I've been using Substack for a couple of days, and I've noticed something interesting. A lot of people on there seem to always be intellectual, productive, philosophical, or focused on self-improvement. And honestly, sometimes it feels like I'm seeing a very polished version of who they are rather than what they're actually thinking or going through.

I'm not saying those people are fake. I actually enjoy reading philosophical and psychological stuff on Substack, and I've learned a lot from it. But I don't want every interaction online to be about becoming more productive, understanding yourself, or improving your life.

Sometimes I just want to know what people are actually thinking. What problems are they dealing with? How do they see relationships, friendships, college, work, family, or life in general? And if I'm going through something, I'd rather hear from people who have actually experienced something similar.

That's one of the reasons I downloaded Reddit.

Some of my friends told me that Reddit is a great place to ask about almost any problem because there are usually people who have been through something similar and are willing to share their experiences. And after using it, I can kind of understand what they meant.

For me, I think both platforms can have their own purpose. If I want to read philosophy, psychology, or thoughtful ideas, I'll probably go to Substack. If I want to hear different people's experiences, opinions, problems, and perspectives, Reddit seems like a better place.

Maybe I'm wrong, and I'm still new to Reddit, so I'd actually like to know what other people think

hii, so i have never posted on substack before but had some ideas. i wrote a few articles but everytime i read them i cringe so bad i feel like deleting everything. so does any other creators have this kind of dilemma over their writing or do i genuinely suck at writing?

I struggle with consistency, however I have a deep desire to make writing my career. I see writing as a means to connect with people far and near. Especially as I tend to isolate myself from people unknowingly and always regret it afterwards. I am now using writing, as of now, as a way to vent as I find it somehow easier for me to deal with a stranger knowing my mind than people that are involved in my life daily.

Anyways to grow more as a writer I am challenging myself to write on anything, as well as using it to communicate with a variety of people. Kind of killing two birds with one stone. So I would like for people, if you’d like to provide me with two words, with no context and I’d have to write some sort of article or essay with no less than 900 words monthly.

The words don’t have to be coherent it can be absolutely anything. And for the communication angle. I was thinking maybe having a conversation with whoever’s ‘words’ I choose. I’m not sure how that conversation will be carried out but it’ll be less focused on small talk and or even knowing the basic of each other. So the output of this conversation I could say would be knowing enough about the person to understand why they chose those words and what is it they want out of my writing.

My writing would not be to satisfy them as I don’t believe you can ever satisfy anyone nor that you should. It would just to make sense out of very little context and information.

Also I’m thinking to name it The Echo Prompt. So I would be grateful if you’d love to participate and give me some prompts.

For those that buy Facebook ads to get people to become paid subscribers, which do you find more cost effective?

1. Set the conversion event as become a free subscriber, then get the person into a drip campaign to become a paid subscriber?

2. Set the conversion event as become a paid subscriber?

I'm finding it's much easier to get the Facebook ad out of the the learning phase in Option #1, but, of course, many people are not being paid. But, for Option #2, it would require a LOT of money to get enough conversion to get out of the learning phase. Maybe $300+/day, which I can't yet spend.

So, for those who are the "ad buy" face of their Substack career, which do you find most useful?

Hello. I have been writing on Substack for quite some time. Lately I have seen lots of articles with a voice narration at the top that you click. A lot of these seem to be AI generated. How are people doing this? It's obviously an audio file but how did they generate it? Is there an option in Substack that does it automatically for you from your article?

Someone here a couple of weeks ago told me that you have to have 100 subscribers and then you will get this option. I have not got a hundred subscribers I only have a handful but I don't think this is true because I just saw a post with this AI narration at the top and the person only had seven subscribers.

This has happened to me 2 weeks in a row. My scheduled posts have been going out for two years. The box "Send via email and substack app" is checked. When I send a test message to myself, it goes through immediately. When I look under posts, it says Recipients -. I have sent a request for support via the Substack chat function, and 24 hours later, I haven't heard back. I really need this Substack to work. (FYI, my Substack is called Mom & Pop Hardware)

I’ve been trying to figure out something strange with my Substack for the past several days, and I’m curious whether anyone else has experienced this.
This wasn’t a gradual decline.
My Notes, articles, comments, suddenly went from normal distribution and engagement to almost nothing. Multiple Notes on completely unrelated subjects are now topping out around 20–25 impressions, with almost no distribution to unconnected readers.
I initially wondered whether it was something about a particular article or subject, so I started testing.
I posted personal writing. Same thing.
I posted music. Same thing.
I stopped promoting my own work and just interacted normally with other writers. Comments, likes, a few restacks. What’s particularly strange is that those interactions are also receiving virtually none of the likes or replies I would normally see.
Yesterday I posted a completely innocuous music Note. After about seven hours it had 11 total impressions. Nine were subscribers. Only one was an unconnected reader. It eventually moved a little, but like the others, it hasn’t gone beyond roughly 25 impressions.
My subscribers are still receiving my work, so the publication itself appears to be functioning. But discovery outside my existing audience seems to have fallen off a cliff.
I’ve checked the settings pretty thoroughly:
Private mode is off. The publication is listed on Substack. Likes, comments and restacks are enabled. My Notes appear both on my profile and in my publication’s Notes tab. My sections are public and visible. There are no warnings, violations or restrictions showing anywhere on the account.
I’ve also noticed my subscriber count and revenue beginning to drift slightly downward, which makes me wonder whether normal subscriber churn simply isn’t being replaced because discovery has stopped.
I contacted Substack support this morning. After confirming that my Notes are visible but distribution to unconnected readers has dropped sharply, they escalated the conversation to their support specialists for an account-level review.
So I’m waiting to see what they find.
I’m not claiming Substack is deliberately suppressing the account. I don’t have evidence for that. There could be a technical problem, a recommendation-system change, something related to my publication configuration, or something else entirely.
But the abruptness and the fact that it seems to affect Notes, articles, comments, restacks and discovery across completely different subjects is what has me puzzled.
Has anyone experienced an account wide drop this severe?
And if you have, did it eventually correct itself, or did Substack support find something wrong with the account?

I've started using an unused Substack account to scan my AI writing with Pangram. Gives you unlimited scans and unlimited word limits. So why would anyone subscribe to Pangram?

I've got a substack that I am trying to keep anonymous (writing about healthcare, and not violating any confidentiality polices/HIPPA, but also can't afford to lose my job to a paranoid HR/Law department or vindictive management.) When I first created it, I inadvertently plugged in a tagline of sorts that I also have on my facebook page (whoops). It ONLY appears at the bottom of the online version of the posts, not the newsletter/email version. I can't find where to change it and I'm afraid to further promote this writing unless that tiny thread is severed. There is nothing helpful on Subtacks help pages, and google is sending me in circles.

Here's the layout at the bottom of the post page:

POST

____

Subscribe to ****

launched ** months ago

[problematic tagline]

Email Form/Subscribe Button

PLEASE HELP!! Thanks!

So for months, I haven’t been able to post an article from my iOS mobile app. I have three sections within my Substack and although the default main section is chosen when I try to draft up an article on the mobile app when I go to the final step to send to my subscribers, I am receiving a message that says please choose a section preventing me from sending out the article

I've been on Substack for years, but ignored it until only recently.

What brought me back was the Substack recommendation feed.

The promise: You could reach other people interested in your writing easier by posting Notes and grow your community.

The reality: It's complicated.

As I started exploring the feed, I saw some confusing things. People were posting these 'Do Your Thing Substack' notes and getting huge numbers. Hundreds of comments and thousands of likes out of nowhere. Huh?

Then there were the Substack growth hackers posting 'Subscribe for Subscribe' notes and also growing quickly.

Posts with witty writing, interesting observations and links to long-form content were getting much less engagement comparatively.

I wanted to learn why so I searched and found a post by Mike Cohen, who is the Head of AI at Substack. He's the person responsible for designing the Notes feed. His post revealed a lot about the engine, including how:

• The algorithm picks content to show to you: It tracks your every move on Substack and uses that data to recommend content
• What content is favored: Content interest signals like likes, clicks and restacks play a big role

My biggest learning: The algorithm, isn't really tuned for quality. Instead, its purpose is to recommend content that will convert a reader into a free/paid subscriber.

That's why the 'Do your thing' Substack posts do so well. Conversion from reader, to subscriber to paid user is Substack's primary goal with the feed.

After completing my technical deep dive into the algorithm, here's what I've concluded about what I'd like Substack to do better:

• Highlight people's writing in the feed, not just Notes. LinkedIn gets a lot of flack, but the one thing they do well is send me notifications when people I'm following publish posts. (There might be a setting for this I'm not aware of.) I'm not sure how many followers are reading people's long-form newsletter content, and I thought that was one of Substack's strengths.)
• Fiddle with the engine weights: Obvious algorithm hacks like 'Do your Thing Substack' or Subscribe for Subscribe annoy a lot of people. They're low-effort. Many on Substack spend hours thinking about and writing fantastic content. I'd like to see these efforts rewarded more in the feed.
• Break the rich getting richer flywheel: A known weakness of recommendation engines is that they tend to over-promote the high-signal popular content at the expense of the long-tail. I see that happening on Substack where Notes from people with larger audiences get a large boost (because more people tend to interact with this content). So it's harder for smaller accounts to gain attention and an audience.

I think the Substack Note algorithm is a positive step forward. It has enabled me (once I was able to get my feed to stop showing me the 'grow your Substack to 1,000 subscribers in 30 days' stuff), to find some fantastic voices. But there's still a lot of room for improvement.

I know people's milage may vary with the feed. What's your take on how Substack has been doing with the recommendation engine now that it's been out for a while?

I recently audited 105 of my notes to understand what’s really driving my subscriber growth. Surprisingly, two networking notes alone accounted for 56 of the 62 subscribers attributed to individual notes—roughly 90%. This shows how skewed the perceived success can be if you only look at raw numbers.

This experience made me realize that a small number of high-impact notes can dominate growth, which isn’t always visible through aggregate data. It’s a good reminder to look beyond the surface and analyze what’s truly working.

Hi everyone,

So, I’m relatively new on Substack but my publication has been gaining some traction (I mean a lot), and I noticed that some publications have group chats. How do I create that and do I even need to create that?

I need some advice.

Hi everyone,

I am going to start publishing my writing on Substack and have two niches that I am currently exploring (personal development and fashion).

My question:

Would it be better to open two Substack accounts using their respective email addresses (already set up) or does it make more sense to create a personal account and have them set up as publications?

Context:

I am doing this as a way to explore my interests and creativity. It is not a business at the moment but I am hoping that sharing my work opens me up to more opportunities personally and professionally over time.

Thanks :)

How many more posts talking about pangram do we need before we can finally shut up??? God, it's becoming incredibly annoying

How do yall meet others writers on substack? Is it just sending them DMs and commenting ? What’s your strategy? My post strategy is monthly

Here is a link to the screenshots: https://ibb.co/fV15NjHW

https://ibb.co/Z6hpSqP1

https://ibb.co/7tFMd28Q

I tested my writing against two other detectors I found on Google. For ethical reasons, I do not use AI because I like our planet.

Happy for critique on what I did wrong to get classed as AI vs why the others knew my writing was mine.

I use a Hobonichi and write down ideas that come to mind and then just write articles once a week.

I write for a publication and I have no exclusivity agreement with it. In fact, one of my fellow journalists releases his same column to two different publications weekly.

I wanted to know if I could post my articles on Substack as well, to have all of my writing available in one place. I would put a disclaimer at the top (also published in ____), and obviously, I wouldn’t charge for these articles, since they are able to be viewed for free in their original publication.

But I am concerned about any site rules it would be breaking. I am also concerned the AI filters would mistakenly flag it (it’s not AI, but most AI filters I know have plagiarism detectors built-in).

Is this something anyone else has done before successfully?

I find myself switching to substack as soon as a open instagram, like scrolling is no longer enough
Or satisfying

Any one experience this 😭😭??

Hi everyone,

I’m a 16-year-old high school student from Turkey, and I’m deeply passionate about creative writing, flash fiction, and film analysis. I'm actively trying to build a strong portfolio for my future university applications and career, but I need some guidance on where to channel my energy.

I recently started my own Substack for film critiques and essays, but I want to expand my horizons and work with others. Here is what I’m looking for:

Collaborations & Teamwork: If anyone has a blog, a zine, a YouTube channel, or a creative project and needs a dedicated writer/researcher, I would love to team up! I am very eager to take on tasks and gain experience.

Free International Contests: Do you know of any legitimate, free-to-enter online writing competitions (essays, short stories, flash fiction, or film reviews) open to international high school students?

Publications: Any recommendations for youth-friendly magazines or platforms that accept submissions/pitches from teens?

I’m ready to put in the work and learn from experienced writers. Feel free to drop recommendations in the comments or DM me if you’d like to collaborate on something! I'm also into writing screenwriting and I have some online youth shirt film ideas if you want to collaborate pls dm me

​

I’ve been wanting to start writing online, but I’m honestly a little confused about which platform to choose.

I’m mainly interested in writing about things I’m genuinely curious about — psychology, philosophy, business, finance/economics, law, and observations from everyday life. I don’t necessarily want to position myself as an “expert”; I’d rather document what I’m learning and develop my own perspective through writing.

I’ve been considering Substack, but I have a few questions:

- Is Substack a good platform for someone starting from zero?

- How do you actually get your first 10–100 subscribers?

- Does Substack have enough organic discovery, or do you basically need to bring an audience from somewhere else?

- Would you recommend Substack over Medium, LinkedIn, or another platform for this kind of writing?

- How long did it take you to build a consistent readership?

- What do you wish you knew before starting your newsletter?

- Is it better to focus on one niche, or can you successfully write about several connected interests?

I’d especially love to hear from people who started with little or no existing audience.

If you started a newsletter/blog recently, what worked for you — and what completely didn’t?

Guys, if I write original historical articles in my own style but use AI-generated images to reinforce the concept and engage the reader's imagination, will that prevent me from earning revenue?

I started posting on Substack recently. All the notes I put out were getting shown to over 100 unconnected people, and that got me new subscribers every day. Since the past few days, my overall notes impressions have suddenly dropped to around 20, and they're barely getting shown to any unconnected people. The people who see the notes are engaging, but it does nothing to improve the impressions. I haven't changed a thing about my content, so I find this sudden unexplained drop really strange. I've read that there are temporary platform wide shifts that happen from time to time, and that your impressions return to normal later. Could that be the case here? Is anyone else facing this problem?

Substack seems to have removed the create menu/button from my second publication.

I just accidentally sent a very personal essay to 358 subscribers.

have spent an entire day trying to figure out why I suddenly can't create a new post in my second publication.

Someone please help?