I have a hard time sticking to one topic with substack, but eventually it would be nice to have subscribers, but I don't think subscribers want to follow someone who writes across different topics.
Is it really necessary to have a niche? Struggling with being limited on the topic, but also struggling with picking a lane.
Been trying to write more but I'm getting so discouraged with the lack of reach. I get like 4 views😭. Are there any tips?
Without Substack, your options for consolidating behind one domain include a site where class mates relive high school, a site where cogs vote manipulate anything that triggers a systems error in their fragile minds, sites that cannot even post text, sites that are totally walled off and a site that has roots in 140 chars. I am not naming names.
The web has a serious quality deficit, and serious veterans of long form writing need to take it back. However, mounting a serious alternative is difficult if everyone is on self-hosted websites and forums/blogs. Substack is the domain to consolidate behind, given its mail distribution and support of reasonable free speech policies.
It's hard to get off the ground and difficult to give up the addiction to feedback that you get on other platforms, which is more immediate than Substack. However, the old web does need to get behind a single domain to address the front of social media websites that are dragging the quality of the internet down (for different reasons, with different methods and different motivations) and we're just going to have to solve this problem of how hard it is to get off the ground because sites based on central feeds seem to screw things up one way or another. Direct distribution and forcing authors to actually write well (which will create a cognitive wall against the internet waste) is the way to go.
After a lot of thinking, I've decided to sell my AI newsletter.
I've been writing it for quite a while and honestly I'm exhausted. I want to take a break from publishing for a few months, then shift my full attention to building a startup.
Some stats:
• 23,000 subscribers
• 53.75% average open rate
• 0.62% average CTR
• Around 13,000 views and 249 clicks per edition
• Audience is 66% US and 15% Europe
The newsletter is monetized through sponsorships and CPC/affiliate offers, including deals from SparkLook. It currently makes around $500 to $1,000/month, with the best month reaching $1,100.
Most of the growth came from newsletter recommendations, a lead magnet, promotion inside an AI academy, and a few social posts that performed really well.
It's very easy to run. I have an AI workflow that lets me write each edition in about 15 to 20 minutes. The only recurring expense is the beehiiv plan at $149/month.
I'm asking $7,900, but I'm open to reasonable offers.
Happy to answer any questions or share more details with serious buyers.
Does that sound accurate? Do you have a common experience?
This is even the case when my article is restacked. Seems like no traction. But if I write a short Note, even if it's excerpt of something in my article, it drives subscribers.
How long did it take to get your first 10, 50, 1k, 5k followers? I have 5 subscribers and I have been promoting my posts across various social media platforms from LinkedIn to IG (small followings). I am posting a lot of curated lists with affiliate links. I am also writing about personal experiences while trying to maintain a cool girl internet lore.
Also wondering, at what point should paid subscriptions be turned on. I understand that it takes a long time to build - just trying to learn as much as I can.
Thank you for reading.
My personal opinion on Substack Sponsorships is that enshittification comes for all platforms, and Substack is by no means exempt from this rule. Andreessen Horowitz is an investment powerhouse for slop generating platforms.
Facebook comes to mind as one of their investments that is now purely slop, and Substack will be no different. Eventually the boys at the top will want this thing to produce massive financial gains, and the measly 10% cut from subscriptions is and was never going to cut it.
I just unsubscribe and click the “do not recommend channel” option these days for YouTubers who have sold their souls to these crap sponsorships like Incogni or insert any virtual private network here, and especially any of them pushing gambling or prediction crap. One that comes to mind is the biggest YouTuber PewDiePie… how anyone can sit through his no-effort sponsorship laden dribble these days is beyond me.
How do you feel about Substack Sponsorships... will they aid or destroy the long-term survivability of Substack?
I find the crazy thing about substack that if you want to comment on post and other things you can like you would on other social medias. I want to know do people subscribe and maybe not read what people put out? Maybe they are just subscribing to help the other person out. Why would you want to subscribe to what you like but not read it? Just pondering questions thats all.
I have been on Substack for 4 months and currently at 830 subscribers. How do I earn from here.
I was recently banned from a subreddit community I know not why exactly. It seems I posted too often and/or because the posts were links to my substack articles. I'm wondering if I should create a new subreddit to publish the links here. I removed all my existing posts on my banned community and am wondering if I should re-create them here, They are all related to American history following the trail of Mark Twain.
Hey everyone,
I am currently trying to scale my Substack publication, which focuses on highly structured, analytical forensic true crime dossiers. I am puting a lot of effort into building an audience, but I want to make sure I do not have any major blind spots in my growth strategy.
Here is what I am currently doing to drive visibility, subscribers, and followers:
Substack Notes: I actively engage on the Notes feed daily, replying to other writers, offering advice where relevant, and participating in the community.
Reddit Marketing: I share insights and engage in relevant subreddits where my target audience hangs out.
Off-Platform Outreach: I am making shares and promoting my work outside of both Substack and Reddit to diversify my traffic.
For those of you who have successfully scaled your newsletters, am I missing anything critical? Are there specific platform features, collaborative tactics, or distribution channels that I should add to this routine to boost my subscriber count and overall views?
Would love to hear your thoughts or any advice on what moved the needle most for you. Thanks.
I’ve been thinking about why good essays still disappear.
Recently I wrote about Jordan Mechner’s Prince of Persia journals and shared different versions of the post in a few niche Reddit communities. Not huge generic writing communities, but places where the topic already had context: retro games, old computers, notebooks, long creative projects.
That changed the outcome completely.
The author responded to one of the posts. A few people said they bought the book. Readers came back to the original essay. My Substack grew 38%.
The lesson I took from it was not “Reddit is magic.” It was that the first audience is part of the writing.
Before publishing, I now try to ask:
I wrote the full reflection here, but the short version is: good writing still needs a path to its first readers.
Link: https://domelian.substack.com/p/why-good-writing-still-gets-ignored
Curious how other Substack writers think about this. Do you plan distribution before publishing, or only after the essay is live?
My first account had about 30 subscribers in a month. When I began my second, it was with all the tips I learned from my failures in my first account.
I realize I got partly lucky with my growth, but here are my 5 tips that helped me grow to 1000 subscribers in 40 days without any external help.
#1 Provide Value and Pick a Niche.
This one is pretty simple, people will only subscribe if your content is providing value, people will be more likely to subscribe if that content is unique to your page.
#2 Be Nice and Interact.
Scroll while liking, comment meaningful things when you read posts you enjoy, connect with other writers and build connections. Those connections pay dividends down the line.
#3 Learn What Pays Dividends.
Focus on notes and recommendations for growth, articles for sustained retention.
#4 Lead With Your Heavy Hitters
Post your best content today, don't wait - there might be news that shifts the focus of attention elsewhere while you hold your best post for when you "get bigger".
#5 Partner With The Right People.
Partner with the people who will increase the value of your post, not just those who have the biggest audiences.
Hope this helps!
I just started posting on Substack, got close go 20 subs in a week
Only notes posting
Sharing my life and professional plans
But seeing how the algorithm is pushing new content
I am thinking of actually growing it into something more productive
Any suggestions on how go grow it? And what else i can do with it?
Hot afternoon, fan blowing, scrolling through notes and comments I'd left over the past few weeks.
A stranger replied to something I restacked: "Let us fill our cups with hope." Three people from completely different fields recognised each other in one sentence: "Simple doesn't mean simplistic."
Small exchanges. But rather enriching.
It feels closer to a neighbourhood party than a broadcast tower. Something Substack is doing that the blogging era didn't quite manage — I'm still figuring out what.
For those who've been here a while: why do you show up? Why do you restack rather than just like?
I do have a question i did notice on substack that there is followers and there is subscribers, my question is what is the difference? i am just trying to understand?
Is it possible to change the color of the background and font while reading someone else’s article?
There’s someone whose publications I enjoy reading, but he publishes in white text on a black background and unfortunately this triggers migraines in me.
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I've been trying to replace some of my doomscrolling with reading, and Substack seems like a goldmine if you know where to look.
I'm mainly into psychology, philosophy,
human behavior,emotions, habits, self-awareness, decision-making, and those articles that leave you staring at the ceiling for a few minutes afterward. 😭
Not really looking for the super mainstream picks, I want the hidden gems that make you think differently or see people (and yourself) in a new way.
What are your favorite Substacks in this space? And if there's one article that instantly made you subscribe, I'd love to read that too.
I'm back on Substack again and I'm slowly finding my groove and I'm noticing that I actually enjoy commenting and restacking with my own insights/commentary a lot more than opening up Google Docs and typing, lol.
I'm somewhat a fan of the essay as a writing form, but I'm a much bigger fan of the letter/correspondence, and I think restacking/commenting mimics those forms.
Maybe I could turn my long-form pieces into letter-style essays addressed to one person/reacting to another piece, etc.
I tend to be a more extroverted writer than average, so maybe that's why I tend towards that.
Anyone else relate?
After months of building, I finally launched the website for The Unconventional Curator.
I grew up on a small island off the coast of Honduras where the TV signal could disappear in the middle of an episode. That taught me to appreciate the stories that stayed with me because sometimes you didn't know when you'd get to watch them again.
That idea eventually became this publication.
It focuses on long-form essays about film, television, and telenovelas, along with curated recommendations for people looking to discover stories they might otherwise miss.
It's still early, but I'm excited to finally have a place to build this for the long term.
I'd genuinely love any feedback on the design, writing, or overall direction.