How To Delete a Substack Post

Since it was founded in 2017, Substack has been one of the most popular platforms for journalists and creators to share their newsletters. 

Its no-nonsense, simple interface makes creating and distributing content very easy (though its growth features need work). 

Many people who have been writing online for a while (including me) have some Substack posts floating around from years ago that don't paint a great picture of who we are now or how we've grown. 

So, at some point, to clean our "Google-ability," many of us might want to delete some of those old Substack posts! 

This guide will walk you through every step to delete a Substack post and suggest some alternatives to deletion that you may not have considered. 

Key Takeaways

This article shares:

• Step-by-step instructions on how to delete a Substack post

• Things you should consider before deleting content

• Some alternatives to deletion (editing or archiving)

Why listen to me?

I’ve grown a Substack newsletter, The Modern Mythmaker, past 2000 subscribers. I’m in the process of cleaning it up and moving it to beehiiv. You can connect with me on LinkedIn here.

Substack Dashboard: How To Find and Delete Your Post

To delete a post, you need to locate it in your Substack dashboard. Here's how:

1. Log in to your Substack account.

2. Navigate to your dashboard. To the left of your profile icon in the top right corner, select "Dashboard.”

(All Screenshots From Author’s Substack)

3. Select “Posts.” Use the search bar or filter options to locate the post you want to delete.

4. Select the post you want to delete from the dropdown menu. Click on the post to open it.

5. Click on the three dots to the right of the post. Navigate down to the “Delete” option and click it.

6. Type the word “delete” into the pop-up menu. Hit the “Delete” button. Voila! You no longer have to look at that post!

Things To Consider Before Deleting a Post on Substack

Unless you’re furious with your past self and you’re deleting something that deserves to be deleted like a series of published love letters to your ex, you may want to slow down and think twice before hitting delete! There are a few things to consider, like: 

• Loss of Engagement: Deleting a post means losing any comments, likes, or shares that you earned when you posted it! It also means breaking any links to your Substack page if anyone shares the post on social media, so think carefully before you hit that button. 

• Content Backup: Make sure to backup your content in case you need it in the future. Just because you’re angry that you got dumped doesn’t mean that you should permanently delete all the letters. Consider putting the post into a Google or Word doc that you can pull up later. 

• Content Review: Maybe the post can be edited or re-purposed instead of permanently destroyed. Even if you don’t have the bandwidth now, it’s worth saving the post to edit it later. 

Alternatives To Deleting a Post on Substack

Deleting posts is extreme. If you've endured the slow, painstaking work of drafting and writing something, why would you turn around and strike it from the record forever? If you delete a post, you’ll lose all of the comments, likes, and shares that you worked so hard to earn! 

Here are a few great alternatives to deletion that can spruce up that old, embarrassing content: 

Edit

Editing a post is the best way to update or correct what's been written without losing the engagement that you worked so hard for! Here's how to edit a SubStack post:

1. Navigate to the post from the "Posts" section of your dashboard.

2. Click the three dots to the right and scroll down to "Edit Post."

3. Make your changes.

When you press “Edit Post,” you’ll be directed to a text editor. The Substack Text Editor is very straightforward and easy to use; but if you’re editing a post, the first thing you should do is copy/paste the existing text into Grammarly. This will help you correct any low-level grammar mistakes (avoid using their writing AI because it will absolutely make your copy worse). 

Once you’ve fixed the low-level stuff, follow this 25-step checklist for improving your copy from The Write Life. It will help you clean things up even further. 

Then, delete anything you find embarrassing from that old post and Voila! You have a shiny new piece of content. 

4. Save your changes by pressing “Update.”

Unpublish

You may also want to remove an old post from your feed without deleting it entirely. In that case, the "unpublish" option is here for you!

1. Open the post by clicking "Posts" in your dashboard.

2. Click the three dots and scroll down to “Unpublish.”

3. Click "Unpublish."

4. Confirm unpublishing. The post will move to your Drafts folder and will no longer be visible to subscribers.

Final Thoughts

It’s important to weigh the pros and cons before deleting any post. Being embarrassed by an old post or not wanting something out there to impact your personal brand is totally fair! But there might be some gold left in old posts that you hadn't considered. 

If you've plugged away on Substack for a long time and haven't grown (that's certainly my story), consider switching to beehiiv! We've worked hard to create the most growth-oriented email marketing platform on the planet. Both our Scale and Max plans offer 30-day, free trials so you can make the best decision for your business stress-free. 

We’ve made it easy to migrate your content from Substack to beehiiv without losing any of it. You can find that guide here. 

Happy editing! 

How To Delete a Substack Post: Frequently Asked Questions

Can Deleted Posts on Substack Be Recovered?

No. Once a post has been deleted, you’ll never be able to see it or edit it again. That’s why it is best practice to backup all of your posts in a separate location and consider refreshing rather than deleting old posts. 

How To Delete a Draft Post on Substack?

Deleting a draft is simple. Here’s how:

1.  Navigate to your Substack Dashboard again and click“Posts.”

2. In the nav bar up top, click“Drafts.”

3. Click the three dots to the right again and scroll down to “Delete.”

4. Confirm deletion.