yeah, of course the thing these days is people's attention is divided between so many things. 12 years ago it is was basically blogs and that was it, with youtube still being neiche.

still, nice that there is still a place for people that like reading and written blog content 

stack_harder

BooksAndArticles

How to Substack

StillStackinAfterAllTheseYears

I think it's harder to get traction these days than it used to be (you need to sell yourself harder), but I know a bunch of folks who have created substacks (or used Patreon/Wordpress's free newsletter options) just as a way to recreate blogging and keep their friends updated. As you note, it costs nothing.