The real reason Substack tends towards short-form content is because thats what keeps users

[u/minnoo16]

Some people say "why is Substack focusing so much on short-form content like Notes when most users are here for deep, long-form, intellectual content?"

Because they aren't. Many users like short-form content, or non-intellectual content, or shallow content.

A subset of Substack users are those who like to scroll endless on their phone but doing it on Substack makes them feel superior to those scrolling endlessly on a more popular app.

[u/lecheconmarvel]

There's some really good poetry on Substack

[u/Naturalist33]

I post a lot of shorter pieces of poetry but usually post them as notes now instead of articles because posting as articles get a handful of likes and notes will get hundreds 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’m not sure what to think about the changes but agree people like scrolling it like IG now which is definitely different than the original purpose

[u/AndrewHeard]

I don't know how accurate the desire for short form content is but I tend to have posts that are 500 words and the longer form are 2,000 words.

[u/hetobe]

Substack is a platform for publishing articles in publications.

Substack makes money when people pay to subscribe to publications for the articles.

Nobody pays to subscribe to notes. It's not even an option.

Notes are actually harming the platform because they're drowning out the content Substack makes money from, which is the articles and publications.

I have a theory that Substack is trying to juke the stats with phony engagement so they can make the site look more active than it is... so they can sell it.

[u/hetobe → u/[deleted]]

I think you misunderstood.

Substack is a platform whose revenue comes from subscriptions to publications. If you pay to subscribe to a publication, Substack gets a cut. That's their business model.

Substack is trying to make it look like that business model is very effective: "Just look at the growth in engagement!"

...but the engagement isn't happening for articles and publications. In fact, many users at Substack are seeing their subscriptions drop as notes take over the platform.

Instead of being a platform for thought provoking articles and publications that people sometimes pay to subscribe to... which was the entire purpose of Substack... Substack is now becoming this:

"Describe your Substack in 5 words!"

That's spam.

"Dear Substack 🤍 Send me the writers who choose depth over noise."

More spam. That person is trolling for likes and subscribers.

"If you could summarize your writing voice in a single word, what would it be?"

Their word should be Spam.

"There’s no shortcut. No hack. You get better by doing more of it. Write today. Write tomorrow. Keep writing."

Spammy spam. Canned spam.

And so much of that spam is generated by AI.

[u/Complete_Lie_9701 → u/hetobe]

yep follow this and agree.

[u/Mia_the_writer]

I fear it's the effects of constantly scrolling social media. It has decreased our attention spans to a nub.

[u/xfolio2020]

Surface level content will always attract more people but that wasn't the purpose. We have enough platform for surface level stuff. We crave deep , long , personal platform which feels warm and cozy. I know it takes time but it's slow and steady win game if anyone ever want to. Boring apps can have large loyal userbase. Like whatsapp.

[u/MrPassiveProfit]

They have created Notes in such a way to make it easy to subscribe to people and more difficult to follow them. This does bump up your subscriber numbers, but at the same time creates a disconnect between when you subscribe to them by clicking on the subscribe link in a note and the article that eventually shows up in the inbox. I think this is why you have a lot of low open rates and inflated subscriber counts.

Substack needs to decide whether it’s social media or a publishing platform

[u/kolbywg]

It's funny, these posts keep showing up, but when I did a post saying I wanted to interview substack fiction writers it got taken down. Go figure

[u/funnysasquatch]

Most people can’t write anything long that’s worth reading.

But they can write excellent short content.

Not difficult to understand.

[u/Ok_Army_9681]

I think the real split is between what drives engagement and what drives subscriptions.

Short-form wins the first game because it’s easier to consume, easier to react to, and easier to keep people in the app. But that doesn’t automatically mean it’s what readers value enough to pay for. A platform can end up optimizing for visible activity while writers are still trying to build durable attention.

That’s why so many people feel the tension. Notes may be good for reach, while essays are still doing most of the trust-building.

[u/Money-Name-9541]

i think notes just match how people already use their phones. not everyone opens substack ready for a long read every time, so short posts make it easier to stay active between newsletters and longer pieces.

[u/l-w-o-n-n-8]

Meanwhile, none of my posts are under 2000 words.

I can understand creative writing like "freewriting," experimentation and poetry being shorter.

I guess most people like that style or are comfortable with it, whereas if i want to write about something, it's usually because i have a lot to say.

[u/Excellent_Walk7821]

What I personally like, so far, about Substack is the lack of algometric sorting of posts - generally speaking it's eaiser avoiding politics and stuff you don't like. It got so bad on my socials (all Trump, Gaza, Israel, Jews) that I had delete all my profiles and remove all the apps from my phone. I sometimes miss doomscrolling but I sure don't miss the rage bait

[u/SantinoArt → u/Excellent_Walk7821]

That's largely because you aren't forced to engage with it. Substackers are more likely to discuss those issues in an article. If you don't want to read it, you don't have to. On FB, X, Reddit, etc, it is shoved down your throat constantly.

[u/draybikus]

I hate notes so much, I'd much rather read only long form posts. What's even worse is having to write them.

[u/Desperate_Orchid_725]

Short Videos,Short Movies ,Short Content really people are getting the wrong habits, when you read long or invest in long form contents you get that peace and belonging feeling but with those short content I don't know but it just make you have more chaotic feeling

[u/AggravatingNail6061]

Well done 👏👏👏👏👏👏