Help me decide to (or not to) move to Substack

@Thomas Umstattd Jr. and friends. I’m considering moving my newsletter to Substack. I need help considering one factor.

Pros:

• free to me (compared to my current expensive email provider)

• toss my hat in the community of writers on Substack

• potentially helps new readers find me

Cons:

• My newsletter will no longer be exclusive to my subscribers only.…at least for now. I don’t want to charge my subscribers to get what they are already getting from me.

• No design flexibility. (This is sad since I’ve finally gotten my newsletter format and design to a place I’m satisfied with.)

• I’ll only get to send one welcome email.

Help. I don’t know if the exclusivity of my newsletter matters to anyone but me. By exclusivity I mean that I always include a personal note, something I don’t share on my blog/website. My newsletter is more personal and I think that matters. But maybe it doesn’t. How can I know? (I hear Thomas’ voice in my head: Ask them. Take a poll.)

Also, if exclusivity doesn’t matter, then should I change the content and tone of my newsletter? After everything that Thomas has taught me, my gut says no, keep it personal. That feels weird to me when I consider the newsletter going on Substack. Am I misunderstanding things about Substack?