Anyone using Substack?

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  1. paolaenergya profile image91
    paolaenergyaposted 12 months ago

    Is anyone on here using Substack for their newsletters and have any subscribers? Just curious. Thanks!

    1. Kenna McHugh profile image93
      Kenna McHughposted 12 months agoin reply to this

      I took a glance. It helps writers or platforms send newsletters, large or small, podcasts, videos, etc. The subscribers do not have to pay or can pay. The company started in 2017, so it's seven years old. The platform has prominent names, and I can see why they'd use Substack because they have an extensive subscription database.

      1. paolaenergya profile image91
        paolaenergyaposted 12 months agoin reply to this

        Good point Kenna, I guess if you already have a huge following you are more likely to do well on Substack.

        1. Kenna McHugh profile image93
          Kenna McHughposted 12 months agoin reply to this

          It seems so.

    2. Lady Dazy profile image54
      Lady Dazyposted 11 months agoin reply to this

      What is Substack, and how do you use it?

    3. Deborah Minter profile image94
      Deborah Minterposted 3 months agoin reply to this

      Yes, I am using Substack. It has been a lot of fun, I also post content about my hubpage articles there.

      1. paolaenergya profile image91
        paolaenergyaposted 2 months agoin reply to this

        Hi Deborah, I'll have a look!

  2. PaulGoodman67 profile image97
    PaulGoodman67posted 12 months ago

    I've toyed with the idea of doing Substack. It's a big commitment, though, as it takes time to build up followers unless you have a bunch of them already that you can bring over from somewhere else.

    It's certainly in fashion at the moment. Quite a few Medium writers have started accounts there.

    I think my main concerns (aside from acquiring enough followers) are that it isn't an easy place to earn and I'm not keen on the idea of a site based on sending out emails. I really don't like receiving lots of emails myself(!)

    Like with most online things, I think there's a small minority who're successful and a large amount of strugglers.

    1. paolaenergya profile image91
      paolaenergyaposted 12 months agoin reply to this

      Thanks for your insights, Paul. I used to send a newsletter through MailChimp and even after many years I didn't manage to build a good user base and when I posted links to my articles the click-through rate was very low.

      I guess getting paying subscribers on Substack would be a huge challenge.

      Like you, I also don't enjoy receiving too many emails!

      1. PaulGoodman67 profile image97
        PaulGoodman67posted 12 months agoin reply to this

        I also think that you'd likely need to have a desirable niche (e.g. self-help, fashion tips, healthy living, political commentary..) and stick to it to build a large and loyal readership.

        One of the appeals of HP is that you don't necessarily need to cover the same topic over and over, you can vary your subject matter, but I don't believe that approach would generally work with Substack.

        1. paolaenergya profile image91
          paolaenergyaposted 12 months agoin reply to this

          True. Looking at YouTube for comparison, niche channels tend to do well but unfortunately trends change and people can move on even from their favourite creators.

  3. GwennyOh profile image85
    GwennyOhposted 12 months ago

    I am testing it now. I have made two posts and already regret it. Between how complex it is to set up Stripe when you had an old, abandoned account, the need for receiving tons of ongoing spam mail to participate effectively in their community, and how hard it is to break into the community in order to gain subscribers, shakes head, it isn't for me. I think I will just shut it down.

    I get that there are people who do well with it. I wonder how. Because a couple of points that jump out are: we can't categorize posts. So what kind of reading experience does it provide? And, how am I going to get subscribers if I choose not to subcribe (to other authors' posts)? I have a strong stance on this. I will not invest in anything until I am sure I will make money or have a use for a service. At this point I do not see any reason to subscribe to other readers.

    1. paolaenergya profile image91
      paolaenergyaposted 12 months agoin reply to this

      Thank you for sharing your experience, it sounds very frustrating! Gosh I didn't realise you can't categorise posts, that's a nightmare when you want to look up something. Like many other things before, probably the early adopters are the ones who are truly benefiting from this platform.

      1. GwennyOh profile image85
        GwennyOhposted 12 months agoin reply to this

        I feel your hunch that the early ones are the only ones benefitting may be right. It doesn't feel right for me. It seems technologically underwhelming. More on the categorization, I read a post by a techie that left, who said that there is no simple way to add a categorization function either, and any way it can be done is challenging and poses further obstacles, even to a techie. That's what stalled me. I am no techie but have taken some IT training.

  4. paolaenergya profile image91
    paolaenergyaposted 12 months ago

    I've decided to give Substack a go, mostly because I want to write a review about it here on Hubpages.

    One thing I've noticed browsing through the site is that many writers link to their own website or other external sites in their posts, so I think I will share a few of my hubs there and see if they gain extra traffic.

    Sending out my first newsletter today, wish me luck! smile

    1. PaulGoodman67 profile image97
      PaulGoodman67posted 12 months agoin reply to this

      Good luck!

      I believe that you're right that Substack is often used as part of a wider online strategy rather than alone. I remember the controversy over X/Twitter restricting Substack, I don't know how or if that was resolved.

      Let us know how you do!

      1. paolaenergya profile image91
        paolaenergyaposted 12 months agoin reply to this

        Thanks Paul, I need all the luck in the world!

        Review to follow as soon as I've gathered enough information about how to navigate this platform, as it is new to me.

        There is a nice feature called Notes that resembles old Twitter, I am rather fond of it.

        1. WriterJanis profile image89
          WriterJanisposted 10 months agoin reply to this

          Paola, Any updates on how the experience is going on Substack?

    2. Deborah Minter profile image94
      Deborah Minterposted 2 months agoin reply to this

      Good luck!

  5. FatFreddysCat profile image61
    FatFreddysCatposted 10 months ago

    I started an account on Substack today. I'm thinkin' at the very least, I could use it as a place to archive all my old stuff that's been busted down to Discover, most of which has been getting absolutely zero views, so I've been unpublishing them bit by bit over the past couple of weeks.

    So if anybody there wants to "follow" me, look for keefer1970.

    1. paolaenergya profile image91
      paolaenergyaposted 10 months agoin reply to this

      Subbed!

      1. FatFreddysCat profile image61
        FatFreddysCatposted 10 months agoin reply to this

        Thank you!

  6. paolaenergya profile image91
    paolaenergyaposted 10 months ago

    Hello everybody! I haven't got enough data so far for a whole hub reviewing Substack, I only launched in February. I have linked a couple of hubs in my newsletters and they got a massive 2 extra views each!

    So it's 10/10 as a marketing tool for me smile

    But seriously, I think it's still early days. If you want to have a peek you can find me at Life in Ireland.

  7. paolaenergya profile image91
    paolaenergyaposted 8 months ago

    Hello everybody! Just a quick update about my Substack journey: currently at 66 subscribers after 4 months and 1 of them is my first paid subscriber, yay! I will wait until I have 6 months' worth of writing on Substack and then I'll publish my review here on HP.

    1. PaulGoodman67 profile image97
      PaulGoodman67posted 8 months agoin reply to this

      I'll be interested to read your review. If you don't mind me asking, how much income is there from a paid subscriber?

      1. paolaenergya profile image91
        paolaenergyaposted 8 months agoin reply to this

        Hi Paul, you set your own monthly and annual fee - it really varies because famous writers and financial writers can command higher fees. I settled for a reasonable 7 euro a month for my newsletter, which is about what most people charge.

        1. PaulGoodman67 profile image97
          PaulGoodman67posted 8 months agoin reply to this

          Okay, so kind of in the same ballpark as the Medium monthly fee.

          One article/week is a commitment and could become a chore in the long term. I guess "Life in Ireland" gives you a wide range of potential topics, though.

          It does seem like a lot of work for a small amount of financial reward, but I guess it all depends on what your aims and motivation are.

          1. paolaenergya profile image91
            paolaenergyaposted 8 months agoin reply to this

            The way I see it is that if a weekly newsletter becomes unsustainable/I lose interest etc I'll just shut the whole thing down and that's it (giving readers notice obvs). So far so good, I am about a month ahead with scheduled posts and a whole content plan until December.

            1. PaulGoodman67 profile image97
              PaulGoodman67posted 8 months agoin reply to this

              Yes, the difficulties associated with the "interest" thing are often underestimated. Many video and written blogs stop after 18 months or a two years, because the producer loses their passion and struggles to keep going on the same topic.

              I think you made a wise choice by selecting a broad topic to write about, the narrower that the subject is, the more it can seem like a straightjacket over time.

              I have the discipline to write lots of material. What I've found increasingly difficult is to make significant amount of money for my toiling. I really need something that will give me sort of income so I'll be interested to see if your number of paid subscribers increases.

  8. FatFreddysCat profile image61
    FatFreddysCatposted 8 months ago

    I have done absolutely nothing with my Substack account since I joined a few weeks ago. I just haven't had the time to mess with it. (shrugs)

    1. paolaenergya profile image91
      paolaenergyaposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      I thought I hadn't seen your posts on Substack yet! I have been publishing one post a week regularly and I try to engage in the comments section a few times a week, it does make a difference. However, I got my first and only paid subscriber from Instagram, as I share my published Substack posts there.

  9. paolaenergya profile image91
    paolaenergyaposted 2 months ago

    It's finally here! I have posted my review of Substack: https://hubpages.com/money/is-substack- … -my-review

    If you have any questions please add them to the forum and I'll do my best to answer them.

  10. FatFreddysCat profile image61
    FatFreddysCatposted 4 weeks ago

    Hi all.. I've finally begun dipping my toes into the Substack pool. I have posted two pieces there so far.

    For now, I'm just tweaking and re-cycling some of my old Hub stuff to get my feet wet, but eventually I'd like to start producing fresh material again.

    Stop by if you're in the neighborhood:

    https://substack.com/@keefer1970

    1. DrMark1961 profile image99
      DrMark1961posted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

      Hey good to see that you are still checking in! I think your stuff would really relate to Youtube too. You can download a lot of free videos of the bands you write about on free sites like Pixabay, use an AI text to voice program if you do not want to use your own voice, and just have the program read your articles while showing the heavy metal band you are talking aobut in the background. (Not sure you will find those small bands on Pixabay, so try Flickr and Pexels too.)
      I just started my channel in November so do want to warn you it takes a little longer to get followers and watch hours there before you can monetize. HP pays write away, unlike Youtube. Since you write about what you care about though it will probably gain as much there, or more, than it does here.
      Hang in there if it does not take off right away. I have published about 50 videos so far in my spare time and finally have one with over 10000 views, Best of luck to you.

      1. PaulGoodman67 profile image97
        PaulGoodman67posted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

        It's not just HP, I've noticed some on Medium moving over to Youtube too. I must admit that I don't really care for the AI voiceovers, I prefer a real person speaking to me.

        I do wonder how long it is before the majority of Youtube is AI-generated content, audio, and video. It's fairly work-intensive for a human to publish a video but easy for AI to create media in seconds, or at least it will be very soon.

        I'm pretty pessimistic at the moment about where things are headed.

        I feel that the best to hope for is that there will be a niche for human writers and videomakers, just as vinyl recordings exist in the world of audio streaming.

        There may also be completely new ways of making money coming along with the new technology, one can only hope.

        However, right now, it feels like human creativity and the related money-making opportunities are being pushed out by AI.

        Don't get me wrong, I agree that video-making is perhaps a better option right now, I'm just not sure how long it will last. Google now has AI-generated text that answers search queries, it seems only a matter of time before there are AI-generated vids.

        1. DrMark1961 profile image99
          DrMark1961posted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

          You are probably right in that it will be more successful if he uses his own voice. I figure we have about a year to start this before AI takes over. I wish I had started last January when I had some time on my hands. Oh well.
          The thing about AI though is it just regurgitates others. My own views on veterinary medicine, which goes against the common thought in some instances, may be appreciated by some and hated by others. (I have been against ultra processed dog foods for years, and that is what most veterinarians recommend.) Not sure that is a bad thing, at least according to Jake Paul.

        2. SerenityHalo profile image93
          SerenityHaloposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

          I still keep hoping the AI bubble collapses. It might be naive, deeply naive… but AI the longer it lives the uglier it gets. It’s spewing out garbage. Nothing that really matters should touch AI in any capacity: writing, video, or art.

          1. Kenna McHugh profile image93
            Kenna McHughposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

            I am with you, Andrea. AI has a purpose, but art is not one of them. However, it's being pushed on the arts because of money and oppression.

            1. SerenityHalo profile image93
              SerenityHaloposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

              When AI first appeared I didn’t look at it with too much scrutiny, but now I am. I think those in power are looking for shortcuts to keep as much money as possible. I do not think AI is better than human writers, artists, and the likes. It’s cheaper… like fast food and roughly the same quality. A big problem is that it drains natural resources. It takes a lot of energy to run AI programs.

              I also think AI is being pushed because it does circulate misinformation and there are people who would be happy for there to be illiteracy and less competition, so to speak. You can control the masses if they’re compliant and stupid.

              AI isn’t worth it. Avoid it as much as possible. There are a lot of people who want art that’s only created by humans. It’s a matter of finding the audience. I actually know less people (perhaps none) who are chill with AI with zero qualms.

              1. PaulGoodman67 profile image97
                PaulGoodman67posted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

                AI will dominate because of the high speed and low cost.

                Just as most people buy and wear factory-made clothing, despite handmade options being available, most will opt for the convenience of AI. For sure, there will inevitably be an equivalent of the Arts and Crafts movement, but it will be a minority involved.

                The reasons AI will dominate are, as you say, economic.

                It's also important to remember that we're at the very beginning of this technology, it will only get better and it will happen very quickly.

                There will be all sorts of innovations, especially once Artificial General Intelligence is reached, which some are saying is only a few years away.

                Don't get me wrong, it fills me with a pessimism about where the human race is headed but I don't see how it can be stopped. It's like the Agricultural Revolution and Industrial Revolution which caused just as many problems as they solved but continued regardless.

                There's part of me that loves the new technology and a part of me that sees the folly.

                However, the brutal truth is that societies that embrace AI will have stronger economies and militaries and those that don't will be sitting ducks.

                1. SerenityHalo profile image93
                  SerenityHaloposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

                  Thank you for taking the time to write this long response. I do think AI is going to morph over the years, and it’s hard to tell exactly what that will be. I remember the dot.com era and the bubble popping from that.

                  I wish AI could only be used for good, but I see more of the downsides. As for a positive, I remember reading an article that one program was used to read an ancient text that archeologists found. I thought that was cool.

                  I worry writing as a collective is growing stagnant and cold rather than creative and rich due to AI bias. There is something akin to a neutering of writing due to the over reliance on AI. I also worry critical thinking and analytical thinking are going down the drain.

                  Okay, for a wild example… recently someone on my husband’s tech writing team died. The day after the worker died, my husband received an email with a resume and cover letter expressing the person’s interest in the dead writer’s job. The job hadn’t been opened yet to the public. The person who emailed my husband said they were a friend of the writer, that they felt sad for him, and wanted to honor him—by taking his job.

                  My husband and his boss were stunned that someone would do this. Immediately it got moved to the “do not hire” pile… what kind of crazy person applies to their dead friend’s job the day after they died… and when the job isn’t even posted online?

                  Anyway, I had a hunch this person used Chat GPT to write their letter for them. And sure enough, we wrote a prompt along the lines of “a resume for a job that recently belonged to a friend who died” … and we got essentially the same starting line as the letter.

                  The reason I’m writing this all out is I think people are relying so much on new technologies that they’re not using critical thinking skills. I think had this person thought for a moment that what they were doing is inappropriate and weird they might not have constructed the letter in the first place, but because of the convenience of free AI, they did it anyway. Also, anyone applying for a tech writing job should never use AI to build a cover letter as it will get you tossed immediately to the bin pile (duh).

                  I fear Ray Bradbury is right about where society is headed, and he might be rolling in his grave if he somehow knows the stupid things we’re doing with technology and the slush we’ve turned our brains into.

                  And with that…. anyone who read all this, I hope you have a good day and can see both the seriousness and humor of all this.

                  1. PaulGoodman67 profile image97
                    PaulGoodman67posted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

                    I think you're underestimating the scale of the problems raised by AI. As bad as what is happening now may seem, what is coming down the line will be of a different magnitude and way more challenging.

                    Once AI communications, including writing, become indistinguishable from the human version, all sorts of trouble begins. It will be impossible to know for sure who or what we're communicating with in many situations.

                    Algorithms have gotten good at hacking into our emotions, but they will get much better and no doubt be used to persuade us to buy products and support leaders and political parties in extremely effective ways. We humans may turn out to be much more hackable than we like to imagine.

                    But farther down the line, once Artificial General Intelligence is achieved, we humans will cease to be the masters of our world. We won't understand what is going on. Critical thinking will then be of zero use or importance because the world we operate in will simply be beyond human comprehension.

      2. FatFreddysCat profile image61
        FatFreddysCatposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

        I've been told before that I should try YouTube, but I'll be honest... that all sounds like WAY more work than I'm willing to put in, haha. I just don't have the time/patience for something like that.

        1. DrMark1961 profile image99
          DrMark1961posted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

          Yes, it is a lot of work. You already have the scripts though if you use your old hubs, so all you have to do is add the videos and use a program like CapCut to put them together.
          I think most of the people I have seen complaining the time on Youtube have no scripts available.

          1. Kenna McHugh profile image93
            Kenna McHughposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

            Dr. Mark, Do you shoot the videos for raw footage or use AI-generated videos?

            1. DrMark1961 profile image99
              DrMark1961posted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

              I have posted several with videos of my Pitbulls and Blue Heelers, but for most of them I just download from Pixabay.com.  I use the Ai voice program but dont like the images much.
              How is your Youtube channel going? I remember you starting one but not how long ago. Is it monetized?

              1. Kenna McHugh profile image93
                Kenna McHughposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

                I used my YT for articles on movies and such. My subscribers reached the threshold. So YouTube invited me to monetize, which I did, and it went well. My channel took off. However, it did come with its headaches: other TYers took clips from my videos or claimed them for monetization. So, I am taking a break and figuring out another approach.

                1. DrMark1961 profile image99
                  DrMark1961posted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

                  Yes, I have seen that a lot! I have just been using a lot of my old HP stuff and have found that most of them have already been copied.  Oh well. I was able to get my first HP payout in 3 months but I am almost at that with youtube and only have about 20 percent of the subscibers I need.
                  Good luck with it if you decide another angle!

                  1. Kenna McHugh profile image93
                    Kenna McHughposted 4 weeks agoin reply to this

                    Thank you! I am sure you'll do well.

 
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