1312 Comments

To help organize the conversation, please use one of the following emojis when you start a new comment.

🧠 - when sharing strategy or advice for fellow writers

✏️ - when asking questions or seeking feedback from fellow writers

🟧 - when asking a question you hope the Substack team can help answer

Use your emoji keyboard or simply copy and paste the emoji at the beginning of your comment.

Expand full comment

✏️ My fellow Substack writers!

I am looking for guest writers to feature on The Books That Made Us, a community of bibliophiles and book lovers.

Every post is written by a different guest writer who discusses a β€˜foundational book’. A book that you read and reread and have thought about ever since. A book that shaped who you are today. A book that made you.

In 3 weeks since launch we have already garnered over 400 subscribers (and a 70% open rate) so it’s a great opportunity to get your writing in front of more eyeballs!

Details about how to write for us here:

https://booksthatmadeus.substack.com/p/write-for-us

Expand full comment

I will probably submit something :)

Expand full comment

This sounds great! I'd love to submit a guest post. Thanks.

Expand full comment

Please do!

Expand full comment

I just did, though I'm not sure if the form submitted. It said it couldn't save my draft.

Expand full comment

Love this! Will definitely submit!

Expand full comment

Threads refer to the smallest sequence of programmed instructions

Expand full comment

This is such a cool idea! It would be great to collaborate!

Expand full comment

What thrilling idea! Oh I have a book, a reason and entertaining angle. I have book marked the entry form and will do so next week. Thank. you so much Tim in Wiltshire.

Expand full comment

I've just seen this - absolutely putting something forward for this!

Expand full comment

The newsletter, "moviewise: Life Lessons From Movies" likewise has Guest Writer opportunities to discuss a "foundational movie" that provided a meaningful life lesson.

You can learn more about it here:

https://moviewise.substack.com/p/be-our-guest

Expand full comment

Hi M.E. Rothwell. I would love to do this. Will follow link. It's my first day on Substack so not sure what I'm doing here. Please forgive me if I get things wrong.

Expand full comment
Comment deleted
Expand full comment

Hi Edoardo, I’d very much welcome a pitch from you, but the only rule is you can’t write about a book that you yourself wrote. It has to be a book that you read and then changed your life somewhat. See the guidance for the rest of the details!

Expand full comment

Hi, Katie. Just posted this in the thread by mistake when I meant to reply to you: 🟧 - Good morning, Katie. Were you aware that we were greeted with a "potential phishing site" warning when we tried to login to Substack today? xo

Expand full comment

Hi Sandra, sorry about the inconvenience this morning. The message was an error and is now resolved.

Expand full comment

Thanks so much, Katie! xo

Expand full comment

Hey Katie, I’ve been scrolling through this thread to see if there’s been an answer to what’s going on with everyone’s subscriber lists suddenly being available on their profiles, but I can’t. Can you speak to what’s going on there? And if there’s a way we can turn it off?

I refer to going to someone’s profile page and there now being a 10+, 100’s, 1000’s subscriber count, which if clicked leads to a list of said persons paid and unpaid subscribers. There seems to be no way to turn this off. And it seems pretty off-brand of Substack to have rolled that out without giving a heads up or an option to turn that off? Thanks so much for your help

Expand full comment

Are you on phone or computer? I did not get warning via phone. Hi Sandra. ❀️

Expand full comment

Hello, "CK." I'd enjoy, sharing/critiquing "humorist writing" via our respective substack accounts. My "Afterthoughts" portal can be found at philchurch.substack.com. My writing is mostly personal essays, both humous and more reflective. Will check out "Aging Gratefully" and follow up soonish. Samples of my "aging" humor: "Marriage: Assisted Living by Another Name", "Tempest in a Communion Cup" and "All Booked Up," among others now posted and archived on AFTERTHOUGHTS. Phillipechurch@gmail.com

Expand full comment

Thx for reaching out! I will check out your stack as well. I’m always looking for fellow humorists to share, collaborate, etc.

Expand full comment

Hi, Carissa! Office computer. Incognito window. A few have mentioned it here and on Notes. I scoobied in via an email comment link to Start Writing then was asked to log in. That didn't have the warning, but it did from the main page. xo

Expand full comment

Yes I have the same problem with my account The Money Squirrel. Has there been some kind of hacking attack?

Expand full comment

🟧 When I tried to use the Substack app for travel I had a really hard time. I only wanted to bring an iPhone, and I could write my text HOWEVER trying to put links or format quotes was darned near impossible. Photos were a pain to place as well. Captions for the posts seemed to not work well either. Is the iPhone app or mobile web interface being worked on at all? Please let me know when you have a chance. Thank you so much!

Expand full comment

Substack is constantly pushing me to use the app, but unless I'm missing somethingit's not set up to write on. I tried adding a hyperlink to a post I had published earlier in the day via safari/web on my iphone and it was nearly impossible. My pre-substack flow is to use and app called flowstate to write, then copy it into my squarespace blog and then publish share. Maybe Im missing something but substack is lacking as a writing app.

Expand full comment

Yeah the app is primarily a reader at the moment (and for Notes). I'd also like to see a dedicated writing app for Substack.

Expand full comment

Im not complaining really. Hope it continues to evolve!

Expand full comment

Oh good. It's not just me. :-/ Well, I hope this is something that gets improved.

Expand full comment

🟧 I’ve followed the toggle off option for displaying subscriber count, but it remains to be shown in the app by my handle, either as a clickable link to show subscriber number, or the number itself. I want to remove both. When starting off, it’s a challenge to get off the ground and showing 10+ is pointless and off putting in a like and popularity obsessed world. If I wanted to display this data, I’d have remained as a human product on the other social platforms. Thanks.

Expand full comment

I didn't even know there was a toggle for this. It's been a slow rollout for users even seeing it, I think. I still don't even see subscriber numbers on anyone's profile.

Expand full comment

I’m a rube at Substack. Today I had a hard time navigating the new format. No longer can compose a new offering and hit send. Now have to go to a new screen to send to everyone? Wish I had a coach by my side

Expand full comment

ditto....I'm not tech savvy, I'm serializing my book and my site crossingtopanga.substack.com is the worse looking one ever. Really need help...they need to give better tutorials on how to set up your page...any ideas?

Expand full comment

I found out about www.writersatwork.net/meetings. You can schedule one which I am going to do as soon as I finish this post! As close to a coach as I can see. sabrinalabow.substack.com

Expand full comment

Slouching Towards Bethlehem looks - from a conservative perspective - at what lies beneath the daily news. The political undercurrents that are reshaping our Western zeitgeist. (I am also a contributor to many conservative-leaning magazines in the UK, USA & Australia.)

I would be interested in collaborating with others in this ballpark.

Expand full comment

🟧✏️

I'm brand new to the app and website. I would like to just start writing.. I wrote my first post and I can't seem to get past the draft phase. I'm not sure what the issue is. There seems to be no way for me to publish. I'm wondering if it's because I'm new. Any help would be greatly appreciated. As I said, my first post ready to go I just can't figure out how to publish it.

I have an Android phone and for web. I've been using Google Chrome.

Expand full comment

Hi there. Once your article is saved as a Draft, click on the article to open it up. In the upper right corner or the page you should see Preview and Continue. If you're ready to publish, click on Continue (orange button). The next screen will say Publish at the top. Follow the prompts, including at the bottom where you select if you want to send it out immediate, or schedule your post for a later date/time. (These instructions are for a PC)

⭐I love to use the Preview feature first. You can send yourself a 'test' email so you can see how it will look for your readers. I've caught lots of things that needed changing with this feature.

Hope this helps!

Expand full comment

Top tip, Thanks Heather - brilliant. The send to yourself to catch those typo's etc is inspired! Have a good weekend!

Expand full comment

Thanks so much, Tim. You too. 🌞

Expand full comment

When I was trying to publish, it must have been the site/ app that was having an issue. I went through the steps and it just finally published. Thank you so much for your help.πŸ˜πŸŽ‰πŸŽ‰

Expand full comment

So glad it worked out for you. I just read your first post. Welcome to Substack! 🌞

Expand full comment

I was starting to get frustrated. I'm glad it worked out too I think it was just the website having an issue. Thank you so much, I'm glad to be here.😁

Expand full comment

πŸ–οΈsorry to be so late responding. First, I missed y’all when you took your well-deserved break, and am very happy y’all are back with these lovely office hours.

I started as a reader, but have ventured a bit into writing. Yes, I am intimidated by Notes.

There are some writers from whom I love receiving daily posts. But for most, once a week is sufficient.

Lastly, I am very grateful for everyone who is so willing to share their thoughts with and suggestions for their fellow writers. Thanks so much!!

Expand full comment

It would be easier to use those emojis if you specified the name of the Emoji. I had to web search the orange block (but copy and paste did seem to work also).

Expand full comment

🟧 Namaste. Is there a way to merge our quarterly newsletter including the original likes and dates posted (https://bviscs.substack.com/) to our main blog (https://spiritualscience.substack.com/)?

Expand full comment

🟧 Any upcoming improvements to audio content we can expect? Personally I'm interested in sharing/restacking audio to Notes and the potential for playlists/batched audio.

Expand full comment

Hello kate@substack. I could not find the proper inquiry imo to precede my comment. I have not made use of the writing capability on Substack today. Outside of reading and commenting on subjects of interest. I would like to begin using the platform for its I intended purpose. What do I need to set up so that substack users can subscribe to my writings? Thus far I have only commented on other writings. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Expand full comment
Comment removed
Expand full comment

Hi Raisini; I would love to be a guest. I’ve done podcasts because of my acting days in the late 80s, early 90s and now I am a humorist author and working on my first novel. I’m not a CEO or celebrity but honestly-- as a listener-- I prefer humanist stories. I would much rather hear about the Amazon driver putting himself through school than Gweneth Paltrow. That’s just me. Congrats on podcast!

Expand full comment

That's exactly the stories I write.

Expand full comment

Check out my Substack, if you're interested let me know. It's not for everyone. I don't like it.

Expand full comment

HI Raisini, I am starting a newsletter about extraordinary meetings and coincidences in my life, Called On the Road with Bob Dylan and Other Unsolved Mysteries, and I am wondering how to get the word out. I'd be thrilled to be on your podcast!

Expand full comment

We can always use more Dylan content!

Expand full comment

I kinda feel that way about the world

Expand full comment

Hi. I’d love to help. I just added a coaching feature for small businesses and creators and am happy to talk about it.

Expand full comment

HI Micheline, Thanks for replying. I seem to have some rocks in my road, beliefs that I will just screw it up. Where do I find your coaching feature? Is that part of your newsletter?

Expand full comment

Boy, could I uses some coaching!

Expand full comment

Threads refer to the smallest sequence of programmed instructions

Expand full comment

Threads refer to the smallest sequence of programmed instructions

Expand full comment

Hi Raisini, My newsletter covers writing, reading, baking, sewing, and gardening, because I'm Renaissance like that. I write novels, poetry, plays, and more. I'd love to be your guest.

Expand full comment

Sewing and writing. It's all I do!

Expand full comment

Hi there, I would love to be a guest. I’m a poet and just co-edited a prose anthology. New book forthcoming from Red Hen Press.

Expand full comment

I'm interested, once you get past the celebrities. I've written a lot of books, all on different subjects, but most recent is about why I like being old (I'm 81 - and stand on my head). Would interest people age 50+ but perhaps not others. Up to you.

Expand full comment

I can stand on my head too! Apparently it's the key to longevity. That and walking every single day. I like how your name is in the word Granny! sabrinalabow.substack.com

Expand full comment

That's news to me, but good news. I do walk a lot, but perhaps not as much as I am supposed to. I don't know if you're a grandmother as well, but a big question when the moment happens is what are you going to be called? I hadn't thought about it before, but immediately said "I am Annie the Granny" and so it has been. My oldest grandson is 17 - it feels like a minute since he was newborn.

Expand full comment

I actually am only friends with people that CAN stand on their heads!

Expand full comment

Excellent. Only the best. In case you never saw them do it or wonder why they do it, here is the answer to both in one short piece: https://arichardson.substack.com/p/why-does-anyone-stand-on-their-head

Expand full comment

Hey there! I am interested in being a guest on your podcast! I’m a sober woman who’s abused substance for over 18 years, now on a path of discovering me! I help employers, schools, families and young girls to gain awareness around current harmful coping approaches and work to cultivate new ones in their work, learning and home cultures and lifestyles! I am a writer, entrepreneur, creative facilitator and trainer, speaker, creative curriculum, and human working to help others feel accepted, connected, loved and filled with purpose. I’m in the beginning stages of development and am part of Thought Leader, which is an amazing program to help up and coming speakers and entrepreneurs! My website is

jamiemagnant.com

And my substack is

jamiemagnant.substack.com

Thank you for your time, energy and expertise!! I enjoy reading your words and learning from your wisdom! πŸ™πŸΌ

Expand full comment

Hi Raisini I’d be happy to serve as a guest on your show. I’m the founder/CEO of the Miami-based Visual Storytelling Institute and author of https://newsletter.visualstorytell.com/

Expand full comment

Raisini, thanks for opening your podcast up to potential guests. I'd love to consider being on your show. I'm a long-time travel writer who just launched a brand spankin' new Substack that inspires (and teaches) others how to take a leap and turn their favorite vacation destination into an incredible new lifestyle for themselves.

Would love to know more about being a guest with you.

Expand full comment

Hi Raisini!!! I welcome the opportunity to be a guest. I’m a professional musician who just started writing about spirituality, a topic that is extremely important in my life. I’m new here and welcome the opportunity to get the word out about my writings, to serve others with love and inspire through my words. β€οΈπŸ˜‡ Thank you.

Expand full comment

Hi! Would love to talk about being a guest! I’m a writer, published playwright, actor, marketing consultant, and soon to be life coach. You can learn more about me at alexajuanitajordan.con

Expand full comment

Hey Raisini!

I am an author, marketer, and former journalist who broke up with diet culture and then worked up my nerve to pursue my dream of becoming a full-time writer.

I write about the intersection of food, feminism, health, and wellbeing. I’d love to be a guest on your podcast!

My latest post πŸ‘‰πŸ‘‰ the big things I’ve learned in a year of Intuitive Eating

https://www.almostsated.com/p/feeling-full-is-not-failure

Expand full comment

The question is not whether I want you, the question is whether you want me :)

Check me out and let me know.

Expand full comment

Whenever you'd like to incorporate a musical guest, consider me interested!

Expand full comment

I would be interested in being a guest.

Expand full comment
Comment removed
Expand full comment

Check out my substack and let me know if you think I would be a good fit. sabrinalabow.substack.com.

Expand full comment

Raising, thanks for opening your podcast up to potential guests. I'd love to consider being on your show. I'm a long-time travel writer who just launched a brand spankin' new Substack that inspires (and teaches) others how to take a leap and turn their favorite vacation destination into an incredible new lifestyle for themselves.

Would love to know more about being a guest with you.

Expand full comment

Hola, I'm launching a science fiction novel about advanced AI in a week so I'd love to chat about that as well as the non-fiction I write here on substack

https://www.thesingularitychronicles.com

https://www.polymathicbeing.com

Feel free to let me know if you're interested!

Expand full comment
Comment removed
Expand full comment

Sent and looking forward to it.

Expand full comment

I started writing on Substack 11 months ago. I’ve seen pretty solid growth with both free and paid (starting with 50 subscribers from

friends n family).

The best thing you can do as a new writer on Substack is:

1. Write quality, engaging material

2. Post regularly and consistently (I recommend 2-3 times per week but this is wildly variable; you want to hook people’s interest without exploding their email inbox)

3. Read other Substacks and comment on them; try to be courteous, thoughtful and positive.

4. Reach out to other writers who write similar material after you’ve been writing a while and ask to cross-post, collaborate, etc.

5. Remember that Substack is a writing community; support others.

6. Attend Substack Office Hours

7. Read, subscribe, and pay for my Substack, Sincere American Writing. *(This is required.)

Michael Mohr

β€˜Sincere American Writing’

https://michaelmohr.substack.com/

Expand full comment

No.5 is the most interesting for me... I expected Substack to be a *readers'* community, not a writers' one... Don't we as writers want readers, rather than only other writers reading us?

Expand full comment

Interesting question ... personally, I would assume most of us writers are also pretty avid readers. I am finding so much quality writing here that Facebook, Twitter, etc are being edged out of my day. However, my budget is also limited so I can't pay for all the quality writing I'm finding. It's going to be interesting to see where this goes.

Expand full comment

I am also finding extensive quality reading here, and have had to limit both my reading capacity and my financial investments to a select few. In general, I think writers supporting writers leads to a broader readership, and I agree with Joyce that writers are often also avid readers! Not a bad overlap.

Expand full comment

Can we set a reader’s charge to be $1 per month?

Expand full comment

I'd also love a tip jar situation where it's not monthly but whatever amount they feel inclined to give as a one-off.

Expand full comment

good idea....start with $1

Expand full comment

Jay, this is my question too. I'm going to start a new thread and see if I can use the emoji to capture the attention of the moderation Substack person.

Expand full comment

Jay, what are you trying to accomplish by setting it that low? I don't think you can but you might be able to accomplish your objective in another way.

Expand full comment

I feel like many people who may want to subscribe to a Substack writer. But at eight dollars per writer per month, it adds up very quickly. So why not have a very minimal charge that might encourage more people to subscribe?

Expand full comment

Have you explored comping? If you're confident in the value of what you're offering, a comp of 90 days ... or 6 months even ... might accomplish the same thing. I'm not sure $1 per month would even breakeven for the payment processor. Substack front loads all the expenses of the system with the expectation that each of us writers will eventually cover our costs and become profitable. I know they're losing money on me and probably will for awhile.

Expand full comment

Exactly this. I’m following some incredible writers who are beginning to introduce pay options, which means I’m having to choose who to read.

Expand full comment

I think there are more "readers" out there than we realize. They say there are millions of Subscribers here on the 'Stack. That leaves everything pretty open if it's true. I like that other writers want to read what I have. It's good to read other writers because you can pick up so much from them. Some of the writers here are excellent, professionally successful, and some are just starting out and need encouragement. It's never a bad thing to encourage someone with their writing. (God knows we all have moments of self-doubt.) But there is so much variety, you can get lost inside. Pop Culture, Finances, Science, Medicine, and of course, let's not forget Politics. Fiction almost seems to fall to the wayside...and so many different fiction genres. I love the diversity!

Expand full comment

Yes, fiction also fell on the wayside on Medium a couple of years back, and now it seems to happen again here on Substack. Maybe when it comes to fiction, people do prefer books, after all! ;)

Expand full comment

That's so true! I'm enjoying the little doses of flash fiction I've found here, too. I haven't been able to find any other outlet that has bite-sized pieces of so many genres. I was afraid I'd be the only one, but there are so many wonderful stories to read!

Expand full comment

I feel like I completely understand what you’re saying, however, I feel the cross between avid reader to small time writer is a lot bigger than we think. I feel like even in a sea of writers our audience will find us because they’ll share what they love with their followers, friends, families, etc. This brings the new readers from their trusted writers, thus guaranteeing you a potentially new loyal audience that just keeps growing thanks to your colleagues. β™₯️ Look at music. The genres that dominate the charts are full of artists promoting other artists. We literally make or break each other. That is why it is so important to be respectful and respectable in the way we compete with each other.

Expand full comment

Wrote this elsewhere in this thread so forgive me for copying and pasting:

✏️ My fellow Substack writers!

I am looking for guest writers to feature on The Books That Made Us, a community of bibliophiles and book lovers.

Every post is written by a different guest writer who discusses a β€˜foundational book’. A book that you read and reread and have thought about ever since. A book that shaped who you are today. A book that made you.

In 3 weeks since launch we have already garnered over 400 subscribers (and a 70% open rate) so it’s a great opportunity to get your writing in front of more eyeballs!

Details about how to write for us here:

https://booksthatmadeus.substack.com/p/write-for-us

Expand full comment

Sounds great, has me thinking about the book made me me so I'll submit for sure!

Expand full comment

That's an interesting approach to get more exposure. I'll give it a thought, though it might be difficult choosing, as I have plenty of books that impacted me 😊

Expand full comment

Well, I write for writers but I started out targeting Medium members, many of whom are writers or aspire to be. I think there are lots of readers out there.

Expand full comment

I've been writing on Medium since 2019 and have found the writing community there are AVID readers. I've seen amazing success on Medium over the years. Only now am I branching out to a more focused network here on Substack.

Enjoy your Medium journey!

Expand full comment

I've been writing on Medium since 2019 and have found the writer's community there are AVID readers. I've seen amazing success on Medium over the years. Only now am I branching out to a more focused network here on Substack.

Enjoy your Medium journey!

Expand full comment

Definitely a reader community, and like Joyce said, you’d imagine most writers to be avid readers!

But there’s just something different about Substack. It’s definitely a writer’s community/ecosystem!

Because of this, I do see (and myself am) selective and have to parse down on who I’m following and financially supporting because I truly do want to genuinely do so wholeheartedly because this space seems more intentional for writers rather than β€œfollow for follow” or going on a following spree. Easy way to get overwhelmed!

When we’re both wanting to write quality work we’re excited about, and to read the same (and that can mean MANY different things for MANY different people!)

Expand full comment

I would say it's both. Most writers seem to be avid readers of other Substacks.

Expand full comment

Your presentation in Substack is helpful and thorough. I agree with others that writers (some at least) watch their budgets of time and money. Personally, even though there is amazing talent expressing itself through Substack, the 2-3 times per week per writer does explode the email box. I find it starts to feel more of a duty and obligation than a joy. Also, it feels to me that people feel they have to write filler material to keep their persistent quota up and flowing. I prefer writing and posting when inspired, instead of obligated. I also appreciate more the writers who pinpoint their posts to what is alive instead of dutiful.

Expand full comment

I cut my flow down and my subscriber count keeps going up. When it stops being fun, I don't do it. So write at your own schedule.

Expand full comment

Good for you on the subscriber count in spite of the output being cut. I so agree with you about having fun writing on your own idiosyncratic expression schedule.

Expand full comment

Yes yes yes! I’m actually announcing my two week quarterly hiatus because I feel a shift happening. I’m not enjoying my writing process and need to regroup and replenish for a bit.

Expand full comment

Quarterly hiatus sounds nice. I worry that I need to announce something like that and then I also realize people probably won't even notice. There's just so much coming at everyone. I def also notice a dip in summer readership because...summer

Expand full comment

It makes me feel good to place it somewhere, so I have it on my about page at least! I also have a series some peeps actively read so I'd feel bad not saying "heyyyyy, gonna stop for a little bit."

Very true though! Ultimately SO. MUCH. Is happening on and offline that it's not a super big deal especially cause... summer! Right right.

Expand full comment

How often do you post - I do weekly but I do feel that it will become a chore to fulfill that and I don't want to feel that way

Expand full comment

It was expressly because of your comment re obligation rather than joy that I limit my newsletter to once a fortnight (it is subtitled Thought for the Fortnight) and keep it very short. Less is more. Especially here.

Expand full comment

Yes, thank you. This world pushes, grinds us, for more more more; when less said more succinctly breaks through the noise of hyper achievement and dutiful obedience.

Expand full comment

I agree with you @Journalisa, It seems like 2-3 times a week is a bit much... as a reader. Of course it can depend the length of posts you publish. If they are all pretty short then it could be fine, but I am usually in this for longer pieces so I only really read if the title is relevant and the content is inspired (I like your use of the word "alive"). I appreciate consistent, once a week posts. Twice a week if one of the posts is shorter than the other.

Expand full comment

I agree. Some of the substack subscriptions I look forward to... some people describe their life in away that opens me to so much and such depth. I also agree if one of the posts is shorter... a great distinction!

Expand full comment

Yes I currently do posts once every 2 weeks (and once a month a paid post with more personal stories and thoughts), they're usually around 1500-2000 words. Eventually I hope to put out posts at least once a week, although I will definitely experiment more with different lengths, formats, and topics to see what works. People need time to properly read through a post and consider all its information and nuances. I have already started with spreading out certain topics over multiple weeks for that reason. Plus it helps keep the pressure manageable for me.

Expand full comment

I totally appreciate posts that are every two weeks, especially given the length of pieces you are describing. Every writer has their style. It’s like when I did track. You have people who did the sprints, the hurdles, the milers… everyone has a style according to their particular charisms. Every writer should see how they write best for this platform. Mine seems to be once a week, and yours is every other. And it’s all good!

Expand full comment

Yes, the original reason was time constraints, which I hope will get better as I grow my newsletter, but I think using a combination of sprinting and running would be beneficial to the quality of the work , as well as my own sanity, even if I did have the time to do more sprinting.

Expand full comment

Love the writer/runner comparison. I was a 50 yard dasher, hating the 6 minute mile. Yet, I do recognize a long two mile jog does provide a separation from beginning to end that lifts whatever was before and makes me feel ready to retackle after a shower!

Expand full comment

I love this validation and reminder for my own journey. Totally reworking my schedule and what I write during my hiatus for exactly this reason!

Expand full comment

I did a poll with my subscribers after posting twice a week instead of once and they unanimously wanted only once a week which I am respecting. Some weeks that's enough for me. Others I could do more so thinking of publishing them without sending out to my list. If of course that's even possible. ;-)

Expand full comment

I think that absolutely is possible. Just don't email the piece and post it. I think that's a great way to express yourself and build your page. I don't think censoring is any better than pressuring ourselves to someone else's schedule! Thanks for the comment. Will look at your true self. Honoring our true self is EVERYTHING but the kitchen sink. I know so much else is important, but without honoring ourself we miss so much else that is worthwhile!

Expand full comment

Yes but we are not taught this because we probably wouldn't be very good 'workers' if we all went around being a true expression of ourselves... Ha ha.. Thanks Journalisa!

Expand full comment

Exactly. Trying to convince us of their mistakes in the past will not put us to sleep. We have found the answer. We are creating our future that is peaceful and doesn't depend on violence and power over others.

Expand full comment

It's a tricky one. Many advise to write on a set schedule to grow readership. I can see some sense in that because readers will come to know when to expect a new post and (hopefully) look forward to it. However, multiple times per week often feels too much for me as a reader (I have on exception, whose work I enjoy whenever it pings my inbox, but in part because each of those are very short reads).

I personally set myself a weekly post goal because it helps motivate and drive me towards completing things, but if I feel I can't hit that and am resorting to writing filler then I definitely won't post.

Ultimately, do what inspires you to write and be creative.

Expand full comment

I appreciate your clarity on this situation. I should write GUEST. I like your name. I will go there. I'm always motivated. Not always sure I know what others might want to read. Know I have to write what is coming through when it comes through. Deciding what others should or could read is something else!

Expand full comment

Write what's coming through, when it comes through.

That's the way to do it πŸ˜πŸ‘

Expand full comment

I agree wholeheartedly!

Expand full comment

I agree with you on this @Journalisa ..for me, newsletters that come in once a week, especially when they're short, simple and sweet are more fun to read.

Expand full comment

I wrote really long ones in the beginning. Once I got going, I couldn't stop. Now when I get a long one from someone I see how long it is and as I keep scrolling down to find the end of it, I lose interest. Sad, but oh so true.

Expand full comment

Well, this certainly opened up a whole worm can of adjunct comments, didn't it? πŸ˜… Much appreciated, succinct, and thoughtful.

Giggled at #7.

Also wanted to note--not to discredit anything you've written here, because it's all spot-on--that it appears you came to Substack with some writing cred' already under your belt. I mean, Pushcart Prize nominations aren't part of *my* Linked In profile, not yet anyway.

So, like the millions of folks in creative arts out there in the world hoping to land that lucky shot we think of as "being discovered," I continue to explore what works when the build out is truly from scratch (no pun intended, see below).

Everything you've suggested is still 100% relevant, but maybe there's a #8 and #9 needed: Be patient. And, don't be afraid of self-promotion. To that end, this: Bok-bok! πŸ₯

https://elizabethbeggins.substack.com/

Expand full comment

I'm with that 8 and 9, Elizabeth! Keep writing, keep putting it out there!

Expand full comment

Wrote this elsewhere in this thread so forgive me for copying and pasting:

✏️ My fellow Substack writers!

I am looking for guest writers to feature on The Books That Made Us, a community of bibliophiles and book lovers.

Every post is written by a different guest writer who discusses a β€˜foundational book’. A book that you read and reread and have thought about ever since. A book that shaped who you are today. A book that made you.

In 3 weeks since launch we have already garnered over 400 subscribers (and a 70% open rate) so it’s a great opportunity to get your writing in front of more eyeballs!

Details about how to write for us here:

https://booksthatmadeus.substack.com/p/write-for-us

Expand full comment

Amplifying Michael's excellent points 3 & 5, it would be amazing if all of us committed to commenting on each other's posts meaningfully and constructively. Back when United Business Media purchased the entire group of DeusM properties those of us writing on them began commenting actively on each other's posts. The result was similar to what a bar pianist hopes for when they throw a few dollars in their own Tip Jar. Other readers see readers comment and they are encouraged to comment as well.

BTW - It's worth mentioning that I'm loving being part of this writer's community. Feels like coming home.

Expand full comment

Yes! I take time out of my day or wait for a day when I feel energetically ready to go through my inbox to read/watch/listen because I TRULY wanna leave comments about what I viewed with my full, undivided attention.

I truly want writers and creators to feel how I’d like to feel when I engage with their work, so I respect the time I give their work the publish when I FULLY can!

Expand full comment

Substack is indeed a great writers' community.

Expand full comment

Wrote this elsewhere in this thread so forgive me for copying and pasting:

✏️ My fellow Substack writers!

I am looking for guest writers to feature on The Books That Made Us, a community of bibliophiles and book lovers.

Every post is written by a different guest writer who discusses a β€˜foundational book’. A book that you read and reread and have thought about ever since. A book that shaped who you are today. A book that made you.

In 3 weeks since launch we have already garnered over 400 subscribers (and a 70% open rate) so it’s a great opportunity to get your writing in front of more eyeballs!

Details about how to write for us here:

https://booksthatmadeus.substack.com/p/write-for-us

Expand full comment

How many do you have now if i might be so bold as to ask ?!

Expand full comment

Great list. Last week I celebrated 1 year on here with a few tips from what I’ve learned along the way:

https://open.substack.com/pub/neverstoplearning1/p/just-getting-started-learning-from?r=1nyz10&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Expand full comment

Thank you! Do you have any advice on reaching out to other writers on here for collaborations? How do you break the ice, especially considering that my substack is very very small compared to most people here.

Expand full comment

Great tips. Unfortunately, there’s no way I can post more than once a week. I love writing, and I love doing the research almost just as much, and in some cases even more, and it takes time. So once a week it is.

Expand full comment

Great advice Michael. I think our Substack community is hugely important. This isn't a world of write it and they will come, even if you are a great writer and so many Substack writers are. We are as a number of people have said, also prolific readers, and as writers, enjoy reading, exploring other people's experiences and views, developing relationships and learning from each other. When I look at Office Hours, and see more than 1,000 comments, that tells me something. All quality social media is about community, all successful business is about community. Start there and let it resonate.

Expand full comment

Thanks for the great suggestions, Michael. I'm looking forward to subscribing to your substack.

Expand full comment

8. Write a guest post for The Books That Made Us!

Wrote this elsewhere in this thread so forgive me for copying and pasting:

✏️ My fellow Substack writers!

I am looking for guest writers to feature on The Books That Made Us, a community of bibliophiles and book lovers.

Every post is written by a different guest writer who discusses a β€˜foundational book’. A book that you read and reread and have thought about ever since. A book that shaped who you are today. A book that made you.

In 3 weeks since launch we have already garnered over 400 subscribers (and a 70% open rate) so it’s a great opportunity to get your writing in front of more eyeballs!

Details about how to write for us here:

https://booksthatmadeus.substack.com/p/write-for-us

Expand full comment

Michael.. Re. your point # 4: Is the comments option the only way to reach out to other Substack writers? For some writers that seems only to be poissible if I'm a paid subscriber.

Expand full comment

Some writers have toggled the button that only allows comments to be made by paid subs. However, many people let anyone comment-- which is what I do. It has been really helpful to let everyone participate in the discussion. There can be some legitimate reason why someone would want to limit commenting to a small group of people (especially if it is a particularly personal piece), but overall it is a better idea to let everyone comment. There are plenty out that that will let you @Phil.

Expand full comment

You can also try contacting them through notes by @ tagging them, or finding them on social media and contacting them there. It is up to them to decide to respond or not, of course. We are all busy after all.

Expand full comment

🧠 - A tip for battling imposter syndrome:

You know the oft-repeated bit of advice about "writing what you know"? It's wrong - or at least, it's highly misleading, and leads to a lot of misery and paralyzing self-doubt. What it seems to say (and pretty much everyone reads it this way) is "IF YOU'RE NOT A PROPER EXPERT, WHY ARE YOU EVEN TALKING, STEP AWAY, YOU TIMEWASTING LOUDMOUTH."

This leaves the door wide open to the kind of internal imposter syndrome that can have you staring at a flashing cursor for days - even weeks - as the fear of saying something wrong plays merry havoc with your nervous system.

So here's a better bit of advice: WRITE WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN.

There's good science on the power of doing this: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/how-to-be-brilliant/201206/the-protege-effect It will help you learn better, remember things better and be more creatively curious. But it will *also* protect you from imposter syndrome, because it's admitting that you may get stuff wrong as you go along. Because of course you will. You're a student!

(The trick is to be open to being corrected - which is a great way to build trust and engagement in readers, because if they see you're humble enough to be publicly corrected and own up to your mistakes, they will consider your voice a credible presence in their Inboxes.

**Personal case study: I write a newsletter about the science of curiosity - and I'm not a scientist or science journalist, so sometimes I get things a bit wrong. And when I'm corrected by readers - which, to date, has *always* been respectfully - then I issue a mea culpa, correct the online version of the newsletter, and thank the person who was kind enough to steer me in the right direction. Every single time I do this, I get emails from readers telling me they trust me even more, and I even get a few paid signups. Every time.**

The other thing about this is - it lets you invite your readers on a journey with you. A journey of learning. You're guiding them, but you're learning alongside them. That is a *really compelling* value proposition in a newsletter.

So: write what you want to learn, whether it's something you already know something about, or it's something you're learning from scratch. You don't need to be a world authority. No student ever is. You just need to share the excitement of learning something you're both interested in.

Try it!

Expand full comment

Mike, thanks for this! I published my first post today. It took me MONTHS to do this because of the imposter syndrome insecurities. I eventually remembered the folks I admire learn/experiment publicly (alongside others) and I always found that compelling, like you said. Can't think of a better comment to read today!

Expand full comment

Yaaay! Congratulations for posting, Erika!!

Expand full comment

Congratulations, Erika!

Expand full comment

Congratulations, Erika! Hitting Publish on that first edition is THE HARDEST. I delayed mine for two weeks, even though it was written, for exactly that reason. Nothing harder. But you did it, and now it all gets easier. (Slightly. 😁)

Expand full comment

How wonderful! Congratulations!! I feel how challenging this was for you (I've only just joined and not even written anything as yet but that imposter syndrome is sneaking in already). Here's to hitting publish on many more and flipping that perspective writing what you want to learn- such a lighter way to view things isn't it?

Expand full comment

Congratulations on your first post! I've read it and you drew me right in. I subscribed and I'm looking forward to your next post. (Writing and posting the next one gets easier, and then the next one, and ... you get the idea.)

Expand full comment

What a fantastic way to reframe imposter syndrome! Learning in public can also help build a community invested in your growth and keen to learn with you.

Expand full comment

"IF YOU'RE NOT A PROPER EXPERT, WHY ARE YOU EVEN TALKING, STEP AWAY, YOU TIMEWASTING LOUDMOUTH." I love this. I'm finishing an essay on THIS EXACT THING.

I'm a polymath, I don't need to be an expert to study new things. In fact, not being an expert can make me BETTER at investigating new things because I'm not blinded with bias.

Expand full comment

I love this advice! This is how I train people, too, get them to teach the concepts to others. There's nothing more powerful for the learning process than forcing yourself to be enough of an authority to where you have to teach it.

Great way to approach writing. I find with any article I'm writing that I don't know off the cuff, I need to do a ton of desk research and that makes me smarter in my approach. I don't want to BS or mislead my audience, and therefor I'm becoming an even bigger authority on my topic.

Which, yes, like you say, helps eliminate imposter syndrome because I've done that work and know I have! I know that I've informed myself more than others, and I am able to teach them.

Expand full comment

WRITE WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN. Absolutely and thank you for saying this! This is my prime reason for writing ... if I already knew what to write, what would be the fun? I also think it's one of the reasons your writing is so compelling ... it always feels like you're learning along with us.

Expand full comment

"You don't need to be a world authority. No student ever is. You just need to share the excitement of learning something you're both interested in." <--and this is why I love Everything Is Amazing. Mike, you take us on a journey *with* you every single time.

Expand full comment

YOU ARE THE BEST.

Everyone please go sign up to read Holly, because SHE IS THE BEST.

Expand full comment

(Disclaimer: I am not THE BEST, but I'm real. :) I'll also be making a return soon after taking a break for a couple of months)

Expand full comment

Mike, my GOSH did I need this!! Perfect timing as I’m about to go on a hiatus from my newsletter *to* rework my newsletter and I’m wanting to be in this EXACT position, but didn’t have the words to it like you did!

I’m saving this, I screenshot it, I’m PRINTING THIS OUT!

Thank you for writing this!

Expand full comment

This is wonderful....new Stacker and just subscribed to your free (for now) letter. The curiosity piece is what has moved me to shift from a ministry/church setting to mindfulness coach. Thankful to have found you!

Expand full comment

I honestly love diving into topics that I do not know a lot about. Always surprising, always educational, and always come up with interesting content ideas. Depending on the topic, I do need to plan enough time to get to grips with it so that I can reach a level where I feel comfortable writing about it and saying something useful, but that's part of the fun.

Expand full comment

Love this!! Thx for sharing. πŸ‘ŠπŸ‘β€οΈ

Expand full comment

Mike, I LOVE this! Fear can be so very paralyzing. It’s important to remember that none of us have it totally figured out. Thank you!

Expand full comment

My new mantra: WRITE WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN.

Thank you, Mike.

Expand full comment

Just to add to the "write what you want to learn," I love the writing the most when I'm literally learning as I go and have no idea where I'm going to end up when I set out. There's something about this platform that seems to encourage that. When I don't at all have it mapped it out and I just start exploring down rabbit holes and find interesting and UNEXPECTED things as I go that surprise me, and therefore also can delight the reader who I think can tell when I'm having so much fun. Like this piece I did that started with trying to figure out who/when the doctor was who wrote a note on post-childbirth tips I found in my mom's house, which lead to uncovering the story of three drowned poor women fishing. https://sleepyhollowink.substack.com/p/permanent-waves

Expand full comment

Excellent advice, Mikeβ€”thank you!

Expand full comment

Love this train of thought. I wrote a destination travel blog for 10 YEARS without being an "expert" in my destination. I published a of my mistakes and mishaps along the way and that is what made me so relatable and what ultimately helped my blog blow up with its own cult following of thousands. People aren't as into experts as they are into someone willing to make the mistakes along the way so that they can learn from them.

Expand full comment

Amazing! Thanks for this. As someone who feel imposter -syndrome from time to time, this is great point of view.

Expand full comment

✏️🟧 - I have the impression that 70% of people using Substack (reading, posting Notes, etc.) are writers themselves, looking to find their own tribe. Could this be accurate? As a writer of fiction (mainly), I'd like to get access to readers who primarily read, not write themselves too. Or is this an irrelevant distinction? What do you think?

Expand full comment

It's an important distinction but I don't see it as a problem necessarily. Writers are also readers, generally speaking!

I think the more important difference to recognise is 'the Substack community' versus 'your newsletter community'. Substack's community is 100% a load of writers, which makes sense given the toolset - that writer community can be a big support.

But remember: while there's a vibrant community in Substack itself, your newsletter is *yours*. The fact it's on Substack is incidental and most of your (non-writer) readers won't know or care that you're using Substack. They just want to read your stuff, an whether it's going out via Substack or Mailchimp or Ghost or something else isn't a big deal.

To reach that wider audience will require some manual outreach, though, such as trying out some BookFunnel promos, putting some or all of the work up elsewhere (eg Royal Road, Amazon, Wattpad) and so on.

Sorry, that turned into a bit of a ramble. TL;DR - you're completely right, but I think it's more of an opportunity than a problem. (hopefully!)

Expand full comment

No, that turned into a very valuable perspective!! Thanks so much, Simon! Always contributing with smart insights. ;-) Now I get the distinction and how I should approach it. Thanks!

Expand full comment

Bailey also made a really good point above, which is that the writers (or writer-readers) are always going to be the noisy ones. Most readers will happily read your stuff, nod approvingly, then go and do something else with their day. Most of my readers don't leave comments - the ones that do, those are the writerly ones. :)

Expand full comment

you mean post columns or excerpts on Amazon? do they still have a blog, or you mean on one's author page (I have like 10 books with major publishers) And help me here, what is royal road and wattpad? Then you direct those readers over to Substack?

Expand full comment

By Amazon, I meant putting out self-published ebooks or paperbacks. Essentially making your work available in multiple forms and venues to suit different types of readers.

My main way of writing is with serial, weekly instalments. The people that read that way REALLY love it, but most people are still going to want to pick up an actual, complete book. So when I finish a serial, I then polish it up into a book (well, in theory - I've only done this once so far). The book can then point people back towards the newsletter.

Some with Wattpad and Royal Road - loads of readers on those platforms, most of whom aren't going to come over to your newsletter. But *some* will.

Expand full comment

Yes, that was a helpful distinction for sure. Thanks!

Expand full comment

Good points, Simon.

I agree. Plus, in my experience, most of those who like and comment on any post tend to be Substack users who have an account and also their own Substack.

Expand full comment

IMHO writers are your best way to build a network of readers. Each one of them is a link to their own community of readers. In network theory this is known as the power of weak connectors. Good luck.

Expand full comment

Thanks for an interesting perspective! Will keep it in mind.

Expand full comment

The vast majority of people using Substack are readers, but most of our "power users" are writers!

Expand full comment

🟧 Namaste. Is there a way to merge our quarterly newsletter including the original likes and dates posted (https://bviscs.substack.com/) to our main blog (https://spiritualscience.substack.com/)?

Expand full comment

I think more of the commenters and Notes users are but not necessarily the readers, at least in my case.

Expand full comment

Agreed. I think most of the people using Notes are writers. It leads me to believe that readers might be intimidated at the idea of Notes because they might think it's for writers only.

Expand full comment

I suppose as writers we could do our bit to change that. I was thinking only today of writing short notes now and again about good books or short stories I've come across. How to do so without appearing to be self-promotional is another matter

Expand full comment

Yes, I also have subscribers who tell me they prefer not to comment but send me some great feedback directly. It's valuable, but I wonder how to encourage them? I think it's especially hard if we write about writing occasionally - like you and I, Terry - then some may feel that intimidation more.

Expand full comment

When they're contacting you directly and engaging with the work, that already sounds like you've achieved a lot. Those are the same people that spread your work through word of mouth, as opposed to online, I have come to find.

Expand full comment

Yes! Thanks :)

It's just wonderful people take the time to comment wherever it might be.

Expand full comment

Yes, I agree, Kathleen. Perhaps we should write about reading as well then. It's hard, because there's a danger of it all becoming self-referential, ie What I'm reading, What I'm writing, etc etc. I try to maintain a balance between being genuinely helpful and coming over as a self-absorbed narcissistic egotistical maniac.

Expand full comment

ha. No need to worry.

Expand full comment

I use Notes quite a lot. I tend to look at it a couple of times a day and try to comment on things and to post stuff. Mostly it goes into the ether, but sometimes I get responses and for me, that's how my community is going to grow - as well as people who come to to my writing. I'm not concerned about seeming self-promoting, but I don't over do the self-promotion!

Expand full comment

So here's the challenge. One great thing about Notes is that every post I've seen so far is valuable, well-intended, and usually fascinating. The more we promote it to a broader audience the greater chance of pulling in the same thugs who make Twitter and Facebook such trash piles. Also, Notes has no algorithms driving what we see, which is a gift in the social media continuum. The more trash-talk we get the more we'll need those algorithms. Not desirable.

Expand full comment

Excellent points. And I have no idea what the solutions are. :/

Expand full comment

Can't we do affiliate marketing on our page?

Expand full comment

I think it makes most sense that way, to be honest. It's like the green room before and after an author event. :)

Expand full comment

I don't think that's accurate for the overall Substack audience. I write a technical newsletter, and I believe most of my subscribers are just here to read. I think that's true across newsletter topics.

Expand full comment

Hi Eric. I'm going to buy your book "Python Crash Course, 3rd Edition". Is the paperback as easy to learn from as the hardcover? thx

Expand full comment

Hi Paul. There is no hardcover version; all print copies are softcover. No Starch Press uses a stay-flat binding though, which is a higher quality binding than most paperback books. It doesn't stay as flat as a spiral bound book, but it works better than most paperback bindings.

If you're asking about print vs ebook, that's an entirely personal preference. I grew up on printed books, so for a long time I had a hard time learning efficiently from ebooks. But now I have a variety of devices, and I've found that reading an ebook on an iPad while working on a laptop or desktop works well for me. I really enjoy reading on an iPad.

Expand full comment

Thanks for answering, Eric! Amazon has a paperback version in stock.I'll go with that, unless you recommend direct?

Expand full comment

If you buy direct from No Starch Press, you get a DRM-free ebook with the print book. Amazon does not bundle the two versions.

Expand full comment

Yes, it's about the different perspectives and experiences we have across sectors/topics. Good to know it's not always the same.

Expand full comment

I think it's probably accurate and have also found it to be the case on Medium as well, perhaps moreso. The frustrating reality is that there is simply too much content out there. By the laws of WIFM (what's in it for me?), people are more likely to read if they feel it will further their own writing goals. It's not a bad thing, necessarily, but can sometimes feel like "you scratch my back, I scratch yours," rather than, "I just want to read your stuff!"

Expand full comment

I see, it completely makes sense for writer-reades. But probably *just* a reader wouldn't ask: what's in it for me? besides... you know, reading the thing. ;)

Expand full comment

Absolutely! What's in it for them should be some unique and thought-provoking insights. It's just that there is SO MUCH CONTENT out there, we're constantly competing for those reader eyeballs.

Expand full comment

Yes, that's absolutely true: there is so much competition for those eyeballs!

Expand full comment

Totally agree with your honest appraisal here!

Expand full comment

I think it can be confusing because of who you see on Notes or in threads like these. My feeling is that people posting on Notes are mostly Substack writers, but certainly most of my subscribers are primarily readers and I’m guessing that’s true for most.

Expand full comment

Exactly, that is the perspective if you hang out too much on the Substack platform. Probably readers subscribe via other channels and just read the pieces, but don't really hang out on Substack notes, chat, etc.

Expand full comment

Notes can be enlightening. There's a shitload of information, contest ideas, searches for collaborators, it's all a matter of what you're looking for. I don't think Chat really took off they way they thought it would.

Expand full comment

That seems to be the case.

Expand full comment

Majority on Notes are writers which makes it a fun community. Majority of my subscribers are readers as I use other media sites to engage in dialog and share.

I'm not sure I want notes to be everyone. I like the writer vibe. It feels safe.

Expand full comment

If you think about it, the ratio of writers to readers here on Substack is bound to change over time as more readers notice the "Explore" link and find more and more excellent content here. I doubt it will be long before its 50/50. Perhaps we should start thinking about, and encourage the great Substack folks to create a Readers community here parallel to our Writers community. The more we promote readership to Substack the more we bring potential subscribers to our own publications into play.

Expand full comment

If they could expand the "Explore" link by breaking it into sub-genres, that might also help. Having two categories for fiction "Fiction" and "Literary" when there are so many writing fantasy, Sci-Fi, Romance, yada, yada, yada. It would make it easier for readers to find your work, rather than just stumbling across it.

Expand full comment

This is a good question. Here's my take:

most of the people who leaves likes and comments on posts (well, in my experience) are those who have their own Substack and write.

Which leaves me questioning whether the other subs I have are simply readers, or are bots, or hate my work and haven't unsubscribed yet πŸ˜…

Expand full comment

I think most readers just read and move on to the next thing. But writers know the value of a comment on someone else's writing. 😊

Expand full comment

Yeah, I'm sure you're correct πŸ˜€

Expand full comment

100%, actually just wrote a whole thing about how Threads is a great opportunity because Notes is a bit incestuous. Trying to build a little community of writers on Threads, come join!

https://substack.com/@cosmographia/note/c-18534476?r=1nabyn&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

Expand full comment

Of course writers are a lot more visible in the way they use the platform. I think maybe 15% of my readers are writers. Most of them don't use substack at all and just read the emails.

Expand full comment

You should look at Fictionistas, the Link Library, Talebones, or Erica Drayton. They all have a ton of fiction cataloged.

Expand full comment

Personally, I get 10,000+ reads every week on my serial fiction.

Expand full comment

I feel like these days so few people read that those who do are probably also writers, but that's okay! I write fiction too and have wondered the same thing.

Expand full comment

🧠 My tip o the day for writers: re-runs are your friend!! Reruns are posts you posted a year ago that only 13 people saw. Repost em and now all your new subscribers can read them! And don't even make a big deal of it, no explanation, nothing, just repost!

Any of your readers that matter won't care and anyone that cares doesn't matter.

Expand full comment

If you put your older posts behind a paywall...this almost ensures that, as you grow, tons of people have never seen the one year old stuff...and you I’ll get paid subscribers Sobie ant to go deeper...

Expand full comment

That would be a unique opportunity for me, considering I built up an archive of over 5,000 posts over 17 years that I imported from my previous website to my Substack.

Expand full comment

Really good advice, Alex. Speaks to the importance of consistency, too. Keep writing and building up a portfolio of pieces -- even if your audience is small right now, serve it to them! And then reserve it later to make it a hit.

Expand full comment

🟧 As my newsletter has grown more established, I've been looking forward to adding reader blurbs to my welcome page. After 6 months I'm starting to get enough feedback to make this appropriate.

I was surprised to find that only other Substack writers can submit "blurbs" for the welcome page. While it's a nice endorsement to have a blurb from other writers, it really seems appropriate to accept blurbs from *readers*. My primary audience is readers, not Substack writers, and I'm guessing this isn't unusual.

Here's a brief example of the kind of reader feedback I want to post on my welcome page: "Your content is excellent. I'm a senior developer who never took the time to get a grip on Python, especially for data science. Your content has really motivated me and empowered me to think clearly about fundamentals and how to learn."

I understand you don't want to let writers just copy paste blurbs like this, because you'd have no way of knowing if the blurbs are authentic. But could you consider building a page where we could send readers who want to leave a recommendation for a newsletter? This seems like a really great way to capture the kind of feedback that would help new readers decide if they want to subscribe, or at least look more closely at a newsletter.

Expand full comment

Shared your feedback with our team! Quick question: Do you have payments turned on?

Expand full comment

How do you put the blurbs up on your page? That's on the "ABOUT" page, is it?

Expand full comment

It’s in settings rather than recommendations. It’s called add blurbs to welcome page I think. You can choose 3.

Expand full comment

Thanks! I did it. Take a look,(maybe subscribe?)

Expand full comment

I do. If you're considering only allowing blurbs from paid readers, that would be a good start. But I'd love to see this built in a way where free subscribers could leave testimonials as well.

I write a technical newsletter, and many of my readers are just starting their careers. So many of them start out unable to afford things like newsletter subscriptions. But they then gain skills and knowledge and many of them go on to significantly improve their employment status. These free subscribers are quite likely to become paid subscribers in the 6 month to 3 year time frame.

These are the kind of readers whose endorsement I'd love to capture. I do understand that promotion spam is *really* hard to deal with, so I would rather see a slow, well-structured rollout than a quick "anyone can endorse a newsletter" rollout.

Edit to say thank you for sharing it with your team. :)

Expand full comment

Bailey@Substack I also have a question about blurbs. I had a few written for my page that I was unable to add to my welcome page, it said the writer did not have recommendations turned on. When I go to that writer's page they do have recommendations turned on. Now when I go back to my Blurbs those recs have disappeared. Is there a link where I can get more clarity on all this?

Expand full comment

I meant to say thank you for sharing it with your team as well. :)

Expand full comment

You could always put these other kinds of recommendations on your About page. I think it's a logical place to put that kind of information.

Expand full comment

Yes, I'm going to do that for now. But everyone who visits our newsletters for the first time sees the welcome page. A far smaller number of people see the About page, because you have to choose to click on that.

More importantly, the welcome page is one of the first places people choose whether to subscribe or not. Reader testimonials give potential new subscribers a really clear idea of why other people are engaging with the newsletter.

Expand full comment

Maybe you can create a graphic for the Welcome page with those testimonials?

Expand full comment

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but I think we're pretty limited about what we can put on a welcome page.

Expand full comment

I'm suggesting that you make a custom cover photo that somehow includes recommendation text. Or maybe you could include something in your newsletter's Short Description.

Expand full comment

Thanks, these are good things to think about!

Expand full comment

Yes, I love this idea! I did something similar on Upwork for Testimonials because one of my clients is a small business owner and doesn't have a LinkedIn account (which is required by Upwork to have an official testimonial), so I used Canva to create an image with the Testimonial and now its on my Upwork Portfolio. I think this idea could work great on Substack, it can even be a "Testimonials" post that you pin on your homemage, then you can edit/add to that post whenever you have more :)

Expand full comment

how do you solicit Reader Testimonials?

Expand full comment

That just occurred to me the other day too. I want to start adding recs I get from wherever to my about. Take ownership of it!

Expand full comment

This is a great idea!

Expand full comment

I only just realized blurbs were a thing, from reading your post. Happy that I was able to go check and find I had one!

Expand full comment

You could manually ask your readers to email you "testimonials" and then add them as quote blocks on the about page. Or add a separate tab on your newsletters for testimonials. In my years of writing I've found that my readers are SO willing to provide testimonials when asked.

Expand full comment

Great thread, and all great ideas!

Expand full comment

This example blurb is too long. Blurbs have a character limit. Keep this in mind.

Expand full comment

Yes, it's slightly longer than a blurb because it came from a reader who replied via email to a post. If Substack builds out an endorsement page that readers can go to, the character limit would keep endorsements short and to the point.

Expand full comment

You can also create your own blurb page and then add it to your menu bar on your homepage. That might work for those kinds of endorsements.

Expand full comment

Great point. Maybe a reader comment to a post could be converted to a blurb?

Expand full comment

Reader comments about specific posts don't really translate well to burbs about the overall newsletter.

Here's what I'd love to do: Open my Subscribers tab, select the 5% of readers who are most active. Send an email saying I appreciate how actively you read my weekly posts. If you have a specific reason why you read each post as they come out, please share a brief reason on Substack's _____ page. Thank you!

I think that kind of endorsement is much different than the kind of endorsement you get from other writers.

Expand full comment

That sounds like a doable idea. However, if you could take the responses from your process and somehow convert them to blurbs, that could work, too without Substack have to create a page and get involve. I think they're swimming in new possibilities. However, I think getting more reader blurbs into the system is a high payoff activity.

Expand full comment

what Substack page are you referring to, for them to share on?

Expand full comment

That page doesn't exist yet. I'd love to see Substack build out a way to gather this kind of endorsement in a way that isn't overly prone to spam/ fake endorsements.

Expand full comment

Eric ... I think your idea is worth doing, even if we only put their words on our about pages or put one or two in our footers. I'm putting this on my list.

Expand full comment

I recently posted a Note about growing from 12-292 readers and the comments and curious questions from other readers were fantastic.

Sharing a link below in case anyone else is feeling stuck.

https://substack.com/@amandabhinton/note/c-18437031?r=4i32v&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

Expand full comment

One of my first ways of loosening the "social rules" in my head was chiming in during Office Hours. The helpfulness and genuine enthusiasm for other writers was among the biggest boosts I received. And I'm always trying to repay that kindness.

Expand full comment

I love office hours. Thx for posting these great ideas and article. πŸ‘ŠπŸ˜„πŸ‘

Expand full comment

I agree. Office Hours is a great way to garner new readers and grow your page. You get more exposure here than you will anywhere else.

Expand full comment

Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. I find myself obsessing over my subcounts but I have to stop and breathe. It will get there.

Expand full comment

Yeppppp. I used to work in marketing and a fantastic open rate for emails was 2%. Mine has stayed stead at 42-45%, even as more readers have joined. That, to me, is what winning feels likeβ€”and it reflects in the comments section and the sharing that readers offer. I know there's a possibility that an "Oprah moment" could come my way, but statistically speaking, those readers are HIGHLY likely to drop off in big numbers. So, yes, slow is good, slow means people are paying attention and making this a place I want to be.

Expand full comment

This is useful to know. I am getting a 30-46% open rate. I wasn't sure if that was any good. :-)

Expand full comment

As groups of people grow larger, they naturally become more disparate and open rates will dip over time. Our clients had thousands of emails in their lists and the email nudging game was so painful to watch. πŸ˜‚ I like my engaged group of readers and don’t need it to skyrocket unnecessarily. I’m really happy with the readers who are hereβ€”we’re having a good time.

Expand full comment

I'm at the same rate and that is motivating.

Expand full comment

That’s great, slow is smooth and smooth is fast!

Expand full comment

Thanks for sharing these! Commenting on and engaging with posts is something I have to consistently work on.

Expand full comment

If it feels like work, don't do it. I only comment when I read something that sends me to a new place. I tried feigning interest for a long time and it just made me tired (and it got me nowhere).

Expand full comment

Absolutely agree with this. I think too many people are trying to read/offer feedback solely to boost engagement. That seems like a dead-end approach to me in terms of connection and energy, and also reminds me way too much of Instagram's dreaded algorithm boosting techniques!

Expand full comment

Yesss... it is absolutely a dead-end approach. Would love to know your thoughts on this piece I just published yesterday. "The Art and Authenticity of Giving Attention in Online Spaces ..." https://theeditingspectrum.substack.com/p/the-art-and-authenticity-of-giving

Expand full comment

I'll add it to my afternoon queue; thanks for sharing! Love the title, and I'm looking forward to the read.

Expand full comment

Yes, so true. It's a little easier here on Substack than other place to engage, at least for me. Can't fake it.

And I think that was my problem with Twitter. You're expected to engage so much that I just got tired of it.

Expand full comment

Hey congrats, we're on the same track. I'm at 291! :) I do notice Notes seem to pick up my posts only when I do mention my numbers. I don't always want to do that though. They don't notice my other normal content generally. Not sure how to crack that code yet... When I hit 500??

Expand full comment

Hey! I have heard that the first 100 readers are some of the hardest to get, and then things start picking up speed ... but once you reach 500, it sort of regenerates and spreads much more organically and quickly. This is all anecdotal insight I'm relaying, so take it for what it's worth.

Expand full comment

Way to go! As a Substack newbie, I bet that growth felt fabulous! Thanks for sharing.

Expand full comment

Wrote this elsewhere in this thread so forgive me for copying and pasting:

✏️ My fellow Substack writers!

I am looking for guest writers to feature on The Books That Made Us, a community of bibliophiles and book lovers.

Every post is written by a different guest writer who discusses a β€˜foundational book’. A book that you read and reread and have thought about ever since. A book that shaped who you are today. A book that made you.

In 3 weeks since launch we have already garnered over 400 subscribers (and a 70% open rate) so it’s a great opportunity to get your writing in front of more eyeballs!

Details about how to write for us here:

https://booksthatmadeus.substack.com/p/write-for-us

Expand full comment

Thank you for sharing. This was really helpful

Expand full comment

🧠 I use Substack largely as an exercise in developing the skill of not focusing on outcomes, either in terms of quality or engagement. I have my Saturday mornings scheduled for Substack writing. Some weeks I like what I write, some weeks I don't feel like I got to where I wanted to end up. My following still is small and consists mostly of friends and hasn't really grown much since I started.

But! Just having the scheduled time to write something SOMEBODY will read has improved my overall mood and it gives me more of a sense of direction than Twitter did, where I just kind of let myself indulge in a momentary cleverness that never satisfied. So, while it would be nice to make more money off of Substack, it's already doing so much for my general well-being.

Expand full comment

I predict that because you're simply writing for the "right reasons," there will be positive external reverberations down the road.

Expand full comment

I love this so much, and is very similar to my experience. Launching consistently (I go twice a week) and forcing myself to sit down and put it out does so much for my mental health. It organizes my thoughts and makes me feel somewhat accomplished, even if I have (what I think) is a tiny audience at the moment.

Expand full comment

Same here. My mental health suffers when I don't write, both in my journal and online. It's also gratifying when even one reader comments that they can relate to what I shared, found my recommendations helpful, etc.

Expand full comment

Such a lovely and positive perspective. Completely aligned. We don’t need to write with the aspirations to be rich in famous! Writing for yourself or a handful of people can be just as powerful.

Expand full comment

Aw, non-attachment! Good reminder. Thank you for sharing. I do really love the immediacy of the post / audience (even if small) - the connecting to SOMEONE. :)

Expand full comment

Not much to say other than I LOVE THIS. Have an awesome day, Dirk!

Expand full comment

I just went paid yesterday. I told myself I wouldn't do it until I had a larger Subscriber list. Oh, the plans of mice and men. I did it because people want me to write stories about the mill I used to work in. I don't know why they like those stories more than the ones I want to write, but whatever. I thought, well, if you like them that much, show me. So I wrote a story about a friend I used to work with and put it up behind the paywall. I had a paywall up before, but I was unprepared. Several of my friends just bought subscriptions. I took it down and suspended payments because I didn't really have anything to offer them. So I decided to put my "mill" stories up there. I know all 7 subscribers personally, and felt comfortable telling them about my "storied" work past. I don't know if anyone will buy into it, but I've committed myself to it, so now I have to write funny stories about my work life.

Expand full comment

Ha! Way to go. This made me smile.

Expand full comment

🟧 Not a question, but a special shout out to the Substack team!

Our publication, The Story Birds, completed two years in April, and our subscriber base, though small, is steadily growing. We would not have come this far without Substack's wonderful team who have been with us every step of the way. We really appreciate the fact that our needs as writers have always been taken into consideration. We look forward to every new feature that is made available, and enjoy using and experimenting with it.

Substack’s Tech Support has always been prompt to address all our queries, however small. This was of immense help, particularly in the initial months when we were familiarising ourselves with the platform. The workshops from the Marketing team and their tips on growing our subscriber base have also helped us increase our reach beyond our immediate friends and family circle. The small but growing community of story enthusiasts that we are building around our Substack is truly rewarding.

So, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you!

Rohini and Shaiontoni (The Story Birds team)

Expand full comment

Wow thank you so much!! We just shared this with our entire company. Wonderful to hear, and congratulations on two years!

Expand full comment

Thank you, Bailey! We love being on Substack. :)

Expand full comment

Congrats Rohini!

Expand full comment

Thanks, Elizabeth!

Expand full comment

✏️ - I feel like I tend to ramble a bit in my articles, and I’ve been wanting to try and make my writing more concise. What have you found to be the best ways to β€œcut out the fluff”?

✏️ - I’ve been wanting to use Notes to help grow my audience and expand my reach, but as a new person who’s practically building an entire audience from Substack directly (moved from beehiiv with almost no audience), I haven’t found Notes to be particularly useful for me. Have you found success with Notes? Is there a particular format that works best for you? Or have you found that other methods work better than Notes for someone with no audience?

✏️🟧 - What tips do you have for a writer who eventually wants to go paid while keeping most content free?

Expand full comment

Hey Austin, we've seen a number of writers keep their posts free and turn on paid subscriptions as a way for readers to support their work.

Here are a few examples: https://on.substack.com/p/free-vs-paid

Expand full comment

✏️🟧 - What about Paywalls, a more abrupt stop? How is that working for folks. In my world I notice that's what Sy Hersh, Matt Tiabbi, and Emily Atkin do. Of course, they have huge paid readerships. Thoughts? Who has had success with Paywalls? And should you let your readers know Paywalls are coming so they don't get pissed and Unsubscribe?

Expand full comment

I have a hard paywall after three weeks, but everything is free until then. I find it gives a good balance, but YMMV.

Expand full comment

Great advice but people pay to get your advice by definition. Hot Globe is less of a service. What would motivate my subscribers to upgrade to Paid? Thanks.

Expand full comment

I'm not sure. There are lots of strategies and that one works for me and how I want to build my subscription.

Expand full comment

I'm another (much smaller) example.

Expand full comment

That’s what I do. Offer choices in case some don’t have the funds.

Expand full comment

Thanks for this Katie!

Expand full comment

🧠- Go paid today. Seriously, open a new tab right now and flip the switch. You might not see any activity... but you also just might.

Expand full comment

I agree! I went paid from the beginning without any expectations at all- but several of my friends and fam even became founding members right away! It was such a vote of confidence, it gave me the courage to really explore what having a paid section might entail...I'm still brainstorming but it's been a fun process!

Expand full comment

I agree with going paid. Why not? I've found exactly the same thing: not seeing any activity, and also seeing some activity!

Expand full comment

My first post was 3 days ago (about blatant discrimination in graphic design job postings, if you're interested!). I turned on paid up front, and was surprised to get 3 paid subscribers right away. It was from people I knew, but still. One was an acquaintance who had no obligation, but decided to go for it to be supportive. It gives you loads of confidence and is a huge incentive to keep the work coming on a regular basis.

Expand full comment

It sure feels good, doesn't it?

Expand full comment

Kevin always has helpful advice. Thank you.

Expand full comment

Thank you for the kind words!

Expand full comment

+1

Expand full comment

hello, Holly. Good to see u here

Expand full comment

Thanks, Terry! It's good to be getting back in the mix!

Expand full comment

William Zinsser's book On Writing Well is especially helpful for cutting the fluff.

Expand full comment

His quote on good writing being mostly good thinking is part of my LinkedIn profile! Great book.

Expand full comment

I've heard so many great things about this book that I bought it the other week. It's next on my reading list!

Expand full comment

It’s also available in audio, read by the author.

Expand full comment

Love that book. Thx for reminder.

Expand full comment

On cutting out the fluff (because I understand! I am a rambler and a chronic overwriter in early drafts):

1. I give myself time to write and edit an essay. I find I really have to let it sit for a day or two before I can see what's not necessary.

2. I started doing voiceovers a year or two ago (before I even moved to Substack) because the process of reading it out loud is such a good way for me to hear what's not necessary. That might also work for you?

Expand full comment

I second Julie’s advice. I find I identify most of my fluff when I read a piece out lout (or do a voiceover) because I hear what I don’t need.

Expand full comment

Listening to what you've written out loud is so helpful!

Expand full comment

I published an essay today and deleted three paragraphs this morning while doing the voiceover. I definitely would have left them in if I hadn't read it out loud.

Expand full comment

What did you do with the deleted paras, Julie? I always try to remember to save them or save version 1 of the doc, in case they come in handy in the future and also in case I wish to show my process

Expand full comment

I have all of my drafts in google docs, and then don't pull them into Substack until I'm about to do the voiceover, so they live on in the docs draft. I save EVERYTHING.

Expand full comment

That's a good strategy, Julie. I often forget to write the draft in Word or Docs first, but I discovered that Substack posts have a draft/version history. Not as good as your Docs first method though.

Expand full comment

I agree. With fiction, it's almost imperative that you read it out loud to yourself--or perhaps a spouse, or even the family dog--so that you can "hear" your mistakes. You actually hear how "you" think it should be read. (At least it is for me.)

Expand full comment

I mostly write picture books, which are meant to be read aloud anyway, so it has become an important revision technique for me AND important as far as thinking about how the book will eventually be read.

Expand full comment

I haven't thought of reading it aloud as part of the editing process. Thanks for this tip.

Expand full comment

That's awesome advice! I actually do voiceovers on my articles, but I think my biggest issue is that I don't really listen to myself when I so...I only end up picking up on grammatical errors. I definitely need to start doing that. Thanks for your comment!

Expand full comment

I try to pretend I'm a podcast, so I'm thinking about having it sound good from a storytelling perspective, and that helps me trim the fluff. Maybe if you go into the voiceover with a fluff-trimming mindset, you'll see what needs to be cut?

Expand full comment

Re: cutting out the fluff...your self-awareness alone seems like a great place to be.

More practically though, I highly recommend devouring any interview or lecture from George Saunders...aside from being a masterful writer, he really is one of the masters of articulating the process, a vastly different skill of course.

This Talk at Google was incredible: https://youtu.be/hmKKofJOyAE

And this has some gems within too: https://youtu.be/4yUgiRYijP4

Expand full comment

Thx for posting links. πŸ™

Expand full comment

Re. rambling: I have two editors inside my head. One of them has had a full night's sleep. Everything I write needs to be edited by both of them. So - if you're trying to publish on the same day you drafted the whole thing you've written, and you have the freedom to do it, then wait until tomorrow. A night's sleep magically uncovers all sorts of unnecessary stuff that can be deleted away - it's almost like you're a different person, sometimes....

Re. going paid - I think Kevin Alexander's comment about going paid immediately is a good one that's worth following in most cases! But I didn't do that. My newsletter has a bit of a weird proposition, so I felt like I had to prove myself first, explain what I was doing, get readers excited. And I had a bit of a budget for waiting. So I launched paid after 6 months of writing. Worked for me, and I don't regret it! So I think, if you have a reason to do so, waiting to go paid can let you lay some foundations and build some trust before asking for readers to support you. But you still need a firm plan for how that will happen, otherwise it's so easy to wait until "you feel ready". You will never feel ready! Including after you've launched!

Expand full comment

"One of them has had a full night's sleep..." Feeling that, for sure!

Echoing the delayed-paid concept. I held off for a year, to prove to my readers--and to myself--that this was a trustworthy endeavor. And, if I'm totally honest, I also waited because I got a little squeedgy every time I considered "the ask."

And THEN, I still didn't do it quite traditionally. Everything is ever-free on my page, but I ask that folks support the work at the level they can. I have a little under 10% paid subscribers now, so I feel like the model is working.

https://elizabethbeggins.substack.com/

Expand full comment

What I do and have had writing students do is to simply copy and paste (or save as) so you have your original writing, then go crazy with your cuts! That way you can do it freely. I very rarely end up using parts of the original, but it's there for comfort. Good luck.

Expand full comment

I have a similar process! I have a "scraps" document I used for my first novel. Once and awhile I'd pull something back out but usually in a different context or highly edited. But it made me feel like I wasn't totally "killing my babies!"

Expand full comment

Or get hardcore like Joan Didion and Hunter Thompson. Both typed out every word of Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises to get the rhythm and pacing right.

Expand full comment

The best advice I can give for cutting back the rambles (because I also ramble) is: read it out loud. Specifically, even if you have no intention of podcasting it, read it as if you were narrating it. In that mindset, you'd be looking for how well it flowed, how often your tongue tripped, and so on. My experience is, if you hit any kind of speed bump trying to narrate it, even to yourself, that's a sign of something that could stand editing!

Expand full comment

This is great advice. Brene Brown "edited" a chapter of one of her books in this way, by getting a bunch of writer friends together that she trusted, giving everyone a glass of wine or two, and then performing the chapter in front of them. This gave her their feedback, but also *her own* feedback, her internal reaction to what worked and what didn't.

Expand full comment

I mean, I don't often get compared to Brene Brown, so I'm just gonna ride that dopamine hit for a few minutes! :-)

Expand full comment

I started out by giving myself a word limit of 500. If I couldn't explain the topic or get to the heart of the matter in that many words than I considered breaking it into two posts or using a different platform. I've loosened up on this format but I think it was helpful in the beginning.

Also- edit, edit, edit. I use the free Grammarly which helps point out redundancies.

Expand full comment

Great. Too many newsletters ramble on. I try a lot of them, but if they're boring or too long, I hit the 'unsubscribe' button. Less is more. I've not done a word count, but everything I write is short (average 750 words or so) and I only write once a fortnight. Getting lots of subscribers and high open count (60-70%). Might these be related?

Expand full comment

I agree Ann, even if it's not boring I seldom will read a super long newsletter. Sometimes if it's a topic I'm really keen about I will save it to read when I can but then I lose the community and connection aspect of being able to comment with other readers in real time, so it's not as appealing.

Expand full comment

I love the idea of hard word limits! I can definitely see this being useful. Thanks for sharing that :)

Expand full comment

I remember when most editors considered 500 to be the "standard wordcount" for a blog post. Nowadays its more like 1,500.

Expand full comment

That's encouraging! For some reason I feel like our attentions spans are getting shorter, not longer? But that seems to prove the opposite!

Expand full comment

@Mariah, They are getting shorter. And I don't think that is a good thing. I think one has to consider what kind of reader you are trying to attract as well. If your long form is good is better than your short then 500 words may not be enough. Whatever you write best is what you should write... regardless of length.

Expand full comment

I've been toying around with the 500 world limit as well. Many of my articles dive deep into topics and require more time and effort to get right. I want to keep these posts but also add "lighter" material that requires less energy. 500 words or less seems like a sweet spot for that.

Expand full comment

I think so! Especially when considering most people are probably reading the content on their phones. I always "preview" my articles on mobile before sending it out and that gives me a good visual as well for how long a letter looks and how likely folks are to engage with the whole thing. I also try to break it up visually and offer a lot of white space but I know that's not everyone's style!

Expand full comment

I approach it with the idea that someone will want to read my stories while sitting on the train, or subway during their commute, or reading while eating a sandwich during lunch. My posts tend to be in the 1500-2500 word range, but that's because they're fiction.

Expand full comment

Yes, longer fiction works.

Expand full comment

I'm curious to hear what you all think about my intended "paid" approach. My plan is to "go paid" but keep all my content in front of the paywall. My goal is to have readers subscribe purely to express their support for the content. I want my writing to win their allegiance. Artisans of the past sought patrons who provided them with livelihoods so they could be free to create. That's very desirable to me. I'm a good, experienced salesperson, but I don't want my sales acumen to be the factor. I want the quality of the work to speak for itself.

I'd very much appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.

Expand full comment

I can answer that. When I first started my 'Stack, a few of my friends bought Subscriptions the first day. I didn't have anything to offer them. So I thought, I'll just write a book and put it up behind the wall. But in life, shit happens, and it did to me, big time. So I ditched the paywall and thought exactly the same thing. I asked people to "donate" if they felt the writing was worth it. NOBODY wants to pay for something if you're giving it away for free. I have the same 6-7 core Paid Subscribers. But I've been here for a little over a year, and people wanted me to write something they found humorous, so I said fine, and put THAT up behind the paywall yesterday. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how that all pans out. My advice to you is put up the paywall, put whatever you think will work behind it, and just ignore it. If they come, they come. I'll add to my "mill" stories and play the waiting game. If you want to read it, buy me a cup of coffee.

Expand full comment

For #1: I've been using ChatGPT more and more to help me cut the fluff. I haven't actually used anything it gives me, but I'll feed it my writing and ask it to summarize and shorten. Doing this helps me see more clearly what my "point" is and helps me edit my own work much faster because it helps things feel less precious, if that makes sense.

#3: I'm in the same boat! Originally wanted to eventually go paid when I get x # of subscribers. Decided to just go for it so I'm flipping the switch this weekend!

Expand full comment

Be merciless. Read it out loud- you’ll see stuff that is redundant and hear the run on sentences. Get a second opinion before you publish. Remove anything that is not immediately relevant to the pace and topic. This is short form, we need to stay on topic or artfully circle back to it. Keeping everything you write is, frankly, self-indulgence. Write for the reader, not yourself. Of course, I break all these rules!

Expand full comment

Rules are made to be broken!

Expand full comment

🧠 - there's other good advice in the replies but for me it comes down to rereading my writing carefully and asking myself: 1) can I say this in fewer words 2) am I clearly expressing my intent and 3) am I needlessly repeating myself at any point?

Expand full comment

I refer to the opposite as "fat writing" and I work feverishly to reduce the fat wherever I see it, and then look again for more.

Expand full comment

Hi Austin, Regarding your last question, I keep all new essays free...but put them under lock after 2 weeks...plus send bonus ebooks and other gifts to paying subscribers.

I tried other systems before settling on this one, but I like having all readers (and new visitors) see new essays in their entirety.

Expand full comment

Did you notice any conversions after putting your content behind a paywall after two weeks? My concern is that new subscribers will see all the paywalled content and get discouraged or not poke around and read more of the archives. I'd love to hear others' thoughts!

Expand full comment

I only turned on paid subs recently and I just changed the archives to 4 weeks from 2. I am going to see how it goes and may put it back to 2 but I want folks to be able to look around a little more. We'll see.

Expand full comment

Yes - I've seen an uptick in conversions since that change, but I also put out a few rather long essays (20-minute reads and a 15-minute read, etc.)...and created an annotated directory called SoberStack...and ran a subscription sale.

Just to say, there are a number of variables that may have contributed to the increased conversions. But my feeling is that by putting out quality content each week, more folks get curious about what's behind the paywall in the archive.

Expand full comment

That I like. I believe the readers will come if you have quality writing. More so when it's fiction. It's hard to sell fiction because there are so many different genres and you have to find your niche, or should I say, the reader has to find you in "their" niche. If you write family drama, the fantasy writer is going to just pass you by. The same with short stories. I tend to write LONG fiction, almost novella length it seems, so the reader has to invest a lot of time. I break the stories up into sections and put them up once a week. It seems to work, I mean the readers are showing up, but sometimes it seems slow. But you never really know how fast you're growing because you have nothing to measure yourself against. You have to tell yourself it's not a race, or a competition, so relax and let it come to you.

Expand full comment

Wow, Dana, what a great idea. I will have to research how to move an essay from free to paid...but sounds like a good system for growing an audience!

Expand full comment

There's an option in settings to automatically paywall previous posts after a set amount of time (you can decide the number weeks). Good luck!

Expand full comment

Eliminate all adverbs. Find better verbs.

Expand full comment

Have you read about pledges? These can serve as a good signal for you as you're writing to see if there's a market for your work. https://on.substack.com/p/pledges

Expand full comment

I've received several pledges without promoting them. This further encourages me to pursue a voluntary pay strategy.

Expand full comment

✏️ My fellow Substack writers!

I am looking for guest writers to feature on The Books That Made Us, a community of bibliophiles and book lovers.

Every post is written by a different guest writer who discusses a β€˜foundational book’. A book that you read and reread and have thought about ever since. A book that shaped who you are today. A book that made you.

In 3 weeks since launch we have already garnered over 400 subscribers (and a 70% open rate) so it’s a great opportunity to get your writing in front of more eyeballs!

Details about how to write for us here:

https://booksthatmadeus.substack.com/p/write-for-us

Expand full comment

I absolutely love this! I’d love to see people swoon over the books that changed their lives! I’d love to pitch as well; I have 3 so I’ll take a look at the form :)

Expand full comment

Look forward to hearing your pitch!

Expand full comment

Love this idea and I know exactly what book/author it will be. It will be fun to relook at that influence so I'll check out your requirements. Thank you for a great prompt.

Expand full comment

You’re welcome! Looking forward to your pitch

Expand full comment

Great idea, and I'll send you my request to be a guest writer later.

Expand full comment

Looking forward to it!

Expand full comment

Yeah, I'm definitely into that. I have a book in mind, a collection of short stories, but would you be interested in a post about a photo book that shaped me? Or specifically writing?

Expand full comment

Can be any book you like! As long as it fits the criteria of being a foundational book for you

Expand full comment

Tremendous. It might take me a wee while, but I'll definitely be submitting something. Subscribed also. I love the idea.

Expand full comment

Thanks, Neil. There’s no rush, I intend this to be a long term project. Just had our second guest essay go out today

Expand full comment

It is a fantastic idea, count on hearing from me.

Expand full comment

Looking forward to it!

Expand full comment

Absolutely planning to submit! Loved reading the Lolita post and the concept generally.

Expand full comment

Love this! Can’t wait to read more and send a pitch.

Expand full comment

Looking forward to it!

Expand full comment

To start with the latest shiny toy in social, is anyone trying Threads, and finding it helping you attract new readers (and perhaps even paying subscribers) to your newsletter?

Expand full comment

I got 5 new subscribers in about 24 hours when I joined Threads. It was really noisy at first but it has died down and it is actually nice. I'm enjoying it.

Expand full comment

That's interesting! I noticed people were really excited about all the engagement they were getting in the first few days. I've not posted much on Threads because I didn't want to reuse my Instagram content there, but maybe it could be an opportunity to be more spontaneous and less curated.

Expand full comment

It’s like TikTok for writers. You have to spend some time curating your feed. If you’re not willing to do that, it won’t be beneficial.

Expand full comment

How did you get the subscribers from Threads? Posting specific articles or anything else?

Expand full comment

I posted a link to one of my posts and also responded to a post regarding Substacks. Basically just participating.

Expand full comment

Thanks for the info!

Expand full comment

Embarrassed to say I hadn't even thought of adding Threads to the sites I post links on. Perhaps a reflection of my attitude toward Meta in general, but worth the moment or two it takes anyway. Thanks!

Expand full comment

That's really great!

Expand full comment

Ooh that is great to know!

Expand full comment

Just sucked it up and joined today, pretty painless. Zero engagement but I also only have a handful of followers so far. I tried Mastodon which was a ghost town so this has to be better than that.

Expand full comment

It still feels like manic chaos to me. Lots of influencer accounts and companies like Pepsi trying to be β€œhip.” It’s early, but not a fan so far.

Expand full comment

It gave me the same energy as TikTok after a few hours and so I just stayed off of it. I didn’t like leaving feeling crappy and frazzled

Expand full comment

I’ve been very active on Threads! Last week I did something super silly and did a promo to draw a (terrible) picture of whoever reposted my newsletter. I ended up drawing like 20 pictures and sharing them all over threads.

People had a lot of fun, it got me a tiny bit of buzz, and by far my highest subscriber day! I added like 20% more subscribers to my list in one day.

I’m still a small newsletter, and never used Twitter, but the engagement on Threads right now makes it kinda fun to try stuff like that

Expand full comment

That’s really cool, Bryce! I wonder if β€” because Threads is an outgrowth of Insta β€” visual content like yours will be more common than it’s been on Twitter. Interesting…

Expand full comment

Good question, I really don't know! Right now I'm loving the ability to connect and converse on a platform that isn't overly monetized with a lot of the noise on the other platforms.

Expand full comment

I've been using Threads regularly since it launched, I also used Twitter extensively for 15 years before deleting my account in Nov. '22. I haven't really picked up many new newsletter subscribers as I'm mainly using Threads to rebuild parts of the social graph that I lost with Twitter. I have actually connected in some small ways with other Substack publishers via Threads, which seems odd but that's my experience. Threads is still way too chaotic for me, although blocked and muted account to the point where I don't have a lot of intrusions. I'll stick with it for now but I'm not going to put a huge investment into it at this time.

Expand full comment

Yes, I am because I like to be able to connect with my visual content on IG. Jury's still out, but I've made some good connections and picked up a couple subscriptions. I've also got subscribers I'm connected with there that I can interact with who don't use Notes. @drkathleenwaller if you want to connect :)

Expand full comment

Awesome! Just followed you :)

Expand full comment

Same! Oh, I'm also a runner but I'm injured so I can't think about running too much at the moment :)

Expand full comment

Threads seems to be generating reads and a few free subs for me. I am getting more through the link in my bio than my self promo posts.

Expand full comment

That's interesting...

Expand full comment

I’m on Threads and enjoying it. I’ve found Instagram to be good promoting my newsletter, in part because that where the art community is (& my newsletter is about deep engagement with art). Threads is still settling in to itself, so we’ll have to see, but I’m feeling optimistic.

Expand full comment

Also interested in this. Twitter was working and gave me a better SEO position.

Expand full comment

We aren't allowed to have it in the EU...just like we don't have Bard.

How is it?

Expand full comment

No threads in the EU? Interesting. Is there a EU version?

Expand full comment

Nope. Facebook is terrible with privacy, and there are a lot of regulations here. The issue is the connection between Instagram and Threads. I think they'll come to some kind of agreement.

Expand full comment

Thx for explaining. Interesting. Yesβ€” the privacy is a problem. I swear I think FB can now read my mind. I’ll be thinkingβ€” Oh I need to buy more almond milk and there’s an ad for Almond milk.

Expand full comment

Terrell (and anyone else who wants to join!), I’m trying to build a little community of Substack Writers over on Threads. Come join!

https://substack.com/@cosmographia/note/c-18534476?r=1nabyn&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

Expand full comment

Giddyup! I'll join you all

Expand full comment

Threads has been a total flop for new subs for me. Then again, I don't have a huge instagram following, nor twitter. I'm finding new people and posting content but I haven't seen any movement.

Expand full comment

Not yet. I'm still figuring out how to get a single person I know to see or like anything I post on Threads, although on FB people read, like and comment on what I post.

Expand full comment

🧠 After just three months on Substack, it's so refreshing to take part in a true "build it and they will come" ecosystem. By no fault of our own, so many of us have spent years trying to stage our work on numerous platforms that 1) never met our aesthetic tastes/needs and 2) offered no long-term support in sustaining our hard-earned audiences.

While some might dig through these comments looking for tips and tricks and "get rich quick" schemes, the great news is thatβ€”as is the case in real lifeβ€”showing up with authentic, original, and soulful work is the only sure shot for finding your audience on Substack.

Good recognize good, and there are so many profoundly gifted folks on here. I've only discovered them because they float to the top, a unique feature in terms of discoverability in the social media era.

Expand full comment

Also three months in, and feeling the exact same thing! The grind of building a subscriber list is tough, but I've connected with a lot of amazing folks on here through contributing and being a part of this community.

You're right. It's not about getting rich here. It's about building out a thoughtful space for yourself on the internet, and your own community you can reach and connect with. That's so special and powerful, and SHOULDN'T be easy to do.

Expand full comment

Love to hear that. And for me, I'm constantly wrestling with if I'd prefer to deactivate the paid tier all together (the antithesis of treating this as a get rich scheme). I'm leaning more towards having it available for general support for a fully free newsletter, but I'm going to give it 6 months to make the call.

Expand full comment

Good idea. I like that mentality, too.

I really don't know, overall. But I do know I want to write. The beauty of this platform is allows the room for you to continue to tinker and see what works for you when it comes to monetizing, or not at all if you don't want to.

Expand full comment

100%. Keep on man!

Expand full comment

Finally feels so good to get my brother's true story out there...couldn't get much interest trying to publish because couldn't catch the attention of an agent. This way, I'm serializing it myself...up to Chapter 10, the reader decides what they want to read/listen to...mine's free and am getting good feedback and that is the most important reaction for a writer....

Expand full comment

It’s identical to how musicians have been DIY releasing for years now… very reassuring and inspiring that there’s an adequate space for novelists, poets, and writers of all kinds to do the same and find an audience.

Expand full comment

Yes! Agree with this so much. People who enter Substack soon learn that it’s a mindful and intentional journey here on Substack. Your voice matters and the relationships you create here do too.

I felt like I could breathe when I got away from all the β€œget rich quick”, β€œsuper strats to mind blowing success” talk.

I do want to be strategic with my Substack, yes, but I don’t think it needs to happen in that normalized way. Intention is the word that comes to mind when I’m here. Whether you’re writing or engaging!

Expand full comment

Perfectly said. I’d add however that this dynamic could shift one day being that so much of the user base is currently made up of genuine creatives and lovers of long form expression. Here’s hoping that intention and the thoughtful dance between artist and audience can be maintained.

Expand full comment

I really, REALLY hope so!!

Expand full comment

Here’s hopin!

Expand full comment

I'm a year into my haphazard and stress inducing lay inconsistent journey on substack and yes! The substack team has a presence and visibility that I haven't seen anywhere else.

The community here is kind and helpful.

I believe that if growth is something you'd like to focus on you can find it here in heaps!

Expand full comment

May your long future on Substack be stress free!

Expand full comment

I’m a little over a month in and also loving this platform. Authentic, original, soulful--damn fine things to look for and aim for. :)

Expand full comment

✏️ Quick question...,

HOW ON GOD’S HOLY HOLLOW EARTH DO I GET PEOPLE TO READ MY STUFF???

Like, I have around 20 subs, but I want people to recognize my writing more.

Hope someone, anyone, can help. Thanks.

Expand full comment

One recommendation I have is to check out Sarah Fay’s Substack, Writers at Work β€” many good suggestions! https://www.writersatwork.net

Expand full comment

I just made a F-k it purchase and signed up. Thx for recommend!

Expand full comment

Thank you for this suggestion. I just checked out Sarah's information and I signed up for a session!

Expand full comment

Thank you πŸ™πŸ»

Expand full comment

I suggest being more consistent with your post schedule. Also, find other Substacks that are along the same theme as yours, and become a part of those writers' communities by reading, liking, and commenting in meaningful ways.

Expand full comment

I agree with Holly’s advice. If you want people to engage with your writing - engage with there’s.

Expand full comment

This is really great feedback. You need to give to the community in order to get back!

Expand full comment

✏️ My fellow Substack writers!

I am looking for guest writers to feature on The Books That Made Us, a community of bibliophiles and book lovers.

Every post is written by a different guest writer who discusses a β€˜foundational book’. A book that you read and reread and have thought about ever since. A book that shaped who you are today. A book that made you.

In 3 weeks since launch we have already garnered over 400 subscribers (and a 70% open rate) so it’s a great opportunity to get your writing in front of more eyeballs!

Details about how to write for us here:

https://booksthatmadeus.substack.com/p/write-for-us

Expand full comment

This guide may be a good read if you haven't checked it out yet! "Getting your first 100 signups"

https://on.substack.com/p/getting-your-first-100-signups

Expand full comment

Recommendations have been great for helping grow my reader base. Try connecting with other writers in your niche, following and recommending them helps as well.

Expand full comment

The first thing I did, even though it wasn't easy, was to go to every single one of my friends and say, "It would make me happy if you subscribed to my newsletter." (Well, maybe I didn't say it exactly that way, but they got the hint.) That helped me with my first 50-or-so subscribers, and many years later, it's no longer my friends who are my biggest readers.

Expand full comment

I publish an email every Friday to help! It’s called Stay Creative on Substack - there’s a whole section if you’re reading on desktop - I’ve published about 12 now. πŸ₯°

Expand full comment

The hardest part about writing is that you have to market your writing. You can't get away from it. It's a slow climb out of the mire. It's taken me a year to get 200 readers. I just quit Twitter, but I still put my stuff up on Facebook and LinkedIn. My Instagram was hacked, and I haven't bothered with it since. I try to respond and add things here (which is a great place to get your name out there), and use Notes. Leave comments and support those who have similar sites to yours, other than that, be patient. Some people have been on here 2-3 years and are still struggling, while others have shot through the roof. Just relax, stick to a schedule, and tell yourself, they'll show up eventually.

Expand full comment

Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

1. Write great content

2. Network

3. You have to self-promote. Shamelessly. Find threads on all the social media platforms, engage, write a compelling hook and share the essay. (don't spam, engage)

Expand full comment

I do email blasts every so often and that is a great way to grow the initial base, because those people probably know you personally and are more willing to support your work.

Expand full comment

Network, use notes, come to office hours, do audience building activities like I point out in my article about audience building: bookfunnel, storyorigin, group builders, conventions, anything that can bring in emails can grow your substack.

Expand full comment

It’s a slow burn - but as many say concentrate on your writing - get enjoyment and pleasure from that - the following will happen naturally. I see substack as a way to engage myself in the act of writing and of organizing and honing my skills ... keep at it!

Expand full comment

Start sending your stuff to people you know.

Expand full comment

Hey πŸ‘‹

3 weeks ago I came back on my newsletter to see a huge number of new followers (welcome everyone!) I still have a single paid subscriber but I’m close to the 200 free subs ! Hope to see everyone there !

Expand full comment

Congrats!

Expand full comment

I just launched my Substack todayβ€”ahhh! Nervous and excited to see what happens from here.

✏️ My question is re: sections. What are common use cases for these? How did you determine whether to add sections or not? And how has that affected your subscriptions or engagement with readers?

Expand full comment

My sections are seasons of my newsletter. For example: https://everythingisamazing.substack.com/s/season-3

(Working in seasons has really helped me stay focused on particular topics, get people excited about what's coming next, do some paid subscriber drives, work with beginnings and endings in my marketing, and have a proper break now and again!)

Expand full comment

I love how you've set this up. How do you decide what to include in each 'season'?

Expand full comment

Thank you, Heather. Making it up as I go! In this case, I've just wrapped season 5, and I only decided a few weeks ago what season 6 will be about.

Expand full comment

Always a mystery with you, Mike!

Expand full comment

Thx Mark for all your advice. Question. Do you engage in comments with each subscriber?

Expand full comment

I wrote a huge article on how to use sections effectively. I use it to segment my work and give more value to members behind my paywall. https://authorstack.substack.com/p/how-to-use-substack-sections-to-beef

Expand full comment

Well done Erika, welcome!!

Expand full comment

Congrats! I honestly think the #1 question is whether you have the bandwidth. I have also considered sections, but every time I think more deeply about it I realise I would maintain it for about a month before burning out.

Expand full comment

I write memoir and also more general life stuff. I use two sections - 'memoir' and 'readsknitsgardens'. It means I can find things on my site and hopefully others can do the same!

Expand full comment

Congrats, Erika!! This guide may be helpful to you re: sections - https://on.substack.com/p/a-guide-to-publication-sections

Expand full comment

🧠I just want to publicly declare July National Serialization Month.

1. Stay tuned for a great interview with E. Jean Carroll, Mary Trump, and Jenn Taub, the creators of the game-changing Substack serialization The Italian Lesson, which I had the honor of conducting for Substack’s podcast The Active Voice.

Read the romance novel here: https://www.backstoryserial.com/

+

2. Upcoming β€˜Serialize Your Novel with Artistry and (Yes) Ease’ workshop at Writers at Work.

Find out more here: https://www.writersatwork.net/p/serialize-your-novel-or-memoir-on

Happy National Serialization Month!🧠

Expand full comment

If you want to know the "secret" to serializing a novel, read her. She has lots of FREE reads that will help you serialize your work if you've never done it before. She is a Godsend.

Expand full comment

✏️ - I am curious to know more about the subscriber referrals that was released recently. Have you turn it on? What kind of rewards do you offer? Has it helped you grow your audience?

Expand full comment

I turned it on. But finding it hard to come up with nice persk to give back 😊

But hopefully the ones I offer is good enough (for now)

Expand full comment

I launched mine last week on The Books That Made Us. Early days but has started to work. Feel free to check out my referral page for ideas

Expand full comment

I have mixed feelings about referrals and wrote a note about referrals done wrong. Basically, I think referrals could be a good thing but explaining the complications to readers seems cumbersome and a bit tone deaf. https://substack.com/@joycewycoff/note/c-18395551

Expand full comment

Some easily forget that referrals are not simply something you ask for, they're something you have to earn. If you feel you've earned them, they become easy to ask for.

Expand full comment

I agree ... however, as I've seen people try to explain how they work, it feels like they're wasting a lot of writing space explaining it. Here what I wrote recently about referrals ... https://gratitudemojo.substack.com/p/to-referral-or-not-to-referral

Expand full comment

I have turned it on. I haven't focused on it though. It's...fine.

Expand full comment

✏️ For anyone who's had a paid subscription program on Substack for more than a year, I wonder what your experience has been with renewals? I just passed the one-year mark, and one person initiated a chargeback, claiming that he'd asked to be taken off the list but was charged without permission.

I went and rewrote the automated renewal message that Substack sends out in my own words, but I wonder if I should be more proactive in contacting paid subscribers when their renewal comes up?

🟧 For the Substack team: What do you feel is best practice here?

Expand full comment

I’m in Year 3 of being a paid publication. The stats on my dashboard’s subscriber report indicate I’m retaining 95 percent of my paid subscribers, and I don’t give any kind of heads-up about renewals other than the automated emails that Substack sends on my behalf.

My weekly newsletter serves as a community newspaper for the Dallas suburb my family calls home. I have nearly 770 paid subscribers plus 1,140 free subscribers. My goal is 3,000 paid, because that’s how many people voted the last time one of our city council elections went to a runoff; if you care enough to participate in a runoff election, I figure you ought to also care about my newsletter’s content.

Expand full comment

Thanks for sharing and love the idea of a community Substack. Best wishes for getting to your 3000 goal.

Expand full comment

I'm about at the same stage and would like to see responses also.

Expand full comment

This is a great question, Marcia, and one that I have been thinking about, too. Most of my paid subscribers renew. My biggest churn comes through credit cards that have expired or stolen or otherwise. I wonder if it’s appropriate to reach out. I know that they receive an automatic email, so I’m thinking I should just let it go? What do you think?

Expand full comment

✏️ I'm thinking about the possibility of creating a hub of special-interest substacks. I'm not sure how to do it and am wondering if anyone has already created such a thing?

Expand full comment

BookStackers have an informal support group.

Expand full comment

I know that it's been done for fiction writing: https://talebones.substack.com/s/talestack-news and I'm toying with the idea for my own niche ("Gardenstack"), hopefully as a collaborative project with other writers.

Expand full comment

I agree with this. Also Fictionistas.

Expand full comment

Thanks Erin ... I'll check out Talebones. Good luck with your own garden focused one. I'm still trying to figure out how it would work to the advantage of all involved.

Expand full comment

Hi Joyce, I created one for recovery and sobriety Substacks here (and placed it in my navigation bar): SoberStack https://danaleighlyons.substack.com/p/sober-substack-addiction-recovery-sobriety

Expand full comment

Thanks Dana ... I'll check it out.

Expand full comment

I’m not sure if this is the kind of thing you mean but I recently started a substack that is entirely community led.

Wrote this elsewhere in this thread so forgive me for copying and pasting:

✏️ My fellow Substack writers!

I am looking for guest writers to feature on The Books That Made Us, a community of bibliophiles and book lovers.

Every post is written by a different guest writer who discusses a β€˜foundational book’. A book that you read and reread and have thought about ever since. A book that shaped who you are today. A book that made you.

In 3 weeks since launch we have already garnered over 400 subscribers (and a 70% open rate) so it’s a great opportunity to get your writing in front of more eyeballs!

Details about how to write for us here:

https://booksthatmadeus.substack.com/p/write-for-us

Expand full comment

I have written many articles and have from 50 to 90 subscribers but only 2 to 3 ever click a like button or write a comment. I suspect my readers are fearful of responding because my newsletter topics are politics and energy from a common sense, conservative perspective. I stopped posting for a while but tried again. About the same response. Not sure this is worth the time or effort.

Expand full comment

If you’re enjoying it and have something to share, I’d say keep doing it. Don’t measure on vanity metrics. You have 50-90 folks that care enough to subscribe! That’s great. Consistency will win out, if you can get down to a weekly cadence and continue to share, it’ll grow on its own and you may build a readership.

Expand full comment

I posted more than weekly for over a year. My subscription was free to all. FYI, I have written and published over twenty books. Check website at https://www.americanfreedompubkications.com if interested.

Expand full comment

Only a very small percentage of subscribers ever comment or like. Most just read in their inbox. Don’t get disheartened, it doesn’t mean they don’t like your content.

Expand full comment

My Substack is also common sense conservative. Should we cross-subscribe? https://grahamcunningham.substack.com/

Expand full comment

Don’t give up! Maybe experiment with Substack’s podcast features or consolidate some of your articles into a book for Amazon. I’m new here and would be more than willing to collaborate on something.

Expand full comment

Want to cross-subscribe?

Expand full comment

Sure, but I imported from Medium the other day. How does it work?

Expand full comment

Easy. Just click on this link: https://grahamcunningham.substack.com/

Then press 'Subscribe'; then 'no pledge' (because I don't have a paid option yet). It then 'next' gives you a few options. And that's it - done.

Expand full comment

Just a couple comments, since we are in similar boats as I write from a relatively conservative, Constitutional perspective as well.

Never liked ALL CAPS for anything. Also I try to make the titles be the lead, so they're rarely one or two words - if they are, I like having that summary sentence. For example, my last article Is "COS waits until January" about a recent resolution to have Delaware call for a Convention of States.

I've been doing this for over 15 years (mostly before Substack) and it's rare to have a lot of comments - probably 2-5% of readers on that sort of topic. But keep at it.

Do you share on social media and Notes? I think that helps too.

Expand full comment

It just depends on the content. My content is just sharing information so it rarely gets comments and I think that's OK. If i was trying to provoke or push opinions then I would be more concerned.

Expand full comment

🧠 My weekly newsletter serves as a community newspaper for the Dallas suburb my family calls home. I have nearly 770 paid subscribers plus 1,140 free subscribers. My goal is 3,000 paid subscribers, because that’s how many people voted the last time one of our city council elections went to a runoff; if you care enough to participate in a runoff election, I figure you ought to also care about my newsletter’s content.

Here are ways I've built my subscriber numbers that have nothing to do with other Substack newsletters:

β€’ I'm always looking out for people on Facebook and Nextdoor who are asking questions about topics I've covered. When I find them, I provide a link to that coverage.

β€’ I'm a paid sponsor of youth sports teams in my community.

β€’ I'm a member of my community's chamber of commerce.

β€’ I created a print edition of my newsletter that I passed out during my community's Fourth of July parade.

β€’ I created promotional T-shirts via teepublic.com. In my next free edition (last edition of each month), I'm going to tell my subscribers that anybody who buys a T-shirt will get complimentary access to my paid content for one year.

Expand full comment

I really like the hyper local approach you took. It can be hard to maintain this for a traditional publication, but substack seems like an excellent avenue to follow the same model.

Expand full comment

Writing on Substack has really changed my life because it’s made me accountable and has helped organize my writing. I find social media anxious-making and don’t use any. Which means most of my subscribers have found me organically on Substack. I started four months ago and am growing slowly and steadily with an engaged audience.

Can’t ask for more! Thank you!

Expand full comment

🟧 I think it would be great to be able to have more than three blurbs on the About page.

✏️ I'm just wondering what other writers do. I rotate them (when I remember!) but I have been wondering about creating a separate blurbs page. Thoughts?

Expand full comment

Another place to add a blurb is at the email footer.

Expand full comment

ooh, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks!

Expand full comment

I have created several pages for things. IDK if I would create a different page. I might add them to my about page instead. IDK who would go searching just for blurbs, but I can see them adding value when somebody goes to my about page to find out more about me.

Expand full comment

Thanks, Russell. I didn't know it was possible to edit the About page like that, but I might give it a whirl. Cheers

Expand full comment

I just posted this on another comment but am throwing it in here in case someone in your thread knows the answer. I had some blurbs that I was unable to post on my About page. I was told the writer did not have recommendations turned on but I don't think that was the case. Now when I go back to them the blurbs have disappeared which is unlikely because I have become good Substack buddies with these authors. Any idea what happened...anyone?

Expand full comment

✏️ Folks who have done pieces celebrating milestones:

I have my 100th post coming up soon! I want to make it something special for my readers, to peel back the layer of the onion and share my writing process, along with a little biographical info (like how I became interested enough to write about this stuff every day).

What sort of things should I be thinking about, given that I want to do something like this?

Much appreciated, brain trust!

Expand full comment

Sometimes an example is as good as anything: https://howaboutthis.substack.com/p/how-about-this-the-12th-month-and (from my year 1 retrospective).

Expand full comment

I think I like this style. It's very personal, but it's also relevant to what our readers want to see. I think they feel like they're a part of the community as well!

Expand full comment

I tried to make mine a fun, community celebration since that's why I reached the milestone in the first place! Here's my 100 subscriber post: https://thebarefootbeat.substack.com/p/yay-we-did-it

Expand full comment

I spy a dog I just fell in love with!

Expand full comment

They just did a Substack about this a few weeks back. But if you want my perspective I did a one-year retrospective this week.

https://swartz.substack.com/p/monday-memory-a-year-of-substack

Expand full comment

I've thought about doing an intro. I have one coming up that introduces a lot of my background and why I explore all these topics. I do think it's nice for people to see who you are (I'm pretty sure you're not a goat.....(wait.....you are the GOAT but....))

Expand full comment

Michael, that was a BAAAAAAAAd pun!

Expand full comment

I can't do better puns.

Expand full comment

Don't you DARE change.

Expand full comment

Hi! 2 format questions / suggestions

1. When I embed another Substack article within my post, sometimes I'm able to change it to Small/Medium/Large size and sometimes not. It's a great feature - any idea why it doesn't work sometimes?

2. I would absolutely love the possibility of making either post templates or separate email header/footer for different sections, or both. If either exists, I would also like to know about it. :)

Thanks a lot!

Expand full comment

Number 2 would be awesome

Expand full comment

These are great questions. I'm following up about #1, and I shared #2 with our team as feedback. (You can "duplicate" any post in your published archives, but make templates rn)

Expand full comment

Thank you!

Expand full comment

Update: You can only change sizes when it's your own post you're embedding!

Expand full comment

Ok, great thanks.

Then changing size for the others is also a suggestion. :)

Expand full comment

🟧 - Hi folks! I wanted to ask if there are any benchmarks we need to reach for being considered a featured publication and/or verified? Thank you!

Expand full comment

I’m curious about this too!

Expand full comment

No benchmarks! We feature all sorts of publications. More info here: https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037455112-How-do-I-get-featured-on-Substack-

Expand full comment

Thank you, this is really helpful!

Expand full comment

Thanks for asking! I was wondering about this myself!

Expand full comment

🟧 Hi Substack team. I'm interested in the new app feature on our (some?) profiles displaying subscriber numbers and the ability to click through to see the names of subscribers. I get that I want to do that for my subscribers, but am unsure about having individual subscribers visible to all. Could that be a toggle on-off feature? ✏️ What do other writers and subscribers think about it here?

Expand full comment

Are you talking about how to turn off the likes "facepile" on your posts? You can do that if you want: https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037462712-How-do-I-enable-or-disable-likes-on-my-posts-

If you'd like to turn off your subscriber count, you can also do that here: https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/7999279240212-What-is-a-Welcome-page-#:~:text=Subscriber%20count%3A%20If%20your%20publication,info%22%20to%20remove%20the%20number.

Expand full comment

Hi Bailey. I'm talking about the app feature that I think just popped up this week. Beside my profile name on my profile page it says (see subscribers). Beside someone else's it shows the broad number of subscribers (100+ or 1000+), then if you click on it, you can actually see which subscribers they are.

Expand full comment

Yes this is a problem, I would like to know how to disable this feature.

Expand full comment

Thanks Bailey. I would imagine many readers would be furious to see their names exposed ANYWHERE on the internet without their express permission.

Expand full comment

No it’s a new thing that’s recently shown up on everyone’s personal profiles - it’s shows subscriber count (10+, 100’s, 1000’s etc) and then you can click through to see a list of people’s paid and unpaid subscribers. Feels very strange to have rolled that out with no heads up, and with no option to turn it off?

Expand full comment

Hey substack fam! I finally have something to be proud of, having resumed regular writing, even if it's something I can't publish. Feels so good getting things out of my head again.

Hope everyone is having a nice productive time ❀️

Expand full comment

What a lovely note. Keep writing!

Expand full comment

✏️ - looking for feedback on my niche

I just kinda started writing. Launched 3 months ago and building a bit of a following (here comes triple digits!).

I find myself crossing across intersections between mental health, productivity, fatherhood and a bit of business. All of these things encompassing me write now and feel right to write about, but how important is it to niche down?

Should I rebrand and go deep on mental health? Should I keep going and trust the process with minor tinkers?

Fellow writers are reaching out and I have some amazing collabs on the horizon, but I just want to make sure my spider web is set up to catch folks and have them subscribe once they land on my page.

Expand full comment

Hey Bryce--I started 13 months ago with no niche. I figured I'd find that as I went along, but you know what? I found out that my niche is me. Yep. Subscribers read because I write about my real life, including topics like being a stem cell donor, wondering if I got it right as a parent, navigating parenting an adult son in recovery from an opioid addiction, book reviews, delicious meals, my small business event venue, and living in small town, rural Mississippi where my friends and community are culturally very different from me. I recently took a break, and I actually had several readers reach out via email to see how everything is going. So my advice is to write in your authentic voice. That's what readers will keep coming back for.

Expand full comment

I love this and this aligns completely with my intuition, as well. I guess it's easy to get swept up in the traditional advice of "find a specific niche, don't venture outside of that", and think I'm doing something wrong.

The small audience I have build is VERY engaged and has led to a lot of one-to-one relationships, and even media opportunities (I was on National news yesterday talking about mental health!), so something is WORKING, it'll just take time to mass an audience this way, I presume.

Thanks for taking the time to respond and share your experience, Holly. It really helps realign my focus and is a great use case that what I'm doing isn't nuts.

Expand full comment

Just took a look at your publication. You had me at "burnt out executive" :)

Expand full comment

Advice in the worth what your paying category ... You're the writer. If you're in this for the long haul, you need to be able to write what you're interested in. Plus, this is a "long tail" media meaning you might not find as many subscribers for a "productivity seeking fathers with an interest in mental health" category as you might for a more generic "mental health" category, but your readers might be more loyal and more willing to support you financially. I think figuring out what our strategy is (both personally and commercially) is one of the most important decisions we will make. Fortunately, it's always changeable. Best wishes.

Expand full comment

Thanks so much for this, Joyce. I love this perspective and it aligns with my thoughts. I’m not interested in starting a β€œmental health blog” or a β€œbusiness blog” -- which may get more quick wins ... I want to write about my perspective on many things.

The audience may just take longer to build but that’s ok.

Really appreciate your response and this validation

Expand full comment

Bryce ... I find it a challenge to keep my two objectives in balance ... I want to build a business ... but only about what I want to write about. I think it's important to understand from the start that some genres/categories are just naturally going to be bigger than others. I'm never going to be another @HeatherCoxRichardson. (but am so thankful she exists!). Your perspective is the gift you will offer your readers ... go for it!

Expand full comment

Hi Bryce. Your challenge is something that so many of us face. (If it helps to know you are not alone 😁) It sounds like you have some really interesting topics to write about....topics that you are interested in yourself. It also sounds like you're already starting to build a following - kudos to you. Perhaps you are being too hard on yourself, thinking you need to niche down, when you already are developing a community.

Since you have only been at this for a few months, I would stop for a moment and give yourself a 'high five' for how far you have come. Then....as you said....trust the process and tinker as you go along. I'm in year 2 of Kindness Magnet and have been down a similar path. What I've found is the people you are writing for will become your tribe. Trust the process. You've got this! πŸ’š

Expand full comment

Tim Ferris said that he tried to make 25% of his audience happy with every interview and if he does that then he hits everyone every month. I think you could benefit from some sort of cross-sectional niche, but I don't think you have to write different things, just find a holistic way to talk about your publication so the right people will find it. Maybe it's how to keep your mental health strong will being an entrepreneur and a father. IDK.

Expand full comment

🧠 ON GETTING MORE SUBSCRIBERS:

For anyone who is either asking, or wondering silently (yes, I'm an introvert) about how to get more subscribers, I'd like to share my experience in the hopes that it will be useful. Caveat: both my Substack newsletters are currently free.

I started Kindness Magnet a couple of years ago. I shared it with my friends through email and Facebook. I subscribed to other writing that I enjoyed on Substack and engaged thoughtfully with those writers. They are wonderful people! I tried Twitter - for me it was a huge time suck. I know others like @Mike Sowden have had success. I participate in The Sample, which has brought me quite a few subscribers. I recommend other work on my own Substacks (so easy to use the Recommendation feature in Settings). I used to fret over subscribes and unsubscribes (cheer for one and slump in defeat for the other), but I've pretty much stopped doing that. I have a little over 700 subscribers on Kindness Magnet. My new Substack (After 21 Club) launched 2 weeks ago and has about 25 subscribers. I haven't shared it with friends or Facebook - still noodling around with content.

If it helps, I have found that, after about 500 subscribers, the publication seems to gain traction and subscribers.

I used to worry about what I wrote - would people like it, etc. I've stopped doing that and just write what about what I enjoy and what I enjoy exploring. I'm not an expert. But I enjoy sharing. As long as that's what floats my boat, I'll continue.

For those of you who are writing, I hope you will continue to share what you have to offer. πŸ’š

Expand full comment

I've heard the same, that once I reach the magic 500 number things will fall in line more. Until then I slog along, happily! Nearly at 300, yay! Def feels like a summer slump lately but trying not to notice the numbers much (or too much). I too am introvert so I'll forgive myself for not being a master saleswoman and just be proud of doing the good real work.

Expand full comment

It sounds like you're doing great! And the most important part....you are enjoying it. Sometimes when I get a little discouraged, I just stand up and give myself a high five, just for the sheer joy of getting a few words on the page. It helps! πŸ‘‹

Happy Summer!

Expand full comment

Thank you, high five!!

Expand full comment

This is all round awesome Heather, thank you!

Expand full comment

Aww, thank you, Donna.πŸ€—

Expand full comment

I really like this, especially the last bit about not worrying about what you wrote. Write to write. Trust the process and have the courage to share.

700 subs is nothing to sneeze at! Great work.

Expand full comment

Thank you, Bryce. 🌞

Expand full comment

✏️ I've missed @S.E Reid's encouraging words normally posted during every Writers Office Hours. Does anyone know if she is okay, enjoying vacation, or whatever?

Expand full comment

She posts regularly on Notes. I think maybe she's stepped back from Office Hours because she's posting on Notes.

Expand full comment

Thanks, that's one possibility that didn't occur to me!

Expand full comment

Come and hang out in Notes, it's a nice space, at least if you follow the right people.

Expand full comment

I’m starting to, after avoiding it initially because of the complete lack of content moderation. Like you said, it’s a nice space IF you follow the right people!

Expand full comment

I've noticed her absence also ... and wishing her the best.

Expand full comment

Me too. Hopefully taking a vacay.

Expand full comment

✏️ How do you guys sift through these office hours without your head wanting to explode? πŸ˜† (It's kind of a half joke, and half directed at the structure of these office hours. Looking at you, Substack.) I just sift through from the top... I guess the icons help a bit too.

Expand full comment

It is a constant challenge. Several of us suggested the office hours be separated into different threads, which did happen but there were only two specific threads and no third "miscellaneous" option, so it didn't work well, at least for me. Today is the first time in a while that (unless I missed something) there is just one free-for-all conversation without separate threads. I did learn one helpful tip (don't remember who shared it, but thank you!): if you click on the grey line on the left you can collapse topics you're not interested in. That makes it easier to find content you want to read and reply to without scrolling through as many posts that aren't relevant.

Expand full comment

Oh that’s a great tip. Thank you. I once saw someone ask the substack team for a webinar or something a bit more visual/interactive.

Expand full comment

I just drink from the fire house and respond my butt off! I don't really know, I find I easily get lost in the shuffle on here because the engagement is nuts. But I'm loving the connections and support you can make during this brief little window on Thursdays, although it's quite overwhelming!

Expand full comment

Me too. I just do it for a short time and deal with all I can.

Expand full comment

Haha, agreed. It's drinking from the comment firehose!

Expand full comment

OMG...best question! Yes, do tell!

Expand full comment

I usually can't make it real-time, so I end up looking at them async / after the event. I filter at the top by "Chronological" and work my way slowly down the list...

Expand full comment

I look for the right icons.

Expand full comment

✏️🟧 Hi stackers. Thx so much for these Thursday mornings. My question is about Notes. Is there an algorithm that prioritizes β€œcelebrity” stackers as the first to pop up in my Notes or email notification of Notes? There are my favorite lesser known stackers who don’t show up. Thx!

Expand full comment

stackers?

Expand full comment

My kids still get a laughβ€” I abbreviate everything. It’s the NYer in me. You just gave me an idea for an essay. Thx! 🀣

Expand full comment

Hi CK, our ranking doesn't account much for "celebrity" stackers. We heavily favor writers you interact the most with and are subscribed to.

Expand full comment

Great to know! Thx for responding!

Expand full comment

We were curious about this, too. Looks like a few others asked similar questions today. Hopefully one of y’all will get a response.

Expand full comment

✏️ Hi, I have been a rather insecure member of Substack for a year, with a newsletter called Moments of Connection, for which I got good feedback but would then go months without posting. Battling the demons of doubt and all that. I'm so happy to be here, and want to take the next step in getting involved, sharing inspiration, staying positive and hey, starting a paid subscription! I would appreciate advice on how to reach people to announce it. It will be a memoir-based musing (hopefully sometimes amusing as well) on synchronicity, past lives, deja vu and the beauty of the unexplained... called "On the Road with Bob Dylan and Other Unsolved Mysteries".

🟧

Expand full comment

My advice is just to get comfortable with posting and sharing. Do it consistently. Don't let your feelings become a barrier to the work. Figure out a schedule, and post. Even if you don't love what you're posting, just do it. It DOES get easier. And you WILL make mistakes. But thats okay! Nothing will every be perfect and it's just important that you are doing.

Expand full comment

Thanks, Bryce. This all sounds good, consistent, comfortable, watch out for feelings as barriers. All resonates. Post even what you don't love, but post! Okay...taking this in with lots of gratitude....

Expand full comment

Reach out whenever. Happy to help with a tiny push whenever you need it. Consistency is everything. The work doesn't matter. Don't judge the "quality" of the work. Judge the amount of work. Pat yourself on the back whenever you achieve your consistency metrics and think VERY LITTLE about the vanity metrics or how "good" you think the work is.

Expand full comment

Bryce, I have to admit that I totally and vehemently disagree with you. ONLY the work matters. We write to write. It's EASY to write vast quantities of junk (see the many advertorials). It's all about the quality of the work, the craft. That's the joy in writing.

Expand full comment

That's a very fair point of view, Howard. I'd say that "junk" is subjective. If you're writing for the right reasons, for yourself and your desire to share, then who can say it's "junk"? I understand your point on advertorials, but in the context here we're not talking about ads. We're talking about the craft of writing.

I'd suggest someone who wants to write, to write. Consistently. Don't judge the quality of the work. That will get better and come in time. As long as you're writing for the right reasons and it's something you want to be doing, don't let anyone discourage you dude to perceived "quality".

I'd stand behind that completely, any day of the week.

Expand full comment

I suspect Bob Bly would disagree about ads not being writing. And while I agree the more you write the better you get, I must acknowledge the role of many great advisers and teachers who informed my writing and helped improve my writing.

Stephen King says writing is mind-reading. The writer sends out their thoughts and the reader receives them. That being the case I want to be sure my writing clearly conveys my thoughts. I agree that people who want to write just to write can just write, but if you're writing for your readers, which Substack enables so well, you need more input, more input.

Expand full comment

I really appreciate the conversation about this. I have written for a long time, but always suffer the worry if itΒ΄s any good, no matter how many people say they like it. And this doubt stops me writing, my battery dies, and I have to start over to build some confidence, all of which I suppose could be chalked up to the lack of discipline. I agree itΒ΄s the work that matters, and at the same time, Man o Man I need to find my way to consistency! Really hoping that combining what you both have said puts the hydrogen with the oxygen and creates FLOW!

Expand full comment

That sounds really interesting! My best advice would be to write for you. Write what's on your heart, your mind, the stories you tell over and over. That will help you connect to your authentic audience. I'd also say to engage in other newsletters in the comments or notes- authentically, of course! The more you discover your tribe on Substack (or anywhere) the easier it will be for them to discover YOU!

Expand full comment

Aha! Magic words, the freedom to write the stories I tell over and over...makes me notice how I have a taboo against doing just that! Thanks for all these thoughts.!!!

Expand full comment

I can relate to how you feel! One of the things I remind myself of on a regular basis is that Substack is a new-ish platform to most of us, so we're all in various stages of trying things and figuring out what works. That sort of gives me permission to be a beginner and not take myself too seriously. 🫢

Expand full comment

Interesting and useful perspective, Christy, thank you. In fact, that is a very liberating point of view. Zen mind, beginnerΒ΄s mind!

Expand full comment

We have a great resource on how to plan and promote your launch if you're looking for one! https://on.substack.com/i/41113715/crafting-a-launch-announcement-post

Expand full comment

Wow, what a great resource, Bailey, thank you!

Expand full comment

Christina, I can relate. My biggest challenge has been to trust my writer's voice. There IS a part of me that has something to say but it's dangerous voice and scary to say. The hardest thing for me is to risk rejection and just let my own voice out there. When I do those tend to be moments of connection!

Expand full comment

Hey, I had to do a double take as I read this, because it could have been me writing it! Thanks, and itΒ΄s good to see those words in the mirror of your note, risk rejection. The nib I pretend is something else. But there it is. Yup.

Expand full comment

:) And there's more . . . the risk we take to do that is the missing piece that launches us. The excluded voice has the message we need!

Expand full comment

Christina, when I was working in industry I would write fairly regularly just to experience the wonderful catharsis that comes from writing. I'd get lost in the writing and it was wonderful. When I left industry to become a freelance commercial copywriter I found great success writing in my client's voice to promote their message. No catharsis, but good money. Then I found Substack and started two newsletters (publications?). Now I get to get lost in my writer's catharsis on a regular basis. It's been fifteen years and it's GREAT to be back. It's like an athlete being "in the zone" where they do everything right on autopilot.

Expand full comment

And that is where I hope to be headed. Right there in catharsis on a regular basis, rather than the rare occasion when i have worked for many weeks on one piece. I know that zone is waiting for me. What I dread, perhaps, what stops me most of all, is the editing. I absolutely hate it, because so often I destroy the authentic voice it flowed out with in the original, when I fiddle with it, lose the rhythm, and it becomes self-conscious, labored, etc. The regular basis! ThatΒ΄s what I want.

Expand full comment

Here is what has worked for me regarding growth.

Recommendations-100 percent

Notes-Not so much.

Cross promotion-Hit or miss

Marketing outside of Substack-100 percent.

Expand full comment

What kind of marketing outside of Substack?

Expand full comment

Reddit, Quora, guest blogging, Instagram posts, Twitter.

Expand full comment

What marketing strategies outside of Substack did you use?

Expand full comment

🟧 I've been on Substack for a month. As far as Google (and all the other search engines) are concerned, I don't exist. On Medium, Google would pick up my stories in a few days. Why is Substack completely invisible to search engines? This makes trying to build a community out there hopeless. Other Substack users say that Twitter also doesn't let Substack links work -- "Musk is jealous of Substack" -- but I haven't seen this. I've looked for several other new Substack accounts and Google doesn't find them either.

Expand full comment

My advice is to learn all you can about SEO, keywords and how to use them. Also utilize the SEO settings on each piece you post here in Substack. Personal opinion here, if you write about topics that come up more often in searches (using SEO tactics), you'll show up more often. But if that's not your direction, I would stress my first line. The other 2 pieces of advice I have for you is writing consistently, and patience. Sometimes it's simply a matter of putting a consistent stream of content in front of Google and being patient enough for the bots there to recognize it. SEO tags do help a lot though!

Expand full comment

I have started experimenting with this, trying to use alt text for my images, and using specific words in the title of my post. Too early to tell if it yielded anything. I tried adding my substack to the Google SEO tool, it returns a bunch of errors but I think it works? Maybe it works better if I change my substack domain to a custom domain. Anyone have any experiences with that, and if it brings in more people through search engines?

Expand full comment

I've tweaked the SEO terms very carefully, but it's just no use if Google literally doesn't see Substack. I could easily search my stories on Medium, they showed up in searches even when I wasn't looking for them. Substack: nada. Doesn't Google scrape Substack on a continuous basis?

Expand full comment

I can tell you that Google DOES see Substack. I just Googled myself - Carolyn McBride, Substack - and got results. It also works if I just Google myself with Carolyn McBride author.

You said you've been on Substack a month? Perhaps the more content & patience approach will work?

Expand full comment

Thanks, Carolyn ... I just did a similar search and a change I made just few days ago showed up. Google is seeing Substack.

Expand full comment
Jul 13, 2023Β·edited Jul 13, 2023

Hi Karl! It seems like maybe your site is just not indexed right now? It should be soon. We have pretty strong SEO, which you can read more about optimizing here: https://on.substack.com/p/office-hours-82/comment/18529560

Expand full comment

I get Google traffic so it does index, it might just be a matter of time.

Expand full comment

Google did find one Note I posted, I just saw now, where I'm asking exactly the same question (on July 6). So maybe Google saw the mention to itself. There is a drastic, drastic difference between Substack and Medium in this respect though. I was quite impressed at how quickly Google picked up any Medium stories. So the complete lack of visibility of Substack is *extremely* disturbing. I am certain Google could scrape Substack clean every day if it wanted to. I remain very suspicious that there is something systematic going on.

Expand full comment

You are aware that Google is run mostly by bots & algorithms, right? Sounds like you prefer Medium over Substack. Your choice, but I recommend learning all you can via Substack's native resources before you make judgement. I also recommend putting in serious work and effort before you make that judgement call.

Nothing comes for free

Expand full comment

Oh, I love Substack, make no mistake. It's just that I notice this huge difference in searchability. I'm just telling you flatly, having posted hundreds of stories over the years on all sorts of platforms, Substack is nowhere near as visible to search as the others. As I've said before, this is my only problem with Substack, but it's a colossal issue in my world. I'm hoping someone inside Substack who knows the score will tell us what's going on.

Expand full comment
Comment deleted
Expand full comment

This review says: number one criticism of Substack: "It's not great for SEO" (at 16:12) and explains why. This guy really seems to know what he's talking about.

So I was actually right. You really have to work at SEO on Substack, it's a genuine issue. I will find a way through. Otherwise, this review of Substack was absolutely glowing:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3GhShnkahMQ1LCzeHPVO63?si=wPe26z1NQcGFERJJcFo7ew&nd=1

Expand full comment

Dan, thanks so much for this. I've learned a fortune today. To be honest, I've never even thought about SEO in all my other writing. I just wrote. With Substack, right from the start, I was impressed that you had these SEO options and I used them straight away.

So I was really surprised to see just how completely invisible I was. Literally the only time I've ever consciously used SEO is the one and only time I become completely invisible.

I'm very patient, don't worry. I'm busy listening to a podcast on Substack that someone recommended, they *really* like Substack, but I think they're going to say something about this search issue.

Thanks to everyone for the advice, much appreciated, genuinely.

Expand full comment

I actually listened to a podcast about Substack with your answer the other day.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3GhShnkahMQ1LCzeHPVO63?si=wPe26z1NQcGFERJJcFo7ew

If you don’t listen to the podcast the short and sweet is Substack just doesn’t register on SEO’s like Medium or a personal website/blog.

Expand full comment

Hi Karl. There is hope! Google takes a bit of time to start to see and index your website. There are some links at the top of this article (https://pau1.substack.com/p/6-steps-for-more-substack-subscribers) to additionally help you start to get rankings on Google.

Expand full comment

🟧 - would it be possible to get β€œnext chapter” β€œprevious chapter” buttons for fiction writers? I find it very time consuming to link everything. Also an index would be cool!! 😊

Expand full comment

Would Settings > Website > Enable previous & next post links do what you want?

Expand full comment

is that a thing? Probably, problem is I assume it would order them chronologically? Some of my scenes are deleted from the story but available on substack.

Expand full comment

I don't have it enabled, but I'm almost certain it's just a chronological link.

I think your idea is pretty interesting. I write a technical newsletter, but I write series on specific topics at times, and I share unrelated posts while these series are running. I think that's a pretty common writing pattern. A "next in series" "previous in series" option, with the ability to customize the link text, would be pretty useful.

Expand full comment

Why is Youtube the only supported platform for embedding videos in articles? I'd like to be able to embed Odysee or Rumble videos also.

On Medium, I'm able to embed Odysee videos by copy/pasting the URLs.

Otherwise, I'm very happy with Substack and pleased that I've got about 10% of my readers supporting me.

Expand full comment

Hey Jonathan, are these videos that you make or watch that you want to embed?

If they are videos you make, you can upload them from your computer directly and embed them natively: https://on.substack.com/p/product-news-may-23#%C2%A7video-embeds

Expand full comment

Both actually. And like a lot writers here on Substack I'm ardently pro-free-speech and would like to pollenate my audience between different free speech platforms. So it's too bad that Youtube embeds are the only thing that's allowed.

Expand full comment

I mentioned this on Notes but no one responded. This morning I have gotten two warnings in my browser when I try to go to Substack newsletters, saying that the site might be malicious or a phishing scam and it's warning me to be careful. Thought I'd let everyone know.

Expand full comment

It happened to me, too, Bob. I was able to "get in" through opening a comment notification email link, clicked on "Start Writing" then was asked to login. That led to a "safe" page. I have a feeling Elon is having a bad time and is taking it out on the web/anyone with a better version of Twitter than the hot garbage he turned the site into. xo

Expand full comment

Hey Bob and Sandra, sorry about that. The message was an error and the problem has been resolved.

Expand full comment

Yooooooo Substack.

Expand full comment

Yo yo yoooo

Expand full comment

✏️🧠 Substack has been a wonderful place for my mental health. It has allowed me to connect with a wider net of people than IRL. I have found readers who like to write, writers who like to read, and people who care about the state of literary arts, culture, and philosophy. As someone who often feels pretty awful about herself, working a minimum wage job that pays more than her writing, watching others succeed has given me hope that even if no one reads me, good people are being read and recognized. Does anyone else feel this way too?

Expand full comment

Nice to meet you, Zina. I write about literature and enchantment. Looking forward to browsing your pages. Long after the minimum wage job is behind you, the writing will still be yours. Keep doing what you love. I’ve found Substack a uniquely supportive place for writing. :-)

Expand full comment

Thank you... and nice to meet you too! ❀️

Expand full comment

I completely feel this. I started up in April and so glad I did. I knew I wanted to write and express myself creatively, and had little knowledge of Substack until someone recommended me and I leapt in. I had no idea the richness of the community and brilliance of the people on this platform.

The validation of putting my work out there, no matter how small the audience is, is so amazing.

Also -- you are doing great. Keep it up!

Expand full comment

✏️ Seeking feedback re: paid tier.

I'm considering offering a 100% free newsletter while leaving a paid option open for folks to support my weekly output. In principle, this is more aligned with how I'd like to use Substack so I'm curious if anyone has found success with this model?

Expand full comment

Personally I think this is a great strategy if you are offering only content with the goal of informing or inspiring. Also likely to work well in the beginning when starting with a small sub base. I like to call it "help me keep the store open" pitch rather than "pay me so I can build more good stuff especially for you".

Another way to look at this is the NPR business model.

Having said that, if you have tangible value to offer such as a training course or a coaching package, then you could be more explicit. As an example, I am offering a monthly live webinar free to paid subs but $25 to those who don't want to commit to a paid subscription.

Will see how it goes!

Key point - don't hesitate to experiment!

Best wishes to you

Expand full comment

Fantastic feedback, thank you!

Expand full comment

I write a technical newsletter about Python. My main goal is to help people get out of the beginner mindset, and start to gain a deeper understanding of the language and how they can use it in their everyday work.

I want to get paid for the work of putting out quality writing every week, but I also want the overall resource I'm creating to be available to people who can't afford things like newsletter subscriptions. I decided to make some posts paid, but all paid posts are unlocked after a period of 6 weeks. I tell people that paid subscriptions let you see everything as soon as it's posted, but the primary benefit is knowing that you're helping to make this content available to people who can't afford to pay for it.

My paid to free ratio is lower than many, but if my audience continues to grow it will be a meaningful amount.

Expand full comment

Interesting possibilities ... archive posts behind pay wall after (?) weeks ... or open up posts to free after (?) weeks. I've seen it both ways and wonder which strategy builds paid subscribers better.

Expand full comment

I like this idea, still searching for the optimal way to keep information as open as possible, while also charging for the value of your work, I will definitely consider this as an option later down the line.

Expand full comment

I feel that a lot. I’m in the category of people doing this as a compliment to my main output which is releasing albums, playing concerts, etc. I’m much more excited by writing essays and sharing music with an interested community than profiting off of it, but I think the process will inform all of that in time.

Expand full comment

One more thought on this. I use the comping feature a lot. If I'm writing paid posts, I want *some* meaningful audience for those posts. So while my paid audience is small, I've been comping groups of readers before each paid series.

For the first paid series, I think I comped 10% of my overall free subscriber list. I went through and clicked every 10th subscriber after filtering for free subscribers. For the paid series I just started, I just selected everyone who's subscribed in the last 6 weeks, because it's been a while since I had any paid posts. I also don't want someone subscribing, and then not seeing any content for a while because they happened to subscribe just as I start a paid series.

This has seemed to work well so far. I don't lose a bunch of subscribers when paid series start, and some of the people who were comped end up upgrading to paid when the promotion ends. I do wish Substack would let us tag subscribers, so it would be easier to track which readers have been offered these kinds of promotions, and how many.

Expand full comment

Both excellent suggestions! I also comp engaged subscribers, especially those who are long-term free subscribers, but hadn't thought of doing an intro free post with a subsequent series of paid ones. My content has always been stand-alone from week to week. Interesting idea to ponder. Thanks!

Expand full comment

That’s a really cool way to go about it. I’ve also comped the homies and people I’d prefer not pay to kickstart the paid tier but cool to also gift particularly engaged subscribers for example and introduce the paid tier content. Thanks!

Expand full comment

This also makes for interesting promotional opportunities. For example I've settled on a pattern where I write some free posts, and then start a series about a specific topic. The intro post for each series is free for everyone, but the rest of the posts in the series are locked for 6 weeks.

Once the entire series is unlocked, I send an email to all free subscribers with links to each post in the series. I add a short request that anyone who is learning from my posts and can afford to subscribe, to please do so. You can couple this kind of promotion with a coupon, and that conversion has worked well so far.

Substack has taken a good approach of telling writers "You deserve to get paid, and it shouldn't be less than $5/ month." But many readers can't afford that level of support for a variety of writers. So a lot of our work around managing this seems to be finding ways to let our readers support us at a level that's appropriate to their life situation.

Expand full comment

I’m very curious! Are you manually making the paywalled posts available after two weeks? Or is this a setting in the Substack settings? I’ve only seen the setting where posts can be paywalled after an allotted time you set!

Expand full comment

It's 6 weeks, but yes it is a manual process. I use a task tracker (GitHub Issues) to track most of my newsletter-related work. One issue is called "visibility tracking", where I can check each week if there are any posts that need to be converted to free. But honestly there's not much to track, as I can always just look through the last 6 weeks of posts, and see if any paid posts should be free.

I'm not super strict about the 6 weeks. I aim to be, but if I'm off by a couple days I don't think anyone notices. The main point is that everything ends up public, and I think most subscribers read these older, newly-freed posts when I send out the emails announcing that a series has been converted to free for everyone.

Expand full comment

Thank you for explaining the process! And right, I'd imagine the big picture of paid to free (and getting an email about the newly released-to-all) is what readers would most appreciate. :)

Expand full comment

Depends on how you define success. Will you make much money by offering a paid option without any additional benefits free subscribers don't get? Almost certainly not. But that's what I did and I got a few paid subscribers anyway. I'm switching next month to making only the first post of each month (I post weekly) available to free subscribers and the others for paid subscribers only. You can also gift paid subscriptions to anyone who can't afford to pay $5/month or whatever price you set for a paid subscription. I also make archived posts more than two months old available only to paid subscribers. So they do get some extra benefits that don't require any extra work on my part.

Expand full comment

All good food for thought.

Expand full comment

How on earth has this thread been live for 10 minutes and there’s already nearly 400 comments?

Expand full comment

That confused me at first, too. I quickly learned that writers show up and comment both before and after the official time. That time is just the time during which Substack staff are present to answer questions.

Expand full comment

I believe it actually opened around noon EST. I think they open it for the community an hour earlier and then Substack team comes at 1pm? I've been posting on here since about 12:15.

Expand full comment

Oh, the post said 10am Pacific. Noted for next time.

Expand full comment

Think of it as Happy Hour before the bar opens :)

Expand full comment

(little pencil) Who has used their Substack to get publication in print media (regional or national, newspapers or magazines)? How did you approach those editors? thanks, Ken

Expand full comment

If you haven't yet reader our guide on "How to pitch your Substack to press" it's really worth a read! https://on.substack.com/p/how-to-pitch-your-substack-to-press

Expand full comment

Thanks Bailey. Helpful!

Expand full comment

Hi Ken, I am a dedicated reader of Publishers Weekly and had a lightbulb moment to contribute an article about Substack to their Soapbox opinion page. I wrote a draft and sent it to the editor, cold-calling it. He loved it and printed it: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/soapbox/article/86882-what-authors-have-found-in-substack.html

Expand full comment

Good going George. Smart.

Should we follow each other's Substack?

I think it will be expansive. And smart.

best regards, Ken

kentaub.substack.com

Expand full comment

Sounds good, Ken. Now following, recommending & subscribed.

Am preparing another piece, this time targeting business media. A publicist friend is encouraging me to cold-call...

Expand full comment

🧠Help other writers with comments that indicate you've actually read the piece, be concrete and share to Notes as a way to shout-out and help others. "Only connect..." is my mantra: shout-outs to @Jay Adler who writes ajadler whose depth and brilliance will hold you, @Eleanor Anstruther who writes under her name and bares her soul, @Sam Kahn who writes Castalia, @Joshua Doležal who writes The Recovering Academic, @Rebecca Holden who writes Dear Reader I'm Lost, @J.E. Peterson https://thedispatches.substack.com, @Plain Jane who writes theaustenconnection.substack.com,@ Mills Baker who is simply FAB, @W.V.Buluma who writes TheEditorialSection.substack.com, to Victoria K Walker who writes BeyondBloomsbury.substack.com that amazes and to @Alicia Kenworthy who writes Catalectic and has a writing voice to die for! Love, Mary

Expand full comment

I've received 382 hits from Google in the past three months although I don't know why or for which specific posts. I've been active for 14 months. Maybe age of site has something to do with it?

Expand full comment

🟧 - Hello, Substack community! I'm still relatively new (double digit subscribers) and have two questions:

1. is there any chance NOTES can add a way to search/discover notes by topic?? This would add the possibility of new writers to be discovered based on the topic/quality of what we're writing (rather than relying on popularity)

2. And speaking of topics: can a few more subject categories be added? I'm writing about the intersection of creativity, empathy and sustainability, but there's no good "subject" at the moment for this. Seems like SUSTAINABILITY or ENVIRONMENT would be great categories (not just for me, and science is too broad)... or just a blanket WRITING?

Thank you!

Expand full comment

I second Jennifer's "motion" for an update and expansion of Substack topics.

phillipechurch@gmail.com

Expand full comment
Jul 14, 2023Β·edited Jul 14, 2023

Every time I search for renovation (my sub) I give up in despair because after a few home-related subs, all the results are unrelated bringing in such diverse topics as innovation. My sub doesn't even come up in the top results. Substack has been rolling out some excellent features recently and adding additional categories would help discoverability.

Expand full comment

Same! I can't actually find my own substack with any search at the moment which makes me wonder how anyone has found me at all...

Expand full comment

After pouring energy and effort it feels disheartening right? And I am not using social media either.

Expand full comment

🟧 - How much does engagement from comments and likes impact discovery on the Substack network? Does it weigh more heavily compared to total number of subscribers?

Expand full comment

Great question! we’ve wondered the same thing.

Expand full comment

Hope we get some insight from the Substack team :)

Expand full comment

🟧🟧🟧 added those for good measure. Lolz

Expand full comment