This morning 3 more users subscribed to my substack and I have not kept up with it as I feel Substack is slowly becoming a social media platform.

While this is good for discovery but I am not sure if that is where I want to keep my focus on it due to the feeling that there is a lock in coming. We have been there with facebook. (See the Oatmeal).

I started the substack expriment in 2024, to see if i can get email subscribers my blog never got it. I was on Wordpress.com but it was getting out of hand with prices, and somehow the software felt worse as it got upgraded.

I was also tried of maintaining my blog on wordpress self hosted, but due to the many inefficiences of php and plugins, it became a nightmare to maintain without spending to upkeep. I wanted something simpler, so I went to substack just to try writing again and see what building an email list is like.

My First Subscriber was Con the Notioneer and Maurice a lot of others from the Gaming Community. Which substack has yet to create a catergory. It was all good for a while.

Substack seem like the new place to be for blogging... but slowly it is turining into Social Media something I was trying to get away from. They started to introduce Notes a Twitter X like feed.

It is also slowing becoming a closed platform. Some Writers have left the platform for Ghost or Beehiiv.

While my blog won't have reach and discovery I feel in control somehow. Somehow I keep circling back to a self hosted blog website it seems the only open platform you can own in a life time.

Substack is too Bloated

Trying to be Patreon, Convertkit, Youtube and X / Twitter Threads.

This video sums it up best. It is adding a lot of features. Sometimes I don't know if its still a newsletter tool. I do feel that its making me overwhelmed and I can't figure if I should do a Podcast there, Youtube or Just keep writing a blog or newsletter. I am not sure if the audiecne will become fragmented, just lie facebook.

Substack Review

Not a Writer

Realised that I don't write for fun. I actually draw more and used to make videos. Even though in my younger days I wanted to make movies or animations. Maybe just write a script.

Writing for me is a means to an end. That could be a video or a presentation or a blog post. Don't feel that I am a word-smith. Though i feel its important to write clearly your thoughts.

But having grew up with the internet writing online is much different. Blogging got ruined by marketers and Social Media as well and when trying to share my ideas I get sucked into the SEO Title, Subscribe here, Write Problem Solution Click Bait Articles. I don't know if I want to keep that kind of writing.

I only want to write scripts now for my game projects and Youtube. Being a Writer is just not me.

Writers selling to Writers

One thing that annoyed me on Substack was Writers selling how to be successful on Substack Its good if you want to do writing and work that medium but it does not seem for me at this point in time.

I do feel if Writing is your thing it is good to go to substack and get the training needed to write well there.

SO WHY YOUTUBE?

AI killing SEO

More and More I slowly want to quit my newsletter and Just do Video. Right now blogging but the competition now is too fierence and AI Systems taking over search and SEO. I am trying alternatives like Bing, Kagi and Duckduckgo but the SEO Game is too hard now unless you pay or use strangely enough AI to index your site.

Video Star?

I also feel that the medium of text is not for me to market and sell things. I do think that journaling is a good thing it helps me think things through. But I feel that creating connection through text is harder than it seems.

I do feel writing a newsletter is useful to keep those users you have engaged but that is mostly down the funnel later.

Right now I feel discovery using video on Youtube might be a better option for now, for video games. Substack has a gamer community but it feels small. I am also not sure if text can serve the results I hope to reach.

Just Focus

One of the emails I received from the newsletter by Ruri Ohama is to focus on 1 Platform. I can't be good at all of them. I do have accounts on most major platforms like Meta, Insta, Bluesky and X and Threads but they are just to hold the name.

And substack feels bloated and making me overwhelmed.

I don't want to actively post there as I can't get the impact I want. Right now platforms like Meta need to pay Ads and Substack will need to pay the bills too, right now they are encouraging everyone to make posts paid. Every new post is like that unless you manually turn it off.

I have started writing on Beehiiv and my Ghost Blog I feel that the editor is way much better for adding all kinds of media, but it primarily focuses on Writing.

Same for Youtube it just a video focused platform.

But I still recommend substack if you are on a budget its free to start if you want blogging and video features.

Just get those subscribers going it was a refreshing take to see people sub to my posts.

One of the newsletters I regularly read Newsletter Writer Tobias Van Schneider is on Ghost and he built it since 2017? I do wish for that.

My Only FOMO

Not getting discovered and that is OK.

I am definitely going to use substack sporadically as I want to market myself and my projects that is one channel.

But I am going to put content on this blog is going to serve as an archive of my notes and obeservations in the process.

I am going to try revive my negelected Artstation portfolio and Behance Visual Design Profile.

Quitting Substack for Youtube

Pausing writing for a while and doing video