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This is the final Office Hours for 2023. Thank you for the generous ways you’ve showed up here to share advice and answer one another’s questions this year. We look forward to growing and learning together in the new year. Until then, happy holidays to you and your families!
Write like no one is reading, ESPECIALLY when no one is. Zero expectations = more of a gift than it appears. I think the reason writers are frequently advised to pretend they are writing a letter to a single friend, even an imaginary one, is that it’s a little too scary to say “Write down your secrets in your locked diary and then put it on the internet.” Scary, in this case, is good. Which would *you* rather read?
I sometimes fear disappointing my audience, but I try to push through that and instead actively give people a way out, so that I can filter for those I can serve well, and those I can be authentic before. Last winter I wrote two posts that blew up, the first time that had happened to me, and I felt scared. So I decided that my next post would be something entirely unlike what people liked - so I wrote a very long and detailed story about the last hours of my grandmother's life. This churned ten percent of my audience and I felt relief. I felt more connected to those who stayed, and that made me feel free. Allow yourself to evolve in public."
I've been undergoing a similar transition as Henrik. I started this year with travel writing but recently switched to fiction that explores culture and history. I saw some people unsubscribe over the past couple of months, but I also saw more people subscribe than before. Similar to Henrik, I've learned to feel content rather than anxious about unsubscribes. Your newsletter isn't meant to speak to everyone, and that's perfectly fine.
the most important thing is that our newsletter speaks to us 😌
for me, it helps to have unsubscribe notifications turned off – I want folks to feel free in unsubscribing if they feel called to stop reading my work!
Great advice. In my acting days I did a one woman show that I wrote. I remember having 4 people in the audience one night. I performed as though there were 2000. Same goes for writing.
This is especially true for those of us who don't have a narrow service to offer, but have come to this platform to share a more eclectic writing practice. I enjoy some support from paying subscribers, but I have also wasted a lot of energy on experiments designed to drive more upgrades. Truth is, I don't want to turn my newsletter into a one-note content stream. And most of those who have paid for my content aren't after one thing. In this regard, I think that the readers who stick with you are like many of my former students, who would learn willingly from a passionate teacher even it the subject didn't fall within their major.
I like this very much. Back before Substack, I wrote for far fewer readers, and I didn’t have good info about who was reading. But I was still writing — hopefully good stuff.
I have a different fear I plan to conquer in 2024! This fear of trying to write “right”! I think I started falling down that hole and it’s made writing not that fun anymore.
I didn’t wanna write more personal stories (with lots of “I”s) because I feared it’d be too “dear diary”-esque.
Sometimes I feel like I just don’t have anything to share!
So I’m gonna work on a balance and to just write how I desire to again. See what comes of it :)
I can relate to this Cierra. As I've grown in my writing I've slid around on this slippery slope and had to circle back to the specific reason I want to write in the first place. Holding firmly to that reason, and working to have fun with it, helps me to release the need to get it right, at least sometimes🤣
Yes! The "sometimes" is what's killing us! Haha I'm determined next year to focus so freakin' hard on my own lane when it comes to comparison! Maybe I need to write it somewhere I can see it every day. I may try that haha!
I'm with you, Cierra! I fall into this mindset a lot and I know it holds me back from sharing what could potentially be very helpful (or, at the very least, entertaining). Glad you're focusing on that balance! <3
It's like Charlie Rose said when he did an interview he talked to the interviewee like he was sitting next to them on a plane. Just write, write, write. Go forth unafraid! sabrinalabow.substack.com
I love this advice! What do you recommend for someone who wants to write like no one is watching, but also keep it professional? I keep finding myself slipping into diary mode when I want to keep it relevant to current workplace issues, relatable, based on personal experience, and based in the academic research I am conducting?
The struggle is real. My first draft sounds like a wild, mad rant, but when I edit it down, and research so I can provide factual links, it gets toned down, and it feels like my tone of righteous anger has disappeared. I go back and try to re-inject some angry, snarky adjectives. I have two drafts - one is the original, and a 2nd document that I rewrite from scratch, referring to the angry draft along the way, so the result is something in between.
Thank you for your advice. I kind of do that for my homework assignments and I can see the value in writing two drafts. Do you ever use an outline, or just write? I don't use an outline and I'm wondering if that would help.
I have tried an outline. It seems to work better if I make the outline after the first draft, as then it helps delete and shorten. Sometimes, after writing, I give each paragraph a category, then group them together. I also write it in Google Docs, and colorize parts that have the same thought, and regroup it that way. Still takes me a long time, but helps with the organization.
Wow! That’s a cool process. Unfortunately i don’t always have the time for that much editing (full time school, part time work, full time wife and bun mom!)
I've only been writing for 6 months. I need to find a way to decide when to say enough, write smarter the first time around, and publish. I'm paranoid about documenting facts, so that takes time. Also dealing with kids and stuff, so I'm under the gun to finish off more writing before making the Target run! I write one post every 3 weeks, but want to get to twice a month.
Perhaps it's in the process? The initial, difficult work where we just get it all out there followed by fine tuning our work. It's kind of like life, constantly fine tuning to stay true to ourselves, at the same time continuing to be forward facing. I don't think it's an either/or thing. We can lean into hard things, remain centered and be professional at the same time.
One of my fav Instagram posts is a conversation between two people. The first person asks about the writing process.
The second replies: "Well, you type & you delete. You rethink. You do 187 minutes of research & correct it. You reread & wonder if you have a grasp of the English language. Then you revise."
The first person says: "Then you are done with the book?"
The second person replies, "Oh, no. Then you move on to the next sentence."
Love this advice. One of my NY’s resolutions for 2020 was “No more submissions” - I gave myself a year to just write and draw whatever I wanted, with no audience in mind. It was my most productive year to date. Nothing to do with the pandemic, either - I still worked 40 hours a week. My creativity SOARED once I gave myself space to just focus on art & writing.
I love this! I have a small but mighty audience right now, but I try not to focus on numbers. Maybe it's because my newsletter is about maintaining a creative writing practice hahaha, but the ritual of writing the newsletter and being consistent has been amazing for me. I have weeks of content planned ahead it's so much fun! I sort of pretend like I have a robust audience and write as if people will engage, which I hope will manifest that in the future :)
I appreciate your words. It reminds me of my career days, when there wasn’t the separation as in writing to an audience, but only face to face. My head would often be busy with thoughts, should I respond or say this or that, will it be accepted, appreciated, good enough, or insulting. Then I would take a deep breath, appreciate my inner dialogue, let go of it, and speak from my intuitive inner voice. That would work most of the time, and got better with time. I always got immediate feedback, or silence, and would wait hopefully to hear from them again. I guess my writing process is similar.
With the waning of the sun and the coming of a long night, our Christmas culture always seemed counterintuitive to me. There’s a lot of pressure to get things accomplished at work (to earn the rest of the Christmas break), to run around buying and wrapping gifts, overbook yourself with social activities, etc. Get all your posts scheduled ahead of time! Quick, write about the season’s change! This is the last opportunity you have to make the most out of the year!
As someone who is in tune with Earth, I want to do the exact opposite. I want to slow down to a complete stop, feel the stillness of the winter air, and be quiet enough to hear the coming of a new dawn.
Regardless of how you like to experience this season, I hope that all of you are able to find a moment of contentment with the progress you’ve made in 2023, and are able to have at least a small moment of stillness to welcome the dawn of a new year and the new challenges/accomplishments to come.
Absolutely feel the disconnect between the December social calendar and the natural rhythms. My solution this year is I've scheduled the first ten days of January to have NOTHING scheduled and just be with me to reset.
Brava! I think I will take a page from your journal. I just left ministry this year and thoughtful December 2023 would be nearly serene, but somehow it's be busier than ever. I write about Creation care and that means I have to align my rhythms with Earth if I am to be true to my content. Thanks for the affirmation / prompt.
really resonate with this, Kerry – I'm spending the last two weeks of the month reading through all my journal entries from the year and meditating on the themes that emerge. it's my favorite ritual of the year :) then heading into the woods with friends to set intentions for 2024!
Thank you for this gentle reminder! I'm also trying to harmonize more with the seasons and started a practice called Creative Contemplation this year to do so more intentionally. I'm hosting a soft, reflective Winter Solstice gathering tonight and will offer a meditation, pull some tarot cards and end with some journal prompts. I'd love for anyone who'd like a moment of sacred pause and connection to join!
You are so right Kerry! Our house is where the family gathers for Christmas, so I always feel pressured. Then I realized I can pair down and I bet no one would even notice! Still trying to get a few Christmas movie reviews up by the end of the week tho!
Totally with you on this Kerry. And, funnily enough, I have a poem I turned into a video on exactly this subject. It's called Alter the Frequency, and invites readers / listeners to pause and contemplate the wonder of a star-filled night sky. If it brings you some peace at this moment, please, be my guest!
It's a crazy time. So much going on and a lot of pressure both personally and professionally. That moment of stillness is so important! None of us ever seem to be still. Also may I add some silliness too! Let's laugh more. It's supposed to be a jolly time after all. Have a jolly, jolly Christmas everyone! sabrinalabow.substack.com
Thank you. YES. I did a video on my Holiday Monkey Business this week. My heart loves to create and make and share. But WOW the pressures this time of year make it harder to connect with the seasons of the Earth, the deeper pull of quiet and darkness. Next year I'm committed to unhook from Holiday madness.
Oh wow that's fascinating. As an Aussie I am about to experience summer solstice, and it's been a busy build up to the silly season (as always). I enjoy the big end of year build up to climax and the gentle run down into the lazy days of summer.
Until I read your comment, Kerry, I had no idea I had instinctively organised for today (solstice, it's already Friday here) to be my big work/chores climax, and for my year to wind down slowly from here. Now I realise I am following some beautiful cosmic energy pattern. Thank you!
Omg, this is it. I have not been feeling in the spirt of this season because it’s off. There’s too much pressure to decorate, meet up, purchase, eat… I have been wanting holidays to be slow and restful, contemplative. Winter Solstice is usually a relief for me, the days will be longer even if they’re not warmer and I can plan for the season.
I am with you on having more stillness. There is far too much noise.
It is weird but it’s Christmas and summer here, and all I want to do is get out of the heat. The weather has obliged by making it cool and rainy today.
Pay attention to where you put your paywall within your paid pieces. You have opportunities to choose towards the top, which means free readers will just get a taste and then be prompted to pay to read more. Or you can choose two split it in half which I kind of like bc it gives everyone something of value. Enjoy your first exciting weeks!
thanks, Rachel! great advice :) I follow a few writers who I haven't upgraded to paid yet and really appreciate they leave me at a cliffhanger. feels like they have an intuitive sense of where the essay is going to get *really* good and nudge me to support their writing!
I was surprised that I still cared more about my open rate and subscription rate even after turning on paid 😄. I guess I cared more about reading numbers than making money haha.
I try not to stress out about my numbers, but sometimes I still do. I was hoping I might hit 400 by the end of the year; I know that's not going to happen now. So I'll just coast into the New Year and see how it goes. The Paywall went up this week. So I can play with that and see where I want to place it. As long as I keep my SHORT STORIES AFTER 8 free, I'm not going to fret about my PAID page too much. I'm going to let it care for itself. I just have to make sure the quality of the writing remains top-notch. SERIAL novels are a hard sell because now, everyone and their uncle is doing one. You have to work on converting the subscribers you already have, and hope things take off.
I have been ambivalent about putting up a pay wall and trying to figure out how to do it in a way to best serve my writing style and audience. I guess I’m still experimenting with my writing in creative and sometimes not so creatine non-fiction with too much academia. Hard to break old habits. I will probably still allow access to my new article when I put up the paywall at first and maybe put a lock on my archives for non-subscribers, and just ask for support from those who what to provide it by subscribing. I'll be interested in how it goes for you.
I'm kind of curious as to how it will go...sort like a Lead balloon, I'm thinking. But I think the main thing will be not fretting over it. I mean, it's out of my control, isn't it? Fiction is a hard sell at the best of times.
2 weeks in – I can relate to this :) there's something really reaffirming about seeing readers leave reflections in the comments – it's a sense that my words are resonating!
🟧 Not sure if there’s already been talks about this, but along with monthly subscriptions, could there also be an option for small, one time donations? Like a virtual change cup jingling after every story.
“Give me a dollar!,” one of the buttons could read. Or, “Donate some dinero,” with a picture of Robert Deniro below it. I don’t know, I’m just spitballing.
Great idea! Sometimes people can't commit to a subscription. But don't you think in the long run that might me less of a return if people choose this option over subscribing? Just curious.
More than likely, yes. But the Internet works in mysterious ways. Like when people donated money to make what's-her-face the youngest billionaire. Or when people collected money for that homeless man.
I'm sure there are writers out there that do this for the enjoyment and less for the monetary aspect of it, myself being one of them. I have paid subscriptions on as an option, but never as an expectation.
I started exploring buymeacoffee.com and mentioned it at the bottom of a post for the first time. I’ve left a tip for another Substack author through that site and it was an easy-peasy way to show support!
I keep mine buried in the bottom. I don't know how U feel about it still. I think if someone wants to bad enough they will find it and contribute. I've seen other writers use paypal instead. I wonder what's the difference.
Same mine is open as well. I'm keeping it all free. I'm using it to share the love and build my son's 529 plan. I have a whole lot of student loan debt! lol
I’ve done something like this through the Stripe site that Substack uses; it’s a bit tricky, but you can set up the payment link through there, and then set up a Custom Button on a post, and use the payment link as the URL on the custom button. Example:
They have something like a tip jar. Not sure how it works though. You can be creative and come up with something unique. I'm going to turn on paid after the new year. Going to try to word it in a funny, unique way. sabrinalabow.substack.com
🧠Along with what Rachel says (which is accurate, from my experience), come up with a strategy of which of your past posts (Archives, or as I call 'em, Legacy Articles) you place behind a paywall. Keep a smattering of your best as freebie examples, which will help encourage readers to want to peek behind your "pay curtain."
Some of us schedule (possible to do either in Settings or on the pub page of each post page where you publish) to have our newly-released go behind the paywall after 2 weeks, a month, etc. This is a part of "the game" where we have to force ourselves to go up front to become sales-folks and marketers, when we'd rather be creatives, where we're comfortable!! Good luck, Cissy!
thanks, Brad – appreciate the tip! great to know there's a capacity to set posts to go behind the paywall after a certain period of time :) will certainly think about how to employ that in my paid strategy
Lotta ways to "play with" the paywall.....I just sent an article, Sunday, to just my paid subbies, and "told it" to unlock tomorrow (Thurs, 1/4) at 7am. You can see it on my front page with a lock, and theoretically, it'll lose the lock tomorrow morning, while also being e-mailed to my free subbies! https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/gold-pass-bonus-sneak-peek-new-rewind Good luck, and thanks for replying, Cissy!
🧠 Once you turn on paid subs, it's a whole new level of commitment. I feel it's vital to value our free as well as our paid subscribers equally. It's easy to get all excited and want to pamper our paid subs, creating all this content for them and sometimes forgetting that our free subscribers haven't had a newsletter in weeks! (speaking from experience! 🫣).
Making a plan to, e.g. release a free newsletter on a Tuesday and a paid one on a Wednesday, will get you in the habit of remembering both.
I agree with not forgetting our free subscribers. I can't pay/subscribe to every newsletter, but I still want good free content from that writer. If every article cuts off halfway through, I will probably unsubscribe. You're still getting your work out there which can lead to something.
agreed! I've noticed some writers will just do a "buy a coffee" model where the payment is more to support their work and all of their content is free. seems to work well for some who can execute it well!
really appreciate your perspective, Jo! I'm definitely feeling the tension between wanting to make it "worth" the paid subscription while also continuing to publish for folks who have followed along since the start :) have been working on refining the publishing schedule!
Yes. I think it offers the reader the opportunity to learn something (or get something) if they choose to go paid--especially if this is something they've been thinking about for a while.
Also: In Jan-Feb, I'm posting 6 episodes of a garden--themed serial short, with "bonus extras" (story-related notes, photos, tips, recipes etc) for paid subs only. Interested to see how that works.
It worked really well, Cissy. And with the most recent serial, the paywall comes at the end of the episode, with the "premium extras" (recipes, crafts, garden stuff, curated links) available to the paid folks. https://susanwittigalbert.substack.com/p/the-rosemary-caper-1
It's nice to let readers know ahead of time that they will be hitting a paywall at some point. I think this stops them from getting frustrated that they won't see the whole thing. This is an example of how I've done it recently. Readers can still get quite a bit of the piece in before the paywall comes up.
Keep writing and don't worry whether it's behind a paywall or not. I've got my paid subscriptions there as an option for people who have the means to pay. I have over 200 subscribers and only a handful of paid. I value them all. Sometimes when I go to read something that's been posted on Notes that looks interesting and I only make it partway through and then it's paywalled, I get frustrated and won't even subscribe for free. So, it turns me off. Which is why I've decided to keep my newsletter open to all.
I know that feeling. I keep everything free too. It's probably not a good business model but I think if people can, they'll pay. I don't have many but my main focus is really on consistency.
I've seen a few writers who have been able to make the "buy me a coffee" model work and have many paid subscribers – over the long term, I sense that people value and will support the work of the writers who they resonate with :)
I have a message at the top about how my writing is behind a paywall to protect my creative work. I include an invitation to purchase a subscription. I’m surprised how many people have purchased subscriptions. I wish I’d known how many people are happy to support individual writers!
Don’t assume you really have to DO anything. People could be paying to support you so lean into that. If you do plan to do extra for paid subscribers, maybe save the special, personal bits for them. Schedule and release that work with regularity and deliver on what you say you’ll do.
LOVE this sentiment – there's something beautiful about just embracing the fact that some people are solely here to support the writers they resonate with :)
Yes I would love to know too! I'm going to do it after the new year. I want to do in the middle of the post so they can read to a point but asked the substack team how to do it because I don't know how. Any advice most appreciated! sabrinalabow.substack.com
Thanks, Katie! I ended up doing 3 newsletters where I ran a special offer and had a few folks tell me it was really helpful for the reminders to upgrade :)
I'd love to center text and have a line break on captions, but I actually like the limited options. The beauty of Substack for me is that it's elegant. There's not a lot of opportunity or temptation to make the posts look "ungapatchke" (yiddish for messy and cluttered) and I can focus on my writing.
Yes, I could ignore those features for my own 'stack, but I also don't want my faves to get too bogged down in design elements.
I feel you on this! I love a centered text! It makes copy looks neat. Being able to have more options in writing texts would really help for interviews or even fiction.
I've yet to start publishing, but as I have started exploring post formatting - it would be great to also make images smaller and wrap text next to them like in a magazine or newspaper. This may be a feature I've yet to figure out, but if not it would be fantastic as right now the images are more like dividers for the text. Thank you Substack team! :)
🧠 One thing I’ve realized is that it’s OK to take it slow. Find a publication schedule that works for you and don’t try to do too much.
I only write once a month right now. I began my Substack at the beginning of this year and I’m planning on finally adding to my publication schedule next month.
I’m going to settle in to this new schedule for a few months before I take on something else.
This is wise advice. Usually during this time of year, I think of all the things that I can do to improve my Substack — and it always seems to be more more more. But this year is a bit different. Resting and purposely saying no.
Me too, once a month, and then I added a once monthly paid option in June. I sometimes add a thread. It works for me and my subscribers seem happy enough. 😊
Yes, threads is sent out like a newsletter to your subscribers, chat is like having your own social media for your publication and you can set it so that all subscribers can initiate their own messages and they can all chst to each other too. They dont send out newsletters, so people have to have the app or regularly check in via their laptop. Threads is more basic.
Hi Angela, when you go to write a newsletter, if you click on tge drop down arrow, there are various different kinds of newsletters you can write, one of them is a called a thread.
What’s also good about this is being able to deliver on that cadence. I knew I could not do once per week, so I didn’t! What I have now (biweekly with paid once per month) is working.
I've been trying to remind myself of this, as well. With a lot of newfound downtime, I thought I could publish weekly, but quickly realized it's too much right now. I think it's easy to get caught up in that comparison trap and feel like we "should" be doing more, but it feels a lot better sending something out more intentionally versus rushing to meet a self-imposed deadline. Thanks for sharing this!
I love this. I wanna be consistent next year so I’m thinking of doing less. Just need to figure out how I wanna go about my “less.” I’ll mull it over today.
Yes, I agree with finding a publication schedule that works for you and adjust accordingly. Also, I would add that I believe a good practice if any adjustments to a publication schedule would be to keep your audience informed so that they know what to expect.
✏️ What was your biggest surprise as a writer in 2023? Mine was who turned out to be my most loyal readers. It was usually a surprising source, and people I thought would read consistently actually did not. Not that I judge, it was just my surprise.
I'm celebrating my one year of launching my Substack today (!)
When I first started writing last December, I didn't think I'd have a lot to write about. As I started prioritizing writing in my life, I've been surprised just *how much* I have to write about
It feels as if I'd turned on the faucet and the ideas flow far more freely than I could've imagined. I used to think that I had to wait for my muse to appear – now I go seek my muse through writing 1000 words every morning stream of conscious, walks, audio memos
I have a document called "All the Bullshit." It's where I often start writing first, with zero filter and no expectation. Just stream of consciousness to "prime the pump," as they say! Later, when I look back through it, a lot of my poems were typed there first and ideas I've gone back to retrieve. It's a fun practice!
Did it help calm your mind on days when you are not writing? I realized about 10 years ago that I sort of HAVE to blog, or else my general thoughts/opinions about things become very loud in my head.
it very much does! the act of writing 1000 words after I meditate in the morning feels like an emotional plumbing of sorts where I'll get all my thoughts out of my head – clear my mind & set my energy before I go about my day
Congratulations! Your experience is so encouraging and inspiring for me to figure out how to launch my first Substack . . . I keep wanting to find "the recipe" for the logistics of how to publish one that won't look too amateurish . . . I'm committing to begin one no matter what by January 1, 2024 . . . I'd probably have gotten "the gumption" way before this if I'd known about these Office hours before a couple of weeks ago. I look forward to discovering how your writing has been helping you "become more yourself"
Hi Tom and welcome. I would reiterate what Tara says below and also don't worry about what your substack 'looks' like. We are here for the writing, not the branding. (I do love me a good brand/logo), but that's not the point of Substack. You can always tart it up later once you get the hang of posting regularly. Also, when I first came on here as a newbie earlier this year, when I saw someone's Substack that was too slick and fancy, I stopped reading. I felt they were building themselves up as a brand with pretty pictures and it didn't seem there was much substance. So, go be you and your writing, posts and yes your Substack 'look' will morph and change as you go. Best of luck to you.
Thank you, Kim. It has been what my substack 'looks' like that has been the major obstacle for me committing to begin to 'publish' . . . . Now after finding the tutorial A Beginner's Guide to Substack: How to use Substack https://youtu.be/r8He_liq3sY?si=H1OHk5UW2UzD-_AG . . . I'm confident I can go forward without 'worrying' (aka 'overthinking) the design - 'how it looks' and 'how I look' (I plan to do some video talking . . . maybe a happy birthday video on my birthday like Patti Smith did last years on 'her' birthday, which is also 'my' birthday . . . although not the same birthyear . . . ) Here's her video Test 2 https://open.substack.com/pub/pattismith/p/test-2?r=7eqgs&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thank you, @cissyhu (is that the correct way to mention you with an @?) and I infer from your title "the Year of Doing the Damn Thing", I infer that you ou know "it" is not 'luck', Life is Effort, doing your best at Always Becoming Cissy every day of this new year takes 'Cissy Effort' . . . not 'magic' or 'luck' and me doing my best at doing 'The Life of Tom' takes 'Tom Effort' every day . . ..
Thank you for your good wishes.
And . . . I 'get,' or rather think I get the spirit of your title. Am I accurate to translate "the Damn Thing" to mean "doing your best at the life of Cissy"? If I am accurate, I respectfully suggest referring to you and to your doing your best at what you're wanting to do your best at, is not a very kind or caring or probably helpful way to Always Becoming Cissy. Does that make sense?
Thank you, again, for bringing me back here to Dec. 21st Writer's Office hours to be again inspired by your success at Substack from starting a year ago without thinking you had a lot to write about . . . and finding that I'd publicly announced in response that "I'm committing to begin one no matter what by January 1, 2024". .... Opps . . . . Another lesson for me about The Skill of Committing . . . one of my continuing life learning lessons about the self-skill of committing . . . I was wrong. By January 1st I had stopped committing to that TimeGoal. I haven't stopped committing to learning about Substack and caring for how to share The Life of Tom on Substack.
Welcome, Tom! :-) Substack's Help pages have lots of great tips if you find yourself scratching your head on the way to your first posts. Just Google Substack Help and anything flummoxing.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Tara! Trust me, I've tried Substack's help pages more than once or twice, probably at least 10 or more times, and more 'flummoxed' than I had patience for (or confidence in my ability to make sense of the many great tips I'm sure are available) . . . and yet no tutorial-like step-by-step 'hand-holding' or 'trainer wheels' I needed. I was about to rush off with a quick thank you for your kind suggestion. . . . and something about your "Just Google" it got me to pause enough to take your suggestion literally and I "Googled" (actually I use Ecosia now as my search engine: https://www.ecosia.org/) "Substack Help" and the 3rd entry was a few YouTube videos . . . the 1st was "A Beginner's Guide to Substack: How to use substack" https://youtu.be/r8He_liq3sY?si=T-g8nc9H_I1NjsDL . . . and I found the 'tutorial' the 'trainer's wheels' I needed. Thank you, thank you, Tara . . . and I look forward to joining you for some Quiet Reading
Hooray, Tom! I confess that when I look for things only within Substack Help, I don't always find exactly what I need right away. Too many topics are adjacent. But if I back out to a browser and search for it, I almost always see exactly the right instructions. Funny. Glad it worked for you, too. I love Quiet Reading during the winter holidays, so posts are on the way. :-)
Oh my gosh the dream! I feel like I tend to struggle to find things to write about, but maybe I’m also setting arbitrary rules around what I can and can’t post!
Congratulations on a full year here!! Love hearing and seeing it!
thanks, Cierra! I spent a lot of time "shoulding" myself in the past, but I've come to realized that writing with an intent to publish is one big series of experiments for me – that has freed me in many ways :)
So sorry this is late but yes! I'm trying to eliminate "should"s in 2024 cause WHEW has that been debilitating in the past! And thank you, wishing the same for you!
Exactly same here. My friends and family were there at the beginning to support. But now, several years in, they’re not my most loyal readers. It’s been fun seeing who really likes the stuff I’m putting out there.
Mine was that folks who originally paid to subscribe weren't always the most active readers! I think seeing my own evolution was surprising too...I've shifted my focus several times and didn't expect the flood of ideas to change the direction like it has but it's been a fun ride! I also didn't expect the genuine connections I found here through which is honestly why I wanted to share my writing in the first place!
As far as making connections I think being intentional about offering opportunities to collaborate and championing artists has led to a feeling of genuine community. As for the changes in direction- that's been more about following my own level of enthusiasm/excitement for different projects and trying new things to see what resonates. One piece of feedback I got was that someone always hoped my weekly letter would have poetry inside so I decided to start sharing more poetry and launched a series called "Bloom" for paying subs once a week where I read an original poem.
We'll see how it goes, I feel like some things just need time to gain traction and as long as you're enjoying the ride, it's worth it!
I did come to a similar realisation at a point of time. But then also saw some subscribers ask if everything was okay when I hadn't been posting as frequently. Perhaps both kinds of readers exist in the subscriber list.
I had some career craziness this year and sometimes when I wouldn't post for a few weeks I would get texts from people lamenting that I cancelled the project. Which was nice
I encountered so many people who, despite our vastly different lifestyles/backgrounds/locations/etc., shared a lot of the same perspectives and unique interests. I've gained a newfound appreciation for writing as a way to connect, and I love how stories really help us see each other for who we are.
My biggest surprise as a writer was getting my first paid subscriber AND it being a writer and artist I admire! She doesn’t know me and she FOUND me and pays monthly to support my work and it blows my mind that she’s here at all, let alone that she’s paying as well!
Another thing was just how amazing the community is period. I spent a lot of this year resting and healing and gaining my footing after losing my mom and my 8-year caregiving duties, but even so, I’ve gained loyal readers and a community I’ve never had before online!
Same. The hardest think about migrating my writing from Facebook to Substack is I don't get that sweet, sweet hit of dopamine from the likes and comments.
People have said I'm "brave" for sharing my stories on Substack. It honestly doesn't feel brave. Sharing my writing and stories isn't hard for me. Not getting feedback absolutely is.
✏️ End of year substack reflection: (1) what was your biggest challenge? (2) what did you learn? (3) what’s a goal you have for your substack? I’d love to hear your advice related to these reflections ☺️
I’ll start! My biggest challenge was getting the guts to start—to believe in myself 😬 I learned how much joy I find in the process. I love love love deep dives into research about shame + making comics about what I learn. Join me! I’ve made comics 1x/week for 10 weeks and I’ve got ~100 subscribers. My goal is to grow to 700 in 2024. What’s your substack year been like?
my most meaningful goal that I didn't even realize I had this year was to step into the identity of being a Writer. a capital W writer
writing with the intent to publish and doing the inner work to see myself more clearly has healed my insecurities about my self-expression in ways that I could not have imagined
if you're new to Substack or writing with the intent to publish, know that it gets better as you continue to dedicate your life force to your craft!
I don't know what I'm expecting from my 'Stack for the upcoming year. I had growth this past year and am satisfied with it. I was hoping to break the 400 mark this year, but only hit 365. Now that I've started my PAID section, it's a different set of ideals. I'm not going to pay attention to it too much. It's the FREE page that's more important to me. As long as the quality of writing is strong, the readers will come. I just want to be consistent, which shouldn't be a problem. Being retired, I can spend all day here.
Oh your comics look so cool! I love the idea of using comics to explore deep dives into topics!
As for me,
1) My biggest challenge this year has been finding my cadence.
2) I've learned that when I don't establish ground rules for myself I follow what I'm interested in learning about, rather than what I feel like I should write.
3) My goal for 2024 is to reach 1500 paid subscribers, with a complete collection of members only discussion threads and deep essays exploring humanist and utopian thought.
Ooh fascinating--so giving yourself more latitude leads to more joy/following what you want to write about? Perhaps after this first season of research about shame I’ll try that. Right now the creative constraint of one big topic feels generative to me.
Yes, before I had a set schedule (Monday post, Wednesday discussion, Friday fiction), but then I had a bunch of posts lined up and was struggling to fill the other days. So I abolished the buckets and allowed myself to post whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Now I'm finding that a new pattern is emerging, but it's perhaps more what I've been wanting to write about!
1. I think my biggest challenge was always wondering if what I wrote and how I wrote it was “enough.” 2. I ended up overcommitting at times and I think next year I’ll parse it back quite a bit and still work on finding my footing on when and how often I show up. Be more free flowing with it, with a looser schedule maybe! 3. I’d love next year to replace my small monthly income that will end after next year with Substack and any other ways I can create an income that comes along!
1) My biggest challenge was NaNoWriMo. Writing everyday was harder than I thought and I eventually hit a wall and could not keep up the pace to make 50k. I did 29k though. 2) I learned that long form is a much different animal than even a 14k story and that I must plan. It’s is the only way to stay on track. 3) My goal is to develop a rhythm there I know each month and year what is in store. I hope it’s laid out like an outline where I just fill in the details. 2024 will be the big test!
Love to hear that, Cara! Wishing you the best with your goals. These are some great reflection questions.
1.) My biggest challenge has been overcoming perfectionism and reminding myself that my truth deserves to be heard. I've spent a lot of time worrying about how everyone will perceive my writing instead of trusting that it'll be received well by those it's meant to reach (and it has!).
2.) I learned that I need to strike a better balance between holding myself accountable and trying to stick to (largely self-imposed) expectations about how often I should publish. Very much an ongoing process!
3.) I'd love to reach 1,000 subscribers, and potentially open up once again to the idea of paid subscriptions. I also want to do more interviews with other creatives and/or mental health professionals. Finally, I think it would be a ton of fun to host a Substack meetup and/or meet fellow writers in person!
Same. Getting the guts to start something that I put off for a decade lol. Once I did, and got good feedback, the pressure was on, to keep posting. It's good pressure though. My goal is to just have some consistent growth, not sure if I have a number in mind although the more the merrier!
Making the time to write has been the biggest commitment for me. Sometimes I do it in sprints on the weekends. Other times I do a little bit each night after work. Also, not getting caught up in stats. I'm new here, it would be counterproductive to obsess with what someone else is doing.
I hope the time to write feels good. I’m noticing that the process is so enjoyable--even when it’s hard, if that makes sense. Almost more so than the product
I look forward to exploring your Stack, Cara. My biggest challenge has been finding an appropriate balance between the work I do here and the work I do elsewhere. Once I've committed to do something, I tend to be very dedicated. Here, that translates to at least one extraordinarily late night each week, just before the publish date. I've always written "best" on a deadline. (I know that's a fallacy, but it's a habit that is proving hard to shake.) I'd like to get better at taking care of myself in 2024. I'm learning, slowly, that the way I've been operating is probably terrible for my physical health. There we go. The honest truth. And a final question: Is truth ever dishonest? 🤣
I’ve been on Substack for about 6 months, so I’m still newish and getting myself and The Wrong Kind of Woman (my Substack) sorted out. One challenge is figuring out what makes sense for a novelist who’s not a teacher to include in a Substack. And another is figuring out what kinds of posts resonate more with readers. Sometimes I think it all comes down to the photos I use! But I also have the feeling that I shouldn’t dwell on that too much until I have a year’s worth of issues to compare and think about. Thanks for asking the question!
🟧 - The "Most Popular" section appears to favor paid posts over free. This doesn't always provide new and returning readers with the greatest snapshot of our work. For example, a paid post with less views and engagement can push out a free post with higher stats.
As a request, can we have the option to toggle on paid posts being favored over free?
I second that emotion, Alyssa! Perhaps we should put your comment behind a paywall....that way we might be assured it'll be seen by those who might answer your well-put question!
Yes! I brought up the same issue below. I would like the "most popular" list to reflect the posts that really ARE most popular, regardless of whether or not they are paywalled. Other wise popular posts that I want to keep free (so that I can inspire people to subscribe) get buried.
Yes. To be able to toggle that would be good. That explains why a paid post from over a year ago remains top of my Most Popular section - when I've had free posts with a lot more traction.
I'm just getting started here on substack but my life is all about writing and introspection. And horses, healing relationships with ourselves and others, trauma resolution, survival responses, and more horses. My first memoir is out, Getting Along with Rusty: Horses, Healing, and Therapeutic Riding. As I said, I'm new here but not new to blogging or writing. I have yet to figure out things like a template for my posts and what's the difference between a post and a note. Yikes.
I typically try not to self-promote on here but this is my whole newsletter! It's about navigating the spiritually challenging part of creating. Here are two recent examples:
Good to 'meet' you! I'll check out your stack for sure! I'm a lifelong Jungian fan. This week I drafted an upcoming post on archetypes for my Parts Work series, and shared a humorous video about Holiday Maker Monkey archetypes. Let's connect.
Hi Cissy, one of my absolute favourite writers on this matter is Julia Cameron. My own newsletter is based on the way she's helped myself as well as thousands of other writers to get in touch wth our own selves and activate that creative spark within us, which ultimately leads to so much fulfilment.
I love Julia Cameron! The Artist's Way is the BEST! Just sit down and write and don't lift your pen off the paper or fingers off the keyboard. It was the inspiration for the title of my post which is stream unconsciousness. Check it out...sabrinalabow.substack.com
I write about the intersection of grief and motherhood while also exploring the creative path. I just started a new poetry series about holding grief & gratitude side by side. I hope it offers others going through a similar experience some hope and insight.
I’ve never heard the term “introspection writers” before reading your question, but I think this is exactly how humanistic astrology writing functions for me.
My newsletter offers a distinct departure from the scammer saturated world that is astrology on Instagram…lol. My current writing schedule is one newsletter per week, about current astrological transits. It seems like the bulk of astrology writing online is now AI generated, which is a shame.
Andrea Gibson, (Colorado's Poet Laureate), publishes beautifully introspective pieces through their Substack, Things That Don't Suck: https://andreagibson.substack.com
I tend to write about being a late bloomer after loss (both of a mom, and a caregiving role). I’m learning to live again and just wrote an essay called “Today, I Turn One.” about my first year without my mom.
I’m wanting to write more inwardly in 2024, but fell further away from it because I was afraid of coming across as too “dear diary.”
But I wanna see what I can do! Next will be an essay about hair and autonomy over it, after that may be more lax in my writing style but hopefully still helpful to others!
thanks for sharing your work, Cierra! I shared this list above in the thread, but here's some inspiration on writers who have balanced food for thought introspection & "dear diary" :)
Self-nominating. I'm all about navigating the inward journey--and learning something new about yourself that you can put into practice or which enlarges your sense of self.
Thank you! I'd love to join your collection. At HeartsQuest, I'm all about guiding others to go inward, and meet our saboteurs with love. I share tools on Flourishing Fridays, mini-meditations from my deck of cards launched via Kickstarter before Covid. Here's last week's tool on Stress and remembering to breathe 🤪 https://heartsquest.substack.com/p/mr-stress-monkey-drives-the-car
🧠 Substack Isn't The Enemy - my post out today looking at the developments around Substack and whether they are a good thing and what we can do to help make this a better place for smaller Substacks.
"Substack is selling out"
"Substack is bowing the the big accounts"
"Substack advertising is on its way"
"Substack doesn't care about the smaller writers".
Is this nonsense?
I still believe Substack is here to bring good into the world but we need to be vigilant.
In today’s post I explore some of the things being said about this place recently.
In particular, to help those smaller Substack Writers we can do the following:
Recommendations - please don’t recommend the MASSIVE Substacks. They get exposure without you. You can really make a difference at the lower end. Seek out those new Substacks that are emerging around and below you. Amplify them.
Like what you like - I know this feels social media(ry) but stay with me here. You have a duty to hit the like button if you like an article. This really helps those smaller Substacks start to get a little more traction that they deserve.
Encourage - drop comments, add encouragement and take part in communities that smaller Substacks are looking to grow. Just make sure you do it with a giving mind. Do it without the expectation of getting anything back. This way we can all pull each other up.
I write about grief and while it is not sexy I am told over and over that we need more of it. How best to get seen and followed? I have grown to 600. I have been featured in The Washington Post and other major outlets. How do we make noise on a topic that is decisive? Sad. But pervasive!
I recommend building a network of other publications by creating some sort of roundup, or virtual conference or meetup. Everyone wants to be a part of a thing. Nobody wants to start a thing. I would probably start with a roundup and then go to something bigger once people notice and see you're cool. Here is my last one if you want to see what mine look like, but mine are pretty intense. https://www.theauthorstack.com/p/digest-home-alone
I'll check this out Russell. I post a monthly roundup listing all the movies I've watched and then ask my readers what they saw. So far no one has replied lol. I'll keep trying.
That’s not what I mean about a roundup. That is not intentional. A roundup that is effective would tag other Substacks who wrote interesting piece and becoming a curator of your peers, not some movie you watched that can’t actually help you grow.
I love this question! I also focus a lot of my newsletter on grief and just launched a new poetry series that I wrote in the aftermath of my father's passing, while also becoming a first time mom! This time of year especially, I find it difficult to express the sadness and the void of the missing loved one- while we're also expected to celebrate the present moment. It's definitely a paradox and in general, I think our society does a poor job of honoring individual and collective grief.
I lost my mother in 1993. I am a grief specialist and have trained with David Kessler, Hope Edelman, Claire Bidwell Smith and feel passionate about bringing grief out of the shadows and into the daily vernacular. When I became a motherless mother, I became more aware of the need for community and grief support.
I'm so sorry you lost your Dad, Mariah 💙 Mine just came out of heart surgery today (he's 93) and I was getting ready for everything. I feel for you and you are so right, our society could definitely do a lot more to honour and support people working through grief.
Oh wow, Joe! My thoughts are with you. I was in the hospital during this time three years ago and it’s especially hard. Sending you and your family love and a big hug!
I just wanted to say that I also find it deeply healing to read/write about grief, as it's helped me a lot on my own journey. So thank you for writing about this topic! Have you considered writing on Medium? There are a lot of publications on there that publish grief-related content, and a very supportive community like there is here. It's slowly helped me build up my following while also connecting with people who care about the same issues.
I asked a similar question above. I write about detoxing from diet culture and what I've learned from the process. I find growth has been very much two steps forward one step back. We can all get behind growth and empowerment, but so many of us still can't quit diet culture.
I adore the relationship of Grief and Joy. Ancient cultures understood this better than our adolescent society (Martin Prechtel, a shaman I worked with, writes about Grief and Praise). Grief circles are growing here here in the PNW. In my experience, the deeper I went into shadow emotions, the more Joy I could access. This relationship can temper the Downer aspect (ever see the Pixar film "Inside Out"?)
I wish I had advice but I can definitely relate to this. I write about pregnancy loss and every post is just so sad. But at the same time, I think it’s important to talk about this stuff. It is hard to find the right audience though. Thanks for your efforts!
It’s not much advice but I think continuing to talk about what you write about it important. I also cover grief since losing my mom last December, and just talking about it brings in people who want to talk about it but have nowhere to turn
I agree. I have built a 5k on IG and have had great press. I think grief does not translate as easily here. Sorry to hear about your Mom. What is her name?
Her name's Carla! And oh, do you think? It may be more niche, but I'm finding people reaching out and me finding more people talking about death and loss than I've really noticed much elsewhere. There's another writer who is a bit bigger on here who writes about grief too... I'll see if I can find her name...
🧠 - I'd love to toot a horn I've been playing on Notes and a recent post. If you've ever considered adding audio content (a recorded audio version or complement to a post), I encourage you to do it! During my time a few years back in radio programming and podcasting, I learned that almost no one loves the sound of their own voice, at least at first. But others do. And more than that, we need to hear each other. Importantly, a recording improves accessibility for those who are sight challenged. It enables more people to access your work because they can listen as they wash dishes or drive. And sound adds rich layers to your work.
And if you make a recording or enjoy listening to a Substack with a recorded element and you wanna tag me in a note about it, I’d LOVE to give it a listen.
P.S. It does not need to be perfect. A listen to any of my recordings will reveal a number of flubs.
I’m excited to try the voiceover options on substack. I’ve got a post scheduled for the new year where I’m trying it out. I’m also curious how it’ll work w my content--I make research-based comics. Thanks for posting about this.
Wondering out loud here: will the audio version of videos will be effective and/or listenable?The audio automatically uploads to Podcast. I do lots of spontaneous improv singing and voices in my videos to reinforce content (https://heartsquest.substack.com/podcast)
I get it. It was nerve-wracking for me the first few times, but now I'm used to the sound of my own voice. I sit down in front of my screen, hit the video icon, and start reading. I've gotten to the point where I'm thinking I'm going to read for every SUNDAY night post. Here's a link to my first attempt. If you like it, you can link up to the others and watch my hair grow! https://benwoestenburg.substack.com/p/the-dawn-patrol
Love your video presence and animate voice and of course your stories. I have been trying my hand at videos and getting the feel of recording myself and doing interviews. I think maybe I need to improve my background and animate my voice more, so people don’t fall asleep as in a lecture hall. I would love to do a video interview with you. I have been trying out doing 15-to-20-minute segments. I just have to remember to hit the record button.
That would be awesome! Maybe we can discuss it further in the New Year, as I'm sure your holiday season will be just as hectic as mine. But yes, I'd be interested in that. As long as you know what you're doing, because I sure don't!
It's very satisfying. In fact I have to do one later today. The problem is I'm sitting here in my PJ's, the wife gave me a "to-do" list for Christmas needs, so I might not get to it until later in the day.
I am glad to hear this! I am a former public radio reporter and just did an interview (recorded on Zoom, edited in Hindenburg) with an expert on the topic I'm writing about. Embedded the audio in my post. It publishes Dec. 26 (will anyone be reading anything then? Maybe I should save it... it's about Georgian healing songs. My Stack is kind of niche (-: My issue is that the recording doesn't show up in the test link/post. Hope it shows up in the real one.
The audio embed should show up in your test link/post. It will look like a gray bar with a red play button and the words “listen now” in the center (along with the length).
Did you embed using the video camera icon at the top of the post?
I have been debating here at the start of my newsletter journey whether to narrate them off the bat to be more accessible. This was very encouraging to read! Thank you.
🧠 I took a break from Substack at the end of November. I announced to my subscribers that I wouldn't post until January 3rd. It was a necessity for me to do so for personal reasons, and finding time to plan my editorial calendar and write in advance. I have 3 posts out of 5 ready for January, and I am feeling great to have taken the decision to pause even if I started posting regularly on September.
I was afraid I'd lose subscribers, but surprisingly I am gaining some even without posting. I haven't been as much present here, too, but I've always paid attention to interact thoughtfully even if it was once in a while since my pause. So, I credit this to have brought me some subscribers. I also posted on LinkedIn newsletter posts I've written here, and it has also brought me some more subscribers.
So, I guess the lesson I learned here is to not be afraid to slow down and giving oneself grace to be able to be creative with purpose.
I too had some life stuff that was overwhelming me recently and I took a break. It was great to not stress about posting on top of everything else. I still picked up a few new subscribers.
Because of the way other social media platforms are built, we're used to thinking that not posting means losing one's audience, but a newsletter is different as long as you inform your readers and have created a good relationship with them, they'll be there.
I'm serializing my novel Lamb right now - still early days with only 4 episodes so far. Marked drop off in metrics each week, which I've seen in other's serials as well, but still a lot of great feedback and support. I'd like to think as time goes on, some new subscribers will go back and read from the beginning, but I'm also exploring posting on other platforms (like Wattpad - Meg Oolders and Michael Estrin both won Watty Awards) and maybe later self-publishing it with more material. There are so many avenues you can go with it. You might also reach out to Ben Wakeman at Catch & Release who is serializing Harmony House right now, and Alexander Ipfelkofer with his Chronicles of Samuel Carter.
I never thought about it but now I am! I have been writing a book called "Beyond the Mic;
My 7 years as General Manager of the Laugh Factory Comedy Club." I have incorporated some of my chapters in my posts when they are relevant. Now you have me thinking. Thank you! sabrinalabow.substack.com
I came here to point you to Mr. Troy Ford's serializing of "Lamb"--which is a really good story, beautifully crafted and starts here: https://mrtroyford.substack.com/p/we-regret-to-inform-you. I await the next installment with great anticipation and gobble each one up. And the same with Ben Wakeman's Harmony House. A terrific story (with a bonus recorded element--which, if you know me, you know I love--whose production value is insanely good). It starts here: https://www.catchrelease.net/p/harmony-house-episode-01.
I hope these projects have been / will continue to be worth it to them and would like to hear updates. I'm thinking of serializing a memoir--the tale of a journey by backpack a decade and a half ago.
Ooh following. I haven’t done this, but I have a book contract, and will be sharing some pages as I work on them in my newsletter. I also have another book in progress and I’m curious abt using my substack to help move that work along in the future. I’d love to see how this worked out for others.
Cara, that's exactly what I'm doing--using my Substack to explore and expand upon the topics in my forthcoming book while building out some author recognition. Probably the best marketing decision I ever made, because I love writing the newsletter and am deepening my knowledge in the field I'll be published in next year. I'm a firm believer that "content" is "marketing."
I am serializing my novel here. I put it behind a paywall as it is my best content that took the longest to create. It has been received well for the most part, for those willing to take a look at it. I’ve even had a couple of paid subscribers which surprised me. I am more focused on creating something I want to exist than writing with the hope to develop a following.
Not a novel, but I am serializing a story. One of my readers called it "If Carrie Bradshaw met Charles Dickens and started a serialized column" (can there BE any higher praise!?)
Folks are telling me they can't WAIT for Wednesday mornings to read the next installment.
The story is about how I met my Sister Exes, women with whom I have bonded over our mutual mistake, and the LIES we learned he told when we started to compare notes.
Kimberly Warner of Unfixed is serializing her memoir and it's a story "I can't put down". I WISH I could read it all in one big gulp. Waiting each week for the next instalment after reading a chapter is hard! It's my favourite on Substack hands down.
✏️ - I've got the two-week paywall setting turned on, but I'm thinking of changing it to a year,. or even getting rid of it altogether. Reasons: #1 All my supposedly more popular posts are behind the paywall, as others have noted; #2: I've a lot of good stuff that's over two weeks old and which, therefofre, people can't see. So my question is: has anyone else experimented with changing the archive paywall setting, and with what results? Thanks
I just opened everything up. I don't think I get any more paid subscribers, but I do get a lot more reads, and I don't have to worry about pulling things in and out of the paywall. I think it's probably been worse for my income so far, but better for reach, which is more important right now.
Interesting! So it's possible to publish an essay with a paywall (somewhat like exclusive access) then open it up around a few weeks when it's no longer one of your latest essays?
yes. You can make an article available to paid subscribers, but schedule when it gets opened up to everyone, or you can schedule when free articles go behind a paywall
Thanks, Russell. Yes, I think at the moment I'm more interested in expanding my reach than making my fortune. I presume, though, that the corollary is that I'd have to give paid subscribers even more of an incentive to upgrade, as access to the archive would no longer be a bonus? I know you offer a lot more than that
So true! The reality is that there is no magic formula. You always need to test your thesis and adjust. Paid subs could seek high value content variance, want just to support your work so don’t care about premium content or “temp riders” paying for just one article that spiked their interest.
No. It’s like you’re offering your free subs pizza margarita and paid subs the pricier specialty pizza with 5 toppings. In short, free content vs. premium paid content you invested more time on.
Terry, I’m wrestling with a similar question, not moving a paywall but also weighing the priorities of reach vs premium benefits. I think that when people offer to pay us (or when I pay someone), they don’t mean to curtail our efforts at reaching as many people as we can. Maybe the incentives to upgrade can be modest - while reach has priority.
Thanks, Tara. I'm sure you're right. I think the people who upgraded on mine did so when there was nothing extra, they just wanted to support me. But I feel guilty if I don't offer more
I had mine on initially but I regularly link back to older articles and it seemed ridiculous to do so if there was a paywall so I turned it off. Feels more aligned with me.
I like the Anne Kadet @cafeanne model. Everything is free. She has thousands of free and paid subscribers. Her stack is a wonderful niche. And she comes from journalism. I try to lure new paid subscribers with deals and hopefully humor they can’t live without.
I used to have no archive paywall setting, then moved to to a year — and had the same experience as the one you’re sharing. My “most popular” tend to be older. So then I changed it to 18 months then moved it back to 12. What has been interesting is that two paid subscribers have said they went paid because they wanted to check out more articles and that they appreciated being able to see a year’s worth.
I'm undecided so I keep changing it up 😁 I think for some people, 2 weeks might be too short a time (illness, holidays, clogged-up inbox, etc.). For me, paywalling too soon did not yield good results, I feel it may have put some people off. It's a tricky one...
I ended up only paywalling my most personal/intimate posts, initially making them available for free for 5-6 weeks after publishing them. It seems to have raised some curiosity, with some paid subscriptions almost immediately afterwards. Now it's gone quiet again. Right now I have 7-day free trials active on all my paywalls for the "crazy season", since readers will hopefully have some more time to strobe through the newsletter a bit more.
✏️🟧 My Funny AF Women interview series is going gangbusters— hopefully gut busters too. I’m always looking for funny gals to interview. She doesn’t have to be on Substack. No political humor.
I'm putting my thinking cap on! What about the woman that does the videos on Saturday. Name escapes me at the moment and I'm afraid to get bumped off this thread to go look! Sometimes her videos are too long, but a short burst from her would be fun and funny.
🧠 I’m celebrating that I’ve almost reached 500 subscribers, up from 191 just 6 weeks ago! 🥳 I’ve had two New York Times best-selling authors subscribe to read my writing, and I’ve gotten three new recommendations. All through engaging with the Substack platform!
I’m writing an article about what’s worked for me. If you’d like to receive it in your inbox, you can subscribe at www.lizexplores.com, where I share stories from my life about infertility, mental health, and adventure. I’m not a writing coach; I just want to answer the questions people have been asking me and help fellow newbies!
For context, I started my Substack in December 2022 with zero audience and zero publications to my name, so the perspective I offer is one of starting from scratch and writing for the sake of writing. I don’t sell anything to my audience other than my writing itself, with a handful of paywalled posts that are personal in nature. Most of my work, including the article I’m working on now, is free.
This may be the BEST advice I've gotten. I just subscribed to you. Engaging on the substack platform is the way I have accrued more subscribers too. Not as many as you but I will keep at it not just because I want more subscribers but because I want to ENGAGE! Just gotta find more time as we all do! sabrinalabow.substack.com
🧠 Does everyone lose subscribers when setting up a paid option? I sent out a note to my subscribers yesterday saying that I was setting up a paid option (with the income to go to charity) but that I would give free subscribers everything that the paid subscribers get. Yet I immediately had about 16 unsubscribes! What is going on? Are they just anti-paying in principle? Do they feel badly about not wanting to pay and then unsubscribe to avoid feeling bad? Do they think it is the thin end of the wedge? I was flabbergasted (sp?) and rather disappointed.
So sorry to hear that Ann. It's probably all of the above. I started with paid immediately so I don't have any personal insight into this but my experience from 20+ years of writing is ... do what feels most right and aligned with you and don't worry about any of that too much. The people meant to be reading your work will be there.
You're probably right. It's just that everyone can see everything, so why unsubscribe? And it's not as if I am taking any income myself - it's all going to a good cause. My father used to say 'People will do what people will do' and it has a meaning in a strange sort of way.
Let them go. If that that offended that you want to be paid for your work (and you're not even insisting that they have to pay), then you don't need them. The people who love you will always stick around.
The more subscribers you get, the more people will unsubscribe whenever you send a new post. It's totally normal, people are easy to subscribe, but also easy to unsubscribe if you wind up not being the kind of thing they are looking for. I probably lose 20-50 subscribers every time I publish, but gain much more than that. It's just part of it!
Whenever I've tried to make sense of unsubscribes, I’ve failed. Your dad's adage, “People will do what people will do,” is correct. I’ve found that if I write something out-of-the-norm, even if it’s good, I get more unsubscribes. My answer is to turn off notifications! It’s better that way.
✏️ Those of you doing audio voiceovers, would you mind sharing a bit about the soft- or hardware you use? I'm about as low tech as it comes right now (mic'ed earbuds recording w/ the Substack audio software) but I might want to consider upping my game. Sound quality matters, but so does affordability. Thanks!
I use the record button on Substack and my own computer audio. I'm low tech. Can't afford anything else at moment. It's worked well and I've gotten good feedback on providing audio voiceovers.
You dont need more than a mic from earbuds to record. If people can hear you on the other side during a phone call then you all set.
But if you want to up your game in the future. There is very cheap and good mics out there. You can also buy a cheap gaming headset.
For recording audio. If you are a mac user you can use Garageband. Other wise you can find free stuff out there. DaVinci Resolve is free editing software. Learning curve but its free for both video and audio.
I just do videos. I'm really Low-tech. Just turn on the video link and start reading. I don't really think there's a need for all that hi-tech stuff--unless you want music. But then, I'd just turn the radio on in another room and let it play. Problem solved! And...it doesn't cost a dime!
I was getting good results and was pleased with Speechify and haven't tried to use through Substack, but would probably try now as no cost. Now I have been using Descript to record myself and video or do interviews at same time. A bit of a challenge but great fun.
I use my phone to record in VoiceMemos, have a lower end mic with stand and pop filter, an audio interface which connects my phone, then I record. The audio turns out very good. I use my couch cushions to screen out background noises and upload the audio to GarageBand for editing and mixing if needed. Nothing really expensive.
✏️My open rate seems to be at a plateau, despite new daily subscribers. Numbers are great but it is always in the same range, depending on the week. Interested to see what other writers have done to increase their open rates.
Open rate? It will probably be the same, or lower slightly as you get more subscribers. What matters is the number of opens you get. Are your overall weekly opens increasing? HEre is my guide to getting noticed on Substack, which goes into getting more noticed. https://www.theauthorstack.com/p/how-to-get-noticed-on-substack
They are in the same range. Some weeks it is higher, other weeks it is lower. I have a large following so it isn't a matter of getting noticed but rather making sure the readers I have are engaged.
I look at my open rates differently. I ignore the number of emails sent out. I look at the number of "total views"...say 123, and then the "opens"...say 89, which gives an open rate of 72%. Wayyy better for the ol' ego!
It's better to look at numbers the way they"really" are. If you have 300-400 subscribers and only 150 look at a post when it comes in (rather than deleting it), having a shitload of them actually reading it, gives you the warm fuzzy feeling we're all looking for!
Me too — I’d be interested in learning more. In addition to changing up titles and reaching out to folks who aren’t opening, what else have folks tried?
🟧 I know I’m late but please please please: use of tabs/indents, as well as alignment changes (centring, left/right). Myself and I’m sure many other poets on here would be oh so very grateful
I was surprised that everything kept left aligning when I first started posting my fiction a few months ago. But I've got used to it now. I can see how not having full control of the formatting would be a big issue for poetry, though. I definitely think being able to centre things, in particular, would be very useful... 😎
Wow, how do you even get started? I am interested in writing a blog about life after 60, friendships, health, and humor and don’t even know where to start. Blogging for Dummies? ✏️
There are a number of substacks on these topics, so there is definitely community here! Writing a post is easy.... You already have your substack placeholder there. You can customize things via the settings and make a new post that you can send to subscribers (and it also then posts to your substack feed). Get started guide: https://on.substack.com/p/start-basics
I am over 80 and write a lot for older people, but find some things I write about are for everyone, whatever their age. I say I write on anything from Annuciations (paintings) to orgasms. All human life is there and all that. Just write what you want to and see what happens.
It's not hard. Just jump in and write for yourself. Don't think about trying to reach an audience, they'll come eventually. Put yourself up here, and on NOTES, post it on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, all of the other things available, and don't sweat the small stuff. If you're lucky enough to be retired, you'll have the time to make this what you want it to be. Take a look at my 'Stack. Just remember to be consistent. Publish once a week, even twice if you want. Make comments on other peoples' posts so they see your name. That's how you get followers. And don't worry over the numbers.
🟧 Is there a plan to give the option of placing images alongside text, and not only in different lines?
🟧 will it be possible to use my own fonts someday?
🟧 Align text to center, will it be enabled?
🟧 Writing Right-To-Left is kind of messed up right now. Is there a plan to fix it in the future? (There are some weird languages that write this way 🙃).
✏️ In the new year I'd like to start contributing to other publications if anyone is looking for guest writers! I could contribute humorous stories in the following genres: Parenting, Dating, Travel, Dogs, other general humor.
Reach out via email if you're looking to expand your reach and bring in some guest posts. In my experience, cross-promotion works wonderfully for both publications when we invite new people in.
🧠 ✏️ INTERVIEW INVITATION ... Share your responses in words or images!
I write about the complex relationship between art and mental health (both terms used very broadly) with particular interest in the complexities and shadows of how mental health symptoms may affect creative process, content, medium, productivity, identity and more.
I invite artists, writers, mental health professionals, really anyone to answer interview questions. Earlier this year, I launched "visual interviews" for people who think better in images than in words. Of course, I still offer written interviews as well. If you want a feature in this way, start by filling out the Google Form with your responses, and then I'll be in touch with a draft when one is ready.
You'd be great on @Kathryn's feed! She posted my Graphic Novel interview last week, from "Meet Your Monkeys: Make Friends with the Meanies and Imps that Rule your Mind”
🧠 - if you are afraid to go paid, just do it while keeping everything free. You’ll be surprised that people will voluntarily want to support your work even though they obtain no advantage over free subscribers. I speak from experience as I just made paid an option a couple of weeks ago. I haven’t even told subscribers in any meaningful way.
✏️Is it just me, or are links embedded in text impossible to see with the naked eye? My Substack style features links prominently – I like them as a shiny new 21st century improvement on footnotes. When I began my Substack 2 years ago, the links were in a color that was easy to see (light green, maybe?) if not aesthetically brilliant. But in the past several months I see that the linked words are in dark blue and – to me, at least – impossible to distinguish from black text without a magnifying glass. So two questions: 1. Is this something I have control over, and if I do, then how? 2. Is this something incorporated into Substack’s overall design scheme, and if so, would you consider changing it?
I wish we had the option for underlined AND our site color. The combination immediately registers "link" while still giving the customized feel of our site theme. Like you, I also bold most of my links to make them stand out, but from a UI perspective, I do wish they were underlined for a cleaner UI for those who want that.
The answers above from the "regular people" seem substantive enough (emoji selection notwithstanding), and seem to be adequate enough to answer your question....but, I'm not a suit, so..................
I don't have any strategy, advice, or question to pose. All I want to say is THANK YOU to Substack for the awesome opportunity it provides us writers!
And, because of the great advice today on the On Substack page--namely to ask your readers to gift paid subscriptions for Christmas, as well as to start a video podcast in 2024--I've made plans to do both! Very exciting!
🧠I have nothing against ambitious writers seeking to make a living from their pen, but I believe that happiness on Substack is grounded in making the best content you can and sharing it as widely as you can, and then engaging with as many (relevant to you) posters as you can. Stumbling on a truly amazing, thoughtful essay along the way is icing on the cake. Allow yourself NOT to follow the numbers; follow the ideas, instead (yours and others').
This! It's annoying, and the first time I wound up with 4 extra subscriptions. I *think* there's a setting in Dashboard to opt out of some of it, but not all of it.
I have written a book that is almost completed about how my family helped a family member overcome a rare and devastating disease. Not sure how to proceed with it on substack. It currently contains a lot of personal family information but I hope the information will help others suffering from a rare disease.
Susan, one approach would be to launch with paid straight away and use it to create a safe space to share more personal information. I struggled with this early on as I write about detoxing from diet culture after having two family members suffer from eating disorders. My approach was to concentrate on my experience, but that might not work in your cause. You might also find some ideas from "The Art of Memoir" by Mary Karr.
Thank you. This is very helpful. I am tending towards this approach as it may help to have only serious readers about the topic. Thanks for the pointer to Mary Karr.
✏️ In the new year, I'm launching a series called "A Call to Eudiamonia." My vision is to redefine modern day human flourishing. I'd love to collab with other writers and support those who are writing about collective flourishing – if you write about flourishing, drop your Substack below or let me know if you're interested in collabing :)
"We’ve been contemplating the pursuit of a life well lived since the dawn of time. It is my belief that every single human on this earth deserves to experience a life well lived, whatever that means for them. It’s time to redefine modern day human flourishing."
Love all you do, apparently :) I replied to your earlier roundup note, about Flourishing Fridays, when I post mini-meditation tools from my HeartsQuest deck. Thank you 🙏🏼
Curious what people’s view of holiday posting is. I was having this conversation elsewhere and some people believe that they get less engagement at the time.
When I’ve done posting during the holidays, my engagement has been mostly the same. But I have found that it’s better for me to prioritize rest during this time!
At a prior Office Hours, I heard from some folks that their engagement actually increases over the holidays as a result of people catching up & having more time during the holidays
Personally, I haven't been reading posts that are screaming holiday or doing something particular in that period. Instead, I have kept with newsletters that did what they usually did. Too much holiday offering kill the holiday mood, especially as we are spending time with our families.
Yup. You'll get less engagement and less new readers. That's why many people use this period to take some time off. But it's also an opportunity to provide your readers with content when they are less busy and a more engaged reader.
🧠And, for those who are taking the next two weeks "off" to one degree or the other, a reminder that cross-posting others' articles you think your subbies might enjoy keeps them engaged to your site, as well as tub-thumping other writers' work....never a bad thing! Cross-posting......it's not just for breakfast anymore!
Monday is my usual posting day. I’ve moved a chewy, interesting research piece earlier (tomorrow) and have about a 2-minute post that feels great to read for Christmas afternoon. I’m adjusting to what I myself would want to read and when. I trust some ppl will be busy, but others will welcome a well-written post.
I've decided to leave my longer, chewier piece I was going to publish today and bump up my 2-minutes post for the afternoon Christmas read (or listen) up to today instead. I want to take a break and start making sourdough recipes from Chapin and catch up on having no type of schedule or responsibilities. In other words, starting my Christmas now! :)
I’ve decided to enjoy some rest. The structure of my newsletter--a deeply researched comic that I share bits of in process--means I need to honor rest to recharge creativity.
I'm taking a December break. I think you're right that there's less reading going on with holidays, family, etc. happening. Last year, I took part of December off, also. Good for my mental.
With the potential for distracted readers, I postponed a deeper dive series til January. I also changed a topic to a Holiday focus (cause it reflected my very real Holiday Monkeys!) It's all exploration. Thanks for the Q
✏️ I've been doing some investigative journalism about farming and Bill Gates buying agricultural land in my hometown in contravention of the state's anti-corporate farming act. As in the 90s, when I did this kind of journalism, it has taken months. I'm going to publish before the new year. In the meanwhile, my posts have been few--as I'm not a fast writer and this kind of journalism takes time. I really believe that. Does anyone have any ideas about tactics for "filler" content when I'm working on a big story. I don't like to publish anything except what's purposeful and excellent, and I rarely jump on the latest news flash or trending topics, instead preferring to pursue areas that I'm interested in. I do post collections of my father's nature photography, which keeps me going. And I post fantastically controversial meme collections that I scrub from the internet. I also do fiction, but don't have time for that kind of intensive writing at the moment. Thanks for any ideas.
Repurposing previously written articles - You can either do a "season of reruns" or a "season of updates" where you take your old posts and either beef them up with new information, or you comment on them with how things have changed in some way. Mike Sowden does this with Everything Is Amazing. Between seasons he will rereleases episodes from his archive, which I think is really smart.
Repurposing things you said on social media - Kathryn Vercillo blew my mind when she tagged me on a “Things I Said in Substack Notes This Week and Have More To Say About” post. This is an ingenious way to repurpose work you have already done.
Voicemails - Either record voicemails for your subscribers or get voicemails from them and do a roundup of them. Meg Conley does this on her Homeculture publication.
Best of lists - This can be compiled by somebody else, like a VA or even AI, if you give them the format. You can also just pull a bunch of quotes about a subject and line them up together, as well. Resilience, Courage, Love, whatever you want. This is also a great way to build SEO with your target audience.
Q and A - If you do take voicemails, you can use them as a Q and A segment where the audience is making most of the content except for your answer. Tara McMullin does this weekly on her Substack.
Hire a "monthly intern" or "guest editor" - Rusty Foster from Today in Tabs has a monthly intern they bring in to write articles.
Asynchronous interviews - Lots of people do asynchronous interviews, where you send a series of similar questions to people and then post their responses. Scott Neumyer does them. Gareth L. Powell does them. Jane Ratcliffe does them. Sari Botton does them.
Cross-posting - One of the easiest things you can do is to cross-post interesting articles to your audience from other Substacks. This takes almost no time, and is criminally underused. It’s a great way to beef up your publication while also promoting other people. I will usually only cross-post work that I've written, but I have been cross-posted before and it's great.
Guest posting - This takes longer if you’re the one writing it, but it’s an amazing way to get more content, especially if you have a publication with some traction.
Thank you so much, Russell. These are great ideas! OMG. I'm going to cut and paste your thoughts into a working document. I really appreciate your help! Thank you thank you thank you.
This sounds similar to what I do--I create research-based comics--which take time--because reading and digesting research takes time. What I do is post process posts in which I discuss the process of research and making. I also
Thank you so much, Cara. A process post sounds interesting. I don't know what tools could be used to create comics--that's not my talent but I'd be interest in learning. Much gratitude!
If you like fiction, maybe CROSS-POST some fiction writers that you like and that way help them out as well? Send out RECOMMENDATIONS to 'Stacks you support. You can start with me if you want! 🤣
I break my long, in-depth posts into a series. For example, I used to write one 4,000 word piece. Now I break it into four, 1000-word pieces. I have the time to really dig deep into a story without having a month between posts.
That's a great idea, and I have used that one time for an eight-part series. In this case, I would be able to maximally do a two-part series. But in my heart, I know it's one long piece, and people will read to the end. It's a big story. Thanks for sharing. Ima check out your work!
🟧 - Silly technical question for the team. How do I change the name on the sender for my emails? Currently it lists as "Ed Substack" which obviously isn't ideal. I've been looking thru the settings but don't see where to change that.
Funny thing. I have it set properly there (Escape from Clowntown | Comics of E.R. Flynn) but it doesn't show in the email browser. I'm thinking maybe it has something to do with the email browser itself. Looking at the raw headers now. Yep. As I thought. It was MacMail not Substack causing the issue.
🧠Shane, as for making an "automatic" paywall setting, IDK. I just go and choose this one or that one to paywall, make free, etc. I try to make it "dynamic," mainly because I routinely link various articles in other articles, and don't want to offer a link and seem like I'm forcing folks to pay to read what I just linked! Poor form, I've discovered.
For my recent break-out "Tune Tag"s, I've made the bold decision to put the majority of them behind a paywall, because that franchise seems to be growing in popularity. What's Tune Tag? Glad you asked! There's a small handful of freebies! Enjoy! https://bradkyle.substack.com/t/tune-tag
There isn't a way to drop a paywall for a certain amount of time, but we do have the ability to have all your paywalled posts drop their paywall a certain amount of time after you publish them. For example, many writers keep their paywall up for the first month after posting, and then have all posts unlock after that month.
Yeah, that's a good way around this. I think that's a useful feature for us to have and have passed it along to the relevant folks as a suggestion. Thanks!
Thank you. Phone or fat finger malfunction. I have indeed tried googling, and I've worked my way through the settings menu, and can't spot a solution at all.
✏️If I'm ending a newsletter/section and starting a new one at the beginning of the year, should I make an official announcement to say that or just start it up and go ahead with it? I had a standard Friday column/feature but I'm replacing it with something new and wasn't sure which way to go, y'see.
You should announce it or your readers will get confused. They might stick with you if they like what they read, or they might drop you. Why take the chance?
🧠You'll make your current subbies feel special for having thought of them, and you might even consider offering a special paid deal to them for the new 'Letter, 'cause they've been so faithful to you in the past! "Flies with honey," and all that! Good luck, Michael!
I have 2 separate newsletters and I would like to offer a discounted rate for readers who subscribe to both of my publications. Is there a way to do this?
Do you know if Substack has any plans to allow readers to post photos in their comments? I know that they can provide links to images on other sites, but they are not able to add a photo that appears directly in their comments. That ability would be very helpful.
Marissa here, writing from my home in Texas to share some advice to my fellow writers. I have been on Substack for almost two years, with very little growth. I haven't stopped writing, and neither should you. Please ignore the numbers as much as you can, enjoy the writing, create value from your own unique perspective. Not every hobby you have needs to turn into a money making machine. You can have hobbies that you just enjoy, for the sake of enjoyment itself.
You're absolutely right. You should always be writing for yourself and for your own enjoyment in the first instance, anyway, and putting the best of your knowledge and what you know about the world into it - and if that ends up resonating with other people and they find some enjoyment in it, too, that's a bonus. I definitely agree that wanting money or wanting success should never be a reason to write. The only reason to write is because you love writing and you love stories. Merry Christmas to you as well... 😎
✏️ I feel like I’m not the only one, but what do you do when you feel like you’ve poured yourself into a piece of writing, you feel it’s a home run, but there isn’t really any feedback. As a Substack baby, I would love to know how you pick yourself up and just move forward.
It's a tricky one, for sure. The fact that people don't comment or click like or whatever, doesn't necessarily mean they didn't enjoy it - some people just don't engage with content in those ways, they prefer to just read. Years ago, before the Internet existed, you would just buy books and there was no way to click like or to comment, but by buying it you had already shown your support to the author. I think you really have to look at this the same way. If people are viewing your content, and they're coming back to view more content, that is them showing support and that is positive feedback. Hope that helps... 😎
Awww that is a lovely why to view it! I love the link back to books. Thank you so much! I want to have a healthy relationship with Substack, so I will definitely keep this in mind as I stretch my wings here.
D'oh! I forgot. I did an interview with WINSTONE MALONE from THE LIBRARY. I was the 100th posting on THE LIBRARY, and he decided (well, him and Jackie) that they would do an interview and ask me about the thought process behind my story: NO SIMPLE REMEDY. It comes out tomorrow! I'm excited about it! Nobody ever asked me what my thought process was before. Some of the answers might surprise you. I hope you'll read it!
I'll keep an eye out for it. The Library seems like a fantastic resource. I didn't even know about it until you mentioned it during the last Office Hours. I might try and get involved myself with a posting or two. Maybe I can be the 200th... 😎
🧠✏️ Since this is the end of the year, and I'm reticent about self-promoting, I'm going to self-promote! I write about current events, politics, Scientology and design from a progressive POV, and create the graphics. (I even critique my own industry!) If that interests you, hop on! Here's my latest no-holds-barred critique on the Pantone Color of the Year. TY!
🟧 I would love it if there were an easier way to change the dates on scheduled posts. Right now you have to go into your list of posts, click on the one you want to change, which then opens the post editor. Then you have to click Continue, then click Unschedule Send, which then sends you back to the editor where you have to click Continue again, set the parameters of the post, then set the date. Seems like a lot of steps.
🧠
Write like no one is reading, ESPECIALLY when no one is. Zero expectations = more of a gift than it appears. I think the reason writers are frequently advised to pretend they are writing a letter to a single friend, even an imaginary one, is that it’s a little too scary to say “Write down your secrets in your locked diary and then put it on the internet.” Scary, in this case, is good. Which would *you* rather read?
FOLLOW THE FEAR.
LOVE this advice. In the fear, we find the rawest insight that deserves to be shared with the world
Henrik Karlsson shared a beautiful insight this week in his Notes: https://substack.com/@henrikkarlsson/note/c-45509170
"Don't fear your readers.
I sometimes fear disappointing my audience, but I try to push through that and instead actively give people a way out, so that I can filter for those I can serve well, and those I can be authentic before. Last winter I wrote two posts that blew up, the first time that had happened to me, and I felt scared. So I decided that my next post would be something entirely unlike what people liked - so I wrote a very long and detailed story about the last hours of my grandmother's life. This churned ten percent of my audience and I felt relief. I felt more connected to those who stayed, and that made me feel free. Allow yourself to evolve in public."
I've been undergoing a similar transition as Henrik. I started this year with travel writing but recently switched to fiction that explores culture and history. I saw some people unsubscribe over the past couple of months, but I also saw more people subscribe than before. Similar to Henrik, I've learned to feel content rather than anxious about unsubscribes. Your newsletter isn't meant to speak to everyone, and that's perfectly fine.
the most important thing is that our newsletter speaks to us 😌
for me, it helps to have unsubscribe notifications turned off – I want folks to feel free in unsubscribing if they feel called to stop reading my work!
Great advice. In my acting days I did a one woman show that I wrote. I remember having 4 people in the audience one night. I performed as though there were 2000. Same goes for writing.
Same. One-woman musical on the Fear of Singing (My lowest attendance was 2 human hearts. They cried.) BTW I'm excited to meet you IRL this New Year!
Brilliant! They say an actor should never perform to an audience they could beat up. Hehe. Would love to meet up!
100%. Write like no one is reading has been my profile tagline on Medium for 5 years 😁 And sometimes it might even be true!
I try to write content that I'm proud to put my name on--whether anyone else reads it or not!
Hi Kristi. 👋
Hi!! 😁😁
This is especially true for those of us who don't have a narrow service to offer, but have come to this platform to share a more eclectic writing practice. I enjoy some support from paying subscribers, but I have also wasted a lot of energy on experiments designed to drive more upgrades. Truth is, I don't want to turn my newsletter into a one-note content stream. And most of those who have paid for my content aren't after one thing. In this regard, I think that the readers who stick with you are like many of my former students, who would learn willingly from a passionate teacher even it the subject didn't fall within their major.
Great advice, thank you.
Such great advice, Alex. One of my favorite writing teachers, Tamara Dean, says to write fearward!
Good one!
I like this very much. Back before Substack, I wrote for far fewer readers, and I didn’t have good info about who was reading. But I was still writing — hopefully good stuff.
I have a different fear I plan to conquer in 2024! This fear of trying to write “right”! I think I started falling down that hole and it’s made writing not that fun anymore.
I didn’t wanna write more personal stories (with lots of “I”s) because I feared it’d be too “dear diary”-esque.
Sometimes I feel like I just don’t have anything to share!
So I’m gonna work on a balance and to just write how I desire to again. See what comes of it :)
I can relate to this Cierra. As I've grown in my writing I've slid around on this slippery slope and had to circle back to the specific reason I want to write in the first place. Holding firmly to that reason, and working to have fun with it, helps me to release the need to get it right, at least sometimes🤣
Yes! The "sometimes" is what's killing us! Haha I'm determined next year to focus so freakin' hard on my own lane when it comes to comparison! Maybe I need to write it somewhere I can see it every day. I may try that haha!
I'm with you, Cierra! I fall into this mindset a lot and I know it holds me back from sharing what could potentially be very helpful (or, at the very least, entertaining). Glad you're focusing on that balance! <3
Thank you so much, Brina! Maybe that'll be a big goal for me next year--stay focused on the end goal (just getting the work written and out there!).
Follow the fear... follow the fear... holy shit, is this my new mantra?!
It's like Charlie Rose said when he did an interview he talked to the interviewee like he was sitting next to them on a plane. Just write, write, write. Go forth unafraid! sabrinalabow.substack.com
I love this advice! What do you recommend for someone who wants to write like no one is watching, but also keep it professional? I keep finding myself slipping into diary mode when I want to keep it relevant to current workplace issues, relatable, based on personal experience, and based in the academic research I am conducting?
The struggle is real. My first draft sounds like a wild, mad rant, but when I edit it down, and research so I can provide factual links, it gets toned down, and it feels like my tone of righteous anger has disappeared. I go back and try to re-inject some angry, snarky adjectives. I have two drafts - one is the original, and a 2nd document that I rewrite from scratch, referring to the angry draft along the way, so the result is something in between.
Thank you for your advice. I kind of do that for my homework assignments and I can see the value in writing two drafts. Do you ever use an outline, or just write? I don't use an outline and I'm wondering if that would help.
I have tried an outline. It seems to work better if I make the outline after the first draft, as then it helps delete and shorten. Sometimes, after writing, I give each paragraph a category, then group them together. I also write it in Google Docs, and colorize parts that have the same thought, and regroup it that way. Still takes me a long time, but helps with the organization.
Wow! That’s a cool process. Unfortunately i don’t always have the time for that much editing (full time school, part time work, full time wife and bun mom!)
Is this a process that has evolved over time?
I've only been writing for 6 months. I need to find a way to decide when to say enough, write smarter the first time around, and publish. I'm paranoid about documenting facts, so that takes time. Also dealing with kids and stuff, so I'm under the gun to finish off more writing before making the Target run! I write one post every 3 weeks, but want to get to twice a month.
Perhaps it's in the process? The initial, difficult work where we just get it all out there followed by fine tuning our work. It's kind of like life, constantly fine tuning to stay true to ourselves, at the same time continuing to be forward facing. I don't think it's an either/or thing. We can lean into hard things, remain centered and be professional at the same time.
Continual fine tuning is a good way to look at this. It makes me feel better about my obsessive editing, second guessing myself, and following my gut.
Haha, it's as if you just wrote out my exact process right there. I guess we are on the same wavelength!
One of my fav Instagram posts is a conversation between two people. The first person asks about the writing process.
The second replies: "Well, you type & you delete. You rethink. You do 187 minutes of research & correct it. You reread & wonder if you have a grasp of the English language. Then you revise."
The first person says: "Then you are done with the book?"
The second person replies, "Oh, no. Then you move on to the next sentence."
I think of this often, lol.
More like writing to your older self 😁
I love this. For me, leaning into what brings me joy is so motivating.
Love this advice. One of my NY’s resolutions for 2020 was “No more submissions” - I gave myself a year to just write and draw whatever I wanted, with no audience in mind. It was my most productive year to date. Nothing to do with the pandemic, either - I still worked 40 hours a week. My creativity SOARED once I gave myself space to just focus on art & writing.
I love this! I have a small but mighty audience right now, but I try not to focus on numbers. Maybe it's because my newsletter is about maintaining a creative writing practice hahaha, but the ritual of writing the newsletter and being consistent has been amazing for me. I have weeks of content planned ahead it's so much fun! I sort of pretend like I have a robust audience and write as if people will engage, which I hope will manifest that in the future :)
Absolutely! Move in the direction of fear. I’ve had the best results that way.
I appreciate your words. It reminds me of my career days, when there wasn’t the separation as in writing to an audience, but only face to face. My head would often be busy with thoughts, should I respond or say this or that, will it be accepted, appreciated, good enough, or insulting. Then I would take a deep breath, appreciate my inner dialogue, let go of it, and speak from my intuitive inner voice. That would work most of the time, and got better with time. I always got immediate feedback, or silence, and would wait hopefully to hear from them again. I guess my writing process is similar.
With the waning of the sun and the coming of a long night, our Christmas culture always seemed counterintuitive to me. There’s a lot of pressure to get things accomplished at work (to earn the rest of the Christmas break), to run around buying and wrapping gifts, overbook yourself with social activities, etc. Get all your posts scheduled ahead of time! Quick, write about the season’s change! This is the last opportunity you have to make the most out of the year!
As someone who is in tune with Earth, I want to do the exact opposite. I want to slow down to a complete stop, feel the stillness of the winter air, and be quiet enough to hear the coming of a new dawn.
Regardless of how you like to experience this season, I hope that all of you are able to find a moment of contentment with the progress you’ve made in 2023, and are able to have at least a small moment of stillness to welcome the dawn of a new year and the new challenges/accomplishments to come.
Absolutely feel the disconnect between the December social calendar and the natural rhythms. My solution this year is I've scheduled the first ten days of January to have NOTHING scheduled and just be with me to reset.
Yes, exactly. And that’s excellent 👌 Unfortunately I have to work the new year, so I find myself being selfish with my time and space.
Sounds like self-protective in the best possible way to me.
Brava! I think I will take a page from your journal. I just left ministry this year and thoughtful December 2023 would be nearly serene, but somehow it's be busier than ever. I write about Creation care and that means I have to align my rhythms with Earth if I am to be true to my content. Thanks for the affirmation / prompt.
really resonate with this, Kerry – I'm spending the last two weeks of the month reading through all my journal entries from the year and meditating on the themes that emerge. it's my favorite ritual of the year :) then heading into the woods with friends to set intentions for 2024!
curious if others do an annual review?
https://www.moremyself.xyz/p/annual-23
Hi Cissy
I use Start. Stop. Continue. for my annual review.
It's simple and powerful.
love how simple it is! hope you had a meaningful 2023 review season
Thank you Cissy!
Yes indeed, had a very useful review 🙏🌷
A blessing of being Jewish. Hehehe.
I'm up here in the north pole with my eye on you CK Steefel, I might just tell Santa to stop by!!!❤
Pleeeaase! I’d love to meet Santa. 🎅
You would tickle his funny bone!
Thank you for this gentle reminder! I'm also trying to harmonize more with the seasons and started a practice called Creative Contemplation this year to do so more intentionally. I'm hosting a soft, reflective Winter Solstice gathering tonight and will offer a meditation, pull some tarot cards and end with some journal prompts. I'd love for anyone who'd like a moment of sacred pause and connection to join!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tea-tarot-a-winter-solstice-gathering-tickets-761410558477
Sounds lovely. Lots of wisdom here...
You are so right Kerry! Our house is where the family gathers for Christmas, so I always feel pressured. Then I realized I can pair down and I bet no one would even notice! Still trying to get a few Christmas movie reviews up by the end of the week tho!
Totally with you on this Kerry. And, funnily enough, I have a poem I turned into a video on exactly this subject. It's called Alter the Frequency, and invites readers / listeners to pause and contemplate the wonder of a star-filled night sky. If it brings you some peace at this moment, please, be my guest!
https://vimeo.com/matthewcurlewis/alter-the-frequency
Thank you for this Matthew!
It's a crazy time. So much going on and a lot of pressure both personally and professionally. That moment of stillness is so important! None of us ever seem to be still. Also may I add some silliness too! Let's laugh more. It's supposed to be a jolly time after all. Have a jolly, jolly Christmas everyone! sabrinalabow.substack.com
Thank you. YES. I did a video on my Holiday Monkey Business this week. My heart loves to create and make and share. But WOW the pressures this time of year make it harder to connect with the seasons of the Earth, the deeper pull of quiet and darkness. Next year I'm committed to unhook from Holiday madness.
Oh wow that's fascinating. As an Aussie I am about to experience summer solstice, and it's been a busy build up to the silly season (as always). I enjoy the big end of year build up to climax and the gentle run down into the lazy days of summer.
Until I read your comment, Kerry, I had no idea I had instinctively organised for today (solstice, it's already Friday here) to be my big work/chores climax, and for my year to wind down slowly from here. Now I realise I am following some beautiful cosmic energy pattern. Thank you!
Ya, the un-synchronization probably contributes to the seasonal death bump that happens every year on the north side of the equator.
Blowing off the commercial portion of the season has helped us a lot.
Omg, this is it. I have not been feeling in the spirt of this season because it’s off. There’s too much pressure to decorate, meet up, purchase, eat… I have been wanting holidays to be slow and restful, contemplative. Winter Solstice is usually a relief for me, the days will be longer even if they’re not warmer and I can plan for the season.
I am with you on having more stillness. There is far too much noise.
Thank you Kerry. Very much feel the same about wanting to slow down and feel the stillness.
It is weird but it’s Christmas and summer here, and all I want to do is get out of the heat. The weather has obliged by making it cool and rainy today.
https://open.substack.com/pub/kerryjane/p/the-maritime-holly-forrest?r=1hz15g&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
✏️ 🟧 I turned on paid subscriptions this week (!)
For those who have gone paid, what advice do you have for the first few weeks? What do you wish you had known?
Pay attention to where you put your paywall within your paid pieces. You have opportunities to choose towards the top, which means free readers will just get a taste and then be prompted to pay to read more. Or you can choose two split it in half which I kind of like bc it gives everyone something of value. Enjoy your first exciting weeks!
thanks, Rachel! great advice :) I follow a few writers who I haven't upgraded to paid yet and really appreciate they leave me at a cliffhanger. feels like they have an intuitive sense of where the essay is going to get *really* good and nudge me to support their writing!
I was surprised that I still cared more about my open rate and subscription rate even after turning on paid 😄. I guess I cared more about reading numbers than making money haha.
I try not to stress out about my numbers, but sometimes I still do. I was hoping I might hit 400 by the end of the year; I know that's not going to happen now. So I'll just coast into the New Year and see how it goes. The Paywall went up this week. So I can play with that and see where I want to place it. As long as I keep my SHORT STORIES AFTER 8 free, I'm not going to fret about my PAID page too much. I'm going to let it care for itself. I just have to make sure the quality of the writing remains top-notch. SERIAL novels are a hard sell because now, everyone and their uncle is doing one. You have to work on converting the subscribers you already have, and hope things take off.
Best of luck, Ben, I hope you hit 400 by the end of Jan!
I have been ambivalent about putting up a pay wall and trying to figure out how to do it in a way to best serve my writing style and audience. I guess I’m still experimenting with my writing in creative and sometimes not so creatine non-fiction with too much academia. Hard to break old habits. I will probably still allow access to my new article when I put up the paywall at first and maybe put a lock on my archives for non-subscribers, and just ask for support from those who what to provide it by subscribing. I'll be interested in how it goes for you.
I'm kind of curious as to how it will go...sort like a Lead balloon, I'm thinking. But I think the main thing will be not fretting over it. I mean, it's out of my control, isn't it? Fiction is a hard sell at the best of times.
I quickly realized I was not going to be able to quit my job based on my Substack so at this point i'm a bit more passive about the paid stuff lol.
that's a good sign, Kevin 😀
2 weeks in – I can relate to this :) there's something really reaffirming about seeing readers leave reflections in the comments – it's a sense that my words are resonating!
🟧 Not sure if there’s already been talks about this, but along with monthly subscriptions, could there also be an option for small, one time donations? Like a virtual change cup jingling after every story.
“Give me a dollar!,” one of the buttons could read. Or, “Donate some dinero,” with a picture of Robert Deniro below it. I don’t know, I’m just spitballing.
I would LOVE this! I've considered a "Buy Me Coffee" or Venmo link, but I'd rather keep the $$ within Substack for a couple of reasons
- More elegant - feels less like I'm standing on the corner with a tin cup
- I can't afford to subscribe to all of the Substacks I read, but I would love to drop a few bucks to many of them now and then
- I WANT Substack to make money!!
Great idea! Sometimes people can't commit to a subscription. But don't you think in the long run that might me less of a return if people choose this option over subscribing? Just curious.
Also, I love what your Substack is about. It's a beautiful thing.
man, I appreciate that. I never know who's reading these sometimes. It always feel a little more warming when a man says this. Thank you, again.
More than likely, yes. But the Internet works in mysterious ways. Like when people donated money to make what's-her-face the youngest billionaire. Or when people collected money for that homeless man.
I'm sure there are writers out there that do this for the enjoyment and less for the monetary aspect of it, myself being one of them. I have paid subscriptions on as an option, but never as an expectation.
I started exploring buymeacoffee.com and mentioned it at the bottom of a post for the first time. I’ve left a tip for another Substack author through that site and it was an easy-peasy way to show support!
I'll check it out. Thank you!
I keep mine buried in the bottom. I don't know how U feel about it still. I think if someone wants to bad enough they will find it and contribute. I've seen other writers use paypal instead. I wonder what's the difference.
Same mine is open as well. I'm keeping it all free. I'm using it to share the love and build my son's 529 plan. I have a whole lot of student loan debt! lol
SAME. I did the math once and I think I worked out that by the time mine is paid off my kid will start college. So it goes...
I’ve done something like this through the Stripe site that Substack uses; it’s a bit tricky, but you can set up the payment link through there, and then set up a Custom Button on a post, and use the payment link as the URL on the custom button. Example:
https://indianamichael.substack.com/p/education
(Usually I use Buy Me a Coffee or Buy Me a Soda for the button text as I’m not a coffee person, but on that post I went a little fun).
I like what you did with sharing the link to your Stripe. This is a great idea. Do you find that people are contributing more often than not?
And great idea with the 529 plan for your son. Seed planted.
Not as of yet, but I keep hoping. :)
I just add links to the bottom of my posts to PayPal, Venmo, Ko-Fi... you can see it here: https://socialmediaescapeclub.substack.com/p/opportunities-exist-outside-of-social
They have something like a tip jar. Not sure how it works though. You can be creative and come up with something unique. I'm going to turn on paid after the new year. Going to try to word it in a funny, unique way. sabrinalabow.substack.com
Good, because I was wondering the same thing.
There are some that already have this ability, like Laura from Normal Island. Is this a different feature due to geography?
I would really, really like this, too. I think it could be a great, low-pressure way to segue free subscribers into proper paying ones.
🧠Along with what Rachel says (which is accurate, from my experience), come up with a strategy of which of your past posts (Archives, or as I call 'em, Legacy Articles) you place behind a paywall. Keep a smattering of your best as freebie examples, which will help encourage readers to want to peek behind your "pay curtain."
Some of us schedule (possible to do either in Settings or on the pub page of each post page where you publish) to have our newly-released go behind the paywall after 2 weeks, a month, etc. This is a part of "the game" where we have to force ourselves to go up front to become sales-folks and marketers, when we'd rather be creatives, where we're comfortable!! Good luck, Cissy!
Ahh, that terrible game that I know so well from being a musician...
I know, Jo.............you know! 🎶That ole familiar feeling.....!🎵😊
😊
thanks, Brad – appreciate the tip! great to know there's a capacity to set posts to go behind the paywall after a certain period of time :) will certainly think about how to employ that in my paid strategy
Lotta ways to "play with" the paywall.....I just sent an article, Sunday, to just my paid subbies, and "told it" to unlock tomorrow (Thurs, 1/4) at 7am. You can see it on my front page with a lock, and theoretically, it'll lose the lock tomorrow morning, while also being e-mailed to my free subbies! https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/gold-pass-bonus-sneak-peek-new-rewind Good luck, and thanks for replying, Cissy!
love that strategy! saw it unlocked this morning :) thanks, Brad!
🧠 Once you turn on paid subs, it's a whole new level of commitment. I feel it's vital to value our free as well as our paid subscribers equally. It's easy to get all excited and want to pamper our paid subs, creating all this content for them and sometimes forgetting that our free subscribers haven't had a newsletter in weeks! (speaking from experience! 🫣).
Making a plan to, e.g. release a free newsletter on a Tuesday and a paid one on a Wednesday, will get you in the habit of remembering both.
I wish you lots of success with going paid.
Yes...that planing thing. That's my goal for the New Year. My plan thus far is to get out 4-5 posts/month and I generally hit the number.
I agree with not forgetting our free subscribers. I can't pay/subscribe to every newsletter, but I still want good free content from that writer. If every article cuts off halfway through, I will probably unsubscribe. You're still getting your work out there which can lead to something.
agreed! I've noticed some writers will just do a "buy a coffee" model where the payment is more to support their work and all of their content is free. seems to work well for some who can execute it well!
really appreciate your perspective, Jo! I'm definitely feeling the tension between wanting to make it "worth" the paid subscription while also continuing to publish for folks who have followed along since the start :) have been working on refining the publishing schedule!
Good question! I've experimented with paywall placement. Best result comes when I use it after a question, as I did on this "family mystery" post: https://susanwittigalbert.substack.com/p/a-family-mystery-lifescapes-4-436
That seems like a great strategy! Did you find that it led to conversions?
Yes. I think it offers the reader the opportunity to learn something (or get something) if they choose to go paid--especially if this is something they've been thinking about for a while.
Also: In Jan-Feb, I'm posting 6 episodes of a garden--themed serial short, with "bonus extras" (story-related notes, photos, tips, recipes etc) for paid subs only. Interested to see how that works.
curious to hear how this goes, Susan!
I LOVE the paywall at the question / cliffhanger – brilliant way to provide value to both free & paid supporters :)
It worked really well, Cissy. And with the most recent serial, the paywall comes at the end of the episode, with the "premium extras" (recipes, crafts, garden stuff, curated links) available to the paid folks. https://susanwittigalbert.substack.com/p/the-rosemary-caper-1
congrats, Susan – good luck with the rest of the episodes! I love the bonus section idea :)
It's nice to let readers know ahead of time that they will be hitting a paywall at some point. I think this stops them from getting frustrated that they won't see the whole thing. This is an example of how I've done it recently. Readers can still get quite a bit of the piece in before the paywall comes up.
https://donnamcarthur.substack.com/p/how-to-change
love how you balance providing value for both free & paid subscribers – brilliant way to paywall right before a cliffhanger :)
Keep writing and don't worry whether it's behind a paywall or not. I've got my paid subscriptions there as an option for people who have the means to pay. I have over 200 subscribers and only a handful of paid. I value them all. Sometimes when I go to read something that's been posted on Notes that looks interesting and I only make it partway through and then it's paywalled, I get frustrated and won't even subscribe for free. So, it turns me off. Which is why I've decided to keep my newsletter open to all.
I know that feeling. I keep everything free too. It's probably not a good business model but I think if people can, they'll pay. I don't have many but my main focus is really on consistency.
Same same.
I've seen a few writers who have been able to make the "buy me a coffee" model work and have many paid subscribers – over the long term, I sense that people value and will support the work of the writers who they resonate with :)
I have a message at the top about how my writing is behind a paywall to protect my creative work. I include an invitation to purchase a subscription. I’m surprised how many people have purchased subscriptions. I wish I’d known how many people are happy to support individual writers!
I share a similar sentiment! it's really inspiring to see just how many folks are interested in supporting our work :)
Don’t assume you really have to DO anything. People could be paying to support you so lean into that. If you do plan to do extra for paid subscribers, maybe save the special, personal bits for them. Schedule and release that work with regularity and deliver on what you say you’ll do.
LOVE this sentiment – there's something beautiful about just embracing the fact that some people are solely here to support the writers they resonate with :)
Yes I would love to know too! I'm going to do it after the new year. I want to do in the middle of the post so they can read to a point but asked the substack team how to do it because I don't know how. Any advice most appreciated! sabrinalabow.substack.com
good luck, Sabrina! this a good guide if you haven't seen it already: https://substack.com/going-paid-guide
Thanks for this question, Cissy! I'm in the same boat and am looking forward to the replies. Congratulations and good luck!
Happy 2024, John – good luck to you as well!
Thanks, Katie! I ended up doing 3 newsletters where I ran a special offer and had a few folks tell me it was really helpful for the reminders to upgrade :)
🟧 I would love to see more options in writing text. What I miss most is the ability to center text. More options in fonts would also be welcome.
I'd love to center text and have a line break on captions, but I actually like the limited options. The beauty of Substack for me is that it's elegant. There's not a lot of opportunity or temptation to make the posts look "ungapatchke" (yiddish for messy and cluttered) and I can focus on my writing.
Yes, I could ignore those features for my own 'stack, but I also don't want my faves to get too bogged down in design elements.
Me too. More design, color options, fonts….
I feel you on this! I love a centered text! It makes copy looks neat. Being able to have more options in writing texts would really help for interviews or even fiction.
I've yet to start publishing, but as I have started exploring post formatting - it would be great to also make images smaller and wrap text next to them like in a magazine or newspaper. This may be a feature I've yet to figure out, but if not it would be fantastic as right now the images are more like dividers for the text. Thank you Substack team! :)
I agree, that would be agreat option.
Yes, thank you for saying this. Also, COLOR!
Yes! centering would be great, also changing font size.
🧠 One thing I’ve realized is that it’s OK to take it slow. Find a publication schedule that works for you and don’t try to do too much.
I only write once a month right now. I began my Substack at the beginning of this year and I’m planning on finally adding to my publication schedule next month.
I’m going to settle in to this new schedule for a few months before I take on something else.
This is wise advice. Usually during this time of year, I think of all the things that I can do to improve my Substack — and it always seems to be more more more. But this year is a bit different. Resting and purposely saying no.
Reflection time is so important. I joined 6 months ago, but it feels too early to take a break. But posting once a week is a big commitment.
Purposefully saying no sometimes is important!
Me too, once a month, and then I added a once monthly paid option in June. I sometimes add a thread. It works for me and my subscribers seem happy enough. 😊
Nice! Yea I’ve thought about adding threads too. Maybe one day. 🙂
It's really just to get a bit of engagement. Or if there's something I just quickly want to share. My subscribers dont seem too keen on notes or chat.
Oh I was thinking of chat. Is there a difference between threads and chat?
Yes, threads is sent out like a newsletter to your subscribers, chat is like having your own social media for your publication and you can set it so that all subscribers can initiate their own messages and they can all chst to each other too. They dont send out newsletters, so people have to have the app or regularly check in via their laptop. Threads is more basic.
Ah ok thanks. Threads sound interesting.
Or downloading the app.
What do you mean : add a thread?
I tried to change my substack logo but the picture was upside down. Why? And how can I make it the right way up?
Hi Angela, when you go to write a newsletter, if you click on tge drop down arrow, there are various different kinds of newsletters you can write, one of them is a called a thread.
How is a newsletter different from a post?
A newsletter post is one letter.
I agree. The important thing is to settle in and keep going at a comfortable pace.
This is a good reminder that more is not better, too. Thanks.
What’s also good about this is being able to deliver on that cadence. I knew I could not do once per week, so I didn’t! What I have now (biweekly with paid once per month) is working.
I've been trying to remind myself of this, as well. With a lot of newfound downtime, I thought I could publish weekly, but quickly realized it's too much right now. I think it's easy to get caught up in that comparison trap and feel like we "should" be doing more, but it feels a lot better sending something out more intentionally versus rushing to meet a self-imposed deadline. Thanks for sharing this!
I love this. I wanna be consistent next year so I’m thinking of doing less. Just need to figure out how I wanna go about my “less.” I’ll mull it over today.
Yes, I agree with finding a publication schedule that works for you and adjust accordingly. Also, I would add that I believe a good practice if any adjustments to a publication schedule would be to keep your audience informed so that they know what to expect.
The problem with writing only once a month is, what you put behind a paywall?
I've had some pretty bad writer's block since October, so I can't put anything there.
✏️ What was your biggest surprise as a writer in 2023? Mine was who turned out to be my most loyal readers. It was usually a surprising source, and people I thought would read consistently actually did not. Not that I judge, it was just my surprise.
I'm celebrating my one year of launching my Substack today (!)
When I first started writing last December, I didn't think I'd have a lot to write about. As I started prioritizing writing in my life, I've been surprised just *how much* I have to write about
It feels as if I'd turned on the faucet and the ideas flow far more freely than I could've imagined. I used to think that I had to wait for my muse to appear – now I go seek my muse through writing 1000 words every morning stream of conscious, walks, audio memos
Reminds me of Ed Sheeran's quote about when we first start a creative pursuit, there's a lot of shit water that comes then clean water eventually starts flowing (https://twitter.com/cissyrxhu/status/1732988319917887848)
I have a document called "All the Bullshit." It's where I often start writing first, with zero filter and no expectation. Just stream of consciousness to "prime the pump," as they say! Later, when I look back through it, a lot of my poems were typed there first and ideas I've gone back to retrieve. It's a fun practice!
LOVE this practice :) a home for all the bullshit feels poetic!
Did it help calm your mind on days when you are not writing? I realized about 10 years ago that I sort of HAVE to blog, or else my general thoughts/opinions about things become very loud in my head.
it very much does! the act of writing 1000 words after I meditate in the morning feels like an emotional plumbing of sorts where I'll get all my thoughts out of my head – clear my mind & set my energy before I go about my day
Congratulations! Your experience is so encouraging and inspiring for me to figure out how to launch my first Substack . . . I keep wanting to find "the recipe" for the logistics of how to publish one that won't look too amateurish . . . I'm committing to begin one no matter what by January 1, 2024 . . . I'd probably have gotten "the gumption" way before this if I'd known about these Office hours before a couple of weeks ago. I look forward to discovering how your writing has been helping you "become more yourself"
Hi Tom, I echo what my good friends Kim and Tara say here. If you want help I also suggest Paul at Deplatformable
https://pau1.substack.com/p/all-the-articles
as well as Ramona at Writer Everlasting who has a series of articles about Substack for Newbies. Both are super helpful
https://writereverlasting.substack.com/s/substack-for-newbies
Hi Tom and welcome. I would reiterate what Tara says below and also don't worry about what your substack 'looks' like. We are here for the writing, not the branding. (I do love me a good brand/logo), but that's not the point of Substack. You can always tart it up later once you get the hang of posting regularly. Also, when I first came on here as a newbie earlier this year, when I saw someone's Substack that was too slick and fancy, I stopped reading. I felt they were building themselves up as a brand with pretty pictures and it didn't seem there was much substance. So, go be you and your writing, posts and yes your Substack 'look' will morph and change as you go. Best of luck to you.
Thank you, Kim. It has been what my substack 'looks' like that has been the major obstacle for me committing to begin to 'publish' . . . . Now after finding the tutorial A Beginner's Guide to Substack: How to use Substack https://youtu.be/r8He_liq3sY?si=H1OHk5UW2UzD-_AG . . . I'm confident I can go forward without 'worrying' (aka 'overthinking) the design - 'how it looks' and 'how I look' (I plan to do some video talking . . . maybe a happy birthday video on my birthday like Patti Smith did last years on 'her' birthday, which is also 'my' birthday . . . although not the same birthyear . . . ) Here's her video Test 2 https://open.substack.com/pub/pattismith/p/test-2?r=7eqgs&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
good luck, Tom! I'm rooting for you :)
sharing some inspiration for the Year of Doing the Damn Thing: https://www.moremyself.xyz/p/2024
this is the year to answer our calls!
Thank you, @cissyhu (is that the correct way to mention you with an @?) and I infer from your title "the Year of Doing the Damn Thing", I infer that you ou know "it" is not 'luck', Life is Effort, doing your best at Always Becoming Cissy every day of this new year takes 'Cissy Effort' . . . not 'magic' or 'luck' and me doing my best at doing 'The Life of Tom' takes 'Tom Effort' every day . . ..
Thank you for your good wishes.
And . . . I 'get,' or rather think I get the spirit of your title. Am I accurate to translate "the Damn Thing" to mean "doing your best at the life of Cissy"? If I am accurate, I respectfully suggest referring to you and to your doing your best at what you're wanting to do your best at, is not a very kind or caring or probably helpful way to Always Becoming Cissy. Does that make sense?
Thank you, again, for bringing me back here to Dec. 21st Writer's Office hours to be again inspired by your success at Substack from starting a year ago without thinking you had a lot to write about . . . and finding that I'd publicly announced in response that "I'm committing to begin one no matter what by January 1, 2024". .... Opps . . . . Another lesson for me about The Skill of Committing . . . one of my continuing life learning lessons about the self-skill of committing . . . I was wrong. By January 1st I had stopped committing to that TimeGoal. I haven't stopped committing to learning about Substack and caring for how to share The Life of Tom on Substack.
Welcome, Tom! :-) Substack's Help pages have lots of great tips if you find yourself scratching your head on the way to your first posts. Just Google Substack Help and anything flummoxing.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Tara! Trust me, I've tried Substack's help pages more than once or twice, probably at least 10 or more times, and more 'flummoxed' than I had patience for (or confidence in my ability to make sense of the many great tips I'm sure are available) . . . and yet no tutorial-like step-by-step 'hand-holding' or 'trainer wheels' I needed. I was about to rush off with a quick thank you for your kind suggestion. . . . and something about your "Just Google" it got me to pause enough to take your suggestion literally and I "Googled" (actually I use Ecosia now as my search engine: https://www.ecosia.org/) "Substack Help" and the 3rd entry was a few YouTube videos . . . the 1st was "A Beginner's Guide to Substack: How to use substack" https://youtu.be/r8He_liq3sY?si=T-g8nc9H_I1NjsDL . . . and I found the 'tutorial' the 'trainer's wheels' I needed. Thank you, thank you, Tara . . . and I look forward to joining you for some Quiet Reading
Hooray, Tom! I confess that when I look for things only within Substack Help, I don't always find exactly what I need right away. Too many topics are adjacent. But if I back out to a browser and search for it, I almost always see exactly the right instructions. Funny. Glad it worked for you, too. I love Quiet Reading during the winter holidays, so posts are on the way. :-)
YAY 🙌🏽 one year! Love that shit water metaphor 💩 It's so true.
thank you! and yes to shit water, it's helped me get out of my own way 💩
Oh my gosh the dream! I feel like I tend to struggle to find things to write about, but maybe I’m also setting arbitrary rules around what I can and can’t post!
Congratulations on a full year here!! Love hearing and seeing it!
thanks, Cierra! I spent a lot of time "shoulding" myself in the past, but I've come to realized that writing with an intent to publish is one big series of experiments for me – that has freed me in many ways :)
good luck – rooting for you!
So sorry this is late but yes! I'm trying to eliminate "should"s in 2024 cause WHEW has that been debilitating in the past! And thank you, wishing the same for you!
Meeting people with common interests is a surprise that never dims in pleasure.
Yeah and those whose interests are generally pretty far apart but overlap in one specific way!
Amen Sister!❤
sadheer41’s Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Exactly same here. My friends and family were there at the beginning to support. But now, several years in, they’re not my most loyal readers. It’s been fun seeing who really likes the stuff I’m putting out there.
Yeah me too haha
I am just surprised to have a subscription that works for the first time in my career and testing dozens of options.
That's a pretty awesome surprise tbh!
Mine was that folks who originally paid to subscribe weren't always the most active readers! I think seeing my own evolution was surprising too...I've shifted my focus several times and didn't expect the flood of ideas to change the direction like it has but it's been a fun ride! I also didn't expect the genuine connections I found here through which is honestly why I wanted to share my writing in the first place!
What's a notable shift that might benefit other readers on this thread?
As far as making connections I think being intentional about offering opportunities to collaborate and championing artists has led to a feeling of genuine community. As for the changes in direction- that's been more about following my own level of enthusiasm/excitement for different projects and trying new things to see what resonates. One piece of feedback I got was that someone always hoped my weekly letter would have poetry inside so I decided to start sharing more poetry and launched a series called "Bloom" for paying subs once a week where I read an original poem.
We'll see how it goes, I feel like some things just need time to gain traction and as long as you're enjoying the ride, it's worth it!
Same! I was shocked to see people I never met so engaged...not what I had expected.
I did come to a similar realisation at a point of time. But then also saw some subscribers ask if everything was okay when I hadn't been posting as frequently. Perhaps both kinds of readers exist in the subscriber list.
I had some career craziness this year and sometimes when I wouldn't post for a few weeks I would get texts from people lamenting that I cancelled the project. Which was nice
I was surprised to have a founding member!
Hope for more paid subscribers in the new year. We’ll see.
I encountered so many people who, despite our vastly different lifestyles/backgrounds/locations/etc., shared a lot of the same perspectives and unique interests. I've gained a newfound appreciation for writing as a way to connect, and I love how stories really help us see each other for who we are.
My biggest surprise as a writer was getting my first paid subscriber AND it being a writer and artist I admire! She doesn’t know me and she FOUND me and pays monthly to support my work and it blows my mind that she’s here at all, let alone that she’s paying as well!
Another thing was just how amazing the community is period. I spent a lot of this year resting and healing and gaining my footing after losing my mom and my 8-year caregiving duties, but even so, I’ve gained loyal readers and a community I’ve never had before online!
That's a great story, and a nice reminder about finding silver linings during difficult times.
Thanks so much, Kevin!
Same. My most loyal readers and commenters are so random! My best and closest friends are not as into it.
I try not to get sensitive over it hahaha.
Same. The hardest think about migrating my writing from Facebook to Substack is I don't get that sweet, sweet hit of dopamine from the likes and comments.
People have said I'm "brave" for sharing my stories on Substack. It honestly doesn't feel brave. Sharing my writing and stories isn't hard for me. Not getting feedback absolutely is.
✏️ End of year substack reflection: (1) what was your biggest challenge? (2) what did you learn? (3) what’s a goal you have for your substack? I’d love to hear your advice related to these reflections ☺️
I’ll start! My biggest challenge was getting the guts to start—to believe in myself 😬 I learned how much joy I find in the process. I love love love deep dives into research about shame + making comics about what I learn. Join me! I’ve made comics 1x/week for 10 weeks and I’ve got ~100 subscribers. My goal is to grow to 700 in 2024. What’s your substack year been like?
my most meaningful goal that I didn't even realize I had this year was to step into the identity of being a Writer. a capital W writer
writing with the intent to publish and doing the inner work to see myself more clearly has healed my insecurities about my self-expression in ways that I could not have imagined
if you're new to Substack or writing with the intent to publish, know that it gets better as you continue to dedicate your life force to your craft!
Camilo writes about being a Capital "W" Writer beautifully here: https://www.tangent.blog/p/capital-w-writer
I love that you came to own that identity of Writer ☺️ How powerful! And it feels so good to see yourself doesn’t it?
truly! to see myself clearly and allow myself be seen was a huge expansion area for me in 2023 :)
I really resonate with this - I've noticed how much more confident I feel and the ownership I take of my work has really changed
1. Making time to write consistently while also working in a hectic full time job. Perhaps need some time management strategies.
2. Writing consistently doesn't just teach just writing better - but also listening, thinking and articulating ideas better.
3. I'm currently been close to ~100 subscribers. Perhaps growing my Substack past this milestone in 2024 and getting more guest posts in!
Ooh guest posts are a great idea!
I don't know what I'm expecting from my 'Stack for the upcoming year. I had growth this past year and am satisfied with it. I was hoping to break the 400 mark this year, but only hit 365. Now that I've started my PAID section, it's a different set of ideals. I'm not going to pay attention to it too much. It's the FREE page that's more important to me. As long as the quality of writing is strong, the readers will come. I just want to be consistent, which shouldn't be a problem. Being retired, I can spend all day here.
Good luck with your next milestone of 100 subscribers 💪
Theek you🙏
Oh your comics look so cool! I love the idea of using comics to explore deep dives into topics!
As for me,
1) My biggest challenge this year has been finding my cadence.
2) I've learned that when I don't establish ground rules for myself I follow what I'm interested in learning about, rather than what I feel like I should write.
3) My goal for 2024 is to reach 1500 paid subscribers, with a complete collection of members only discussion threads and deep essays exploring humanist and utopian thought.
Ooh fascinating--so giving yourself more latitude leads to more joy/following what you want to write about? Perhaps after this first season of research about shame I’ll try that. Right now the creative constraint of one big topic feels generative to me.
Yes, before I had a set schedule (Monday post, Wednesday discussion, Friday fiction), but then I had a bunch of posts lined up and was struggling to fill the other days. So I abolished the buckets and allowed myself to post whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Now I'm finding that a new pattern is emerging, but it's perhaps more what I've been wanting to write about!
That sounds deeply satisfying
I guess just coming here over and over and committing to a social platform has been the hardest bit, but also the best bit.
For sure! Scariest and then most rewarding.
1. I think my biggest challenge was always wondering if what I wrote and how I wrote it was “enough.” 2. I ended up overcommitting at times and I think next year I’ll parse it back quite a bit and still work on finding my footing on when and how often I show up. Be more free flowing with it, with a looser schedule maybe! 3. I’d love next year to replace my small monthly income that will end after next year with Substack and any other ways I can create an income that comes along!
1. To gain new subscribers. Not easy to market myself, dislike sounding like a broken record.
2. Things take time. It also helps with my dyslexia. It helps me in general writing about what happen with me and what I done about things.
3. To be able to grow more than 20 sub next year. We will see how it goes 😁
Things do take time 💕
1) My biggest challenge was NaNoWriMo. Writing everyday was harder than I thought and I eventually hit a wall and could not keep up the pace to make 50k. I did 29k though. 2) I learned that long form is a much different animal than even a 14k story and that I must plan. It’s is the only way to stay on track. 3) My goal is to develop a rhythm there I know each month and year what is in store. I hope it’s laid out like an outline where I just fill in the details. 2024 will be the big test!
29k isn’t shabby. Wow. I love the idea of a rhythm to feel your way forward
Love to hear that, Cara! Wishing you the best with your goals. These are some great reflection questions.
1.) My biggest challenge has been overcoming perfectionism and reminding myself that my truth deserves to be heard. I've spent a lot of time worrying about how everyone will perceive my writing instead of trusting that it'll be received well by those it's meant to reach (and it has!).
2.) I learned that I need to strike a better balance between holding myself accountable and trying to stick to (largely self-imposed) expectations about how often I should publish. Very much an ongoing process!
3.) I'd love to reach 1,000 subscribers, and potentially open up once again to the idea of paid subscriptions. I also want to do more interviews with other creatives and/or mental health professionals. Finally, I think it would be a ton of fun to host a Substack meetup and/or meet fellow writers in person!
Same. Getting the guts to start something that I put off for a decade lol. Once I did, and got good feedback, the pressure was on, to keep posting. It's good pressure though. My goal is to just have some consistent growth, not sure if I have a number in mind although the more the merrier!
I’m laughing bc I also put off starting for years lol/sob
Making the time to write has been the biggest commitment for me. Sometimes I do it in sprints on the weekends. Other times I do a little bit each night after work. Also, not getting caught up in stats. I'm new here, it would be counterproductive to obsess with what someone else is doing.
I hope the time to write feels good. I’m noticing that the process is so enjoyable--even when it’s hard, if that makes sense. Almost more so than the product
I look forward to exploring your Stack, Cara. My biggest challenge has been finding an appropriate balance between the work I do here and the work I do elsewhere. Once I've committed to do something, I tend to be very dedicated. Here, that translates to at least one extraordinarily late night each week, just before the publish date. I've always written "best" on a deadline. (I know that's a fallacy, but it's a habit that is proving hard to shake.) I'd like to get better at taking care of myself in 2024. I'm learning, slowly, that the way I've been operating is probably terrible for my physical health. There we go. The honest truth. And a final question: Is truth ever dishonest? 🤣
https://elizabethbeggins.substack.com/
The tricky balance btw work and substack is real!! And navigating that “deadline” timeline to motivate yourself--that resonates with me for sure.
I’ve been on Substack for about 6 months, so I’m still newish and getting myself and The Wrong Kind of Woman (my Substack) sorted out. One challenge is figuring out what makes sense for a novelist who’s not a teacher to include in a Substack. And another is figuring out what kinds of posts resonate more with readers. Sometimes I think it all comes down to the photos I use! But I also have the feeling that I shouldn’t dwell on that too much until I have a year’s worth of issues to compare and think about. Thanks for asking the question!
I wonder how the balance of what feels good to you vs readers will play out
🟧 - The "Most Popular" section appears to favor paid posts over free. This doesn't always provide new and returning readers with the greatest snapshot of our work. For example, a paid post with less views and engagement can push out a free post with higher stats.
As a request, can we have the option to toggle on paid posts being favored over free?
I second that emotion, Alyssa! Perhaps we should put your comment behind a paywall....that way we might be assured it'll be seen by those who might answer your well-put question!
😂👍
IKR.....reality, what a concept!
Yes! I brought up the same issue below. I would like the "most popular" list to reflect the posts that really ARE most popular, regardless of whether or not they are paywalled. Other wise popular posts that I want to keep free (so that I can inspire people to subscribe) get buried.
🐛 tacking onto this: i've actually had issues with the 'most popular' section – it doesn't accurately rank the posts for me.
shared a report on reddit here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Substack/comments/18lvkex/most_popular_posts_tracker_is_inaccurate/
I would really like to see this too. Popular unpaid posts are good way to get people to subscribe, but not if they are buried.
Yes. To be able to toggle that would be good. That explains why a paid post from over a year ago remains top of my Most Popular section - when I've had free posts with a lot more traction.
✏️ Who are your favorite introspection writers who write to help others in navigating their journey inwards?
I'm curating a collection of essays and would love to include more writers – feel free to shout out your own Substack too!
Will share with this thread when I publish it :)
I'm just getting started here on substack but my life is all about writing and introspection. And horses, healing relationships with ourselves and others, trauma resolution, survival responses, and more horses. My first memoir is out, Getting Along with Rusty: Horses, Healing, and Therapeutic Riding. As I said, I'm new here but not new to blogging or writing. I have yet to figure out things like a template for my posts and what's the difference between a post and a note. Yikes.
welcome to Substack, Lasell! what a unique lens to introspection & healing :)
a post is an essay while a note is similar to a "tweet" on Twitter
Substack has some great resources on getting started:
- https://substack.com/resources
Love @DonnaMcArthur of The Bright Life, and @salrandoph of The Uses of Art.
Donna is the best.
thanks! will check out both of them :)
I typically try not to self-promote on here but this is my whole newsletter! It's about navigating the spiritually challenging part of creating. Here are two recent examples:
https://aliv.substack.com/p/do-you-guys-like-me
https://aliv.substack.com/p/let-yourself-blossom-a-very-big-list
Excited to see what everybody else posts here!
appreciate you sharing your work, Ali! LOVE your tagline: "meditations on creativity, being human"
excited to dig into your writing :)
I write about the complex relationship between art and mental health which includes writing from lived experience. Would love to work with you.
https://createmefree.substack.com/p/semicolon-a-grief-tattoo-story
what a beautiful intersection of two things! thanks for sharing, Kathryn – will dive into your writing :)
That's the focus of my Substack, you can check it out here: https://alyssapolizzi.substack.com/
I specifically draw upon themes and ideas from archetypal systems and Jungian psychology to facilitate inner work and self-development.
Good to 'meet' you! I'll check out your stack for sure! I'm a lifelong Jungian fan. This week I drafted an upcoming post on archetypes for my Parts Work series, and shared a humorous video about Holiday Maker Monkey archetypes. Let's connect.
I recently started following your work, Alyssa – love the takes from a Jungian psychology perspective! Excited to dig in more :)
Hi Cissy, one of my absolute favourite writers on this matter is Julia Cameron. My own newsletter is based on the way she's helped myself as well as thousands of other writers to get in touch wth our own selves and activate that creative spark within us, which ultimately leads to so much fulfilment.
Here's mine: https://loveanddecibels.substack.com/about
I love Julia Cameron! The Artist's Way is the BEST! Just sit down and write and don't lift your pen off the paper or fingers off the keyboard. It was the inspiration for the title of my post which is stream unconsciousness. Check it out...sabrinalabow.substack.com
'The Artist's Way' is truly a lifesaver, Sabrina. I'll take a look. Feel free to rummage through mine as well, if you like.
thanks for sharing, Jo – I'll check out her writing! any favorite essays by her? :)
'The Sound of Paper' are great, I think we can only buy the book now on googlebooks.
I write about the intersection of grief and motherhood while also exploring the creative path. I just started a new poetry series about holding grief & gratitude side by side. I hope it offers others going through a similar experience some hope and insight.
https://thebarefootbeat.substack.com/p/bloom-a-season-of-grief-and-gratitude
Thanks for the opportunity to share!
wow, the first few lines of your essay are ❤️🔥😭 you write beautifully, Mariah! excited to dive into your writing :)
Aww, thank you so much! I appreciate it 💗I look forward to reading yours as well!
That’s also a focus of my newsletter ♥️
I’ve never heard the term “introspection writers” before reading your question, but I think this is exactly how humanistic astrology writing functions for me.
My newsletter offers a distinct departure from the scammer saturated world that is astrology on Instagram…lol. My current writing schedule is one newsletter per week, about current astrological transits. It seems like the bulk of astrology writing online is now AI generated, which is a shame.
https://feralastrologer.substack.com
thanks for sharing your work! love your tagline, "A Really Good Astrology Newsletter" :)
Thank you! It was going to be a working tagline but I decided to leave it, haha.
Andrea Gibson, (Colorado's Poet Laureate), publishes beautifully introspective pieces through their Substack, Things That Don't Suck: https://andreagibson.substack.com
thanks for sharing, Brina! I'm new to Andrea's work – just subscribed :)
Probably Kirsten Powers. https://kirstenpowers.substack.com/
Also Jon Ogden. https://jonogden.substack.com/
thanks, Elle! I'm new to both of them – excited to dig in :)
Hi, Cissy!
I tend to write about being a late bloomer after loss (both of a mom, and a caregiving role). I’m learning to live again and just wrote an essay called “Today, I Turn One.” about my first year without my mom.
I’m wanting to write more inwardly in 2024, but fell further away from it because I was afraid of coming across as too “dear diary.”
But I wanna see what I can do! Next will be an essay about hair and autonomy over it, after that may be more lax in my writing style but hopefully still helpful to others!
thanks for sharing your work, Cierra! I shared this list above in the thread, but here's some inspiration on writers who have balanced food for thought introspection & "dear diary" :)
- Sasha's Newsletter: https://sashachapin.substack.com/
- Letters from a Luftmensch: https://ashleydzhang.substack.com/
- Pluripotent: https://www.theplurisociety.com/
- Ava Bookbear: https://www.avabear.xyz/
- Bits of Wonder: https://bitsofwonder.substack.com/
- Starting from Nix: https://www.startingfromnix.com/
- Mind Mine: https://mindmine.substack.com/
- Manners & Mysteries: https://elainewrites.substack.com/
Self-nominating. I'm all about navigating the inward journey--and learning something new about yourself that you can put into practice or which enlarges your sense of self.
love the title of your newsletter, Doubt Monster! all about wrangling it unapologetically 🫡
Thank you! I'd love to join your collection. At HeartsQuest, I'm all about guiding others to go inward, and meet our saboteurs with love. I share tools on Flourishing Fridays, mini-meditations from my deck of cards launched via Kickstarter before Covid. Here's last week's tool on Stress and remembering to breathe 🤪 https://heartsquest.substack.com/p/mr-stress-monkey-drives-the-car
thanks for sharing your work, Christine! excited to dive into Flourishing Fridays :)
Hi! I just started and would love to be included for essays. Please contact me. (I'm new here)
Also, @sandraannmiller Sassy Little Substack and @donnamcarthur The Bright Life.
thanks for sharing! love to see Donna's The Bright Life came up a few times :)
🧠 Substack Isn't The Enemy - my post out today looking at the developments around Substack and whether they are a good thing and what we can do to help make this a better place for smaller Substacks.
"Substack is selling out"
"Substack is bowing the the big accounts"
"Substack advertising is on its way"
"Substack doesn't care about the smaller writers".
Is this nonsense?
I still believe Substack is here to bring good into the world but we need to be vigilant.
In today’s post I explore some of the things being said about this place recently.
In particular, to help those smaller Substack Writers we can do the following:
Recommendations - please don’t recommend the MASSIVE Substacks. They get exposure without you. You can really make a difference at the lower end. Seek out those new Substacks that are emerging around and below you. Amplify them.
Like what you like - I know this feels social media(ry) but stay with me here. You have a duty to hit the like button if you like an article. This really helps those smaller Substacks start to get a little more traction that they deserve.
Encourage - drop comments, add encouragement and take part in communities that smaller Substacks are looking to grow. Just make sure you do it with a giving mind. Do it without the expectation of getting anything back. This way we can all pull each other up.
https://neverstoplearning1.substack.com/p/substack-isnt-the-enemy
I write about grief and while it is not sexy I am told over and over that we need more of it. How best to get seen and followed? I have grown to 600. I have been featured in The Washington Post and other major outlets. How do we make noise on a topic that is decisive? Sad. But pervasive!
Here is my guide to getting noticed. https://www.theauthorstack.com/p/how-to-get-noticed-on-substack
I recommend building a network of other publications by creating some sort of roundup, or virtual conference or meetup. Everyone wants to be a part of a thing. Nobody wants to start a thing. I would probably start with a roundup and then go to something bigger once people notice and see you're cool. Here is my last one if you want to see what mine look like, but mine are pretty intense. https://www.theauthorstack.com/p/digest-home-alone
I post a weekly round-up of posts/writers I've come across that I like, and people definitely like it.
I'll check this out Russell. I post a monthly roundup listing all the movies I've watched and then ask my readers what they saw. So far no one has replied lol. I'll keep trying.
That’s not what I mean about a roundup. That is not intentional. A roundup that is effective would tag other Substacks who wrote interesting piece and becoming a curator of your peers, not some movie you watched that can’t actually help you grow.
Always helpful. 🙏
Thank you Russell. Will definitely read this.
I love this question! I also focus a lot of my newsletter on grief and just launched a new poetry series that I wrote in the aftermath of my father's passing, while also becoming a first time mom! This time of year especially, I find it difficult to express the sadness and the void of the missing loved one- while we're also expected to celebrate the present moment. It's definitely a paradox and in general, I think our society does a poor job of honoring individual and collective grief.
I lost my mother in 1993. I am a grief specialist and have trained with David Kessler, Hope Edelman, Claire Bidwell Smith and feel passionate about bringing grief out of the shadows and into the daily vernacular. When I became a motherless mother, I became more aware of the need for community and grief support.
I'm so sorry you lost your Dad, Mariah 💙 Mine just came out of heart surgery today (he's 93) and I was getting ready for everything. I feel for you and you are so right, our society could definitely do a lot more to honour and support people working through grief.
Oh wow, Joe! My thoughts are with you. I was in the hospital during this time three years ago and it’s especially hard. Sending you and your family love and a big hug!
thank you so much, Mariah, i know you understand. Hugs back!
I just wanted to say that I also find it deeply healing to read/write about grief, as it's helped me a lot on my own journey. So thank you for writing about this topic! Have you considered writing on Medium? There are a lot of publications on there that publish grief-related content, and a very supportive community like there is here. It's slowly helped me build up my following while also connecting with people who care about the same issues.
I used to be there and have a potent community for my personal newsletter. Have grown to about 650 here. Was looking for stack growth tips. Thanks.
I asked a similar question above. I write about detoxing from diet culture and what I've learned from the process. I find growth has been very much two steps forward one step back. We can all get behind growth and empowerment, but so many of us still can't quit diet culture.
https://www.almostsated.com
I adore the relationship of Grief and Joy. Ancient cultures understood this better than our adolescent society (Martin Prechtel, a shaman I worked with, writes about Grief and Praise). Grief circles are growing here here in the PNW. In my experience, the deeper I went into shadow emotions, the more Joy I could access. This relationship can temper the Downer aspect (ever see the Pixar film "Inside Out"?)
I wish I had advice but I can definitely relate to this. I write about pregnancy loss and every post is just so sad. But at the same time, I think it’s important to talk about this stuff. It is hard to find the right audience though. Thanks for your efforts!
It’s not much advice but I think continuing to talk about what you write about it important. I also cover grief since losing my mom last December, and just talking about it brings in people who want to talk about it but have nowhere to turn
I agree. I have built a 5k on IG and have had great press. I think grief does not translate as easily here. Sorry to hear about your Mom. What is her name?
Her name's Carla! And oh, do you think? It may be more niche, but I'm finding people reaching out and me finding more people talking about death and loss than I've really noticed much elsewhere. There's another writer who is a bit bigger on here who writes about grief too... I'll see if I can find her name...
Found her and a post I saved: https://www.deathandbirds.com/p/this-is-my-church?lli=1
https://open.substack.com/pub/barri?r=7n8ag&utm_medium=ios
🧠 - I'd love to toot a horn I've been playing on Notes and a recent post. If you've ever considered adding audio content (a recorded audio version or complement to a post), I encourage you to do it! During my time a few years back in radio programming and podcasting, I learned that almost no one loves the sound of their own voice, at least at first. But others do. And more than that, we need to hear each other. Importantly, a recording improves accessibility for those who are sight challenged. It enables more people to access your work because they can listen as they wash dishes or drive. And sound adds rich layers to your work.
Check out my post on the intimacy of sound. It includes a list of a sampling of sounds from the Substack soundscape. https://hollystarley.substack.com/p/the-intimacy-of-sound-a-gift-from.
And if you make a recording or enjoy listening to a Substack with a recorded element and you wanna tag me in a note about it, I’d LOVE to give it a listen.
P.S. It does not need to be perfect. A listen to any of my recordings will reveal a number of flubs.
I’m excited to try the voiceover options on substack. I’ve got a post scheduled for the new year where I’m trying it out. I’m also curious how it’ll work w my content--I make research-based comics. Thanks for posting about this.
Oh interesting!
Wondering out loud here: will the audio version of videos will be effective and/or listenable?The audio automatically uploads to Podcast. I do lots of spontaneous improv singing and voices in my videos to reinforce content (https://heartsquest.substack.com/podcast)
Fun!
I tested the link in my podcast, but it doesn’t play the audio, it jumps to the video post. More Newbie learning 🙌🏽 yay! 🤣
I get it. It was nerve-wracking for me the first few times, but now I'm used to the sound of my own voice. I sit down in front of my screen, hit the video icon, and start reading. I've gotten to the point where I'm thinking I'm going to read for every SUNDAY night post. Here's a link to my first attempt. If you like it, you can link up to the others and watch my hair grow! https://benwoestenburg.substack.com/p/the-dawn-patrol
Love your video presence and animate voice and of course your stories. I have been trying my hand at videos and getting the feel of recording myself and doing interviews. I think maybe I need to improve my background and animate my voice more, so people don’t fall asleep as in a lecture hall. I would love to do a video interview with you. I have been trying out doing 15-to-20-minute segments. I just have to remember to hit the record button.
That would be awesome! Maybe we can discuss it further in the New Year, as I'm sure your holiday season will be just as hectic as mine. But yes, I'd be interested in that. As long as you know what you're doing, because I sure don't!
I'm already subscribed to you. But I see you're into heavy things. May I suggest you read something of mine? https://open.substack.com/pub/benwoestenburg/p/it-was-an-accident-steve?r=254e8w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
It's not off the table, but I could get emotional. It's your call.
Thanks, Ben! Excited to listen. I record the majority of my posts now too. And I'm finding it quite fun.
It's very satisfying. In fact I have to do one later today. The problem is I'm sitting here in my PJ's, the wife gave me a "to-do" list for Christmas needs, so I might not get to it until later in the day.
Ha ha! I mean readers might enjoy a post in the PJs. ;) I do mine audio only so can get away with pjs regularly.
Good luck with the to-dos. :)
I am glad to hear this! I am a former public radio reporter and just did an interview (recorded on Zoom, edited in Hindenburg) with an expert on the topic I'm writing about. Embedded the audio in my post. It publishes Dec. 26 (will anyone be reading anything then? Maybe I should save it... it's about Georgian healing songs. My Stack is kind of niche (-: My issue is that the recording doesn't show up in the test link/post. Hope it shows up in the real one.
I’ll listen!
The audio embed should show up in your test link/post. It will look like a gray bar with a red play button and the words “listen now” in the center (along with the length).
Did you embed using the video camera icon at the top of the post?
I have been debating here at the start of my newsletter journey whether to narrate them off the bat to be more accessible. This was very encouraging to read! Thank you.
Oh awesome! Followed for a listen ;)
I released short fiction on the podcast portion of my Substack and even add sound effects. It’s a lot of work but great fun.
https://theflare.substack.com/p/special-presentation
Just listened. This is quality audio! I bet is a lot of work. Thanks for sharing, Chevanne!
It’s recorded in tracks, so yes.
I'm a musician, so I'm looking forward to your intimacy of sound post, Holly.
🧠 I took a break from Substack at the end of November. I announced to my subscribers that I wouldn't post until January 3rd. It was a necessity for me to do so for personal reasons, and finding time to plan my editorial calendar and write in advance. I have 3 posts out of 5 ready for January, and I am feeling great to have taken the decision to pause even if I started posting regularly on September.
I was afraid I'd lose subscribers, but surprisingly I am gaining some even without posting. I haven't been as much present here, too, but I've always paid attention to interact thoughtfully even if it was once in a while since my pause. So, I credit this to have brought me some subscribers. I also posted on LinkedIn newsletter posts I've written here, and it has also brought me some more subscribers.
So, I guess the lesson I learned here is to not be afraid to slow down and giving oneself grace to be able to be creative with purpose.
I’m glad you could get the time you needed for yourself. The universe holds us.
I too had some life stuff that was overwhelming me recently and I took a break. It was great to not stress about posting on top of everything else. I still picked up a few new subscribers.
Because of the way other social media platforms are built, we're used to thinking that not posting means losing one's audience, but a newsletter is different as long as you inform your readers and have created a good relationship with them, they'll be there.
It’s essential and gives people time to catch up! We aren’t machines and our minds need rest. Hope your time off is fruitful.
I didn't know you could cross with LinkedIn. I'm going to try it. Thanks! sabrinalabow.substack.com
✏️ Has anyone serialized their novel through Substack? How did you get it started and was it worth it?
I'm serializing my novel Lamb right now - still early days with only 4 episodes so far. Marked drop off in metrics each week, which I've seen in other's serials as well, but still a lot of great feedback and support. I'd like to think as time goes on, some new subscribers will go back and read from the beginning, but I'm also exploring posting on other platforms (like Wattpad - Meg Oolders and Michael Estrin both won Watty Awards) and maybe later self-publishing it with more material. There are so many avenues you can go with it. You might also reach out to Ben Wakeman at Catch & Release who is serializing Harmony House right now, and Alexander Ipfelkofer with his Chronicles of Samuel Carter.
I never thought about it but now I am! I have been writing a book called "Beyond the Mic;
My 7 years as General Manager of the Laugh Factory Comedy Club." I have incorporated some of my chapters in my posts when they are relevant. Now you have me thinking. Thank you! sabrinalabow.substack.com
Although it's a memoir, not a novel, I recommend Cured by Sarah Fay here as a great example.
Yes, this is another great serial example!
I came here to point you to Mr. Troy Ford's serializing of "Lamb"--which is a really good story, beautifully crafted and starts here: https://mrtroyford.substack.com/p/we-regret-to-inform-you. I await the next installment with great anticipation and gobble each one up. And the same with Ben Wakeman's Harmony House. A terrific story (with a bonus recorded element--which, if you know me, you know I love--whose production value is insanely good). It starts here: https://www.catchrelease.net/p/harmony-house-episode-01.
I hope these projects have been / will continue to be worth it to them and would like to hear updates. I'm thinking of serializing a memoir--the tale of a journey by backpack a decade and a half ago.
Thank you Holly!!! Most appreciated ~ love to you and Ruby! 😍
Ooh following. I haven’t done this, but I have a book contract, and will be sharing some pages as I work on them in my newsletter. I also have another book in progress and I’m curious abt using my substack to help move that work along in the future. I’d love to see how this worked out for others.
Cara, that's exactly what I'm doing--using my Substack to explore and expand upon the topics in my forthcoming book while building out some author recognition. Probably the best marketing decision I ever made, because I love writing the newsletter and am deepening my knowledge in the field I'll be published in next year. I'm a firm believer that "content" is "marketing."
I serialized my first novel here: https://www.elysian.press/t/obscurity
And am currently serializing my second novel here: https://www.elysian.press/t/oblivion
I shared everything I learned right here: https://www.elysian.press/i/115849149/my-process
I also gave a TEDx talk about how I did it, it will come out the first week of next year!
I am serializing my WIP novel for free. My readers have been fantastically supportive and I’ve gotten helpful criticism.
I am serializing my novel here. I put it behind a paywall as it is my best content that took the longest to create. It has been received well for the most part, for those willing to take a look at it. I’ve even had a couple of paid subscribers which surprised me. I am more focused on creating something I want to exist than writing with the hope to develop a following.
Good distinction - "I want it to exist." Gives me good vibes to serialize my magical realism coming-of-age novel here.
Elle from The Elysian writes about her (and others') process of serializing novels – here are a few pieces by her on the topic:
- https://www.elysian.press/p/creator-economy-for-fiction-authors
- https://www.elysian.press/p/publishing-industry-truth
Not a novel, but I am serializing a story. One of my readers called it "If Carrie Bradshaw met Charles Dickens and started a serialized column" (can there BE any higher praise!?)
Folks are telling me they can't WAIT for Wednesday mornings to read the next installment.
The story is about how I met my Sister Exes, women with whom I have bonded over our mutual mistake, and the LIES we learned he told when we started to compare notes.
Kimberly Warner of Unfixed is serializing her memoir and it's a story "I can't put down". I WISH I could read it all in one big gulp. Waiting each week for the next instalment after reading a chapter is hard! It's my favourite on Substack hands down.
https://unfixed.substack.com/p/available-chapters-of-unfixed
✏️ - I've got the two-week paywall setting turned on, but I'm thinking of changing it to a year,. or even getting rid of it altogether. Reasons: #1 All my supposedly more popular posts are behind the paywall, as others have noted; #2: I've a lot of good stuff that's over two weeks old and which, therefofre, people can't see. So my question is: has anyone else experimented with changing the archive paywall setting, and with what results? Thanks
I just opened everything up. I don't think I get any more paid subscribers, but I do get a lot more reads, and I don't have to worry about pulling things in and out of the paywall. I think it's probably been worse for my income so far, but better for reach, which is more important right now.
Same.
Interesting! So it's possible to publish an essay with a paywall (somewhat like exclusive access) then open it up around a few weeks when it's no longer one of your latest essays?
yes. You can make an article available to paid subscribers, but schedule when it gets opened up to everyone, or you can schedule when free articles go behind a paywall
Thanks, Russell. Yes, I think at the moment I'm more interested in expanding my reach than making my fortune. I presume, though, that the corollary is that I'd have to give paid subscribers even more of an incentive to upgrade, as access to the archive would no longer be a bonus? I know you offer a lot more than that
So true! The reality is that there is no magic formula. You always need to test your thesis and adjust. Paid subs could seek high value content variance, want just to support your work so don’t care about premium content or “temp riders” paying for just one article that spiked their interest.
Thanks Shlomi. May I ask, what do you mean by 'high value content variance'? Do you mean writing on a range of subjects?
No. It’s like you’re offering your free subs pizza margarita and paid subs the pricier specialty pizza with 5 toppings. In short, free content vs. premium paid content you invested more time on.
Thanks, Shlomi. Well yes, I can relate to that because I do, generally speaking! Love the analogy!
Terry, I’m wrestling with a similar question, not moving a paywall but also weighing the priorities of reach vs premium benefits. I think that when people offer to pay us (or when I pay someone), they don’t mean to curtail our efforts at reaching as many people as we can. Maybe the incentives to upgrade can be modest - while reach has priority.
You can poll your subs stating a bunch of reasons and open ended one to find out.
Thanks, Schlomi. I might do that
Thanks, Tara. I'm sure you're right. I think the people who upgraded on mine did so when there was nothing extra, they just wanted to support me. But I feel guilty if I don't offer more
I had mine on initially but I regularly link back to older articles and it seemed ridiculous to do so if there was a paywall so I turned it off. Feels more aligned with me.
Thanks, Kathryn. Yes, I link back, and am continually depaywalling posts.
I like the Anne Kadet @cafeanne model. Everything is free. She has thousands of free and paid subscribers. Her stack is a wonderful niche. And she comes from journalism. I try to lure new paid subscribers with deals and hopefully humor they can’t live without.
I think Anne has brought a large audience with her from her journalism years, though, hasn't she? Pls correct me if I'm wrong.
Don’t know. Good point.
I'm not sure I have the self-belief to try that!
I used to have no archive paywall setting, then moved to to a year — and had the same experience as the one you’re sharing. My “most popular” tend to be older. So then I changed it to 18 months then moved it back to 12. What has been interesting is that two paid subscribers have said they went paid because they wanted to check out more articles and that they appreciated being able to see a year’s worth.
Thanks, Mark. I have to say that's my preference -- not least because I keep finding myself de-paywalling articles that I'd like people to see!
Hi Terry,
I'm undecided so I keep changing it up 😁 I think for some people, 2 weeks might be too short a time (illness, holidays, clogged-up inbox, etc.). For me, paywalling too soon did not yield good results, I feel it may have put some people off. It's a tricky one...
Thanks, Jo Yes it's definitely tricky! As a compromise for now I've changed it from 2 weeks to a year
Best of luck, Terry. Let's see what it brings.
Thanks Jo. What did u decide on in the end, and how is it working out?
I ended up only paywalling my most personal/intimate posts, initially making them available for free for 5-6 weeks after publishing them. It seems to have raised some curiosity, with some paid subscriptions almost immediately afterwards. Now it's gone quiet again. Right now I have 7-day free trials active on all my paywalls for the "crazy season", since readers will hopefully have some more time to strobe through the newsletter a bit more.
Sounds good. I wish you luck as well, Jo
✏️🟧 My Funny AF Women interview series is going gangbusters— hopefully gut busters too. I’m always looking for funny gals to interview. She doesn’t have to be on Substack. No political humor.
I'm putting my thinking cap on! What about the woman that does the videos on Saturday. Name escapes me at the moment and I'm afraid to get bumped off this thread to go look! Sometimes her videos are too long, but a short burst from her would be fun and funny.
Hi Kim, I'd love to know who this is, as I just started weekly video posting. I'm semi-funny 🤪
Found her! I knew it was Julia, just couldn't remember her last name.
https://substack.com/@juliasweeney
Thank you!
🧠 I’m celebrating that I’ve almost reached 500 subscribers, up from 191 just 6 weeks ago! 🥳 I’ve had two New York Times best-selling authors subscribe to read my writing, and I’ve gotten three new recommendations. All through engaging with the Substack platform!
I’m writing an article about what’s worked for me. If you’d like to receive it in your inbox, you can subscribe at www.lizexplores.com, where I share stories from my life about infertility, mental health, and adventure. I’m not a writing coach; I just want to answer the questions people have been asking me and help fellow newbies!
For context, I started my Substack in December 2022 with zero audience and zero publications to my name, so the perspective I offer is one of starting from scratch and writing for the sake of writing. I don’t sell anything to my audience other than my writing itself, with a handful of paywalled posts that are personal in nature. Most of my work, including the article I’m working on now, is free.
This may be the BEST advice I've gotten. I just subscribed to you. Engaging on the substack platform is the way I have accrued more subscribers too. Not as many as you but I will keep at it not just because I want more subscribers but because I want to ENGAGE! Just gotta find more time as we all do! sabrinalabow.substack.com
Thanks, Sabrina! It is definitely time-intensive to build relationships, but for those of us who are starting out, it is a really powerful tool.
Go, Liz! 🎉
🙌
Congrats on the growth! Next stop, 1000 :)
I celebrate for my first paid subscriber and my first few free subscribers.
🥳 ¡Felicidades! 🎉
🥳🥳
🧠 Does everyone lose subscribers when setting up a paid option? I sent out a note to my subscribers yesterday saying that I was setting up a paid option (with the income to go to charity) but that I would give free subscribers everything that the paid subscribers get. Yet I immediately had about 16 unsubscribes! What is going on? Are they just anti-paying in principle? Do they feel badly about not wanting to pay and then unsubscribe to avoid feeling bad? Do they think it is the thin end of the wedge? I was flabbergasted (sp?) and rather disappointed.
So sorry to hear that Ann. It's probably all of the above. I started with paid immediately so I don't have any personal insight into this but my experience from 20+ years of writing is ... do what feels most right and aligned with you and don't worry about any of that too much. The people meant to be reading your work will be there.
You're probably right. It's just that everyone can see everything, so why unsubscribe? And it's not as if I am taking any income myself - it's all going to a good cause. My father used to say 'People will do what people will do' and it has a meaning in a strange sort of way.
My background is in psychology which is all about figuring people out and mostly I’ve discovered that you usually can’t figure people out.
Love it. Perhaps you should tell people who seek your advice that "people will do what people will do'!
Let them go. If that that offended that you want to be paid for your work (and you're not even insisting that they have to pay), then you don't need them. The people who love you will always stick around.
The more subscribers you get, the more people will unsubscribe whenever you send a new post. It's totally normal, people are easy to subscribe, but also easy to unsubscribe if you wind up not being the kind of thing they are looking for. I probably lose 20-50 subscribers every time I publish, but gain much more than that. It's just part of it!
Some people dont wanna pay for everything 🙂
Whenever I've tried to make sense of unsubscribes, I’ve failed. Your dad's adage, “People will do what people will do,” is correct. I’ve found that if I write something out-of-the-norm, even if it’s good, I get more unsubscribes. My answer is to turn off notifications! It’s better that way.
✏️ Those of you doing audio voiceovers, would you mind sharing a bit about the soft- or hardware you use? I'm about as low tech as it comes right now (mic'ed earbuds recording w/ the Substack audio software) but I might want to consider upping my game. Sound quality matters, but so does affordability. Thanks!
I use the record button on Substack and my own computer audio. I'm low tech. Can't afford anything else at moment. It's worked well and I've gotten good feedback on providing audio voiceovers.
Thanks, Kim. Low tech isn't a bad thing, and affordability is a very good thing!
Exactly!
You dont need more than a mic from earbuds to record. If people can hear you on the other side during a phone call then you all set.
But if you want to up your game in the future. There is very cheap and good mics out there. You can also buy a cheap gaming headset.
For recording audio. If you are a mac user you can use Garageband. Other wise you can find free stuff out there. DaVinci Resolve is free editing software. Learning curve but its free for both video and audio.
Thanks, Jezz. This is helpful!
I just do videos. I'm really Low-tech. Just turn on the video link and start reading. I don't really think there's a need for all that hi-tech stuff--unless you want music. But then, I'd just turn the radio on in another room and let it play. Problem solved! And...it doesn't cost a dime!
Thanks, Ben. No music (so far), but the idea of letting music play from a radio in the next room makes me smile.
I was getting good results and was pleased with Speechify and haven't tried to use through Substack, but would probably try now as no cost. Now I have been using Descript to record myself and video or do interviews at same time. A bit of a challenge but great fun.
Thanks, Ron. Appreciate learning about both resources!
I use my phone to record in VoiceMemos, have a lower end mic with stand and pop filter, an audio interface which connects my phone, then I record. The audio turns out very good. I use my couch cushions to screen out background noises and upload the audio to GarageBand for editing and mixing if needed. Nothing really expensive.
I have details on my recording process here:
https://theflare.substack.com/p/putting-it-all-together
Thanks so much, Katie! Will definitely review this.
✏️My open rate seems to be at a plateau, despite new daily subscribers. Numbers are great but it is always in the same range, depending on the week. Interested to see what other writers have done to increase their open rates.
Open rate? It will probably be the same, or lower slightly as you get more subscribers. What matters is the number of opens you get. Are your overall weekly opens increasing? HEre is my guide to getting noticed on Substack, which goes into getting more noticed. https://www.theauthorstack.com/p/how-to-get-noticed-on-substack
They are in the same range. Some weeks it is higher, other weeks it is lower. I have a large following so it isn't a matter of getting noticed but rather making sure the readers I have are engaged.
I look at my open rates differently. I ignore the number of emails sent out. I look at the number of "total views"...say 123, and then the "opens"...say 89, which gives an open rate of 72%. Wayyy better for the ol' ego!
72% is fantastic.
It's better to look at numbers the way they"really" are. If you have 300-400 subscribers and only 150 look at a post when it comes in (rather than deleting it), having a shitload of them actually reading it, gives you the warm fuzzy feeling we're all looking for!
I hover at around 43%. Hubby says that’s amazing— he comes from the gaming world. Hehehe.
It IS amazing! My "daily open rate" is around 30%.
Me too — I’d be interested in learning more. In addition to changing up titles and reaching out to folks who aren’t opening, what else have folks tried?
apparently the more subscribers we gain, the less the open rate %. It happened to me as well and someone mentioned this exact point last week.
🟧 I know I’m late but please please please: use of tabs/indents, as well as alignment changes (centring, left/right). Myself and I’m sure many other poets on here would be oh so very grateful
People have been saying this probably since Office Hours started.
I am one of them, I try to bring it up any time I can in the hopes it will happen
Keep banging on the drum. 🥁
I second this! It's so weird to not be able to center text.
I was surprised that everything kept left aligning when I first started posting my fiction a few months ago. But I've got used to it now. I can see how not having full control of the formatting would be a big issue for poetry, though. I definitely think being able to centre things, in particular, would be very useful... 😎
I think if I didn’t share poetry I wouldn’t care nearly as much — I’m used to it in all my essay pieces. But ahh I just want to use my tabs haha
Wow, how do you even get started? I am interested in writing a blog about life after 60, friendships, health, and humor and don’t even know where to start. Blogging for Dummies? ✏️
There are a number of substacks on these topics, so there is definitely community here! Writing a post is easy.... You already have your substack placeholder there. You can customize things via the settings and make a new post that you can send to subscribers (and it also then posts to your substack feed). Get started guide: https://on.substack.com/p/start-basics
I am over 80 and write a lot for older people, but find some things I write about are for everyone, whatever their age. I say I write on anything from Annuciations (paintings) to orgasms. All human life is there and all that. Just write what you want to and see what happens.
It's not hard. Just jump in and write for yourself. Don't think about trying to reach an audience, they'll come eventually. Put yourself up here, and on NOTES, post it on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, all of the other things available, and don't sweat the small stuff. If you're lucky enough to be retired, you'll have the time to make this what you want it to be. Take a look at my 'Stack. Just remember to be consistent. Publish once a week, even twice if you want. Make comments on other peoples' posts so they see your name. That's how you get followers. And don't worry over the numbers.
Maybe follow Barbara Emodi and reach out to her for tips? She's got a Substack skewed toward more mature readers... https://barbaraemodi.substack.com/
Hey, some questions about design:
🟧 Is there a plan to give the option of placing images alongside text, and not only in different lines?
🟧 will it be possible to use my own fonts someday?
🟧 Align text to center, will it be enabled?
🟧 Writing Right-To-Left is kind of messed up right now. Is there a plan to fix it in the future? (There are some weird languages that write this way 🙃).
Great questions and I’m curious about the picture question too
✏️ In the new year I'd like to start contributing to other publications if anyone is looking for guest writers! I could contribute humorous stories in the following genres: Parenting, Dating, Travel, Dogs, other general humor.
Reach out via email if you're looking to expand your reach and bring in some guest posts. In my experience, cross-promotion works wonderfully for both publications when we invite new people in.
Sounds great Kristi. I'll get in touch. lets do a guest post or re-stack.
Shoot me an email at your leisure. I'm not doing anything until the new year now so we have time to discuss 😊
🧠 ✏️ INTERVIEW INVITATION ... Share your responses in words or images!
I write about the complex relationship between art and mental health (both terms used very broadly) with particular interest in the complexities and shadows of how mental health symptoms may affect creative process, content, medium, productivity, identity and more.
I invite artists, writers, mental health professionals, really anyone to answer interview questions. Earlier this year, I launched "visual interviews" for people who think better in images than in words. Of course, I still offer written interviews as well. If you want a feature in this way, start by filling out the Google Form with your responses, and then I'll be in touch with a draft when one is ready.
You can answer a visual interview here: https://forms.gle/ispbEcFQN1kjc9iV8
Or a written one here: https://forms.gle/7PzzK93xK7Pmq2EL8
So cool! I’m making comics on substack abt shame.
You'd be great on @Kathryn's feed! She posted my Graphic Novel interview last week, from "Meet Your Monkeys: Make Friends with the Meanies and Imps that Rule your Mind”
🧠 - if you are afraid to go paid, just do it while keeping everything free. You’ll be surprised that people will voluntarily want to support your work even though they obtain no advantage over free subscribers. I speak from experience as I just made paid an option a couple of weeks ago. I haven’t even told subscribers in any meaningful way.
Thanks Armen, maybe I will just start and put up a paywall this way.
✏️Is it just me, or are links embedded in text impossible to see with the naked eye? My Substack style features links prominently – I like them as a shiny new 21st century improvement on footnotes. When I began my Substack 2 years ago, the links were in a color that was easy to see (light green, maybe?) if not aesthetically brilliant. But in the past several months I see that the linked words are in dark blue and – to me, at least – impossible to distinguish from black text without a magnifying glass. So two questions: 1. Is this something I have control over, and if I do, then how? 2. Is this something incorporated into Substack’s overall design scheme, and if so, would you consider changing it?
Hi Don. You can change this at Settings > Website, “Enable colored links.” I also bold my links so it’s easier for readers to see them.
I wish we had the option for underlined AND our site color. The combination immediately registers "link" while still giving the customized feel of our site theme. Like you, I also bold most of my links to make them stand out, but from a UI perspective, I do wish they were underlined for a cleaner UI for those who want that.
Check an article of yours - toggled a behind the scenes toggle for you, so now they're underlined and colored :)
That is fantastic! That's awesome, Ben. Thanks for noticing this comment AND for the backend toggle. This makes a huge UI difference (to me)!
No problem! Thanks for being in this thread and answering a bunch of writer questions.
I love office hours and helping reply to (front-end) tech questions. Thanks!
Thanks you!
Yup -- the bolded underlined link is the most visible, IMO.
You can toggle to underlined links in Settings>Website - it might not be as elegant as a clear color option, but it is easier to see. :)
Thank you!
🟧Sorry, wrong emoji for above. It's really for Substack staff.
The answers above from the "regular people" seem substantive enough (emoji selection notwithstanding), and seem to be adequate enough to answer your question....but, I'm not a suit, so..................
Hey Brad! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Hi Ben.....Thanks, and, I'll echo the same in your direction! Merry Christmas!
No, you're right. Thanks!
I do what I can, Don! Thank you! Now, I'm off to go buy a tie!!👔😉
I don't have any strategy, advice, or question to pose. All I want to say is THANK YOU to Substack for the awesome opportunity it provides us writers!
And, because of the great advice today on the On Substack page--namely to ask your readers to gift paid subscriptions for Christmas, as well as to start a video podcast in 2024--I've made plans to do both! Very exciting!
🧠I have nothing against ambitious writers seeking to make a living from their pen, but I believe that happiness on Substack is grounded in making the best content you can and sharing it as widely as you can, and then engaging with as many (relevant to you) posters as you can. Stumbling on a truly amazing, thoughtful essay along the way is icing on the cake. Allow yourself NOT to follow the numbers; follow the ideas, instead (yours and others').
Thank you Amy. Good advice for me!
🟧 Boy, when I subscribe to someone, there are about 5 or more clicks to skip to get to the articles. It seems like overkill to me...
This! It's annoying, and the first time I wound up with 4 extra subscriptions. I *think* there's a setting in Dashboard to opt out of some of it, but not all of it.
Should be an opt-in kind of selector...¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I have written a book that is almost completed about how my family helped a family member overcome a rare and devastating disease. Not sure how to proceed with it on substack. It currently contains a lot of personal family information but I hope the information will help others suffering from a rare disease.
Susan, one approach would be to launch with paid straight away and use it to create a safe space to share more personal information. I struggled with this early on as I write about detoxing from diet culture after having two family members suffer from eating disorders. My approach was to concentrate on my experience, but that might not work in your cause. You might also find some ideas from "The Art of Memoir" by Mary Karr.
Thank you. This is very helpful. I am tending towards this approach as it may help to have only serious readers about the topic. Thanks for the pointer to Mary Karr.
🧠 - I created a free, no opt-in 55,000 word guide from beginner to expert Substacker to help you on your journey. https://www.theauthorstack.com/p/substackgrowth
✏️ In the new year, I'm launching a series called "A Call to Eudiamonia." My vision is to redefine modern day human flourishing. I'd love to collab with other writers and support those who are writing about collective flourishing – if you write about flourishing, drop your Substack below or let me know if you're interested in collabing :)
More here: https://www.moremyself.xyz/p/glow-up
"We’ve been contemplating the pursuit of a life well lived since the dawn of time. It is my belief that every single human on this earth deserves to experience a life well lived, whatever that means for them. It’s time to redefine modern day human flourishing."
I tend to overcommit so no collab now but I’d love to follow along and see where it goes.
Omg I love this so much. I am SO INTERESTED in human flourishing! (And eudiamonia in general)
Elle! I've been SO inspired by all your work with The Elysian – going to shoot you an email :)
Love all you do, apparently :) I replied to your earlier roundup note, about Flourishing Fridays, when I post mini-meditation tools from my HeartsQuest deck. Thank you 🙏🏼
Curious what people’s view of holiday posting is. I was having this conversation elsewhere and some people believe that they get less engagement at the time.
When I’ve done posting during the holidays, my engagement has been mostly the same. But I have found that it’s better for me to prioritize rest during this time!
At a prior Office Hours, I heard from some folks that their engagement actually increases over the holidays as a result of people catching up & having more time during the holidays
See thread: https://on.substack.com/p/office-hours-94/comment/44534741?utm_campaign=comment&utm_medium=email&utm_source=substack&utm_content=comment
Personally, I haven't been reading posts that are screaming holiday or doing something particular in that period. Instead, I have kept with newsletters that did what they usually did. Too much holiday offering kill the holiday mood, especially as we are spending time with our families.
Yup. You'll get less engagement and less new readers. That's why many people use this period to take some time off. But it's also an opportunity to provide your readers with content when they are less busy and a more engaged reader.
🧠And, for those who are taking the next two weeks "off" to one degree or the other, a reminder that cross-posting others' articles you think your subbies might enjoy keeps them engaged to your site, as well as tub-thumping other writers' work....never a bad thing! Cross-posting......it's not just for breakfast anymore!
And Recommending, as well!
Yes, most definitely, Ben!
Monday is my usual posting day. I’ve moved a chewy, interesting research piece earlier (tomorrow) and have about a 2-minute post that feels great to read for Christmas afternoon. I’m adjusting to what I myself would want to read and when. I trust some ppl will be busy, but others will welcome a well-written post.
I've decided to leave my longer, chewier piece I was going to publish today and bump up my 2-minutes post for the afternoon Christmas read (or listen) up to today instead. I want to take a break and start making sourdough recipes from Chapin and catch up on having no type of schedule or responsibilities. In other words, starting my Christmas now! :)
Yes! Happy holiday! Between us, we'll fill 4 whole minutes of Christmas Day. :-)
I like holiday posts and am appreciative when it’s short. Regarding readers I’m forgiving of open rates. It’s a busy time of year.
You can always "listen" to me Sundays nights! https://open.substack.com/pub/benwoestenburg/p/the-dawn-patrol?r=254e8w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I’ve decided to enjoy some rest. The structure of my newsletter--a deeply researched comic that I share bits of in process--means I need to honor rest to recharge creativity.
I'm taking a December break. I think you're right that there's less reading going on with holidays, family, etc. happening. Last year, I took part of December off, also. Good for my mental.
I am done for the year.
I'm not packing it in until the wife has time off from work. What else would I do? I've had to give up most of my vices!
With the potential for distracted readers, I postponed a deeper dive series til January. I also changed a topic to a Holiday focus (cause it reflected my very real Holiday Monkeys!) It's all exploration. Thanks for the Q
i need help setting up my template. i had a pro set up my mailchimp one from which i’m trying to migrate. suggestions?
🟧 When will we get Markdown support?!
I would be interested in Substack providing this functionality for writers, I believe there is value to add this option.
It should be. Its a big deal for writers.
✏️📙 Any advice for a newbie on substack
Anyone know any writer on substack whose niches are on these: Productivity, Self development and business
Hi Abdulrahman. Here you go...https://pau1.substack.com/p/start
Good luck!
Thank You so much for this.
✏️ I've been doing some investigative journalism about farming and Bill Gates buying agricultural land in my hometown in contravention of the state's anti-corporate farming act. As in the 90s, when I did this kind of journalism, it has taken months. I'm going to publish before the new year. In the meanwhile, my posts have been few--as I'm not a fast writer and this kind of journalism takes time. I really believe that. Does anyone have any ideas about tactics for "filler" content when I'm working on a big story. I don't like to publish anything except what's purposeful and excellent, and I rarely jump on the latest news flash or trending topics, instead preferring to pursue areas that I'm interested in. I do post collections of my father's nature photography, which keeps me going. And I post fantastically controversial meme collections that I scrub from the internet. I also do fiction, but don't have time for that kind of intensive writing at the moment. Thanks for any ideas.
I wrote about some things you can do here. https://www.theauthorstack.com/p/growth-or-something-like-it
Repurposing previously written articles - You can either do a "season of reruns" or a "season of updates" where you take your old posts and either beef them up with new information, or you comment on them with how things have changed in some way. Mike Sowden does this with Everything Is Amazing. Between seasons he will rereleases episodes from his archive, which I think is really smart.
Repurposing things you said on social media - Kathryn Vercillo blew my mind when she tagged me on a “Things I Said in Substack Notes This Week and Have More To Say About” post. This is an ingenious way to repurpose work you have already done.
Voicemails - Either record voicemails for your subscribers or get voicemails from them and do a roundup of them. Meg Conley does this on her Homeculture publication.
Best of lists - This can be compiled by somebody else, like a VA or even AI, if you give them the format. You can also just pull a bunch of quotes about a subject and line them up together, as well. Resilience, Courage, Love, whatever you want. This is also a great way to build SEO with your target audience.
Q and A - If you do take voicemails, you can use them as a Q and A segment where the audience is making most of the content except for your answer. Tara McMullin does this weekly on her Substack.
Hire a "monthly intern" or "guest editor" - Rusty Foster from Today in Tabs has a monthly intern they bring in to write articles.
Asynchronous interviews - Lots of people do asynchronous interviews, where you send a series of similar questions to people and then post their responses. Scott Neumyer does them. Gareth L. Powell does them. Jane Ratcliffe does them. Sari Botton does them.
Cross-posting - One of the easiest things you can do is to cross-post interesting articles to your audience from other Substacks. This takes almost no time, and is criminally underused. It’s a great way to beef up your publication while also promoting other people. I will usually only cross-post work that I've written, but I have been cross-posted before and it's great.
Guest posting - This takes longer if you’re the one writing it, but it’s an amazing way to get more content, especially if you have a publication with some traction.
Those are brilliant, Russell, thank you for sharing.
Good advice again, as usual Russel!
Thank you so much, Russell. These are great ideas! OMG. I'm going to cut and paste your thoughts into a working document. I really appreciate your help! Thank you thank you thank you.
This sounds similar to what I do--I create research-based comics--which take time--because reading and digesting research takes time. What I do is post process posts in which I discuss the process of research and making. I also
Thank you so much, Cara. A process post sounds interesting. I don't know what tools could be used to create comics--that's not my talent but I'd be interest in learning. Much gratitude!
If you like fiction, maybe CROSS-POST some fiction writers that you like and that way help them out as well? Send out RECOMMENDATIONS to 'Stacks you support. You can start with me if you want! 🤣
Thanks for the ideas! I'll subscribe to your work right now and check it out. You have gratitude for weighing in!
I break my long, in-depth posts into a series. For example, I used to write one 4,000 word piece. Now I break it into four, 1000-word pieces. I have the time to really dig deep into a story without having a month between posts.
That's a great idea, and I have used that one time for an eight-part series. In this case, I would be able to maximally do a two-part series. But in my heart, I know it's one long piece, and people will read to the end. It's a big story. Thanks for sharing. Ima check out your work!
🟧 - Silly technical question for the team. How do I change the name on the sender for my emails? Currently it lists as "Ed Substack" which obviously isn't ideal. I've been looking thru the settings but don't see where to change that.
Hey E.R. — that’s at Settings > Publication Details, "Email sender name."
Funny thing. I have it set properly there (Escape from Clowntown | Comics of E.R. Flynn) but it doesn't show in the email browser. I'm thinking maybe it has something to do with the email browser itself. Looking at the raw headers now. Yep. As I thought. It was MacMail not Substack causing the issue.
Sorry can't do the square emoji. Cut and paste isn't working.
Is there a way to takedown your paywall on a certain number of posts for a certain period of time to allow browsing?
🧠Shane, as for making an "automatic" paywall setting, IDK. I just go and choose this one or that one to paywall, make free, etc. I try to make it "dynamic," mainly because I routinely link various articles in other articles, and don't want to offer a link and seem like I'm forcing folks to pay to read what I just linked! Poor form, I've discovered.
For my recent break-out "Tune Tag"s, I've made the bold decision to put the majority of them behind a paywall, because that franchise seems to be growing in popularity. What's Tune Tag? Glad you asked! There's a small handful of freebies! Enjoy! https://bradkyle.substack.com/t/tune-tag
There isn't a way to drop a paywall for a certain amount of time, but we do have the ability to have all your paywalled posts drop their paywall a certain amount of time after you publish them. For example, many writers keep their paywall up for the first month after posting, and then have all posts unlock after that month.
What I wanted was to offer browsing rights for a short period to tempt people. I'll try comping for a week instead for a select few. Thank you.
Yeah, that's a good way around this. I think that's a useful feature for us to have and have passed it along to the relevant folks as a suggestion. Thanks!
🟧 Here ya go. Orange square.
I think you have to do this manually but I’ll let the experts answer. Did you try googling for the answer?
Thank you. Phone or fat finger malfunction. I have indeed tried googling, and I've worked my way through the settings menu, and can't spot a solution at all.
Substack can definitely improve the interface. There are two different places with a Setting link and they take you to different areas. Confusing.
✏️If I'm ending a newsletter/section and starting a new one at the beginning of the year, should I make an official announcement to say that or just start it up and go ahead with it? I had a standard Friday column/feature but I'm replacing it with something new and wasn't sure which way to go, y'see.
You should announce it or your readers will get confused. They might stick with you if they like what they read, or they might drop you. Why take the chance?
I would announce it.
Definitely announce it. It’s good for readers to know what to expect.
🧠You'll make your current subbies feel special for having thought of them, and you might even consider offering a special paid deal to them for the new 'Letter, 'cause they've been so faithful to you in the past! "Flies with honey," and all that! Good luck, Michael!
I have 2 separate newsletters and I would like to offer a discounted rate for readers who subscribe to both of my publications. Is there a way to do this?
Do you know if Substack has any plans to allow readers to post photos in their comments? I know that they can provide links to images on other sites, but they are not able to add a photo that appears directly in their comments. That ability would be very helpful.
🧠 Hey y'all,
Marissa here, writing from my home in Texas to share some advice to my fellow writers. I have been on Substack for almost two years, with very little growth. I haven't stopped writing, and neither should you. Please ignore the numbers as much as you can, enjoy the writing, create value from your own unique perspective. Not every hobby you have needs to turn into a money making machine. You can have hobbies that you just enjoy, for the sake of enjoyment itself.
Blessings and Merry Christmas from Texas.
You're absolutely right. You should always be writing for yourself and for your own enjoyment in the first instance, anyway, and putting the best of your knowledge and what you know about the world into it - and if that ends up resonating with other people and they find some enjoyment in it, too, that's a bonus. I definitely agree that wanting money or wanting success should never be a reason to write. The only reason to write is because you love writing and you love stories. Merry Christmas to you as well... 😎
✏️ I feel like I’m not the only one, but what do you do when you feel like you’ve poured yourself into a piece of writing, you feel it’s a home run, but there isn’t really any feedback. As a Substack baby, I would love to know how you pick yourself up and just move forward.
It’s unfortunate when that happens but you just have to keep going. The same thing has happened to me.
Nice to know I'm not the only one!
It's a tricky one, for sure. The fact that people don't comment or click like or whatever, doesn't necessarily mean they didn't enjoy it - some people just don't engage with content in those ways, they prefer to just read. Years ago, before the Internet existed, you would just buy books and there was no way to click like or to comment, but by buying it you had already shown your support to the author. I think you really have to look at this the same way. If people are viewing your content, and they're coming back to view more content, that is them showing support and that is positive feedback. Hope that helps... 😎
Awww that is a lovely why to view it! I love the link back to books. Thank you so much! I want to have a healthy relationship with Substack, so I will definitely keep this in mind as I stretch my wings here.
D'oh! I forgot. I did an interview with WINSTONE MALONE from THE LIBRARY. I was the 100th posting on THE LIBRARY, and he decided (well, him and Jackie) that they would do an interview and ask me about the thought process behind my story: NO SIMPLE REMEDY. It comes out tomorrow! I'm excited about it! Nobody ever asked me what my thought process was before. Some of the answers might surprise you. I hope you'll read it!
I'll keep an eye out for it. The Library seems like a fantastic resource. I didn't even know about it until you mentioned it during the last Office Hours. I might try and get involved myself with a posting or two. Maybe I can be the 200th... 😎
🧠✏️ Since this is the end of the year, and I'm reticent about self-promoting, I'm going to self-promote! I write about current events, politics, Scientology and design from a progressive POV, and create the graphics. (I even critique my own industry!) If that interests you, hop on! Here's my latest no-holds-barred critique on the Pantone Color of the Year. TY!
https://open.substack.com/pub/theindiaink/p/pantones-pushing-its-color-of-the?r=2bytzz&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Please respond to Substackers Against Nazis
🟧 I would love it if there were an easier way to change the dates on scheduled posts. Right now you have to go into your list of posts, click on the one you want to change, which then opens the post editor. Then you have to click Continue, then click Unschedule Send, which then sends you back to the editor where you have to click Continue again, set the parameters of the post, then set the date. Seems like a lot of steps.