How to use Santoram

1. What is Santoram?

Santoram is a home for independent newsletters across media, technology, and ideas. Unlike algorithmic feeds, the relationship between writer and reader is direct: you choose the newsletters you want to follow, and new posts appear in your feed and inbox.

The platform is reader-first. Discovery, the reading experience, and a writer's payout are all designed around the premise that good writing should find — and keep — its audience.

2. Accounts and roles

You sign up with an email address and password, or with Google. Every account starts as a reader. You can opt in to the creator role at any time from your dashboard — there is no waitlist or application.

• Reader: subscribe, read, bookmark, and manage paid plans.
• Creator: everything a reader can do, plus the studio for drafting, publishing, and tracking earnings.
• Admin: platform staff who handle moderation, categories, and trust & safety.

3. Discovering newsletters

The Explore page lists every published newsletter, browsable by category and tag. Each newsletter has its own page with the latest posts and a one-click subscribe button.

Reading without an account

You can read any published post without signing in. To subscribe, bookmark, or save your reading history, you'll need a free account.

4. Subscribing and reading

Tap Subscribe on any newsletter to add it to your feed. New posts appear in My Feed the moment they are published. Unsubscribe at any time from the same button.

5. Bookmarks and history

Tap the bookmark icon on any post to save it to your private library. Your reading history is recorded automatically so you can pick up where you left off.

6. Paid plans and billing

Most reading on Santoram is free. Some creators offer paid plans through Santoram subscriptions. Manage your plan, payment method, and invoices from Account → Billing. Payments are processed through Stripe; Santoram never stores your card details.

7. Becoming a creator

From your dashboard, switch on creator mode. This unlocks the Creator Studio, where you can draft, publish, and manage your newsletters. You keep ownership of everything you write and can export your content at any time.

8. Drafting and publishing

• Open Creator Studio to start a new post.
• Add a title, excerpt, cover image, category, and tags.
• Save as a draft as often as you like. When you publish, the post is sent to your subscribers and appears on your newsletter page.
• Posts pass through automated content moderation. If a post needs a closer look, an admin reviews it before it goes live.

9. Audience and campaigns

In the studio you can see your subscribers, build audience segments, and send email campaigns to a segment or your full list. Open and click rates are tracked per campaign.

10. Earnings and referrals

When a reader subscribes to a paid plan, a share of the revenue is credited to you and visible in Creator → Earnings. New creators start on a Starter split (90% to the creator) and graduate as the audience grows.

Each creator also has a unique referral code. Readers who sign up through your link are attributed to you, and a share of any plan revenue they generate is added to your earnings.

11. Privacy, cookies and consent

On your first visit, Santoram asks for your cookie preference. Essential cookies always run; analytics and marketing scripts only load if you accept. If you reject or later change your mind, those scripts are removed and common tracker cookies are cleared.

When you are signed in, your choice is also stored against your account so it follows you across devices. The full policy is in Privacy.

12. Reporting and moderation

Every post has a Report action. Reports go to the moderation team along with the automated review that runs at publish time. Conduct expectations are described in the Acceptable Use Policy.

13. Getting help

For most questions, the in-app chat assistant in the bottom corner can answer immediately. For account, billing, or trust & safety issues, reach out through the About page.