Substack is a publishing platform that allows writers, journalists, and creators to distribute newsletters and monetize their content. It works by letting users create free or paid newsletters. For paid subscriptions, Substack takes a 10% commission on subscription revenue. The platform also integrates tools for content creation, community building, and analytics to make the publishing and monetization process seamless.

Substack itself is free to use, but it takes a 10% fee from your subscription revenue for paid newsletters. Additionally, Stripe, the payment processor used by Substack, charges a transaction fee (typically 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction). If you choose to run a free newsletter, there are no costs associated with using Substack.

Substack offers several features to help grow your audience, including a recommendation system where other writers can promote your newsletter. The Substack app also helps drive subscriber growth, reportedly outperforming social media sources. Additionally, you can leverage built-in community tools like comments, discussions, and mentions, as well as SEO-optimized publishing features to improve your visibility online.

Substack provides intuitive analytics to track your performance. These include metrics like open rates, click-through rates, subscriber growth, and revenue analytics. You can also monitor which newsletters or posts perform best, helping you refine your content strategy to better engage your readers and maximize revenue.

Yes, Substack includes robust community-building tools. Writers and creators can engage subscribers with interactive features like comments, discussions, and threaded conversations. Collaborative features such as guest posts, cross-posting, and mentions further help writers build networks and deepen subscriber relationships.

Yes, Substack offers advanced SEO tools to improve the visibility of your published newsletters. The platform automatically optimizes publications for search engines and provides customization options like adding meta descriptions and custom URLs for individual posts. These SEO enhancements increase your chances of appearing in relevant search results.

Yes, Substack offers advanced SEO tools to improve the visibility of your published newsletters. The platform automatically optimizes publications for search engines and provides customization options like adding meta descriptions and custom URLs for individual posts. These SEO enhancements increase your chances of appearing in relevant search results.

Substack processes payments through Stripe, giving subscribers the flexibility to use credit cards and other supported payment methods. These payments are secure and recurring, ensuring a smooth experience for both subscribers and creators.

Substack stands out from other platforms by combining publishing and monetization into one tool. While competitors like Mailchimp or ConvertKit focus more on email marketing, Substack focuses on content creation, audience engagement, and direct monetization through paid subscriptions. The platform's minimalistic approach, integrated growth features, and low barrier to entry make it a strong choice for independent writers.