Thank you for this informative *Email Platform 101* survey, Simon. And thank you in general for your posts demystifying Substack. I'm an emerging fiction and creative nonfiction writer navigating options for starting an email list. I like the simplicity of Substack but haven't yet studied the degree to which one might automate emails. One other option I know others like me are considering is MailerLite + Story Origin. Anything you might share about that, either in the present or future, would be most appreciated. Kind regards, Lou.
Definitely useful! Came for the 😳 of the Bee quote and your sentiments on it. (No kidding! Sheesh.) Stayed for double-checking this is where I want to be. It absolutely is right now, so thanks for such a detailed list!
I'm very happy on Substack at the moment, and don't see that changing anytime soon. It was useful for me to put this article together though, and sense check my own decisions!
It was! That's what I mean: those terms still don't make any sense to me. I keep thinking I must have misinterpreted them, because it would be too silly for them to mean what I think they mean.
Oh durrrrrr. Sorry. I misread that to mean you didn't understand what I meant by the Beehive thing. And YES. Let me reiterate my reiteration because...because I'm a dork who lyzdexizes words and numbers and directions and... Hahahah! Anyway, great piece on multiple levels. Hahaha!
It's a good writeup, Simon. I think a key question for new writers is whether or not the business model should be about you paying the newsletter or the newsletter paying you. If you want to get paid directly without the technical know-how, then your options get smaller. But if you're being paid through another service offered (like consulting), and the newsletter is merely a communication tool, then the options are wider. On that note, I would also throw Patreon to this list. While not a newsletter service, it operates like one, sending subscribers emails when posts are made. But you can't take the list with you last I remember.
Yeah, Patreon is on my list for follow-up, for sure. It sits in a really interesting place.
And you're right about that decision. It also depends on whether a writer is intending to make any money from their newsletter. If you're not, then the economics of some of the services don't really make sense, as you'll hit expensive tiers very quickly. That's where Substack really shines, I think.
On the other hand, if you do plan to treat the newsletter as a business of some sort, Substack's fixed 10% will become increasingly difficult to stomach., while Ghosts's fees will become basically an inconsequential fixed expense.
I think it's worth mentioning that Substack and Medium have no integration features at all. Substack allows you to download your subs to a CSV file, and that's important, but that's it. One of the main reason I migrated to Buttondown was the ability to integrate with BookFunnel for distributing books. It's not free, but it's a key feature for me that would involve manual work otherwise.
Substack is getting a little long in the tooth to not even export a couple of API calls via Zapier or IFTTT.
Absolutely. That's some of the key benefits of Ghost, Buttondown and Convertkit that I noted, and it's definitely conspicuous by its absence from Substack. Hence if you want to build a business or set up anything more sophisticated, you're going to want to go down one of the routes designed for that kind of flexibility.
Very comprehensive, Simon. Thanks for putting this together. Several of these I'd never heard of.
I'm happy hanging out over here on Substack, but it's great to know and be aware of the options.
Same here - very happy to be writing using Substack, but it's important to keep an eye on what's out there. Things can shift very quickly!
Thank you for this informative *Email Platform 101* survey, Simon. And thank you in general for your posts demystifying Substack. I'm an emerging fiction and creative nonfiction writer navigating options for starting an email list. I like the simplicity of Substack but haven't yet studied the degree to which one might automate emails. One other option I know others like me are considering is MailerLite + Story Origin. Anything you might share about that, either in the present or future, would be most appreciated. Kind regards, Lou.
Story Origin is on my list to look at , but MailerLite slipped through the cracks. I'll take a look!
Definitely useful! Came for the 😳 of the Bee quote and your sentiments on it. (No kidding! Sheesh.) Stayed for double-checking this is where I want to be. It absolutely is right now, so thanks for such a detailed list!
I still don't understand the Beehiiv thing. Ha. 😂
I'm very happy on Substack at the moment, and don't see that changing anytime soon. It was useful for me to put this article together though, and sense check my own decisions!
Oh was it not beehive that you were talking about with those ridiculous terms of “don’t ruffle a feather with your writing”? 🙃
It was! That's what I mean: those terms still don't make any sense to me. I keep thinking I must have misinterpreted them, because it would be too silly for them to mean what I think they mean.
Oh durrrrrr. Sorry. I misread that to mean you didn't understand what I meant by the Beehive thing. And YES. Let me reiterate my reiteration because...because I'm a dork who lyzdexizes words and numbers and directions and... Hahahah! Anyway, great piece on multiple levels. Hahaha!
I appreciate all of the time and effort you put into this. Will definitely tuck this away for future reference. 😁👍
It's a good writeup, Simon. I think a key question for new writers is whether or not the business model should be about you paying the newsletter or the newsletter paying you. If you want to get paid directly without the technical know-how, then your options get smaller. But if you're being paid through another service offered (like consulting), and the newsletter is merely a communication tool, then the options are wider. On that note, I would also throw Patreon to this list. While not a newsletter service, it operates like one, sending subscribers emails when posts are made. But you can't take the list with you last I remember.
Yeah, Patreon is on my list for follow-up, for sure. It sits in a really interesting place.
And you're right about that decision. It also depends on whether a writer is intending to make any money from their newsletter. If you're not, then the economics of some of the services don't really make sense, as you'll hit expensive tiers very quickly. That's where Substack really shines, I think.
On the other hand, if you do plan to treat the newsletter as a business of some sort, Substack's fixed 10% will become increasingly difficult to stomach., while Ghosts's fees will become basically an inconsequential fixed expense.
I truly appreciate all the research and insightful tips you’ve put into this post.
Also: the phrase “mad and Musky”. Classic!
Ha! Thanks, Amie. :)
I think it's worth mentioning that Substack and Medium have no integration features at all. Substack allows you to download your subs to a CSV file, and that's important, but that's it. One of the main reason I migrated to Buttondown was the ability to integrate with BookFunnel for distributing books. It's not free, but it's a key feature for me that would involve manual work otherwise.
Substack is getting a little long in the tooth to not even export a couple of API calls via Zapier or IFTTT.
Absolutely. That's some of the key benefits of Ghost, Buttondown and Convertkit that I noted, and it's definitely conspicuous by its absence from Substack. Hence if you want to build a business or set up anything more sophisticated, you're going to want to go down one of the routes designed for that kind of flexibility.