I write a weekly Substack column, Future Trends and Science Fiction https://brucelanday.substack.com/ and other than a couple of periods off due to health issues, I've been doing this for almost two years. At the end of May I told my readers I was going on hiatus for the summer so I could work on a new novel. I had a hard time going completely silent so I went to monthly posts. I was worried that my readership would drop but it hasn't. For the summer I'm still trying to write a weekly column but not scheduling them until after Labor day. I like having 6 to 8 weeks scheduled ahead of time so if I have a bad week where I can't write I don't stress over meeting a deadline.
I don't charge for my Substack and never will. Writing is a hobby and NOT a business for me. This gives me lots of leeway for experimenting. I found in general I got more subscribers when I was publishing weekly than monthly, but the drop off wasn't as bad as I expected. I also try to answer Notes and find that's a good way to be active while I can still be flexible on time investment.
Thanks for the analysis. My last job before retirement was doing data analytics so I'm Geeky enough to appreciate the details.
I’ve been assuming more frequent posting was the fix for slow growth, so seeing data that says depth of relationship matters more than cadence is genuinely useful. Personalization over posting schedule matches what’s actually moved the needle for me on Substack so far too.
I’m like you. The amount of time ‘needed’ to engage on this platform is a struggle. Plus i find at least my engagement as shallow and meaningless. Adding an opinion to a conversation seems a little pointless to me except for the benefit’ you describe. And all this time, for what exactly? I write about how creative decisions get made in the film industry. I guess it could come in handy for a few, but I’m pretty sure I could vanish and those people would be fine! Still, at the same time, I suffer from the fallacy that I’ve spent all this time already to go back! BTW, feel free to subscribe! Haha. Nice article.
I write a weekly Substack column, Future Trends and Science Fiction https://brucelanday.substack.com/ and other than a couple of periods off due to health issues, I've been doing this for almost two years. At the end of May I told my readers I was going on hiatus for the summer so I could work on a new novel. I had a hard time going completely silent so I went to monthly posts. I was worried that my readership would drop but it hasn't. For the summer I'm still trying to write a weekly column but not scheduling them until after Labor day. I like having 6 to 8 weeks scheduled ahead of time so if I have a bad week where I can't write I don't stress over meeting a deadline.
I don't charge for my Substack and never will. Writing is a hobby and NOT a business for me. This gives me lots of leeway for experimenting. I found in general I got more subscribers when I was publishing weekly than monthly, but the drop off wasn't as bad as I expected. I also try to answer Notes and find that's a good way to be active while I can still be flexible on time investment.
Thanks for the analysis. My last job before retirement was doing data analytics so I'm Geeky enough to appreciate the details.
I’ve been assuming more frequent posting was the fix for slow growth, so seeing data that says depth of relationship matters more than cadence is genuinely useful. Personalization over posting schedule matches what’s actually moved the needle for me on Substack so far too.
Thanks for sharing. I assumed the same too, so I thought this was an interesting and valuable finding.
I’m like you. The amount of time ‘needed’ to engage on this platform is a struggle. Plus i find at least my engagement as shallow and meaningless. Adding an opinion to a conversation seems a little pointless to me except for the benefit’ you describe. And all this time, for what exactly? I write about how creative decisions get made in the film industry. I guess it could come in handy for a few, but I’m pretty sure I could vanish and those people would be fine! Still, at the same time, I suffer from the fallacy that I’ve spent all this time already to go back! BTW, feel free to subscribe! Haha. Nice article.