The Next Chapter: Why We’re Moving from Meetup to Substack
Let’s get this out of the way first: I still think Meetup can be a great platform. For many people and many groups, it’s a fantastic resource. However, it’s just not the right fit for me and our groups anymore. This isn’t a critique of the platform itself, but a candid discussion of the reasons why I’ve made the personal choice to move our communities to a new home.
This decision is about building a better, more connected, and more sustainable future for our communities. It’s a move toward simplification and control, and I want to explain exactly what that means for all of us. You’ll have to make up your own mind about what’s right for you, but this is what I’ve chosen to do.
The Cost of Community
The first and most significant reason for this change is the cost. I’m tired of paying more than $500 a year just to host our three groups on Meetup. For a long time, I justified this expense as a necessary part of keeping our communities active and accessible. But after years of hosting, I’ve realized that this financial burden is an unnecessary obstacle, along with some other limitations on what we can do, and not the foundation for growth we need right now.
On the other hand, Substack provides a powerful platform with even more features, and it’s completely free for me to host our communities there. This isn’t a small difference; it’s a game-changer. By eliminating the high annual fees, I can redirect that energy and those resources into creating better content, organizing more engaging events, and building an even stronger community. It frees us from the financial constraints of the platform and allows us to focus on what truly matters: our connections and shared interests. So for me, it’s about several things: saving money that has been a burden, having more control over our own information, and providing better resources to our members.
Gaining Control and Resources
The second major reason for this transition is about control and resources. While Meetup is an excellent tool for basic event hosting and group communication, it has significant limitations. I believe that if I’m the one putting in the effort to build and nurture a community, I should have full control over it. On Meetup, I simply don’t.
Meetup’s structure limits the ways we can interact, share information, and grow. While it allows for basic text, posts, and links, it restricts my ability to fully manage our community’s data and resources. For example, I can’t easily access a complete list of members and their information, which makes it difficult to communicate effectively outside of the platform’s specific confines. This lack of control feels like a major hurdle, especially when planning for the future or trying to offer more to our members. The platform feels like a closed system, and I’m ready to move our communities to an open one.
Substack changes this entirely. The platform is designed to give creators full ownership and control. On Substack, I can:
- Easily create and publish diverse content, including long-form posts, short updates, links, and multimedia. This allows me to provide more value and share resources more effectively.
- Communicate directly with all subscribers, and I can access all of their information, which ensures that our community can stay connected no matter what.
- Directly link to other resources, such as newsletters, mailing lists, courses, and other content that I control. This ability to create a seamless ecosystem of resources is something Meetup just doesn’t offer.
This move gives me the freedom to provide more to you, our members. It allows for a richer, more integrated experience where all our resources—from blog posts to event details—are centralized and easily accessible. We’re moving from a platform that holds our community in a specific, limited box to one that lets it expand and grow without boundaries.
Simplifying the Experience
Ultimately, this transition is about simplification. Meetup, with its various hoops to jump through and limitations, has made things more complicated than they need to be. The process of managing groups, communicating effectively, and planning for the future feels burdened by the platform’s constraints.
Substack, by contrast, is a straightforward, elegant solution. It’s a single platform for all our needs: communication, content, and community building. This simplification benefits everyone. For me, it means less time spent wrestling with a restrictive platform and more time spent on creating valuable content and experiences for you. For you, it means a more streamlined experience where you can find everything you need in one place, without the clutter and limitations of a traditional social platform.
This move isn’t just about changing platforms; it’s about a fundamental shift in how we operate. It’s about taking ownership of our communities and giving them the space they need to thrive. It’s about moving toward a system that is more efficient, more powerful, and ultimately, more aligned with our goals. We are building a new home for our communities—one that is free from financial burdens and full of possibilities. I’m incredibly excited about this new chapter and can’t wait to see what we build together.
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