Just found you, sister imposter! I've been playing with the idea of writing a book for many years and even have an unedited manuscript. So, I decided to post it on my SubStack. I have one subscriber and just the one person has given me the drive to write & post, weekly, even daily sometimes. However, since my lil MS is based on a period of time in my life & includes many family members, I haven't wanted to link it to my FaceBook. Seriously not one of them know that I write. I started writing as therapy and I've hid it for over 25 years. Only one friend knows I write. BUT AFTER finding you & reading your article today, all of that changed. You know, it's my story, my fiction and I can write what I want to. Thank you for inspiring me to link my FB with mySubstack. I'll let you know how it goes. Thank you again, Kary Fontaine
Thank you, Martin. Three publications recommend me, and I’ve received a few subscribers that way. Definitely looking into collaboration opportunities for 2023.
I am looking at starting a technical newsletter and I was drawn to your site by your comment about subscription statistics on Substack Writer Office hours. I am reviewing different authoring and newsletter platforms, and I need information on Substack and its process for building a subscription base. I subscribe to Medium.com ($5/month) and receive daily emails listing articles for topics that interest me. For every click a paid subscriber makes on an article in Medium, the author gets some payment and Medium upgrades its data on my interests. I am completely new to Substack and don't see anything similar. Can you point me to something on Substack that pushes to the public articles that may be of interest to subscribers? Also, did you look at Medium.com and choose Substack as a better platform for your publishing? Finally, what authoring platform do you use to generate your content for Substack? I see many products available such as https://issuu.com/ and https://www.podia.com/.
Hi Paul, thanks for your comment. Substack’s business model is different from Medium’s in that it doesn’t employ an algorithm to push content out to readers. Money is made from monthly or yearly paid subscribers to your publication (versus a monthly membership to the platform). I chose Substack over Medium specifically for this purpose, as I didn’t want to have to write click-bait-y headlines to feed the attention economy. I’d rather write the content I want to write and attract the readers who want to read it. If you google “substack vs medium” there are many articles that go into a detailed comparison.
If you have a substack account or the app, you can go to the discover page and find publications in various categories. You can also use search to find specific content.
Not sure what you mean by “authoring platform.” I draft all my essays in Google Docs before setting them up in the Substack editor.
Really loving your posts, Jen, and I’m definitely down with reading your book draft! Eek! Exciting! Great strategy to continue the growth. I just crossed the 200 subscriber mark this month and definitely am not at 10% paid--but I’m okay with that. Keep showing up, writing in Jen Zug style, and we’ll keep reading!
I love your garden, your honesty and your enthusiasm. Your growth is much more dramatic than mine, but I think you write more broadly than I do (and have better friends, but we won't go there.) LOL
Thank you! I write more broadly at the moment because I’m still figuring out the shape of it. There are many discussions in Office Hours re the pros/cons of specific topics vs broad topics. I think the important thing is to be authentic and find your “voice.”
You post is definitely encouraging. Gives me kind of a gauge.
Here is what I've found so far in 5 weeks.
I signed up for a substack in Novemeber 2022, but my work schedule didn't allow any time to write until after I retired at the end of 2022.
My first post was January 12.
As of Feb 24, I have written 27 posts.
Since I'm retired, writing is my full-time work.
Schedule: M-F, I am at my desk 7am-11a, sometimes noon if it is a longer piece.
On Saturday, I write if I have the time. Sundays are a day of rest.
My posts also, are an eclectic assortment so far, ranging from deep dives to allegorical fiction.
My substack, UnCorked, has a tag line of "Diving into the Deep End of Life". I love to write about things my family and I have gone through and what we learned. Mostly pulled from my own experiences (70 years worth).
I have discovered that my focus on Personal Transformation has emerged as a de facto niche, if you want to call it that. It comes across in both fiction and non-fiction articles. So that will be my theme song, so to speak.
I definitely want to get into other things as well.
I have noticed that in the first couple of weeks, my subscriber count hovered around 20. Now, at five weeks, it is 40 (3 foreign countries: UK, Japan, Philippines)
With 27 posts so far, that averages to around 5 subscribers per week.
Besides the email list, I also publish on FB, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
I haven't tried Instagram yet.
There is not much response (Likes/comments. etc) on any of these. Although I get a lot of visits from FB, no one likes or comments there. But I have 10 subscriptions via FB so far.
To me, social media is more for awareness than gaining a huge following.
Most of the visits and subscribers have come from Direct readership.
My goal has been to gain 20 subscribers/month. So far, so good. Not sure when I will add a paid subscription. Still trying to build up a free subscriber base.
I haven't really begun to market my substack yet. That will be next.
Again - thanks for the encouragement. Looking forward to following you in your journey.
Please feel free to visit my site, UnCorked @corkhutson.substack.com and subscribe, of course - it's free. :-)
Cork, it sounds like you’ve had a great start! I was unemployed when I started my Substack and kept a writing schedule similar to your retirement schedule. I have a job, now, so it’s been a challenge to make time for writing, but I had built a good habit that is keeping me going. I’ll check out your substack!
So late to your party but am really enjoying what I’ve read so far! This particular post resonated as your goals for starting the substack are exactly the same as mine. I enjoyed your reporting out on how it is going so far and your plans for moving forward. Gives me hope knowing there are others out there on similar journeys. Looking forward to reading more!
Sabrina, thank you for reading and letting me know it resonated with you! I had seen a lot of “success stories” on Substack that didn’t look like the path I was on, so I wanted to share my own.
Absolutely fuming I just wrote a huge comment and tried to put an emoji in and the whole thing disappeared! I don’t know what’s happened to it, so I’ll try again but I’m doing it in Word via dictate and I’m gonna copy and paste it because I don’t have the mental capacity to type it all again! I think I had said thank you for sharing the stats- they were encouraging for a fellow ‘nobody’. Also that the experiences with children had resonated having had to explain to a three-year-old when his Nana (great grandmother) passed away. And another episode when my then four-year-old (mixed race) son, had a brief flirtation with racism which as I’m sure you can imagine was interesting to navigate! My final part of the comment was to say that I had just written a reply on one of my own posts saying that I had been concerned about posting self-indulgent streams of consciousness, that were more like journal entries but their comment had reminded me that oftentimes posts that have resonated with people (therefore performing better than expected) had been posts such as that, so I’m trying to self-censor less. Anyway, I’m enjoying filling in some back story and getting to know you!
Hi Emma, I just noticed you commented here! So sorry I missed it earlier. I really resonate with the self-censoring part. I keep thinking, "who cares what I have to say??" when I write something that I think is weirdly specific to me, and it turns out to be more universal than I realized. We as humans are more connected to each other than we think.
I'm getting caught up on your posts, Jen but A. YES I would read that book! Many times over. and B. I love and am impressed that you can call yourself a writer, which for some reason is the hardest part for me! Very happy to have discovered you! Also- hi from a fellow Seattle writer!
Thank you for the term “essay spaghettis.” Glad to have found your writing through the Substack universe. (Metaverse?)
Thank you, Julie! I have enjoyed your writing prompts and plan to recommend your newsletter.
Just found you, sister imposter! I've been playing with the idea of writing a book for many years and even have an unedited manuscript. So, I decided to post it on my SubStack. I have one subscriber and just the one person has given me the drive to write & post, weekly, even daily sometimes. However, since my lil MS is based on a period of time in my life & includes many family members, I haven't wanted to link it to my FaceBook. Seriously not one of them know that I write. I started writing as therapy and I've hid it for over 25 years. Only one friend knows I write. BUT AFTER finding you & reading your article today, all of that changed. You know, it's my story, my fiction and I can write what I want to. Thank you for inspiring me to link my FB with mySubstack. I'll let you know how it goes. Thank you again, Kary Fontaine
It can scary to let people we know read our work! Glad I could inspire you to take that step.
Welcome to the Imposter Syndrome Club! We’ve got cool jackets. I’ll make sure you get one. :)
As for finding out what resonates, as you continue to write, those trends will start to jump out at you.
In my case there are a couple of very specific genres/eras of music that are total outliers as far as engagement goes.
Yesssss.... jackets!!
Great post - I love looking at how others have grown their subscribers. It is fascinating to see the drivers of the growth.
Keep going, you've got a great style and you clearly enjoy it.
How many other publications recommend yours?
Maybe think about collaborating with people you know have something in common with?
Thank you, Martin. Three publications recommend me, and I’ve received a few subscribers that way. Definitely looking into collaboration opportunities for 2023.
I am looking at starting a technical newsletter and I was drawn to your site by your comment about subscription statistics on Substack Writer Office hours. I am reviewing different authoring and newsletter platforms, and I need information on Substack and its process for building a subscription base. I subscribe to Medium.com ($5/month) and receive daily emails listing articles for topics that interest me. For every click a paid subscriber makes on an article in Medium, the author gets some payment and Medium upgrades its data on my interests. I am completely new to Substack and don't see anything similar. Can you point me to something on Substack that pushes to the public articles that may be of interest to subscribers? Also, did you look at Medium.com and choose Substack as a better platform for your publishing? Finally, what authoring platform do you use to generate your content for Substack? I see many products available such as https://issuu.com/ and https://www.podia.com/.
Hi Paul, flagging that I replied to your comment, but In the wrong thread. You can read it here: https://jenzug.substack.com/p/three-month-stackiversary-and-insights/comment/11200782?r=6er4f&utm_medium=ios
Hi Paul, thanks for your comment. Substack’s business model is different from Medium’s in that it doesn’t employ an algorithm to push content out to readers. Money is made from monthly or yearly paid subscribers to your publication (versus a monthly membership to the platform). I chose Substack over Medium specifically for this purpose, as I didn’t want to have to write click-bait-y headlines to feed the attention economy. I’d rather write the content I want to write and attract the readers who want to read it. If you google “substack vs medium” there are many articles that go into a detailed comparison.
If you have a substack account or the app, you can go to the discover page and find publications in various categories. You can also use search to find specific content.
Not sure what you mean by “authoring platform.” I draft all my essays in Google Docs before setting them up in the Substack editor.
Really loving your posts, Jen, and I’m definitely down with reading your book draft! Eek! Exciting! Great strategy to continue the growth. I just crossed the 200 subscriber mark this month and definitely am not at 10% paid--but I’m okay with that. Keep showing up, writing in Jen Zug style, and we’ll keep reading!
Enjoy the holidays!
I love your garden, your honesty and your enthusiasm. Your growth is much more dramatic than mine, but I think you write more broadly than I do (and have better friends, but we won't go there.) LOL
Keep up the good work, Jen!
Thank you! I write more broadly at the moment because I’m still figuring out the shape of it. There are many discussions in Office Hours re the pros/cons of specific topics vs broad topics. I think the important thing is to be authentic and find your “voice.”
Hey Jen.
You post is definitely encouraging. Gives me kind of a gauge.
Here is what I've found so far in 5 weeks.
I signed up for a substack in Novemeber 2022, but my work schedule didn't allow any time to write until after I retired at the end of 2022.
My first post was January 12.
As of Feb 24, I have written 27 posts.
Since I'm retired, writing is my full-time work.
Schedule: M-F, I am at my desk 7am-11a, sometimes noon if it is a longer piece.
On Saturday, I write if I have the time. Sundays are a day of rest.
My posts also, are an eclectic assortment so far, ranging from deep dives to allegorical fiction.
My substack, UnCorked, has a tag line of "Diving into the Deep End of Life". I love to write about things my family and I have gone through and what we learned. Mostly pulled from my own experiences (70 years worth).
I have discovered that my focus on Personal Transformation has emerged as a de facto niche, if you want to call it that. It comes across in both fiction and non-fiction articles. So that will be my theme song, so to speak.
I definitely want to get into other things as well.
I have noticed that in the first couple of weeks, my subscriber count hovered around 20. Now, at five weeks, it is 40 (3 foreign countries: UK, Japan, Philippines)
With 27 posts so far, that averages to around 5 subscribers per week.
Besides the email list, I also publish on FB, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
I haven't tried Instagram yet.
There is not much response (Likes/comments. etc) on any of these. Although I get a lot of visits from FB, no one likes or comments there. But I have 10 subscriptions via FB so far.
To me, social media is more for awareness than gaining a huge following.
Most of the visits and subscribers have come from Direct readership.
My goal has been to gain 20 subscribers/month. So far, so good. Not sure when I will add a paid subscription. Still trying to build up a free subscriber base.
I haven't really begun to market my substack yet. That will be next.
Again - thanks for the encouragement. Looking forward to following you in your journey.
Please feel free to visit my site, UnCorked @corkhutson.substack.com and subscribe, of course - it's free. :-)
Cork, it sounds like you’ve had a great start! I was unemployed when I started my Substack and kept a writing schedule similar to your retirement schedule. I have a job, now, so it’s been a challenge to make time for writing, but I had built a good habit that is keeping me going. I’ll check out your substack!
So late to your party but am really enjoying what I’ve read so far! This particular post resonated as your goals for starting the substack are exactly the same as mine. I enjoyed your reporting out on how it is going so far and your plans for moving forward. Gives me hope knowing there are others out there on similar journeys. Looking forward to reading more!
Sabrina, thank you for reading and letting me know it resonated with you! I had seen a lot of “success stories” on Substack that didn’t look like the path I was on, so I wanted to share my own.
p.s. I made a note to check out your ‘stack!
Absolutely fuming I just wrote a huge comment and tried to put an emoji in and the whole thing disappeared! I don’t know what’s happened to it, so I’ll try again but I’m doing it in Word via dictate and I’m gonna copy and paste it because I don’t have the mental capacity to type it all again! I think I had said thank you for sharing the stats- they were encouraging for a fellow ‘nobody’. Also that the experiences with children had resonated having had to explain to a three-year-old when his Nana (great grandmother) passed away. And another episode when my then four-year-old (mixed race) son, had a brief flirtation with racism which as I’m sure you can imagine was interesting to navigate! My final part of the comment was to say that I had just written a reply on one of my own posts saying that I had been concerned about posting self-indulgent streams of consciousness, that were more like journal entries but their comment had reminded me that oftentimes posts that have resonated with people (therefore performing better than expected) had been posts such as that, so I’m trying to self-censor less. Anyway, I’m enjoying filling in some back story and getting to know you!
Hi Emma, I just noticed you commented here! So sorry I missed it earlier. I really resonate with the self-censoring part. I keep thinking, "who cares what I have to say??" when I write something that I think is weirdly specific to me, and it turns out to be more universal than I realized. We as humans are more connected to each other than we think.
Beautiful!
I'm getting caught up on your posts, Jen but A. YES I would read that book! Many times over. and B. I love and am impressed that you can call yourself a writer, which for some reason is the hardest part for me! Very happy to have discovered you! Also- hi from a fellow Seattle writer!
Hey thanks for reading my older posts! And welcome to the party!
Great post. I found it really helpful as someone just three weeks into Substack ing. Thank you!