Substack: A Temporary Platform Evaluation
Today, we are finishing up our series, Don’t Build On Borrowed Land, and we’re going to be talking about deciding this final episode. Substack is everywhere right now, but does that mean it’s right for you?
I’m gonna help you think through how to decide whether Substack fits into your content strategy, how to use it wisely if you do, and what to prioritize, no matter which platform it is that you choose. Over the past few weeks, we’ve talked about the risk of building on borrowed land, what you should actually own, and how to use platforms without losing control.
Is Substack Right for Your Long-Term Strategy?
So now the question becomes: What should you actually do, especially when it comes to something like Substack? The truth is that there’s not one right platform. There is a right strategy. So here is why Substack feels so appealing: it’s simple, and then it combines email and writing, and it feels like that is an all-in-one solution, and a lot of authors are on there right now.
So, especially if you enjoy writing, it can feel like a natural fit. But the question that you should be asking is not, “Should I be on Substack?” but, “Does this support what I’m building long term?” So let’s talk about when Substack might make sense versus when to be cautious. Substack could be a good fit for you if you want something simple to start writing consistently.
So you want a way to get started. You don’t yet have a website, so this could be a temporary, and emphasis here on temporary, stepping stone. You enjoy newsletter-style content, and you’re okay with using a tool, but you’re not building a foundation. So if you use it, remember, you’re not building a foundation that you can build on for the long term. It is a temporary solution.
What’s the Smartest Way to Use Substack?
So, here’s when you should be careful and cautious: If you are relying on it as your only platform, you’re not building an email list that you can fully control. You are skipping having a website altogether, or you plan to put your content there long term, because at the end of the day, it’s still a platform that you don’t own.
So, let’s think about a smarter way to use Substack. Use it as an extension, not your home base. So here are some practical ways that you can do that…
- Repurpose content from your website over there on Substack
- Share some newsletter-style thoughts
- Use it to reach a new audience
- BUT always point people back to your email list and your website
So it can be part of your ecosystem, but it shouldn’t be your ecosystem. This is where you’ve probably wondered, you have to wonder, what I decided.
What Did I Learn from My Substack Case Study?
So I started this series because I had heard so much about Substack from authors, and I wanted to know, honestly, what all the buzz, the hype was about. And so, on Good Friday, which has been a good many weeks ago, I actually had coffee with a couple of local authors, one of whom was on Substack, the other one was not.
The one who was on Substack was mainly there as a reader. She was not posting to Substack. The other was not on Substack. So, we both said, “Okay, let’s download the app.” We downloaded the app. Later that day, I decided, okay, this is something I should explore because my target market, my people I serve, are authors, speakers, and coaches, and they are on this platform.
So, I decided, okay, I’m gonna give this a shot. My goal with it was to learn. It was a case study to see what would happen. I sent an email to my list letting them know that I had started a Substack, and if they wanted to subscribe over there, they could. I had very few people subscribe over on Substack. I would say about five.
Since then, (remember I started on Good Friday, which was April 3rd, today I’m recording this on May 23rd), so it’s just been just over a month, like a month and a couple of weeks – so say six weeks – I’m gonna pull up my Substack to let you know how many subscribers I have, because all I did was I sent an email to my list and I started posting on Substack.
I was repurposing things that I posted. That’s changed them slightly, but I reposted things that I did elsewhere. So go into my dashboard. I have 75 subscribers after being on there for six weeks, basically.
How Does Substack Fit Into My Ecosystem?
So what have I decided to do? I’ve been building my website and content for years, since 2007, and that’s not something I’m willing to walk away from. But I am willing to explore platforms like Substack thoughtfully and figure out how they fit into what I’m already building. So, I’m not building on Substack, I’m just experimenting, and that’s what I did.
And you have to ask yourself:
- What do I actually own?
- Where does my content need to live long term?
- Am I building something that compounds or disappears?
- And does this simplify my strategy or distract from it?
Remember, we talked about during this series, platforms are tools and ownership is strategy. So, if you take away nothing else from this series, let it be that you don’t need to chase every new platform. You just need to build something that lasts. And when you do that, every piece of content you create starts working for you differently.
I don’t believe that you need to be on every platform. You just need a plan for what you’re building and the wisdom to build somewhere that it lasts. So I have decided that though I may keep my Substack account, I have other platforms that I’m already established on that I already see traction from.
And I always tell authors to pick one or two platforms to focus on. So, I really don’t have the bandwidth to have another platform. So, I will not be using Substack long-term. I think it is great for beginners to get started in writing and have a place to publish, but it is not the foundation. Therefore, it is a temporary solution.
I don’t want you to think that I’m against it 100% because I’m not. I just believe that it is a stepping stone, not a permanent solution, for you when it comes to building your content ecosystem.
So that is my take on Substack. I hope you enjoyed this series. And I am excited about hearing your thoughts on Substack and what you think. So I would love for you to email me, comment, or come over to Christian Business Advantage on Facebook, which is my Facebook group that is an established group that I have. And I’ve spent time building that. So I’d love to have you over there in that group, and you can share your thoughts with me then.
If you’d like support in building a simple, sustainable marketing system for your book or your business, you can connect with me.
And if you’re trying to figure out how this all works together, I want to remind you that you can download my Content Repurposing 101 class for free.
