Substack writers are worried about the platform’s following feature on social media, which some say is hindering their subscription growth.
“Substack is completely undermining their business right now,” author Jeanna Kadlec wrote on Threads. “Every writer I know is seeing our subscriptions drop as our ‘follower’ count rises.”
“This latest intervention shows their efforts to shift to a social media hub where they can sell ad space,” Kadlec continued.
The author mentioned experiencing “stratospheric growth” on the platform in the fourth quarter of 2023, but this was stopped by the addition of the follower feature.
“My subscriptions are now slowing, and there is a growing difference between my subscribers vs “followers” that has me considering a move to Patreon,” Kadlec added.
Other Substack users responded to the post sharing similar experiences, with one saying that their subscriber growth has “flatlined.”
“I have enough social media. I use my social media to get subscriptions, not more followers,” Helene M. Epstein wrote regarding the follow feature.
Substack added the follow feature to the platform in August 2023, making the platform feel much more like a social network. The feature allows a user to keep up with a writer without having to subscribe. when the feature was introduced, the company stated in a blog post that, “Following helps writers grow their audience via the Substack network, which is already home to millions of the world’s most valuable readers.” “We created this feature to help maximize — and not replace — subscriptions, which will always be the most important type of relationship on Substack,” the blog post continued. “A follow offers a simple way to start a relationship with a writer or reader, with the option to convert it into a subscription at any time.”
Substack mentioned that the subscribe feature would remain the focal point of the platform; however, writers are observing a decrease in subscriptions since the follow button was put into place.
While the platform encourages users who follow writers to also subscribe to their newsletters, it seems the initiative is not working as intended.
Substack did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
“This latest intervention shows their efforts to transition to a social media hub where they can sell ad space,” writer Jeanna Kadlec says
