It's more than just not giving the reader the content they want - a lot of people are treating Substack like they treat Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and so forth: they're after numbers and they think you are too. So they subscribe. They subscribe so that you'll subscribe back. They aren't writers and they aren't writing. And because they…
It's more than just not giving the reader the content they want - a lot of people are treating Substack like they treat Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and so forth: they're after numbers and they think you are too. So they subscribe. They subscribe so that you'll subscribe back. They aren't writers and they aren't writing. And because they aren't writers, there's a good chance that they aren't readers either; they're subscribers. They are validated by their subscription numbers and when you don't subscribe back, they're gone. And then there's the subscriber/numbers persons that, once they have your subscription, that's all they were ever after and they unsubscribe because they were never interested in your writing in the first place.
Thanks, Cliff, I hadn't considered that angle, but it explains a lot. I've never been active in the social media game, and my ignorance of that part of the world kind of shows sometimes.
It's more than just not giving the reader the content they want - a lot of people are treating Substack like they treat Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and so forth: they're after numbers and they think you are too. So they subscribe. They subscribe so that you'll subscribe back. They aren't writers and they aren't writing. And because they aren't writers, there's a good chance that they aren't readers either; they're subscribers. They are validated by their subscription numbers and when you don't subscribe back, they're gone. And then there's the subscriber/numbers persons that, once they have your subscription, that's all they were ever after and they unsubscribe because they were never interested in your writing in the first place.
Hopefully the number fetishists realise and leave. I also encounter people selling crypto and sex. If they unsubscribe so be it.
Extra points for "number fetishist."
I report every scammer. Usually gone within a day after.
Thanks, Cliff, I hadn't considered that angle, but it explains a lot. I've never been active in the social media game, and my ignorance of that part of the world kind of shows sometimes.