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Just became a paid subscriber to 's substack and it's making me feel... nostalgic to be writing on substack? That's where I started and then decided to move everything to ConvertKit, because reasons, but now it seems like I'm missing out on some kind of vibe over there
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their recommendation and cross promotion features + network effects make it way easier to grow a list but to be clear, i think substack's a sketchy af place to build a real business or brand. it may seem great now, but the amount of VC money they raised is deeply concerning
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If I were starting out I’d be wary too. But since I’ve been able to keep my mature blog and mailchimp list going as a hedge, I’m comfortable with it. I’d definitely hedge across at least 2 platforms if at least 1 is open-source, and 3 if all are proprietary platforms
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It's always a deal with the devil, innit? Every creator has a cold start problem and needs to make some kind of trade-off or exchange to get the wheel turning. Hedging and spreading risk is the luxury of the mature creator (though everyone should own their emails).
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The early teens were a killer time to ride that wave. It seems to me this might be Substack's time. If nothing else, Substack's and creators' incentives are heavily aligned for now. Just gotta make sure we're not the ones left holding the bag when the music stops!
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