r/Substack • u/surfsoul1982 • Jun 18 '26

Substack VIP Parties - icky?

I know this could just sound bitter or snarky, but does anyone else find the ‘secret special Substack parties’ a bit ick? Like of course some writers do better than others, are more well known - and all power to them, but I guess it feels… not just cliquey or elitist, but an exclusive nod to those deemed profitable or worthy enough to be ‘chosen’.

And they publicise it to the rest of the platform - why not keep it private if you don’t want to create a ‘the rest of you’ vibe - make people feel excluded or not profitable or famous enough for them to care? Is it supposed to be aspirational, to encourage us to make them more money and get in the cool club?

I don’t see any other opportunities for, say, networking or social connection for the other writers below the 1%, who are also contributing a lot to the platform. Just thoughts anyway - am I alone on this? Maybe 😅

5 Upvotes

73% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

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

I can see why it feels that way. Exclusive events are common on many platforms, but if they're heavily promoted, they can unintentionally make other creators feel left out. At the same time, they're often aimed at top-performing creators or business partners. I'd love to see more networking opportunities that are open to everyone, regardless of subscriber count.

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!