Substack Recommendations Health Check

Part 4 of 'Your Publication Needs Work, but Where to Start?'

A big hello from the Substack ‘expert’ who definitely doesn’t follow her own advice when it comes to consistent, predictable posting.

…. I always tell people to post at the same time each week because it’s easier to build a relationship with your subscribers when you show up consistently. But I’m not doing that now. So do as I say, not as I do, right?! 😁

My excuse: I’m still travelling, which is very fun, but also makes it tough to get work done.

Recommendations are so important when travelling. Good recommendations led me to spend extra time at The Met in New York, pop into Canada while at Niagara Falls, visit the AKG Gallery in Buffalo, have a drink at a former mental asylum and eat in a classic US 'diner car'. Letchworth State Park, (supposedly 'the Grand Canyon of the Eastern US') was an overhyped recommendation that didn't live up to its reputation. I almost missed amazing experiences in Saratoga Springs and Ithaca because they didn't show up in recommendations.

Why work on recommendations?

My series Your publication needs work, but where to start? aims to help you figure out what to work on to get your Substack publication performing at its best. It was inspired by my Substack Self-Audit Program which helps you super-charge your publication in hours, not months.

Checking on the ‘health’ of your recommendations is quick to do, and fixing any gaps you find can yield powerful results.

Recommendations on Substack can bring you new subscribers on autopilot. Like, a lot of new subscribers. In fact, almost one third of subscribers to this publication came from recommendations. My paid publication has generated almost two thousand subscriptions for other newsletters (feels great!)

It’s safe to say that putting effort into recommendations can pay off with increased subscriber numbers. However, it’s not easy to get recommendations when you are starting out.

Common pitfalls with recommendations

When I audit under-performing publications, recommendations is a common problem area. Problems include: (1) few - or no - recommendations from other creators; (2) no recommendation ‘blurbs’ on the welcome page; (3) not recommending other publications.

Having few recommendations from other creators is a handbrake on growth. It usually occurs because the creator hasn’t made time to ‘make friends’ with other writers in the same space. Occasionally it’s because there are not enough popular publications on the same topic to provide recommendations.

Recommendation ‘blurbs’ from other creators appear on your Substack welcome page. This is Cosmographia by M.E. Rothwell.

Check these 3 things in your publication

Here are the three things to do to make sure you are leveraging the power of Substack recommendations.

1. Check that you are recommending other publications.

2. Find out if you are getting recommendations.

3. Review and rotate recommendation blurbs.

My earlier post about recommendations explains how to make recommendations that count (and how many you should make); how to check your recommendations; and best practices for requesting recommendations from other creators. If you need a refresher, definitely check it out.

That’s all for this week.

Karen

P.S. If you missed the earlier posts in the ‘Where to start’ series, find them in my tutorial playlist Make Your Publication Better and Get More Subscribers.

Cover image: Freepik