I recently read a few online discussions where someone asked a simple question:
“What do you think about Substack?”
The responses were fascinating and, well, kinda all over the place. Some described a platform full of paywalls upon paywalls; imagine a tesseract of paywalls, if you will.
Others said it had become just another stupid social media site. Someone said The Ads are taking over. A few said you must spend money to grow. Some said it’s too liberal; others said too conservative. Others were convinced readers have to pay just to participate at all, or even to download the (free) app. 🤔
💥 Shout-out to my exclusive advertising sponsor, the always-free Booklinker (universal book links—so helpful!), and the paid tool, GeniusLink. I love both💥 (affiliate link).
Everyone sounded so certain. The problem wasn’t that anyone was being purposefully deceptive; they were describing their own experience as truth, assuming it represented the entire platform. Why wouldn’t they? We all form opinions long before we probably should. Humans, eh.
I’ve been helping authors market their books for more than fifteen years, and have grown my own Substack from about 1,800 subscribers in 2023 to almost 14K today. During that time, I’ve learned that many of the strongest opinions about any platform only tell part of the story.
If you're a writer or content creator wondering whether Substack is worth your time, you've probably heard a lot of opinions. I certainly have. I'm not here to convince you it's the best platform ever invented because it isn't. No platform is.
I prefer to clear up a few misconceptions so you can decide for yourself rather than rely on the dearth of internet of folklore.
Nope. Totally free to read and create here. This is probably the biggest misunderstanding. It’s free to download the mobile app or go to Substack.com on desktop and use it there (desktop has more bells and whistles for creators, so I prefer it). It’s free to import existing subscribers.
Creating an account is free. Publishing is free. Following writers is free. Reading free newsletters is free. Subscribing may or may not be free. Analytics are free. (Exceptions only if someone has put their newsletter content behind a paywall.)
Folks get confused because every writer is given the opportunity to run their own publication free, paid, or a combo. Some publish everything free; others reserve bonus articles, podcasts, or discussions for paid subs. Many of us use a combination of both.
Substack provides the tools, but we get to decide how to use them, or whether to use them at all.
As for ads? Not an option here. At least, not yet.
Nope. I hear this one a lot, and I always wonder which newsletters people are following. Yes, some publications are entirely paid. Writers deserve to be compensated if that’s the business model they choose.
At the same time, thousands of newsletters publish free content every week. I could put every article behind a paywall tomorrow. I won’t. I’ve worked with clients who only want their work behind a paywall, but most prefer the free model.
Perhaps people conflate "I can't afford this" with "I should have access to this." Those are different. Libraries exist. Free newsletters exist. Millions of articles exist. Not every piece of writing has to be available to everyone at no cost.
My goal has always been to educate authors first. Paid subscriptions are for readers who want to support my work or receive additional benefits (e.g., discounts on consulting or packages), but I choose to keep everything I publish here free.
Many creators here use the common "Free Plus Paid" model because it helps discovery, Recommendations, Google and AI indexing, Notes sharing, and subscriber growth. Interesting analysis here.
Nope. Can you? Absolutely. Do you have to? No. Are there ads? Again, no.
I didn’t build my publication by “buying subscribers” (not even sure how one does that, though I’m sure AI scammers have found a way), though I do suggest participating in an opt-in subscriber surge giveaway (more here) if you choose to. Be sure it’s opt-in to stay in line with Substack guidelines, and various federal and country guidelines.
I publish consistently - pretty much every Wednesday for the past three years, answer comments, participate in Notes, recommend other writers, and import opt-in subscribers. Most importantly, I keep showing up.
So, does paid promotion help me grow faster? Maybe. Would it replace the consistent publishing of useful content? No way.
Nope. I 100% understand why people say this, because the platform has changed since Notes started. When I joined, most writers thought of Substack as strictly a newsletter platform - kinda like Medium but with the additional structure to build subscribers, which was super cool.
Substack started as a newsletter platform. Now it's evolved to an all-in-one home. It’s a publishing ecosystem- the tech world's fancy way of saying you don't have to duct-tape together a website, email service, blog, social media, audio and video, and community platform in bits and pieces anymore.
Notes, Recommendations, and Chat help readers discover new writers. Community has become part of the experience. I like that. We now also have audio, video, and recording options.
Some of my favorite professional relationships started with a comment or a Note. I’ve met authors, readers, and publishers I never would have met otherwise. I’ve been invited to blurb a book for an award-winning writer. Clients and publishing businesses have found me because of this publication, and yes, some have hired me. Never expected that; ridiculously grateful.
You don’t have to spend hours scrolling every day, but if your goal is growth, building relationships matters, which has been true long before Substack existed.
If you’ve followed me for a while, you already know how strongly I feel about owning our audience, something it took me years to learn and truly comprehend.
One of Substack’s biggest advantages is that you can export your subscriber list whenever you want. If you eventually decide that another newsletter platform is a better fit, your audience will go with you.
After watching platform after platform change algorithms practically weekly over the years, don’t take that for granted. Your audience belongs to you. I wish more writers talked about that.
I don’t think any platform deserves a free pass. Substack has flaws, like any platform. Maybe you read about the Nazi problem in The Atlantic (2023):
“An investigation in The Atlantic turned up “scores of white-supremacist, neo-Confederate, and explicitly Nazi newsletters on Substack.” Because the site takes a cut of subscription revenue, this meant that Substack was making money off extremists.
In response, nearly 250 Substack writers demanded in an open letter that the site explain why it was “platforming and monetizing Nazis.” Meanwhile, an opposing group of nearly 100 writers published its own open letter rejecting calls for greater moderation.
Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie responded with a blog post articulating the company’s position: “We don’t think that censorship (including through demonetizing publications) makes the problem go away—in fact, it makes it worse.” (First few paragraphs are free to read.)
The biggest shift I’ve noticed recently is that publishing great articles isn’t enough if your goal is to grow your active subscriber base. A few years ago, you could publish your newsletter and largely leave it at that. Today, Notes, comments, Chat, and Recommendations play a much bigger role.
I enjoy these options because I love meeting other writers, and some of my favorite connections started with a conversation on Notes or in Chat; plus, and this is important: Writers are my target demographic. Writers are here.
Who is your demographic? Where are they?
At the same time, I completely understand why some writers feel as though they’re now expected to add even one more platform to their already busy lives. If you’d rather spend every spare minute writing your next book, that’s a legit concern.
Growth can also feel unpredictable, let’s face it. We pour our hearts into an article we’re convinced is our best work of the year, and almost nobody sees it. Then we write something in twenty minutes that takes off, like this one about Pip (if anyone knows how to capture that magic, let me know).
I’m also seeing way more paid newsletters than I did a few years ago, which doesn’t bother me because writers deserve to earn money for our work, though that certainly doesn’t mean we’re entitled to it. Stay humble, friends.
We know this ourselves as readers: we can experience subscription fatigue (I want to support every writer! But my god, the sheer number of emails is whew). Those aren’t reasons to avoid Substack; they’re simply part of understanding what you’re signing up for as both a creator and consumer. Every platform has tradeoffs:
Facebook asks you to feed the algorithm. More reels!
Insta and TikTok reward video (they are visual platforms - makes sense).
LinkedIn favors consistency combined with expertise.
YouTube rewards helpful or entertaining content over time.
X favors drama and politics.
Substack asks you to write consistently, build relationships, and be patient. Whether you see that as a strength or a weakness depends on your goals.
Maybe. No one platform works for everyone. I like the options here, so I’m here. If you’re hoping to publish two articles and wake up with thousands of subscribers, you will be disappointed. Building an audience takes time no matter where you do it. Adjust your expectations.
If you’re willing to write consistently, build relationships, and think long term, I still believe Substack is one of the best opportunities available today. But please, don’t make your decision based solely on my experience, rumors, or because someone on Facebook had a bad experience with that one paywall that one time; don’t even make it because someone else had a great time.
Take a look for yourself. Read a variety of publications. Ask questions. Experiment. Do what authors do…research; then decide whether it fits your goals as a writer or content creator.
And by the way, the title of this article isn’t entirely true. You probably know something about Substack; you may not know the whole story. I learn something new about this platform every week. As it grows, we grow, which sounds kind of Borg-like, but I digress.
If you’d like to learn more, these resources are a good place to start:
What have you heard about Substack, and what have you found to be true? What turned out to be completely wrong? I’d love to hear your experience.
Not quite ready to subscribe? I have a tip jar - any amount appreciated. 🙏
🌻 Free or paid, I’m glad you’re here.
The truth is simple. Most authors don’t fail because their writing isn’t good. They struggle because readers never get the chance to find them. Let’s fix that.
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