I produce a newsletter, audio, and video versions of my podcast, [Health Hats, the Podcast]. I distribute widely on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. I’m a long-form combination interview and on-mic podcast (20-60 min listen). I’ve decreased from weekly to every other week to monthly publication, spending more effort on distribution. I’ve branched into creating 1-minute video clips for use on Instagram. I use Substack now to read and support several newsletters. I could use Substack to distribute my stuff. Do any of you have experience with using Substack you’d care to share?
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Hi Danny, I know people who use it and people who have left it. Although I don’t know precisely why they’ve left it. Personally, as a recipient, I’m not very fond of it (Want to Sponsor Me Now??? Want to Subscribe and Pay???), but I do understand why some people like it and don’t want to have to deal with chasing subscriptions when Substack will do it for you. Also, one friend who’s kind of prolific with Substack has five different newsletters! I suspect having one versus five makes a difference.
I was using it for Open + Curious. Christi’s feedback was what I heard from several people. (and w only dozens of subscribers, that was a serious indicator)
Substack is really nice to use as a creator, but I left it because of the user-experience of my readers.
(and spent six weeks of serious efforts scratch building with Wordpress and Mailchimp—hard for me/the-author, better experience for the readers.)
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Thanks @ChristiCassidy and @craigconstantine. I designate 15% of my gross income to support others’ podcasts, newsletters, and initiatives. So, I don’t mind being asked to pay for a subscription. That said, I already use Patreon. Several dedicated followers responded generously to my initial push, monthly and one time. So, could Substack draw new people? As I’m writing this, I’m thinking not. My access will be through focused dissemination to my smallest viable audience.
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We use it for my wife’s weekly notes, and I’ve used it for podcasts too. I like it a lot, though I agree that the desktop reading experience is not as beautiful as it could be - it’s much easier in the phone app.
My wife has got some added subscriptions from the Substack network, and I’m told that it improves once you get over 1,000 subscribers. We do a free subscription for the weekly essay and paid subscription get an extra note and the audio version. We would never have considered a paid subscription if it were not for a reader on Substack clicking that they’d promise to pay if offered a paid subscription.
We turned the first years notes into a book we’ve just launched - which I see as a kind of promotional material for the Substack.
Overall a stable, simple, and quality service.
www.lynnfergy.com
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