Do you think you would have been as successful starting as a paid subscription if you didn't have the Instagram base to pull from? If one does not have this foundation/name recognition, would it be better to start free and then add paid subscriptions?
I have an IG with around 900 followers that I didn't use for a year because I focused on other projects. I am currently trying to resurrect it because a good part of my work here is of interest for the people there. For now, I only gained two three subscribers from IG. I'll test for a couple of months to see how it goes using some of the advice given here, and what Subrina Heyink, the writer behind the Are you wearing that newsletter is doing.
My question also. Seems I just can't get out of second gear. I love this advice. And makes me happy that I do not have to 'sell' my work. I hate selling.
I love the Evergreen paywall idea. It works. My first subscription that I ever paid for did this with her posts and it prompted me to become a paid subscriber. Her work was so interesting I wanted to read the full archives.
Wow the conversion rate is so damn low! Hey Substack, we've read tons of successful Substack writers and they all had a big community on social media before coming here... people rarely want to go out of insta, stop scrolling and start to read... Of course we can get paid, people sometimes wait for permission to start paid subscriptions. You can have 20 subscribers and 2 paid subscribers, and 1000 and 20 paid... Engagment also depends on what you offer, not matter what the numbers are.
Yes I know the ratio standards, but I think what I was trying to say is that this story would not convince me about the Substack attractivity, it's just telling me 'look at this girl who's got huge success on IG, she is also followed AND paid on substack.' So what about if you don't have so many followers, what about if you start from scratch on Substack? We know now that the tools developed here are mimicing more and more the social media ones(chat, notes, contacts...). I don't mean it's good or bad but the thing is it's narrowing the mind tmho. (sorry I went out of the topic, a neurodivergent habit ;) ).
I am in the bracket of people that has limited funds for subscriptions. Some I managed to get because some of the people I follow nicely offered access to their content for free for people who can't afford it.
Then, as for my newsletter, rightly because I understand not everybody can afford x number of subscriptions, I am thinking of letting my content free to read, but still offer the possibility for people who have the means to pay.
I am both a writer and a reader so I am familiar with the sides of the coin. I understand why a writer would want to get paid for hours of work put on a piece and why a reader who can't afford it would prefer to still have access to culture. It's a tricky balance, but at the end of the day each writer is free to choose the model they see fit for them.
Yes, of course. For every 10 minutes one spends reading, the writer has spent 5+ hours writing, if not more. That's work that needs compensated, they have to eat too.
And in this case she did say she comps anyone who asks for it.
NOT interested in this at all. She is obviously well off which to my mind means she own a house? Give the poor some free readership.
Whilst everything is falling apart you interview a woman about 'trivia!'
IF substack wants to continue it needs to make some FREE reads for the poor people who cannot pay.
When I eventually get on here and write something it will be free. I am not rich or broke BUT I know substack is going in the wrong direction right now.
Look at all the people who commented..........always about fu90-ing money!
I'm thinking like you. Why pay for something so people can read it. Its better to have it free, and if someone want to give something they can give a donation over at "buy me a coffee" or something similar.
I felt the same way about Substack being SO EASY and turnkey is a great way to describe it. I turned on paid subscriptions to celebrate a year of writing this summer and it did feel like getting a hug... especially when you live in a place often hostile to women and LGBTQ folks. Thanks for sharing your insights!
Be sure to visit the SubStack master class on how to launch a page that I am conducting tomorrow (Thursday) night at 8 pm EDT for the Society of Professional Journalists...everyone's welcome....just sign up ... might want to have a look in advance at my site, Andelman Unleashed ....
This was a nice read. I have only just started my Substack and am going back and fourth about the paid portion, since I'm only starting out, so it was good to hear advice of "just start with paid." I do feel, perhaps like others (?), at a disadvantage not having much of a social media following to promote my Substack to. Is that how most people grow their subscribers on Substack, or grow initially, by having a following from a previous platform?
This make me wish that I made an effort with social media in days gone past to build a following. I'm certainly not interested in doing so today. I can't help but feel that despite all of this great advice, I'll forever be a no one on here.
Very interesting to paywall older content yet continue to promote it. Most of my readers live on Instagram (Gen-Z) so this article is quite a think piece for me. Cool takeaways!
It’s very difficult to pull people from Instagram. Don’t worry if you haven’t got an account with Instagram. Follow the advice - write! Substack plus other social media platforms can be bring in subscribers. Try and get your own domain name. It’s worth the small cost and the Substack set up fee.
You can't post links on Instagram posts and its largely a walled garden - meaning its pretty much a waste of time for promoting content except maybe for travel IF the person is interested in the destination...
I've added paid subscriptions to my Substack as well last week. Mainly for people who want to support me. Both free and paid subscribers get the same content. I did notice a bug in the e-mail and app though. Four subscribe prompts right underneath eachother and a fifth one at the bottom of the post. And I had deactivated 'Subscribe prompt' in the settings as I would like to just place one with a custom text. Heard back from fellow Substackers that they encountered the same issue. I hope the Substack-team can fix this really quick as it costed me already a few subscibers who taught I was spamming them with this amount of prompts.
Do you think you would have been as successful starting as a paid subscription if you didn't have the Instagram base to pull from? If one does not have this foundation/name recognition, would it be better to start free and then add paid subscriptions?
Great question, Jean. I was thinking the same thing throughout the piece.
Your question is very valid!
I have an IG with around 900 followers that I didn't use for a year because I focused on other projects. I am currently trying to resurrect it because a good part of my work here is of interest for the people there. For now, I only gained two three subscribers from IG. I'll test for a couple of months to see how it goes using some of the advice given here, and what Subrina Heyink, the writer behind the Are you wearing that newsletter is doing.
My question also. Seems I just can't get out of second gear. I love this advice. And makes me happy that I do not have to 'sell' my work. I hate selling.
I love the Evergreen paywall idea. It works. My first subscription that I ever paid for did this with her posts and it prompted me to become a paid subscriber. Her work was so interesting I wanted to read the full archives.
I thought that was a good piece of advice as well.
That is such a great tip! It was the same case for me, Jenovia!
Wow the conversion rate is so damn low! Hey Substack, we've read tons of successful Substack writers and they all had a big community on social media before coming here... people rarely want to go out of insta, stop scrolling and start to read... Of course we can get paid, people sometimes wait for permission to start paid subscriptions. You can have 20 subscribers and 2 paid subscribers, and 1000 and 20 paid... Engagment also depends on what you offer, not matter what the numbers are.
Unless you're an e-commerce, this is a typical buyer percentage.
Most brands selling digital goods sit at 2%-5% buyer to nonbuyer ratio.
Yes I know the ratio standards, but I think what I was trying to say is that this story would not convince me about the Substack attractivity, it's just telling me 'look at this girl who's got huge success on IG, she is also followed AND paid on substack.' So what about if you don't have so many followers, what about if you start from scratch on Substack? We know now that the tools developed here are mimicing more and more the social media ones(chat, notes, contacts...). I don't mean it's good or bad but the thing is it's narrowing the mind tmho. (sorry I went out of the topic, a neurodivergent habit ;) ).
Content like this is so helpful thank you. Would also love to learn more about growth without an already large online audience 🙏
Ken Wilber fan club, oh yes!
One thing about being a paid contributor on Substack: it tends to keep the trolls down. They want to GET paid, not pay!
Yes. But what about the poor people, they need substack too?
I am in the bracket of people that has limited funds for subscriptions. Some I managed to get because some of the people I follow nicely offered access to their content for free for people who can't afford it.
Then, as for my newsletter, rightly because I understand not everybody can afford x number of subscriptions, I am thinking of letting my content free to read, but still offer the possibility for people who have the means to pay.
I am both a writer and a reader so I am familiar with the sides of the coin. I understand why a writer would want to get paid for hours of work put on a piece and why a reader who can't afford it would prefer to still have access to culture. It's a tricky balance, but at the end of the day each writer is free to choose the model they see fit for them.
Yes, of course. For every 10 minutes one spends reading, the writer has spent 5+ hours writing, if not more. That's work that needs compensated, they have to eat too.
And in this case she did say she comps anyone who asks for it.
It would be great to hear from someone who hasn’t used an outside base to grow as well
NOT interested in this at all. She is obviously well off which to my mind means she own a house? Give the poor some free readership.
Whilst everything is falling apart you interview a woman about 'trivia!'
IF substack wants to continue it needs to make some FREE reads for the poor people who cannot pay.
When I eventually get on here and write something it will be free. I am not rich or broke BUT I know substack is going in the wrong direction right now.
Look at all the people who commented..........always about fu90-ing money!
I'm thinking like you. Why pay for something so people can read it. Its better to have it free, and if someone want to give something they can give a donation over at "buy me a coffee" or something similar.
I'm learning so much through this series. "Turn on paid and just write." Thank you, Elise and Substackers!
Do you need to get paid for what you write?
If I want to make a living from my writing, yes. But I also find it immensely gratifying and rewarding to ‘just’ write.
I felt the same way about Substack being SO EASY and turnkey is a great way to describe it. I turned on paid subscriptions to celebrate a year of writing this summer and it did feel like getting a hug... especially when you live in a place often hostile to women and LGBTQ folks. Thanks for sharing your insights!
Did Homer use subscriptions to support him as he wrote " The Odyssey?" His content of eternally Beautiful language and the narrative was enough.
This is what I am trying to say: Yes he wrote. I don't think he had money in mind.
The culture in the US s money.
Be sure to visit the SubStack master class on how to launch a page that I am conducting tomorrow (Thursday) night at 8 pm EDT for the Society of Professional Journalists...everyone's welcome....just sign up ... might want to have a look in advance at my site, Andelman Unleashed ....
https://daandelman.substack.com/
Here's SPJ's FB invite!
https://fb.me/e/6MDx7EKvi
This was a nice read. I have only just started my Substack and am going back and fourth about the paid portion, since I'm only starting out, so it was good to hear advice of "just start with paid." I do feel, perhaps like others (?), at a disadvantage not having much of a social media following to promote my Substack to. Is that how most people grow their subscribers on Substack, or grow initially, by having a following from a previous platform?
This make me wish that I made an effort with social media in days gone past to build a following. I'm certainly not interested in doing so today. I can't help but feel that despite all of this great advice, I'll forever be a no one on here.
Very interesting to paywall older content yet continue to promote it. Most of my readers live on Instagram (Gen-Z) so this article is quite a think piece for me. Cool takeaways!
It’s very difficult to pull people from Instagram. Don’t worry if you haven’t got an account with Instagram. Follow the advice - write! Substack plus other social media platforms can be bring in subscribers. Try and get your own domain name. It’s worth the small cost and the Substack set up fee.
You can't post links on Instagram posts and its largely a walled garden - meaning its pretty much a waste of time for promoting content except maybe for travel IF the person is interested in the destination...
I know unless I think you have 10000 followers. You can have a link in your bio.
I've added paid subscriptions to my Substack as well last week. Mainly for people who want to support me. Both free and paid subscribers get the same content. I did notice a bug in the e-mail and app though. Four subscribe prompts right underneath eachother and a fifth one at the bottom of the post. And I had deactivated 'Subscribe prompt' in the settings as I would like to just place one with a custom text. Heard back from fellow Substackers that they encountered the same issue. I hope the Substack-team can fix this really quick as it costed me already a few subscibers who taught I was spamming them with this amount of prompts.