Terms
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Newsletters and publishing platforms give writers the opportunity to monetize their writing in a meaningful method. Instead of establishing affiliate programs, or saturating their websites with advertisements, they are able to focus on their passion: writing.
It is a mutually beneficial exchange for both members and creators. Writers are paid for their articles, while readers have the option to read the content they like, while having an uninterrupted free of ads. Whether you're a blogger, journalist, or even a aspiring writer This comparison can assist you in making an informed choice about the platform best meets the needs of your.
Substack
Substack's principal goal is to empower creators and give them the tools needed to be successful. The platform offers various tools that address the requirements of freelance creators of content. From audience monetization options to control, Substack gives writers the ability to take charge of their creative career and develop a sustainable career.
Features and pricing
The site is advertised as "a place for independent writing," Substack offers writers the chance to start a paid newsletter business to build a community and earn income from subscriptions. They claim that zero tech experience is required, and strive to "take all the responsibility, excluding the hard portion (the writing in itself)." They promise "true autonomy" where the writer keeps the copyright on all their writing.
How it works is fairly easy. Writers have the option of importing posts they've written on different platforms such as Mailchimp, WordPress, Tinyletter, Medium, Tumblr, and even some custom-built sites as well as build a new site by starting from scratch within a couple of minutes. Once live, the creator chooses which posts are completely free and others are placed by the Substack paywall. Substack will take 10% when a creator starts monetizing, but until then, the platform is totally cost-free. The Substack team says they can "start the process of establishing your Substack at breakfast; start making money before lunch time." This is how you can accomplish this.
Dashboard/Posts
The Dashboard page displays any articles you've previously posted, as well as general statistics for your most recent article. This includes total views, number of emails received, as well as the open rate.
There's also several buttons you can use for you to begin creating your next work of art. These buttons let you Create a brand new blog post, a new podcast episode or create a brand new thread. In this page, you will be able to access Subscribers, Stats, and Settings.
Within Substack newsletters, they are known as "posts' and each post is posted on the author's Substack page for profile. After an account has been activated, Substack automatically creates a initial draft of the post. The auto-message encourages people to join the newsletter's creator and to share the announcement on social media. You can edit or delete the initial pre-populated post or begin writing your next post.
Substack's homepage for posts
Writing/editing starts with adding a title, subtitle, and the author's name -- you may even ask writers to guest contributeand then you can use a powerful text editor which offers an opportunity to include paragraph copy, headings, images, buttons, codes for bold and italic fonts as well as quotes and bullet points.
If you press the Settings button, you'll be given an opportunity to alter the page's visibility. It is possible to make the post accessible or private, and select to allow comments or not. In this section, you can edit your blog's date of publication as well as the URL as well as the secret "draft URL" If you wish to share the article with friends or family (even prior to publication). You can send a test email or edit the preview for social media to get the visuals just right before you send it to your followers.
Once you have scheduled or published the post, return to the Posts page to check how many readers have been reading each post.
Subscribers
The dashboard for subscribers displays the total number of subscribers and paid subscribers, gross annualized revenue, and subscription numbers for the last thirty days and 90 days, and all time. It displays your subscribers' email addresses for every subscriber along with the kind of subscription (free or paid) and the date on which they signed up, and revenues per subscriber.
For more subscribers to join to your list, manually join them via their email address or export your existing mailing list using MailChimp, TinyLetter, Patreon or similar platforms into a CSV file and then transfer it. Substack's upload tool Substack upload tool will import every email address it can find, so only upload those that have signed up to your mailing list.
Stats
The Stats page, you'll be able to learn about the amount of traffic which was directed towards your website, as well as the number of emails you've send out in a 30-day or 90-day period, or after you've launched your newsletter.
The tab for traffic displays the latest month's website customers, along with the site from which they came. This can be the post itself, your substack profile page as well as social media channels like Twitter.
The Email tabs provide you with specific information about each post such as title, publication date, and audience (public as well as private) in addition to statistics on delivery, such as the how many opens it has, the open rate, free/paid subscriptions after 1 day, and the engagement (likes or comments).
Settings
You can edit the title and description of your publication. Also, you can alter the discoverability settings (such as tags) and customize your About page, which will describe the advantages of reading your publication and signing up to become an subscriber.
There are a variety of options to customize the voice and visual brand of your blog, such as your logo, cover image, email banner, and the welcome email message (which is sent to readers right after they sign up). Editing your email send options like your sender name, whether you would like to receive emails with replies to your blog posts, as well as an your email address for RSS feeds like email protected[email protected]. You can link and detach your social media channels and Stripe for payment processing.
Integrity and compatibility
The most significant feature of Substack's services is the ability to import content from numerous other platforms. It saves time as it's not necessary to copy and paste your content from each platform you frequent. Substack allows you to import content from such platforms as Emailchimp platform, WordPress, TinyLetter, Tumblr, website RSS feed Podcast RSS feed Stripe and much more.
That said, much of Substack's work is tracking and data, so you can add a Facebook Pixel ID, Twitter Pixel ID, Parse.ly Pixel ID, Google Analytics Pixel ID, Google Tag Manager ID Google Site Verification and Facebook Site Verification.
These pixels allow for monitoring your readership/engagement levels and some create an integration with advertising platforms. For example, if you connect your Facebook Pixel ID (found on your Facebook Business Page) to your Substack, Facebook can track audiences for relevant advertisements.
Medium
Medium, on the other hand is a publishing and publishing platform that hosts an array of content from different writers. It serves as a community-driven discovery platform, where writers can reach a large audience and engage with readers and online publications with similar preferences. Medium has a user-friendly interface, extensive social functions as well as a built-in distribution network.
Prices and Features
Medium.com provides a variety of tools and functions to users and creators of content. It has become a go-to platform for individuals and organizations to share their thoughts, stories, and knowledge with a global public.
It is easy to create and format articles using an intuitive and simple editor. Medium provides a distraction-free writing environment with essential formatting options like lists, headings as well as images and embedding multimedia content. Once you have written an article, you may post it on Medium to make it available to everyone or limit it to specific audiences.
Access to unlimited access is $5 USD/month when paid per month, or $50USD for a year is paid for in advance.
Dashboard/Home
Like the social media sites, Medium offers an extensive community of users and readers who actively seek out interesting articles. With the help of algorithms and a curation system including an 'editor's preference' newsletter, the articles have the potential to gain visibility and reach a large public. This exposure can help creators as well as writers reach out to the public, establish an audience, and expand the influence they have in their areas of expertise.
Medium is a thriving audience, providing authors with an opportunity to reach more people and receive exposure for their work. Medium's vast reach guarantees that your content has the potential to be discovered by readers who share a genuine interest in your subject matter.
The features of the platform that are curated help present your content to readers who are interested, increasing the chances of engagement and visibility. By leveraging these discovery mechanisms it is possible to tap into Medium's distribution system and increase the reach of your posts.
Post editor
Medium offers a broad array of tools to create content that include advanced formatting options and embedded media support for images and video, and the capability to include customized code fragments. The platform allows authors to create visually appealing articles with rich media elements which makes it ideal to digital writers who want an aesthetic approach to writing.
With Medium's flexible post editor authors can personalize the appearance and style of their articles to align with their personal brand. Medium supports the integration of multimedia, allowing for the seamless inclusion of images as well as videos and other interactive elements. If you're looking to show off your photographic skills or share information through visuals Medium lets you make engaging material.
Network effect
Medium fosters a sense of community through features such as comments, highlights, and suggestions, which allow writers to interact with users. These engagement tools facilitate meaningful conversations and provide a welcoming environment for writers to connect to their readers.
Medium's network effect plays an crucial role in amplifying the reach of writers' articles. As readers engage with articles via claps, comments and sharing, the algorithm of Medium analyze the conversations and display the articles for a wider public. This network effect enables writers to increase their visibility beyond their existing follower base as well as attract new followers interested in their particular field.
How to make money: Medium's Partner Program
Medium uses a unique model of monetization, called Medium Partner Program. Medium Partner Program. Authors are able to join the program and earn money based on how much engagement their content receives which includes applauds (Medium's equivalent of likes) and reading time. (While the potential for earnings can be found on Medium, it's possible that the earnings is less certain in comparison to Substack's subscription system.)
The medium Partner Program encourages authors to create interesting and stimulating articles that are a hit with readers. By rewarding articles based on reader feedback and interaction, Medium promotes the development of content with high-quality that engages and inspires its audience. This model provides an opportunity for you to earn income by maintaining a completely free and accessible publishing platform.
Conclusion: Medium vs Substack
Substack and Medium offer different things to cater to different creators -- the best way to choose the platform for you is to consider what you want to get out of your newsletter/publishing platform. Substack empowers independent writers through monetization possibilities, audience ownership, and a simple yet specific publishing experience. However, Medium offers a vast reader base, discoverability features, and a strong feeling of community.
If you provide valuable and unique contents to your followers and generating revenue, you will be able to and continue to pursue your creativity. Each option serves a distinct goal, so it's your responsibility to determine which option is right for you and your audience. Happy writing!