Hey Jayshree, as the true master of the subtle art of Substack, it dawned on me to ask YOU about a question that's been buzzing around my little Genealogy and Family History corner of Substack as it relates to using Tags.
I learned so much about using tags to organize content on my pages both for projectkin.substack.com and now missiongenealogy.substack.com... from you. Now that Substack has brought "navigation tags" to the top of the home page, it's time to check back with you. From conversations with the chatbot and a reply to a note you can see in my feed, I believe they're now using tags WE put into our posts to feed their algorithm and present information to "interested readers."
Hi Barbara, I actually have a new post coming on the silently introduced changes! No, it is on recommendations you make and publications you subscribed to - tags are for site organization still!
Thank you for this well presented information. It's very helpful.
I have been considering starting a Section for my fiction writing (which is vastly different than the daily historical devotionals I write) but after reading this I'm rethinking that idea. It seems like sections are better used for material that is at least related to my main substack.
Yes, that is correct. It is easy to run another publication under the same account id, but be forewarned, you need to open another account under Stripe (which it lets you do under the same email id).
It took me a while to wrap my head around organizing my content on Substack. I ended up using a combo of tags and sections.
For example, in my publication @gleaningwords, I repurpose content from my old journals, but I needed some way to organize the various journals I wanted to “glean” instead of having each journal’s sections overpopulating my Navigation Header Bar. So I ended up creating a separate section specifically designed to host all these journals with links to each of them.
Then, I chose to hide the journal sections so they wouldn’t appear on the Navigation Bar. This allows my journals to be hosted in one convenient location.
P.S. Can you confirm the affiliate links statement in your first footnote? I looked all over the TOS section of Substack and the only mention of affiliates are “Substack and its affiliates…” I’ve seen plenty of creators here on the platform use affiliate links in one way or another, usually notifying the reader of them as per FTC’s Fair Credit Reporting Act. Thanks.
Hi Eric, thanks for sharing your setup - I checked it. Interesting your publication starting page lands on the Journals tab. Did you intend that? I rechecked the substack guideline - and updated my note with the link - please see the post Notes - the grey area is in the use of 'sole purpose.'
My publication doesn’t land on the Journals tab, at least not when I pull up a private window in my browser. The link I supplied takes you directly to that section to illustrate the example I was referring to. When you click the actual “Journals Directory” post, it shows up as a TOC to save header space.
I’ll check out the updated footnotes you mentioned. Thanks for checking on that for me.
My bad! The only other suggestion I have is to turn on paid previews so the potential subscriber can see more content on each of your journal entries, it was not clear to me what type of 'entry' you have. Or even do one free entry post! Good luck!
Hi Jane, glad it helped. If you mean your external site, then you should retain that and have one of its pages or a link on it, maybe 'Newsletter' redirect to your substack site.
🙏 No I mean my other website janehutcheon.com I find Wordpress so clunky. Feel like I have to relearn everything each time I want to add a journal or product. Do you have a take on domain name websites when there is a platform like Substack?
yes, I edited my reply after I checked your external site - jane.....com - so my reply above still holds. You should retain it and host a link on that site to direct it to your new substack page. you still write on substack but this way you have your own domain name and can move content away from here anytime. Allows you to be 'platform-independent.' Does this help?
Where WERE you when I was structuring my Substack. I suppose I should have nailed the magic of search before drilling in to figure this stuff out myself. 🙄 This is incredibly helpful and if Substack's nifty new cross-posting feature allowed me to manipulate Section configurations, I'd add this post to my Substack+Family History section (https://projectkin.substack.com/s/substack-family-history) We'll get there. Thank you for your work. Keep it coming. I know it will benefit our Projectkin members as they get ready for their own stacks.
lol, thanks so much for this feedback ad for highlighting my post to your members. I just joined 2 months ago and was surprised by such high barriers for users. So I started this guide! Glad you found it useful! I think a Substack 101 post is also due!
Oh, absolutely, @Jayshree Gururaj! While @Christina Loff's Masterclass is superb (on.substack.com/p/masterclass-everything-bloggers-and) I think it's important to speak to the strategic choices in simple clear language as you do. Well done.
(Variable reinforcement just makes my head explode... Links work in comments, but not "@" mentions... 🙄. I'm adding them here in protest and as a way to beg. Every engagement teaches the new user what to expect...)
Interesting. Thanks. Did not see any of this. On the POD artwork website I joined the tags or keywords section pops up and is visible when adding new art or editing. Course I'm a struggling Luddite trying to join the 1980'S technology wise.
I'm confused by "sections". I currently have one substack mostly for poetry and am planning to do a ""publication" for "Davenport True Crime" and a 2nd for highlighting my Monarch Butterfly Art and a Monarch Book I'm working on and 2025 2026 2027 INTERNATIONAL ARTIST'S CAMPAIGN TO SAVE THE MONARCH BUTTERFLIES THRU ART FRAGRANT FLOWERS MILKWEED AND YOUR IDEA HERE. NO SIGN UP. NO FEES. NO EMAILS...
I love reading these practical numbers, especially on organization" I am a person who always tries to better organize what he does and all the things to do even during the day, so I found your practical advice really valuable, thank you very much. If can help as a starting point, for example I have also created different formats to distinguish various contents always with the same 'recurring mode', and in the writing phase I have a folder with the various articles (I write about papers on Artificial Intelligence from a psychological perspective , social and marketing) that could be useful to me. Thank you for this issue!
Hey Jayshree, as the true master of the subtle art of Substack, it dawned on me to ask YOU about a question that's been buzzing around my little Genealogy and Family History corner of Substack as it relates to using Tags.
I learned so much about using tags to organize content on my pages both for projectkin.substack.com and now missiongenealogy.substack.com... from you. Now that Substack has brought "navigation tags" to the top of the home page, it's time to check back with you. From conversations with the chatbot and a reply to a note you can see in my feed, I believe they're now using tags WE put into our posts to feed their algorithm and present information to "interested readers."
Do you have any insight on this?
Hi Barbara, I actually have a new post coming on the silently introduced changes! No, it is on recommendations you make and publications you subscribed to - tags are for site organization still!
Oh, interesting, I'll be watching for your new post. 👀
Thank you for this well presented information. It's very helpful.
I have been considering starting a Section for my fiction writing (which is vastly different than the daily historical devotionals I write) but after reading this I'm rethinking that idea. It seems like sections are better used for material that is at least related to my main substack.
Yes, that is correct. It is easy to run another publication under the same account id, but be forewarned, you need to open another account under Stripe (which it lets you do under the same email id).
Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to respond.
You are welcome! I may write a post on publication strategy.
It took me a while to wrap my head around organizing my content on Substack. I ended up using a combo of tags and sections.
For example, in my publication @gleaningwords, I repurpose content from my old journals, but I needed some way to organize the various journals I wanted to “glean” instead of having each journal’s sections overpopulating my Navigation Header Bar. So I ended up creating a separate section specifically designed to host all these journals with links to each of them.
Then, I chose to hide the journal sections so they wouldn’t appear on the Navigation Bar. This allows my journals to be hosted in one convenient location.
If this all sounds too confusing, you can check it out by following this link to my Journals Directory: https://gleaningwords.substack.com/s/journals-directory
P.S. Can you confirm the affiliate links statement in your first footnote? I looked all over the TOS section of Substack and the only mention of affiliates are “Substack and its affiliates…” I’ve seen plenty of creators here on the platform use affiliate links in one way or another, usually notifying the reader of them as per FTC’s Fair Credit Reporting Act. Thanks.
Hi Eric, thanks for sharing your setup - I checked it. Interesting your publication starting page lands on the Journals tab. Did you intend that? I rechecked the substack guideline - and updated my note with the link - please see the post Notes - the grey area is in the use of 'sole purpose.'
My publication doesn’t land on the Journals tab, at least not when I pull up a private window in my browser. The link I supplied takes you directly to that section to illustrate the example I was referring to. When you click the actual “Journals Directory” post, it shows up as a TOC to save header space.
I’ll check out the updated footnotes you mentioned. Thanks for checking on that for me.
My bad! The only other suggestion I have is to turn on paid previews so the potential subscriber can see more content on each of your journal entries, it was not clear to me what type of 'entry' you have. Or even do one free entry post! Good luck!
Thanks so much, I am working through this so my site can be better for readers. My BIG question... do I still need a website @JayshreeGururaj ??
Hi Jane, glad it helped. If you mean your external site, then you should retain that and have one of its pages or a link on it, maybe 'Newsletter' redirect to your substack site.
🙏 No I mean my other website janehutcheon.com I find Wordpress so clunky. Feel like I have to relearn everything each time I want to add a journal or product. Do you have a take on domain name websites when there is a platform like Substack?
yes, I edited my reply after I checked your external site - jane.....com - so my reply above still holds. You should retain it and host a link on that site to direct it to your new substack page. you still write on substack but this way you have your own domain name and can move content away from here anytime. Allows you to be 'platform-independent.' Does this help?
I wish I had seen this post when I first came to Substack. I have published my first post but will use you’re info here to make improvements
Thanks for sharing, Jennifer. It may take some effort, but you can still do it! Or hire someone to do it ;-)
Where WERE you when I was structuring my Substack. I suppose I should have nailed the magic of search before drilling in to figure this stuff out myself. 🙄 This is incredibly helpful and if Substack's nifty new cross-posting feature allowed me to manipulate Section configurations, I'd add this post to my Substack+Family History section (https://projectkin.substack.com/s/substack-family-history) We'll get there. Thank you for your work. Keep it coming. I know it will benefit our Projectkin members as they get ready for their own stacks.
lol, thanks so much for this feedback ad for highlighting my post to your members. I just joined 2 months ago and was surprised by such high barriers for users. So I started this guide! Glad you found it useful! I think a Substack 101 post is also due!
Oh, absolutely, @Jayshree Gururaj! While @Christina Loff's Masterclass is superb (on.substack.com/p/masterclass-everything-bloggers-and) I think it's important to speak to the strategic choices in simple clear language as you do. Well done.
(Variable reinforcement just makes my head explode... Links work in comments, but not "@" mentions... 🙄. I'm adding them here in protest and as a way to beg. Every engagement teaches the new user what to expect...)
Interesting. Thanks. Did not see any of this. On the POD artwork website I joined the tags or keywords section pops up and is visible when adding new art or editing. Course I'm a struggling Luddite trying to join the 1980'S technology wise.
I'm confused by "sections". I currently have one substack mostly for poetry and am planning to do a ""publication" for "Davenport True Crime" and a 2nd for highlighting my Monarch Butterfly Art and a Monarch Book I'm working on and 2025 2026 2027 INTERNATIONAL ARTIST'S CAMPAIGN TO SAVE THE MONARCH BUTTERFLIES THRU ART FRAGRANT FLOWERS MILKWEED AND YOUR IDEA HERE. NO SIGN UP. NO FEES. NO EMAILS...
lots for an old Luddite to try to learn.
Mr. Dodo B Bird. dodobbird.pixels.com
I love reading these practical numbers, especially on organization" I am a person who always tries to better organize what he does and all the things to do even during the day, so I found your practical advice really valuable, thank you very much. If can help as a starting point, for example I have also created different formats to distinguish various contents always with the same 'recurring mode', and in the writing phase I have a folder with the various articles (I write about papers on Artificial Intelligence from a psychological perspective , social and marketing) that could be useful to me. Thank you for this issue!
Thanks for breaking this all down!!! Very useful & much appreciated 👏