On Substack, you can now publish with or without a publication – the choice is yours.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to navigate your Substack profile so that you can publish posts, get subscribers from the Substack network, and get paid for what you create.
How do I get started?
You'll be asked to select a handle when you sign up for Substack and create a new profile. Handles are unique, making it easy for others to mention you in notes, posts, and profile sharing. Your handle will also determine your Substack profile URL: substack.com/@handle.
If you have an existing reader profile, you’ll be able to publish posts and notes directly from your profile on the web or the iOS app (Android is coming soon). If you have an existing publication, you won’t see any changes and can continue to publish posts from the web or the iOS app.
Your Substack profile is public and will show posts you’ve written, your notes or restacks, and things you liked and currently read on Substack.
To edit your profile, sign into your Substack account and on your profile, click “Edit profile”.
You can change your profile name, handle, and bio and add social media or website links here.
How do I manage my Substack?
You can access your publisher dashboard on the web by clicking on the three dots on your profile and selecting “Publisher dashboard”.
On the publisher dashboard, you can do the following:
- Publish posts and manage your drafts
- Manage your subscribers (add, remove, export)
- See essential stats such as traffic and annual revenue
- Connect to Stripe and manage your paid subscription plans
- Enable pledges, which allow your subscribers to pledge to become a paid subscriber if and when you turn on paid subscriptions.
- Recommend other Substacks and see who’s recommending your Substack
- Publish podcast and video posts
Note: With a Substack profile, we offer a simple publishing experience. If you prefer to publish to a separate website with advanced features such as a welcome page, customizable branding and emails, or sections and tags, you can create a publication instead.
How do I know if people are engaging with my Substack?
Turning on notifications is a key way to get alerted on how people in the Substack network are engaging with your Substack.
Click “Publisher dashboard” on your profile and head to the Settings tab. Ensure that these settings are toggled to “On”.
- Enable comments, likes, and restacks: If this is toggled on, subscribers can like, comment on, and restack your posts.
- New free subscriber: If this is toggled on, you’ll be notified by email and see an Activity notification about new subscribers.
Examples of free subscriber notifications
- Likes and comments: You’ll be notified by email and get an Activity notification when someone likes your post or leaves a comment.
Tip: If you have the Substack App installed and notifications enabled, you’ll also receive a push notification when someone engages with your Substack, such as subscribing, liking, or re-stacking a note or commenting on a post.
How do I publish a post on my Substack?
You can publish a post directly from your profile on the web or on the Substack iOS and Android apps.
On the web, tap “New post” on your profile, and the Substack post editor will open. Learn more on how to publish a post from the web.
Tip: If you want to publish a podcast or video post, head to your publisher dashboard and select “New Post” from either the Home or Posts tabs.
Tap the plus icon on the Substack iOS app and select “Post”. The Substack mobile editor will open. Learn more on how to publish a post from the Substack app.
Can I make my Substack profile private?
At this time, you can’t disable people's ability to subscribe or follow your profile. What you post from your profile will be public. However, if you have a private publication linked to your profile, these posts will not appear in the Posts tab on your profile.
You can choose if you want your likes and what Substacks you read to be shown on your profile.
On your profile, in the Privacy section, slide the toggle next to “Show likes on profile” to the left if you want to hide what posts and notes you like on Substack.
In the Reads section, slide the toggle to the left next to the Substacks you do not want to appear on your profile's “Reads” tab.
I changed my mind and want to create a publication– how do I do that?
If you want to convert your Substack to a publication with it's own name, logo, and website, you can do that by following these steps:
1. Head to your Substack Settings page and scroll to the Danger Zone.
2. Select "Convert to publication".
Once you convert to a publication, it will be linked to your Substack profile, and your posts will appear in the Posts tab on your profile. If you’d like to keep your publication private, follow these steps.