Why I'm Switching from Flodesk to Substack
After doing a ton of research I decided to sign up for Substack, “a website providing a user-friendly platform for writers and journalists. Substack cuts through the complexities and costs of traditional publishing, allowing creators to share their work and directly monetize it.” - Source
I am hoping Substack will satisfy my newsletter management needs and help me gain a wider reach. In this article, I will explain why I am switching to Substack and away from Flodesk, my current newsletter management system.
Why I Am Saying Goodbye to Flodesk
The cost - When I started using Flodesk it was only $19 a month. While still on the pricier side of things when it came to newsletter management I LOVED the designs of the templates and just the whole energy over there. LOL. Yes, websites and platforms can have a vibe. I liked that they seemed to cater to women entrepreneurs probably because the founders were women themselves. It was a no-brainer for me. Last year, however, despite my long-time membership, they jacked the price to $60 a month. Being the master negotiator I am, I asked them to let me have another year at the introductory price. and they agreed. But as my subscription is about to run out again, I do not want to go through this process all over. Substack is, however, free to join. They take 10% of your profit from paid memberships.
Stagnant subscriber count - Of all the years I’ve been slinging newsletters on Flodesk, my subscriber list has remained pretty stagnant. Part of that is my fault because I rarely talk about it and I haven’t been consistent with updating my lead capture pop-ups on my website - but the truth is Flodesk doesn’t aid in this process. Substack, however, allows you to give shoutouts to other Substackers in your newsletters, provides a place to build community, allows other people to give you shoutouts in their Substacks, and my favorite feature, automatically sends out an email every time you make a post. When I blog on Squarespace, for example, I have to manually insert the link into a Flodesk email and send it out.
Monetization - With Substack, monetization is built in. Because they only get paid when you get paid, they make it easier for you to get money.
When I first began to create content, it was in the days of “give content away for free and “they” will come”. True, my blog has allowed clients to find me organically but they rarely convert to newsletter subscribers and those newsletter subscribers rarely convert to new or repeat business. Again, a lot of this is my fault for not having a clear strategy in place from the beginning but also because the topics I talk about are all over the place. But not anymore. My new Substack will be dedicated to helping curious souls build a life they don’t have to escape from.
Getting Over Being Cringe
I’m not going to lie, being a writer is HARD. We are sensitive creatures who feel things very deeply. We are fine-tuned to see the details that make life beautiful but also repulsive and we’ve been given the gift/curse to translate what we are feeling into words so that thicker-skinned souls can feel these things too.
Having to put ourselves OUT THERE, being SEEN, just feels so cringe and misaligned. But if you want to reach a wider audience, and if you want to get paid to share ideas, you have to put yourself out of your comfort zone. I believe that my ideas are valuable and can help change people’s lives for the better. I also believe that people value things MORE when they pay for them, so that is why I will be offering premium content for a premium price. Not to mention all the people who should not have platforms because they are spreading negativity and fear in the world yet they just keep getting up every day and doing it, THE AUDACITY!! So, why shouldn’t I simultaneously carve out a cute little hopeful path forward - and also feed myself at the same time?
Will it work? I have no idea but I’ll never know if I don’t try.