How To Become A Substack Featured Publication

It’s happened to me three times in the last six months so this is my definitive guide

This week I started to notice something strange in my Substack notifications, my subscription numbers were swelling yet I had no idea why. Every few minutes, another subscriber. Literally one after another, just minutes — sometimes seconds — apart.

I mean it was wonderful, but what was happening? By Monday afternoon I had my answer, I had been picked as a Substack Featured Publication 2024. I was — I am — absolutely thrilled.

This latest selection meant that I had been handpicked to feature on Substack’s ‘discover’ page and for one whole week, Substack readers across the world would have their eyes drawn to my publication. I mean this is the stuff of dreams for us on Substack, right? You may have seen some Substackers who have been picked displaying this rather stunning sticker.

But this is actually the third time I have been a Substack Featured Publication in six months — something that many writers on here would long for just once. It seems to me now this lovely yellow sticker needs to be redesigned in perhaps bronze, silver and gold to demonstrate how many times you’ve been picked in one year.

So how have I done it? I thought I better explore and share with you everything I know because it’s now Thursday and those new subscribers have kept on coming, still one every few minutes. It is incredible, and I am so grateful to Substack.

And so, because I am a professional writer and this is how I (making no apologies) pay my bills as I’ve explained here, I hope you’ll understand that here comes the paywall.