Question from Michael: Hi, Rick. I look forward to getting your newsletter every morning. I’m fairly tech savvy but I almost always learn something new.
I susbscribe to several other Substack newsletters in addition to yours and I’ve noticed something. In every case the newsletter homepage resembles a blog.
What I mean is all the old newsletter issues are listed there so people can read them online as articles.
So that brings me to my question: Is Substack primarily a newsletter platform or a blogging platform?
Rick’s answer: That’s a great question, Michael. And truth be told, the answer will vary depending on who you ask.
Speaking solely from my own perspective based upon the way I use Substack, it’s actually a newsletter platform that just happens to automatically archive my current and previous emails in an online respository (my Substack page).
I don’t really use Substack as a blog because my newsletter is used to supplement the blog I already have.
However, there are plenty of other Substack writers who likely consider Substack to be primarily a blog because they don’t use a regular blog or website as a base for their work.
In other words, their entire online existence (other than social media) is on Substack. In fact, some of the most successful writers in the world do all of their writing directly on Substack, then send out emails to let their subscribers know about them.
As you can see, there really is no “correct” answer to your question because it all depends on who you ask and how that person uses Substack to accomplish their own goals.
Simply put, Substack is both an email newsletter platform and a bloggging platform, all rolled into one. Whichever of the two is Substack’s primary purpose depends on how the platform is used.
I hope this helps, Michael. Thanks for asking such a great question!