Ancient Origins on Substack: how UNLEASHED fits with the website and magazine
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In 2024 we launched Ancient Origins UNLEASHED on Substack. We are sometimes asked why, and how it relates to the Ancient Origins website and Ancient Origins Magazine, so we wanted to explain it plainly.
A closed, direct community
The open web has changed. Much of what people see online now reaches them through search engines and social media feeds that decide what is shown and to whom. A growing share of what fills those feeds is produced automatically, in volume, with little connection to a real person behind it.
Substack works differently. It is a closed, direct community of real writers and real readers. When someone subscribes, our writing arrives in their inbox, without an algorithm deciding whether they see it. They know who is writing to them, and they can reply. We know who we are writing for.
That directness was the main reason we chose Substack. It lets us focus on the writing and on the relationship with readers, rather than on chasing changes in search rankings or social media reach.
Free and paid
UNLEASHED has a free tier and a paid tier. Anyone can subscribe for free and receive our writing by email. Readers who value the work and want to support it directly can choose the paid tier.
We like this model because it is clear and fair. Readers can try us for as long as they want before deciding whether to pay, and nobody is pushed into it. The publication describes a readership of hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and we are grateful to every one of them.
How the three fit together
We think of the website, the magazine and UNLEASHED as three different ways into the same body of work, each suited to a different kind of reading:
The Ancient Origins website is where most people first meet us. It is open, searchable and covers a wide range of topics in history, archaeology and ancient mysteries.
Ancient Origins Magazine is for readers who want longer, carefully put-together features they can sit down with.
Ancient Origins UNLEASHED is the most direct and personal of the three. It arrives in your inbox, comes from people you can get to know, and gives us room to write in a more conversational way.
Some readers use only one of these. Others use all three. We do not expect anyone to follow everything, and we try to make sure each one is worth reading on its own.
Trade-offs
Running a publication on a platform we do not own has trade-offs. Substack makes publishing straightforward and connects us with its own community of readers, but it also means we work within its features and rules. We keep that in mind and try not to depend on any single channel for everything.
Even so, the value of a direct connection with readers has been clear to us. Email also makes conversation possible: readers can reply, suggest topics and tell us when they disagree. That kind of exchange is much harder to have through a feed.
Where to find us
If you would like to try UNLEASHED, you can subscribe for free at ancientoriginsunleashed.com. If you already read us on the website or in the magazine, thank you. UNLEASHED is simply another, more direct way to stay in touch.
In 2024 we launched Ancient Origins UNLEASHED on Substack. We are sometimes asked why, and how it relates to the Ancient Origins website and Ancient Origins Magazine, so we wanted to explain it plainly.
A closed, direct community
The open web has changed. Much of what people see online now reaches them through search engines and social media feeds that decide what is shown and to whom. A growing share of what fills those feeds is produced automatically, in volume, with little connection to a real person behind it.
Substack works differently. It is a closed, direct community of real writers and real readers. When someone subscribes, our writing arrives in their inbox, without an algorithm deciding whether they see it. They know who is writing to them, and they can reply. We know who we are writing for.
That directness was the main reason we chose Substack. It lets us focus on the writing and on the relationship with readers, rather than on chasing changes in search rankings or social media reach.
Free and paid
UNLEASHED has a free tier and a paid tier. Anyone can subscribe for free and receive our writing by email. Readers who value the work and want to support it directly can choose the paid tier.
We like this model because it is clear and fair. Readers can try us for as long as they want before deciding whether to pay, and nobody is pushed into it. The publication describes a readership of hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and we are grateful to every one of them.
How the three fit together
We think of the website, the magazine and UNLEASHED as three different ways into the same body of work, each suited to a different kind of reading:
Some readers use only one of these. Others use all three. We do not expect anyone to follow everything, and we try to make sure each one is worth reading on its own.
Trade-offs
Running a publication on a platform we do not own has trade-offs. Substack makes publishing straightforward and connects us with its own community of readers, but it also means we work within its features and rules. We keep that in mind and try not to depend on any single channel for everything.
Even so, the value of a direct connection with readers has been clear to us. Email also makes conversation possible: readers can reply, suggest topics and tell us when they disagree. That kind of exchange is much harder to have through a feed.
Where to find us
If you would like to try UNLEASHED, you can subscribe for free at ancientoriginsunleashed.com. If you already read us on the website or in the magazine, thank you. UNLEASHED is simply another, more direct way to stay in touch.