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What's New, Where We're Going And How To Access Your Paid Content

Welcome to www.amugofinsights.org! This will be our new home for your beloved weekly dispatch of ideas, tips and exercises to help you rediscover the pleasure of reading. And only excerpts and selected essays will appear on Substack.

Reaching this point wasn't easy, but I believe it's worth taking the leap so that this newsletter can keep its original promise.

Where we started and where we are now

Just as a quick recap: A Mug of Insights was founded back in February 2023 on Substack, and what started as a journal of ideas when I was in graduate school quickly gathered 20,000+ curious readers. Then, things got serious, and I started writing a weekly column in 2024. Two years later, over 160 mugs of insights were dispatched, and now writing for you has become an indispensable part of my work.

But around March of 2025, I started to get this uncomfortable feeling that Substack might be headed in the wrong direction. What originally drew me to the platform was its simplicity. I could write something, email it to my readers, and deliver value without friction. Then, the platform got into trouble over content moderation, and some of my favourite writers, like Meg Conley and Casey Newton, left the platform because of it.

Why I decided to leave Substack

This was the first time that I got the sense that, though the company's vision is somewhat noble (for the moment), my writing still exists under a platform whose rules might change overnight without permission.

This happens on YouTube (where I've created content for over 8 years), where a simple algorithm change could impact viewership, content delivery and my ability to make a living teaching on the internet. But the nature of the two platforms is fundamentally different: one makes it clear that it's a video-sharing social media, whereas Substack promised an environment optimised for reading when they prompted writers to sign up.

Still, I decided to put my scepticism aside at the time because I believed in Substack's overall direction: an engine for culture optimised for reading. But then, a few recent changes started to worry me.

I don't know what happened between April 2023 and now, but Substack seemed to have doubled down on its efforts on Substack Notes. I started seeing accounts go 'viral' from one note, and lengthy essays were gradually replaced by growth-hacking tips on my feed. Just to be clear, I've no problem with a network effect or the Notes function, but if it turns its back on the promise of 'optimising Substack for Reading' just to stimulate users' growth, then we might have a problem here. And the next change was the nail in the coffin for me.

In March 2024, Substack introduced reels to its feed. This officially marked the transition from a reader/writer-focused platform to another social media platform. And just from my end, my main page was indeed filled with noise instead of thoughtful newsletters I'm subscribed to. This bothered me a lot, and the founders' response was simply: if you don't like it, just ignore it. This confirmed my suspicion: writers actually have no say in what gets written into the rules of running the platform.

Maybe it's just a matter of personal preference, but I fear that one day, I'd have to modify my content to shorter, punchier pieces just to emerge from the noise. And this trend towards boosting users' growth instead of a pleasant reading experience goes directly against A Mug of Insights' mission to provide a distraction-free environment to deliver value.

Plus, from a writer's point of view, we take a 10% cut from our paid contributions (thank you for your support!) to fund the platform. This means that I have to, on some level, still believe in where the ship is headed. It all comes down to what kind of platform am I willing to fund? And unfortunately, just for me, Substack is no longer on that list.

The start of an independent publishing dream

I don't like to dwell on the negatives, so let's focus on where we're going instead.

From now on, with the help of an open-sourced engine, Ghost.org, A Mug of Insights can finally re-align with its original purpose: long-form weekly letters that will recultivate your love for learning and reading. It came at a big up-front investment of time and money, but I believe that this is the right move.

See, I've always had this dream of running a publication independently so that free subscribers know exactly what they're signing up for, while paid subscribers know that they're not paying for features they didn't ask for. In the future, I can even envision a limited print edition packed full of your favourite letters, or a team of talented contributors who can super-charge the value of our work here.

However, all this must come from a place of content ownership without a platform dictating the terms of engagement. So, if you're on board, let's get started.

How do I log in if I was a subscriber from Substack?

Logging in will enable you to leave comments, feedback and interact with other readers of this publication. All you have to do is:

1: Head to www.amugofinsights.org

2: Click the Sign In button in the navigation bar

3: Then this window will pop up. Simply enter the email address you used to sign up for the newsletter.

4: Now you'll get a notification for you to check your email.

5: You'll get a link in your email that'll take you straight back to the site.

6: Then, this icon should appear in the bottom right corner of the site.

7: Click it, and you'll see your subscription status (paid or free), email, and if you have any problems, you can click the contact support button.

How do I get access to paid content?

If you are a paid subscriber from Substack, you'll get instant access to all your benefits after you've logged into the site. The benefits are identical to the original newsletter, so you'll get exactly what you've paid for on Substack.

What if I have an annual subscription? Will I lose my subscription?

No. All your previous footprints and expiry dates have been transferred over to the new site, so simply sit back and enjoy.

How do I cancel a paid subscription?

Ghost makes it super easy to cancel a subscription, unlike Substack's gauntlet run. Simply log in, and you'll see this window here and click 'change' next to your subscription tier. Then, below the description of your current plan, you can click the 'cancel subscription' button.

What if I'm a founding member?

We're lucky enough to have two founding members for this newsletter, and all founding tier members will soon receive lifetime access to this newsletter as a note of gratitude.

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And, that's it! Let me know if you have any more questions and if you're facing any problems with this new site, simply email support@amugofinsights.org, and we'll sort it out right away!

Thank you for your generous support over the years.

Until next week

Robin