The Downsides Of Substack (Is It a Sinking Ship 2025)

Thinking About Substack? Here's What They Don't Tell You

Sep 23, 2024

So, you're thinking about jumping on the Substack bandwagon?

I get it. I am on Substack.

With all the buzz around writers making good money from their newsletters, it's tempting to think you've found the golden ticket to content creation paradise.

But is it really true?

Don't get me wrong, Substack is a fantastic platform for many reasons.

Heck, I use it myself and know plenty of folks who swear by it.

But before you dive in headfirst, let's talk about the stuff Substack won't put in their glossy promotional materials.

1. Show Me the Money (Or Lack Thereof)

Substack loves to showcase writers like Lenny Rachitsky, who's reportedly raking in over a million bucks a year.

And there are a few.

But here's the catch – Substack's taking a hefty slice of that pie:

They snag a 10% cut of all your subscription revenue.
Your options for making money are pretty limited – if you don't know how to leverage external income streams
Figuring out how much to charge? Not easy. Too high, and no one subscribes. Too low, and you're working for peanuts.
And yes, "subscription fatigue" is a thing. Your potential readers are already drowning in subscriptions.

Sure, some folks are hitting the jackpot.

But for every Substack millionaire, there are tens of thousands of writers barely covering their daily coffee.

2. The Marketing Treadmill

If you thought you could just write brilliant posts and watch the subscribers roll in, you're in for a surprise.

Writing isn't really about writing. Unfortunately.

Substack isn't going to do the heavy lifting when it comes to getting eyes on your work. It does better than others, but you still need to do your part.

You've got to hustle to promote your newsletter. All. The. Time.
There's no (true) magic algorithm pushing your content to new readers.
Prepare to spend almost as much time marketing as you do writing.
As Substack gets more popular, it's getting harder to stand out from the crowd.

Substack's added some features to help with discovery, but let's be real – you're still going to be doing most of the legwork yourself.

3. Design Limitations That'll Make You Pull Your Hair Out

If you're a creative type who loves to tinker with design, Substack might drive you up the wall:

The design options are basic at best. Hope you like minimalism!
Forget about fancy features like pop-ups or image carousels.
Got a strong brand already? Good luck maintaining it on Substack.
Custom coding? Not a chance.

Some folks find this limitation freeing – less time fiddling with design means more time writing. But if you're a perfectionist about your visual brand, prepare for some frustration.

4. You Don't Own the Sandbox

Remember MySpace?

Building your entire platform on someone else's turf can be risky:

Substack could change their terms of service at any time. Don't like it? Too bad.
Sure, you can export your email list, but what about all your other data?
If Substack decides to pivot their business model, you might be left scrambling.
Email deliverability issues? That's mostly out of your hands.

It's not all doom and gloom, but it's worth thinking twice before putting all your eggs in the Substack basket.

5. Email Marketing Tools That'll Make You Weep

If you're used to the bells and whistles of dedicated email marketing platforms, Substack's going to feel like you're back in the stone age:

No automated email sequences.
Segmentation? What's that?
The analytics are basic.
A/B testing? Far away.

For some folks, this simplicity is a feature, not a bug. I actually like it.

But if you're all about optimizing every aspect of your email game, you might find Substack frustratingly basic.

6. Content Moderation (Or Lack Thereof)

Substack's approach to content moderation is, well, let's call it "hands-off":

Their policies have led to concerns about misinformation and hate speech.
There's a distinct lack of clear content guidelines.
Hosting controversial creators has gotten Substack into hot water more than once.
Want to manage your community discussions? Tools are pretty limited.

This can be a double-edged sword.

Freedom of expression is great, but it can also lead to some pretty dicey situations.

7. Technical Hiccups

Substack isn't new by any means. But occasionally things go wrong:

Downtime? Yep, it happens.
Formatting glitches that'll make you want to throw your computer out the window? Check.
Need help? Customer support can take a while.

These issues usually get sorted out eventually, but they can be a real pain when you just want to write.

8. Tech Integration?

For the tech-savvy creators out there, Substack's lack of integration options might be a deal-breaker:

No public API. Nada. Zip. Zilch.
Want to connect Substack to your other tools like SparkLoop (please!!!)? Not really going to happen.
Automating your workflow? Nope.

If you're used to having all your tools play nicely together, Substack's isolation might drive you nuts.

10. Growing Pains

Let's say you hit the Substack lottery and your newsletter takes off. Congrats! But now you might face a whole new set of problems:

That 10% fee starts to look pretty hefty when you're pulling in the dollars.
Need enterprise-level features? Substack isn't the solution for that.
Managing a team of contributors? It can be done, but could be much easier.
Want to expand beyond newsletters? Well, they're trying their best with social media features, chat, video. But in reality, those are far off from the best places to go for those content types.

It's not uncommon for successful creators to eventually jump ship to more advanced platforms as they scale up.

So, What's the Verdict?

Look, Substack is a good newsletter and blogging platform. You can create a blog and email list in minutes and start writing without a tech headache right away.

Huge plus.

Most competitors make all that way more complicated (looking at you, WordPress).

For many writers, especially those just starting out, it can be a great launchpad. The simplicity can be liberating, letting you focus on what matters most – your writing.

But Substack is definitely not a one-size-fits-all solution.

Before you commit, set your goals, envision your audience, and remember your long-term strategy.

Substack might be the perfect fit, or it might be a stepping stone to something else.