Substack is a publishing platform favoured by independent writers and journalists who want to create and monetize their own newsletters. Writers can share articles, stories, and ideas directly with their audience while building engaged communities around their work.

The platform offers an intuitive publishing interface with rich media support, allowing creators to focus on writing while readers enjoy discovering diverse voices across topics like politics, technology, and culture. The subscription model lets writers earn directly from their audience.

Substack makes its mark with its elegant simplicity for writers seeking direct reader connection. The multimedia integration and free entry point are undeniably attractive, particularly for newsletter-focused content. By contrast, its marketing limitations and subpar membership features are glaring weaknesses. Founders seeking sophisticated audience engagement should look elsewhere.

Substack excels for writers prioritizing ease of use over robust features. Building a simple newsletter or basic website is a breeze, but forget complex marketing funnels or selling products directly. If you need advanced marketing or membership management, consider supplementing or replacing Substack entirely.

Utilize Substack's built-in recommendation feature strategically by actively recommending other relevant (but non-competing) newsletters within your niche to your audience; reciprocally, reach out to writers of those newsletters to request they recommend yours. This creates a network effect, exposing your writing to new potential subscribers who are already interested in the topics you cover, thereby organically growing your readership and business.