Start your private Substack
A new-and-improved way to keep in touch with friends, build communities of interest, or test the waters for a publication
Today we’re making it easier than ever to start a Substack.
Our new-and-improved private publications work much like private Instagram profiles. Curious readers can now request to subscribe to a private Substack, and the writer can choose to approve or decline each subscription request.
Private Substacks are great for:
Keeping in touch with friends. On Substack, you get a direct line of communication to all of your subscribers via email and our apps. Algorithms don’t decide if your friends will see your posts.
Building communities of interest. Host conversations about niche topics with posts, Threads, and Chat.
Testing the waters. See if there’s an audience for your writing before publicly launching a Substack.
To start your own private publication and claim a Substack URL, simply start a Substack and select “Private” in your settings.
Have you been running a private Substack? Tell us about how you’re using it in the comments.
Dang, my account must be set to private by accident because I’m writing into a journal apparently.
In all seriousness though that’s a great feature to get comfortable before going live, I like that idea!
I just took my private Substack public after populating it for 10 months in front of a small audience of friends (l used a paywall and then comped free subscribers with a paid account, a little hacky but it worked).
Definitely recommend, especially if you're just trying to find your voice and/or getting into the habit of regularly publishing for an audience.