Substack vs Blogs: Why This Debate Might Be Missing the Point
The real issue isn’t the platform. It’s how readers discover you, trust you, and come back...
Lately, writers have been heatedly discussing Substack vs. blogs, as if one is the clear winner. Maybe yes, maybe no. The topic is certainly relevant and worth discussing, and a kind writer sent me this question. It’s a biggie, so let’s dig in.
Some people insist that Substack replaces blogging entirely. Others say serious writers still need a traditional website and blog, AND a Substack.
It feels like too much. You’d think we were debating politics instead of publishing tools, but the truth is a lot less dramatic and doesn’t require a steaming hot shower afterward.
Most people in this debate are simply talking about different parts of the same marketing puzzle.
If you’ve been hearing this debate too, feel free to restack and share this with another writer trying to figure out their own setup.
💥 Gratitude to my exclusive advertising sponsor, the always-free Booklinker, and the paid tool, GeniusLink. I love both💥 (affiliate link).
Quick question:
Curious what everyone else is doing (there’s no test at the end).
The First Thing Most People Miss: Substack Is an Email Platform
At its core, Substack is an email newsletter platform with built-in websites (meaning our publications) and social media (Notes). When you publish a post, it lands directly in subscribers’ inboxes. That’s the whole point. The post is also indexed by Google and AI search. Share on Notes, and you’ve entered social media.
Caveat: Notes are not indexed as other social media platforms are (such as Facebook, Insta, X, etc.).
If you’re using Mailchimp or another newsletter platform, the same rules apply; however, you’re missing out on the public indexing. Something to ponder.
And email works. Across industries, average email open rates are around 30%. I wish I’d learned this much earlier in my own writing career. So if you have 1,000 subscribers, roughly 300–400 people might actually open your post. (Source: Mailchimp). Compared to most social media reach, that’s pretty good.
So Substack is excellent for things like:
• newsletters
• building a loyal audience
• ongoing conversations with readers
Think less about chasing algorithms and more about relationships and connections.
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🐾 Writing Lessons I’ve Learned from My Cat, Pip
Second: Email Converts Better Than Socials, But…
Another reason this whole debate matters is simple. Newsletters convert better than social media.
Does that mean we can ditch socials? Not if you want visibility. It all works together, not either/or.
When someone subscribes to your newsletter, they’re giving you permission to show up in their inbox. That’s very different from someone scrolling past your post on Insta while waiting in line for coffee.
Email is intentional. For most creators, social media is mostly accidental rather than strategic, and the data on this is pretty consistent.
Email marketing generates about $36 for every $1 spent, according to Litmus. Meanwhile, the typical organic reach of a social media post can be small in comparison. The average Facebook post reaches only around 5% of followers. (Source: Hootsuite).
Social media is still important for our visibility and discovery.👇
Email, by contrast, still averages around 30–35% opens across industries. (Source: Mailchimp)
💡 In practical terms, social media might help readers notice us over time, and a blog post might help readers find us in search, but a newsletter subscriber is someone who has already said: Yes. I want to hear from you again.
A very different level of interest. And access. Act responsibly.💡
Third: Substack Posts Can Be Indexed
👉 This is the part many writers overlook. If your Substack post is public, search engines can index it just like a blog post or article. Substack itself describes newsletters as websites plus email subscriptions, meaning posts live on the open web as well as in inboxes.
So, our one Substack post can do three things at once:
• go out to subscribers
• live on the web as an article that’s indexed
• appear in search results
Substack can function as both a newsletter and a blog. One post. Two outcomes. Multiple visibility opportunities. But what I like the best? I can take my subscribers any time I want and jet (not that I plan to, but one never knows).
If I left, say, Facebook, I would take nothing with me (except frustration, but that’s another day). Medium writers - same thing. I left with nothing.
I’m not mad. That’s on me. I didn’t truly understand the value of subscribers over followers, and now you bet I do - and why I share this all the time. Build your subscribers early and consistently. Here’s how👇
Where Paywalled Posts Fit (Optional)
Paywalled posts work a little differently. Search engines can usually still see things like the title, page URL, metadata, and preview text (aka, what you see before the paywall).
Full content behind the paywall often isn’t accessible to search crawlers, so it usually isn’t indexed the same way as a fully public article, and that’s why many subscription publications show a free preview. Search engines index the visible portion, while the rest remains for subscribers.
👉 Still stuck on how to Substack? 🚀 My most popular post EVER (free) 👇
What’s the Real Point of the Debate?
Writers love the idea of one platform that does everything. An easy button. Substack is our best fit right now: It’s a website, blog, newsletter, community, video and audio, podcast home, and social media, and our subscribers are ours.
You may not love everything here (e.g., someone new here whose last name rhymes with hate), but for the most part, it’s been an amazing experience for my clients and me. Substack gets closer to all of that than most tools, which is why creators of all kinds are excited about it. In practice, most writers end up using a mix - something like this:
• Substack OR Newsletter
Where you publish and connect with readers.
• A Website
Where people can find your books, services, or media page.
• Social Media
Where readers notice you in the first place.
Different tools. Different jobs. All about connection, visibility, and indexing.
What If You Already Have a Blog?
Some of my clients do both. They publish the original article on their website or blog, then we share a snippet on Substack with a short note and a link to the original (canonical) post. Something like:
“This article originally appeared on my website. I’m sharing it here for subscribers.” {embed link}
Then readers can click through to the full piece. This way, the blog keeps the original article, the newsletter still reaches subscribers, and the post gets several ways for readers to find it. So if you already have a blog you like, you don’t necessarily have to choose between the two.
Want to import your existing blog? More here from Substack.
The simplest approach is: Publish once. Share twice. Repeat as needed.
The Question That Truly Matters
Perhaps, instead of asking: Should I Substack or blog? A different question might be: Where do readers discover me? And/or, where do readers get to know me?
Substack helps readers build a relationship with you. Search helps new readers find you. Most writers benefit from having a website + blog, or website + Substack. Some want to continue with both. If it feels like a good move for you, do it. If not, take a beat. There’s no right answer here for you - you get to decide.
I will share how I came to my decision to stop blogging on my website and focus only here on Substack: the ability to grow subscribers and be indexed in Search (Google, AI Search) at a higher rate than a personal website (no matter how popular). I started in 2023 with 1,800 subs, collected over a decade, and I now have almost 13K (99.999% free; paid appreciated, never required).
We writers sometimes spend a lot of time debating platforms, but the real work is still the same: Write something worth reading. Then make it easy for readers to find you and come back.
Want More Substack Tips?
If these posts save you even one frustrating afternoon, please toss a coin in the BadRedhead Media tip jar. Completely optional, any amount welcome and appreciated. Genuinely appreciated. 🙏
Thanks for reading and being part of this little corner of the writing world. I’m really glad you’re here.
📕📘📗 I’ve also written three books just for writers if you want to go deeper:
https://badredheadmediallc.substack.com/about 🌻BadRedhead Media, LLC’s All Things Book Marketing! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
I've had a blog for 5 years, driven by a MailChimp mailing list, before getting a Substack account. I was shocked (shocked, I tell you! :-) ) at SS's abysmal "website" tools - I felt I was back in the early 1990s with HTML1. We *still* cannot wrap text around a graphic in our posts - how is this possible in 2026?? Also, as you said, we cannot sell products or services, we cannot build dropdown menus on our site, we cannot have multifunctional tabs, we cannot segment our mailing lists ... the list goes on. For those of us who have built beautiful, functioning websites outside of SS, and have managed robust mailing lists, there is no way in hell I would ever give up my existing blog. But the solution of writing a teaser here for a post, then link over to my site, because the discovery here is fantastic - that, I don't argue with. It's a great solution for me.
I maintain my website / blog with shorter versions of what I post on Substack. Regularly publishing on my blog tells Google that my website is active and maintained. I still have followers that don’t want to create a Substack account to read what I share. My web designer tells me that my posts still drive people to my website, so yeah. It makes sense to keep it.