Your favorite writer’s favorite writers: Our new recommendations feature
Writers are growing by recommending each other
One month ago, we released a small but mighty feature called recommendations for writers to directly endorse each other’s publications on Substack and readers to find more great things to read.
Our hope was that recommendations would help writers’ publications be discovered by new readers. We’ve been paying close attention to see if that hunch would prove true.
What writers are saying about recommendations
Writers are reporting back that receiving recommendations has accelerated the growth of their Substack publications, whether they started with a few readers or already had thousands of subscribers.
Will Lawrence of Product Life:
Nikita Petrov of Psychopolitica:
Lenny Rachitsky of Lenny’s Letter:
Not only that, but we’ve found that when it comes to recommendations, you get what you give: Writers that make a recommendation are three times more likely to be recommended in return.
Based on promising early results, we’re excited to see that when one writer recommends another, everyone wins. Readers find new publications to enjoy, receiving writers see their audience growth accelerate, and the “giving” writers see a bump in subscribers themselves.
This feature is available for all writers, podcasters, and other publishers on Substack, so if you haven’t tried it yet, here’s how to turn on recommendations:
Recommendations are just one feature of many that our teams have been working on to help writers grow their publications. Here are a few more of the improvements we’ve rolled out in recent months:
An upgraded reading experience: With the new Substack iOS app, upgraded reader profiles, podcast player and web reader, reading work from your favorite writers has never been better.
Improvements to SEO from our dedicated SEO team has been steadily making sure your articles appear in search results.
Eight new leaderboards added in the last year: fiction, parenting, humor, fashion & beauty, international, writer favorites, and featured recommenders.
Expanded search on Substack: Publications covering a wide variety of niche subjects are now easier to discover than ever.
New reader onboarding experience: Readers signing up to Substack via our homepage are connected with writers and publications matching their interests.
We’re just getting started. Stay tuned for more to come.
Love this feature ✨Recommendations Stats blew my mind last week 🤯 Almost each of the publications recommending the 'Midweek Crisis' generates subs. So happy to grow with my favorite authors 🪴
recommendations have been great so far!
re:
leaderboards: i would love to see a leaderboard category for 'serial work' or 'novel' or some other category of long-form writing. so many of us are serializing works here, and it would be great to have a unique category for them.
search: maybe we could have the option to add a search bar on our own pages? this would make searching so much easier!
I am writing a LGBT romance novel these days, too (+ a short nonfiction book). So, I’m wondering about how this could work for me.
Substack, darling, I am unworthy of all these improvements!!!
They really are too good to us, aren’t they? As a writer, I feel so much more valued and supported by Substack than I ever have with Medium.
The recommendation feature is one of the best that Substack has rolled out in a long time! Our results have been wonderful so far. Thank you all for coming up with it.
If you were trying to make us fall in love with you, it worked. Thanks for all the tools and support you’re giving writers. It’s encouraging and bolstering and I, for one, am not taking all your hard work for granted. Many thanks again for all you’re doing.
Seriously. Just propose already.
I would, but my wife would be PISSED.
A minor setback.
Absolutely adore recommendations and the chance to shout out my fellow Substackers. It feels just as good to give as to get (and I'm very grateful for both!)
The recommendation feature allows niche readers and audiences to find Newsletters they are passionate about more easily.
If new Newsletters could have a badge so we can recognize them and uplift them better, that would be great. It would be so awesome if this feature was able to give new Creators a boost so they don't give up prematurely on Substack.
I've made a list of recommendations for Newsletters here: https://aisupremacy.substack.com/p/top-substack-newsletters-in-2022 - I'm more than happy to write your Newsletter a blurb, turn it into a Tweet you can embed on your about page or even a TikTok testimonial video. Just comment on this link I've given here.
I feel this pain point pretty personally: The reason is new Newsletters deserve more social proof and encouragement.
The first few months as a new Creator without an established audience can be incredibly challenging, personally I don't want others to experience what I did (and still do to some extent). Those months of getting no to few comments, etc...
The recommendation feature is certainly a huge upgrade in the product and discoverability, but I think what I have noticed is we need more community in general. Networking with other writers and creators in your niche is super important Substack now tells us. As the Substack app evolves we can look to a brighter future, the passion economy has so many elements of progress in the years to come.
So 80 day later, what's the result? It's not hard to see: https://basicincomeworld.substack.com/p/the-substack-network-effect-zooming
I'm just starting out and have very few subscribers. But I was so pleased to get a recommendation!
Everyone starts small and every one of us has had very few subscribers at one point or another, Jessica -- don't get too discouraged, if you can manage it. Have fun, and keep going!
Yes, fun is definitely the main motivator. Thanks for the encouragement!
Shoutout to Cole Noble at Cole's Climb for his recommendation! He's sent a bunch of new subscribers my way
Substack is killing it with new features. Onward and Forward!
I must be doing something wrong with my recommendations... I jumped into this new feature immediately; I believe it is a valuable tool. Unfortunately, my stats don't reflect the experiences others are reporting. My readers/subscribers have added 28 new subscribers to the recommendations I have made. To date, I have received 1 new subscriber from those recommending my newsletter...and even more disturbing, most of the newsletters I recommend do not return the favor! That seems odd to me...
I don’t expect the newsletters I recommend to recommend me back, especially if I’ve never interacted with them!
I never expected an avalanche of new subscribers either but I was hoping the tool would help generate a bit more exposure… So far, it’s more like getting a cold shoulder in a networking cocktail party – but alas, I shall keep plugging away and putting my newsletter out there because I love what I’m writing about…and I think substack is absolutely the right platform!
I think you have to consider the audience and subscriber count of the newsletters that are recommending you. They might genuinely love your work and want to send people your way, but just not have the reach (yet, or ever).
Yes, I think you are correct about the readership of newsletters making recommendations – I do indeed take this into consideration. Of course, the other issue is simply getting other newsletters to make recommendations, and that’s where I’ve landed. In the end, I believe it’s still about producing quality content and hoping for enough exposure from those who are interested in what I’m writing about…I guess the recommendations will eventually flow if I keep working and promoting my newsletter.
I think that's true -- that it's about producing quality content and hoping for exposure from people who are genuinely interested. Don't get me wrong, recommendations are great, I'm grateful when people recommend my newsletter, but they're just one (ultimately small, uncontrollable) part of a much larger (much more controllable) puzzle.
Recommendations have brought some subscribers my way and has been a welcomed surprise. I’m excited to have a big name recommend my Substack, though. Looking for that mind blowing experience some are having. 😏
Leaderboards should be a great discovery tool as well. Once again, Substack, the innovations and improvements are making for enriching experience both as writer and reader. Thank you!
Love this. Happy to discuss how to partner with others on recommending. Contact me.
ok... I'm definitely open to exploring some ideas...
Can you detail the improvements you’ve made for SEO?
I spent a few days wondering what was going on with all the new subscribers before I realised they must have been referred to me via this feature. Bravo.
The recommendations feature is *awesome*! Thank you for your tireless efforts to continually improve what is already the best platform in the world. I have gained 1,000 readers in the past month, thanks in large part to recs.
The only request I would have is that we be permitted to add more than 50 recommendations. I follow more than 200 Substackers and quickly ran out of slots :-)
Adorei essa funcionalidade,realmente será muito importante utilizá-la ,principalmente para escritores novatos como eu começar a ganhar notoriedade.
Absolutely love the recommendations feature! My feed is bursting with new (to me) newsletters.
I’m definitely enjoying the recommendation feature although I’m starting to think it through a little more. I’m not against writing about controversial subjects and I wonder about whether I should recommend someone who might not appreciate being associated with the controversy. And vice versa in my recommending controversial people who might be seen by potential subscribers.
Im not the one to ask about controversy, as my newsletter was founded around my book being considered a bit controversial… I say bring it on! But I’m also trying to come up with a good policy for recommendations. Should it be just things related to the subject of my newsletter? Should it be that, plus things I read but that might be a little in the weeds or off topic? Should I include blogs of subscribers even if they have a slightly different vibe? Are there blogs that don’t want cooties from MY recommendation? Lol. Going forward, I’ve been adding new sites as I get a better feel for them. I think with a wide enough diversity of content represented, something challenging here or there shouldn’t be an issue. If it is, that’s probably not a subscriber who would enjoy my newsletter anyway…
Well, the topic of my newsletter can get somewhat controversial as I see it. My newsletter focuses on moral philosophy in various media like film and television. So occasionally I will take on things like how to build a good society, human rights, when is violence justified, etc.
So I think about some people who I enjoy reading who tackle topics like current politics and dive deep into philosophy. I wonder how much people will be interested in other writers who might be controversial and also people who aren't necessarily but are probably on the platform to avoid controversy.
I hear you. Maybe there is a way you can give your readers a heads up about the nature of the blog you’re recommending with the optional note/description added to recommendations? That way, if they’re not interested in political content they can avoid it? But for those who are, it’s there if they want it…?
Awesome
Excellent ideas 💡 success can be contagious 😷
This seems a lovely tool. Reminds me of an old fashioned blogroll from the good old days. Haven't received any that I know of, but I'm quite small. Nonetheless, I chipped in and added 3 of my favorite substacks to my recomendations. This is a great tool and the more people use it the better off we all get. Excellent addition.
Wow this is great! thanks for these suggestions!
Whoa! I'm new to substack but excited about tall the features!
I find it to be more of a delightfully passive way to potentially reach more readers.