I get asked this question a lot: "How is Jottings different from Substack?" Usually from writers who are either frustrated with Substack or exploring their options before committing to a platform.

Let me be clear upfront: Substack is genuinely good at what it does. They've built an incredible platform that's made it easy for writers to monetize their work and build audiences. They deserve credit for that. But I built Jottings because I think there's a fundamentally different approach worth exploring—one that puts you in control instead of making you a tenant on someone else's property.

The Substack Model

Substack is a newsletter platform first. You write, people subscribe via email, you make money through subscriptions and ads. It's beautifully simple, and the network effects are real. Substack's discovery features, recommendation algorithm, and built-in monetization have genuinely helped writers earn meaningful income.

But that simplicity comes with strings attached. Your content lives on Substack's domain. Your audience lives inside Substack's system. If Substack changes their terms, their algorithm, or their monetization model, you adapt or you lose. You don't own the relationship with your readers directly—Substack does.

What Jottings Does Differently

Jottings is a microblogging platform, not a newsletter platform. That might sound like a distinction without a difference, but it changes everything about how the platform works.

You own your content. Full stop. When you post to Jottings, it generates a static website that you own—completely separate from our platform. Your site lives on your domain (or a custom domain), and we give you everything you need to run it independently. If Jottings disappears tomorrow, your site still exists. Your readers can still access your work.

You own your audience relationships. We give you RSS feeds, email subscriptions, and social feeds—all in formats that can't be taken away from you. Want to move your audience to another platform? You can. Your subscribers have standards feed formats they can take with them. This isn't a lock-in relationship; it's a partnership.

You control your data and analytics. No black box algorithm deciding who sees your posts. No mysterious reach metrics. You own your traffic logs and can see exactly how people find your work.

The Trade-offs (And I'm Being Honest)

Here's where I need to be transparent: Jottings doesn't have Substack's built-in discovery network. We're not going to recommend your posts to millions of readers the way Substack's algorithm might. If you're building an audience from zero, Substack's discovery features are genuinely more powerful right now.

Jottings also doesn't have native monetization built in the way Substack does. You don't have a subscription system where readers pay directly through our platform. We're agnostic on how you monetize—some writers use external payment systems, some use sponsorships, some use Patreon. It's more work than Substack's one-click solution.

These are real limitations. If you're optimizing purely for audience growth and revenue, Substack has invested more than any other platform to make those things easy.

Why This Trade-off Makes Sense

But here's my perspective: the writers I'm building Jottings for aren't looking to sell their souls for reach. They already have an audience, or they're willing to grow one slowly through quality and community. They value independence and control more than they value platform-driven virality.

They want to write without worrying about an algorithm change destroying their reach. They want to own their archive. They want their readers to have a real relationship with them, not with a platform that happens to host their writing.

They want to know that in five years, their work is still accessible at the same URL they published it at. Not redirected, not behind a login wall, not subject to the whims of a venture-backed company navigating market pressures.

The Honest Comparison

Choose Substack if:

• You want maximum discoverability and network effects
• You want monetization built into the platform
• You're starting from zero and want platform help building an audience
• You prefer simplicity over control

Choose Jottings if:

• You want to own your content completely
• You want to own your audience relationships
• You prefer independence over lock-in
• You're willing to own your distribution and growth
• You want to use a custom domain and control your full web presence

The Real Question

I think the deeper question isn't "which platform is better?" It's "what kind of relationship do you want with your readers and your content?"

Substack is a landlord. They provide the property, manage the amenities, handle the utilities. You pay a percentage of your rent and get the benefits of their network. It's convenient, and for many writers, it's the right choice.

Jottings is a toolkit. We provide the tools, the hosting, the infrastructure. You own the property. You manage your own distribution. It's more work, but it's yours.

Neither approach is objectively better. They're just different bets on what matters more: speed to monetization and audience growth, or independence and control.

I built Jottings because I believe there's a growing number of writers who are asking different questions. Writers who've been on platforms before and learned what lock-in feels like. Writers who want to build something that stays theirs.

If that's you, I'd love to have you here.

Have thoughts on this comparison? Write about it. If you're on Jottings, your perspective matters.