Discover more from On Substack
Introducing recommendations: simple cross-promotion for writers
A new way for writers on Substack to recommend each other and discover more great work
Today we are rolling out a new feature to allow writers to directly endorse each other’s publications on Substack: recommendations. A writer can select a number of publications to recommend to new subscribers, and the writers of those publications will be notified and prompted to recommend back.
This cross-promotion feature provides a way for writers to promote and discover each other on their own terms.
Writers cross-promoting each other has been the key to discovery on the internet since its inception, notably in the blogosphere, where writers’ blogrolls helped unearth niche communities and build bonds of trust between writers.
At Substack, we know personal recommendations between writers can be powerful. But until now, soliciting endorsements from other writers has been a largely manual process. Writers tell us they want better ways to connect with, reward, and collaborate with each other on Substack.
For writers, recommendations offer an avenue to celebrate other writers they admire on Substack, while forging new relationships and collaboration opportunities. For readers, recommendations from writers they trust are one of the strongest possible signals of quality.
How it works
Writers can now select other Substacks to recommend when a new reader subscribes to their own publication. They also have the option to add a personal blurb—a chance to describe why they endorse the publication.
For readers, recommended publications appear after they subscribe to a publication. The content is not algorithmic, and the writer is in control of which publications they recommend.
The recommended writer will receive an email with details of how the endorsement has impacted their subscriber numbers. They are encouraged to reciprocate your recommendation, and to recommend other writers.
Head to the “Recommend other publications on Substack” section of your settings page today to start cross-promoting your favorite writers.
Read more: How can I recommend other publications on Substack?
We’ve been encouraged by the early results from the testing of recommendations and we plan to continue to iterate on this new feature. It will remain in beta as we work to find more ways for writers to promote and discover each other.
We hope you give recommendations a whirl and start exploring the ways you can collaborate with other writers on Substack. You can also help promote other writers by setting up your reader profile and adding links to your publication homepage.
As always, please feel free to leave feedback in the comments.
Keen to hear how folks are finding the recommendations feature so far, when subscribing to others and using to share publications you love—how are you getting on?
The search is lightning quick, for more popular Newsletters, if they recommended a "little guy" it could be life altering. I want to hear and witness those Cinderella moments. The feature is brilliant, my only wish-list is more metrics and data besides free sends.
How refreshing, reminds me of the good old Myspace days. Done!
Great idea, can be truly helpful, but it seems to me that it might be less effective (or close to not effective at all) for those who don't have a large influx of new readers every week. If the recommended writers only get a notification about the recommendation when someone subscribes through it, the feature might not get any traction at all (in terms of new readers for the writers who recommend).
I would gladly volunteer as a tribute. I joined Substack today and I have zero followers with one posted article. If you like, I can be your guinea pig to see how effective this new feature is and if it can give the almighty algorithm a run for its money.
I'm right there with you. ^^
That’s pretty much my story
A web notification for a shared lead that converts into a paid sub would really be nice. Both from the sender and receiver sides.
I like the idea
My audience is tiny: people with a positive, deeply wonky interest in China's development and policies. Most of my subscribers now come from Substack via articles I've written and they've distributed. Hats off to Substack.
Seriously? Wow that's a great feeling. I guess we all crave data, creativity and community to converge in an awesome way that Substack for the most part provides.
I'd really love to be able to embed a recommended newsletter inside a newsletter I send myself. Is there any way to do that?
I agree -- especially for the online version. I envision a horizontal line of newsletter recommendations at the bottom of a post, just above the footer, similar to how media outlets do it.
very cool!
I like the feature, but once you recommend a publication, and then want to "unrecommend it", does the author then get a notification of this sort emailed to them as well?
I don't believe they do, although maybe I disabled it. You can mostly tell when someone you recommend stops recommending you in the recommendation tab. Now the difference between notes and chat is going to get a bit confusing.
I personally think this notification is vital. Writers should know when someone stops recommending them.
I was thinking the opposite- but yes that would be good too (:
Interesting. The fact that's it's not algorithmic is quite attractive to me. Well played Substack.
YES. Algorithmic recommendations turned facebook into a sinkhole, and I'm glad that Substack is taking a stand against that kind of promotion. An endorsement from a real human that a reader actually trusts is so much more valuable than an algorithmically-generated "you might also like."
Love this and definitly going to explore it with our publication. Reminds me of how you can select and recommend channels on YouTube on your own channel page. Always loved that feature because it added a sense of community.
I am looking for direction. The only article I have done was "Pray for Healing Mercy." I did church services and room visits in nursing homes for 20 years and I am concerned about people who are permanently disabled because they had the virus. I am owner of Serendipity Music Studio and I have 81 videos on You Tube. I am interested in finding more viewers for inspirational piano music and hymns using texts from the Bible. I am President and Founder of Arizonans for Non-Smokers' Rights and the Coalition for Smoke-Free Air. I am an unpaid volunteer lobbyist on the hazards of exposure to Second-hand tobacco smoke and E-cigarette vapor and the illegal sale of tobacco and e-cigarettes to children. children. I lobby at city, county and federal levels of government. Disability discrimination includes not being allowed to testify at public hearings. Thank you for the opportunity to share.
Hi Betty, I'm just another Substack user, but I offered some suggestions on your page.
This also will become a sinkhole. Or very cluttered with so much nonsense. As in : notes, which means short and to the point.
Agree.
I really like this, and I'm careful to only recommend Substacks I enjoy and/or admire, because to make recommendations on the basis of mutual backscratching hurts everyone's credibility.
I just read your post about the Cherokee Nation, wow! I write about those type of cultural cross intersections we all find ourselves in
Glad you enjoyed it, Ric!
I love the small forgotten stories that when discovered make sense of something I had wondered about. Can't wait to dig through some more.
Awesome! Those stories, by the way, haven't been forgotten by historians, and we think very differently about history than the public has been taught to. That's one of my themes: How this stuff you've never heard of is actually the most important history, because it helps make sense of now. Thrilled to know when folks like you pick up on that!
well put, thanks for illustrating that point
my latest post was a list of my favorite history docs right now. https://riclexel.substack.com/p/1st-take2nd-look-7?s=w
a current favorite is The History of Africa with Zeinab Badawi - she is a remarkable host
well put, thanks for illustrating that point
my latest post was a list of my favorite history docs right now. https://riclexel.substack.com/p/1st-take2nd-look-7?s=w
a current favorite is The History of Africa with Zeinab Badawi - she is a remarkable host
Wish I had more time to read your posts, but I have also loved what I've read so far. Thanks.
Big fan of this feature. I’m already using it and, I’m pleased to say, have already reaped the benefits too. I belong to a fairly niche, gardening-focused corner of the Substack world - being able to recommend other writers in this sphere, and vice versa, helps us to club together and turn our niche into… something more.
Yes! This is so good to hear <3
It will be interesting to see how this enables established writers to give a signal boost to some of the up-and-coming writers. I know there's been some concerns about how it's hard for new writers with small audiences to get the same numbers that well-known names can command; this might enable some of those established writers to spread the love. Fun times ahead!
Question, how do you find less established writers Will?
By looking in the mirror! But seriously, I regularly search the substack main page for newsletters on a certain topic (usually art-related in my case). There are quite a lot of small newsletters that only have a few posts up.
Yeah I know the feeling haha! My issue with the search is it doesn't seem to go down much. There must be dozens (hundreds?) of little guys not even listed.
Very true, especially for those of us who are not Twitter users!
Substack strikes again with another accelerant for fueling collaborative network effects among writers and readers. Totally badass. Love this!
This really takes me back to when every blog had a sidebar of links...
That's what I'm wondering. Do these show up on our profile?
Not currently, but we're working on this :)
They do not show up on your publication homepage or reader profile. If you would like them to show up on your publication homepage, you can set up recommended links: https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059181172-How-do-I-add-a-recommended-link-
I really like the human "person to person" aspect of this, I'll give it a go too :)
Yes! And keen to hear how you get on!
This is what I love about substack. you always give the option to choose who I can recommend in my profile.
As a newer, smaller writer here I'm all about features that help us to get discovered by more readers who are interested in what we have to say. I'm definitely keen to try it out and see if it has any noticeable effect on my viewership and that of others. Thanks, Substack!
Substack is quickly becoming the place to be for writers. Glad to see updates and new features coming thick and fast!
I started on Medium in late 2021 and after six months I made the switch to Substack. I'm still working with my own email list and haven't built much momentum yet, but I love this platform. It feels like something I own and gives me a very entrepreneurial vibe. I'm starting off free but already planning a paid strategy and brainstorming different types of content I can create and promote. It feels very empowering, especially since promotion is organic and not computer driven.
It's a wonderful feature -- thank you for building it!
This is a great new feature. However, I notice that it only cross-promotes to new subscribers. Also, it would seem to hit the new subscriber with a bunch of recommendations at once, when s/he may still be wondering about the decision to subscribe to a new and perhaps unfamiliar writer's Substack.
I have been using an alternative, admittedly more labor-intensive approach, creating a new post on my Substack to share a particular post from a writer I follow. (I am sure other writers do this too.) This puts the recommended writer's work into all my subscribers' inboxes, without requiring them to make a decision to subscribe to the recommended writer before they've read their work. What's missing is an easy way for the other writer to learn that I've recommended them.
Good idea, we also love when writers share their favorite recent reads and publications in a post!
Jasmine, perhaps the existing "embed post" function could be modified to also notify the writer whose post has been embedded.
I like that idea! Will pass it on :)
What is the expected conversion rate of new subscribers subscribing to additional newsletters at the same time? What kind of baseline can we expect.
This is a very interesting development. I'll definitely use it to recommend some authors I like :)
Super Excellente!! Thank you!!
Ahh it'll be nice to have control over what we recommend. Unlike Medium where they push content that we have zero control over in an ugly sidebar on our own pages.
^This^
I don't understand where these recommendations show up after I make them. I get that the person gets an email, but will these also show up on my profile somewhere?
Hi, Gabriel from Substack here. Out of curiosity, how would you want to show your recommendations to your readers?
Maybe have them on my page somewhere? The side? The bottom? Not sure. But I feel like the fact that I recommend them is relevant to my readers.
Have you ever thought of occasional small non-intrusive circular pop-ups on the bottom right of the screen. Sort of like those chatbots ons some websites? This would work also well when I get a new paid subscriber - like a cheery design element - a feel good micro moment.
Picture this, a reader opens up an article on the web or in the app and gets a recommendation to a Newsletter (among those recommended) that syncs with the keywords of the same article. About at 70% of average reading time for the said article, they get a small popup on the bottom right of the screen that if they click would bring them to the image of the 3 recommended Newsletters that best sync (a match) with said topic. Like a non-intrusive teaser that doesn't break immersion of flow but adds value. (This should be a somewhat rare event for a reader and only if the article really matched the said Newsletter with multiple keywords).
Or maybe give the OPTION to show them. Then you can include them on your page or not.
As an embed at random points in my work. Skimming them off my new subscribers while it provides less friction, provides less conversion and feels more anonymous (even though I wrote really great blurbs on them!). As a Creator, I need the flexibility to customize how I use this - why is there not a button where I can take from my manage recommdantion list to embed in a Newsletter. Literally Gabriel, everyone is asking for this.
Currently they only show up in the new subscriber flow. If you turn the feature on, after a reader subscribed to you, they are shown some of your favorite publications to consider.
I love it, thanks for doing this!
I love this new feature and look forward to utilizing it. Thanks for always finding ways to enhance Substack and for attracting new readers/writers to this platform.
Do writers get a commission if their recommendations lead to other subscriptions?
Because the goal, right, is to increase user engagement, which is a monetized commodity for substack. So...how do the writers you're talking about derive the benefit from this alongside substack?
Hi JD, thanks for the question! This is something we considered and we're still open to. However, we didn't feel it was the right starting point for this feature. We spoke with writers during development, and heard several reasons why writers would recommend other writers: to bring attention to writers who were doing amazing work and deserved a larger audience, to help their readers discover more great writing, to connect with writers you admire, and to increase the possibility of a reciprocal recommendation.
One of the most encouraging signals emerging from the data is that recommending can be hugely beneficial to writers. A significant portion of writers recommend back, and some of the writers receiving the most benefit from recommendations are those who made the most recommendations early in the beta.
Thanks for the clarity.
The design has to benefit the smaller new Newsletters. Not just the big Creators getting all the exposure. The discoverability needs to be more democratized.
Do you have a suggestion for how this could work? FYI many top writers are in fact recommending smaller publications.
The power of reciprocity always is stronger at the start of communities. It really depends on the data. But eventually a 10% kickback for a paid conversion does make sense. In this case, if the Newsletter is under 5k free subscribers, Substack should bear at least 5% of the costs of the kickback. The important thing is the incentive be in place for bigger creators (those on leaderboards) by default to incentivize them the most to get the full ROI of the trickle down effect for everyone.
That's cool. I created my newsletter last December but actually only follow another one writer, Emma Gannon. It can be interesting to learn about other interesting things to read. :)
I write essays about movies, tv shows and books, I haven't seen many of those around.
You should join our shoutout threads! Once a month on Thursdays. We discover so many interesting writers through the shoutout threads. Here's the last one: https://on.substack.com/p/shoutout-9/comments?s=w
Also, you may want to peruse the culture and literature categories:
https://substack.com/discover/category/culture
https://substack.com/discover/category/literature
Great idea!
Could this be why I suddenly have a string of new subscribers from the Substack Network? If so, I haven't received an email letting me know who's been doing the recommending...
I can check in on this Valerie! I think it may also be because we just launched a "Fashion & Beauty" leaderboard that you are high up on - https://substack.com/discover/category/fashionandbeauty
Thanks, Bailey, yeah, that might explain it. I was thinking about this earlier, though, the fashion and beauty leaderboard: And I wonder if you might think about separating the two, as they're very different. Thanks again for your response.
I absolutely hear this feedback and agree. We are in a bit of a in-between phase because, for now, the categories aren't robust enough in isolation, so we put them into a shared category. In the future, we should be able to break them apart. (If you prefer to be in a different category, you can also always change your lead "tag" in your settings to the one you'd like to be considered in)
Bailey, thank you and I figured that was the case. I might play around with the tags, but so far I'm happy enough with the response to the current ones. I do appreciate your attention to all this.
This is a great idea! If there's any other historical/pop culture history publications out there, let me know! Or 1970s blogs too!
Just checked your blog, that's my era too. A lot of my writing includes that era. All about the music and my life experiences.
I do believe this cross-pollination could put a lot of pressure on a really good writer to recommend a not-so-good writer because that not-so-good writer (or mind) has recommended the really good writer's site. I don't know if this will work well if done too openly. Perhaps there should be some kind of silent vote that could hide the identity of the sender to allow one to peruse the offerings in question before giving a reciprocal thumbs-up.
Yes, I wondered that too. I hope it doesn't turn into a quid-pro-quo situation; this needs to stay organic and voluntary, with no strings attached.
Bigger Newsletters and Creators need incentives to support the little guys, otherwise why would they do it? I mean in theory are we to believe that the highest earning Creators want to share the love out of kindness?
Yes, I hope so too, though I don't have any solid suggestions as to how to prevent it from becoming a mutual admiration society!
I did an analysis of who is recommending who, mostly the top writers recommend others in their niche, pretty much in their rankings. i.e. their peers.
Makes sense. Much as the film directing community is an elite club and isn't really looking for new members. It sometimes takes a lot to break through.
I guess you are right Jim. The thing about the recommended traffic is it's not very highly targeted and mostly free (low conversion rates). If I had the money I would experiment on Ads to target my topic to my intended audience. I'm getting the feeling Substack's organic audience isn't finding their niche that easily.
So much is free online that it's difficult for people to pull the plug on a costly ($5 a month!) subscription to just one writer's output. I get that, so I'm putting together an illustrated book that I hope will raise my profile. That is my current solution to anonymity. Keeps me busy anyway.
Sounds like a plan Jim, I'm debating risking all to spend more time on TikTok.
A good dance and a stumble could do the trick. Good luck.
I thought about this too, but figured I was just overthinking it. Glad to see I'm not the only one!
I would love it if everyone recommended me!
I am going to write mine from the heart--but I want to say, the user interface for writing recommendations needs to have bigger buttons.
I also want to add that I'm uneasy around the algorithm because I can't control it. Not that I'm a control freak: I know my worth, I know who I am, I know how I connect, I know I love to connect and this is the thing that matters in the end. Oh, and how well I'm willing to preserve my own work.
(So back to it for me)
Last thing that is bothering me--I've said it on a few posts, but there needs to be a program to subsidize content for the deaf and blind community. I don't think people should subscribe to accessibility.
In an effort to make screenreaders entertaining, I've been doing what I call "Super Alt Text Descriptions" and I get really granular describing photos/videos/diagram/screencaps so that no one gets to hear, "hierarchical pyramid diagram," instead "Super Alt Text" would be, "Maslowian pyramid similar to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs where it's almost impossible to self actualize these days."
Is it possible to change the order of the recommendations in your list?
Keen to hear how folks are finding the recommendations feature so far, when subscribing to others and using to share publications you love—how are you getting on
This feature can augment discoverability of Newsletters, Creators and new niches. It could lead to more free subscribers and ultimately more readership on the app. I'm super excited and optimistic about this feature really improving the Creator and Reader experience.
The UX is so important! Supporting each other as a community is vital. I have made over 40 unique recommendations so far to Newsletters. I want Substack to be this inspirational doorway into educational content. Writing on the platform, literally makes me more idealistic. For instance I write in A.I., and this feature made me do my research of my interests more on the platform, I found A.I. for Good Newsletters implicated in ESG, inclusion and AI ethics things I'm passionate about that I never would have noticed otherwise!
Recommendations and the related Search are new rabbit holes for even how Creators inspire other Creators. So you see, as zen as writing in the Substack cave is, there's also interactions, micro sharing and mutuality we might not have anticipated. As a product feature, that's the ultimate impact on Creator motivation and a "sharing is caring" incentive to support others.
I hope there is a trickle down effect to Newsletters that are awesome, but remain somewhat undiscovered. It will literally depend on our generosity and due diligence.
Where is there a place to build writings a bit at a time & save the unfinished product so one can continue where's/he's left off & offer up the finished product for criticism later?
Do you mean like a "saved drafts" area? The substack editor saves your draft, and then you publish when you want to, later. You can also send a link to the draft to anyone you want, so they can proofread for you or offer suggestions. Is this what you were asking about?
Yeah, like a place to store a rough draft before you've reached it's conclusion.
Anything you write in the editor gets saved automatically. It won't publish until you hit the "publish" button on the upper right corner. On the lower right, there is a "settings" button that will take you to a place where you can schedule the post to publish at a later date.
I was wondering the same thing. Very clever. I have kept my browser open not wanting to lose anything. Great to know. The simplicity of Substack makes you think it is less than it is :)
great idea.
I would also like to see a Substack "Front Page" that acts as a visual newsstand where I can see in a glance all the blogs I follow. It should allow me to categories subjects and see which ones I pay for, and perhaps how much I'm paying. I don't want a long list of the latest posts, it's enough to just see the logo/title of each Substack writer. Google use to offer this sort of front page, it was a useful product. Thanks for making this a great source for good writers.
This sounds super interesting, a bit like the "Shows" page in podcasts? So you just see the publication name and writer name, but none of the most recent posts? Be interested to know how you might use this front page?
Thank you for asking Hannah.
Visualizing a categorized layout of my blogs on a front page would allow me to accomplish three tasks.
One - A front page would make it easier for me check out the latest posts by simply running down my lists, missing nothing as I move through my categories. That easy-of-use creates a daily ritual. Including the latest post titles is fine, but the key is simplicity.
Two - it would allow me to keep my Substack front page fresh and enticing. Seeing my interests displayed on one page encourages editing from time to time. By adding new content and categories, while deleting ones I've lost interest in, I become actively engaged.
Three - by noting the blogs I pay for or not, I would be more likely to subscribe to more sites. It would also allow me to keep track of my spending. That's important, because I tend to underspend. And by seeing my lists stabilize, I become more likely to subscribe annually.
I love what's happening on Substack. The writing is personal and informative. Currently, however, I spend too much time navigating pages that look too similar. I get lost and lose patience. The feeling that I'm wasting time is always in the back of my mind. I think a front page, or newsstand layout would counter my exit impulse and make a daily check-in more pleasurable. Email updates are easy to delete, but my go-to front page is compelling.
A reader's front page is like a reader's coffee table. A front page covered with blogs, podcasts, and so on, reflects the reader's interests and personality. That in turn encourages a feeling of connection and well-being.
Seeing one's self can also promote curiosity. I read fashion now, but I might decide to round out my categories by adding news, science, and current events. Or I might decide to focus in adding crafts, sewing tutorials, and fashion history. Either way, you would be empowering my development and rewarding my customer loyalty.
Thank you for your interest Hannah. Best of luck, and best regards, Julia
Our web reader (https://reader.substack.com/) might help here? But let us know what else you'd like to see in addition!
thank you.
I'm looking for a way to add the "Recommend" button to the bottom of my posts -- just like the one at the bottom of this "On Substack" post -- but I don't see that option. Can anyone help me?
Should we reach out to the authors we recommend, hoping for some reciprocation?
The world is vast. We see a tiny corner of it in our everyday work and lives, and we just don't know what we don't know. Having a pointer, a guide, a trusted nudger to find hidden gems is such a great resource. For those of us regularly hammering the keyboard trying to produce something that people find illuminating, insightful and helpful, or even just interesting it sounds like a great idea!
On my recommendations setting page, I see only 2 publications that recommend me but actually more publications recommend me. Does anyone face the same issue?
I'm not sure if anyone else is having this issue, but Substacks I've Recommended are not showing on my homepage. When I check my Site Design page, they are there at the back end, but are not live. Can anyone help with this? Thanks :)
my site does not appear when I go into manage recommendations even when I type in the full name of the site
Are there articles on how people have had success collaborating with others?
Why do some profiles have a "recommend" button on the gray area on their profile with their publication - and others don't?
It would be nice if there was a way to sort recommended authors from top to bottom. Love the feature otherwise!
Osam
We hope you give recommendations a whirl and start exploring the ways you can collaborate with other writers on Substack. You can also help promote other writers by setting up your reader profile and adding links to your publication homepage.
Good one.
Hello
I love this feature (I'm a subscriber, not a writer). The recommendations are nearly always spot on. Another idea I'd like to see come about is a subscription package option. I know you can already get discounts on other subs when you subscribe to one, but I'd love to be able to curate my own package(s). Say $X for a pkg of 3, $Y for a pkg of 6, etc. You get the idea. I would love to be able to subscribe to A LOT more than I do, but it's cost prohibitive. Thank you SO VERY MUCH to all the hard work from all the content creators. This is definitely an idea whose time has come. Cheers!
Gyz m new user plz subscribe me and teach me how to use sunstack platform
I've been seeing some recommendations that I really dislike. How do I find out which writer recommended them?
Nice
My only wishlist is that I could make a "top 5" or "top 10" list so that I could recommend more newsletters but then keep my favorites on my homepage.
Just curious if there are any advocates for the Readers here? I totally understand the draw from the Writer point of view but as a Reader (a paying reader) it would be nice to have some control over whether I want to see recommendations or not. Otherwise this is just another Instagram or Facebook where stuff is forced onto cluttering up my home page/feed except here I am paying for the annoyance.
this is like covid...you're spreading unwanted material, by egregious writers seeking to self promote using others proprietary contacts.
the worst of all, is that there is no way to remove having unwanted "peer writers" adding anyone to their self promotion lists. there is no "unsubscribe" that I can find to remove my self, from someone deciding to victimize me in this way
Yo me encuentro con algunas dificultades. Solo encuentro en español mi profesora de narrativa y yo. Aunque leo en inglés y comprendo perfectamente, escribirlo no me es tan fácil sin hacer líos gramaticales. Realmente estoy ansiosa por recibir alguna devolución de mis Newsletter. Comencé en agosto con uno: Newsletter perinatal de Revista Perinatal Argentina, la cual dirijo.( revistaperinatalnews.substack.com) Luego me encantó el formato y largué uno @patriciadiaz26.substack.com Biblioterapia, un camino de encuentro entre lecturas, donde cuento un cuento o relato y hago reflexiones, y preguntas a la audiencia.
Realmente estaría muy agradecida. Los animo a usar el traductor!!!!!
disable this crap, i didn't ask for it. give me the option to, can barely focus anymore in this app with 30 articles getting spammed in my face.
I will appreciate if someone helps me to interact with the great Writer Dignitaries and take use of this awesome platform. Wish you all, the best.
Great feature. I have very minimal traffic, just starting in earnest, but there are a couple of small guys I read that I'd love to give a shout out to. Well deserved!
How do you create a "recommend" button? I don't see that option.
I have seen these, too - can't figure out how to do it.
Can we close the Recommendations window on the right? I hate how it cramps my feed to a narrower width. I'm older and prefer the old, larger sized feed. I don't have the app because I'm on an android tablet.
Truthfully I have no idea how to make this work. I have posted two poems. I want to add more, but I cannot figure out how to upload, and copy and paste seems odd too. I would like to talk with someone, I mean actually talk
Is there a way to change which recommendations appear on the layout of my page? Or to have a random set of them appear "above the fold", as it were?
Hello, my name is Elizabeth Ware and I am new to substack. I am in my senior year at the University of Mississippi (Ole MIss) and I have to have a newsletter/podcast for the entire semester. I would love to have some feedback on how you feel the internet has changed education. Please subscribe @ elizabethware.substack.com
great feature / thanks for keeping it simple
On a semi tangent, can I request a “click to tweet” feature? - Maybe as an extension of the quotes feature, making quotes tweetable
Please avoid the pitfalls of failing English by avoiding current clichés such as "impacted". I cringe every time. It's particularly important to remember good English on a site devoted to better writing.
Seeing that this was rolled out on April 23rd but am getting a notice about it on my dashboard. Wondering how it's been working so far. I am a little unsure that someone with few followers would be successful recommending a more well followed Substack writer as a means for gaining more readers. Just wondering out loud.
I love this feature, it has been immensely helpful, but I do have a question:
I'm planning on opening a new publication under my main account which will have multiple authors and am wondering if I can use my current newsletter to recommend it, or if that violates the TOS in some way?
How do I use substack without getting a bunch of junky emails I don't want?
heyyy
startup folks? anyone?
Ready to cross promote?!?
It's a great feature of Substack that helps writers grow
As a senior newbie, only moderately techy, I would love to connect up with other newbies or with those who are kind enough to help newbies.
Is there a water fountain where newbies gather that I have'y yet stumbled across? Cheers Roger
This is an awesome update for the Substack community.
Glenn Greenwald is extremely interesting and covers the news that the Main Stream Media omit for various reasons. Read Glenn Greenwald for news in depth.
This is great feature.
Not sure if this is asked anywhere below in the 170+ comments. Is it possible to offer an affiliate fee to other writers for their endorsement if one of their recommendations results in a premium fee paid subscription? I'd be willing to offer a commission...
Hi, I've received these these emails but when I click on "stats" from the email … the page never loads. And, when i tried to find the newsletters that rec'd my newsletter … and as far as I can tell, they don't exist. I'm sure it's a glitch but it seems so shady! Maybe I've been watching too much "Inventing Anna".
Is there a way for me to view all the newsletters that have recommended mine (or at bare min. please consider linking newsletters in the email) so I don't have to go full sherlock holmes?
Looking for recommendations for people in the startup / tech space / content marketing spaces.
But open to read just about anything.
Send your work my way. 👏
I had one writer recommend my substack after I personally asked him to. It has performed incredibly. I have then recommended several others, but none of them have reciprocated. It doesn't do much good for you if people don't "pay it forward." If you keep recommending stacks without reciprocation your "recommended" list gets rather long, and probably useless! I am new (200 subs) so if anyone recommends me it is a gift. Me returning the favour is probably useless!!
I nominate myself to be featured on Substack. I've published lots of material, including a recent piece about wood construction (note: it's stupid as hell). It ended up in 5 magazines, including Six Degrees, Time, New Yorker, and a few other places. Eat your heart out, Matt, or at least reprise some talent by sending us your old one about mischief in Moscow.
I’m happy to shoutout Heather Cox Richardson at Letters From an American. It’s like a light on my path and I resonate so deeply to the truths she shares about today’s society by looking back at our history, much of which was confirmed for me over many years of visiting national parks and historic sites
https://email.mg1.substack.com/c/eJxtkE1uxCAMhU8zLCN-k8yCRTe9BiLGM0FNIAKn09y-ZLKqVAl5gf3s9z3whM9cDrvlSuwsjo4NbcJXXZAIC9srFheDFb0YlbobFiwfJAwTi9U9CuLq42LZtk9LBE8xp3NacqMUm-0IAiEoKUYNqB9GGi5Fr7TUUxh6Pl43_R4iJkCL31iOnJBBXldMdK5ii52JtnpTHzf52d6MnmYskH9KhNmXUHPq6j5V8vDVNWWbYbFZkJL3XHIlBq061Y0GtAZt9F3c0cvxpvn6FH-UrFj0heZXbU2fl_dfQ3Onnz1FOhwmPy0YLJUdGV3BvTNwT0xYWqDBeWpxGS10s2C4Gi7KxmIaszSCs3Y05KZK9j-aX3MciZg
Thank you Zelda.
I love substack. There are so many incredibly talented writers we now have the privilege of reading because of Substack! I posted my first today. I'm not a writer, but you have to start somewhere. I'm learning for now, but in the meantime, we can lift each other as a rising tide lifts all boats!!! I'm excited for everyone!!!
I’m a former Des Moines Register columnist who left in the 1990s for the entrepreneurial world. Retirement coincided with the start of Covid quarantine, so I found myself creating a column on Substack. It’s been affirming, much more so than my print days because readers can easily respond and interact. I call it my ‘Potluck’ column because that’s a typical Iowa thing, and my columns are mostly about Iowans. I write feature stories and sprinkle in a bit of opinion. My 5:00 a.m. post yesterday was filled with passion: https://okobojiwriters.substack.com/p/a-beautiful-spring-day?r=fkojq&utm_medium=ios. If you would please take a minute and see if our mutual audiences might like each other, I’d love to share recommendations.
I thought that if the list of our recommendations was longer than 5, the list that appears to new subscribers and on our pages would rotate automatically, pulling randomly from the total list. Is this accurate? If not, confirm the best way I can alternate the recommendations in each location. Many thanks - this is a good idea.
Okay, this is all very beautiful. I have a feeling this app really answers a lot of questions for me. Im just getting started here and not yet sure of how it all works. But have made my first audio and writing post on breathing in The Great Pyramid. I have one great writer to recommend, so im going to go set that up now. Brill! what a good idea. x
I really like the feature, but I also think there isn't enough granularity in the settings and that the default is too aggressive. There are newsletters that I would love to recommend, but that I don't want popping up every time anyone new subscribes. We really need the option of selecting in which of the three locations each recommendation should appear.
Coolio!
Glad people are finding success with this.
I added recommendations to my publication as soon as this rolled out but have received none in reciprocation.
Any tips on this front?
First day here, so just looking around and trying to get a feel for it all. I do like the "feel" of it ... and the community for sure.
Is it a very bad idea to start advertising, preferably on the side of the page, without affecting the content?
"I did it my way"... People To Follow On Substack :: https://rachelwild.substack.com/p/people-to-follow-on-substack?s=w
Substack, can we please get Direct FILE (pdf) upload feature, __UNDERLINE__ feature and Direct Gif, & Video Upload. This would help greatly in the productions of our individual Blogs & Podcast. I really love how Substacks gives us all a News/Magazine format so that we all can look like professionals, it gives us all a bit of a moral boost versus other platforms.
Love the feature but prefer that crucial information be listed first in our sidebar (ie contact info for our less than transparent City). How do I move the recommended publications to the bottom of the sidebar? If I can't move it, going to have to lose it.
This is pretty interesting - I am a little fish in this big pond but my readers have been so incredibly loyal. I'll have to look into this.
I love this feature. What a way for the readers to get to know the writers even better.
Absolutely love this new feature! Would love to connect with other writers!
First, when replying a post (like this) on substack can users be allowed to insert images which leads to my opinion about this Recommendation feature.
I would inserted images to visualize this point but the reply section doesn't allow that for now. About this recommendation feature, when a user gets to the "Publications XYZ Recommends" window, it should allow let the user Open those recommendations (on a new window) either by clicking the logo of the publication or the name of the publication or the short description of the publication as some users will like to check out what the newsletter is about before going by the recommendation.
Also, the Writer recommending these publications to their new subscribers should be allowed to customize the short descriptions (in their own words) of these newsletters they're recommending and not the default description of the recommended newsletter. That way it moves the substack experience closer to the level of non-algorithmic that they seek.
Thank you for this! Great idea!
It's nice Substack now supports blogrolls but the UI/UX could be better. (The search itself is pretty good, but everything around it is clunky.)
UI suggestion: move the '...'/'view stats'/'add recommendation' to the top. Aside from making the buttons move around every time you add one, I just deleted 30 recommendations because I wanted to remove the recommended-recommendations at the bottom and 'remove all recommendations' looks 100% like it referred to the recommended-recommendations *below* it, and not the stuff above it and apparently independent of it.
This deletion appears to be permanent and not undoable (why?).
Why can't I start typing the name as soon as the 'add recommendation' button pops up?
Only being able to do one recommendation at a time with the 'add recommendation' button is a PITA.
When a recommendation has already been added and you search for it again, it appears to not show up at all, no matter what query you use, simply silently being deleted from the list and the query returning nothing. This is *very* confusing.
Displayed recommendations should include author name and/or short URL. For many newsletters I like, their official name is extremely unmemorable and I know them by the author name or URL abbreviation. Staring at the official name doesn't help me and I can't quickly C-f search it to double-check that I have it (especially after deleting the list the first time).
The recommended-recommendations are weirdly bad. I'd expect better just from taking the substacks my subscribers subscribe to and sorting by frequency.
There appears to be no way to remove a recommend-recommendation, nor to request a better batch.
Literally JUST getting started, but I like the idea of recommending other writers. Nice feature.
I think this is a wonderful idea and I already have in mind to I want to recommend. Hopefully more will come after that. Thanks for the wonderful Innovations for writers.
Love this feature--thanks so much for implementing it. Is there a way to send a recommendations email to old subscribers? That is, to get it to our already-existing mailing list, rather than just new sign ups?
Definitely interested. If anyone has a newsletter about finance and web3 space, please let me know so I can read your newsletter. If I like what I see, I would not mind recommending it.
This is a really great feature! Glad it was built with reciprocity in mind too (notifying both the recommended publication and the recommending publication).
This is a great new feature folks thanks
And here I was, all this time, copying and pasting links to other substackers here. Thanks, I will have to try this out.
I like it & also feel that this would help a lot of people to perhaps come across my poetry ( among other peoples work) from various different venues of dialogue reading.. that just appreciate really good writing in general.
I have a problem, because my newsletter is in Spanish for Spanish people or who speck Spanish, my visitor can not help in this situation.
Great idea!
I'm excited about this feature, and about Substack in general. I think I may have finally found a place where I can thrive.
I'd like a referral system inside substack to users recomend others users and receive something for that.
I love this idea - and as others have said, I'll do this for the Substacks I really admire. There's some great writing on here.
As a reader I'd actually want to get in web and app notifications a list of 3 Newsletters a week recommended to me. From a product standpoint these should be Recommended Newsletters from the Creators I ALREADY follow, namely the ones with LEAST traffic. In this way, the feature is slightly more democratized to the Creators who need the traffic the most.
Such a notification could be called "Discover New Creators" or something uplifting leading to the landing page with 3 choices. This is not algorithmic per se, it's simply takes Newsletters from the already recommended Creators I trust, serving me the reader the ones that need the boost. This implies that Creators are actually promoting others that need to be seen.
However it would give the trickle-down effect, a much needed boost. Motivating said Creators to invest more.
This is good stuff. I recommended one well known food writer and got her one new signup already. Hoping it continues. I like the well known food writer very much. I also like helping her newsletter grow . . . .
Love this idea. Substack continues to make small and effective updates while other platforms feel more obsolete every passing year. Looking forward to finding new publications.
Just came on to say that I really appreciate how seriously this platform takes iteration, and doing it the right way. Algorithmic recs would've not been the way to g.
This is a great idea! If anyone is looking to help a young newsletter writer gain subscribers, I’d be overjoyed if you checkout my newsletter, Nelleosophy. It is a newsletter based on my healing journey back to myself. I have struggled with chronic pain, anxiety, cpstd, and more. I share about my journey of healing over on my newsletter! I started writing three weeks ago and I don’t currently have subscribers but I plan to stay consistent and I know the right people will find me 🙏🏼
Love the feature. Also love the illustration in the post, we who’s the author?
Our very own Joro Chen! She's our in-house brand designer. I'll send her your compliments. (Hi from an avid reader of yours, Nikita. Hope you are well as you can be!)
thanks
Are there any other ways that I can get an influx of subscribers? I’ve only started using Substack a week ago and my traffic flow is really slow, how do I increase this other than the recommend function?
I would start by recommending other writers and engaging with other writers' work! Elizabeth's story is a great one to follow: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-series-6?s=w.
This is also a great guide for growing your audience: https://on.substack.com/p/grow-4?s=w
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your response! :)
This is awesome. I'm new to the community and would love to expand my network.
this is a brilliant feature, that again empowers the writer directly. thank you so much for constantly investing in us.
Because the search function does not work correctly why should there be a reason to believe this will work properly?
Is this only on desktop? I don’t see it in my app settings.
Sounds very interesting but I'm not sure how much I'll use it. That being said, I wouldn't be against someone else recommending mine.
Thanks
For those who don't get a large amount of new readers every week yet, the feature will become nearly useless (once the recommendations won't be seen that much, the recommended won't be notified, and, therefore, it won't be that effective).
I mean, what if it takes a while to a new reader actually subscribe through a recommendation?
Good improvement, from the early days, but If the idea is increasing the connection among writers (and two-way recommendations), recommended writers should be notified as soon as they're recommended.
How can we make recommendations if you won’t publish a directory of writers (with the right to opt out)?
Yeah, like a place to secure an unfinished rough draft.
Have you seen the "version history" feature? Does that work or do you want something different?
A step that makes sense given where Substack subscribers tend to come from. Good move.
Getting easier to attract readers
Sounds like a good tool. However, I don't know of many writers like myself out there. How can I find 'conservative' writer/bloggers like myself? Is there a search tool for what 'kind' of writers one is interested in? Thank you.
Hi Paul! You can check out our Discover page, which includes categories like Politics (including many conservative writers) and a search tool in the upper-right: https://substack.com/discover/category/politics/
The Search feature within this feature is also really useful and helpful Paul.
Very cool!
Great addition. Thank you.
It should be at yoursubstack.substack.com/publish/stats/recommendations
edit: the above deleted comment asked about where to find the stats page
Stats and to the right.