6 Ways to Avoid the Substack Rut
Every once in a while we start to feel like we’re either in a holding pattern on Substack or it’s just not working. Your subscriber numbers are stagnant. They go up and go down—or they just go down. No one likes or restacks your posts. Every morning, you wake up and tell your cats, “It’s not working” (hypothetically).
This, my friends, is known as the Substack rut. Don’t worry. You’re not alone. And I’m here to help.
🤍 6 Ways to Avoid the Substack Rut
1. Give yourself five years
Yup, five years. Substacks with a gazillion subscribers have been on here for years and/or had a newsletter for years before they came on the platform.
The other day, I met with a Substack writer disillusioned with the platform. He felt what so many of us have at one time or another: I’m not getting subscribers, no one is seeing my Substack, everyone else has it easy, etc. etc. I asked how long he’d been on Substack. “Three weeks.”
Three weeks.
Substack is a long game, my friends.
I forget this, too. It all has to happen now. Guess what? It doesn’t. Why? Because look where we are. Substack is full of the most talented, lovely, cool, kind, creative people. Let’s stay here a while.
With those five years in mind, do the math. If you want x number of subscribers in five years, how many do you need to get this month?
Take a breath. Slow down. Keep going.
2. Ask, What other platform would I give my time to?
Where else would we give our time to? Instagram? Facebook? [Shudder] LinkedIn?
You get to be yourself on here. You get to take time to figure out who you are on the platform and what you like to write and offer your subscribers.
3. Appreciate what we have
To my mind, there’s an awful lot of grumbling on Substack. It’s easy to get spoiled. Reality check:
Substack bends over backward to give us what we need on the platform. Every once in a while, it’s nice to say thank you, even if only to ourselves.
Without Substack, most of us would be in the blogosphere talking to no one.
4. Help someone else.
Go read someone’s post and post about it on Notes. Give it a real recommendation. Or comment on someone’s post. Or like it. (Do this only if it’s genuine.)
5. Stop looking at the numbers
For a week, come with me on a metrics cleanse. When you go to your dashboard, move quickly past the home page to wherever you need to go. Don’t look at comments or likes, nothing. Just write, offer, and be on here.
6. Be part of a community of other Substack writers to get support
When the long game feels like it’s dragging, you need people around you to connect with.
One of my 1-to-1 clients is eighty-six years old. Her Substack has almost 1000 subscribers. Yesterday, she told me what she loves most about Substack: the friends she’s made.
Whether it’s Substack Writers at Work or another Substack like Claire Venus’s
or any other Substack devoted to helping you succeed, really commit to being part of that community so you don’t feel like you’re doing it alone.Now that Substack Office Hours will soon be defunct, our Friday Office Party can serve as somewhere you go each week to connect and get your Substack in front of people (something Substack Office Hours didn’t really encourage). We also have the Headline Heroes chat. Come to the monthly workshops or watch the replays simply so you get to know the faces behind the bylines.
✨ Commit to your Substack for one year. Become a paid subscriber to get everything Substack Writers at Work offers, including the best community of 9000+ subscribers!
Bonus tip: No one is succeeding all the time
It just seems that way. I don’t like absolutes, but I’ll venture that everyone gets into the Substack rut.
This is very timely for me. I had a realization last week that I should look at Substack like an index fund. If you watch the numbers every day you'll drive yourself crazy because the stock market fluctuates so much and can be stagnant for a while. But if you look at things over the long term, the graph shows a steady increase. So I keep investing my writing every week and try not to focus on short-term gains or losses, knowing that, in time, I'll get a healthy return.
Yep. To all of this. **nodding head in vigorous agreement.**
Maybe it's the February blah's that have us all looking at our belly buttons wondering why we're not 'good enough' or 'there yet'. When in reality, where the hell is there??!! And good enough apropro of what??
One of my 12 tips after 12 months on Substack included:
#1 - Comparing is inevitable - keep an open heart and be kind to yourself and others. The writing here is good. The writer’s exceptional. Talent is everywhere. But, there is no one like you. Remember that and carry on.
Happy Valentine's Day to the open hearted and unique person **you (we) are--there is no one like you. So, you are more than good enough. Thanks for this advice and reminder today Sarah. xo