Substack Is a Feisty Place These Days...
Your Substack Dispatch
Because you don’t need more Substack information; you need intel.
Substack has been a feisty (and exciting) place these days.
These dispatches are where I bring you news about Substack and intel based on what I’m seeing, hearing, and sensing on the platform.
This week
Why everyone’s freaking out, Substack’s best new feature, setting up your Perks page to convert subscribers, good news about the Substack algorithm, and more.
Signals
What to pay attention to
1. Substack introduced the best new feature.
(No, not that one.)
Audience-Specific Content will make keeping, growing, and converting paid subscribers so much easier. It’s a way to create sections in your posts that only free, unsubscribed, paid subscribers or founding subscribers can see.
It’s a way for us to create relationships with our free subscribers in one way and our paid subscribers in another, and to avoid paywalling because bonus content can be contained in a little section of your posts while still leaving the comments open, which helps with engagement, which helps with growth.
Find out the basics here. Tip: These don’t work in emails, only articles/posts sent as emails.
2. We have Perks pages.
Perks pages are where you can offer discounts, exclusive links, special posts, and PDFs/other digital tools, and brand partnership perks for paid subscribers. The best part: they’ve given us a way to discern between perks for annual and monthly paid subscribers. Here are the basics on how to set up yours. Here’s ours for paid subscribers, including Your 2026 Starter Pack, the 15 Rules of Paywalling on Substack in 2026, The Ultimate Guide to Launching or Relaunching Your Substack, and 20% off all SW@W merch.
3. Good news about the Substack algorithm.
Substack’s head of engineering, Mike Cohen, was interviewed about the Notes algorithm and what really leads to growth on Substack. The good news: it’s exactly what I’ve been saying. If you’re not doing Notes Hour One, it’s time to start:
Noise
What to tune out
1. Steer clear of all the brouhaha about Substack’s new AI detector.
You may not have heard :), but we have a new AI detection tool via Pangram and people are in a tizzy. Everyone and their brother is posting about it on Notes (including yours truly) and writing articles. It’s sparking much-needed conversation about the kind of writing we value and what it means to be transparent and authentic, and it’s a bit of an overreaction.
Why are people reacting so strongly and what are they getting wrong?
It’s understandable that people really, really don’t like being told what to do, but no one actually is being told what to do because the AI detector is optional when you go to post.
People don’t understand how Pangram, LLMs, and Grammarly work, which is understandable because AI is complicated and threatening, and so is the world, but…
Some writers mistakenly believe that because LLMs were trained on our books and articles, it means that Pangram will flag our posts as AI-generated. Pangram scans for AI’s default voice (diction and syntax), which makes everyone sound like a tech bro. That voice comes from a post-training process called Reinforcement Learning from Human feedback (RLHF), not our books and articles.
People don’t know that Pangram detects AI writing any time you use an LLM as an “editor” (including includes Grammarly Pro), you are subjecting your writing and your voice to AI speak, i.e., phrases and words particular to AI, which Pangram picks up on even if you think you aren’t using AI.”
Even if you are the victim of a false positive, Substack has provided a “How I Make This” statement, so you can just disclose how you use AI, and it’s not a problem. I take you through how to write yours here:
2. Ignore all other merch.
The best merch in the world is here and created by our own Peter Moore. I never thought I’d have merch or want merch, but then I saw it as a way to promote Substack artists. Check out the Peter Moore collection here.
3. Don’t hyperfocus on your Substack.
The best part about Substack is the people and connecting with them on here. I’ve loved getting to know everyone in our amazing thread, so I’m extending it in the hopes that I’ll be able to meet all of you. It will probably take me a couple of weeks, but get in there.
Come meet your fellow Substack writers, especially if you’re new to Substack. I’m trying to make my way through every single comment. Yes, all 500 of them.
Who’s here
One of my favorite musicians Maggie Rogers, who became ultra famous because of this video of Pharrell Williams discovering her and continues to be just so cool and an ultra talented musician. If you do one thing today, watch this.
Karen Attiah, former Washington Post journalist and former Columbia University faculty member, is here. I had the pleasure of meeting her at Substack’s Forum in New York, and she is standing up to the powers that be, creating her own courses, in writing at The Golden Hour. We have a Live in the works. Hopefully in August, just trying to pin down a date.
What’s next
Don’t miss my live with Susan Cain: On Building a Substack That’s Thoughtful, Sensitive, and Quietly Massive: 7/31 at 1 PM CT. Add to your calendar here.
I’m re-reading Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole, her wonderful book about melancholy. I can’t wait to talk to her about how to create a Substack that feels like an extension of the lives we’ve lived and work we’ve done.
Next week: Why publishers, agents, and editors really need to focus on Substack and Substack writers if they want to sell books. Then: Why your paid subscriptions have stalled.
All my best,
P.S. I just opened slots for my 3-Month, 1:1 Substack Accelerator Growth Package—a bespoke, three-month, one-to-one mentorship with me to build your platform, amplify your expertise, and earn the income you deserve. I just opened the calendar. I work with a limited number of private clients. Find out more and book here.
Upcoming Substack Lives! Mark your calendars:
Live with Susan Cain: On Building a Substack That’s Thoughtful, Sensitive, and Quietly Massive: 7/31 at 1 PM CT.
Add to your calendar here.
Live with Elizabeth Gilbert: When a Substack Becomes a Spiritual Practice: 9/9 at 2 PM CT.
Add to your calendar here.
This week’s Notes Boost Community. Note: The Notes Boost was created for a different algorithm. You’re welcome to do it to meet each other, but it’s not what I recommend for growth right now.
SW@W homepage | Premier homepage | Substack Starter Pack | 24/7 Community Chat | Manage your subscription | Book a 3-Month Substack Growth Package 1:1
Is it true that only Substacks that have the paid tier activated get promoted by the algo? I have now read this in several places where people are teaching about Substack growth. Currently mine is entirely free. Do I need to allow paid tiers to grow (and then just not make any of my posts paywalled)?
Super helpful, thank you 😊.