My Favorite Substack Growth Hack - Reaction Videos
My new favorite way to grow on Substack
Writing on Substack isn’t the only way to grow on Substack.
For the past 2 months, I’ve been experimenting with a new strategy that’s been working really well to find new readers.
I’ve been making 5-10 minute “reaction videos” on YouTube, and then linking back to my Substack.
Before you say, “I hate making videos” or “I’m not good on camera”, hear me out.
FYI. I don’t like making videos either.
The type of video I’m talking about doesn’t take long to produce or edit. I hate editing more than making the video in the first place.
If I record a 10-minute video, I want the entire process to take less than 20 minutes (Including making the YouTube thumbnail and uploading it).
Here is how I do it:
I look for an interesting video in my niche that I want to talk about.
I scroll to the part of the video I want to talk about, and I play it.
Then I pause the video and comment on it.
Here is a video I just made to show how I do it.
As you saw in the video, I don’t need to only react to another video; I can also react to an article or anything on my screen.
I always link back to the creator of the video or the author of the article I’m talking about.
This is an incredible way to network and cross-promote your work with people in your niche.
Most Substack writers will collaborate with you if you reach out and show them you made a reaction video of their work.
It is also easy to make these reaction videos because a lot of the content has already been produced by someone else.
You only need to add your additional thoughts and comments on top of it (which is much easier than producing the original work).
But it can still be valuable to your audience because:
A) You found a new useful piece of content for them.
and
B) You added your own interesting insights to their original work.
After you’ve made your reaction video and uploaded it to YouTube, make sure to put your Substack link in both the video description and the first comment of your video. Also, mention it in the video itself.
Which software is best to make these reaction videos?
I mentioned before that I hate editing videos or wasting time figuring out how to record them. I just want to click record and that’s it.
The easiest software to use (by far) for these videos is Podsplice.
Podsplice records 4 separate tracks and automatically combines them in HD:
The video of your face (thumbnail video)
The audio of you speaking
The visuals you see on your screen (The YouTube video, article, or whatever you are looking at)
*** The system audio or sound coming from your computer (The audio of the YouTube video), for example.
The reason I put *** beside number 4 is that most other software does not record this “system audio” sound from YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or anything.
None of Canva, Riverside FM, or Descript can record the system audio. OBS is WAY too much of a pain in the butt to set up for each video.
You can use your YouTube channel to promote your Substack, and then use your Substack articles to link back to YouTube.
This combo is so easy to do, and it really helps to fuel the growth of both.
If you are writing on Substack and not growing as quickly as you’d like to, I highly recommend making some reaction videos using Podsplice.