Another Brand Building Platform?!
I know. So many brand building platforms, so little time, right? Last week, I wrote about Paper.Li and how and why I suggest you use it as a brand building platform. And now, I want to tell you about Substack. Why? Because Substack can be an extremely beneficial platform if it fits you and your brand.
What is Substack?
Substack is an email newsletter publishing platform offering free and paid subscriptions. It’s a content management system and an integrated payment service. And it’s free! Substack only takes a percentage of subscription fees from creators once they monetize their newsletter. It essentially does what MailChimp, your blog, website, and Medium does all on one platform.
Who Will Substack Work Best for as a Brand Building Platform?
Unlike Paper.Li, Substack will work better for content creators over content curators. You can always use Substack to curate and share good content by subscribing to either free or paid newsletters, and there are a lot of good ones on there. In fact, Substack even connects you to the newsletters of those you already follow on Twitter. But, Substack is mostly beneficial to you as a brand building platform if you’re a content creator. I’ll explain those benefits below. First, let’s determine if Substack is the right brand building platform for YOU.
Are You Passionate and Consistent In Your Brand Building Efforts?
If so, Substack may be the platform for you! Especially if you’re an expert on a topic, have a passion you love to share, or you keep up with and like to share relevant information and news about your industry. And if your goal is monetization, then Substack is a great place to start! Once you’ve built an engaged list of subscribers, you have the option to monetize your newsletter. But you have to be consistent and passionate and ready to commit to at least a monthly newsletter. If you feel like that’s not something you can do, another platform may be more worth your time. Because the true benefits of Substack are only realized through that consistency and dedication.
What Are the Benefits of Using Substack VS Other Platforms?
Well, if you fit the criteria above, the main benefit will be a passive income stream. Substack offers the chance to monetize doing what you love to do—write about your passions!
Another benefit of using Substack as your brand building platform is that like Medium or other blogs, it has everything you need all in one place: A payment portal, a content management system, and a slick looking site for all that content.
But unlike Medium, it’s free to be a content creator. Another benefit Substack has over Medium and other blogs is that Twitter connection I mentioned earlier. It links you directly to your Twitter. This makes finding and subscribing to newsletters easy for your followers and those you follow.
It offers some other benefits too.
- No ads, as you see on some blog sites
- It offers audio content support for you podcasters out there
- It’s simple, easy to use, and smoothly integrated
- Offers more choice (you can offer free or paid content)
- It gives you a direct connection to your readers
Ready to Give Substack a Try?
Well, did this pique your interest? I hope so! And because there are so many options out there, and we do have a limited amount of time and energy to spend on our brand building efforts, if it seems like a good fit for you, I suggest you check it out!
Starting is easy. You can create your Substack account directly through your Twitter or sign up via your email. Once you have an account, make an announcement. Share it far and wide! Add your link to your Twitter bio. Get that subscriber list up! Oh, and of course—create that content. Yes, as per usual, I’m suggesting more work for you to do. But, if it comes naturally to you, it’s almost like it’s not work at all.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on Substack. Do you already have a newsletter? Feel free to share the link in the comments of the original post!
