Q&A: SUBSTACK VS OTHER EMAIL SERVICES
Like so many things in life, it depends (though I lean towards Substack these days)
Got a question this week on Twitter, and figured I’d repurpose it for you, my lovely HEAVY METAL EMAIL reader.
Q. What advice would you give to an organization that already has a large traditional email list (10k), but considering shaking things up by switching to Substack? Is there an advantage to Substack over Constant Contact or Mailchimp?
A. The biggest advantage of Substack is the built in community features like comments, likes, threads, recommendations, polls, chat, mentions, collaboration, video, and the heaps of support from Substack and the community itself (check out their weekly Office Hours).
Substack also feels a bit like Etsy, where there’s a built in network, making it easier for other writers and readers to find your newsletter. Services like Mailchimp and Constant Contact are like BigCartel or Shopify, so you’re 100% responsible for driving traffic to your newsletter.
So if community and interaction are important, Substack is worth a lot of consideration.
If e-commerce / automations / segmenting / A/B testing (all the old-school email marketing things) are more important, then Mailchimp / Constant Contact / Klaviyo would be a better fit.
Q. Can you transfer over your existing email list or do people need to re-subscribe?
A. Yes! Export your existing list and upload anywhere - that’s the joy of email marketing, you’re not tied to any platform.
If you haven’t sent to that list in awhile (a year or more), it’s a very good idea to send an initial “warm up” email, with a clear and obvious UNSUBSCRIBE link near the top of your first send. Just to make sure everyone is still on board with getting emails from you.
As always, leave a comment, or contact me with questions: seth@closemondays.com
🏁 METALLICA’S SOCIAL MEDIA NEW ALBUM ZONE
Since December 8th, 2022, Metallica have posted three videos of James Hetfield talking about the meaning of the ‘72 Seasons’ album title, the new song ‘Lux Æterna,’ and “darkness.”
Twitter: 407,000 views
Facebook: 794,000 views
Instagram: 5,500,000 views
The total run time for all three clips is less than three minutes and add up to over 6.7 million views (so far).
ANTI-SOCIAL
My confirmation-bias is pretty blatant.
“Wolfgang (Van Halen) elaborated on how these changes stemmed from his mental health struggles – which include depression and anxiety, and are often heightened by the backlash he receives on social media,” from Guitar.
“Facebook, now known as Meta, knew Instagram was pushing girls to dangerous content,” says CBS News.
“To leave a note, go to the top of your inbox, select the followers you follow back or people on your Close Friends list, and your note will appear at the top of their inbox for 24 hours. Replies to notes will arrive as DMs in your inbox,” - a new feature called Notes is coming to Instagram.
“Even NASA has expressed concern over Elon Musk's chaotic Twitter takeover,” says MSN.
LISTEN UP
From earlier this year, ‘The Circle’ by Heretoir.
This one from June, ‘Crushed’ from Magnatar is a crusher, too.
Send an email (seth@closemondays.com) and let us scheme your Social Media Escape Plan.
You can upgrade your HEAVY METAL EMAIL subscription and keep the email marketing goodies flying around for everyone.
Also cool if you want to buy me a coffee via Ko-Fi, or an album from my Bandcamp wishlist.