Videos in Chat, app updates, and Substackers at events and in the news
Bulletin #5: News, education, and opportunities for publishers
Welcome to another edition of the Substack Bulletin, where publishers get a roundup of the latest news, resources, and community-building opportunities, all in one place.
Please leave any feedback or ideas in the comments—we’re listening and curious to know how we can make these posts as valuable to you as possible.
News
Video in Chat. Publishers can now share videos to their publication’s Chat space. Sharing videos with subscribers is an easy way to speak directly with subscribers, and can be paywalled. Learn more about Substack Chat
Updates to the Substack app. We recently rolled out updates to both the iOS and Android Substack apps, including the ability to turn video autoplay on or off in settings. In the latest iOS version of the app, we’ve added a number of features: swipe left to hide a note, with the option to see similar content less often; watch video in Chat; YouTube and Spotify embeds in Notes; and About page videos. In the latest version of our Android app, we’ve added chat and publication search and a paywalled video treatment. Download the Substack app
Chat link previews. To help more subscribers discover your publication, we added link previews to Chat spaces and posts that are shared outside of Substack. Here’s an example from a post shared in Slack:
Resources
Inspiration: A roundup of how writers and creators like Nadia Bolz-Weber, Haley Nahman, and Terrell Johnson take paid time off from their Substacks
A new launch guide: A new guide for TikTokers interested in coming to Substack and bringing their followers with them
Chatbot question of the week: How do I tell someone to buy a gift subscription?
It’s easy for anyone to give a subscription to your publication. You can direct gift givers to your specific Substack URL followed by “/gift” (for example, if your publication is “Dogs,” the URL would be dogs.substack.com/gift). There, buyers can enter details and choose to send the gift immediately or schedule it for a later date.
Community
Meetups: Thank you to
, , , and for hosting in May, from Glasgow to the Bay Area. If you’d like to get together with other writers and creators in your city, consider hosting a meetup.
Around town: Finance, tech, and business writers on Substack gathered at Fraunces Tavern, New York City’s oldest bar.
and hosted an intimate dinner party for Substack food writers. , , and co-hosted an evening for Substack fashion writers in Los Angeles. Hunter Harris threw a party for her founding members and paying subscribers in New York with fellow Substack writers , , , , , and more.
In the press:
was profiled in The Atlantic. , , , and were all mentioned in an article about fashion Substackers in Vogue Business. was quoted in a piece from the BBC about the rise of subscription-based social media. interviewed and Andrea Hernandez of for The New Yorker about the new generation of online culture curators. Inc. looked at how publishers like , , and Gao are building a community with their customers on Substack. LitHub wrote about and ’s analysis of HBO’s Girls on their Substacks. Local-news pioneer was praised in the Press Gazette. launched a new Substack, and The Cut ran the news. The Evening Standard covered ’s Substack. The Guardian recommended and ’s Substacks. Business of Home posed the question “Is design Substack having a moment?” of The Cereal Aisle and of Sarah’s Retail Diary were quoted in the New York Post in a story about the comeback of the jelly sandal. Digiday interviewed and about how they’ve monetized their Substacks. Sundberg was mentioned in the New York Times:
Milestones: Netflix released a new documentary about
. Ken Burns presented with the Authors Guild’s Baldacci Award for Literary Activism. ’s book Ever-Green Vietnamese was nominated for a James Beard Award, and ’s Substack was a Webby Award honoree for best Personal Blog/Website. , who had a column at The Davis Enterprise for 55 years but was laid off without explanation, successfully launched a Substack. Watch Bob’s speech at his launch party below.
Celebrating a milestone or press feature? Let us know in the comments.
Well, you said to let you know if we were celebrating a milestone... my brand new little Substack reached 50 subscribers this week :) We all start somewhere! As a professional screenwriter who has struggled with creative anxiety her whole life, starting a Substack to explore ways to deal with that anxiety and the creative process in general has lifted me up in a way I didn't expect. https://inspiredwriting.substack.com/
Congrats! Nice work. 😀
Thank you!
It would be so nice to have some news or highlights from Subtack that are not in English. There's a whole world of non-English writers using Subtack!
Totalmente de acuerdo!
Idem : I had for asking a search tool or filter « language »
Please work on your comment navigation. I often have terrible difficulty finding a comment I get notifications for and it’s very frustrating.
The gold standard for comments is The Guardian where comments can contain italics, boldface, and can be searched and archived. Now that many authors are participating in comments sections they have become more than an afterthought to the article and deserve a better interface. Thanks!
You know what they say:
~ Live ~ Laugh ~ Love ~
Yay, videos in chat, that’s awesome ❤️
You're welcome! (I contributed nothing to this 😔)
Celebrating a milestone! I just launched a new video podcast series where I interview incredibly successful writers and how they rose from obscurity to build fulfilling careers. The first episode is with Pierce Brown, #1 NYT bestselling author of the RED RISING saga (we talk about overcoming self-doubt, how success has affected his writing, and whether writing actually makes him happy).
The next episode is #1 NYT bestselling author Ali Hazelwood of THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS (we talk about her being discovered by her agent in a fan fiction forum, as well as redefining success in creative careers.)
New episodes drop on Tuesdays at creativeinspiredhappy.com !
Is it available on Spotify? What's the name of the podcast?
yes! It's called CREATIVE INSPIRED HAPPY. The audio version is on Apple and Spotify podcasts
https://open.spotify.com/show/3AFTA0jk0SRI8fy6dyxkaC
(Video version on my Substack creativeinspiredhappy.com )
Happy listening!
Followed and subscribed! Thank you!
YAY!!! Welcome!
Ivana Gosnik Gorkega ul4 Maribor Slovenia HVALA GOSPODU JEZUSU KRISTUSU VEKOMAJ AMEN
i was quoted in this piece for the guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/article/2024/jun/05/pubic-hair-grooming
and included in this sellout roundup for dirt: https://dirt.fyi/article/2024/04/dirt-sells-out
and a guest on this podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-heart-cannes-w-emily-kirkpatrick/id1745533736?i=1000657028992
Fantastic. Congrats!
I’ve done a lot of thinking about this and I’ve distilled down to four points. 1: Internet porn. Sexuality used to be shaped by mystery. Today a girl can barely conceal what she had for breakfast.
2: Pubic hair amplifies the effect of nudity, not the other way around. The 19th century esthete, Ruskin, is said to have gotten to his wedding night without ever seeing a live, nude, girl. The sight of his wife’s pubic hair so alarmed and disturbed him that his marriage was never consummated and soon ended.
3: Today’s 18-30 year olds are said to be avoiding sex in droves. Explanation: see #’s 1 and 2.
4: Obsessive hygiene. Squeaky clean seems to be the fashion, unfortunately. I once had a partner who always waited an hour after bathing to have sex. Smell is essential, and hair is a component in this. As Woody Allen said: “Do I think sex is dirty? Only if you do it right.”
Do you want us to let you know when we are featured in media? I was most recently on Texas Standard on Texas Public Radio, but I have gotten lots of mentions for Intersection since it launched last year. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/electric-vehicle-ev-battery-manufacturing-boom-tesla-toyota/
Yes! please share!
Exciting to see so many Substackers getting mentions all over media. Congrats to all!
Except me 😔😞
Where were you featured?
Etched into the wall of an Arby's restroom stall 😔😞
Awww… that’s something!
It's almost as glorious for a five-for-five beef-n-cheddar melt bargain.
Hvala Bogu
To pa je moj zlati srček Lan Babica lvana Gosnik
Suggestion: have the option to edit your own comments in the app, because it's only available in the web version.
New to Substack. Wanting to know what the usual length of a posting is as I would like to start a series of them on a single topic with the fantasy that paid readers would double with each posting.
Hi Craig. You might find this article from Sarah Fay helpful: https://www.writersatwork.net/p/write-less-please-updated I find that my most popular essays are 1,500 words or less. Those are also the essays that I've had appear on the Explore page, which brings in many new readers and subscribers.
Substack is moving forward, and I'm staying with it !
Many new features with most important- human support for writers - removed .
I kind of have mixed feelings about this. I’m all in favor of evolution, but I joined Substack because I wanted to a place to post my writing. I feel like it’s not really that place anymore? I don’t know. I just don’t love the idea of having to compete with videos.
Love seeing what Substackers are up to. Thanks for this highlight.
I am happy to see updates about the chat. This is the most exciting feature of Substack. Video messages are cool, but the chat needs some more improvements:
1. Make it more accessible on the web. Allow the chat to open within the publication from the navigation menu. Allow chat to open on mobile devices on the web. Currently, it is possible to access the chat only with the app on mobile. I understand that this might be a deliberate strategy to increase app downloads, however I find it contra productive.
2. Allow users to edit messages.
3. Allow mentions in top threads.
Currently it is possible only in replies.
4. Pin threads and replies.
5. Voice messages (like video, but only sound). I might use this to share samples of my next podcast episodes.
I feel optimistic about the chat ☀️
Great bulletin as usual! I'm particularly excited about the potential for creators to share more dynamic content with their audiences. No milestones to report this week!
Hot take: video is good for posts, but bad for notes.
Substack is great because you can meet a lot of good writers through well-written notes.
If video crowds out writing, that will hurt good writers.
Also, TikTok exists for video folks.
Substack is all that exists for word folks.
As I mentioned many times, what I need the most is better tools for the existing features, not just new tools. Better editor, fixing ugly bugs and import shortcomings. the lists is long. Acknowledgement from Substack is short - as in ZERO
https://zorkthehun.substack.com/p/substack-issues-and-questions
I would love to meet other Substackers so I am asking again (and again, and again): where are the features that can help me to find or organize one? Where is the option to put my location into my profile so that it can be searchable?
While you are all happily meeting and celebrating substack, how do you feel about substack shutting down my site with no reason given?
Mixed Messages Live is happening next month! Having run my newsletter on Substack for nearly four years, we're taking things from URL to IRL and sold out in a week. We added double the amount of tickets, and sold out again.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mixed-messages-live-hanako-footman-nicole-ocran-and-jassa-ahluwalia-tickets-888617206987?aff=oddtdtcreator
I ain't got time to bleed.
I think 'Substack' is just another scamming operation like Facebook twat6ter and the kinkie X .all Fingers for DARPA
Great 👍
Iy seems to be awonnderfu; venue, Thank you.
I find it difficult to navigate thropiugh however, Can you please helkp me. It seems that you chat isn't wprlong l;ate;y and I need help
Yay! Thank you for the “autoplay off”!!
SIGNIFICANT DATES, ANNIVERSARIES, YOU SAY? OKAY, HERE GOES ONE, WITH SUCH ITEM FOR ME, IN MY LIFE ...IN 1989, 35 YEARS AGO, I SELF-PUBLISHED A SMALL BO0K OF TRUE STORIES FROM AND ABOUT WORLD WAR II, CALLED "BEST LITTLE STORIES FROM WORLD WAR II," WITH MONIES BORROWED FROM MY MOTHER AND GIRL FREIND. THIS LED TO PUBLICATION OF AN 11-BOOK SERIES OF "BEST LITTLE STORIES" BOOKS, 1,000 TRUE STORIES IN ALL, WRITTEN AT DAILY NEWSPAPER LEVEL AND PUBLISHED THESE DAYS BY SOURCEBOOKS OF NAPERVILLE, ILL.
IN THE INTERIM, SAD TO SAY, MY MOTHER, CLAIRE BURKE, POTPOURRI ENTREPRENEUR OF NOTE, PASSED AWAY.
ON HAPPIER NOTE, I MARRIED THE GIRL FREIND, NOW MY WIFE AND CO-0UTHOR OF THE HISTORICAL BOOKS, INGRID SMYER.
FOLKS READING THIS ITEM CAN SEE AN UNRELATED AND QUITE LENGTHY STORY OF MINE ON SUBSTACK ITSELF, CALLED "INTERSTATE..."
HAVE A GREAT DAY ALL,
C. BRIAN KELLY,
BESTSTOR3IES@GMAIL.COM
How do I get Substack mail to stay in Substack? I get way too much to keep up with and it is all so many different topics that all mix together and I can't keep up with all that mixture!
I don't mind mail about what I have posted, but 20 other mails a day on ALL kinds of things is confusing and not a flow of understanding. It's cluttered. It become a heavy weight to try and keepu up with. Since you are doing all these other sections, can you make a mail section for things that we don't work with ourselves?
I simplified the process by creating a different e-mail account for each Substack to which I subscribed. But it became difficult to keep track of it all, so I hired a team of personnel to check those accounts and to highlight important information and e-mail it to me.
I tried to join, submitted an article but it was rejected b/c it was dox and it said I needed to use a different format which I'd never heard of. So I think I need to unsubscribe at this point. Good luck everyone.
I didn’t quite “get” Substack when I joined in Dec. Now I’m really lost. And everybody says it takes years to get anywhere with subscriptions. It’s so much work. Writing is hard enough. I get really down now but I have to write for the 20 subscribers I have. It’s so not fun. Why am I doing this? And I’m stuck here and angry about it. I feel duped.
I got my first Substack with over 100 views!
https://open.substack.com/pub/graemeworsfold/p/music-at-every-stage?r=hgxx4&utm_medium=ios
I have a subsciption to a paper called Fair and Accuracy in reporting. It prints with examles on how biased our news is toward what Israel is doing to the Palistinians. The use of words like brutal only to how Palistinians fight in this conflict. Of course nothing is fair when it comes to the Palistinians plight.
Ok
How do I cancel my subscription?
A great round up of what's happening in the Substack world and beyond.
Hjkl
Bhklp
I'm so pleased to discover this platform, which in most respects is better for how I like to communicate with colleagues and clients than the many other media I've used over the years. I kept thinking "there must be an earwig in this ointment somewhere!"
Well, I finally found one yesterday at lunch with another author: VAT handling in Europe. Teachable solved this nicely and saved us a lot of headaches, but Marco told me that Substack does not acknowledge the problem yet. And it's a big one for paid subscriptions here in Portugal and the rest of the EU.
Your EU-based authors will be legally required to do a lot of extra paperwork (invoice receipts, payment of VAT for each country where individuals reside or issuing invoices with reverse charge notices in the language of each country for VAT-registered entities) and so on.
Please spare us these headaches!!!
Nice job. Conragultion
Excuse me, video in chat?
How about aligning picture with text in a post, or simply aligning it other than centred? Choosing from more fonts? Selecting different colours for text, and aligning it in various ways (left, right, centred)? Wasn't Substack THE place for writers? What happened to that USP?
Hello just sharing a press mention! Whatever Nevermind’s launch got a mention In Fashionista: https://fashionista.com/2024/06/kering-chief-brand-officer-laurent-claquin
Love to read about all of the real life connections being made via Substack. Various team members who contribute to The New Futurists (https://thenewfuturists.substack.com/) will be appearing at comic book conventions and live events throughout the summer. I'll be at HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC (https://www.heroesonline.com/heroescon/) with artist extraordinaire Luis Valero-Suarez and publisher Jon Cochran June 14-16. Stop by AA-1821 and say "hello" if you're in the area. One of the reasons we love this convention: young people 16 and under get in free with a paying adult! We love an event that encourages young readers!
Love the new “Videos in Chat” feature. Nice addition.
I wrote a comment, but did not know how to save it and it was lost
At the risk of changing the subject the most important task we all face is the orange menace being re-elected!!
Now that the Supreme Court has shown this the colors they are laying down the red carpet for him to win. Plus he avoided the 3 powerful charges again him, and the over victory can and will be spun as a joke. We will never change the MAGA cult following for their version of Bread & Circus. It the entertainer in chief and although it pains me say it, Biden can never change the caricature of him that exists. The incompetent, orange buffoon will prevail because that trumps intellect and morality of the the average voter. The caricature of Biden that has been firmly imbedded in the voters mind, The ONLY thing that we must concentrate on prevent this lunatic from winning the upcoming election. There only 2 people at this late date that replace Biden, but I am not a politician or know if there is a masked marvel somewhere out there. I think the only 2 people I know of who can possible win are Michelle Obama and Gavin Newson. Both have an Achilles Heal. Michelle will be portrayed as totally inexperienced and will have to be drafted and Gavin will be tarred as A flaming liberal from CA. Both have positive charisma and that is our secret weapon.
Anyone please chime in. I am a devoted fan is Steve Schmidt. Thank you.
I just want to know how I can get a site or a stack on Substack. Do I have to enter thru another group like Oldster or Electric or can I just be myself? Susan Evangelista/ Senior Moments
Celebrating crossing 1.3M free subs and making Substack my full time job!!
So I'm hoping to get some advice on here....I'm really new to all this and really just wondered if anyone could give me some info, tips, advice etc on substack..? TIA
Hey Substackers! I'm celebrating that my Substack piece titled "Life Was on Our Side" was just published on We Animals Media. Here's the link: https://weanimalsmedia.org/2024/05/27/life-was-on-our-side-the-hens-who-got-a-second-chance/ I'm new to animal photojournalism, and although my Substack covers a broad range of how we live with each other on a warming planet, I'm thrilled that it was picked up by WAM. Onward!
Now Israels government only stays in power if it continues to wipe out Palistinians. Their far right cabinet members are holding you know whose feet to this fire.
Can we pleaseeeee be able to make posts within the app?
I am trying to publish article about DC government Reit Lost 90% of stock value . Can you help?
Yes I am an entrepreneur person.I will am looking for where to promote my small business to the next level.And I will be very grateful if substack can.Am making design caps, thank you.
Thanks for inviting us to share milestones. We have five to celebrate in the first 12 months of our life as a newsletter that connects the week's big news story to the world of books in a news literacy initiative:
– This Week, Those Books now has more than 10,000 subscribers in 112 countries
– We've been featured on the website and newsletter of the UNESCO City of Literature, Dunedin: https://www.cityofliterature.co.nz/news/article/SpimBhm/this-week-those-books-featuring-admissions-mira-harrison
– We've been asked to share newsletter tips by a major Indian newspaper The New Indian Express, though we're a bit red-faced they said we were a "newsletter empire" (we're not!): https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:eu:dc6ed103-8081-4802-8607-1e3db68e9933
– A few weeks ago we started an easy-listening podcast (roughly 4 minutes listening time) to accompany our quick newsletter
– It's our first birthday next week
Thanks Substack for giving us the platform and tools to do what we love. The one issue I have is the lack of access to tech support. I reached out through the chatbot but have heard nothing back from any human who could help solve the multiple issues I'm facing. I do feel that this is a new lacunae that's coming up on this platform. Earlier, it used to be relatively easy to receive support.
Regards
Rashmee (This Week, Those Books)
Also, weeks ago, I suggested hosting an event in London for Substack but heard nothing back from Substack. Thanks
Я вас преветствую,что вы от нас хоттте
How does substack justify shutting down my site? No explanation, erasure from home page, unable to enter site to post, etc.
Seems like censureship to me. How do substack subscribers feel about this?
Can anyone clarify 1. In the help section why does the drop down menu say paywalled chat with the word "off" twice? 2. It looked like it is possible for me to allow anyone to start a new thread, including free Subscribers, and yet limit access to chats to only paid subscribers. Is it possible for free subscribers to start threads that they cannot access?
I have a public performance of my long poetic monologue, 'Crash', coming up on the 6th July. I have posted a Note on it (with image). https://lovelincolnshirewolds.com/inspiration/post/114/market-rasen-wordfest
Nice to know about the new additional facilities offered to publishers. If worked out on them they truly give back good volumes of readers and subscribers. Muthangi
I was recently a guest on Tamron Hall to discuss my work on dating apps! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHKCryScRdY&pp=ygUXdGFtcm9uIGhhbGwgZGF0aW5nIGFwcHM%3D
Bonjour je suis educatrice
Could you please also create good support? Or at least a decent FAQs on how to fix things yourself? My newsletter is marked noindex, and I can find zero information about how to remove it.
Cool stuff.
Global Peloton was linked on CyclingNews this week after getting a little scoop - https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/astana-qazaqstan-refuse-to-comment-on-report-of-chinese-buy-out/
Great, you are doing well.
Je suis Bièrothologue. Et je vois mes idées dans les médias, bon.
A
Paul Emmert
ça fait longtemps que je n'ai pas chatter.
Sinon sur YouTube il y a des chattes beaucoup..
A thought--
Donald Hodgins <silencenotbad@gmail.com>
8:23 AM (4 minutes ago)
to 360, Kimberly, Robert, Dan
The brave men who gave their all on those blood-soaked beaches on the coast of France are dwindling in numbers as time absorbs those who helped give this country the freedom we enjoy today. They helped the human race to rid itself of a pestilence that had embedded itself in the heart of Europe. Today, there exists the same slanted view put forth by a narrow-minded man hell bent upon world domination. I would love to poll the remaining members of our military who stormed the beaches of France and ask them who the people of this country should vote for in the upcoming election. I don't need to because I already know. Trump had an opportunity to serve his country but sadly, a bone spur got in his way. How brave were his intentions.
I did not subscribe to this substack
The chat link sharing seems like the best update of the bunch.
Sharing on slack (which I used as a subscriber chat) has been extremely easy, and user efficient!!! But with this new paywall feature and search feature in chat I am HIGHLY considering consolidating all my work back on SUBSTACK.
***CHAT CHANNELS OR SUBSECTIONS WOULD BE AMAZING TO HELP READERS MORE SEAMLESSLY BROWSE OVER PREVIOUS CHATS/NOTES)***
Love these new small features the @substack team continues to bring. THANKS TO ALL FOR MAKING THIS PLATFORM 1% BETTER EVERYDAY. ❤️💪