If you want to grow, publishing consistently matters. But, that doesn’t mean that every week you have to write a showstopping, long form essay. Substack is a place for so much more with community tools, podcasts, audio embeds, and video in addition to text-based posts.
Writers and creators have imagined a number of formats that are lighter lift, engaging, and provide value to their subscribers. Here are some inspiring formats we’ve seen lately:
sends out five photos from photographers he admires.
What formats have you experimented with on Substack? What’s worked and what hasn’t? Share a link to your post—or one from a writer you admire—and walk us through your strategy, plus how your subscribers responded.
I started my Substack using a curation style, sharing links in detailed bullets. Slowly I started adding commentary and news oriented stories. As I’ve home the main topic of my newsletter, I’m now using a mixed format, part creation, part curation, and I’ve found some success with that.
I think now I need to hone the topic a bit more in order to provide a guarantee to my readers that they know what to expect from each edition.
My newsletter is part art and part curation. I love a good link round up. Over time I realized that my readers seem to prefer everything in separate posts, so while I was publishing 1x/wk with an essay, a journal prompts, links and book reviews. I think I'm going to move the links and books to it's own post and publish 2x/wk. I agree that honing in on a topic is what readers want. Good luck!
You may see a dip in readership, so pay attention to engagement. If that drops too, you may want to make a choice if powering through, or reconfiguring again.
I'm currently having the same thoughts: how to manage the expectations of my readers. I write climate fiction so I'm thinking about articles diving a bit more into the the topic. But all that I come up with requires a lot of research and is time consuming to write. So I usually just concentrate on writing my fiction which is already time consuming enough.
whoah your newsletter focus is so great. I used to work at a climate justice nonprofit and love Grist's climate fiction writing competition they have. Your newsletter kind of reminds me of that
🤣 I completely understand you. I would feel naked. Though I subscribed to the YouTube channel of a couple of introverts and I really like to hear their perspective on life. But one of my favourite formats are the ones where the videos don't feature the author. Japanese YouTubers tend to do this a lot. Their videos are engrossing and they look more like little documentaries.
1) Principles - free form learnings on the future of careers.
2) Discussions - co-written pieces on future of work or self-mastery
3) Diaries - monthly reflections on everything I've learnt in my own career
I always add in a mid-journey image or two as well and am starting to get closer to an art style for the publication. Have seen a big up-tick in subs (+37 in the last month to 616 total free), which I think is driven a lot by co-written pieces, recommendations and posting on Linkedin!
This seems like a great way to structure the different type of posts you provide Charlie. Do you send a principle type newsletter weekly and the discussion ones randomly or is it timed specifically?
Good question Donna! I rotate the 3 types over 4 weeks, so have Principles, Discussions, Principles, Diaires. It's a nice ryhtm that keeps things interesting for me to write and for readers too!
On Cosmographia I write the Moleskine Notebooks every week where I explore a particular place by looking at it through a painting, poem, an old map, a literature excerpt, and photography.
Simple 5 section format but allows for such a wide variety of stories
It's amazing how we all manage to produce such varied publications, and how much we can learn from our fellow Substackers... there's been some great ideas on here tonight!
I once needed a break from writing, but I didn’t want to skip a week, so I ended up posting a list of things I decluttered off my piano. 😂 It was a surprisingly big hit, and it taught me that I don’t always have to take myself so seriously.
I am so intrigued by your piano decluttering post, I'm adding it to my reading list. It's very interesting how others react when we let ourselves free and are not so precious about our writing.
Jen, this is SO good! I love that you took these mundane things and posted them and your readers (and I) loved it. Thanks for sharing these great ideas.
That's such a good reminder. I've been trying to not put so much pressure on myself or force myself to write if I can't think of anything "worth" writing about, but maybe I just have to be ok with writing something quick and low stakes that can still resonate with people
I switch between bi-weekly essays and then every four or five posts or so do a 'Neurodivergent Recommendations' post for books or podcasts because it's so hard to find good writing/podcasts, among all the autistic misinformation and hysteria out there. It's been good to mix it up so far! https://autcasts.substack.com/p/autcasts-recommends-neurodivergent
You're so right about the recommendations. I read an article about the role of book stores in curating books for their readers. I used to go into book shops and just pick a book that caught my interest and like this I discovered really great writers and novels. Today, I like to get my reading tips from online recommendations. It's hard to find something worthwhile by swimming the ocean without any direction.
A while back I made a post that was almost entirely pictures—a set of AI-generated visuals to correspond with the lyrics to Radiohead's song "Fitter Happier." I got a lot of compliments about it from readers; maybe one day I will try it again! https://www.ruins.blog/p/fitter-happier-illustrated
That's excellent, Terry. I've been thinking of making a graphic novel out of a screenplay I did some years ago, but I have to figure out how to do it before I can start.
It's the execution part. It's already written, so just figuring out how it should look--Black and White? Realism? Stick people? But I do like a challenge, which is why I wrote a screenplay in the first place.
I'm an avid reader of graphic novels, so I've come across the whole range of types of art. If I may throw my thoughts into the mix, I think the best art kind is what fits the story and what's within your capability.
I totally agree with that. I don't have all the tools to hand draw it, or else I would, or at least give it a shot. I haven't drawn in years, but I used to be pretty good at it. I just have to find the right software I suppose.
I love these examples! Hosting other writers for simple interviews has worked really well for me (and I hope for them). People love to meet a new face. Examples: https://valorieclark.substack.com/s/interviews
I also send out a weekly round-up of historical news stories with very short summaries about what the news story is about. These never go behind a paywall, but my last few paid subscribers have converted from one of these posts! https://unrulyfigures.substack.com/p/unruly-history-in-the-news-30
This sounds fantastic Valorie. You're offering a variety of different options for your readers. I'm going to think about how I can format it differently to offer something new and fresh (not that my stuff is 'old' as I've only been at it a few months!)
This allows me to prepare and schedule content in advance so I have time to focus on marketing and premium content.
My plan for paid subscribers is to offer weekly premium post (e.g. case study with deep insights) and a monthly live webinar. I plan to record the webinar and share later as an embedded video in another post.
This is very useful — I've also done Q&A's and have found them to be successful if the interviewee is willing to share and promote the post too on their channels.
@sarahfay @writersatwork was helpful in creating a line up of posts that help with time constraints. My stack is slowly changing over so I will have more time to write and serialize my novel.
I currently do a mix of audio posts and long form writing. My Substack explores archetypal studies, inner work, and Jungian/depth psychology. I'm looking for ideas from the community of how to get creative with these 2 formats.
Here's what I do currently:
* Audio - Read a passage from a book and discuss it, live reflections and interpretations of dreams and their symbols, live tarot readings, interview another creator (this is new, but I hope to do it more)
* Writing - These tend to fall into two styles, guides/how-to's (working with the shadow or developing a dreamwork practice) or personal reflections woven with educational insights.
Would love to hear how others are continuing to explore new ways of creating content.
I like this idea to read a passage! I've been thinking a lot that poetry is best heard, not read, so I would love to see someone reading poetry on their 'stack and discussing it!
You're already much more experimental than many writers here on Substack including myself. 😅 One of my secret desires is to one day produce a fiction podcast with my short stories. I think that it could attract a different type of audience. Sometimes it's nice to do something in the house, or drive and listen to a story.
I write a food newsletter that is mainly memoir focussed but includes recipes I've developed. Recently I made my first video recipe. It got a great response because (I think) I tried to keep the same humour and feel as my written work. https://www.recoveringlinecook.com/p/a-recipe-for-pineapple-weed-meringue
Great fun. Mainly because I didn't worry about being professional, just myself. Humour is important to my work. Making the video made me laugh. I just hoped it made others laugh as well.
This sounds like a great experience, especially if you enjoy being in front of the camera and are as spontaneous with your humour as in your writing. I watch YouTube a lot, video is such a good way of connecting with your community. Cool stuff!
I’m a fairly new publisher on Substack and I love these suggestions for “lightening the lift” of regular publishing — especially during these summer months when I really need a break. By the time I finished reading these great comments, I’d drafted a link round up of what to read if you’re interested in old age and aging - ! Curated from my perspective of somewhere BETWEEN rah rah we can stop aging with miracle powders & supplements (er, no we can’t ) and the positive things that old age brings (perspective, wisdom, emotional stability). Stay tuned and thank you.
I write The Granny Who Stands on her Head (which is the title of my most recent book, sub-titled Reflections on Growing Older. I am 81 and I do write about being old, but not exclusively so - my most recent post was on wondering what was the right thing to do when a fledgling gull was stranded in my garden. The newsletter is fortnightly expressly so it doesn't become a burden to people who read it regularly.
I a lot about life in the middle, as in not young and not old. I explore things from the perspective of our overall well-being, spirituality, and how to live vibrantly as we move through our years. I just subscribed to you and look forward to diving into your writing Debbie. If you're ever interested in a collaboration please let me know as our readers might be interested in the same type of thing.
I think that what works on Substack very much depends on the TYPE of site. My Slouching Towards Bethlehem https://grahamcunningham.substack.com/ would not suit posting too often. I post always very readable (and illustrated) essays of reflections on the political Zeitgeist of the 21st century West. The kind of people who gravitate to my site would not want to be bombarded on a daily basis. I do understand however that for other types of subject matter, what works best may be very different. Substack is a fantastic platform but I don't think it yet pays enough attention to how different Substacks have different needs.
Totally agree with you on that. The type of 'Stack you have determines the following. Pop Culture is a big draw, and so is politics. I write fiction, and I think the only way to bring in readers is to be consistent with your posts. You have to tell yourself they'll come for the quality, not the quantity.
I set up a Milestones page for us to celebrate our creative achievements and cheer each other on. ✨ I love shouting them out at drawing sessions. It’s so inspiring to see all the amazing work being done everyday in the community!
Some formats I really admire are M.E. Rothwell's Cosmographia (https://www.merothwell.com/) and Amy Hoppock's Smaller and Deeper (https://amyhoppock.substack.com/), both of which have amassed solid archives of content following a format that suits their theme.
Embedded voiceovers from Sherman Alexie and James Don BlueWolf have inspired me to try reading some of my posts aloud, so that's on my agenda in the next month or so.
S.E. Reid of Talebones gave me the format to use for a friendly contest, with folks posting links to their pages in the comments of the contest page.
For a crowd-sourced monthly digest of enchanting Substacks, I ask people to tag me in a Note when they read anything enchanting on Substack. I include links to the nominators as well as the nominees. Hopefully, this adds visibility and community for lots of small Substacks. The second "Enchanted Forest" monthly digest is due to post Saturday. It includes posts I never would have known about except for the crowd-sourced feature, so that's working well. The first issue is here: https://open.substack.com/pub/enchantedinamerica/p/introducing-the-enchanted-forest?r=1mk0zn&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
While I typically end up with personal essay style posts, a couple of weeks ago I did a list of "Songs that make me cry" after finding myself near tears in the car with the kids while listening to a beloved singer/songwriter from my childhood: https://pronetohyperbole.substack.com/p/songs-that-make-me-cry
I haven’t posted it yet but part of my theme is “introvert's outreach.” I suspect as writers here most of us can relate to this as exactly what we’re doing on this platform. A short, easy, and community-connective post I’m working on is a set of 10 “introvert questions for creatives”. I would love to hear from other introverts who might want to answer the questions in a guest post. I’ll do this monthly or more if it becomes compelling to people. Hit me up if this sounds relevant/fun to you! Thanks!
Hello, Substackers. I'm looking for feedback on an idea I'm calling the "Writer's Room." The idea is that I would let the subscribers into early drafts of my posts as beta readers, commenters, and since mine is a humor publication, givers of feedback on whether the jokes are landing or not.
Has anyone tried something like this before? If so, how did you solicit comments on your posts? Was it necessary to go off-site, say with a link to Google Docs, or could this be accomplished within Substack?
Interesting concept. I thought about doing something called "Notes App" where I post the little phrases and scratch notes that become my longer essays. But you know, limited on time.
I've personally found that whenever I link out to another site (YouTube, my music links, etc), fewer people click than you'd expect. I think you're always better keeping people on platform if that's an option.
When I become famous and have 50,000 subscribers, I'll do podcasts and all sorts of fun things...for now, I slog onwards with short-form essays twice a week on evergreen topics...because my peeps want this...I serve my peeps...I need raving fans for my book launch...I am not Robert Reich and that is OK...
Emily Atkins from Heated does a similar thing. She writes about climate and the topics are sometimes quite bleak but at the end of the newsletter you will find a pet photo from one of her subscribers and it lightens a bit the mood. It's a beautiful touch. Here's an example: https://heated.world/p/the-iowa-meteorologist-who-quit-after
What a delightful example! I thought of the idea from doing rides on the Peloton. The shoutouts always make me happy and motivate me. 😬 Thanks for sharing!
You're welcome! And yes, any kind of feedback is motivating, that's one of the main reasons why starting a Substack finally helped write my stories. It's good to have some company and encouragement from other goes a long way.
All these ideas sound so cool, but I'm occupied enough with writing every week and then remembering to put in page breaks and things. I'm older than a lot of you and I know that's no excuse, but I just wouldn't know where to start with most of this stuff. 😵💫
Yes, this is a topic that sparked a discussion on Notes as well some time ago: what extras to offer when going paid. Some writers think that no extras are needed, some think the contrary. I initially sided with the first group, but after quietly turning on my paid subscription for 48h I decided to turn it off again and come up with a plan.
Oh I love seeing these ideas! I played with the idea of a monthly reflection that goes along with my Friday Reflections, but I didn't think about doing it in another format that wasn't just writing!
Thinking video, or maybe even an audio post? Hmm...
Isn't this time consuming? I am also thinking about what easier post I can write in between longer and more time consuming fiction pieces or newsletters that require a lot of research. But I didn't come up with anything yet that I thought would be interesting enough to pop-up in my subscriber's inbox. I am afraid of spamming them with filler content.
The writing *was* a bit time-consuming. I'm actually reworking my whole schedule to give myself more time to write personal essays (bi-weekly instead of every week), and thought a once-per-month wrap up would be nice. Haven't tried it yet!
I'd have notes and at most, just go for it, and would just do a light edit either way. Keep it human haha.
I currently write a long form almanac style newsletter twice a month with some additional audio content for paid subscribers. I have a launch planned later this month to add weekly short form written and video content. The type of content is secret for now 😃
https://katiestack.substack.com/ and https://bethspencer.substack.com/ have awesome drawing sessions I love the co-working space format, and these really lead to productivity, but these drawing sessions take it a step further, they are like gym workouts for artist
Love this thread! I’ve been having a lot of fun with the voiceovers at Wild Cozy Free - I do a mix of long form essays and poem/songs - which are written out in the body of the text, but sung in the voiceover. Here’s this week’s https://wildcozyfree.substack.com/p/storybook-undone
These are all great examples! I’ve been thinking a lot about new formats since going paid. I’ve started community discussion threads and a weekly listicle for paid subscribers so far. I’ve got an idea for an interview series with other parents to share their lives experiences of parenthood—it would be a challenge to get running but I’d like to think readers would find it beneficial!
Interested to hear what kind of content formats other people went for when they chose to go paid or up the amount of content they produced!
About a month ago I started sending out a cartoon to my subscribers every Friday, called B.A.D. I hand-draw it using black ballpoint and scan it in. It's a complete departure but also a weird return to the cartoon drawings I did in my teens.
I can honestly say that without Substack I would never have done this. Hey, two months I didn't plan on doing this! Now, I love planning my oddball drawing.
I feel my newsletters have made me braver and able to be more experimental. 😀
“Life is a game full of unwritten rules, vague boundaries, and differing philosophies. Framed this way, it resembles what Mark Twain sardonically dubbed “a good walk spoiled” — golf…
Below are eighteen life lessons from the beautiful game.
It’s impossible to play without the right tools.
You can play alone but it’s more fun with a group.
I currently host Ask an Editor discussion threads where I answer writing, editing, editorial wayfinding questions. Much of the time they're in the context of Substack newsletters, but folks are also tapping at longform essays and manuscript/book questions, too.
The last one was about crafting a "spontaneous writing pitch" for sharing about your writing in public spaces.
I also like the idea of a post where the reader can see at a glance what I'm currently writing. I have one but it's a bit too clunky and long and I'm thinking about writing a second one in a couple of months. I like this example from Elle Griffin: https://www.elysian.press/p/oblivion-index
I've experimented with a few different content formats — including long form confessional writing and round-ups – and so far my curated round-ups have received the most engagement. I think this is because they contain useful tips and inspiring ideas, as in the recent travel guide below.
I’m currently still growing into a format; my newsletter is roughly a ‘meeting agenda’ of my things of note from the week, but I definitely still have kinks to work out. A lot of the ideas in this thread are great inspiration and I’ll definitely be experimenting more!
(Of course, j also welcome feedback or insights- my newsletter is still relatively new!)
Today, I will be posting my renewed attempt at my "TEACH the PROFESSOR SERIES." I tried it a while back and it was very successful. Then life happened and I dropped it for a time. The post planned for today will be a question regarding tyranny and compliance. I do not know the answer to the query posed. But I am sure that readers will have their opinions.
This format is an acknowledgement of what is already established in Nature and, thus, should be established in human minds as well: the institutional professor is -- if he or she is a "first" among anythings -- nothing more than another student skilled or experienced at formulating questions that everyone else wants to ask --- and answer.
And the rest of the class does a very good job developing answers and further questions. The "professor" sets the table. The other students do the cooking and the dining.
This sounds like a very interesting format as discussions between professors and students are a great way to explore topics from different angles and go into depth into a subject. They are also a very engaging format.
"Born at 340 ppm." Do I interpret that at 340 parts per million, as in the population of the United States when you were brought into the daylight? I like it, if it does. Very clever. I trust that you have -- and will come to have, even greater degrees in the future, of -- a significance far beyond THAT measure of things.
Actually it's the average CO2 concentration in the atmosphere in the year in which I was born. I hope that this is also clever. ;)
Not sure about the greater degrees of significance my work will bring me, but right now I am happily tinkering with my fiction writing and I feel extremely fulfilled. I guess this also counts. :)
Great! Bringing significant ideas to the world possibly would have been a better way for me to have put it. Doing THAT well sometimes requires the sacrificing of credit. Credit and significance seems to be something doled out, top-down, to those whom the System finds useful and conformable for future purposes. Well, it does not always happen that way, it is simply that it often happens that way. There are hazards to being the target of their graces.
Thank you. As to credit, I think that I’m satisfied if I can give credit to myself for doing the things that I burn 🔥 to do. What’s the use of doing what others approve if it’s not what I want to do?
However, I never thought about it this way, that significance comes at the sacrifice of credit. Something to reflect on.
SUBSTACK WRITERS' NOTES - Dear John Bluff, regarding your comment: "Like many writers, I have the perfect face for sitting behind a keyboard, well out of eyeshot."
Some have, of course, turned this into an advantage --- and I do not mean merely by avoiding video. I mean in the sense of developing a signature appearance. Indeed, in this era of growing disdain for the cookie-cutter, blow-dried nooz repeaters and, to the contrary, an increased hunger for Alternative Media, it is better to no look like a photo from an upscale, prep-school yearbook, but simply look authentic.
My personal preference for what it is worth, however, is to avoid the ball cap and ski cap; the unshaven, bender look; and an overly "advertising" look for the background or bookcase. Avoid trashy, but it should actually be the space and things use use in your daily work. Avoid the overly-long pet musical themes that fill up up bumper time. Put a note in the show notes for people to find the title of the music for themselves. And by all means --- stay away from Swooshy, green-screen backgrounds and drumming music. It is a tell-sign that someone with cash has bought-and-paid for your conformity to at least to one "third-rail" topic or category of ideas.
Be comfortable with your appearance, voice and mannerisms. Polished people, even if they do not start out that way or even if they have many talents, gravitate toward emptiness and superficiality from production-mill regularity that cannot be sustained "on schedule."
Hardly. (Of course, I appreciate your joke.) But this is an interesting point. Deeply interesting. What do we want our authentic person to be? It might be as we are. Okay. Fine enough. Or is it someone, with some things, that we want to become or want to display in our extended selves, environment or to use. It IS authentic if you are working to truly integrate these things into you. I say "you" as opposed to "your brand." I suppose there is some wisdom in the adage to "fake it till you make it," but this can be misunderstood to suggest the acceptability of insincerity. I do not think that the adage does that, but -- you know -- we humans can ruin anything. Real humility (there is a counterfeit version) is a good test for oneself. Real humility does not lack confidence.
(I am not unaware of your last name, whether your legal name or a pseudonym.)
I say "you" as opposed to "your brand." -- I like that you wrote this because there is too much talk about 'creating your own brand online' or 'you are the brand'. Authenticity and a desire to polish ourselves and allow the inner self to shine its best light on the world is a more genuine way of putting ourselves into the public eye however we choose to do it, via writing, video, podcast, drawing.
I was nervous to include fiction on my non-fiction Substack, but it gets nearly as many reads as my non-fiction things and I get so many people saying they love it. So, I do fiction on Monday, an article on Wednesday, and then a roundup with a ton of my favorite articles from the week on Saturday.
That's so good. I was also wondering how my readers will react when I decided to concentrate mostly on writing fiction and I was happy to see that they still open the emails. 🤣
IDK if you subscribed, but if not I have a cadence to my page. There are definitely people who like one or the other, but I'm specifically interested in being like old 70s mags like...well, I'm just going to say Playboy b/c it's the starkest example. They had their thing, for sure, but they also had some of the best literary criticism and fiction at the same time.
So, I am interested in being seen as a publication that contains multitudes, and if they can do it, I can do it. I decided to make that part of my vibe though. I generally attract writers, but those writers also tend to like fiction, and many like fantasy, so I give them a respite from the audience growth stuff every week so they get a break.
It's very intentional, though, and I think you can make it intentional too.
I love these examples! Makes me want to get back on camera again and do some video/audio content -- I think I might!
The power of this platform is awesome, and allows so much room for creativity and exploration.
I started my Substack using a curation style, sharing links in detailed bullets. Slowly I started adding commentary and news oriented stories. As I’ve home the main topic of my newsletter, I’m now using a mixed format, part creation, part curation, and I’ve found some success with that.
I think now I need to hone the topic a bit more in order to provide a guarantee to my readers that they know what to expect from each edition.
My newsletter is part art and part curation. I love a good link round up. Over time I realized that my readers seem to prefer everything in separate posts, so while I was publishing 1x/wk with an essay, a journal prompts, links and book reviews. I think I'm going to move the links and books to it's own post and publish 2x/wk. I agree that honing in on a topic is what readers want. Good luck!
You may see a dip in readership, so pay attention to engagement. If that drops too, you may want to make a choice if powering through, or reconfiguring again.
I use the mixed format too and love it. I share one of my songs with a few paragraphs about it. Then I share a song, a book, and a quote.
Great strategy.
I'm currently having the same thoughts: how to manage the expectations of my readers. I write climate fiction so I'm thinking about articles diving a bit more into the the topic. But all that I come up with requires a lot of research and is time consuming to write. So I usually just concentrate on writing my fiction which is already time consuming enough.
whoah your newsletter focus is so great. I used to work at a climate justice nonprofit and love Grist's climate fiction writing competition they have. Your newsletter kind of reminds me of that
Perhaps you could write about the act of researching the topic, documenting the journey.
Like many writers, I have the perfect face for sitting behind a keyboard, well out of eyeshot.
"out of eyeshot": brilliant! 😂
I’m video-worthy enough I guess but completely allergic to being filmed, so there’s that part too. #shy!
Nobody's looking at you when you film. Just you and the camera. ;)
Just the idea of being seen in the future is enough to stop me. I will never be a YouTube star, sigh
🤣 I completely understand you. I would feel naked. Though I subscribed to the YouTube channel of a couple of introverts and I really like to hear their perspective on life. But one of my favourite formats are the ones where the videos don't feature the author. Japanese YouTubers tend to do this a lot. Their videos are engrossing and they look more like little documentaries.
Yes (echoing @SleepyHollowInk), who are these introvert youtubers? !?
Here are two examples (one that shows the face and one that doesn't):
https://www.youtube.com/@naminokurashi
https://www.youtube.com/@anagoldberg
Who are these Introvert youtubers, sounds fun. I agree, don't need the author!
Here are two examples (one that shows the face and one that doesn't):
https://www.youtube.com/@naminokurashi
https://www.youtube.com/@anagoldberg
Sounds like the audio features could be a good fit! 🙂
Like many writers, I have a voice perfect for tuning smoke detectors.
🤣
Heh, this is a great line.
I've currently got 3 formats on the go:
1) Principles - free form learnings on the future of careers.
2) Discussions - co-written pieces on future of work or self-mastery
3) Diaries - monthly reflections on everything I've learnt in my own career
I always add in a mid-journey image or two as well and am starting to get closer to an art style for the publication. Have seen a big up-tick in subs (+37 in the last month to 616 total free), which I think is driven a lot by co-written pieces, recommendations and posting on Linkedin!
Happy to answer any qs if you have any 🙏🏼
This seems like a great way to structure the different type of posts you provide Charlie. Do you send a principle type newsletter weekly and the discussion ones randomly or is it timed specifically?
Good question Donna! I rotate the 3 types over 4 weeks, so have Principles, Discussions, Principles, Diaires. It's a nice ryhtm that keeps things interesting for me to write and for readers too!
I like this idea and it keeps it fresh and different. I'm going to put my thinking cap on about applying it to my work. Thanks.
On Cosmographia I write the Moleskine Notebooks every week where I explore a particular place by looking at it through a painting, poem, an old map, a literature excerpt, and photography.
Simple 5 section format but allows for such a wide variety of stories
https://www.merothwell.com/s/the-moleskine-notebooks
This is a beautiful format, it caught my attention.
Thanks, Claudia!
Your Substack is beautiful! Thank you for sharing
Thanks Jodie!
It's lovely 💕
Thanks, Ali!
It's amazing how we all manage to produce such varied publications, and how much we can learn from our fellow Substackers... there's been some great ideas on here tonight!
I once needed a break from writing, but I didn’t want to skip a week, so I ended up posting a list of things I decluttered off my piano. 😂 It was a surprisingly big hit, and it taught me that I don’t always have to take myself so seriously.
https://open.substack.com/pub/jenzug/p/101-things-found-on-my-piano?r=6er4f&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
There was also the time I wrote about actual posts I made to my local Buy Nothing Facebook group.
https://open.substack.com/pub/jenzug/p/posts-on-facebook-buy-nothing?r=6er4f&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
For context, I normally write personal essays.
I am so intrigued by your piano decluttering post, I'm adding it to my reading list. It's very interesting how others react when we let ourselves free and are not so precious about our writing.
Jen, this is SO good! I love that you took these mundane things and posted them and your readers (and I) loved it. Thanks for sharing these great ideas.
That's such a good reminder. I've been trying to not put so much pressure on myself or force myself to write if I can't think of anything "worth" writing about, but maybe I just have to be ok with writing something quick and low stakes that can still resonate with people
One of my favorite formats is still Fog Chaser. Original song with tons of cool content surrounding it!
Such a great example! https://fogchaser.substack.com/
Thank you, Katie!
Yes love, work friendly enjoyment for me
Wanted to post that here, too. Good shout.
Much appreciated, Cole!
Of course!!
I switch between bi-weekly essays and then every four or five posts or so do a 'Neurodivergent Recommendations' post for books or podcasts because it's so hard to find good writing/podcasts, among all the autistic misinformation and hysteria out there. It's been good to mix it up so far! https://autcasts.substack.com/p/autcasts-recommends-neurodivergent
You're so right about the recommendations. I read an article about the role of book stores in curating books for their readers. I used to go into book shops and just pick a book that caught my interest and like this I discovered really great writers and novels. Today, I like to get my reading tips from online recommendations. It's hard to find something worthwhile by swimming the ocean without any direction.
So true, I always check the 'staff picks' for new things to read!
A while back I made a post that was almost entirely pictures—a set of AI-generated visuals to correspond with the lyrics to Radiohead's song "Fitter Happier." I got a lot of compliments about it from readers; maybe one day I will try it again! https://www.ruins.blog/p/fitter-happier-illustrated
Great. I've been planning a comic strip version of a short story I wrote, in series called Experimenting with styles. I'm going to check yours out now
That's excellent, Terry. I've been thinking of making a graphic novel out of a screenplay I did some years ago, but I have to figure out how to do it before I can start.
That sounds good, Ben. You mean the planning part or the execution part? I'm pretty sure there is software that can do the heavy lifting
It's the execution part. It's already written, so just figuring out how it should look--Black and White? Realism? Stick people? But I do like a challenge, which is why I wrote a screenplay in the first place.
I'm an avid reader of graphic novels, so I've come across the whole range of types of art. If I may throw my thoughts into the mix, I think the best art kind is what fits the story and what's within your capability.
I totally agree with that. I don't have all the tools to hand draw it, or else I would, or at least give it a shot. I haven't drawn in years, but I used to be pretty good at it. I just have to find the right software I suppose.
Nice! Way to experiment.
Fan art. Good idea.
Bah! The comments have bin turned off.
I love these examples! Hosting other writers for simple interviews has worked really well for me (and I hope for them). People love to meet a new face. Examples: https://valorieclark.substack.com/s/interviews
I also send out weekly writing prompts, and sometimes people even write a litlte story and send it back. https://valorieclark.substack.com/s/stories
I also send out a weekly round-up of historical news stories with very short summaries about what the news story is about. These never go behind a paywall, but my last few paid subscribers have converted from one of these posts! https://unrulyfigures.substack.com/p/unruly-history-in-the-news-30
Such great examples, love the examples of interactions with your community that were born out of these experiments.
Agree that collaboration is key and can really boost engagement!
This sounds fantastic Valorie. You're offering a variety of different options for your readers. I'm going to think about how I can format it differently to offer something new and fresh (not that my stuff is 'old' as I've only been at it a few months!)
I have now fixed the format and content of two weekly posts that I send to free subscribers:
1. A quick tip type format with a short blurb and a link to a long-form article from the archive. This is also a good way to repurpose old content. See an example here https://naveenagarwalphd.substack.com/p/quick-tip-lessons-from-recalls
2. A "interview" type article where I add an audio recording and key highlights from a weekly LinkedIn audio event. See an example here https://naveenagarwalphd.substack.com/p/collaboration-is-the-secret-sauce-for-riskmgmt
This allows me to prepare and schedule content in advance so I have time to focus on marketing and premium content.
My plan for paid subscribers is to offer weekly premium post (e.g. case study with deep insights) and a monthly live webinar. I plan to record the webinar and share later as an embedded video in another post.
Open to new ideas and suggestions from you all!
Best wishes.
This is very useful — I've also done Q&A's and have found them to be successful if the interviewee is willing to share and promote the post too on their channels.
Love the idea of writing a new post and linking it to an archived post. For new subscribers archived posts are actually new.
I've recently realised that writing and posting consistently is quite the challenge for me, especially when having to juggle other commitments.
These sound like a great way to solve this problem, thanks!
@sarahfay @writersatwork was helpful in creating a line up of posts that help with time constraints. My stack is slowly changing over so I will have more time to write and serialize my novel.
Here are my changes:
First Wednesday of the month-- a tip, or product or movie review by my (veryJewish) grandma Ethel.
Second Wednesday-- a funny essay.
Third-- A chapter from my novel.
Fourth-- A humorous interpretation of a news article.
This is an excellent breakdown! I'm excited to see Grandma Ethel will be offering her own personal tips, that's bound to get interesting🤣
Thx, sweetie! Ie: Catcher in the Stye. How not to get that eye sore. Hehe.
That will be a beauty!
I currently do a mix of audio posts and long form writing. My Substack explores archetypal studies, inner work, and Jungian/depth psychology. I'm looking for ideas from the community of how to get creative with these 2 formats.
Here's what I do currently:
* Audio - Read a passage from a book and discuss it, live reflections and interpretations of dreams and their symbols, live tarot readings, interview another creator (this is new, but I hope to do it more)
* Writing - These tend to fall into two styles, guides/how-to's (working with the shadow or developing a dreamwork practice) or personal reflections woven with educational insights.
Would love to hear how others are continuing to explore new ways of creating content.
I like this idea to read a passage! I've been thinking a lot that poetry is best heard, not read, so I would love to see someone reading poetry on their 'stack and discussing it!
This is a good idea. Having a poet read their own poetry does indeed give the poem a deeper meaning.
You're already much more experimental than many writers here on Substack including myself. 😅 One of my secret desires is to one day produce a fiction podcast with my short stories. I think that it could attract a different type of audience. Sometimes it's nice to do something in the house, or drive and listen to a story.
Oh I love the idea of a voicemail line! I've been throwing around the idea of a Poetry Hotline and this is in the arena. Maybe...
You should call it The Poetry Hotline!
I use custom drawn art from my graphic novel that is the basis for my Substack, its unique and people seem to enjoy it.
I write a food newsletter that is mainly memoir focussed but includes recipes I've developed. Recently I made my first video recipe. It got a great response because (I think) I tried to keep the same humour and feel as my written work. https://www.recoveringlinecook.com/p/a-recipe-for-pineapple-weed-meringue
I just watched your video Wil and it's excellent! Well done, keep em coming.
Amazing!!! how'd you find the video experience?
Great fun. Mainly because I didn't worry about being professional, just myself. Humour is important to my work. Making the video made me laugh. I just hoped it made others laugh as well.
This sounds like a great experience, especially if you enjoy being in front of the camera and are as spontaneous with your humour as in your writing. I watch YouTube a lot, video is such a good way of connecting with your community. Cool stuff!
I suppose my weekly format is more traditional.
Each edition starts with new writing on a particular topic, followed by two bulleted lists of curated content.
Nothing wrong with a format that works!
I love the name of your Substack!
Thank you so much, Colleen!!!
I’m experimenting with short art videos. This was the first one that I posted; it had a good response. https://shinjinim.substack.com/p/create-an-art-journal-page-with-me
I also share links to art challenges & interesting articles related to art & creativity once a month. This month, I featured a few articles that I enjoyed on Substack https://shinjinim.substack.com/p/creative-explorations-vol-2
omg I love this! It's also like you're doing 2 art projects at once, the art you were making in the video and the Substack post <3
Thank you!! <3
I’m a fairly new publisher on Substack and I love these suggestions for “lightening the lift” of regular publishing — especially during these summer months when I really need a break. By the time I finished reading these great comments, I’d drafted a link round up of what to read if you’re interested in old age and aging - ! Curated from my perspective of somewhere BETWEEN rah rah we can stop aging with miracle powders & supplements (er, no we can’t ) and the positive things that old age brings (perspective, wisdom, emotional stability). Stay tuned and thank you.
I write The Granny Who Stands on her Head (which is the title of my most recent book, sub-titled Reflections on Growing Older. I am 81 and I do write about being old, but not exclusively so - my most recent post was on wondering what was the right thing to do when a fledgling gull was stranded in my garden. The newsletter is fortnightly expressly so it doesn't become a burden to people who read it regularly.
I a lot about life in the middle, as in not young and not old. I explore things from the perspective of our overall well-being, spirituality, and how to live vibrantly as we move through our years. I just subscribed to you and look forward to diving into your writing Debbie. If you're ever interested in a collaboration please let me know as our readers might be interested in the same type of thing.
I think that what works on Substack very much depends on the TYPE of site. My Slouching Towards Bethlehem https://grahamcunningham.substack.com/ would not suit posting too often. I post always very readable (and illustrated) essays of reflections on the political Zeitgeist of the 21st century West. The kind of people who gravitate to my site would not want to be bombarded on a daily basis. I do understand however that for other types of subject matter, what works best may be very different. Substack is a fantastic platform but I don't think it yet pays enough attention to how different Substacks have different needs.
Totally agree with you on that. The type of 'Stack you have determines the following. Pop Culture is a big draw, and so is politics. I write fiction, and I think the only way to bring in readers is to be consistent with your posts. You have to tell yourself they'll come for the quality, not the quantity.
I set up a Milestones page for us to celebrate our creative achievements and cheer each other on. ✨ I love shouting them out at drawing sessions. It’s so inspiring to see all the amazing work being done everyday in the community!
https://open.substack.com/pub/bethspencer/p/member-milestones?r=yx03w&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
Great idea
This is such a lovely idea!
Some formats I really admire are M.E. Rothwell's Cosmographia (https://www.merothwell.com/) and Amy Hoppock's Smaller and Deeper (https://amyhoppock.substack.com/), both of which have amassed solid archives of content following a format that suits their theme.
Embedded voiceovers from Sherman Alexie and James Don BlueWolf have inspired me to try reading some of my posts aloud, so that's on my agenda in the next month or so.
S.E. Reid of Talebones gave me the format to use for a friendly contest, with folks posting links to their pages in the comments of the contest page.
Here's how my contest looked at the end: https://open.substack.com/pub/enchantedinamerica/p/the-enchanted-book-contest-enter?r=1mk0zn&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
For a crowd-sourced monthly digest of enchanting Substacks, I ask people to tag me in a Note when they read anything enchanting on Substack. I include links to the nominators as well as the nominees. Hopefully, this adds visibility and community for lots of small Substacks. The second "Enchanted Forest" monthly digest is due to post Saturday. It includes posts I never would have known about except for the crowd-sourced feature, so that's working well. The first issue is here: https://open.substack.com/pub/enchantedinamerica/p/introducing-the-enchanted-forest?r=1mk0zn&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thanks for these recommendations.
While I typically end up with personal essay style posts, a couple of weeks ago I did a list of "Songs that make me cry" after finding myself near tears in the car with the kids while listening to a beloved singer/songwriter from my childhood: https://pronetohyperbole.substack.com/p/songs-that-make-me-cry
Cool! If you do a post about music again, you could even embed the songs from the streaming platform you listen on. Here's how https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037832971-How-do-I-embed-media-in-my-post-e-g-images-video-GIFs-
That's amazing! was not aware and so I just linked to youtube videos for each song.
Thanks Katie, I'm gonna look into that.
I haven’t posted it yet but part of my theme is “introvert's outreach.” I suspect as writers here most of us can relate to this as exactly what we’re doing on this platform. A short, easy, and community-connective post I’m working on is a set of 10 “introvert questions for creatives”. I would love to hear from other introverts who might want to answer the questions in a guest post. I’ll do this monthly or more if it becomes compelling to people. Hit me up if this sounds relevant/fun to you! Thanks!
Introvert and author of a humorous book for introverted parents here. Would be interested in participating if I sound like a good fit :)
oh that's perfect, yes! I'll email
I love the idea of introvert's outreach!
First edition is up: https://sleepyhollowink.substack.com/p/introverts-outreach-andrew-smith.
Thank you for a bunch of inpsiring formats! Makes it a great place for cross discovery!
Agree, I’m excited to experiment. Love this platform
Hello, Substackers. I'm looking for feedback on an idea I'm calling the "Writer's Room." The idea is that I would let the subscribers into early drafts of my posts as beta readers, commenters, and since mine is a humor publication, givers of feedback on whether the jokes are landing or not.
Has anyone tried something like this before? If so, how did you solicit comments on your posts? Was it necessary to go off-site, say with a link to Google Docs, or could this be accomplished within Substack?
Interesting concept. I thought about doing something called "Notes App" where I post the little phrases and scratch notes that become my longer essays. But you know, limited on time.
I've personally found that whenever I link out to another site (YouTube, my music links, etc), fewer people click than you'd expect. I think you're always better keeping people on platform if that's an option.
When I become famous and have 50,000 subscribers, I'll do podcasts and all sorts of fun things...for now, I slog onwards with short-form essays twice a week on evergreen topics...because my peeps want this...I serve my peeps...I need raving fans for my book launch...I am not Robert Reich and that is OK...
Just wanted to give massive props to SE Reid at TaleBones (linked below) she had a great format for sharing serials and short stories.
She’s honestly the writer who most inspired me to start my own collection, www.coleschapters.com
https://talebones.substack.com
On Sundays we share fun photos from our camera rolls in a chat thread. I love seeing what everyone’s pets have been up to! 😺🤳
Emily Atkins from Heated does a similar thing. She writes about climate and the topics are sometimes quite bleak but at the end of the newsletter you will find a pet photo from one of her subscribers and it lightens a bit the mood. It's a beautiful touch. Here's an example: https://heated.world/p/the-iowa-meteorologist-who-quit-after
What a delightful example! I thought of the idea from doing rides on the Peloton. The shoutouts always make me happy and motivate me. 😬 Thanks for sharing!
You're welcome! And yes, any kind of feedback is motivating, that's one of the main reasons why starting a Substack finally helped write my stories. It's good to have some company and encouragement from other goes a long way.
I'm inspired by @juliasweeney to do a video rant. She is charming and funny. I would have to find my improv chops as I left them in LA decades ago.
Would love to see it! Will you share the link?
Please hold. Elevator music begins.
Here’s a 9 minute video of Julia Sweeney. The longer ones I haven’t had time to watch but I’m sure they’re fab! https://open.substack.com/pub/juliasweeney/p/field-trip-ozu-3?r=g4otx&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
All these ideas sound so cool, but I'm occupied enough with writing every week and then remembering to put in page breaks and things. I'm older than a lot of you and I know that's no excuse, but I just wouldn't know where to start with most of this stuff. 😵💫
That's ok! Stick with what works!!
👍🏻
Really need to dig deep into these comments. I'm looking ahead to going paid, but not sure how much more than my current output I can write.
Yes, this is a topic that sparked a discussion on Notes as well some time ago: what extras to offer when going paid. Some writers think that no extras are needed, some think the contrary. I initially sided with the first group, but after quietly turning on my paid subscription for 48h I decided to turn it off again and come up with a plan.
Oh I love seeing these ideas! I played with the idea of a monthly reflection that goes along with my Friday Reflections, but I didn't think about doing it in another format that wasn't just writing!
Thinking video, or maybe even an audio post? Hmm...
Isn't this time consuming? I am also thinking about what easier post I can write in between longer and more time consuming fiction pieces or newsletters that require a lot of research. But I didn't come up with anything yet that I thought would be interesting enough to pop-up in my subscriber's inbox. I am afraid of spamming them with filler content.
The writing *was* a bit time-consuming. I'm actually reworking my whole schedule to give myself more time to write personal essays (bi-weekly instead of every week), and thought a once-per-month wrap up would be nice. Haven't tried it yet!
I'd have notes and at most, just go for it, and would just do a light edit either way. Keep it human haha.
We'll see though! Might be a bit too much.
That's the thing, having the time and energy to create all that we want to create. It requires discipline. Good luck with your plans!
Thank you! I think we'll all find our sweet spot the more we experiment. :)
Yes, the writing strategy is a work in progress and will probably change as we grow as writers and also get feedback from the community.
I currently write a long form almanac style newsletter twice a month with some additional audio content for paid subscribers. I have a launch planned later this month to add weekly short form written and video content. The type of content is secret for now 😃
https://katiestack.substack.com/ and https://bethspencer.substack.com/ have awesome drawing sessions I love the co-working space format, and these really lead to productivity, but these drawing sessions take it a step further, they are like gym workouts for artist
You made really curious with the 'gym workouts for artist'. I'm having a look.
Love this thread! I’ve been having a lot of fun with the voiceovers at Wild Cozy Free - I do a mix of long form essays and poem/songs - which are written out in the body of the text, but sung in the voiceover. Here’s this week’s https://wildcozyfree.substack.com/p/storybook-undone
Voiceovers might be my favorite feature!! I wish everyone read their posts to me :)
Yes! I love reading them!
I love your voiceovers Alexa, you have inspired me to make more of them (without the singing, I assure you nobody would appreciate that!)
Yay! And I would TOTALLY appreciate that!!
<3 <3 <3
These are all great examples! I’ve been thinking a lot about new formats since going paid. I’ve started community discussion threads and a weekly listicle for paid subscribers so far. I’ve got an idea for an interview series with other parents to share their lives experiences of parenthood—it would be a challenge to get running but I’d like to think readers would find it beneficial!
Interested to hear what kind of content formats other people went for when they chose to go paid or up the amount of content they produced!
But ... why there is no category called "video" or movies" or .... I don't know ... VHS??? :)
I also write about movies and I wondered why there was no category I fit into.
Sorry, forgot the shameless promotion link: https://pdmovies.substack.com/
May I gift myself a shoutout as a newbie here? :-)
I just cherish infographics to summarize data-based stories!
A voicemail line. That’s interesting. I wonder how it’s going.
About a month ago I started sending out a cartoon to my subscribers every Friday, called B.A.D. I hand-draw it using black ballpoint and scan it in. It's a complete departure but also a weird return to the cartoon drawings I did in my teens.
I can honestly say that without Substack I would never have done this. Hey, two months I didn't plan on doing this! Now, I love planning my oddball drawing.
I feel my newsletters have made me braver and able to be more experimental. 😀
Less is often more!
My latest on How Life Imitates Golf
“Life is a game full of unwritten rules, vague boundaries, and differing philosophies. Framed this way, it resembles what Mark Twain sardonically dubbed “a good walk spoiled” — golf…
Below are eighteen life lessons from the beautiful game.
It’s impossible to play without the right tools.
You can play alone but it’s more fun with a group.
It’s a lot harder than it looks.
It’s expensive.
It’s enjoyed by old and young alike.
There are no mulligans—every shot counts.”
Read more: https://www.whitenoise.email/p/how-life-imitates-golf
I currently host Ask an Editor discussion threads where I answer writing, editing, editorial wayfinding questions. Much of the time they're in the context of Substack newsletters, but folks are also tapping at longform essays and manuscript/book questions, too.
The last one was about crafting a "spontaneous writing pitch" for sharing about your writing in public spaces.
https://theeditingspectrum.substack.com/p/craft-your-spontaneous-writing-pitch
I also like the idea of a post where the reader can see at a glance what I'm currently writing. I have one but it's a bit too clunky and long and I'm thinking about writing a second one in a couple of months. I like this example from Elle Griffin: https://www.elysian.press/p/oblivion-index
So far, I’m just keeping it nice and simple: two 800-1000 word writing takes. But it’s cool to see people getting super creative!
I've experimented with a few different content formats — including long form confessional writing and round-ups – and so far my curated round-ups have received the most engagement. I think this is because they contain useful tips and inspiring ideas, as in the recent travel guide below.
https://lucyscovell.substack.com/p/secret-sifnos-greeces-hidden-gem
I like the idea of bullets and maybe if I find the courage video or audio content...anyone got any tips for taking the first step?
I don't have a tip for video but I enjoy the work of Taegan Maclean - https://1wordnewsletter.substack.com
He started with written essays and slowly moved to video with fantastic results.
I’m currently still growing into a format; my newsletter is roughly a ‘meeting agenda’ of my things of note from the week, but I definitely still have kinks to work out. A lot of the ideas in this thread are great inspiration and I’ll definitely be experimenting more!
(Of course, j also welcome feedback or insights- my newsletter is still relatively new!)
Today, I will be posting my renewed attempt at my "TEACH the PROFESSOR SERIES." I tried it a while back and it was very successful. Then life happened and I dropped it for a time. The post planned for today will be a question regarding tyranny and compliance. I do not know the answer to the query posed. But I am sure that readers will have their opinions.
This format is an acknowledgement of what is already established in Nature and, thus, should be established in human minds as well: the institutional professor is -- if he or she is a "first" among anythings -- nothing more than another student skilled or experienced at formulating questions that everyone else wants to ask --- and answer.
And the rest of the class does a very good job developing answers and further questions. The "professor" sets the table. The other students do the cooking and the dining.
This sounds like a very interesting format as discussions between professors and students are a great way to explore topics from different angles and go into depth into a subject. They are also a very engaging format.
"Born at 340 ppm." Do I interpret that at 340 parts per million, as in the population of the United States when you were brought into the daylight? I like it, if it does. Very clever. I trust that you have -- and will come to have, even greater degrees in the future, of -- a significance far beyond THAT measure of things.
Actually it's the average CO2 concentration in the atmosphere in the year in which I was born. I hope that this is also clever. ;)
Not sure about the greater degrees of significance my work will bring me, but right now I am happily tinkering with my fiction writing and I feel extremely fulfilled. I guess this also counts. :)
Great! Bringing significant ideas to the world possibly would have been a better way for me to have put it. Doing THAT well sometimes requires the sacrificing of credit. Credit and significance seems to be something doled out, top-down, to those whom the System finds useful and conformable for future purposes. Well, it does not always happen that way, it is simply that it often happens that way. There are hazards to being the target of their graces.
Thank you. As to credit, I think that I’m satisfied if I can give credit to myself for doing the things that I burn 🔥 to do. What’s the use of doing what others approve if it’s not what I want to do?
However, I never thought about it this way, that significance comes at the sacrifice of credit. Something to reflect on.
SUBSTACK WRITERS' NOTES - Dear John Bluff, regarding your comment: "Like many writers, I have the perfect face for sitting behind a keyboard, well out of eyeshot."
Some have, of course, turned this into an advantage --- and I do not mean merely by avoiding video. I mean in the sense of developing a signature appearance. Indeed, in this era of growing disdain for the cookie-cutter, blow-dried nooz repeaters and, to the contrary, an increased hunger for Alternative Media, it is better to no look like a photo from an upscale, prep-school yearbook, but simply look authentic.
My personal preference for what it is worth, however, is to avoid the ball cap and ski cap; the unshaven, bender look; and an overly "advertising" look for the background or bookcase. Avoid trashy, but it should actually be the space and things use use in your daily work. Avoid the overly-long pet musical themes that fill up up bumper time. Put a note in the show notes for people to find the title of the music for themselves. And by all means --- stay away from Swooshy, green-screen backgrounds and drumming music. It is a tell-sign that someone with cash has bought-and-paid for your conformity to at least to one "third-rail" topic or category of ideas.
Be comfortable with your appearance, voice and mannerisms. Polished people, even if they do not start out that way or even if they have many talents, gravitate toward emptiness and superficiality from production-mill regularity that cannot be sustained "on schedule."
So what you’re saying is I need to fake authenticity. Haha! But in all serious you make a good point.
Hardly. (Of course, I appreciate your joke.) But this is an interesting point. Deeply interesting. What do we want our authentic person to be? It might be as we are. Okay. Fine enough. Or is it someone, with some things, that we want to become or want to display in our extended selves, environment or to use. It IS authentic if you are working to truly integrate these things into you. I say "you" as opposed to "your brand." I suppose there is some wisdom in the adage to "fake it till you make it," but this can be misunderstood to suggest the acceptability of insincerity. I do not think that the adage does that, but -- you know -- we humans can ruin anything. Real humility (there is a counterfeit version) is a good test for oneself. Real humility does not lack confidence.
(I am not unaware of your last name, whether your legal name or a pseudonym.)
I say "you" as opposed to "your brand." -- I like that you wrote this because there is too much talk about 'creating your own brand online' or 'you are the brand'. Authenticity and a desire to polish ourselves and allow the inner self to shine its best light on the world is a more genuine way of putting ourselves into the public eye however we choose to do it, via writing, video, podcast, drawing.
I was nervous to include fiction on my non-fiction Substack, but it gets nearly as many reads as my non-fiction things and I get so many people saying they love it. So, I do fiction on Monday, an article on Wednesday, and then a roundup with a ton of my favorite articles from the week on Saturday.
That's so good. I was also wondering how my readers will react when I decided to concentrate mostly on writing fiction and I was happy to see that they still open the emails. 🤣
IDK if you subscribed, but if not I have a cadence to my page. There are definitely people who like one or the other, but I'm specifically interested in being like old 70s mags like...well, I'm just going to say Playboy b/c it's the starkest example. They had their thing, for sure, but they also had some of the best literary criticism and fiction at the same time.
So, I am interested in being seen as a publication that contains multitudes, and if they can do it, I can do it. I decided to make that part of my vibe though. I generally attract writers, but those writers also tend to like fiction, and many like fantasy, so I give them a respite from the audience growth stuff every week so they get a break.
It's very intentional, though, and I think you can make it intentional too.