Reflections On My First Two Months on Substack

And the Challenges of transferring from another platform, growing an audience and becoming a writer

There have been several articles written about the first two months on Substack or even the first year. I have taken a slightly different approach. I have highlighted some of the specific tasks that should be done in those first few months. I also want to mention, that I moved my content from another platform which was both challenging and rewarding. Going back and interlinking each post was a pain in the pin-feathers to say the least!

Choosing to move my website from Wordpress to Substack was a strategic move as well as a gamble. After two months, I think I have made the right decision.

Let me explain and give you a bit of the backstory.

A Bit of History

In 2019, I created Sunhats and Chardonnay, (you can read more about the name here), as a travel blog. I wanted to share my travel knowledge with the average person and take them on a journey around the world. Destination guides, travel tips and, trip-planning advice were the basis of the content. Part of my goal, was to create content and splatter it with affiliate links to earn some income. I had high hopes of using these funds to supplement my travels.

Ha ha! That is not what happened.

I soon learned that the travel niche is extremely popular and well documented. Only the highly skilled and extremely lucky can succeed in this niche. There is so much more than just writing a great article. Top-notch research, well-selected keywords, unique anchor words, and backlinks are the keys to success.

Plus, you need a basic technical knowledge of Wordpress to be able to manipulate the website’s backend. Plug-ins, site speed, alt text, image size, inter-linking are sometimes overwhelming. And then…the site crashes.

Claire Venus

writes:

I could NOT face logging into my Wordpress site it was so clunky and cluttered and things were always breaking, the text was re-formatting, I didn’t really know what ads were popping up - oh my days the plug ins - the rogue bullet points - WHAT a headache!

This was my exact experience. Where do you begin to determine the fix? Most support comes from the “University of You Tube” which can have various advice and may or may not be applicable. My hosting company was ok to reach but offered little assistance. “Contact your Theme developer”, which started a lengthy email exchange that brought additional headaches.

And then there is the cost. Domain name, web hosting, themes, plug-ins, and keyword research all add to the bottom line of managing a website. But at some point, if no one views the content, the cost becomes an expensive hobby.

After three years of trying to make it work on my own and fighting the technical issues, it became apparent that I was either not good at this or just not lucky. I totally sucked and realized that the only people reading my content were the handful of other travel bloggers that I became acquainted with.

Sure, I promoted on social media (Twitter and Pinterest), but alas, I cannot compete with the big guys. If I wanted to continue writing, something needed to change.

Enter Substack

As my stats continued to drop with the latest Google updates in late summer and early fall 2023, I started researching alternative ways to write and promote my content. Yes, I looked at Medium and Reddit but decided that was not the route I wanted to take.

In the long haul, I plan to write a book. I don’t know of timing or complete subject matter but ideas of a memoir or short fiction stories for young readers are on the radar.

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

Because of this interest, I chose Substack as my publishing platform. This platform attracts a more mature audience and writers are more experienced with their skills. As a writer wannabe, Substack would foster my budding writing skills and, I would learn much more. I was also attracted to the simplicity of this platform. And it’s FREE!

Since starting my Substack, my content has been transferred from WordPress. By transferring individual posts, I had the opportunity to add, update, combine or, even change url’s.

In addition to my travel content, Substack allows me to expand as a writer.

I can write content about midlife matters including aging, retirement, and mental health. This content on a travel blog, makes the reader lost and confused about what I write about. On Substack, I am confident that the reader can fully navigate my sections and understand the content.

Sense of Community

I’ve been writing on here for over two months now and love the experience so far. My intent is to not only write and write better, but also to have a deeper connection to the community. By following, subscribing and, recommending, and many returning the favour, I feel connected with this community. I feel a need to dig deeper into my thoughts and express them in ways I have not done in the past.

Notes, although similar to Twitter (X), create not only a safe place to promote my work but also a place to view and comment on the works of others. Unlike X, a thoughtful response is more beneficial than a quick, agreeing comment.

As

Molly Ella

says about Substack:

“Its a place to foster real connection and conversation. The launch of Notes makes it even easier to share quick thoughts and ideas, without the distracting adverts or the calculated algorithms of social media.”

I couldn’t agree more.

So Let’s Get To the Nitty-Gritty

The First Month

Starting a brand new Substack publication can be daunting and challenging. Where do you go for the information you need? How do you set it up? What about structure? SEO? Promotion? Since I was transferring content, it was all about setting up the structure correctly. Changing post names and urls to ones more suited to the article was a priority.

Photo by Lukas Blazek on Unsplash

On Substack

is one of the best resources for anyone just starting out. They have an entire resource page and they hold regular Office hours for anyone with specific questions. Although they are scaling this back, they can answer a question or two.

Sparkle on Substack

is another publication dedicated to helping the new writer.

When you first sign up to Substack, you will add your name, complete the contact information, and create your About Me page. I won’t go into the details here as they are easy to follow.

After that, start writing.

If you have a basic idea of what you want to write about, you should start thinking about the structure of your Substack. This is how you want your posts displayed and what sections you want on the top navigation bar. You can create sections, pages, and tags using the website settings. I suggest starting with tags. As you get more posts, add a tag category to the top navigation bar or divide it into Sections.

In each post, you will have to review the SEO in the settings. This is how the post looks to Google so people will discover it. It should include a simple title (which can be different from the article title), a short description, and a url that containing a concise post description.

One of the first things I discovered when I began writing for Substack was that the term 'newsletter' is misleading; it is more of a collection of essays. Substack authors prioritize long-form, high-value material rather than short, attention-grabbing headlines. And yes, poetry too. My articles tend to be longer as I try to provide as much detail as possible. As we age, detailed information is what we are looking for.

Here are some of the tasks for newcomers to Substack:

Tasks for the First month -

- Setting up the Substack

- About Me page (subject to change and evolve)

- Adding Tags to posts

- Customize the email headers for the Welcome email as well as the Free and Paid Subscriber emails

- Adjust SEO on each post to make it searchable on Google

- Add Buttons to posts to encourage people to leave a comment, share, or subscribe to your publication.

- Reply to any comments on your posts and interact with the readers.

- Subscribe to other publications that interest you, not just within your niche. This will help broaden your community and let others know about your Substack.

Learning and tackling these basics will get you started on your writing journey and prepare you for the road ahead.

The Second Month

As we enter the second month, we can integrate other features of the Substack platform. You will probably have written several articles and have responded to several comments by now. This is where community can really take off.

Substack Notes is a feature similar to Twitter where writers can provide content and interact with others. As mentioned, comments are not constricted in length as they are on Twitter. Write from the heart and write what you feel. It is a good idea to do this daily.

Sections can be created on the Navigation bar to subdivide your content further. Yes, tags also do the trick, but sections can add a heading and subheading; tags only list the posts. Further navigation can be done in the right sidebar using Homepage links in the Website settings.

Restacking is taking another writer’s article and putting it back to the top of the feed. You can also add a comment of your own to the restack. By doing this, there is the potential for new sets of eyes to view your work. Not everyone reads on Substack at the same time of the day.

Recommendations are fantastic way to promote the works of other writers. Even if you are new to recommending others, there is the possibility that they will recommend you, thereby getting your publication more widely seen.

Statistics for your Substack can be attractive at first. But don’t get caught up on analyzing them in the first two months. It will drive you crazy; once you have developed an audience, they can be useful in determining what type of posts are most successful and where your audience is coming from.

For those that are curious, my stats are higher now than they were on WordPress. And its only been two months.

Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash

Tasks for the Second Month -

- Regularly use Notes to communicate with other writers

- Restack articles you find interesting or think others should read

- Recommend other publications or writers.

- Advance in the navigation of your publication. Make your articles easily searchable for the reader.

- Review statistics but, don’t stress over them

The second month is all about expanding your community. If no one is reading your content, what’s the point other than your own therapeutic benefit. Participating in a community will also help you discover other publications and writers that you feel connected with. In the long run they can become mentors and great sources of information.

Now, Let’s Talk Subscribers

When we talk about subscribers we are talking about the number of people who value your content and want to share it amongst their network. This is where the power of recommendations comes into play. The growth can be exponential and beneficial to all.

Free subscribers are, of course, free as the name suggests. Paid subscribers view content that is placed behind a paywall. In the short two months I have been on this platform, several articles have been written regarding the pros and cons either way. I will not go into those here. Suffice it to say it is a personal choice. As of now, all my content is free. I will review a paywall in the future.

Whatever strategy you choose, word of mouth is the foremost way to attract readers, and it is worth taking the time to build a genuine community rather than simply sharing links on social media.

Final Thoughts on the First Two Months On Substack

Substack is a refreshing place to create content. I can focus on writing longer-form articles that provide value to the reader. First-hand knowledge and experience are a goldmine. I will take a writing class to improve my skills at one point, but everything has a time and place.

So what have I learned in the last two months?

I have learned that writing on Substack has introduced me to a sense of community. I am encouraged to delve deep within myself to express my thoughts and feelings.

With a community to support me, I am challenged to be a better me through writing.

I was a travel blogger but now I am a writer!

Photo by Darius Bashar on Unsplash