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I occasionally put blog posts on my Substack subscription. However, for the past few months I have been confused by how it works. I have been discovering how useful AI is for explaining things. Gemini is Google’s baby and I posed this problem to it and asked it to give me advice. I’m happy to advertise both Gemini and Substack. The latter might be helpful in my campaign for Congress:

My carefully edited Question to Gemini in hopes of getting the best reply:

I am Harry Welty. I seem to have two locations on Substack and I am getting them confused. One is “A snowman speaks” the other is simply my name Harry Welty. I’m not sure which one it the location random substack viewers and visitors would encounter my submissions. Would you help give me advice about how to have a single location where most people visiting Substack will be able to read what I submit? Most of what I submit is from either my Duluth Reader column or my blog www.lincolndemocrat.com

Gemini’s overly friendly reply starting with recalling a recent conversation:

Hello Harry! It’s good to see you again. I recall you mentioned being a “bashful 14-year-old” while your father was the enthusiastic dancer—it seems you’ve certainly found your voice since then!

It’s a common point of confusion on Substack: you likely have one Profile (Harry Welty) and one Publication (A snowman speaks). On Substack, “Harry Welty” is the person, and “A snowman speaks” is the “magazine” or “newspaper” you are publishing.

To ensure visitors find everything in one place, here is the best way to streamline your presence:
1. Consolidate into One Publication
Substack does not have a “merge” button, but you can consolidate them. If you have subscribers or posts on both, pick the one you want to be your “forever home” (likely the one with more subscribers).
• Export/Import: You can export your subscriber list from the “extra” location and import them into the main one.
• Redirects: If you decide to move everything to a new URL, Substack allows you to change your subdomain without breaking links exactly once. This is helpful if you want your URL to be harrywelty.substack.com instead of asnowmanspeaks.substack.com.

2. Match Your Profile to Your Publication
Random visitors often find writers through Substack Notes or comments. To make sure they go to the right place:
• Go to your Profile Settings.
• Look for the Primary Publication drop-down menu.
• Select the publication you want to promote (e.g., “A snowman speaks”). This ensures that whenever someone clicks your name, they are taken directly to your latest work from the Duluth Reader or your blog.

3. Use “Sections” for Organization
Since you submit from two distinct sources (the Duluth Reader and your blog), you can use Sections. This keeps everything under one URL while allowing readers to see:
• Tab A: Duluth Reader Columns
• Tab B: Lincoln Democrat Blog Posts

Summary of the “Single Location” Setup
Goal Action
URL Branding Use the “Change Subdomain” tool in Settings to choose a name like harrywelty.substack.com.
Consistency Set your Primary Publication in your profile so “Harry Welty” always links to your posts.
Organization Create Sections for “Duluth Reader” and “Lincoln Democrat” so they appear as tabs on your homepage.
Export to Sheets
By doing this, a visitor will land on one professional-looking page where all your history—from Duluth to Ark City and beyond—is easily accessible.
Would you like me to walk you through the specific steps to create those “Sections” for your different columns?

I printed out the instructions. I can always go back to this conversation and as it to “walk me through the specific steps.”

About the author

Harry is a ferociously good natured eccentric in Duluth Minnesota who detests traitors dressed up as Uncle Sam. You can find somewhat better edited writings of his at the Duluth Reader "contributors." page. The URL is:

https://duluthreader.com/contributors/h/84/284-harry-welty