My experience is that publishing regularly 2-3 times per week is only possible if substack is your fulltime thing/you have an independent income that frees a lot of time for you. It takes a lot of time to generate any sort of content.
I’d be curious to see how the metrics are calculated. Does it (can it?) count if read in an email vs a browser vs the Substack app. Sometimes I view posts in email, sometimes in a browser, and sometimes in the app, depending on where I am and what piece of technology I’m using at the time.
As far as I know it only counts email opens. But there are some quirks in how the counting works, it's not uncommon for it to show that a person has opened an email multiple times, which doesn't make sense. So the numbers are somewhat inflated in any event.
It would be interesting to know the ins and outs of how they count it. I'm also interested in how they calculate the popularity of our 'popular' posts - because sometimes that's not entirely obvious.
I generally don't open Substack e-mails - I might read the e-mail preview on my phone, maybe, if I'm out and about - but I spend most of my Substack reading time either on the phone app or on my web browser. It's disappointing if those activities aren't counted - I guess none of my reading is counted in the stats of those whose posts I read if only e-mail opens are counted, so that's rather a shame.
Thanks for sharing the observations (definitely not excuses!). I have wondered how you kept up with your publishing schedule with a day job, and glad you are dialing back a bit to better suit your schedule. Looking forward to your 2023 content!
I am amazed at the pace you keep Mark! Bravo! Happy to hear increased self care is on your list. Sometimes easy to neglect, but the benefits are so rewarding when we take the time to up our intentions in that area. Happy New Year! Wishing you a year filled with happiness and good health. 🤗
Jan 1, 2023·edited Jan 1, 2023Liked by Mark Dykeman
Such a great post! Really interesting to read your stats.
But I feel you're on a bit of a downer! Don't be! I've enjoyed every one of your posts, regardless of how often - or not - you've been posting. You're one of the first people I came across on SS when I first joined in June, and I've really appreciated having you here all the way through.
My posting routine began as twice a week, and pretty soon I found that unsustainable. I'm working to one per week, plus an additional project on the side - 'Letters to Terry' - for which I put the blame ENTIRELY at the door of a certain Mr Terry Freedman 😉 - and that's enough for me!
I love the community right here after every single post you post, Mark, but please don't think that that means you need to post more frequently than you want to!
Keep up the good work in whatever iteration you choose - I'll still be right here reading you.
Happy, happy new year! Onwards and jolly well upwards!
Thanks Rebecca, very kind of you to chime in! I was feeling a bit down about things in December but I think I was largely feeling overtired and caught up in the Christmas rush. I'm certainly feeling much better about things now! I'm comfortable with dropping to 3 days/week and if I do get a rhythm in place for creating some paid subscriber only content I'll probably decrease to two days/week of content outside the content wall... we'll see how it goes. Fortunately I've been able to collate a lot of ideas for new material, just need to put in some time to be able to write and publish. Looking forward to your writing in 2023!
I really liked the piece you wrote on monochrome tv! Would love to read more stuff in the same category in the future. Here's to a year full of experiences and essays!
Publishing three times a week seems like it would be very challenging. Especially for a side-project. Perhaps you should aim for twice a week, and then every now and then when you think you've written something you are really pleased about then that can be a 'bonus' - and the fact that it's a special 'add' might draw a bit more attention to your best work?
In any event, thanks for sharing your 8 month reflections. I think you're doing a great job.
My experience is that publishing regularly 2-3 times per week is only possible if substack is your fulltime thing/you have an independent income that frees a lot of time for you. It takes a lot of time to generate any sort of content.
Speaking as one who is retired (and consequently can and does take a lot of time to generate any sort of content), I concur and whole-heartedly agree!
Yup, indeed.
You've done well, Mark.
Thanks, just describing the journey.
Tis most inspiring
I’d be curious to see how the metrics are calculated. Does it (can it?) count if read in an email vs a browser vs the Substack app. Sometimes I view posts in email, sometimes in a browser, and sometimes in the app, depending on where I am and what piece of technology I’m using at the time.
As far as I know it only counts email opens. But there are some quirks in how the counting works, it's not uncommon for it to show that a person has opened an email multiple times, which doesn't make sense. So the numbers are somewhat inflated in any event.
It would be interesting to know the ins and outs of how they count it. I'm also interested in how they calculate the popularity of our 'popular' posts - because sometimes that's not entirely obvious.
I generally don't open Substack e-mails - I might read the e-mail preview on my phone, maybe, if I'm out and about - but I spend most of my Substack reading time either on the phone app or on my web browser. It's disappointing if those activities aren't counted - I guess none of my reading is counted in the stats of those whose posts I read if only e-mail opens are counted, so that's rather a shame.
Thanks for sharing the observations (definitely not excuses!). I have wondered how you kept up with your publishing schedule with a day job, and glad you are dialing back a bit to better suit your schedule. Looking forward to your 2023 content!
Thanks Holly!
I am amazed at the pace you keep Mark! Bravo! Happy to hear increased self care is on your list. Sometimes easy to neglect, but the benefits are so rewarding when we take the time to up our intentions in that area. Happy New Year! Wishing you a year filled with happiness and good health. 🤗
42-50% open rate is great! Well done Mark!
Well done, Mark! Even if our writing doesn’t always get the results we hope for, seeing other writers’ successes is always an inspiration.
Such a great post! Really interesting to read your stats.
But I feel you're on a bit of a downer! Don't be! I've enjoyed every one of your posts, regardless of how often - or not - you've been posting. You're one of the first people I came across on SS when I first joined in June, and I've really appreciated having you here all the way through.
My posting routine began as twice a week, and pretty soon I found that unsustainable. I'm working to one per week, plus an additional project on the side - 'Letters to Terry' - for which I put the blame ENTIRELY at the door of a certain Mr Terry Freedman 😉 - and that's enough for me!
I love the community right here after every single post you post, Mark, but please don't think that that means you need to post more frequently than you want to!
Keep up the good work in whatever iteration you choose - I'll still be right here reading you.
Happy, happy new year! Onwards and jolly well upwards!
Thanks Rebecca, very kind of you to chime in! I was feeling a bit down about things in December but I think I was largely feeling overtired and caught up in the Christmas rush. I'm certainly feeling much better about things now! I'm comfortable with dropping to 3 days/week and if I do get a rhythm in place for creating some paid subscriber only content I'll probably decrease to two days/week of content outside the content wall... we'll see how it goes. Fortunately I've been able to collate a lot of ideas for new material, just need to put in some time to be able to write and publish. Looking forward to your writing in 2023!
😊
Woohoo! Glad to see how well you’ve done and happy to have helped a little bit along the way! 😀
It's been a great help, Jillian! Hope you've been able to relax a bit and look forward to connecting with you in 2023!
Thank you!
You're most welcome!
I really liked the piece you wrote on monochrome tv! Would love to read more stuff in the same category in the future. Here's to a year full of experiences and essays!
Thanks Oleg! Happy New Year!
Publishing three times a week seems like it would be very challenging. Especially for a side-project. Perhaps you should aim for twice a week, and then every now and then when you think you've written something you are really pleased about then that can be a 'bonus' - and the fact that it's a special 'add' might draw a bit more attention to your best work?
In any event, thanks for sharing your 8 month reflections. I think you're doing a great job.
Thank you Michelle.