Should I move to Substack? Substack vs. Blogging
I was speaking with a blogging friend recently, and she suggested my style of blogging…a hobby blog consisting of personal essays…might be a better fit for Substack than a traditional WordPress blog. That got me thinking…what exactly is the difference between Substack and blogging and which is best for me?
Of course, I’m not the first person to ask this question, and in fact, if you Google it, you will get a plethora of responses. I read through a number of articles and blog posts, and I present to you a summary of those findings. At the bottom of this post, I have listed the two sources I found the most helpful.
Getting started and maintenance
Let’s start by comparing the technical skills and expenses required to run a blog versus a Substack publication.
Blogging
Starting a blog can be daunting if you are not technology minded, even if you use a platform like WordPress or Blogger. You may find you need some help, or at the very least, be prepared to invest some time and mental energy figuring things out. It gets easier over time, but with regulations, technology, and the Internet constantly changing, you will need to keep up.
As for expenses, there are a number of costs associated with setting up and maintaining a blog. Things like a domain name and hosting service, for sure. You may also want to use some paid plugins and professional services to keep your blog secure, fast, and user-friendly.
Substack
My understanding is that Substack is free to set up and use and that the learning curve is minimal. No tech skills required. Substack is responsible to keep up with changes in technology and legal requirements.
My scoring
For me, that’s a point in Substack’s favor. Periodically, I reconsider whether I want to keep blogging, and the technology and cost always land high on the “Con” side.
Ownership
It matters who owns your platform and data.
Blogging
When you create a blog, you own it 100 percent…the domain, the content, the design, the data. You have almost unlimited control over customizations of your site. No one can arbitrarily delete your site or change the rules on you. Assuming you have a good hosting company and the right plugins, you have back-ups of everything, and you can take that data and pop it onto another site quite easily.
Substack
With a Substack publication, you own the content and nothing else. Substack owns the platform and sets the rules. If you decide to leave, you can export your subscriber list, but you can’t take the platform itself with you, so it won’t be so easy to recreate your content on another site.
My scoring
For me, that’s a big point in Blogging’s favor.
Monetization
Do you want to earn money with your publication? And if so, by what methods?
Blogging
There are numerous ways to make money with a blog. You can run ads, do affiliate marketing, offer products or services, publish sponsored posts, run a membership program or publish a paid newsletter…just to name a few. Of course, it’s not that easy, or we’d all be millionaires!
Substack
Substack offers only one way to earn money, and that is to have paid subscribers. Substack makes the payment and collection easy, but it will also take a cut of your income. And having paid subscribers is the only monetization allowed. Substack guidelines specifically prohibit “publications whose primary purpose is to advertise external products or services, drive traffic to third party sites, distribute offers and promotions, enhance search engine optimization, or similar activities.”
My scoring
For a hobby blog like mine, that’s not a huge deal. I’m not paying the bills with my blog. That said, product review is the one post type that has paid me money or provided free products. I would give that up if I moved to Substack. So I’ll call this a point in Blogging’s favor.
Growing your audience
Do you already have an established audience, or are you hoping to attract a lot more followers?
Blogging
Blog content can be found via Google and other search engines. A well-written evergreen post can bring in readers for years without you doing anything. For example, in the last 12 months, four of my five most frequently visited posts are more than two years old. And going back to the example of product reviews on my blog, even posts that are several years old continue to pay off when new readers use my referral codes.
Substack
It is my understanding that Substack articles are much harder to find on Google, and that new readers typically only come from within Substack.
My scoring
While growing my audience is something I would like to do, I haven’t actually seen much growth recently. As mentioned above, I do get new eyes on my site, but the overall number is not increasing. So, in theory, this is a point in favor of Blogging, but in reality, I can’t give it a lot of weight.
Making deeper connections
What if the quality of the connections you are making is more important than the number of new connections?
Blogging
With many blogs, the blogger may never know exactly who has interacted with their site. Many readers may be one-time visitors, stopping by a particular post that catches their eye, never to return. That said, some personal blogs, including mine, have regular readers who leave meaningful comments and with whom we make real connections. In my case, these are primarily fellow bloggers.
Substack
Substack is designed for deepening established relationships and even includes a social media aspect to foster connections.
My scoring
I mentioned earlier that I periodically reconsider whether I want to keep blogging, and whenever I do, it’s the connections I’ve made that ranks at the top of the list of “Pros.” That would seem to make this a point in Substack’s favor. That said, many of the people I am connecting with are other bloggers, so it’s hard to say whether a move to Substack would help or hurt that connection.
Final score: Substack vs. Blogging
If I just count points as I’ve laid them out here, Blogging comes out ahead 3 to 2. Of course, it’s not as simple as that. Some of these factors weigh more heavily than others, and some factors are only truly beneficial if I can find a way to take advantage of the possibilities.
Unfortunately, I’m still not sure what to do. I’d love to hear your thoughts and your personal experiences, if you have them.
Your turn
- Do you have a blog, Substack, or both?
- If you have moved from blogging to Substack, can you share why? Any regrets?
- If you are publishing on both platforms, do you have different purposes for each? What are they?
- What else is on your mind? Anything at all; I just love to hear from you.
Sources:
https://sweetseadigital.com/blog/substack-vs-blog/
https://thissplendidshambles.com/substack-vs-blogging/
Image by Peter Olexa from Pixabay
