Why I'm Starting A Substack

And Am Ridiculously Inspired By It

The first draft of this post was written in a sunny café, on an almost-spring day in Amsterdam. I hadn’t yet decided to start my Substack. Writing this post decided it. I was hooked.

I always loved blogging. On January 1st 2016, I published my first blog post. It was called Why fear is probably my best New Year's resolution ever, and it was the start of my creative Fear Year, my blog and my creative journey online. 

Since 2016, I've tried pretty much every form of content. I have an email newsletter, I post on Instagram, I've run a Youtube channel and most recently, I started a podcast. I find content creation so fun that I even got a job as a content writer that I work alongside my own projects. And all of this experimenting over the years has led me here: I’m starting a Substack. But why?

A love for blogging, a discontentment with email

The good thing about trying different content mediums is that you eventually figure out what you like. Though my blog hasn't been a top priority in years, it has never ceased to be one of my absolute favourite parts of my creative life.

My email letters, on the other hand, have been the reverse. They have been a high priority, yet writing them has never particularly dazzled me. The best word I can find to describe writing them is… meh.

Why is this? On the surface, they’re similar. They’re both writing, which is my preferred and most beloved craft. They’re both about creativity. So why can’t I feel the same about them? Believe me, it’s a question I’ve asked myself many times. And I think I’ve figured out the answer.

First of all, I don’t like email. Like, as a general phenomenon. Maybe my first government job is to blame, the one where we sometimes answered 100 emails per day. I don’t like the culture around emails, much more stiff than an Instagram message or a comment. I don’t like reading quality writing amongst the latest sale on rugs and booking confirmations. My inbox? Not a happy place.

Secondly, an email newsletter is gone when you’ve sent it. It will never be seen by anyone who didn’t get, opened and read it. It’s often encouraged to keep newsletters short and skimmable, because, I’m guessing, I’m not alone in finding the inbox experience jarring. All to say: I feel no real incentive to do good writing in the format of an email. Quite the opposite! I’ve consciously kept my best writing on the blog. The pieces I may want to refer back to, that actually means something to me. As a writer, it makes the whole experience of email newsletters highly uninspiring.

The blog on the other hand… oh the blog. There I can sprawl and dive deep. I tell stories and include photography and build a library of writing. Sometimes I scroll back through my blog posts for inspiration, and I always find it. I can’t even do that with email, and when I try, I just get annoyed.

So, you get it. I love the blog, I’m disgruntled by my email newsletter. This is where Substack comes in.

Substack brilliantly merges the best of the blog with the best of email newsletters. A post lives forever on my Substack page, and can be read in your browser or in the Substack app (which I highly recommend by the way). But it’s also sent as an email to everyone who subscribes, so you know there’s a new piece to read. Plus, I can include other content formats too - audio and video. And readers can leave a comment. And there can be paid versions, too.

It’s brilliant. It’s a blogger’s dream come true.

A longing for artistry

One of the blog posts I’ve referred back to the most (see?) is this one I wrote about the difference between being an expert and an artist. I’ve always fallen somewhere on the spectrum between the two - a writer sharing my journey, and also a creativity nerd and coach helping others create.

During the last two years of running my own business, I’ve increasingly leaned towards the expert side of my creativity. As my focus became my coaching and growing my business, my artist side shrunk.

Now I’ve shifted things again, to being a mainly employed writer and communicator with a small side-business for my own projects. This means I’m freer to do whatever pleases me in my own work, because my income isn’t dependent on it.

And I long for my artist self.

I want to write pieces that are simply good writing. That won’t necessarily make you believe I’m a good creative coach. That won’t always give you five key takeaways. But pieces that make you think and feel.

That is artistry to me. And Substack feels like the perfect space for it.

The possibility of paid content

When I now start my Substack, it will be completely free. Maybe it will stay free. But I'll consider trying my hand at a paid version in the future. I don't know if it will work well, but I find the idea very interesting.

You know, it all began with content for me. It started with a blog, and yes, I wanted to help other creatives too. But it didn’t start with coaching. It didn’t start with wanting to teach. It didn’t start with a business or a service. That came later, and it came partly as a way to get paid for making content. Some business owners see content as the necessary evil to get to do the work they love. I never saw it that way.

When you have a business and rely on content as marketing, it gives that content a very specific role. As a creative coach, it has been my content's job to show that I know the creative process well and that I can help creatives. This is fun content to create, but it’s limiting. It’s content as a supporting act, existing in reference to something else.

When you make the content itself the product, then your job becomes to create content that is as good and interesting as you can. It doesn't have to point to anything else, because it's the end product. Since creating content is probably my favourite aspect of my creative life, having that be a core focus is very intriguing. 

Substack is not algorithm based. Content doesn't have to be click baity like videos on Youtube, or fit the formulas currently working on Instagram. This means we content creators can simply focus on quality. How revolutionary.

What to expect

I'm calling this Substack The Good Creative Life. I intend to write about everything that I already like to talk about - creative direction, the creative process, good mindsets. I'm going to share stories and lessons from my own creative journey. I'll write about art, content and publishing your creativity online. I'll write about writing. I'll write about whys, visions, values and voice. I'll write about habits, planning and the seasons. I plan on including audio, photos and possibly a video here and there too. In the beginning, expect a weekly to fortnightly posting rhythm. But we’ll see how often I’ll manage to post. I have so many ideas.

This means that what formerly was my blog writing will now have a very central and important role in my creative life. The thing I love so much will be made the core. It feels like going back to my roots, but in a way that embraces the future.

I'm beyond excited to start this journey. I haven't been this inspired for something in a long time, and I have a gut feeling that it will be good. That I'll be able to take everything I've learned into the creation of this. 

So, I have to ask. Will you come with me?

A mini vlog from that lovely day when I decided to start a Substack.

elin.loow

A post shared by Elin Lööw | Creative Coach (@elin.loow)