Moving from Substack to Mujaz without losing your readers

Moving platforms is simpler than it looks, but it needs an order. The most valuable thing your newsletter has is its list of readers, and that moves over whole, in one file. Everything else — the name, the look, the address your emails come from — you set up once on Mujaz before your first issue.

This guide walks through the whole move in order: when to move, how to export and import your list, what to set up before you send, and how to tell your readers. For the click-by-click steps, each section links to the matching help article.

Before you start: what moves and what stays

• Comes with you: your subscriber list, with addresses and names, in a single CSV file.
• Stays on Substack: your past issues. Your Mujaz archive starts with the first issue you send from Mujaz. If the old archive matters to you, ask support about moving it — the Mujaz team moves lists and archives from other platforms on request when it can.
• Paid subscriptions: Mujaz does not handle reader payments. If you have paying subscribers on Substack, decide what you will do with them before you move, and tell them clearly.

Pick the right moment

The best time to move is between two issues — not in the middle of a series, and not the day before an important one. Give yourself at least a week: new Mujaz accounts start with limits that protect sending reputation, and you will want time to set up your page and sender calmly.

Also note that a send much larger than any before — over 2,000 people and more than three times your biggest send — is held for a quick review that takes a few hours. Don’t plan your first issue so tightly that this wait would hurt. Details in Why a send was held or refused.

Export your list from Substack

In your Substack publication’s settings, look for the option to export your subscribers, and download the file as a CSV. Keep a copy somewhere safe: it is your whole readership.

You don’t need to edit the file. Mujaz detects the columns by itself; all it needs is an email column, plus names if there are any. If you open it in Excel to look it over, save it again as CSV — Excel files are not accepted directly.

Import the list into Mujaz

We suggest importing into a new list with a clear name, such as: Substack readers. That way you will always know who came with you, and you can see how they do separately from new readers.

1. 1Open Subscribers, go to the “Subscriber Lists” tab and press “Create List”.
2. 2Type the list’s name, choose the “Upload CSV” tab and upload the file. The limit is 10 MB and 50,000 rows per file.
3. 3Read the summary: how many were imported, how many already existed, how many were skipped. Press “View skipped” to see the reason for each row.

Don’t worry about skipped rows. Mujaz deliberately leaves out anyone who unsubscribed, bounced or marked your emails as spam, as well as invalid addresses. That protects your sending reputation and respects the people who chose to leave.

Before importing, check that your plan has room for your list: the Free plan, for example, holds 500 subscribers, and an import that doesn’t fully fit is cut to fit. Compare plans on the pricing page.

Mujaz only accepts lists of people who asked to hear from you, and a Substack list you built from your own readers usually meets that rule. If you ever see a message saying the list looks purchased or scraped, contact support for a review.

Set up your new home before the first issue

Before your readers arrive, get everything they will see ready. Four things are enough:

• Brand: in Brand, type your newsletter’s name — the name readers see in their inbox — and its description, without which the tab won’t save. Upload your logo as a PNG or JPG, and choose “Your link”: your page’s address, mujaz.io/@handle.
• Public page: in Public Page, arrange the banner, the description and the search-engine title. This page is the link that replaces your Substack link everywhere.
• Sender: from day one your newsletter sends from your Mujaz address, [email protected], with nothing to set up. From the Growth plan up you can send from your own address or domain, in Domain & Email.
• Look: in Newsletter Style, choose the headline and body fonts and the email colours. These settings apply to every issue.

Keep the sender name your readers knew on Substack: people recognise a name before an address. And because the address itself has changed, ask them in your first issue to add it to their contacts. More in sender name and address.

Set up your welcome email too, in Automation. It goes to people who join from now on, not to your imported list, so switch it on before you share your new link. See the welcome emails guide.

Tell your readers

Nobody likes an email from an address they don’t recognise. So tell your readers twice: once from Substack, and once from Mujaz.

1. 1Publish a short last post on Substack: say you are moving, when the first issue from the new home will arrive, under what name, and link to your new page.
2. 2Send yourself a test of your first Mujaz issue and check the title, the featured image and the links. See send a test email.
3. 3Open your first Mujaz issue with a short paragraph explaining the move, and remind readers they can unsubscribe in one click if they wish.
4. 4Then stop publishing and sending from Substack, so no reader gets the same issue twice.

Update your links

Everywhere that pointed to Substack should now point to your page, mujaz.io/@handle. Start with the places readers actually come from:

• The bio on your social accounts, and your email signature.
• Your own website: add your page link or, better, an embedded sign-up form that adds readers straight to your list. See the sign-up form.
• Older articles and material that mention your newsletter.

As long as your public page is on, your posts can also appear in Discover, Mujaz’s directory of Arabic newsletters, after an automatic content review. For more ways to grow after the move, read the grow your list guide.