The Northern Eco launched on August 1 using the newsletter platform Substack and has been steadily growing an audience.
The topics so far covered in the first month include the campaign to save the River Swale from sewage, an interview with the author Mim Skinner, how to have a lower carbon lifestyle and a journey into tree preservation orders (TPOs).
It’s been an interesting experience getting to grips with a new platform but also noticing the many differences in the whole social media landscape since I was last deeply involved in publishing online almost a decade ago.
Some thoughts:
- Twitter doesn’t seem to offer opportunity for community engagement anymore. I miss it terribly.
- LinkedIn is very reliable in providing attention and useful to link up with people.
- Instagram seems to spike some passing interest – but fewer clickthroughs.
- The direct emails from Substack enjoy solid responses from existing subscribers but the chat and notes function remain hidden to readers who don’t download the app.
- Facebook wins when it comes to clickthrough conversions.
Maybe these things will change and morph over time as we continue. I’m heartened to see that I’m already one of the 17% of newsletter authors that has made it to five issues and am well on the way to making that magic 21!
Dim Sum Digital 