Pitfall of Spam

If you've been part of this community for even a brief period, you're likely familiar with the annoying follow-for-follow practices.

Why do so many users follow us without engaging with our content? The reasoning is straightforward: it’s an easy method to infiltrate other users' notifications and capture their dwindling attention spans—assuming notifications are functioning properly.

Many individuals are frustrated with this "inauthentic follower trend" (see additional discussions here and here). But how does this situation compare to other platforms?

This article aims to provide insights specifically for Substack. If you're interested in a comparison with other platforms, feel free to leave a comment!

Collecting Insights

With every new subscriber, I receive an email from Substack that includes their name, email, bio, and information about how many other newsletters they follow.

Here's a glimpse into my inbox:

Did you know that Debdutta also writes on Medium? Such a small world!

What did I do with these emails?

Firstly, I directed them to my Ko-fi page, hoping for some financial support. Unfortunately, tipping on Medium didn't yield results.

Next, I analyzed my last 100 subscribers and compiled a visually appealing table using my favorite spreadsheet tool. While I won't bore you with the entire table, I will share a stunning scatter plot.

It's noteworthy that one individual subscribes to 984 other Substacks—quite the impressive feat!

Out of my last 100 subscribers, 23 have also subscribed to 200 or more newsletters.

I suspect that many of them aren’t reading these newsletters; they likely hope I’ll check out their profile and reciprocate the subscription.

From my findings, the median subscriber is linked to 54 Substacks (with an average of 137 due to some outliers exceeding 200).

Fifty-four seems like a considerable number. Who has the bandwidth to read that many newsletters?

In my case, I subscribe to 27 Substacks, with half of them publishing less frequently than once a month, and I don’t consume every piece of content because I’m selective.

Thus, 54 might be a reasonable approach to curate a "feed" in your inbox (or within the Substack app) akin to what we experience on Medium.

Overall, the situation isn't as dire as it may seem!

I suspect that the average number of followed writers on Medium is significantly higher than 54, and I’ve encountered some users following over ten thousand writers.

In contrast, the statistics on Substack (from my limited sample) appear much more rational.

However, I’m somewhat comparing apples to oranges here, as subscribing on Substack means receiving the newsletter directly in your inbox. This engagement is more consequential than merely following someone.

I’m curious about the corresponding statistics for Medium subscribers, but that data isn’t publicly accessible.

Conclusion — Embrace Subscribing

While subscribing spam exists on Substack, it shouldn’t deter you from following my Substack.

I genuinely appreciate all my subscribers, regardless of how many newsletters they also follow.

And I have a special fondness for my paid subscribers—whether it’s doubled monthly or tripled yearly.

Are you contemplating whether Substack is the right platform for you?