And while I may have got a little caught up in one too many “How Substack changed my life” stories, I also had the curiosity a PR strategist would have about a new platform, in terms of thought leadership, brand building, storytelling , community building. For the record, I did not have the same curiosity about Clubhouse.

What even is a Substack?

Substack calls itself “a new economic engine for culture.” It’s essentially a publishing platform – to the web, email and via its app.

The money piece is just that: Substack writers can monetise their work through reader-paid monthly or annual subscriptions. Which is right: good writing, creativity, and culture should be valued and rewarded.

It also means you have everyone from Liz Gilbert through to Dominic Cummings writing and earning (a lot of) money on Substack. Next to chefs and wellness experts and therapists. Celebrity and otherwise. It’s category-agnostic but a natural habitat for writers and journalists; Emma Gannon stands out as a Substack myth in the making. (Sidebar, I haven’t switched on the paid-for function at the time of writing this article).

But is Substack for me?

I get asked this all the time. I’ve been to Substack masterclasses where brand ambassadors tell you it’s a question of exporting your email list and pressing go.

Let me tell you, it it’s not.

All newsletter marketing demands strategy, time, and care. Substack is no exception.

If anything, I’ve had to invest more in supporting my writing. Resharing. Reposting. Restressing about a post’s performance. Repurposing across my other social media platforms.

All that to say, if you write a lot in your business anyway – which so many founders do - Substack could be a great place to build out your thought leadership, community and personal brand.

Overwhelm, bestseller status, and next level community

Substack Overwhelm is real. It can feel like starting a new school late into term, and you just can’t break into the popular gang.

There are category leaderboards making you feel very exposed. And blue ticks for when your Substack hits “bestseller” status (when you hit a number of paid readers). A lot of well-known writers from all industries that brought their huge followings with them.

Like with all creative or strategic endeavours, you have a choice.

You can make excuses and complain. Talk yourself out of committing to your marketing/ business or writing goals.

Or you can show up anyway.

Because the community is next level. My network’s expanded and deepened exponentially since joining. The potential for collaboration is huge (on my Substack to-do-list). Somehow, it’s spilled over to my friendships and into new ones. It’s also helped me develop my own writing, share my voice, expand my reach.

I know my creative and business life is better on Substack.

Spoiler: it’s still a social media platform

Let’s be honest, Substack is a social media platform. It celebrates high numbers. There are ticks in different colours, coding and validating your work.

You have to feed it to succeed.

Let’s take Notes. Non-Substackers: this is like Twitter/ X for short-form posts, images, links to share with your Substack network.

Fuelling Notes drives Substack growth. No question. You have Instagram-style photos of “today’s workplace” or “my desk view”. Do you, as a founder with a business and a life have the bandwidth to gamify this? I know my Notes report card would read “Must try harder”. I’m also ok with that for now.

With Substack rolling out voice and video though, this could be even more appealing for founders looking to build their visibility and traction.

If you take one thing from this piece, I hope it’s to define Substack success on your terms. If my Substack goals were to deepen community, build my personal brand and grow my thought leadership, then every box has been ticked.

Will I stay here forever? Undecided.

Glad I made the leap? Every time.

Think Substack could be for you? My email’s above.