I’ve been blogging since 2009 and Substacking since January 2024, so I’m not sure if this is a fair comparison. But ever since MailerLite and TinyLetter closed its doors, I needed to find a new newsletter platform, and Substack has been on my radar for some time.
My newsletter, No Girl is an Island, which I started in 2019, has never really grown outside of my friend circle. Growth happens usually only after I shared it here, or on Facebook where my main contacts lie. Getting discovered through my landing pages does happen, but it’s rare.
So you can see, I’m not a good social media user, nor am I savvy about these things. I simply liked the idea and ran with it. I’m good about trying new things like audio blog posts on Soundcloud, or trying to post them on YouTube, but like many creatives, I don’t like to do self-promo, so I “fail”.
And strangely, I’ve accepted this. The only reason why I’ve lasted five years of newslettering and 15 (!) years of blogging is because I enjoy writing, reading, and connecting with people.
WordPress then and now
WP of yesteryear is not the same as now. The platform (dot com) has lost lots of functionality (I haven’t been able to preview a post for years, and yes, I’ve asked for help), and it’s gone through a zillion “updates” that it has frustrated many users, including me.
At this point, I’m paying to NOT have ads on my site and for my own custom domain name. And I’d argue that no one cares about the latter anymore. People go to YouTube, or Instagram, or TikTok for the content. Where your content is, doesn’t really matter, folks just want easy access to it.
Bloggers, it turns out, are a transient group, just like expats. There have been great years on WP where everyone’s reading, commenting, and liking. It felt like you could still be discovered through search, or friends of friends. But now, it seems like everyone’s somewhere else — possibly social, or Netflix, I don’t know, but not here.
Of course, I don’t have any numbers. I’m just going off of my experience throughout the years of being a fairly consistent and active blogger. You could argue that my content isn’t as good. I’m not being an expat or niche blogger anymore. I post about what I want and that’s not good for algorithms.
My husband, on the other hand, is a niche blogger. His site is dedicated to art and art criticism, he’s gotten that WP blue badge, receives support from his Patreons, but he’s also experienced a real flatline of followers on WP even though he has a YouTube channel, too. It’s a bit strange. And while he’s happy with WP, overall, he’s keeping an eye on what’s happening with me on Substack. I think he’d do well over there, too, because Substack is a more literary community.
So, for me, WP is expensive, lacks the community I once enjoyed, and no longer has great SEO. For years, I’ve tried find new bloggers, engage, etc, but no one seemed interested. But let’s make this clear, I’m not complaining, let’s assume the problem is me. I’m just sharing my experience, and since I’m not one to whinge and not do anything about it, I’m giving Substack a try.
Substack, as an alternative
I’m late to Substack. I had my newsletter, my WP, why bother, right? But after I was forced to look for a new newsletter platform, I joined because I wanted to find more readers and discover more good writing. Substack has been touted as a blog, newsletter, podcast, and social media platform all in one.
People love to hate on Substack though. Many well-established authors, journalists, and personalities have successfully launched Substacks behind paywalled content. There’s been hype over how much $$$ these folks have been making and plenty of normals have tried to follow suit.
Secondly, it’s not the most user friendly platform. There’s a bit of learning curve, and it certainly doesn’t have the customization options of WP, or the ability to do the many things that most newsletter platforms can do re: stats and features. In other words, to newsletter aficionados, it’s not a TRUE newsletter platform. Substack is the ugly stepsister.
Lastly, promising writers never reach their dreams of hundreds or thousands of paid subscribers to support their passion. They do all of the right things, they follow, they read, they watch all the tutorials, but still don’t meet their expectations. I think there’s also a fair amount of snarks on the sideline who are waiting for Substack to fail, so they can say, “I told you so!”
Why I’m using Substack
// It’s free and plenty of content is free to read.
// I had some success with one of my essays on a popular publication before I joined.
// I was already reading from there.
// And since I had bad luck with other newsletters closing down or suddenly asking for money, I figured any platform would be risky, why not chose the one I already use, and where there is potential for growth?
My experience so far…
>>> Since January 2024, my subscribers and followers have been steadily increasing. Nothing amazing, mind you, but I have branched out, which was my original intention.
>>> I’ve found some Substackers who I truly enjoy reading and engaging with, so it’s been nice to “make new friends”. And there are several ways you can show your appreciation that have nothing to do with money.
>>> For example, some of them have restacked or reshared my content on Notes (think Twitter). So, once I realized you can do that, I’ve been trying to do the same.
>>> Related to this, is the “recommendation” part of Substack. It’s like WP’s “blogs I like” section, and I’m finding new reads from there and folks have found me through there, too. And you can see this on your dashboard.
>>> So, there are built-in ways to help each other out, create community, and be discovered. Your Substack might be featured in a variety of publications or you might get interviewed on one, as many Substackers do this. You can also start a private chat with your subscribers or create a community or join one (I’ve joined three so far).
>>> But there are plenty of challenges, as well. Due to it’s recent popularity, it feels like there are a TON of Substacks. Everyone’s trying their hand at it, which means, it’s hard to be heard above the noise.
>>> There are also a lot of features, like the ones that I described, that can make it difficult to understand where you should focus and what you should do. So, there’s a time commitment in understanding the platform depending on your goals.
And that’s where I’m at. Trying to figure it all out, while still trying to produce worthy content. I’m focusing on essays and also continuing the newsletter.
Thanks to Jean at Cycle Write Blog for suggesting this post.
What’s your experience on Substack and/or WP been like?
Life, the Universe, and Lani 
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