FAQ 13: how can I convert Instagram followers into Substack readers?
Save this for the New Year if it's too much to think about right now ;-)
This post is part of series where I answer some of the questions I am most frequently asked about social media. To browse or read the rest of the series click here.
As the new year approaches I’ve been thinking about whether we’re about to see a repeat of the storm of ‘I’m quitting Instagram’ essays that flooded Substack at the beginning of 2024.
I remember feeling decidedly unfashionable that my favourite platform was - and still is - Instagram, and while I didn’t feel the need to defend Instagram (imagine!) I did - and still do - think that there are ways to use the platform that counter-act many of the drawbacks that much of the discourse focused on at the time so I even wrote a couple of pieces in response to the conversation:
In the intervening months it’s been especially interesting to note how many high profile Insta-quitters have returned to the platform. For all its ills, it seems Instagram still has something of value to offer, and I would even argue Instagram’s strengths can address some of Substack’s weaknesses, and vice versa.
Substack and Instagram sitting in a tree…
Substack is where you can explore your thinking in full, unhindered by the visual demands of Instagram, and free of (some of) the noise
Instagram is where you can simplify and introduce ideas. Posts can be quick and dirty, not requiring the careful crafting long-form content demands. It offers a way to ‘trail’ your deeper thinking to entice and invite audiences to engage with your longer form writing on Substack (or as is the case for many of my clients, in your books)
Instagram and Substack can both be places where you can nurture your networks, support one another, and be supported in return
Substack offers the opportunity to get paid for your work
BUT Instagram’s much larger audience can offer a rich source of new readers from which those paid subscribers emerge, assuming that you can get your Instagram followers to become your Substack readers in the first place, something I know many of you are finding to be a challenge.
A case study of one
Over the last 90 days, approximately 40% of my new free Substack subscribers have come via Instagram; in the 90 days that preceded that it was 22%.
I was tracking these metrics out of interest but had no benchmark to compare them to until recently when, in a
subscriber chat, 👑 Queen of Substack 👑 told me this was ‘SO high’.
As a result I decided to write this piece - not because I have all the answers, this is based only on my own experience plus that of a handful of my clients - BUT because this is what is working for me, and I trust you to know whether there is anything here that will make sense for you, that you can take and run with for yourself✌🏼
First of all, an uncomfortable comparison
Before I worked as an Instagram educator and guide for writers and authors, I worked for seven years as a social media manager for small businesses in the e-commerce space.
The approach I’m going to outline here is similar to how I used to nurture Instagram audiences so they became paying customers of those product-based businesses.
In other contexts, I would encourage you never to think of your writing as a product, BUT if you’re trying to get people to move from one platform to another to read your writing, then I think it can be a useful comparison.
Why?
Because it’s hard to get people to take the leap from Instagram to Substack in many of the same ways as it is hard to get people to click through to an online storefront.
The place to start is by recognising that scrolling on Instagram is a low commitment action, vs the much higher level of commitment required to click through to a website off the app. Generating this momentum is hard whatever your niche or product or website is.
You have to factor in why people are on Instagram: because they like it, because they want bite-size content, because they want the escapism of a scroll-hole, because they can’t help themselves. When you’re trying to move them over to Substack, you’re pushing against all of that and more.
It’s also the case that the number of people who use multiple platforms is actually relatively small. Most people have a loyalty or preference for one social media platform that they tend to stick with.
And now add in the extra complication of asking people to move to a platform or app they may not know much about. In my experience Substack still has a brand recognition problem amongst the general population. Substack are working hard to address this but currently people are often not sure what it is, even if they’ve heard of it.
Finally, when you throw into the mix the potentially confusing mechanics of the sign up interface itself (I know I’m not the only one who found the different tiers of subscription super-confusing when I first encountered them) you might wonder that anyone ever makes the leap!
The reality is it’s highly unlikely that everyone who follows you on Instagram will make it over to read your Substack essays, no matter how brilliant they are, but there are things you can do to increase the number of people who do.
How to bring readers with you from Instagram to Substack
Do not mention the word Substack in your grid posts or stories
For me this is less about Instagram allegedly blocking the word or down-grading content that uses it, and more about how familiar my audience are with Substack.
My audience are largely writers and authors so you might assume they've all heard of SS but the last time I asked in a poll, 50% of respondents had not heard of it, or had heard of it but didn't really understand it.
This means that if I send them to ‘my Substack’ I’m immediately presenting them with an obstacle to climb over - what on Earth is ‘a Substack’? - so I use 'newsletter' (or 'membership' for my paid tier) instead.
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