Should I Use Substack? Pros and Cons for Writers
Should I Use Substack? Pros and Cons for Writers
Many aspiring writers ask Should I Use Substack to monetize my writing? Is Substack worth it? Here are the pros and cons of using Substack as a new writer.
Many aspiring writers ask me, Sujeiry, should I use Substack? My answer is often a long one and not only because I’m long-winded by nature. Substack is an amazing, free, newsletter platform for writers for various reasons. For one, as a writer on Substack, you own your work. That means that you can take the stories, poems, articles, and blogs that you post on your Substack newsletter and do whatever you wish with them after hitting “Publish.” That is not the case on most platforms, especially when you are a freelance writer. When you write for digital platforms and magazines, they own the copyright to your work. That may not be a big deal for some writers, but for other writers like myself, I like the option of repurposing my content, especially when I want to go from online column to book, like I did with my book, Love Trips. (You can grab a copy here!)
RELATED: How to Go from Blog To Book
Now, back to the question at hand: should I use Substack? Here is a list of pros and cons, aspiring writers, so that you can decide for yourself.
Should I Use Substack? Pros and Cons of for Writers
Pros of Using Substack
Substack is a great option for writers that have a mailing list. Perhaps you began growing your list on Mailchimp since back in the day. It’s grown immensely and you don’t want to pay the Mailchimp fee anymore. You might even have such a loyal following that you are confident that you will convert your Mailchimp newsletter subscribers into paid subscribers. This is a great reason to start a Substack newsletter!
Start a Substack to promote book projects. If you have book fans as an author, Substack is an amazing platform to connect with them and land right in their Inbox, especially when you have a new book release or want to promote an in-person or virtual book reading. Share bits and pieces of your writing process and/or offer free chapters, first dibs to pre-order books, and sales or discounts to subscribers.
You can monetize with a paid subscription! If you have enough subscribers, you can eventually convert them into paid subscribers. That means that you make money monthly from your loyal readers. It’s a win/win for them as they get to support and enjoy your work and you get paid to do what you love - write!
Should I use a Substack? If you don’t have an email list, yes! Whether you are an aspiring author, a new blogger, or even a new business owner, you need an email list. If you don’t have one, Substack is a great free option.
Start a Substack newsletter and share the link on all social media platforms and your website, if you have one. I personally now use Substack as my website because Substack does allow users to monetize their newsletter with affiliate links and their own products, like my books. You cannot add code for ads, however! So, if you want to monetize that way as a blogger I suggest starting and/or keeping your blog and using Substack as an additional way to connect with readers when you want to promote something specific.
Substack now has SEO. That means your Substack newsletter is discoverable in Google search. That makes me very happy. As an SEO lover and expert, I love it when my content ranks, it gives me such a thrill!
Because Substack has a higher domain authority than a new blog would, it bodes very well for writers that want to rank on Google (and don’t we all!). If your post ranks on the first pages on Google, you can:
Get new subscribers.
Sell your books or products.
Be discovered by people that are searching for answers and more information in your niche.
One way to make sure that your Substack newsletter is discoverable on Google is to purchase a domain from GoDaddy and convert your generic substack domain (for example, doman.substack.com) to a custom domain (domain.com). Substack has instructions here on how to create a custom domain.
Cons of Using Substack
Monetization blocks. Most people struggle with a monthly subscription because they rather not commit to paying monthly, especially if they stumbled upon your newsletter on Substack or Google. They can pay annually, so I would encourage you to have a call to action sharing the annual subscription versus the monthly subscription.
Also, as stated earlier, you cannot make money on Substack with ads. If you are a blogger that loves to write and makes money off your blog traffic with ads (not affiliate marketing and/or products and services) keep your blog.
You have to keep a consistent writing schedule, especially if you have paid subscribers. Cause paid subscribers expect to get something for their money. If you cannot write consistently and write great content that is worth every penny, monetizing with Substack subscriptions might not be for you. You have to deliver what you promise.
Substack takes a big chunk of change. As of now, Substack takes 10% of the money you make from paid subscriptions. That does not include the 3% that Stripes takes to deposit the money into your bank account.
Alternative to Substack - Buy Me A Coffee
Buy Me a Coffee is a great alternative for a one-time donation. It’s less of a commitment for readers and fans that want to support you as they can pay per story versus paying every month, or every year, for your newsletter on Substack.
We’re on video! Watch Should I Use Substack? Pros and Cons for Writers below.