How reader analytics could increase engagement on Substack
More speculation about Substack's future as a reading platform
Substack is an excellent place for writers and, of course, readers. However, the future of Substack relies on its ability to attract a broader consumer base through the Internet and social media. That’s not to say writers aren’t readers and vice versa. I encourage everyone to start writing, and Substack does as well. But can a platform’s creator base mainly subsist on the interconnectivity between its creators?
The simple answer is “Yes.” The more complicated answer is “Yes, but with diminishing returns.” Let me explain.
Imagine if filmmakers spent all their time producing a movie with the audience being mostly those working in the film industry. Sure, people interested in filmmaking or a specific subject matter could stroll into their local theater to watch a movie and get inspired to make one themselves. But after they go to great lengths to create their passion project and it gets screentime, the movie doesn’t get the same turnout until the “bigger” directors start showing up to fill the seats with their cast and crew.
The idea is wild and implausible—even unsustainable. Obviously, the film industry makes movies for moviegoers. And writers need readers. This is why Substack focuses on attracting big names in the writing industry to bring their respective audiences to the platform, hoping that those readers will then check out other publications while they’re at it.
But how do you get readers to flock to the platform without being dragged along? Let’s speculate below and in the comments, shall we?
Reader Analytics
As a writer and publisher on Substack, I’m pleased with the analytics provided in the Dashboard settings. I can see where my traffic is coming from, my most active subscribers, and post stats, including open rates, among other things—too many to list here.
There are a few things I’d kill to have, such as the most common open timeframe and day of the week, so I know the best time to send out an article. But I’m not sure if that’s possible. That I can’t think of much else is impressive, and the Substack teams working behind the scenes should be applauded.
As a reader, however, I find these analytics lacking or nonexistent. My profile has tabs that show Posts, Notes, Likes, and Reads (the Substacks I follow). And yet, there’s nothing to show how active a user I am on the platform. Do I actually read the posts that come into my inbox? Am I an outlier when it comes to paying for multiple subscriptions? Am I a chatty commenter or a faithful lurker? How often do I share the posts I like? What I’m saying is there is no way to quantify my reading experience in a meaningful way.
I get a monthly summary as a creator revealing the statistical trends of my publication. But I wonder what a reader summary might look like. Would it encourage me to finish reading my saved library or comment on a post I liked last week? Could it help me catch up on a publication’s posts I’ve missed? If this exists in any capacity, please let me know!
Badges Revisited
One way to highlight milestones for readers is to offer unique badges to collect. Maybe the badges remain on the profile forever, or they cycle based on periodic refreshes to keep users active. These could be publication-specific or Substack-wide. Here are some simple ideas off the top of my head:
Founder - Reader pays for one or more founding membership
Devoted - Reader hasn’t missed a publication’s posts in # months
‘Stacker - Reader has restacked more than # posts
Advocate - Reader has liked # posts
Life of the Party - Reader has made # comments
Patron - Reader is a paid subscriber to # publications
Badges were a hot topic issue when they were implemented for creators, but I don’t anticipate such a negative response when it comes to rewarding readers for being active in the community. It could add a bit of fun competition and reading-oriented objectives. One of my favorite things on Goodreads is setting my book goal for the year and trying to reach it.
Even if these badges remained in an email summary and not on the profile itself, I’d welcome this concept in some fashion.
Substack Re-Wrapped
Another significant engagement tool is known as the “Wrap-up.” A wrap-up is an annual review of your activity, making for a fun end-of-year thing to look forward to. Many platforms are utilizing this technique to increase customer loyalty and personalization. Here are a few examples:
Goodreads’ Year in Review shows how many pages and books I read, the shortest and longest book, the average book length, the most and least shelved books, my average rating, the highest rated on Goodreads, and a list of all the books I read.
Spotify’s Wrapped provides a fun, interactive collage of statistics that show how much I enjoyed certain artists and genres. One of my favorite stats is the top fan percentage I fall in for a specific musician (e.g., the top 3% of listeners for Post Malone). It also lists my top songs for the year in a convenient playlist that I can listen to again and curate more songs I might be into.
Playstation’s Wrap-up is less influential to me, but I found it interesting that it popped into my inbox this year. It shows the types of games I played, the number of hours played, and other usual top-ranking metrics.
There are many perks to implementing a wrap-up feature. First, it’s free advertising for Substack when its staunchest advocates promote their wrap-ups across their socials. As a user, it makes me feel special while also giving me something to reflect upon I wouldn’t have considered otherwise. And to beat a dead horse: personalization, personalization, personalization.
Gamification Works
In January, I wrote about the pros and cons of gamification in the digital era. By the end of writing that article, I realized gamification doesn’t have to be deceptively evil if it’s done the right way for the right reasons. Substack implementing more analytics and metrics for the platform’s readership would add value to those users and, as a byproduct, increase engagement. This would be a net good overall as long as an algorithm isn’t implemented.
Gamifying reading has noticeably improved my own reading habits. It provides a sense of achievement and quantifiable progress. It won’t apply equally to all users, but to the ever-growing population of readers transferring to the digital realm, it might be the one thing that gets them to commit to reading a publication or creating their own Substack.
If you’ve watched a Twitch or YouTube stream, you’ve seen the unique stickers posted in the chat and the different colors and icons on users’ names. These gamification aspects make community members feel unique and want to engage with the creator more often. It’s also a way for them to show off to other folks in the chat and convince them to become members as well.
Substack has courted writers. Now it’s time to court readers.
Anyway, these are just preliminary thoughts on the subject. I want to hear from you. What are some pros and cons of adding more analytical tools to Substack's reader base? Would this have any impact on your experience? Are there ideas I missed in this topic that you’d like to see implemented instead?
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I like the points made here! Maybe something that can also help as a reader is better tag system. If I want to read certain kind of fiction, I shouldn't have to go through various publications and then their posts to get what I am looking for. Surely there is a better way for it that Substack can and will roll out soon.
A lot of great ideas in this article. There is absolutely a necessity for bringing in more readers. I think Substack itself could do more to help writers find readers off platform even if it was a few articles with tips and ideas.