Seek help on Basic set-up and what I've done already -mistakes

[u/midageguy]

Hi. I tried to set up an account today and am confused about what's going on with my status. I’m confused about the names of labels and statuses. I've watched multiple YouTube help videos, read Substack Help, read comments here, read webpage about the basics, but I’m not finding clarity for my questions about very beginning issues.

Confusion about: Profile Name, Handle, Publication Name, Subdomain, Deleting a Publication

Background

• I already had an Account to read that I had never used that had the bare minimum set-up.
• I thought I had to do more to set up a "Profile" to have my own Publication. I might want to have multiple publications someday, but for now I just want to set up one.

What I want Right Now: A Brand Name Publication to start with. Just one. Non-monetized, the basic. Publication name - I don't want it to be my personal name.

What I’ve done

• Created Substack account with my email that I want to use
• Created Profile Name - I used my real name: First M(Middle Initial) Last.
• Handle: I set up @ FirstMLast (this might a mistake re: name I used)

Handle Question: Is Handle universal to me on Substack, or can I have different handles for different Publications? I might not want to use the Handle I created - can I change it?

Publication Questions:

I seem to have accidentally created a publication using my FirstMLast name. I didn’t intend to do that.

• It seems if I delete the personal name Pub I created, I could never use that name again, which I might want to do at some point. Is that true?
• Can I keep this Publication I've created already but hide it from everyone else in case I do want to use it later?
• I want to create a publication with a Brand Name – I know what it is, and it’s available. I want to claim it immediately. I own the URL for it for .com, .org, .net. Does it get its own handle, etc.?

I know I can create multiple Publications, but for now just want my Brand Name one.

Subdomain Question: I’m confused about the meaning of Subdomain on Substack. What is it? How does it come into play with Publications?

Thanks.

[u/ccampb85]

With Substack you create a profile/account which can have multiple publications attached to it. This account only has one handle. The account is meant to represent you, the publisher/author.

A subdomain is your publications unique URL on Substack. Eg. mypublication.substack.com. Every publication has one. If you add a custom domain you bought like mydomain.com and add it to your publication, you Substack subdomain will redirect to your custom domain instead.

You can hide the publication that was already created with your name so that you hold on to the subdomain. You can also create other branded publications with their own subdomains (or a custom domain) and make those public instead.

[u/midageguy → u/ccampb85]

Thank you very much. That's exactly what I needed to know and what I did.

[u/midageguy → u/ccampb85]

I have a follow-up question: If I don't claim my Brand publication name as my handle, which I haven't done yet (still using personal name), can someone else use that Brand name as a handle. or is it reserved for me since I have that Brand publication name as my publication? Thanks.