Is Substack the “Next Big Thing” for Writers?

One Medium Writer Borrows from Other Medium Writers to Say: YES!

Andy Spears
2 min readJan 1, 2022

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Writer Kristina Segarra takes a moment to suggest that Substack is the “next big thing” for writers based on her interpretation of a video featuring vaunted Medium writers Tim Denning and Todd Brison.

Substack Is the Next Big Blogging Platform for Writers | by Kristina Segarra | Nov, 2021 | Medium

Why does Segarra find Substack so appealing? Well, here’s what she says:

Recently, Substack has been working behind the scenes to give writers more exposure. They’re trying to create visibility for writers and make it easier for them to find their audience.

That means if there was any better time to start writing on Substack, it is now. As Todd said, during his video conversation with Tim Denning: “When you catch something at the right time, and you’re just in the right place, you can find something that nobody will be able to find after that.”

I have to say that I’ve been writing on Substack for just under a year now. I’ve found the platform easy to use and it is a great way to communicate with an established audience. I write two Substack blogs. For one, I had a built-in audience by way of a topical email list from another website I manage. This meant when I launched, I had a group of people who were fans of my writing and were willing to grab paid subscriptions for more of my writing. This group has helped share my work and this blog has grown a lot.

For the second Substack, I’m publishing news on consumer issues — something I write about a lot here on Medium, too. However, I didn’t bring a built-in audience. So, it is taking a while to build the sustainable support necessary to maintain a blogging presence there.

With all of that said, I think the idea of “discoverability” is a good one — and if Tim, Todd, and Kristina are right (or, rather, if Kristina’s interpretation of Tim and Todd is on target) — well, I should soon be seeing new readers discovering my consumer affairs writing over at Substack.

Time will tell, of course. But, it is interesting to see the perspective of a fellow writer on the issue.

I’d love to read other takes on how Substack is working out as a platform for reaching new audiences.

Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

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Andy Spears

Writer and policy advocate living in Nashville, TN —Public Policy Ph.D. — writes on education policy, consumer affairs, and more . . .