How To Turn A Medium Story Into A Substack Newsletter

So you want to repurpose your content from Medium to Substack?

This decision alone could help you rack up 100s (if not 1000s) of extra views each month.

You’ve spent hours crafting thoughtful stories on Medium.

They’re good—maybe even great.

But now they sit there, seen by a fraction of the audience they deserve.

Writers are building devoted audiences and generating serious income. And you’re wondering: “Could my Medium content work there too?”

The truth is, your brilliant ideas shouldn’t be trapped on a single platform. But simply copying and pasting won’t cut it either.

Why you should repurpose from Medium to Substack

Most content creators make a critical mistake: they create something once, publish it once, and move on to the next thing.

This is exhausting and inefficient.

You don’t really know what kind of content is going to resonate better on which platform until you try. What barely gets noticed on Medium might explode on Substack, or vice versa.

Back in 2020, I created YouTube videos about note-taking that didn’t gain much traction.

So what did I do?

Well, I decided to repurpose those ideas into Medium articles (funny, right?)

That simple decision to repurpose changed everything—I launched a profitable 5-figure course and added 3,000 email subscribers to my list in just 12 weeks.

This difference is due to various factors such as the audience, the algorithm, the timing, and the format.

The same core content can perform dramatically differently across platforms.

The main differences between Medium and Substack

Medium is primarily a content discovery platform where readers browse and algorithms surface relevant articles.

Success often depends on publications, curation (boost), and trending topics. It’s a marketplace of ideas where you compete for attention.

Substack, however, is fundamentally an email newsletter platform. It’s built for direct relationships with subscribers who’ve actively chosen to hear from you. The focus is on nurturing a loyal audience rather than catching viral moments.

Why you should post on Substack

Substack offers several distinct advantages:

1. Direct relationship with readers (no algorithm between you and them)

2. Greater monetization potential through paid subscriptions

3. Higher engagement rates from devoted subscribers

4. You own your audience list completely

5. Less competition than Medium’s saturated marketplace

What makes good Substack content

Substack thrives on personality and consistency. Unlike Medium’s often more formal, self-contained articles, Substack rewards:

Personal voice and perspective
Serialized content that builds over time
Behind-the-scenes insights and vulnerability
Strong opinions that create devoted followers
Regular publication schedules

For example, while a Medium article might be titled “10 Evidence-Based Productivity Techniques,” a Substack version might be “Why I abandoned GTD after 10 years (and what I’m doing instead).”

The best Substack writers make readers feel they’re getting exclusive access to the writer’s thought process, not just their conclusions.

Build Your Swipe File Of Winning Substack Content

The best way to create content for Substack is to find newsletters that are already performing well. Each platform has its own unwritten rules, so you need specific examples to understand what to extract and rewrite.

PRO TIP: Focus on creators who are new to Substack but getting substantial traction. Don’t model the established gurus—they can succeed with approaches that might fail for smaller accounts because of their existing audience and reputation.

This requires some upfront work, but it will be well worth it. Study how these successful newcomers:

Structure their subject lines
Format their newsletters
Balance personal stories with useful content
Make calls to action to their subscribers

Download my free templates file of winning Substack content here.

Set up an automation to turn Medium stories to Substack newsletters

Okay, so now that you have these laid out…

You could either do this manually like a monkey.

Hire a VA that you need to train for weeks on Fiverr…

Or (my favorite way):

You could use AI and automation tools to make this process as smooth as butter.

Here’s an example:

As soon as you publish on Medium, an automation can transform it into a Substack-ready newsletter. The key is setting up the right tools and prompts.

You can start creating automations that utilize specific prompts to save your time. Tools like n8n, Make (formerly Integromat), or Zapier can help you build these workflows.

A simple workflow might look like this:

1. Medium post is published

2. Zapier detects the new post

3. AI tool (like ChatGPT API) reformats content with this prompt:

“Transform this Medium article into a conversational Substack newsletter. Add a personal introduction, break up paragraphs for easier reading, and end with a question to encourage replies.”

4. Zapier sends the reformatted content to Substack as a draft

5. You review, make any final tweaks, and schedule

This saves hours of manual reformatting while ensuring your content fits Substack’s more intimate style.

Stop leaving money and audience growth on the table. Your ideas deserve to live on multiple platforms, reaching different readers in different ways.