How to opt in to (or out of) the audio version

Hi Folks,

What follows is a sparklingly clear set of instructions for opting in to the audio version of Letters from an American (and yes, I’m being flippant. It always seems to me the tech stuff is easy… but only once you figure it out.)

It turns out that you cannot use the Substack app to adjust your settings so that you can receive the audio version of the letters automatically. The instructions I sent around before should have made clear that you have to use the browser version of Substack to make ANY changes to your settings.  

Substack has set the default setting so that no one who was signed up for the written letters before I started recording them will automatically receive the AUDIO letters. So if you don’t want the audio version, you can ignore the information below.*

For anyone who does want the audio to be sent automatically, you should make these changes from your browser: 

• Find the link to the Settings page by clicking on your subscriber name at the upper right hand corner of the Substack home page

• Scroll down to “Settings.” 

• On the Setting page, scroll down to click on your subscription to Letters from an American 

• Scroll to “Manage your subscription.” 

• Find the on/off button next to “Receive email for new podcast episodes.” It will be in the “off” position

• Switch the audio version ON. 

After this change you will continue to get the written letters AND you will get an ADDITIONAL EMAIL, the next day, with a link to the audio file.

Nothing else about your subscription will change if you change these settings. 

The audio versions are also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Hope this helps. We’ll keep working to make this easier….

H. 

* PLEASE NOTE: If you subscribed to Letters from an American after February 22, 2024, the instructions are different:

New subscribers will automatically receive the audio letters. You can opt out by following the directions above through the next to last step. Your final step will be to switch the audio version to “OFF.”