Why I'm not attached to Substack (and you shouldn't be either)

Substack has been an amazing tool for growing an audience, but you shouldn't treat it like the be all and end all.

Substack is booming!

Substack’s growth is impossible to ignore, as the creators of the platform are quick to tell us. There are more readers, creators and paid subscriptions than ever before. With every new day, people are showing up to read and write. We’re living through the Substack gold rush.

But this boom ultimately comes with a price. As the wave of new writers increases, so does the volume. Your inbox becomes crowded. Feeds are watered down. After all, there’s only so much time or interest to go around. And in this economy, not everyone can afford endless paid subscriptions.

I’m not attached to Substack emotionally, despite everything amazing that it’s done for me. And today I’m writing about why you should feel the same way.

They take HOW MUCH?!

Every paid subscription you receive on Substack sends a chunk of money elsewhere. 10%, in fact. That’s by far the most of any similar platform, especially once you start earning real money from your work.

When you start out, 10% seems like a fair chunk. It might be a few dollars here and there, but nothing significant. But once a newsletter takes off? That’s a lot of money to be sending away.

My constant battle with this focuses on whether Substack’s growth engine (Notes, recommendations, leaderboards etc) outweighs the huge percentage of money they take. After all, this is money that could be paying bills or buying a weekly food shop. For context, I will end up giving thousands of dollars to Substack this calendar year as a percentage of my income.

If I moved to Ghost or Beehiiv, I’d probably save about half of that. And those platforms have set fees regardless of newsletter income, whereas if I increased the money I make from Substack then I’d pay even more to them.

People rarely talk about the cost of this. And this 10% is before Stripe fees, tax, VAT or anything else. I love being on this platform, and being a Substack creator, but that chunk of money really starts to hurt after a while.

But ultimately, if I moved to another platform and my gradual increase in readership disappeared, would I be worse off in the long run? Personally, I’m not brave enough to move anywhere else just yet.

Notes, noise and… Really? Must everything be made with AI?

Notes has been great… For a while. Sort of. It’s was, at some point, a genuinely useful space to grow, meet readers, swap ideas and find new subscribers. At times, it still does all those things and allows you to make genuine connections.

But wow, the slop. The seemingly endless slop. Is anyone else noticing it get worse, or is it just me?

Take this example: the person I’m quoting gets at minimum hundreds of likes on these obviously AI stories.

The replies are full of people genuinely in awe at this imagined scenario. Others act high and mighty about how they’re similar to the bag boy, and say others should be more like him. Some even know it’s AI, and simply don’t care.

Is this really the platform we want it to be? I get that AI slop is everywhere in 2025, but Substack always felt like a break from that to me. But it’s getting worse and worse, though if it ultimately lines the pockets of the people at the top: why would they care?

Chasing vanity metrics can feel rewarding, but lots of the engagement doesn’t turn into anything meaningful (this creator has 25,000 free subscribers but isn’t a bestseller, so even the mound of slop isn’t leading to serious income). It’s exhausting, and it’s stopped me using Substack Notes so much, other than to complain.

A shame, because it was for a while a space to connect with real people. A social media that allowed you to grow an engaged audience. But that seems to be somewhat of an afterthought now.

And so I must ask, what is all this really for?

Never get comfortable with modern day media

Some platforms feel as though they will last forever (they won’t). Substack is growing quickly, but possibly too quickly for its own good. I’ve been here more than two years now, and things have changed so, so quickly. It’s already a completely different place from when I joined, for better and for worse.

Other newsletter platforms are working overtime to compete with this place.

Some have lower fees, others promise more features (like ad networks) and a few provide shinier tools. If Substack loses its edge or changes the rules, I want to be able to pick up my things and move on. Staying flexible is the only way to avoid getting stuck somewhere.

Never allow yourself to get too comfortable, and in the newsletter age, your audience is the thing that really matters.

Remember: you own your audience!

The best thing about being here is your own subscriber list, regardless of the platform. You can export your readers and disappear to the other side of the internet should you choose, even on a whim.

Download your subscriber list regularly (I’ll show you how to do this soon), and be prepared for any eventuality. While these platforms have been fantastic for many people, they are not your friend. They can, and will, do things you don’t like.

Having your own list of email subscribers is your personal insurance here. The tech company is the tool, not the gatekeeper. And if you need to leave, you can do it at any given moment with your entire community still intact.

Stay loyal to your readers and nothing else

I appreciate everything Substack has made possible for me, but I try not to get sentimental about any of it (which is hard, given what this place has done for me).

If things change, I’ll be ready to move. That’s the only real way to keep both your freedom and peace of mind.

In the end, the only thing that matters is staying loyal to your audience. Platforms will come and go. Your readers are the ones to hold onto.

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Want personal help growing your newsletter?

If you’ve ever wanted specific support with any aspect of developing or refining your Substack newsletter, I offer private, 1-2-1 coaching for Substack writers at all stages.

Writers are already finding clarity, with practical ideas to improve content, find readers and grow a paid income.

• Ready to go all-in? I offer a three-session package with three full months of email support.

• Already publishing? We can audit your setup, content, and strategy and give you a hyper-focused plan to boost growth or conversions.

• Just getting started? We can pressure-test your idea, review your positioning and tighten any launch plan.

Whatever support you need to help grow your newsletter, and whatever stage you’re at, I’m here to help.