After Doing 30+ Expert Interviews on Substack, Here's Everything You Should Know

"Substack is the sweatpants of the internet"

I’ve done 30+ interviews with experts in diverse niches on Substack.

While each interview was unique (and I had a blast getting to know each and every one of you!), they all had some very common responses. So, this piece is intended to go in-depth on those common responses so you can get a grasp of what other experts are feeling on Substack, what their common goals might be, and what roadblocks they may be facing.

So, here’s everything you should know from 30+ interviews I did with experts on Substack (might do a part 2 on this).

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1. They’re Sick of These Other Damn Social Media Platforms

I’ve decided to split this into three subpoints, so bear with me.

This was a VERY common answer from all of the experts I’ve interviewed.

When I say experts are “sick of all of these other damn social media platforms”, there are multiple layers to that.

1. There is a certain authenticity about Substack that attracts experts to the platform. It’s a feeling that is almost nonexistent on other social media platforms, such as LinkedIn (mainly), Instagram, X, Facebook, and even Medium. Authenticity is actually celebrated and rewarded on Substack, whereas other platforms reward your typical “influencer style” social media tropes. They either want you to post a pic of yourself in Bali drinking a margarita, or they want you to be corporate and buttoned up to look a certain way. Substack allows experts to be way more casual and express themselves.

2. You can build real, long-lasting connections on Substack. The experts I’ve spoken to all have spoken glowingly of the budding community on the platform. It’s full of consumers who love to read long-form content and learn. Sure, notes allow for more short-form content to come into the fray, but for the most part, the long-form aspect of Substack is what experts enjoy the most. They get to write out their complete, in-depth thoughts instead of limiting it to 250 characters. It’s the perfect hub to build genuine connections. Heck, lots of experts even said they’ve had more face-to-face conversations with people on Substack than they’ve ever had on any other platform.

3. Substack is more focused on community building than vanity metrics. That’s why so many experts mentioned how they want to find their tribe here. You don’t need to have 50k subscribers on Substack to build a community and make a living for your business. The many different features Substack offers (e.g., notes, podcasts, chat, livestream) can all be used in tandem to build that engaged community and communicate with them in different ways. The flexibility on Substack to build your business exactly how you want it to be is insane.

These are just a few of the reasons why experts right now are addicted to Substack.

I’d also add that the overall vibe of the platform is fun, chill, and welcoming.

Sofia said it best in one of the interviews we did:

“Substack is the sweatpants of the internet.”

2. Building Alone Can Be Isolating

All of the experts I’ve interviewed range from career consultants, fitness coaches, midlife coaches, wine experts, software engineers, and more.

An interesting nugget I’ve gathered from those conversations is how isolating it can be while building alone.

The online world can be cruel in many different ways.

I mentioned before how exhausting it can be to follow the typical social media tropes for virality. The hidden part of that is how learning alone sucks sometimes, especially if you have no idea where to start. So just think, experts have to deal with that ALONG with worrying about their business.

Kathryn said:

“It can be an incredibly lonely path.”

That’s why the Substack community has been such a breath of fresh air to them.

They don’t feel alone on Substack. They feel as though they’re learning along with others to a certain extent. Do you remember Twitter before it got super popular? It was harmless fun, right?

That’s what Substack is right now.

You can meet with people in person or on Zoom. You can collaborate with anyone. EVERYONE (even some of the people with thousands of subscribers) is super accessible via DM.

Sofia talked about suddenly forming genuine friendships through Substack.

Bottom line: Substack encourages forming connections and it’s beautiful to see for experts who feel a bit isolated.

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3. Storytelling is More Valuable Because of AI

Storytelling will always kick ass.

We’re in a digital age now where information is obsolete. Google and AI have made information available to us within two seconds.

It’s not enough as an expert anymore to give out information.

You need something MORE. That’s where storytelling comes in. You see, no one can ever replicate your story—not even AI. Storytelling is something AI won’t be good at anytime soon, frankly.

Why?

Think of AI as a virtual assistant/task handler. It performs best when given proper information to perform its role well. Anything that requires a level of emotional resonance…let’s just say it sucks…badly. Believe me, I’ve tried it a million times already to see if it could get it right.

AI just isn’t good at translating emotions into written form that can resonate with humans.

Storytelling is the one advantage you have over AI.

And get this. There’s a crazy stat I learned a few years back (it’s from a reputable study, but the name escapes me right now) where humans are 20x more likely to remember a piece of information given to them if it’s told with a personal story.

Our brains are just wired for stories. We eat them up.

So, if you really want to stand out as an expert in this saturated online world, storytelling is by far your best bet.

It seems like most of the experts I’ve interviewed feel the same way too. :)

Please let me know in the comments if you want me to do a pt. 2 to this because these weren’t the only common responses that were interesting.