#Substack Newsletter Promotion

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

SYNERGY (Newsletter Booster): Submission Guidelines 2024

Updated rules to publish your drafts in this specialized publication for writers, book authors, bloggers, and content marketers Dear Content Creators and Marketers,  To provide a comprehensive understanding of this unique publication, I have included an overview of its history, current landscape, and strategic direction. As a result, this piece is more extensive than typical submission…

[njbice]

Made a rainbow sketchbook because I'm planning a Coptic binding workshop for Pride! Mostly wanted to share it here because it's too early to start promoting the workshop and it was super fun to make so I want someone to see it.

((however if you are in the Bay Area and interested in taking the workshop you should sign up for my newsletter on substack. It's free and you don't need an account, it'll email you. Same username over there, don't want to include links))

[wuntrum]

i'm not a substacker myself, but from the handful of peeks i've randomly gotten behind the curtain, substack's got its own admin issues related to content moderation of nazi fucks. and also there apparently started being some kinda social media aspect at some point too, that took over how people promote their newsletters? again, never had an actual substack account myself, i'm only subbed to RSS feeds of a small handful, but i thought i'd give you a heads-up in case it's also morphed into a similar toxic pit to what you're tryna escape (would love a newsletter either way)

oh hmm, i hadn't heard of that before--or maybe i had and forgot about this situation--but i appreciate you letting me know! i know some other artist friends who use it (NOT because of that situation, rather despite it i think) so that's why i had mentioned it--im def gonna look into other options as well...appreciate the heads up

[contemplatingoutlander]

Amazon’s Alexa has been claiming the 2020 election was stolen

The popular voice assistant says the 2020 race was stolen, even as parent company Amazon promotes the tool as a reliable election news source -- foreshadowing a new information battleground

This is a scary WaPo article by Cat Zakrzewski about how big tech is allowing AI to get information from dubious sources. Consequently, it is contributing to the lies and disinformation that exist in today's current political climate.

Even the normally banal but ubiquitous (and not yet AI supercharged) Alexa is prone to pick up and recite political disinformation. Here are some excerpts from the article [color emphasis added]:

Amid concerns the rise of artificial intelligence will supercharge the spread of misinformation comes a wild fabrication from a more prosaic source: Amazon’s Alexa, which declared that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Asked about fraud in the race — in which President Biden defeated former president Donald Trump with 306 electoral college votes — the popular voice assistant said it was “stolen by a massive amount of election fraud,” citing Rumble, a video-streaming service favored by conservatives.

The 2020 races were “notorious for many incidents of irregularities and indications pointing to electoral fraud taking place in major metro centers,” according to Alexa, referencing Substack, a subscription newsletter service. Alexa contended that Trump won Pennsylvania, citing “an Alexa answers contributor.”

Multiple investigations into the 2020 election have revealed no evidence of fraud, and Trump faces federal criminal charges connected to his efforts to overturn the election. Yet Alexa disseminates misinformation about the race, even as parent company Amazon promotes the tool as a reliable election news source to more than 70 million estimated users. [...] Developers “often think that they have to give a balanced viewpoint and they do this by alternating between pulling sources from right and left, thinking this is going to give balance,” [Prof. Meredith] Broussard said. “The most popular sources on the left and right vary dramatically in quality.” Such attempts can be fraught. Earlier this week, the media company the Messenger announced a new partnership with AI company Seekr to “eliminate bias” in the news. Yet Seekr’s website characterizes some articles from the pro-Trump news network One America News as “center” and as having “very high” reliability. Meanwhile, several articles from the Associated Press were rated “very low.” [...] Yet despite a growing clamor in Congress to respond to the threat AI poses to elections, much of the attention has fixated on deepfakes. However, [attorney Jacob] Glick warned Alexa and AI-powered systems could “potentially double down on the damage that’s been done.” “If you have AI models drawing from an internet that is filled with platforms that don’t care about the preservation of democracy … you’re going to get information that includes really dangerous undercurrents,” he said. [color emphasis added]

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Paige Skinner at HuffPost:

Ken Klippenstein, an independent journalist, was banned from X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday after he published a dossier on Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) via his newsletter and promoted the link on the social media site owned by Elon Musk. “Ken Klippenstein was temporarily suspended for violating our rules on posting unredacted private personal information, specifically Sen. Vance’s physical addresses and the majority of his Social Security number,” a post from X read.

The dossier is a 271-page research paper that the Donald Trump campaign had apparently compiled to properly vet Vance, now Trump’s running mate. According to the Trump campaign, the Iranian government allegedly hacked the campaign. An anonymous sender emailed the dossier to several media outlets, but the outlets did not publish it. In a follow-up post on his newsletter, Klippenstein argued that he never shared any private information on X; he just linked to it. He wrote, “The principle involved here is complex,” because Vance is an elected official and vice presidential candidate, but also because the private information is available for anyone to buy. Klippenstein said it’s a “very funny end” to his time on the social media platform, but it’s also a “chilling effect on speech.”

“Not a single media organization was willing to publish a document that would have been a no-brainer during or prior to the heyday of Edward Snowden’s disclosures. That illustrates the dramatic shift in attitudes about what the news media thinks the public should know, and the role the mainstream plays in steadily ceding that territory to the national security threat machine. Media’s job, I believe, is to push back against these various forms of censorship.” The dossier includes everything from Vance’s “potential vulnerabilities,” his past criticisms of Trump, and his criminal, police, voting and lobbying records.

Journalist Ken Klippenstein got banned from X for publishing the JD Vance Dossier, and this is yet more proof that supposed “free speech absolutist” Elon Musk is anti-1st Amendment.

See Also:

Mediaite: Journalist Ken Klippenstein Suspended By X After Publishing Hacked JD Vance Dossier

Ken Klippenstein's Substack: My Twitter Ban Is Political

[mariacallous]

Black Friday is not just about cheap TVs, cut price gaming consoles, and saving money on laptops; it’s also about getting a bargain on Faraday cages to stop 5G from melting your brain, grabbing a great deal on biblically inspired diet pills, and securing that hot-pink T-shirt with a picture of president-elect Donald Trump on the front.

This year, far-right extremists, MAGAworld, and conspiracists are all jumping on the Black Friday bandwagon to try and persuade their followers to buy untested health supplements, unfunny novelty mugs, and guns—lots and lots of guns.

Rather than advertising on mainstream online marketplaces offered by sites including Google or Facebook, these groups are targeting their audience where they live, on fringe and alternative online platforms with little or no moderation. Spaces like Gab, a white-supremacist-friendly social network run by a christian nationalist. Or Telegram, where election deniers and neo-Nazi groups happily sit side-by-side despite new privacy changes being introduced this year. And of course,Trump’s own Truth Social, where his most devoted followers can be found.

Gab and Truth Social did not immediately respond to a request to comment. Telegram spokesperson Remi Vaughn said that ads placed through the Telegram Ads platform are vetted before they are shown.

For those feeling a little drained after Thanksgiving, alternative health company Exodus Strong is offering discounts on a dietary supplement which has “7 Biblically-inspired ingredients and a molecular hydrogen generating blend that optimize your Mind and Body to function the way God intended.” The tablets, which are currently being advertised up to 60 percent off on Truth Social, include, among other biblical ingredients, frankincense and myrrh. Those who purchase one of these supplements will even get a free gift: a prayer plan.

Undermining the boasts about the product slightly, however, is the disclaimer on the company’s own website that reads: “These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”

Launched just in time for Black Friday, the new online store from right-wing YouTube-alternative Rumble features a who’s who of conspiracy theorists and conservative agitators on its front page, including Trump confidante Laura Loomer and underpants-wearing baptiser Russell Brand.

The store itself is a cornucopia of unimagined gems, everything from Faraday cages for your phone to stop 5G melting your brain, to nuclear fallout preparedness kits for the bargain price of $349. Rumble did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Many far-right and conspiracy newsletters and subscription services are offering huge discounts to lock in their audiences for the next 12 months. Gab for example is offering 50 percent discounts on yearly subscriptions to its AI service, whose racist chatbots have been trained to deny the Holocaust.

An antisemitic Irish blogger who is a close ally of white supremacist Nick Fuentes is offering 40 percent off his Substack subscriptions directly to his existing readers, showing that the effort to cash in on Black Friday hype is not limited to extremists in the US.

By far the most popular Black Friday ads on these platforms are from gun manufacturers, who are offering huge discounts on everything from high-powered rifles to a pink “no drill cheek rest” for your scoped long gun. (The “MAGA Patriot,” a Trump-themed AR-15 that was created in the wake of the president-elect surviving an assassination attempt by the same gun, is not discounted for Black Friday.)

Some of these promotions are simply flogging pro-MAGA paraphernalia. On Truth Social, Fox News host Sean Hannity is promoting the Black Friday deals available in his own merch store. From coffee cups with the phrase “leftist tears” to a “Daddy’s Home” T-shirt featuring a picture of Trump in front of the White House wearing a hot-pink jacket, Hannity has something for all tastes—as long as those tastes align with a pro-Trump, MAGA, Christian nationalist view of America.

For those Trump supporters who may be missing the glory days of 2020 when they could come together online to rage against the voting machines for stealing the election, conspiracy group Audit the Vote PA has got you covered with a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “election denier,” advertised on Gab.

And the biggest election denier of them all, pillow salesman Mike Lindell, is, of course, having a massive Black Friday sale. The man who has sponsored huge swathes of the far-right media ecosystem with promotional codes for the last four years is now offering a two-pack of “We the People” pillow covers for just $25.

On these alternative platforms, discussions about Black Friday are not only about getting 50 percent off “Make Christmas Great Again” T-shirts. Those promotions are interspersed with incredibly antisemitic and racist posts about the day, including several featuring children in black face.

Some users of Gab and Truth Social are also pushing back against Black Friday, calling out the “deranged libtards who turn into dangerous NCPs” during the event (misspelling NPC, which is used to describe someone who is predictable or robotic.) Others insist they are “boycotting Black Friday” because it’s a cash grab by the globalist elite.

And of course, conspiracies are never far away.

One user on Trump’s Truth Social, who calls themselves “Trust the Plan” (spelled like trusttheplqn), believes they have uncovered a secret message in one store’s Black Friday promotional material based on “intel” provided by another Truth Social account called Entheos. The conspiracy theory centers on the store promoting a “storewide blackout” for Black Friday, which “Trust the Plan” believes is code for something sinister taking place, though they fail to say exactly what this is.

“Black friday is on the 29th, but their sale starts on 27th (date that Entheos gave). And why would there be a ‘blackout storewide’ for black friday? You want complete opposite of a blackout...so people can actually shop.”

For others however, the situation appears much more dire. One Gab poster shared an article from a conspiracy site discussing a “global escalation” on Friday. The piece suggests that recent comments by Russian president Vladimir Putin related to launching a nuclear strike signal a looming apocalypse. “Stay Armed, Stay Safe, Patriots,” the poster wrote on Gab.

[transman-badass]

I'm looking to put together a newsletter for my readers, and I was wondering how you were liking Buttondown as a distributor?

Buttondown is barebones imo. It's very stripped down visually and can be hard to navigate at first because a lot of things are hidden behind menus you have to open. There are other options like Ghost you might like to look into.

I miss Substack truthfully but I just can't trust them. After they came out supporting Musk as "promoting free speech", in my bones I know they'll kick a lot of people, queer including, to the curb the first chance they get. It'll take a lot to get me to trust them again. I can't say it enough, don't make a newsletter there. There's something deeply wrong with that place.

I've only restarted my newsletter for less than a week and I have four followers right now. We'll see how things go as time passes.

May as well take the opportunity to promote myself here:

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

Introduction to Level 4 of Udemy Course From Zero to Substack Hero

Section 21: Mastery and Beyond on Substack Source link to the image For those who missed, I shared the scripts of 20 sections covering levels 1, 2, and 3 of this exciting course. Today, I will provide a quick intro to Level 4 of From Zero to Substack Hero, which will be available on Udemy soon, but I have already uploaded the videos to my publication on Substack for members. Level 4 of our…

[corvidarcana]

My newsletter is MOVING!

(Cross-posted from Substack)

It has come to my attention recently that Substack is a program that promotes far-right newsletters, including nazi and zionist slop I don’t want to support. As such, I’ll be leaving substack.

It’s a shame, honestly, because I only just started this newsletter a few months ago, and it’s a nuisance to have to migrate elsewhere. However, it’s something I feel needs to be done. I’m still running the newsletter—just at a different source!

You can now subscribe (FOR FREE) to my newsletter (FREE, I TELL YOU!) on Patreon! For free! I feel like I need to reiterate that a whole lot because Patreon is primarily seen as a paid platform—but my newsletter costs nothing! Zip! Zilch!

I’m not opposed to having some paid tiers eventually, but I feel like I don’t fully know what kinds of perks I’d offer paid subscribers, so that’ll wait.

Here’s where you can subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.patreon.com/corvidarcana

FOR FREE!

Sorry to make folks resubscribe! However, hopefully Patreon will serve as a better platform moving forward.

See you all over there! For $0!

[goblincow]

Just read the most recent newsletter from @penflowerink.

Short, sweet & socialist as ever, with some cool news about their upcoming micro game, a brief touch into political news, a new podcast from @fndungeonmom called Game N' Gab which I look forward to listening to, and @capacle is crowdfunding their game Nexalis and using Penflower's character art that they put together for the anti-"AI"-art-theft TTRPG Art Asset Jam that we ran recently!

So that's exciting to see, I'm always glad to find even more reasons to be proud of the work we did promoting that jam!

Anyway it's a good newsletter & I think you should subscribe as a little treat (plus all the links are in there, because it's a good newsletter):

[thetremuloushand]

SELF-PROMOTION ALERT

(BUT PRICES ARE PAY WHAT YOU WANT!)

Hi! My name is Bug, I'm a 30-something trans man and I write and make zines.

I have a substack and a gumroad where you can find my stuff. Substack is like an email newsletter and webpage at the same time, so you can read what I've posted and/or sign up to be sent updates. Gumroad has downloads of my zines. My linktree is here!

HOW PAYMENT WORKS

All my content is FREE IF YOU WANT IT TO BE!

You also have the option to shoot me a couple bucks if you like my work and want to see more of it, which I would not be averse to!

MAINLY I JUST WANT MY WEIRD ART TO REACH PEOPLE, INCLUDING YOU.

So please, if you want, take the time to check out my stuff!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Taylor Lorenz at Substack:

We need to know who is funding the creator economy

Yesterday, a federal indictment revealed that a Tennessee media company working with right-wing influencers including Benny Johnson, Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, and Lauren Southern, was receiving significant funding from the Russian state-sponsored network RT to push Russian disinformation. The indictment is absolutely wild and WIRED has a great rundown on the details, including how the propaganda efforts worked. The case serves as the latest high profile example of how “independent media” on the right is anything but independent, and underscores the need for more transparency around funding models in the creator economy. It also shows how disinformation efforts have increasingly focused on penetrating U.S. media through content creators, and how lucrative being a pawn in these schemes can be. While right wing content creators position themselves as scrappy upstarts, leaning into anti-establishment and populist brand positioning, they frequently accept money from far right interest groups, extremist billionaires, and even foreign actors.  Tenet Media received nearly $10 million, distributed out across a network of YouTubers and podcasters. As part of the disinformation campaign, Tenet Media influencers published hundreds of videos on social media that promoted Kremlin talking points. The videos were shared across platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok, reaching tens of millions of viewers.

[...] The far right recognized the opportunities in personality-driven media decades ago. After boosting talk radio stars in the 80s and 90s, when social media proliferated, they began to invest heavily in news influencers who seamlessly blend entertainment, news commentary, and far right political messaging into YouTube videos, Instagram memes, podcasts and more. 

[...]

Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire has been heavily funded by wealthy Republican donors, including the Wilks brothers, Texas-based billionaires known for their oil and fracking fortune. Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, has benefited from significant funding from conservative mega donors including the Koch network.  When right wing creators began getting deplatformed more frequently on mainstream social media apps in the second half of the 2010s, an entire ecosystem of alternative platforms aimed at helping extremist influencers monetize and amass audiences, cropped up. Rumble, a video sharing platform similar to YouTube backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, began paying far right influencers and anti vaxx content creators hundreds of thousands of dollars to create content on its platform in 2021. Locals, a newsletter platform owned by Rumble, allows influencers to monetize through newsletters in a similar way to Substack. DLive, a right wing Twitch competitor, allowed influencers storming the Capitol building on January 6th, to make thousands of dollars off their live streams. Kick and Cozy.tv, two other right wing live streaming platforms, permit nearly any far right extremist the ability to create content and start earning money. And X, under Musk, has paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars to right wing influencer accounts.

The robust financial backing the right wing content creator ecosystem enjoys, allows extremists the ability to fund professional production teams, social media ad buys, and marketing initiatives that give them a competitive advantage online. In contrast, progressive creators are left to rely on meager donations and crowdfunding efforts to sustain their work. This financial imbalance has made it nearly impossible for left-wing content creators to match the reach or production quality of their right-wing counterparts. Already, several Russia-backed Tenet Media influencers, including Benny Johnson and Tim Pool, have been doing damage control. They've publicly stated that they had no idea about the origins of the money and claimed that they were merely unwitting victims who were misled by the company. 

Right-wing media influencers like Nick Sortor (even though he wasn’t named in the indictment), Benny Johnson, and Tim Pool aren’t “independent media” in any way.

[techniver]

Where can I post my articles which I write freely without following anybody's rules and get paid?

There are many platforms where you can post your articles and get paid without following any strict guidelines. Here are a few options to consider:

Medium: Medium is a popular platform for writers of all levels, and it's a great place to build an audience and get your work noticed. You can earn money through Medium's Partner Program, which pays writers based on the number of views and claps their articles receive.

Substack: Substack is another popular platform that allows writers to build their own subscription newsletters. You can set your own subscription price, and you'll keep 95% of the revenue.

Patreon: Patreon is a platform that allows you to create a community around your work. You can offer your patrons exclusive content, early access to new articles, and other perks.

Vocal Media: Vocal Media is a platform that pays writers based on the engagement their articles receive. You can earn money through views, likes, and comments.

HubPages: HubPages is a platform that allows you to write articles on a variety of topics. You can earn money through Google AdSense ads that are displayed on your articles.

In addition to these platforms, there are many other websites and online communities that are looking for high-quality content. You can find a list of these websites by doing a simple Google search. The most important thing is to create high-quality content that people will want to read and share.

Here are some additional tips for getting paid to write:

Find a niche: It's easier to stand out from the crowd if you focus on writing about a specific topic.

Promote your work: Share your articles on social media and other online platforms.

Build relationships with other writers: Networking can help you find new opportunities and get your work noticed.

Don't give up: It takes time to build a successful writing career. Don't get discouraged if you don't see results overnight.

I hope this helps! If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Please Follow, comment, and like this answer if you found it helpful.

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

Invitation to Elevate Your Substack Newsletter and Medium Stories a New Reddit Community

Welcome to r/Substack_Mastery Let’s discover how Reddit can amplify your reach, connect you with engaged readers, and seamlessly integrate your Substack newsletters with Medium stories for remarkable growth. Dear Writers and Readers, In 2020, I faced an unexpected setback when I was banned from one of my favorite Reddit communities. My “offense” was sharing my personal journey with autophagy…

[xpressluna]

Why 95% of New Writers Can’t Build an Audience Even After “Trying Everything”

Every day, thousands of new writers publish blogs, launch newsletters, and post on social media in hopes of building an audience. They follow the advice: “Be consistent,” “Find your niche,” “Engage with your readers.” And yet, most of them — an estimated 95% — never grow beyond a handful of followers. Why?

It’s not because they aren’t talented. It’s not even because they’re lazy. It’s because building an audience is more strategic than most people realize. Let’s break down why so many writers struggle, even when they feel like they’ve “tried everything.”

They Confuse Activity with Strategy

Writing more doesn’t mean writing smarter. Many new writers pump out content without a plan. They blog weekly, post on Twitter or LinkedIn, and share personal stories — but it’s all scattered. Without a clear brand message, target reader, or long-term goal, all this effort just becomes noise.

Fix: Create a content strategy. Identify your ideal reader, the problem you’re solving, and how your voice stands out. Every post should tie into that core identity.

They Don’t Understand the Audience They Want

New writers often write for themselves, not for a specific audience. They treat their platform like a journal instead of a service. While authenticity is important, writing online is ultimately about delivering value to others.

Fix: Ask, “Who is this for?” before hitting publish. Learn what your audience needs, struggles with, or is curious about — and write for them, not just about yourself.

They Spread Themselves Too Thin

Trying to be everywhere — Medium, Substack, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok — burns people out fast. Most writers don't have the time, energy, or skills to grow multiple platforms simultaneously.

Fix: Focus on one or two platforms where your target audience hangs out. Grow deep roots there before expanding.

They Don’t Leverage Distribution

“Build it and they will come” is a myth. Writing great content isn’t enough. You have to market it. Too many writers publish and pray, without learning how to distribute their work effectively.

Fix: Promote your work intentionally. Repost snippets on social media, collaborate with others, write guest posts, and learn basic SEO. Build a content funnel that brings readers to your site again and again.

They Quit Too Early

Writing is a long game. Many people give up after a few months of low engagement. They assume they’ve failed — when in reality, they simply haven’t been in the game long enough.

Fix: Commit to at least one year of consistent, high-quality content creation. Keep learning, improving, and showing up. Most audiences are built slowly, then suddenly.

They Don’t Evolve

Some writers plateau because they never adapt. They repeat the same style, structure, or message, even when it’s not resonating. Meanwhile, others improve by studying what works — hooks, headlines, structure, storytelling.

Fix: Study what successful writers in your space are doing. Take notes. Experiment with formats. Track what gets traction and refine your approach.

They Focus on Vanity Metrics

Chasing likes, followers, or viral posts can lead to burnout and creative confusion. What matters more is building trust and connection — even with a small audience.

Fix: Prioritize engagement over growth. Build relationships in the comments, reply to DMs, and write like you’re speaking directly to one person — not an audience of thousands.

Final Thoughts

If you’re a writer struggling to build an audience, don’t assume you're failing because you’re not good enough. Most writers don’t succeed because they treat audience-building like a guessing game instead of a learnable skill.

The ones who do grow their audience:

Write with intention

Serve a clear audience

Stick with it long enough to get good

You haven’t “tried everything” until you’ve tried those things well.

[kitauthor]

Authors, Let's Talk About Substack

Watching people celebrate a platform, and even remain on it, after it's been public for a while now that the platform sees nothing wrong in making money from hate speech (to put it mildly, more like fascism and naziism), is a lot like watching authors submit and sign contracts with publishers that have been screwing over authors for years, but they think it's not going to affect them. It doesn't matter what spots the leopard wears, in these cases, it is almost always going to eat your face. The question is how quickly do you realize it and how much it motivates you to move. "It won't happen to me" has got to be the most insidious phrase in whatever language you speak, because it contains an elitism that the reason why it happened to others is because they did something wrong. Something that you, of course, won't be doing. And yet, like a technological (and publishing) Cassandra, I know eventually it's going to bite them in the ass. Or eat their face. Or whatever. It isn't going to be happy either way. The current contender for this? Substack. In late 2023/early 2024 what had been percolating in tech and online circles finally became public: Substack has a nazi problem. Like it sees nothing wrong with making money from newsletters promoting hate, nazi rhetoric, and antisemitism. In a token gesture, they added a report button and removed five blogs, and for the most part the noise has died down. (Here's a Feb 2024 article from The Verge on the topic.) Except, if you know, you know, and I am not the only one who tries very hard not to subscribe to any Substack newsletters and looks askance at all of the big names flocking to substack. At this point, remaining on Substack is akin to remaining on Musk's X. You cannot be there and not be supporting right-wing, authoritarian, and fascist behavior because if you monetize your Substack newsletter, blog, whatever you want to call it, you're paying 10% of your sales to a company that just doesn't give a damn what you say so long as you pay. The ONE THING people with large audiences refuse to do to fight fascism is stop publishing on Substack. People are starting to publish on Substack—this month—because Substack keeps paying people to ignore their own moral center. You can’t fight fascism in a Nazi bar. You. Just. Fucking. Can’t. — Imani Gandy (@angryblacklady.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 5:58 AM Then there is this which was in response to an article talking about how group chats created an alliance between techbros and the far right. When I talk about how Substack was funded as part of a deliberate strategy to make a platform where they could mainstream their fascist ideas, this is the group I am talking about. The other suckers who put their newsletters on the platform are playing into this agenda.— Anil Dash (@anildash.com) April 27, 2025 at 10:58 PM The thing is, since Substack takes 10% of your subscriber revenue regardless of the number of subscribers at some point, you're losing money by staying there versus other platforms where you can make more. This article recently crossed my feed about Substackers who left actually making more money now that they are on a platform with a better pricing model. Originally, I was going to make this blog about how you can make more off of Substack (see that link above), but I've actually spent a few weeks thinking about this blog and here's the truth.

The system is broken. Giving in and paying the bad actors is exactly what they want you to do.

Instead, I am encouraging authors to be resourceful, be creative. And yes, I'm going to repeat the mantra I've been screaming since the early 2000s. You must build your own business on a platform you control as much as possible. Can you backup your data/export it to another provider if it turns out they suck/fold/go under/or become difficult to work with? Wordpress isn't perfect. Gods no, and I hate Automattic the company with the fiery burning passion of a million suns. But you know what? Wordpress is open source and distributed which means I don't have to do business directly with Automattic if I don't want to. And I'm happy to share with you how not to too.

But aren't all companies bad? Like we don't have a choice anymore.

I've heard that line as to why people are remaining on Substack and pretty much giving in on trying to have any sort of social conscience on their tech use. So let me put it to you this way? If you found out that your favorite beverage of choice was laced with enough lead and arsenic to cause permanent damage, would you still drink it? I sincerely hope not. Let's make this a little more realistic. If you found out that your favorite beverage or food was made with a chemical that could, over time, cause health issues you'd rather avoid. Wouldn't you start to make some adjustments in your drinking/eating habits? I'd like to think so. The bottom line is yes, corporate owned social media sucks and is most likely partnering with the same forces as Substack. There's also a reason why I, for example, don't by Amazon or Facebook ads and limit my use of Facebook. I'm starting to move my ebook and physical book purchases away from Amazon (This grad student loves Thriftbooks!) And personally I am loving spending my time on Bluesky or Mastodon, though neither platform is perfect either. Our goal isn't perfect. Our goal is to follow Maya Angelou's very poignant and powerful quote: "When we know better, we do better." That's all we can do. One step at a time. Let's all do better as a writing community. Epona Author Solutions offers website hosting and I am an author technologist. I LOVE to talk tech and websites. Our website hosting is designed for self-hosted wordpress. For $10/month you get website hosting with a real person, no AI. Ask me questions? Need website work done? I'm here for you (additional rates will apply). Need a website? I can get you started for as little as $100. Looking for a newsletter? Check out Epona Mail. I can help you move off of Substack and take control over your technical life and information. Read the full article