Substack list emails don’t seem like something that invites responses. It feels very much like a platform for one-way communication. An email list seems more personal. I wouldn’t assume a substack notification response would even be read.
This and it took me multiple clicks to get here. Love your content and messages, just getting a little burned out on interacting with multiple apps. It’s not you, it’s me! Shamala and blessing.
Internet fatigue, I think. I had to open 3 emails and type in a code 5 times before I could even leave this brief reply. Simply clicking "reply" from email is much easier.
I look forward every week to the Secret Sunday Message and watch Call Kevin on YouTube with a religious fervor once reserved for Wednesday night prayer meetings 😂 But I've only signed up for Substack to leave this reply.
Don't move back yet. As a social media manager for almost 20 years, I strongly suspect Substack will become more and more popular and might eventually take the 2nd spot after YouTube as people fall away from Facebook more. Then again, something else better could come along. Everything is mostly unpredictable right now. The demise of Twitter has been a real pain in the ass, and like a bomb thrown into the social media universe. I want MySpace back.
I was just prompted to verify my email address (by Substack) which was annoying and maybe a barrier for some. Sometimes i ignore substack emails (by any creator) whereas a KJT email seems more personal and psychologically feels almost like it would be rude to ignore. Lol.
I think a lot of us are still figuring Substack out. And, it's kind of a new thing that content creators are genuinely interested in having respondents.
I’ve been writing a newsletter on Substack for almost three years, and the platform has a few engagement hurdles that I don’t love.
1) There’s an approximately 42 step onboarding process for new readers to subscribe through the Substack platform. It’s annoying.
2) If you want readers to comment in the app or on the web using the COMMENT button, readers have to create a Substack login using an email address in order to do this. Not everyone is willing to do that.
3) It’s possible Substack emails are getting stuck in spam or in Gmail’s “promotions” tab. Depends on which email platform readers are using.
You may have to do a little change management to help your readers adjust. Some ideas:
1) Instead of (or in addition to) using a COMMENT button in your emails, encourage folks to REPLY to the email just like they did before. They can do this without logging in, and it will come directly to the email inbox associated with your Substack account. (This only works if readers receive emails vs your posts inside the app).
2) If you want readers to engage more in the comment section of the app, you might need to do a little extra nudging to encourage them past the login hurdle.
3) Go to settings and update your Welcome Email to include a question for new subscribers, encouraging them to reply. I think this will help keep your emails out of their spam. I ask readers where they are reading from and how they found me.
Hope this helps!
I love Substack for many reasons, but the platform is built by tech/engineering nerds, not Customer Centered Design nerds, and it shows.
seconding this-- just make sure in your emails via substack you let people know they can just reply to the email, same as always and you'll get them. for me, i like substack better than getting personal emails bc it's easier to find and save essays i enjoy here. but it looks like i'm younger than much of your audience
I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it, but this week's email did not appear to include a prompt for written responses.
I think at the start it seemed clear that you were loooking for written responses to share in a future email. Then the line between "respond in writing" and "respond via audio message to the podcast" blurred and maybe others share in my confusion as to whether you want written or audio messages.
Maybe making it a clear part of the email format where you indicate this week's prompt with the guidance that readers can respond in writing or via audio message to podcast would boost responses back up?
I don't know if that lands or helps, just my two cents.
I think Substack is set up to be broadcast like, with, for all intents and purposes, one-way communication through newsletters, videos, etc. The only feedback on Substack is comments, not replies. I don’t think you can reply on Substack.
Maybe it's a lot easier to just reply to an email then log into an app to engage?
Substack list emails don’t seem like something that invites responses. It feels very much like a platform for one-way communication. An email list seems more personal. I wouldn’t assume a substack notification response would even be read.
This and it took me multiple clicks to get here. Love your content and messages, just getting a little burned out on interacting with multiple apps. It’s not you, it’s me! Shamala and blessing.
As a Substack newb, I didn’t know that I could respond!
Same!
I suspect its because many are unfamiliar with substack and nothing more than that.
Hi Kevin! This is Sandy from the Christian Book Store- No, I’m kidding
YAY, I’m so excited to be first here!
First person to like and comment on one of your posts! I love your content, personality, and all-round strong energy and creativity
In all seriousness, It could be a multitude of errors because of the connection itself-I doubt it is either end
Internet fatigue, I think. I had to open 3 emails and type in a code 5 times before I could even leave this brief reply. Simply clicking "reply" from email is much easier.
I look forward every week to the Secret Sunday Message and watch Call Kevin on YouTube with a religious fervor once reserved for Wednesday night prayer meetings 😂 But I've only signed up for Substack to leave this reply.
Shamala Hamala we're all still listening.
GenX
Don't move back yet. As a social media manager for almost 20 years, I strongly suspect Substack will become more and more popular and might eventually take the 2nd spot after YouTube as people fall away from Facebook more. Then again, something else better could come along. Everything is mostly unpredictable right now. The demise of Twitter has been a real pain in the ass, and like a bomb thrown into the social media universe. I want MySpace back.
I was just prompted to verify my email address (by Substack) which was annoying and maybe a barrier for some. Sometimes i ignore substack emails (by any creator) whereas a KJT email seems more personal and psychologically feels almost like it would be rude to ignore. Lol.
I think a lot of us are still figuring Substack out. And, it's kind of a new thing that content creators are genuinely interested in having respondents.
not sure but I have subscribed to you for a while and this is my first substack from you 🙏
I’ve been writing a newsletter on Substack for almost three years, and the platform has a few engagement hurdles that I don’t love.
1) There’s an approximately 42 step onboarding process for new readers to subscribe through the Substack platform. It’s annoying.
2) If you want readers to comment in the app or on the web using the COMMENT button, readers have to create a Substack login using an email address in order to do this. Not everyone is willing to do that.
3) It’s possible Substack emails are getting stuck in spam or in Gmail’s “promotions” tab. Depends on which email platform readers are using.
You may have to do a little change management to help your readers adjust. Some ideas:
1) Instead of (or in addition to) using a COMMENT button in your emails, encourage folks to REPLY to the email just like they did before. They can do this without logging in, and it will come directly to the email inbox associated with your Substack account. (This only works if readers receive emails vs your posts inside the app).
2) If you want readers to engage more in the comment section of the app, you might need to do a little extra nudging to encourage them past the login hurdle.
3) Go to settings and update your Welcome Email to include a question for new subscribers, encouraging them to reply. I think this will help keep your emails out of their spam. I ask readers where they are reading from and how they found me.
Hope this helps!
I love Substack for many reasons, but the platform is built by tech/engineering nerds, not Customer Centered Design nerds, and it shows.
seconding this-- just make sure in your emails via substack you let people know they can just reply to the email, same as always and you'll get them. for me, i like substack better than getting personal emails bc it's easier to find and save essays i enjoy here. but it looks like i'm younger than much of your audience
I dislike substack. No matter what I do with the settings I still get emails from substacks I'm not signed up for.
I tried responding to substack and it wouldn't take it
I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it, but this week's email did not appear to include a prompt for written responses.
I think at the start it seemed clear that you were loooking for written responses to share in a future email. Then the line between "respond in writing" and "respond via audio message to the podcast" blurred and maybe others share in my confusion as to whether you want written or audio messages.
Maybe making it a clear part of the email format where you indicate this week's prompt with the guidance that readers can respond in writing or via audio message to podcast would boost responses back up?
I don't know if that lands or helps, just my two cents.
Stay wonderful and thanks for all you do.
I went back to your last Sunday message and hit reply. This is the email address it would be sending to:
Kevin James Thornton <reply+2q7ycd&2i4kf&&9302341d1d9a05e71645ba39bc291e0cfd86ccf43e672e0d6c9bdf691623da0f@mg1.substack.com>
Do you receive these replies?
I think Substack is set up to be broadcast like, with, for all intents and purposes, one-way communication through newsletters, videos, etc. The only feedback on Substack is comments, not replies. I don’t think you can reply on Substack.