The Rise of Substack and Long-Form Content

Writing is making a comeback, but not just creative writing – long-form, blog content. Writing has become an impactful way to build your personal brand and solidify your place as an industry leader. It’s also recently become wildly popular, especially with websites that make it easy to draft, publish, and share your work. Enter Substack. 

With both content creators and seasoned industry leaders expanding their online presence onto the writing platform, Substack has quickly become a new place for community building, idea exchange, and creativity. It has become a space where ideas are fleshed out in longer form, content is intentionally explored in depth, and feeds are curated to match personalized topics, interests, and vibes. With so many people flocking to the platform, you may be wondering: Should I join Substack to grow my personal and professional brand? 

Here, we’ll go over the benefits of writing online, incorporating Substack into your content strategy, and ways to build a community on the platform. Let’s dive in. 

The Benefits of Writing Online

In an era dominated by AI and computer-generated copy, people are looking for real, raw content – written by humans for humans. Publishing your work on Substack can be a great way to build a strong brand community, dive deeper into your content, and solidify your place as a thought leader in your industry. Many are turning to Substack to learn more about things that interest them and find a social space dominated by words and ideas, not graphics or videos.

When you publish your writing online, you’re putting your own thought process out in the open. While it may seem scary, writing online helps you think through your own ideas, find gaps in your work, and receive feedback on things that you might be able to improve on. Writing online also helps the right people find you. Your content will resonate with the right community and contribute to a stronger, more loyal brand audience rooted in a passion for similar ideas and interests. 

More established users also have the opportunity to monetize their newsletters, a feature that Substack offers to everyone, which can be a potential financial incentive for you and your business down the road.

Where Should I Start?

One of the great things about Substack is that the platform makes it easy for anyone to start drafting, writing, and publishing their own work. The system is set up to be extremely user-friendly, mimicking many popular document tools without any extra frills or obstacles. All you need to do is bring your ideas – the rest is made to be simple. 

If you’re not sure where to start your Substack writing journey, turn to your content archives. Are there posts that performed well, generated a lot of interest, or started some important conversations? Substack is meant to be a place where you can explore ideas on a deeper level and take your audience on a journey through your work.

Are there social posts that performed well as checklists? Consider creating a more thorough, detailed guide that you can post on Substack. Are there posts where more context or research would be helpful to your audience? Write a longer blog post. 

Another great way to incorporate Substack into your content strategy is to look at your current social calendar. If there are themes, topics, or recurring things you find yourself drawn to, Substack could be a great place to dive deeper into these ideas. Once you find topics that you genuinely enjoy researching and writing about, you’ll find your rhythm and your place within the writing platform. 

The Substack Community

Substack isn’t just another writing tool – it’s a platform built on community, support, and networking. Writers in similar industries often share each other’s work, feature each other in newsletters, and can also “recommend” other writers. The app is meant to make writing and idea generation more of a communal exercise – and it can be a wonderful way to build an intimate, niche community in your little corner of the internet. 

When you join Substack, you should also create a plan to engage with others’ work, share content you find meaningful, and reach out to other authors on the platform. It’s a way to refine your craft while also exchanging ideas, supporting other writers, and bringing your community to life in a powerful, creative way.

Conclusion

The writing and community platform, Substack, has recently become a popular way for content creators, industry leaders, and authors to create long-form content, meet other writers, and build powerful online communities. If you feel like your current marketing strategy or brand community has hit a ceiling, consider joining Substack to flesh out your ideas, find your people, and improve your craft – one post at a time.