Why you should use WordPress instead of Substack for publishing content

Over the last couple of years I’ve seen many content creators, influencers, and bloggers using Substack to host their content, whether that be blog posts, podcasts or email newsletters.

The reason so many content creators are attracted to Substack is because of its functionality that allows them to put their content behind a paywall and sell subscriptions to those wanting to consume it.

While Substack may seem like the perfect option if you are looking to monetise your content, I would actually strongly advise against using it. There is a better way of selling access to your content that is much more sustainable in the long run.

In this post, I’m going to explain why I don’t recommend using Substack as a content creator. I’m also going to tell you how you can monetise your content in a way that is much more beneficial to you.

You don’t own your Substack account

Just like with your Instagram, your Facebook, and your TikTok accounts, you don’t actually own your Substack account.

Substack has full control over your account. This means they could close down your account, or even the entire platform, without any prior warning, for any reason.

If they did this, what would happen to all the content you published on there? It would disappear, and you’d have to start from scratch creating content on another platform.

And would your audience know where to find you? Because if Substack has gone then, so has your mailing list.

You’re building SEO for someone else’s website

When you publish free content on Substack (i.e., content that isn’t behind a paywall) rather than your own website, you drive traffic to Substack. Instead of improving SEO for your own website, increasing your chances of appearing organically in search results, you’re improving SEO for Substack’s website.

And this brings me back to the question: what happens if Substack closes down? Or what if it suddenly drops in popularity? It’s happened to plenty of other social media and content creation platforms in the past (Remember Vine? Periscope? Piczo? Bebo? Google+? Vero? MySpace?!) and it could happen to Substack.

If this were to happen, you’d have to move your content elsewhere (for example, to your own website). You would then have to start building your SEO from scratch, and this takes a long time!

If you’re thinking, “Can’t I just publish the same content that I’ve already published on Substack to my own website?” the answer is no. Google would consider this to be duplicate content, and you could be penalised for this. And that’s worse than not publishing the content on your own website at all.

Everyone’s Substack looks the same

While there are a few design elements you can tweak in Substack, like colours, fonts, and imagery, ultimately, every Substack account looks exactly the same. And that’s kind of boring!

One of the benefits of having your own website as a content creator is that it can be customised with your own branding to make it completely unique. You can inject your personality into your website to help you stand out from the crowd.

It’s so much more difficult to stand out as a content creator on a platform where everyone’s accounts look the same.

The solution? Sell access to your content via a WordPress website!

As I mentioned before, one of the main draws of Substack is the ability to put content behind a paywall so that you can make money by selling access to it.

But did you know that this is possible using a WordPress website? This functionality isn’t exclusive to Substack!

Using WordPress, we can create a website with functionality that allows you to hide content behind a paywall, and then sell subscriptions to your audience so they can access your content. We can even connect it to an email marketing platform, like MailerLite, Flodesk, or Mailchimp, so you can send out emails to those who are paying for a subscription, whether to let them know that a new blog post has been published, or to share additional content with them.

This approach means you can still make money from your content, but you actually own your own platform (your website). You can customise it to look however you want it to, and you aren’t restricted by Substack’s design limitations. Plus, you can improve your own website’s SEO, so you’re not driving traffic to someone else’s site.

I set up this exact functionality for my clients Ros and Jess over at The Home Page. You can find out more about we achieved this in this case study post.

Are you a web designer with a client looking to monetise content through a WordPress website?

If so, I can help! I’ve created WordPress websites for other content creators with paywall and subscription functionality that allows them to make money from their content in a sustainable way.

With my signature WordPress Website Development service, I can turn your designs into fully-functioning WordPress websites with paywall functionality that not only look beautiful but that are also functional, strategic and fast.