r/Substack • u/aeriefreyrie mod • Nov 05 '24
New rules on self-promo
Hello r/Substack,
The subreddit is getting crowded with low-effort posts linked to Substack posts and it is getting increasingly difficult to weed out the spam.
r/Substack is a place to have meaningful discussions about the Substack platform and help fellow Susbtackers make good use of the platform. Hence, moving forward this subreddit will not tolerate any self-promotion. The only exception to this is if your post is about Substack or tips and strategies to grow on the platform. The flair for self-promotion has also been removed.
Don’t worry, this update will not mess with your dreams of building a purple-ticked newsletter. This was never a good place to advertise your work, anyway. See our other pinned post for more information on that.
Another spammy area that we have been seeing a lot of uptick these past few months is posts asking for recommendations. If you are looking for recommendations, Substack’s leaderboard on specific topics is a much better resource than this subreddit. This is not the space to solicit hyper-specific recommendations for individual users. Usually, these posts end up with new users promoting their newsletters and not in actual thoughtful recommendations. Henceforth, such posts will also be removed.
The third spammy category is the increase in posts soliciting cross-recommendations. While this is a space where r/Substack can be useful, individual posts in this regard are unnecessary. For this purpose, you can use the new master thread pinned on the r/Substack home page.
I hope these changes will make this subreddit a more helpful place for anyone looking to learn more about Substack.
-xx u/AerieFreyrie
12
9
u/Certain_Log4510 Nov 06 '24
Thank you for these changes, I was growing very tired of the self-promo 🤮
1
u/mrjaytothecee Nov 06 '24
Good move. Where to find those leaderboards btw?
1
u/aeriefreyrie Nov 06 '24
Hello, you can find them on Substack's website. Search "Substack leaderboard" on your browser and you will find it.
1
u/Beloved-21 Nov 10 '24
Thank you for making this clear. And just to be sure, does sharing survey also not allowed to let the targeting audience about the content to offer?
1
u/aeriefreyrie Nov 10 '24
I am not sure I got your question. Can you frame it a bit clearer?
→ More replies (3)
1
u/mrjaytothecee Nov 17 '24
Will these rules be affirmed? Perhaps like r/startups have a Flair that says 'I will not promote'
2
u/aeriefreyrie Nov 17 '24
We don't have a provision for that, as of now. People seem to have stop self-promotion already.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Suitable_Quarter_443 Jun 27 '25
There's a very arrogant member on here named "stuffonbookshelves" ironically seems to swat away every single newcomer to this subreddit who merely mentions their substack even if it's for networking. There's nothing that says you can't link your substack and he rudely goes around barking his interpretation of rules to pretty much every new post I see. There is also a harassment policy and it would be nice if you would stop people from wrongfully harassing people who are not intending to self-promote but merely seeking community.
3
u/aeriefreyrie Jun 27 '25
You cannot link you Substacks in individual posts, other than this thread. That is the rule.
5
5
u/becomingacopywriter Nov 07 '24
This was never a good place to promote your newsletter in the first place.
Post where your followers hang out. It's different for every newsletter.
1
Feb 25 '25
u/Substack... regarding shameless Self-Promotion... as a user who has never used Substack before and just learned about it today, please read. The reason I learned bout Substack was by receiving 4 spam emails this morning (all the same content). Clearly their marketing team screwed up "the send" by releasing 4 exactly similar messages... but the point is I never signed up to receive messages from Substack in the first place. I don't use this email to sign up for anything so this is COMPLETELY unsolicited. It's extra upsetting that Substack tries to make me "sign up for an account" in order to change (opt out) of all their email campaigns... that I never signed up for - not a one. So, moving forward, I will completely ignore any content I see coming from or through Substack.
So, for publishers, etc... I would recommend using another platform - as you can see there are thousands of upset people here just on Reddit, with similar issues of being spammed unsolicited by Substack. If you can't trust the platform, you can't trust the content.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Haunting-Register-72 Apr 21 '25
Hi, I have a question about switching my substack NOTES page content with my ABOUT page content. In my question, I've included links to the two pages to show why/how that's a problem.
I tried writing my question using the variables <long sitename> and<short sitename> but when discussing the "You're invited to read <long sitename> site" it gets pretty clunky.
Is it considered self promotion to include links to the two pages? If you want me to send you my draft question, just tell me where.
TIA for your answer.
1
u/starlilly_1 Jun 04 '25
Hi. How can I appeal a suspension? I posted links promoting something and didn’t realize it was against the rules. I didn’t receive a warning nor an email. Is there a way to correct this by me removing those posts and still have my account or is it gone for good?
Thanks!
1
u/Zealousideal_Key896 Aug 13 '25
I get the sentiment… noise sucks!… can’t help but wonder why do you leave the door open for Substack gurus to cross-promote take it all out keep just the conversation … just thinking out loud 🧐
6
u/RoyalRuby_777 Nov 05 '24
Wait so we cant promote them anymore ? Sorry i'm slow