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Today we want to shine a spotlight on insights shared from the Substack writer community.
π§ Not a question but I just want to show my appreciation of how Substack, unlike IG and other social media platforms, remains to be a free and therefore a safe space for artists and writers to express whatever it is they want to express without concerns of the algorithm. I hope it remains that way. :)
π§ For newcomers of Substack, I have a full guide written on how to grow your Subscribers (or any social platform) focusing on 3 key aspects, you can access it here. Hope it helps you to grow on Substack. These principles apply to any social media, not just Substack and when you grow your other Socials, you can as well drive traffic to Substack.
Sure. If you take a minute to glance over the article, I do say in the first line that maybe 100K is little exaggerated for the average user....however, the principles apply to all social media platforms, not just substack or Facebook. I grew my Twitter to 30K in 2 months until I had to go private mode for being harassed.
Moreover, my Substack is rather new, I have just started a couple months back, wi try little content, and am waiting for my new website to go live in 2 weeks, so I intentionally havenβt done any campaigns to grow my Substack.
Come December, my target would be to at least reach the 30K mark and by March I expect to cross 100K.
not envy, my man, just arguing for truth in advertising. At the very least, you should clarify your post so that you don't appear to be misleading readers about where your subscribers are. Facebook is not Substack.
Bowen, where do you find that number? Substack gives a checkmark for at least 100 subscribers but Raisini has no checkmark. When the featured writer received 100 subscribers, Substack congratulated her for receiving the checkmark for hundreds of subscribers. So Substack also exaggerates.
https://substack.com/@raisini β the "See followers" link... which would cite a number of it was > 100. I'm not sure if that's the exact threshold number, but that's where you'll see "1K+ subscribers" on my own profile, for example, and other profiles I've visited that have small numbers of subscribers only have that "See followers" link, instead of a number.
I'm not arguing for or against Raisini or anything else here. I just wanted to clarify that βsee followersβ means the author turned off the subscriber countβs visibility. It has nothing to do with how many followers or subscribers you have. You can change it in the settings. Some people choose not to have the number visible on the profile.
Correct. I have turned that off, itβs a dumb feature by Substack. And you get a βlightβ check mark once you cross 1000 paid subscribers and a βdarkerβ check mark if you cross certain numbers. Thatβs clear evidence that I havenβt crossed such numbers and my post is not about MY subscribers, rather tips on how one can grow theirs.
While #s of subscribers is always a metric of interest, I think just as much (or more) attention should be on the "open rate" metric. Here's an index of posts focused on ways to get more readers to open your posts. https://gratitudemojo.substack.com/p/enter-index-of-posts ... Pay attention to the Big 6 .;.. AND ENGAGE WITH NOTES.
π§ 1. When I try to cut and paste a caption, I am unable to do so. Is that a known issue? 2. Are tables a feature that will be added soon? Thank you for all the new features that you roll out constantly. Much appreciated!
Yep, cut and paste captions fail is definitely a problem we all experience.
Tables: yep I would love them too but getting them to render properly on desktop, tablets and phones is a not-insignificant technical challenge (somewhat of outside Substack's control), and your reader's experience might not be so good. My work around is to add an image of a table, so that people reading on their phones can click the image and zoom in.
I make images but it is tedious when you have to edit them and paste them in every time. Tables are not an easy implementation but Ghost has responsive tables. It's probably not as important as other functionality and they've rolled out a lot of excellent features.
Katie, Broc, and Sylvia. I would like to know if there is a way I can talk with one of you on the phone or outside of this time period. I would like to start a Substack and am computer challenged in different ways. I have never used an emoji and don't know what to do here.
π§ - Hi Katie, I know as a private company, sharing product roadmaps is a sticky proposition. However, I still wonder if you can share what's on the immediate horizon for Substack, and if a search for all Notes (not just those in my feed) will be forthcoming?
Appreciate the assistance but thereβs a lot of info all over the place. Itβs hard to know where to start as a newbie. Has Substack considered doing a webinar or a zoom drop in clinic where it could be more organised & succinct? Trying to get hold of anyone by email is impossible. I reckon it would be easier & faster to get through to Wills & Kate at Kensington Palaceβ¦ the time it has taken for anyone at Substack to reply to my queries.
Hey Alex, thank you for the idea. We do aim to feature writers of all sizes but I see where it could be helpful to specifically call out writers at certain size. I'll share with the team for consideration.
Hi Katie! I think this idea could really engender some community among newer, "smaller" writers as well. Seeing people on those lists would help us find each other, share strategies with each other, etc.
And it would need to be broken down into a large number of newsletter TYPES (or 'niches' if you like) I think. For example my Substack is in the 'Politics' area under 'Explore' but very few people are looking for 'Politics' per se. There's left-leaning and right-leaning of course. But there's lots of other distinctions: like 'news-based', 'zeitgeist', 'behind the news', 'investigative', 'satirical'....and many many more potential tabs. I think this would be HUGELY helpful.
If you're interested in fiction, S.E.Reid set up a newsletter - Talestack News - sharing announcements, publishing updates etc from the Fiction side of Substack, this does include a lot of newsletters with smaller audiences.
I am in the process of doing something similar for Poetry and Music with my Stave and Stanza newsletter. (I set it up back in the summer, but life took over, so I'm preparing to properly kick it off at the end of the month).
If you consider this, I even think another best of list of 1000 and smaller would be great too. As someone at this for a year and less than 300, I noticed people around my size doing great consistent writing I think itβs a major hurdle to get to your first 1k
ππ» I hope you do showcase small projects too. Sometimes as writers we want to write substantial pieces for readers but donβt know how to reach like minded readers. This can be really helpful for writers like me.
Nothing wrong with that! I wish Substack would give more love to folks that don't have a large following, and best under 100 would be an amazing start.
And even then, there is no guarantee of getting traction on the social mega-platforms. It's wasted effort unless you get lucky and "go viral" or you deliberately try to stir things up just to get attention, which can backfire in all sorts of ways. So I agree with you.
I just hit my 100 subscribers mark yesterday and felt like a big deal, until I remembered how huge most of the other substacks are. To me, 5,000 seems massive!
Congratulations @Heidi Turner! I am about to hit the 100 subscribers mark so I feel you. I have been thinking though not to compare myself to others to avoid feeling the discrepancy and discouraged. Maybe it's a matter to ask Substack to highlight writers independtly from their subscribers number. I do feel such an approach can sometimes condition people to think a newsletter isn't that great because they have 30, 50, 100 or 200 subscribers when the quality is actually there. Not everyone wants to grow their Substack or even go paid, some just desire to create community and conversation and their newsletters need to be pushed too.
That's a great idea @Emmanuelle Marechal! I absolutely want to build community but I started my Substack with no followers (I didn't come with a pre-existing email list) so the initial growth has been slow. Steady, but slow.
Same here, I didn't have a list too when I started, and many are in the same case. Steady, but slow is great, too. The trust built with readers is the most important.
Congratulations on being so close to 100 @Emmanuelle! It's such an accomplishment. I agree, I think I'm building trust and long-term loyalty. At least, that's what I tell myself.
Yeah, it's all perspective and context. When someone famous or well-known in some field jumps onto Substack and has immediate recognition, they will get traction very quickly. But most of us (I include myself) are unknown as writers in any world, and having 50 subscribers is actually pretty damn cool!
Same here! I'm on a 100 and hopefully will keep growing but that's a long way before 1000 or 5000. A way to help the small ones get seen would be fantastic.
100 is still a big deal! Congrats on getting there and (holding up my imaginary beer), I'm cheersing to you the long road ahead for us to reach 1000...
I was just browsing through your Substacks and wow! All the best with your memoir, and writing about your brother's story is so inspiring. Looking forward to keep reading you! :)
Ha, 5000 is definitely a huge goal for me. Just trying to get Substack to pay attention to us smaller fish :) I'm around 1100 readers after sending hundreds of issues (every single week for 4.5 years).
Yes, I think all newsletter writers understand that growth happens at a fraction of the speed here because our "posts" (I still call them newsletters) come out probably weekly, not daily or hourly like on other platforms. That's why I'm hoping Substack will hear us and share some of the really cool smaller publications out there, even if we don't have big numbers. Not just to grow our followings, but to be able to connect with people who are trying to find in niche newsletters to enjoy.
This is a great idea!!! It's very hard to find an audience as it seems the big names (which I keep seeing again and again) have created an ecosystem to support each other
It's so true. Sometimes I feel like the "popular girls" just keep getting more and more popular, like in high school haha. When I read the On Substack article about Joanna Goddard joining the platform (i LOVE her btw), and it was all about how she has this huge audience and how she's created something so unique.... and then ended with "hey, want to start your own substack? join us!" that ruffled my feathers a little. I really hope Substack hasn't forgotten about us with smaller but very loyal readership.
I feel this way too! I am still under 100 subscribers on two Substack publications, but I have to keep reminding myself that we all start somewhere. I didn't have a following before I came to Substack, and that's a huge part of it. I'm truly a beginner, and in order to reach those major milestones, I have to be the beginner first. Still, I agree about most things with content creation feeling like a popularity contest (I even talked about this on my Substack/podcast a couple weeks ago). It can be disheartening, but the one thing we can do is keep lifting each other up and sharing each other's work with our smaller audiences. I think that will build momentum, but when we're small, we often get stuck in the mindset of needing to just focus on our own thing first. But if we all just shared each other's work or commented even once a week...I bet that would make a difference over time.
The biggest surges of growth I've experienced have been: 1. when someone with a larger audience sings my praises and asks their people to subscribe to my thing (this has happened 1 or 2 times in 5 years); 2. when I've paid to place ads encouraging people to subscribe.
Keep at it! I can't say for certain that "readers will come if you just keep churning out awesome newsletters," but I believe that the number of readers is much less important than the meaning of our work and the connections we create through the process.
I write a women's lifestyle newsletter, so I advertised in A Thing or Two with Claire and Erica, because our audiences overlap. I also placed an ad in Recomendo, which was much cheaper, and I got a handful of readers there as well. I don't track these things very closely, I'm more interested in deepening relationships with readers than checking metrics (I know my wheelhouse haha). I think the keys to success with ads are: 1. writing a terrific ad 2. placing your ad in front of people who would love your newsletter 3. talking to your new subscribers and asking them why they clicked your ad, then rinse+repeat! Hope this helps.
I just want to encourage you to work at getting yourself more than 5,000 subscribers. Substack, in this respect, is like any other publisher. They are a business in business to make money. They're going to most recognize those writers who bring in more paid subscribers. Emotional appeals will never top the profit motive. That's just a reality of the writing life.
And getting more than 5,000 subscribers will serve you far better than any recognition.
I suspect that quite a few Substack users have an account without any intention of ever going to Paid Subscribers, whether they are vanity projects or for whatever reason. It would seem reasonable to me to pay Substack a small annual fee for the privilege.
It probably serves to drive his own engagement as well because writers who he features/links are likely more inclined to feature/link/recommend his work.
It's not Substack's official recommendation or anything, but it's a really good localized effort I'm trying to do my best to support for exactly the same reasons we both think it's a good idea in the first place.
Or, alternatively, βnewest nicheβ publications with growing audiences like mine -- East Wing Magazine: Americaβs First Ladies present and past and their power.
π§ Hi Substack. I love it here. Writing on Substack, and the growth tools here, have helped me get 2,300+ readers, close to my first bestseller badge, and a literary agent in under two years. So please receive this as constructive feedback:
We know you care about writers, but there's a feeling lately that you care *most* about the people who are already explosively popular. That makes sense. Big names bring business. But people don't become big names without support, and I think a lot of smaller writers could use more support from the platform here as it continues to grow.
Why not designate someone on the Substack team to curate "the best posts from emerging writers" on Substack Reads? How about a "new to Substack" section in the official Substack newsletter? Invite "smaller" writers to participate in Substack Reads or Substack advice posts? Can you explain what's currently being done/in the works to help the "little guy" on Substack gain more traction here?
I've suggested something like this before, as the Substack homepage highlights the top blogs, and does very little to promote upcoming writers. Great idea!
We're such a big number that I as well try to shout out smaller Substacks I'm loving when possible. During the shoutouts Substack holds, I'll look at smaller creators and mention some as well. I don't hold back but until and when/if Substack does something like that, we've gotta work on sharing other small writers and why we like them as well. It should come naturally, but it's a start.
Great idea....but f course the devil would be in the details. Substack is great but (as I've tried to flag many times) potential readers are always looking really for a quite specific NICHE and at the moment the categuories are too broad. For instance, as I said above, nobody is looking for 'Politics' per se....they're looking for something much more SPECIFIC eg leftish, rightish, newsy, calm reflections etc etc.
It's possible that with hundreds of thousands of publications, Substack's own team don't actually have a good way of finding high quality "emerging writers" to showcase.
I love the idea of showcasing emerging writers, and I reckon Substack do to... just wondering if they have the physical ability/tools/time to trawl through the (perhaps) millions of posts published each week to find good ones to share.
You would need either a lot of human eyes or a very sophisticated algorithm to find high quality posts from new creators. It could be an actual technical challenge or resourcing challenge for the Substack team... just sayin'
Agree!! In the 7 months or so Iβve been on the platform, this has become more and more apparent. Big names seem to be the only names appearing anywhere in my feed, on my notes, and shared by substack... itβs a little demoralising at times for sure.
Love the swell of support for smaller writers π
Absolutely! Can an algorithm do more in helping us connect with potential readers? I had such high expectations for my first post, but barely anyone has read it!! Help meeeee!
Iβm my experience, barely anyone reads the earlier posts unless you come here with readership already. You have to just keep posting consistently to find an audience. My first post has a couple hundred views, my most recent has 7K. Itβs been almost 2 years of consistent posting! Itβs a marathon not a sprint :)
π§ I just crossed the 1,000 subscriber mark. All the usual things have been part of that journey, but most of all, just writingβand the support of my readers. Least of all, but still valuable in some casesβand although I'd love to do more of itβhas been collaboration with other writers here on Substack. Sounds good on paper, but hard to do in practice. What's mattered most for me is telling the truthβand my own personal growth along the way β¬οΈ
Congrats! This has also been my experience in (slowly) growing my Substack. For me, what has worked best is delivering a mix of other writers' profiles/stories, and content around marketing or building your following + other writer woes.
thanks Claire! my first book is a memoir as well, which I serialized here as a work in progress. I'd love for you to check it out! β https://anordinarydisaster.com
Also, since you love memoir, you might like my post about my Fifty Favorite Memoirs
The only way I could do collaboration is if someone has the same smartass wacky sense of humor I have. 98% of Substack is writing on politics, social issues, gender studies...you know, boring stuff.
I'd need to collaborate with someone who would try to out-gross me with THEIR child stories.
Man I feel the same. I sometimes feel I'm in the wrong place. I haven't found anyone who is as silly or as disgusting as me. Here's me putting my grossest foot forwards https://wrongchannel.substack.com/p/men-are-disgusting
I actually have a 5 part series about times I've shit my pants coming. I'm gutted I didn't have that to apply with
I've noticed I lose subscribers if I don't publish regularly. I always aim for weekly but I had a baby last year and I became more sporadic. If I posted after two/three weeks off, I'd always get a unsubscribes. Maybe they forgot about me and weren't expecting an email? So yeah, consistently posting at around the same time on the same day each week is ideal.
Thank you. Sorry to let you down but my Sub has nothing to do with Reno. Reno is short for renovation so the sub is about design and construction. But I'd love to learn more about Reno.
Congrats on the baby. Writing consistently is SO hard when you are the mom of little ones (mine are 12 and 14 now). My struggle is that I have a "real" job too (teacher).
One thing I've discovered that has helped A LOT is batching. I create when I have time and schedule it out so that my readers are getting consistent content. I have to be pretty liberal about my definition of "evergreen" content. For example, I spread out my posts about our family vacation to Orlando over four months. BUT it has paid off. Right now I have a post a week scheduled through the end of December. If I write something that is "time sensitive," I'll post right away.
I'm starting a new series next month called "Writing in the Margins," mostly geared toward those of us who cannot write for a full-time job. I'm hoping it will help people figure out that balance.
Love this idea - Iβm starting to write ahead myself (scheduling more time per week to write ahead in some lighter work weeks) and Iβm seeing the benefits not just for me but also for readers - because it allows me time and space to re-read and tweak posts to make them better and more impactful.
Yep! And I acknowledge that it's HARD. For years I operated under the belief that my readers wanted everything that I write right away. And while there are times that is appropriate (if I were to write yet another piece about gun violence, I wouldn't want to wait to post it for the next shooting), I have given myself permission to spread things out. Spreading out our travel posts is good for me and my readers. They don't need to drink from the vacation firehose. And posting them every other week has allowed me to write about other stuff.
I love this idea as well. Still trying to wrestle a space down to make this happen. I podcast and write in the margins after a full-time job and my fam -- batching will help Now... does anyone have a clone or a few extra hours I can have? ;)
Hi Sarah, mine are 20, 16, and 9. I usually write st night after our 9 year old goes to sleep. I know all about the sports!!! Our 16 year old thought it would be wonderful to join both basketball and volleyball this year. *Serenity now!*
Our 12-year-old did soccer AND tackle football for six weeks. During the LAST weekend of both, he lacerated his spleen but we didn't know for three days! (We think he got hit in the first game of a tournament but then he played two more soccer games and another football game that weekend, which probably exacerbated it). Now he's got three more weeks of healing before he's allowed to play in a basketball game but he's allowed to practice. I can't imaging that it's going to get any easier next year when he's playing at the junior high.
Thanks for sharing. That's interesting. I purposely scaled back in the recent months after going really hard and consistent with 1 post a week for nearly a year. I am now doing 2x a month and it hasn't hurt me. If anything, I'm now (finally) getting a steady stream of subscribers.
I know this goes against a lot of advice out there, but I feel like sometimes less is better. I subscribe to a lot of Substacks and sometimes the once a week ones feel like too much for me for some of them. I'm at 2x a month now and it feels like a good fit for me to not burn out and I don't think I would unsubscribe from something because it was only twice a month.
I agree with you Julie. I had to unsubscribe to a lot of Substacks b/c it was overwhelming for me. As a reader, I DO love consistency, but I also don't like to be bombarded. I guess that's my stance on my frequency in which I sent out my newsletters too.
Yes! It's sad, I've unsubscribed from well-known people I immensely respect, because they send out 3 a day. Even 3 a week is too much. Assume each subscriber also reads at least 5 or 10 other Substacks, sometimes more. with personal emails & work emails, this can be overwhelming. I appreciate twice a month, and if there are 3 a month, I only read 2 of those. I post about once a month, and hope to up it to bimonthly once I get my act together.
I always feel certain that I do, but it's almost certainly just nonsense that I've cemented that nonsense into fact. If it's a friend or aquaintance who has the cheek to leave, I shamelessly chase them down and ask why
Hi Julie! I donβt know if it was a full-blown βmistakeβ, but I spent my first year posting twice a week and when I did a poll at the end it was very clear people preferred me posting only meaty posts ONCE a week. Worked out better for me in the end since Iβm writing less but enjoying the writing more!
I think it comes down to that age old question about length again. And by that I mean, I write long fiction and have to break it into segments. The question always comes down to how long I should make those sections? 1000-2000 words? Or longer?
Personally, I think there is a gap between how much people *want* to read about something and how much they *will* read if the info is good and well written. Balancing long enough with short enough is a craft ... one answer is the iceberg approach.
Agree. I think 1000 or less generally works better for me. Probably 800 words or less (and I think a lot of web pubs run things in the 600-800 word range). But there are exceptions and it does depend on what you are writing about. I do read some longform stories online at times but I think shorter is often better for a lot of things.
Depends. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's posts are long, but are so insightful, well-written, and speak my language, that it keeps my interest. I actually reserve time to read it! He breaks up his post into 3-4 different topics, and has a "video break" in the middle, which is a great idea for a heavy topic. My most recent post on book-banning was mega-long (3200 words?), I just couldn't trim it any more, but there are lots of photos. Just really hoping people like the topic enough to read it all!
The problem with breaking long fiction into 1k word posts is that you may not hit a natural break point at the 1k word mark. And so your serialization starts to resemble those god-awful Twitter threads where the author needs like 25 posts to get to the point, and if they don't know what they're doing they end a post in mid-sentence. I, too, am interested in how to serialize long fiction on Substack because I may try it myself. But I just don't see how it can work well if people refuse to extent their attention span beyond 1k words.
I think what it comes down to, is that you write the story with that in mind. I wrote a NaNaWriMo project and tried to end each section on a sort "hang". If the piece had to run on longer, so be it. There's no hard and fast rule to it. I think I did alright with it.
I think in general once a week is a good practice (which some exceptions, like news driven Substacks. The key for me is to write when I have the time and then schedule them out. We can do up to three months at a time, and during longer school breaks, that's what I do.
Hi Julie - for me, it was forgetting that subscribers joined to hear my opinions, narrative, personal journeys. I write about youth sports and strive to give subscribers useful information. Just need to remember to do it through my lens and not as if I'm running a multifaceted website.
It's so important to voice your opinions! It's how you differentiate yourself from AI. I think personalizing all posts is key! sabrinalabow.substack.com
I basically share information via my sub, and I lose subscribers if I stray into opinions or veer off topic. Opinion newsletters usually do better overall, but that's not what my readers came for.
I noticed that too so instead of narrowing I did the opposite. In the welcome email I clearly stated that the newsletter was broad and would cover architecture, design and construction. And if someone only wanted a narrow focus I suggested bookmarking and turning off emails. That seems to have helped for right now but I may be proven wrong.
Hi Julie -- This is a good question, and I'm appreciating the replies. My mistakes, if that's what they were:
1. This one still kind of cracks me up. I wrote an essay in which I outed myself as someone who was not much of a sports fan, specifically not a Super Bowl fan. I noticed a dip in my numbers after that, but I also gained a few.
2. I added a little prelude of gratitude in the email header about reaching a subscriber milestone and saw a handful of unsubscribes after that, including one paid.
3. Finally, I think it's actually a mistake to pay too much attention to reader numbers. I did that for a long time, but now I'm less invested in the numbers. As long as there is an upward trend over time, and I'm doing the best I can to turn out consistent work, I'm holding fast to the idea that I'm on the right track.
I'm with you on this. I turned off the unsubscribe email and now I only notice someone's gone when I check the stats and see a dip in the graph - and by then it's usually on the way back up again. I just keep plugging away, posting aspects of myself once a week, encouraging comments, engaging. It's slow but steady and that'\s good enough for me.
Hi all, about four weeks ago I wrote a milestone post and also shared results of a reader survey (in the second half of this post https://sarahrunning.substack.com/p/what-makes-ultrarunning-friendships). Doing the reader survey (using a google form) provided valuable feedback and affirmation for how my newsletter is developing. An added benefit is I now have a lot of wonderful testimonial quotes from readers describing why they subscribe and how they appreciate my newsletter. Question: Any ideas on how I might use these quotes in a way that helps promote my newsletter without being annoyingly self-promotional? Thank you!
Great idea! I'm going to do that in the survey/update that I sent out now that I've crossed 1000 subscribers. I'd say, put those quotes on your "about" page! Here's what I wrote about growth, btw
I occasionally add a testimonial to my opening paragraph.. something like "I got a wonderful note from a reader the other day, who said "xxxxx" Posts with these testimonails get more paid upgrades than other posts, ... but I try not to do it too often.
I also have a link on my homepage called "What others are saying about this newsletter" which directs to a testimonial-packed page.... I cringe about it, but my paid offer is expensive so it makes sense to share evidence of its value for the undecided.
Write a post just listing some of that "social proof". You don't have to advertise it, but maybe just put it on your front page, under a title like "Who reads your work, Sarah?" Β―\_(γ)_/Β―
You have to be self-promotional. I started on this at pretty well the same time another writer had. He was promoting himself constantly, putting his comments out and in everyone's face. He just past 1000 subscribers about two weeks ago. I'm sitting at 320'ish.
There's also the subject factor. Some niches are bigger and will grow faster. And, sustainable growth is "more better" than momentary attraction. Newsletters are a personal connection between author and writer ... the stronger that connection is, the better the sustainability. I think the "open rate" metric is even more important than # of subscribers.
I agree with that about the open rate. And I know exactly what that means when you talk about niche. I mean, I write fiction, and that's all. But I write long fiction. It's the kind "where you can sit up in bed with a cup of coffee on a rainy Sunday morning." It's hardly a niche. It's one of those things you either want to read, or you don't. I'm finding an audience, but it's slow going. All I can hope for is that the quality of the writing is what draws the readers in. I have some big name followers, and I'm proud of that, but I don't use those names to draw other potential readers in, that's "Beyond the Pale" (title of a story I wrote, eh?) I'm in this for the long haul. At 65, that might not be as long as it might be for someone who is 30, 40, or 50, but I'm thinking at least 20-25 years to make something of myself.
βοΈ I would like to know how writers here with full time jobs unrelated to their writing balance their work with maintaining their Substack platform.
Iβm about to enter a busy work season which lasts from January to June. During this time it is basically 4am-4pm nonstop work (same schedule as now except I will not have breaks) with a lot of physical and mental demands. Thereβs very little of myself left at the end of the day.
Luckily (but also unfortunately) this job is temporary and Iβll be unemployed in July. Iβve applied to over a hundred jobs since working here, half because this lifestyle isnβt healthy and half because I need a permanent position, and still nothing.
If this is you, what do you do for a living, how demanding is it? How do you contend with this and how has it impacted your writing?
I have been writing my weekly newsletter for 4 years and have found that the only way to get it out every single week is by writing it in bits and pieces β I keep a draft going (through Gmail or notes) and add to it throughout the week. You might also consider scheduling it to send at a specific date and time. Two other ideas: invite guest writers on to help ease the workload; and consider switching to a monthly or fortnightly newsletter, if weekly is not feasible with your lifestyle. Best of luck!! :)
I do the same thing. I have notes in my phone that I constantly refer to. When I am writing a piece, I find that I am editing and tweaking it just by thinking about it. By the time I have a moment to sit down a write - I start to apply what I was thinking throughout the day.
I also do this. Writing it in bits and bobs as a week unfolds. It can be really fun b/c often I'm not sure what will catch my fancy from week to week and I love that surprise of it. So maybe finding ways to make it feel mysterious and fun to tuck into your daily life?
I think it's ok to announce to readers when you'll be changing frequency. When my work schedule got busier in August, I announced that one weekly series was going monthly. I also look for ways to balance longer and shorter content on posts that are still weekly.
I think this is the central challenge confronting writers in a capitalist society. I work as a kayak guide in the summer and snowboard instructor in the winter, after 20 years as a constitutional lawyer and former congressional candidate. I really struggled carving out time to write over the winter and summer when my day job consumed most of my hours and left me physically exhausted, but one advantage of seasonal work is that the spring and fall βshoulder seasonsβ offer fewer shifts, with correspondingly more free time. I think Iβve published as many posts over the past two months as I did over the preceding six, and feel some anxiety about maintaining that pace once the snow season starts again. Good luck and keep writing!
Youβre very kind! As an immigrant to the U.S., Iβm grateful for all the opportunities that have cultivated my perspective and put me in a position to help inform others. Writing for a public audience has been among the most gratifying of the roles Iβve played and I hope to make it an increasing focus of my time going forward!
I agree. Although I am very worried about what to do financially when this appointment is over, I am budgeting very carefully with the hope to finish my WIP during that time, because honestly that's the only way I can see myself finishing it with the demands of 2+ jobs. There really are no permanent jobs with living wages in my field, which is in environmental science/fisheries. Mind boggling with all the problems that need attention. However, I know people in popular lucrative fields like computer science who are also struggling, so its all relative I guess.
π§ Just keep doing it. Commit to once a week. Also find others who post about that subject. I would reach out to them. Best of luck! sabrinalabow.substack.com
First, thanks for your work on environmental issues! Is that among the subjects of your writing?
Second, consider the possibility of writing more frequently in a shorter format. I originally set out writing more or less monthly posts, all of which were long form, before trying to adjust my format and publish more often. Ironically, while I set out to write more frequently and with greater brevity recently, Iβve ended up posting more frequently, but with the same depth of analysis as before.
Lately, my challenge has been prioritizing among the various potential topics that emerge over the course of time between my posts. Itβs like not being able to keep up with oneself!
It is not, I actually try to keep the online platform private as it is based on spirituality and consciousness, which unfortunately is mutually exclusive from the sciences in today's society. However, I do have a journal entry section that I can see myself utilizing for that one day.
Thank you for the tip and for taking the time to share this π
Thank you Shahid. That just published today, and it was hard to write and share. I've subscribed back. Thank you for your service within the political sphere. Grassroot organization is not meant for the faint of heart.
I love this question. I freelance write/edit/do content marketing, and it's often a struggle to work on my Substacks... I have two of them. I have scaled back from doing 1 a week to 2x a month. I also made another rule for myself that I can't work on them during the week, ONLY weekends. It's helped a lot, bc I found myself working way too much on my Substacks and then getting stuck in the never-ending spiral of editing.
π§ I think the never-ending spiral of editing is a problem. Just write! I think we all want to perfect the hell out of every post but maybe sometimes we go overboard. sabrinalabow.substack.com
I understand your struggle. My job has made it difficult for me to maintain a regular publishing schedule. I keep tweaking it so that I have more time. At this point, I think I can only keep up a monthly publishing schedule. I think Substack recommends weekly for growth, but 1) that doesn't seem realistic if you are doing this full-time and making a living off of it and 2) might drive readership but lower the quality.
I've been struggling with that recommendation for exactly the same reasons. Trying to figure out if people would rather get something small more frequently or more involved less frequently.
Generally, I think less involved but more frequent posts seem to draw more readers, perhaps because we are all trained to have short attention spans these days. A notable exception would be posts with sufficient depth that you can get an amplification on social media from third parties, which can draw an audience to your work beyond your existing reach. I hope that helps! Keep writing!
Hi! I also have a day job, which sometimes extends from 8 hours to 10 hours a day and is mentally exhausting as well. When I started this newsletter, I thought I could publish twice a month, but I realize I cannot really afford it yet, so I decided to do it monthly. I didn't really want to affect my writing process just because I'm pressured. I think what I'm saying here is, I had to accept what I can only do for the time being, and let go of the thought that the progress is slow just because I'm posting monthly instead of every other week. It really takes time and patience. Then the way I handle my newsletter, I always have a journal with me. Sometimes my entries could be very long, sometimes they are just short random thoughts. But as the month goes by I already have a sense of what it is I'm going to write for my newsletter. So while I'm working, it's always at the back of my mind and snippets of them are in my journal or in my notes app. I understand we rarely have the luxury of time and my free time may not be the same as yours. But when I do get some extra hours or minutes, I really grab it to try and connect my thoughts and stay out of distractions as much as possible. Writing has always been the love of my life and whenever I write, it's a release and it actually relieves me from burnout. Sometimes when I'm really busy and never gotten the chance to write during the day, I just spill take a fee minutes before going to sleep and just write really badly written notes believing I'd have the time by the weekend to process it. I hope this helps. :)
Also, I've never been freed from financial struggle as well and at first it affected my newsletter in the way that I feared I might eventually stop because I would need to work more, but I treat my letters as something like an anchor to my mental health, something I could not really let go of otherwise I'd feel purposeless or a working machine or whatever, and that had the biggest effect on how I could attend to this space and manage to publish monthly, and in return, what I didn't expect is how it impacted my day job as well. It gave me the drive because I knew I have something to look forward to. :)
What worked for me was deciding how many posts a month (or per whatever period of time) I thought I could do at my *absolute busiest*. I decided that was 2 per month. I committed to at least doing that, and just created a backlog of ideas and started churning posts out bit by bit throughout my weeks on nights/mornings/weekends. Usually I'd end up producing more, but only if I felt like it/could do it.
BUT: 4 a.m.-4 p.m. so far eclipses the demands of my job, I can't even imagine how difficult this would be for you. Maybe just do a post per month and work on it for a couple hours across a few weekends when you have the energy?
I'm very burnt out and have long COVID. I've had to come to terms with the fact that this job, which has forced me to work even harder because it is temporary, is not something that I can possibly excel at at this point, and getting by with the bear minimum will have to be enough. It's not worth investing in and I want to make time for my writing when I can. Acceptance.
I have just come out the other side of a really busy period at work. This time I didn't do anything, but next year I'm hoping to have some articles scheduled beforehand to send out during that period. I'm also hoping to get some other poets to do some guest posts so I can also use it as a space to champion other Substackers. Particularly those who have a smaller following than myself.
I think it's also okay to tell your readers that you're on hiatus, or that you'll be posting less frequently due to X. Consistency is important, yes, but letting people know what is changing is so they know what to expect is also fine.
I went to offline writing groups to motivate me to work for at least an hour, sometimes 90 minutes. It goes a long way to eliminating the need for self motivation and then if you just sleep afterwards it's not toooooo bad on energy management.
I have been looking for a group like this for a decade now. All there is are critique groups. Then, I tried making one, and everyone that showed up tried to make it a plug for their work, or as another critique group π€¦. Ridiculous.
Meetup.com in my city (Austin, TX) has a lot of groups that are just about sitting down and writing. Usually there is 20 minutes of chit chat before, but the point is to sit there for an hour and work around others so we peer pressure ourselves into writing. So yeah, try meetup.com
Unfortunately I have already looked into this, and that is also where I tried to make my own meetup that failed. There is nothing where I live (and have lived in the past)
π§ That's an intense schedule! I am fortunate that I don't work as much. I would say talk into your phone using an app or even gmail as a draft. Pay attention to the thoughts that cross your mind and write them down or speak them into your phone. Don't censor/edit yourself--you can do that later. sabrinalabow.substack.com
High school English teacher with a busy 12 and 14-year-old at home. Yep, that's me. I batch as much as I can when I have time and schedule it all out. I'm starting a series next month called "Writing in the Margins" to discuss this very difficult balance. Video one month, discussion thread the next. Any ideas for stuff you would like covered?
For many of us, writing is meant to be joyful / fulfilling. That's tough to experience during intense work periods. I feel your pain, Kerry - was out of pocket since starting a project in October, re-emerging now to re-engage. One day at a time...
I wish I had a helpful answer for you, but that's because I understand how hard it is. Even if you aren't mentally invested in your day job, you are bound to use up at least some of your best energy on it, leaving you that much less for your writing. I tried writing a novel during my teaching days, but I had a hard time focusing on anything substantial after my work day. I gave up on the latter... then eventually gave up on the former anyway.
That's why a lot of us are here, isn't it? In hopes that substack's monetization system will free us from needing full-time day jobs. That's why I'm here, anyway.
Can you send a note to your subscribers saying you'll be posting less often for 6 months, at a rate of whatever it is, like once every 6 weeks, and give a solid reason plus thank them for sticking around. Maybe make commenting free if it's not already. My schedule is erratic too. When I'm on a roll writing, I neglect my children, order pizza every day, and hubby eats whatever is left over in the fridge. But I get my story done!
What's the best way to market oneself on substack. I have a few subscribers but could definitely use more. I've already been affirmed as a good writer, so I know it's not my skill. I think it's an issue of interest.
The advice others will always give here is to engage with other content that is of interest you, and to support other writers in this way. It is about building a community rather than screaming at the top of the rooftops and expecting an adoring audience to follow suit.
Very true! I've recently was able to find a community on here that is geared toward my niche (horror) and it's been amazing to find new newsletters in the process as well. Interaction really is a great way to "market" yourself!
Hey there! I would say to try and use Notes, as I was able to find people through the recommendations that Substack offered me. It was partially by luck, but as is all things. I wish you the best!
I was advised to send a personal email to friends and colleagues and ask them to subscribe. Tell them what you write about, explain briefly what Substack is, and see what happens. I sent an invitation to about 200 and immediately got another 50 subscribers.
Lovely! You have generous friends, treasure them! Personalizing my invite emails does help but even then the clear and direct ask - please subscribe as paid - is difficult for me. Thank you for inspiring me.
The reaction was always varied - if I even got any. Sure, some said thanks, but I'm not interested in that topic (I was, at that point, focused on an urban fantasy novel, which was a big part of the pitch, although my Substack has evolved). But a few jumped right in, and a small handful of old friends -- I'm talking from high school decades ago -- joined as paid subscribers, which I hadn't asked for, and was pleasantly surprised. I have a few paying subscribers and know all but two. I'm not striving for paid subscribers at this point. I'm just trying to make sure I put out material that resonates with me and is high quality and entertaining :-)
π― Agreed and def resonates too. But even if only a handful Iβm grateful, given human nature. For decades- started blogging late 1990s - I was an open access, open source software, open content, open knowledge supporter. My writings were for free. Iβve moved blogging into paid for many reasons but most of all for respect. People respect me more it seems even if itβs only $5 a month! Even then the number of friends who want me to comp is ridiculous!! Also as a former grad school prof I tend to write informative and paid motivates me to improve my writing to intrigue, one day entertain. π
Your comment about the number of people who wanted a freebie reminded me of a girl I dated decades ago. She was always trying to get things for free: admission to a show, two-for-one, a discount on something or other. Part of me admired her willingness to just ask and see what happened. But over the years, I've gone the other way: I consciously pay for things I don't have to, tip a little more, and so on. I wish I could pay for every single Substack I read, but that's not realistic. Still, I pitch in where I can. I think it's worth it and shows the writer or artist that they're important and significant enough to get at least a little $$ for their efforts instead of us trying to sneak in through the back door.
Thanks for that report back on your strategy & progress! Having run for office in the past, I have shied away from proactively reaching out to potential readers, only because I spent years of my life doing that relentlessly and eventually burned out. But your approach makes a lot of sense and forces me to reconsider the relationship between my established network, and the public audience that Iβm cultivating. I might spend some time today sharing recent posts with friends who have not yet subscribed.
Shahid! How nice to see you here! You resonate. I got off all my political lists a few years ago. I couldn't take it even as just a reader. I want to affirm the re-thinking and encourage you though. As I once wrote "the connections between readers and writers intrigue me... for me, to live is to read... but writing requires discipline..." One of the reasons I Iike Substack is the chance to explore these human connections. Keep writing!
Yeah, Iβve reached out directly to people to ask if theyβd support my Page by Page Substack (and mention it to others). I also name-drop it *everywhere*: my email signature, Bluesky, Ex-Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn. But I think engaging with your readers is best--invite them to comment or give you suggestions for topics; reply and express your appreciation when they comment on posts; engage with them in Chat. In the end, itβs a combo of your writing + your readers thatβll make your Substack work!
Love this idea - we have to be our own marketers. Now that you mention it. I write letters to my infant son, Myles to process fatherhood. Sharing the journey publicly makes the journey feel a little less lonely.
I've been taking a similar path in launching my new Substack this week. I "seeded" it with three pieces that are representative of my writing and have been reaching out to every community of which I'm a member, inviting them to link over to the site and read (and subscribe). Emails are next on my list. Just getting started....
ha that's similar to the question I posed here ... how to promote without being overly self-promotional? I recently rekindled my activity on LinkedIn and share some of my posts there, which has increased my audience. I also ask friends who subscribe to share my posts with their friend groups, so it's them, not me, sharing it.
Substack allows authors to embed βshareβ buttons and posts. I usually add a caption with a short pitch inviting readers to share each post if they have learned something from it.
This is probably true for you too, but I find that my fractured niches are not really conducive to the LinkedIn space, but hopefully my new writing series will be something I can do SOMETHING with.
I've only posted my Substack writing to LinkedIn a few times. Logging in to my existing LinkedIn profile, I start a post there, say a few words about what readers can find in my latest Substack article, and link to Substack.
I just have my regular profile there (not a company page) and I share the link to a new post with a few sentences about it, as I would share anything on LI.
it's so hard to find the right balance between promoting positively and over-self promoting. I also share on LinkedIn and have found a small audience on there too!
well, you have to write in the first place for anyone else, or any system like Substack, to help other people find your work. My experience has been that focusing on that, in the first place, bears the most fruit and is more satisfying than getting ahead of myself trying to think about marketing something I haven't even created yet.
Clearly you thrive on argument, but nobody suggested promoting before you write. We're all writers first, but even if the goal has nothing to do with money we still want readers. Once you have work you feel is worthwhile, the next logical step is to promote the existence and location. That's what everyone else here is talking about. What you're recommendking sounds to me like a Field of Dreams "build it and they will come."
I tend to agree. Even if oneβs content is amazing, if no one can find it, thatβs a problem. Especially if your like me and youβre basically allergic to social media.
But Iβm new to this, so for now Iβm concentrating on the content part. That alone has been rewarding. I hope by coming in to these threads as a newbie, Iβll learn a thing or two.
I've offered an answer to this question before, but its worth discussing more.
Have you ever been to a trade show where very few actual customers showed up? You end up with all the show participants, all sellers, trying to sell to each other for lack of anyone else to sell to. All sellers, no buyers. It's kinda miserable.
As I've become more familiar with the Substack community I've realized that the encouragement we get to market our work here is based on their view of a potential future when they've been as successful attracting readers as they have been attracting us.
What does that mean in terms of what to do??
I'm much more focused on marketing my Substacks to the reading audience. While I do some of this on social media, that delivers moderate return based on the groups or hashtags I publish posts to.
* Review my Substack and tell me what I could be doing better
* Refer my Substack to your friends and associates
If I'm doing it right and they feel good about it, and if the content is worth referring, this strategy succeeds.
At some point I'm confident the remarkable Substack Team will be as successful positioning Substack as a site for readers as it has been with us writers. Actually, massively more so! At that point my plan is to employ this same strategy here on Substack, networking with as many readers as possible to encourage them to do my "Three R's".
In the meantime, I make every effort to contribute as much as I can to the Substack Writer's Community, mainly by participating here on Writer's Office Hours, but also by conversing with various writers I have met here. I'm hoping they realize, as I have, that nobody here is their competitor. We're each only competing with ourselves to do better and better. I'll gladly recommend any content I feel is really valuable. I'll never lie about that. But there's plenty of great content here, and great writers.
So my advice on how to market yourself on Substack is to NOT market yourself. Rather, network with as many community members as you can and earn their respect for you and your work. The more we all promote each other's writing to readers the more readers are attracted to Substack and becoming potential readers for all of us.
TRUE! An old book by Goe Girardi noted how each and every person knows fifty other people close enough to invite to their wedding or someday attend your funeral. Fifty per person...you are wise using this approach.
Unfortunately, I have been to conventions like what you describe, the vendors buying from each other because there just aren't enough "true" buyers. I fervently hope that you are right, and that Substack can build that pyramidal membership structure where a base of readers supports the writers who need that kind of support. It's what I'm counting on.
David, just a thought... but you can start with your title/name of your newsletter. It gives no idea of what it's about. I think that's a key piece! :)
Agree fully with Alison. I clicked through, checked the About page, and there's nothing there that catches my interest, or even tells me what it's about.
This is pretty big lever to pull. People are pathologically distracted nowadays. They have millions of interesting things to read. You have to promise something.
Hi David. Such a good question. Since your Substack is just a couple of months old, this would be a great time to go back and revisit your About page. This is where a lot of potential readers go to find out what a writer is writing about. Substack gives you a very bland template that doesn't say much of anything. Here you can tell potential subscribers what you write about, a little about you, why they should subscribe, and what they will get once a subscriber.
Beyond that, look for other writers on Substack that interest you, subscribe to their publications and begin commenting. It takes time, but some of their subscribers will notice (if your comments are good) and you will gain some readers that way.
And another way to get subscribers is to start recommending other Substacks (that you subscribe to). You can do this in your Settings. If you need help finding that, just reply to this. Over time other Substacks will begin to recommend you. I've been writing Kindness Magnet for over 2 years and have found many new readers through recommendations.
And of course, just keep writing consistently and to your audience niche.
This is great advice. I am going to visit my About Page as soon as office hours ends. I just get so overwhelmed by all the tech stuff but that seems easy enough! Thanks Heather! sabrinalabow.substack.com
I have also found Reddit and Facebook groups great too. For example, I write about being a dad. I joined a bunch of Facebook groups engage there and also drop my Substack. Same with Reddit. Engage in other communities on different social media platforms and help them solve problems, engage with them, and be a good person. It comes back in the from of subscribers but also just creating a strong community of whatever you are writing about.
If you're looking to market yourself on Substack, it's good to be really obvious about what your newsletter is, what it does and who it helps. If people see the home page of your newsletter, can they tell what it is you're writing about and what they would get out of reading it? Does the name tell them anything about it? What does the About page tell them? If they can't tell what the newsletter is about, they can't tell if they're interested.
I wrote this article about how to get noticed on Substack. It's a lot about design of your page and the marketing actions you take consistently. However, if you want to take advantage of the network effect, it behooves you to create your Substack in a way to help take advantage of it. https://authorstack.substack.com/p/how-to-get-noticed-on-substack
David, have you considered re-naming your publication? It's hard to create interest for readers with a publication name that doesn't show them what it's about, or pique their inteerst in some way. (sorry, harsh advice!)
David ... because I didn't know what you write about since "David's" doesn't give me a clue, I looked at your home page ... still not quite sure, plus your about page is still generic Substack. The more people "recognize" you and know what you write about, the more they will click in. I've just published an index to posts about the "Big 6" ... those critical identity elements: Substack Title, bio-profile, short description, welcome email, About Page, and paywall.
π§ Directly text or email your friends and associates individually, with a link to your post. Also participate in office hours every week and post on notes. Always end with a link like this--sabrinalabow.substack.com
My best advice is interacting with other writers. Read stuff that interests you and leave valuable comments if you like what you read. Also, notes is invaluable in making connections and building engagement! My pub is pretty new (under 2 months) and 100% of my subs (almost 150 now) came from within Substack, I'm not posting on social media at all.
Patience is key. It took me several years to start gaining traction (as in, getting subscribers that weren't extended family members!). For that reason, I think it's important to make sure you're having fun writing your newsletterβit makes the newsletter more fun for the reader and it will preserve your sanity!
π§ One thing I've noticed is the continuous promotion of big name writers when I'm scrolling through my feed. The SAME notes keep showing at the top of my feed, not mixing things up at all. A) Those big names don't really interest me and B) They are taking up valuable space in my feed that could be used to show me up and coming writers!
Another thing I've noticed is the "Just Launched" highlights in my feed aren't just launched at all. Sometimes they are newsletters with a long history which again takes up valuable space that newbies could be occupying. Substack needs to help promote people who are NOT already famous lol.
We appreciate this feedback, and I've passed this along to the App team for further discussion. Weβre working hard to make Substack better, and part of that is hearing from folks like you!
Oh! Just remembered what helped change this. Start following other authors. If they write on Notes you will see them and it will open up a new world of dialogue.
Happy Office Hours! If things can become unwieldy for you (like they do for me), hereβs something I try to do:
* Identify one thing you need help on and narrow down common phrases or words. (Like βaudience,β βediting,β βreaders,β writerβs block,β βabout me,β or βbioβ to name a few.)
* And then use CTRL+f or command+f to search the page for those phrases in the comments section. It might be a little clunky because you do need to scroll and re-load the comments, but the CTRL+f function will help you bypass the chatter and get to the topic thatβs top of mind.
* Iβd also identify a few folks who chime in and who usually have creative ideas. I seeβ¨Elle GriffinΒ andΒ Mike SowdenΒ fairly often chiming in and offering some Substack gold. So theyβd be some good folks to start with on your CTRL+f searching.
I also think if youβre comfortable offering a comment of your own about what youβre curious about or struggling with, it does help to join right when Office Hours starts (which, frankly, I canβt do all the time, so no pressure here from me on that front).
If you offer some identifying information (new/established writer; how many readers you have; and the general topic you write about in your newsletter), folks WILL more easily be able to chime in and offer you some encouragement/advice.
Office Hours is also a great place to celebrate milestones.
One of the things I see in those "10 ways to grow your Substack audience" posts is to engage with other writersβI'm seeing some people suggesting that here too. I'm looking up all your Substacks and bookmarking them rn, I'll check them out later today and leave comments, please do the same with mine (travel and culture focused)! If you have any other specific suggestions about connecting with other writers, I would love to hear them!
Start following people on Notes. Restack them, comment on things. I've been having a lot of fun connecting with people there lately.
Also, comment on "big" Substacks' posts. You'll find other people interested in reading the same thing as you, and that's a point of connection as well.
Yes I second Notes and everything Mikala said! Also (and genuinely), leave comments in other people's pieces they write and share. Share pieces you like *in* Notes. Of course not transactional-ly, but knowing that it's something you're truly loving, admiring, and wanting to share. :)
Notes allow you to restack other authors, or to reply to their posts with ones of your own. It also presents opportunities for further dialogue. Several other newsletter writers have seen fit to recommend mine, and Iβve done the same for authors whose work I have especially come to appreciate.
MY problem is that I would love to open up my Substack for more guest posts, but it doesn't really fit into my Substack plan. HOWEVER, I do frequently share other Substacker's work in my pieces and mention them when it fits what I'm writing about.
And most of our travel is camping related. I'm in the process of finishing a camping memoir and getting ready to prep for submission. I've given myself a hard deadline for submission vs. self-publishing.
I like the idea of connecting with substacks with synergistic interests. If anyone would like to connect, my niche is Americaβs First Ladies present and past at www.eastwingmagazine.com. Iβm in the womenβs, politics, history, feminism spaces.
π§ Iβm wondering if Substack would consider having a page that would resemble a traditional walk-in magazine store, where a person would see and scan many titles and covers at once, and then βpull one downβ, so to speak, for a quick flip-through. With multiple thumbnails on the same page rather than scrolling one by one, which can get tedious.
And just like those stores, divided into categories, even sub-categories, to allow readers to zero in on their preferred subject matter. (Mine would fall under travel and/or photography).
Without rankings, so new subscribers could have as much chance to get noticed as established publishers.
Congrats! I just hit 100 over the weekend -- Even smaller potatoes (maybe one of those tiny, fingerling potatoes) and someday I aspire to be a cantaloupe. :-)
Haha. Yes. Would the logo be obvious? A yam? Or iconic- a big Y. Whatβs our description? Yam girls who yammer? Yam Mamas Who Eat Orange Night Shades? Sustainable Yams on Substack?
Ha. Potatoes. Too fattening until I discovered a hot-air cooker, and roasts sliced potatoes into chips and sticks with almost no oil. OOOOOH, try it, you'll like it. Now when my wife returns home from visiting family, we'll see...
The KABOOM you'll hear is her temper, but guess what? Those roasted potatoes are worth it.
For a 'live' interview I'd be DOA, deer in the headlights, Frozen from Disney, Bernie from Weekend at Bernies. You get the grim picture. It'd be like taking that cute tater tot and making smashed potatoes.....with ketchup.
A 'written' interview....now that's a horse of a different color.
Well darn it (not socks), you've got me jumping down the rabbit hole which, ironically, seems to pop up just when I'm trying to put the finishing touches on one of my Substacks. I'm a sucker for procrastination disguised as 'research'.
I'm your new favorite subscriber... just finished reading about the famous word "Good", which is entirely different than when you take out one of the 'O's.
I'd love to be a guinea pig (I had one as a kid, named Sammie)... just give me a little time to poke around in your funny Substack and I'll send you a note.
I'm off to the dermatologist....which is definitely an opportunity for a few laughs.
I've been here for just over a year. After passing 100 subscribers, and using Notes, the number of subscribers picked up. Now at 160. I was invited to do a guest post maybe 6 months ago, from
<Mary L. Tabor>. (Thanks, Mary!) Guest posting helps. On the days when you don't post a longer piece, post on Notes, and take part in conversations. Recommendations help. It's more than one thing.
π§ Discoverability, I know, is an ongoing project but is there any progress on getting a memoir category here? It really is a distinct genre & besides my own interest in readers finding my memoir, I feel like there are probably great memoirs Iβm missing out on here because I canβt find them! A memoir leader board would be great too.
YES please to the memoir category! I had to class mine as 'Culture' - which it is, kinda (extracts from my teenage diaries written in the 1990s) - but memoir would be more accurate, and would help me as a reader find more stacks I want to read
βοΈHi scribes. Iβm looking for funny women to interview. Iβm starting a new feature on my humor Substack and will post an interview once per month. Know any funny gals? She doesnβt have to be on Substack. Please, no humor based on politics. Thx!
I'm pretty funny π and I'm SOOOOO far away from politics! If you'd like to read some of my humor stuff I can provide you with links outside of Substack. And if this response gets lost in the abyss of this thread feel free to reach out to me on notes. I know these office hours threads can explode and easily lose track!
Aye, just wanna give you guys a bit of a tip/requestβ The platform should have the category "Fitness", today it's under the category Health & Wellness, which although indeed fitness is part of Health & Wellness, there's a GINORMOUS bazillion dollar industry that are specifically interested in Fitness for the sake of just looks and performanceβ and although one might think that Fitness Influencers belong on IG or some shit, actually, the vast majority of influential fitness educators started as avid bloggers, so I'm sure both aspiring talent and established creators would love to find a home on Substack.
Agreed! I write a recommendations newsletter (books, TV shows, movies, podcasts and playlists) that sort of fits into Culture but is really more about Entertainment!
I am totally new to Substack. After publishing 5 articles, almost one a week while working 45 hours a week, I am exhausted! Yet still, I am loving it! I went for longer posts partly because I read it is better for Google indexing, and partly because people might feel they are getting ther moneys worth. More importantly, I am just finishing a PhD and I am used to writing longer pieces. Do you think people will read a post that takes 20-30 minutes to read? I guess, if I write well enough, sure. But what if I am not that good?! The thing is, I am dealing with difficult cultural/political problems and I find it difficult to keep them short, but I do not think I can go on writing at this length. Do you have any advice about what I should be aiming at, in terms of length? Any structaral heuristic you have to keep you on track for writing each and every post? Do you often brake up a post and spread them over weeks? Do you announce this to your readers? Sorry, many questions...
Take a look at my post https://endlesschain.substack.com/p/can-you-resist-a-pickup-bar, which I think is outrageously long. For a few months, no one read it. When I pushed it in the right circles, its readership quadrupled in 6 days. I ease the reader in to the subject in a kind-of humorous way at the beginning. I know exactly what you're driving at, interpocula. Deep analysis needs length and people want bottom lines. For that reason you might consider prefacing the article with an abstract. I tend not to use footnotes but the rule is: short and light-hearted will get a big audience who won't remember what you wrote tomorrow ; long and serious will get you a small audience who go away and think about what you write. Which do you want?
Thanks Graham, I took a look. There are few changes of tact in that post. That is interesting, I had not thought of that. Is this what your subtack title is getting at- a chain of aphorisms? I like it. I think you are on to something with the humour. I thought about that at the beginning, I need to bring that back in. I am tempted to include an abstract, but I think I need to develop a different style to my academic writing. I will develop the humour a bit more, and you are right, it will not be for everyone. Can I ask, how did you 'push it in the right circles'. You are speaking to someone who only just opened up a twitter account because he started a Substack! Thanks for your time, I appreciate it!
The article's conclusion is "Why do policemen commit rape?" One did in London a few years back. But to get to there, I wanted to first show that shock at rape is like crocodile tears: even Shakespeare referred to it in a history play. To challenge the reader: if we don't see something, does that mean it doesn't exist? Then "What is a criminal?", and I talk about Ronald, who was a criminal.
There's a diversion into a Desert Cities of the Coachella Valley: the image description could be an article in itself!
References to Dorothy Sayers, who talked about advertising.
Bram Stoker and Dracula: the perfect gentleman in our presence whose dangers lurk unsuspected.
The criminological investigation into why police are so inept at investigating rape, led by an American and 50 other criminologists. And the conclusions I draw for Betsy, for the reader and for me.
If you start that kind of a journey with "Bad cops rape pretty girls", then that's true and that's bad but we view the problem as existing outside our own experience. The problem is that bad cops come into our own experience, and that is what shocks. If they only raped drug addicts, no one would care a fig. And when Sarah Everard was raped and murdered, it was less that it happened that shocked us; it was the fact she was a respectable office worker. One of "us". I wonder what reverberations the revelations from a California prison will cause. Sarah Everard was not a convict.
As I say, it's one of the longest I ever wrote but writing it put things in perspective for me, and, I hope for those who read it.
Thank you for your detailed response. It shows you're as keen as I am, and I appreciate that. :-). I don't do X but I find you can locate intelligent readers in LinkedIn...
Right! OK, that is good advice. I should consider circumnavigating cognitive bias towards my topic. I see there is a few ways of doing that now. Thanks, that is more than I bargained for. By the way, I will be going back to read that post. Thanks a lot for taking the time to respond so well!
Count Dracula cannot be seen in a mirror. For the rest, heβs a gentleman. People need to check mirrors if they want to know whether thereβs a vampire in the room. But, then, checking the mirror will tell you only one thing: that the danger you perceived simply isnβt there.
Hi, Wade Chabassol. I have read about Bram Stoker, thank you. The sentence is written perfectly: "Bram Stoker and Dracula: the perfect gentleman in our presence whose dangers lurk unsuspected." There is no comma between "Stoker" and "and".
I think you mean Takt (German), in the sense of beat (unless tact is used differently where you are!). Yes. Imagine the reptile section of a museum. Here, ladies and gentlemen, you can see the amphibious salamander, and here the terrifying tyrannosaurus rex (well, at least it terrified Jeff Goldblum), and here, cute ain't it? an anaconda snake that can eat you whole. Changing tact keeps the tourists amused but none can deny at the end that they've traced the history of reptiles from triassic to today. Gets good tips, that.
It keeps the shorter sections digestible and stops people scrolling to the end to see "how much more of this is there?" Well, doesn't stop them, but it'll occur to fewer of them to do it, maybe.
This a solution I'm using to write more than inboxes can tolerate ... you can do web posts and then link them together as an index. I call it an iceberg ... balancing what readers *want* to read with what some of them *will* read.
As a reader and a busy professional - 30 minutes is often my total allotment for "professional" reading per day. If I take the time to read a single article in that 30 minutes, that often means that I'm saying no to reading 4-5 other articles. It happens occasionally, but it has to be something that I'm really interested in to give up reading the other articles I normally would. It happens, but only once a month at most. There's simply too much other content that I want to consume to dedicate that amount of time regularly to a single piece.
Beyond that - articles of that length is going to be unsustainable to publish once a week for any period of time. A came from an academic background of writing as well (Masters though, not PhD) and so my writing style was long, well supported pieces with complex grammatical structure that was technically correct, but hard to read. Case in point, in my department, I was the only person given a page limit on my thesis in undergrad. Nowadays, I aim for around 1000-1300 word mark for my 'long-form' articles and 500-700 on my short articles.
Some things that I did to help my writing -
1) Tried to emulate more of a journalistic writing style. Why? Its more succinct and to the point. Academic writing tends to be meandering and takes paragraphs or pages to get to the point. Regardless of the length of your articles, you need to get to the point in the first paragraph, 2 tops.
2) Ruthlessly edit your scope. If you are writing 20-30 minute-pieces, you can definitely break those down into smaller, narrowly scoped topics. Then, you can cover the 'meta-topic' over time.
3) Change your content calendar - maybe you want to keep writing the 20-30 minute articles, but instead of every week, you do them once a month. The rest of the time you publish shorter articles on the same topics to help setup for the big piece. This helps keep to the weekly publishing schedule, allows your ease the burden of writing mammoth pieces every week, but still write those long pieces if you'd like.
It boils down to the fact that your approach right now isn't working for you - so you have to iterate to something that's sustainable for you. What the cadence ends up being is less important than the consistency of publishing (within reason - publishing once every 6 months isn't likely to get you very far).
All that is golden advice and just what I was hoping for!
I guess I knew 30 mins is too long, I have similar reading patterns to yourself, so that's what I would think. Yeah, I need ot make some major changes. Thanks for the three tips. I think I will try all three. I can't seem me dropping below 20min until I change my writing calander altogether and leave time to cut a section out and turn it into a smaller piece, and then progress from there.
Anyway, thanks a lot! I have an idea of what I need to do now.
Hey, welcome, interpocula! I send quite long posts in my other (paid) Substack, (different author name) and use heaps of headings, subheadings and links to other (non-emailed) posts to keep it manageable for my readers. Some people read the whole thing, most people skim or dip into the sections that they are into.
Also check out noahpinion who writes long posts which are very skimmable (for lazy readers like me!) and rad-every-word-able too. He has 10,000 paying subscribers at $100 per year so he is doing something right! - borrow his ideas!
Ohhh right, non-emailed posts. That's news to me! Ah! That is a must- do you think I should give my subscribers the meaty bit and let them decide if they want to read the context (stats and anecdotes)? Sorry, I am asking you to do my thinking fo rme here, eh?
No, thanks very much! I'll figure that out, great idea!
I've taken on board all your recommendations and recently turned on paid and to my surprise some people have converted β yay!! I'm slowly but surely learning to have faith in my writing on here thanks to this brilliant community. What seems to work best for me is offering secret tips, tricks and valuable insider knowledge about places I love, as in my latest post about my favourite spots in Istanbul: https://lucyscovell.substack.com/p/how-to-spend-the-perfect-weekend
Great suggestion to offer a βbehind the scenesβ content to paid subscribers! I need to think more about how that principle applies in my sphere but appreciate the nudge and inspiration.
π§ I have two questions about content moderation on the Substack app informed by controversies that have besieged other platforms.
First, I read this morning that Amy Klobuchar wrote to Amazon requesting that Alexa devices be configured to suppress links from platforms, including Substack. Is there any push back (either from the platform or other writers)?
Second, many other platforms have intentionally suppressed dialogue about specific issues, such as theories relating to the pandemic or criticism of US foreign policy. As a writer very critical of corruption in Washington, I have endured that suppression most visibly on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, although Instagram seems to have recently grown more like them.
On one hand, substackβs integration with email diminishes the extent to which platforms can suppress speech based on its content. To the extent subscribers also come through the Substack network, however, how does the platform take care to prevent the marginalization of voices that dissent from mainstream views constructed by propaganda?
Are there any plans to add the ability to write new full posts (not Notes) from the Substack app? Seems like that was available for like a week and then it disappeared (unless I'm missing something).
Hi Tiffany! We can't speak to any set plans, but we've passed this feedback along for discussion. We're always looking to improve, so we appreciate the note!
Ha! Well, glad to know I'm not alone. I'd love to do more writing here and less on Instagram, but I can publish with more frequency to Instagram because I can do it on the fly from my phone.
Tiffany ... here's another idea for those of us who want to write more than inboxes can tolerate ... you can do web posts and then link them together as an index. I call it an iceberg ... balancing what readers *want* to read with what some of them *will* read.
Definitely test it out with your audience, but remember that (unless you mark it not to be sent) our pieces get sent into inboxes and sometimes getting so many pieces from a person can be overwhelming! Worth a try though to be able to send with as much a quickness like you can on IG though!
And a workaround until they actually do implement something like that is Google Docs. I tend to draft and organize everything there since I can work on it anywhere, then transfer it and polish it up once I'm at a computer.
Yeah, right now I'm only publishing to Insta 2x per week, and Substack more like 2x per month. I don't have margin for more frequency than that right now, but I would like the option to shift those Insta posts to be Substack-first (maybe one gets sent via email and one just publishes to the web).
π§ In 12 months, I have grown my Subs to 2,400K using my Linkedin (reach 50k) posts, my account and inbox, now, after 2K, I am starting to push paid subs, and I am seeing results.
How?
1. EVERY post, has a link to my substack in the post sig file =
Ro! Awesome to find a fellow digital nomad here. And your success with subs is fantastic. Congrats! (I've been here on Substack for just over four months and am almost at 200 subscribers, sooo ... ;0)_) I have yet to even consider LinkedIn as a resource for building the Substack. I'm going to look into this.
I'm in the Pacific Northwest, US, at the moment. Most recent far-flung(ish) wanderings have been up through Canada and Alaska and down to southern Arizona. I started nomad-ing around 2007 myself, though, I had quite a long stint of brick-and-mortar living in California between then and now.
Europe with family in tow sounds fabulous indeed. As does Spain. May you find the rest and care you need at your base there. :)
Looking forward to reading your stuff. Let's stay in touch. (I've been thinking on some collab ideas with fellow nomads and vagabonds.)
I donβt have many followers on LI. Maybe 1200 I think. Does the LI signature at the bottom of the post work? Is your LI newsletter a repeat of your Substack or new content?
Yes, in my stats, LI referrals are significant - 3rd after email and being "found" on Substack itself. So I know the cross-clicking is happening and working.
Nope, my LI content is different now for the Newsletter there. It is mainly Remote Work. Not Nomadism. And yes, I have started to monetise that with sponsors too, so I am working with brands over there and guest contributors. In general the two have different audiences and objectives. I decided earlier this year, to shift my Digital Nomad content here to substack and try to monetize it here. So far, so good!
Hi Ro. Super interesting. I'm interested in using LI - I've been on the platform for 18 years (yikes). You mention that you write a newsletter on LI (separate from your Substack newsletter). I've debated doing that. Can you give me some pros/cons for that strategy?
PS - I'm copying your post here - definitely going to check it out. I've been writing on Substack for 2+ years, but rarely see anything about success with LI. Thanks!
I have 3,892 followers and 500+ connections, plus I am the group owner of a group of about 38k.
I've thought about a strategy of posting every day on LI (not an article, just topic posts) and considered the newsletter - just haven't pressed play yet lol!
PS - I like your newsletter - awesome idea for remote workers - I imagine LI is an excellent place for that subject.
I write about the intersection of communication and kindness.
-> 2-3 times a week post good content, for 2-3 months and track your results - follow me and my style if you like, or look for other Happiness peeps, like Nini: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nini-fritz-24404bm23/
- > On Newsletter - unfortunately, not worth the effort, you would need at least 10k+ reach to make that work, ime.
Hope that helps! I am a LI Top Voice (an OG) and LI Learning Instructor, so my advice is based on experience and sometimes the odd "inside slide" ;)
π§ - Not a question but a suggestion...with the new beta element that creates A/V snippets from a written work, why not let the author decide which background they want before the production of the clip proceeds?
π§ I just started my Substack yesterday, and I have a few posts scheduled for publication today and tomorrow. I'm someone with no history of published writing, nor anything remotely regarding journalism. I just want to share my passion for older literature and scientific topics. How can I make this work when it looks like I'm the odd one out as far as Substack goes?
First, welcome to Substack, Josh. Second, you're not the odd one out. There's an active lit community on Substack. Search for it by category and ask for recs in Notes. Find some writers you like, and get to know them in their comments and on Notes. You will find your tribe.
Great question. It looks like you're asking about how you can broaden your audience for your writing. One suggestion would be to reach out to readers and other writers who have similar interests by cold-emailing them and asking them to collaborate on a project or bounce ideas.
A great post by one of our writers (Elizabeth), who also had no social presence and built her following to over 6,000 subscribers, mentioned embracing slow growth and keep writing like you have a big audience. I'll include the post link below for you to check out.
π§ Is there an easy way to link to headings within your Substack post to create a sort of table of contents within a single post? I have various sections within my monthly posts, and I would like to give readers the option to jump to the section they want to read.
It should be easy to do if it's the last thing you do before publishing. Anytime I use the heading tag within a post, a chain icon appears to its left that allows me to copy a direct link to that heading. You could copy and paste all of those headings and links into a table of contents near the top.
βοΈ I've received such lovely notes from paid subscribers but have avoided much horn-tooting for how that changes the vibe of my newsletter ethos, which is intended to be this happy chill inspirational place you can come to once a week for novel/essay/poetry writing encouragement and craft tips. (And daily in November for a write-along inspired by how I wrote my first novel in a month). How do you all balance the way you feel about your letter and its purpose with the inevitable market considerations and promotion? I'd love to err on the side of quietly being there, a sweet apple pie cooling in a window, rather than a candy shop of excessive pushiness.
This is really hard for a lot of people, but part of it is knowing that you are there to provide a service for them. Like, they want to support you, on some level. I think Claire Venus Does a good job of this, and a lot of the Slow Growth people do too. I wrote this article about it here. I would say the mindset shift you need to make is that you are highlight what they already want.
This is tricky. I attempt* to distance myself from it so that my work remains organic and unaltered, immersive. It's a kind of detachment that is hard to articulate. Once I have inspiration, I chase that until nothing else exists and the post is written. Then the next day, I edit it and do grunt work π€·
My goal with my Substack ( https://mfioretti.substack.com/ ) is to popularize the awareness, primarily but not exclusively among parents and teachers, that "your rights and the quality of your life [and of your children/students] depend every year more on how software is used AROUND you". Connections with other authors covering even partly the same topics, or interested in them anyway, would be most welcome. Thanks in advance for pointers, and for getting in touch!
Just heard by @Vonwriting the idea of "letters exchange", explained here https://on.substack.com/p/office-hours-91/comment/42539526 . Recommended, and if anyone is interested in doing it with me, on our common topics, please get in touch!
I like both your beat, and your invitation! I have a few potential ideas for an exchange. When I worked at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), one of my programs focused on building a network of grasssroots technologists across the country poised to educate their neighbors about digital rights. One of the principles that we were especially eager to promote was an awareness of βvicarious privacy,β implicated by the possibility of content shared online implicating the privacy interests of third parties.
For example, many undocumented immigrants have confronted threats not only from their own activity online, but from that of their friends or family. In other words, if you donβt care about your own privacy, consider the privacy of others you know, and what kinds of exposure can potentially place them at risk.
Would that be a fruitful subject for an exchange of letters? Other topics about which Iβve been writing more recently include the genocide unfolding in Gaza, the escalating wave of disinformation, the crisis in co-opted journalism reinforcing power rather than holding it accountable, and market failures indicating the corruption of capitalism.
Hi Shahid, thanks for your interest. Short answer to "Would that be a fruitful subject for an exchange of letters?" is YES.
I already blogged several times (before coming to Substack) about the concept that "if you are not the customer you are the product" is wrong, or at least incomplete.
It should be (summarizing) "if your are not the customer, YOUR FRIENDS are the product". So let's get in touch! Please email me at mfioretti@nexaima.net to discuss how to proceed, looking forward to it!
(same applies to everybody else interested in "letter exchanges", just email me, thanks!)
Hi, I'm still having trouble with the crossposting feature. I've scheduled a few crossposts, but they don't ever appear in my "Scheduled" section (neither the ones that I've already crossposted nor the ones that are currently scheduled). Am I missing something?
Is there a button to share with free subscribers that makes it easy for them to upgrade? I am trying to think of the best way possible to share. Thanks!
Hi Megan, any time you use a "subscribe" button, the text will automatically change to "upgrade" for any free subscribers to encourage them to become paid subscribers.
that's a feature I've wished for as well. When I think about it though, the Subscribe button/link will automatically present people who are already subscribed for free with the opportunity to upgrade to paid, and so even if there was a dedicated "upgrade to paid" link or button, that would only be useful for people that you know are free subscribers -- and of course, that could change any time... so it's probably better how it already works, if you see what I mean?
I just published the first edition of my newsletter. And I also wrote some "notes" to test Substack's behavior.
Both the notes and the newsletter are in Italian language. I'm getting a lot of account signups that write in English. And, from what substack says, they appear to be "direct" subscriptions.
They look like fake accounts to me, but I'm not sure. Why does this happen? How can I get only (real) and truly interested people to sign up?
I think more information on paid strategies would be helpful. While itβs all lovely for established authors and arguably big names to just say, put up your paywall immediately, I feel that there needs to be more transparency about what actually works for those with smaller followings. For example: should you put 50% of your work behind a paywall once you reach 100 subscribers or 500 subscribers...
I also think as the platform grows, people will become more discerning about who they pay for and it would be nice to see smaller names getting that paid support rather than just those with already established followings. Thoughts??
I, too, am a little dubious about putting up a paywall right away. I may be off-track, but I think that if you are not already a known quantity, you need to offer free teasers of what you intend to put behind your paywall when it goes up. With writers who can bank on their existing reputation, you already have an idea of what youβre getting for your money; with those of us who canβt bank on our reputation, the reader has no idea. My plan is to give readers an idea of what theyβll miss if they donβt subscribe before posing the question to them. That is what Iβve been working on during my first couple of months on the platform.
I am resident of India, and Stripe does not work in India for accepting payments to individuals.
I don't want to form a company back here.
So my question is;
Is it possible for my daughter, who lives in Germany to give her bank details and collect money on my behalf?
Or is it possible that I change my address to her address, continue to write from India and give her bank details such as she can collect on my behalf?
What are the tax implications, if any?
Stripe allows me to set up a company in Delaware using Stripe Atlas but that too is an expensive proposition for me.
I started about a month ago, have almost 700 subscribers and have pledges of around 1000 USD.
The other problem is most, 80% of my subscribers are in India. And they don't use Stripe. How do I enable local payment for them. Many would like to pay.
Also, how does Substack collect 10% on these local payments, if they are enabled?
Yes, I wish there was another option to using Stripe. For example, I live in Mexico, but my bank is in New Zealand and there is just no way to set up Stripe for this type of situation. I would love a koha button rather than a subscription.
This seems like a very innovative way to try and grow. You're definitely on the right track with unusual ideas like this, to be honest, because anything is worth a try these days. Best of luck with it... :)
π§ I notice that, when updating a post, the next button says "Update everyone now." Since subscribers are not notified of updates (which is as it should be), that seems like the wrong phrase, no?
I wish they would change that, too. That is freaking me out actually. It used to just say "Update." Now I'm worried everyone is getting an email for every typo I fix. I make adjustments at least 10 times after publishing, upon noticing things.
I have been assured that emails are NOT sent out after updates. Why the text of the button changed is a mystery. I made a next-day correction to a recent post; no second notice went to my subscribers.
One last question please. Are Notes typically shorter, or are they the same content as my regular posts? If so, wouldn't subscribers get the content twice? Sorry if I'm dense on this.
Notes are separate from newsletter posts. Think of them as Tweets (we don't talk about THAT platform here). Notes are usually shorter, have a nice picture, maybe some links and not linked to your newsletter. They just live on the notes platform. Look around...https://substack.com/notes
It's a matter of who you follow, correct? I only see notes from people I follow. I also think not everyone has gotten used to posting in Notes as frequently as other SM outlets, so the same people post frequently in Notes. I'm going to try and follow more people, to mix it up more.
βοΈ Hosting a creative workshop next week? I'd love to include it in my weekly roundup to help get the word out! Drop a link below and feel free to check out last week's:
βοΈπ§ Iβm curious: fellow sustackers and team, do you have any advice about sharing your substack and new newsletters thru Instagram? Iβm wondering if the algorithm is suppressing substack-related content. Iβm noticing that posts and reels about newsletters arenβt getting many views. Any insights, tips, tricks? Thanks βΊοΈ
I am new to Substack. What is the difference between following and free subscribing. (From both sides.)
I am asking because I very much like flipping through the people I follow (using both my phone or computer) using the Substack icon, however I find my cluttered email a nuisance. Is there a difference between content that I see using the app...and what shows up in email? Do I see different content as a follower v a (free) subscriber.
I assume I will add paid subscriptions in time but am now just getting the lay of the land.
Also, when tagging our content. Should we use commas. Or hashtags?
If you subscribe, you will get the emails. If you don't want to subscribe, you can still read people's (free) posts on the Substack website. But you'd have to remember to look for them.
βοΈ π§ A question for the community and Substack:
I have two podcasts I host on Substack. I noticed that when I send out new episodes, my emails perform better (get more opens) when I have a good subject line, but whenever I put the episode number and title as the subject line, the opens are lower. For Apple Podcasts and Spotify, I want the episode number and title to show, but the only way to do that is to title the email that goes out with that.
Is there any way to title the episode for the other platforms separately? And then let my subject line be something else more intriguing for my subscribers? The only way I could figure to do this was to send out the email first with whatever subject line I wanted, then go back and edit the post and change the title to be the traditional name and episode number. But still, it would be nice if there was a smoother way to do this.
Have you tried changing the title to the episode number AFTER hitting publish on the post. This means your email readers would see the original interesting title. And then if you changed it right after it should reflect on Apple Podcasts?
I use this trick to add in a table of contents with anchor links to help readers get to my recipes and it works?
Yes, thank you! That's what I meant at the end of my post about changing the title afterward. So far, that is the only way I know how to do it. But I was curious to see if there were any other ways. Or, perhaps that is an enhancement Substack could look at making in the future, if possible.
π§ I have had some persistent confusion surrounding the podcast function on Substack. I originally posted all of my content in only written form, before later recording audio of me reading them, and releasing those as podcasts with the written transcript in the notes. Is it the case that readers who receive written posts also receive posts formatted as podcasts?
βοΈ It seems on reflection as if my podcasts reached fewer listeners than did my writing, so Iβm trying to figure out whether & how I should differentiate the content streams. For instance, Iβve been toying with the idea of releasing podcasts, not as word for word audio recordings of my writing, but rather as recorded conversations with subject matter experts exploring the issues raised by my writing.
π§ - Hopefully you fixed the problem already but a little while back a paid customer said their credit card statement said the billing "was Medium" for the Substack charge. We assumed it was because I set up my Stripe using Medium a few years ago, but never utilized Stripe and stopped using Medium in 21 when I got a writing gig. If not addressed, highly suggest talking to Stripe about fixing their billing glitch since obviously Substack would never use the Medium name in billing. Certainly readers seeing Medium on their bills would cause a lot of subscriber, writer, substack confusion and fee challenges. Thanks for all you do!
Hey everyone Broc, Sylvia, and I are here to help answer your questions over the next hour.
To help organize the conversation, please use one of the following emojis when you start a new comment.
π§ - when sharing strategy or advice for fellow writers
βοΈ - when asking questions or seeking feedback from fellow writers
π§ - 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.
π§ Not a question but I just want to show my appreciation of how Substack, unlike IG and other social media platforms, remains to be a free and therefore a safe space for artists and writers to express whatever it is they want to express without concerns of the algorithm. I hope it remains that way. :)
Thanks for being here, Angelica!
π§ For newcomers of Substack, I have a full guide written on how to grow your Subscribers (or any social platform) focusing on 3 key aspects, you can access it here. Hope it helps you to grow on Substack. These principles apply to any social media, not just Substack and when you grow your other Socials, you can as well drive traffic to Substack.
https://raisini.substack.com/p/from-zero-to-100000-subscribers-the
I don't think you really have 100,000 subscribers. Your profile shows a couple of hundred at most. Prove it.
Sure. If you take a minute to glance over the article, I do say in the first line that maybe 100K is little exaggerated for the average user....however, the principles apply to all social media platforms, not just substack or Facebook. I grew my Twitter to 30K in 2 months until I had to go private mode for being harassed.
Moreover, my Substack is rather new, I have just started a couple months back, wi try little content, and am waiting for my new website to go live in 2 weeks, so I intentionally havenβt done any campaigns to grow my Substack.
Come December, my target would be to at least reach the 30K mark and by March I expect to cross 100K.
Who cares how many followers you have?
I do. It helps to know. Thanks for the guide.
Why envy? π
Sure, here you go:
https://www.facebook.com/iamraisini
not envy, my man, just arguing for truth in advertising. At the very least, you should clarify your post so that you don't appear to be misleading readers about where your subscribers are. Facebook is not Substack.
Yes, I've come across a few like this where the claims don't tally with the actual reader numbers
Again, neither of you bothered to open the post but jumped to assumptions.
1- There is no claim in the post that I have 100K
2- the post doesnβt say that itβs specifically for Substack.
Before you talk crap, at least bother to open the post.
Bowen, where do you find that number? Substack gives a checkmark for at least 100 subscribers but Raisini has no checkmark. When the featured writer received 100 subscribers, Substack congratulated her for receiving the checkmark for hundreds of subscribers. So Substack also exaggerates.
https://substack.com/@raisini β the "See followers" link... which would cite a number of it was > 100. I'm not sure if that's the exact threshold number, but that's where you'll see "1K+ subscribers" on my own profile, for example, and other profiles I've visited that have small numbers of subscribers only have that "See followers" link, instead of a number.
I'm not arguing for or against Raisini or anything else here. I just wanted to clarify that βsee followersβ means the author turned off the subscriber countβs visibility. It has nothing to do with how many followers or subscribers you have. You can change it in the settings. Some people choose not to have the number visible on the profile.
Correct. I have turned that off, itβs a dumb feature by Substack. And you get a βlightβ check mark once you cross 1000 paid subscribers and a βdarkerβ check mark if you cross certain numbers. Thatβs clear evidence that I havenβt crossed such numbers and my post is not about MY subscribers, rather tips on how one can grow theirs.
thank you!
You are welcome ππ»
π― π₯
π§Can we submit one for our newsletters and see if you could post the "best under 5,000" per Alex Steele's suggestion? sabrinalabow.substack.com
While #s of subscribers is always a metric of interest, I think just as much (or more) attention should be on the "open rate" metric. Here's an index of posts focused on ways to get more readers to open your posts. https://gratitudemojo.substack.com/p/enter-index-of-posts ... Pay attention to the Big 6 .;.. AND ENGAGE WITH NOTES.
π§ 1. When I try to cut and paste a caption, I am unable to do so. Is that a known issue? 2. Are tables a feature that will be added soon? Thank you for all the new features that you roll out constantly. Much appreciated!
Yep, cut and paste captions fail is definitely a problem we all experience.
Tables: yep I would love them too but getting them to render properly on desktop, tablets and phones is a not-insignificant technical challenge (somewhat of outside Substack's control), and your reader's experience might not be so good. My work around is to add an image of a table, so that people reading on their phones can click the image and zoom in.
I make images but it is tedious when you have to edit them and paste them in every time. Tables are not an easy implementation but Ghost has responsive tables. It's probably not as important as other functionality and they've rolled out a lot of excellent features.
Katie, Broc, and Sylvia. I would like to know if there is a way I can talk with one of you on the phone or outside of this time period. I would like to start a Substack and am computer challenged in different ways. I have never used an emoji and don't know what to do here.
I would appreciate your help. Thank you.
David, I help people start Substacks and learn the platform. Click my photograph to learn more.
π§ - Hi Katie, I know as a private company, sharing product roadmaps is a sticky proposition. However, I still wonder if you can share what's on the immediate horizon for Substack, and if a search for all Notes (not just those in my feed) will be forthcoming?
Is office hours not happening today?
thanks for all your amazing work Katie, Broc and Sylvia. I find this so helpful! I always bookmark for reference later.
+ I have a message on this thread about Invoicing, which is unanswered, when you get a chance can you please respond? Thanks :)
Appreciate the assistance but thereβs a lot of info all over the place. Itβs hard to know where to start as a newbie. Has Substack considered doing a webinar or a zoom drop in clinic where it could be more organised & succinct? Trying to get hold of anyone by email is impossible. I reckon it would be easier & faster to get through to Wills & Kate at Kensington Palaceβ¦ the time it has taken for anyone at Substack to reply to my queries.
Hi Annie, it's overwhelming isn't it! I do one-on-one Zoom clinics for newbies. Click my image to learn more.
π§ Would Substack ever consider sharing a "best under 5,000" list to give a little nod to writers with small audiences?
Hey Alex, thank you for the idea. We do aim to feature writers of all sizes but I see where it could be helpful to specifically call out writers at certain size. I'll share with the team for consideration.
Hi Katie! I think this idea could really engender some community among newer, "smaller" writers as well. Seeing people on those lists would help us find each other, share strategies with each other, etc.
For what it's worth, this by @Alex is a *FANTASTIC* idea.
For me, one of the big points of friction in coming back and posting is trying to get the rock moving off the top of the hill.
Anything Substack could do to facilitate the growth of (quality and consistent) publications below a certain number would be amazing.
And it would need to be broken down into a large number of newsletter TYPES (or 'niches' if you like) I think. For example my Substack is in the 'Politics' area under 'Explore' but very few people are looking for 'Politics' per se. There's left-leaning and right-leaning of course. But there's lots of other distinctions: like 'news-based', 'zeitgeist', 'behind the news', 'investigative', 'satirical'....and many many more potential tabs. I think this would be HUGELY helpful.
That's the only way i and the likes of me could be seen, A great idea!
Thank you Katie! If you have any recent features of readers with smaller audiences, will you please link them? I'd love to check them out.
If you're interested in fiction, S.E.Reid set up a newsletter - Talestack News - sharing announcements, publishing updates etc from the Fiction side of Substack, this does include a lot of newsletters with smaller audiences.
I am in the process of doing something similar for Poetry and Music with my Stave and Stanza newsletter. (I set it up back in the summer, but life took over, so I'm preparing to properly kick it off at the end of the month).
If you consider this, I even think another best of list of 1000 and smaller would be great too. As someone at this for a year and less than 300, I noticed people around my size doing great consistent writing I think itβs a major hurdle to get to your first 1k
ππ» I hope you do showcase small projects too. Sometimes as writers we want to write substantial pieces for readers but donβt know how to reach like minded readers. This can be really helpful for writers like me.
Love this idea. Gosh is 5,000 considered small?? Lol. How about for best under 1,000? :D
I'm here for the best under 100
:-D
Nothing wrong with that! I wish Substack would give more love to folks that don't have a large following, and best under 100 would be an amazing start.
Here for the best under 5
Lol same
Thatβs where Iβm at right now. Looking for ways to go without using the social mega-platforms.
And even then, there is no guarantee of getting traction on the social mega-platforms. It's wasted effort unless you get lucky and "go viral" or you deliberately try to stir things up just to get attention, which can backfire in all sorts of ways. So I agree with you.
I just hit my 100 subscribers mark yesterday and felt like a big deal, until I remembered how huge most of the other substacks are. To me, 5,000 seems massive!
Congratulations @Heidi Turner! I am about to hit the 100 subscribers mark so I feel you. I have been thinking though not to compare myself to others to avoid feeling the discrepancy and discouraged. Maybe it's a matter to ask Substack to highlight writers independtly from their subscribers number. I do feel such an approach can sometimes condition people to think a newsletter isn't that great because they have 30, 50, 100 or 200 subscribers when the quality is actually there. Not everyone wants to grow their Substack or even go paid, some just desire to create community and conversation and their newsletters need to be pushed too.
Really. Those of us who were on substack a long time ago do not care how many followers you have. This is NOT Twitter!
That's a great idea @Emmanuelle Marechal! I absolutely want to build community but I started my Substack with no followers (I didn't come with a pre-existing email list) so the initial growth has been slow. Steady, but slow.
I'm the same as you Heidi. I came with 0 followers and I am at 98 now, just 2 away from the big 100! It's rewarding to get each one!
Congratulations on being so close to 100, Kate! It's a great accomplishment. And yes, I still celebrate each new subscriber.
This is how substack works!
Same here, I didn't have a list too when I started, and many are in the same case. Steady, but slow is great, too. The trust built with readers is the most important.
Congratulations on being so close to 100 @Emmanuelle! It's such an accomplishment. I agree, I think I'm building trust and long-term loyalty. At least, that's what I tell myself.
It is a big deal! Congratulations
huge deal!! congratulations!!
Congrats on you milestone! π₯³
That's true don't compare with anyone
You are preaching to the choir, Heidi.
I read an article the other day where the writer called a person's Substack following of 15K "modest" and almost passed away
Yeah, it's all perspective and context. When someone famous or well-known in some field jumps onto Substack and has immediate recognition, they will get traction very quickly. But most of us (I include myself) are unknown as writers in any world, and having 50 subscribers is actually pretty damn cool!
Cosign on the under 1000.
Same here! I'm on a 100 and hopefully will keep growing but that's a long way before 1000 or 5000. A way to help the small ones get seen would be fantastic.
100 is still a big deal! Congrats on getting there and (holding up my imaginary beer), I'm cheersing to you the long road ahead for us to reach 1000...
I was just browsing through your Substacks and wow! All the best with your memoir, and writing about your brother's story is so inspiring. Looking forward to keep reading you! :)
Thank you so much. I appreciate that, and thank you for subscribing too!
Absolutely! I celebrate them all and I'm proud too for getting here. Definitely inspired to keep going! Cheers! To a 1000 and beyond π»π
What about under 20 π
Under 20, yeah, that's me so far...SO FAR! A small voice trying to cry out loud. Like a baby in the night.
Ha, 5000 is definitely a huge goal for me. Just trying to get Substack to pay attention to us smaller fish :) I'm around 1100 readers after sending hundreds of issues (every single week for 4.5 years).
Iβm similar-ish to you kinda stuck at 900 and keep fluctuating. Maybe us under 5000s should take matters into our own hands and start our own publication. Looking at the likes you got here I think it would be a hit π€©
Fantastic! Congrats to you! :)
Obviously it takes time. This is not Twitter.
Yes, I think all newsletter writers understand that growth happens at a fraction of the speed here because our "posts" (I still call them newsletters) come out probably weekly, not daily or hourly like on other platforms. That's why I'm hoping Substack will hear us and share some of the really cool smaller publications out there, even if we don't have big numbers. Not just to grow our followings, but to be able to connect with people who are trying to find in niche newsletters to enjoy.
Haha that was my thought too! An audience of less than 500 would be more appropriate for me!
Me too!
Anyone with a following of 10,000 or under is considered a micro-influencer today.
This is a great idea!!! It's very hard to find an audience as it seems the big names (which I keep seeing again and again) have created an ecosystem to support each other
It's so true. Sometimes I feel like the "popular girls" just keep getting more and more popular, like in high school haha. When I read the On Substack article about Joanna Goddard joining the platform (i LOVE her btw), and it was all about how she has this huge audience and how she's created something so unique.... and then ended with "hey, want to start your own substack? join us!" that ruffled my feathers a little. I really hope Substack hasn't forgotten about us with smaller but very loyal readership.
I feel this way too! I am still under 100 subscribers on two Substack publications, but I have to keep reminding myself that we all start somewhere. I didn't have a following before I came to Substack, and that's a huge part of it. I'm truly a beginner, and in order to reach those major milestones, I have to be the beginner first. Still, I agree about most things with content creation feeling like a popularity contest (I even talked about this on my Substack/podcast a couple weeks ago). It can be disheartening, but the one thing we can do is keep lifting each other up and sharing each other's work with our smaller audiences. I think that will build momentum, but when we're small, we often get stuck in the mindset of needing to just focus on our own thing first. But if we all just shared each other's work or commented even once a week...I bet that would make a difference over time.
The biggest surges of growth I've experienced have been: 1. when someone with a larger audience sings my praises and asks their people to subscribe to my thing (this has happened 1 or 2 times in 5 years); 2. when I've paid to place ads encouraging people to subscribe.
Keep at it! I can't say for certain that "readers will come if you just keep churning out awesome newsletters," but I believe that the number of readers is much less important than the meaning of our work and the connections we create through the process.
Hi Alex, can I ask where you had success with paid advertising? I'm considering it myself
I write a women's lifestyle newsletter, so I advertised in A Thing or Two with Claire and Erica, because our audiences overlap. I also placed an ad in Recomendo, which was much cheaper, and I got a handful of readers there as well. I don't track these things very closely, I'm more interested in deepening relationships with readers than checking metrics (I know my wheelhouse haha). I think the keys to success with ads are: 1. writing a terrific ad 2. placing your ad in front of people who would love your newsletter 3. talking to your new subscribers and asking them why they clicked your ad, then rinse+repeat! Hope this helps.
I just want to encourage you to work at getting yourself more than 5,000 subscribers. Substack, in this respect, is like any other publisher. They are a business in business to make money. They're going to most recognize those writers who bring in more paid subscribers. Emotional appeals will never top the profit motive. That's just a reality of the writing life.
And getting more than 5,000 subscribers will serve you far better than any recognition.
I suspect that quite a few Substack users have an account without any intention of ever going to Paid Subscribers, whether they are vanity projects or for whatever reason. It would seem reasonable to me to pay Substack a small annual fee for the privilege.
Me too! Delighted to have discovered your substack βΒ just subscribed. If you ever want a curated list with a Turkish twist, hit me up :) x
I felt the same way when I saw her come on here!
Same!!
This. Spot on.
I wish! We could really use this. Or to at least have someone canvassing small writers and sharing what they found worthwhile. Idk π€·πΌββοΈ
This is a clever ideaβso many readers are into niche topics, it could be helpful on both ends of the community.
I know! Who would've ever thought that FICTION would be a niche market!
Ha, it's true! I say this as a fiction writer (and reader) myself.
Itβs weird.
+1 on this one. Writers should be encouraged to have niche audiences as they contribute to making this platform so much more valuable!
This is a great idea! I am new to Substack and just here trying to learn more.
I love this idea! Erik Hoel of The Intrinsic Perspective is also on his second review of his subscribers' content... not exactly what your question asks but I think he is doing a cool thing: https://www.theintrinsicperspective.com/p/the-intrinsic-perspectives-subscriber-b78?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=332996&post_id=136229420&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2efjq4&utm_medium=email
It probably serves to drive his own engagement as well because writers who he features/links are likely more inclined to feature/link/recommend his work.
Yes, I would definitely like to do this!
Alex, you might check out what Ben Kerschberg is working on over here: https://heftymatters.substack.com/p/five-piece-you-will-love-on-this
It's not Substack's official recommendation or anything, but it's a really good localized effort I'm trying to do my best to support for exactly the same reasons we both think it's a good idea in the first place.
++ they should!
This is a great idea! Especially for newbies.
seconded! Great idea, hope it's accepted!
I agree. This is a great idea!
Great idea!
Or, alternatively, βnewest nicheβ publications with growing audiences like mine -- East Wing Magazine: Americaβs First Ladies present and past and their power.
π§ Hi Substack. I love it here. Writing on Substack, and the growth tools here, have helped me get 2,300+ readers, close to my first bestseller badge, and a literary agent in under two years. So please receive this as constructive feedback:
We know you care about writers, but there's a feeling lately that you care *most* about the people who are already explosively popular. That makes sense. Big names bring business. But people don't become big names without support, and I think a lot of smaller writers could use more support from the platform here as it continues to grow.
Why not designate someone on the Substack team to curate "the best posts from emerging writers" on Substack Reads? How about a "new to Substack" section in the official Substack newsletter? Invite "smaller" writers to participate in Substack Reads or Substack advice posts? Can you explain what's currently being done/in the works to help the "little guy" on Substack gain more traction here?
I've suggested something like this before, as the Substack homepage highlights the top blogs, and does very little to promote upcoming writers. Great idea!
We're such a big number that I as well try to shout out smaller Substacks I'm loving when possible. During the shoutouts Substack holds, I'll look at smaller creators and mention some as well. I don't hold back but until and when/if Substack does something like that, we've gotta work on sharing other small writers and why we like them as well. It should come naturally, but it's a start.
Great idea....but f course the devil would be in the details. Substack is great but (as I've tried to flag many times) potential readers are always looking really for a quite specific NICHE and at the moment the categuories are too broad. For instance, as I said above, nobody is looking for 'Politics' per se....they're looking for something much more SPECIFIC eg leftish, rightish, newsy, calm reflections etc etc.
This was exactly what I posted as well. Maybe we'll have some strength in numbers!!
It's possible that with hundreds of thousands of publications, Substack's own team don't actually have a good way of finding high quality "emerging writers" to showcase.
I love the idea of showcasing emerging writers, and I reckon Substack do to... just wondering if they have the physical ability/tools/time to trawl through the (perhaps) millions of posts published each week to find good ones to share.
You would need either a lot of human eyes or a very sophisticated algorithm to find high quality posts from new creators. It could be an actual technical challenge or resourcing challenge for the Substack team... just sayin'
A v good point!
Yes, I've only just started, and I see it's devilishly hard to get something off the ground here!
Agree!! In the 7 months or so Iβve been on the platform, this has become more and more apparent. Big names seem to be the only names appearing anywhere in my feed, on my notes, and shared by substack... itβs a little demoralising at times for sure.
Love the swell of support for smaller writers π
Absolutely! Can an algorithm do more in helping us connect with potential readers? I had such high expectations for my first post, but barely anyone has read it!! Help meeeee!
Iβm my experience, barely anyone reads the earlier posts unless you come here with readership already. You have to just keep posting consistently to find an audience. My first post has a couple hundred views, my most recent has 7K. Itβs been almost 2 years of consistent posting! Itβs a marathon not a sprint :)
π§ I just crossed the 1,000 subscriber mark. All the usual things have been part of that journey, but most of all, just writingβand the support of my readers. Least of all, but still valuable in some casesβand although I'd love to do more of itβhas been collaboration with other writers here on Substack. Sounds good on paper, but hard to do in practice. What's mattered most for me is telling the truthβand my own personal growth along the way β¬οΈ
https://bowendwelle.substack.com/p/the-love-of-strangers-1000
Congrats, and thanks for sharing Bowen!
thanks Katie!
Congrats! This has also been my experience in (slowly) growing my Substack. For me, what has worked best is delivering a mix of other writers' profiles/stories, and content around marketing or building your following + other writer woes.
thanks Claire! my first book is a memoir as well, which I serialized here as a work in progress. I'd love for you to check it out! β https://anordinarydisaster.com
Also, since you love memoir, you might like my post about my Fifty Favorite Memoirs
https://open.substack.com/pub/bowendwelle/p/43-favorite-memoirs-youve-never-heard
Oo, thank you for sharing that! Wonder if any of our favs will overlap! :)
do you have a list?
I do! I see lots of overlap in our favs. I wrote this one earlier this year. https://clairetak.substack.com/p/memoir-picks-true-gems-about-friendship
As also a lover of memoir, excited to check out both of your lists!
The only way I could do collaboration is if someone has the same smartass wacky sense of humor I have. 98% of Substack is writing on politics, social issues, gender studies...you know, boring stuff.
I'd need to collaborate with someone who would try to out-gross me with THEIR child stories.
Man I feel the same. I sometimes feel I'm in the wrong place. I haven't found anyone who is as silly or as disgusting as me. Here's me putting my grossest foot forwards https://wrongchannel.substack.com/p/men-are-disgusting
I actually have a 5 part series about times I've shit my pants coming. I'm gutted I didn't have that to apply with
Holy shit you have a new sub
Like wise man! Let's stay in touch. Seems we have a similar wordview
Iβd like to get in on this humor-writers bromance. Subscribing to you both.
Come on in. Donβt wipe your feet at the door!
Iβd like to get in on this humor-writers bromance. Subscribing to you both.
Okay but I want to make clear that I prefer to be the inside spoon
Wouldnβt have it any other way
We hear a lot on these threads about strategies that worked for people but does anyone have a mistake we can learn from so we donβt repeat it?
Something they tried but had them losing readers or their readers reading fewer posts. Thanks in advance.
I've noticed I lose subscribers if I don't publish regularly. I always aim for weekly but I had a baby last year and I became more sporadic. If I posted after two/three weeks off, I'd always get a unsubscribes. Maybe they forgot about me and weren't expecting an email? So yeah, consistently posting at around the same time on the same day each week is ideal.
Congratulations on the baby. I always find it odd to think people are actually waiting to hear from me.
I know, me too! It's a funny one.
I was born in Reno 1938 HS class 1956 I still have friends there. All the best of every good fortune for the good.
Thank you. Sorry to let you down but my Sub has nothing to do with Reno. Reno is short for renovation so the sub is about design and construction. But I'd love to learn more about Reno.
Me too. It's unnerving/encouraging/kinda wonderful all at once!
You would be surprised--they are! sabrinalabow.substack.com
Congrats on the baby. Writing consistently is SO hard when you are the mom of little ones (mine are 12 and 14 now). My struggle is that I have a "real" job too (teacher).
One thing I've discovered that has helped A LOT is batching. I create when I have time and schedule it out so that my readers are getting consistent content. I have to be pretty liberal about my definition of "evergreen" content. For example, I spread out my posts about our family vacation to Orlando over four months. BUT it has paid off. Right now I have a post a week scheduled through the end of December. If I write something that is "time sensitive," I'll post right away.
I'm starting a new series next month called "Writing in the Margins," mostly geared toward those of us who cannot write for a full-time job. I'm hoping it will help people figure out that balance.
Love this idea - Iβm starting to write ahead myself (scheduling more time per week to write ahead in some lighter work weeks) and Iβm seeing the benefits not just for me but also for readers - because it allows me time and space to re-read and tweak posts to make them better and more impactful.
Yep! And I acknowledge that it's HARD. For years I operated under the belief that my readers wanted everything that I write right away. And while there are times that is appropriate (if I were to write yet another piece about gun violence, I wouldn't want to wait to post it for the next shooting), I have given myself permission to spread things out. Spreading out our travel posts is good for me and my readers. They don't need to drink from the vacation firehose. And posting them every other week has allowed me to write about other stuff.
I love this idea as well. Still trying to wrestle a space down to make this happen. I podcast and write in the margins after a full-time job and my fam -- batching will help Now... does anyone have a clone or a few extra hours I can have? ;)
Ha! How old are kids? Now that mine are 12 and 14, I've gotten my weekend mornings back, when we don't have sports or show choir competition π
Hi Sarah, mine are 20, 16, and 9. I usually write st night after our 9 year old goes to sleep. I know all about the sports!!! Our 16 year old thought it would be wonderful to join both basketball and volleyball this year. *Serenity now!*
Our 12-year-old did soccer AND tackle football for six weeks. During the LAST weekend of both, he lacerated his spleen but we didn't know for three days! (We think he got hit in the first game of a tournament but then he played two more soccer games and another football game that weekend, which probably exacerbated it). Now he's got three more weeks of healing before he's allowed to play in a basketball game but he's allowed to practice. I can't imaging that it's going to get any easier next year when he's playing at the junior high.
Love the name βWriting in the marginsβ ππ»
I'm excited about it.
Thanks for sharing. That's interesting. I purposely scaled back in the recent months after going really hard and consistent with 1 post a week for nearly a year. I am now doing 2x a month and it hasn't hurt me. If anything, I'm now (finally) getting a steady stream of subscribers.
I know this goes against a lot of advice out there, but I feel like sometimes less is better. I subscribe to a lot of Substacks and sometimes the once a week ones feel like too much for me for some of them. I'm at 2x a month now and it feels like a good fit for me to not burn out and I don't think I would unsubscribe from something because it was only twice a month.
I agree with you Julie. I had to unsubscribe to a lot of Substacks b/c it was overwhelming for me. As a reader, I DO love consistency, but I also don't like to be bombarded. I guess that's my stance on my frequency in which I sent out my newsletters too.
Yes there are some i am
on the brink of unsubscribing to. Know what you mean
Do it! It'll help ease your inbox a bit but most importantly, your MIND!
Yep, agreed. And there are some that send more frequntly that I do read and enjoy so it does depend on content!
Yes! It's sad, I've unsubscribed from well-known people I immensely respect, because they send out 3 a day. Even 3 a week is too much. Assume each subscriber also reads at least 5 or 10 other Substacks, sometimes more. with personal emails & work emails, this can be overwhelming. I appreciate twice a month, and if there are 3 a month, I only read 2 of those. I post about once a month, and hope to up it to bimonthly once I get my act together.
It's worse when they unsubscribe when you post regularly!
We'll never really know their reasons for it either way! π€·ββοΈ
I always feel certain that I do, but it's almost certainly just nonsense that I've cemented that nonsense into fact. If it's a friend or aquaintance who has the cheek to leave, I shamelessly chase them down and ask why
Thanks for sharing. And congrats on the baby! :)
I think it is essential to post at least once a week and try to make it somewhat topical if possible. That's my two cents. sabrinalabow.substack.com
Great question!
Hi Julie! I donβt know if it was a full-blown βmistakeβ, but I spent my first year posting twice a week and when I did a poll at the end it was very clear people preferred me posting only meaty posts ONCE a week. Worked out better for me in the end since Iβm writing less but enjoying the writing more!
I think it comes down to that age old question about length again. And by that I mean, I write long fiction and have to break it into segments. The question always comes down to how long I should make those sections? 1000-2000 words? Or longer?
For anyone struggling with the long/short debate, here's a possibility: Iceberg it!
https://gratitudemojo.substack.com/p/engage-iceberg-it
Personally, I think there is a gap between how much people *want* to read about something and how much they *will* read if the info is good and well written. Balancing long enough with short enough is a craft ... one answer is the iceberg approach.
I don't like reading long posts. Around 1000 words is good.
Agree. I think 1000 or less generally works better for me. Probably 800 words or less (and I think a lot of web pubs run things in the 600-800 word range). But there are exceptions and it does depend on what you are writing about. I do read some longform stories online at times but I think shorter is often better for a lot of things.
yes, agree! I think if you have to scroll too long in an email, or on the app, readers can lose interest.
Depends. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's posts are long, but are so insightful, well-written, and speak my language, that it keeps my interest. I actually reserve time to read it! He breaks up his post into 3-4 different topics, and has a "video break" in the middle, which is a great idea for a heavy topic. My most recent post on book-banning was mega-long (3200 words?), I just couldn't trim it any more, but there are lots of photos. Just really hoping people like the topic enough to read it all!
When I worked with @sarahfay writers at work she encouraged less than 1300 words.
For me the sweet spot seems to be somewhere between 600-1000 words. I love the idea of using Substack to serialize fiction! #21stCenturyDickens
The problem with breaking long fiction into 1k word posts is that you may not hit a natural break point at the 1k word mark. And so your serialization starts to resemble those god-awful Twitter threads where the author needs like 25 posts to get to the point, and if they don't know what they're doing they end a post in mid-sentence. I, too, am interested in how to serialize long fiction on Substack because I may try it myself. But I just don't see how it can work well if people refuse to extent their attention span beyond 1k words.
I think what it comes down to, is that you write the story with that in mind. I wrote a NaNaWriMo project and tried to end each section on a sort "hang". If the piece had to run on longer, so be it. There's no hard and fast rule to it. I think I did alright with it.
Thatβs what I was thinking, that itβs best to end at a natural break and never mind the word count. Good to know that it worked for you.
I think in general once a week is a good practice (which some exceptions, like news driven Substacks. The key for me is to write when I have the time and then schedule them out. We can do up to three months at a time, and during longer school breaks, that's what I do.
Hi Julie - for me, it was forgetting that subscribers joined to hear my opinions, narrative, personal journeys. I write about youth sports and strive to give subscribers useful information. Just need to remember to do it through my lens and not as if I'm running a multifaceted website.
It's so important to voice your opinions! It's how you differentiate yourself from AI. I think personalizing all posts is key! sabrinalabow.substack.com
I basically share information via my sub, and I lose subscribers if I stray into opinions or veer off topic. Opinion newsletters usually do better overall, but that's not what my readers came for.
I noticed that too so instead of narrowing I did the opposite. In the welcome email I clearly stated that the newsletter was broad and would cover architecture, design and construction. And if someone only wanted a narrow focus I suggested bookmarking and turning off emails. That seems to have helped for right now but I may be proven wrong.
Chained in by the box I created for myself hahahaha
Ha and I am creating an ocean that will drown me.
Hi Julie -- This is a good question, and I'm appreciating the replies. My mistakes, if that's what they were:
1. This one still kind of cracks me up. I wrote an essay in which I outed myself as someone who was not much of a sports fan, specifically not a Super Bowl fan. I noticed a dip in my numbers after that, but I also gained a few.
2. I added a little prelude of gratitude in the email header about reaching a subscriber milestone and saw a handful of unsubscribes after that, including one paid.
3. Finally, I think it's actually a mistake to pay too much attention to reader numbers. I did that for a long time, but now I'm less invested in the numbers. As long as there is an upward trend over time, and I'm doing the best I can to turn out consistent work, I'm holding fast to the idea that I'm on the right track.
Write on!
I'm with you on this. I turned off the unsubscribe email and now I only notice someone's gone when I check the stats and see a dip in the graph - and by then it's usually on the way back up again. I just keep plugging away, posting aspects of myself once a week, encouraging comments, engaging. It's slow but steady and that'\s good enough for me.
I posted something that was too far off topic and triggered a small but meaningful exodus of subs
Hi all, about four weeks ago I wrote a milestone post and also shared results of a reader survey (in the second half of this post https://sarahrunning.substack.com/p/what-makes-ultrarunning-friendships). Doing the reader survey (using a google form) provided valuable feedback and affirmation for how my newsletter is developing. An added benefit is I now have a lot of wonderful testimonial quotes from readers describing why they subscribe and how they appreciate my newsletter. Question: Any ideas on how I might use these quotes in a way that helps promote my newsletter without being annoyingly self-promotional? Thank you!
This is awesome! Your could add the testimonials to your about page.
will do! thanks
I can't remember how to do that. I wanted to take one down and replace it with another to sort of change it up, but couldn't figure out how to do it.
it's in your dashboard, under Settings
Great idea! I'm going to do that in the survey/update that I sent out now that I've crossed 1000 subscribers. I'd say, put those quotes on your "about" page! Here's what I wrote about growth, btw
https://bowendwelle.substack.com/p/the-love-of-strangers-1000
I occasionally add a testimonial to my opening paragraph.. something like "I got a wonderful note from a reader the other day, who said "xxxxx" Posts with these testimonails get more paid upgrades than other posts, ... but I try not to do it too often.
I also have a link on my homepage called "What others are saying about this newsletter" which directs to a testimonial-packed page.... I cringe about it, but my paid offer is expensive so it makes sense to share evidence of its value for the undecided.
Good tips & good for you!
Write a post just listing some of that "social proof". You don't have to advertise it, but maybe just put it on your front page, under a title like "Who reads your work, Sarah?" Β―\_(γ)_/Β―
Great niche. Congrats!ππ
Love the reader survey idea and also wondering about how to not be too self-promotional.
You have to be self-promotional. I started on this at pretty well the same time another writer had. He was promoting himself constantly, putting his comments out and in everyone's face. He just past 1000 subscribers about two weeks ago. I'm sitting at 320'ish.
You're right but I don't know if I could live with myself doing that.
That's why I'm still at 321 and he's not!π€ͺ
Hahahaha. I'm lower than you.
There's also the subject factor. Some niches are bigger and will grow faster. And, sustainable growth is "more better" than momentary attraction. Newsletters are a personal connection between author and writer ... the stronger that connection is, the better the sustainability. I think the "open rate" metric is even more important than # of subscribers.
I agree with that about the open rate. And I know exactly what that means when you talk about niche. I mean, I write fiction, and that's all. But I write long fiction. It's the kind "where you can sit up in bed with a cup of coffee on a rainy Sunday morning." It's hardly a niche. It's one of those things you either want to read, or you don't. I'm finding an audience, but it's slow going. All I can hope for is that the quality of the writing is what draws the readers in. I have some big name followers, and I'm proud of that, but I don't use those names to draw other potential readers in, that's "Beyond the Pale" (title of a story I wrote, eh?) I'm in this for the long haul. At 65, that might not be as long as it might be for someone who is 30, 40, or 50, but I'm thinking at least 20-25 years to make something of myself.
Long haul ... YES! and I'm several years ahead of you so my long haul will be condensed, but I'm in it for the ride. Best!
And let's hope it's a WILD one!
here's a link to the survey if you'd like to see it and get ideas for how to do one. https://forms.gle/4zLXevjuoZPASvxv9
I appreciate your sharing your survey. I plan to do one by the end of the year.
Great questions and thank you for sharing!
thank you!
Thank you, the is really useful.
read it back to yourself as if you were one of your readers. If you pause, go "hmm," or feel grossed out, revise.
That is a great idea! Re: not being self-promotional, say what you just told us! That it was an added benefit. sabrinalabow.substack.com
Thatβs a great strategy! Thanks for sharing
also, can you share the survey that you fielded?
βοΈ I would like to know how writers here with full time jobs unrelated to their writing balance their work with maintaining their Substack platform.
Iβm about to enter a busy work season which lasts from January to June. During this time it is basically 4am-4pm nonstop work (same schedule as now except I will not have breaks) with a lot of physical and mental demands. Thereβs very little of myself left at the end of the day.
Luckily (but also unfortunately) this job is temporary and Iβll be unemployed in July. Iβve applied to over a hundred jobs since working here, half because this lifestyle isnβt healthy and half because I need a permanent position, and still nothing.
If this is you, what do you do for a living, how demanding is it? How do you contend with this and how has it impacted your writing?
I have been writing my weekly newsletter for 4 years and have found that the only way to get it out every single week is by writing it in bits and pieces β I keep a draft going (through Gmail or notes) and add to it throughout the week. You might also consider scheduling it to send at a specific date and time. Two other ideas: invite guest writers on to help ease the workload; and consider switching to a monthly or fortnightly newsletter, if weekly is not feasible with your lifestyle. Best of luck!! :)
Thatβs how I do it too. Just jotting down thoughts here and there, then connecting them later has worked well!
I do the same thing. I have notes in my phone that I constantly refer to. When I am writing a piece, I find that I am editing and tweaking it just by thinking about it. By the time I have a moment to sit down a write - I start to apply what I was thinking throughout the day.
Yes! The editing in the back of your mind as you go about your day is such a delightful phenomenon.
I also do this. Writing it in bits and bobs as a week unfolds. It can be really fun b/c often I'm not sure what will catch my fancy from week to week and I love that surprise of it. So maybe finding ways to make it feel mysterious and fun to tuck into your daily life?
Great advice, Alex. I like the ongoing draft idea!
I think it's ok to announce to readers when you'll be changing frequency. When my work schedule got busier in August, I announced that one weekly series was going monthly. I also look for ways to balance longer and shorter content on posts that are still weekly.
Agreed -- I've seen people take breaks or slow down at times too and I think it makes sense to do.
Good tip, thank you.
I think this is the central challenge confronting writers in a capitalist society. I work as a kayak guide in the summer and snowboard instructor in the winter, after 20 years as a constitutional lawyer and former congressional candidate. I really struggled carving out time to write over the winter and summer when my day job consumed most of my hours and left me physically exhausted, but one advantage of seasonal work is that the spring and fall βshoulder seasonsβ offer fewer shifts, with correspondingly more free time. I think Iβve published as many posts over the past two months as I did over the preceding six, and feel some anxiety about maintaining that pace once the snow season starts again. Good luck and keep writing!
Sounds like youβve led quite a busy life, Shahid! Wow!
Youβre very kind! As an immigrant to the U.S., Iβm grateful for all the opportunities that have cultivated my perspective and put me in a position to help inform others. Writing for a public audience has been among the most gratifying of the roles Iβve played and I hope to make it an increasing focus of my time going forward!
I feel sure youβll make a success of it! And as an Γ©migrΓ©e from the US, I also appreciate your point re perspective.
I agree. Although I am very worried about what to do financially when this appointment is over, I am budgeting very carefully with the hope to finish my WIP during that time, because honestly that's the only way I can see myself finishing it with the demands of 2+ jobs. There really are no permanent jobs with living wages in my field, which is in environmental science/fisheries. Mind boggling with all the problems that need attention. However, I know people in popular lucrative fields like computer science who are also struggling, so its all relative I guess.
π§ Just keep doing it. Commit to once a week. Also find others who post about that subject. I would reach out to them. Best of luck! sabrinalabow.substack.com
First, thanks for your work on environmental issues! Is that among the subjects of your writing?
Second, consider the possibility of writing more frequently in a shorter format. I originally set out writing more or less monthly posts, all of which were long form, before trying to adjust my format and publish more often. Ironically, while I set out to write more frequently and with greater brevity recently, Iβve ended up posting more frequently, but with the same depth of analysis as before.
Lately, my challenge has been prioritizing among the various potential topics that emerge over the course of time between my posts. Itβs like not being able to keep up with oneself!
It is not, I actually try to keep the online platform private as it is based on spirituality and consciousness, which unfortunately is mutually exclusive from the sciences in today's society. However, I do have a journal entry section that I can see myself utilizing for that one day.
Thank you for the tip and for taking the time to share this π
Just read your latest post and subscribed. Powerful work! The letter to your sister felt especially poignant. Keep writing!
Thank you Shahid. That just published today, and it was hard to write and share. I've subscribed back. Thank you for your service within the political sphere. Grassroot organization is not meant for the faint of heart.
I love this question. I freelance write/edit/do content marketing, and it's often a struggle to work on my Substacks... I have two of them. I have scaled back from doing 1 a week to 2x a month. I also made another rule for myself that I can't work on them during the week, ONLY weekends. It's helped a lot, bc I found myself working way too much on my Substacks and then getting stuck in the never-ending spiral of editing.
π§ I think the never-ending spiral of editing is a problem. Just write! I think we all want to perfect the hell out of every post but maybe sometimes we go overboard. sabrinalabow.substack.com
Totally! I just hate seeing things I could've done better when I see the newsletter in my inbox... or typos. :/ Working on ending this spiral...
I understand your struggle. My job has made it difficult for me to maintain a regular publishing schedule. I keep tweaking it so that I have more time. At this point, I think I can only keep up a monthly publishing schedule. I think Substack recommends weekly for growth, but 1) that doesn't seem realistic if you are doing this full-time and making a living off of it and 2) might drive readership but lower the quality.
I've been struggling with that recommendation for exactly the same reasons. Trying to figure out if people would rather get something small more frequently or more involved less frequently.
Generally, I think less involved but more frequent posts seem to draw more readers, perhaps because we are all trained to have short attention spans these days. A notable exception would be posts with sufficient depth that you can get an amplification on social media from third parties, which can draw an audience to your work beyond your existing reach. I hope that helps! Keep writing!
Here for the answers. I changed jobs and something about the new schedule is completely wrecking me as far as writing goes.
Hi! I also have a day job, which sometimes extends from 8 hours to 10 hours a day and is mentally exhausting as well. When I started this newsletter, I thought I could publish twice a month, but I realize I cannot really afford it yet, so I decided to do it monthly. I didn't really want to affect my writing process just because I'm pressured. I think what I'm saying here is, I had to accept what I can only do for the time being, and let go of the thought that the progress is slow just because I'm posting monthly instead of every other week. It really takes time and patience. Then the way I handle my newsletter, I always have a journal with me. Sometimes my entries could be very long, sometimes they are just short random thoughts. But as the month goes by I already have a sense of what it is I'm going to write for my newsletter. So while I'm working, it's always at the back of my mind and snippets of them are in my journal or in my notes app. I understand we rarely have the luxury of time and my free time may not be the same as yours. But when I do get some extra hours or minutes, I really grab it to try and connect my thoughts and stay out of distractions as much as possible. Writing has always been the love of my life and whenever I write, it's a release and it actually relieves me from burnout. Sometimes when I'm really busy and never gotten the chance to write during the day, I just spill take a fee minutes before going to sleep and just write really badly written notes believing I'd have the time by the weekend to process it. I hope this helps. :)
Also, I've never been freed from financial struggle as well and at first it affected my newsletter in the way that I feared I might eventually stop because I would need to work more, but I treat my letters as something like an anchor to my mental health, something I could not really let go of otherwise I'd feel purposeless or a working machine or whatever, and that had the biggest effect on how I could attend to this space and manage to publish monthly, and in return, what I didn't expect is how it impacted my day job as well. It gave me the drive because I knew I have something to look forward to. :)
What worked for me was deciding how many posts a month (or per whatever period of time) I thought I could do at my *absolute busiest*. I decided that was 2 per month. I committed to at least doing that, and just created a backlog of ideas and started churning posts out bit by bit throughout my weeks on nights/mornings/weekends. Usually I'd end up producing more, but only if I felt like it/could do it.
BUT: 4 a.m.-4 p.m. so far eclipses the demands of my job, I can't even imagine how difficult this would be for you. Maybe just do a post per month and work on it for a couple hours across a few weekends when you have the energy?
I'm very burnt out and have long COVID. I've had to come to terms with the fact that this job, which has forced me to work even harder because it is temporary, is not something that I can possibly excel at at this point, and getting by with the bear minimum will have to be enough. It's not worth investing in and I want to make time for my writing when I can. Acceptance.
Wishing you an stress-less recovery. Good luck.
You know what helps me? Meditation. Beer, too, but mostly meditation, complete with lots of 'Attaboys'. Or 'AttaGirls', of course.
I have just come out the other side of a really busy period at work. This time I didn't do anything, but next year I'm hoping to have some articles scheduled beforehand to send out during that period. I'm also hoping to get some other poets to do some guest posts so I can also use it as a space to champion other Substackers. Particularly those who have a smaller following than myself.
I think it's also okay to tell your readers that you're on hiatus, or that you'll be posting less frequently due to X. Consistency is important, yes, but letting people know what is changing is so they know what to expect is also fine.
I went to offline writing groups to motivate me to work for at least an hour, sometimes 90 minutes. It goes a long way to eliminating the need for self motivation and then if you just sleep afterwards it's not toooooo bad on energy management.
Such a good idea, thank you!
I have been looking for a group like this for a decade now. All there is are critique groups. Then, I tried making one, and everyone that showed up tried to make it a plug for their work, or as another critique group π€¦. Ridiculous.
Meetup.com in my city (Austin, TX) has a lot of groups that are just about sitting down and writing. Usually there is 20 minutes of chit chat before, but the point is to sit there for an hour and work around others so we peer pressure ourselves into writing. So yeah, try meetup.com
Unfortunately I have already looked into this, and that is also where I tried to make my own meetup that failed. There is nothing where I live (and have lived in the past)
π§ That's an intense schedule! I am fortunate that I don't work as much. I would say talk into your phone using an app or even gmail as a draft. Pay attention to the thoughts that cross your mind and write them down or speak them into your phone. Don't censor/edit yourself--you can do that later. sabrinalabow.substack.com
High school English teacher with a busy 12 and 14-year-old at home. Yep, that's me. I batch as much as I can when I have time and schedule it all out. I'm starting a series next month called "Writing in the Margins" to discuss this very difficult balance. Video one month, discussion thread the next. Any ideas for stuff you would like covered?
For many of us, writing is meant to be joyful / fulfilling. That's tough to experience during intense work periods. I feel your pain, Kerry - was out of pocket since starting a project in October, re-emerging now to re-engage. One day at a time...
I wish I had a helpful answer for you, but that's because I understand how hard it is. Even if you aren't mentally invested in your day job, you are bound to use up at least some of your best energy on it, leaving you that much less for your writing. I tried writing a novel during my teaching days, but I had a hard time focusing on anything substantial after my work day. I gave up on the latter... then eventually gave up on the former anyway.
That's why a lot of us are here, isn't it? In hopes that substack's monetization system will free us from needing full-time day jobs. That's why I'm here, anyway.
I meant to say, I gave up on the novel, then gave up on teaching anyway.
Can you send a note to your subscribers saying you'll be posting less often for 6 months, at a rate of whatever it is, like once every 6 weeks, and give a solid reason plus thank them for sticking around. Maybe make commenting free if it's not already. My schedule is erratic too. When I'm on a roll writing, I neglect my children, order pizza every day, and hubby eats whatever is left over in the fridge. But I get my story done!
What's the best way to market oneself on substack. I have a few subscribers but could definitely use more. I've already been affirmed as a good writer, so I know it's not my skill. I think it's an issue of interest.
The advice others will always give here is to engage with other content that is of interest you, and to support other writers in this way. It is about building a community rather than screaming at the top of the rooftops and expecting an adoring audience to follow suit.
What Kerry said.
ditto!
Very true! I've recently was able to find a community on here that is geared toward my niche (horror) and it's been amazing to find new newsletters in the process as well. Interaction really is a great way to "market" yourself!
βοΈ How did you find other writers with a similar niche? sabrinalabow.substack.com
Hey there! I would say to try and use Notes, as I was able to find people through the recommendations that Substack offered me. It was partially by luck, but as is all things. I wish you the best!
Notes might be helpful here in terms of sharing your writing with other writers whose work you might appreciate.
I was advised to send a personal email to friends and colleagues and ask them to subscribe. Tell them what you write about, explain briefly what Substack is, and see what happens. I sent an invitation to about 200 and immediately got another 50 subscribers.
Lovely! You have generous friends, treasure them! Personalizing my invite emails does help but even then the clear and direct ask - please subscribe as paid - is difficult for me. Thank you for inspiring me.
The reaction was always varied - if I even got any. Sure, some said thanks, but I'm not interested in that topic (I was, at that point, focused on an urban fantasy novel, which was a big part of the pitch, although my Substack has evolved). But a few jumped right in, and a small handful of old friends -- I'm talking from high school decades ago -- joined as paid subscribers, which I hadn't asked for, and was pleasantly surprised. I have a few paying subscribers and know all but two. I'm not striving for paid subscribers at this point. I'm just trying to make sure I put out material that resonates with me and is high quality and entertaining :-)
π― Agreed and def resonates too. But even if only a handful Iβm grateful, given human nature. For decades- started blogging late 1990s - I was an open access, open source software, open content, open knowledge supporter. My writings were for free. Iβve moved blogging into paid for many reasons but most of all for respect. People respect me more it seems even if itβs only $5 a month! Even then the number of friends who want me to comp is ridiculous!! Also as a former grad school prof I tend to write informative and paid motivates me to improve my writing to intrigue, one day entertain. π
Your comment about the number of people who wanted a freebie reminded me of a girl I dated decades ago. She was always trying to get things for free: admission to a show, two-for-one, a discount on something or other. Part of me admired her willingness to just ask and see what happened. But over the years, I've gone the other way: I consciously pay for things I don't have to, tip a little more, and so on. I wish I could pay for every single Substack I read, but that's not realistic. Still, I pitch in where I can. I think it's worth it and shows the writer or artist that they're important and significant enough to get at least a little $$ for their efforts instead of us trying to sneak in through the back door.
Thanks for that report back on your strategy & progress! Having run for office in the past, I have shied away from proactively reaching out to potential readers, only because I spent years of my life doing that relentlessly and eventually burned out. But your approach makes a lot of sense and forces me to reconsider the relationship between my established network, and the public audience that Iβm cultivating. I might spend some time today sharing recent posts with friends who have not yet subscribed.
Shahid! How nice to see you here! You resonate. I got off all my political lists a few years ago. I couldn't take it even as just a reader. I want to affirm the re-thinking and encourage you though. As I once wrote "the connections between readers and writers intrigue me... for me, to live is to read... but writing requires discipline..." One of the reasons I Iike Substack is the chance to explore these human connections. Keep writing!
I like that idea as well. I don't have a lot of people on my email, but every little bit helps.
I've done this with FB friends and it is SO scary because I pretty much expect to get rejected π
Yeah, Iβve reached out directly to people to ask if theyβd support my Page by Page Substack (and mention it to others). I also name-drop it *everywhere*: my email signature, Bluesky, Ex-Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn. But I think engaging with your readers is best--invite them to comment or give you suggestions for topics; reply and express your appreciation when they comment on posts; engage with them in Chat. In the end, itβs a combo of your writing + your readers thatβll make your Substack work!
Love this idea - we have to be our own marketers. Now that you mention it. I write letters to my infant son, Myles to process fatherhood. Sharing the journey publicly makes the journey feel a little less lonely.
https://raisingmyles.substack.com/p/thank-you-wifey
I agree. If someone leaves me a comment, I ALWAYS say thanks, and try to engage in some way. I get some pretty cool conversations happening like that.
I've been taking a similar path in launching my new Substack this week. I "seeded" it with three pieces that are representative of my writing and have been reaching out to every community of which I'm a member, inviting them to link over to the site and read (and subscribe). Emails are next on my list. Just getting started....
ha that's similar to the question I posed here ... how to promote without being overly self-promotional? I recently rekindled my activity on LinkedIn and share some of my posts there, which has increased my audience. I also ask friends who subscribe to share my posts with their friend groups, so it's them, not me, sharing it.
Substack allows authors to embed βshareβ buttons and posts. I usually add a caption with a short pitch inviting readers to share each post if they have learned something from it.
Ugh! The dreaded LinkedIn π
True! But getting back on my stale LI account and freshening it up prompted me to reconnect with old colleagues and friends, and to expand my network.
This is probably true for you too, but I find that my fractured niches are not really conducive to the LinkedIn space, but hopefully my new writing series will be something I can do SOMETHING with.
How did you start sharing on LinkedIn? Do I need to create a profile for my writing and substack?
I've only posted my Substack writing to LinkedIn a few times. Logging in to my existing LinkedIn profile, I start a post there, say a few words about what readers can find in my latest Substack article, and link to Substack.
Thank you, Tara! This is all great info.
I just have my regular profile there (not a company page) and I share the link to a new post with a few sentences about it, as I would share anything on LI.
Thank you, Sarah!
it's so hard to find the right balance between promoting positively and over-self promoting. I also share on LinkedIn and have found a small audience on there too!
I love this idea! I was just thinking about talking with a friend about this, this morning. The not me always sharing it is huge.
there's no such thing. You just have to write what you feel to write, and see who digs it.
If people don't know that what you've written is out there, they'll never get to read it, which makes it impossible for anyone to dig it.
well, you have to write in the first place for anyone else, or any system like Substack, to help other people find your work. My experience has been that focusing on that, in the first place, bears the most fruit and is more satisfying than getting ahead of myself trying to think about marketing something I haven't even created yet.
Clearly you thrive on argument, but nobody suggested promoting before you write. We're all writers first, but even if the goal has nothing to do with money we still want readers. Once you have work you feel is worthwhile, the next logical step is to promote the existence and location. That's what everyone else here is talking about. What you're recommendking sounds to me like a Field of Dreams "build it and they will come."
That's simply not true.
Here's a post I wish I had read before I opened the door to my Substack. It took me a year and a half to be able to write it. ;-) https://gratitudemojo.substack.com/p/before-you-open-the-substack-door
I tend to agree. Even if oneβs content is amazing, if no one can find it, thatβs a problem. Especially if your like me and youβre basically allergic to social media.
But Iβm new to this, so for now Iβm concentrating on the content part. That alone has been rewarding. I hope by coming in to these threads as a newbie, Iβll learn a thing or two.
*youβre (ha!)
I've offered an answer to this question before, but its worth discussing more.
Have you ever been to a trade show where very few actual customers showed up? You end up with all the show participants, all sellers, trying to sell to each other for lack of anyone else to sell to. All sellers, no buyers. It's kinda miserable.
As I've become more familiar with the Substack community I've realized that the encouragement we get to market our work here is based on their view of a potential future when they've been as successful attracting readers as they have been attracting us.
What does that mean in terms of what to do??
I'm much more focused on marketing my Substacks to the reading audience. While I do some of this on social media, that delivers moderate return based on the groups or hashtags I publish posts to.
The more effective method is best explained by my Substack article, Networking Eats Marketing for Lunch (https://biztechjournal.substack.com/p/mps4msps-networking-eats-marketing). I ask my readers to do "The Three R's" for me:
* Read my Substack
* Review my Substack and tell me what I could be doing better
* Refer my Substack to your friends and associates
If I'm doing it right and they feel good about it, and if the content is worth referring, this strategy succeeds.
At some point I'm confident the remarkable Substack Team will be as successful positioning Substack as a site for readers as it has been with us writers. Actually, massively more so! At that point my plan is to employ this same strategy here on Substack, networking with as many readers as possible to encourage them to do my "Three R's".
In the meantime, I make every effort to contribute as much as I can to the Substack Writer's Community, mainly by participating here on Writer's Office Hours, but also by conversing with various writers I have met here. I'm hoping they realize, as I have, that nobody here is their competitor. We're each only competing with ourselves to do better and better. I'll gladly recommend any content I feel is really valuable. I'll never lie about that. But there's plenty of great content here, and great writers.
So my advice on how to market yourself on Substack is to NOT market yourself. Rather, network with as many community members as you can and earn their respect for you and your work. The more we all promote each other's writing to readers the more readers are attracted to Substack and becoming potential readers for all of us.
TRUE! An old book by Goe Girardi noted how each and every person knows fifty other people close enough to invite to their wedding or someday attend your funeral. Fifty per person...you are wise using this approach.
-Wadeeli.substack.com.
Best reply I've read here in a long time. (The tradeshow comment is spot on.)
Got yourself a new email on your list, Howard :-)
Unfortunately, I have been to conventions like what you describe, the vendors buying from each other because there just aren't enough "true" buyers. I fervently hope that you are right, and that Substack can build that pyramidal membership structure where a base of readers supports the writers who need that kind of support. It's what I'm counting on.
We all are.
David, just a thought... but you can start with your title/name of your newsletter. It gives no idea of what it's about. I think that's a key piece! :)
Agree fully with Alison. I clicked through, checked the About page, and there's nothing there that catches my interest, or even tells me what it's about.
This is pretty big lever to pull. People are pathologically distracted nowadays. They have millions of interesting things to read. You have to promise something.
Hi David. Such a good question. Since your Substack is just a couple of months old, this would be a great time to go back and revisit your About page. This is where a lot of potential readers go to find out what a writer is writing about. Substack gives you a very bland template that doesn't say much of anything. Here you can tell potential subscribers what you write about, a little about you, why they should subscribe, and what they will get once a subscriber.
Beyond that, look for other writers on Substack that interest you, subscribe to their publications and begin commenting. It takes time, but some of their subscribers will notice (if your comments are good) and you will gain some readers that way.
And another way to get subscribers is to start recommending other Substacks (that you subscribe to). You can do this in your Settings. If you need help finding that, just reply to this. Over time other Substacks will begin to recommend you. I've been writing Kindness Magnet for over 2 years and have found many new readers through recommendations.
And of course, just keep writing consistently and to your audience niche.
With Substack and writing, patience is a virtue.
Good luck!
This is great advice. I am going to visit my About Page as soon as office hours ends. I just get so overwhelmed by all the tech stuff but that seems easy enough! Thanks Heather! sabrinalabow.substack.com
Have fun. I bet your NEW About Page will be fabulous. I see it as a whole 'stream of consciousness' thing! Cool idea for a newsletter....
I have also found Reddit and Facebook groups great too. For example, I write about being a dad. I joined a bunch of Facebook groups engage there and also drop my Substack. Same with Reddit. Engage in other communities on different social media platforms and help them solve problems, engage with them, and be a good person. It comes back in the from of subscribers but also just creating a strong community of whatever you are writing about.
If you're looking to market yourself on Substack, it's good to be really obvious about what your newsletter is, what it does and who it helps. If people see the home page of your newsletter, can they tell what it is you're writing about and what they would get out of reading it? Does the name tell them anything about it? What does the About page tell them? If they can't tell what the newsletter is about, they can't tell if they're interested.
I wrote this article about how to get noticed on Substack. It's a lot about design of your page and the marketing actions you take consistently. However, if you want to take advantage of the network effect, it behooves you to create your Substack in a way to help take advantage of it. https://authorstack.substack.com/p/how-to-get-noticed-on-substack
David, have you considered re-naming your publication? It's hard to create interest for readers with a publication name that doesn't show them what it's about, or pique their inteerst in some way. (sorry, harsh advice!)
David ... because I didn't know what you write about since "David's" doesn't give me a clue, I looked at your home page ... still not quite sure, plus your about page is still generic Substack. The more people "recognize" you and know what you write about, the more they will click in. I've just published an index to posts about the "Big 6" ... those critical identity elements: Substack Title, bio-profile, short description, welcome email, About Page, and paywall.
https://gratitudemojo.substack.com/p/enter-index-of-posts
π§ Directly text or email your friends and associates individually, with a link to your post. Also participate in office hours every week and post on notes. Always end with a link like this--sabrinalabow.substack.com
What Kerry said.
My best advice is interacting with other writers. Read stuff that interests you and leave valuable comments if you like what you read. Also, notes is invaluable in making connections and building engagement! My pub is pretty new (under 2 months) and 100% of my subs (almost 150 now) came from within Substack, I'm not posting on social media at all.
Patience is key. It took me several years to start gaining traction (as in, getting subscribers that weren't extended family members!). For that reason, I think it's important to make sure you're having fun writing your newsletterβit makes the newsletter more fun for the reader and it will preserve your sanity!
π§ One thing I've noticed is the continuous promotion of big name writers when I'm scrolling through my feed. The SAME notes keep showing at the top of my feed, not mixing things up at all. A) Those big names don't really interest me and B) They are taking up valuable space in my feed that could be used to show me up and coming writers!
Another thing I've noticed is the "Just Launched" highlights in my feed aren't just launched at all. Sometimes they are newsletters with a long history which again takes up valuable space that newbies could be occupying. Substack needs to help promote people who are NOT already famous lol.
Hey Kristi,
Brock from Substack here!
We appreciate this feedback, and I've passed this along to the App team for further discussion. Weβre working hard to make Substack better, and part of that is hearing from folks like you!
So thank you for this feedback!
Seria Γ³timo se publicaçáes em outros idiomas tambΓ©m fossem consideradas nas indicaçáes do Substack π
I was once told itβs because you engage more with those writers. π€
I don't think that's true though because I don't engage with any of the big ones.
Oh! Just remembered what helped change this. Start following other authors. If they write on Notes you will see them and it will open up a new world of dialogue.
I'll give that a try. I do think Substack could adjust and tweak to give the little guys a leg up though too.
Yeah. Iβm confused too.
Happy Office Hours! If things can become unwieldy for you (like they do for me), hereβs something I try to do:
* Identify one thing you need help on and narrow down common phrases or words. (Like βaudience,β βediting,β βreaders,β writerβs block,β βabout me,β or βbioβ to name a few.)
* And then use CTRL+f or command+f to search the page for those phrases in the comments section. It might be a little clunky because you do need to scroll and re-load the comments, but the CTRL+f function will help you bypass the chatter and get to the topic thatβs top of mind.
* Iβd also identify a few folks who chime in and who usually have creative ideas. I seeβ¨Elle GriffinΒ andΒ Mike SowdenΒ fairly often chiming in and offering some Substack gold. So theyβd be some good folks to start with on your CTRL+f searching.
I also think if youβre comfortable offering a comment of your own about what youβre curious about or struggling with, it does help to join right when Office Hours starts (which, frankly, I canβt do all the time, so no pressure here from me on that front).
If you offer some identifying information (new/established writer; how many readers you have; and the general topic you write about in your newsletter), folks WILL more easily be able to chime in and offer you some encouragement/advice.
Office Hours is also a great place to celebrate milestones.
OK, let the Office Hours games beginβ¦
Great tip, thanks Amanda!
never thought about CTRL+f ... thanks!!!
Look at you helping out the newbies! πβ€οΈ
Great nugget to sift through all the stuff here. Thanks Amanda!
One of the things I see in those "10 ways to grow your Substack audience" posts is to engage with other writersβI'm seeing some people suggesting that here too. I'm looking up all your Substacks and bookmarking them rn, I'll check them out later today and leave comments, please do the same with mine (travel and culture focused)! If you have any other specific suggestions about connecting with other writers, I would love to hear them!
Start following people on Notes. Restack them, comment on things. I've been having a lot of fun connecting with people there lately.
Also, comment on "big" Substacks' posts. You'll find other people interested in reading the same thing as you, and that's a point of connection as well.
Yes I second Notes and everything Mikala said! Also (and genuinely), leave comments in other people's pieces they write and share. Share pieces you like *in* Notes. Of course not transactional-ly, but knowing that it's something you're truly loving, admiring, and wanting to share. :)
Thanks that's really helpful!
Notes allow you to restack other authors, or to reply to their posts with ones of your own. It also presents opportunities for further dialogue. Several other newsletter writers have seen fit to recommend mine, and Iβve done the same for authors whose work I have especially come to appreciate.
Oh, that is my JAM! I'm subscribing for now :-)
MY problem is that I would love to open up my Substack for more guest posts, but it doesn't really fit into my Substack plan. HOWEVER, I do frequently share other Substacker's work in my pieces and mention them when it fits what I'm writing about.
And most of our travel is camping related. I'm in the process of finishing a camping memoir and getting ready to prep for submission. I've given myself a hard deadline for submission vs. self-publishing.
I like the idea of connecting with substacks with synergistic interests. If anyone would like to connect, my niche is Americaβs First Ladies present and past at www.eastwingmagazine.com. Iβm in the womenβs, politics, history, feminism spaces.
π§ Iβm wondering if Substack would consider having a page that would resemble a traditional walk-in magazine store, where a person would see and scan many titles and covers at once, and then βpull one downβ, so to speak, for a quick flip-through. With multiple thumbnails on the same page rather than scrolling one by one, which can get tedious.
And just like those stores, divided into categories, even sub-categories, to allow readers to zero in on their preferred subject matter. (Mine would fall under travel and/or photography).
Without rankings, so new subscribers could have as much chance to get noticed as established publishers.
Small edit: in my last paragraph βsubscribersβ should be βwritersβ.
cool idea!
Celebrating 265 subscribers. I know Iβm small potatoes to some but Iβm excited. I plan to be a big potato someday, maybe even a Yam.
Congrats! I just hit 100 over the weekend -- Even smaller potatoes (maybe one of those tiny, fingerling potatoes) and someday I aspire to be a cantaloupe. :-)
Brava! I got myself to 253 this week. It's thrilling. I'm on the yamming trail.
Letβs start the Yam Club. Hehehe.
We'll need a logo....and our own substack for wannabe yams.
Haha. Yes. Would the logo be obvious? A yam? Or iconic- a big Y. Whatβs our description? Yam girls who yammer? Yam Mamas Who Eat Orange Night Shades? Sustainable Yams on Substack?
Congrats, CK! How are you going to celebrate? Celebrations can involve potatoes, if you like π
Chicken. Hehehe.
Ha. Potatoes. Too fattening until I discovered a hot-air cooker, and roasts sliced potatoes into chips and sticks with almost no oil. OOOOOH, try it, you'll like it. Now when my wife returns home from visiting family, we'll see...
The KABOOM you'll hear is her temper, but guess what? Those roasted potatoes are worth it.
-Wadeeli.substack.com.
I have air fryer envy.
Woot! I was at 265 fairly recently and have noticed a bit of an acceleration in growth at around the 250-300 number
Congrats!
Start as a tater tot, grow into a giant spud. You go girl!
Are you a funny gal in life? Iβm starting an interview series. Funny AF Women.
For a 'live' interview I'd be DOA, deer in the headlights, Frozen from Disney, Bernie from Weekend at Bernies. You get the grim picture. It'd be like taking that cute tater tot and making smashed potatoes.....with ketchup.
A 'written' interview....now that's a horse of a different color.
Written interview. I want the gals to have control over their answers. I would email you a questionnaire. Let me know if interested-- penmom@gmail.com
Well darn it (not socks), you've got me jumping down the rabbit hole which, ironically, seems to pop up just when I'm trying to put the finishing touches on one of my Substacks. I'm a sucker for procrastination disguised as 'research'.
I'm your new favorite subscriber... just finished reading about the famous word "Good", which is entirely different than when you take out one of the 'O's.
I'd love to be a guinea pig (I had one as a kid, named Sammie)... just give me a little time to poke around in your funny Substack and I'll send you a note.
I'm off to the dermatologist....which is definitely an opportunity for a few laughs.
Have a great, good, fantastic day.
Haha! Day 1 on Substack-- tater tot. Love it.
lol! Congratulations!
I've been here for just over a year. After passing 100 subscribers, and using Notes, the number of subscribers picked up. Now at 160. I was invited to do a guest post maybe 6 months ago, from
<Mary L. Tabor>. (Thanks, Mary!) Guest posting helps. On the days when you don't post a longer piece, post on Notes, and take part in conversations. Recommendations help. It's more than one thing.
π§ Discoverability, I know, is an ongoing project but is there any progress on getting a memoir category here? It really is a distinct genre & besides my own interest in readers finding my memoir, I feel like there are probably great memoirs Iβm missing out on here because I canβt find them! A memoir leader board would be great too.
YES please to the memoir category! I had to class mine as 'Culture' - which it is, kinda (extracts from my teenage diaries written in the 1990s) - but memoir would be more accurate, and would help me as a reader find more stacks I want to read
I Launched my newsletter 10 days ago and today I challenging myself to get myself featured in Substack next year!
Congrats, Akshay!
Im not even close to my goal... and hope my voice reach peoples.... Anyways Thank you!
Akshay ... great intention. Here's a post I wish I had read in my first 10 days. https://gratitudemojo.substack.com/p/before-you-open-the-substack-door
It took me a year and a half to write it. Best wishes!
Nice newsletter name jeje
Good luck βοΈ!
βοΈHi scribes. Iβm looking for funny women to interview. Iβm starting a new feature on my humor Substack and will post an interview once per month. Know any funny gals? She doesnβt have to be on Substack. Please, no humor based on politics. Thx!
This is so fun! Please post a note about it and tag @Substack Writers so we can help amplify.
I'm a big fan of Vanda's writing at https://substack.com/@vanda
She used to be a comic, and her memoirs have often left me laughing out loud. You might want to connect....
Thx!
Not sure if I'm funny enough, but my newsletter--while not explicitly humour writing--has been called funny. (It's a writing advice column.)
email me. Penmom@gmail.com
Sent you a quick note.
I'm pretty funny π and I'm SOOOOO far away from politics! If you'd like to read some of my humor stuff I can provide you with links outside of Substack. And if this response gets lost in the abyss of this thread feel free to reach out to me on notes. I know these office hours threads can explode and easily lose track!
Posting my email. Seems like the best way to have chats. penmom@gmail.com
Yo, Wassup, Fam!
Aye, just wanna give you guys a bit of a tip/requestβ The platform should have the category "Fitness", today it's under the category Health & Wellness, which although indeed fitness is part of Health & Wellness, there's a GINORMOUS bazillion dollar industry that are specifically interested in Fitness for the sake of just looks and performanceβ and although one might think that Fitness Influencers belong on IG or some shit, actually, the vast majority of influential fitness educators started as avid bloggers, so I'm sure both aspiring talent and established creators would love to find a home on Substack.
Thanks for the feedback! I am sharing with the team for consideration.
I suggest adding Family too. Thx. π
Awesome, thanks!
Fitness FTW!
Honestly, there's a few categories I wish we had. I'd love to have an "entertainment" category.
Yes but better still with lots of niche sub-divisions in each category to help potential readers hone in on what they're really looking for.
Agreed! I write a recommendations newsletter (books, TV shows, movies, podcasts and playlists) that sort of fits into Culture but is really more about Entertainment!
+ Home or Living. Design is a broad and it contains things like products and UX and actual with the design of consumer goods and spaces.
I agree whole heartedly! Fitness as a standalone would be a great addition.
I second this!!!!!
I am totally new to Substack. After publishing 5 articles, almost one a week while working 45 hours a week, I am exhausted! Yet still, I am loving it! I went for longer posts partly because I read it is better for Google indexing, and partly because people might feel they are getting ther moneys worth. More importantly, I am just finishing a PhD and I am used to writing longer pieces. Do you think people will read a post that takes 20-30 minutes to read? I guess, if I write well enough, sure. But what if I am not that good?! The thing is, I am dealing with difficult cultural/political problems and I find it difficult to keep them short, but I do not think I can go on writing at this length. Do you have any advice about what I should be aiming at, in terms of length? Any structaral heuristic you have to keep you on track for writing each and every post? Do you often brake up a post and spread them over weeks? Do you announce this to your readers? Sorry, many questions...
Take a look at my post https://endlesschain.substack.com/p/can-you-resist-a-pickup-bar, which I think is outrageously long. For a few months, no one read it. When I pushed it in the right circles, its readership quadrupled in 6 days. I ease the reader in to the subject in a kind-of humorous way at the beginning. I know exactly what you're driving at, interpocula. Deep analysis needs length and people want bottom lines. For that reason you might consider prefacing the article with an abstract. I tend not to use footnotes but the rule is: short and light-hearted will get a big audience who won't remember what you wrote tomorrow ; long and serious will get you a small audience who go away and think about what you write. Which do you want?
Thanks Graham, I took a look. There are few changes of tact in that post. That is interesting, I had not thought of that. Is this what your subtack title is getting at- a chain of aphorisms? I like it. I think you are on to something with the humour. I thought about that at the beginning, I need to bring that back in. I am tempted to include an abstract, but I think I need to develop a different style to my academic writing. I will develop the humour a bit more, and you are right, it will not be for everyone. Can I ask, how did you 'push it in the right circles'. You are speaking to someone who only just opened up a twitter account because he started a Substack! Thanks for your time, I appreciate it!
The article's conclusion is "Why do policemen commit rape?" One did in London a few years back. But to get to there, I wanted to first show that shock at rape is like crocodile tears: even Shakespeare referred to it in a history play. To challenge the reader: if we don't see something, does that mean it doesn't exist? Then "What is a criminal?", and I talk about Ronald, who was a criminal.
There's a diversion into a Desert Cities of the Coachella Valley: the image description could be an article in itself!
References to Dorothy Sayers, who talked about advertising.
Bram Stoker and Dracula: the perfect gentleman in our presence whose dangers lurk unsuspected.
The criminological investigation into why police are so inept at investigating rape, led by an American and 50 other criminologists. And the conclusions I draw for Betsy, for the reader and for me.
If you start that kind of a journey with "Bad cops rape pretty girls", then that's true and that's bad but we view the problem as existing outside our own experience. The problem is that bad cops come into our own experience, and that is what shocks. If they only raped drug addicts, no one would care a fig. And when Sarah Everard was raped and murdered, it was less that it happened that shocked us; it was the fact she was a respectable office worker. One of "us". I wonder what reverberations the revelations from a California prison will cause. Sarah Everard was not a convict.
As I say, it's one of the longest I ever wrote but writing it put things in perspective for me, and, I hope for those who read it.
Thank you for your detailed response. It shows you're as keen as I am, and I appreciate that. :-). I don't do X but I find you can locate intelligent readers in LinkedIn...
Right! OK, that is good advice. I should consider circumnavigating cognitive bias towards my topic. I see there is a few ways of doing that now. Thanks, that is more than I bargained for. By the way, I will be going back to read that post. Thanks a lot for taking the time to respond so well!
Hey, read about Bram Stoker. The man behind the monster is more frightening than his creation. Funny how that happens, sometimes.
-Wadeeli.substack.com.
Count Dracula cannot be seen in a mirror. For the rest, heβs a gentleman. People need to check mirrors if they want to know whether thereβs a vampire in the room. But, then, checking the mirror will tell you only one thing: that the danger you perceived simply isnβt there.
Hi, Wade Chabassol. I have read about Bram Stoker, thank you. The sentence is written perfectly: "Bram Stoker and Dracula: the perfect gentleman in our presence whose dangers lurk unsuspected." There is no comma between "Stoker" and "and".
I think you mean Takt (German), in the sense of beat (unless tact is used differently where you are!). Yes. Imagine the reptile section of a museum. Here, ladies and gentlemen, you can see the amphibious salamander, and here the terrifying tyrannosaurus rex (well, at least it terrified Jeff Goldblum), and here, cute ain't it? an anaconda snake that can eat you whole. Changing tact keeps the tourists amused but none can deny at the end that they've traced the history of reptiles from triassic to today. Gets good tips, that.
It keeps the shorter sections digestible and stops people scrolling to the end to see "how much more of this is there?" Well, doesn't stop them, but it'll occur to fewer of them to do it, maybe.
This a solution I'm using to write more than inboxes can tolerate ... you can do web posts and then link them together as an index. I call it an iceberg ... balancing what readers *want* to read with what some of them *will* read.
I write about it here: https://gratitudemojo.substack.com/p/engage-iceberg-it
Ha Ha Ha.... that picture sums me up. I think I just seen the face of my subscribers when they realise its another biggie!
No thanks, I'll think about using that. I only just discovered you can post things without sending them to your subscribers.
Great stuff on your page! Thanks
As a reader and a busy professional - 30 minutes is often my total allotment for "professional" reading per day. If I take the time to read a single article in that 30 minutes, that often means that I'm saying no to reading 4-5 other articles. It happens occasionally, but it has to be something that I'm really interested in to give up reading the other articles I normally would. It happens, but only once a month at most. There's simply too much other content that I want to consume to dedicate that amount of time regularly to a single piece.
Beyond that - articles of that length is going to be unsustainable to publish once a week for any period of time. A came from an academic background of writing as well (Masters though, not PhD) and so my writing style was long, well supported pieces with complex grammatical structure that was technically correct, but hard to read. Case in point, in my department, I was the only person given a page limit on my thesis in undergrad. Nowadays, I aim for around 1000-1300 word mark for my 'long-form' articles and 500-700 on my short articles.
Some things that I did to help my writing -
1) Tried to emulate more of a journalistic writing style. Why? Its more succinct and to the point. Academic writing tends to be meandering and takes paragraphs or pages to get to the point. Regardless of the length of your articles, you need to get to the point in the first paragraph, 2 tops.
2) Ruthlessly edit your scope. If you are writing 20-30 minute-pieces, you can definitely break those down into smaller, narrowly scoped topics. Then, you can cover the 'meta-topic' over time.
3) Change your content calendar - maybe you want to keep writing the 20-30 minute articles, but instead of every week, you do them once a month. The rest of the time you publish shorter articles on the same topics to help setup for the big piece. This helps keep to the weekly publishing schedule, allows your ease the burden of writing mammoth pieces every week, but still write those long pieces if you'd like.
It boils down to the fact that your approach right now isn't working for you - so you have to iterate to something that's sustainable for you. What the cadence ends up being is less important than the consistency of publishing (within reason - publishing once every 6 months isn't likely to get you very far).
All that is golden advice and just what I was hoping for!
I guess I knew 30 mins is too long, I have similar reading patterns to yourself, so that's what I would think. Yeah, I need ot make some major changes. Thanks for the three tips. I think I will try all three. I can't seem me dropping below 20min until I change my writing calander altogether and leave time to cut a section out and turn it into a smaller piece, and then progress from there.
Anyway, thanks a lot! I have an idea of what I need to do now.
Hey, welcome, interpocula! I send quite long posts in my other (paid) Substack, (different author name) and use heaps of headings, subheadings and links to other (non-emailed) posts to keep it manageable for my readers. Some people read the whole thing, most people skim or dip into the sections that they are into.
Also check out noahpinion who writes long posts which are very skimmable (for lazy readers like me!) and rad-every-word-able too. He has 10,000 paying subscribers at $100 per year so he is doing something right! - borrow his ideas!
Ohhh right, non-emailed posts. That's news to me! Ah! That is a must- do you think I should give my subscribers the meaty bit and let them decide if they want to read the context (stats and anecdotes)? Sorry, I am asking you to do my thinking fo rme here, eh?
No, thanks very much! I'll figure that out, great idea!
I've taken on board all your recommendations and recently turned on paid and to my surprise some people have converted β yay!! I'm slowly but surely learning to have faith in my writing on here thanks to this brilliant community. What seems to work best for me is offering secret tips, tricks and valuable insider knowledge about places I love, as in my latest post about my favourite spots in Istanbul: https://lucyscovell.substack.com/p/how-to-spend-the-perfect-weekend
Great suggestion to offer a βbehind the scenesβ content to paid subscribers! I need to think more about how that principle applies in my sphere but appreciate the nudge and inspiration.
π§ I have two questions about content moderation on the Substack app informed by controversies that have besieged other platforms.
First, I read this morning that Amy Klobuchar wrote to Amazon requesting that Alexa devices be configured to suppress links from platforms, including Substack. Is there any push back (either from the platform or other writers)?
Second, many other platforms have intentionally suppressed dialogue about specific issues, such as theories relating to the pandemic or criticism of US foreign policy. As a writer very critical of corruption in Washington, I have endured that suppression most visibly on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, although Instagram seems to have recently grown more like them.
On one hand, substackβs integration with email diminishes the extent to which platforms can suppress speech based on its content. To the extent subscribers also come through the Substack network, however, how does the platform take care to prevent the marginalization of voices that dissent from mainstream views constructed by propaganda?
So love I really appreciate everyone
Are there any plans to add the ability to write new full posts (not Notes) from the Substack app? Seems like that was available for like a week and then it disappeared (unless I'm missing something).
Hi Tiffany! We can't speak to any set plans, but we've passed this feedback along for discussion. We're always looking to improve, so we appreciate the note!
This is probably the #1 request from this community :)
Ha! Well, glad to know I'm not alone. I'd love to do more writing here and less on Instagram, but I can publish with more frequency to Instagram because I can do it on the fly from my phone.
Tiffany ... here's another idea for those of us who want to write more than inboxes can tolerate ... you can do web posts and then link them together as an index. I call it an iceberg ... balancing what readers *want* to read with what some of them *will* read.
I write about it here: https://gratitudemojo.substack.com/p/engage-iceberg-it
Definitely test it out with your audience, but remember that (unless you mark it not to be sent) our pieces get sent into inboxes and sometimes getting so many pieces from a person can be overwhelming! Worth a try though to be able to send with as much a quickness like you can on IG though!
And a workaround until they actually do implement something like that is Google Docs. I tend to draft and organize everything there since I can work on it anywhere, then transfer it and polish it up once I'm at a computer.
Yeah, right now I'm only publishing to Insta 2x per week, and Substack more like 2x per month. I don't have margin for more frequency than that right now, but I would like the option to shift those Insta posts to be Substack-first (maybe one gets sent via email and one just publishes to the web).
Ahhh, gotcha gotcha!
Yeah or be able to push the newsletter forward if you find some time while out and about but don't have a laptop.
Right? I'd love to be writing drafts there instead of Apple Notes.
π§ Has anyone ever posted something on Substack that went viral? If so, what was it? sabrinalabow.substack.com
π§ In 12 months, I have grown my Subs to 2,400K using my Linkedin (reach 50k) posts, my account and inbox, now, after 2K, I am starting to push paid subs, and I am seeing results.
How?
1. EVERY post, has a link to my substack in the post sig file =
β³οΈ 2k+ Substack Readers: https://lnkd.in/ep6KzZcD
(sample here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rowena-hennigan_roremote-remotework-nocommute-activity-7122169413360836608-rngn?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop)
2. Every inbox AUTO response message on LI, on at weekends and hols - has this link too:
β³οΈ 2k+ Substack Readers: https://lnkd.in/ep6KzZcD
3. I cross-promote on my popular LI Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/remote-work-digest-6867082608745050113/
4. And - I have started posting 1-2 a week on Substack - specifically
Ask me anything on this below!
You can cross-promote, if you have an audience on another platform - it just takes intention and planning!
Hi, I am Ro and I publish Digital Nomad Stories, nice to e-meet you!
Congrats!
thanks Paul!
I thought LinkedIn penalises external links?
Never heard that myself. Your source?
Haven't got a specific link to hand, but it's been widely discussed.
Ok, remember, I am using inbox messages too, with link. It's a combination of tactics
Ah, that makes sense.
Ro! Awesome to find a fellow digital nomad here. And your success with subs is fantastic. Congrats! (I've been here on Substack for just over four months and am almost at 200 subscribers, sooo ... ;0)_) I have yet to even consider LinkedIn as a resource for building the Substack. I'm going to look into this.
hey ho Holly nice to e-meet another Nomad :) I started Nomading in 2007! Currently with a base in Spain and resting, due to Hormonal Health issues.
But I did spend almost 3 months moving around Europe in the summer with my family in tow...it was fab!
Where are you currently?
I'm in the Pacific Northwest, US, at the moment. Most recent far-flung(ish) wanderings have been up through Canada and Alaska and down to southern Arizona. I started nomad-ing around 2007 myself, though, I had quite a long stint of brick-and-mortar living in California between then and now.
Europe with family in tow sounds fabulous indeed. As does Spain. May you find the rest and care you need at your base there. :)
Looking forward to reading your stuff. Let's stay in touch. (I've been thinking on some collab ideas with fellow nomads and vagabonds.)
I donβt have many followers on LI. Maybe 1200 I think. Does the LI signature at the bottom of the post work? Is your LI newsletter a repeat of your Substack or new content?
Yes, in my stats, LI referrals are significant - 3rd after email and being "found" on Substack itself. So I know the cross-clicking is happening and working.
Nope, my LI content is different now for the Newsletter there. It is mainly Remote Work. Not Nomadism. And yes, I have started to monetise that with sponsors too, so I am working with brands over there and guest contributors. In general the two have different audiences and objectives. I decided earlier this year, to shift my Digital Nomad content here to substack and try to monetize it here. So far, so good!
Hi Ro. Super interesting. I'm interested in using LI - I've been on the platform for 18 years (yikes). You mention that you write a newsletter on LI (separate from your Substack newsletter). I've debated doing that. Can you give me some pros/cons for that strategy?
PS - I'm copying your post here - definitely going to check it out. I've been writing on Substack for 2+ years, but rarely see anything about success with LI. Thanks!
Oh, on whether or not to go with a LI Newsletter, I have a question back for you Heather. How many followers/connections have you got on LI?
I have 3,892 followers and 500+ connections, plus I am the group owner of a group of about 38k.
I've thought about a strategy of posting every day on LI (not an article, just topic posts) and considered the newsletter - just haven't pressed play yet lol!
PS - I like your newsletter - awesome idea for remote workers - I imagine LI is an excellent place for that subject.
I write about the intersection of communication and kindness.
In short, my advice would be:
-> 2-3 times a week post good content, for 2-3 months and track your results - follow me and my style if you like, or look for other Happiness peeps, like Nini: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nini-fritz-24404bm23/
- > On Newsletter - unfortunately, not worth the effort, you would need at least 10k+ reach to make that work, ime.
Hope that helps! I am a LI Top Voice (an OG) and LI Learning Instructor, so my advice is based on experience and sometimes the odd "inside slide" ;)
Good luck!
Thanks so much, Ro, for your suggestions. Words from a sage!
π§ - Not a question but a suggestion...with the new beta element that creates A/V snippets from a written work, why not let the author decide which background they want before the production of the clip proceeds?
π§ I just started my Substack yesterday, and I have a few posts scheduled for publication today and tomorrow. I'm someone with no history of published writing, nor anything remotely regarding journalism. I just want to share my passion for older literature and scientific topics. How can I make this work when it looks like I'm the odd one out as far as Substack goes?
First, welcome to Substack, Josh. Second, you're not the odd one out. There's an active lit community on Substack. Search for it by category and ask for recs in Notes. Find some writers you like, and get to know them in their comments and on Notes. You will find your tribe.
I am sure there is a spot for your goals here. Dr. Kathleen Wallerβs https://thematterhorn.substack.com is a good one to get inspired from.
Hey Josh,
Brock from Substack here!
Great question. It looks like you're asking about how you can broaden your audience for your writing. One suggestion would be to reach out to readers and other writers who have similar interests by cold-emailing them and asking them to collaborate on a project or bounce ideas.
A great post by one of our writers (Elizabeth), who also had no social presence and built her following to over 6,000 subscribers, mentioned embracing slow growth and keep writing like you have a big audience. I'll include the post link below for you to check out.
- https://whattoreadif.substack.com/p/how-to-grow-on-substack
Another great resource we have is https://on.substack.com/s/resources!
π§ Is there an easy way to link to headings within your Substack post to create a sort of table of contents within a single post? I have various sections within my monthly posts, and I would like to give readers the option to jump to the section they want to read.
It should be easy to do if it's the last thing you do before publishing. Anytime I use the heading tag within a post, a chain icon appears to its left that allows me to copy a direct link to that heading. You could copy and paste all of those headings and links into a table of contents near the top.
Yes! What Dan said, I just clicked "reply" when his popped up. Exactly that.
Thank you!
βοΈ I've received such lovely notes from paid subscribers but have avoided much horn-tooting for how that changes the vibe of my newsletter ethos, which is intended to be this happy chill inspirational place you can come to once a week for novel/essay/poetry writing encouragement and craft tips. (And daily in November for a write-along inspired by how I wrote my first novel in a month). How do you all balance the way you feel about your letter and its purpose with the inevitable market considerations and promotion? I'd love to err on the side of quietly being there, a sweet apple pie cooling in a window, rather than a candy shop of excessive pushiness.
https://todayyouwillwrite.substack.com/
This is really hard for a lot of people, but part of it is knowing that you are there to provide a service for them. Like, they want to support you, on some level. I think Claire Venus Does a good job of this, and a lot of the Slow Growth people do too. I wrote this article about it here. I would say the mindset shift you need to make is that you are highlight what they already want.
https://authorstack.substack.com/p/how-to-go-paid-on-substack-without
This is tricky. I attempt* to distance myself from it so that my work remains organic and unaltered, immersive. It's a kind of detachment that is hard to articulate. Once I have inspiration, I chase that until nothing else exists and the post is written. Then the next day, I edit it and do grunt work π€·
My goal with my Substack ( https://mfioretti.substack.com/ ) is to popularize the awareness, primarily but not exclusively among parents and teachers, that "your rights and the quality of your life [and of your children/students] depend every year more on how software is used AROUND you". Connections with other authors covering even partly the same topics, or interested in them anyway, would be most welcome. Thanks in advance for pointers, and for getting in touch!
Just heard by @Vonwriting the idea of "letters exchange", explained here https://on.substack.com/p/office-hours-91/comment/42539526 . Recommended, and if anyone is interested in doing it with me, on our common topics, please get in touch!
I like both your beat, and your invitation! I have a few potential ideas for an exchange. When I worked at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), one of my programs focused on building a network of grasssroots technologists across the country poised to educate their neighbors about digital rights. One of the principles that we were especially eager to promote was an awareness of βvicarious privacy,β implicated by the possibility of content shared online implicating the privacy interests of third parties.
For example, many undocumented immigrants have confronted threats not only from their own activity online, but from that of their friends or family. In other words, if you donβt care about your own privacy, consider the privacy of others you know, and what kinds of exposure can potentially place them at risk.
Would that be a fruitful subject for an exchange of letters? Other topics about which Iβve been writing more recently include the genocide unfolding in Gaza, the escalating wave of disinformation, the crisis in co-opted journalism reinforcing power rather than holding it accountable, and market failures indicating the corruption of capitalism.
Hi Shahid, thanks for your interest. Short answer to "Would that be a fruitful subject for an exchange of letters?" is YES.
I already blogged several times (before coming to Substack) about the concept that "if you are not the customer you are the product" is wrong, or at least incomplete.
It should be (summarizing) "if your are not the customer, YOUR FRIENDS are the product". So let's get in touch! Please email me at mfioretti@nexaima.net to discuss how to proceed, looking forward to it!
(same applies to everybody else interested in "letter exchanges", just email me, thanks!)
Hi, I'm still having trouble with the crossposting feature. I've scheduled a few crossposts, but they don't ever appear in my "Scheduled" section (neither the ones that I've already crossposted nor the ones that are currently scheduled). Am I missing something?
Hi Alicia! Thanks for surfacing this issue! I've reported this issue to our Engineering team so they can take a closer look.
Thanks, hope you'll reply with their take in this thread!
Is there a button to share with free subscribers that makes it easy for them to upgrade? I am trying to think of the best way possible to share. Thanks!
Hi Megan, any time you use a "subscribe" button, the text will automatically change to "upgrade" for any free subscribers to encourage them to become paid subscribers.
Oh, that is so great to know! Thank you!
I use the "custom button" to write something catchy and then send it to the subscription page.
that's a feature I've wished for as well. When I think about it though, the Subscribe button/link will automatically present people who are already subscribed for free with the opportunity to upgrade to paid, and so even if there was a dedicated "upgrade to paid" link or button, that would only be useful for people that you know are free subscribers -- and of course, that could change any time... so it's probably better how it already works, if you see what I mean?
Hello writers :-)
I just published the first edition of my newsletter. And I also wrote some "notes" to test Substack's behavior.
Both the notes and the newsletter are in Italian language. I'm getting a lot of account signups that write in English. And, from what substack says, they appear to be "direct" subscriptions.
They look like fake accounts to me, but I'm not sure. Why does this happen? How can I get only (real) and truly interested people to sign up?
I think more information on paid strategies would be helpful. While itβs all lovely for established authors and arguably big names to just say, put up your paywall immediately, I feel that there needs to be more transparency about what actually works for those with smaller followings. For example: should you put 50% of your work behind a paywall once you reach 100 subscribers or 500 subscribers...
I also think as the platform grows, people will become more discerning about who they pay for and it would be nice to see smaller names getting that paid support rather than just those with already established followings. Thoughts??
I, too, am a little dubious about putting up a paywall right away. I may be off-track, but I think that if you are not already a known quantity, you need to offer free teasers of what you intend to put behind your paywall when it goes up. With writers who can bank on their existing reputation, you already have an idea of what youβre getting for your money; with those of us who canβt bank on our reputation, the reader has no idea. My plan is to give readers an idea of what theyβll miss if they donβt subscribe before posing the question to them. That is what Iβve been working on during my first couple of months on the platform.
π§ where do I go to get answers to my questions about how to mechanically use Substack?
How does one grow on Notes? Do hashtags work? How do I get my Notes seen by people who aren't subscribed to my newsletters?
I maybe having a unique problem.
I am resident of India, and Stripe does not work in India for accepting payments to individuals.
I don't want to form a company back here.
So my question is;
Is it possible for my daughter, who lives in Germany to give her bank details and collect money on my behalf?
Or is it possible that I change my address to her address, continue to write from India and give her bank details such as she can collect on my behalf?
What are the tax implications, if any?
Stripe allows me to set up a company in Delaware using Stripe Atlas but that too is an expensive proposition for me.
I started about a month ago, have almost 700 subscribers and have pledges of around 1000 USD.
The other problem is most, 80% of my subscribers are in India. And they don't use Stripe. How do I enable local payment for them. Many would like to pay.
Also, how does Substack collect 10% on these local payments, if they are enabled?
Yes, I wish there was another option to using Stripe. For example, I live in Mexico, but my bank is in New Zealand and there is just no way to set up Stripe for this type of situation. I would love a koha button rather than a subscription.
A little late for this, but if you happen along, I have ulterior motives today. Let's grow together!
https://socialscoregame.substack.com/p/a-proposal-for-substack-writers
This seems like a very innovative way to try and grow. You're definitely on the right track with unusual ideas like this, to be honest, because anything is worth a try these days. Best of luck with it... :)
Amen β€οΈ
π§ I notice that, when updating a post, the next button says "Update everyone now." Since subscribers are not notified of updates (which is as it should be), that seems like the wrong phrase, no?
I wish they would change that, too. That is freaking me out actually. It used to just say "Update." Now I'm worried everyone is getting an email for every typo I fix. I make adjustments at least 10 times after publishing, upon noticing things.
I have been assured that emails are NOT sent out after updates. Why the text of the button changed is a mystery. I made a next-day correction to a recent post; no second notice went to my subscribers.
I have a simple question as a year long Subtack follower. What are the steps to post something on Subtack?
Dick Klass
Here is an easy answer to your question Dick: https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037831771-How-do-I-publish-a-new-post-
One last question please. Are Notes typically shorter, or are they the same content as my regular posts? If so, wouldn't subscribers get the content twice? Sorry if I'm dense on this.
Notes are separate from newsletter posts. Think of them as Tweets (we don't talk about THAT platform here). Notes are usually shorter, have a nice picture, maybe some links and not linked to your newsletter. They just live on the notes platform. Look around...https://substack.com/notes
Thank you Paul. That clarifies, a lot.
Hi writing friends, just wanted to let ya know I am hosting a virtual writing residency. Would love to have you if you have the time. Here is the link to learn more. :) https://healyourstory.substack.com/p/youre-invited-to-our-virtual-writers
π§ how can we get more diversity in our notes feed? I often see the same 7-10 people. What am I doing wrong
It's a matter of who you follow, correct? I only see notes from people I follow. I also think not everyone has gotten used to posting in Notes as frequently as other SM outlets, so the same people post frequently in Notes. I'm going to try and follow more people, to mix it up more.
βοΈ Hosting a creative workshop next week? I'd love to include it in my weekly roundup to help get the word out! Drop a link below and feel free to check out last week's:
https://bethspencer.substack.com/p/drawing-sessions-to-try-this-week-8f4
Hi I am just starting. How can I paste images within the text on Substack? Thanks.
βοΈπ§ Iβm curious: fellow sustackers and team, do you have any advice about sharing your substack and new newsletters thru Instagram? Iβm wondering if the algorithm is suppressing substack-related content. Iβm noticing that posts and reels about newsletters arenβt getting many views. Any insights, tips, tricks? Thanks βΊοΈ
I am new to Substack. What is the difference between following and free subscribing. (From both sides.)
I am asking because I very much like flipping through the people I follow (using both my phone or computer) using the Substack icon, however I find my cluttered email a nuisance. Is there a difference between content that I see using the app...and what shows up in email? Do I see different content as a follower v a (free) subscriber.
I assume I will add paid subscriptions in time but am now just getting the lay of the land.
Also, when tagging our content. Should we use commas. Or hashtags?
Subscribing is for emails and following is for Notes.
So what do you do if you want to see the longer email content on you phone, but not get all the notifications in your actual email?
If you subscribe, you will get the emails. If you don't want to subscribe, you can still read people's (free) posts on the Substack website. But you'd have to remember to look for them.
βοΈ π§ A question for the community and Substack:
I have two podcasts I host on Substack. I noticed that when I send out new episodes, my emails perform better (get more opens) when I have a good subject line, but whenever I put the episode number and title as the subject line, the opens are lower. For Apple Podcasts and Spotify, I want the episode number and title to show, but the only way to do that is to title the email that goes out with that.
Is there any way to title the episode for the other platforms separately? And then let my subject line be something else more intriguing for my subscribers? The only way I could figure to do this was to send out the email first with whatever subject line I wanted, then go back and edit the post and change the title to be the traditional name and episode number. But still, it would be nice if there was a smoother way to do this.
Thanks!
Have you tried changing the title to the episode number AFTER hitting publish on the post. This means your email readers would see the original interesting title. And then if you changed it right after it should reflect on Apple Podcasts?
I use this trick to add in a table of contents with anchor links to help readers get to my recipes and it works?
Yes, thank you! That's what I meant at the end of my post about changing the title afterward. So far, that is the only way I know how to do it. But I was curious to see if there were any other ways. Or, perhaps that is an enhancement Substack could look at making in the future, if possible.
π§ I have had some persistent confusion surrounding the podcast function on Substack. I originally posted all of my content in only written form, before later recording audio of me reading them, and releasing those as podcasts with the written transcript in the notes. Is it the case that readers who receive written posts also receive posts formatted as podcasts?
βοΈ It seems on reflection as if my podcasts reached fewer listeners than did my writing, so Iβm trying to figure out whether & how I should differentiate the content streams. For instance, Iβve been toying with the idea of releasing podcasts, not as word for word audio recordings of my writing, but rather as recorded conversations with subject matter experts exploring the issues raised by my writing.
π§ - Hopefully you fixed the problem already but a little while back a paid customer said their credit card statement said the billing "was Medium" for the Substack charge. We assumed it was because I set up my Stripe using Medium a few years ago, but never utilized Stripe and stopped using Medium in 21 when I got a writing gig. If not addressed, highly suggest talking to Stripe about fixing their billing glitch since obviously Substack would never use the Medium name in billing. Certainly readers seeing Medium on their bills would cause a lot of subscriber, writer, substack confusion and fee challenges. Thanks for all you do!
Hey Sam,
Brock from Substack here!
I'm going to send you a private message because this question pertains to your Stripe account.
Thanks for surfacing this!