What Substack + PingBell does together
Substack doesn’t expose a public webhook API, but Zapier has “New Subscriber” and “New Paid Subscriber” triggers that work reliably. PingBell broadcasts each event.
Use cases
- Substack writers building audience in public
- Paid newsletters tracking subscription MRR
- Investigative journalists celebrating paid-reader milestones
- Authors and commentators tracking audience growth on-camera
- Substack-network bundle operators aggregating across pubs
Setup
- Zap: Trigger = “New Subscriber” in Substack.
- Action = Webhooks by Zapier POST to PingBell.
- Map fields.
- PingBell: configure.
- Pair apps.
Why PingBell beats the alternatives for Substack
Substack’s own dashboard is for the author. For writers who want to broadcast audience growth (on video, livestream, or a TV at a writing retreat), PingBell turns the number into content.
FAQ
Native API?
Not public. Zapier is the path.
Polling speed?
Zapier polls every 1-15 minutes depending on plan.
Paid vs. free subscribers?
Separate triggers; separate counters.
Multi-publication support?
Yes. Connect each pub.
Unsubscribes?
Zapier doesn’t expose unsubscribe triggers reliably. Track net growth over time.