Love your prediction: "...in the future social media will be 100% subscription-based."
Zooming out, I see this as a big step in the right direction for more people to support themselves as creators instead of cogs in the machine. I see more happy people with autonomy and purpose. And that's a beautiful thing!
I absolutely love this article Tim end it works no doubt... I just subscribed to your sub stack and I’m now convinced that starting a sub stack is absolutely the way to go for everything I’ve been thinking about and wanting to do with the second phase of my life and business (One of the same if you’re doing it right)! Thanks 🙏🏼 Barry Goss for sharing this with me and insisting I read every word carefully and thoughtfully!
Nah I think Medium is good CJ. Remember that Medium give you the email addresses of anyone who turns on notifications for your content. This is huge and so many people don't know.
You have quickly come to be my most followed content creator on other forms as Medium & Twitter. Here we have yet another platform where we can read more of your content that you yourself are aligned with and believe is worth a read. I look forward to also following you on this platform and have it contribute to my ideas that I would like to write about in the future.
I have generated a couple of subscribers based on the recommendations. It's nothing big, but definitely a small step in the right direction.
What I like about Substack is the minimalistic approach. You see what you've opted in to see, and should you choose not to see it anymore, you can unsubscribe at any time.
I like the Recommendations feature too, Tim because it helps cross-promote other writer’s work on Substack - I recommend your newsletter. Also, the Recommendation blurbs on our Welcome page is a another great way to promote each other’s Substacks. Great article, as always.
Thanks Tim. A positive email to receive. I am feeling very 'over' the social media game because spending my human life dancing for an algorithm to get digital likes seems somehow upside down.
Great insight, something I definitely agree with, except the part about googling in the early days of the internet. In the early days, we "yahoo'd" or we Asked Jeeves. Google was in the teen years of the Internet; adolescence, maybe.
I love publishing my newsletter on Substack, and agree that the recommendations feature is awesome. I recommend multiple newsletters that I subscribe to and benefit from reading on my page.
However, the cynic in me wonders if the new norm will be writers of popular newsletters with tons of subscribers selling recommendations to those of us just getting started and looking for ways to help new readers discover our newsletters. Some of them already sell ad space in their newsletters to fellow creators.
I hope I’m wrong. Genuine recommendations from other creators who actually read and appreciate our content would be infinitely better for both writers and potential readers.
Good perspective. The analogy with "word of mouth" I think is a good one. I wonder how much traffic gets directed at pages with recommendations visible though? I would suspect most of the traffic is going to individual articles? Also what determines the ranking order if you search on the Discovery section of substack?
Love your prediction: "...in the future social media will be 100% subscription-based."
Zooming out, I see this as a big step in the right direction for more people to support themselves as creators instead of cogs in the machine. I see more happy people with autonomy and purpose. And that's a beautiful thing!
Yep agree. This is the future Catherine. So nice to see.
This sounds right to me, although I'm a newbie on Substack. Keep me informed! Your suggestions have always been enlightening. Thanks, Tim.
Will do Anne!
I absolutely love this article Tim end it works no doubt... I just subscribed to your sub stack and I’m now convinced that starting a sub stack is absolutely the way to go for everything I’ve been thinking about and wanting to do with the second phase of my life and business (One of the same if you’re doing it right)! Thanks 🙏🏼 Barry Goss for sharing this with me and insisting I read every word carefully and thoughtfully!
Appreciate the love Jared. Twitter is a good place to find readers and funnel them to your Substack, too.
Tim, in all honesty, should we all quit supporting Medium?
Nah I think Medium is good CJ. Remember that Medium give you the email addresses of anyone who turns on notifications for your content. This is huge and so many people don't know.
You have quickly come to be my most followed content creator on other forms as Medium & Twitter. Here we have yet another platform where we can read more of your content that you yourself are aligned with and believe is worth a read. I look forward to also following you on this platform and have it contribute to my ideas that I would like to write about in the future.
Appreciate the kind words. It means a lot to me :)
I have generated a couple of subscribers based on the recommendations. It's nothing big, but definitely a small step in the right direction.
What I like about Substack is the minimalistic approach. You see what you've opted in to see, and should you choose not to see it anymore, you can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for writing this post, Tim :)
Yep, love those features too Vritant
I like the Recommendations feature too, Tim because it helps cross-promote other writer’s work on Substack - I recommend your newsletter. Also, the Recommendation blurbs on our Welcome page is a another great way to promote each other’s Substacks. Great article, as always.
Glad to see you using it Rosy and thanks for the mention.
The Recommendations feature has been a game changer for me. That they’re user-driven and not picked by an algorithm has made all the difference.
Agree Kevin. Such a subtle distinction.
Thanks
No probs Linda
Thanks Tim. A positive email to receive. I am feeling very 'over' the social media game because spending my human life dancing for an algorithm to get digital likes seems somehow upside down.
Great insight, something I definitely agree with, except the part about googling in the early days of the internet. In the early days, we "yahoo'd" or we Asked Jeeves. Google was in the teen years of the Internet; adolescence, maybe.
I love publishing my newsletter on Substack, and agree that the recommendations feature is awesome. I recommend multiple newsletters that I subscribe to and benefit from reading on my page.
However, the cynic in me wonders if the new norm will be writers of popular newsletters with tons of subscribers selling recommendations to those of us just getting started and looking for ways to help new readers discover our newsletters. Some of them already sell ad space in their newsletters to fellow creators.
I hope I’m wrong. Genuine recommendations from other creators who actually read and appreciate our content would be infinitely better for both writers and potential readers.
Good perspective. The analogy with "word of mouth" I think is a good one. I wonder how much traffic gets directed at pages with recommendations visible though? I would suspect most of the traffic is going to individual articles? Also what determines the ranking order if you search on the Discovery section of substack?