Absolutely love this, thank you! Have been on Substack for just over a month now and really love the community feel of the platform. As I try to build something here, would love to know how you strike a balance between promoting work across socials and engaging more in-house on Substack? Is it time to leave behind the "fast-paced city" and stick here at the hub? Cheers!
Thanks Andrew! And to answer your question, it's an easy one for me. I'm not on social media so I 100% use Substack to mingle and engage. I do have a Medium profile but have been inactive there since November.
I've been a lurker on Substack for a while constantly coming up with publication ideas then talking myself out of doing it. In the past 12-18 months Substack has added a lot of features that show they're listening to the community, making it a breath of fresh air compared to alternatives out there. The nice thing about Substack is I feel like you could literally ONLY focus on doing things here (as opposed to also being on Medium, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Threads, etc) and still build a community, find readers, and find great writing/podcasts.
I feel the same way. With my current pub, Substack is the only place I network...not social media, not Medium anymore. And still I see continued growth just by being here.
I came back to my blog after some years away, (a natural pause for babies, the pandemic) where i was quietly travel journaling and sending out my links whenever someone was headed to a destination and needed all my recs. I originally joined substack as a way to get more visibility on my blog revival and here I am in the throes of this new, highly sophisticated writing community! That is to say YES, I am enjoying it. I hope my subscribers (a lot of friends and family + hopefully folks like YOU!) are too!!
Never ever fancied social media. Looked at blogging but it didn't really grab me. Discovered Substack early this year and was surprised that it appealed. Launched in May, love it. Feel at home in this community, Peace, Maurice
Well Kristi I have moved house roughly annually on average, most of my life, rarely had much sense of a fixed home....... Y'know..... wherever one hangs the hat..... in whichever of many countries. That's likely to continue to the end and I am happy with that. Substack is for me, a parallel alternative, happy with that too.... Meanwhile thinking of building a bunker base in France next... Peace Maurice
I've been writing on Medium 2 years now. Followed some writers over here to substack, but writing on more than one channel is too confusing for me. Not sure my Medium followers actually read anything I write LOL
See, that's the problem with Medium. I have over 5000 followers yet anything I publish gets maybe 50 views. The math doesn't add up. It has gone downhill.
Yes. I think Substack was initally too intimidating for someone like me starting out. "We'll email your subscribers directly for you!" Well, I had exactly zero at that point. 😆I understand the appeal for someone who has an established reader base, or concrete plan for growing readership!
Also I recently found out corporate PR post press releases on Medium (aka bullshit marketing). 🤮
I had absolute zero when I came here as well. I purposely avoided social media as a means to get subscribers. Only a few followed me from Medium and the rest are organic just from engaging on the Substack app.
I think you'll find the same thing if you dig your heels in here. It's a wonderful community!
Happy birthday, Kristi & thank you for sharing about your writing journey. Much of what you write are so relatable. I also had a blog way back and later build up all the social media accounts to go along with it, wrote and self published a book. When I decided to leave my abusive ex four years ago he hacked all my accounts, deleted my blog, social media accounts, book everything. I didn't have the energy to go through all the effort it takes to build everything up again from scratch, until some of my friends and readers started nagging me to write again and I discovered Substack (a few months ago) as a way of writing again in a way that feels similar to blogging and where you can connect with other writers. So far I also feel at home here.
It was, but in a weird way it was also a blessing to start over on a new page in so many ways. I look forward to continue growing and watching you all grow as writers 🌸
Its been a strange journey finding that community again - I found one though "bookstagram" on IG. It worked for a while as I do enjoy combining writing with photography, but as all social media, it just felt like I was constantly battling the algorithms to just get those who were interested to even get a glimpse of my work.
In the end I still found myself missing my blogging days, the community, the longer posts and everything that came with it. I havent been on substack long, and I am still one of the tiny newsletters in here, but I have found that substack gives me a joy that IG just could not and I have found so many other writers in here!
I just hit 200 as well!!! Huge congrats, happy birthday, and hard agree. I honestly feel like Substack has saved my writing brain. It gives my thoughts somewhere to go that's long form and not laden with algorithm anxiety.
Happy birthday and congrats on the milestone! I have a website and the requisite socials and started a newsletter on Mailerlite that I really pretty much hated doing but everyone said I HAD to if I wanted to build a business and promote myself. And it was nothing but starts and stops because it all felt so unnatural. Medium never made any sense to me so I didn't pursue it, which I'm glad of now. 😆 So here we are! Substack feels like the thing I was looking for and I love this place so far, though I also harbor no delusions. I came into it hoping to build a community but also made sure my list was always my own so that if it all implodes, I can still reach those folks. I hope it keeps that hallelujah feel for a good long time! I'm glad to have met you and others here and love that feeling you describe. Pro-writing, YAY!
Beautifully said Kristi! The deeper I dive into Substack the more it reminds me of my old Blogspot days, back when RSS feeds were a thing 🤣😮💨💝 thank you for helping me reflect on all the things we can appreciate about this platform. Also, happy birthday you Sagittarius kween! ♐️
First - Happy Birthday Kristi! 🥳🎈 I'm so glad to have 'met' you and excited for your rebirth of Wildhood!
Second - I used to have my own website. I love the writing, but didn't love the tech and the email collection. Substack is so different. I can write and engage with readers and Substack takes care of the rest. Plus they continue to release new features - podcasting, videos, analytics.
Your writing is super engaging. I'm looking forward to seeing Wildhood Wanted grow!
Absolutely love this, thank you! Have been on Substack for just over a month now and really love the community feel of the platform. As I try to build something here, would love to know how you strike a balance between promoting work across socials and engaging more in-house on Substack? Is it time to leave behind the "fast-paced city" and stick here at the hub? Cheers!
Thanks Andrew! And to answer your question, it's an easy one for me. I'm not on social media so I 100% use Substack to mingle and engage. I do have a Medium profile but have been inactive there since November.
Legend, thanks for responding - and coming back to 2023 to do so!
Happy belated birthday!!!!
I've been a lurker on Substack for a while constantly coming up with publication ideas then talking myself out of doing it. In the past 12-18 months Substack has added a lot of features that show they're listening to the community, making it a breath of fresh air compared to alternatives out there. The nice thing about Substack is I feel like you could literally ONLY focus on doing things here (as opposed to also being on Medium, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Threads, etc) and still build a community, find readers, and find great writing/podcasts.
I feel the same way. With my current pub, Substack is the only place I network...not social media, not Medium anymore. And still I see continued growth just by being here.
It's wonderful!
there is no reason for substack authors to "quit blogging on a standalone blog". Just do as I do, for the same "historical" reasons: https://mfioretti.substack.com/p/i-just-started-a-newsletter-and-its
that is, publish here first, but eventually moving every single post to the blog. See my post for details and more context.
I've considered restarting a blog. Maybe when I get some time to set it up.
I have a 5-year back catalog on Medium as well.
I came back to my blog after some years away, (a natural pause for babies, the pandemic) where i was quietly travel journaling and sending out my links whenever someone was headed to a destination and needed all my recs. I originally joined substack as a way to get more visibility on my blog revival and here I am in the throes of this new, highly sophisticated writing community! That is to say YES, I am enjoying it. I hope my subscribers (a lot of friends and family + hopefully folks like YOU!) are too!!
Never ever fancied social media. Looked at blogging but it didn't really grab me. Discovered Substack early this year and was surprised that it appealed. Launched in May, love it. Feel at home in this community, Peace, Maurice
That's awesome Maurice. It is very homey here isn't it?
Well Kristi I have moved house roughly annually on average, most of my life, rarely had much sense of a fixed home....... Y'know..... wherever one hangs the hat..... in whichever of many countries. That's likely to continue to the end and I am happy with that. Substack is for me, a parallel alternative, happy with that too.... Meanwhile thinking of building a bunker base in France next... Peace Maurice
I've been writing on Medium 2 years now. Followed some writers over here to substack, but writing on more than one channel is too confusing for me. Not sure my Medium followers actually read anything I write LOL
See, that's the problem with Medium. I have over 5000 followers yet anything I publish gets maybe 50 views. The math doesn't add up. It has gone downhill.
Yes. I think Substack was initally too intimidating for someone like me starting out. "We'll email your subscribers directly for you!" Well, I had exactly zero at that point. 😆I understand the appeal for someone who has an established reader base, or concrete plan for growing readership!
Also I recently found out corporate PR post press releases on Medium (aka bullshit marketing). 🤮
so intimidating! to start from a vulnerable place in your writing and oh wait everyone is getting an email too?!?
Exactly! 😅
I’m right there with you.
I had absolute zero when I came here as well. I purposely avoided social media as a means to get subscribers. Only a few followed me from Medium and the rest are organic just from engaging on the Substack app.
I think you'll find the same thing if you dig your heels in here. It's a wonderful community!
Happy birthday, Kristi & thank you for sharing about your writing journey. Much of what you write are so relatable. I also had a blog way back and later build up all the social media accounts to go along with it, wrote and self published a book. When I decided to leave my abusive ex four years ago he hacked all my accounts, deleted my blog, social media accounts, book everything. I didn't have the energy to go through all the effort it takes to build everything up again from scratch, until some of my friends and readers started nagging me to write again and I discovered Substack (a few months ago) as a way of writing again in a way that feels similar to blogging and where you can connect with other writers. So far I also feel at home here.
Oh. My. God!!! I'm so sorry that happened to you! You must have been devastated to lose all of your hard work!
I'm glad you're making your recovery and investing in yourself again.
It was, but in a weird way it was also a blessing to start over on a new page in so many ways. I look forward to continue growing and watching you all grow as writers 🌸
Such a great attitude. 😊 Here's to success for all of us!
Belated Happy Birthday, and Congratulations!! 🥂
This hits the nail on the head!
Its been a strange journey finding that community again - I found one though "bookstagram" on IG. It worked for a while as I do enjoy combining writing with photography, but as all social media, it just felt like I was constantly battling the algorithms to just get those who were interested to even get a glimpse of my work.
In the end I still found myself missing my blogging days, the community, the longer posts and everything that came with it. I havent been on substack long, and I am still one of the tiny newsletters in here, but I have found that substack gives me a joy that IG just could not and I have found so many other writers in here!
Your story sounds like so many of us. I'm glad you've found Substack and I have no doubt you'll flourish.
Hey, since you combine writing with your photography, are you following Erik Hogan of Field Notes here? His work is really great. Check him out!
No I am not, but I’ll definitely check him out. Thank you for the recommendation:)
Also Patrik L of Nordic Lens. He does regular photo challenges each month! Awesome community to be part of.
Love your analogies! I hear ya, sis. No one showed up at my blogs back in 2014. Word Press was a one horse town-- not even. I had to walk.
😂😂 With an unruly herd of sheep to boot, no doubt 😁😁
I just hit 200 as well!!! Huge congrats, happy birthday, and hard agree. I honestly feel like Substack has saved my writing brain. It gives my thoughts somewhere to go that's long form and not laden with algorithm anxiety.
Back at you on the 200!! Congratulations and keep on moving up! We've got this 👍
Happy birthday and congrats on the milestone! I have a website and the requisite socials and started a newsletter on Mailerlite that I really pretty much hated doing but everyone said I HAD to if I wanted to build a business and promote myself. And it was nothing but starts and stops because it all felt so unnatural. Medium never made any sense to me so I didn't pursue it, which I'm glad of now. 😆 So here we are! Substack feels like the thing I was looking for and I love this place so far, though I also harbor no delusions. I came into it hoping to build a community but also made sure my list was always my own so that if it all implodes, I can still reach those folks. I hope it keeps that hallelujah feel for a good long time! I'm glad to have met you and others here and love that feeling you describe. Pro-writing, YAY!
Ditto to all you said! I wrote on Medium for 4 years and I still don't understand it 😂😂 It's kind of a shit storm now.
I'm super grateful to be here in what feels like a quiet and sane space with all of you!
Beautifully said Kristi! The deeper I dive into Substack the more it reminds me of my old Blogspot days, back when RSS feeds were a thing 🤣😮💨💝 thank you for helping me reflect on all the things we can appreciate about this platform. Also, happy birthday you Sagittarius kween! ♐️
Oh I remember the old RSS feeds 😂 The good old days lol.
And thank you for the birthday wishes!
First - Happy Birthday Kristi! 🥳🎈 I'm so glad to have 'met' you and excited for your rebirth of Wildhood!
Second - I used to have my own website. I love the writing, but didn't love the tech and the email collection. Substack is so different. I can write and engage with readers and Substack takes care of the rest. Plus they continue to release new features - podcasting, videos, analytics.
Your writing is super engaging. I'm looking forward to seeing Wildhood Wanted grow!
Awww, thank you and thank you!!
I'm with you...just settling in nice and comfortably here with the good people of this community! 😊
Stay right up there on that soapbox, Kristi!