Product news for writers: Post reactions, TikTok embeds, updates to the Substack app and more
Product news for writers: Post reactions, TikTok embeds, updates to the Substack app and more
A rundown of the latest product improvements to help Substack writers succeed
At Substack, we’re focused on building for and with writers. Read on for a rundown of what we’ve released in the past few weeks—from updates to the Substack app to the ability to embed TikToks into posts. Please chime in, in the comments section, with your feedback.
Post reactions
Substack writers thrive because of the direct connection they foster with subscribers.
Last week, we shipped a small change to display “Likes” directly on posts, which we hope will deepen the relationships between writers and their readers.
Reactions can be viewed at the bottom of posts. Tapping the number of likes displays a list of all the post likers, and a new section on Substack profiles also shows which posts they have recently liked.
For writers who lean into the idea of fostering a community, this update will help your posts feel more alive, and facilitate more connections between readers.
For readers, being able to see and click on profiles can forge new connections through viewing what others read, write, and love.
As always, readers and writers are in control. Readers can control the privacy of their likes on the Edit Profile screen. Writers can choose to hide the feature for their publication via the dashboard.
Read more: For writers How do I enable or disable likes on my posts? and for readers How do I hide posts that I liked on my Substack profile?
TikTok embeds
Writers have been asking for TikTok embeds to enhance the reading experience for their communities.
Now, you can embed TikToks by copy-and-pasting the URL directly into a draft post.
TikToks will play within the post in the Chrome web browser and in the Substack app. In other browsers and in emails, the TikTok will show up as a static image that links to the TikTok site.
Read more: How do I embed media in my post (e.g. images, audio, video, GIFs)?
Swipeable full screen images
Since launching our new Substack app for iOS, we’ve seen readers and writers enjoying the app for everything from recipes to podcasts to their morning news.
More than 200 of the world's top writers across genres helped us beta test this app, sharing their ongoing feedback and helping shape its design.
In the latest update, readers can now view images full screen and swipe through them in the Substack app.
This update will particularly benefit readers of comic creators such James Tynion’s The Empire of the Tiny Onion and Kelly Thompson’s 1979 Semi-Finalist, as well as writers with highly visual publications like Megan’s Textile Tales.
More updates to the Substack app
In addition to the new podcast player, we are working on more updates to improve the listening and reading experience on the Substack app.
Some of the latest updates include:
For readers: change the font, text size, and background color to enhance your reading experience;
In the comments: better collapsing and threading allow you to easily engage with your favorite writers and others enjoying their work.
Update or download the latest version of the Substack app for iOS to try out these new features and more to come.
We hope you give these new tools and features a try. As always, please feel free to leave feedback and ideas in the comments.
Product news for writers: Post reactions, TikTok embeds, updates to the Substack app and more