I moved to Substack—here's why

You'll learn why I chose Substack over WordPress, Medium, LinkedIn, ConvertKit and many other alternatives for my writing and podcasts.

Some of Google's recent updates have shaken thousands of websites and blogs. So the question is simple: Should you start a blog or a newsletter?

It’s been seventeen years since I wrote my first blog post. I still remember the excitement of publishing my writing for the first time—I feel the same as I write this.

Thankfully, I no longer have to optimize for the Search Engine—because this is a newsletter—not a blog post. So, instead of stuffing this paragraph with keywords, I can tell you precisely what you want to learn—why I chose Substack over many other publishing platforms.

Substack is a newsletter publishing platform. Unlike a blog post, newsletters are written to readers on an email list—if you aren’t reading this in your inbox, you should subscribe to this newsletter right now.

So let’s talk about the elephant in the room—Substack.

Why did I choose this elephant over other animals in this jungle of online writing platforms? Let’s take a step back—why did I decide to write a newsletter in the first place?

Why did I choose to write a newsletter?

There are plenty of reasons for choosing a newsletter. Let me explain the three primary reasons I decided to write one.

1. Failure of Search

Over the years, writing online has become synonymous with optimizing for Search Engines. SEO became the buzzword. Writers began focusing more on optimizing for keywords than on optimizing for content. Frankly, SEO made the internet a terrible place to write or read.

But technology has constantly evolved, and so has Search. Currently, Search has found itself in the crosshairs of another technology—artificial Intelligence. You know that one? Yeah, OpenAI is the poster boy.

💡Note: When I use the word Search, I also indirectly refer to Google Search—just like we do with photocopy and Xerox. And as of 2021, Search was 57% of Alphabet’s total revenue.

While Google figures out the future of Search, I think it’s fair and square to say that Google Search is going through a critical future-defining moment. Failure may sound like a strong word, but it’s grounded in reality—read more about how Google was caught pants-down in the recent Google Algo Leaks.

2. Success of AI

To make things worse, Google failed in its initial AI move with Gemini. But how does that make AI successful? Let me explain.

Google Search had become the de facto Lord of the Internet in the first quarter of the 21st century. With its sheer market dominance, it became the gatekeeper to the World Wide Web. But this twenty-first-century status quo was put to test the moment OpenAI announced its plans for Search.

SEO is great. But I always had a love-hate relationship with it—more hate than love—simply because that’s not how our brain works. I’m not a brain doc, but I don’t think we think in keywords—we think in associations.

AI works like the human brain.

It’s this idea of associated memory that vector databases use. Vector-what? Okay, you can read about them here. All you need to know is that vector databases store data by semantically associating them with each other. In my mind, the success of AI is due to its ability to understand the world like the human brain does.

So, what does this mean for writers like you and me?

How about this: You no longer need to write for Search Engines—you write for humans. It’s time to start expressing and communicating your ideas with your writing!

3. Social Engagement

Social networks have evolved a lot over the last twenty years. Yeah, Facebook had major identity crises too—Zuck once tried to focus on Search too. Thankfully, social networks have matured over the years!

Today, social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn have placed people in the center, but Search, on the other hand, places content in the center of discoverability. This difference has always created a hazy border between Social and Search—but that’s changing now, thanks to AI.

Here’s what this means for writers and content creators.

• The internet will start to see you as a well-rounded human with different interests, hobbies, and opinions.

• Internet beyond “links”: As Social and Search evolve, the internet can “make sense” of you based on your social media posts, blogs, podcasts, guest appearances on other podcasts, guest posts, media mentions, all of this (and more).

• There’s no better time to write and create content to express your opinions or create thought leadership in your space.

So yeah, that’s why I decided to write a newsletter—and you’re reading it too. Want to subscribe?

Why Substack?

This one’s simpler than you think. Newsletters have come a long way since the Middle Ages—they’ve been around that long. The pre-internet world of the 1900s saw many rapidly growing businesses centered around newsletters.

Today's online newsletters are very different, yet the fundamentals remain the same—you write to many people. One-on-one at scale.

You may do so to build authority, grow a community, or grow a business. Maybe you have nine other reasons to start a newsletter. But at the core, your goal is to connect with people as humanly as possible.

So why did I pick Substack? The short answer is that Substack has some things that help us be authentic. Let me explain.

1. Simple. No Distraction.

In just 20 minutes of signing up for Substack, I had imported two of my podcasts. In the next thirty minutes, I had an About page. That’s how simple Substack is.

I was not distracted by choosing a homepage design, logo, or anything else. Substack doesn’t even force you to give your newsletter a name. Yeah, it’s crazy but true—who cares what your newsletter name is anyway? Ariana Huffington didn’t, and neither did I.

Even as I write this, I feel this simplicity and lack of distraction helping me focus on my content. While I hope this resonates with you, I’m not distracted by the need to insert a popup form to grab your email!

2. Podcast hosting, too.

You heard me right when I said podcasts earlier. Substack lets you host your podcasts—yes, Substack is a podcast host. I instantly saved twenty dollars per month—the fee I pay BuzzSprout.

Granted, this platform may not have all the bells and whistles offered by platforms like BuzzSprout or LibSyn. But you know what? Substack provides an even better metric—email subscribers. Even better? Substack lets subscribers comment and interact with you as a podcast host.

This is priceless, and it’s free.

3. Reader Ecosystem.

Traffic. Many blogs, podcasts, and online businesses have gone bust because of the lack of traffic. Substack gets that. They understand that “people come for content and stay for the community” better than many others.

So when you’re on Substack, you have access to this from day one. You have exposure to a growing community of readers—thanks to a feature Substack introduced in late 2022. Chat, as they call it, is a watering hole you can create for your newsletter.

4. Short-form Content.

Every content platform has embraced short-form content—so has Substack. The reason is simple: sometimes shorter is sweeter.

In April 2023, Substack introduced Notes, a microblogging feature. TechCrunch called this feature Twitter-like, and I tend to agree. I also read this interesting piece by a fellow Substacker, David McIlroy.

5. Referral Growth Engine

Have you seen gas stations giving discounts on pizzas from a local pizza place? That’s a referral. The pizza place would also give you a discount coupon for your first gallon of gas refill at that gas station. That’s a referral growth engine.

Substack has implemented this exact pizza growth engine for you. When subscribers sign up for your newsletter, you can promote someone else’s. It’s a great way to get new subscribers—it’s a beautiful way to make some new friends with other newsletter authors, too. Isn’t that cool?

6. It’s Free. No Affiliates

This one’s a bonus. According to Backlinko, Substack has more than 20 million monthly active subscribers. The platform hit 2 million paid subscriptions. And more than 17,000 writers get paid.

All of this is done without affiliate marketing or charging its publishers or readers an entry fee. That’s great, but that’s not why I’m adding this as a bonus. Here’s the point: when a product grows without affiliates, it signifies a solid product and a good ecosystem.

Should you write on Substack, too?

I think you should. But it’s a decision for you to make.

But if you’re just getting started with writing, there’s no reason why you must consider anything else other than Substack. It’s free and has all the necessary features to write, share ideas, and find your tribe.

Let me know what you decide.