This week, we’re taking a break from Office Hours for the August edition of our monthly Shoutout Thread.
We host Shoutout Threads because we know writers want more ways to discover great writing on Substack, and we’re always looking to celebrate writers who are finding a home here. This thread is a chance for us to get to know one another, and to share what we’ve been reading and inspired by recently on Substack.
How to participate
Leave a commentbelow and give a shoutout to another writer or Substack you’re enjoying. Be sure to share the link to the publication of the writer you admire and share a specific reason why you love their work. Bonus: share a favorite post by the writer.
Get to know fellow writers. It’s beneficial to know other writers—both for collaboration and for inspiration. Peruse the thread and get to know who’s here.
Our team will be in the threads today from 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PST / 1 p.m.–2 p.m. EST in discovery and celebration mode with you all.
Tip: Make your shoutout last!Recommendations allow writers to directly endorse each other’s publications on Substack. Writers can select other Substack publications to recommend to new readers, and can add a recommendations list to their publication homepage as a “blogroll.”
The hour flew by! Take a moment to scroll through the thread and say hello to someone new before you sign off today. And, if you are just tuning in now, it's not too late to make your Shoutout. The Substack team is signing off but we will peak at the thread over the next day or two.
We will be back next week from Office Hours to help answer your questions on publish, growing, and going paid. Don't miss it: https://lu.ma/office-hours
If you want to learn more about paid subscriptions, we also have two upcoming Download sessions. Downloads are designed to help writers quickly gather the most important information and data on a valuable growth tactic. The tactics we will look at in August are:
I love these shoutouts! I've subscribed to at least another dozen more newsletters again, thanks to this session, and found a few I'd almost forgotten about, so I'm going to need to set aside some time!
Thank you, Katie and the Substack crew. This is quite a perk!
Hey everyone! My name is Ayaan Dhruv (12 years old). I have a poetry blog that I've been writing for over a year now. Would love any tips/feedback and support. Thank you so much! 😊
I shout out METANOIA by Kerry Jane, Kerry put out something awesome. Also, I shout out The Hallowed Wilds by Amanda Cessor, and Lilychili Sanctuary by Lily Chili!
I'd like to know more writers. Brought our top-rated podcast over to substack and have launched a few columns to go with the transcriptions of the podcast.
Feeling an inflection point for The Common Bridge - a fiercely nonpartisan, policy-oriented discussion of the issues of the day and the opportunities of the moment. Have been praised and criticized from both ends of the political spectrum.
Hi Cole. I'm a weekend car guy that figured out how to save ALOT of money over the past 30 yrs the DIY way and now I'm writing about here at Substack. I just got started last weekend.
My writing is like cook books for cars. I write about professional auto detailing and saving money on buying or selling a used car.
Ashley - that was my path. Had "RichardHelppie.com" for my podcasting, then YouTubeTV and then expanded to columns, so brought everything to substack in hopes that the platform would expand to full multi-media for all of our content.
Most episodes have guests with deep subject matter expertise, occasionally some opinion pieces.
Hi ahmad--I've read no less than 10 of these same posts while parsing the thread, and they're spammy. Maybe try replying to someone's comment with something relevant to their comment then add a bit about how your substack relates in some way.
I've been doing my best to grow my readership via FB and that's been somewhat successful I'm curious about how others have been going about promoting their posts
I just launched a newsletter so have only my first round of outreach to reflect upon, but so far, Instagram seems to have driven about 2x exposure relative to Facebook, and several times that relative to Twitter. I haven't leveraged LinkedIn yet but appreciate that suggestion from Morgan. FWIW those reflections might all be unique to my audience on those respective platforms, so take them with a grain of salt. Good luck and Godspeed!
I'm also focused entirely on Instagram right now and experimenting with different ways to share using posts and stories in a semi-consistent way that feels fun and authentic.
I tooootally understand that cringey feeling of self-promotion. I'm doing my best to counter that by reframing it as an extension of my creativity and resisting when it starts to feel like an obligation. The algorithm isn't really designed to support this approach, so it might be slower going, but it's the only way that feels sustainable to me.
At this point I don't know that we can depend on the algorithm much right now anyway. They keep changing how they are doing it. I mean, I moved to Substack to get away from the social media "game" but you still need to play the game to get enough followers to share your stuff so that you can grow more authentically and organically. Wanting to be a writer sucks sometimes 😂
I love stories! The temporary nature and the fact that you don't need words if you don't have them makes it feel more easy and fun and spontaneous. They definitely seem to have more visibility and a greater reach than posts themselves, but that could be because I use them more consistently? I also find that, when I share a post in my stories, it helps the post gain more visibility. Overall- still treating it like an experiment to see what works and where that intersects with what feels good. If you want to follow along you can find me @tamicarey
You're putting work into your product, so don't be shy about letting people know. Agree it can feel like cringey self-promotion, but the alternative is being one of those rare talents discovered after we've left this mortal coil. So let people know.
Maybe I just need to make this a part of my daily routine? I mean, I can see how regularly posting in stories could make a difference. Do you do the same?
I do think regular posting of any kind increases visibility and sharing posts in your stories is a nice way to get extra oomph out of a single effort.
I really don't want to spend a bunch of time on social media and wrestling the algorithm feels so overwhelming so I'm working on a calendar to queue up posts ahead of time so it's more automated, but still consistent. A sort of compromise.
A daily routine is also nice to create a limited container for showing up.
I would love to hear what seems to work and happy to share my experience.
I only post in stories whenever I first make a new post, but I'm not trying very hard to gain a following. I feel a little uncomfortable with frequent self-promotion. 🙃 I'm also not trying to actually make money off of my substack. It's more for fun.
Yeah, I moved to paid Substack and I'm going to keep it there, but I have VERY few paid subscribers. I mostly want to just gain a consistent following on both of my Substacks but I HATE self-promotion. But I think that I can better use stories. Good idea!
I found the same thing to be true. Facebook tends to have already established groups with several thousand members on niche things, which has allowed my to search out an audience A. actually willing to spend time reading. B. Will probably be fairly supportive (unless your content is political). The one issue i have had which i think is common across platforms is getting people to subscribe after they read
A couple of years ago I started a separate writer page on FB for most of my writing communication so I could make public posts. That has actually helped some, although with social media algorithms changing all of the time (I'm not thrilled with IG right now), it's making it hard to use social media for growing readership, but it is possible!
Hi! My name is Ayaan(12 years old). I have a poetry blog that I've been writing for over a year now. Would love any tips/feedback and support. Thank you so much! 😊
Rachel - we should connect! I interview cooks from all over California about their home cooking and share their recipes. We should consider collaborating!
Hi! I'm Mike, and I write about the science of curiosity and the benefits of a good, hard Wow.
If you're still feeling exhausted, frazzled, a bit frayed at the edges, and a bit confused about why you haven't got your mojo back after the last few weird, weird years, you should read Katherine May's book "Wintering: The Power Of Rest And Retreat In Difficult Times," which was a bit of a mid-pandemic sensation here in the UK (it was even serialized for BBC Radio).
But you can also subscribe to her Substack newsletter, Stray Attention - https://katherinemay.substack.com/ - to get details of her next book, which sounds really fantastic :
"Enchantment is a book about finding sanctuary in this post-everything world. It’s an exploration of the ways we can re-engage with our fascination and wonder, how we can learn to perceive the infinite in small, mundane things, and how we can reclaim the right to make meaning, even when we’re not sure what we believe. I wanted to show how we can renew a connection with the land beneath our feet and the air around us, one that is sustaining, comforting and even magical - how we can become enchanted again."
Was obviously so excited about this recommendation that I accidentally took out a paid subscription to yours too. 🙄 Still, all in a good cause, eh? We writers should support each other
Oh blimey! Well, I'd be delighted to have you aboard, but - I'd also be happy to reverse it and send the money straight back to you, if you'd rather read my stuff for a while before making a decision? (Seriously! I'd be happy to do.) I mean, I might be a total idiot. 😁
No. My fault entirely and from the quick glimpse I shot at it I'm sure I'll enjoy it. You could always subscribe to mine if you feel strongly about it 😉
I completely disagree - it's clearly me that has the better deal here. You sound like you actually know what you're doing! (Something I aspire to, but have never achieved in any way whatsoever.)
Oh I had no idea Katherine had a Substack. Thank you for sharing! Also- Her conversation with Krista Tippet on the On Being podcast is a great way to dip your toe in before diving into the book. It's like wrapping in a cozy blanket.
Ok well now I want to shout out Katherine May too because she is my favorite writer and Wintering changed my life and it's the only reason I am able to survive the winter in Utah.
yes, it's subtle but the idea that everything is amazing is a frame! I'm very much in the same boat, but haven't really gathered my ideas under a central one like this. Got me thinking for sure.
I'm amazed at how gullible people have been regarding the so-called pandemic. Or doesn't that count as amazement? Let's see. I'm also amazed that reality is somewhat unfathomable. And I'm amazed by other stuff too. Do we need a list?
I get more private messages and backchannel communications then anything else. Could be my subject matter which is fiercely nonpartisan, policy-oriented discussion.
howaboutthis.substack.com newsletters always make me take time out to read what you - and your fascinating interview subjects, if it’s an interview post - have to say. Keep up the fabulous work!
Posting on social media platforms is a first step, but in the age of algorithmic content curation, often a frustrating one. To the extent you can leverage your posts by sharing them in established (and ideally relevant) FB groups, or by sharing your thoughts in reply to related posts by larger accounts on Twitter, you can put them in a position to expose your work to new readers. Inviting those who read you already to also share your posts can make an even bigger difference. I hope that helps! Good luck!
One thing I've tried on Twitter is searching for keyboards from my blog posts to see if anyone else is Tweeting about them and then, in a friendly way, send them the link to my post and ask them for feedback. FB is different, I've tried joining some groups to share my work but you have to be very careful that you abide by the rules of the specific group to avoid negative feelings.
Hey, friends! Glad to be part of this community with you all. Substack is such a wonderful platform for writing and for developing an audience. Congrats to you all on your continued diligence in building your newsletters!
Hey Kevin. Great list. I'm new to substack, just 2 months in, and aiming to create content relating to anything about songwriting... Hope it's ok if I add to your list? Probably at least 24 hours late by now, but whatever...
Greetings, Nic! You might be interested to know that I've got a living, breathing singer/songwriter/recording artist regularly contributing to my Front Row & Backstage (https://bradkyle.substack.com/).
His name is Stephen Michael Schwartz, and he recorded his debut album for RCA Records in 1974. He's been contributing his life story on my 'Stack since February for over a dozen-and-a-half articles, including his trials and travails thru the record biz of the '70s, and meeting and working with artists of the day, like Jackson Browne, Joni, Stevie, Carole, and more!
He's even contributed rare, never-before-heard song demo sound files we've included in some articles! He's written songs with David Pomeranz (who landed "Trying to Get the Feeling" with Barry Manilow in '76, and "The Old Songs" for Barry in '81), and the legendary Jeff Barry! In fact, the Barry/Schwartz collab demo was actually PRODUCED by Barry!
I created a Flipboard page for all his Front Row & Backstage items so he could share them with friends, family, colleagues, etc. They all lead back to Substack, of course!
Stephen's taken some time off for the summer, but he'll be back writing for me this week! We left off (in his story) in the late '70s with those song collabs, as well as the behind-the-scenes of his '78 musical sitcom he was in..."Please Stand By"!
Feel free to join us, Nic! Pretty sure you'll see nothing else like it on the 'Stack!! Cheers! Brad
THANK YOU! I came here largely looking for music-related newsletters and appreciate you collecting so many in one place. Looking forward to checking out these authors and their respective music recommendations!
The hour flew by! Take a moment to scroll through the thread and say hello to someone new before you sign off today. And, if you are just tuning in now, it's not too late to make your Shoutout. The Substack team is signing off but we will peak at the thread over the next day or two.
We will be back next week from Office Hours to help answer your questions on publish, growing, and going paid. Don't miss it: https://lu.ma/office-hours
If you want to learn more about paid subscriptions, we also have two upcoming Download sessions. Downloads are designed to help writers quickly gather the most important information and data on a valuable growth tactic. The tactics we will look at in August are:
Going Paid: https://lu.ma/download-going-paid
Conversion: https://lu.ma/download-conversion
Thanks for writing on Substack,
Katie
I love these shoutouts! I've subscribed to at least another dozen more newsletters again, thanks to this session, and found a few I'd almost forgotten about, so I'm going to need to set aside some time!
Thank you, Katie and the Substack crew. This is quite a perk!
It's the best, isn't it?
Yes. I hate those weeks when I have to miss it.
Yes! I wasn't able to participate like I usually do, and I missed it! But I'm scanning now to catch any recs I missed!
Humans have no rights. Just ask any government.
Lol
Hey everyone! My name is Ayaan Dhruv (12 years old). I have a poetry blog that I've been writing for over a year now. Would love any tips/feedback and support. Thank you so much! 😊
Welcome to Substack!
Thanks as always Katie!
Hello! I just started my substack on human rights and social justice. Would appreciate any support and feedback!
Read my posts on REAL STUFF. There's a lot in there about this subject.
Read Michael Sandel's book JUSTICE...WHAT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. You can also find him on You Tube.
I shout out METANOIA by Kerry Jane, Kerry put out something awesome. Also, I shout out The Hallowed Wilds by Amanda Cessor, and Lilychili Sanctuary by Lily Chili!
Thanks for hosting Katie! Found some awesome new reads :)
I'd like to know more writers. Brought our top-rated podcast over to substack and have launched a few columns to go with the transcriptions of the podcast.
Feeling an inflection point for The Common Bridge - a fiercely nonpartisan, policy-oriented discussion of the issues of the day and the opportunities of the moment. Have been praised and criticized from both ends of the political spectrum.
Just passed 3 million listens.
It's refreshing to see the high quality comments here!
I'm looking forward to discovering some new accounts here today!!!
So am I (as a Substack newbie!!)
Welcome! I'm a newbie-ish writer here. Feel free to reach out if you need community!
Very kind Christine! I write lots of political things, so if you ever want to share a political opinion let me know!!
Here's a slough of political opinions that I largely concur with:
http://mileswmathis.com/updates.html
Indeed I will! I just finished writing a biography about two former members of Congress, so I have a LOT to say! Look forward to connecting!
Sounds great!! Who was it about?
Can't say yet! Stay tuned. Contractually obligated to stay mum until it's out!
Welcome to substack! How long have you been writing on here?
Hi Cole. I'm a weekend car guy that figured out how to save ALOT of money over the past 30 yrs the DIY way and now I'm writing about here at Substack. I just got started last weekend.
My writing is like cook books for cars. I write about professional auto detailing and saving money on buying or selling a used car.
I thought you'd never ask. I don't write, just doodle with words.
Hi Cole! I’ve been here a few weeks. Had my own domain prior this this for the past year!
Ashley - that was my path. Had "RichardHelppie.com" for my podcasting, then YouTubeTV and then expanded to columns, so brought everything to substack in hopes that the platform would expand to full multi-media for all of our content.
Most episodes have guests with deep subject matter expertise, occasionally some opinion pieces.
Check us out - The Common Bridge
Awesome. Hoping it pans out exactly as you desire!!!
Thanks Cole! Just a month, but I'm really enjoying it! How about you?
Welcome!!!
Thank you!!
Welcome!
Hi ahmad--I've read no less than 10 of these same posts while parsing the thread, and they're spammy. Maybe try replying to someone's comment with something relevant to their comment then add a bit about how your substack relates in some way.
Same. I always find the best newsletters here.
Hello! I just started my substack on human rights and social justice. Would appreciate any support and feedback!
Down with human rights. I'm a bot.
As am I! I love Substack's Shoutout Threads.
Hello! I just started my substack on human rights and social justice. Would appreciate any support and feedback!
Same! It's such a great discovery tool. Like an authentic algorithm.
I've been doing my best to grow my readership via FB and that's been somewhat successful I'm curious about how others have been going about promoting their posts
I just launched a newsletter so have only my first round of outreach to reflect upon, but so far, Instagram seems to have driven about 2x exposure relative to Facebook, and several times that relative to Twitter. I haven't leveraged LinkedIn yet but appreciate that suggestion from Morgan. FWIW those reflections might all be unique to my audience on those respective platforms, so take them with a grain of salt. Good luck and Godspeed!
Hello! I just started my substack on human rights and social justice. Would appreciate any support and feedback!
I loved your post on the parallels of struggle between Palestinians and Black Americans! Keep up the good work. https://ahmadibsais.substack.com/p/parallels-of-struggle
I'm also focused entirely on Instagram right now and experimenting with different ways to share using posts and stories in a semi-consistent way that feels fun and authentic.
I tooootally understand that cringey feeling of self-promotion. I'm doing my best to counter that by reframing it as an extension of my creativity and resisting when it starts to feel like an obligation. The algorithm isn't really designed to support this approach, so it might be slower going, but it's the only way that feels sustainable to me.
At this point I don't know that we can depend on the algorithm much right now anyway. They keep changing how they are doing it. I mean, I moved to Substack to get away from the social media "game" but you still need to play the game to get enough followers to share your stuff so that you can grow more authentically and organically. Wanting to be a writer sucks sometimes 😂
It was fun in the old days but now the gods of google hold the keys to the kingdom
I've never used stories before. Do you find them effective? How best to use them?
I love stories! The temporary nature and the fact that you don't need words if you don't have them makes it feel more easy and fun and spontaneous. They definitely seem to have more visibility and a greater reach than posts themselves, but that could be because I use them more consistently? I also find that, when I share a post in my stories, it helps the post gain more visibility. Overall- still treating it like an experiment to see what works and where that intersects with what feels good. If you want to follow along you can find me @tamicarey
You're putting work into your product, so don't be shy about letting people know. Agree it can feel like cringey self-promotion, but the alternative is being one of those rare talents discovered after we've left this mortal coil. So let people know.
Rich Helppie
The Common Bridge
Are you using stories? you can make a regular post, but be sure to share a link in your stories b/c sometimes those get more views.
Maybe I just need to make this a part of my daily routine? I mean, I can see how regularly posting in stories could make a difference. Do you do the same?
I do think regular posting of any kind increases visibility and sharing posts in your stories is a nice way to get extra oomph out of a single effort.
I really don't want to spend a bunch of time on social media and wrestling the algorithm feels so overwhelming so I'm working on a calendar to queue up posts ahead of time so it's more automated, but still consistent. A sort of compromise.
A daily routine is also nice to create a limited container for showing up.
I would love to hear what seems to work and happy to share my experience.
I only post in stories whenever I first make a new post, but I'm not trying very hard to gain a following. I feel a little uncomfortable with frequent self-promotion. 🙃 I'm also not trying to actually make money off of my substack. It's more for fun.
Yeah, I moved to paid Substack and I'm going to keep it there, but I have VERY few paid subscribers. I mostly want to just gain a consistent following on both of my Substacks but I HATE self-promotion. But I think that I can better use stories. Good idea!
I've been having luck with Twitter, that could be another option for you.
I've found FB invaluable and Twitter all but worthless. But you inspired me to try again.
Hello! I just started my substack on human rights and social justice. Would appreciate any support and feedback!
I found the same thing to be true. Facebook tends to have already established groups with several thousand members on niche things, which has allowed my to search out an audience A. actually willing to spend time reading. B. Will probably be fairly supportive (unless your content is political). The one issue i have had which i think is common across platforms is getting people to subscribe after they read
Thanks. Yeah, there are indeed Twitter hashtags, but as far as I can tell those are not much good at all.
I'm moving over a little bit from LinkedIn.
Trying to figure it out..😅
I keep forgetting to promote. Too busy writing.
A couple of years ago I started a separate writer page on FB for most of my writing communication so I could make public posts. That has actually helped some, although with social media algorithms changing all of the time (I'm not thrilled with IG right now), it's making it hard to use social media for growing readership, but it is possible!
I think Substack is a creators hidden gem.
I see great potential in this platform.
Hello! I just started my substack on human rights and social justice. Would appreciate any support and feedback!
Same!
Me too!
ditto
Hi! My name is Ayaan(12 years old). I have a poetry blog that I've been writing for over a year now. Would love any tips/feedback and support. Thank you so much! 😊
How awesome! Best of luck to you!!!!
Dido!
Ditto?
It means 'same' or can be used in the same way in response to something. At least I think....
I looked up "dido"; couldn't find it except for a lady singer's show name. No big deal. Close enough. Thought you might want to know.
Hello! I just started my substack on human rights and social justice. Would appreciate any support and feedback!
See what you think of this about the PLO: http://mileswmathis.com/plo.pdf
Im looking forward to the community.
Me too! Shoutout to your Clean Eating Blog :)
Thank you, Elizabeth!!!
👋 Hi Rachel! Those recipes look incredible!
Thank you, Morgan!!
What do you like to write about?
I write gluten + dairy-free RECIPES with a fresh California vibe!
Just subscribed! The Flank Steak got me!
Hooray, thanks Erin!!
My mom needs some low carb recipies, I subscribed :)
Awesome, thanks!!
Rachel - we should connect! I interview cooks from all over California about their home cooking and share their recipes. We should consider collaborating!
Yes -- I would love to!!!
rachriggs2003@yahoo.com
Hi! I'm Mike, and I write about the science of curiosity and the benefits of a good, hard Wow.
If you're still feeling exhausted, frazzled, a bit frayed at the edges, and a bit confused about why you haven't got your mojo back after the last few weird, weird years, you should read Katherine May's book "Wintering: The Power Of Rest And Retreat In Difficult Times," which was a bit of a mid-pandemic sensation here in the UK (it was even serialized for BBC Radio).
But you can also subscribe to her Substack newsletter, Stray Attention - https://katherinemay.substack.com/ - to get details of her next book, which sounds really fantastic :
"Enchantment is a book about finding sanctuary in this post-everything world. It’s an exploration of the ways we can re-engage with our fascination and wonder, how we can learn to perceive the infinite in small, mundane things, and how we can reclaim the right to make meaning, even when we’re not sure what we believe. I wanted to show how we can renew a connection with the land beneath our feet and the air around us, one that is sustaining, comforting and even magical - how we can become enchanted again."
Was obviously so excited about this recommendation that I accidentally took out a paid subscription to yours too. 🙄 Still, all in a good cause, eh? We writers should support each other
Oh blimey! Well, I'd be delighted to have you aboard, but - I'd also be happy to reverse it and send the money straight back to you, if you'd rather read my stuff for a while before making a decision? (Seriously! I'd be happy to do.) I mean, I might be a total idiot. 😁
But either way - thank you, Fiona!
No. My fault entirely and from the quick glimpse I shot at it I'm sure I'll enjoy it. You could always subscribe to mine if you feel strongly about it 😉
Deal. :) (And thank you!)
I think I get the better deal. I love a 'tedious enthusiast'.
And thankyou 🙏
I completely disagree - it's clearly me that has the better deal here. You sound like you actually know what you're doing! (Something I aspire to, but have never achieved in any way whatsoever.)
I love her work. Wintering changed me! And, I agree, her newsletter is wonderful.
I loved Wintering! I had forgotten she started a Substack. Thank you!
This sounds wonderful and like something I definitely need!
Oh I had no idea Katherine had a Substack. Thank you for sharing! Also- Her conversation with Krista Tippet on the On Being podcast is a great way to dip your toe in before diving into the book. It's like wrapping in a cozy blanket.
Fully agree with this!
Agreed!
WHAT!!!!!! I literally subscribe to her on everything, how did I not know she had a Substack!!!???
Ok well now I want to shout out Katherine May too because she is my favorite writer and Wintering changed my life and it's the only reason I am able to survive the winter in Utah.
Mike I am LOVE the concept of your newsletter! It's super inspiring, and Katherine's, too.
I like the way you frame your broad interests.
Aw, thank you, Natasha. So kind of you to say.
(Wait, they look like they have a frame? I thought they just sprawled in all directions in a total mess. Hooray!)
yes, it's subtle but the idea that everything is amazing is a frame! I'm very much in the same boat, but haven't really gathered my ideas under a central one like this. Got me thinking for sure.
I'm amazed at how gullible people have been regarding the so-called pandemic. Or doesn't that count as amazement? Let's see. I'm also amazed that reality is somewhat unfathomable. And I'm amazed by other stuff too. Do we need a list?
Lots of amazing things 🤣🤣
Love her podcast, thanks for the rec!!
Thanks for the recommendation! I think I came across her on an On Being podcast once.
Thanks for calling K. May to our attention!. Sounds fabulous!
Love your writing, Mike!
Just checked out "Why Coffee Smells So Good.."
👏
Thank you, Morgan! I think I wrote that one on (of course) wayyyy too much coffee, so I'm glad it's readable...
Thank you for the recommendation!
I'm enchanted with the End times for the Beast.
It is. Certainly my top recommendation.
Hi everyone! My first shout out is for my friend Bryn who writes passionately about science education, here’s her latest work: https://brynphd.substack.com/p/world-of-wonder-campfire-notebook
My second shout out is for me! I broke the 200 subscriber barrier and did a recap of my progress during my first three months in this post: https://howaboutthis.substack.com/p/how-about-this-month-3-recap
Thanks to everyone, let’s keep going!
Well done. I just passed the 150 subscriber mark and now have 50 paid. It's been a lot of work, but well worth it.
Congratulations! Nice work!
I get more private messages and backchannel communications then anything else. Could be my subject matter which is fiercely nonpartisan, policy-oriented discussion.
Richard Helppie
The Common Bridge
That’s awesome.
Congrats Stephen...how long have you been doing it? I have almost 40 and looking to hit 100 but have only started just over a month ago.
I've been aggressively promoting my Substack for about a month now. Luckily, I have a small but loyal email list I'm able to target for Substack.
Wonderful!
Wow! That's a good ratio of paid and free subs. I'm curious what you offer your paid members?
I offer 2-3 articles a week (at least 1 free + 1 paid), and 1 video recording of a live Q & A I do every week.
Congrats Mark!
Thanks Katie!
Brilliant news on breaking that barrier, Mark!
howaboutthis.substack.com newsletters always make me take time out to read what you - and your fascinating interview subjects, if it’s an interview post - have to say. Keep up the fabulous work!
Thanks, your comments add a lot to the newsletter!!!
congrats on breaking the barrier! I bookmarked that post because I'm on month one with BIG goals and aspirations for my own substack.
Hello! I just started my substack on human rights and social justice. Would appreciate any support and feedback!
Thanks Erin! Hope it's helpful. I'm checking out your Substack as well.
Thanks for the sub! Appreciate it.
Well done, Mark. I enjoy your newsletter, even though I don't always comment.
Thank you so much, Terry! I also enjoy yours!
Hello! I just started my substack on human rights and social justice. Would appreciate any support and feedback!
200 subs? Let's goooooo!!
Thanks man, same to you!
Congrats!
Thanks!
Thanks for subscribing!! You did not have to. And therefore, a big thanks!
Always interested to check out other newsletters from Substackers!
Thanks! Looking forward to reading yours!
Congrats!
Thanks YJ!
And this educator needed to subscribe to another educator Substack :-)
Hello! I just started my substack on human rights and social justice. Would appreciate any support and feedback!
Congrats! That is my goal but my real job is making that hard 😂
I understand!
Hi Mark, read a couple of your posts and decided to subscribe to your publication. Thanks for shouting out yourself. haha
Hi Jim, thank you!
Congrstulations! It is hard to get subscibers. I use fb and twitter. Any other ideas? (Chai Society)
Posting on social media platforms is a first step, but in the age of algorithmic content curation, often a frustrating one. To the extent you can leverage your posts by sharing them in established (and ideally relevant) FB groups, or by sharing your thoughts in reply to related posts by larger accounts on Twitter, you can put them in a position to expose your work to new readers. Inviting those who read you already to also share your posts can make an even bigger difference. I hope that helps! Good luck!
Good idea
One thing I've tried on Twitter is searching for keyboards from my blog posts to see if anyone else is Tweeting about them and then, in a friendly way, send them the link to my post and ask them for feedback. FB is different, I've tried joining some groups to share my work but you have to be very careful that you abide by the rules of the specific group to avoid negative feelings.
Will try (politely)
Hello! I just started my substack on human rights and social justice. Would appreciate any support and feedback!
Congratulations!
Thanks so much, I'm checking yours out!
Thank you very much! Much appreciated...
Congratulations on your milestone! I love getting to peek inside the process for other writers on here. Bookmarking your recap. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Tami!
Congratulations!
Thanks Bih!
congrats on your 200 subs, Mark. Keep rockin'!
Thanks!
Hey, friends! Glad to be part of this community with you all. Substack is such a wonderful platform for writing and for developing an audience. Congrats to you all on your continued diligence in building your newsletters!
Thanks for being here John!
Hi Katie, PLEASE help.
Thanks John. I love that Substack is doing this! I'm new here and loving what you guys are doing.
Just to be clear, I don't work for Substack. Just happy to be a hosting and writing my newsletter here like everyone else!
Haha....all good! I thought you did for some reason. I'm still glad Substack is doing this! LOL
Hey John!
Your stuff looks really cool.
Going to read a few things..
Thanks so much, Morgan!
Some can't-miss music letters:
recordstore.substack.com
midweekcrisis.substack.com
listeningsessions.substack.com
fogchaser.substack.com
therunoutgrooves.substack.com
eons.substack.com
thisweekinthe90s.com
shufflesundays.substack.com
bradkyle.substack.com
Tfml.Substack.com
Never will I forget the first time you came to one of these thread looking for music Substacks and now you've got the full stack to recommend :)
Haha. Right? I’m really happy you and the team pointed me in the right direction (more than once, I might add)!
Wow This Week in the 90s! I had never seen/heard of this one, thanks for sharing! (90s UK tween here!)
Thanks, Kevin! Happy to make your list! Get in on Kevin's "On Repeat," fellow 'Stackers! He's at https://thekevinalexander.substack.com/ ! A recent fave of mine was his treatise on erstwhile power poppers, The dB's: https://thekevinalexander.substack.com/p/the-dbs !
I enjoyed that one as well, Brad! Definitely recommend Kevin's substack!
Thank you! :)
Thank you!!
Might also enjoy What's Curation? https://whatscuration.substack.com/
What's Curation is truly great! Very eclectic picks every time.
You guys are so sweet! Thank you!
Keep them coming mate!
100%
I was afraid I’d forget one! Nikhil’s letter is awesome.
Hey Kevin. Great list. I'm new to substack, just 2 months in, and aiming to create content relating to anything about songwriting... Hope it's ok if I add to your list? Probably at least 24 hours late by now, but whatever...
jefftweedy.substack.com
colinmeloy.substack.com
tedgioia.substack.com
And especially this podcast episode from Ted:
tedgioia.substack.com/p/why-old-stars-dominate-pop-culture
Finally, not related to music, yet I think always worth keeping an eye on:
andrewsullivan.substack.com
glennloury.substack.com. (in particular when Glenn and John McWhorter get together)
Greetings, Nic! You might be interested to know that I've got a living, breathing singer/songwriter/recording artist regularly contributing to my Front Row & Backstage (https://bradkyle.substack.com/).
His name is Stephen Michael Schwartz, and he recorded his debut album for RCA Records in 1974. He's been contributing his life story on my 'Stack since February for over a dozen-and-a-half articles, including his trials and travails thru the record biz of the '70s, and meeting and working with artists of the day, like Jackson Browne, Joni, Stevie, Carole, and more!
He's even contributed rare, never-before-heard song demo sound files we've included in some articles! He's written songs with David Pomeranz (who landed "Trying to Get the Feeling" with Barry Manilow in '76, and "The Old Songs" for Barry in '81), and the legendary Jeff Barry! In fact, the Barry/Schwartz collab demo was actually PRODUCED by Barry!
You can find all Stephen's contributions here: https://flipboard.com/@schwartzstories/front-row-backstage-with-stephen-michael-schwartz-fcjpqreoy
I created a Flipboard page for all his Front Row & Backstage items so he could share them with friends, family, colleagues, etc. They all lead back to Substack, of course!
Stephen's taken some time off for the summer, but he'll be back writing for me this week! We left off (in his story) in the late '70s with those song collabs, as well as the behind-the-scenes of his '78 musical sitcom he was in..."Please Stand By"!
Feel free to join us, Nic! Pretty sure you'll see nothing else like it on the 'Stack!! Cheers! Brad
Perfect. Thanks. Looking forward to diving into that.
No problem! I love Gioia's 'Stack too, but tried to keep my list to ones that might benefit from a signal boost.
THANK YOU! I came here largely looking for music-related newsletters and appreciate you collecting so many in one place. Looking forward to checking out these authors and their respective music recommendations!