How to Use Substack to Write an Author Newsletter that Connects with Readers
If you are an author, you need a newsletter to keep in touch with readers. Two years on Substack have convinced me that it is the simplest, best place to host an author newsletter. The inbox is a powerful tool, and Substack makes it easy to get your author newsletter into your readers’ inboxes. In this post, I’ll share best practices for your Substack author newsletter, from posting frequency to the power of getting personal.
This post is excerpted from my six-week class, Substack for Authors.
I started an author newsletter about fifteen years ago. I used Mailchimp, which was expensive (more than $1,000 per year) and required me to jump through a bunch of design and segmenting hoops just to send out an email. Because it was so time-consuming, my author newsletter would lie dormant for many months—even years—at a time.
Substack is different. It’s terrific for an author newsletter because it allows you to communicate with your readers in a personal, informal way, on a more frequent basis. And the Substack network helps new readers who might not know about your work discover you.
So, if you’re considering creating an author newsletter on Substack, or if you have a Substack that still says “coming soon,” here are six things to consider:
1. How often should you post to your Substack author newsletter?
If you have a book launch coming up, it’s important to let readers hear from you for a little while before you start doing a sales pitch for your new book. That doesn’t mean they need to hear from you every week! If you’re using Substack as your author newsletter, it’s perfectly reasonable to post just once or twice a month. There are a lot of Substack writers who manage to post weekly, or even more than once a week, but I really don’t think that’s necessary. What you want is to stay in the minds of readers, reminding them that you have something valuable or interesting to say.
The advantage of a regular newsletter—whether you send it out once a month or once a week or somewhere in between—is that readers get used to hearing your voice and seeing your name in their inbox. When launch time comes around, you won’t feel like you’re saying, “Hey, I know I forgot about you for a while, but here I am…and here’s my book!”
2. Post exclusive content on your Substack author newsletter
As you build your Substack, think about what you can give subscribers that they won’t get just by going to your website. If you have a loyal following, they’ll be happy just to hear from you, but it never hurts to give them something extra. On my author Substack, I post an occasional audio story. Some are brand new stories that have never been published, and some are previously published stories that have never been released in audio. This just gives subscribers a little something extra they won’t find anywhere else.
You don’t have to have any fancy recording equipment or a studio. I record audio stories for my Substack in bed, using my laptop’s built-in microphone and the intuitive Voiceover feature on Substack.
But you don’t have to do audio. You could offer a monthly flash fiction, serial fiction, a glimpse into your writing process, unpublished first drafts, photographs of your writing space, craft essays—whatever you think your readers will find engaging. Experiment. You might be surprised what connects.
3. How to write a compelling Substack about page
Your About page should feature a photo at the top, your book titles, and what subscribers will get from your newsletter. Your readers should hear your voice and feel welcomed into your little corner of the internet.
And, as you probably already know if you’ve ever had your photo taken for a book jacket: look into your viewer’s eyes! I think an informal photo works best on Substack. Save the professional headshot for your book jacket.
One mistake I often see writers make is to feature a photo in which they’re looking pensively away from the camera, or pulling the literary version of Zoolander’s Blue Steel—all seriousness, no warmth. The point isn’t to have the most attractive photo you can find of yourself—but the most approachable.
4. Use paid subscriptions on Substack to reward loyal readers
When you first start your author newsletter, I recommend making it free. Then, after you have some subscribers, you can create posts that are exclusive to paid subscribers, like serial fiction or audio. Once you offer a paid option, you can also set posts to automatically go behind a paywall a certain number of days or weeks after posting. This way, new visitors to your Substack will always be able to access some of your recent posts, but your archives will be an exclusive benefit for your most passionate readers.
5. Make your Substack posts personal
I’ve found that personal posts tend to resonate with readers here on Substack. Last year, I wrote a post about my marriage, inspired in part by Joan Didion’s South and West. I’ve also written about the empty nest, San Francisco’s outer avenues, and my birthplace, Demopolis, Alabama. These are things I don’t write about elsewhere, but something about the intimacy of Substack compels me to do so here. As a reader, I appreciate the glimpse I get into the lives of other authors, so I try to offer those glimpses to my readers as well.
6. How to link to your books on Substack
Even though you won’t be promoting a book in every post, you can include a subtle pre-order link or a link to your books at the bottom of each post. As long as the posts are genuine and help your reader get to know you, book links are fine. Then, when launch time comes around, they’re used to hearing from you and will be receptive about book news. You should also include links to your books on your About page.
For reference, here is my About page with book links. I include links to my two most recent books, as well as a link to my best-known book, within the paragraph text immediately after my author photo. At the bottom of the page, I have a linked list of all of my books.
Link to your books on your Substack menu
And don’t forget the prime real estate in your top menu. What page on the internet best represents your books? If you have a well-designed author website, that’s your best bet. Remove friction. Let your potential readers find your books and buy links! In my top menu, for example, I include My Books (which links to my website), as well as a retail link for a recent book (in this case, Amazon, because that title is on backorder on my favorite book retailer, Bookshop.org).
Do you want to learn more about how to create a great Substack author newsletter? Check out my course Substack for Authors, which walks authors through the process of setting up an author newsletter, writing your first posts, serializing fiction or memoir, migrating subscribers, growing your readership, repurposing existing writing, using Substack as a notebook, and much more.
Michelle Richmond is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels and two story collections. She writes about the intersection of travel and writing at The Wandering Writer, shares articles on craft and publishing at The Caffeinated Writer, and is serializing fiction on her author substack.
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