So you’ve been thinking about starting a Substack. Or maybe you already started one and you’re staring at the dashboard wondering what comes next. Or maybe you’re an author with a half-finished manuscript and people keep telling you that you “should have a newsletter” but nobody actually explains why.
I’m here to tell you: yes. Start it. It’s worth it.
Substack is the easiest, lowest-pressure way to own your audience instead of renting it from Instagram.
I recently started posting on Substack myself. Part of it was to write better in English (since it’s my second language), part of it was to drive traffic to my digital shop, and part of it was just to talk about books with people who actually want to listen. And honestly? If you’re on bookstagram or you’re an author, I think you should be doing it too.
Writing book reviews, sharing your reading life, or even just yapping about your experience navigating creative work on social media is one of the best things you can do if you want to grow an audience, build a real presence online, and eventually monetize your reading hobby.
First, what even is Substack?
Substack is an online platform that lets writers, podcasters, and creators publish, monetize, and distribute their work directly to subscribers. It combines a blogging system with subscription tools, which means you can offer free or paid newsletters and exclusive content, all while retaining full ownership of your audience.
The most important part of that sentence: ownership of your audience. We’ll come back to that in a second.
Do you need paid subscribers to monetize?
Short answer: no. Slightly longer answer: not even close.
You don’t need paid subscribers or a massive following to make money from your love of books. What you actually need is an ecosystem, where every platform you’re on is quietly pointing people toward your shop. I use Stan Store for mine, but the principle is the same regardless of platform.
Here’s how the ecosystem actually works in practice
Your Instagram brings people in and warms them up. When they’re ready to go deeper, your bio link takes them straight to your Stan Store or Linktree.
Your Substack gives those same people a reason to stick around between Instagram posts. And every newsletter you send naturally leads back to both your shop and your Instagram.
Meanwhile, Pinterest is quietly doing the heavy lifting in the background. It’s auto-publishing your Instagram posts and creating pins for your Substack articles, which means people who have never heard of you are discovering your work through search every single day.
You create something once on Instagram, it goes to Pinterest automatically, someone finds it six months later, lands on your profile, clicks your link, and buys something. That’s a sale you made while you were reading. 🎀
That’s the whole funnel. Three platforms, one shop, and it keeps working whether you’re actively posting or not.
This is what’s working for me, and I wanted to lay it out clearly because almost nobody talks about building it this way. Most creators are trying to grow one platform in isolation. That works, eventually. But it’s so much slower than letting your platforms talk to each other.
“But Nissa, I don’t have time to post everywhere!”
Same. Genuinely. I have a full-time job and a life, so I get it.
The good news: you don’t need to post every day on any of these platforms to make this ecosystem work. Here’s the realistic rhythm:
- Instagram: 3 posts a week
- Substack: 1 article a week
- Pinterest: 5 extra pins a week (which takes about 20 minutes total in Canva)
The non-negotiable part is consistency over time. You might not see results in the first few weeks. That is completely normal. Most ecosystems take 60 to 90 days before the compounding kicks in. Stick with it.
What about authors? Is Substack worth it?
Genuinely, yes. But let me be real with you about what Substack actually is, and what it isn’t, for authors specifically.
The biggest reason: you own your list
You write something, it lands directly in their inbox. No algorithm in between. No “we changed how the feed works, sorry” emails. No risk of being shadowbanned for using the wrong word.
As an author, that’s everything. Your readers are your business. And bookstagram or Instagram can shut down or change the rules at any moment. But your email list? That’s yours. You can take it anywhere.
Where it actually shines for authors
- Serialized fiction (release chapters one at a time)
- Behind-the-scenes content
- Personal essays about the writing process
- Early chapter drops for your most loyal readers
- Deleted scenes, author notes, the kind of stuff that makes readers feel like insiders
It’s also a place to write without the pressure of performing for an algorithm. And honestly? That alone is worth a lot when you’re already trying to write a whole book on top of everything else.
Think of Substack less as a revenue stream on its own, and more as the place where your most loyal readers live.
If you’re a writer who actually enjoys writing and wants to build a real connection with readers who chose to be there, Substack is one of the most underrated tools you have available right now. 🎀
How do I actually grow on Substack?
Substack growth doesn’t look like Instagram growth. It’s slower, but the people you do attract are wildly more loyal. Here’s what works.
1. Post Notes daily (not articles, Notes)
Use Notes to share short-form thoughts, book quotes, hot takes, or whatever’s in your brain that day. Notes have way higher discovery potential than articles alone. Think of them like the Substack version of Twitter, but cozier and full of book girlies.
2. Engage with other creators (the 10-5-1 rule)
Actively like and leave thoughtful comments on Notes from creators in your niche. A solid rhythm to aim for:
- 10 likes per day
- 5 thoughtful comments
- 1 direct message to a peer (daily or every other day)
This sounds like a lot, but it takes about 15 minutes if you’re scrolling Substack on your couch anyway.
3. Use the restack feature
Restacking is Substack’s version of retweeting. Restack other people’s work with your own commentary added. This builds relationships, shows your perspective, and gets your name in front of the original creator’s audience too.
4. Create entry points, not just chronological posts
Don’t just publish in the order things happen in your head. Build “signature series” or evergreen, high-value content that’s worth sharing on its own. Guidebooks, multi-part series, unique research, deep dives. The stuff people land on a year later and immediately subscribe.
This applies to Instagram too, by the way. Valuable, evergreen content is what grew my account, not trend-chasing.
5. Define your niche clearly
Your About page and bio need to make it instantly obvious what you write about and who it’s for. If a stranger reads your bio and isn’t sure whether they want to subscribe, the bio isn’t doing its job.
How do I auto-publish to Pinterest?
When you publish an article on Substack, you’ll get suggested cover images alongside it. Download them and post them as pins on Pinterest, linking back to your Substack article. Boom, instant Pinterest content with zero extra design work.
I’m going to put together a much more in-depth Pinterest guide next, covering pin titles, descriptions, keyword strategy, and how to actually rank in search. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss it.
What can you actually write about on Substack?
If you’re stuck on niche ideas, here’s a starter list of categories that are genuinely thriving on Substack right now. Pick whatever you’d enjoy writing about for the next 12 months without running out of ideas.
Technology and digital skills
- Software and design: UX/UI insights, technical analysis, programming trends
- Web3 and crypto: Blockchain technology, cryptocurrency trends, market analysis
Business and finance
- Niche finance: Personal finance, stock market analysis, investment opportunities
- Entrepreneurship and solopreneurship: Building businesses, side hustles, solopreneur strategies (this is what I’m doing, but specifically for the book and bookstagram community)
Culture, lifestyle, and society
- Motherhood and parenting: Niche parenting voices (autism parenting, gentle parenting, working-mom life)
- Food and cooking: Specialized newsletters on baking, specific cuisines, or recipe-sharing communities
- Travel and expat life: Personal narratives, travel tips, stories from living abroad
Self-improvement and wellness
- Psychology and health: Mental health insights, specialized medical topics, holistic wellness
- Personal growth: Self-discovery, journaling prompts, philosophical explorations
Creative arts and education
- Fiction and poetry: Serialized novels, short stories, poetry collections
- Comics and illustration: Visual storytelling and daily or weekly comic strips
- Book reviews and literary analysis: Deep dives into specific genres, authors, or literary criticism (this is exactly what bookstagrammers should be doing)
Final thoughts
If you take one thing from this article, let it be this: starting a Substack is one of the lowest-risk, highest-reward things you can do as a creator right now. You don’t need to be a great writer. You don’t need a massive following. You don’t need paid subscribers on day one.
You just need to start writing about something you genuinely care about, link it back to the other places you exist online, and stay consistent for longer than feels comfortable.
Did this convince you? I really hope so. And if you want to see what I’ve built so far, all of my digital products, planners, and templates live on my Stan Store.
Thanks for reading. Kisses ❤️