Why Write on Substack?

5 Reasons to Start Your Substack

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

5 Reasons to Write on Substack

1. It’s free. Yes, it’s true—Substack is free to use as both a writer and a reader! If you are like me and have had one or two personal blogs or websites, then you will agree that it can get expensive, especially if you are not a tech or marketing guru who can make money through ads, or other ways (I still don’t know what they are, tbh!). So, to learn that I can start a Substack at no cost of my own, I only slightly balked (tech still scares me)!

2. Writers can make money. I’m still a little bit shocked, but it’s true. Not only is Substack free to use, but you can actually make money. How? Through subscriptions. You get to decide, on every post, if you want to offer it free to your readers, or as a paid post. Right now I’m only offering free posts because I’m new on Substack and building up my audience, as well as my archive of posts. Once I have a collection of valuable posts, I will begin to offer some as paid only. However, here’s the beauty of Substack—even though I offered my posts as free, I have people wanting to support what I’m doing so they are choosing to upgrade to paid! This is a beautiful, humbling bonus to receive and I’m grateful.

3. Grow as a Writer. It’s simple, but true—you only get better at something by practicing. It also helps to read. On Substack, you get to do both!

4. Build Community. A community with other writers and readers has been invaluable to me. The quote "Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much" by Helen Keller resonates loudly here. I’m making friends and we LOVE to support each other.

5. Build your platform! I know, I know—I can hear your groan from here! Unfortunately, if you are publishing nonfiction, a traditional publishing house will not touch you if you don’t have a social media platform(s) with large numbers. How large? I don’t really know for sure because I’ve heard different numbers, but it feels like it grows larger everyday. This can seem daunting, but Substack can help you grow in so many ways, including your platform!

If you love meeting new people, reading, writing and enhancing your craft, then Substack is where you want to be. There is only one YOU—express your creative self on Substack.