionals (https://teamowens313gcc.com). There are some people on LinkedIn who get their panties in a bunch if you post anything they think is not "professional" or "work/business related" enough for them, but I don't care. I work for myself and they're not the boss of me! LOL. I immediately post my daily articles on my LinkedIn and those who don't like them can keep scrolling. I have gotten good responses from many and about 15 free and paid subscribers from LinkedIn since I started a few months ago!
Any particular strategy that has worked best while sharing articles on Linkedin? Do you do also other post types, a part from posting your articles?
Oh, if anyone has ideas for this, I would love to hear them. I need help getting my LinkedIn followers here. I really don't want to keep posting there and getting no traction.
Hey fellow authors, it took a while, but I managed to take the time to (partially) reply to my own question.
I have analysed some of my past LinkedIn posts.
Put together a comparison table.
Developed some templates.
In short, my findings are:
- The post composition matters. Most posts above 1.5k impressions follow certain writing rules, being personal, short, provide a core lesson and invite to click to know more (= use a checklist!)
- It is better to add the article link in the post body (I have not found any evidence of the "link in the comment" rule)
- There is a strong correlation between likes, impressions and time. Get people to like your post quickly after they're out (should we do a group with authors?)
- Similar posts produce less impressions over time (= vary the posts!)
I am sharing with you the analysis and the detailed recommendations.
With actionable advice and downloadable checklists.
Check it out! --> https://livmkk.substack.com/p/9-linkedin-posts-gone-wrong-lessons
Would be happy to read your comments!
I'm in the same boat on LinkedIn. I don't get the feeling it is active at all, or if it is, people don't scroll very far down.
https://polymathicbeing.substack.com/
Which strategies are you trying out?
I’ve just shared my first newsletter and am excited to grow my Substack, but what do you do when you’re at a loss for ideas? I ideally want to write a weekly newsletter, and have plenty of themes to explore for now... but, as always, am worried about writer’s block!
I can see how cross posting would be a good antidote for that, but curious to know if anyone has any other thoughts?
I think it's worth having a file or notebook you constantly add to as you think of things. At least that's the way I manage to come up with subjects for my Friday 5!
A couple ideas that have worked for me:
- I keep a content schedule in a spreadsheet so I can see everything laid out. You can also use this to plug in content ideas around dates, like holidays or events or special memories.
- Pace yourself. I'll write a few meaty posts, then take a break and talk about my favorite book or react to a move I saw. You don't have to go balls to the wall each week.
- Take a chance and write about something you think is mundane and see what happens, especially if you have a distinct point of view on it. You might think about the topic all the time and assume it's ordinary, but your "take" on it could be a new perspective for someone else to consider.
I love this! I agree, there are some posts I go all out for, and then on weeks where I feel tired, I'll write a shorter but still genuine post. I think people appreciate the variety :)
Truly though, I probably have about 50 ideas for posts in my phone, but week to week I feel into the flavor of the season and pull on that. For example, I might hear something on a podcast that might inspire me, or feel into the energy of the week and just "know" what to write about. I use my intuition a lot in the creation process.
Similar to what others have said, keeping a list is a great idea. I also recommend reading work that inspires you / covers similar topics to yours. This can lead to cross promoting when you 'tag' the author because they'll receive a notification. Almost commenting on others work as way to reach a wider audience and engage in conversation can help kick start a few ideas. Congrats on launching and welcome! x
I agree, Amy, reading other publications is one of the best ways of staying creative.
In my experience, once you start rolling, the ideas appear everywhere. Reader comments/questions/feedback are a goldmine for that.
I'm more than positive that reader feedback will lead to new topics. Congrats on starting out!
I teach this to my business coaching clients: keep an editorial calendar of future posts. I use an app, but you can do it just as easily in your online calendar. Write down an idea for a date (the date can easily be changed) and in the "notes" section of your calendar event, leave links to the research you've found for the topic. Before you know it, you'll have weeks and months of potential topics scheduled!
I started https://beyondbelief.substack.com/ in June and https://ronarobertsdishes.substack.com/ in August. At first I tried a content calendar but have ended up using and loving a google sheet, with quite a few separate pages for different types of content. I simply copy and drop URLs that catch my attention or spark a new notion, or I add notes when I have ideas for which I haven't done research yet. I'm not highly systematic (yet). I already know, though, that it is important to note when I've used an idea. I convert the font to green when I've put it in a post. I wish for more of an indexing and search function inside the Substacks, and hope that's coming.
I agree with what others have said about keeping track of ideas! I just started using Notion, and I've been using it to write down ideas I have for things to post. I don't use all of them, but the act of writing one thing down often leads to another idea.
Congrats on launching your substack Amy! I agree with Fiona & Astrid on making sure you have a place to add ideas when they come to you to pull from later. I also think just having the consistency of knowing when you're going to post every week encourages the generation of ideas and can get you out of writer's block. I only work well with a deadline so knowing that I'm going to send out my newsletter (Cheers!:https://cheerskelley.substack.com/) every Friday makes me think about it throughout the week. I'm sure once you get into a rhythm the ideas will flow. Best of luck!
I really like the idea of shaking up your format regularly! (and the file of ideas too.) I can start to think I need to write 2-3k words each time, and then I get panicky when the next essay just doesn't flow like the last one did. Switching up to a different format can loosen all that tension and open up possibilities!
Yup - I just posted a recipe today rather than writing a post from scratch. Not always time to do that
I just subscribed to your Substack! My Substack is different and doesn't really mesh with my business, but I look forward to your articles. My company is a branding and marketing academy for independent writers and creative professionals. Check it out if you like: https://teamowens313gcc.com. Thanks!
Thanks for doing this!
How do I get my first set of subscribers? I have a limited personal network for people who would be interested in my newsletter, so I guess my question is, how do I get the word out in the beginning without having a lot of personal contacts?
You're in the right place, Kate! I chose not to share my substack with many personal contacts at first. I resisted sharing on social media. My growth has been slow, but it's been organic--which is exactly what I wanted.
So how did I grow? I show up in places like this for discussion, I follow lots of other substacks and post meaningful comments, and I do cross-promoting (for an example, this week I was a guest author for Hello Universe (https://hellouniverse.substack.com/p/a-ticket-made-of-gold) and Punit will be a guest author on my upcoming Saturday post. When you engage with other newsletters through comments/discussion, people will naturally want to know more about you if you say something that resonates with them. They'll check out your profile and maybe a post or two. If they like what they read, they'll subscribe.
Those are great tips Holly, thanks for sharing. I'm in a similar boat to Kate! I was wondering how you started the conversation for cross-promoting. I'm interested in doing cross-promoting for a cooking / recipe sharing newsletter I run but I'm not sure where to start! I'd love to work with a few people - Any tips on how you did it?
Punit reached out to me directly and asked if I'd be interested in collaborating--and I said yes!
Suggestion: if someone comments that they plan to make one of your recipes or if they tell you they did, ask if they'd be willing to do a guest post on how it went.
Hello Universe (and Punit) are awesome!
Here's what I did my first year if it helps! https://ellegriffin.substack.com/p/full-send-summer
There's places where you can announce your publication. Here's a list of a few of them. I imagine there's more.
https://www.growgetters.co/post/newsletter-directory
I've received a few subscribers via Inbox Reads. Another is The Sample. I've received some via them, also.
https://thesample.ai/
Thank you for the resources!
Is this free?
Hi Kerry. Yes, these are all free. Some have a paid option if you want more exposure, but so far I haven't tried that. Just the basic free. The Sample has been the best so far.
Edit: I should add that I haven't tried all on the growgetters page. Some might not be free.
These posts are worth a read! https://on.substack.com/p/getting-your-first-100-signups & https://on.substack.com/p/tell-us-how-did-you-get-your-first/comments
A lot is doing what you are doing here. Sharing and engaging.
https://polymathicbeing.substack.com/
Yes, I have this same question, Kate! Thanks for asking it.
Hi Kate, you could try signing up for The Sample (https://thesample.ai/?ref=850d) of a bunch of other newsletter diectories (see my comment above for more). That way you can get your NL in front of new people for free.
Reading this made me tired, lol. I'm trying to find the most low-effort, low-energy way to promote and distribute right now. I just don't have time to do it all...
Anybody else here write about movies (or TV?). I just recently moved my newsletter What's in Theaters + (you can guess what it's about) that I've been writing weekly for five (!) years. Curious to see if there's any others here writing about similar topics. Would love to check 'em out.
I write about movies:
Highly Recommended Films To Watch And Learn From
https://moviewise.substack.com/s/movie-lists
I don't on my personal Substack but I do have a podcast with a teacher friend and we talk about pop culture through an English teacher lens: litthinkpodcast.substack.com
Here are some great movie/TV Substacks to check out:
- http://thereveal.substack.com/
- https://episodicmedium.substack.com/
- https://hunterharris.substack.com/
Not exclusively, but I include movies and TV in several of my emails.
My most read movie-related email: https://briandoleary.substack.com/p/why-the-beatles-owe-their-success
My most read TV-related emails: https://briandoleary.substack.com/p/he-stood-out-like-a-slow-curve-in
https://briandoleary.substack.com/p/out-from-under-mcconaugheys-shadow
TV & Music: https://briandoleary.substack.com/p/an-hours-worth-of-work-can-win-you
Is there a way to patch in a guess on a chat so that it's a bit like doing a talk show or podcast?
This is a great idea!
There isn't a way to do this right now unless you add them as a contributor to your publication, but I love where your head is at.
Thanks for that - just knowing you can add them as a contributor is great.
Love this platform as an outlet for my new book that I'm serializing once a week. But man, I have to say that it's exhausting constantly begging people to subscribe. I feel like a carnival barker or a dude spinning a sign on the corner of an intersection. I just broke 40 subscribers, which is nice I guess but far from where I want to be.
Much appreciation to the Substack team for constantly trying new features!
You and me both. I just did a FB blitz where I sent messages to 50+ people and begged them to subscribe. I gained at least 20 more when I did that. As much as I hate asking people personally, it paid off.
20 out of 50 is great! I blasted a message out to LinkedIn and got a too sad to report amount of subscribers from my over 500 connections. Still beats querying an agent though :-)
I've wondered if I should pick select people on my LinkedIn and ask them to subscribe.
I have never done such a thing.
But I was given a good advice on the topic, recently.
Instead of asking "Would you like to subscribe?".
A good ask is "Do you know anyone who might be interested in this?"
Removes the pressure and leave open a space for the other person to think!
Happy to know how it goes.
Oh...that's a good way to put it! Yeah, that's what I should be doing with my LinkedIn messages. Ok, so that's the next push.
I just broke 40 myself. :) I've signed up for several distribution / announcement type services (free) and gotten a few through those channels. Also, from within Substack itself. Slow and steady.
Cool! I dig your writing style, just subscribed.
Thank you Bill!
As a creative solopreneur who coaches and teaches other creative professionals, I say that we have to get past being "embarrassed" to ask for support for our work. As a marketing professional, I also teach people that it takes anywhere between 5-7 "touches" (notifications/requests) before people take action. If you value your publication, show others how valuable it can be to them. Ask people to subscribe every single time and don't be shy! It also helps to have an excellent "About Page" that explains why people should subscribe. That page has its own URL and you can use that for promotion.
Great points, Pamela! I do need to work on my About Page and any other touch points, and be less ashamed of asking for subs!
I want to know how to promote to readers beyond social media... is that crazy hahaha 😅 I am 47 and spend as little time as possible on social media. I will not spend my days with my phone stuck in my hand. I work full time, have a dog and spend tons of time outside in nature living. I think I have all of MAAAYBE 150 friends on FB and only created a Twitter account because I starting writing on SubStack what not even 2 weeks ago.... the struggle seems a bit real in my case but I’m here for the long haul. I’m going to keep writing that’s what I love to do and anxiety is a thing for so many ppl.
But how do I get more ppl interested in reading? Maybe I should follow every “writer” based group on FB? Has anyone accomplished much in doing that?
I largely avoid social media too, it was bad for my mental health. I've found new readers by connecting with other writers, especially those writing about similar topics to me, but all writers really. For a start, you can subscribe to other Substack writers who are writing about similar topics, and read and comment on their articles.
TY! I need to set aside the time to do that I have so much going on and am starting a new job Monday. My last job really. I’ll never leave lol 😁 but I will absolutely do that I’m off for the next few days before I start!
Try The Sample. If you sign up your newsletter it sends your posts to its community and encourages them to sign up. Usually you get 5-10 subscribers from this.
Here is my link to this.
https://thesample.ai/?ref=99cc
TY I signed up! I appreciate your help!
How are ppl finding the video posts? I really love using it! I get to share my illustration process and subscribers have been enjoying it and I'd like to share more things this way. I'm curious, how do other people use the video feature?
I hadn't even thought about using the video component!
Its super easy to use! Highly recommend