Copyright ©MMXXIV Patrick's Place LLC. All rights reserved.

Blogging

Why Do They Make Substack Subcriptions an Ordeal?

A computer key with an email icon123RF

I recently saw an excerpt of a blog post I was interested in. To read more, I quickly found myself in the quagmire of Substack subscriptions!

For the majority of this little blog’s life, I have self-hosted it on WordPress. Some people seem to really dislike WordPress, and in many cases, their feelings don’t make much sense to me. But I know there are bloggers who’ve decided to rely on other services. One such popular alternative is Substack. I’ve never really investigated the reasons people seem to think it’s so wonderful. But I can report that trying to arrange Substack subscriptions from folks you’re interested in reading is doesn’t stand as what I’d call a “positive user experience.”

When I post a link to a blog article I’ve written on social media, people who see that excerpt can click the link and be taken to my site.

As you saw when you landed here — either directly in this article or on the front page — I hope you noticed something. Giant popups didn’t demand information before you could read the article. You could just jump right in and read.

I checked out Substack’s Wikipedia page because, well, that’s as good a place to start as any. I immediately realized I falsely assumed something about the platform. It’s not really a blogging platform. Instead, it’s an email newsletter publishing platform.

Yes, people operate it as a blog, but the focus seems to be distributing content via newsletter.

That begins to explain a lot.

I just wanted to read an article

I don’t know which options exist for visitors who find something they want to read from a Substack user. It may be that Substack’s basic idea doesn’t require so many hoops to jump through for visitors. At least, I’d like to think that it doesn’t. I’d hope that the particular Substack user simply became a bit zealous about building a subscription to his or her newsletter. In doing so, said user did not stop to think about the user experience.

When I followed the link to read the article, I didn’t see the article. I saw a pop up box asking for my email address. Right away, I was being asked to subscribe to something I hadn’t even read. I’ve said before that a tactic like that will almost always make me close the window without giving up an email address.

But this author — whose name I can’t remember — looked fairly legitimate. So I made a rare exception and entered my email address, which presumably signed me up for the person’s newsletter.

OK, fine.

But I quickly saw another popup. Substack now wanted me to check boxes next to at least five other newsletters to sign up for. Five other newsletters from people I’ve never heard of. With content I’ve never read.

It took a second to find the equivalent of a “no thank you” link to click.

Maybe now I could read the article, right?

Wrong.

A third popup asked me to donate to the original content creator in the form of a monthly donation. Even as little as $1 or $2 per month would help, the popup suggested.

So the author wanted me to pledge a monthly donation based on content I hadn’t yet read because of all of the annoyances in just getting there?

No, thanks

When the initial email came asking me to verify my email address, I deleted it.

If they’re going to make it this difficult to read a single article, I’m not interested. If Substack subscriptions have to be this difficult, they’re going to turn off any potential new subscribers before they ever get them.

Surely someone at Substack can recognize a poor user experience when they see one!

the authorPatrick
Patrick is a Christian with more than 30 years experience in professional writing, producing and marketing. His professional background also includes social media, reporting for broadcast television and the web, directing, videography and photography. He enjoys getting to know people over coffee and spending time with his dog.
Subscribe
Notify of

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x