
With Substack, anyone can start a publication that combines a personal website, blog, and email newsletter or podcast. It's quick and simple.
A startup from the United States.
This page is designed to help you find out whether Substack is good and if it is the right choice for you.
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Ease of Use
Substack offers a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for writers to publish and monetize their newsletters.
Built-in Monetization
Writers can easily charge readers for subscriptions, allowing for straightforward monetization.
Direct Audience Connection
Substack allows writers to build a direct relationship with their audience via email, which can lead to a more engaged readership.
Discovery and Community
Features like staff picks and recommendations help writers get discovered by new readers.
No Upfront Costs
Substack does not charge upfront fees; instead, it takes a percentage of subscription revenues, making it easier to start.
Content Ownership
Writers retain full ownership of their content, giving them more control over their work.
We have collected here some useful links to help you find out if Substack is good.
Check the traffic stats of Substack on SimilarWeb. The key metrics to look for are: monthly visits, average visit duration, pages per visit, and traffic by country. Moreoever, check the traffic sources. For example "Direct" traffic is a good sign.
Check the "Domain Rating" of Substack on Ahrefs. The domain rating is a measure of the strength of a website's backlink profile on a scale from 0 to 100. It shows the strength of Substack's backlink profile compared to the other websites. In most cases a domain rating of 60+ is considered good and 70+ is considered very good.
Check the "Domain Authority" of Substack on MOZ. A website's domain authority (DA) is a search engine ranking score that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). It is based on a 100-point logarithmic scale, with higher scores corresponding to a greater likelihood of ranking. This is another useful metric to check if a website is good.
The latest comments about Substack on Reddit. This can help you find out how popualr the product is and what people think about it.
We built something quite similar 6 months ago called PEAK (Proof of Effort And Knowledge). Blog post and YT video here: https://substack.com/@jeffksmithjr/p-195763168 Our version has its own TUI and was intended for semi-adversarial scenarios like OSS contribution and enterprise. Thus a lot of anti-cheat tech under the covers (including invalid questions). My guess is that a lot of folks have built something in... - Source: Hacker News / 1 day ago
Https://substack.com/@rubenafo/note/c-332218129?r=26y5kn&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web. - Source: Hacker News / 11 days ago
Https://substack.com/@gurwinder/posts. - Source: Hacker News / 15 days ago
Substack: https://substack.com/@friedkielbasa. - Source: Hacker News / 18 days ago
Name Type Required Description Cookie String Yes Substack.sid= (browser session cookie) Accept String Yes Application/json Origin String Yes Publication origin, e.g. https://yourname.substack.com Referer String Yes Https://substack.com/ (same as get_profile_self) User-Agent String Yes Browser User-Agent string (client sends a Chrome UA by default) Content-Type String Yes Application/json. - Source: dev.to / 21 days ago
For anyone that would like to see more quantizations tested, I can highly recommend paying a few bucks for oobabooga's testing, which is published on his Substack: https://substack.com/@oobabooga. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
Reminds me of this meme: https://substack.com/@tomasbjartur/note/c-323840878?r=6cjtqn. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
Valid criticisms of AI - safety critics who think AI can take over the world like Yud (I find this the least credible but still valid) - Bernie type of critics who think AI can cause widespread job losses - Ruxandra Teslo who thinks AI can remove meaning which I feel is the most serious one [1] What are not valid - environmental like emissions and water usage - AI is useless and it will take the economy with it... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
It's ironic that the article that caused him to write this post (https://substack.com/@justindeschamps/note/c-261265212?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=7y05q) is written by AI. I see this style of informational writing all over the place now. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
Https://substack.com/@yelluwcomedy. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
Sure there was basically a cartel in social media. You saw coordinated censorship campaigns to ban the former president of the United States for example. But I wouldn't discount the amount of political interference there as well. The last administration admitted to flagging individual posts for the social media companies. But it's also true there is a lot of coordinated censorship even without state interference.... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
Manhattan Project: $36B, 5 years ▫ Apollo Program: $257B, 14 years ▫ Interstate Highway System: $620B, 37 years ▫ AI data centers: $930B, 6 years and still accelerating From: https://substack.com/@rubendominguez/note/c-244929068. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
The thing is, even the center of the road academics who refrain from such comparisons are noting the similarity. The MAGA movement meets the traditional defining characteristics of fascio. We can be rigid and say that only Mussolini‘s political movement can be properly be called fascist. But if we call Hitler and the Nazis fascists as well, then we open the door to any movement that meets the criteria. And Trump... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
Yes, it's much different in other countries. See https://substack.com/@doks/p-198191751. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
Hi folks, I got curious about how genomics foundation models work and wrote an article explaining how they are trained + can be used. Feel free to use the following as learning resources if you wish to jump into ML for comp bio stuff, it may help: - Code: https://github.com/dillondesilva/nt-promoter-region-classification - Article/Tutorial:... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
The vast majority of people from the developed world have no problems going through any border in the developed world. Your experience is probably representative, but that's not what we're talking about. My understanding is that de facto you have no rights at all in China. The Americans take this sort of thing very seriously, which is why it's in the news and talked about. Some guy gets imprisoned for 37... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
There was never a serious claim DOS copied CP/M code. The controversy was mostly about legality of reimplementation of the API, plus some pretty vague claims about copying the design: https://substack.com/@nemanjatrifunovic/note/p-178321556. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
[2] https://substack.com/@chrisbrunet/note/c-244102564. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
> There's nothing Israelis want more than give up their military. Watch this and tell me that your statement still holds true. Israel has descended to the level of the worst of its enemies. There is no moral high ground left. https://substack.com/@teeashby/note/p-193468370. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
See also https://substack.com/@georgenoble/note/c-226667679 , which should be clearer as it has an example scenario spelled out. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
Https://substack.com/@georgenoble/note/c-226667679?r=4repfn&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
Substack has emerged as a prominent player in the domains of blogging and paid newsletters, offering unique features that cater to creators of varying experience levels. The platform’s integration of content creation and subscription-based monetization sets it apart from competitors like Medium, TinyLetter, and WordPress. Substack enables writers to generate a profit from their email newsletters through subscriber funding, offering purpose-built web and newsletter publishing tools. This model allows for a direct relationship between writers and their readers, fostering community engagement, which is increasingly appealing in the modern digital landscape.
One of the major advantages of Substack is its user-friendly interface and seamless distribution tools. These features make it a popular choice for independent creators seeking to connect directly with their audiences and transform their passion into a sustainable income stream. The platform supports various content formats, which broadens its appeal beyond just text-based content, accommodating multimedia and podcast creators as well.
In terms of monetization, Substack distinguishes itself by offering a straightforward revenue model. Writers have the option to monetize directly via paid subscriptions, with Substack taking a cut of the earnings rather than imposing a flat platform fee, a feature it shares with some similar services. This model contrasts with competitors like Medium, which compensates creators based on reader engagement on the platform.
The convenience of Substack is further underscored by its ecosystem's ability to import newsletters from other platforms like Mailchimp, facilitating an easy transition for users looking to switch services. This ease of use, paired with free starting services—such as unlimited free newsletter publication until revenue is generated—endears Substack to burgeoning creators and those averse to technical intricacies.
Despite its benefits, some skepticism exists around Substack’s competitive durability and future in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. The platform’s simplicity and reliance on subscription-based monetization have led to concerns over whether it can sustain its model as competitors potentially integrate similar features. Critics also point to the aesthetics of Substack's templates, which, while functional, do not offer a significantly superior design compared to other services.
Nevertheless, Substack has cultivated a strong brand identity and wields a respectable reputation, partly due to its active role in reviving blogging culture. The platform’s appeal is further amplified by its attempt to alleviate the algorithm-driven challenges prevalent in the digital content space. By facilitating a direct line of communication between writers and subscribers via email, Substack sidesteps many of the distribution issues encountered on platforms heavily reliant on algorithms.
Overall, Substack represents a potent option for writers intending to build a dedicated subscriber base while simplifying the technical aspects of newsletter creation and monetization. Its emphasis on direct engagement and revenue potential continues to attract a diverse range of creators, solidifying its position in the competitive landscape of blogging and content monetization platforms.
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