Why Choose Ghost Over WordPress?

Recently, WordPress's commercial arm introduced a paid membership and newsletter feature. While self-hosted WordPress installations can incorporate similar features through various plugins (mostly paid), I opted for Ghost because it has memberships and newsletters built-in. Ghost can effectively replace services like Patreon and Substack while hosting my blog and other features I might want to develop.

Furthermore, the Ghost interface is exceptionally user-friendly (more on this shortly).

Is Ghost Costly?

Ghost(Pro) represents the commercial side of Ghost, akin to WordPress.com. Its pricing is subscriber-based. If I transferred the 18,000 subscribers from This Week In Writing to Ghost(Pro), it would cost around $150 per month, which is slightly lower than what would be charged on ConvertKit or MailChimp for the same audience size.

Like WordPress, Ghost offers a free self-hosted version. I utilize an Opalstack server at $150 per year, which provides sufficient RAM for running Ghost seamlessly. However, using Mailgun for newsletters incurs costs, charging about $1 for every 1,000 emails dispatched.

Self-hosting Ghost with Mailgun is pricier than using Substack but remains on the lower end compared to other email marketing platforms, plus it includes my entire website.

The most appealing aspect of Ghost, whether self-hosted or using Pro, is the absence of platform fees. Substack takes a 10% cut from every subscription fee, even if you migrate subscriptions away from their platform. Ghost, on the other hand, takes none; only Stripe receives a cut for credit card processing.

That 10% from Substack can add up quickly. While I understand that's how Substack covers its expenses, it's still a significant amount, especially when I can manage everything independently.

To celebrate the full launch of Ghost, I'm offering a "Subscribe Without Substack" 10% discount! Sign up before the end of July to claim it. If you're a current paying subscriber on Substack, reach out, and I'll assist you in transitioning your subscription with a personalized discount.

Subscribe Without Substack

Is Ghost User-Friendly?

Once Ghost is installed and configured, it is mostly straightforward to navigate. I'm continually impressed with Ghost's backend; it's sleek, modern, and impressively fast. The editor is quite similar to Medium, making it user-friendly and focused.

However, the update process isn't as simple. Unlike WordPress, Ghost doesn't have an integrated admin update system—there's no "one-click upgrade" feature. Instead, all updates and server backups require SSH command line access.

Opening a new SSH terminal every time Ghost updates (which occurs nearly weekly) can be cumbersome. To simplify, I created a Siri Shortcut for a one-click experience. While I'm comfortable with this, the need for SSH updates alone might lead some to consider Ghost(Pro).

If the idea of SSH updates seems daunting, you'll likely find the installation process even more challenging. Setting up Ghost necessitates significant web server and coding knowledge, including modifying configuration files and executing terminal commands. Fortunately, Opalstack provides a comprehensive guide, but installation isn't for the faint-hearted.

Most server settings require adjustments to configuration files. Want to alter the permalink structure? That's a config file. Looking to create redirects? Another config file. Want to correctly set the content upload directory to prevent deletion during updates? Yet another config file.

Mailgun setup can also be tricky. However, once operational, it can be largely forgotten. Oddly, you must input email API codes in both a Ghost configuration file and in the newsletter admin settings. This oversight caused me confusion for two weeks until I resolved it.

What's Lacking in Ghost?

Ghost isn't without its flaws. Notably, it lacks an email sharing button, an essential feature for any email newsletter. While I can create a mailto link, there's no straightforward block for quick integration into each post.

Ghost also doesn't include email workflows or automation sequences. For instance, there's no automatic welcome email for new subscribers. While I can work around this using Zapier, having these features natively would be beneficial.

Email bounce reporting is absent in Ghost. I must check Mailgun to monitor these. Allegedly, after several failed delivery attempts, Mailgun reports to Ghost, leading to subscription purges. While this is acceptable, it would be more convenient to filter bounced addresses directly within the Ghost admin.

Strangely, Ghost also lacks a native contact form builder. This seems odd, given that the email service is integrated. As a workaround, I resorted to traditional HTML with JavaScript for my contact form.

How to Utilize Ghost as Your Content Hub?

My website has become the central location for all my published works. I adhere to the POSE method: publish once and syndicate everywhere. By following this, my site serves as the primary repository for my content. If I wanted to transition entirely away from Substack, Medium, or Patreon (which I particularly want to), my website can facilitate that.

I compose everything in iA Writer and export it to Ghost. After that, I enhance the posts with images and other elements before scheduling them for publication. Thanks to Zapier and its APIs, the draft automatically appears on Medium, ready for scheduling. Zapier establishes canonical links, adds it as a draft to The Writing Cooperative, and more. It's a fantastic tool!

Conversely, Substack lacks an API, making it cumbersome as I have to manually copy and paste the article into their editor. This method is still significantly quicker than the pre-Ghost era when I had to create drafts across multiple platforms simultaneously.

I undertake this effort to retain ownership of my content on my self-hosted Ghost while leveraging Medium and Substack’s audience engagement. This strategy allows me to enjoy the benefits of all three platforms. To future-proof my work and enhance SEO for my website, I always link back to the version on my site. If any platform fails, my content remains intact.

I'm also shifting to make my website the primary destination for subscriptions rather than Substack. This not only eliminates the 10% fee but also fosters a direct connection with my audience. However, I’m not eliminating Substack entirely, as I can still take advantage of their audience-building features while designating my site as the main hub.

Speaking of that 10% cut from Substack, they continue to take it even if you transfer subscriptions away from their platform, which seems somewhat questionable. Let me remind you again about the "Subscribe Without Substack" promotion!

Subscribe Without Substack

Was the Time and Effort Justified?

I won’t sugarcoat it; setting up Ghost involved considerable work.

Exporting from WordPress and importing into Ghost went relatively smoothly, except for the images. Ultimately, I had to manually correct each image file in every post, which was quite tedious. To be fair, this issue arose because of a configuration error during installation that resulted in the content folder being deleted after each update. Lesson learned.

So yes, establishing Ghost was a significant challenge, but it was absolutely worth the effort and frustration. Ghost provides the essential framework for my writing hub, which is crucial to me.

How Will You Expand the Hub?

I might consider transferring Writing Cooperative contributor requests from Flodesk to my website. This will require additional configuration and potentially automated workflows (which Ghost currently lacks), but it’s worth considering for the future. If successful, I could cancel my Flodesk subscription and save $208 annually.

Are You Leaving Medium and Substack?

Medium isn't going anywhere. I love the platform and will continue to cross-post and support it as long as it remains operational (unless it gets acquired by a racist billionaire and devolves into a hub for hate speech, which I'm not on board with).

Substack will remain for now. I appreciate the audience communication and engagement tools it offers. I genuinely enjoy responding to comments weekly and connecting with my readers, so that will stay.

However, I'm now actively encouraging my supporters to sign up on my website rather than Substack (ahem, discount alert). This is all about ensuring that unforeseen platform changes don't complicate things in the future. It's part of my broader plan to turn my website back into the central hub for my writing, or rather, restore it to its former glory before the rise of various platforms.

Should I Set Up a Ghost Site Too?

That's a tough question. Due to the technical challenges, self-hosting Ghost isn't suitable for everyone. There's the option of Ghost(Pro), which I tested briefly before self-installation. It seemed stable and straightforward for getting started. If you opt for Ghost(Pro), they can assist in migrating your content from Substack, WordPress, or other platforms.

Regardless of whether you choose to set up Ghost, I believe it's crucial for every creator to maintain a fully functional backup of their content. The recent issues with Twitter and Reddit demonstrate the necessity of having your work reside in a space you control entirely.

The next era of the internet is about decentralization, and I wholeheartedly support this shift. I miss the days of creative, personalized websites and niche communities. My website was once that space, and with these steps, it's reclaiming its roots.

I say bring back RSS feeds, blogrolls, and GIFs! Platforms are faltering. Instead of relying on them for everything, let's leverage them to amplify our existing efforts.

This article was initially published on my website.