I left Twitter when Elon took over so I’ve never used it to promote my Substack, however it is steadily growing. I know I am more of a visual account than most of the writers here, but something to consider is adding an image to your Substack post and then pinning it to Pinterest, because Pinterest is one of my top traffic drivers to Substack. I do have a large following on Pinterest, but if you hashtag your pins appropriately, it will then be easily searchable and could help your growth. Just a thought to get around these rotten bastards. 😜
Wow, thank you for the transparency. I normally never read these, but this makes me feel like Substack cares about their writers and their community. I would love to understand Substack’s SEO’s. I would like to know how I can encourage others to share my articles. Thanks!
This is why I'm hoping the Notes feed can start to include more than just subscribers. With low double digit subscribers, I'm posting to Notes but so far only about 2 or 3 people even see them, and I'm only seeing the same content from a few people, so it feels kinda pointless for a very new newby... would be **amazing** if Notes could feature at least some discoverability by subject or area of interest.
As of two weeks ago, I'm DONE with Twitter. So much time saved--even though I've made efforts not to spend much time there. It was getting downright annoying. Now... more time for Substack!
Really well said. I've spent a lot of time, effort, and thought building up my twitter platform. When I set up my Substack, I saw it as a symbiotic relationship. It helped me grow my readership here and justified my time investment there. Most important, it's an audience I could take with me. A social media systems flaw I was already well aware of and pointed out in the years prior. The move by Elon was disappointing, but you're right, it can happen anywhere and I appreciate that Substack continue to try and find new ways to grow our audience without the need for other social media platforms. I also appreciate your transparency, stability, and commitment to allowing all different kinds of thoughts to be represented. As someone who is a reader in addition to being a writer, I appreciate that there's no echo chambers here. The readers that come to me have all sorts of points of views, and the content I'm able to read is also as diverse in thought as I'm open to...and I love being able to see the world represented through different lenses. Thank you.
I’m surprised at how good Notes is. I didn’t expect to enjoy it. But it is so refreshing seeing fabulous bakers explain their techniques, expats offering neighborhood restaurant guides in Paris, and farmers showing what real butter looks like. That hot stink of Feed garbage does not exist here. I hope it stays this way!
Unfortunately we cannot always control the reactions of those who dislike what we succeed in creating, but we can always control our ability to take the high ground and continue to do good, positive work to make the world a better place.
I'm very glad to be here. I only started using Substack with great enthusiasm after I quit Twitter on Halloween of 2022, and it has improved my writing (in my own mind, at least, I may be delusional on that one!) But I've truly had a better time since leaving Twitter and focusing on writing here and on doing a patrons-only podcast over on Patreon. Different sites are better for different things, and Substack is where it's at for newsletters and, in a way, a kind of fellowship among writers that I don't find elsewhere.
To test how strong Substack’s community is, I didn’t mention or share my Substack site and articles on other platforms. In the two weeks on Substack, I got more subscribers than my eight months on Ghost. Those 8 months included spending $200 on Google ads, $200 on Instagram ads, $100 on Facebook ads, joining Facebook writing communities, commenting on Instagram posts, posting on Reddit and Quora, and trying to collaborate with people I found on Ghost’s Explore page. The Google ads brought in 5 free subscribers, and the social media ads got me a few hundred followers and likes from people who only engage with material that takes under fifteen seconds to understand. Just imagine if I spent that money on fellow Substack writers instead of those poor passionate people at Meta and Google who finally felt valued thanks to my money they so desperately needed. In other words, I think Substackers can do fine without Twitter, especially if the writers who start from 0 get more support.
Why don't you add sharing links for Signal and other private messaging apps? I think right now you have sharing links to Twitter and Facebook. That doesn't make any sense. Add one for email too. It's best not to rely on the tech tyrant platforms for sharing, many people share privately, so it makes sense to cater to that in your share links.
What you guys are doing is working. I have found several great writers through notes and quite a few subscribers have found me. The substack world is generally civil and upbuilding. It really is a thing of beauty and makes the life of a writer easier and more desirable.
I'm using Twitter as an idea-generator b/c so much of my audience is there. I'm spending more time in Notes and the Substack search bar for sustainable growth. The Recommendations feature has been good for me so far, hope that keeps up!
I am so happy with the networking aspects on Substack, it has provided me with most of my subscriber growth and it actually feels useful to spend time on and interact with. Not only because it leads to actual results (which I have barely or sporadically had on other platforms) but also because I genuinely enjoy it and find it informative, as you get to meet all sorts of wonderful people and learn so much from each other.
I left Twitter when Elon took over so I’ve never used it to promote my Substack, however it is steadily growing. I know I am more of a visual account than most of the writers here, but something to consider is adding an image to your Substack post and then pinning it to Pinterest, because Pinterest is one of my top traffic drivers to Substack. I do have a large following on Pinterest, but if you hashtag your pins appropriately, it will then be easily searchable and could help your growth. Just a thought to get around these rotten bastards. 😜
Wow, thank you for the transparency. I normally never read these, but this makes me feel like Substack cares about their writers and their community. I would love to understand Substack’s SEO’s. I would like to know how I can encourage others to share my articles. Thanks!
This is why I'm hoping the Notes feed can start to include more than just subscribers. With low double digit subscribers, I'm posting to Notes but so far only about 2 or 3 people even see them, and I'm only seeing the same content from a few people, so it feels kinda pointless for a very new newby... would be **amazing** if Notes could feature at least some discoverability by subject or area of interest.
As of two weeks ago, I'm DONE with Twitter. So much time saved--even though I've made efforts not to spend much time there. It was getting downright annoying. Now... more time for Substack!
Really well said. I've spent a lot of time, effort, and thought building up my twitter platform. When I set up my Substack, I saw it as a symbiotic relationship. It helped me grow my readership here and justified my time investment there. Most important, it's an audience I could take with me. A social media systems flaw I was already well aware of and pointed out in the years prior. The move by Elon was disappointing, but you're right, it can happen anywhere and I appreciate that Substack continue to try and find new ways to grow our audience without the need for other social media platforms. I also appreciate your transparency, stability, and commitment to allowing all different kinds of thoughts to be represented. As someone who is a reader in addition to being a writer, I appreciate that there's no echo chambers here. The readers that come to me have all sorts of points of views, and the content I'm able to read is also as diverse in thought as I'm open to...and I love being able to see the world represented through different lenses. Thank you.
I’m surprised at how good Notes is. I didn’t expect to enjoy it. But it is so refreshing seeing fabulous bakers explain their techniques, expats offering neighborhood restaurant guides in Paris, and farmers showing what real butter looks like. That hot stink of Feed garbage does not exist here. I hope it stays this way!
Unfortunately we cannot always control the reactions of those who dislike what we succeed in creating, but we can always control our ability to take the high ground and continue to do good, positive work to make the world a better place.
So keep it up!
I'm very glad to be here. I only started using Substack with great enthusiasm after I quit Twitter on Halloween of 2022, and it has improved my writing (in my own mind, at least, I may be delusional on that one!) But I've truly had a better time since leaving Twitter and focusing on writing here and on doing a patrons-only podcast over on Patreon. Different sites are better for different things, and Substack is where it's at for newsletters and, in a way, a kind of fellowship among writers that I don't find elsewhere.
To test how strong Substack’s community is, I didn’t mention or share my Substack site and articles on other platforms. In the two weeks on Substack, I got more subscribers than my eight months on Ghost. Those 8 months included spending $200 on Google ads, $200 on Instagram ads, $100 on Facebook ads, joining Facebook writing communities, commenting on Instagram posts, posting on Reddit and Quora, and trying to collaborate with people I found on Ghost’s Explore page. The Google ads brought in 5 free subscribers, and the social media ads got me a few hundred followers and likes from people who only engage with material that takes under fifteen seconds to understand. Just imagine if I spent that money on fellow Substack writers instead of those poor passionate people at Meta and Google who finally felt valued thanks to my money they so desperately needed. In other words, I think Substackers can do fine without Twitter, especially if the writers who start from 0 get more support.
Why don't you add sharing links for Signal and other private messaging apps? I think right now you have sharing links to Twitter and Facebook. That doesn't make any sense. Add one for email too. It's best not to rely on the tech tyrant platforms for sharing, many people share privately, so it makes sense to cater to that in your share links.
I started using Substack like my own personal Twitter page after twitter banned me last year.
I hope Notes gain more traction because it’s exactly what I was looking for as an alternative
This is why I really like Substack - you guys get it.
What you guys are doing is working. I have found several great writers through notes and quite a few subscribers have found me. The substack world is generally civil and upbuilding. It really is a thing of beauty and makes the life of a writer easier and more desirable.
I'm using Twitter as an idea-generator b/c so much of my audience is there. I'm spending more time in Notes and the Substack search bar for sustainable growth. The Recommendations feature has been good for me so far, hope that keeps up!
There’s a reason the quality of writers on Substack is far superior to other platforms
I am so happy with the networking aspects on Substack, it has provided me with most of my subscriber growth and it actually feels useful to spend time on and interact with. Not only because it leads to actual results (which I have barely or sporadically had on other platforms) but also because I genuinely enjoy it and find it informative, as you get to meet all sorts of wonderful people and learn so much from each other.