Have questions about publishing, growing, or going paid on Substack? The Substack team, and your fellow writers, are here to help! Our team will answer questions and share insights with you in the threads today from 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PST / 1 p.m.–2 p.m. EST.
🧠 Hey all! Here's a little bit of encouragement from me to you, in case you need it:
Whether you're just getting started or you've been at this a while, there's really only one way to be a writer: to write. And keep writing, even when it feels impossible. Even when it's the last thing you feel like doing.
There is no "right" way to do Substack. The only wrong answer is to give up.
🧠🟧 Celebrating a win today… I got a paid subscriber!! Wish we could tag in the comments but big thank you for the support. I have been hesitant on even releasing some of my most recent essays but they’ve all gotten great responses. Writers: the discomfort is where the growth lies.
For the Substack staff: I have no double opt in for signups in my Settings. Others have it and I’m not sure what’s different. Also, my monthly stay emails are very minimal. I get much more from the dashboard. Any idea on these two things?
I said this a month ago in office hours and will repost it here. My Substack is right around 24k subscribers in 120 countries. Happy to cross promote/recommend/collaborate with other writers if it makes sense.
1. More control over post assets. The default is to crop the first image used in a post at the exact center. Being able to decide where to crop (or what image to use) would be great.
2. More flexibility in poetry blocks. The existing feature doesn't do unconventional spacings well, which makes it impossible to quote certain types of poetry accurately.
✏️ - recommendations! Does anyone have any tips on how to ask other writers to recommend you? I've found this to be one of the best sources for new subscribers over the past month, and wanted to open up to recommend others/be recommended.
Any advice would be really appreciated, or, if you want to recommend each other let me know! I write about mental health, fatherhood, creativity, and life with a silly/humorous tone but also very real and honest.
I have been working on a new newsletter called Rooms where I feature creative individuals homes as well as a brief interview regarding their thoughts on design - https://rooms.substack.com/
-Wanted to ask what growth strategies worked best in the early days for everyone?
-Would also love any general feedback or ideas to improve the newsletter
If anyone would like to be featured or knows someone who might, send them my way!
🧠what is right is what works. I change my publishing routine, the format, topics, and subscribers keep going up. So don't feel the need to have to constantly stick to a 4k word newsletter.
✏️ Hey writers! Question/Advice needed. I have finally hit a consistent schedule with my newsletter (Entropical Paradise) and have nearly 2000 subscribers. But only 30 of those are paying subscribers. Many of my unpaid readers open the newsletter multiple times and are very engaged. I feel like I'm on the precipice of possibly creating something that could help sustain me financially, but I have historically had trouble converting unpaid subscribers to paid. If you have a successful publication with a decent paid subscriber rate, what has been reliably helpful for conversion? I also have a book coming out in 2025. TIA!!!
Also, if any publications would like to collab, I'd love to chat. I write about writing, creativity, trauma, autism, recovery, nature etc.
I NEED ADVICE: Should I start promoting and inviting users to explore now, with only 1 introductory article live? Or should I build a robust content library of 4-5 weekly articles before marketing it to my network? WDYT?
To help organize the conversation, please use one of the following emojis when you start a new comment.
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✏️ - 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.
✏️ Any writers in the DMV area? I see there was recently a Chicago Substacker meetup & I’m curious who is geographically nearby!
Hi everyone 👋
🧠 Hey all! Here's a little bit of encouragement from me to you, in case you need it:
Whether you're just getting started or you've been at this a while, there's really only one way to be a writer: to write. And keep writing, even when it feels impossible. Even when it's the last thing you feel like doing.
There is no "right" way to do Substack. The only wrong answer is to give up.
So keep going, keep writing, and DON'T GIVE UP! 🌿
🧠🟧 Celebrating a win today… I got a paid subscriber!! Wish we could tag in the comments but big thank you for the support. I have been hesitant on even releasing some of my most recent essays but they’ve all gotten great responses. Writers: the discomfort is where the growth lies.
For the Substack staff: I have no double opt in for signups in my Settings. Others have it and I’m not sure what’s different. Also, my monthly stay emails are very minimal. I get much more from the dashboard. Any idea on these two things?
I said this a month ago in office hours and will repost it here. My Substack is right around 24k subscribers in 120 countries. Happy to cross promote/recommend/collaborate with other writers if it makes sense.
A couple of feature requests if that's okay:
1. More control over post assets. The default is to crop the first image used in a post at the exact center. Being able to decide where to crop (or what image to use) would be great.
2. More flexibility in poetry blocks. The existing feature doesn't do unconventional spacings well, which makes it impossible to quote certain types of poetry accurately.
✏️ - recommendations! Does anyone have any tips on how to ask other writers to recommend you? I've found this to be one of the best sources for new subscribers over the past month, and wanted to open up to recommend others/be recommended.
Any advice would be really appreciated, or, if you want to recommend each other let me know! I write about mental health, fatherhood, creativity, and life with a silly/humorous tone but also very real and honest.
✏️ Hi All !
I have been working on a new newsletter called Rooms where I feature creative individuals homes as well as a brief interview regarding their thoughts on design - https://rooms.substack.com/
-Wanted to ask what growth strategies worked best in the early days for everyone?
-Would also love any general feedback or ideas to improve the newsletter
If anyone would like to be featured or knows someone who might, send them my way!
Hi everyone! Brand new to Substack and am mostly just here to observe and learn. :)
🧠what is right is what works. I change my publishing routine, the format, topics, and subscribers keep going up. So don't feel the need to have to constantly stick to a 4k word newsletter.
Hey Fam! How’s everyone doing? Glad to see the progress here!
✏️ Hey writers! Question/Advice needed. I have finally hit a consistent schedule with my newsletter (Entropical Paradise) and have nearly 2000 subscribers. But only 30 of those are paying subscribers. Many of my unpaid readers open the newsletter multiple times and are very engaged. I feel like I'm on the precipice of possibly creating something that could help sustain me financially, but I have historically had trouble converting unpaid subscribers to paid. If you have a successful publication with a decent paid subscriber rate, what has been reliably helpful for conversion? I also have a book coming out in 2025. TIA!!!
Also, if any publications would like to collab, I'd love to chat. I write about writing, creativity, trauma, autism, recovery, nature etc.
🟧 ✏️ What do you think is the best advice for growing your Substack that the most writers refuse to listen to, to their detriment?
✏️ - I just published my first ever Substack! marketingideas.com
I NEED ADVICE: Should I start promoting and inviting users to explore now, with only 1 introductory article live? Or should I build a robust content library of 4-5 weekly articles before marketing it to my network? WDYT?
🧠 - Few tips from us after 7 months on Substack:
Focus: Stay focused on your thing.
Patience: Start thinking in terms of years, not weeks.
Consistency: Just like Daniel Murray says, practice leads to championships, in the same way posting consistently leads you to those big wins.