23 Comments

I've been feeling similar re: still feeling inspired by the platfrom! it hasn't completely drained me like other places.

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I know, it’s so surprising and something I wasn’t even expecting anymore from an online space 😂

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Thank you for this post, Astrid! I loved reading this, it's so interesting to hear about your experiences with Substack and what's working for you behind the scenes. Thank you so much for sharing my freelancing post too - it is much appreciated.

I'm really enjoying the community aspect of Substack and discovering lots of great writing and publications here too (including yours!). Currently exploring launching paid subs and what I could potentially offer which feels quite scary but also very exciting!

Really inspiring to hear how it's all going for you and also how you are finding a way of working that works for you too. x

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I’m excited for you to experiment with paid subscriptions, it’s been such a great experiment for me so far. Have a lovely weekend! x

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Thanks Astrid, have a lovely weekend too! x

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This is so helpful to hear! I absolutely love the slow, organic way of doing business and also have had many adjustments for my mental health.

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I'm glad this post was helpful Dacy! I think many of us choose the slower way of doing business because we need to because of our health (although I think it also fits my personality well). Have a lovely rest of your day!

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Hi! I am planning to move to substack. I am taking your course now so you may answer this question within your course, but I will ask it now just in case you don't. What is the best way to inform my newsletter subscribers that we are moving from constant contact to substack? Are there any cons for this move that I need to alert them to?

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Hi Amy! Thank you for commenting and it's lovely to hear that you're taking the course :)

I do discuss briefly what I did in moving to Substack and how I informed my subscribers at that time: essentially, I told them in the last newsletter from my old newsletter service that the next one would be coming through Substack and that they wouldn't notice anything of this change, other than that the layout would look different.

And indeed, that was all the change there was--I did spend a little time afterwards (and still do) gently 'educating' my readers who are not familiar with Substack about how to comment, how to subscribe, etc., including through a blog post that I link to called Substack 101 (https://astridbracke.com/how-to-use-and-enjoy-substack/)

Enjoy the course and do let me know if you have any questions! And all the best for the transition ✨

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thank you! You are providing a very useful service to those of us who are ready to move over and I appreciate that you made your course amazingly informative and affordable.

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Thank you Amy, you are welcome! Would you be okay with me using what you said about the course ("You are providing a very useful service to those of us who are ready to move over and I appreciate that you made your course amazingly informative and affordable.") as a testimonial on my website? x

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Absolutely! I am sorry this took so long to reply, I did not see your comment until today.

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No worries at all! I'm also not on here every day :) And thank you for letting me use your words!

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I am new to Substack and loving it so far! The energy is very different and like a lot of people I find the calmer slower pace suits my style much more. I too really want to build community and this was the main driver from moving my newsletter. In a lot of ways I feel like I’m starting over, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing! 🙏💫

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Thank you for your comment Louise and it's good to hear that you're enjoying the different pace of Substack as well. Good luck with your Substack, I'll check it out! x

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This is just the sort of gentle, generous, experience-led newsletter that Substack feels made for. We are beyond our small business days now but your 'no social media' model is brilliant. We've all, at one time or another, been slaves to one platform or another ... it feels good to be in this space which feels more like a supportive, encouraging community than the (often) show-offy, 'aren't we doing marvellously' social media platforms we felt compelled to engage with for our coffee shop/deli. Thanks so much for the rich content.

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Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment! I wholeheartedly agree that Substack feels like a much more intentional and supportive space :) Thank you for reading and commenting, and have a lovely day!

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‘Intentional’. That’s the word!

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I’ve only recently joined Substack and am loving exploring the platform and connecting with new people. I’m limiting engagement to Saturday mornings so I can manage my energy, and I’ll only be posting once a month which makes me wonder if I’ll truly be able to make the most out of it, but let’s see! Definitely feels more sustainable than the fast pace of social media, though I do enjoy using Instagram and finding ways of making it work for me.

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Hi Sarah! I love how you've set a clear boundary around when you'll be on Substack--with the app, I often feel like I'm reading a magazine curated especially for me, and having that Saturday morning ritual sounds like a great way of truly enjoying what you're subscribed to.

I don't know whether it matters how often you send out a newsletter--it'd be curious to see your experiences, but most important I'd say is that it works for you and you seem to have that figured out! x

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I do agree about the always launching. I’m very aware of that and trying to work out how to not make that another pressure...

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What I've noticed is that there are quite a few places where I can share about my paid offerings without it being more work: for instance, I mention them on my about page and in my welcome email, but I also mention the paid-posts in my regular free newsletters so free subscribers can click through if they want to. Using the subscribe buttons on Substack with a call to action is also something that takes me relatively little time. So even though there is the "always launching"-need, I feel like I have some control about how much work I put in to it at any given time. How are you trying to navigate this yourself?

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similarly, there are lots of ways to mention the membership. I am tweaking what I offer too so it doesn't become onerous to deliver

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