Substack Weekend Musings #4
The latest weekly roundup of everything worth knowing, reading and discovering on Substack this week.
Welcome to the latest edition of GYN’s Substack Weekend Musings!
A catch-up on recent posts, some of my favourite reads from other writers and news about the platform and Grow Your Newsletter, as well as other bits and pieces worth knowing.
✉️ What’s in today’s edition?
💰 My thoughts on Substack burnout
👀 What you might have missed on GYN
📚 My three favourite reads this week
🛠️ A Substack feature you should be using
My thoughts on Substack burnout 📰
I’ve been feeling a little bit of burnout lately. That’s probably not surprising, given the sheer volume of hours I spend here each week. I love it here, and I’m extremely grateful, but it still can be a lot sometimes.
And that’s fine. And it’s fine for you to feel the same, whatever your Substack experience looks like.
Yes, posting is great. Yes, I have subscribers I need to supply content, opportunities or obligations to. But that doesn’t have to come at the cost of my mental wellbeing.
It can be hard to switch off from running a newsletter. Checking Stripe every five minutes, constantly scrolling through the app, always planning the next post. But it’s important to think consciously about taking breaks.
So, I’m going to start spending at least one day a week logged out. Probably Saturdays, where I’ll enjoy (or tolerate) a full 24 hours without anything Substack. I’m no longer on social media, so that means plenty of time for catching up on reading or watching live sport.
Burnout is okay. But rest and recovery is important for dealing with it. Find ways to switch off, whatever that looks like, and allow your mind the chance to feel better about being on here.
Trust me, we all need a break sometimes!
Missed anything from GYN? 👀
This week I shared a post with you about the case for shrinking your mailing list, plus a step-by-step guide for paid subscribers on how to do so, as well as the metrics I use.
And more than 50 of you have shared your newsletters in the GYN chat thread (you can read more in the link below). This thread is for you to find similar creators and grow recommendations and reach prospective collaborators.
Just make sure you read through and reach out to relevant people, don’t just self promote! This is about working together, not trying to grow independently.
My top three reads this week 📚
Melanie’s Substack The Link Tank is all about growing on LinkedIn. Look, I get that LinkedIn isn’t much fun. Nothing about it feels authentic. But it remains important for your career or business, especially if you’re a freelancer like me. This piece, about publishing on LinkedIn and Substack, was great. I’d recommend subscribing if you want to know more about how to grow over there.
If you haven’t read Rose Wong, I’d really recommend checking her work out. A newer Substack, this one is all about finding meaning in life with the threats of terminal cancer, climate change, automation and late-stage capitalism - and the writing is fantastic. This post is about Rose’s experience, and it’s a really brilliant read. If you enjoy reading personal essays, check this one out this week.
If you’d like to read more about LGBTQ+ music, you should definitely check out Lavender Sound. This breakdown of releases by LGBTQ+ artists was a highlight of mine. Plus, Lavender Sound has the aim of paying music writers fair rates, and that’s hugely commendable - reading and supporting them helps with all of that. A great online magazine worth reading, especially if you love your music.
Are you using email headers and footers? 🛠️
Do you know what email headers and footers are? Do you know what they can do?
Have a look in your publication settings. If you’re not using them, you should be. And it doesn’t have to be used to endlessly sell upgrades to your readers, you can use them to share a welcome message, a reminder of what you write about, or links to other things.
Really, it’s up to you. I’ve had lots of success in growing with using headers and footers, but they work a little differently for everyone.
I’m going to share a post with you soon with more details on what they can do for you, plus some examples of different content in them for paid subscribers.
Any thoughts? 💬
Let me know if you have anything to say on anything from today’s Substack Weekend Musings. I always love to hear from you!
Thanks for mentioning us in here! We really appreciate it (:
Hi. I'm new, & choosing to generate a monthly compilation of my few, mostly long-form pieces. Would love feedback. Here's latest: https://open.substack.com/pub/mittyowens/p/august-stayin-woke-newsletter-black?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=4vho96