Substack newsletter QR codes for writers — static PNG, no subscription
Newsletter writers on Substack need readers to subscribe from print — a QR on a book jacket, conference handout, or zine back cover turns a physical moment into an email signup. Hosted QR SaaS charges ~$49/month for encoding a static URL; you can generate the same PNG locally for free.
Get your Substack subscribe URL
- Log in at Substack and open your publication dashboard
- Go to Settings → Publication details or copy your public homepage
- Use your subscribe link — it looks like
https://yourname.substack.com/subscribeor the homepagehttps://yourname.substack.com
Examples:
https://newsletter.substack.com
https://newsletter.substack.com/subscribe
https://newsletter.substack.com/p/welcome-post
Encode the full HTTPS URL. Phone cameras open Substack in the browser — one scan, straight to subscribe or your pinned welcome post.
Tip: print the QR on book jackets, conference handouts, and zine back covers so readers subscribe without typing a URL.
Why writers care
Bio links get buried. A printed QR on your chapbook, sticker sheet, or booth sign turns a glance into a subscriber — no account required for the scanner.
Free browser generator (no account)
Open this page, paste your Substack URL, download PNG or SVG. Everything runs client-side; nothing is uploaded:
https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/toolkitlabs-qr@latest/index.html
Mirror: https://ytinumoc.github.io/toolkitlabs-qr/
Batch for multi-author events
Printing QR stickers for several newsletters from a spreadsheet:
npx toolkitlabs-qr@latest qr_batch.py newsletters.csv ./output/
CSV format: one URL per line. Output: PNG files named from the row.
One-time batch CLI pack (EUR 9, no subscription): https://buy.stripe.com/5kQ9AU8X45LKe3A8S15Ne0i?client_reference_id=devto-substack
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