As you explore launching paid subscriptions, consider the following:
If you want to earn money today on Substack, especially if you have an audience already, on Substack or elsewhere, we recommend enabling payments by connecting to Stripe, our payment processor. This takes less than five minutes to set up.
If you’re still building your list or getting into the hang of regular writing, we recommend launching quietly to start. You can still enable paid subscriptions and pick a price—some readers might be ready to support you already—but wait to start paywalling posts or do a marketing push until you’ve found your rhythm and grown your audience.
If your really not sure about paid subscriptions, all new publications have Pledges enabled. This lets your readers commit to paying a future subscription and helps you build confidence that readers love and value your writing.
As part of the paid subscriptions process, writers often ask, “What should I offer paid subscribers?” and “How should I let them know about paid subscriptions?” We rounded up our best resources for you:
The going paid checklist will help you pick a price, build a content strategy, craft an announcement post, and promote your publication far and wide.
🧠 I finally went paid this week as I neared 100 free subscribers, and I’m excited to share that I already have 10 paid subscribers! My advice is to just go for it. It’s been so exciting to see those payments roll into my Stripe account!
Another tip is to share your subscriber milestones in Notes. I posted a screenshot of my 100 subscribers, and new ones have been rolling in ever since! 😄
Here’s my celebratory note, as an example if you want to use this strategy:
Really good advice - 10% paid rate is awesome. I'm at a measily 2% paid rate on my 120 subscribers, but I haven't quite figured out what I should paywall or how to incentivize readers to.
I haven’t even done any paywalled posts yet, though I have one in the queue. My thinking is that paying subscribers will get my most personal posts, the ones I hesitate to share publicly because they are so raw.
I’ve seen that too. I wonder if reading older work is enough incentive for folks who continue to get new pieces? I’d love to hear from writers who’ve tried these different approaches.
I think it makes a lot of sense in terms of our privacy when sharing deeply. And I also think it’s a good incentive for people to subscribe, because they want to read our most powerful pieces.
I am fairly new to setting up my paywall but I have a few paid posts. That has been one of the greatest benefits to going paid - I know those folks reading have made a choice to join my community. I feel I can go deeper and allow for greater vulnerability.
I also do this, makes it feel safer to do so too, besides offering your paid subs something personal. Once I am able to further diversify my post formats and post with a higher frequency, then I plan to create a sort of varied pallete of different content for everyone. It is definitely good to do it in manageable steps, it helps you to trial and error and see what fits your own schedule and sanity.
Robert, I’m curious what you mean by making “diverse content for everyone”? In my experience, it’s best to stay authentic to yourself and what you want to create, rather than try to make everyone else happy.
Oh right, no what I meant was, I want to offer some other format content besides longer articles, which take long to research and aren't always possible on a regular schedule. This would allow me more flexibility in what I can offer (and want to write about!)
Oh OK, that makes a lot of sense! I’m all about experimenting with different writing styles. Substack is a great place to do that, and see what resonates with your readers.
Congrats and thank you for the tip! I created a milestones page for members to shout them out during our practice sessions and really love the idea of celebratory Notes! 💖
I love this idea, Beth, and I love the way you framed it: “Isn’t it kind of awkward to brag about yourself? Maybe, but it’s important. We get so focused on the next goal that we can forget about the sense of pride and accomplishment we feel when we reach a milestone. Our brains need that feeling to keep us motivated and inspired.” 💯
I agree 100%! I am not an artist and haven’t drawn in decades, but you inspired me to subscribe to your Stack and bust out my crayons. 😉
Thanks, Liz! Crayons are one of my favorite things to draw with! Feel free to bring them along for our playful session Sunday. Invite is in the welcome email. 😊
That's amazing, congratulations! Had you received any pledges or all 10 are de novo? I was nervous about going paid too early, but others in a recent thread also encouraged me to just go for it and after enabling payments I got 2 paid annual subscribers and a founding subscriber who went above my suggested donation, and I didn't even post my going paid post yet!!
Thanks Liz, I appreciate you sharing this! I'm almost at 200 and think I will celebrate this milestone. I'm also getting ready to go paid so your encouragement is helpful.
Congratulations Kerala, that is awesome! I hope you celebrate, and please tag me when you post so I can cheer you on. It sounds like you have enough momentum to go paid! 💰
Fabulous work, Liz - I'd just actually clicked through to that note thanks to the link that Terrell had posted. Thank you so much for sharing! 😊 I'm an explorer myself: one who gets lost... 👀
I started in the 400 area from a list of subscribers I already had, but I only have 5 people paying. I have NO idea what to do to get people either to donate or to pay for something interesting. Suggestions welcomed, Mariah! I wish I had that momentum you mentioned!
I think it's a lot of trial and error! I've created a poll (with only two responses so far!) to ask folks what they might be interested in. You can see (and take!) it here for an example: https://forms.gle/Vj3WdvYG1osZLVg6A
A lot of my paying subscribers are friends/family. I have maybe 2-3 that are total strangers and that feels like a big deal! I've also seen people offer "comps" which I wonder if people just end up paying for anyway?
Thank you so much, Theresa! I know it’s a small number compared to all the Substack celebrities out there, but it feels so important to celebrate every milestone. 🥳
Congratulations! Inspiring to hear! I also have around 100 subscribers (around 120ish now) and want to start introducing some paid content, so this is really encouraging to see!
Very impressive conversion rate, Liz. Big congrats. Keep it up!
I'm far too scared of going paid at the moment, especially because I'm writing as a hobby and it almost feels wrong to go paid, somehow. I don't know. Weird thoughts about it.
I have a good audience of readers and writers who I love and am so grateful for, so I have this inner worry that they'd all just flee if I turned on paid ever.
That’s great that you’ve got so much support, and that you and your readers have good vibes! I guess it depends on your underlying reasons for not wanting to go paid. If it feels good and aligns with your values to create free content, and you don’t see yourself turning your Substack into an income stream, then keep doing what you’re doing and enjoy it.
On the other hand, if you’re putting so much time and energy into your writing that you do want or need to be compensated in order to continue creating, and it’s just fear holding you back, then you have some mindset work to do.
What if your fear was wrong, and readers didn’t abandon you?
What about making payments optional for those who choose to support you, but not required?
There are lots of ways to take baby steps towards going paid and see what happens. What if you just said something like: “Here’s a button you can click if you’d like to support my work”?
Didn't get to this last night but thanks for these thoughts Liz, appreciate it.
So, I don't need to pursue going paid for financial reasons. I'm lucky to have a well-paying job with stability (for now). However, ultimately, I want to be a writer. It's what my soul craves and I've pondered over for years. It's only this year with discovering Substack that I've found a good outlet for communicating some writing and treading that water and growing a small audience.
So, long-term, I would love it if I could make that transition and perhaps going paid is a stepping stone there. But then there's this voice that says don't, because it might take away money from other Stacks that are more in need of that actual money.
I'm sure you're right re: fear, and I like the notion of just having optional payments. I'm going to toy with it for a while, but I really appreciate your thoughts, thanks.
It’s great that you’re thinking about this, Nathan! I do think there are plenty of subscribers to go around. Every writer has their own style that will appeal to different readers, so I don’t think of subscribers as a limited resource. In fact, the way Substack works, the more that your readers become invested in your work, the more Substack shares with them opportunities to discover other writing they might enjoy (through recommendations, notes, etc.). So what if by getting paid subscribers, you were actually helping other writers get discovered through your recommendations and sharing their work? 🤔
Thank you, Cole! In full transparency, two of those subscribers are my mom and mother-in-law, and I have an aunt and a couple friends in the mix. But the amazing thing was when paid subscriptions started rolling in from complete strangers!
When I first went paid, it was all family/friends who became paying subscribers and even Founders. Honestly, it was so humbling to have their support. One of my friends who is 78 even wrote me a personal check with a note and mailed it because she was having a hard time figuring out Stripe. It still sometimes takes my breath away to receive their generosity and see their belief in me.
It is a wonderful gift to give others the opportunity to support us! I have a few friends who are the biggest cheerleaders of my writing. They reach out and compliment every post, and sometimes even give me a call because they thought it was so powerful. Their validation has kept me going!
OK, I've subscribed. I look forward to getting surprises in my inbox. Feel free to explore mine too. I write about anything and everything, and love experimenting.
Haha awesome Terry! Lately I’ve been writing about infertility and mental health, and as a result of both of those things, I’m about to embark on a solo road trip from New Hampshire to Alaska. There will be much to explore! 🏔️
Liz, I am so sorry to hear about the challenges you've been through/may still be going through❤
I know I keep fobbing publications on you but you may want to check out Renee's amazing site. She hit the road up to Alaska on a solo trip after some big bumps in her life and her writing and photography is wonderful. She shares a lot about her journey both inward and outward.
Thank you so much, Donna! I thought I’d cornered the market for “grief-stricken woman drives van solo to Alaska and writes about it on Substack,” but I guess I’m in good company. I will enjoy following Renee’s journey. I’m so grateful that you shared this!
Also, I am not far from the Trans Canada highway, I live in BC, so if you have any questions let me know. You may want to check on the wildfire situation along your route because we are having a historical number of fires and it's intense.
I started with pledges and got some support from friends and family, but was surprised when people I don’t know started signing on. I decided to set my subscription price low so that it would feel accessible ($36/year or $5/month). I personally find I have a lot of resistance to subscribing at $60 or $80 a year, so I took the gamble that a lower price might gain more paying subscribers. It seems to be working!
I haven't thought about lowering my paid price! Thanks for the tip to think about here. It does feel icky to set my "bar" lower but I need to think of my why and also I'm here to experiment and have fun anyway.
It’s all an experiment, isn’t it? I also have mixed feelings about diminishing the value of my work, but I’d rather have it be accessible to more people, so hopefully it pays off!
Well they do but you have to do it through their discount system I believe. I offered 80% off my paid subscription price which basically brought it to $1 a month.
I think in your settings you can create a discount or change your price. At one point this year, Substack set a minimum of $50/year for paid. It used to be $36. I don’t know if I got grandfathered in because I had set the $36 price before I turned on paid subscriptions? Or maybe they listened to my complaints and lowered the minimum? No matter what your current price is, though, you should be able to set a discount to make it lower.
I wish I had known this sooner. Back when I first started writing on Substack, the company actually gave the opposite advice, suggesting you waited to start paid subscriptions until you already had a large audience.
There was never a really natural time to launch paid. I felt weird doing it. As a result, I wound up going two years without making a cent on my work.
Today I have launched a second substack to focus on fiction writing, rather than the outdoor community. I'm not making the same mistake twice. I'm going for a model that makes it clear from the beginning that I am open for business!
I suppose there is some logic to that, but even just one paid subscriber is encouraging because it means that someone values your work enough to pay for it, plus it's a bit of extra cash in return for doing something you enjoy
Yes! I feel like a broken record saying this every week, but for awhile someone was peddling the idea to wait until you had over 1k readers before even thinking about offering upgrades. IMO, that's terrible advice. not inly does it (potentially) leave a lot of support on the table, it can be discouraging to someone just starting out. That first paid subscription might be /the/ thing that keeps someone going.
I will not totally agree that you are leaving money on the table in General, but I think turning paid varies based on categories of our substack. For instance, someone in finance whose subscription may vary from $20-1000/month needs to build trust for long hence may use the trust building period to provide value and understand exactly what the audience wants, whereas, Someone on the fiction category just needs “addicted readers” -LOYALTY, hence very few readers will pay to encourage the person and the cost is lower like $5-10/month
Nothing that grand really! I kind of telegraphed that I was planning on going paid by turning on pledges. Then I decided what my paid content would look like, followed Substack’s going paid checklist to make sure all my pages, emails etc. were up-to-date before flicking the switch and posting an announcement post!
✏️ Hi, About to go paid in the sense that I'm ready to send out that terrifying email plea.
Wondering what has worked best for people: an emphasis on supporting you and independent journalism, an emphasis on new perks or elevated content, or a combo of both? TIA for any advice!
I turned on paid from the beginning and was actually surprised that several people used it, even though my first terrifying email just talked about my "free" newsletter (it was mostly to fam and friends. I think I got 17 sign-ups from that email which felt like a big deal!)
Something I'm considering now is once a quarter sending an email to my top engaged subscribers (4-5 stars) and asking them to become paying members, perhaps offering a discount. The hope is that since they are engaging (opening emails, commenting, etc.) the value will be clear to them. And the discount can be a way to thank them for their support while asking for reciprocity.
I'd love to hear if others have examples of doing this and how it went?
I did this not too long ago. I filtered my list, and sent an email to all 4 & 5 star subscribers that had been there more than 60 days. It drove a handful of upgrades.
it was my "normal" pitch, just a little more targeted than normal. I thanked everyone for being such an engaged part of the community and then made my usual pitch, explaining where their support would go, the positive impact on the newsletter, and some of the projects it would directly support.
I like giving them examples...I struggle a little bit with this because really what they're mostly paying for is my time and I don't necessarily have MORE to give if they subscribe, it's really just a way to compensate me for time I'm already spending.
I wonder if there's a way to pitch that or just talk about the projects I'm already doing?
What I try to do is talk about the projects I'm doing and/or want to do, and explain that these take resources (time, etc.). Zooming out, we (collectively) have been conditioned to believe our time isn't worth very much. You never hear a plumber or mechanic say that. I think that's changing a little bit, but it's like turning an oil tanker around.
Mine are all framed around the idea that an upgrade means supporting ad-free, algorithm-free, indie journalism. That revenue also helps gift upgrades to people who otherwise might not be able to afford it. My emails also usually mention the "exciting" things their support helps buy, like Grammarly pro, and Pilot Pens (I handwrite most of my drafts).
It's been a combo for me, and I tend to change the messaging around as I go, to emphasise one or the other, sometimes hooking them with paywalled stuff, other times trying a heartfelt plea for support. Everything's worth trying! (If it's honest, of course.) But - if you're going to try one approach, make it a clear and simple call to action. The closer you can get to giving them one thing to click on, the better the results, I think. Use all the words to really say what you really want to say to them, but keep them there in the email, no distractions or opportunities to click away. Don't break the spell you're weaving. 🪄✨
I told my readers why I was doing it. That gave me the opportunity to get clear in my head what my why is. I explained about the effort it takes to write and that Substack is building a different way of getting content that is reader supported as opposed to algorithm fed. I explained their support means a great deal and allows me to be more vulnerable in my writing because I know they are choosing to join me rather than simply scrolling around their email or feeds.
Yeah I think for those who don’t spend lots of time here on Substack they are just really happy to support your work... I think just “sharing your gifts” and making it really clear what the offer is is totally enough! 🥰
I decided that I will save my most personal stories for my paying subscribers--the stuff that feels to raw to post publicly. Everyone wants to read the juicy stuff!
✏️ Hi! I have a weekly newsletter for artists. I'm reading below that I should just go paid, but I have also heard advice about waiting until 1k free subscribers. I have 325 after a year, so 1k would take me a while.
My question: How do you go paid while still giving value to your free subscribers? Do you follow something like the 80-20 rule so that only 20% of content is behind the pay wall?
I am planning on making everything available not matter what. I struggle to find the add-value if I attach certain features to pay. Maybe the comment section, but nobody comments on my content because it's not art or an opinion. So, I figured I would make everything free, and then the paid feature will basically be like a donation to my time.
I've found that to be true of my paid subscribers. They pay more because they appreciate my work than because of any hidden goodies. (Though I retain some for Founding Members) I will probably adopt this strategy too, although I won't claim that that's how it'll work for everybody.
So true Claire. It’s def not an exact science. There are several variables at play here: topic, quality, cadence, perceived value to upgrade vs. free, price point, notoriety, and runway length demonstrating value. As such it’s all about experimenting with all these levers :)
Hi Katie! I’d say go paid when you feel ready: I took two-three months to find my feet, then announced I was going to offer paid subs + shared the content that would be paid in the month before I started paywalling things, to give people a sense of what they’d get. Now I send out 2 free newsletters a month (as I always did) and monthly bonus content for paid subscribers: a behind-the-scenes post and a thread. I frame the paid option as more inspiration + support which seems to resonate with the people who subscribe. Good luck!
Substack no longer gives the 1k benchmark for paid as advice. Go paid whenever you feel ready. If you don’t know what to offer, just paywall your archives. There is an option to auto-paywall posts after a few weeks
I have everything past 3 weeks being paid, but I know a lot of people who do 1-2 free and 1-2 paid every week. I know people who also go paid comments and discussions.
🧠 I soft launched payments on a new pub today and have two already!
It’s called Sparkle ON Substack and it’s a space for co working on our Substacks plus collating articles and spaces writers can hang out! ✨🙌🏻
One of the big sticking points was working out how to hook stripe in but my friend shared what had worked for her and it was creating a new project within Stripe! If you could share this knowledge more widely that would ace! ✨🙌🏻
Congrats on starting a new pub, and also on getting two paying subs. I just subscribed in case my creativity ever dries up (unlikely, but you never know)
Totally unlikely with you however there might be something fun you want to take part in or do... I’ve got lots planned for the community! Thanks for being on this journey with me!
Thanks, Claire. I'm looking forward to it. However, I have to say that I am surprised that such a highly creative and intelligent woman as you appear to have not subscribed to mine. You would almost certainly enjoy it, especially my letters with @rebecca holden and my "experiments in style" 😊
When I "met" Rebecca she only had three books and she hadn't even finished colouring them in. You will definitely enjoy our correspondence. Subscribe to mine for free and if you don't like it I'll give you a refund. I can't say fairer than that. Also, I don't write just about this "small island", so there. I don't like echo chambers either, Claire
What I so love about my 'Letters to Terry' series, Claire, is that I get to write about things that I wouldn't otherwise be posting about in my Saturday posts. In my letter yesterday I waxed lyrical about the pleasures of narrowboating and clog dancing, how the smell of diesel will always remind me of holidays, and a fabulous game called 'depluralised film titles'. Think 'Trree Gump' and 'The Lion, the Witch and the Coat Hook'! 🤣
I was doing that too before ways into creative journalling... just sharing behind the scenes of my biz and some more personal/ vulnerable stuff. I can’t help share my process because it’s intrinsically me you know and I think that’s what people want to support just the you in it all...
So because you offer so so much beautiful detail maybe there’s something in that to consider behind a paywall or so as my husband does and just turn on paid and let people support your time? He doesn’t write anything behind a paywall and has like 6 paid subs out of 250 or so which has given him such a boost in very trying times. ❤️🫖
😊🥳🤪 I've written about my going paid process here before, but in case this resonates with someone today, here's what I decided to do:
1. EVERYTHING IS STILL FREE.
2. I turned on paid subscriptions about five months ago, after a year of writing.
3. I felt I needed to wait that long to prove to myself that I was in this for the long haul, and to prove to my readers (and future subscribers) that they could count on a certain type and frequency of content.
4. I am pushing back - everywhere, really - against the notion that only those who can afford nice things get to have nice things. That doesn't feel like what I want my Stack to represent. I know others choose to give "scholarship-type" free subscriptions for those who ask, but I wanted to try a different approach.
5. I framed the ask (no pun intended) like how one might invite someone to consider when they purchase a piece of fine art. They pay for what they get. They can look at it anytime they please, share it with others, interpret it as they feel motivated. They don't get "extra" stuff because they paid for the first stuff.
6. This is my art. Supporting me through a paid subscription helps me continue to produce it. But, if you can't, or don't, that doesn't change my desire to make it available to any and all.
7. Out of 450 subscribers, I have 36 paid. Not a terrible ratio.
8. I like doing what I can to create a more generous world. Just my $.02.
I appreciate you sharing this. I write a technical newsletter, and what I write is helpful to a lot of people who are just starting out in their careers. Many people can't afford a paid subscription, certainly not to multiple newsletters.
I lock some posts for 6 weeks, but all posts end up free to everyone. The main benefit of a paid subscription, and I write this explicitly on the subscription page, is that you're helping me make this information available to everyone.
I have a lower paid ratio than most people, but I think it's a good long term strategy. Long term I think a significant number of people will bump up to paid when they can, and I am also hoping to make up for the lower ratio with a higher number of subscribers.
Interesting, the idea of limiting access for a period of time. How do subscribers know the older content is now available? Can you tell if they go back to access it?
I have a Topics page and a Series page that helps people find relevant older posts. So when people first look around my site, they see a lot of existing content that’s not paywalled.
Then when a group of related posts have all converted to free, I send an email only to free subscribers that a new set of posts is available to everyone. When those emails go out, I include a link to a discount on annual subscriptions for anyone who wants to upgrade. Upgrading gives you access to all posts as soon as they come out, but the main benefit is supporting my overall work so it ends up available to everyone.
I've had this approach for roughly a year, because I'm passionate about making the science behind important issues accessible to everyone, and accessible kind of goes against the paywall. But I'm starting to offer a bit of paywalled content to see if I can get the conversion rate up because it's only around 2% at this stage.
🧠Lots of great advice here already! As someone that "went paid" awhile ago, here is my .02:
-Go paid today. Right now, even. Open a separate tab, and turn that option on. Leave the overthinking for later.
-As writers, we often get caught up on what "more" to offer paid subscribers. Substack is different from other platforms in that often readers want to support you, the author, or your project in general. It's a model closer to, say, PBS than anything else. if you are consistently putting out work that resonates with people, they will support it.
- You will constantly be (happily) surprised by what drives people to upgrade. In my own case, it's almost never what I thought it would be.
I just went paid this week on my list of 100, and I already have 10 paying subscribers! It’s exciting to see those Stripe payments roll in every day. 🤩
I'm a believer in keeping everything available for free, and asking people to choose a paid subscription if they are able to and want to support your work financially. In my experience, people are not motivated by exclusive content as much as supporting my mission (independent journalism about Iowa politics).
Hi! I've been offering monthly online creativity themed workshops that are still a work in progress. So far I've had pretty poor attendance. Sometimes one person, sometimes two, sometimes none. I'm about to do my fifth one in August and I'd love some advice/ideas!
How heavily do you promote your online workshops and how far in advance?
I've been using Eventbrite and asking for folks to register, is there a better option out there?
What topics/themes do you explore in the online gatherings? I created a free new moon journal with affirmations, monthly themes, and creative prompts that the online workshops are based off of. The idea is to connect our creativity to the seasonal changes and work in harmony with the energy around us. Is there a better way to market that?
Thanks everyone for your help/tips! I really believe in this project and I'm excited to share it with more people!
I start talking about my sessions at least a week beforehand. Do you send a reminder to your attendees before the sessions begin? That's helped me tons as well. :)
That's a good idea! I've been going through Eventbrite so I can easily advertise the workshops to people outside of Substack, too and I think it sends them reminders.
Don't worry, Mariah, I have thousands of subscribers and hardly anyone shows up to my live events. I don't require registrations (perhaps this is the problem?) and have a separate "event Reminder" newsletter that sends out reminders one week before, one day before and one hour before.
Anyone can join my events which are training sessions (for work stuff), but only paying subscribers can watch the replays.
I do get good feedback on them, but I think people are busy, and if you have a global audience like I do then time zones are a bitch!
I guess what I'm saying is that in ecommerce-land a 1% 'conversion' rate is considered normal so if you have a few hundred subs and are getting one person showing up you are doing quite well compared to most 'creators' on the internet.
Thank you for this note of encouragement! It's so hard to feel like you are creating in a void sometimes. But normalizing this and realizing others are experiencing growing pains makes me feel less alone.
Is the workshop part of your paid subscriber benefits? Is the reason for eventbrite to get their emails or send them the event link?
I don't prefer Eventbrite, I have always found it to be clunky. Depending on if these attendees are already paying or not, I would have further advice.
Originally, yes they were for paid subscribers. Seeing as I only have about 20, I wanted to open it up to others so I've been playing with offering it as a donation, or offering a free trial to access the workshops. I haven't been consistent in this which is another challenge!
I’ve found that it’s enough just to show up and I always record mine as some folks prefer to watch later. Ask them if they want video/ mics on or off - ask them about times - use polls so they stay invested in what they’ve asked for.
I'm curious if the success is also related to the number of subscribers? I have about 160. Are your workshops more interactive or like presentations? I could record mine but would feel awkward if no one comes!
✏️ I haven't gone paid yet but plan to shortly. With my limited bandwidth, I'm struggling with what incentives to offer my paid subscribers. Would love some ideas!
I was thinking of offering an "occasional" short humor/satire story, which isn't what I typically write but which I enjoy writing from time to time. Maybe limit comments to paid subscribers? Maybe I'm overthinking it because my paid subscribers really just want to support me and don't necessarily need extra incentives?
I'm not offering incentives. I feel like that just leads to dissapointment. I'm keeping the entire thing open and adding the paid feature as a donation to my time.
I do offer some bonuses and see my paid subscriptions as an income stream in my business, BUT: there’s no need to offer anything extra. Honour your bandwidth, that’s the most important thing. People don’t just pay because they get more but also, a lot, because they want to support you. You could also offer only paid subscribers the ability to comment on all posts, or put your archive behind a paywall--no extra work for you and could provide incentive to upgrade to paid. Good luck!
I'm in a similar boat. For the most part, right now, the only incentives for mine are 1] to show your support, and 2] to get full access to the archives. I have a plan (which I need to start actually turning into reserving time to accomplish) to start publishing fiction again, however, and if I do, the main stories will still be free, but the archives will still have the 14-day horizon, and there will be "special features" that'll be paid-only content.
🟧 - I am moving my list of 130,000 (free, high open rate) subscribers to substack, both for a paid option and to grow the list. But when I created my first email and sent a test email to myself, it went into my promo folder. Do you have any advice to avoid this? Any stats about how often this happens? Obviously, it would be a huge problem if that happens to even a small percentage of my list. (This has never been a problem with mailchimp.) Thanks!
Hi Laura! You can include a note in your Welcome email asking people to reply to you - maybe ask them a question and tell them you want to hear from them, once they reply it will help keep your emails out of their promo folder. You can also tell them to move your email to their inbox and out of their promo folder when it lands there. Since you have such a big list you're moving over I'm also going to send you an email so we can help with that migration! Be on the lookout for an email from me.
I wrote a very long note about this a while ago. I’d first encourage you to tell your mail chimp subscribers to add the new address to their address book. Your new email address has no “sender score.” Your old one had built up a reputation for not being spam. This one hasn’t yet
Thank you, Cole. That makes perfect sense. I am not sure I can do this if I have to use the substack address. But they must let you use your own address. Thanks!
✏️🟧 I have seen some writers who give a certain % of their paid subscriptions to charity, I love this idea & it might help me jump into the paid idea - I’m curious if there’s any internal mechanism for this (I’m assuming not and that $ can only go directly to the writer’s acct) and/or if subscribers just trust that you’re sending in your charitable contribution as you say you will. Would love to hear how writers who offer this are doing it. Thanks!
Nothing planned in the immediate future to have the money go directly to a charity but we are looking into allowing writers that do this to display the specifics on various surfaces (welcome page, about page, etc.)
Hi Robin! We don't have any tools to help facilitate this. Writers keep track of this on their end typically and readers trust they are donating the % they say they are.
🟧 I have not turned on paid, but have a handful of pledges. I am considering turning off the pledge feature to make growing free subscribers seem more efficient and effective.
Question: if I turn off pledges now, will I lose the current pledges (for when I eventually go paid)? I plan to turn on pledges and paid features in about 6-9 months when I hope to be much larger. Hope that question makes sense. Thanks!
Joe, you may want to strongly consider not turning off pledges. Having pledges doesn't negatively impact new subscribers signing up—they don't see the pledge call to action until after they sign up with their email address. So there's no downside to having it turned on, it's all upside
✏️ - I have two newsletters, but have been skittish about turning the second one into a paid one out of fear something will break. I've received at least $300 or so in pledges for the second one. I'm concerned that I'll break the first one somehow. Over half of my income comes from the first one and I'm fully independent as a journalist.
On a second front, my "Notes" is connected to both. How can I adjust that? I ask this with zero research because I'm ridiculous behind publication-wise.
Thanks - as I said, I'm usually too busy writing to think about this but I'm going to experiment. I'm deliberately not marketing #2 as it's a lot more ambitious and more experimental than #1 which is also always an experiment!
How do I drive contributions or subscriptions, and how do I drive INVOLVEMENT? My work is very authentic, humorous, and deep as well. I tend to be at a 29%-32% readership, which is good. But I do NOT get a lot of responses and I have had a few people make donations, and I have exactly one person paying monthly. What am I missing?
Liz’s 10% paid rate is likely because her first one hundred subs likely included a lot of friends and family. Nothing wrong with that but as she grows the percentage is likely to go down. I went paid at 500 subs, now have 900 and about a 3% paid rate. I’d like to see that number bump up to at least 5%. Like a lot of things growth can take awhile to build momentum.
After writing Nichelle Newsletter for over three years, I finally went paid this week. One reason is because people really like my newsletter and have offered to pay for it. Two, it is because I got laid off from a restaurant that closed after five years of being open. I worked there for four years. I only got 48 hours notice that I was losing my job. My plan is to post at least twice a week and to do exclusive podcasts for paid subscribers. I have seven subscribers in less than a week.
✏️🟧 I write or publish posts 6 days a week on napping. I’m looking to encourage my subscribers to use Notes to report on their experience with the subject of my Substack: napping. Share when they take a nap, respond to questions related to napping that might inform future posts, etc. I find that most of the folks I know only read via email, rather than engaging through the Substack app. Any thoughts re ways I might utilize the platform and Notes to improve engagement?
Thanks for your question Matt. Check out these resources for general advice about how to grow your audience and improve engagement https://substack.com/resources
✏️ - I have not gone paid and I am curious to hear from people who have...
- do you offer anything to paid subscribers that free subscribers don’t receive? If so, what?
- and for those who have paid subscriptions on but who have all their writing freely available: do you get many paid subscriptions? And do you think you’d get more if you put some of your writing behind a pay wall?
Anyone who takes the time to answer any of these questions I greatly appreciate it.
I have paid turned on but most of my content is free. I occasionally put bonus content (like an audio recording) behind the paywall. Paying subscribers also get access to a submission form and a discount to my other services.
I feel like my paid subs are very generous toward their support for me and actually they don’t really mind what I offer - one of the posts is behind the scenes of my business and they do seem to like the honesty there.
That’s super helpful to know as that was something I was worried about: that I wouldn’t offer anything that was worth paying for other than what I was already providing for free.
I think doing a poll / vote is a great way to better understand what they are hoping for and also remembering we think about it 100x more than they do?!
Don’t be afraid to ask for money for your work. There’s a lot of back and forth on the integrity of doing that, but if you’re a serious writer who values your work: There’s 100% nothing wrong with asking for compensation for your art. Nothing could be more reasonable. I started with 50 free subs (friends and family) August 24 of last year. Eleven months later I have 900 subs with 75 paying. I write regular, quality prose and I ask for money.
I just went paid this week, and my plan is to save my most personal stories for my paying subscribers--the stuff that feels too raw to post publicly. Everyone wants to read the juicy stuff! 😉
I get that. I’m planning on going a little more controversial for my paid content. I write about philosophy and I have shied away from more controversial issues to avoid losing free subscribers. But I have decided to go there in paid exclusive content.
Yes, I do that too--not so much to generate clickbait but mainly to share more personal things like my financial goals that I don’t want to share with the entire internet 😅
- Making the annual rate $45 (vs. $5/mo.). That saves the reader money, and means less churn for me. Win-win.
- Paywalling anything after 2 weeks. I publish 4-5x weekly, so that's plenty of free stuff for new readers to check out. Plus, I leave the 7 day free trial offer on everything.
- I committed to not running ads. I assume this is preferrable to most people.
- Anyone that can't afford to upgrade gets one free, no questions asked. We've all been there. Paid supporters know they're helping make that possible.
What didn't move the needle for me:
- Running a sale (as in X percent off for Y amount of time)
Okay, interesting. So you mean that you’re publishing 4 to 5 pieces a week? Currently I’m at 1 a week minimum with occasionally more than that.
You find that anything older than 2 weeks is behind a paywall works? I have been thinking about doing something 2 years or older but I never considered 2 weeks.
Yes, 4-5 a week (1 is a playlist/discussion, and 1 is a link roundup). I had the wall at 3 weeks, but moved it up to 2 recently. I haven't had any issues so far.
Katie I hesitate to go paid too soon. Been on for 9 months and wrote poems of inspiration. I do t want to turn off the members that read it everyday. I find it’s a turnoff if done the wrong way. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Just go paid. People will support you ow they won't.
If you're struggling to come up with what you offer, I recommend a paid archive. Someone can read your stuff for free when it comes out, but it gets automatically paywalled after a couple weeks. Substack has a way to do this by default in settings.
I am planning on doing that with the fiction substack I just launched. (i.e. a short story collection that starts free, and is paywalled once the collection is all published.)
I've thought about doing that, but doesn't it mean that people who might have subscribed after reading an old post might not do so cos they can't read it?
No there’s actually an option that allows search engines to scrape your premium content. I suggest you turn that on. It basically makes it so that even stuff that’s paywalled, search engines can still see it
That's a good idea. I have 325 subscribers after a year of weekly newsletters for artists, so I have a lot of content. I've been wondering how/when to go paid, so maybe that's a good way to test it out.
My respectful suggestion would be to paywall anything older than 3-4 weeks. That gives new readers enough new work to really get a feel for what you are doing, while still offering a LOT more where that comes from.
Thank you for the idea of a paid archive, I haven't thought of that. I have paid on and I've said that I'll send out a list of recs by me but I definitely overpromised because I've done it but not nearly as much as I'd like.
Interesting idea Cole. I plan on making my poems audio soon but it’s time consuming and I work a ton. I am also writing my second in a series in fiction and plan to release at the same time on Substack. Any ideas of how to combine the two? I was in sales for years and sometimes free , it wasn’t considered as valuable.
Thanks Terrel. Good article. Makes me rethink what I’m doing with a passion. People often value more something they pay for. I’d love your ideas on implementing with intro ing a fiction series I’m writing and also doing my poems on audio. Thanks.
🧠 *I do not get hung up on numbers.* You don’t need 1k subscribers to “go paid”. If someone wants to support you then please let them. In fact, just having a little paid support will hopefully make you more consistent in publishing. Judiciously view your stats but don’t let numbers control your emotions or feelings of self-worth. One paid subscriber means you have a paying audience. They are worth it. Keep doing the work. You will get better. And the Substack community wants to support you. We want you to do well.
🧠 I currently have 319 free subscriptions and one paid subscription. After reading the comments on here, I am wondering if it would be a good thing to do a post on why I have a pay option. (you know, supporting artists and all that)
I think more should be said about establishing a newsletter before pushing for paid subscriptions. An option for people to buy subscriptions is fine early on, but with so many new newsletters it's hard for me to pay an annual subscription to someone who has one or two months of writing out.
I think you can write more targeted appeals to people as time goes on. For example you might wait a couple more months, then go to your subscribers page and filter for everyone who has been a subscriber for at least three months. Then you can write a short but clear message along the lines of "Now that you see what I'm writing about consistently, please consider a paid subscription to support my ongoing work..."
I have done this a couple times now with reasonable success. My archive is free to everyone, but some posts are locked for a 6-week period. Twice now I've sent out emails announcing that series about specific topics are now free to everyone. Those emails only go to free subscribers, because paid subscribers have already seen these series. With the announcement about the completed and newly-free series, I offer a discounted annual subscription. I've done this twice now, and both times some people have bumped up to a paid subscription.
✏️ Hi everyone! Fairly new to Substack here. I currently use Substack to publish my newsletters and am nearing my first 100 subscribers! I have an idea for the kind of content that I might provide to paid subscribers, and I also have a technical questions regarding how I might go about setting up paid.
For some context, I run a grant writing consultancy focused on regenerative agriculture. We provide a lot of educational information and awareness to folks who are involved in agriculture or related nonprofits and want to learn about applying for grants as well as what grant opportunities are out there. I big goal of mine is to help these readers to connect with others who may have similar ideas and therefore have strength in numbers that may help them to build out fundable projects.
My first question in regards to this is can I make a paid community groups? What kind of Substack/strategies would work best for such a group that I might be the orchestrator of? Thoughts? Suggestions?
You can make paid comments and chats. I have a Circle community as well, or discord might work. I know a lot of people do that. You should follow David Spinks. This is his bag.
✏️ I've been reviewing movies free for 20 months now, and I recently went paid. The earth didn't move. I fear some readers aren't even seeing the "Upgrade to Paid" button. Or maybe they are and just don't want to pay me. Okay, I understand that. I publish reviews every Sunday at noon, but I don't offer premium content -- I don't have the time -- so I'm asking them to pay in support of my work. In any case, since the slow movie release period is now underway, I'm going on hiatus for all of August and the first part of September. Not that many interesting movies to write about.
I'll be sending the hiatus notice this Sunday, and I'm going to include in it a HARD push to "Upgrade to Paid". On top of the "Upgrade to Paid" button I'll insert a rule with a short note saying, "Here's where you can Upgrade to Paid". I know that sounds desperate. I'm desperate. I can't go on doing this without bringing in a modest amount of dough. Modest. But I've got to have some return. I love doing this. But I'm income-challenged, you might say. Anybody else feel something like this? If you think I'm pipe-dreaming, please tell me. I often feel that way myself.
I think you probably haven't showed them the value to get paid. You have in depth knowledge of each movie, but what is the point? What is your point of view? Why do people come to you? I wrote a long article about that this week which might help, but I think you need to explain WHY they are coming to YOU and what they get out of it. https://authorstack.substack.com/p/worldclasssubstack
Matt Hoffman, thanks very much for responding. Yes, through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. I've had some success for sure as long as subscriptions have remained free. Now, with offering paid subscriptions, I'll certainly keep engaging on those platforms, and I'll see if I can bring in paid subscribers.
I'll start engaging on the gigantic Threads platform as soon as it's available on desktop. Now it's available only via the Instagram phone app, not desktop Instagram, where I'm already enrolled, and I can't work on my phone. I've been a word processor-typesetter for more than 30 years, and I can't force my mind to type with my thumbs.
For my second Substack I'm thinking about crowdfunding on a platform like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. I've done a photography book before this way, but launching a Substack is different. It's not a tangible thing you can send to funders, unless you've got a related book or merch. Anyone here do this before? I'm trying to decide btwn the two platforms.
✏️ - I have a question about tiers for subscribers. Another substack author has configured his account so people can subscribe based on what they can afford. $10/year, $20/year, and so on, up to $100/year. How can I enable a similar system?
They're doing that by setting up a series of coupons, and then linking to those coupons. Go to Settings > Payments > Manage special offers, and that should get you started.
Also, thanks for sharing this! I think this is a great approach!
🧠 I started out going paid from the very beginning. I don't know if it was the right thing or not since Substack strategies encouraged me to make my newsletter paid later on, but I do have some paid subscribers now and even founding members and they are those who are really into my work. So alls well that ends well. If you give it a few months and get a few paid subscribers, even those few will be a vindication of both your writing and the monetization of your newsletter. After all, your writing is worth something if it's good, compelling and meaningful to other people.
✏️The issue I have (and still haven't come to peace with) is with paywalled content vs. free content. I think that while it's fine to start having paid subs at the beginning, the initial perks should not include paywall content but something else that doesn't affect your writing. I found that I couldn't put in as much effort for my paywall articles as the free stuff for the simple reason that people were reading the free stuff, and virtually nobody was reading the paywall stuff. Maybe some people can squeeze motivation out of $5-7 a month from 1 or 2 paid subs, but for me it was eyeballs. Maybe it's better to have paywalled content after, say, twenty paid subscribers? I'm curious if other people have that issue.
Hi Felix! At your existing list size, I'd suggest focusing on growing your free list. Once you figure out what type of content your readers value, it will be easier to figure out what to paywall.
That's why I have everything free at launch and then it's paid after three weeks. Then, I'm writing for everyone and my catalog has more value over time.
✏️ Like others have mentioned here, I am struggling with what to offer as incentives for going paid besides offering my archives. I enjoy writing for everyone and hesitate to paywall new posts as I feel like my writing offers encouragement to others and I don’t want to be selective in offering said encouragement. I am in a bit of a quandary if anyone has any tips ✍🏼
@substack I would love to see the rate of conversion from free to paid subscribers by CATEGORY . I am sure it will really give perspective to a lot of creators
✏️ I've started in May and have been publishing at a weekly rate. Till now I have published 13 articles. Some of them have been very well received with thousands of views from outside. I do want to go paid, but I am not able to figure out what exclusives I can offer to the paid subscribers.
Most of my articles are long-form and take considerable amount of research and time for me to write. So in a way they themselves are valuable. However, if I close them then I will stop driving outside traffic which is bringing new free subscribers.
You can pull the most trafficked articles into their own page and then make everything else behind a paywall. It's usually a very small number of articles that drive most of the traffic.
Thank you for responding Russel. That's a good idea. I'm not sure how pages work in substack. Do you mean like a section which I can somehow filter from being paywalled? I think not changing the URL of those articles is important for search engines to continue to show that page.
Also, you should be able to change the link to both pages so the new page has the url of the old page, but I don’t know if that is 100% true. I am pretty sure it is though
This is one of the main problems of a blanket paywall. The other thing you can do is just offer a free trial at the top. Almost every publication I click on has a soft paywall where you have to sign up to read more.
Depends: are you writing for the money? Or is the money just a nice bonus? My morale is mostly tied to whether people are reading (which they are). If they want to pay to subscribe, honestly, at this point, that's roughly the equivalent of someone saying, "I'd like to buy that guy a cup of coffee some day", and that feels great, but honestly, seeing the open-rates and visitor numbers stay consistent or grow matters a lot more to me.
🟧 good afternoon, I am planning to release a first collection of short (paid) sports-themed stories with a moral on Substack, a progression from my factual analysis column ‘why sport matters’. Despite intensive research I have many questions that I am desperate for the Substack team to answer. May I at least start with - 1. can one email a LINK to subscribers, not the actual text, which at 10k words would be too long for some inboxes. 2. if someone subscribes three stories in, does the system allow them to ‘see what they’ve missed. Huge thanks and best wishes, Lee W x
What you’d want to do is create a parent page for your story on Substack. Update the parent page with links to each chapter of the story as there’re published. Then at the top of each new chapter you can create a button to take the person back to the home page where they can see all the chapters. You can kinda see how I have it set up on my fiction Substack, www.coleshapters. There is a navigation parent page, and parent pages for different story collections
Thank you for this Cole, it’s much appreciated and I’ll be sure to take a look. (They will be a collection of stories rather than chapters, and I’m keen that people are able to read via the Substack site rather than the entire text on an email) 🙏🏼
Oh I’m doing the exact same thing lol. Check it out in coleschapters.com . I’m not trying to shill I promise...if you go to “stasis,” that’s the parent page for the collection, you can see what I’m talking about
Thanks for your questions, Lee. 1.) When a post exceeds the limits of email, a reader can click a link at the bottom to open the full email, including all the text, in a new tab, or they can click the post title to read on web. Perhaps you could include a note at the top of the post advising readers to click the header, or you can include a link or custom button to redirect to your pub homepage 2.) when a subscriber upgrades to paid, they'll have access to all paid posts. You could do what Cole suggests - publish a post that includes links to all your stories, and you could also include a link to that post in your welcome email to paid subscribers.
Hi everyone, so many useful things below! I feel as though I’ve hit a bit of a growth wall as I haven’t had any new subscribers in a while (I only publish twice a month at the moment as I am still working full time- hoping to increase this soon) so any tips would be greatly appreciated. I’ve tried notes but they don’t seem to get much traction and I am hopefully collaborating with a fellow substacker soon! Thanks so much - I really appreciate all your insight!
🟧 I am brand new. Is this thread still active after the office hours are over? If not, is there a regular schedule of Office Hours sessions I can consult to catch the next one?
I've selected "accept payments" and set up an account with Stripe, but I've received no feedback and those wanting to pay continue to be listed as pledges. What's up?!
This is pretty basic, but I don't understand where to place the paywall. SUBSTACK really doesn't explain that very well, and I have tons of free subs I'd like to convert.
Put the paywall wherever you like, Steve; top, bottom or middle. Or don't include a paywall at all, it's completely up to you.
Every 'main' issue I send has a paywall quite close to the bottom. I also do other posts that are completely free and special supplements which only for paying subscribers and which I don't put a paywall into, (Substack still automatically shows a preview to free readers on the website).
I have been working on a new newsletter called Rooms where I feature creative individuals homes as well as a brief interview regarding their thoughts on design - https://rooms.substack.com/
-Wanted to ask what growth strategies worked best in the early days for everyone?
-Would also love any general feedback or ideas to improve the newsletter
If anyone would like to be featured or knows someone who might, send them my way!
I've been running 4 subscription tiers (free, paid, founding and group) for the past 10 months since I migrated to Substack from Mailchimp. Yet, conversion to paid is still low.
Open rate is solid so i know the content is good.
Should I keep existing tiers as they are as it takes longer to see paid subs spike (any stats?) modify tiers or should I switch to everything free and have people use pledges?
I went paid pretty early on because I had a pre-existing list. The problem I'm dealing with though is knowing what value to give people. One of the things I struggle with, no matter what I post, is getting feedback from people. I pose questions, ask for responses, share polls and give people a chance to tell me what they'd like, but I rarely get anything from my community. It's the single most frustrating aspect of this process.
I think it takes a fairly large subscriber base, or a unique set of subscribers, to get much interaction. I think that's only been made worse by the collapse of twitter, the splintering of all social media platforms, and Substack's multiple offerings: Chat, Notes, and comments. Where do people go? Nobody has a clear answer to that right now, so people are spread out everywhere.
I started with Substack about 3 months ago and its been an amazing experience. My mission is to "separate health fact from fiction, because your wellness shouldn't be based on magic beans and unicorn tears. I do the research, so you don't have to. No lab coat required."
Sarah Fay from Writers at Work has excellent information on how to navigate through Substack. Check it out. It has helped me!! And she encouraged me to go paid and not wait. So, I'm going PAID on August 1st. Substack Support has also been extremely helpful. They have answered all my personal questions.
What are some unique perks writers are offering paid/founding members? The common/default ones seem to be access to pay-walled archives, bonus posts, pay-walling comments/chat, "support the cause," yada yada. I'm curious to learn about the more unusual tactics!
I haven't started it yet, but I do plan to offer stickers to everyone with a paid subscription. I'll mail them in batches, so I'm not running to the PO every time a new subscriber signs on. I've toyed with the idea of making t-shirts for founding members, but haven't gotten there yet.
For my part, I went paid immediately. I previously had a subscription-based newsletter on Patreon and switched here with that so it wasn’t a question for me.
My goal is to get 1000 people to pay $100 annually in support of my work and my larger mission to change the cultural narrative around art from one of “must produce constant content” to “slow evolving creativity benefits us all”.
I have been slow to get those paid subscriptions but I keep working at it. And I offer a pay what you can option for people who find themselves at a lower budget.
✏️ - I'm curious if anyone has seen a drop-off or stagnation in paid subscribers lately with all the talk of inflation and recession. My paid subscription rates have totally stagnated and I'm trying to figure out why.
That can be a seasonal change as well. You might watch what happens as summer winds down and people focus more on indoor things and back to school life and away from vacation life.
Is it a Northern hemisphere summer thing, Valorie? My businesses are always very quiet at this time of year, and free sub rates are lower than usual for me right now.
🧠 I finally went paid this week as I neared 100 free subscribers, and I’m excited to share that I already have 10 paid subscribers! My advice is to just go for it. It’s been so exciting to see those payments roll into my Stripe account!
Another tip is to share your subscriber milestones in Notes. I posted a screenshot of my 100 subscribers, and new ones have been rolling in ever since! 😄
Here’s my celebratory note, as an example if you want to use this strategy:
https://substack.com/@lizexplores/note/c-21355821
Really good advice - 10% paid rate is awesome. I'm at a measily 2% paid rate on my 120 subscribers, but I haven't quite figured out what I should paywall or how to incentivize readers to.
I haven’t even done any paywalled posts yet, though I have one in the queue. My thinking is that paying subscribers will get my most personal posts, the ones I hesitate to share publicly because they are so raw.
I like this idea.
I know some others who have any new post unpaywalled, but then after e.g. 3 months older posts become paywalled.
I’ve seen that too. I wonder if reading older work is enough incentive for folks who continue to get new pieces? I’d love to hear from writers who’ve tried these different approaches.
I haven’t quite got paid yet. But yes, Liz, I have considered the same for paywalling those deeply emotional posts.
I think it makes a lot of sense in terms of our privacy when sharing deeply. And I also think it’s a good incentive for people to subscribe, because they want to read our most powerful pieces.
Oh I love this idea! I always feel hesitant to share my most intimate/raw posts to a larger audience, maybe having the paywall on is a good idea!
I think it’s a good incentive for people to go paid, because we always want to read the juicy stuff! 😍
also, if someone wants to scoff or be horrible, at least let them pay for the privilege!
Very true! Though if they do want to give me shit, I know their email address… 😏
I am fairly new to setting up my paywall but I have a few paid posts. That has been one of the greatest benefits to going paid - I know those folks reading have made a choice to join my community. I feel I can go deeper and allow for greater vulnerability.
I also do this, makes it feel safer to do so too, besides offering your paid subs something personal. Once I am able to further diversify my post formats and post with a higher frequency, then I plan to create a sort of varied pallete of different content for everyone. It is definitely good to do it in manageable steps, it helps you to trial and error and see what fits your own schedule and sanity.
Robert, I’m curious what you mean by making “diverse content for everyone”? In my experience, it’s best to stay authentic to yourself and what you want to create, rather than try to make everyone else happy.
Oh right, no what I meant was, I want to offer some other format content besides longer articles, which take long to research and aren't always possible on a regular schedule. This would allow me more flexibility in what I can offer (and want to write about!)
Oh OK, that makes a lot of sense! I’m all about experimenting with different writing styles. Substack is a great place to do that, and see what resonates with your readers.
Congrats and thank you for the tip! I created a milestones page for members to shout them out during our practice sessions and really love the idea of celebratory Notes! 💖
https://open.substack.com/pub/bethspencer/p/member-milestones?r=yx03w&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
I love this idea, Beth, and I love the way you framed it: “Isn’t it kind of awkward to brag about yourself? Maybe, but it’s important. We get so focused on the next goal that we can forget about the sense of pride and accomplishment we feel when we reach a milestone. Our brains need that feeling to keep us motivated and inspired.” 💯
I agree 100%! I am not an artist and haven’t drawn in decades, but you inspired me to subscribe to your Stack and bust out my crayons. 😉
Thanks, Liz! Crayons are one of my favorite things to draw with! Feel free to bring them along for our playful session Sunday. Invite is in the welcome email. 😊
I look forward to reading about your adventures!
Thanks, Beth! I’m about to hop in my van and drive to Alaska, so maybe I’ll be drawing glaciers in two weeks. 🏔️
That's amazing, congratulations! Had you received any pledges or all 10 are de novo? I was nervous about going paid too early, but others in a recent thread also encouraged me to just go for it and after enabling payments I got 2 paid annual subscribers and a founding subscriber who went above my suggested donation, and I didn't even post my going paid post yet!!
I opened up pledges 2 months ago, and had 8 pledges before I decided to go paid. Two more paid subscriptions came in as soon as I turned it on!
Thanks Liz, I appreciate you sharing this! I'm almost at 200 and think I will celebrate this milestone. I'm also getting ready to go paid so your encouragement is helpful.
Congratulations Kerala, that is awesome! I hope you celebrate, and please tag me when you post so I can cheer you on. It sounds like you have enough momentum to go paid! 💰
Will do! I don't know why it's so hard to flip the switch, but this was the perfect topic for me today :)
Even getting one paid subscriber is so encouraging. It will make you want to keep going!
Aww 🥰 such lovely support!
I wrote about the supportive substack community today. It's very nice
Would you mind sharing a link to that piece, Terry?
Sure, but it's a paid one. You could do the 7 day free trial thing and then cancel though. https://terryfreedman.substack.com/p/what-i-learnt-from-prioritising-my
Awesome, thank you!
Isn’t it exciting? 😍
Fabulous work, Liz - I'd just actually clicked through to that note thanks to the link that Terrell had posted. Thank you so much for sharing! 😊 I'm an explorer myself: one who gets lost... 👀
Yay! Love hearing of fellow women explorer / wanderers. I’m a bit of a vagabond myself ;)
Oh wow, the wonders of the Substack network! Thank you for subscribing. 🤩
Can't wait to get stuck in to reading! 🙌
Well I wrote about 20,000 words this past week, so clear your schedule. 😂
🤣🤣🤣
Blimey. I thought I was prolific.
This was after two months of not writing a single word. My brain had a backlog. 😂
Congratulations! That's a great ratio. I'm creeping up on 160 and it definitely feels like once you cross the 100 mark, the momentum keeps building! 🥳
I started in the 400 area from a list of subscribers I already had, but I only have 5 people paying. I have NO idea what to do to get people either to donate or to pay for something interesting. Suggestions welcomed, Mariah! I wish I had that momentum you mentioned!
I think it's a lot of trial and error! I've created a poll (with only two responses so far!) to ask folks what they might be interested in. You can see (and take!) it here for an example: https://forms.gle/Vj3WdvYG1osZLVg6A
A lot of my paying subscribers are friends/family. I have maybe 2-3 that are total strangers and that feels like a big deal! I've also seen people offer "comps" which I wonder if people just end up paying for anyway?
I'd love to hear others' ideas too!
It totally does! Congratulations on your growth, Mariah. It’s really exciting! 🤩
Congrats!
Thank you so much, Theresa! I know it’s a small number compared to all the Substack celebrities out there, but it feels so important to celebrate every milestone. 🥳
Congratulations - and really good advice! Checking out your substack now
Thanks Lucy, I’m glad it was helpful! 😄
Congratulations! Inspiring to hear! I also have around 100 subscribers (around 120ish now) and want to start introducing some paid content, so this is really encouraging to see!
Congratulations, Alexa! I'd say go for it!
Thank you! Will do :)
Very impressive conversion rate, Liz. Big congrats. Keep it up!
I'm far too scared of going paid at the moment, especially because I'm writing as a hobby and it almost feels wrong to go paid, somehow. I don't know. Weird thoughts about it.
I have a good audience of readers and writers who I love and am so grateful for, so I have this inner worry that they'd all just flee if I turned on paid ever.
That’s great that you’ve got so much support, and that you and your readers have good vibes! I guess it depends on your underlying reasons for not wanting to go paid. If it feels good and aligns with your values to create free content, and you don’t see yourself turning your Substack into an income stream, then keep doing what you’re doing and enjoy it.
On the other hand, if you’re putting so much time and energy into your writing that you do want or need to be compensated in order to continue creating, and it’s just fear holding you back, then you have some mindset work to do.
What if your fear was wrong, and readers didn’t abandon you?
What about making payments optional for those who choose to support you, but not required?
There are lots of ways to take baby steps towards going paid and see what happens. What if you just said something like: “Here’s a button you can click if you’d like to support my work”?
Didn't get to this last night but thanks for these thoughts Liz, appreciate it.
So, I don't need to pursue going paid for financial reasons. I'm lucky to have a well-paying job with stability (for now). However, ultimately, I want to be a writer. It's what my soul craves and I've pondered over for years. It's only this year with discovering Substack that I've found a good outlet for communicating some writing and treading that water and growing a small audience.
So, long-term, I would love it if I could make that transition and perhaps going paid is a stepping stone there. But then there's this voice that says don't, because it might take away money from other Stacks that are more in need of that actual money.
I'm sure you're right re: fear, and I like the notion of just having optional payments. I'm going to toy with it for a while, but I really appreciate your thoughts, thanks.
It’s great that you’re thinking about this, Nathan! I do think there are plenty of subscribers to go around. Every writer has their own style that will appeal to different readers, so I don’t think of subscribers as a limited resource. In fact, the way Substack works, the more that your readers become invested in your work, the more Substack shares with them opportunities to discover other writing they might enjoy (through recommendations, notes, etc.). So what if by getting paid subscribers, you were actually helping other writers get discovered through your recommendations and sharing their work? 🤔
Another really good and positive way of thinking about it, thanks Liz.
Nice work!
Thank you for celebrating with me, Kevin! 🥳
10% is a fantastic conversion rate. Congratulations.
Thank you, Cole! In full transparency, two of those subscribers are my mom and mother-in-law, and I have an aunt and a couple friends in the mix. But the amazing thing was when paid subscriptions started rolling in from complete strangers!
When I first went paid, it was all family/friends who became paying subscribers and even Founders. Honestly, it was so humbling to have their support. One of my friends who is 78 even wrote me a personal check with a note and mailed it because she was having a hard time figuring out Stripe. It still sometimes takes my breath away to receive their generosity and see their belief in me.
It is a wonderful gift to give others the opportunity to support us! I have a few friends who are the biggest cheerleaders of my writing. They reach out and compliment every post, and sometimes even give me a call because they thought it was so powerful. Their validation has kept me going!
That's so lovely! It's something I try to do for my friends too.
Your friends are lucky to have you! 😍
Well done, Liz!
Thank you so much, Terry! I know it’s a small number in the grand scheme of things, but every milestone is worth celebrating. 🥳
OK, I've subscribed. I look forward to getting surprises in my inbox. Feel free to explore mine too. I write about anything and everything, and love experimenting.
Awesome Terry, thank you for your support and encouragement! 😄
Absolutely, Liz. I'm about to go and see what you explore :-)
Haha awesome Terry! Lately I’ve been writing about infertility and mental health, and as a result of both of those things, I’m about to embark on a solo road trip from New Hampshire to Alaska. There will be much to explore! 🏔️
Liz, I am so sorry to hear about the challenges you've been through/may still be going through❤
I know I keep fobbing publications on you but you may want to check out Renee's amazing site. She hit the road up to Alaska on a solo trip after some big bumps in her life and her writing and photography is wonderful. She shares a lot about her journey both inward and outward.
https://reneeeliphd.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=reader2&utm_source=%2Fsearch%2FRenee%2520Eli%2520Phd&utm_medium=reader2
Thank you so much, Donna! I thought I’d cornered the market for “grief-stricken woman drives van solo to Alaska and writes about it on Substack,” but I guess I’m in good company. I will enjoy following Renee’s journey. I’m so grateful that you shared this!
Also, I am not far from the Trans Canada highway, I live in BC, so if you have any questions let me know. You may want to check on the wildfire situation along your route because we are having a historical number of fires and it's intense.
And much to make notes on, take photos of and write about innit? Fantastic. Blimey, that sounds like a long way.
It’s 5000 miles one way. I’m mapping it out as we speak, and booking stays to boondock in people’s driveways along the trans-Canada highway.
Happy for you. Curious what you think is what accounts for that.
I started with pledges and got some support from friends and family, but was surprised when people I don’t know started signing on. I decided to set my subscription price low so that it would feel accessible ($36/year or $5/month). I personally find I have a lot of resistance to subscribing at $60 or $80 a year, so I took the gamble that a lower price might gain more paying subscribers. It seems to be working!
I haven't thought about lowering my paid price! Thanks for the tip to think about here. It does feel icky to set my "bar" lower but I need to think of my why and also I'm here to experiment and have fun anyway.
Then don't lower your paid price. Offer a promotional sale. Substack has that feature.
That’s a good tip, Cole!
It’s all an experiment, isn’t it? I also have mixed feelings about diminishing the value of my work, but I’d rather have it be accessible to more people, so hopefully it pays off!
Hmm, very interesting. I wasn’t aware that the yearly price could be different than the monthly price. I thought they had to be the same.
I offered a discounted price for a year but didn’t seem to get people on board.
I went with a Substack’s minimum. They don’t allow a $3 a month option; it had to be $5 a month.
Well they do but you have to do it through their discount system I believe. I offered 80% off my paid subscription price which basically brought it to $1 a month.
Oh wow ok, I hadn’t thought about going that low, but good to know it is possible!
Where is the option to charge less?
I think in your settings you can create a discount or change your price. At one point this year, Substack set a minimum of $50/year for paid. It used to be $36. I don’t know if I got grandfathered in because I had set the $36 price before I turned on paid subscriptions? Or maybe they listened to my complaints and lowered the minimum? No matter what your current price is, though, you should be able to set a discount to make it lower.
So glad you’re feeling good about your new direction — in more ways than one 🛣️
🧠 Just a thought for anyone who had grand plans way in the future to go paid when they get 1k subs or more...
Don’t wait. Do it now.
I just did and I’m so grateful for the good will that people have shown, even with a smaller subscriber base than I envisaged having.
Your writing is worth it. Take the leap!
I wish I had known this sooner. Back when I first started writing on Substack, the company actually gave the opposite advice, suggesting you waited to start paid subscriptions until you already had a large audience.
There was never a really natural time to launch paid. I felt weird doing it. As a result, I wound up going two years without making a cent on my work.
Today I have launched a second substack to focus on fiction writing, rather than the outdoor community. I'm not making the same mistake twice. I'm going for a model that makes it clear from the beginning that I am open for business!
I suppose there is some logic to that, but even just one paid subscriber is encouraging because it means that someone values your work enough to pay for it, plus it's a bit of extra cash in return for doing something you enjoy
Exactly! Good luck
I did the same thing with my second newsletter as well - and what an improvement it’s been!!
Food for thought. Thank you for sharing, Cole
Yes! I feel like a broken record saying this every week, but for awhile someone was peddling the idea to wait until you had over 1k readers before even thinking about offering upgrades. IMO, that's terrible advice. not inly does it (potentially) leave a lot of support on the table, it can be discouraging to someone just starting out. That first paid subscription might be /the/ thing that keeps someone going.
Defo, Kevin. There were many times I thought of packing it in. We all need a bit of extrinsic motivation I think
🧠 I agree, otherwise you're potentially leaving money on the table
I will not totally agree that you are leaving money on the table in General, but I think turning paid varies based on categories of our substack. For instance, someone in finance whose subscription may vary from $20-1000/month needs to build trust for long hence may use the trust building period to provide value and understand exactly what the audience wants, whereas, Someone on the fiction category just needs “addicted readers” -LOYALTY, hence very few readers will pay to encourage the person and the cost is lower like $5-10/month
very true
Really great advice. Not sure where the 1K subs came from but I hear it a lot on here.
It's still in a lot pf places, and it's awful.
What did you do to go paid? Any grand marketing strategy?
Nothing that grand really! I kind of telegraphed that I was planning on going paid by turning on pledges. Then I decided what my paid content would look like, followed Substack’s going paid checklist to make sure all my pages, emails etc. were up-to-date before flicking the switch and posting an announcement post!
Here’s the checklist:
https://on.substack.com/p/going-paid-checklist
To help organize the conversation, please use one of the following emojis when you start a new comment.
🧠 - when sharing strategy or advice for fellow writers
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🟧 - when asking a question you hope the Substack team can help answer
Use your emoji keyboard or simply copy and paste the emoji at the beginning of your comment.
✏️ Hi, About to go paid in the sense that I'm ready to send out that terrifying email plea.
Wondering what has worked best for people: an emphasis on supporting you and independent journalism, an emphasis on new perks or elevated content, or a combo of both? TIA for any advice!
I don't ask, I just tell. Not tell them to subscribe, but just say "hey, here is the paid feature, support if you would like."
Thx Kevin.
:)
I turned on paid from the beginning and was actually surprised that several people used it, even though my first terrifying email just talked about my "free" newsletter (it was mostly to fam and friends. I think I got 17 sign-ups from that email which felt like a big deal!)
Something I'm considering now is once a quarter sending an email to my top engaged subscribers (4-5 stars) and asking them to become paying members, perhaps offering a discount. The hope is that since they are engaging (opening emails, commenting, etc.) the value will be clear to them. And the discount can be a way to thank them for their support while asking for reciprocity.
I'd love to hear if others have examples of doing this and how it went?
I did this not too long ago. I filtered my list, and sent an email to all 4 & 5 star subscribers that had been there more than 60 days. It drove a handful of upgrades.
that sounds interesting
Yeah, I l love this idea!
What did you offer in the email? Discounted upgrade?
it was my "normal" pitch, just a little more targeted than normal. I thanked everyone for being such an engaged part of the community and then made my usual pitch, explaining where their support would go, the positive impact on the newsletter, and some of the projects it would directly support.
I like giving them examples...I struggle a little bit with this because really what they're mostly paying for is my time and I don't necessarily have MORE to give if they subscribe, it's really just a way to compensate me for time I'm already spending.
I wonder if there's a way to pitch that or just talk about the projects I'm already doing?
What I try to do is talk about the projects I'm doing and/or want to do, and explain that these take resources (time, etc.). Zooming out, we (collectively) have been conditioned to believe our time isn't worth very much. You never hear a plumber or mechanic say that. I think that's changing a little bit, but it's like turning an oil tanker around.
Love that idea. Thanks for sharing :)
Kevin nailed it. You're not begging! You're a writer that has an option to support the work you do, that's all.
Mine are all framed around the idea that an upgrade means supporting ad-free, algorithm-free, indie journalism. That revenue also helps gift upgrades to people who otherwise might not be able to afford it. My emails also usually mention the "exciting" things their support helps buy, like Grammarly pro, and Pilot Pens (I handwrite most of my drafts).
Great stuff. Love applying it to the tangible.
It's been a combo for me, and I tend to change the messaging around as I go, to emphasise one or the other, sometimes hooking them with paywalled stuff, other times trying a heartfelt plea for support. Everything's worth trying! (If it's honest, of course.) But - if you're going to try one approach, make it a clear and simple call to action. The closer you can get to giving them one thing to click on, the better the results, I think. Use all the words to really say what you really want to say to them, but keep them there in the email, no distractions or opportunities to click away. Don't break the spell you're weaving. 🪄✨
Thank you, Mike. This is great advice - and love hearing what's worked for you.
I told my readers why I was doing it. That gave me the opportunity to get clear in my head what my why is. I explained about the effort it takes to write and that Substack is building a different way of getting content that is reader supported as opposed to algorithm fed. I explained their support means a great deal and allows me to be more vulnerable in my writing because I know they are choosing to join me rather than simply scrolling around their email or feeds.
Love this so much!
Yeah I think for those who don’t spend lots of time here on Substack they are just really happy to support your work... I think just “sharing your gifts” and making it really clear what the offer is is totally enough! 🥰
Thank you for the validation to go that route!
I decided that I will save my most personal stories for my paying subscribers--the stuff that feels to raw to post publicly. Everyone wants to read the juicy stuff!
I find that "support independent research" helps some, but so does emphasizing what bonuses they get when they subscribe.
Yeah, this is what I'm trying to figure out.
definitely don't think of it as a plea. You're job is to get them excited about all the cool things you are doing and why they should support. What do THEY get out of it. I wrote about that here. https://authorstack.substack.com/p/how-to-go-paid-on-substack-without
Love how you laid everything out. Good luck to you as well!
✏️ Hi! I have a weekly newsletter for artists. I'm reading below that I should just go paid, but I have also heard advice about waiting until 1k free subscribers. I have 325 after a year, so 1k would take me a while.
My question: How do you go paid while still giving value to your free subscribers? Do you follow something like the 80-20 rule so that only 20% of content is behind the pay wall?
I am planning on making everything available not matter what. I struggle to find the add-value if I attach certain features to pay. Maybe the comment section, but nobody comments on my content because it's not art or an opinion. So, I figured I would make everything free, and then the paid feature will basically be like a donation to my time.
I've found that to be true of my paid subscribers. They pay more because they appreciate my work than because of any hidden goodies. (Though I retain some for Founding Members) I will probably adopt this strategy too, although I won't claim that that's how it'll work for everybody.
I like Kevin's attitude towards payment, starting with voluntary offerings for services rendered, and no worries about assigning categories.
I don’t agree with the 1000 subs thing at all.
I’d say go paid now if you feel ready?
I did in April 2022 and have been growing - I have 30 now and have learnt so much in the process. 😍
So true Claire. It’s def not an exact science. There are several variables at play here: topic, quality, cadence, perceived value to upgrade vs. free, price point, notoriety, and runway length demonstrating value. As such it’s all about experimenting with all these levers :)
Hi Katie! I’d say go paid when you feel ready: I took two-three months to find my feet, then announced I was going to offer paid subs + shared the content that would be paid in the month before I started paywalling things, to give people a sense of what they’d get. Now I send out 2 free newsletters a month (as I always did) and monthly bonus content for paid subscribers: a behind-the-scenes post and a thread. I frame the paid option as more inspiration + support which seems to resonate with the people who subscribe. Good luck!
Substack no longer gives the 1k benchmark for paid as advice. Go paid whenever you feel ready. If you don’t know what to offer, just paywall your archives. There is an option to auto-paywall posts after a few weeks
I have everything past 3 weeks being paid, but I know a lot of people who do 1-2 free and 1-2 paid every week. I know people who also go paid comments and discussions.
🧠 I soft launched payments on a new pub today and have two already!
It’s called Sparkle ON Substack and it’s a space for co working on our Substacks plus collating articles and spaces writers can hang out! ✨🙌🏻
One of the big sticking points was working out how to hook stripe in but my friend shared what had worked for her and it was creating a new project within Stripe! If you could share this knowledge more widely that would ace! ✨🙌🏻
This is a cool idea Claire, look forward to checking it out.
🥰
Congrats on starting a new pub, and also on getting two paying subs. I just subscribed in case my creativity ever dries up (unlikely, but you never know)
Haha Terry! ☺️
Totally unlikely with you however there might be something fun you want to take part in or do... I’ve got lots planned for the community! Thanks for being on this journey with me!
Thanks, Claire. I'm looking forward to it. However, I have to say that I am surprised that such a highly creative and intelligent woman as you appear to have not subscribed to mine. You would almost certainly enjoy it, especially my letters with @rebecca holden and my "experiments in style" 😊
I have to admit I have never read your letters to each other I don’t think but I do read Rebecca’s Saturday posts and adore them.
I’ve been trying to read “out of my British echo chamber” if that makes sense!? I feel so trapped by this island at times 😂
When I "met" Rebecca she only had three books and she hadn't even finished colouring them in. You will definitely enjoy our correspondence. Subscribe to mine for free and if you don't like it I'll give you a refund. I can't say fairer than that. Also, I don't write just about this "small island", so there. I don't like echo chambers either, Claire
😂✨🥰🙌🏻
What I so love about my 'Letters to Terry' series, Claire, is that I get to write about things that I wouldn't otherwise be posting about in my Saturday posts. In my letter yesterday I waxed lyrical about the pleasures of narrowboating and clog dancing, how the smell of diesel will always remind me of holidays, and a fabulous game called 'depluralised film titles'. Think 'Trree Gump' and 'The Lion, the Witch and the Coat Hook'! 🤣
Tempted? https://rebeccaholden.substack.com/p/84-a-letter-to-terry-18
Wow, Claire - sounds great, well done!
One of my sticking points for (not) going paid is that I am not offering a service - I'm literally just telling my stories. 🤔
I was doing that too before ways into creative journalling... just sharing behind the scenes of my biz and some more personal/ vulnerable stuff. I can’t help share my process because it’s intrinsically me you know and I think that’s what people want to support just the you in it all...
So because you offer so so much beautiful detail maybe there’s something in that to consider behind a paywall or so as my husband does and just turn on paid and let people support your time? He doesn’t write anything behind a paywall and has like 6 paid subs out of 250 or so which has given him such a boost in very trying times. ❤️🫖
That's really helpful, Claire - thank you. 😘✨
You’re so welcome!
😊🥳🤪 I've written about my going paid process here before, but in case this resonates with someone today, here's what I decided to do:
1. EVERYTHING IS STILL FREE.
2. I turned on paid subscriptions about five months ago, after a year of writing.
3. I felt I needed to wait that long to prove to myself that I was in this for the long haul, and to prove to my readers (and future subscribers) that they could count on a certain type and frequency of content.
4. I am pushing back - everywhere, really - against the notion that only those who can afford nice things get to have nice things. That doesn't feel like what I want my Stack to represent. I know others choose to give "scholarship-type" free subscriptions for those who ask, but I wanted to try a different approach.
5. I framed the ask (no pun intended) like how one might invite someone to consider when they purchase a piece of fine art. They pay for what they get. They can look at it anytime they please, share it with others, interpret it as they feel motivated. They don't get "extra" stuff because they paid for the first stuff.
6. This is my art. Supporting me through a paid subscription helps me continue to produce it. But, if you can't, or don't, that doesn't change my desire to make it available to any and all.
7. Out of 450 subscribers, I have 36 paid. Not a terrible ratio.
8. I like doing what I can to create a more generous world. Just my $.02.
https://elizabethbeggins.substack.com/?
I appreciate you sharing this. I write a technical newsletter, and what I write is helpful to a lot of people who are just starting out in their careers. Many people can't afford a paid subscription, certainly not to multiple newsletters.
I lock some posts for 6 weeks, but all posts end up free to everyone. The main benefit of a paid subscription, and I write this explicitly on the subscription page, is that you're helping me make this information available to everyone.
I have a lower paid ratio than most people, but I think it's a good long term strategy. Long term I think a significant number of people will bump up to paid when they can, and I am also hoping to make up for the lower ratio with a higher number of subscribers.
Interesting, the idea of limiting access for a period of time. How do subscribers know the older content is now available? Can you tell if they go back to access it?
I have a Topics page and a Series page that helps people find relevant older posts. So when people first look around my site, they see a lot of existing content that’s not paywalled.
Then when a group of related posts have all converted to free, I send an email only to free subscribers that a new set of posts is available to everyone. When those emails go out, I include a link to a discount on annual subscriptions for anyone who wants to upgrade. Upgrading gives you access to all posts as soon as they come out, but the main benefit is supporting my overall work so it ends up available to everyone.
I've had this approach for roughly a year, because I'm passionate about making the science behind important issues accessible to everyone, and accessible kind of goes against the paywall. But I'm starting to offer a bit of paywalled content to see if I can get the conversion rate up because it's only around 2% at this stage.
Out of curiosity, Melanie, how often do you ask/suggest that folks consider a paid subscription?
I have a footer which is on the email, then I add it in to the web version of the article. I haven't done separate requests.
Elizabeth, I am so grateful that you have shared all of this information - thank you. I've got some thinking to do. 😘
Happy to know you found value in the idea, Rebecca. I'd be interested to know where you decide to go with your page in that regard.
Really great run down. I like this approach of producing regardless, while giving others the option. Trying something similar for now, we'll see.
Keep me/us posted! :)
A friend uses paid subscriptions to raise money to pay contributing writers. I thought that was a a good way to do it.
Interesting idea. Thanks for mentioning.
🧠Lots of great advice here already! As someone that "went paid" awhile ago, here is my .02:
-Go paid today. Right now, even. Open a separate tab, and turn that option on. Leave the overthinking for later.
-As writers, we often get caught up on what "more" to offer paid subscribers. Substack is different from other platforms in that often readers want to support you, the author, or your project in general. It's a model closer to, say, PBS than anything else. if you are consistently putting out work that resonates with people, they will support it.
- You will constantly be (happily) surprised by what drives people to upgrade. In my own case, it's almost never what I thought it would be.
I just went paid this week on my list of 100, and I already have 10 paying subscribers! It’s exciting to see those Stripe payments roll in every day. 🤩
Feels really good, doesn't it?
I can almost hear the cash register ”cha-ching” sound every time! 🤑
I'm a believer in keeping everything available for free, and asking people to choose a paid subscription if they are able to and want to support your work financially. In my experience, people are not motivated by exclusive content as much as supporting my mission (independent journalism about Iowa politics).
Hi! I've been offering monthly online creativity themed workshops that are still a work in progress. So far I've had pretty poor attendance. Sometimes one person, sometimes two, sometimes none. I'm about to do my fifth one in August and I'd love some advice/ideas!
How heavily do you promote your online workshops and how far in advance?
I've been using Eventbrite and asking for folks to register, is there a better option out there?
What topics/themes do you explore in the online gatherings? I created a free new moon journal with affirmations, monthly themes, and creative prompts that the online workshops are based off of. The idea is to connect our creativity to the seasonal changes and work in harmony with the energy around us. Is there a better way to market that?
Thanks everyone for your help/tips! I really believe in this project and I'm excited to share it with more people!
I start talking about my sessions at least a week beforehand. Do you send a reminder to your attendees before the sessions begin? That's helped me tons as well. :)
That's a good idea! I've been going through Eventbrite so I can easily advertise the workshops to people outside of Substack, too and I think it sends them reminders.
Don't worry, Mariah, I have thousands of subscribers and hardly anyone shows up to my live events. I don't require registrations (perhaps this is the problem?) and have a separate "event Reminder" newsletter that sends out reminders one week before, one day before and one hour before.
Anyone can join my events which are training sessions (for work stuff), but only paying subscribers can watch the replays.
I do get good feedback on them, but I think people are busy, and if you have a global audience like I do then time zones are a bitch!
I guess what I'm saying is that in ecommerce-land a 1% 'conversion' rate is considered normal so if you have a few hundred subs and are getting one person showing up you are doing quite well compared to most 'creators' on the internet.
Thank you for this note of encouragement! It's so hard to feel like you are creating in a void sometimes. But normalizing this and realizing others are experiencing growing pains makes me feel less alone.
Is the workshop part of your paid subscriber benefits? Is the reason for eventbrite to get their emails or send them the event link?
I don't prefer Eventbrite, I have always found it to be clunky. Depending on if these attendees are already paying or not, I would have further advice.
Originally, yes they were for paid subscribers. Seeing as I only have about 20, I wanted to open it up to others so I've been playing with offering it as a donation, or offering a free trial to access the workshops. I haven't been consistent in this which is another challenge!
I’ve found that it’s enough just to show up and I always record mine as some folks prefer to watch later. Ask them if they want video/ mics on or off - ask them about times - use polls so they stay invested in what they’ve asked for.
I'm curious if the success is also related to the number of subscribers? I have about 160. Are your workshops more interactive or like presentations? I could record mine but would feel awkward if no one comes!
Great idea about polling!
Yes workshops but I've had a glitch in the most recent recording so back to the drawing board... :(
✏️ I haven't gone paid yet but plan to shortly. With my limited bandwidth, I'm struggling with what incentives to offer my paid subscribers. Would love some ideas!
I was thinking of offering an "occasional" short humor/satire story, which isn't what I typically write but which I enjoy writing from time to time. Maybe limit comments to paid subscribers? Maybe I'm overthinking it because my paid subscribers really just want to support me and don't necessarily need extra incentives?
I'm not offering incentives. I feel like that just leads to dissapointment. I'm keeping the entire thing open and adding the paid feature as a donation to my time.
I do offer some bonuses and see my paid subscriptions as an income stream in my business, BUT: there’s no need to offer anything extra. Honour your bandwidth, that’s the most important thing. People don’t just pay because they get more but also, a lot, because they want to support you. You could also offer only paid subscribers the ability to comment on all posts, or put your archive behind a paywall--no extra work for you and could provide incentive to upgrade to paid. Good luck!
Thank you Astrid, very helpful! Also, love the theme of your newsletter!
Thank you Kerala!
I don't offer anything beyond my archive to members. I asked about new things they wanted, and they overwhelming told me to support me.
I'm in a similar boat. For the most part, right now, the only incentives for mine are 1] to show your support, and 2] to get full access to the archives. I have a plan (which I need to start actually turning into reserving time to accomplish) to start publishing fiction again, however, and if I do, the main stories will still be free, but the archives will still have the 14-day horizon, and there will be "special features" that'll be paid-only content.
I know a few writers who just turn on paid as a support system, and barely write paid posts. You can also give paid subscribers early access maybe?
🟧 - I am moving my list of 130,000 (free, high open rate) subscribers to substack, both for a paid option and to grow the list. But when I created my first email and sent a test email to myself, it went into my promo folder. Do you have any advice to avoid this? Any stats about how often this happens? Obviously, it would be a huge problem if that happens to even a small percentage of my list. (This has never been a problem with mailchimp.) Thanks!
Hi Laura! You can include a note in your Welcome email asking people to reply to you - maybe ask them a question and tell them you want to hear from them, once they reply it will help keep your emails out of their promo folder. You can also tell them to move your email to their inbox and out of their promo folder when it lands there. Since you have such a big list you're moving over I'm also going to send you an email so we can help with that migration! Be on the lookout for an email from me.
HI Christina - I appreciate your support. Can I use my own email address, that my emails have always come from, instead of a substack address? Thanks!
I wrote a very long note about this a while ago. I’d first encourage you to tell your mail chimp subscribers to add the new address to their address book. Your new email address has no “sender score.” Your old one had built up a reputation for not being spam. This one hasn’t yet
Thank you, Cole. That makes perfect sense. I am not sure I can do this if I have to use the substack address. But they must let you use your own address. Thanks!
Enjoy the major revenue increase with those numbers! woot!
✏️🟧 I have seen some writers who give a certain % of their paid subscriptions to charity, I love this idea & it might help me jump into the paid idea - I’m curious if there’s any internal mechanism for this (I’m assuming not and that $ can only go directly to the writer’s acct) and/or if subscribers just trust that you’re sending in your charitable contribution as you say you will. Would love to hear how writers who offer this are doing it. Thanks!
Nothing planned in the immediate future to have the money go directly to a charity but we are looking into allowing writers that do this to display the specifics on various surfaces (welcome page, about page, etc.)
Hi Robin! We don't have any tools to help facilitate this. Writers keep track of this on their end typically and readers trust they are donating the % they say they are.
🟧 can I interview someone from Substack for my new podcast here?!
🟧 I have not turned on paid, but have a handful of pledges. I am considering turning off the pledge feature to make growing free subscribers seem more efficient and effective.
Question: if I turn off pledges now, will I lose the current pledges (for when I eventually go paid)? I plan to turn on pledges and paid features in about 6-9 months when I hope to be much larger. Hope that question makes sense. Thanks!
Joe, you may want to strongly consider not turning off pledges. Having pledges doesn't negatively impact new subscribers signing up—they don't see the pledge call to action until after they sign up with their email address. So there's no downside to having it turned on, it's all upside
✏️ - I have two newsletters, but have been skittish about turning the second one into a paid one out of fear something will break. I've received at least $300 or so in pledges for the second one. I'm concerned that I'll break the first one somehow. Over half of my income comes from the first one and I'm fully independent as a journalist.
On a second front, my "Notes" is connected to both. How can I adjust that? I ask this with zero research because I'm ridiculous behind publication-wise.
I imagine you could separate notes by creating a new substack account, and making it the admin for the substack you want to send out notes for.
Can you reassign ownership? I could create a new email for that.
Idk about reassigning ownership but you can elevate an account to admin which has all the same privileges
Thanks - as I said, I'm usually too busy writing to think about this but I'm going to experiment. I'm deliberately not marketing #2 as it's a lot more ambitious and more experimental than #1 which is also always an experiment!
How do I drive contributions or subscriptions, and how do I drive INVOLVEMENT? My work is very authentic, humorous, and deep as well. I tend to be at a 29%-32% readership, which is good. But I do NOT get a lot of responses and I have had a few people make donations, and I have exactly one person paying monthly. What am I missing?
Liz’s 10% paid rate is likely because her first one hundred subs likely included a lot of friends and family. Nothing wrong with that but as she grows the percentage is likely to go down. I went paid at 500 subs, now have 900 and about a 3% paid rate. I’d like to see that number bump up to at least 5%. Like a lot of things growth can take awhile to build momentum.
That's a really good point. I often look at whether someone is over 1,000 subscribers when they report higher paid percentages.
After writing Nichelle Newsletter for over three years, I finally went paid this week. One reason is because people really like my newsletter and have offered to pay for it. Two, it is because I got laid off from a restaurant that closed after five years of being open. I worked there for four years. I only got 48 hours notice that I was losing my job. My plan is to post at least twice a week and to do exclusive podcasts for paid subscribers. I have seven subscribers in less than a week.
✏️🟧 I write or publish posts 6 days a week on napping. I’m looking to encourage my subscribers to use Notes to report on their experience with the subject of my Substack: napping. Share when they take a nap, respond to questions related to napping that might inform future posts, etc. I find that most of the folks I know only read via email, rather than engaging through the Substack app. Any thoughts re ways I might utilize the platform and Notes to improve engagement?
Thanks for your question Matt. Check out these resources for general advice about how to grow your audience and improve engagement https://substack.com/resources
✏️ - I have not gone paid and I am curious to hear from people who have...
- do you offer anything to paid subscribers that free subscribers don’t receive? If so, what?
- and for those who have paid subscriptions on but who have all their writing freely available: do you get many paid subscriptions? And do you think you’d get more if you put some of your writing behind a pay wall?
Anyone who takes the time to answer any of these questions I greatly appreciate it.
They get access to $50 in courses, plus 12 of my novels, all my non-fiction, and my archive. I wrote about that here. https://authorstack.substack.com/p/how-to-use-substack-sections-to-beef
Thanks Russell
I have paid turned on but most of my content is free. I occasionally put bonus content (like an audio recording) behind the paywall. Paying subscribers also get access to a submission form and a discount to my other services.
Thanks Alyssa thats super helpful advice. And I also like that idea of most of the content being free.
Sure!
For my free weekly newsletter I send drawing & materials tips, sketchbook photos and the occasional timelapse video.
I host monthly drawing sessions for paid members and share videos of my art process.
https://bethspencer.substack.com/about
Thanks for the advice Beth
That sounds like you offer a lot of quality stuff.
Seasonal meet ups and posts behind the paywall. X 2 a month. That’s all.
Thanks Claire. I appreciate the advice.
I feel like my paid subs are very generous toward their support for me and actually they don’t really mind what I offer - one of the posts is behind the scenes of my business and they do seem to like the honesty there.
That’s super helpful to know as that was something I was worried about: that I wouldn’t offer anything that was worth paying for other than what I was already providing for free.
I think doing a poll / vote is a great way to better understand what they are hoping for and also remembering we think about it 100x more than they do?!
That’s a really good idea.
I may have to do a poll before launching - thank you Claire
Don’t be afraid to ask for money for your work. There’s a lot of back and forth on the integrity of doing that, but if you’re a serious writer who values your work: There’s 100% nothing wrong with asking for compensation for your art. Nothing could be more reasonable. I started with 50 free subs (friends and family) August 24 of last year. Eleven months later I have 900 subs with 75 paying. I write regular, quality prose and I ask for money.
Michael Mohr
‘Sincere American Writing’
https://michaelmohr.substack.com/
What are some of your best suggestions on going paid?
I have figured out a plan that I’m planning to implement but I would like to know things you’ve tried and they worked. Or things which failed to help.
I just went paid this week, and my plan is to save my most personal stories for my paying subscribers--the stuff that feels too raw to post publicly. Everyone wants to read the juicy stuff! 😉
I get that. I’m planning on going a little more controversial for my paid content. I write about philosophy and I have shied away from more controversial issues to avoid losing free subscribers. But I have decided to go there in paid exclusive content.
That’s a great idea!
I'm hopeful that it will make people interested in becoming paid subscribers.
Yes, I do that too--not so much to generate clickbait but mainly to share more personal things like my financial goals that I don’t want to share with the entire internet 😅
Yes exactly, it’s all about finding a healthy balance. 😄
My best suggestion is to turn it on right away.
Other things that have worked for me:
- Making the annual rate $45 (vs. $5/mo.). That saves the reader money, and means less churn for me. Win-win.
- Paywalling anything after 2 weeks. I publish 4-5x weekly, so that's plenty of free stuff for new readers to check out. Plus, I leave the 7 day free trial offer on everything.
- I committed to not running ads. I assume this is preferrable to most people.
- Anyone that can't afford to upgrade gets one free, no questions asked. We've all been there. Paid supporters know they're helping make that possible.
What didn't move the needle for me:
- Running a sale (as in X percent off for Y amount of time)
Okay, interesting. So you mean that you’re publishing 4 to 5 pieces a week? Currently I’m at 1 a week minimum with occasionally more than that.
You find that anything older than 2 weeks is behind a paywall works? I have been thinking about doing something 2 years or older but I never considered 2 weeks.
Yes, 4-5 a week (1 is a playlist/discussion, and 1 is a link roundup). I had the wall at 3 weeks, but moved it up to 2 recently. I haven't had any issues so far.
Katie I hesitate to go paid too soon. Been on for 9 months and wrote poems of inspiration. I do t want to turn off the members that read it everyday. I find it’s a turnoff if done the wrong way. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Just go paid. People will support you ow they won't.
If you're struggling to come up with what you offer, I recommend a paid archive. Someone can read your stuff for free when it comes out, but it gets automatically paywalled after a couple weeks. Substack has a way to do this by default in settings.
I am planning on doing that with the fiction substack I just launched. (i.e. a short story collection that starts free, and is paywalled once the collection is all published.)
^This^
I know it's cliché, but you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
Like it, Kevin! I wrote something similar today, though not expressed so succinctly
I've thought about doing that, but doesn't it mean that people who might have subscribed after reading an old post might not do so cos they can't read it?
I love that idea, Cole. I just asked a question about incentives because I'm struggling a bit on that front. I don't want to overpromise.
Question: Do you think this impacts your "discoverability" on Substack?
No there’s actually an option that allows search engines to scrape your premium content. I suggest you turn that on. It basically makes it so that even stuff that’s paywalled, search engines can still see it
You're educating me. Thanks!!
Great to know, thanks!
That's a good idea. I have 325 subscribers after a year of weekly newsletters for artists, so I have a lot of content. I've been wondering how/when to go paid, so maybe that's a good way to test it out.
My respectful suggestion would be to paywall anything older than 3-4 weeks. That gives new readers enough new work to really get a feel for what you are doing, while still offering a LOT more where that comes from.
Thanks, great suggestion. I've been hesitant to go paid, but this might ease the way for me.
Thank you for the idea of a paid archive, I haven't thought of that. I have paid on and I've said that I'll send out a list of recs by me but I definitely overpromised because I've done it but not nearly as much as I'd like.
Interesting idea Cole. I plan on making my poems audio soon but it’s time consuming and I work a ton. I am also writing my second in a series in fiction and plan to release at the same time on Substack. Any ideas of how to combine the two? I was in sales for years and sometimes free , it wasn’t considered as valuable.
Someone whose newsletter I just discovered today is new to paid subscriptions, and is doing it really well so far -- here's her story: https://substack.com/@lizexplores/note/c-21355821?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=2ibz
Even if only one person goes paid, that's 1 more paid subscriber than you would've had otherwise!
Thank you so much for this link, Terrell!
You're welcome! Liz's story is really inspiring, and she's just getting started.
Thanks Terrel. Good article. Makes me rethink what I’m doing with a passion. People often value more something they pay for. I’d love your ideas on implementing with intro ing a fiction series I’m writing and also doing my poems on audio. Thanks.
Thank you so much for the shout out, Terrell! That is very generous of you. 🙏
🧠 *I do not get hung up on numbers.* You don’t need 1k subscribers to “go paid”. If someone wants to support you then please let them. In fact, just having a little paid support will hopefully make you more consistent in publishing. Judiciously view your stats but don’t let numbers control your emotions or feelings of self-worth. One paid subscriber means you have a paying audience. They are worth it. Keep doing the work. You will get better. And the Substack community wants to support you. We want you to do well.
🧠 I currently have 319 free subscriptions and one paid subscription. After reading the comments on here, I am wondering if it would be a good thing to do a post on why I have a pay option. (you know, supporting artists and all that)
I think more should be said about establishing a newsletter before pushing for paid subscriptions. An option for people to buy subscriptions is fine early on, but with so many new newsletters it's hard for me to pay an annual subscription to someone who has one or two months of writing out.
I think you can write more targeted appeals to people as time goes on. For example you might wait a couple more months, then go to your subscribers page and filter for everyone who has been a subscriber for at least three months. Then you can write a short but clear message along the lines of "Now that you see what I'm writing about consistently, please consider a paid subscription to support my ongoing work..."
I have done this a couple times now with reasonable success. My archive is free to everyone, but some posts are locked for a 6-week period. Twice now I've sent out emails announcing that series about specific topics are now free to everyone. Those emails only go to free subscribers, because paid subscribers have already seen these series. With the announcement about the completed and newly-free series, I offer a discounted annual subscription. I've done this twice now, and both times some people have bumped up to a paid subscription.
Yes!!! I did a birthday month push with a discount and that helped too!
That's a great idea
✏️ Hi everyone! Fairly new to Substack here. I currently use Substack to publish my newsletters and am nearing my first 100 subscribers! I have an idea for the kind of content that I might provide to paid subscribers, and I also have a technical questions regarding how I might go about setting up paid.
For some context, I run a grant writing consultancy focused on regenerative agriculture. We provide a lot of educational information and awareness to folks who are involved in agriculture or related nonprofits and want to learn about applying for grants as well as what grant opportunities are out there. I big goal of mine is to help these readers to connect with others who may have similar ideas and therefore have strength in numbers that may help them to build out fundable projects.
My first question in regards to this is can I make a paid community groups? What kind of Substack/strategies would work best for such a group that I might be the orchestrator of? Thoughts? Suggestions?
You can make paid comments and chats. I have a Circle community as well, or discord might work. I know a lot of people do that. You should follow David Spinks. This is his bag.
Thank you for the insights, Russell!
✏️ I've been reviewing movies free for 20 months now, and I recently went paid. The earth didn't move. I fear some readers aren't even seeing the "Upgrade to Paid" button. Or maybe they are and just don't want to pay me. Okay, I understand that. I publish reviews every Sunday at noon, but I don't offer premium content -- I don't have the time -- so I'm asking them to pay in support of my work. In any case, since the slow movie release period is now underway, I'm going on hiatus for all of August and the first part of September. Not that many interesting movies to write about.
I'll be sending the hiatus notice this Sunday, and I'm going to include in it a HARD push to "Upgrade to Paid". On top of the "Upgrade to Paid" button I'll insert a rule with a short note saying, "Here's where you can Upgrade to Paid". I know that sounds desperate. I'm desperate. I can't go on doing this without bringing in a modest amount of dough. Modest. But I've got to have some return. I love doing this. But I'm income-challenged, you might say. Anybody else feel something like this? If you think I'm pipe-dreaming, please tell me. I often feel that way myself.
I think you probably haven't showed them the value to get paid. You have in depth knowledge of each movie, but what is the point? What is your point of view? Why do people come to you? I wrote a long article about that this week which might help, but I think you need to explain WHY they are coming to YOU and what they get out of it. https://authorstack.substack.com/p/worldclasssubstack
🧠 Do you publicize through other social media platforms? I wonder if that might be a way
Matt Hoffman, thanks very much for responding. Yes, through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. I've had some success for sure as long as subscriptions have remained free. Now, with offering paid subscriptions, I'll certainly keep engaging on those platforms, and I'll see if I can bring in paid subscribers.
I'll start engaging on the gigantic Threads platform as soon as it's available on desktop. Now it's available only via the Instagram phone app, not desktop Instagram, where I'm already enrolled, and I can't work on my phone. I've been a word processor-typesetter for more than 30 years, and I can't force my mind to type with my thumbs.
For my second Substack I'm thinking about crowdfunding on a platform like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. I've done a photography book before this way, but launching a Substack is different. It's not a tangible thing you can send to funders, unless you've got a related book or merch. Anyone here do this before? I'm trying to decide btwn the two platforms.
✏️ - I have a question about tiers for subscribers. Another substack author has configured his account so people can subscribe based on what they can afford. $10/year, $20/year, and so on, up to $100/year. How can I enable a similar system?
They're doing that by setting up a series of coupons, and then linking to those coupons. Go to Settings > Payments > Manage special offers, and that should get you started.
Also, thanks for sharing this! I think this is a great approach!
See https://armoxon.substack.com/about for a clearer image of what I'm talking about.
🟧 If someone signs up for a yearly subscription, do they still get billed monthly? Or it is billed all at once?
All at once
Thanks for jumping in here Diana, this is correct! Yearly subscriptions will be billed all at once.
🧠 I started out going paid from the very beginning. I don't know if it was the right thing or not since Substack strategies encouraged me to make my newsletter paid later on, but I do have some paid subscribers now and even founding members and they are those who are really into my work. So alls well that ends well. If you give it a few months and get a few paid subscribers, even those few will be a vindication of both your writing and the monetization of your newsletter. After all, your writing is worth something if it's good, compelling and meaningful to other people.
✏️The issue I have (and still haven't come to peace with) is with paywalled content vs. free content. I think that while it's fine to start having paid subs at the beginning, the initial perks should not include paywall content but something else that doesn't affect your writing. I found that I couldn't put in as much effort for my paywall articles as the free stuff for the simple reason that people were reading the free stuff, and virtually nobody was reading the paywall stuff. Maybe some people can squeeze motivation out of $5-7 a month from 1 or 2 paid subs, but for me it was eyeballs. Maybe it's better to have paywalled content after, say, twenty paid subscribers? I'm curious if other people have that issue.
Hi Felix! At your existing list size, I'd suggest focusing on growing your free list. Once you figure out what type of content your readers value, it will be easier to figure out what to paywall.
This is a great resource on growth: https://substack.com/growthfeatures
Thanks Randa! I'll check it out!
That's why I have everything free at launch and then it's paid after three weeks. Then, I'm writing for everyone and my catalog has more value over time.
✏️ Like others have mentioned here, I am struggling with what to offer as incentives for going paid besides offering my archives. I enjoy writing for everyone and hesitate to paywall new posts as I feel like my writing offers encouragement to others and I don’t want to be selective in offering said encouragement. I am in a bit of a quandary if anyone has any tips ✍🏼
I wrote a few weeks ago about how I use Sections to give more value to people. Maybe it would help you. https://authorstack.substack.com/p/how-to-use-substack-sections-to-beef
Thanks Russell! I'm heading over to check it out now 😊
IDK if it's paid, but there's a place at the top for free 7-day trial and I am happy to comp you longer if you need.
Hi Mackenzie! Given your current list size, I'd consider growing your free subs before going paid.
There are lots of great examples and tactics here: https://substack.com/growthfeatures
Thanks for your response Randa! 😊
@substack I would love to see the rate of conversion from free to paid subscribers by CATEGORY . I am sure it will really give perspective to a lot of creators
✏️ I've started in May and have been publishing at a weekly rate. Till now I have published 13 articles. Some of them have been very well received with thousands of views from outside. I do want to go paid, but I am not able to figure out what exclusives I can offer to the paid subscribers.
Most of my articles are long-form and take considerable amount of research and time for me to write. So in a way they themselves are valuable. However, if I close them then I will stop driving outside traffic which is bringing new free subscribers.
You can pull the most trafficked articles into their own page and then make everything else behind a paywall. It's usually a very small number of articles that drive most of the traffic.
Thank you for responding Russel. That's a good idea. I'm not sure how pages work in substack. Do you mean like a section which I can somehow filter from being paywalled? I think not changing the URL of those articles is important for search engines to continue to show that page.
Also, you should be able to change the link to both pages so the new page has the url of the old page, but I don’t know if that is 100% true. I am pretty sure it is though
Thank you, I will try this out.
This is one of the main problems of a blanket paywall. The other thing you can do is just offer a free trial at the top. Almost every publication I click on has a soft paywall where you have to sign up to read more.
No, I mean you go into the settings and create a new page in the publication settings, like adding a new page to your website.
✏️ How do you even know if your subs will pay ? Doesnt it affect morale ?
You don't know until you turn it on. I don't know about morale, but it definitely makes me want to keep putting out work people will find value in.
Turn it on and find out. If you believe in the work then it will grow over time as long as you are intentional about building the right audience.
Depends: are you writing for the money? Or is the money just a nice bonus? My morale is mostly tied to whether people are reading (which they are). If they want to pay to subscribe, honestly, at this point, that's roughly the equivalent of someone saying, "I'd like to buy that guy a cup of coffee some day", and that feels great, but honestly, seeing the open-rates and visitor numbers stay consistent or grow matters a lot more to me.
🟧 good afternoon, I am planning to release a first collection of short (paid) sports-themed stories with a moral on Substack, a progression from my factual analysis column ‘why sport matters’. Despite intensive research I have many questions that I am desperate for the Substack team to answer. May I at least start with - 1. can one email a LINK to subscribers, not the actual text, which at 10k words would be too long for some inboxes. 2. if someone subscribes three stories in, does the system allow them to ‘see what they’ve missed. Huge thanks and best wishes, Lee W x
What you’d want to do is create a parent page for your story on Substack. Update the parent page with links to each chapter of the story as there’re published. Then at the top of each new chapter you can create a button to take the person back to the home page where they can see all the chapters. You can kinda see how I have it set up on my fiction Substack, www.coleshapters. There is a navigation parent page, and parent pages for different story collections
Great suggestion, thank you Cole.
Thank you for this Cole, it’s much appreciated and I’ll be sure to take a look. (They will be a collection of stories rather than chapters, and I’m keen that people are able to read via the Substack site rather than the entire text on an email) 🙏🏼
Oh I’m doing the exact same thing lol. Check it out in coleschapters.com . I’m not trying to shill I promise...if you go to “stasis,” that’s the parent page for the collection, you can see what I’m talking about
...and yes you can email a link
👍🏼👊🏼
Thanks for your questions, Lee. 1.) When a post exceeds the limits of email, a reader can click a link at the bottom to open the full email, including all the text, in a new tab, or they can click the post title to read on web. Perhaps you could include a note at the top of the post advising readers to click the header, or you can include a link or custom button to redirect to your pub homepage 2.) when a subscriber upgrades to paid, they'll have access to all paid posts. You could do what Cole suggests - publish a post that includes links to all your stories, and you could also include a link to that post in your welcome email to paid subscribers.
Hi everyone, so many useful things below! I feel as though I’ve hit a bit of a growth wall as I haven’t had any new subscribers in a while (I only publish twice a month at the moment as I am still working full time- hoping to increase this soon) so any tips would be greatly appreciated. I’ve tried notes but they don’t seem to get much traction and I am hopefully collaborating with a fellow substacker soon! Thanks so much - I really appreciate all your insight!
🟧 I am brand new. Is this thread still active after the office hours are over? If not, is there a regular schedule of Office Hours sessions I can consult to catch the next one?
I've selected "accept payments" and set up an account with Stripe, but I've received no feedback and those wanting to pay continue to be listed as pledges. What's up?!
This is pretty basic, but I don't understand where to place the paywall. SUBSTACK really doesn't explain that very well, and I have tons of free subs I'd like to convert.
Put the paywall wherever you like, Steve; top, bottom or middle. Or don't include a paywall at all, it's completely up to you.
Every 'main' issue I send has a paywall quite close to the bottom. I also do other posts that are completely free and special supplements which only for paying subscribers and which I don't put a paywall into, (Substack still automatically shows a preview to free readers on the website).
✏️ Hi All !
I have been working on a new newsletter called Rooms where I feature creative individuals homes as well as a brief interview regarding their thoughts on design - https://rooms.substack.com/
-Wanted to ask what growth strategies worked best in the early days for everyone?
-Would also love any general feedback or ideas to improve the newsletter
If anyone would like to be featured or knows someone who might, send them my way!
This is what worked for me the best in my career. https://authorstack.substack.com/p/how-to-find-more-readers-for-your
🟧 Happy Office Hours all!
I've been running 4 subscription tiers (free, paid, founding and group) for the past 10 months since I migrated to Substack from Mailchimp. Yet, conversion to paid is still low.
Open rate is solid so i know the content is good.
Should I keep existing tiers as they are as it takes longer to see paid subs spike (any stats?) modify tiers or should I switch to everything free and have people use pledges?
Thoughts?
I went paid pretty early on because I had a pre-existing list. The problem I'm dealing with though is knowing what value to give people. One of the things I struggle with, no matter what I post, is getting feedback from people. I pose questions, ask for responses, share polls and give people a chance to tell me what they'd like, but I rarely get anything from my community. It's the single most frustrating aspect of this process.
Were you getting more interaction on your previous platform?
No, but then I don't think I asked for interactions quite as much.
I think it takes a fairly large subscriber base, or a unique set of subscribers, to get much interaction. I think that's only been made worse by the collapse of twitter, the splintering of all social media platforms, and Substack's multiple offerings: Chat, Notes, and comments. Where do people go? Nobody has a clear answer to that right now, so people are spread out everywhere.
I think that's an astute observation.
I started with Substack about 3 months ago and its been an amazing experience. My mission is to "separate health fact from fiction, because your wellness shouldn't be based on magic beans and unicorn tears. I do the research, so you don't have to. No lab coat required."
Sarah Fay from Writers at Work has excellent information on how to navigate through Substack. Check it out. It has helped me!! And she encouraged me to go paid and not wait. So, I'm going PAID on August 1st. Substack Support has also been extremely helpful. They have answered all my personal questions.
Worth it if you still have 0 pledges?
What are some unique perks writers are offering paid/founding members? The common/default ones seem to be access to pay-walled archives, bonus posts, pay-walling comments/chat, "support the cause," yada yada. I'm curious to learn about the more unusual tactics!
Hi Eric! Some writers also offer pre-sale event tix (e.g. https://www.perfectlyimperfect.fyi/p/the-future-of-perfectly-imperfect) or exclusive Zoom chats (e.g. https://peterbeinart.substack.com/about).
And Anne Kadet offers a surprise item in the mail to her paid subscribers: https://annekadet.substack.com/about
Has anyone experimented with offering "merch" as a gift for higher level subscribers? For example, a coffee mug with the newsletter's logo on it?
I haven't started it yet, but I do plan to offer stickers to everyone with a paid subscription. I'll mail them in batches, so I'm not running to the PO every time a new subscriber signs on. I've toyed with the idea of making t-shirts for founding members, but haven't gotten there yet.
Hi Randall! Anne sends a surprise item in the mail to her paid subscribers:
https://annekadet.substack.com/about
For my part, I went paid immediately. I previously had a subscription-based newsletter on Patreon and switched here with that so it wasn’t a question for me.
My goal is to get 1000 people to pay $100 annually in support of my work and my larger mission to change the cultural narrative around art from one of “must produce constant content” to “slow evolving creativity benefits us all”.
I have been slow to get those paid subscriptions but I keep working at it. And I offer a pay what you can option for people who find themselves at a lower budget.
✏️ - I'm curious if anyone has seen a drop-off or stagnation in paid subscribers lately with all the talk of inflation and recession. My paid subscription rates have totally stagnated and I'm trying to figure out why.
That can be a seasonal change as well. You might watch what happens as summer winds down and people focus more on indoor things and back to school life and away from vacation life.
Oh maybe. That's worth considering.
Is it a Northern hemisphere summer thing, Valorie? My businesses are always very quiet at this time of year, and free sub rates are lower than usual for me right now.
No, but it is also the summer which is a slow time.