Substack vs Medium

Substack provides a platform for creators to build an audience and potentially monetize their content through subscriptions.

A gradual and reliable growth mechanism for newsletters, built on consistency and word of mouth.

Substack has a user-friendly interface that allows for easy setup and multimedia posts.

Substack provides the opportunity for writers to own their subscribers and communicate directly with them.

Substack allows for both free and paid content, giving flexibility in content sharing and potential monetization.

Substack allows writers to categorize their posts into unlimited publications, making it user-friendly for creators.

Easy to use and supportive community for writers.

Valuable learning resource for data science topics.

Potential for writers to earn income from their articles.

A community where writers can showcase their talent.

Variety of topics and user engagement.

Good platform for beginner writers to start their journey.

New writers may struggle to monetize effectively on Substack without a pre-existing audience.

Substack does not offer advanced features such as personalization tags or email automations, which limits marketing effectiveness.

While there are success stories, many new writers face challenges in gaining visibility and building an audience.

Writers may find it difficult to gain traction on Substack, especially without an established audience.

There is a perception that Substack may not provide enough engagement compared to platforms like Reddit.

Substack may not be the best option for long-term growth compared to other platforms that offer better discoverability.

Poor customer service and high volume of bots.

Difficulties with subscriptions and account management.

Frustration with content quality and relevance.

Management's lack of communication with users.

Quality of articles varies, with many being superficial or repetitive.

Frustration with the paywall.

The native editor was a key reason for choosing Substack due to its ease of use.

Users appreciate the minimalist design of the Substack editor, allowing focus on writing.

The simplicity of publishing content on Substack is frequently highlighted by users.

Substack allows for creative, personal writing, garnering a welcoming community.

A user noted that they find their writing process improved with Substack's tools.

Several users encourage others to start writing on Substack for its user-friendly nature.

Users appreciate the autosave feature, although it can be confusing if they don't know if their story is saved.

The editor allows for flexibility in content creation, which is beneficial for writers.

Medium's editor is seen as a good platform for building a portfolio and gaining a following.

A redesign in the editing experience aims to make tool accessibility clearer for users.

Successful articles often include personalized insights, enhancing the editorial experience.

Users can achieve significant views and earnings from well-promoted articles.

Users have expressed frustrations with the draft page becoming unresponsive at times.

Some complaints about a lack of detailed formatting options compared to other CMS platforms.

Users noted that SEO effectiveness on Substack can be lacking, affecting visibility.

Some find that monetization options can be unclear or limited without a paid subscription.

Reports of suboptimal user experience with formatting issues during editing.

Users mention that some features feel half-baked or underdeveloped compared to competitors.

Many users find the editing functions confusing and buried in the interface.

The publication management interface is not intuitive, making it hard for editors to navigate.

Writers often struggle to gain visibility without existing followings.

Users express frustration with the platform's promotional aspects, feeling it's a gamble.

New writers may not have enough visibility to attract readers, making articles feel unsupported.

Users wish for better feedback mechanisms after publishing their articles.

Substack allows quick setup without technical knowledge, appealing to non-experts.

Users appreciate the community and engagement aspects of Substack, as it attracts serious writers.

The platform is free and offers monetization options for writers.

Wagtail's admin interface can coexist with existing Django admin interfaces, facilitating integration.

Payload CMS allows flexible configurations when setting up in existing environments.

Middleware setup within the community is being continuously improved, showing commitment.

Good documentation exists for integrating Wagtail with various plugins.

Integration steps for Headless CMS are clear and well-outlined.

Community support and shared experiences provide practical insights.

Substack lacks solid SEO functionality, which can hinder discoverability.

Emails sent through Substack are public, reducing exclusivity for subscribers.

Users struggle with managing multiple lists when using Substack and Mailchimp together due to lack of integration.

There is no direct integration for tracking Facebook Pixel conversions with Substack.

Django-CMS lacks direct integration guidance for existing Django applications.

Payload requires additional setups for storage which complicates integration.

Payload CMS documentation remains incomplete for advanced integrations.

Missing rich text serializer is a common pain point in Payload integration.

Wagtail’s complex setup can be a drawback for beginners.

Users report difficulties finding quality examples and documentation.