Substack Reader Tips and Tricks
Substack Reader Tips and Tricks
Getting a lot of emails from one subscription?
As of today (4/29/23) I am subscribed to over 30 Substacks. I also manage five Substack publications of my own. And within each publication I have created several Sections. If you’re just a Substack reader and not a user, this can all seem confusing and overwhelming all at once. I’m here to try and explain what all these terms mean and how you can better navigate it all so you don’t wind up unsubscribing. Trust me, if the content is good there’s no need to do something so drastic! Let’s tackle this together so you can continue to enjoy all the new content you’ve discovered:
CURATE YOUR SUBSTACKS
STEP 1: Make Some Time
If you’re like me, and subscribed to dozens of Substacks, then the first thing you need to do is carve out some time in your day to sit down at your computer to do this. Sure, you can do this from your phone, but trust me, you won’t want to. The best thing to get this done quickly and smoothly is to set at a computer.
STEP 2: Navigate to Your Profile
This should be where you can see a list of all the Substacks you are currently subscribed to. And if you’re like me, the ones you write as well:
Under “Reads” is where they will all be listed in two columns (alphabetically). I recommend clicking the “See all” button on the right so you can see them all at once. Here is where a little coffee and patience should be employed.
STEP 3: Take it One Substack at a Time
If you already know a Substack doesn’t have multiple Sections then you can skip over those. Or if you know they do but you want to receive all of their emails, skip them as well. This is for those Substacks where you might be getting more than you realized or they are drastically different content. For example, I send both fiction and non-fiction stuff via email. Most of my subscriber list might prefer my fiction content. In this case, you would click on my Substack on your list Pen to Paper Stories. It will open a new window to show my Substack publication.
STEP 4: Manage Subscription
On the top right will be your avatar/image with a hamburger icon (three horizontal lines). Click that to bring up the drop down menu. Select Manage subscription:
STEP 5: Make Your Selections
Hopefully, you’ll know what the purpose of each Section is and don’t have to guess. In the case of my publication, Pen to Paper Stories, I have four sections, not including the Chat threads (which I don’t currently use).
On the left hand side are all of the sections and their names. The first one listed is the default and name of the Substack itself.
On the right hand side is the toggle to turn on (green) or off (grey) depending on your preferences.
If you toggle off the first option then you will automatically be unsubscribed from the Substack completely. DO NOT TOUCH THIS unless you want to unsubscribe. Otherwise, toggle your selections as you wish.
Note: If you notice something is toggled off and you’ve never navigated to this page on your own, it means when that section was created, the owner chose not to include their subscriber list or any new subscribers as of its creation, to this section. Some owners might do this to put out content often but not harass the subscribers if it’s multiple times a day.
For Pen to Paper Stories each section is as follows:
1st Edition - Monthly updates on the 1st of every month about my writing journey.
100-Word Stories - Daily emails containing one 100-word story.
Scratch Fiction - All of my other short stories that are over 101 words but under 5000.
In My Own Words - My thoughts and opinions on writing or anything else I want to talk about.
Depending on your preference, if you just want fiction, uncheck In My Own Words. If you don’t want my fiction work, uncheck 100-Word Stories and Scratch Fiction. I suggest never unchecking the first two on the list.
Do this process one at a time for all of your publications.
STEP 6: Organize Your Substacks Within Your Email Client
Regardless of whatever app you use to access your emails, this step-by-step guide will help you conquer your inbox and organize all of these new Substack emails for you.
