Subscriber referrals is a simple, new way to grow your audience. Existing subscribers are the best marketers for your work. Now you can reward them for spreading the word about your Substack with this subscriber referrals.
Writers can set rewards at three tiers and when subscribers hit milestones, these rewards will automatically be sent out on your behalf. As always, you’re in control. You can choose the rewards that will motivate your subscribers—for example a comp paid subscription, access to exclusive PDFs, or access to a private community—or you can choose to not turn on referrals for your publication.
is one of the writers that used the default rewards, comped paid subscriptions, and the Substack announcement template to announce to referrals to subscribers. We’ve set up referrals so that you can turn it on with the flip of the switch and then forget about it.
announced subscriber referrals to his subscribers in a manifesto style post. One of his rewards includes “your own story here on JoeBlogs. So I’ll write about your greatest moment in sports or why you love baseball or, well, whatever you like.”
creates a curated list of personalized recommendations for 25 referrals. You can create any custom rewards too.
What questions do you have about referrals as you get setup? How do you plan to use the tool to channel the power of your community to grow your audience?
🧠 Hello writers! Andrei here, with a bit of feedback. Ten days ago, I set a challenge for myself: write one Note every day for a month. I didn't understand why some of my notes (which I thought very interesting) were underperforming, while others were well-liked. I still haven't figured everything out, but I can say with certainty that writing these Notes has boosted my subscriber growth. What I mean to say is this: though you may be skeptical of how new features can benefit you, it doesn't hurt to try them out, including this one. You never know!
(By the way, I'm also celebrating passing 175 subscribers. This was a sort of soft-milestone for me. Come say hi, and maybe check out some of my stuff. I'd love to meet you.)
🟧 I've had gmail users tell me their Substack emails are ending up categorized as "Promotion" and not showing up in their inbox. Is this a widespread problem, or are my readers the only ones experiencing this?
🟧 Hey Substack team! No question this week. I just wanted to say thanks for another new tool to boost subscriber growth. I'm excited to explore this one, and as someone who hasn't turned paid subscriptions on yet, it will definitely be interesting for me to see what I can come up with!
While I like the idea of referrals, you don't have enough options available for me to actually use the service right away. I want to be able to reward my subscribers who get me paid subscribers instead of free subscribers. There has to be a difference between the two.
I'm happy to get as many subscribers as possible, free or paid, but I need to be able to create incentives for people to bring in paid subscribers. Currently it's just upgrading free subscribers to paid. This isn't necessarily going to get anyone to increase my subscriber base.
Recently, I gave away a free 3 month trial for my top subscribers, and not one of them stayed on as paid subscribers. So I don't see my subscribers taking advantage of the referral program as it's currently structured.
🟧 - I assume that all of the referral rewards happen automatically, correct? I don't have to keep track of who has made X number of referrals to receive Y reward?
🟧 Is there a way to have Substack send out a very nice email like the ones I'm seeing, but without offering something "premium" in return? I'm growing quickly, but I'm not yet ready to promise things I am not sure I want to deliver on, but... simply asking for referrals might be something I could do, especially if I could add my voice into the copy at the top. Thanks for continuing to help me think through this!
✏️ Has anyone seen an uptick yet because of referrals?
While I think referrals are a great feature, I’m not sure readers would convert to paid once the period is over—but I guess that’s more a reflection of the quality of writing more than anything else.
I think that because readers get into the whole referral program because they DON’T want to pay—and when the rug is pulled from under their feet at the end of the period, they definitely will not begin to pay.
🟧 Is there a way to set up different referral rewards for free vs. paying subscribers referred? So like: a banana for 5 free subs, a dozen eggs for 15 free subs, AND a diamond necklace for 5 paying subs, a pet panther for 15 paying subs. (Note that I'm pretty sure these aren't the rewards I'll offer.)
🟧 - Do the referrals ever expire? Is there a time limit for how long a referral will stay on someone's account? If they get a reward at say 3 referrals, how do they rack up referrals to get to six? Or is it lifetime referrals? I don't quite understand how the referrals work
I remember asking about referrals at an Office Hours a year or two ago and it seemed like it wasn't a priority back then. So excited this feature is now available!
I'm thinking of offering both individual rewards for referrals and also group rewards when referral goals are met, like publishing bonus posts for all subscribers.
I love the idea of reader referrals! Yesterday I sent out my reader referral annoncement and left the tiers as what Substack suggested. Hopefully my readers feel encouraged to share my posts!
✏️ Has anyone got feedback from their readers about the referrals?
🟧 Do readers get a score log of how many referalls they've made? Is this limited to only emails that have an associated Substack account?
🟧 Do readers get a reader referral propmt that eplains what referrals are when they subscribe for the first time or do they need to go to the leaderboard tab to get more information?
🟧 Question for the substack team (sorry, it does not relate to referrals)
Would it be possible to offer people to buy access to a single newsletter article, or a series, without having to pay a full subscription? Say, instead of paying a monthly subscription for everything, could they pay like $5 for a single article?
Why pay for the buffet when you just want to order a la carte?
🟧 How do we give credit where credit is due to readers who've referred before? Is that something Substack is already calculating? I want to be sure readers are rewarded for that, even if I have to give a comp manually. Thanks! xo
The best thing you can do as a new writer on Substack is:
1. Write quality, engaging material
2. Post regularly and consistently (I recommend 2-3 times per week but this is wildly variable; you want to hook people’s interest without exploding their email inbox)
3. Read other Substacks and comment on them; try to be courteous, thoughtful and positive.
4. Reach out to other writers who write similar material after you’ve been writing a while and ask to cross-post, collaborate, etc.
5. Remember that Substack is a writing community; support others.
6. Attend Substack Office Hours
7. Read, subscribe, and pay for my Substack, Sincere American Writing. *(This is required.)
🟧 Hi - I have a question about referrals. Is there a way to differentiate between referrals by paid vs free subscribers? The reason is I’m hoping I can get free subscribers to refer the free product and the paid subscribers to promote the paid product. The rewards would be different too, as paid subscriber already have access to the paid subscription. So I would probably do free coaching or something. Finally, is there an optimal number for each of the three tiers - so they are attainable but not too high? Thanks. Andrew
🧠My newsletter is currently free. I just enabled referrals and I am looking forward to see how it goes. I decided to offer access to a pre-recorded webinar (3 referrals), free mini course (5 referrals) and 1:1 coaching (15 referrals.)
I would love to hear how you all are approaching this new feature. What kind of rewards are you considering if you have a free newsletter? Thanks
🟧 - A difficulty I am having is explaining to people how to turn their emails back on when they accidentally disable them. The more complex Substack becomes, the more difficult this appears to be for my readers. Is there a way that I as the owner can do this for them, or point them in a direction of a video tutorial? It doesn't appear I have very robust tools to help my subscribers make sure they can access the material they are now paying for.
My major frustration with Substack is that questions don't get answered! (Over several trials, I've received an answer once, and that was that the team would do nothing about it for now...) During today's office Hours two threads are offered but they don't fit my kind of questions so I do apologize but hope they come to the attention of the right people. Here is my list:
1. When I update/edit a post, is an email sent out to my subsceibers? I hope not, but how do I ensure that?
2. I'd like to use a smaller font for photo captions but the only option I see results in smaller size alright, but also bold -- not quite what I want. (I've discovered how I can change the font of my posts but that's not what I'm after. The current font is fine. I'd just like to have more size options w/i the same font.)
3. How do I put pictures side by side?
4. I've discovered how to add Archive, but that is just a rundown of my current posts. What I'd like to do is to have subfolders in Archives, e.g., by year. Then I'll finally be able to transfer my FB posts to Substack. Essential in doing so is the ability to set the correct (original) date, as opposed to the current one. Where do I control that?
5. I get way too many emails from Substack, many that are not relevant to me. I completed your recent survey; that may improve things. But direct control over what type of emails I receive from you would be good.
✏️ So underneath all this talk of referral rewards I'm wondering about the foundation of all of it. That is, why should readers want to subscribe to your content? What is your value proposition for them? How are you working to promote that to readers? My perspective is that the reader defines the reward when they decide to avail themselves of my value prop, the benefit they receive from reading my content. Any thoughts on that?
I'm struggling to transition from paid freelance writer to entreprenuerial Substacker and I'm wrestling with how others drive their messaging home to achieve subscribers.
✏️ I am asking this here because I have asked this in Help/ customer support and can't seem to get an answer - no response. When I send out my posts I no longer get an email like I used to with my new post. Is there a reason for this or is this by design. No more emails? I am also seeing I am not getting emails from many of the newsletters I have subscribed to - they are only available on the app. Did I miss a change in distribution strategy? (first frustration with substack - felt like an unannounced change in UX). All helpful answers appreciated.
🟧 Does this discussion thread feature the ability to block abusive users? I'm not referring to blocking them completely from thread, just my own avoiding having to see their posts. This discussion is unwieldy enough without having to deal with interlopers.
Currently, when someone clicks on my articles from Facebook, they have the optional to subscribe with their email. But it is optional. Most people are bypassing it. Is it possible to make the email subscription a requirement, even for free content, if my channel has not set up Paid Version yet?
🧠 late to the party! But I will definitely use the recommendation feature to run “summit squad.” It’s currently a secret newsletter you unlock by being one of the most active subscribers on my list.
Problem is, the open feature sometimes gets finicky and my biggest supporters get left out. This seems like a much better way to go!
🟧 - To start with: I am very impressed with all that Substack is doing, and very grateful for the opportunities you create to drive growth of my Substack newsletter.
But... also with this great new feature, we run the risk of being completely tied in with Substack. It's increasingly becoming a walled garden. I, for one, would love to see more links to Web3 solutions. Maybe start with creating sharing links to decentralized social networks like farcaster and lens, and then ensure that NFT embeds are working. Even if just as social cards.
My ultimate goal would be to have my readers be able to make a choice of paying regular or by acquiring an NFT.
And one-time payments would be great as well, especially when it can be done with a blockchain token like Matic from Polygon or Tezos.
My question to the Substack team is whether this is on the horizon, or that the plan is to stay away from Web3 completely.
✏️Hello! I've missed these office hours! I write a newsletter focused on creativity but also include personal topics like grief, new motherhood, coping with anxiety, and more.
I'm hoping to connect with a few specific folks to build community. Leave a comment/share/tag if you know of someone or if you fit the bill yourself!
1) Parents of young kiddos (our son is about to turn one!) who are staying home full time. I'm hoping for accountability and idea sharing for how to juggle my investment in my writing practice with motherhood.
2) Folks who write about or are interested in seasonal rituals, guidance, or practices to help live in harmony with the cycles of nature. I'm looking for these anchor points in my own life and would love to share them in community.
3) Pathfinders- artists and others who have left the beaten path to make their own way and live a unique lifestyle. I'm doing monthly interviews to share stories that I hope will encourage and inspire others to live their own authentic life. I'm specifically hoping to elevate and amplify marginalized voices (queer, BIPOC, indigenous, persons living with disabilities, etc.) but I am open to anyone!
🟧My subscribers mostly find out about my latest post through my email notification to them. I'm not sure how many of their phones announce my latest Substack the way mine does...I believe this is because I've switched on that notification feature, and I could ask my subscribers to do that, but could you design, or do you have, a button that makes that easy?
🟧 How long does a trial paid subscription last before the person's card is charged? And if they are charged, are we notified that we have a new paid subscriber?
✏️ - This is just a general question, but does anyone else think the $5 minimum/ month charge is too high? Here in the UK, I can get the whole of the New York Times for $1.99 per month for the first 12 months. I believe this “micro charging“ has been extremely successful at building an international reader base.
🟧 - I get the majority of my traffic from people aren’t actually subscribers. As far as I can tell, they aren’t able to “like“ a piece because they’re not subscribers. Is there any way this could be changed? As far as I can tell, it really limits the amount of “likes” I get.
By the way I get a lot of unsolicited compliments for my writing, but it doesn’t translate into anything more visible, which is frustrating .
I see so many people talking about starting merch stores, which I'm very interested in for BOTH of my Substacks. Anybody have advice on how to go about doing this? What are you including? How are you selling it? How are you advertising it on your Substack?
🟧✏️ Thx Substack for another tool. Just curious. What’s the difference between asking subscribers to share and well, asking subscribers to share— and if they do they get…?
I can see a point in time when readers will start to get turned off by all of us writers offering referrals. At which point do the marketing asks start to choke the experience of reading our Substacks? There's a fine line there somewhere that we need never to lose sight of.
✏️ - I know this is a little off topic, but I’m gonna ask it anyway...
Are there any other writers out there who have two substack publications?
If so, I would like your advice...
I currently have one Substack publication, which is directed towards philosophical musings and humorous short stories, but I am planning to start another one soon which will be dedicated to skateboarding.
I’ve thought about it a lot and I just feel like my skateboard writing should be it’s own publication - as it doesn’t fit the niche of my other publication.
And so, I’m just looking for any advice from other writers who have more than one substack publication...
What should I know?
What hiccups should I look out for?
What are the negatives of having two publications?
✏️A question about handles. If I accept the handle given to me, does that change the domain address by which people find me on substack? If yes, will my subscribers automatically be notified?
I have a question about handles. If I accept a handle will it change the way my domain name appears? Right now my subscribers know me as my last name.subsatck.com. Does a handle change that and do I now have to tell people to see my on substack using my new handle as my address? Or will they be informed automatically?
To help organize the conversation, please use one of the following emojis when you start a new comment.
🧠 - when sharing strategy or advice for fellow writers
✏️ - when asking questions or seeking feedback from fellow writers
🟧 - when asking a question you hope the Substack team can help answer
Use your emoji keyboard or simply copy and paste the emoji at the beginning of your comment.
✏️ - I'm curious what other writers are offering as a reward at each referral tier?
I know it's early, but for those of you that have rolled it out already, how has the feedback from readers been?
🧠 Hello writers! Andrei here, with a bit of feedback. Ten days ago, I set a challenge for myself: write one Note every day for a month. I didn't understand why some of my notes (which I thought very interesting) were underperforming, while others were well-liked. I still haven't figured everything out, but I can say with certainty that writing these Notes has boosted my subscriber growth. What I mean to say is this: though you may be skeptical of how new features can benefit you, it doesn't hurt to try them out, including this one. You never know!
(By the way, I'm also celebrating passing 175 subscribers. This was a sort of soft-milestone for me. Come say hi, and maybe check out some of my stuff. I'd love to meet you.)
🟧 I've had gmail users tell me their Substack emails are ending up categorized as "Promotion" and not showing up in their inbox. Is this a widespread problem, or are my readers the only ones experiencing this?
🟧 Hey Substack team! No question this week. I just wanted to say thanks for another new tool to boost subscriber growth. I'm excited to explore this one, and as someone who hasn't turned paid subscriptions on yet, it will definitely be interesting for me to see what I can come up with!
While I like the idea of referrals, you don't have enough options available for me to actually use the service right away. I want to be able to reward my subscribers who get me paid subscribers instead of free subscribers. There has to be a difference between the two.
I'm happy to get as many subscribers as possible, free or paid, but I need to be able to create incentives for people to bring in paid subscribers. Currently it's just upgrading free subscribers to paid. This isn't necessarily going to get anyone to increase my subscriber base.
Recently, I gave away a free 3 month trial for my top subscribers, and not one of them stayed on as paid subscribers. So I don't see my subscribers taking advantage of the referral program as it's currently structured.
✏️🟧
How do these referrals work for Substacks with paid subscriptions not turned on yet?
🟧 - I assume that all of the referral rewards happen automatically, correct? I don't have to keep track of who has made X number of referrals to receive Y reward?
🧠✏️🟧-- I know it's a little off menu for today, but I have a couple of questions about custom domains.
-How easy is this to do? I've read the Substack tutorial, but am also old.
-I also just have the domain name itself. This one doesn't go to any other site...yet. Does it need to?
-Will my existing links break?
-Other than a shorter URL what are the upsides in using a custom domain?
🟧 Is there a way to have Substack send out a very nice email like the ones I'm seeing, but without offering something "premium" in return? I'm growing quickly, but I'm not yet ready to promise things I am not sure I want to deliver on, but... simply asking for referrals might be something I could do, especially if I could add my voice into the copy at the top. Thanks for continuing to help me think through this!
Oooh, this is exciting! I can't wait to give this a try; I think Substack already has so many network effects built in, this is a great next-step.
✏️ Has anyone seen an uptick yet because of referrals?
While I think referrals are a great feature, I’m not sure readers would convert to paid once the period is over—but I guess that’s more a reflection of the quality of writing more than anything else.
I think that because readers get into the whole referral program because they DON’T want to pay—and when the rug is pulled from under their feet at the end of the period, they definitely will not begin to pay.
🟧 ✏️ If an already-paying subscriber does a referral, do they get any benefit in terms of extra time or something?
🟧 Is there a way to set up different referral rewards for free vs. paying subscribers referred? So like: a banana for 5 free subs, a dozen eggs for 15 free subs, AND a diamond necklace for 5 paying subs, a pet panther for 15 paying subs. (Note that I'm pretty sure these aren't the rewards I'll offer.)
🟧 Will referrals really benefit us? I can understand rewarding a referred subscription, but we’re rewarding shares, correct? Or am I mistaken?
🟧 - Do the referrals ever expire? Is there a time limit for how long a referral will stay on someone's account? If they get a reward at say 3 referrals, how do they rack up referrals to get to six? Or is it lifetime referrals? I don't quite understand how the referrals work
I remember asking about referrals at an Office Hours a year or two ago and it seemed like it wasn't a priority back then. So excited this feature is now available!
I'm thinking of offering both individual rewards for referrals and also group rewards when referral goals are met, like publishing bonus posts for all subscribers.
I love the idea of reader referrals! Yesterday I sent out my reader referral annoncement and left the tiers as what Substack suggested. Hopefully my readers feel encouraged to share my posts!
✏️ Has anyone got feedback from their readers about the referrals?
🟧 Do readers get a score log of how many referalls they've made? Is this limited to only emails that have an associated Substack account?
🟧 Do readers get a reader referral propmt that eplains what referrals are when they subscribe for the first time or do they need to go to the leaderboard tab to get more information?
🟧 - Do the referral rewards automatically apply to referrers, or is there an approval process that writers will have to go through?
🟧 Question for the substack team (sorry, it does not relate to referrals)
Would it be possible to offer people to buy access to a single newsletter article, or a series, without having to pay a full subscription? Say, instead of paying a monthly subscription for everything, could they pay like $5 for a single article?
Why pay for the buffet when you just want to order a la carte?
🟧 How do we give credit where credit is due to readers who've referred before? Is that something Substack is already calculating? I want to be sure readers are rewarded for that, even if I have to give a comp manually. Thanks! xo
The best thing you can do as a new writer on Substack is:
1. Write quality, engaging material
2. Post regularly and consistently (I recommend 2-3 times per week but this is wildly variable; you want to hook people’s interest without exploding their email inbox)
3. Read other Substacks and comment on them; try to be courteous, thoughtful and positive.
4. Reach out to other writers who write similar material after you’ve been writing a while and ask to cross-post, collaborate, etc.
5. Remember that Substack is a writing community; support others.
6. Attend Substack Office Hours
7. Read, subscribe, and pay for my Substack, Sincere American Writing. *(This is required.)
Michael Mohr
‘Sincere American Writing’
https://michaelmohr.substack.com/
🟧 Hi - I have a question about referrals. Is there a way to differentiate between referrals by paid vs free subscribers? The reason is I’m hoping I can get free subscribers to refer the free product and the paid subscribers to promote the paid product. The rewards would be different too, as paid subscriber already have access to the paid subscription. So I would probably do free coaching or something. Finally, is there an optimal number for each of the three tiers - so they are attainable but not too high? Thanks. Andrew
🧠My newsletter is currently free. I just enabled referrals and I am looking forward to see how it goes. I decided to offer access to a pre-recorded webinar (3 referrals), free mini course (5 referrals) and 1:1 coaching (15 referrals.)
I would love to hear how you all are approaching this new feature. What kind of rewards are you considering if you have a free newsletter? Thanks
🟧 - A difficulty I am having is explaining to people how to turn their emails back on when they accidentally disable them. The more complex Substack becomes, the more difficult this appears to be for my readers. Is there a way that I as the owner can do this for them, or point them in a direction of a video tutorial? It doesn't appear I have very robust tools to help my subscribers make sure they can access the material they are now paying for.
🟧Hello,
My major frustration with Substack is that questions don't get answered! (Over several trials, I've received an answer once, and that was that the team would do nothing about it for now...) During today's office Hours two threads are offered but they don't fit my kind of questions so I do apologize but hope they come to the attention of the right people. Here is my list:
1. When I update/edit a post, is an email sent out to my subsceibers? I hope not, but how do I ensure that?
2. I'd like to use a smaller font for photo captions but the only option I see results in smaller size alright, but also bold -- not quite what I want. (I've discovered how I can change the font of my posts but that's not what I'm after. The current font is fine. I'd just like to have more size options w/i the same font.)
3. How do I put pictures side by side?
4. I've discovered how to add Archive, but that is just a rundown of my current posts. What I'd like to do is to have subfolders in Archives, e.g., by year. Then I'll finally be able to transfer my FB posts to Substack. Essential in doing so is the ability to set the correct (original) date, as opposed to the current one. Where do I control that?
5. I get way too many emails from Substack, many that are not relevant to me. I completed your recent survey; that may improve things. But direct control over what type of emails I receive from you would be good.
That's it for now! Hoping someone answers...
✏️ So underneath all this talk of referral rewards I'm wondering about the foundation of all of it. That is, why should readers want to subscribe to your content? What is your value proposition for them? How are you working to promote that to readers? My perspective is that the reader defines the reward when they decide to avail themselves of my value prop, the benefit they receive from reading my content. Any thoughts on that?
I'm struggling to transition from paid freelance writer to entreprenuerial Substacker and I'm wrestling with how others drive their messaging home to achieve subscribers.
✏️ I am asking this here because I have asked this in Help/ customer support and can't seem to get an answer - no response. When I send out my posts I no longer get an email like I used to with my new post. Is there a reason for this or is this by design. No more emails? I am also seeing I am not getting emails from many of the newsletters I have subscribed to - they are only available on the app. Did I miss a change in distribution strategy? (first frustration with substack - felt like an unannounced change in UX). All helpful answers appreciated.
🟧 Does this discussion thread feature the ability to block abusive users? I'm not referring to blocking them completely from thread, just my own avoiding having to see their posts. This discussion is unwieldy enough without having to deal with interlopers.
✏️🟧As a traditionally published author, I am wondering if / when it is appropriate to offer paid newsletters? Thank you!
✏️ I would be interested to know if readers reacted negatively to it and in what way? Or what kind of reader reactions were there in the first place?
Currently, when someone clicks on my articles from Facebook, they have the optional to subscribe with their email. But it is optional. Most people are bypassing it. Is it possible to make the email subscription a requirement, even for free content, if my channel has not set up Paid Version yet?
Does anyone know whether there is a way to comp people for paid subscriptions only -- not free?
🧠 late to the party! But I will definitely use the recommendation feature to run “summit squad.” It’s currently a secret newsletter you unlock by being one of the most active subscribers on my list.
Problem is, the open feature sometimes gets finicky and my biggest supporters get left out. This seems like a much better way to go!
🟧 - To start with: I am very impressed with all that Substack is doing, and very grateful for the opportunities you create to drive growth of my Substack newsletter.
But... also with this great new feature, we run the risk of being completely tied in with Substack. It's increasingly becoming a walled garden. I, for one, would love to see more links to Web3 solutions. Maybe start with creating sharing links to decentralized social networks like farcaster and lens, and then ensure that NFT embeds are working. Even if just as social cards.
My ultimate goal would be to have my readers be able to make a choice of paying regular or by acquiring an NFT.
And one-time payments would be great as well, especially when it can be done with a blockchain token like Matic from Polygon or Tezos.
My question to the Substack team is whether this is on the horizon, or that the plan is to stay away from Web3 completely.
✏️Hello! I've missed these office hours! I write a newsletter focused on creativity but also include personal topics like grief, new motherhood, coping with anxiety, and more.
I'm hoping to connect with a few specific folks to build community. Leave a comment/share/tag if you know of someone or if you fit the bill yourself!
1) Parents of young kiddos (our son is about to turn one!) who are staying home full time. I'm hoping for accountability and idea sharing for how to juggle my investment in my writing practice with motherhood.
2) Folks who write about or are interested in seasonal rituals, guidance, or practices to help live in harmony with the cycles of nature. I'm looking for these anchor points in my own life and would love to share them in community.
3) Pathfinders- artists and others who have left the beaten path to make their own way and live a unique lifestyle. I'm doing monthly interviews to share stories that I hope will encourage and inspire others to live their own authentic life. I'm specifically hoping to elevate and amplify marginalized voices (queer, BIPOC, indigenous, persons living with disabilities, etc.) but I am open to anyone!
Thanks for sharing and for being here!
🟧My subscribers mostly find out about my latest post through my email notification to them. I'm not sure how many of their phones announce my latest Substack the way mine does...I believe this is because I've switched on that notification feature, and I could ask my subscribers to do that, but could you design, or do you have, a button that makes that easy?
🟧 How long does a trial paid subscription last before the person's card is charged? And if they are charged, are we notified that we have a new paid subscriber?
✏️ - This is just a general question, but does anyone else think the $5 minimum/ month charge is too high? Here in the UK, I can get the whole of the New York Times for $1.99 per month for the first 12 months. I believe this “micro charging“ has been extremely successful at building an international reader base.
✏️ 🟧 I have some 1000s of free subscribers now. My big question is how to turn a % into PAID. What works, really?
🟧 - I get the majority of my traffic from people aren’t actually subscribers. As far as I can tell, they aren’t able to “like“ a piece because they’re not subscribers. Is there any way this could be changed? As far as I can tell, it really limits the amount of “likes” I get.
By the way I get a lot of unsolicited compliments for my writing, but it doesn’t translate into anything more visible, which is frustrating .
🟧 How are referrals playing when recommendations? I’ve already had some net me several subscribers? Where do they fit in?
I see so many people talking about starting merch stores, which I'm very interested in for BOTH of my Substacks. Anybody have advice on how to go about doing this? What are you including? How are you selling it? How are you advertising it on your Substack?
🟧✏️ Thx Substack for another tool. Just curious. What’s the difference between asking subscribers to share and well, asking subscribers to share— and if they do they get…?
🟧 Love this new feature. And would love to see you add an option to
1) give special rewards to people who refer PAID subscribers
2) give a commission on subscriptions to people who refer paid subscribers.
That said, I do love the network effects of the reward being the newsletter itself.
I can see a point in time when readers will start to get turned off by all of us writers offering referrals. At which point do the marketing asks start to choke the experience of reading our Substacks? There's a fine line there somewhere that we need never to lose sight of.
✏️ I’m considering giving out eBooks or maybe sending a paperback as gift if anyone reaches 50 referrals. Any other writers doing this?
✏️ - I know this is a little off topic, but I’m gonna ask it anyway...
Are there any other writers out there who have two substack publications?
If so, I would like your advice...
I currently have one Substack publication, which is directed towards philosophical musings and humorous short stories, but I am planning to start another one soon which will be dedicated to skateboarding.
I’ve thought about it a lot and I just feel like my skateboard writing should be it’s own publication - as it doesn’t fit the niche of my other publication.
And so, I’m just looking for any advice from other writers who have more than one substack publication...
What should I know?
What hiccups should I look out for?
What are the negatives of having two publications?
What are the positives? Etc etc
Thank you
✏️A question about handles. If I accept the handle given to me, does that change the domain address by which people find me on substack? If yes, will my subscribers automatically be notified?
I have a question about handles. If I accept a handle will it change the way my domain name appears? Right now my subscribers know me as my last name.subsatck.com. Does a handle change that and do I now have to tell people to see my on substack using my new handle as my address? Or will they be informed automatically?