How To Support The Great Substack Experiment
Navigate The Mind Field With Celine
Why should I have a Substack newsletter? Why should you have a Substack newsletter?
Substack, launched in 2017, allows writers to send digital newsletters directly to their readers and monetize their work by putting it behind a paywall. Content can be completely free or parts of it made freely accessible.
While some are skeptical about whether the shift from algorithm-powered news feeds to age-old email newsletters will be long-lasting, others are optimistic that, in fact, what’s old is a new age of media.
A newsletter traditionally contains “news”, i.e. new events and/or information about current and upcoming happenings or topics. As well, they may include references or links to off-line and online resources and promote the content or work of members of the organisation that the newsletter is associated with.
I had heard a little about Substack but it wasn’t until Sandra Di Francesco encouraged me to look into it to write pieces related to spirituality, that I took another look!
I like writing on Substack. The interface of Substack for creating and publishing posts and podcasts and for looking at stats is straightforward. The platform permits a lot of formatting for creating a story/post/article, with “buttons” that can be added for signing up or sharing.
Emails to subscribers are customisable and posts with podcasts can be set up and sent out.
Readers can like and comment on posts. Writers can configure their settings to receive emails about likes and comments and to have the names of the Newsletters that they follow displayed publicly or not.
By subscribing to my Substack newsletter you get weekly “bubbles of inspiration and support” from a trustworthy caring person.
Here are my goals for working with Substack.
- Every week I take the energetic “pulse” on what’s going on in the world, and a concept or idea grows and develops into a weekly sharing. I intend that it has one key point that the reader can think over. My newsletter title “Navigating the mind field” encourages readers to relate the content to their personal lives as well as to the collective.
- Helpful or inspiring original content is paid for, especially when the amount is affordable and the subscriber wants to support the content creator. I turn 59 this year and have written technical guidelines on working with WordPress, MeWe, Medium, and software and processes in organisations, all for free. Because I myself am happy to pay for things that I want, I feel that this approach is reciprocal with many others. I believe that my weekly “bubbles of inspiration” will be timely and valuable for my Substack readers.
- Substack allows a mix of free and paid posts. Free subscribers to my Substack newsletter will be able to read the first article of each month free, plus read my weekly oracle card readings free. Every Saturday or Sunday I will randomly choose one of my many card decks and do a reading for the collective. This means that I tune into as many people in the world as I can and ask my guides and higher self to help select a card. I then create a post and a podcast and these will be emailed out to free and paying subscribers.
At the moment my Substack Newsletter is just over one month old. Substack writers have to invite and find their readers mainly.
So I am asking my Medium email subscribers to let me know (either in a comment or via a private note) if you want to be added as a free Subscriber to “Navigating the mind field with Celine”. If yes, I will add you straight away.
You can choose to become a paying subscriber at any time.
If anyone reading this doesn’t subscribe to my Medium stories, but would like to subscribe to my Substack newsletter, please click here.
The difference between my publishing on Substack and on Medium is that my Substack articles are always evergreen or “topical”, meaning that they catch the current vibes or energies, yet have timeless messages. Also I aim my “bubbles” on Substack to be no more than 500 to 600 words in length, while I may publish longer pieces on Medium.
You could say that my “bubbles” on Substack are personal development or life skill bubbles of thoughts from 58 years of lived experiences!
I began reading and writing on Medium as a paying member in November 2018. It is a good idea to “spread your wings” or “not to put all your eggs in one basket” and so I am trying out Substack!
My output on Substack is constrained to two posts per week (a “bubble” on Tuesdays and a Card Reading on weekends) because of the time and effort involved. I am still working in the mainstream to pay off a mortgage and am still an avid reader and writer on the Medium platform, plus a human being with many things to do.
My writing interests include technical writing and proof-reading (e.g. for native Asian writers to ensure their work has apt English expression), and so one day I will probably write guidelines on working with Substack, haha!
Learning from an experienced person who loves to help others and who explains things clearly and thoroughly is something to be grateful for.
An interesting new function that Substack has is Recommendations.
Substack writers can recommend Substack newsletters that they personally like. 😄 This means that after new subscribers subscribe (for free or for a paid subscription) to my Substack newsletter, they will see a list of Substack newsletters that I recommend. The writers of the newsletters that I recommend may reciprocate and recommend my newsletter to their new subscribers!
At the time of writing this I know of six Medium writers who have Substack Newsletters. I have subscribed to their newsletters. 😃
Gladys Carmina — The Goal is Freedom
Jane Frost (Jane Grows Garden Rooms) — Tongues in Trees
Dr Mehmet Yildiz — Content Strategy, Development & Marketing Strategies
Casey Botticello — Blogging Guide
I think that if you are keen to write a regular Newsletter on one theme or topic of interest to someone, that Substack would be a viable avenue to use, especially if you make your newsletter freely accessible.
You can import email lists into Substack BUT please don’t do that unless you have the permissions of the email addressees!
Be mindful that Substack and Stripe (their payment processor) take fees if you have paid subscriptions, and that subscribers can only pay by credit card.
HERE is the official Help Centre for Substack.
If you are interested in browsing my Substack newsletter, click on the link below. 😄 Thank you for reading this!
Life is an experiment and my great Substack experiment has only just begun. By signing up you will receive bubbles of uplifting tingly colorful words to drive you to your goals, from a nice bubbly person who loves to support others.
Hi 😄 If you got use from this article and want to read more, signing up as a member of Medium will mean you can read all stories on Medium (and a portion of your fees will go to me, as well as support others). Click here to become a member!
