My Wishlist for 12 Substack Enhancements

The company raised $100 million to invest in "better tools"—but what should they be? Here's my list.

In case you missed the news, Substack recently raised another $100 million. I was happy to hear this, and not just because I am a small shareholder.

I didn’t buy shares with expectations of profit. I did it as a way of expressing my solidarity with other authors, and to make a public declaration of support to a platform that has helped so many writers and creators.

If Substack were a non-profit, I would make regular donations to help the cause. Because Substack is a company, I became a shareholder instead. But I still don’t view this as a financial decision.

It’s more a way of aligning my life with my core values.

But I was especially pleased to learn that this new funding round will help support new tools and opportunities for the community here.

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In their announcement, Substack’s founders emphasized that point. Here’s what they wrote:

At Substack, we believe the heroes of culture are the ones who shape it. Technology should serve them, not the other way around. That’s why we’re building tools and a network to protect their independence, amplify their voices, and foster deep and direct relationships. These are the people who will lead us to a better culture, and a future we can believe in.

This funding is our chance to get behind them. We’ll invest in better tools, broader reach, and deeper support for the writers and creators driving Substack’s ecosystem.

That’s encouraging. But what will it mean in practice?

Here are twelve things I’d like to see at Substack. I’ll start with the most ambitious requests—they probably sound like pipe dreams—and work my way down to simpler ones.

(1) Let’s create a music platform that looks like a cross between Substack, Bandcamp, and Spotify.

I plan to publish an article soon describing my dream platform for digital music. Nothing like it exists today, but it’s not impossible to build—so why not here?

This platform could be used as a standalone app, but would also offer easy integration into current Substack offerings. This would allow me (and other music lovers) to add playlists into my articles and Notes, and help musicians on the platform build a larger audience while getting fairly compensated for their work.

(2) Let’s build a standalone video interface that resembles YouTube, but only features original work by Substackers.

People deserve a smarter alternative to YouTube or TikTok, without stolen material, and regurgitated memes. Substack is the obvious place for this to happen, and it would support the platform’s broader mission of helping creators. This interface should be flexible enough to operate independently of other parts of Substack, but also allow easy integration into articles, posts, comments, chats, etc.

(3) Substack should launch a smarter Netflix alternative. Yes, we really can do this.

This might seem impossible. How can tiny Substack compete against huge Netflix? But a very focused initiative can succeed—for example, I envision a trial program with just one new film launched every weekened. (I might call it Saturday Night at the Stack.)

A tight focus is necessary because Substack can’t afford the money Netflix or Disney spends on programming, But Substack does have cultural cachet and access to a very choice audience. If only one slot is available each week, indie filmmamakers will compete for it. By limiting offerings, Substack can be discerning and gain a reputation for quality programming.

There are several ways that the economics can be structured—filmmakers must be compensated fairly—but I won’t get into the various options here.

(4) Let’s add an improved Notes algorithm that prioritizes original work by Substackers.

In recent months, many social media influencers have discovered Substack, but instead of posting original material, they simply regurgitate stale images, videos, and memes from other platforms.

Some of this material may be violating IP laws, and it does not contribute to Substack’s mission of supporting creators. The less we see of it here, the better.

(5) Let’s allow Substackers to form groups, and offer a collective homepage with group subscription rates.

Individual freelancers can benefit from joining forces—I believe that this represents the next wave of alternative media. It also allows writers and creators to build something that resembles a traditional periodical or media outlet. Substack should offer tools to enable co-ops and collectives of this sort on the platform.

This should all be voluntary—I don’t want anyone forced into a collective. But it ought to be an option. It might boost the financial prospects for participants, and it certainly will enhance a feeling of community and shared interests on the platform.

(6) Let’s create more monetization tools.

Substackers should be able to post Notes for premium subscribers. This option currently doesn’t exist, but it would make it easier for many Substackers to monetize their work.

(7) Let writers and creators use Substack like a personal website.

If you visit www.tedgioia.com you can find all the typical things writers like me need to promote their career: (1) a full bio, (2) publicity photos, (3) blurbs, (3) information on my books, etc.

I should be able to feature all these things on my Substack, accessible via my home page here. There are indirect ways to do some of these things now, but these functionalities should be built into the dashboard as standard options.

(8) Give us more formats and fonts and layouts for our newsletters.

We deserve more customization options in the look and feel of our work. Substack is the home of indie voices, and ought to allow a more indie vibe to newsletter design.

(9) Let readers embed images in comments.

This is available on many other platforms, and is very much missed here.

(10) Let me bookmark Notes and posts.

Once again, this is available elsewhere and should be possible here.

(11) Give us back all the things that other platforms took away from us—like options for a true feed in reverse chronological order and a flexible, comprehensive site search engine.

Every other platform puts us under the control of the algorithm. Substack should be the place where users get more input over their experience.

(12) Alternative media needs its own awards.

I recently speculated on when a Pulitzer Prize will finally go to a Substacker. Erik Hoel predicts that it might not happen until 2030. I suspect it may be sooner.

But why wait. Alternative media deserves its own awards, not belated recognition from arteriosclerotic legacy insiders. These alt awards would be much cooler than the Pulitzers. Substack is the obvious party to set this in motion.

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That’s my wish list. What would you add (or subtract)?