Why Substack (still) matters for writers

On growth and connections that lead to meaningful moments & milestones

Every day, I work with writers to help them share their work and reach their readers. In the past year or two, Substack has become a very popular place for writers to launch or move their newsletters to. Is Substack a trend? One where a rush of people join in a short period of time, and everyone seems to be talking about it? Yes. But I think it is more than that, and it will be important to writers long after the newness of the trend wears off.

Let’s consider goals that a writer may have:

1. To write! (To have more opportunities to write, and write what you want.)

2. Grow an audience of actual readers of your writing.

3. Sell books.

4. Get reviews for your books (or other writing.)

5. Give people ways to recommend your writing to others.

6. Build meaningful connections to influencers in the literary space or your niche.

7. Hear from readers and be able to speak with them.

8. Get paid for your writing if you want to, and not have to become a tech wizard or financial guru to manage it all.

9. Have a sandbox to explore creatively (I listen to tons of interviews each week from creators in different creative fields, and many of them talk about how they get locked into producing only a certain kind of creative work because their field doesn’t allow exploration.)

10. Have agency that you can do what you want, when you want, and not lose access to your readers.

11. Feel safe in the process.

One of the most effective tools that I have found for reaching these milestones for a writer is through an email newsletter. Today I want to explore this topic with fresh eyes at the end of 2024, as you consider how you want to grow as a writer, and where you put your time and energy in 2025.

In case you missed it, earlier this week I shared an exclusive video for my paid subscribers: To Attract Readers, Focus on the Emotions They Want to Experience. Get access to this and all of my posts here:

Let’s dig in to today’s topic…

The Business Case for a Newsletter for Writers

I want to start off in a somewhat nonintuitive place here, and make a business case for the value of writers using Substack.

I can’t express to you how powerful of a thing it is to be able to reach your supporters in the moment you need them most. Over the years, many writers have said things to me like, “Oh I have a newsletter, but it’s so sad. There are only 60 people on the list.” My response is always the same: “That’s amazing! Congratulations!”

And I’m serious.

I am 51 years old, and was active in the arts and writing scenes before the internet took hold of our culture. I remember scheduling events at a bookstore cafe I managed in the 1990s. So if we ran a poetry night, this is how the numbers would work out:

• If we had 10 people there, that was: “Good! People showed up. A nice evening.”

• 20 people was a full room, but you could move around if you needed. The poets would be thrilled.

• 40 was overflowing, every seat taken and people standing in the doorway.

• 60 would have been the talk of the town: people in the streets!

So if you can immediately reach the 60 biggest supporters of your writing, I don’t take that for granted. Let’s stick with these same numbers for another example…

Let’s say you just published your first book. You may have the expectation that it could take time to sell a lot of copies, so at first you are focused on creating social proof and getting reviews on Amazon, so that people see these reviews at the point of sale. So many books that are published end their first month with zero reviews, and you are hoping to avoid that.

But what if you had that email list of 60 people who know you, like you, and are either open to reading your work, or open to supporting you regardless if whether your book is in the typical genre/topic they read. That list is the difference between ending the first month of publication with zero reviews vs. ending it with 30 reviews. I can tell you, the latter feels amazing. To know that potential readers are hearing the words of other readers who enjoyed the book in that delicate moment when they are considering if they want to spend 8+ hours reading your book. These reviews gives potential readers a lot more data to work from in deciding to buy it.

There are lots of ways to think about this, but let’s go back to the poetry night example. Let’s say a couple is considering going to poetry night, so they slowly drive by the cafe to see what is like. Here are two scenarios:

• “Yikes, it looks like there is maybe 1 person in there. Let’s skip it.”

• Or, “Wow — I think there are 20 or 30 people in there, looks like fun! Let’s go!”

Again and again over the years, I have heard successful writers say this: “What would I do differently? I would have started my newsletter earlier.” Why? Because it gives them a consistent way to collect their readers (who choose to opt-in), to reach them, and when needed: to call them to action.

Even forgetting about this feeling good, purely from a business standpoint, this is huge. We don’t talk about the business of writing as much as we should, and I love viewing it from the standpoint of sustainability. That your writing gets support in ways that are meaningful to you. And if you have career goals, that those are supported as well.

That doesn’t always have to be about earning money. For instance, perhaps you get a book deal, and you want to sell enough books to have your publisher release your next book. So you aren’t counting on profit, just on having the opportunity to publish your books. In any of these cases, a newsletter is a critical way to support those goals.

But perhaps you are reading this and thinking, “Dan, I am a writer, but I have no interest in publishing a book.” Or, “Dan, my books don’t earn money, and there are fewer journals and magazines who can publish me. Plus, freelance has dried up.”

Well, again, this is where Substack comes in. Not only does it offer you the benefits of a newsletter, but they have done something that I have watched countless companies fail to do over the course of decades: normalize the idea of writers asking for payment, and for people actively choosing to pay those writers.

Huge media brands have tried this through paywalls or pay-per-article. Other startups have made big bets on this, but often with mixed results at best. But because of Substack, it is not only common for a writer to ask for payment for their writing, but for people to gladly pay them. To me, this isn’t just a tech marvel, it is a cultural shift.

Ten years ago, one could have made a convincing argument that “There are too many newsletters, too many blogs and podcasts, thousands of books published each day, plus social media and online video. Why on earth would someone pay for a newsletter?”

Substack has proven why. Because every single writer has a unique voice. And readers may enjoy paying those writers.

I began sending my own newsletter in 2005, and have sent one every single week since then. My newsletter is celebrating its 20th anniversary next year, and I will have sent more than 1,000 editions in that time.

I have also trained thousands of people to start their own newsletters. At first, I did this with journalists I worked with in a publishing company. These were people who for years wrote for print, and were just becoming comfortable with the idea of a newsletter being central to their business. Even today, 20 years later, we see journalists leaving traditional media to establish their own voice and business on Substack.

Then of course, in my daily work here at WeGrowMedia, I have run dozens and dozens of workshops and classes, and helped my clients establish or grow their newsletters. This is the work I do every day, along with helping writers establish their platforms, find their readers, launch their books, and launch marketing campaigns.

The Creative Case for Newsletters

I mean, this one seems so simple: a thriving online community that focuses exclusively on WRITING and READING. Where it rewards good writing, even if it is long, instead of dances, videos, and memes.

One way I have always described the experience of getting consistent with a newsletter is this: you begin to see ideas all around you. And that is what many writers seem to have found with their Substacks, and what many readers are experiencing. That is certainly what I feel when I log in to Substack each day.

You can express yourself how you like, when you like, in whatever manner you like. I mean, how cool is that? You can live each day, each week, each month, as a writer.

Some of this is about having agency to write and publish, but also to see yourself and live as a writer. I think about this interview from Humans of New York in a similar regard:

Photo by Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York

The couple says: “We’ve been dealing with invisibility. We started realizing we’re kind of fading. So many of our friends say that: that they’re becoming invisible. Everybody needs a welcome from somebody else so that they can feel useful. It’s a real source of energy. And when you realize you’re not getting that as much—what happens is you get scared. And you also say: maybe we could do something a little different. So at some point we came up with the idea of the cute older couple. We were hoping to find some younger friends. We’ve always been attracted to younger people. You know, young people struggle. So we like to support them and wish them well and give them a lot of approval. And young people need cute old couples. They love cute old couples. So we decided to play it up a little bit. That’s what it is: ‘play.’ It’s really play. Have you ever seen two dogs greet each other? One dog will drop down, and bam, suddenly they’re playing. I think that’s what we’re doing. We’re inviting a play response.”

I appreciate Substack not because of it being a trend, but because it encourages people to write and publish, and for people to read and support. This is the world I want to live in.

Substack and Growth of Readers

By the time we reach the end of December, I will have doubled my newsletter subscribers his year:

But more than that is the engagement I get on each post: dozens and dozens of comments from readers.

For many writers I work with, they have their own stories of growth and engagement on Substack. Does everyone grow? Nope. Substack isn’t an “instant results pill” that you swallow and it magically just gives you positive results. This is work, but it is meaningful and rewarding work.

I really like Substack and I teach the nuances of it to writers all the time. But my interest in it is not because I’m blinded by a trend. I started this post talking about goals writers might have in general — outside of Substack. That is always my focus — to support writers in whatever their goals are, not convince them that one single tool should be the center of their lives. I look holistically at how you reach readers as a writer. This is part of why I surround myself with typewriters, to appreciate the tools we use as writers, and the distinction between the tool and the goal. This week I added a new typewriter to my collection (the Smith Corona on the lower left):

How to Get Started with Substack or Double Down if You are Already There

If you are looking for a simple guide to get started on Substack, here is what I encourage:

1. Have a specific focus in how you describe your Substack. No, this isn’t meant to box you in. But you should consider the moment someone is weighing whether to subscribe to you, and if they read your title and description as something vague and not exactly aligned to their goals or needs. Where you can, be specific, as opposed to something that may be very vague or even confusing, such as: “Dan’s Substack! Musings and thoughts on life, writing, movies, LEGO, and my dog Harold!”

2. Publish frequently. Not as a punishment, but an opportunity.

3. Use Notes. That is basically Substack’s version of a social network. Not only will it increase the likelihood of getting new subscribers, it gives you a chance to engage with the very positive Substack community.

4. Recommend others! Be generous and participate in the ecosystem of celebrating good writing and writers you like.

5. Get good at headlines, subheads, and first paragraphs.

6. Tell a human story in your About page.

7. Share photos so we can connect with you as a person.

I have also taught a series of workshops on Substack, and you will of course find many resources on Substack itself. I encourage you to treat it like a craft, but not fall down the rabbit hole. Always consider your writing first, then the experiences you hope to have with readers.

But What About Social Media?

The question of Substack and social media (like Bluesky, Instagram, and TikTok) is not an either or scenario.

One important distinction between Substack and social media is that on Substack you can export your email list to back it up, and move it to any other newsletter service. However, on a social network, your followers are largely locked into that network. This month I have seen plenty of writers say, “Well, I guess I’m starting fresh on Bluesky, come join me there!” They are leaving thousands of followers behind on one network, and trying to rebuild it from scratch on a new one.

I recently wrote about The State of Social Media for Writers here, and shared a video for my paid subscribers on How to Feel Good About Using Social Media as a Writer here. To get access to all of my posts, join me here:

Please let me know in the comments: how do you feel about Substack, email newsletters, and social media at the moment? Where are you finding joy? Where are you apprehensive?

Thank you for being here with me.
-Dan

Kids of the Week: the big guy was excited for the releases of the latest update to Flight Simulator. The little fella is obsessed with becoming a magician this week:

Mom of the week: a thoughtful moment: