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?
Thank you so much for your reply! I'll take a look at your insights. Here's why: my current design template is much more user friendly for the way I write. I use headlines and images to guide the reader through topics. I can't replicate this on Substack. So to ask my readers to go to the effort to join a platform only to get a less optimal reading experience than they had before is not good from a CX perspective. In the future, would Substack enable more customization for embedding photos in a post? In the meantime, I will look at your link! Thanks again! So appreciate it!
Hi, Sharon. If you don't want to migrate your existing subs from another platform (super easy to do, BTW), then it's a matter of being patient and being an active part of the community on Notes and in comments. With Notes, most of the subs will be other writers (a great way to learn about fantastic 'stacks). I've gotten a fair amount of readers from participating in comments and interacting there in a constructive way (rather than fishing for followers). Substack is a wonderful community. All you have to do is show up and be authentic. Subs will start off slow, and then you will see a boom. I started here in March and have seen my subs almost nearly triple (if I get 23 new subs before the end of the month...and crazier things have happened). But I did migrate the subscribers from my currently paused podcast. If you don't want to migrate them, maybe invite them. I try to be active on other social platforms, but the algorithms there get in the way. Substack has been the most consistent. Welcome! Hope you have fun here! xo
Thank you so much! Notes is a great idea! Its too big an ask of my subs -- "hey, join this platform (what, why?) and get a reading experience less friendly than it used to be." So I have to build it from scratch. But I'm wondering if it penalizes me in their algorithm to start from 0.
I started from 0. It's been an utter joy to find a community here, and a good chunk of that happened from Jan to April, pre-Notes. The best thing is to also be a reader. Find other stacks you enjoy and engage with the author and their fellow readers via comments. It becomes a two-way thing. It's lovely.
Notes is great too, of course, but there it does seem to mostly be writers and less so readers.
No punishment. In theory, there is no algorithm here. I say that because Notes itself is a little strange, so I have my curiosity about that (not in a bad way; in a nonsensical one). But no one is punished. Substack wants everyone to succeed because that's how they make their money (their commission on our subs). So it only behooves them to help you be seen, unlike other platforms. xo
For your email list, send something out, say you're looking to add them here, (but won't without their permission), and then ask anyone wanting to opt out to respond. Add the rest.
Hi, Laurel. If you can export those subscribers to a CSV file (like Excel), then it's an easy import. Substack has info on that when you first sign up (check that email). I did mine from Wix and it was a breeze. Otherwise, you can manually do it (same way, create an Excel following their format for a faster import instead of doing it one by one) OR you can post on Medium that you'd love all of your subscribers there to join you at Substack and/or do "preview" posts on Medium that lead back to your 'stack if they want to read the rest. There are lots of sneaky ways to entice people here. Write about how much fun you're having/what a great community it is and see who nibbles. xo
If you don't want to migrate your subscribers, then you need to be active on Notes and other threads to help boost you to the right people and network with the right group to help boost each other's credibility.
Excellent. I'm in the Bay Area every month or so from my base at Scripps/UCSD and can also do a podcast with transcript by phone. Here's my email for suggestions on who to best interview and thanks:
Oooh, I love your bonus, Beth! That's a great idea. I don't want to offer too much (because time, energy, etc.) to everyone, but I love the idea of "the first five people to reach a certain number of referrals."
Don't limit your opportunities. First calculate how much each referral adds to your revenue. You may find its constant upside when you don't limit the number of achievers. Incentive programs are tricky. You need to play with the numbers first to inform your strategy.
I hadn’t considered that at all. I have had nice results without a limit before, so I’ll remove it and add “while supplies last.” Thank you for the advice and perspective!
My pleasure, Beth. Decades of fashioning incentive programs for salespeople taught me that you first have to try to anticipate every possible way they may try to game the program, then figure out the risk/reward with or without tiers or limits. The worst thing to learn from is experience, but I've done way too much of that... :)
Also want to point out that I was on my phone when Substack said something like, "Existing subscribers are the best marketers for your work. Activate Subscriber Referrals now?" Then "Yes" and "Maybe Later", with no explanation how they work. I clicked the latter because I need info before a decision like that, and will now have to figure out how to turn them on.
In settings there is an area under the header "Referrals". It is easiest if you have paid subscriptions already enabled. If you don't, it is somewhat limited.
I’m interested too. I might crowd source something since you want to give things people value. A personalized video, handwritten note, or a limerick about them might be just the ticket. I also want rewards to be sustainable from my standpoint. I want to consistently deliver.
I'm also thinking a personalised note, at least as a starting point. I don't want to incentivise growth just for the sake of some achievement-like goal for a reader wanting to reach *** tier. I want them to share my work only if they feel it has value. So, I'm still pondering this.
Might also be useful for a pledge drive for folks who haven’t turned on paid yet. Or it could be for a limited time before or after a major release. There’s definitely applications based on your work.
Great points. I agree about wanting to make things sustainable long-term, both in terms of time and money. Excited to know what other people come up with!
That "Free PDF" stuff kind of speaks to me. I've got a chapbook manuscript I'm working on and though I don't want to publish it here in its entirety, it might benefit from some fresh new pairs of eyes. This feature is exciting, I won't lie. I'll have more of a think over the next week.
Hi Bryce - you can add it to your auto email that will go out when a reward level is reached. You could host it on your website, then add a downloadable link.
I am using this method to offer people access to a free webinar, mini course or 1:1 coaching offers at different levels.
I think I will stick with paid content for now as well, although I lowered the threshold for the third tier and raised it for the second tier. I would love more paying subscribers who are actually paying (because the money would be nice), but at the same time, I'm separating paid content to material that is more vulnerable or valuable and I would like those who are emotionally or intellectually invested to still be able to read it.
I've had a hard time figuring out the balance of paid vs. free content. When I first started, I was writing an additional letter every week for founding members but that wasn't sustainable. I only have about 10 paying members, so writing a ton of content for such a small portion of my community is kind of daunting sometimes.
In my next letter, I'm planning to include a poll with different ideas I have to let people rank their interest. I'm hoping that helps convert more subs to paying as well as co-creating the community and experience that will offer them the most value. We'll see how it goes!
Right now I'm serializing the rough draft of my next book, which means my paid subscribers are getting a lot, but by October, my work should be about 40/60 paid to unpaid. I want more unpaid content than paid.
Hi Mariah - I have been thinking about this question. I am planning to go paid soon. With only about 900 free subs right now, I don't yet have a big base. So my thinking is to do a 70/30 split. 70% free, 30% premium. I am adding on more features like a monthly webinar with Q&A with me, exclusive discounts on training and coaching etc.
Later, I plan to start a podcast for paid members only.
Thank you, and to you as well! 900 is an impressive number! I'm hoping by letting folks in behind the scenes and asking for their ideas that will foster a sense of collaboration and community. This isn't all about me, after all!
I was thinking about that as well, I use a monthly personal post to share personal thoughts with my subscribers and I was thinking about the implications of broadening access to that. But subscribers that refer others to your newsletter are presumably also invested in it, so in that sense it is nice that they can be rewarded & included for that. It might lower the threshold for paying too, wanting to stay a part of that, but it's different for each person I think.
I'm doing tiers of 4, 8, and 25. Some of my branded merch is still in production so I'm not divulging until it is physically in my hands (could change depending on how it turns out) but things like stickers etc. I enjoy the branding and marketing aspect of writing. Being on social media in general you DO have to brand yourself in some way. I find it fun! I realize some writers have a hard time with this and hate the word 'brand' but we live in 2023. Times have changed.
I am not sure how we could send a physical item by mail when we don't have their mailing address. I have read some articles where people are using rewards like stickers, t-shirts, books etc.
Literal stickers that you stick on things like your laptop case, your notebooks. I have to stress that it depends on what your audience likes/uses/personal tastes. What works for me won't work for you. Your audience might hate the idea of stickers.
Hi Jenovia - I love the idea of stickers or other branded merch! Now I need to go find a creative graphics designer. I have created a basic look and feel for the brand, but need something more creative for a sticker or merch!
Mine are 2" x2". Same size as a Post-It note, and have my Substack's logo on them. Currently I send a card w/them in it to paid subscribers (if they want them) as a thank you.
You have to decide that for yourself :) It is like asking me how YOU like your steak done. I can't answer that. I can't define your personal style for you/your newsletter.
Okay. How many do you get made up at a time? I mean, the way I'm getting paid subscribers, ten would last me at least a year or two--if not more. I'm assuming you're having them made, or can you buy peel and stick sheets and make your own?
I don't have paid memberships yet. I'm sending out merch as a thank you to my readers who are most engaged AND as part of my referral rewards. This is just my personal choice. You don't have to do what I do. These are all decisions you have to decide based on your audience. I have a very defined path on where I am taking my Substack. My path won't work for everyone.
🧠I'm guessing 'Stack is taking care of such bookkeeping, inasmuch as they're the ones offering our buy-in on tier levels, etc. Get that little orange box emoji going, and ask a Katie or a Bailey what up!
I'm letting readers pick a topic for a deep dive (within reason) for the lowest tier. Then I'm just going to Venmo them money for the next two (figure it's the same as paying for advertising and the readers would be of higher quality).
I’m planning my launch post tomorrow and I’m planning on having a little bit of fun with it.
To start with I’ve set the rewards as the default comp subscription but I’m going to use the post and polls for my readers to decide what the rewards should be for each tier. I’ve got a few ideas for each to vote on. You then decide what the reward should be - voting in the newsletter over the next few days.
So, if you sign up to Never Stop Learning tonight you will be able to take part. SUBSCRIBE now. Should be fun!
You could also add a “how did you hear about us” question to a paid subscriber welcome email. If they say that another subscriber referred them, you can go comp them
I still have not switched on paid subscribers. I have my premium reward scheme almost ready, need to finalise it and then I'll start it. Maybe next week or the week after (public goal setting drives commitment to goals, right?). So, I have not done this yet. I have seen one newsletter I follow offer compensation for the paid version.
There's another newsletter I follow who had this already in place in another way, I guess. Or maybe it was a pilot. They used merchandising.
I'm curious about this too. I didn't really fully understand what the referrals program was until I read the above stuff, but it's fun to think about putting in quirky specific rewards. I'm wondering about something like 3-month comp / signed book / picture book manuscript critique. Although something like a zoom call would be a good one too.
One thing I am really curious to see is people try offering, especially free pubs, is "thanks" or a "surprise message" as the reward.
The beauty of how referrals is set up is that an automated email goes out when a subscriber unlocks a reward. In that email you can add a video or an audio message simply expressing your gratitude, or a poem, or just a really thoughtful note. Sometimes that goes the longest way!
Ideally the reward is something that runs on it's own—when a subscriber unlocks it, it requires no new work for you.
Is a video something you'd have to set up ahead of time, or would I get an alert that "subscriber xxx just reached tier 1/2/3" and then go ahead make a unique video or note?
🧠 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.)
Posting on general interest social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, is like throwing feathers into the wind. But I see Notes as a great way to participate actively in this incredibly valuable community Substack has developed for us. Getting to know each other is the best way to figure out how we can best help each other succeed. Thank you Substack!
Feathers into the wind is a good way to put it. It's hard to stop trying but boy is it tempting to give up there. But then one post for no rhyme or reason seems to take off. (Here on Notes I haven't cracked any code yet - I suppose because I'm small, no one's seeing me yet.)
I’ve always found that you need to find online communities, not just toss out in general conversations. I.e sharing my outdoor content in a hiking group, versus spamming links on my personal page
I've had some (small) success with using a relevant hashtag with my shares on Twitter - but not much. If I don't hashtag then it just disappears into the ether....
I found a feather once! So, posting on SOME social media sites isn't necessarily a slam dunk time-waster....unless, of course, your only goal is an instant million new eyeballs who can't live without your writing.
In my nearly two years, I've built quite a following on several dozen FB groups, just by linking new articles in the appropriate interest group (with occasional interaction beyond that). Same with LinkedIn, but not quite to the same degree. And, my analytics have shown me several new subbies come from both, but mostly FB.
Yes, I'm stunned at how unhelpful FB is, and I have like 3500 so-called friends. FB is like a newsletter in an old folks home these days. But I get a lot of DIRECT subs. Where do they come from? If someone subs off a share on a post is that DIRECT or SUBSTACK NETWORK? Simple question but I am confused.
Wow, this is awesome. I have been thinking about setting up a challenge like this for myself. I see the potential of Notes as additional content for someone who wants to just browse your Substack first without subscribing. I learned that you can add Notes on the top navigation bar on your site. This way, they can see your Notes all at one place.
I think it is also a good way to force yourself to write mini- articles and practice your writing. I am not necessarily looking to drive subs from Notes, but it could work really well in my opinion. Patience is key.
I didn’t see much activity on my notes and so wasn’t very active there. But since yesterday, I’ve set myself a goal of going on Notes everyday and making new friends. I’ll see how it goes. Thanks for sharing your experience and congratulations on the subscriber goal!
Hi Priya - yes I am trying to do the same. I like reading notes and when I feel connected to something, I try to leave a comment. I am not yet writing too many notes myself, but thinking about doing it as a daily habit for practice.
Do you have a better understanding now of which notes "perform" and which don't? Because I suffer from invisibility on the Notes side of things; no matter I post there really bombs - unless I tag someone more popular. So it's kind of game to see who can I tag. Might help if I had more time to read more Substacks!
I wouldn’t say I have a much better understanding, no. So far, the Notes that have done well were announcements and community-related stuff, like recommendations and a list of writers I love.
That’s free, haha. I haven’t turned on paid yet. I know it’s not a super impressive number, but I’m content with slow and steady growth. I want to eventually reach 1000 subscribers.
That's a great idea. I'm fairly new here too and have been trying to use Notes more. Setting myself a target for Notes in a week would help me stay motivated, I think. Do you post your notes at a set time, or vary them?
I vary them, and so far I haven’t seen much difference in engagement when it comes to the time I post them. Some types of content just catch, regardless of when I post.
Well done Andrei! I have mostly been commenting on other writers' Notes because when I post my own I get little or no traffic on them. It may be an interesting experiment to try posting daily to see if it generates greater interest. Thanks for sharing your challenge with us.
🟧 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?
I learned this trick from another writer by looking at their welcome email - you should add a line in your email asking people to hit reply with a simple "hello" and explain that this is the best way to make sure they continue to receive the newsletter by email.
Hi Howard, an idea I nabbed from a big-time substack was asking people to reply 'hello' to the welcome email, so gmail recognises you as a friend - or alternatively, you can give out instructions on how to mark your email as safe
I'm wondering if they even see the welcome email though - if it's going to spam, how would they know to do the thing we're telling them there about getting it out of spam...
Yeah I think you're right, I think it's sad fact of the game that a certain percentage rot away in the spam box. I do regular posts on socials to say 'if you aren't getting my emails, there probably in your spam box'
Whitelisting is fine, if you can reach them to tell them about it, but experience with other email engines, such as Constant Contact, etc., has shown that there are things the engine operators can do to improve their domain's digital reputation. I'm wondering if Substack is looking at this.
I have a lengthy note I wrote a while back, explaining how you can boost your digital reputation. If you want it, just click my profile and scroll back a bit
I have not heard this feedback from users. Then again, there might be some who forgot all about my newsletter, because it lands in their spam or promotion folder.
Having said that... I'm a gmail user myself, and subscribe to quite a few Substacks. I do not have this experience myself as a subscriber. Not sure why or why not, but I have never had that.
Good question, I have wondered the same. I also suspect there may be difference between those who sign up of their own volition and are on the lookout for the welcome email, and those of whom we add to the subscriber list at our end (with their permission, such as friends etc). I can't prove this theory though.
I have never added anyone myself to my subscriber list .... I insist that everyone choose to subscribe voluntarily ... why i am just approaching 1,000 subs and why another person I know with substantially less, well, grivitas is in the multiple thousands ... most of which he's added himself !
Possibly imported from another list. Substack actually makes you explain where you got the subscribers you add manually. I conducted a research survey for an article, and asked people in the survey if they’d like to be added to the email list. A large number indicated they would…
And then Substack asks where you got it from? With spam laws being rather draconian here in Canada, I would think it's advisable to get a personal opt-in from each recipient.
I can't help you there - mysteries abound. Maybe that other person had an existing list they brought with them to Substack? The other day I just got spammed by someone on Substack. I didn't sign up and she even says on her site to please consider subscribing for free or paid. How does that happen? She also has Buy me a Coffee on her pages as well, for the drive-by reader who may enjoy her sarcastic rants. I'm thinking of doing that, which I assume is ok by Substack. Anyway, you are way ahead of me, I'm writing about the zeitgeist and the competition is intimidating!
Aside from telling readers in the welcome email, you can also encourage readers to reply directly to your email with their comments.
This will make an automatic contact card in their email account, so that you’re always treated like a human sender engaged in two way messaging, not a business sending marketing material
🟧 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.
Hi Andrew, thanks for your feedback. We're thinking about how we might create different tools to reward people who help get you new free vs. paid subscribers.
That's a great idea, I'm sorry that no one continued their subscription with you! I wonder if you asked any of them for feedback? Or have you polled your audience to see what they would pay for? I'm planning on doing that this week.
I had an idea for new moon circles and letters that I've been super stoked about but not only did I get some unsubscribes, the enthusiasm hasn't really been matched. So I'm trying to decide if I just need to find the right audience or if I need to pivot and listen more to what my current audience wants.
Hi Tara - my answer is based on what I feel not what I have observed in practice (mine is still a free newsletter)
I think it would be good to see a rise in the rate of conversion to paid from free subs. If your free subs are rising faster than your paid subs, you are probably signing up people who are really not very interested in your content. Maybe you are offering them rewards they want to get just to sign up, but they don't see a reason to convert to paid. My thinking is that if you can maintain a high enough open rate, you will eventually increase your paid subs.
On another note, it would be a good way to balance your time and energy between increasing your reach and increasing your paid conversion.
No specific criteria, sorry I didn't mean to say that 30% is not good. As I said, you should also look at the total number of potential paid subscribers not just a % rate.
You have to decide what will work for you to support your total revenue expectation.
Given that I currently have zero paid subscribers? The percentage of zero is zero.
I did have a subscriber recently independently decide to take advantage of a 3 month trial that I offer to all new subscribers. But they are still in the trial period.
😂 Well ya can't beat easy math! My newsletter is free, so this is not an issue for me, but I would guess that it's worthwhile to get any new subscribers, since the paid subscribers might be folks who hang out unpaid for awhile. I've seen the issue of conversion to paid coming up in Notes, too. It's a challenge.
i have decided to wait til i reach 1,000 free to offer paid tiers...i am nearly there! so in another month or so, look out....have some great ideas for special features for the handful of paid that I expect to come flooding through the door....
My newsletter is free too for the most part. I have an early access for paid subscribers option but 3 months later I give it away for free. I would say 95% of everything else is available for free. Might be changing that up in the future though.
Mine is not a paid newsletter yet. You can customize the reward at each level. For example, I chose a free webinar, free mini course and 1:1 coaching at the 3 levels.
I just answered some questions in Notes related to this. It looks like it only enables one tier and it has to be customized. Hope substack staff can confirm whether I've understood that correctly.
🧠You might want to stick a little orange emoji box (like what they have at the top of this thread) in front of a request for that....it helps them see it and respond.
The only difference between free & paid publications is that free publications have to set up custom rewards, whereas paid publications can flip this on if they're okay using the default rewards (comp periods). We couldn't come up with a strong default reward for free publications.
🟧 - 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?
A subscriber will get a "reward email" when they reach a milestone. That reward email is customizable and automatically goes out, which was our way of trying to help people automate reward fulfillment.
I hope that makes sense - let me know any other questions or feedback.
That's so YOU, Terry! I've certainly never known you to be a style-cramper!
And, apparently, I've been misreading a key part of this whole new program! I keep picturing readers rolling up a printed-out copy of one of my articles, and lighting up! So, it's NOT "reefer my newsletter"? Well, that changes everything!
Might also depend on what you want to achieve. Say you want people who visit kevinsthebest.com to be redirected to your substack and that's it, I tihnk that is quite easy to pull off in the settings of your domain name provider.
If you want all the links to work as kevinisthebest dot com and want users to keep seeing that, then see Katie's answer ;p
PS: don't be ageist. I'm also old. We are young.
(And we are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong)
🟧 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!
I shared this above but I am really curious to see is people try offering, especially free pubs, is "thanks" or a "surprise message" as the reward.
The beauty of how referrals is set up is that an automated email goes out when a subscriber unlocks a reward. In that email you can add a video or an audio message simply expressing your gratitude, or a poem, or just a really thoughtful note. Sometimes that goes the longest way!
Ideally the reward is something that runs on it's own—when a subscriber unlocks it, it requires no new work for you.
You're being way too hard on yourself, Andrew.....you're much higher up on the food chain; why, I can see by your photo ID, you're clearly a goat, if not an actual Tom Brady-like GOAT!
Deal, Andrew! Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!🐐😊I searched my stack o' 'Stacks, and while not having written about goats or a farm, I do have this "Suburban Cowboy" Playlist you might enjoy (not knowing where you are, musically)! https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/grow-bigger-ears-6-the-audio-autopsy
I like your question. I'm feeling uncomfortable about how my readers will feel about "premiums." I think they'll feel manipulated, when they're already sending lots of good vibes just by showing up, opening emails, and responding! Letting people know how they can help (if they want to) feels like a better approach for my little stack than incentives and rewards.
Substack-Katie had a great suggestion somewhere up above: If you missed it, she suggested setting up thank you emails (could be audio or video as well as text). I like this approach of sending thank-you's for referrals rather than setting up incentives. I might see how that works....
I like that, too, but it doesn't really help with the original question... but sometimes really good ideas arise from thinking about a different issue. Maybe we can think through how to ask for referrals in a way that feels more genuine to us. That's the most important thing for me, not manipulating people into doing something they might not already want to do.
I'm most excited about having a mechanism to tangibly help the publications which I cannot yet pay for. I'm going to have to find a way to systematize referring people so I can make sure I am boosting everyone!
✏️ 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.
Could they not just as well feel included in your community and seen for taking part in it, making them want to stay a part of that? I would love to know the statistics on this, but even if people do not continue the paid subscription, isn't them spreading the word already worth it?
With a comp, the person doesn't have to put a credit card down to get paid access, so I would have fairly managed expectations on how many convert to paid. With a similar feature, we see about 5% of comp'ed subscribers convert to paid, but note that there's a wide spectrum on a publication-level (some higher, some lower).
But yes, the benefit isn't just the new paid subscribers — it's the new audience coming in, some of which will also convert to paid. And some of the folks that get comps will convert further down the road after the comp period.
Of course, I’m not saying there’s no upside. Like you said, just to feel included in something they closely relate to, and contribute positively to something they really like, is absolutely a good outcome.
It’s that 1000-true-fans theory, right? I agree—but I think it stops when they have to shell out cash, and just shouting from the rooftops on behalf of someone else isn’t sustainable, or scalable. Thoughts?
I’m more than happy to be proven wrong—these are just my initial impressions of this feature.
Can't say what it would do down the line one way or the other. But it does increase the odds of eventually attracting someone to your newsletter who will eventually pay, sort of a snowball effect possibly. Not sure how many subscribers we are talking here though before that becomes sustainable.
One other side note — it's totally possible to change the rewards from the default gift subscriptions, and in some cases, a custom reward(s) tailored to the publication may work a lot better than comps.
Hi Kevin - I am curious, how you are measuring engagement. If they are reading your newsletter, wouldn't that show up as high open rate? That is one metric of engagement. Do you have another more useful engagement metric in mind?
My open rate is high, to the point where I would sacrifice it a bit to grow subscriber numbers. But what I meant is that most of them don't have a Substack account and have no intention of starting one. It's a lot of like service industry people etc. So, they don't really engage beyond reading the newsletter.
This is separate but complimentary to subscriber referrals. If paid subs share these gift subscriptions and drive new subscribers, they'll earn credit for referrals.
It's worth noting that there's no incentive for paid subs to share these gift subscriptions other than they value your work and want to share it with their friends, so the rewards via subscriber referrals provide a little extra nudge to get them to share the gift subscriptions.
🟧 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.)
You could send out a welcome email for paid subscribers that ask them to tell you how they found your publication. Then go back and give that person a reward
Not substack staff but the answer seems to be that we are rewarding shares *that lead to subscriptions*. The subscriptions that result from the share can be either free or paid, it doesn't matter. This mechanism drives new subscribers to our publication, and rewards the top drivers with a comped paid subscription or whatever else we choose.
Reading just the first few responses, I realize I've missed the point of the program. Rewarding referrals, per se, seems kind of crass to me. I value networking highly, which is one of the reasons I so love the Substack community. Nobody needs to give me anything to refer them to others beyond great writing of great content. Will I appreciate a free sub to their newsletter, absolutely. But even that I see as enablement. I WANT my fellow Substack writers to read my stuff so they can decide whether or not they want to refer it to their readers, friends, and other associates.
My most basic understanding is that, on Substack, it's all about the writing. No?
I’m using Substack as a home base for my drawing sessions and creative community. So for me, the referral program works well to help folks find me. But I can see how the system may not be for everyone. It’s also my understanding that you can switch that option off and hide it from your menu.
I agree. Surely the quality of the writing and/or information is everything. These incentive programs seem strange to me, maybe it’s because in the UK, we don’t really see so much of it!
I’m not sure about referrals yet either. There is already so much to keep up with besides just writing. I see in my subscribers very little crossover to other publications. By seeding their exploration to other newsletters does that help me? Might sound selfish but I’m trying to see the value to me.
I see the value there. I guess I’m feeling a little overwhelmed with all of the features and all the different suggestions as to how to use them. I’m trying to write and stay connected in this community. Sheesh...I need an intern.
Makes sense; can you say a little more about the referral email works for each person making a referral? Also, I am still not sure about how it would work inside an article when someone is already a subscriber...I remember reading that if we add a "Share" button in the article, they will be able to make a referral.
🟧 - 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
Good questions. Referrals don't expire. If someone gets a reward at 3 referrals, they'll need to get 3 more to get to 6. Readers can only go up to the 3rd tier once.
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?
My understanding is that it works automatically in the background. When someone reaches a reward level, the email you have prepared for that level will go out to them. In your email, you can offer the reward. I don't know how it would work for paid subscriptions when you are offering a month free or so. Mine is not a paid newsletter (yet)
🟧 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?
A lot of people have been asking for lower payments, bundles newsletters and other options for payment. I’m not sure how they could do that with the current system. Perhaps make a page paid with extras. As much as Substack changes, they still want to keep things relatively intuitive to use.
In the meanwhile, I have simply a button that links to my buymeacoffee page, so people can tip me if they like my writing.
I also have a newsletter on Paragraph, and there you can "collect" an issue of a newsletter. Even a quote from it. You will have to pay with crypto (Matic on the Polygon blockchain) and you will get the newsletter or quote as an NFT in your wallet. It's a very fun way to solve this. I would love to have a 'collect' button on Substack.
🟧 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
Hey Sandra, we just launched a new "reader sharing" tab where you can see stat for how often subscribers have shared your posts dating back to January 2022. It's not a perfect system because the way they have to share is by clicking the "share" button at the top or bottom of a post. It doesn't include if they copied a link and sent it to someone that way, for example.
Thanks, Katie. So Substack is tracking the past referrals by link and will credit them for that now? Asking for other writers because I just looked at my stats. LOL. 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
Thanks for your question, Andrew. It is currently not possible to differentiate between paid and free subscriptions with regards to referrals. But this is good feedback, and something we'll consider building in a future iteration.
🧠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.
Most of my subscribers have no idea what Substack is, and get very confused about all of it. Is there any way it could be changed so that I as the author could change a user's email address? I can guarantee you that no one is going to file a support ticket with Substack. They'll just stop reading.
I am not sure, but it's a fairly common issue. Even just having this on a FAQ would be very useful. I need on my end to have stock answers to give to people. I've fielded this question four times in the past month, at a time when I'm unfortunately distracted by family issues.
And every time it takes me out of my writing, and things appear to keep changing and I can't keep up! Also I have a lot of subscribers who would like me to change their email. Explaining this to people in their 70's and 80's is nigh on impossible.
I had a similar experience from an elderly reader (78 years old). I got a sweet note and check from her in the mail because she couldn't figure out how to become a paid subscriber via Substack's technology. While I think it's definitely an age gap thing, it is nice to consider these tools aren't second nature to everyone.
I guess for me I was grateful she took the time to send me a personal check but it also made me wonder how I can be more accessible to everyone and who is getting frustrated with the technology without telling me.
I have about a dozen people who send me checks and I comp them. I also find that at 49 I am having a harder and harder time when user interfaces change rapidly and frequently! I am grateful to be able to sell my work to people this way, but just want to be able to update emails for people.
I can usually walk people through it, but I now have over 2,200 subscribers in my primary newsletter and I'm on about 25 percent of my usual bandwidth as it is!
Which has the effect of refunding their money. My work around has been to just add a second email, but then I get complaints that they get too many emails because I can't disable the older one. Being able to change their email to what they prefer. It's increasingly a problem for me.
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.
I’m pretty sure I read on the Substack website that when you update a post, it definitely doesn’t send out a new email. You can easily test it by making yourself a subscriber, but I’m 99% sure post edits are only seen by online readers.
BTW I’ve found when I have a question about using Substack, I just type it into Google and usually the right thing comes up.
1. I don’t think it does. I’d add yourself as a subscriber to be sure.
2. You can click on the photo and an ellipsis appears on the top right corner. Click “Edit Caption” for text that fits neatly underneath. It can be formatted bold or italicized.
3. You can add a gallery and two photos will be side to side.
4. I’m not sure how to do that. Perhaps creating a page and link to your older articles. I’d visit The Elysian by Elle Griffin to see how she did it.
5. I think you could go to the particular profile emailing you (Substack Reads, Substack) or your profile under “Reads” and unsubscribe.
Unfortunately, Chevanne, it turns out that some of your suggestions did not work for me:
Re 2: No ellipsis appears in the top RH corner of a photo when I click on it!
Re 3: Thanks for pointing out the existence of Gallery. However, when I put my two photos in Gallery, the pictures are cropped and become fuzzy!
Re 4: I had a romp through Elle Griffin's The Elysian (it led me to Robert Reich's lecture series!) but I saw no sign of an Archive, let alone one that has subfolders.
I've given Substack feedback on this latest Office Hours. I keep hoping to get my issues resolved.
✏️ 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.
Like everything else, I think Substack has several tools to help writers. Not all will apply. Only one person I subscribe to actively uses Chat. I bet a lot of Substacks will utilize these tiers to provide value to people who champion their work but may not pay. I’d let it play out and see where you think it applies to you. Might not.
Paid subscriptions can be hard. We are all finding our way to drum up that loyalty. I would love more paid subscribers but I write what I write at the speed and frequency I do… it’ll come.
Yes, it seems crazy to me. We are competing with millions of other bits of media for people’s attention, so why should they help you in some complex marketing strategy? It doesn’t add up. I speak as someone who generally gets a very good response to his work.
Hi Howard - I can't say I know the answer, but like you I am also trying to figure it out.
My feeling is that you got to find out what your audience responds to. What they consider "nice to have" vs. "must have". The problem is that you don't get a signal every time you post something on your newsletter. So you have to make an educated guess. Try different things, different formats etc.
To start with, you have to have some idea who you want to write for and how you are uniquely positioned to deliver it to them. It is a slow and painful process to find your sweet spot.
✏️ 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.
Oh, well, it seems Robert has the answer. I had not seen this happen, so I don't think it's a default setting. But it's tech, so something could have gone wrong.
There is a setting inside your account settings (so not your publication settings) where you can choose to get notifications from the app or through email, with another option to avoid double notifications in both email and app which is the default.
Thanks Robert. I did see that but no idea how/when it went to "Smart". Perhaps a default setting change Substack made that I missed? I wish tho' it was more granular so I could decide by publication. Also I guess it also explains (somewhat) why I'm not receiving my own post emails... Oh well. Thanks all the same.
They changed it when they launched the app. Would have preferred if email remained the default, as I feel like engagement is probably higher there. For readers it changes as soon as they install the app and login I think.
Thanks for this explanation! I also didn't understand the change. I'm used to the app now but one of the reasons I was first drawn to @substack was because of the email feature. I'm someone who's trying to spend LESS time on my phone, not more. Reading newsletters via email, while old-fashioned was kind of appealing.
I've gotten used to the app now and will probably keep it that way...guess I wish I could've made a more informed choice at the time.
I use the app now, but that is because I use Substack in a professional capacity and am therefore active on the platform. If I wasn't, I would have definitely preferred the emails.
🟧 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.
I think, if you're thinking about offering a paid tier, the time to offer paid newsletters is now. I am also a traditionally published author, and I consider my Substack part of my author income. Most of what I post is free, but if I'm going to be a professional writer, then I might as well look to as many sources as I can to get paid for my writing.
Hi India - I am not a published author (yet), but I have struggled with this question. I think if you already have a good following somewhere, get them into Substack and turn on paid as soon as possible. If not, it might make sense to first build a subscriber base on Substack. For some reason, the number 1000 has stuck in my head.
More specifically, I am thinking of the following milestones
1. See if you can have at least 500 engaged subscribers (opened at least 5 emails)
2. Publish at least 50 articles that are available for free. This makes the base for anyone visiting your site for the first time
3. See if you can get at least 2-3 comments on most of your posts. This will show that you have an engaged and interested audience
4. See if you have the stamina to write 2-3 original articles each week. Do you feel you will run out of ideas or steam?
5. Ask your current subscribers to pledge their support first before going paid. See if you can get at least 50 pledges in a month..
I don't think there is a formula. You have to feel ready and you have to have an audience who would be willing to pay.
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?
I wouldn’t do that. After all, whether someone subscribes or not should be their prerogative. We all hate being forced into things, especially e-mail lists. And isn’t it better to know that your subscribers chose to subscribe because they want to read YOU, rather than them being people who were forced to press a button?
Yeah I don't think that is possible right now as it seems designed to track any new subscription, free or paid, as a referral. Maybe that is a feature that will come in future iterations?
Yes. Just go to your subscriber list, and you can turn a free subscriber into a paid subscriber with the click of a button. I do this for a few people I know who are on limited incomes, have limited time, or are college students who sign up with an .edu email address. Of course, it's all theoretical, as I don't have a paywall. But I'm thinking about it!
You can also enter a friend or contact manually if you want to from the subscribers screen click the button labelled add subscriber in the tool bar above the list and you can add them as a comp brand new. This probably only applies to small lists like mine.
🧠 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!
Hello! I’ve been celebrating solstices as emotional anchors in the up and down of my life but have not yet looked into practices. I might explore them (and write about them) soon.
Living an authentic life… yes! I’d be happy to participate.
🟧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?
You can set up the trial period in your Settings. Default is 7 days and you have to put in your credit card for the free trial. You’ll be notified by email if you 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.
Hi Stephen - I get the micro charging idea. That is why I have asked the Substack team if it would be possible to have a reader buy a single article instead of paying a subscription.
Having said that NYT can offer a lower price point (which still is too high in my view) because they have a large subscriber base. They want to offer everything to everybody. In my view, people like us are offering a very unique piece of writing that is not available anywhere.
That should command a higher price, right?
To me, $5 is too low; I plan to value my monthly subscription at $20 because I am providing highly differentiated and actionable insights in a regulated industry.
Hope that logic makes sense but I welcome your view.
Hi Naveen, yes I can see how that would make sense for somebody providing specific information which is actionable. However, I am offering similar material to that which is provided by humorous columnists in the comment pages of quality UK newspapers.
So while I think I have a unique “voice”, it’s simply not worth $5 a month to a reader, especially as I am an unknown name. I really think Substack should look at micro charging for people like me.
Hi Stephen - Got it, but I would urge you to not sell yourself short. You don't have to be a big name or a big audience. Even if you can fill a room with 20 people, and entertain them for an hour, they would happily pay you much more than they would when they go see a movie.
I think when you set a high price, it also forces you to work harder and deliver more.
Having said that, I would still like to be able to sell a single piece of work, rather than asking everyone to pay a full subscription.
BTW - I am going to subscribe to your newsletter now - need some humor in my life!
That’s very kind, I’ll do the same. BTW I’m only writing one piece a month for various reasons, but it’s very carefully crafted. I agree it would be better to have the ability to charge per article. Much greater flexibility.
🟧 - 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.
Thank you Naveen, and agree about putting love for your readers first :). I think I'll wait with the referrals for a bit. I do think if done right it can be a great thing for both writer and reader.
✏️ - 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 just joined Substack. How do I grow my subscribers on substack if I don't want to migrate my existing subscribers to Substack.
🟧 - when asking a question you hope the Substack team can help answer
Hey Sharon,
Out of curiosity, why don't you want to bring your existing subscribers with you?
Here we rounded up our best insights on growing your audience: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-4
Thank you so much for your reply! I'll take a look at your insights. Here's why: my current design template is much more user friendly for the way I write. I use headlines and images to guide the reader through topics. I can't replicate this on Substack. So to ask my readers to go to the effort to join a platform only to get a less optimal reading experience than they had before is not good from a CX perspective. In the future, would Substack enable more customization for embedding photos in a post? In the meantime, I will look at your link! Thanks again! So appreciate it!
Hi, Sharon. If you don't want to migrate your existing subs from another platform (super easy to do, BTW), then it's a matter of being patient and being an active part of the community on Notes and in comments. With Notes, most of the subs will be other writers (a great way to learn about fantastic 'stacks). I've gotten a fair amount of readers from participating in comments and interacting there in a constructive way (rather than fishing for followers). Substack is a wonderful community. All you have to do is show up and be authentic. Subs will start off slow, and then you will see a boom. I started here in March and have seen my subs almost nearly triple (if I get 23 new subs before the end of the month...and crazier things have happened). But I did migrate the subscribers from my currently paused podcast. If you don't want to migrate them, maybe invite them. I try to be active on other social platforms, but the algorithms there get in the way. Substack has been the most consistent. Welcome! Hope you have fun here! xo
Thank you so much! Notes is a great idea! Its too big an ask of my subs -- "hey, join this platform (what, why?) and get a reading experience less friendly than it used to be." So I have to build it from scratch. But I'm wondering if it penalizes me in their algorithm to start from 0.
I started from 0. It's been an utter joy to find a community here, and a good chunk of that happened from Jan to April, pre-Notes. The best thing is to also be a reader. Find other stacks you enjoy and engage with the author and their fellow readers via comments. It becomes a two-way thing. It's lovely.
Notes is great too, of course, but there it does seem to mostly be writers and less so readers.
Good luck!
Thanks, Nathan!
No punishment. In theory, there is no algorithm here. I say that because Notes itself is a little strange, so I have my curiosity about that (not in a bad way; in a nonsensical one). But no one is punished. Substack wants everyone to succeed because that's how they make their money (their commission on our subs). So it only behooves them to help you be seen, unlike other platforms. xo
Great! Thanks!
thanks for this! also fairly new -- how would one go about migrating subs from Medium?
Put a CTA in your articles.
For your email list, send something out, say you're looking to add them here, (but won't without their permission), and then ask anyone wanting to opt out to respond. Add the rest.
Hi, Laurel. If you can export those subscribers to a CSV file (like Excel), then it's an easy import. Substack has info on that when you first sign up (check that email). I did mine from Wix and it was a breeze. Otherwise, you can manually do it (same way, create an Excel following their format for a faster import instead of doing it one by one) OR you can post on Medium that you'd love all of your subscribers there to join you at Substack and/or do "preview" posts on Medium that lead back to your 'stack if they want to read the rest. There are lots of sneaky ways to entice people here. Write about how much fun you're having/what a great community it is and see who nibbles. xo
thank you!
If you don't want to migrate your subscribers, then you need to be active on Notes and other threads to help boost you to the right people and network with the right group to help boost each other's credibility.
Thanks, so much, Russell!
If it's anything less than a low mileage Huracan you'll only be getting 750,000 subscribers from me
Dude, when will those outdated petrol sports cars switch to something electric--and fast?
It's already happening. Have you been up to the Sonoma race track lately (north of SF)? EVs are blowing the gas-powered race cars off the tracks :)
No, but that's a good column for HOT GLOBE! I'll check it out.
For sure! Check this out >> https://www.holleyhighvoltage.com/
For full transparency, I was one of the MC's at last year's Tesla Takeover. Lot going on in the EV space. Happy to intro you to folks
Excellent. I'm in the Bay Area every month or so from my base at Scripps/UCSD and can also do a podcast with transcript by phone. Here's my email for suggestions on who to best interview and thanks:
intellectualcapitalchapple@gmail.com.
Lamborghini's are a bit out dated don't ya think? Now a nice Bugatti Chiron... I'd give a million subs for that
Free or paid?
Look at Birgitte. Wanting to read the fine print.
I write the fine print, John.
✏️ - 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?
✏️ I’m using the Substack template model for paid content rewards, with a little sticker giveaway for top referrers. Here’s how I modified it:
https://open.substack.com/pub/bethspencer/p/want-a-free-month-of-introvert-drawing?r=yx03w&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
(Feedback welcome!) 😊
Oooh, I love your bonus, Beth! That's a great idea. I don't want to offer too much (because time, energy, etc.) to everyone, but I love the idea of "the first five people to reach a certain number of referrals."
Don't limit your opportunities. First calculate how much each referral adds to your revenue. You may find its constant upside when you don't limit the number of achievers. Incentive programs are tricky. You need to play with the numbers first to inform your strategy.
I hadn’t considered that at all. I have had nice results without a limit before, so I’ll remove it and add “while supplies last.” Thank you for the advice and perspective!
My pleasure, Beth. Decades of fashioning incentive programs for salespeople taught me that you first have to try to anticipate every possible way they may try to game the program, then figure out the risk/reward with or without tiers or limits. The worst thing to learn from is experience, but I've done way too much of that... :)
Thank you, Sarah! The stickers arrived yesterday and I had no plan at all for them. Substack’s referral program email was perfectly timed! 😄
sorry....but do you mean a 'referral' or a referral that leads to a paid sub?!
Referral that leads to free or paid sub. I believe that's what the leaderboard tracks - all new subscribers. Sorry for the confusion!
That looks good. How did you get the leaderboard up, or is that built in? Thanks
Thanks! It’s built into the referral page.
Thanks, Beth, yes just saw it :-)
Thank you! Also awesome to see someone else with stickers. :)
It's very inviting. I was drawn in immediately.
That's the best compliment a person could give me about my Substack, Roberta! Thank you so much. 🥰 You've made my whole week! 💐😺
Love this idea! Thanks for your link - might've just hit 'subscribe' while I was at it...! 😊
Thanks so much! 💐🐢 I do enjoy creative marketing. 💖
I like the sticker idea, that's great :)
Looks great Beth. Simple, easy to understand how it works. Thanks for sharing.
Marking my place here so I can follow this.
Also want to point out that I was on my phone when Substack said something like, "Existing subscribers are the best marketers for your work. Activate Subscriber Referrals now?" Then "Yes" and "Maybe Later", with no explanation how they work. I clicked the latter because I need info before a decision like that, and will now have to figure out how to turn them on.
In settings there is an area under the header "Referrals". It is easiest if you have paid subscriptions already enabled. If you don't, it is somewhat limited.
Thanks, Scoot.
not limited....unavailable as far as I can see....went to Settings and see NO header called "Referrals" .....??
Way toward the bottom of the Settings page is the section for Referrals, called "Referral program," just below the Substack Boost opt-in/out section.
I'm not sure it works if you dont have paid subs. I've just asked the question to the orange square.
Well, I did it. I just used the default rewards.
BUT...I have not sold one single monthly subscription. They're all either annual or free. So it'll be interesting how this goes.
I’m interested too. I might crowd source something since you want to give things people value. A personalized video, handwritten note, or a limerick about them might be just the ticket. I also want rewards to be sustainable from my standpoint. I want to consistently deliver.
There once was a girl named Chevanne
What rhymes with Chevanne? Rain? Spain? Plane? I give up.
There once was a girl named Scordinsky...
Limericks are hard.
Haha! You’ll have to pick something else for rhyming.
There once was a quirky black girl
Who figured she’d give writing a whirl
She made friends who stuck
And subscribers went up
Her happiness was worth more than a pearl
I'm glad you thought my attempt was funny. When hours went by without a reply I started to worry. Your version is much better than mine.
Oh, don’t worry, I was just out and didn’t see this immediately. It’s the effort that counts. 🙂
A LIMERICK is a brilliant idea!
Love the idea of a personalized video, note, or limerick! Even just a special thank you could go a *long* way!
I'm also thinking a personalised note, at least as a starting point. I don't want to incentivise growth just for the sake of some achievement-like goal for a reader wanting to reach *** tier. I want them to share my work only if they feel it has value. So, I'm still pondering this.
Might also be useful for a pledge drive for folks who haven’t turned on paid yet. Or it could be for a limited time before or after a major release. There’s definitely applications based on your work.
I'm currently entirely Free, so still thinking about how best to apply this.
Great points. I agree about wanting to make things sustainable long-term, both in terms of time and money. Excited to know what other people come up with!
Exactly what’s I’m doing tomorrow in my next post. Should be a little bit of fun!
That "Free PDF" stuff kind of speaks to me. I've got a chapbook manuscript I'm working on and though I don't want to publish it here in its entirety, it might benefit from some fresh new pairs of eyes. This feature is exciting, I won't lie. I'll have more of a think over the next week.
Yes! I am so excited about people including eBooks, PDFs of their best writing, etc.
I have a PDF of packing lists and gear guides that I may use!
How would a free PDF work? Does Substack host it securely and it's all automated or do you have to manually send out?
Hi Bryce - you can add it to your auto email that will go out when a reward level is reached. You could host it on your website, then add a downloadable link.
I am using this method to offer people access to a free webinar, mini course or 1:1 coaching offers at different levels.
Good question. I haven’t yet tried it out, but yeah, I’d like to know that too.
But I would imagine we’d have to do the legwork of implementing the actual rewards.
I'm sticking with paid content for right now which is--admittedly--negligible. But will grow the more I write.
I have seen some people talk about experimenting with personalization but I am not sure how that would work yet.
I think I will stick with paid content for now as well, although I lowered the threshold for the third tier and raised it for the second tier. I would love more paying subscribers who are actually paying (because the money would be nice), but at the same time, I'm separating paid content to material that is more vulnerable or valuable and I would like those who are emotionally or intellectually invested to still be able to read it.
I've had a hard time figuring out the balance of paid vs. free content. When I first started, I was writing an additional letter every week for founding members but that wasn't sustainable. I only have about 10 paying members, so writing a ton of content for such a small portion of my community is kind of daunting sometimes.
In my next letter, I'm planning to include a poll with different ideas I have to let people rank their interest. I'm hoping that helps convert more subs to paying as well as co-creating the community and experience that will offer them the most value. We'll see how it goes!
Right now I'm serializing the rough draft of my next book, which means my paid subscribers are getting a lot, but by October, my work should be about 40/60 paid to unpaid. I want more unpaid content than paid.
Hi Mariah - I have been thinking about this question. I am planning to go paid soon. With only about 900 free subs right now, I don't yet have a big base. So my thinking is to do a 70/30 split. 70% free, 30% premium. I am adding on more features like a monthly webinar with Q&A with me, exclusive discounts on training and coaching etc.
Later, I plan to start a podcast for paid members only.
It is a long game...
Best wishes
Thank you, and to you as well! 900 is an impressive number! I'm hoping by letting folks in behind the scenes and asking for their ideas that will foster a sense of collaboration and community. This isn't all about me, after all!
I was thinking about that as well, I use a monthly personal post to share personal thoughts with my subscribers and I was thinking about the implications of broadening access to that. But subscribers that refer others to your newsletter are presumably also invested in it, so in that sense it is nice that they can be rewarded & included for that. It might lower the threshold for paying too, wanting to stay a part of that, but it's different for each person I think.
Yep, I think this has great promise for different people for different reasons
I'm in the middle of rolling out merch as referral rewards. That suits my readership. I think it depends on your newsletter and what you write about.
My newsletter will always be free and support itself on donations, so I am having to think outside of the box to offer something of value.
FWIW Kevin, I'm planning to go the same route. If you'd like, I'd be glad to share my messaging with you as I create it.
Please share
Will do when they're ready.
Have the same conundrum - wondering what to offer. Would love all ideas on this
me as well. curious as well with what works for this.
Interesting! What are you planning to roll out at each tier, and how many referrals will each take?
I'm doing tiers of 4, 8, and 25. Some of my branded merch is still in production so I'm not divulging until it is physically in my hands (could change depending on how it turns out) but things like stickers etc. I enjoy the branding and marketing aspect of writing. Being on social media in general you DO have to brand yourself in some way. I find it fun! I realize some writers have a hard time with this and hate the word 'brand' but we live in 2023. Times have changed.
I am not sure how we could send a physical item by mail when we don't have their mailing address. I have read some articles where people are using rewards like stickers, t-shirts, books etc.
I am very interested in this option.
You ask them for it, they reply in the email. If they are not comfortable giving it, no harm.
I love it. And no argument here on branding. I think of it more in terms of things like logos than personal branding, but still.
Yes! Exactly! Logos etc.
What do you mean by Stickers?
Literal stickers that you stick on things like your laptop case, your notebooks. I have to stress that it depends on what your audience likes/uses/personal tastes. What works for me won't work for you. Your audience might hate the idea of stickers.
Stickers is a great idea. I was thinking of creating merchandise too.
Hi Jenovia - I love the idea of stickers or other branded merch! Now I need to go find a creative graphics designer. I have created a basic look and feel for the brand, but need something more creative for a sticker or merch!
Wait I love this stickers idea.
Nice. Thx for replying!
I'm interested in the idea of the stickers. Could you elaborate? What kind of stickers, and how big? It sounds like a pretty cool idea.
Mine are 2" x2". Same size as a Post-It note, and have my Substack's logo on them. Currently I send a card w/them in it to paid subscribers (if they want them) as a thank you.
You have to decide that for yourself :) It is like asking me how YOU like your steak done. I can't answer that. I can't define your personal style for you/your newsletter.
Okay. How many do you get made up at a time? I mean, the way I'm getting paid subscribers, ten would last me at least a year or two--if not more. I'm assuming you're having them made, or can you buy peel and stick sheets and make your own?
Hi Jenovia— so each tier means more merch? Ie- 8=t shirt, 12=sweatshirt?
Also, is your merch offered if new subscribers are paid?
I don't have paid memberships yet. I'm sending out merch as a thank you to my readers who are most engaged AND as part of my referral rewards. This is just my personal choice. You don't have to do what I do. These are all decisions you have to decide based on your audience. I have a very defined path on where I am taking my Substack. My path won't work for everyone.
I would love to roll out merch too. How would you know if say someone shared and got you 10 new subscribers?
🧠I'm guessing 'Stack is taking care of such bookkeeping, inasmuch as they're the ones offering our buy-in on tier levels, etc. Get that little orange box emoji going, and ask a Katie or a Bailey what up!
Thx! I found the orange box. Hehehe.
I'm letting readers pick a topic for a deep dive (within reason) for the lowest tier. Then I'm just going to Venmo them money for the next two (figure it's the same as paying for advertising and the readers would be of higher quality).
I love the idea of having them pick a topic for a deep dive.
I think you could likely edit the reward emails and include links to the pdf, etc.?
I’m planning my launch post tomorrow and I’m planning on having a little bit of fun with it.
To start with I’ve set the rewards as the default comp subscription but I’m going to use the post and polls for my readers to decide what the rewards should be for each tier. I’ve got a few ideas for each to vote on. You then decide what the reward should be - voting in the newsletter over the next few days.
So, if you sign up to Never Stop Learning tonight you will be able to take part. SUBSCRIBE now. Should be fun!
I treated each referral as worth $1, and so I offer 1, 3, and 6 months free for subscribers who refer.
curious about this too!
I'm curious about this too! Especially for paid subscribers spreading the message. I guess I could comp their next round of their subscription?
You could also add a “how did you hear about us” question to a paid subscriber welcome email. If they say that another subscriber referred them, you can go comp them
That's a good idea!
I still have not switched on paid subscribers. I have my premium reward scheme almost ready, need to finalise it and then I'll start it. Maybe next week or the week after (public goal setting drives commitment to goals, right?). So, I have not done this yet. I have seen one newsletter I follow offer compensation for the paid version.
There's another newsletter I follow who had this already in place in another way, I guess. Or maybe it was a pilot. They used merchandising.
I'm curious about this too. I didn't really fully understand what the referrals program was until I read the above stuff, but it's fun to think about putting in quirky specific rewards. I'm wondering about something like 3-month comp / signed book / picture book manuscript critique. Although something like a zoom call would be a good one too.
I am also curious about this.
One thing I am really curious to see is people try offering, especially free pubs, is "thanks" or a "surprise message" as the reward.
The beauty of how referrals is set up is that an automated email goes out when a subscriber unlocks a reward. In that email you can add a video or an audio message simply expressing your gratitude, or a poem, or just a really thoughtful note. Sometimes that goes the longest way!
Ideally the reward is something that runs on it's own—when a subscriber unlocks it, it requires no new work for you.
Ah! Now this I like! Thank you, Katie. This sounds really good for a free newsletter. ❤️
What's the difference between referrals and recommendations? Is it just the 'gift'?
Interesting thought. Thanks (as always), Katie!
Is a video something you'd have to set up ahead of time, or would I get an alert that "subscriber xxx just reached tier 1/2/3" and then go ahead make a unique video or note?
It wouldn't be a unique video in this case but instead a general video that applies to everyone.
🧠 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.)
Posting on general interest social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, is like throwing feathers into the wind. But I see Notes as a great way to participate actively in this incredibly valuable community Substack has developed for us. Getting to know each other is the best way to figure out how we can best help each other succeed. Thank you Substack!
Feathers into the wind is a good way to put it. It's hard to stop trying but boy is it tempting to give up there. But then one post for no rhyme or reason seems to take off. (Here on Notes I haven't cracked any code yet - I suppose because I'm small, no one's seeing me yet.)
I’ve always found that you need to find online communities, not just toss out in general conversations. I.e sharing my outdoor content in a hiking group, versus spamming links on my personal page
agreed, I've had a lot of success through curated communities this way
I've had some (small) success with using a relevant hashtag with my shares on Twitter - but not much. If I don't hashtag then it just disappears into the ether....
I found a feather once! So, posting on SOME social media sites isn't necessarily a slam dunk time-waster....unless, of course, your only goal is an instant million new eyeballs who can't live without your writing.
In my nearly two years, I've built quite a following on several dozen FB groups, just by linking new articles in the appropriate interest group (with occasional interaction beyond that). Same with LinkedIn, but not quite to the same degree. And, my analytics have shown me several new subbies come from both, but mostly FB.
So, you do you.....Me? I kinda like feathers.
Yes, I'm stunned at how unhelpful FB is, and I have like 3500 so-called friends. FB is like a newsletter in an old folks home these days. But I get a lot of DIRECT subs. Where do they come from? If someone subs off a share on a post is that DIRECT or SUBSTACK NETWORK? Simple question but I am confused.
Neither. It will appear in your post statistics that they generated a subscriber. The “share” location would be wherever the post was. Reddit, FB, Etc
but Cole, I get if the share was on FB or Reddit, that shows up, where are Directs coming from? Isn't that different?
You and me both.
Wow, this is awesome. I have been thinking about setting up a challenge like this for myself. I see the potential of Notes as additional content for someone who wants to just browse your Substack first without subscribing. I learned that you can add Notes on the top navigation bar on your site. This way, they can see your Notes all at one place.
I think it is also a good way to force yourself to write mini- articles and practice your writing. I am not necessarily looking to drive subs from Notes, but it could work really well in my opinion. Patience is key.
Yeah, I agree with that. Patience is key, and not expecting too much/being realistic. I like the thought of treating Notes as practice, too.
Great advice. Thx.
Naveen, how do you add notes to your navigation bar? This has been an ongoing issue for me, trying to find where my notes live!
Hi Liz - Go to Setting. Find Navigation under Website. You will see a + sign to add an item to the top navigation menu.
I just found this out a couple of days ago!
I hope it will work for you.
best wishes
It’s under settings!
I didn’t see much activity on my notes and so wasn’t very active there. But since yesterday, I’ve set myself a goal of going on Notes everyday and making new friends. I’ll see how it goes. Thanks for sharing your experience and congratulations on the subscriber goal!
Hi Priya - yes I am trying to do the same. I like reading notes and when I feel connected to something, I try to leave a comment. I am not yet writing too many notes myself, but thinking about doing it as a daily habit for practice.
Thank you, Priya! Good luck on making friends. I’ve met some great people on Substack.
That's good to know! if I consistently yell into the void then someone will hear me
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, Kevin! Sometimes the void gets pretty crowded. And, there's no drink-minimum, and rarely a cover charge.🎉
Yeah!
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, Kevin! Sometimes the void gets pretty crowded. And, there's no drink-minimum, and rarely a cover charge.🎉
congratulations!! what an exciting milestone! I'm about to hit 100 myself :)
Congratulations and I wish you lots of luck!!
likewise Andrei!!
Do you have a better understanding now of which notes "perform" and which don't? Because I suffer from invisibility on the Notes side of things; no matter I post there really bombs - unless I tag someone more popular. So it's kind of game to see who can I tag. Might help if I had more time to read more Substacks!
I wouldn’t say I have a much better understanding, no. So far, the Notes that have done well were announcements and community-related stuff, like recommendations and a list of writers I love.
Thanks for sharing this! I'm curious if you wrote all original notes or if part of the challenge was just responding to at least one note a day?
No, the challenge was writing all original notes. Replies and restacks without comments don’t count!
is that paid or free subs, Andrei ??!!
That’s free, haha. I haven’t turned on paid yet. I know it’s not a super impressive number, but I’m content with slow and steady growth. I want to eventually reach 1000 subscribers.
That's a good goal. Me too. (And then when you get there, the goal will grow.)
That's a great idea. I'm fairly new here too and have been trying to use Notes more. Setting myself a target for Notes in a week would help me stay motivated, I think. Do you post your notes at a set time, or vary them?
I vary them, and so far I haven’t seen much difference in engagement when it comes to the time I post them. Some types of content just catch, regardless of when I post.
Makes sense. Thanks.
Well done Andrei! I have mostly been commenting on other writers' Notes because when I post my own I get little or no traffic on them. It may be an interesting experiment to try posting daily to see if it generates greater interest. Thanks for sharing your challenge with us.
Congrats. Especially on reaching that milestone.
But also on your effort. That challenge is a smart one!
Thank you!
Congrats! Were your daily notes related to that weeks essay, a question?
🟧 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?
I learned this trick from another writer by looking at their welcome email - you should add a line in your email asking people to hit reply with a simple "hello" and explain that this is the best way to make sure they continue to receive the newsletter by email.
Such good tips! Thank you!
Great tip Naveen! Thanks for sharing!
Ooh I like that
Great idea. Thx!
Hi Howard, an idea I nabbed from a big-time substack was asking people to reply 'hello' to the welcome email, so gmail recognises you as a friend - or alternatively, you can give out instructions on how to mark your email as safe
I'm wondering if they even see the welcome email though - if it's going to spam, how would they know to do the thing we're telling them there about getting it out of spam...
Yeah I think you're right, I think it's sad fact of the game that a certain percentage rot away in the spam box. I do regular posts on socials to say 'if you aren't getting my emails, there probably in your spam box'
They should add your Substack email address to their contacts, and/or send you a test email at that address.
Whitelisting is fine, if you can reach them to tell them about it, but experience with other email engines, such as Constant Contact, etc., has shown that there are things the engine operators can do to improve their domain's digital reputation. I'm wondering if Substack is looking at this.
I have a lengthy note I wrote a while back, explaining how you can boost your digital reputation. If you want it, just click my profile and scroll back a bit
My readers experienced this as well, as did I. Just have to remind them to whitelist Substack.
I have not heard this feedback from users. Then again, there might be some who forgot all about my newsletter, because it lands in their spam or promotion folder.
Having said that... I'm a gmail user myself, and subscribe to quite a few Substacks. I do not have this experience myself as a subscriber. Not sure why or why not, but I have never had that.
Tell them to drag-and-drop the emails to their inbox and Gmail will learn and move them there moving forward.
Good question, I have wondered the same. I also suspect there may be difference between those who sign up of their own volition and are on the lookout for the welcome email, and those of whom we add to the subscriber list at our end (with their permission, such as friends etc). I can't prove this theory though.
I have never added anyone myself to my subscriber list .... I insist that everyone choose to subscribe voluntarily ... why i am just approaching 1,000 subs and why another person I know with substantially less, well, grivitas is in the multiple thousands ... most of which he's added himself !
Possibly imported from another list. Substack actually makes you explain where you got the subscribers you add manually. I conducted a research survey for an article, and asked people in the survey if they’d like to be added to the email list. A large number indicated they would…
I've added several subs myself and was never asked this by Substack. Or do you mean if you "import" a list?
I’m talking about importing a list. Substack has an option to do an text document with a bunch of email addresses
And then Substack asks where you got it from? With spam laws being rather draconian here in Canada, I would think it's advisable to get a personal opt-in from each recipient.
I can't help you there - mysteries abound. Maybe that other person had an existing list they brought with them to Substack? The other day I just got spammed by someone on Substack. I didn't sign up and she even says on her site to please consider subscribing for free or paid. How does that happen? She also has Buy me a Coffee on her pages as well, for the drive-by reader who may enjoy her sarcastic rants. I'm thinking of doing that, which I assume is ok by Substack. Anyway, you are way ahead of me, I'm writing about the zeitgeist and the competition is intimidating!
Aside from telling readers in the welcome email, you can also encourage readers to reply directly to your email with their comments.
This will make an automatic contact card in their email account, so that you’re always treated like a human sender engaged in two way messaging, not a business sending marketing material
🟧 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!
Keep going, Andrei! Thanks for being here
Thank you, Katie!
Yes. Thanks for setting this great example Andrei.
And you're right. Substack is doing a lot for us. Thanks, team!
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.
Hi Andrew, thanks for your feedback. We're thinking about how we might create different tools to reward people who help get you new free vs. paid subscribers.
That's a great idea, I'm sorry that no one continued their subscription with you! I wonder if you asked any of them for feedback? Or have you polled your audience to see what they would pay for? I'm planning on doing that this week.
I had an idea for new moon circles and letters that I've been super stoked about but not only did I get some unsubscribes, the enthusiasm hasn't really been matched. So I'm trying to decide if I just need to find the right audience or if I need to pivot and listen more to what my current audience wants.
Maybe both?
Thx for this info. I was also wondering about referrals= more freebies than paid.
It’s definitely a part that Substack has yet to address.
Do you find that your # of paying subscribers rises as a percentage of unpaid subs? Good idea to run your 3-month trial experiment.
Hi Tara - my answer is based on what I feel not what I have observed in practice (mine is still a free newsletter)
I think it would be good to see a rise in the rate of conversion to paid from free subs. If your free subs are rising faster than your paid subs, you are probably signing up people who are really not very interested in your content. Maybe you are offering them rewards they want to get just to sign up, but they don't see a reason to convert to paid. My thinking is that if you can maintain a high enough open rate, you will eventually increase your paid subs.
On another note, it would be a good way to balance your time and energy between increasing your reach and increasing your paid conversion.
Good luck.
What do you consider a high enough open rate? I’m approaching 300 subscribers and I’ve managed to maintain a 30% open rate fairly consistently.
At 300 subs, I would hope to see north of 40%. More than the rate, count the number. You are reaching less than 100 people right now.
And what exactly is your criteria for choosing 40% or north of 40% as necessary for the value? Why not 100%? Or 63%?
Why 40% exactly?
No specific criteria, sorry I didn't mean to say that 30% is not good. As I said, you should also look at the total number of potential paid subscribers not just a % rate.
You have to decide what will work for you to support your total revenue expectation.
Given that I currently have zero paid subscribers? The percentage of zero is zero.
I did have a subscriber recently independently decide to take advantage of a 3 month trial that I offer to all new subscribers. But they are still in the trial period.
😂 Well ya can't beat easy math! My newsletter is free, so this is not an issue for me, but I would guess that it's worthwhile to get any new subscribers, since the paid subscribers might be folks who hang out unpaid for awhile. I've seen the issue of conversion to paid coming up in Notes, too. It's a challenge.
i have decided to wait til i reach 1,000 free to offer paid tiers...i am nearly there! so in another month or so, look out....have some great ideas for special features for the handful of paid that I expect to come flooding through the door....
;-)
My newsletter is free too for the most part. I have an early access for paid subscribers option but 3 months later I give it away for free. I would say 95% of everything else is available for free. Might be changing that up in the future though.
✏️🟧
How do these referrals work for Substacks with paid subscriptions not turned on yet?
I'm letting readers pick a topic for me to deep-dive haha (within reason of course).
Kevin, that sounds like a really reasonable reward. I'm going to borrow this idea, thanks!
nice!
Good idea!
Mine is not a paid newsletter yet. You can customize the reward at each level. For example, I chose a free webinar, free mini course and 1:1 coaching at the 3 levels.
Thanks for sharing
I just answered some questions in Notes related to this. It looks like it only enables one tier and it has to be customized. Hope substack staff can confirm whether I've understood that correctly.
I see NO place for referrals under Settings .... and not yet activated paid.
🧠You might want to stick a little orange emoji box (like what they have at the top of this thread) in front of a request for that....it helps them see it and respond.
That's something I would like to know as well.
The only difference between free & paid publications is that free publications have to set up custom rewards, whereas paid publications can flip this on if they're okay using the default rewards (comp periods). We couldn't come up with a strong default reward for free publications.
🟧 - 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?
Hi Sarah!
A subscriber will get a "reward email" when they reach a milestone. That reward email is customizable and automatically goes out, which was our way of trying to help people automate reward fulfillment.
I hope that makes sense - let me know any other questions or feedback.
How are we notified on the backend when customers reach milestones? Notifications? E-mails? Both?
Yes, both email + in-product notification.
Thanks John!
thank you.
Thanks, Reid!
That's awesome! Can't wait to play with that template. I love switching up the free trial expiration email too. 😊
That's what i assumed, or it would be unmanageable
Same, but this is the first Substack growth tool I haven't enabled immediately, so I want to make sure 🤷🏻♀️
I've enabled it just in case someone wants to refer my newsletter to 5,000 people. I'd hate to cramp their style!
That's so YOU, Terry! I've certainly never known you to be a style-cramper!
And, apparently, I've been misreading a key part of this whole new program! I keep picturing readers rolling up a printed-out copy of one of my articles, and lighting up! So, it's NOT "reefer my newsletter"? Well, that changes everything!
😂
🤣🙌
I''m with you there, Terry. If you find any referrers like that, please do feel free to share!! :)
😂
Good to leave your options open!
Yes, your subscribers will get an email that you can customize when they unlock a reward. Once you turn it on, there is nothing for you to manage.
I have that same question.
🧠✏️🟧-- 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?
There are some trade offs in having a custom domain. There is some SEO power in having .substack.com as part of your domain.
I recommend writing to support if you want to move forward to discuss the nitty gritty technical questions. https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=360001267491
Thanks Katie!
It's pretty easy as long as you know how to modify a DNS.
Thanks! I know very very little IT stuff, but my "tech guy" (aka my teenage son) likely does.
Easy. Links won’t break. No site needed. Just the domain.
Awesome. Thanks, Cole!
Might also depend on what you want to achieve. Say you want people who visit kevinsthebest.com to be redirected to your substack and that's it, I tihnk that is quite easy to pull off in the settings of your domain name provider.
If you want all the links to work as kevinisthebest dot com and want users to keep seeing that, then see Katie's answer ;p
PS: don't be ageist. I'm also old. We are young.
(And we are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong)
Lol. Excellent reference. And thank you for the help! :)
🟧 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!
Yes, of course! You could change the custom rewards to something like
- "A special thank you"
- "A very special thank you"
- "The most special thank you"
And customize each of those reward emails as you see fit. No reason you have to offer something tangible or something that has a dollar-value.
+1
I shared this above but I am really curious to see is people try offering, especially free pubs, is "thanks" or a "surprise message" as the reward.
The beauty of how referrals is set up is that an automated email goes out when a subscriber unlocks a reward. In that email you can add a video or an audio message simply expressing your gratitude, or a poem, or just a really thoughtful note. Sometimes that goes the longest way!
Ideally the reward is something that runs on it's own—when a subscriber unlocks it, it requires no new work for you.
Katie, Reid- thank you! I may well be the guinea pig here.
You're being way too hard on yourself, Andrew.....you're much higher up on the food chain; why, I can see by your photo ID, you're clearly a goat, if not an actual Tom Brady-like GOAT!
Let's split the difference: I'm your guinea goat.
https://goatfury.substack.com/p/invite-your-friends-to-read-goatfurys
Deal, Andrew! Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!🐐😊I searched my stack o' 'Stacks, and while not having written about goats or a farm, I do have this "Suburban Cowboy" Playlist you might enjoy (not knowing where you are, musically)! https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/grow-bigger-ears-6-the-audio-autopsy
I like your question. I'm feeling uncomfortable about how my readers will feel about "premiums." I think they'll feel manipulated, when they're already sending lots of good vibes just by showing up, opening emails, and responding! Letting people know how they can help (if they want to) feels like a better approach for my little stack than incentives and rewards.
I share your feelings about this, Tara. It just seems crass and not about the quality of our content.
Substack-Katie had a great suggestion somewhere up above: If you missed it, she suggested setting up thank you emails (could be audio or video as well as text). I like this approach of sending thank-you's for referrals rather than setting up incentives. I might see how that works....
I like that, too, but it doesn't really help with the original question... but sometimes really good ideas arise from thinking about a different issue. Maybe we can think through how to ask for referrals in a way that feels more genuine to us. That's the most important thing for me, not manipulating people into doing something they might not already want to do.
The feature is customizable. I think you can control what you offer
Yeah. I just wish I could offer nothing, just a direct ask.
I suppose I could just create an email doing that, but this challenge is more fun.
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.
I'm most excited about having a mechanism to tangibly help the publications which I cannot yet pay for. I'm going to have to find a way to systematize referring people so I can make sure I am boosting everyone!
or... ya know, the most important ones. Right?
✏️ 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.
Could they not just as well feel included in your community and seen for taking part in it, making them want to stay a part of that? I would love to know the statistics on this, but even if people do not continue the paid subscription, isn't them spreading the word already worth it?
@Robert - that's kind of the thinking.
With a comp, the person doesn't have to put a credit card down to get paid access, so I would have fairly managed expectations on how many convert to paid. With a similar feature, we see about 5% of comp'ed subscribers convert to paid, but note that there's a wide spectrum on a publication-level (some higher, some lower).
But yes, the benefit isn't just the new paid subscribers — it's the new audience coming in, some of which will also convert to paid. And some of the folks that get comps will convert further down the road after the comp period.
Of course, I’m not saying there’s no upside. Like you said, just to feel included in something they closely relate to, and contribute positively to something they really like, is absolutely a good outcome.
It’s that 1000-true-fans theory, right? I agree—but I think it stops when they have to shell out cash, and just shouting from the rooftops on behalf of someone else isn’t sustainable, or scalable. Thoughts?
I’m more than happy to be proven wrong—these are just my initial impressions of this feature.
Can't say what it would do down the line one way or the other. But it does increase the odds of eventually attracting someone to your newsletter who will eventually pay, sort of a snowball effect possibly. Not sure how many subscribers we are talking here though before that becomes sustainable.
That’s true. That critical-mass-number would vary wildly for each newsletter.
One other side note — it's totally possible to change the rewards from the default gift subscriptions, and in some cases, a custom reward(s) tailored to the publication may work a lot better than comps.
Oh, I wasn’t aware of that, the the referral page UX didn’t make it obvious. But yes, I’ll dig deeper, I think that opens up a lot more possibilities!
I'm not super optimistic because my readers are not active in Substack at all. They read the newsletter, but never engage with the company.
Hi Kevin - I am curious, how you are measuring engagement. If they are reading your newsletter, wouldn't that show up as high open rate? That is one metric of engagement. Do you have another more useful engagement metric in mind?
My open rate is high, to the point where I would sacrifice it a bit to grow subscriber numbers. But what I meant is that most of them don't have a Substack account and have no intention of starting one. It's a lot of like service industry people etc. So, they don't really engage beyond reading the newsletter.
Hmm, like Naveen said—what is engagement for your newsletter? I think you can measure how much they share each Post, too.
I think it’s too early to measure a referral uptick, but I’ve gotten literally hundreds of subscribers from Substack community features
Absolutely. Notes has been a lot of help there. Discoverability increases ten-fold.
🟧 ✏️ If an already-paying subscriber does a referral, do they get any benefit in terms of extra time or something?
Hi Terry — yes, any comp period they earn would stack on top of their existing paid subscription, pushing out their renewal date.
For example, if my annual renewal is coming up on 7/1/2023 and I earn a 30-day comp period, my annual renewal shifts to 8/1/2023 (give or take a day).
Brilliant. Thanks, Reid
Gift subscriptions they can give to people! There's a 'splainer somewhere that I saw that!
We also have a referral feature that rewards existing paid subscribers with gift subscriptions they can send to friends:
https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/8946512015892-Does-Substack-have-a-referral-program-
This is separate but complimentary to subscriber referrals. If paid subs share these gift subscriptions and drive new subscribers, they'll earn credit for referrals.
It's worth noting that there's no incentive for paid subs to share these gift subscriptions other than they value your work and want to share it with their friends, so the rewards via subscriber referrals provide a little extra nudge to get them to share the gift subscriptions.
Oh thanks, Scott I missed that
🟧 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.)
Not at the moment, but it's been the top request, so hopefully we can add the ability to only count paid referrals soon!
Thank you!
You could send out a welcome email for paid subscribers that ask them to tell you how they found your publication. Then go back and give that person a reward
🟧 Will referrals really benefit us? I can understand rewarding a referred subscription, but we’re rewarding shares, correct? Or am I mistaken?
Not substack staff but the answer seems to be that we are rewarding shares *that lead to subscriptions*. The subscriptions that result from the share can be either free or paid, it doesn't matter. This mechanism drives new subscribers to our publication, and rewards the top drivers with a comped paid subscription or whatever else we choose.
Reading just the first few responses, I realize I've missed the point of the program. Rewarding referrals, per se, seems kind of crass to me. I value networking highly, which is one of the reasons I so love the Substack community. Nobody needs to give me anything to refer them to others beyond great writing of great content. Will I appreciate a free sub to their newsletter, absolutely. But even that I see as enablement. I WANT my fellow Substack writers to read my stuff so they can decide whether or not they want to refer it to their readers, friends, and other associates.
My most basic understanding is that, on Substack, it's all about the writing. No?
I’m using Substack as a home base for my drawing sessions and creative community. So for me, the referral program works well to help folks find me. But I can see how the system may not be for everyone. It’s also my understanding that you can switch that option off and hide it from your menu.
I agree. Surely the quality of the writing and/or information is everything. These incentive programs seem strange to me, maybe it’s because in the UK, we don’t really see so much of it!
I’m with you
I’m not sure about referrals yet either. There is already so much to keep up with besides just writing. I see in my subscribers very little crossover to other publications. By seeding their exploration to other newsletters does that help me? Might sound selfish but I’m trying to see the value to me.
Referrals reward your subscribers for spreading your newsletter
I see the value there. I guess I’m feeling a little overwhelmed with all of the features and all the different suggestions as to how to use them. I’m trying to write and stay connected in this community. Sheesh...I need an intern.
Makes sense; can you say a little more about the referral email works for each person making a referral? Also, I am still not sure about how it would work inside an article when someone is already a subscriber...I remember reading that if we add a "Share" button in the article, they will be able to make a referral.
Hey Naveen!
Subscribers will get credit as long as they use any of the following:
- Share icons at the top & bottoom of your posts
- Any of the share buttons you add to your posts ("Share publication", "Share this post", "Share this post with a caption")
- "Refer a friend" button in a post (which you can also add via drop-down list)
- Share link from the leaderboard page (https://your.substack.com/leaderboard)
- Restacking a post
- Buying a gift subscription for other people
Also, for paid publications with gift referrals turned on (https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/8946512015892-Does-Substack-have-a-referral-program-), any existing paid sub that shares a gift subscription and gets a new subscriber to signup, they'll get referral credit for that as well. This is a way of giving your paid subscribers a little extra benefit and encouragement to share.
Thanks, Reid. This is very helpful!
🟧 - 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
Would like to know this too. Can people only go up to the third tier once or does it expire?
Good questions. Referrals don't expire. If someone gets a reward at 3 referrals, they'll need to get 3 more to get to 6. Readers can only go up to the 3rd tier once.
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 group rewards, Geoffrey! You always have such creative ideas.
Awww, schucks! ☺️
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?
Thanks for your questions, Victoria! Readers can see how many referrals they've made on the Leaderboard page on your publication: https://studynotepad.substack.com/leaderboard
"Is this limited to only emails that have an associated Substack account?" - I'm not sure I understand, can you elaborate?
New readers do not get a prompt explaining referrals, but that's a good idea.
More info here: https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/16142857300372-What-are-subscriber-referrals-on-Substack-
Thanks for the clarification!
This inquiring mind wants to know too.
🟧 - Do the referral rewards automatically apply to referrers, or is there an approval process that writers will have to go through?
My understanding is that it works automatically in the background. When someone reaches a reward level, the email you have prepared for that level will go out to them. In your email, you can offer the reward. I don't know how it would work for paid subscriptions when you are offering a month free or so. Mine is not a paid newsletter (yet)
Scoot said it will let them give out gift subscriptions.
That's good to know. Thanks for sharing
Yes, rewards automatically apply!
Awesome, thank you!
Definitely automatic.
^Following this question
🟧 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?
A lot of people have been asking for lower payments, bundles newsletters and other options for payment. I’m not sure how they could do that with the current system. Perhaps make a page paid with extras. As much as Substack changes, they still want to keep things relatively intuitive to use.
In the meanwhile, I have simply a button that links to my buymeacoffee page, so people can tip me if they like my writing.
I also have a newsletter on Paragraph, and there you can "collect" an issue of a newsletter. Even a quote from it. You will have to pay with crypto (Matic on the Polygon blockchain) and you will get the newsletter or quote as an NFT in your wallet. It's a very fun way to solve this. I would love to have a 'collect' button on Substack.
That’s cool!
🟧 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
Hey Sandra, we just launched a new "reader sharing" tab where you can see stat for how often subscribers have shared your posts dating back to January 2022. It's not a perfect system because the way they have to share is by clicking the "share" button at the top or bottom of a post. It doesn't include if they copied a link and sent it to someone that way, for example.
Checkout the new tab: https://your.substack.com/publish/stats/reader-sharing
Thanks, Katie. So Substack is tracking the past referrals by link and will credit them for that now? Asking for other writers because I just looked at my stats. LOL. 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/
Love your shameless plug here, Michael!!
This is really good advice, Michael. Thanks for the list from a new-ish substacker!
Thanks for sharing these tips Michael. I have been following your Notes. Best wishes to you.
I did have a question - how do I find out other writers in my domain?
🟧 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
Not yet but this is something that our team is thinking about.
Following for answer.
Thanks for your question, Andrew. It is currently not possible to differentiate between paid and free subscriptions with regards to referrals. But this is good feedback, and something we'll consider building in a future iteration.
Thanks. So do you suggest I focus on free subscribers driving free sign ups? And then in theory overall conversions ?
🧠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.
Hey Sean, I am sorry your subscribers are having this problem. They can always contact our support team and we'd be happy to assist: https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=360001267491
Most of my subscribers have no idea what Substack is, and get very confused about all of it. Is there any way it could be changed so that I as the author could change a user's email address? I can guarantee you that no one is going to file a support ticket with Substack. They'll just stop reading.
Thanks for the feedback, Sean. Do you know how readers are accidentally disabling their emails?
I am not sure, but it's a fairly common issue. Even just having this on a FAQ would be very useful. I need on my end to have stock answers to give to people. I've fielded this question four times in the past month, at a time when I'm unfortunately distracted by family issues.
I second this, had to walk a subscriber through the entire process
And every time it takes me out of my writing, and things appear to keep changing and I can't keep up! Also I have a lot of subscribers who would like me to change their email. Explaining this to people in their 70's and 80's is nigh on impossible.
I had a similar experience from an elderly reader (78 years old). I got a sweet note and check from her in the mail because she couldn't figure out how to become a paid subscriber via Substack's technology. While I think it's definitely an age gap thing, it is nice to consider these tools aren't second nature to everyone.
I guess for me I was grateful she took the time to send me a personal check but it also made me wonder how I can be more accessible to everyone and who is getting frustrated with the technology without telling me.
I have about a dozen people who send me checks and I comp them. I also find that at 49 I am having a harder and harder time when user interfaces change rapidly and frequently! I am grateful to be able to sell my work to people this way, but just want to be able to update emails for people.
I hear ya. My 84 yo step ma initially typed in the wrong email. She figured out how to correct it tho!
I can usually walk people through it, but I now have over 2,200 subscribers in my primary newsletter and I'm on about 25 percent of my usual bandwidth as it is!
Congrats on 2200! Awesome cakes!
In that case it sounds easier to just remove and add them again manually
Which has the effect of refunding their money. My work around has been to just add a second email, but then I get complaints that they get too many emails because I can't disable the older one. Being able to change their email to what they prefer. It's increasingly a problem for me.
it does seem like something that is fixable though on Substack's end, so let's hope they implement that
🟧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...
I’m pretty sure I read on the Substack website that when you update a post, it definitely doesn’t send out a new email. You can easily test it by making yourself a subscriber, but I’m 99% sure post edits are only seen by online readers.
BTW I’ve found when I have a question about using Substack, I just type it into Google and usually the right thing comes up.
Thank you!
1. I don’t think it does. I’d add yourself as a subscriber to be sure.
2. You can click on the photo and an ellipsis appears on the top right corner. Click “Edit Caption” for text that fits neatly underneath. It can be formatted bold or italicized.
3. You can add a gallery and two photos will be side to side.
4. I’m not sure how to do that. Perhaps creating a page and link to your older articles. I’d visit The Elysian by Elle Griffin to see how she did it.
5. I think you could go to the particular profile emailing you (Substack Reads, Substack) or your profile under “Reads” and unsubscribe.
Thank you! Very helpful.
You’re welcome! 🙂
Unfortunately, Chevanne, it turns out that some of your suggestions did not work for me:
Re 2: No ellipsis appears in the top RH corner of a photo when I click on it!
Re 3: Thanks for pointing out the existence of Gallery. However, when I put my two photos in Gallery, the pictures are cropped and become fuzzy!
Re 4: I had a romp through Elle Griffin's The Elysian (it led me to Robert Reich's lecture series!) but I saw no sign of an Archive, let alone one that has subfolders.
I've given Substack feedback on this latest Office Hours. I keep hoping to get my issues resolved.
I do appreciate your effort in giving me advice.
Regards.
2. Are you in Edit mode when you’re trying that?
3. Send yourself a test email to see how it comes out?
4. On her page, look at the top bar for menu reading Home, Essays, Fiction, Index, About.
Index is where she has a rundown of what she’s written. It doesn’t appear as a folder.
Thanks. Will dig further. Erwin
✏️ 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.
Like everything else, I think Substack has several tools to help writers. Not all will apply. Only one person I subscribe to actively uses Chat. I bet a lot of Substacks will utilize these tiers to provide value to people who champion their work but may not pay. I’d let it play out and see where you think it applies to you. Might not.
Paid subscriptions can be hard. We are all finding our way to drum up that loyalty. I would love more paid subscribers but I write what I write at the speed and frequency I do… it’ll come.
Yes, it seems crazy to me. We are competing with millions of other bits of media for people’s attention, so why should they help you in some complex marketing strategy? It doesn’t add up. I speak as someone who generally gets a very good response to his work.
Hi Howard - I can't say I know the answer, but like you I am also trying to figure it out.
My feeling is that you got to find out what your audience responds to. What they consider "nice to have" vs. "must have". The problem is that you don't get a signal every time you post something on your newsletter. So you have to make an educated guess. Try different things, different formats etc.
To start with, you have to have some idea who you want to write for and how you are uniquely positioned to deliver it to them. It is a slow and painful process to find your sweet spot.
✏️ 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.
Oh, well, it seems Robert has the answer. I had not seen this happen, so I don't think it's a default setting. But it's tech, so something could have gone wrong.
PS: great to see you here, Reena :)
ALWAYS a pleasure to see you Arjan!
There is a setting inside your account settings (so not your publication settings) where you can choose to get notifications from the app or through email, with another option to avoid double notifications in both email and app which is the default.
Thanks Robert. I did see that but no idea how/when it went to "Smart". Perhaps a default setting change Substack made that I missed? I wish tho' it was more granular so I could decide by publication. Also I guess it also explains (somewhat) why I'm not receiving my own post emails... Oh well. Thanks all the same.
They changed it when they launched the app. Would have preferred if email remained the default, as I feel like engagement is probably higher there. For readers it changes as soon as they install the app and login I think.
Thanks for this explanation! I also didn't understand the change. I'm used to the app now but one of the reasons I was first drawn to @substack was because of the email feature. I'm someone who's trying to spend LESS time on my phone, not more. Reading newsletters via email, while old-fashioned was kind of appealing.
I've gotten used to the app now and will probably keep it that way...guess I wish I could've made a more informed choice at the time.
Agree. A lot of people are resistant to "yet another app" and even I've found I forget to read all the ones I want to...
I use the app now, but that is because I use Substack in a professional capacity and am therefore active on the platform. If I wasn't, I would have definitely preferred the emails.
🟧 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.
Not today, though we do have this feature in Notes. I shared with our team for consideration in the comments section.
✏️🟧As a traditionally published author, I am wondering if / when it is appropriate to offer paid newsletters? Thank you!
I think, if you're thinking about offering a paid tier, the time to offer paid newsletters is now. I am also a traditionally published author, and I consider my Substack part of my author income. Most of what I post is free, but if I'm going to be a professional writer, then I might as well look to as many sources as I can to get paid for my writing.
^This^
Hi India - I am not a published author (yet), but I have struggled with this question. I think if you already have a good following somewhere, get them into Substack and turn on paid as soon as possible. If not, it might make sense to first build a subscriber base on Substack. For some reason, the number 1000 has stuck in my head.
More specifically, I am thinking of the following milestones
1. See if you can have at least 500 engaged subscribers (opened at least 5 emails)
2. Publish at least 50 articles that are available for free. This makes the base for anyone visiting your site for the first time
3. See if you can get at least 2-3 comments on most of your posts. This will show that you have an engaged and interested audience
4. See if you have the stamina to write 2-3 original articles each week. Do you feel you will run out of ideas or steam?
5. Ask your current subscribers to pledge their support first before going paid. See if you can get at least 50 pledges in a month..
I don't think there is a formula. You have to feel ready and you have to have an audience who would be willing to pay.
Best wishes
✏️ 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?
For my part, I have only had positive reactions.
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?
I wouldn’t do that. After all, whether someone subscribes or not should be their prerogative. We all hate being forced into things, especially e-mail lists. And isn’t it better to know that your subscribers chose to subscribe because they want to read YOU, rather than them being people who were forced to press a button?
Does anyone know whether there is a way to comp people for paid subscriptions only -- not free?
Hi Luke, here is our support article on comping a paid subscription: https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037465612-How-do-I-offer-a-complimentary-subscription-to-a-reader-
I was not clear. I mean, that people only get rewards if they drive people to subscribe paid.
You can comp someone a paid subscription- I do that for people. Look up the person you want in your subscriber list, and then edit their subscription.
Or are you asking if there's a way to only reward people that refer paid subscriptions to you?
He might be asking if the referral program can only reward people who generate paid subscriptions, but I don't think that is possible.
Yes, that's exactly what I'm asking.
Yeah I don't think that is possible right now as it seems designed to track any new subscription, free or paid, as a referral. Maybe that is a feature that will come in future iterations?
I hope so. I'd love to reward people for revenue but I fear rewarding people for signing up for free would create a lot of leaky bucket problems.
I'll defer to the dev team, but I could swear one of them chimed in on Notes and said it wasn't yet possible.
I know there is a way. I can't remember how, but I have someone I've comped with a FREE paid subscription.
Yes. Just go to your subscriber list, and you can turn a free subscriber into a paid subscriber with the click of a button. I do this for a few people I know who are on limited incomes, have limited time, or are college students who sign up with an .edu email address. Of course, it's all theoretical, as I don't have a paywall. But I'm thinking about it!
I had not seen that yet but I will go and look for it. Thank You!
I love that feature too. It’s one of the main reasons I moved to Substack!
You can also enter a friend or contact manually if you want to from the subscribers screen click the button labelled add subscriber in the tool bar above the list and you can add them as a comp brand new. This probably only applies to small lists like mine.
I know the feeling. I've been trying to top 200 all month.
🧠 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!
Hello! I’ve been celebrating solstices as emotional anchors in the up and down of my life but have not yet looked into practices. I might explore them (and write about them) soon.
Living an authentic life… yes! I’d be happy to participate.
That's awesome, I think some of the bigger seasonal shifts are entry points into what can become a daily awareness.
Send me a message, thebarefootbeat@gmail.com - I'd love to connect and learn more!
🟧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?
You can set up the trial period in your Settings. Default is 7 days and you have to put in your credit card for the free trial. You’ll be notified by email if you 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.
Hi Stephen - I get the micro charging idea. That is why I have asked the Substack team if it would be possible to have a reader buy a single article instead of paying a subscription.
Having said that NYT can offer a lower price point (which still is too high in my view) because they have a large subscriber base. They want to offer everything to everybody. In my view, people like us are offering a very unique piece of writing that is not available anywhere.
That should command a higher price, right?
To me, $5 is too low; I plan to value my monthly subscription at $20 because I am providing highly differentiated and actionable insights in a regulated industry.
Hope that logic makes sense but I welcome your view.
Best wishes
Hi Naveen, yes I can see how that would make sense for somebody providing specific information which is actionable. However, I am offering similar material to that which is provided by humorous columnists in the comment pages of quality UK newspapers.
So while I think I have a unique “voice”, it’s simply not worth $5 a month to a reader, especially as I am an unknown name. I really think Substack should look at micro charging for people like me.
Hi Stephen - Got it, but I would urge you to not sell yourself short. You don't have to be a big name or a big audience. Even if you can fill a room with 20 people, and entertain them for an hour, they would happily pay you much more than they would when they go see a movie.
I think when you set a high price, it also forces you to work harder and deliver more.
Having said that, I would still like to be able to sell a single piece of work, rather than asking everyone to pay a full subscription.
BTW - I am going to subscribe to your newsletter now - need some humor in my life!
Best wishes to you,
That’s very kind, I’ll do the same. BTW I’m only writing one piece a month for various reasons, but it’s very carefully crafted. I agree it would be better to have the ability to charge per article. Much greater flexibility.
✏️ 🟧 I have some 1000s of free subscribers now. My big question is how to turn a % into PAID. What works, really?
Thanks for your question, Steve - check out these resources https://on.substack.com/p/grow-6
🟧 - 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.
YES, some kind of commission structure would be really helpful, like an affiliate program.
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.
Hi Brigitte - just my 2c..I wouldn't worry about it because not everyone is approaching your specific audience.
Plus judging by the junk mail I get everyday, which pisses me off every time, I still find myself looking for that special deal when I need it.
Get your subs to love you first then you can start asking for small favors like referrals...
Best wishes
Thank you Naveen, and agree about putting love for your readers first :). I think I'll wait with the referrals for a bit. I do think if done right it can be a great thing for both writer and reader.
✏️ I’m considering giving out eBooks or maybe sending a paperback as gift if anyone reaches 50 referrals. Any other writers doing this?
That sounds like a great perk!
✏️ - 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
Thanks for your question, Michael. Note that you can create multiple publications under one account/profile - https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037824371-Can-I-create-multiple-publications-under-the-same-account-
Thanks Dayne, I’ll give that article a read, I appreciate it.
I would contact Erica Drayton on Notes. She has a ton of experience.
Thank you Chevanne, I really appreciate the tip.
✏️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?
Thanks for your question, Stephen. Your old handle will automatically redirect to your new one, so both will work.
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?
Thanks for your question, Stephen. Your old handle will automatically redirect to your new one, so both will work.