A guide to gift subscriptions and special offers
How to make the most of the holiday season to grow
Gift subscriptions, special offers, and thoughtful posts to celebrate the end of the year can be powerful tools to convert free subscribers to paid and help you reach new audiences.
Here are a few tips and some inspiration to help you grow your publication as 2024 comes to an end.
Gifts
Subscriptions are a great gift—a way for current subscribers who already know and love your work to share it. It’s a gift for them, too: an opportunity to discuss a shared interest with friends and family all year long. The holiday season is the perfect time to remind your current subscribers that gift subscriptions are available.
- , a music and media historian, includes a reminder about gift subscriptions in the midst of his recent essay.
- , the creator of The Isolation Journals, includes a gift subscription option in all her posts beneath the “subscribe” button.
To do: Add a gift subscription button to any post from the button drop-down menu, or find the option to purchase a gift subscription for any Substack at subdomain.substack.com/gift. Learn more
Special offers
Special offers allow you to provide a discount or free trial, reducing the cost barrier and creating urgency to purchase a subscription, all of which ultimately help you earn more money. Discounts can be offered for the annual billing period or indefinitely, letting subscribers lock in a reduced rate in perpetuity. Our data shows that the higher the discount, the better the conversion. Discounts of 20% drive some of the best conversions and click-through rates, though discounts of 60% and higher also perform very well.
What matters more than the percent discount you offer is how you communicate the offer to subscribers. Depending on your audience, the holiday season might be the right time to share a special offer, or you might time the offer around an event more specific to your topic. For example, a New Year’s sale is a good idea for health and wellness guides as people work on resolutions. You could offer a special deal around the time of a big cultural event you cover, or a discount to celebrate a milestone like your publication anniversary.
- , a culture writer, offers an annual sale during the “doldrums of winter.” She puts the sale offer at the top of a post that’s typically paywalled to show free subscribers exactly what they’re missing. Anne explains the value of paid subscriptions: “You get access to these monthly links and recs posts, the amazing thread discussions, and the knowledge that you’re paying for the stuff you consume and value—and making this job sustainable.”
- , who helps people working in product hone their craft and career, celebrated 100,000 subscribers with a discount on paid subscriptions. He used the moment to reflect on how he got here, and gave people a taste of what they would get if they upgraded with a sample of his AI prompt library.
Other great examples:
shows the value of the community available to paid subscribers and creates extra urgency by offering a discount for only a few hours. plugs a discount just above the flexible paywall. positions their discount as a “subscription drive,” making it a concentrated moment to rally free readers to become paid subscribers.To do: Send a dedicated post to free subscribers with your offer, and include a button to redeem the discount. Don’t be shy about following up during the offer period by reminding subscribers in your regular posts or sending targeted emails to engaged free readers using the subscriber dashboard. Learn more
Celebrating the moment
The holiday season is a time of renewed connection and community gathering. Substack publishers are leaning into the moment in creative ways that strengthen their relationships with subscribers and help them reach new audiences.
- , an artist and educator, hosts a digital advent calendar of “making, doing, and being” to help subscribers “carve out a little more space to just be” during this busy season.
Harling Ross Anton, Molly Sims, and Arianna are among the many sharing gift guides on Substack. Word of mouth is driving decision-making this holiday season, and people are turning to trusted tastemakers to do their research along the way.
- took a moment to check in with subscribers in a manifesto-style post, restating her gratitude for subscribers and explaining why she publishes Ask Polly. Remember that newer subscribers may not be familiar with your origin story, goals, or mission. Routinely remind subscribers why you do this work with a strong call to action to upgrade, especially at times when they might be thinking about how they can give back.
What other ways have you seen people use the end of the year to grow their Substack and strengthen their relationship with subscribers?
Share this post