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> Audience insights is a new tab in the Stats section of your dashboard showing writers where subscribers are located around the world.
Shoutout to my 1 subscribe in Afghanistan!
Would be nice to offer different pricing options for different countries, e.g. $5 in USA is nothing but $5 in Botswana is substantial. Although I don't really know how this would work, could easily be gamed by a VPN which is why I am guessing it hasn't been implemented yet
Can I hop on to ask about minimum pricing caps? I'd like to set my subscription to quite a low level to start with, especially because I'm mindful that as Substack grows then users are less inclined to want to sub to another Substack. At this nascent stage in my own Substacking, if and when I do enable a subscription, I'd like to set it lower than $5 a month, partly also for the reason Karlstack notes.
I love the idea of a scaled subscription price. Not to make assumptions of stereotyping, but a very valid insight here. If you check out "Counting the Beans", you will get a very clear idea of the difference of the true value of that $5 in different locations. https://cdn.wfp.org/2018/plate-of-food/
Good point, although there's the broader issue of exchange rates. Only one country uses American dollars! The rates listed are not what the rest of us pay. E.g. an annual subscription of $120 would cost me $174 at today's exchange rate. While Substack takes care of that calculation, and a conversion fee is charged to the writer, the subscriber doesn't see their billing amount until they check their bank statement.
Thanks for all you do to continue giving us great tools to work with, and for never letting things become stagnant around here. It’s encouraging and makes us feel supported!
Keep it up guys, I appreciate the hard work from the team. Is there a way to schedule a post with a customise post to Twitter? The current way of sharing only the title to chat or twitter is not very effective in getting readers. Perhaps can allow the writer to customise the text to be posted on Chat or Twitter for scheduled post.
Dumb question: Prior to the post going live, isn't the URL just a draft link? I would totally do this if I knew the URL I was scheduling was a "good" one.
Once a post is scheduled, the url gets set by the system, although you can edit it if you want. But the default is to set it according to the title of the post. So you could grab that from Settings before the post goes live.
Or, if you like, you can set the url (the ending portion, anyway) before the post is scheduled. Then the system will use that when you schedule.
Really good stuff as I've been working towards a book recently. The new Private Substack options are beneficial for this.
However, something I would love about audience insights is how much of my subscribers are paid subscribers to some of the Substacks I have in common. That would help being able to focus my attention.
In particular, I have entirely free subscribers at the moment. I would love to know how many of my free subscribers are paying for other content elsewhere.
I’m so excited about the duplicate posts feature! My twice monthly free newsletter has a template and this will help me out so much. I have also noticed subscriptions more often coming from within Substack so yay for the platform doing the work to help us all grow!
Would like the ability to enable a secret "subscribe/signup" page -- where, when a person lands on it, it only prompts the person to enter their email address (thus signing up for free).
example: the secret "subscribe/signup" page would look something like this:
Where I then make my non-substack "[author].com" page redirect to [author].substack.com/[campaign1] to complete the free signup.
Use case: For when on a radio show plugging my book, say. Or, in a social setting.
The secret "subscribe/signup" page would have its own Welcome email -- [with the book discount code (or substack subscription discount code) in the body of the Welcome email]
This is very smart and marketing savvy! I shared the idea with our team. I know services like linktree offer link tracking in this way which might be a nice workaround for now.
I am very new to the Substack writer community and so far really like and appreciate the platform. Being new and interested in growing readership quickly, I am reluctant to move into offering paid subscriptions yet. However, as an option for those of us who only offer free access, how about providing a button saying "If you really liked this post and wish to encourage the writer to work even harder, how about "leaving a tip" in any amount you think appropriate. Your tip, the encouragement, and the six-pack of really good India Pale Ale that it will finance will all be greatly appreciated. To your health!" Or something like that? Thanks for considering this marketing option
Pledges are a great tool as grow your readership and before you commit to offering paid subscriptions.
With pledges, readers have the power to proactively express their love and support for writers. When subscribing to a free Substack, readers can pledge, commit to paying for a future subscription to that publication, and leaving a private note sharing why they love your work. Pledges work on autopilot. If you have Pledges turned on, existing free subscribers will see prompts to “Pledge your support” from the subscribe buttons on your publication and in your posts.
Yeah there was some really great discussion about tips (or tip-like features) as opposed to/in addition to Pledges the other day. Glad to hear that some possibilities are being explored.
Sorry I'm late to the party but I'm going to jump on in anyway lol
You've added a group subscription feature that allows several members of a group or organization to access one writer's publication, great.
How about a Group Subscription that'd allow a reader to access a group of writers for one affordable price!
For example, offer the reader an option to subscribe to 5 writers for $12.99/month. This would allow a reader to enrich their mind by reading a variety of Substack content without the resulting bankruptcy, 😎 Everyone wins
Perhaps these subscriptions could be limited in some ways so that a full subscription would still have greater value, don't know. I do know that $5/month can add up... Fast. IMHO this is a problem across the internet in general, maybe Substack can provide a solution?
But for now a Substack specific solution would be cool
> Audience insights is a new tab in the Stats section of your dashboard showing writers where subscribers are located around the world.
Shoutout to my 1 subscribe in Afghanistan!
Would be nice to offer different pricing options for different countries, e.g. $5 in USA is nothing but $5 in Botswana is substantial. Although I don't really know how this would work, could easily be gamed by a VPN which is why I am guessing it hasn't been implemented yet
Super interesting! Sharing with our team for consideration.
Can I hop on to ask about minimum pricing caps? I'd like to set my subscription to quite a low level to start with, especially because I'm mindful that as Substack grows then users are less inclined to want to sub to another Substack. At this nascent stage in my own Substacking, if and when I do enable a subscription, I'd like to set it lower than $5 a month, partly also for the reason Karlstack notes.
Personally I am very pleased that Substack sets a minimum price. A race to the lowest price point does writers no good at all in the long run.
That's true and a very good point that I hadn't overly considered.
I’ve wanted this too. Think how many more paid subscribers you’d get if there was a $1-2 dollar option
Why not set your annual rate at something that works out to less than $5/mo.?
Yeah, that would do it. Didn't actually try to see if there was a minimum on the annual rate, but will take a look. Thanks :)
I love the idea of a scaled subscription price. Not to make assumptions of stereotyping, but a very valid insight here. If you check out "Counting the Beans", you will get a very clear idea of the difference of the true value of that $5 in different locations. https://cdn.wfp.org/2018/plate-of-food/
Really thoughtful comment.
Having more granular pricing controls in general would be valuable.
Good point, although there's the broader issue of exchange rates. Only one country uses American dollars! The rates listed are not what the rest of us pay. E.g. an annual subscription of $120 would cost me $174 at today's exchange rate. While Substack takes care of that calculation, and a conversion fee is charged to the writer, the subscriber doesn't see their billing amount until they check their bank statement.
Only been writing via Substack for a few weeks but I can gladly say that from my experience so far this community is unparalleled.
I’m sure I can say on behalf of many of my peers that we’re in great hands.
Thanks for all you do to continue giving us great tools to work with, and for never letting things become stagnant around here. It’s encouraging and makes us feel supported!
I agree. It feels like being part of an evolving community.
It truly does and, as we all know too well, that’s rare in this day and age.
🔥🔥❤️ Yes! Agree.
Agreed!
Did someone already mention there’s a sweet community, here?
Love the “duplicate posts” functionality, I’ve been wanting this! Thank you!
Keep it up guys, I appreciate the hard work from the team. Is there a way to schedule a post with a customise post to Twitter? The current way of sharing only the title to chat or twitter is not very effective in getting readers. Perhaps can allow the writer to customise the text to be posted on Chat or Twitter for scheduled post.
Hi Winston, that would be super nice! Sharing the idea with our team for consideration.
Since you know your post URL beforehand you can always use a service like Buffer to schedule it.
Dumb question: Prior to the post going live, isn't the URL just a draft link? I would totally do this if I knew the URL I was scheduling was a "good" one.
Once a post is scheduled, the url gets set by the system, although you can edit it if you want. But the default is to set it according to the title of the post. So you could grab that from Settings before the post goes live.
Or, if you like, you can set the url (the ending portion, anyway) before the post is scheduled. Then the system will use that when you schedule.
Thank you!!
I agree - this would be super-helpful!
Really good stuff as I've been working towards a book recently. The new Private Substack options are beneficial for this.
However, something I would love about audience insights is how much of my subscribers are paid subscribers to some of the Substacks I have in common. That would help being able to focus my attention.
I shared your feedback with our data team for consideration in a future update. They said it's doable to add this information.
In particular, I have entirely free subscribers at the moment. I would love to know how many of my free subscribers are paying for other content elsewhere.
That's a smart metric to track. Hadn't thought of that.
Interesting - this would be great to understand
I still have a lot to learn about running my
Substack. Thanks for all you do to help us be successful.
I’m so excited about the duplicate posts feature! My twice monthly free newsletter has a template and this will help me out so much. I have also noticed subscriptions more often coming from within Substack so yay for the platform doing the work to help us all grow!
I'm always excited to see the new tools being rolled out to writers! Yall are doing a great job!
Would like the ability to enable a secret "subscribe/signup" page -- where, when a person lands on it, it only prompts the person to enter their email address (thus signing up for free).
example: the secret "subscribe/signup" page would look something like this:
[author].substack.com/[campaign1]
Where I then make my non-substack "[author].com" page redirect to [author].substack.com/[campaign1] to complete the free signup.
Use case: For when on a radio show plugging my book, say. Or, in a social setting.
The secret "subscribe/signup" page would have its own Welcome email -- [with the book discount code (or substack subscription discount code) in the body of the Welcome email]
This is very smart and marketing savvy! I shared the idea with our team. I know services like linktree offer link tracking in this way which might be a nice workaround for now.
Audience Insights is fun. I learned there is exactly one US state where I have 0 subscribers. I need to figure out why I'm so unpopular in New Mexico.
Evil Witches needs to go a NM tour it sounds like!
Time to visit and see what’s going on out there.
Thanks for your amazing job. These are all usefully and appreciated improvements!
Thanks, team, super valuable!
Loving all of these improvements. Thanks, Substack 👏
I am very new to the Substack writer community and so far really like and appreciate the platform. Being new and interested in growing readership quickly, I am reluctant to move into offering paid subscriptions yet. However, as an option for those of us who only offer free access, how about providing a button saying "If you really liked this post and wish to encourage the writer to work even harder, how about "leaving a tip" in any amount you think appropriate. Your tip, the encouragement, and the six-pack of really good India Pale Ale that it will finance will all be greatly appreciated. To your health!" Or something like that? Thanks for considering this marketing option
Pledges are a great tool as grow your readership and before you commit to offering paid subscriptions.
With pledges, readers have the power to proactively express their love and support for writers. When subscribing to a free Substack, readers can pledge, commit to paying for a future subscription to that publication, and leaving a private note sharing why they love your work. Pledges work on autopilot. If you have Pledges turned on, existing free subscribers will see prompts to “Pledge your support” from the subscribe buttons on your publication and in your posts.
https://on.substack.com/p/pledges
We believe strongly in the power of subscriptions but have heard more requests for tips and are exploring the possibility.
Yeah there was some really great discussion about tips (or tip-like features) as opposed to/in addition to Pledges the other day. Glad to hear that some possibilities are being explored.
Sorry I'm late to the party but I'm going to jump on in anyway lol
You've added a group subscription feature that allows several members of a group or organization to access one writer's publication, great.
How about a Group Subscription that'd allow a reader to access a group of writers for one affordable price!
For example, offer the reader an option to subscribe to 5 writers for $12.99/month. This would allow a reader to enrich their mind by reading a variety of Substack content without the resulting bankruptcy, 😎 Everyone wins
Perhaps these subscriptions could be limited in some ways so that a full subscription would still have greater value, don't know. I do know that $5/month can add up... Fast. IMHO this is a problem across the internet in general, maybe Substack can provide a solution?
But for now a Substack specific solution would be cool
Thanks
Jim
Yes. I love this idea. Wait … I think you can set already set it up to accept donations.