Own the Words or Rent the Audience?

Website, Blog, or Substack: What Is Better for Writers in Terms of Intellectual Property?

For writers, thinkers, and independent creators, choosing where to publish is no longer just a distribution decision. It is an intellectual property decision.

As platforms evolve and monetisation options expand, the question becomes sharper: where do you actually own your work, and where are you merely licensing it out? Understanding the IP implications of publishing on your own website versus third party platforms such as blogs hosted elsewhere or Substack is essential for anyone building long term value from their writing.

Why Intellectual Property Matters for Writers

Your writing is an asset. It can be monetised directly through subscriptions, indirectly through consulting and speaking, or strategically through reputation and influence. Intellectual property determines who controls that asset, how it can be reused, and how defensible it is over time.

Many writers prioritise audience growth first and ownership later. This often leads to short term visibility at the expense of long term leverage.

Publishing on Your Own Website

From an IP perspective, your own website offers the strongest position.

When you publish on a self owned website, you retain full ownership of your content by default. You control how it is distributed, whether it can be republished, how it is monetised, and how it is archived. There are no platform level licences beyond standard hosting and technical services.

This model is particularly powerful if your writing supports a broader ecosystem such as advisory work, products, courses, or proprietary frameworks. Your content becomes a durable asset rather than a rented one.

The trade off is distribution. You must invest in SEO, email lists, and audience building yourself. Ownership is high, but reach must be earned.

Publishing on Third Party Blogs

Publishing on third party blogs, including platforms such as Medium or industry publications, usually involves shared control.

In most cases, you retain copyright, but you grant the platform a broad licence to host, distribute, and sometimes monetise your work. These licences are often perpetual and non exclusive, meaning you still own the work, but control is diluted.

This approach can be useful for exposure and credibility, especially early in a writing career. However, the platform ultimately controls visibility, discoverability, and editorial context.

Your IP remains yours, but it lives inside someone else’s business model.

Publishing on Substack

Substack sits between ownership and convenience.

Writers retain copyright to their content on Substack, but grant the platform a licence to host, distribute, and promote that content within its ecosystem. Your audience relationship, subscriptions, and discoverability are deeply tied to the platform’s infrastructure.

This creates speed and monetisation advantages, but also concentration risk. If platform policies change, algorithms shift, or fees increase, your business is exposed.

You own the content, but you do not fully own the environment in which it lives.

The Real Question: Content Ownership vs Audience Ownership

The most important distinction is not legal ownership of text, but control of the audience relationship.

On your own website, you control the archive, the mailing list, and the long term accessibility of your work. On platforms, you often trade some of that control for distribution, tooling, and network effects.

This is why many experienced writers adopt a hybrid strategy.

A Strategic Publishing Approach

A defensible approach for serious writers is to treat your website as the canonical home of your IP, while using platforms like Substack or third party blogs as distribution and discovery channels.

Long form, foundational thinking lives on your site. Platform posts drive reach, conversation, and subscribers back to assets you control.

This ensures that your most valuable work compounds under your ownership, while still benefiting from external visibility.

Final Thoughts

If you care about building a writing practice that has long term value, the safest answer is simple.

Own your core intellectual property. Use platforms deliberately. Never confuse reach with ownership.

In the digital economy, the writers who win are not just the ones who publish consistently, but the ones who understand where their words live, and who truly controls them.