You’ve got tons of content ideas that you’re ready to write, share, and publish online. The one thing holding you back is choosing which blogging platform to use, Substack or WordPress. Such a big decision requires a bit of research which is why you’re here!
These popular blogging platforms both have their perks for bloggers and influencers. Understanding which of the two is best for your influencer goals and content is key to your success! From monetization opportunities to search engine optimization (SEO) benefits, we’re doing a deep dive into the Substack vs. WordPress debate for influencers. By the end of this blog post, you’ll know which of the platforms is best for you!
Substack vs. WordPress for Influencers
Millions of bloggers use these two popular blogging platforms to share their ideas, influence their audiences, and make money! On Substack, there are 17,000 paid writers as of 2024. While Substack is a popular choice amongst bloggers, WordPress, on the other hand, hosts a whopping 600 million blogs worldwide.
But, why are some blogger influencers drawn to Substack while others rely on WordPress? We’re breaking down the benefits of both so you can see for yourself!
What is Substack and How Does it Work?
Substack was introduced in 2017 as a social media platform specifically for writers and readers. Journalists, bloggers, and writers use Substack to publish content and email newsletters that then get sent directly to their audience using its built-in email marketing tools. So, no need to use a separate email marketing tool when you use Substack.
This also means that your Substack profile is not a website. Like we mentioned, it’s considered a social media platform with a unique content delivery system. On this platform, you can have your “free” content while also offering paid subscriptions that deliver exclusive blog posts and newsletters. This is the main way influencers on Substack make money!
What are the Benefits of Using Substack?
Newsletter Publishing
Substack is a free newsletter publishing platform that bloggers can use to share and publish content. Influencers can get the best of both worlds using Substack a blogging and email marketing platform! When you write and publish a post, Substack sends it directly to your audience. This nifty feature allows bloggers to stay in front of their fans, all with a click of a button.
Monetization Opportunities
Getting the hang of making money as a blogger can take some time. But with Substack, there are monetization opportunities built directly into the platform! As you grow your audience, you can set up paid subscriptions and share exclusive content with subscribers.
The only downside to this is the revenue share model. Substack will take a 10% commission on all your subscription fees. But this is just one cost of running a blog to consider.
Ease of Use
When you start a blog, it’s honestly a big commitment. Not only do you need to be posting 1-5 times a week, but you have to manage the business side of blogging too! Managing a website, optimizing posts, networking with brands, managing social media, marketing via emails, and more.
However, Substack simplifies the process to take a lot of the work off your plate. You simply post and the work is done for you. Of course, this is not without downsides, but we’ll get into that later! If you want a blogging option that won’t feel like a full-time commitment, Substack delivers that.
Is Substack Good for SEO?
We’ve established that Substack is good for maintaining and managing an audience of paid subscribers, but is it good for SEO? As a blogger or influencer, search engine optimization is your key to reaching your target audience and building a following organically. So, it’s kind of essential for your blogging business plan.
Unfortunately, with Substack, you’ll experience SEO limitations. Since the platform focuses on newsletter publication, it does not offer traditional SEO features like other blogging platforms. When you can’t customize your URL, add meta descriptions, and include other technical SEO practices, it can be difficult for search engines to find your Substack posts. However, you can still use on-page SEO tactics, like keyword-rich titles, descriptive headings, and inserting alt text in images in your Substack content, but likely the impact will be underwhelming compared to WordPress and other blogging platforms. .
What is WordPress and How Does it Work?
WordPress is a content management system and blogging platform used by millions of bloggers, influencers, small business owners, and more worldwide since 2003. It offers a ton of features and plugins so influencers, bloggers, and brand owners can fully customize their websites and blogs to include ecommerce, multimedia, and more for extra personalization!
Creating a WordPress site is a fantastic way to start blogging or running a brand to set yourself up for success, thanks to its incredible features and optimization capabilities. With WordPress your business can scale infinitely and all your content can be discoverable on search engines. You’re going to need those organic followers to reach all your brand goals!
What are the Benefits of Using WordPress?
Full Control
When you install WordPress and create your website, you have complete control over every little (yet super important) detail. Not only can you make your website as aesthetically pleasing as you want, but you can make it function exactly the way you want. Design landing pages, blog sections, storefronts, and so much more and then organize it all in a custom menu. Plus, since you’ll own your platform (unlike with Substack), you can choose custom domains, unique URL structures, and optimized metadata. You truly have FULL CONTROL with WordPress!
SEO Capabilities
One of the most important features an influencer needs is the capability to maximize SEO. Creating a WordPress blog gives you access to both basic and advanced search engine optimization features that will be crucial to getting your website out there. Even the SEO capabilities that don’t come standard with WordPress can be added in with its thousands of available third party plugins. There’s nothing you can’t do with WordPRess!
Built-in WordPress SEO features include customizable permalinks for blog posts, meta tag management, custom sitemaps, and mobile-friendly website themes and plugins just to name a few.
Monetization Opportunities
The world of monetization on WordPress is a big one! Unlike Substack where you’re mostly limited to just making money off of memberships, you can make money on WordPress in anyway you can imagine. Just a few ways bloggers make money with their WordPress blog include selling ad space, promoting affiliate links, doing brand collabs, selling products, offering services, establishing a subscription model, and more! Since the platform is yours and customization is infinite, you can make money in lots of ways on WordPress!
Here’s more on how to make money blogging.
Is WordPress Good for SEO?
WordPress is hands down the best blogging and web hosting platform for SEO! (It’s our go-to blogging platform when building websites for influencers.) Bloggers and brand owners have so much more control over technical and on-page SEO features when they host their blogs on WordPress. When practicing good SEO, you’ll see your blog soar to success!
Is Substack Better Than WordPress?
No. In every way, WordPress reigns supreme. WordPress is a much better option for influencers who want to make a career out of blogging and want all the tools possible at their disposal to make it big. The search engine optimization features alone should make you run to WordPress.
Substack is a great platform to use in addition to your blog. Instead of fully hosting your blog on Substack, consider it as a way to monetize your content through an exclusive email newsletter or membership. So, you can lead your most loyal fans and blog readers over to your Substack, where they can pay to subscribe to your unique content. (Since you don’t need it for growth, the lack of SEO features is fine.) .
While WordPress does have a bit of a learning curve, more so than Substack, it is still the number one blogging and content management system in the world for influencers, bloggers, and small business owners. What are you waiting for? Learn how to set up a blog on WordPress and blog away today!
Choose the right blogging platform to launch your influencer career!
Content may be king, but the blogging platform hosting your blog is the queen. Deciding to use WordPress over Substack is a crucial decision in starting your influencer career, because WordPress will future proof your brand and allow you to grow and adapt! It’s your ticket to working your brand full-time.
The good news is that you aren’t alone when building your website and optimizing it for SEO. InfluencerSEO offers website tech support packages with full website programming to ensure your website is created as you like and runs smoothly. Plus, our SEO services will boost your blog’s traffic and follow the latest and greatest SEO techniques.
Don’t wait; create your blog and start your influencer career today!
Jordan Becerra, founder and Lead SEO Strategist at InfluencerSEO, has spent almost 15 years in the creator internet space, the last nine building InfluencerSEO into the go-to SEO partner for content creators, with 500+ creators served from pre-launch to massive publication. She learned creator monetization and community building strategy from the inside working for Lauryn Bosstick of The Skinny Confidential prior to founding InfluencerSEO, so she understands both halves of the game: how search actually works AND how creators actually build a strong community online and make money. Her job now is to stay ahead of where search engine optimization is going, especially as AI rewrites the rules, and to make sure the creators she works with get there first.
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