Here’s a breakdown of the three ways to collaborate with other Substack writers: guest post, cross-post, or interview (print, audio, video—including lives). Enjoy!
I’m quite partial to what’s called the “light collab.” I learned this from the amazing
.I take you step-by-step how to guest-post, cross-post, and the art of the light collab in my one-minute (!) video guide How to Collaborate on Substack here:
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.
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.
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.
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.
Another way to grow and find your audience is to be featured by Substack. I give you exactly how to do that here:
Get full access to the How to Find Your Next 1000 Subscribers Series by becoming a paid subscriber. Details are in the paid-subscriber welcome email.
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