Find Substack Writers and Creators to Collaborate With

Part of the Find Your Next 1000 Subscribers Series

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I hope you’re having a wonderful day or night, depending on where you are in the world. I’m very excited to talk with you about Substack collaborations.

You might think of “collaborating” as two or more people actually writing or producing a post together.

But we see it differently on Substack.

Below…

• The three ways to collaborate

• My 1-minute video guide to collaborations

• Step-by-step-guidance

• My Substack live with the master of collaborations

  Jane Ratcliffe
  of the incredible Substack
  Beyond with Jane Ratcliffe

Note: Jane didn’t see herself as “collaborating” either.

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The 3 Ways to Collaborate

I love collaborations as a way to connect and grow in a meaningful, connected way. Three ways to collaborate on Substack:

• guest post,

• cross post,

• interview (print, audio, video, and—including lives), and

• (my favorite) light collabs.

(I learned of the light collab from the amazing

Elle Griffin

and recommend it to all my clients.)

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The best part of Substack (to me) is that we’re part of a platform filled with ultra-talented, kind, passionate people. Maybe they’re only in Substack Writers at Work (!), but that’s my reality.

I’ve been talking a lot (too much?) about Notes. Notes is amazing for growth right now (mind-blowing, actually), but it is, ultimately, social media. The majority of you came to Substack to get away from social and the feeling that you’re trying to please an algorithm and people’s scrolling habits.

Collaborations are a way to connect and spark growth for you and another Substack creator. They’re slower, more genuine growth. They’re more in the spirit of what made and I hope will always make Substack an amazing place for us to bring our work to the world.

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Step-by-Step: How to Collaborate

Your Collaboration Video Guide

Here and below, I take you step-by-step through how to guest-post, cross-post, and the art of the light collab in my one-minute (!) video guide How to Collaborate on Substack:

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Cross Post

• Cross-posting is a way to share someone else’s free post with your subscribers and on your Substack.

  • Directions (partly per Substack):

    • When signed into your Substack account, click on the three dots of the free post you’d like to share and select “Cross post.”

    • In the pop-up, type a blurb for your subscribers about why you’re sharing that post and select “Continue.”

    • You can send a post to your founding members, paid subscribers, or everyone. You also have the option to schedule a time to publish the cross-post.

    • You can also publish it to your archive and not email it.

    • If you choose to email it, your subscribers will receive an email from your Substack with your blurb and the entire post.

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Guest Post

• You can have other Substack writers and creators publish as a guest on your Substack.

• You’ll want to find other Substacks that have similar content and pitch them to guest post.

• Make sure your content and style matches yours.

• How to create a guest post:

  • To add a guest writer to your post, go to your Posts tab and select “New Post.” In the byline section, click the plus sign and enter either the guest writer’s Substack profile or email address.

  • The guest writer receives an email invitation that they can accept or decline. They must have or create a Substack account to appear in the byline, though they don’t need the mobile app.

  • Until they accept, their email shows as “pending” in the byline. Once accepted, their name appears, and you’ll get a confirmation email. New users can set up their profile and publication during this process. The guest writer gets notified when the post goes live.

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Light Collaborations

• Both writers choose the same topic and write separate posts on their own Substacks.

• Each maintains their presence on their own publication while still collaborating.

• Optional: Include photos of both writers in the posts.

• Optional: Add a video or audio conversation between the collaborators at the end of the post discussing the shared topic.

• Benefits: No guest posting required. Both writers stay on their own Substacks but still create cross-audience exposure for each other.

• Here’s an excellent example from David Roberts with Laura Kennedy.

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Lives

• Lives are, well, lives—like Instagram or Facebook lives. They’re a live event you offer your subscribers featuring one or two other people (max. two or not everyone will show up on the recording).

• Your subscribers can participate in the chat or be invited on the live.

• You can also appear on other people’s lives (if invited :)

• Here are directions for going live and inviting others to go live.

• In terms of growth, I haven’t seen lives do that much in terms of growth across the board, but I have in certain cases. It’s very hit or miss.

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Learn From the Best

Jane Ratcliffe

is the genius creator behind

Beyond with Jane Ratcliffe

.

She’s one of the best interviewers and practitioners of the long-form interview (sadly, a dying art) in the world. Her interviews are so good, I include them on my Northwestern creative writing syllabus. A subscription to Beyond is required. Subscribe now. Do not wait.

Jane has interviewed

George Saunders

,

Elizabeth Gilbert

,

Cheryl Strayed

, and

Andrea Gibson

.

Her interviews dive deep into craft, yes, but they’re even more about living on this planet as a heart-centered person, which Jane is. I know because I’m lucky enough to call her a very dear friend.

Jane also has a guest columnist on Beyond, the amazing

Joanna Rakoff

.

In this live, we talk about how collaboration isn’t about growth hacking—though growth is often a happy consequence. Like all things on Substack, it’s about you being a person connecting with other people and producing work that makes people think or fills them with meaning and joy.

I love getting to bring this to you.

And thanks to all the Substack Writers at Work who attended live! Thank you

Alyssa Polizzi

,

Amy Brown

,

Leigh Wagner PhD, RDN

,

Michelle Dowd

,

Brad Swift

, and everyone who was there.

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If you’re interested in collaborating with other Substack writers and creators, post about it in the comments and find someone else who might be a good fit.

Post in the comments:

• Write what you’re interested in:

  • having someone guest post,

  • guest posting on someone else’s Substack,

  • interviewing someone or being interviewed,

  • doing a live, or

  • doing a light collab.

• What’s your Substack about in one sentence?

• Who’s your typical subscriber?

• Include the URL.

• Connect!

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And if you’re not sure who your subscribers are, this might help:

Growth Session: Discover Who You're Really Writing For