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When a marketing-savvy author friend said recently that they were removing their content-rich, SEO-friendly blog from their site and relocating it to Substack, I nearly gasped. (And I’m not even a drama queen.)

This was part of their plan to use Substack as their email newsletter service.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I want to monetize* my newsletter and Substack makes that easy to do,” they replied. (*Monetize: marketing buzzword for “earn money from.”)

I explained why I didn’t think this was in their best interest, but the author was locked in. Logic be damned.

I’ve since had this “Substack for authors” conversation with several book marketing coaching clients and, quite recently, in person with a group of local author friends over lunch.

Here’s what I’ve been telling them.

What’s Substack?

Substack is a newsletter platform. People who use Substack benefit from:

• Free use until they start charging for their newsletter. Then Substack takes 10% of subscription fees, while Stripe, its payment provider, takes another 2.9% plus 30 cents per payment and 0.5% for recurring payments.
• A newsletter network that makes it easy for Substack publishers to recommend each other’s newsletters.
• An online home for each newsletter publisher’s archive of back issues. Think of each of these issues as a blog post.

Why authors are attracted to Substack

Here’s what authors tell me about why they’re considering Substack or have already signed on with the service.

Everybody’s doing it.

Yes, some people with large followings are using Substack. I’ll bet a bunch of your author friends are, too.

But, let’s remember the words of my wise mother: “If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you jump, too?”

“Everybody’s doing it” is a shallow rationalization that doesn’t work in this situation any more than it does when it comes to combovers for balding men.

With book marketing, what works for one author doesn’t necessarily work for another. How well you execute makes a difference, too.

It’s easy to set up.

This is true. You can be up and running quickly.

That’s partly because Substack is so basic. It lacks important features offered by other more conventional email marketing service providers, including the ability to personalize messages by adding a subscriber’s first name to a salutation.

It’s free.

That’s attractive to many.

But several other email service providers, including mine, provide far more functionality at the free level. (I use ConvertKit, which is free for up to 1,000 subscribers.)

But that’s okay. If you’re just starting out, the simplest and least powerful service available might be a good fit for you.

I want to monetize my newsletter.

Yeah, well, good luck with that.

Most authors scramble to get unpaid subscribers.

Generating enough paid subscribers to make a difference is harder than you might think. Be sure you’ve got a marketing plan in place for it.

Substack makes it easy for other newsletter publishers to recommend mine.

That’s such a smart idea that my email service provider, ConvertKit, offers that feature now, too.

Readers can search for and find my newsletter from the Substack home page.

This is pretty cool…in theory.

I’ve found it hard to uncover lesser-known newsletters when all I’ve got is the topic, though.

I’ve played around with that function and discovered that you aren’t likely to be found unless someone is searching for your name or newsletter title. The most popular newsletters show up first in various categories. To find a less-popular one, you have to scroll … and scroll … and scroll.

Who has time for that?

Clearly, there are plenty of reasons to like Substack. But there are a few reasons not to like it, too.

4 reasons I’m not a fan of Substack for authors

Here’s why I discourage authors and others – especially bloggers – from using Substack for email marketing and blogging.

1. Placing your best content on someone else’s platform boosts that site’s SEO while undermining yours.

Let’s presume you’re giving your subscribers the information they need. They love it! They recommend your newsletter to others!

All – all – of the resulting traffic completely bypasses your website and goes to Substack.

Substack, not your website, benefits from all of the SEO (search engine optimization — what you do to your website so that it gets found by search engines) value generated by the newsletter content you create specifically to appeal to your target audience. That type of targeted content is precisely what you need for your site to show up near the top of online searches for your topic.

Why would you undermine your brand online to support another company’s business?

You’re redirecting traffic away from your site. Not. Smart.

2. Substack doesn’t offer enough automation.

As you learn more about the power of email marketing, you’ll want your email service provider to perform a range of pre-determined functions. You tell it what to do once, and the system automates it for you.

For example, one best practice in email marketing for businesses of all sizes involves sending a series of welcome email messages to new subscribers on a schedule that’s unique to when they subscribed. Each message shares new information that’s relevant to your subscriber.

Substack can send a single welcome message to a new subscriber, but that’s it.

This lack of automation isn’t a deal breaker initially. You might not want sophistication if you’re using email marketing for the first time. But as your success grows, you’ll want more power.

(For more on that, read “Book review: Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert.”)

3. Monetizing is a lot harder than it looks.

The hype around how Substack makes it easy to earn from paying subscribers is incredibly misleading.

We’re accustomed to subscribing to free newsletters that might offer value. But paying for a “premium” version of that content requires a big shift that most aren’t ready for yet. And it sure doesn’t happen instantly.

I need to get value from your content before deciding if I want to pay you for more of it. Determining if the value is there takes time.

In addition, maybe it’s just me, but I don’t like how many of these newsletters persistently beg for money.

As a user, I find the constant requests to pay for the newsletter or “premium” add-ons tacky and intrusive. How do you build relationships with your subscribers when you’re annoying them?

Here’s an example of what I see in Substack newsletters when the publisher decides to use theirs to earn money.

This is from a writer who added me to their subscriber list (I did not opt-in). I’ve blocked out the newsletter title and the introductory text so the sender can’t be identified; I’ve left the requests to pay for more issues where it appears in the beginning of the newsletter. It appears at the end, too.

Repeatedly asking for money is no classier than asking your dinner guests to pay for their meal as they’re leaving at the end of the evening.

4. You’re hosting all of your content on something you can’t control.

Admittedly, I might be a little paranoid about this.

But what if Substack crashes and you lose all of your archived content?

I feel like I have more control over that with my own little website, where I can constantly and consistently monitor all threats and keep them from taking my site down.

Should you sign up for Substack for authors?

I realize that these negatives might not outweigh what you see as positives. So, should you sign on with Substack, or should you spend time comparing it to alternatives?

I don’t recommend making an important business decision based on what “everyone else” is doing.

Instead, whether it relates to email marketing or the latest social network or whether you should host a podcast, I always recommend learning as much as possible about a tactic and its options before making a choice.

Instead of chasing the latest bright, shiny object, consider where you’d like to be with email marketing in one, three, and five years. Then explore enough solutions to understand which will do the most to get you there.

FAQs about Substack for Authors

1. What exactly is Substack?

Substack is a newsletter platform that allows users to create and distribute newsletters to subscribers. It offers features such as free usage until monetization, a network for newsletter recommendations, and an archive for back issues.

2. Why are authors attracted to Substack?

Authors are drawn to Substack for several reasons:

• It’s a popular choice among authors and peers.
• Setting up a newsletter on Substack is quick and easy.
• Substack offers a free plan, which is appealing for those starting out.
• Many authors wants to monetize their newsletters, and Substack provides tools for this.
• It facilitates cross-promotion among newsletter publishers and offers visibility through its homepage.

3. What are reasons for authors to avoid Substack?

There are several reasons why Substack might not be the best choice for authors:

• It redirects traffic away from your own website, potentially undermining your brand and SEO.
• Substack lacks advanced automation features that are common with other email marketing platforms. This limits how much your email marketing will contribute to your goals.
• The constant payment solicitations within Substack newsletters can come across as inappropriate.
• Hosting content solely on Substack means relinquishing control over your content and risking potential loss if the platform has issues.

4. How does Substack compare to other email marketing solutions?

While Substack has its merits, it’s essential for authors to weigh its pros and cons against other email marketing solutions.

Be sure to consider factors that include control over content, automation capabilities, and how well the platform is aligned with your long-term goals.

5. Should authors choose Substack based on its popularity alone?

No, popularity shouldn’t be the sole factor in choosing an email marketing platform.

Authors should assess their specific needs, long-term objectives, and the various service provider capabilities before making a decision.

It’s crucial to put informed decision-making over blindly following trends.

I know that many of you love Substack. Please tell us why in a comment!

It caught my attention because although I was on his list, I didn’t subscribe to his newsletter. He added me without my permission.

I wasn’t interested in his newsletter topic so I deleted his messages without reading them.

Maybe unsubscribing isn’t as easy as we think

I could have unsubscribed, right? It was certainly easy enough — all I had to do was use that option at the bottom of any newsletter.

But I didn’t unsubscribe because I was certain he would confront me if I did. (Remember, I know him.)

Who needs the drama? Certainly not me.

Was it my get out of jail free card?

This time, though, I thought that his newsletter’s “I’m cleaning up my list” subject line was my get out of jail free card.

“I don’t like spam any more than you do, so I’m cleaning up my contact list,” the message began.

It felt like he was giving me permission to unsubscribe. So…I scrolled down to the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom, only to discover this warning just above it: “Feel free to opt out, but remember that unsubscribing works both ways: I have no desire to get email from people who don’t want to receive it from me.”

Whoa.

That is all kinds of wrong.

And it made me wonder if other authors shared the misperception that this was an okay thing to do.

Here’s why it isn’t, and here are two other author email marketing truths that will help you move forward, not hold you back.

Email marketing truth #1: Reciprocity isn’t the goal.

You want the right people as subscribers.

The “right” people are those in your book’s target audience. They’re the people who read the types of books you write.

And they’re probably not the people whose newsletters you subscribe to.

Take me. I don’t read science fiction, so you don’t want me on your email list. I will never buy and read your book.

And I won’t recommend your book simply because I learned about it in your newsletter because I’m not qualified to recommend it.

So don’t add me to your list.

It doesn’t matter that you receive my newsletter. You subscribed because you’re interested in what I write about — book marketing. You never want to presume that someone who writes about a topic you’re interested in will automatically be interested in what you write about.

Focusing on the right subscribers saves you money

Here’s another reason you don’t want to add people to your list just because you’re on theirs: Adding the wrong people will eventually start costing you money.

Some email marketing services give you a free account until you reach a specified number of subscribers. After that, you start paying.

In addition, even when you’ve got a paid account, your monthly fee increases as your list grows.

Don’t pay for people who aren’t your ideal readers.

Email marketing truth #2: This isn’t a loyalty test.

I took the plunge with the author who invited people to unsubscribe because I am constantly, constantly trying to decrease the amount of email I receive.

But after I unsubscribed, I watched my inbox for his response, because I knew there would be one.

It came pretty quickly.

The author told me that because I wasn’t willing to demonstrate my loyalty to him by remaining on his email list, he had unsubscribed from my Build Book Buzz newsletter and disconnected from me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

via GIPHY

He showed me, right?

Who pays the price?

Will I miss seeing what he shares about a topic I’m not interested in?

I will not.

Will he suffer because he won’t see the information I share that could help him sell more copies of his book or build a bigger platform for the next one?

I don’t know. Maybe he never looked at anything I wrote or shared after he subscribed.

But I don’t care. And I won’t suffer because of his actions.

People can support you in other ways

Please remember that the people in your life can support you in many ways that don’t involve receiving your newsletter.

They can announce your book to their social networks, introduce you to people who might be able to help you in a bigger way, or just listen to you talk about the joys and frustrations of publishing — and that’s just for starters.

Email marketing truth #3: You can create a newsletter your readers will look forward to.

When I ask authors why they aren’t using email marketing, most say it’s because they don’t want to be “spammy.”

Then I ask if they subscribe to any newsletters. When they answer “yes” — and they usually do say “yes” — I ask why. More often than not, it’s because the newsletters are interesting, informative, helpful, or entertaining.

Well, then, if that marketer can send a newsletter that’s interesting, why can’t you?

So let go of this idea that all email marketing is spammy. Because it isn’t. When you create content that serves your reader rather than yourself, your subscribers will look forward to your messages.

When you focus on what the reader wants from you, you’ll attract more of the right subscribers. Your list and fan base will grow — without adding people who don’t want to be on it.

Avoid an uphill battle

But back to the author who invited people to unsubscribe from his list, then punished them for doing so: It’s a mean-spirited approach to book promotion.

When your marketing decisions are grounded in a “you-do-for-me-and-I’ll-do-for-you” approach, it will be an uphill battle. (Consider that another email marketing truth.)

It doesn’t matter how beautifully you write or how much you know about your  topic. If you make people uncomfortable by approaching your tasks with an “And what will you do for me in return?” attitude, you’re going to find yourself with far fewer opportunities than your competitors.

You are who you are, but if you’re someone who…

• Subscribes to an author friend’s newsletter and gets angry if she doesn’t add herself to your list (or removes herself after you make the mistake of adding her) or
• Unfollows people on Twitter for no other reason than they don’t follow you back or
• Sulk because your college roommate hasn’t reviewed your book yet

…it will be slow going for you.

When you’re always looking for trouble, you’ll find it. Why not look for opportunities, instead?

Each email marketing truth will serve you well. Embrace all of them.

And if you haven’t started building an email list yet, what are you waiting for? Get started now!

Learn more about author email marketing attitudes, content, and mechanics in Tammy Labrecque’s book, Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert.

What have you seen in email marketing that you liked? What works for you? 

(Editor’s note: This article was first published in November 2015. It has been updated and expanded.)