1207 Comments

Hey writers! Our team is here for the next hour and will be making our way through the comments in the thread.

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What’s been a meaningful growth moment for your publication?

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Thanks for joining us today for a late Office Hours! Great to see some new faces, and regulars, in the conversations. Our team is signing off for today.

We’ll be back for Office Hours again next week at the usual time, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. PST / 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. EST.

See you then,

Katie, Bailey, Hannah, and Alex

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Hello all, and happy Office Hours! Here’s a little bit of encouragement from one small newsletter to all of you... Whenever you feel like the world and its problems are too big, too overwhelming, and too unfixable for you and your writing, just think of it this way: you may not be able to save the whole world, but you genuinely have no idea how many people are moved, supported, inspired, and encouraged by your work. Someone out there needs what only YOU can give! So don't focus on the world and its weight. Invite the curious and wonder-filled into your little corner of it. Just keep going, keep writing to build a unique community of inspired readers! And most importantly: DON'T GIVE UP! 🌿

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Hi Substack team! Really appreciate all the new features! Great work! During a recent Fictionistas meeting, one issue that got A LOT of attention was adding some text editing capabilities like the ability to center text, or underline. Are features like that doable? I know fiction writers would be thrilled to see some stuff like that.

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Love the gallery feature with all my heart and soul. Staying on the fence on chat and the app, because I don't see their impact on conversions yet, and those are necessary for sustainability-- plus Substack's stated mission was to get writers paid. Please, focus on promoting good work as much as or more than the famous and the immediately popular. Long term, that's where Substack's foundation can really pay off. So , so many experienced journalists out there, filling in and fixing our broken media landscape. Experienced academics (no, not just me!) offering education in genuine critical thinking that's missing from schools and, increasingly, under threat in colleges. We're all offering work that's of genuine value, not just opinions, get rich quick schemes, or entertainment, and there is demand.

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Firstly, can I just say a big thank you to everyone in this community. Over the past few months I've tried Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook to promote my Newsletter but nowhere have I experienced the warmth and support that you guys give here.

It really feel like its something special. So thank you for making this a positive place to hang out.

Ive had a tough week with some bad news and this group has been so uplifting. I ended up abandoning my planned post for this week and instead ive posted one about gratitude and appreciating what's around you.

https://neverstoplearning1.substack.com/p/a-wander-through-london-at-christmas

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Hello my fellow fiction writers! We're a growing base of Substack's audience, and we've built a community that is now 1,100 strong called Fictionistas. We write articles, host zoom calls and are discussing more community programs for fiction writers. Got questions about fiction on Substack? Go check us out and be sure to subscribe:

https://fictionistas.substack.com

If you're a part of the community drop a like and comment here so others know about about our merry band of fiction misfits!

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Hi everyone ~~ can anyone tell me if there is something that works like blog tags; a way to categorize posts so that a reader can easily find all the posts on a certain subject.

The way my death awareness 'stack works, I have a handful of content types that cycle thru; so one week I post an interview, the next I might post a recommendation, the next might be an essay.

I'd like readers to be able to easily see all the interview posts, all the recommendation posts, all the essay posts, etc.

Thanks!

https://grieversball.substack.com/

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I have less of a question and more of an observation, for other writers. I've noticed I honestly get more growth participating in the comments sections of the newsletters I read, than by promoting myself through posting on social media. Other people read my comments and then I will often get 1-4 new subscribers.

DAE find that to be a better marker of growth, or do other writers find better growth by using social media, or a combination of tactics? Just curious 🧐

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So many items for this week's Office Hours.

1) I am so excited that Chat is now available for Android! I've tried it for both of my newsletters and I can see all of the possibilities, especially as we talk about moving to paid for one of them.

2) I figured out how to stop getting email notifications and just use the App. The app is fantastic and has taken away my need to be on social media for networking purposes. Seriously, I love being able to easily read each of the newsletters that I subscribe to and I have a feeling that I'm going to be able to more easily read them as a result.

3) I'm appreciating the mentions feature and hoping to use that more and also hoping that gives me the traction that I need. Trying to figure out how to get onto more recommendation lists.

4) Finally crossed 200 subscribers, but still working on growing to even more. Also, I've joined Post beta and I think it has a real potential for growing my audience in both places since I got in early. I have high hopes for its potential.

And I'm sure that I'll have questions that I've thought about later in the Office Hours 😊

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This isn’t a technical question, but I’m wondering how some of you plan out your newsletters. Do you know what you’re going to write for the next couple of posts, do you have “seasons” or themes you cycle through? How do you maintain a routine? I’m going through a bit of a slump where I stopped writing because I didn’t have any ideas, and now I’d like to get back into a routine with it.

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Yeah! I am the first! People, instead of asking new questions, I can help to reply some.

In particular, I am using heavily LinkedIn 🗣👤.

Trying to leverage my +2.5k followers.

And I can also offer some insights these channels which are working for me:

1. Recommendations. I have partnerships with a few authors. The key is to look for complementarities, and present a good case on why a partnership makes sense

2. Substack network. Crucial to keep following authors I like, comment and interact, taking advantage of occasions like these Office Hours. We need to help each others

3. Linkedin. I have analysed 9+ past posts and identified some actionable lesson. And included some templates on how to write a good post. Check it out —> https://livmkk.substack.com/p/9-linkedin-posts-gone-wrong-lessons

4. Directories. Try out The Sample, if you have not already (5 min to setup). They send your newsletter to thousands of users and get you new subscribers (especially in the first 2 weeks). This is my tracking link. If you are so kind to use it, we’ll both get some subscribers —> https://thesample.ai/?ref=3d11

Please comment on any of these items. I’ll do my best to reply.

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Hi Substack team! I'd love to know if there's a way to re-send old newsletters without them appearing as a brand new post. I have grown my audience a lot since I first started sending newsletters and would love for my new subscribers to read older posts. Thanks!

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Love that we're able to link and tag other writers now. I know that's something that I and other Substackers have been asking for. Thanks for listening and implementing!

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Curious if anyone has any insight into how the most popular posts get ranked on your homepage -- it doesn’t seem to be based on views or likes. Does anyone know?

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Surprisingly nice to read through this thread! I like the feeling of coming across the hardcore who are here week after week, post a lot, and consistently promote their work. It's really a nice energy. A few commonalities I'm noticing:

- The writing seems to take care of the growth. It's slow at first, but as people write consistently good stuff, the free subscribers come.

- There's really a virtuous circle of visiting other people's post/writing comments on those posts and in that way attracting to your own. The nicer you are, the better Substack works for you!

- Everybody struggles to turn their free subscribers paid.

- Everybody struggles to get Substack's spotlighting types to pay attention to them.

- There are some nice new features that help to cross-promote (recommendations, mentions) but that's an area for improvement. I'd be very curious to see if people start trying to 'bundle' Substacks together - creating subscription plans, etc, based on a package of like-minded work.

Best,

Sam

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Hi all! I have been writing for a year consistently and it has taught me a lot. I have experimented with my writing styles, visuals, and have become a more confident writer overall. It has been WORK, but well worth it! I am planning a refresh in the new year to be more experiential, include more voices, and add more media.

QUESTION: Is there a way to create different color story blocks within a newsletter? It am looking for more visual ways to demarcate different sections of my newsletter.

ASK: What other newsletters have found ways to create a rich experience that goes beyond text, static photos, and videos? Looking for inspiration!

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Hey, everyone. So, I don't know if a lot of people are aware of this but it is possible to actually make a Table of Contents in Substack. This can be very useful, imo, if you write long articles with multiple sections and want to help viewers navigate your posts. I haven't seen any real discussion about this online so I've decided to go and make a guide. (Please note that this might only work for the online version of the article though.)

You can read it here: https://textualvariations.substack.com/p/toc-in-substack

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Hello Substack!! I've really come to look forward to these Thursday gatherings. What a gift to have so many talented and imaginative people in one place, where I can discover new writers and bump into friends.

I have a simple question related to publishing: at times, I've noticed that when I try to edit a post's Subtitle after publication (when the email's already been sent out), Substack won't let me do so -- or at least, it won't change/update the subtitle on my home page. Is this a bug or am I beholden to my typos and word choices forever and ever?

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hit 100 subscribers and Substack sent me a nice e-mail. Come join the social science fun at Homo Imaginari!

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When is it time to take a break? Been writin for two years straight almost. interested to see how other writers schedule their breaks and how often.

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I love the new and improved features that get rolled out - they're so exciting to use and it always feel like Substack is looking for new ways to benefit its app users and writers. I've been on here for a few months now and even though I repost my stories on my socials and encourage discussion, I find it hard to get people to interact and subscribe? Any tips?

I've been trying to increase my engagement with other writers on their posts to increase my own profile visibility and develop a network, but I'm struggling!

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Hello fellow writers. I joined today's session a bit late but glad to see so many people back in the comment threads again. I wrote a post this week talking about transformation through curiosity, referencing the classic comic book trope of saying a magic word to receive amazing powers (or achieve your publishing goals, whatever works...) and how it doesn't really happen that way. I wrote this post for me but maybe you'll also find it useful: https://howaboutthis.substack.com/p/curious-realizer-transformation-through

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Hey all! My Substack is growing based on so many great recommendations here! Thanks to everyone who has shared! Two features that I think have great potential:

1. Cross-posting and mentions. (I'm always looking to help build networks so if you see something in mine, please let me know!)

2. Voice-overs to RSS. I'm finding some of my audience is pressed for reading time, but love my recordings of the essays. (Substack, please connect download data from voice-overs to the podcast information!!)

What have you found helpful?

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Hi Substack community! I just published a very personal newsletter (most of my writing is very personal but this one felt more vulnerable than usual) and I'm grappling a bit with the idea of it just being OUT THERE. I came here from tinyletter, where you had the ability to restrict your letters to only subscribers. I haven't yet turned on paid letters (I'm working up to it). I'm wondering if any of you have struggled a bit with that tension between wanting people to read your work and also cringing at the rawness of being seen and vulnerable on the internet?

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Who chooses the content/writers to feature on Substack reads? (What team member or team)

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Hi there! I was wondering if anybody has suggestions for how to grow your audience when you publish under a pseudonym? This makes it difficult because telling everybody you know IRL about it kind of defeats the purpose.

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I’d like to hear how people are using Chat. Is it helping with engagement and/or bumping up your subscriptions? I don’t want to overwhelm my audience, but if it yields results, I’m all ears.

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Hi Substack team! Have you thought about giving readers the option to highlight stretches of text in our posts that resonate with them à la Medium? In the last month, some readers have sent me (via DM or replying to the email) sentences from my posts that they loved and I feel this is what they're trying to achieve...

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I started on substack on the 22nd November and I’ve been blown away with people subscribing and interacting with me! I need to explore to see if I can collaborate with others.

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Hi! Newbie here with just under a month of experience on Substack but really, really loving it so far. Besides emailing friends and posting on all the social channels (I have a small-ish following there), have other writers found genuine ways to promote their newsletter? I've heard people mention a lot of their subscribers come from other writers on the platform, how are you making connections that feel authentic and not just like the old days of blogrolls and "I'll post yours if you post mine?"

Can anyone also share from their experience what they mean by "slow" growth? After launching I had an inital 20 subscribers with just one or two since then in the last few weeks. I can tell more people are "viewing" my posts than are subscribed but somehow they aren't converting to subscribers.

Thanks for your help, I love the supportive community here!

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Is it the case that Substack promotes paid newsletters more than free ones?

Is this an argument for going paid earlier on in your growth plan?

My plan A was to be FREE for a year or so and then look at possibly doing paid then but if im not going to get the visibility without going paid then that plan might not work. Any thoughts or help appreciated.

Also - any tips on improving my Substack would be very very much appreciated.

https://neverstoplearning1.substack.com/

Thanks

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Proposal for Paid Subscribers: Subscription Credits.

Problem: The idea of paying $5/month across a bunch of good authors holds people back, especially if they just want to read one or two articles of interest.

Solution: Offer a credit system where $1 = 1 credit. An essay might be 1 credit, a month subscription 3 credits. This means if I have 20 credits, I could have 4 subscriptions and the ability to read 8 other essays and potentially convert to memberships. This would promote more engagement in the Substack network and allow easier exploration of interesting authors while allowing easier monetization for authors.

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I'm LOVING the new gallery feature for images - thanks, Substack!

I was sad not to find last week's scheduled shout-out thread, so forgive me for doing a couple of shouts right here and now. I subscribe to some fabulous Stacks and I learn so much from so many people. So a shout out to SUBSTACK for improving my world.

A shout out to Terry Freedman from 'Eclecticism: Reflections on literature and life’! I really enjoy Terry’s writing - his recent examination of what writers are paid for their work was fascinating, particularly his viewpoint on why it’s sometimes okay not to get the going rate. Do check it out! https://terryfreedman.substack.com

Right now my fellow countryman Terry and I are halfway through a six-letter series of correspondence in which we’re exploring some of the manifold things that wind up us British - we’re having great fun with our Substack letters!

A shout out to N. M. Scuri from ‘About Those Commas’! Nancy shares her writing experience and supportive advice in just the kind of newsletter I love to read! An editor, she writes from the heart about both life and writing, and really knows her stuff! https://nancyscuri.substack.com

A shout out to Helen Redfern of ‘The Red Fern’! Helen’s gentle and supportive posts reassure new writers that they’re not alone on their journey, and provide inspiration alongside all sorts of advice - I know I’m in safe hands! She offers regular newsletters, bite-sized courses and podcasts right here on Substack, as well as absolutely delightful videos for writers and readers alike over on YouTube. https://helenredfern.substack.com

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Before I forget: More membership tiers, please, asap, with room to add thank you gifts with pictures.

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Happy Thursday! I've now reached 161 subs. 2 signed up. I'm using the Substack Chat but I'm concerned that my readers either aren't paying attention to my posts that talk about them or they just don't have the time to download the app to start chatting. I don't want to give up on it. I tweeted out all my threads recently to get the Twitter traffic. And I didn't know that a section or a link to the Substack Chat appears on the navigation bar of the newsletter. That's cool.

So I'll ask the community: are there any wrestling fans or used to be wrestling fans? My passion is probably the smallest niche on the platform.

And another question: For six months, can the decent to smaller sized newsletters like mine and others get front page on discovery? I was scrolling through the sports tab and it showed the bigger, popular ones, and one day I'd love/like to see my publication up there. I don't like to chase the numbers but Substack has unique smaller voices and a reader browsing may like what they see and sign up. It wouldn't hurt to try. Networking and boosting the community all round can help balance the 'badge' thing since all our audiences are different and we shouldn't be chasing numbers.

Thanks.

P.S.: if anyone wants to follow my wrestling journey: https://marieshadows.substack.com

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I am a school principal and I write about education, specifically K-12 literacy for leaders and teachers.

I am considering opening up paid subscriptions to crowdsource funds to help pay for graduate school. (I have 1900 free subscribers, plus 10K+ followers on Twitter.) I want to develop my skills in action/classroom research to support teachers and leaders in:

• engaging in self-directed professional learning,

• validate their work, and

• write about their professional journey to offer better narratives about education.

Up until now I have been hesitant to simply ask for money. But if readers know that it's going toward helping with tuition and improving the opportunities for all members of a true professional community, I hope this "offer" is motivating enough for others to contribute.

I guess no question here...just putting this idea out there if anyone has insights or perspectives I may not have considered.

Thanks in advance, -Matt

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So grateful for the Substack community! Getting to write weekly is such a gift. Seeing subscriptions come in and realizing I'm legit getting paid to write is wild. Just wanted to say this platform is exactly what I've needed and I'm grateful!

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I totally forgot about Office Hours today because I didn't get an email (same thing happened last week). But better late than never, right? :)

For me, meaningful growth is seeing my subscriber lists for each Substack grow without having to constantly promote them, and seeing regular engagement when I post a new piece. It's a nice feeling to know that people are reading my content and enjoying it.

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I'm struggling to balance wanting my writing to gain more of an audience and feeling really exposed to have my family and friends read it. How to I stay honest when people I know will be reading?

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There are a lot of questions in here about how to grow your subscribers. I've tried social media but the best results are from reaching out and engaging in comments and chats.

Recommendations work really well. Please reach out if you would like to cross recommend.

Check out my substack to see if it would work well with yours. Thanks!

https://neverstoplearning1.substack.com/

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Substack I am still getting a lot of new subscribers but having trouble converting them to paid, any advice would be appreciated.

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Would my Substack be the appropriate place to post a short story that I’ve written and hope to publish elsewhere?

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Hi there! Thank you for the fabulous product - it's been core to our business.

I run a Substack newsletter and am wondering how to create a "homepage" that looks like a news site for my newsletter. Currently my home page looks like an "archives" list of editions.

Homepage Example: https://storydao.substack.com/

Archives List: https://themetaversalist.substack.com/

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I missed a couple, but thank you for accommodating different time zones. That's really great.

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I have to go now, just wanted to thank all of you for the helpful suggestions and great content you’ve shared here. Have a great day, keep writing, and trust that kindred spirits will find and appreciate your words!

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Hello fellow writers. I’m glad this space exists where we get to hang around other people crazy enough to publish their thoughts on the big bad web. I published a deeply personal post this week about dealing with golden handcuffs and eventually leaving a high-paying job to “figure life out, whatever that means”. I hope this is useful to someone here: https://www.tobiwrites.com/p/unshackling-myself-from-golden-handcuffs

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Believe in what you write, it's been great reading the comments this week. I've not yet been on Substack a year but I'm happy with how my sites are progressing. Although I would love to increase my paid subscribers I understand it's not an overnight thing and I've been really pleased to see the total subscriber list rising weekly, a sign I'm on the track.

Have a goal, have targets, beat them and set another one, it's fun to do but don't put too much pressure on yourself, especially going paid, it's a tough time asking people to part with cash.

I'm getting more structure to my sites and that seems to be having a good effect too, but you need to do it however it works for you and how it attracts your readers.

You can find me at www.footballwriting.co.uk and trevorknell.substack.com

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I'm wondering if I should update my fee structure to simply paywall my archive. Some of my older posts have thousands and thousands of views, which means that folks are finding my Substack through Google, I think. Anyone who's doing this care to share how they made the decision to use this system? Thanks so much!

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