What Is Substack?
A Simple Guide for New Creators and Businesses
If you’re new to Substack, the platform can feel a little confusing at first.
Is it a blog?
A newsletter?
A social network?
The answer is: a bit of all three.
Substack began in 2017 as a simple platform for sending newsletters. Writers could publish articles and have them delivered directly to their readers’ inboxes.
Over time, the platform expanded. Today, Substack allows creators to publish:
Written articles and newsletters
Podcasts and audio posts
Videos
Images and visual content
Short social-style posts through Substack Notes
Everything you publish lives in two places at once:
On your Substack website
In your subscribers’ email inboxes
That combination is one of the things that makes Substack different from most platforms. Your content isn’t locked into an algorithmic feed, it’s delivered directly to the people who subscribe to you.
Substack Is Still an Emerging Platform
Compared to most major social media platforms, Substack is relatively young.
Facebook launched in 2004.
LinkedIn launched in 2003.
Twitter launched in 2006.
Substack launched in 2017.
Even though the platform already has tens of millions of active subscriptions, it’s still considered an emerging platform in the tech world. New features are added regularly, and the ecosystem around it is still growing.
That means creators joining today are still part of the platform’s growth phase.
Substack Is Free to Start
One of the reasons Substack has grown quickly is that it’s free to use.
There are no setup costs and no monthly platform fees.
Substack only makes money when creators choose to turn on paid subscriptions. When someone pays for a subscription, Substack takes a 10% fee.
For many creators, this means you can focus on building your audience first, and decide later whether you want to monetize your publication.
Substack as a Content Hub
One reason many creators and businesses are moving to Substack is that it can replace several different platforms at once.
Instead of maintaining separate tools for:
blogging
newsletters
podcasts
video posts
Substack allows you to host all of those forms of content in one place.
Your posts live on your Substack website, are delivered by email to your subscribers, and can easily be shared to other platforms like LinkedIn or YouTube.
For many creators, this turns Substack into a central hub for their work rather than just another platform to manage.
Community Instead of Just an Email List
Substack also emphasizes community building, not just audience growth.
Readers can:
comment on posts
reply to emails
participate in chats
interact with creators through Notes
Over time, this creates something closer to a community around your work rather than simply a list of email subscribers.
For many creators, that deeper connection is one of the most rewarding parts of the platform.
Monetization on Your Terms
Substack also uses a subscription-based model for monetization.
Creators can choose to offer:
completely free content
optional paid support
paywalled posts
subscriber-only community features
premium content such as podcasts, videos, or workshops
There isn’t one correct model. Each publication can structure its subscriptions differently depending on the audience and the creator’s goals.
Substack Rewards Long-Term Thinking
Substack works differently from most social media platforms.
It isn’t built around viral posts or short bursts of attention.
Instead, it rewards:
consistency
clear topics
thoughtful content
long-term relationships with readers
Growth on Substack can feel slower at first, but it’s often more stable and meaningful over time.
If You’re Just Getting Started
If you’re new to Substack, the most important thing to remember is that you don’t need to figure everything out all at once.
Start with a clear idea of what you want to share. Publish consistently. Let the platform grow with you.
Over time, the different pieces of Substack begin to make sense.
And if you’d like help understanding how the platform works or structuring your publication, that’s exactly what I focus on here at Substack Coach.