Is Importing Subscribers Into Substack Cheating?
Should I or shouldn't I? I want to hear from you.
Substack has felt like a soft place to land — a place where we can lean into our natural rhythms, where honesty is valued more than a good hook, and where our meandering stories and deep thought processes are encouraged and celebrated.
But like any platform, operating here still requires discernment.
When we click over to someone’s publication, our humanity can quickly kick in placing ourselves in an imagined hierarchy based on subscriber count. We all know that comparison is the thief of joy and yet sometimes it still creeps in, particularly after years, maybe decades, of being on Instagram and having everything measured in numbers.
We have to remember that just because someone has hundreds or thousands of subscribers on Substack doesn’t necessarily mean they were organically grown here. And even if they were, someone else’s subscriber count says nothing about us.
When my ego perks up, I have to gently come back to the truth of why I’m here: to write.
Because I must. Because my soul is asking me to. Because it’s a crucial part of my creative process. Because it’s my most natural form of expression. Because it fills me in ways that content creation and videos never will. Because it’s the way my spirit wants to move me.
Yes, we want others to find us, to be moved, to read, to resonate, to become part of our community. But I think for many of us, the reason above all reasons we’re here is for ourselves first. But, I digress!
Of course, if someone has a list of hundreds or thousands to import, those emails were obviously earned. Those people opted in somewhere to hear from that person. It’s a practice to let any nagging feeling of defeat or comparison be a signal to shift my perspective into one of witnessing what’s possible. That person becomes an expander instead of a competitor. Because truly, there’s no competition here. This isn’t some game to be won. It’s an art form to devote to.
This is the dilemma I’m currently sitting with – import subscribers or build from scratch? My email list is fairly small but still has hundreds of people on it – do I import them or do I let this space grow organically?
The Argument for Importing
At first the idea of importing subscribers from my existing newsletter list felt wrong because they didn’t sign up for my Substack specifically. But what I realized is that they did sign up to hear from me specifically and this is currently where I’ll be communicating, contemplating, and sharing updates.
I could import them with full transparency that they’ve been added and have the option to unsubscribe if they don’t want to receive communication from me anymore.
My audience is generally made up of reflective, intuitive women who enjoy the deeper musings on life – this has always been in alignment with what I’ve shared in my newsletter so what they’re getting now isn’t something entirely unrelated or off topic to what they originally signed up for. It’s actually probably a deeper exploration of what I’ve shared before, just with a new vehicle for delivering that message.
Importing subscribers could potentially give me the opportunity to reconnect with people who has missed hearing from me or are maybe at a spot in life where they resonate with my own story and reflections in a whole new way. In essence, I’d be bringing my existing community with me – working smarter not harder, perhaps?
The Argument for Organic Growth
Instead of importing them, I could also just send an email to my newsletter inviting them over to Substack. Of course, many people will miss the email and getting people over to new platform isn’t always easy, but that puts the choice entirely in their hands.
The other consideration is whether I even want people, many of which joined years ago, to be added to this space that feels fresh, new, and enlivening if they are unengaged or no longer aligned. Not because I don’t want them here, but because if I add them without their conscious choice, am I just bringing in old energy that doesn’t need to be here?
The idea of starting entirely from scratch and seeing what I can build organically from zero also feels appealing and intriguing. No crutches. Building from the ground up. Trusting the new. Letting the energy I’m currently in be my honing beacon to a new community made up of both long time readers and new faces I’m so excited to connect with.
What do you think? Have you imported subscribers? Are you glad you did? Are you growing from scratch? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic!
Like most things in life, I don’t necessarily think there is a right or wrong answer - perhaps only what is right for each of us. But I love hearing different perspectives on things like this nonetheless. Please share in the comments if you have thoughts!