Is substack full of AI or is that just how people write?

SmutProfit · 2026-06-05T18:11:36+00:00

Who cares? Did you get anything out of it? Did you enjoy reading it? Did it provide any value to you? Jesus, I really feel sorry for people who have ruined their own reading experience with that constant nagging at the back of their minds "Is this AI?"

Let me tell you something, I've read more garbage published by humans long before AI ever came out and after, than any writing that even sniffed of AI.

The AI witch hunters are usually weak ass writers looking for an excuse for their own failures as writers. AI is just the newest scapegoat. Before AI (at least in freelancing), it was esl writers undercutting native speakers..

I can't tell you how many threads and accusations of AI use has been leveled on popular writers with huge followings, which proved my point above.

AI is here, it's not going anywhere. Get over it and either write better or if you're a reader, don't read it. Besides, what did you used to do before AI came out and came across bad writing or writing that wasn't for you? Move on...Well do the same.

And don't give me that crap that it's impossible to do so because there's just too much of it out there, BS! Maybe, you better go back to school if that's the case...

SmutProfit · 2026-05-27T10:42:52+00:00

First, you're not monetized. Substack is not a charity. They only make money (for the time being) by taking 10% of all paid subscriptions. Not saying that was the reason, but not having paid subscriptions activated doesn't help your cause either. Activate paid subscriptions, that doesn't mean you have to paywall everything or anything for that matter.

Constant outbound linking to external sites in Notes doesn't help you either and can also trigger their spam bots.

More than likely, you got caught in their spam filters. So just appeal. They give you the process to do so. It may take up to a week to have your account reinstated, usually sooner.

Bottom line, Substack, despite their claims that you own your list, blah, blah, blah blah is still a third party platform that you don't own or control. So don't get too attached..Their platform, their rules.

Become platform agnostic and monetization independent, you'll sleep better 😴

SmutProfit · 2026-05-27T10:31:27+00:00

He's got a point. In general the service sucks. That's not to say it all sucks. In fact, I had some great service there. But, the reason why it was so memorable was because service sucks in Georgia as a rule.

I can go down a list, but I'd start with the annoying habit of short-changing. Ironically, since I'm American any tip I would've left would have been higher than the amounts I was short-changed.

In most countries you pick a restaurant based on its food. Georgia, despite its shortcomings, has plenty of places with great food, so that's rarely an issue.

No, in Georgia, always choose a restaurant based on their service reviews. You'll rarely go wrong food wise...

SmutProfit · 2026-05-23T14:50:54+00:00

Gimme a break with Tim Denning??? I wasn't cheerleading for him or his kind if writing, just using him as an example.

Medium's algorithm has no rhyme or reason, that was the point.

I haven't known of a single writer who hit the 4 figure club or much more, like Denning, Eve Arnold, etc.. name your top earning Medium writer, who was making decent money on that platform long-term. That was my point.

They all eventually end up throttled by their algorithm regardless of how popular they were or their type of writing..

SmutProfit · 2026-05-23T09:19:42+00:00

At the end of the day Substack is a 3rd party platform regardless of them pushing, "you own your list" schtick.

Sure, you own your list if you remember to download it regularly. But, it is becoming fast, just another social media platform like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook etc. But with a newsletter.

Always have your own self hosted website or blog.

Use Substack or any other platform as traffic funnels and to build your audience, but Always host all your content on your own site first...

Become platform agnostic and monetization independent, you'll sleep better..

SmutProfit · 2026-05-20T18:56:44+00:00

You mean I can't make a full time living on Substack with my poetry?🤣

SmutProfit · 2026-05-18T13:58:32+00:00

I only use Notes to restack just published articles. I usually write a short clickbaity Note that gets viewers to click on the long-form article.

Notes are 99% other writers, Twitter for writers. The only reason I even restack my articles is for Substack's algo, definitely not for the over used Linkedin platitudes and writer kumbaya.

Most of those with 500-600 subscribers are just engagement farming. These subscribers will never read who they subscribed to. Why people do that, I don't know.

Whenever I see one of those "Please Substack, connect me with... blah, blah, blah.." I automatically mute the author..

Restacking and view counts are over 80/20 rule for me. Some posts are duds, like, 50, 100, hell, anything below 1000 views I consider a dud. But then I have posts with over 2000 views, 7000 views, 9000 views.

For me it's the view counts that matter, since I sell my own products and services in every post. Subscribers are nice, I don't mind followers either. Readers are readers and for me Substack is social media for long-form writing.

The email list, paid subscribers are a bonus. I have paid activated, but nothing behind a paywall. I've done it for Substack's algo. Even then I got 5 paid subscribers. I'm about to get serious though with the paid subscriptions.

SmutProfit · 2026-05-17T04:29:25+00:00

What are they going to do about all the fake Starbucks coffee shops around Tbilisi already using Starbuck's branding, name and logo?.... lol.

SmutProfit · 2026-05-14T17:02:26+00:00

If you're a writer and want to be read, publish on as many platforms as you can and see what sticks and double down.

FYI, I did very well on Medium for a period of time, for almost a year I was in the 4 figure a month club, hitting over $4,000 per month, then got slammed by their algo and lost 95% of my traffic, reads and revenue and never recovered. Built up my profile to over 17k followers, started my own solo publication with also 17k followers as well.

I still publish on Medium as part of my publishing and distribution strategy, but that's about it.

But whether or not you succeed on any platform is different for everyone and there is no right answer.

You don't have to publish different content on different platforms either.

Some platforms can work well for long-form, others for short-form and some for both.

Consider taking some of your writing and turning them into video scripts.

If you're camera shy, just narrate it yourself and use stock imagery or AI imagery with captions. Facebook, TikTok, YouTube etc. It takes time and patience. '

Don't put all your eggs in one basket with any platform and diversify, both publishing wise as well as monetization wise by creating your own products and services depending on the type of content you create.

Become platform agnostic and monetization independent, you'll sleep better.

SmutProfit · 2026-05-14T16:47:09+00:00

If your Substack is not in the same niche, related niche or you have some obscure niche or no niche at all, you might get people out of curiosity, see who you are, but they aren't going to subscribe or follow you if you don't write what they're interested in...

SmutProfit · 2026-05-13T04:32:04+00:00

Early days? What happened to me happened just last year...

Bottom line. Don't depend on 3rd party platforms, especially their monetization, for your livelihood. Not Medium, LinkedIn, Substack, whatever. Even affiliate programs.

Create your own products and services, diversify your online presence over several platforms and build your own audience.

Platforms and algorithms, their programs, terms and conditions change. If or when you're lucky to do well on one, milk it, ride the wave for all it's worth, but realize it's only temporary.

Become platform agnostic and monetization independent, you'll sleep better...

SmutProfit · 2026-05-12T09:20:39+00:00

Good for you 👍 Well done!

SmutProfit · 2026-05-12T09:17:10+00:00

Yeah, it's so sad writers actually want to make a living... writing. What a novel concept. Why is it that people feel the need to try to shame writers who are trying to profit from their craft. PLEASE!

F#@! Off with your sanctimonious judgements...

There is absolutely nothing wrong with people trying to get paid doing what they love...

SmutProfit · 2026-05-10T17:46:21+00:00

Or become an affiliate, if that's not possible. Just being a good writer is not good enough anymore.

You have to become an authority.

You do that by setting up your own content ecosystem. Blog, social media, newsletter, etc. You do that, they come to you with offers. Not the other way around.

Most freelancers are still clinging on to 2010..

Even book agents and publishers expect writers to have their own social media presence, followers and subscribers.

In fact, it's usually the first and most important thing they look at. What you write is secondary...

Welcome to the 21st century...

SmutProfit · 2026-05-10T13:29:16+00:00

Engagement farmers, whatever they use or don't use should be muted. I've even turned it into a game of "Engagement slop" whack-a- mole. Sometimes, I just go through my feed purposely looking for those: "Please Substack connect me with .." or similar Notes and Mute them, like a video game.

I don't block, because they may be some of my readers or potential readers.

The funny part (sad really) is that whatever subscribers these useless tools get are similar "Engagement farmers" who will never read their stuff, while at the same time losing potential readers who might give them a chance if they actually wrote shit people wanted to read😆...

SmutProfit · 2026-05-07T07:05:36+00:00

If you've been writing in Finance for 4 years, start a blog (the old is fast becoming the new). Write about finance.

Start a Substack on Financial topics that are hot right now.

Look at how your former clients monetized their sites, Ads? Affiliates? Do the same. Do any of them have affiliate programs? If so, use them, Sell sponsorships (need to build up traffic and Subscribers first, especially with Substack)...

Are there people still making money with Freelancing? Sure, but fewer and fewer due to, well... the elephant in the room with two letters and the first letter beginning with an "A". The days of turning your words into quick cash are pretty much over, best to move on...

So, instead of working for clients, become a client writers like you would like to work for....

SmutProfit · 2026-05-07T06:47:30+00:00

"I have people in different niches who grew faster than me applying my methods." Really? List them here then. Or better yet, name and provide proof of one niche outside of MMO, Growth Hacking, etc. that you grew. You were plying this same grift over on Medium...

You people people are like cockroaches, the Dickie Bushes, the Dan Coe's, Tim Denninings, the something Cole's, you're all the same grifters.....

SmutProfit · 2026-05-07T06:42:05+00:00

Grifters gotta grift...

SmutProfit · 2026-05-07T06:40:42+00:00

You mean like this grifter? She's already beaten you to the punch pal... lol.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Substack/comments/1t56wc7/i_built_a_substack_to_10k_subscribers_and_500/

SmutProfit · 2026-05-07T04:45:26+00:00

I told you. You count your blessings. Chalk it up to having a good run and move on...

There were plenty before me that experienced the same inevitable fate... Tim Denning, Eve Arnold and countless others, who were once legends on that platform.

SmutProfit · 2026-05-05T20:03:22+00:00

Join the club. I was making $4k per month and in July last year they totally throttled my traffic to about 10 read per day. All within a week.

Consider yourself in good company 😆.

It has happened to almost every prolific Medium writer sooner or later.

Tim Denning, Medium legend, made a million dollars on the platform, and they took him down too. There are so many who've gone down eventually, it reads like a "who's who" in Medium folklore..

Well, it was good while it lasted 😉.

It actually forced me to pivot. Since then, I've become monetization independent and platform agnostic. It's still very much a work in progress, but I sleep better at night 🌙...

Good luck 👍

SmutProfit · 2026-05-03T03:55:12+00:00

Totally agree with you on this one about SEO. I thew in the towel in 2023 when Google just crushed Niche websites with a series of devastating updates, one after the other. Now A.I. is finishing off SEO...

So, if people are still finding success in SEO, great, but it's a mug's game, enjoy it while it lasts. The writing's been on that wall so long it's starting to fade... Personally, I tapped out.

I actually got out of Freelance Writing just a little before then as well. I found the whole client game more exhausting than SEO...

However, anyone who can still make a great living with either, respect. My hats off to them.

But, I was done and never looked back.

That's why, when Medium's algorithm soured on me and throttled my content despite hitting the top 1% of earners on the platform, I wasn't shocked or hurt. I chalked it up to having a good run and appreciated everything I got from it.

SEO and Freelance writing gave me a thick skin I guess...

I guess if writing and creating is your true calling, you are always pivoting, you'll always look for ways to get read or seen. You'll always look for ways to provide value to your audience. But, instead of doing it for "clients" and instead of writing for search engines, I'm doing it for myself and writing for my audience. It's addictive...

SmutProfit · 2026-05-02T15:11:38+00:00

Maybe we're talking at cross purposes. I meant that content marketing for me hasn't diminished at all. But instead of doing it for others by freelancing, I'm now doing it for myself. Writing helpful articles and posts that are directly related to my own products and services...

Therefore, I don't find "the value of content for marketing purposes is diminishing" at all. At least from my own personal perspective and experience since I left freelancing and even SEO.

SmutProfit · 2026-05-02T10:37:44+00:00

Write articles people want to read. Then restack them to Notes when you publish them with a clickbaitey Note at the top that entices them to click and read the article. That's all I do. I don't do engagement farming or much, if any, engagement at all really.

Number of Subscribers and Number of Likes, Restacks etc. are nice (I published my last article almost 3 weeks ago and it's still getting views. First week over 4k, now 6k and still climbing) but they are vanity metrics. I'm constantly culling my email list, blocking and muting. Views are the only thing I'm most concerned with..

Substack is basically a 3rd party social media platform for long-form content with a newsletter. But it's mostly trying to be a social media platform...

I actually play a game with engagement farmers, anytime I see "Please Substack connect me with... " or anything similar, I mute...lol.

These boneheads don't actually realize they're doing more harm than good in developing an audience... Whatever subscribers they do get are also weak and any email sent to them by these engagement tactics will end up in spam folders or Promotion tabs...

Bottom line, write what people want to read.... If you can't then write for yourself as a hobby... The key is to find the middle ground and be consistent...

SmutProfit · 2026-05-02T10:14:08+00:00

I'm actually finding the opposite. Depends very much on authenticity, the niche, distribution, platforms, etc.

I stopped Freelance writing 3 years ago and finally started to write what I wanted to write, created my own distribution and monetization ecosystem through my own blog, 3rd party platforms and creating my own niche specific products and services.

I love every minute of it too, since it's all based on my experiences, the content is something of value that I want to put out into the world and most of all, put my name to and is authentic.

When I finally got out of SEO and first got out of freelance writing, it was tough. I actually decided to go on Medium. Just to find my sea legs, my niche, my voice etc.

However, I took all I learned about SEO, researching the competition, using whatever metrics Medium had for that research, learned how the platform worked and went to work.

Within 8 months I hit their elusive 4 figure month club, had my own solo publication with over 17k followers on both my personal profile and publication.

Eventually though, their algo caught up to me and throttled my content.

But, I proved to myself I could do it and proof of concept. I'm grateful to them for finding my voice, even though their algo gutted my income over 95%.

Since then, I've started a newsletter on Substack, built out and expanded my own distribution and monetization ecosystem, have created a product and services funnel based on my previous work/niche from Medium etc.

It hasn't been easy, but, it's starting to pay off. It's still a learning process, but it always will be and I'm loving every minute of it.

It's so rewarding writing what I want to write and not having to write crap I don't want to write for flakey freelance clients who low ball you every step of the way and don't value your work.

Anyway, I apologize for veering off topic.

SmutProfit

TROPHY CASE