Substack's Roadmap And Why 'No, Substack, We Don’t Want Reels' Went Viral
Compiled by a Product Manager for the Substack Team
Why ‘We Don’t Want Reels’ Went Viral
JC might’ve kicked off a mini-revolution:
That note blew up: restacked, shared on Reddit, quoted everywhere. Even got a Spanish translation from Salvador.
20.1K likes in 3 days.
Since I’m a Product Manager - and bringing community needs to life is literally my day job - I figured I’d amplify the message.
So here I am, awkwardly standing in Substack’s metaphorical hallway, going: “Heeey, I brought community notes.”
How Substack Became the Internet’s Most Emotionally Intelligent Platform
First things first: I love Substack.
Like many other creators, I came for the tools but stayed for the community.
There’s a kind of soft magic to it:
Writers supporting writers
Creators and subscribers meeting for digital coffees
Readers actually reading (imagine!)
And best of all: no one’s yelling. No spam, rage-tweets, no CryptoJimmy DMing my Grandma trying to trade dogecoin.
Substack is the most emotionally intelligent, sunlit corner of the internet. We come here and let both our inner child and inner entrepreneur feel seen.
So yes, I love Substack. And it feels like Substack loves me back.
And I’m one of the many who feel that way - that’s why we care so much.
We want to help Substack grow, and we’d also really like to keep wearing cosy sweaters around here.
How Substack’s Product Design Fuels Community-Driven Growth
Substack has mastered features that strengthen writer–reader connections and amplify network effects:
Tools that spark meaningful dialogue: Post Comments
Direct messaging between writers and readers: Subscriber Chat
Smart network effects through Notes and Recommendations
Engagement moments via Live
Together, these features enable:
Organic discovery
Cross-pollination across communities
Benefiting both established voices and emerging writers (like myself!)
Most importantly, what gets rewarded on Substack today isn’t virality for its own sake, but authenticity and genuine connection. Depth. And I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s found a better platform for that.
Substack’s Public Roadmap
Before we dive in, a tiny ask from me: a public roadmap.
It’s always surprising when community-platforms don’t have community-influenced roadmaps.
I assume there’s a valid strategy behind this, like keeping the roadmap private to maintain a competitive edge - and that’s fair.
But there is a middle ground: a public roadmap doesn’t have to be a full-blown GPS with real-time updates.
Companies like Monday and Capacities manage this balance beautifully:
A shared roadmap:
Builds trust (it says: We’re listening. You matter. )
Enables ownership - and ownership fuels engagement
What the Community Is Asking For
Let’s face it: reels are already here. We may not like them, but they’ve launched, and they’re being used. And I do understand how they fit into Substack’s growth strategy. Now it’s time to focus on features that drive user retention.
So, I reviewed JC’s note and ALL the replies, added PM commentary, and pulled together this consensus blueprint:
👉 Accessibility Improvements
Offline mode - people want to engage with Substack in transit, on holidays and in low-bandwidth or low-device-access environments.
A way to access drafts from mobile (suggested by
)Multi-language support (suggested by
)
👉 Discoverability Improvements
“New in [Topic]” feed – for discovering fresh voices (by
)
Better category filters - honestly, finding fellow PMs (other than my guru
) hasn’t been easy. is asking for a poetry section too.Smart discoverability personalization - suggested by
Stream of latest platform-wide posts - suggested by
👉 Reader UX Fixes
Remove read posts from the feed – suggested by JC
👉 Writer UX Fixes
made some excellent points here:Center alignment
Indents
Text formatting & Line Spacing
Drafts for notes
These are foundational capabilities for anyone working with any kind of text.
👉 Organization & Productivity Features
Save/highlight & organize notes - suggested by BOSS
Save/highlight & organize quotes - this one is from me (think Pinterest-like boards for quotes)
Folders for managing saved posts - suggested by
In-app subscription management
Ability to schedule notes - added by
.
👉 Micro-community Features
Small group chats – perfect for post collaboration
👉 Flexible Pricing Features
Flexible subscription tiers
One-time purchases for select content - from
Platform-wide payment options - from
Subscription bundles - from Vswish
Pay-per-view - from
👉 VIP Features
A direct line to Substack for top creators – suggested by
. I’m not sure it’s the right call, but I get the business logic.
Conclusion
, you’ve built something rare. And you’re sitting on a goldmine of people who can help you ideate, sketch UX, write onboarding flows, and test prototypes for free. Hand us a sandbox, and we’ll make magic.
Thank you!
Creators Who Helped Share JC’s Original Note
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , P.S. I wanted to tag all of contributors, but I reached email length limit :/
I’d love to give credit where it’s due! Just add your name in the comments! 👇
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what a great post - thank you so much for the credit on the note! your analysis is truly on point. i totally agree that substack can become a goldmine if developed properly, so i hope they start listening to their users.
by the way, would you mind sharing the link to my note being shared on reddit? i don’t use the platform, and now i’m really curious!
Karo, this is amazing! I’m blown away by your creativity, research, and ambition. I’m proud of you. 👏🏼