Another Social Media Platform. Does it Stack Up?
Terry Odell
I’m hoping this post will initiate some feedback/discussion, because this writer wants to know.
Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot about Substack. I know a few of the TKZ authors have accounts, and I’ve followed several other authors I know and admire on the platform. A writing buddy of mine set up her account as a potential substitute for her Blogspot site.
I did a little (very little) digging into the platform. This is what I found from the first link that showed up via the Google Machine.
Substack is much more than a newsletter platform. A Substack is an all-encompassing publication that accommodates text, video, audio, and (sic) video. No tech knowledge is required. Anyone can start a Substack and publish posts directly to subscribers’ inboxes—in email and in the Substack app. Without ads or gatekeepers in the way, you can sustain a direct relationship with your audience and retain full control over your creative work.
Interesting, but is it any different from what I’ve been doing since 2006? I have a blog, Terry’s Place. It’s a WordPress site, and I can include text, video, and audio. I don’t have any ads. I’m my own gatekeeper. Posts go to my site and to subscribers’ email inboxes, and I can also direct anyone and everyone to the site. They can read it without jumping through any hoops.
Is there a cost? Yes, I pay for my domain name and a hosting service. But it’s my domain. My website. And it’s the first thing that comes up when people Google my name. That’s my sandbox, and that’s where I want people to find me.
I also have a newsletter, and yes, I pay for that service. Would it be worth it to switch my newsletter, which goes out about once a month, to Substack’s platform? I’m not sure. I’m an old dog here, and not only do I not like learning new tricks, I firmly believe in “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
I do have a Facebook page, but most of what I do there is play my “make up your own definitions for the word of the day” game. Posts with more content are my blog posts, which I share from WordPress to Facebook.
One big difference between my WordPress site and Substack is you can monetize Substack. People can pay to read your content. As I understand it, those using that model will offer extras to people who pay. Sort of like Patreon is my guess, but I haven’t investigated either because, frankly, I don’t have the balls to ask people to shell out money for my ramblings. Nor have I paid for any of the subscriptions from the half a dozen authors I follow.
What I’m seeing/thinking is that most of the comparisons are between Substack and Facebook. Yes, I agree that Substack probably has a more reliable reach than Facebook. But I don’t rely on Facebook for serious communication with my followers. That’s what my blog and newsletter are for. I own the emails of my subscribers there.
When poking around the general Substack site, it looks a lot like Facebook or a blog. Users can write articles and readers can leave comments, but they have to subscribe. On my WordPress site, email addresses are required to comment, but they’re private and there’s no subscription/following to comment.
I also looked at the cons of Substack.
Here are a few:
- Substack is separate from your website. While they have a friendly terms of service, they’re still a San Francisco-based company backed by venture capitalists. Nothing would prevent them from changing their terms of service.
- Substack is a company, not a technology. WordPress, on the other hand, is open internet. If your WordPress host kicks you off or goes out of business, you can move to another WordPress host and everything is the same because WordPress is a technology, not a company.
- Substack has no canonical URLs and very limited SEO optimization. It’s not going to guide you into creating search-friendly content.
For more—lots more—you can go to this site, which is where I did much of my research for this post.
I discovered, to my surprise, that I also had a Substack account, but I haven’t done anything with it other than create a draft post just to check the process. It wasn’t complicated, but I’ve had years of experience with my website and blog via WordPress. Will I switch to Substack? Highly unlikely. Will I use it in addition to my blog? Also highly unlikely. As the article points out:
Additionally, if you’re posting to your own blog and Substack simultaneously, you’ll have a duplicate content issue that could hurt the search engine rankings of your primary blog. From an SEO perspective, Substack isn’t great.
And, there’s the added task of finding followers/subscribers. You can’t assume people who follow you in one place are going to jump through the requisite hoops to follow you on Substack. When I was playing around, I got a LOT of emails from Substack, not something I appreciated. If I have an active account and someone follows/subscribes, will they get emails from Substack, too? I wouldn’t want to be the one who triggered that.
From my limited perspective, Substack is just another social media platform that plays by different “rules.” When I log into my Substack account, I see the posts from people I follow at the top, and then below those are posts that look just like the ones on Facebook or Twitter/X. Do I need another social media platform? I think not.
However, I wrote this post today hoping that people who are familiar with Substack will chime in and broaden my understanding. Is it working for you? Are you adding it to what you already do, or using it to replace something that wasn’t working so well? I want to know.
How can he solve crimes if he’s not allowed to investigate?
Gordon Hepler, Mapleton’s Chief of Police, has his hands full. A murder, followed by several assaults. Are they related to the expansion of the community center? Or could it be the upcoming election? Gordon and mayor wannabe Nelson Manning have never seen eye to eye. Gordon’s frustrations build as the crimes cover numerous jurisdictions, effectively tying his hands.
Available now.
Terry Odell is an award-winning author of Mystery and Romantic Suspense, although she prefers to think of them all as “Mysteries with Relationships.”
Thanks for your detailed review of Substack. It’s difficult, isn’t it, when another shiny object comes along. I get a FOMO feeling – OOOOhhh I should be doing that! I’m missing out on something to help my platform!
I get Substack emails from a couple of other authors, but I don’t click through to read the rest. Like you, I have a personal FB account and an author page, X, Instagram, newsletter, and a blog. Do I really need another ‘thing?’ Nope.
Thanks, Jane. I, too have accounts at the platforms you mentioned, although I’m not particularly active on all of them. My blog and my FB author page are the biggies for me. I’m not ready to move my blog to substack yet. I get emails from the authors I subscribe to, and there are more “things” that happen when I do something as simple as clicking the like icon. Substack seems quite “demanding” to me.
I recently started a Substack. It can work as a basic newsletter platform. I migrated my mailing list over, no problem, which means they all get it. You could do your basic once-a-month newsletter that way, and it’s free to do so.
I’m using it as another stream of income by writing a weekly “column” called Whimsical Wanderings, which is quirky essays, fun to write. To monetize, I do extra content for paid subscribers. That requires more writing and a short podcast. Subscribers can leave comments and you can respond (like here at TKZ). So there is an aspect of community building, too.
I’ll see how things are going at the end of the year and assess all the data points. I will say that I seem to pick up 2-3 new subscribers every day without doing anything. These come as a result of Substack algorithms.
Thanks, JSB. I was hoping you’d chime in, and I hope your share your end-of-year results with us here. I do get your Whimsical Wanderings as a subscriber.
I got an email from substack this morning–an author friend’s ‘blog’ post, and when I clicked the like button, it sent me to her substack page to see the article again, and wanted me to recommend the post to others. And, of course, it wanted me to pay.
I like the way things work here at TKZ better.
I follow some authors using Substack for newsletters, but I’ve noticed most emphasize subscriptions, and some get into tiered pricing. Last I checked, they do not take PayPal payments, and I found out the hard way that’s important to many of my subscribers.
I’m a ‘buy once, use many’ kind of guy. Adobe ruined me for subscriptions.
I like your approach, Terry. Based on my bang-for-the-buck view, I think WordPress currently offers the best return for features and flexibility, especially if you’re selling direct (e.g., fiction, non-fiction, courses, and more). As you noted, you own what you’re doing on WP instead of renting from someone who might change the deal. However, the continuous-improvement gurus at WP keep tweaking things, and are hell bent on using AI instead of the Happiness Engineers. We’ll let Dr. Phil weigh in on how that’s working out.
For now, I’m sticking with WP, but will keep an open mind toward Substack.
Thanks for chiming in, Grant. I’m with you on sticking with WP but keeping an eye on Substack.
Still assessing… so far, it “just one more SM platform,”
I have to agree, Karla, which is why I posted here. I’m looking for a broader range of feedback. Hard to accept, but not everyone thinks the way I do. 🙂
Thank you for bringing this up. I have only heard of Substack, not used it. Honestly, I thought Substack was mostly used for political stuff, as that tends to be the only time I hear it get mentioned–by activists of one sort or another.
As I can barely find time for FB, having yet another social media outlet is not in the cards. And I like the wisdom of what you say about having your presence filtered through your WP site. Both to have some control over your content and as ‘homebase’ for your readers.
Social media gives me a headache. 😎
“Social media gives me a headache”
I have to agree with you there, BK!
Thanks for doing this post, Terry. I’ve thought for a long time that I should learn more about Substack. You’ve answered a lot of my questions.
You mentioned that “From an SEO perspective, Substack isn’t great.” So, it would appear that your blog would be a better place for new readers (who are looking for a particular topic) to find you.
What about new subscribers in general? Would Substack build your following more quickly than your blog site?
Great topic and discussion!
“What about new subscribers in general? Would Substack build your following more quickly than your blog site?”
Steve, I don’t think I can answer that, but in JSB’s comment, he says he’s getting subscribers via Substack. He didn’t mention whether they’re for his newsletter or his Whimsical Wanderings. Maybe he can answer.
Yes, for WW. One reason is that other Substacks recommend it. There are also “direct” subscribers, which means that it has been suggested to them via algorithm. One of the things Substack is good at it encouraging sign ups in various ways.
Thanks, Jim.
Thanks for checking out Substack for us, Terry. I’ve considered it b/c it seems more thoughtful and less toxic that other SM sites. The articles are more like old-style, long-form journalism than soundbytes.
One oddity: when they send me links to the few authors I subscribe to, my virus checker flags them as suspicious sites???
As you say, it duplicates what’s already on my website and blog, although I’ve been irritated with WP and ML lately. Had to pay my website guy to diagnose and solve incompatibilities b/c the subscribe button stopped working.
Thinking about SS but not sold yet.
I haven’t had any substack emails flagged as suspicious. I have no understanding of what goes on under the hood anywhere in cyberspace.
I’m afraid to do anything that would confuse or upset my followers, and I don’t like the idea that they’re going to be hounded to subscribe and pay in order to read my little posts.
I’m not sold yet, either.
Terry, thanks for diving into this. I’ve wondered about it, too, but I can barely handle what I’ve already got going-my WP site, email platform, and the usual SM platforms already mentioned here.
I’m with you on adding another layer of tech in my already limited upstairs bandwidth.
I have to say, though (nod to JSB), that I really enjoy his Whimsical Wanderings. It’s well-done, entertaining, and craft-useful.
Go here if you want to check it out: https://jamesscottbell.substack.com/
Wishing everyone a straight-up day!
I agree with you, Deb re: Whimsical Wanderings. I suppose everything boils down to what you are using any platform for, and whether it meets those needs. If I decide to use Substack, it would be an “instead of” rather than a “in addition to.” I have books to write, places to go, a dog to walk.
🙂 🙂
Good and timely topic, Terry.
I’ve started up a Substack—sorry, I have a hard time writing “SS” for various reasons; think I’ll go with “SUB”—for my swimming email list. And that’s really what SUB is best at: email newsletters. It’s more for long-form email content; it’s not really “social media,” in my view. For example, there are no all-to-all notifications of comments. I’m finding the Community aspect of SUB not very strong. But I like the price: Free. Even though they keep wanting me to monetize this swimmers’ list, I ignore all that.
But I do like the format: very easy and clean “drag-and-drop” styling. The emails (which have their own URLs and are available for re-viewing) look good.
So, for now, I’m keeping my WordPress and MailerLite combo for my authoring, and will keep experimenting with Substack in the meantime.
I would never have thought to use SS for Substack. I’m with you on “SUB”.
I agree that it seems best for newsletter/blog/content type posts, although their site makes it look like social media. Whether that’s intentional or not–and I assume everything these platforms do is intentional–could mean it’s trying to be too much. It’s not Facebook, but that seems to be how they’re touting it with their pushing of “no ads, no gatekeepers”
I find that when I click on someone’s Substack to read an article (post?), I almost always am blocked from reading the whole thing without subscribing. If I can’t read the article, how do I know I’m interested enough to subscribe? So I click away and forget about whatever it was that had piqued my interest.
Maybe it works for people who like subscribing to a bunch of accounts, but that’s not me.
I have encountered hoops to jump through. I’ve subscribed and tolerated Substack’s followup emails, but that doesn’t mean I like them. I’m very selective about who I follow.
I’m going to admit here that I’m a lot younger than most of you, and I love Patreon. The thing with Patreon is that your followers decide themselves to give you money, and how much to give. And for the lowest tier, all you have to do is provide your free content two days in advance. Other “bonuses” you can give to your patrons are longer, more detailed versions of your articles, occasional q&as, and even just pictures of your dog or vacations. Patreon followers eat it all up.
My thoughts on substack: it chases away followers. Readers can read a blog for several months before choosing to comment, and a subscription will shake those people off fast.
Thanks, Azali –
I’m not very familiar with Patreon other than knowing a few people who use it to add bonus content. So far, their regular content has been enough for me. Thanks for your explanation.
Thanks for the lowdown on Substack, Terry. I follow a couple of authors there, but I don’t see it as part of my immediate future. Too many irons in the fire already.
There is that, for sure, Kay. I’ve given up chasing the new and shiny. Not enough brain cells left.
Excellent article, Terry. I’ve been researching Substack and following other fiction authors (including James) who use it for their newsletters (for free) and serialize their stories (some free, some behind a paywall). The Thomas Umstattd article you’ve linked to is one of the most informative.
Since you’re an established author with a following — and your WordPress site and email service work well for you — I can see that it wouldn’t add value for you to use it. It makes more sense for me as an emerging writer who’s won a few awards and published for the first time only last year. I’m going to try it to start a free newsletter and perhaps serialize my short story collection as a free reader magnet.
I haven’t ruled out buidling a WordPress-type site in the future as I’m also writing a YA Mystery/Thriller trilogy, which I’ll publish indie under a pen name. I would link to the WordPress site through my Substack. I might also serialize the trilogy through Substack. I’m still figuring it all out.
Excellent points, Louis. I haven’t looked into Substack as a newsletter platform enough to see how it stacks up (ouch) against my current service, MailerLite. I’m grandfathered in because I joined shortly before they “upgraded” their service, and my subscriber list is at a very affordable level. What I like is being able to have both a newsletter list AND a separate list for my blog subscribers–and any other lists I should want to add in the future. I can create groups and segments, and although I don’t do a whole lot with all the bells and whistles, I do like being able to use their search functions and see their analytics. I don’t know what Substack offers along those lines.
Good luck with your trilogy, and with the figuring it all out process.
Anne R. Allen wrote an in-depth post about Substack that may interest you. https://annerallen.com/2024/04/substack-vs-blogging/
It doesn’t sound like a good fit for me, but I’m curious what others think. As of yet, I’ve never heard of any major benefits for authors who blog and have an established email list.
Thanks for the link, Sue. A definite good read.
Good morning, all!
I recently started a Substack account on the recommendation of a panel of editors at a Will Rogers Medallion Conference. All five of them said it was a positive alternative to FB and other platorms (I’m about burned out on all of them). I’d never heard of Substack and talked to one editor who has more experience in this platform than any others.
He was excited about this new site, and said it was a perfect place for writers to share works and discussions. So far, the site hasn’t been toxic or political for me, and that’s refreshing. I also have a blog that has withered from my attention. I simply didn’t get many comments there, but since I started the Sub account, I’ve already heard from a number of readers, and one even offered a substantial amount to pay for the content. I did some research and found that more than one person posted for months before clicking on a “payment” button. They’d already built a readership, and subscriptions led for quite a bit of change in their pockets.
After writing newspaper columns for 36 years, I have an extensive backlist of content I wanted to use. They’ve been languishing in files for decades and I figured what the heck? Lets use them.
I’ve been posting old works, and new readers have appeared, which I hope will lead to book sales down the road, if and when I can capture their interest. I’m in no way an expert on this, and have only dabbled with the site whenever I can come up for air between deadlines, events, and grandcritters.
I hate technology, and it isn’t as simple to use as some say, but I’ll play with it for a while and let you know what I find. Good luck!
Thanks so much, Reavis. I’m subscribed to your stack, if that’s an appropriate term, but I don’t seem to be getting many articles. I don’t know why. I’ll have to check. Glad it’s working out for you.
Thanks for today’s dive into Substack, Terry. I follow JSB, and a few other writers there. I haven’t thought seriously about publishing there myself, but today’s post gives me plenty of food for thought, especially with Jim and Reavis using it.
I’ve been needing to revive my blog at my own site, too. There’s always something else to juggle, isn’t there? I have to be careful to not have too many irons in the fire, especially as I’m endeavoring to put out mysteries at a regular clip now.
Have a great day!
Thanks, Dale. I recall a marketing workshop at a conference where the presenter asked everyone to hold up one finger. She said, “That’s how many social media platforms you should be focusing on.” She said FOMO, the Fear Of Missing Out has everyone trying to do too many things, and then doing none of them effectively.
The best marketing tool is writing the next good book.
Apparently Substack is built to pick up content bloggers. You know, the people who review products or wax political. The kind of people who are already aggressively trying to monetize their blogs. It’s is a blog/newsletter hybrid that pushes monetization. It’s not suited to authors or more casual bloggers who just want to share the latest picture of their flower garden. I have an account so I can follow people there, but I don’t really like posting on it when I have a very nice WordPress blog that does what I want. Reading this, about how Substack doesn’t have any SEO or discoverability, pushes me away even more.
Thanks for this, Kessie. I have to agree.
I went to comment on an author’s post this morning, and I wasn’t allowed to leave a comment if I wasn’t a paid subscriber. That tells me the “stacker” was more interested in the bucks than an open discussion.
As I said in my post, I have an account to follow people, and even created a post to see how the process works, but I have yet to put anything out there.