Since the last update to my blogger workflow, Substack has been an important addition. Here is why and how I’m using Substack, a content publishing platform that is gaining traction for writers and bloggers like me.

Why Substack?

As you probably know, I recently started something new: a monthly newsletter about Apple, photography, privacy protection and climate change. I could have done it with Mailchimp or other similar services. Substack is free. For a few months, I’ve been paying attention to a nascent publishing platform named Substack. I do see more and more bloggers and writers publishing on it. One example is M. G. Siegler with 5ish.org.

I’m using Notion to gather my highlights during the month, coming from the usual sources and generated newsletters I get from Mailbrew. When the end of the month arrives, I go to my desk, sit down and do my write-up on my iMac. There is no native iPadOS app for Substack. Yet. This doesn’t bother me too much because it forces me to do it in a stretch. The newsletter is sent in the first week of every month. A link is cross-posted to Micro.blog.

Expect a review of Substack in the coming weeks, but first I need to gain more experience and insights into this service. Stay tuned for that one.

Cleanup required

Some cleanup had to be done too. I decided to remove any references and cross-posting to Reddit as it doesn’t generate traffic at all. Reddit is a special place (a jungle?), and I’m not sure if it fits me. Lastly, I’m still waiting for Apple News to approve my submission of this blog as a publication. It’s been months since I submitted my blog for review. I asked for support on the Publisher portal available on my icloud.com page. My expectations are low. I do hear here and there that Apple has become picky about which publication they allow. My fingers are crossed.

Finally, I wanted to update you about the visitor trend for this blog. The following graph shows sign of a slow and painful recovery following Google’s algorithms changes last November.

Recovery for this blog’s wound caused by Google is long.