Substack writers, you need a website
Writers using Substack are weighing the convenience and built‑in audience of a hosted newsletter platform against the long‑term risks of building on someone else’s infrastructure. Many argue for POSSE (“Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere”): own a domain, keep your site as the canonical source, and use Substack or similar services purely for email delivery and discovery, to avoid lock‑in, future paywalls, moderation shifts, or deplatforming. Others counter that push channels and payment processing are hard problems that platforms solve well, so the practical trade‑off is between control and autonomy on one side and reach, growth tools, and low friction on the other.
Control, Ownership, and POSSE
- Strong support for POSSE: publish on your own site, then syndicate to platforms (Substack, social, etc.) so your site remains the canonical source.
- Owning a domain (ideally with content stored in Markdown/git) protects against lock‑in, platform policy changes, forced apps, and “enshittification.”
- Some keep Substack on a subdomain of their own site so URLs remain stable if they later migrate.
Discoverability and Audience Building
- Many argue “no one will visit your website” without a push channel. Independent blogs often see very low traffic and slow newsletter growth.
- Substack is seen as solving discovery via recommendations, frictionless subscribing, and a built‑in reader base. Several report strong subscriber growth and paid subs there.
- Others say they get little or no in‑network traffic from Substack; most views come from external links (HN, Reddit, X, etc.).
- Google search is described as much less effective for tech content; social platforms also penalize external links.
Email, RSS, and Notification Channels
- Consensus that “push” matters: email newsletters, not just a web page, are key. Some self‑host email (e.g., with Listmonk), others rely on Substack/Ghost.
- Opinions on email diverge: some treat it as the only dependable channel; others hate inbox clutter and prefer RSS or direct visits.
- RSS is valued by a minority; several use bridges that convert newsletters to RSS feeds.
Cost, Complexity, and Tools
- Writers often choose Substack because self‑hosting plus email infra plus payments and tax compliance feels daunting, even if technically solvable and cheap.
- Alternatives mentioned: self‑hosted or managed Ghost, WordPress, static sites on GitHub/Cloudflare, Leaflet/Standard.site, Pagecord, WriteFreely, and IndieWeb tools.
Ethics, UX, and Platform Critiques
- Substack criticized for intrusive subscribe popups, slow/tracky pages, generic design, and app‑centric behavior; some readers avoid Substack/Medium links entirely.
- Significant concern over Substack’s moderation stance and documented hosting of extremist content; others defend a maximalist free‑speech approach.
- Many see platforms as inevitable but advise regular exports of posts and subscriber lists, plus a personal site as a long‑term hedge.