I appreciate your honesty! It’s easy to assume that very established writers like yourself are finding all this a breeze.
I’d love to read some beauty on a budget pieces as so many Substacks cover products/treatments etc which are unaffordable to many.
In terms of converting free subscribers, I’m never very interested in bonus material or features. I just want to pay for good writing but at a low price.
I hope you don’t find that insulting. You’re a great writer and clearly put a lot of work into this. But I’m a paying subscriber to several Substacks and it really starts to add up so tend to only upgrade if the price is very low or during a special offer.
I signed up to your Substack when you offered the yearly discount so I mirror Annabel’s comment above. I subscribe to several Substacks and it adds up. I can only afford so many per month as my own Substack only makes around £300/year (after the Substack and Stripe fees). I only have a very small audience so I’m grateful even for that and I have a full time editorial job so I don’t “need” paid subs in the way freelance journalists do. But I do pay out more in subscriptions that I “earn” on here. I think your writing is amazing and high quality. I bought and read your book. I hope other readers of your Substack are doing the same. Although I also read somewhere authors are paid pennies toward their advance when readers do buy. 🙈 I guess Substack is selling the myth of the lottery. The big big celeb Substackers are making a substantial income (obs some are saying £80k plus a year etc) and then the smaller celeb Substackers (which I’d consider you a celeb Substacker) are making a bit less (or a lot less?) and then there’s probably thousands of us that definitely can’t quit our day jobs. 🤣😅 Maybe that’s not helpful but your writing is worth it and I’m sure many of your subscribers consider it worth it but can’t afford to pay for multiple writers unless the monthly cost is under £5/month and even then if you pay for 10 Substacks, it adds up!
I love your writing, and as a paying subscriber I see how much you already put into the work, and I wouldn't necessarily ask for more 'stuff'. Maybe there is something in the community aspect that would be good to add - but that should be something that feels realistic for you.
I do love your recommendations on products, and the fact that you bring your insights from an age and cultural perspective. Both things I relate to.
So basically, I guess my message is, don't feel the need to add more, to encourage more subs. But I also see your dilemma, as this is a space that needs to be attractive for paying subs so you can earn properly from it.
I also write a Substack, and have been facing similar questions around what I offer to the paid community that is attractive enough to pay for. The space here for artists and illustrators is in direct competition with Patreon, so there are interesting dynamics there for comparison! I have settled on the following:
FREE - Written posts, roughly one a month, to not overload the inbox
PAID - Video posts (take more work), plus deeper insights into my process, projects and how I work, plus a 'round table' live sessions to give space to other artists to share their work. Roughly weekly (ish).
You're really great at 'to camera' stuff on instagram, but that platform is so fast that often it's not so easy to really engage with it. Could you bring some of your 'to camera' video posts here? That would be great for us paid peeps, would feel like we get a chance to properly engage and comment on the topics? I'd love to see more of your video stuff here.
I think you’re right about the US/UK split. Substack is still US dominant and US subscribers seem much more likely to pay. Most of my loyal core is British or Irish but most of the new subscribers are US or Australian. I honestly find ppl are most likely to convert to paid when a post speaks to them. Much more so than dreaming up deal after deal. Also the people who sign up based on deals tend to come and go (which is fine, as others have said, we’ve all got a finite amount of cash) but the ones who convert based on writing etc are more likely to be keepers. This is massively general of course. I’m happy to share more detail if you want to email me x
It’s interesting to me that most of the writers I love (including Hannah who comments herself below) are writing some version of what you’ve written.
I pay for quite a few subs (I’ve not counted as I dont want to add it up 🙈) all women, and as a woman in business I want to be supportive.
I love yours, do pay, and don’t want or expect anything more than you’re already offering. I’m happy to promote in some way too.And wonder about you sending one month gift subs to those of us who pay, to share?
Anita, I hear you, although the red tears were quite striking. I see you, too!
I signed up paid because I value what you're doing and because I am not a beauty, and most beauty advice or reflection is the work of people who are conventional beauties. I want to hear about taking reasonable care of your looks because they are part of what makes us who we are. I used to want more than anything to be beautiful, and I feel like such a lemon for wanting that, but I am a part of all that I have met, and damn it, they all want women to be beautiful and disposable too. I'm 76 and probably looking at another 15 years, going on what the rest of the women in my family have managed, and that's a long time to continue to think about how the world perceives me. I like your company along the way. I agree with Annabel Port too; I like the idea of reading beauty on a budget. This emotional and physical labor of making silk purses daily can run ya! Most of what runs me is biweekly waxing thanks to PCOS.
I'm one of those freebie UK types who spend their money on booze, sorry :-)
I've only been on Substack for a month or two and I don't pay for anything, however excellent it is, just because I'm a bit broke. I sought you out because I liked reading your columns in the Guardian... and now I will buy your book. I'm more likely to buy a book than an online subscription thing I think.
I hope you make this make money or do whatever it needs to for you, because I love reading your work.
I’m not going to win any fans with this one, but as a reader and not a writer, trying to figure out this new system, I thought I’d give my 2¢. None of this is about your Substack specifically, which I do enjoy. This is about why I’m kind of confused by the Substack system and I can imagine it being very very hard to actually make a living on it.
Back in the days of real live paper magazines, which I still love to subscribe to, what you’re getting for your money is the varied perspective and expertise of 10+ writers, vetted by editors for their ability, and of course edited by them. You’re getting a full package. When I see $7 a month for just one writers work, it’s hard to imagine paying that. And then picking another one I like and paying another $7. And then another. (I don’t remember your rate, but you get the idea). Also, some of these writers have been writing for a year and haven’t had a careers worth of time to learn how to edit themselves, both in terms of style but also length and clarity. I find myself leaning more toward Substacks with multiple writers, all contributing toward a unified body of work together. Is that the future of Substack? Just recreating the magazine system the way that streaming services are on their way toward reinventing cable? How can we pivot from two decades of free blogs with hugely varying degrees of quality, to charging people for them?
I’m not saying it should be this way. And I can only imagine the amount of time and energy and love that writers put into their substacks. But when I see posts like this, about how hard it is to actually get paid subscribers, I find myself trying to balance the fact that people should get paid fairly for their writing with the idea that a single Substack is not a magazine and it’s hard to pay for it like one. This is also coming up in the podcast world. After a decade of dealing with ads, that model is broken and podcasts are now charging for subscriptions. It’s the future, but it’s a hard shift to make.
Thanks for saying this. I'm a U.S. based reader who is not a paid subscriber to this substack.
I used to work as a staffrd journalist for a paid daily newspaper. I also (very inconsistently) producing art online for fun and money.
I think the solution is creators making coops of 10 to 20 and offering paid subscriptions. Run the substack like a traditional oaid publication. At first i might feel like you're making fewer pennies on the dollar but you'll find improved quality of life.
Ex: you can produce less content because the cohort is dividing the workload.
You can take paid time off because othes in the cohort are sharing the editorial responsibilities.
Reduce burn out risk by stepoin back from writing to handle other tasks like social media, accounting, marketing, community engagement. He cohort can make a schedule rotating responsibilities based on interests.
As a group you can apply to grants together, morw effectively share your audiences. by all means don't close this or your other socials. Use this for free content and direct people to your new substack coop.
I love a my radical feminist writers, but I can only spend so much on media and entertainment. We need to live our values and build not capitalistic systems.
I only pay for 1 substack. And then i donate to an independent feminist magazine that's local to me. Recently, i asked to "run ads" in exchange for continued donations and they did. Maybe creators will find that the solution is radical publications patronized by radical solopreneurs promoting ethically made products and services
I’m UK based & live on a fixed income. I can no longer afford my fix of glossies & weekend papers for the supplements. I have to find my fixes for free or cut down on something else to be a paid subscriber.
I’ve already given up booze, go out very little & amended my phone package
I appreciate your honesty! It’s easy to assume that very established writers like yourself are finding all this a breeze.
I’d love to read some beauty on a budget pieces as so many Substacks cover products/treatments etc which are unaffordable to many.
In terms of converting free subscribers, I’m never very interested in bonus material or features. I just want to pay for good writing but at a low price.
I hope you don’t find that insulting. You’re a great writer and clearly put a lot of work into this. But I’m a paying subscriber to several Substacks and it really starts to add up so tend to only upgrade if the price is very low or during a special offer.
I signed up to your Substack when you offered the yearly discount so I mirror Annabel’s comment above. I subscribe to several Substacks and it adds up. I can only afford so many per month as my own Substack only makes around £300/year (after the Substack and Stripe fees). I only have a very small audience so I’m grateful even for that and I have a full time editorial job so I don’t “need” paid subs in the way freelance journalists do. But I do pay out more in subscriptions that I “earn” on here. I think your writing is amazing and high quality. I bought and read your book. I hope other readers of your Substack are doing the same. Although I also read somewhere authors are paid pennies toward their advance when readers do buy. 🙈 I guess Substack is selling the myth of the lottery. The big big celeb Substackers are making a substantial income (obs some are saying £80k plus a year etc) and then the smaller celeb Substackers (which I’d consider you a celeb Substacker) are making a bit less (or a lot less?) and then there’s probably thousands of us that definitely can’t quit our day jobs. 🤣😅 Maybe that’s not helpful but your writing is worth it and I’m sure many of your subscribers consider it worth it but can’t afford to pay for multiple writers unless the monthly cost is under £5/month and even then if you pay for 10 Substacks, it adds up!
As far as what you write, I love whatever you come up with but especially love the history laden bits!
I love your writing, and as a paying subscriber I see how much you already put into the work, and I wouldn't necessarily ask for more 'stuff'. Maybe there is something in the community aspect that would be good to add - but that should be something that feels realistic for you.
I do love your recommendations on products, and the fact that you bring your insights from an age and cultural perspective. Both things I relate to.
So basically, I guess my message is, don't feel the need to add more, to encourage more subs. But I also see your dilemma, as this is a space that needs to be attractive for paying subs so you can earn properly from it.
I also write a Substack, and have been facing similar questions around what I offer to the paid community that is attractive enough to pay for. The space here for artists and illustrators is in direct competition with Patreon, so there are interesting dynamics there for comparison! I have settled on the following:
FREE - Written posts, roughly one a month, to not overload the inbox
PAID - Video posts (take more work), plus deeper insights into my process, projects and how I work, plus a 'round table' live sessions to give space to other artists to share their work. Roughly weekly (ish).
You're really great at 'to camera' stuff on instagram, but that platform is so fast that often it's not so easy to really engage with it. Could you bring some of your 'to camera' video posts here? That would be great for us paid peeps, would feel like we get a chance to properly engage and comment on the topics? I'd love to see more of your video stuff here.
I think you’re right about the US/UK split. Substack is still US dominant and US subscribers seem much more likely to pay. Most of my loyal core is British or Irish but most of the new subscribers are US or Australian. I honestly find ppl are most likely to convert to paid when a post speaks to them. Much more so than dreaming up deal after deal. Also the people who sign up based on deals tend to come and go (which is fine, as others have said, we’ve all got a finite amount of cash) but the ones who convert based on writing etc are more likely to be keepers. This is massively general of course. I’m happy to share more detail if you want to email me x
I really hear you, comrade. And have absolutely no answers to this myself.
I feel as if I’ve gone from working all day and all evening to now writing in the early hours too. This is not fun.
Nor any way to live.
It’s interesting to me that most of the writers I love (including Hannah who comments herself below) are writing some version of what you’ve written.
I pay for quite a few subs (I’ve not counted as I dont want to add it up 🙈) all women, and as a woman in business I want to be supportive.
I love yours, do pay, and don’t want or expect anything more than you’re already offering. I’m happy to promote in some way too.And wonder about you sending one month gift subs to those of us who pay, to share?
Anita, I hear you, although the red tears were quite striking. I see you, too!
I signed up paid because I value what you're doing and because I am not a beauty, and most beauty advice or reflection is the work of people who are conventional beauties. I want to hear about taking reasonable care of your looks because they are part of what makes us who we are. I used to want more than anything to be beautiful, and I feel like such a lemon for wanting that, but I am a part of all that I have met, and damn it, they all want women to be beautiful and disposable too. I'm 76 and probably looking at another 15 years, going on what the rest of the women in my family have managed, and that's a long time to continue to think about how the world perceives me. I like your company along the way. I agree with Annabel Port too; I like the idea of reading beauty on a budget. This emotional and physical labor of making silk purses daily can run ya! Most of what runs me is biweekly waxing thanks to PCOS.
Good luck!
I'm one of those freebie UK types who spend their money on booze, sorry :-)
I've only been on Substack for a month or two and I don't pay for anything, however excellent it is, just because I'm a bit broke. I sought you out because I liked reading your columns in the Guardian... and now I will buy your book. I'm more likely to buy a book than an online subscription thing I think.
I hope you make this make money or do whatever it needs to for you, because I love reading your work.
I’m not going to win any fans with this one, but as a reader and not a writer, trying to figure out this new system, I thought I’d give my 2¢. None of this is about your Substack specifically, which I do enjoy. This is about why I’m kind of confused by the Substack system and I can imagine it being very very hard to actually make a living on it.
Back in the days of real live paper magazines, which I still love to subscribe to, what you’re getting for your money is the varied perspective and expertise of 10+ writers, vetted by editors for their ability, and of course edited by them. You’re getting a full package. When I see $7 a month for just one writers work, it’s hard to imagine paying that. And then picking another one I like and paying another $7. And then another. (I don’t remember your rate, but you get the idea). Also, some of these writers have been writing for a year and haven’t had a careers worth of time to learn how to edit themselves, both in terms of style but also length and clarity. I find myself leaning more toward Substacks with multiple writers, all contributing toward a unified body of work together. Is that the future of Substack? Just recreating the magazine system the way that streaming services are on their way toward reinventing cable? How can we pivot from two decades of free blogs with hugely varying degrees of quality, to charging people for them?
I’m not saying it should be this way. And I can only imagine the amount of time and energy and love that writers put into their substacks. But when I see posts like this, about how hard it is to actually get paid subscribers, I find myself trying to balance the fact that people should get paid fairly for their writing with the idea that a single Substack is not a magazine and it’s hard to pay for it like one. This is also coming up in the podcast world. After a decade of dealing with ads, that model is broken and podcasts are now charging for subscriptions. It’s the future, but it’s a hard shift to make.
Thanks for saying this. I'm a U.S. based reader who is not a paid subscriber to this substack.
I used to work as a staffrd journalist for a paid daily newspaper. I also (very inconsistently) producing art online for fun and money.
I think the solution is creators making coops of 10 to 20 and offering paid subscriptions. Run the substack like a traditional oaid publication. At first i might feel like you're making fewer pennies on the dollar but you'll find improved quality of life.
Ex: you can produce less content because the cohort is dividing the workload.
You can take paid time off because othes in the cohort are sharing the editorial responsibilities.
Reduce burn out risk by stepoin back from writing to handle other tasks like social media, accounting, marketing, community engagement. He cohort can make a schedule rotating responsibilities based on interests.
As a group you can apply to grants together, morw effectively share your audiences. by all means don't close this or your other socials. Use this for free content and direct people to your new substack coop.
I love a my radical feminist writers, but I can only spend so much on media and entertainment. We need to live our values and build not capitalistic systems.
I only pay for 1 substack. And then i donate to an independent feminist magazine that's local to me. Recently, i asked to "run ads" in exchange for continued donations and they did. Maybe creators will find that the solution is radical publications patronized by radical solopreneurs promoting ethically made products and services
I’m UK based & live on a fixed income. I can no longer afford my fix of glossies & weekend papers for the supplements. I have to find my fixes for free or cut down on something else to be a paid subscriber.
I’ve already given up booze, go out very little & amended my phone package