i feel like one of the advantages of substacks over other newsletters is the fact that substack attracts "product-first" founders (even though most of us do not usually think in those terms).

fundamentally if you are a substacker, you are saying "I just want it to work and I'm going to focus on writing great posts." (aka think about the product)

i think too much of the rest of the newsletter world can be focused on optimizing, thinking about the business etc, and it feels like they are not focused enough on the stories.

(on the other hand, there are also many people who try to start substacks that do not really think about their customers so it is just a product for themselves.)

even as Newcomer grows and inevitably starts doing more work thinking about "the business" of newsletters, I want to remain a product-first company where ultimately 90% of the time we are worried about the stories and whether what we are putting out is good. even if we could have a bigger paid subscriber base if we thought about things another way. i get that they're not totally one or the other but it's ultimately a matter of what you prioritize.

as I'm learning with events, there are dividends to be made off of having a premium brand based on your focus on quality even if you lose out on some near-term monetization. it's good brand marketing to be product-first even if you're leaving a lot of meat on the bone along the way.

obviously you can remain product-first off substack (which I'm considering) but there is a reality that how substack is set up, it attracts story-centered writers. and that's for the better.

curious what other people think