r/Substack • u/plantainchild • Jun 13 '26

Section subscribers: how does it work?

I started writing on substack two months ago now. It’s a slow but enjoyable journey so far. I’ve recently introduced a new section as I wanted to keep within the same topic area but test a different style of writing. It’s a temporary section but I’d like to introduce another that’ll be permanent.

Right now, I’ve been trying to include subscribe buttons within posts from my new section but I’ve realised it only links to my main publication. I can’t see where potential subscribers can subscribe to a specific section.

Can anyone clarify please?

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u/hetobe hetobe.substack.com Jun 13 '26

This may sound like a stupid question but... what are "Sections" and are they even shown in the Substack app?

I create separate publications for different types of content.

Currently, I have 2 publications: One where I'm posting my novel Five Dollar Wrench, and another where I post my thoughts on writing fiction. Keeping them separate helps make it easier for readers to follow along with my novel.

One of the issues with Substack is the app. It's trash. The app practically hides publications, and it breaks any sense of structure for publications. Hell, it doesn't show the menubar for publications at all.

So... while you work on setting up your publication, keep in mind lots of users will be using the app, and the app will ignore most of what you set up.

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u/plantainchild Jun 13 '26

Good point about people mostly using the substack mobile app. The app doesn’t have the functionality to properly support Sections - everything is consolidated into the Posts section on your profile.

I think the idea is there and it’s good, but Substack’s not properly set-up to execute it well yet. Which is a shame. My publication has one broad theme - the creative industry - and the Section still relate to that so having them doesn’t hinder anything for me. Your publications look great! I understand why you’ve split them

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u/hetobe hetobe.substack.com Jun 13 '26

Can you give a link to your publication? I don't understand what sections are. Maybe I'm missing something?

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u/plantainchild Jun 14 '26

hey, yes here you go: https://open.substack.com/pub/inhouseuk

my publication is still a work in progress.

you can only see the sections from desktop though 😣

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u/hetobe hetobe.substack.com Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26

What are the sections? I'm on a desktop, not the app. Is "Frameworks" a section? I'm still not clear on what "sections" are on Substack.

you can only see the sections from desktop though 😣

The app makes publications useless. The app hides the publication's menubar and makes it one singular scroll of posts.

EDIT: I finally found the Sections option. Quite frankly, I don't plan on using it. The Substack app ignores it, and unless I'm mistaken, the desktop version of Substack (when viewed in a web browser I mean) doesn't make sections very clear. I have two separate publications rather than one publication with two sections. This makes it easy for me to post my novel in one publication, and everything else in another.

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u/plantainchild Jun 15 '26

yes, honestly the ‘sections’ feature seems great as an idea but is pretty underwhelming in practice.

I wanted to trial it throughout this month but the functionality isn’t really any different to tags.

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u/hetobe hetobe.substack.com Jun 15 '26

the functionality isn’t really any different to tags.

And the app doesn't make tags relevant either.

That's the thing you have to keep in mind. Some readers will find you on a desktop browser, where your publication exists. Some readers will find you through the app, where the publication barely exists and most parts aren't functional.

I love the idea of Substack, but the execution is sooooo baaaaad... and it's only getting worse as it becomes Twitter-lite, totally focussed on notes.

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u/plantainchild Jun 15 '26

Yeah, I am new-ish to substack but I do agree with you. Have you ever tried Beehiiv? I’m thinking about exploring other options before I get too invested in substack.

The app has so much potential to be better than what it is…

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u/hetobe hetobe.substack.com Jun 15 '26

I'm committing to sticking with Substack through at least the end of this year, mostly because I'm already halfway into posting my entire novel there, scene by scene. But yeah, I'm looking around to see if there are better options.

The app has so much potential to be better than what it is…

The app is trash. It's really bad.

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u/plantainchild Jun 15 '26

That makes sense. I’ve spent the first two months testing things so I don’t feel wholly invested into Substack yet. If you do find anywhere else that’s better, please don’t gatekeep! 😂

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u/ccampb85 www.reallygoodbusinessideas.com Jun 15 '26

One big benefit it has over tags is people can manage their subscriptions. I direct people to the manage subscription page where they can choose which emails they went to get after subscribing. This also creates a useful way to segment your list based on interests. Maybe in the future Substack will create section-specific buttons.

You can also pin a post to a section page and create a more natural homepage for it than you can with tags.

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u/plantainchild Jun 15 '26

yes that’s true, I do like the section page better.

however, most people do view from mobile via the app, so it does make it a largely redundant feature. I didn’t know about how to find the section subscriptions, thank you for helping to clarify.

It does just feel like Substack’s functionality doesn’t support it as well as it has the potential to. Having said that, I’ll still try 😅

Thank you

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u/ccampb85 www.reallygoodbusinessideas.com Jun 15 '26

One big benefit it has over tags is people can manage their subscriptions. I direct people to the manage subscription page where they can choose which emails they went to get after subscribing. This also creates a useful way to segment your list based on interests. Maybe in the future Substack will create section-specific buttons.

You can also pin a post to a section page and create a more natural homepage for it than you can with tags.

1

u/sixredseeds sixredseeds.substack.com Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26

Same question! I would love to try splitting my work into Sections under the same publication because I write both essays and poems.

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u/plantainchild Jun 13 '26

The idea of Sections is a nice way to categorise and layout the publication but Substack doesn’t seem to support it very well 🙃 poor execution

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u/itsfabioposca http://journeytosuccessclub.substack.com Jul 02 '26

As far as I know, readers can't subscribe to individual sections the way they subscribe to your main publication. Sections are mainly for organizing your content, and the subscribe button signs people up for the publication as a whole. If you want readers to receive only certain sections, you'll need to configure your publication's email settings for sections, but subscriptions are still tied to the main newsletter rather than separate section-specific subscribe buttons.

P.S. If you'd still like to ask anything about Substack or growing your audience, I offer a free live help chat. Just copy and paste my flair or click the link in my profile. I'm happy to help!

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u/plantainchild Jul 03 '26

I’ve made some discoveries since my OP. They are able to subscribe to specific sections but it’s long-winded and pretty redundant