Getting settled in

Substack has been one of those things that has been on my to-do list for a very long time. In fact looking back at my settings here it’s nearly two years since this platform first crossed my radar and I thought….hmmm… “I really should explore that further”.

Part of the problem, as ever is my butterfly brain and my ability to overthink for England. Looking at what everyone else was doing with their Substack platforms was both inspiring and overwhelming. There are so many witty, talented and entertaining writers here creating amazing content for their readers that it’s easy to get sucked in to comparison and overwhelm.

I should have just dived in there and then, plunging into the clear, cold, refreshing waters of a brand new platform. Instead I dithered in the shallow end - just getting my toes wet and watching enviously as others splashed around, having fun.

So, what’s changed?

I love my blog and writing my (almost) weekly posts there. It’s something I really enjoy doing and I’ve no intention of stopping. And I also love sending out my weekly newsletters to a lovely list of email subscribers. There’s my Everyday Knitter Facebook group as well which really helps to build that sense of community - but I’m well aware that Facebook isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. And additionally it’s quite one-dimensional. The constraints of running a busy Facebook group mean that it really has to stay on one topic - knitting. It isn’t really possible to go into all the other things that we whole-hearted humans want to share and to talk about.

It seems to me that Substack offers opportunities beyond those offered by the traditional combination of newsletter/blog - and Facebook group. It offers a real sense of community building, of sharing knowledge, voices and experiences that I don’t think you can capture anywhere else.

The ability to recommend other writers and communities, and to comment, share and chat seems to me to be unique and something well worth exploring further.

My current plan is to write a weekly post here, similar in style to my newsletter but in a bit more depth and detail. A little bit chattier, and while there will be knitting/yarn content there will also be other things that have caught my eye around the web.

Full disclosure: the weekly posts will be free and will remain so but it is my intention in time, to add additional paid content for subscribers. Substack allows a whole host of additional features such as the ability to host chats, podcasts, video content - a whole host of options and I’d really like the opportunity to explore these further.

Start a podcast: This has been another long-term goal on my list for years now, so who knows, it might not take another two years for this one to come to fruition.

If you’d like to follow along and see more of what I get up to, please do subscribe and you’ll get updates sent directly to your inbox.