Newsletter platform Substack is introducing a feature that lets writers send videos to subscribers via Chat, the company's private community feature, the company announced on Wednesday. The rollout of video in Chat comes two months after the newsletter platform introduced video to Notes, an X/Twitter copycat feature that lets users share short-form content.
Substack continues to add features that closely compete with social media platforms, and the addition of video to chat is no exception, giving newsletter creators a new way to communicate directly with their loyal followers and share exclusive news and previews with their community.
The company launched chat earlier this year to allow users to talk more casually with their subscribers, and last month, Substack added the ability to make entire chats or specific threads available to paid subscribers.
To share a video on Substack Chat, writers can open a new chat and click on the plus icon in the bottom left corner. After selecting “Video,” they can upload media from their gallery or record a video with their phone's camera. However, videos are limited to a maximum length of five minutes.
Substack also offers the option to add captions, make videos available to a paying member base, and email subscribers about your videos. Subscribers will also receive push notifications to their mobile devices. This feature could broaden Substack's appeal beyond creators who write and publish to other types of creators.
Additionally, writers who allow subscribers to start their own chat threads will now be able to share their own videos as well, and the company said it will soon be adding a feature that lets subscribers send video replies.