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Substack recommendation swap email template
Substack's Recommendations feature is the quiet growth engine of the platform. When a writer recommends you, new subscribers see your publication at the exact moment they are in a subscribing mood. But asking for a recommendation cold feels like asking a stranger to vouch for you, because it is.
The fix is order of operations. Recommend them first, for real, because you rate their work. Then the note below is not a request for a favor. It is telling another writer you already vouched for them, and asking if they think your work merits the same.
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Fill these in and the invite below rewrites itself.
Subject
I just recommended Hard Mode
Hi Marcus,
Quick note, no agenda beyond what is written here. I added Hard Mode to my recommendations on Second Draft today. You are the only person writing about bootstrapping without pretending it is painless, and my readers are exactly the kind of people who should be reading you.
That is done and stays done either way.
If you ever read Second Draft and think your subscribers would get something from it, a recommendation back would mean a lot. And if it is not the right fit for your readers, that is a completely fair answer and this stays a fan letter.
Either way, glad you are writing it.
Jordan Second Draft
Why this one gets a yes
- The recommendation is already done before they open the email. Nothing reads more genuine than a favor that was not contingent on getting one back.
- That is done and stays done either way removes the transaction. They are free to say no and keep the recommendation, which paradoxically makes yes easier.
- It respects their editorial bar. If it is not right for your readers is named as a fair answer, which tells them you take recommendations as seriously as they do.
Common questions
How do I ask another Substack writer to recommend my publication?
Recommend theirs first, genuinely, then tell them you did it with no strings attached. From there the ask is one sentence: if they ever think your work fits their readers, a recommendation back would mean a lot. Never make your recommendation conditional on theirs, and never follow up more than once.
Do Substack recommendation swaps actually grow a newsletter?
Recommendations from publications with real audience overlap are one of the strongest organic growth channels on Substack, because the suggestion arrives while a reader is actively subscribing. A swap between two unrelated publications does little for either side. Pick partners whose readers genuinely overlap with yours, not just anyone willing to trade.
Should I recommend a newsletter I do not actually read?
No. Your recommendations page is your taste, in public, and readers who follow a bad recommendation trust you less afterward. Recommend publications you would defend in conversation. If you are only recommending someone to get the swap, both audiences will eventually feel it.
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