Instagram has become an essential platform for building audience and driving subscriber growth. Let's explore a few examples of how writers are sharing to Instagram to expand their reach and get new subscribers.
I have to politely disagree with the sentiment of this post. For individuals who don't have a team, Instagram is an impossible monster to feed, it just wants more. My whole reason for coming to Substack was to escape that type of feeding of the algorithm. It's difficult to get seen if you don't spend hours on it each day. For those that already have a huge following, like some you mention, it's fine, easy even and another string to their bow.
Time and time again, for me, the people who convert into readers and buyers of my books are the people on my mailing list. Don't get me wrong, I still use IG to signpost what I'm doing. But my expectations and experience tell me not to expect a lot back.
Thank you for the thoughtful comment, Susan! Let me throw out a few notes and would be curious to hear what you think.
In writing posts about how to grow, I often worry that writers interpret it as something they *have* to do. Nothing matters more than posting consistently and focusing on quality. With that, over time, word of mouth is all you need. If you want to reach a wider audience and accelerate your growth, there are ways to do that. But again, any growth effort is totally optional and secondary to consistency and quality.
For Instagram specifically, as someone who doesn't like to spend too much time on IG, everything you said resonates with me. Many folks who do well on Instagram seem to enjoy using the product, and posting daily isn't as much of a grind as it is for others. I'm in awe of my partner Dee, who posts to Instagram daily to keep our puppy's account growing — I could never do that. For the writers who get a lot of value from Instagram, I think they either enjoy it and/or view it as part of their job.
I also see writers who use Instagram to build their audience without putting too much extra effort into it. All their posts on Instagram are their Substack posts with links, or highlights/clips from stuff they've already published elsewhere (e.g., Lenny's podcast: www.instagram.com/lennyspodcast/). That may be closer to your signpost approach, which can still be valuable (as long as it doesn't take much mindshare or time).
Ultimately, I think everyone needs to find what works best for them. And again, none of this audience-building stuff is necessary — it's only helpful when looking for ways to grow beyond word-of-mouth.
Hey 👋 yes, I totally get that. And appreciate you reiterating it here. I'm definitely on the older and more jaded end of the spectrum of social media users after 10+ years of doing it. And I do find the consistency difficult over there. I think there are many like me who've used it for years and have plateaued despite our best efforts. Now my best efforts go elsewhere.
Using the highlights is a great tip, lots of nuggets here. Need to sit down & focus more to absorb & figure out if any of it can be incorporated into what I’m doing to enhance the small following ive built on several accounts. Hitting 1k followers took almost 3 years.
A good starting point may be to think about how to make any kind of sharing workflow easy for you. If it takes effort (even like a medium amount of effort) and doesn’t yield immediate, tangible results (which is probably the most likely scenario), your mindshare and effort may shift elsewhere.
And of course, it’s important to find what works best for you. Even if other folks have found success growing their audience via social platforms, it’s totally possible sharing to social isn’t a good use of *your* time.
Thanks again for dropping by and leaving a comment. :)
On quick glance, it looks like you’re doing the right things. The only thing I’d throw out is to maybe try posting more visual stuff (images & videos) to your feed, but know that takes more effort & time.
You may already be doing this, but make sure to also share any of the posts with a link (any of your Substack posts, the new paid subscriber post) to your Stories.
I don’t think you’re the only one that feels that way! 😬
The reality is that these platforms can still be useful for people trying to build a business on the internet. For those that use the large tech / social platforms effectively, it seems they view them simply as tools — something that helps them reach their own goal of growing their audience and business.
Much easier said than done, but maybe that kind of perspective helps use the large social platforms in a way that drives you toward your goal.
...if only there were a content operations app that helped creators use one CMS interface to deliver content to all social platforms per their specs and needs and catered to each environment...it is a little mind bending to consider the amount of human labor being deployed to manage the most successful of these cross platform users...
It’s an excellent point. There are *some* tools out there today that make it easier to create and schedule posts to LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and other social platforms. Some even are trying to create features that transform one type of media into a tailored post for each platform (e.g., turning a blog post into a LinkedIn post tailored to that platform, or even transforming a blog post to a shareable video to IG or TikTok).
As things stand today though, it’s a ton of effort. Also, regardless of how tools and features evolve, there may always be opportunity for the folks with resources to invest in more hands-on audience building on any platform.
thanks! This was really interesting and I definitely learned a few things that I had no idea about, after years of trying and failing to use Instagram for growth!
I certainly hadn’t thought of Instagram as a meaningful way to grow audience… but there’s a lot of examples of folks using IG well on Substack, and hoping some of the examples spark ideas for others.
Yeah, and it's interesting that most people our age seem to be more into insta than Tik Tok or FB, so I'd think it's a logical place to try and pick up extra readers...
If you are open to guest posts Reid, feel free to connect with Renu about how she has grown and uses her Instagram to boost her writing: (I actually think here case studies would be fascinating) https://www.instagram.com/renuka_gavrani/?hl=en
Along the spectrum of edutainment, video is really untapped so far for Substack and by embracing younger Creators they bring that GenZ spark to the Writer's bakery of stacks. I do agree that video can be great top of the funnel.
I'm having a hard time answering this without writing a whole essay. In short, I would say all products (maybe at least or especially consumer products) follow some kind of lifecycle, eventually fading out in vitality. So yes, I'd imagine Instagram will lose its relevance at some point, but I have no clue when (2 years? 5 years? 20 years?).
IMO, your question dances toward some of the more meaningful shifts on the internet. Echoing the point above, Instagram is becoming more like TikTok each day, bending away from the initial purpose of keeping tabs on friends and family.
More broadly, I feel that other social platforms are kind of losing at least *some* the special sauce that made them great in the first place. I've met a lot of amazing people on Twitter in the past, but it's become much harder to do that recently.
So I wonder how much further the major social platforms can drive the algorithm trains... I'm sure there's still quite a bit of runway, but maybe it breaks at some point. And maybe in that pursuit, there's some whitespace for new products to rekindle serendipity, connection, and friendship on the internet.
Appreciate you dropping by with the comment amigo!
Wow! So much useful information. As someone getting started on their Substack journey, I’ve been trying to figure out how to integrate my Instagram audience here. Thank you for the tips!!!
Just so everyone knows, don't mention the actual words bio or link in a post because Instagram doesn't like that. They will hide comments that mention those, so if you do use Instagram, turn those words into b¡0 or l¡nk.
I have to politely disagree with the sentiment of this post. For individuals who don't have a team, Instagram is an impossible monster to feed, it just wants more. My whole reason for coming to Substack was to escape that type of feeding of the algorithm. It's difficult to get seen if you don't spend hours on it each day. For those that already have a huge following, like some you mention, it's fine, easy even and another string to their bow.
Time and time again, for me, the people who convert into readers and buyers of my books are the people on my mailing list. Don't get me wrong, I still use IG to signpost what I'm doing. But my expectations and experience tell me not to expect a lot back.
Thank you for the thoughtful comment, Susan! Let me throw out a few notes and would be curious to hear what you think.
In writing posts about how to grow, I often worry that writers interpret it as something they *have* to do. Nothing matters more than posting consistently and focusing on quality. With that, over time, word of mouth is all you need. If you want to reach a wider audience and accelerate your growth, there are ways to do that. But again, any growth effort is totally optional and secondary to consistency and quality.
For Instagram specifically, as someone who doesn't like to spend too much time on IG, everything you said resonates with me. Many folks who do well on Instagram seem to enjoy using the product, and posting daily isn't as much of a grind as it is for others. I'm in awe of my partner Dee, who posts to Instagram daily to keep our puppy's account growing — I could never do that. For the writers who get a lot of value from Instagram, I think they either enjoy it and/or view it as part of their job.
I also see writers who use Instagram to build their audience without putting too much extra effort into it. All their posts on Instagram are their Substack posts with links, or highlights/clips from stuff they've already published elsewhere (e.g., Lenny's podcast: www.instagram.com/lennyspodcast/). That may be closer to your signpost approach, which can still be valuable (as long as it doesn't take much mindshare or time).
Ultimately, I think everyone needs to find what works best for them. And again, none of this audience-building stuff is necessary — it's only helpful when looking for ways to grow beyond word-of-mouth.
Thanks again for the comment!
Hey 👋 yes, I totally get that. And appreciate you reiterating it here. I'm definitely on the older and more jaded end of the spectrum of social media users after 10+ years of doing it. And I do find the consistency difficult over there. I think there are many like me who've used it for years and have plateaued despite our best efforts. Now my best efforts go elsewhere.
Using the highlights is a great tip, lots of nuggets here. Need to sit down & focus more to absorb & figure out if any of it can be incorporated into what I’m doing to enhance the small following ive built on several accounts. Hitting 1k followers took almost 3 years.
Thank you for the kind words!
A good starting point may be to think about how to make any kind of sharing workflow easy for you. If it takes effort (even like a medium amount of effort) and doesn’t yield immediate, tangible results (which is probably the most likely scenario), your mindshare and effort may shift elsewhere.
And of course, it’s important to find what works best for you. Even if other folks have found success growing their audience via social platforms, it’s totally possible sharing to social isn’t a good use of *your* time.
Thanks again for dropping by and leaving a comment. :)
take a look, would love feedback:
https://instagram.com/indleftnews
https://instagram.com/indienewsnetwork
https://instagram.com/indiemediaawards
On quick glance, it looks like you’re doing the right things. The only thing I’d throw out is to maybe try posting more visual stuff (images & videos) to your feed, but know that takes more effort & time.
You may already be doing this, but make sure to also share any of the posts with a link (any of your Substack posts, the new paid subscriber post) to your Stories.
This is SUPER helpful as someone who loathes Instagram and social media in general (hello, my substack title haha).
I don’t think you’re the only one that feels that way! 😬
The reality is that these platforms can still be useful for people trying to build a business on the internet. For those that use the large tech / social platforms effectively, it seems they view them simply as tools — something that helps them reach their own goal of growing their audience and business.
Much easier said than done, but maybe that kind of perspective helps use the large social platforms in a way that drives you toward your goal.
Thanks for dropping by & leaving a note, Seth! :)
...if only there were a content operations app that helped creators use one CMS interface to deliver content to all social platforms per their specs and needs and catered to each environment...it is a little mind bending to consider the amount of human labor being deployed to manage the most successful of these cross platform users...
It’s an excellent point. There are *some* tools out there today that make it easier to create and schedule posts to LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and other social platforms. Some even are trying to create features that transform one type of media into a tailored post for each platform (e.g., turning a blog post into a LinkedIn post tailored to that platform, or even transforming a blog post to a shareable video to IG or TikTok).
As things stand today though, it’s a ton of effort. Also, regardless of how tools and features evolve, there may always be opportunity for the folks with resources to invest in more hands-on audience building on any platform.
thanks! This was really interesting and I definitely learned a few things that I had no idea about, after years of trying and failing to use Instagram for growth!
Thank you, Mike!
I certainly hadn’t thought of Instagram as a meaningful way to grow audience… but there’s a lot of examples of folks using IG well on Substack, and hoping some of the examples spark ideas for others.
Yeah, and it's interesting that most people our age seem to be more into insta than Tik Tok or FB, so I'd think it's a logical place to try and pick up extra readers...
If you are open to guest posts Reid, feel free to connect with Renu about how she has grown and uses her Instagram to boost her writing: (I actually think here case studies would be fascinating) https://www.instagram.com/renuka_gavrani/?hl=en
She recently joined Substack. https://substack.com/@renukagavrani
94k on Instagram, 18k on Medium
Along the spectrum of edutainment, video is really untapped so far for Substack and by embracing younger Creators they bring that GenZ spark to the Writer's bakery of stacks. I do agree that video can be great top of the funnel.
Excellent recommendation! Thank you!
And totally agree re: the video *and* edutainment opportunity.
Do you foresee Instagram having holding power or as time goes on it slowly losing its engagement much like Facebook?
I'm having a hard time answering this without writing a whole essay. In short, I would say all products (maybe at least or especially consumer products) follow some kind of lifecycle, eventually fading out in vitality. So yes, I'd imagine Instagram will lose its relevance at some point, but I have no clue when (2 years? 5 years? 20 years?).
IMO, your question dances toward some of the more meaningful shifts on the internet. Echoing the point above, Instagram is becoming more like TikTok each day, bending away from the initial purpose of keeping tabs on friends and family.
More broadly, I feel that other social platforms are kind of losing at least *some* the special sauce that made them great in the first place. I've met a lot of amazing people on Twitter in the past, but it's become much harder to do that recently.
So I wonder how much further the major social platforms can drive the algorithm trains... I'm sure there's still quite a bit of runway, but maybe it breaks at some point. And maybe in that pursuit, there's some whitespace for new products to rekindle serendipity, connection, and friendship on the internet.
Appreciate you dropping by with the comment amigo!
Wow! So much useful information. As someone getting started on their Substack journey, I’ve been trying to figure out how to integrate my Instagram audience here. Thank you for the tips!!!
Awesome to hear, thanks Jon!
Curious to hear any learnings or updates on what works for you as you try different things.
Just so everyone knows, don't mention the actual words bio or link in a post because Instagram doesn't like that. They will hide comments that mention those, so if you do use Instagram, turn those words into b¡0 or l¡nk.