How I Built a Profitable Substack While Keeping My Content Free

Why I Refused to Be a Substack Best Seller and Found 8 Other Ways To Monetize

When I first looked to monetize Substack, I was torn.

Everyone said paid subscriptions were the way to go, but the thought of gating my content felt… off—it wasn’t me.

According to Substack, I should be a best seller. I should have 150+ paid subscriptions and generate $750/Month in recurring revenue. But you won’t find a bright orange badge beside my name.

I didn’t want to gate my content.

I knew this could throttle my growth and limit the amount of people I could reach.

The entire reason I could have 150-300 paid subscriptions is predicated on the growth of my publication, growth that has been driven by delivering content for free.

So I decided to do things differently and find alternative ways to monetize.

It all started with a coaching inquiry.

In March 2024, I wrote a post that announced ‘I’m officially open for work’ and a reader reached out inquiring about my services.

That single email confirmed I could monetize Substack without paid subscriptions.

I began down a path of exploration, tinkering, and testing. Leaning on my experience in marketing and applying it to Substack I challenged the norm and developed a new way of generating income.

That email didn’t lead to me being hired but was the seed for a brilliant relationship. I’ve gone on to refer people to their programs, earning affiliate commissions, and they’ve also included interviews with me as a bonus within courses.

For me, this is where it began.

Fast forward to April, when a single post generated over $30,000 in revenue.

Content that resonates is impactful.

This post was not sales-focused and didn’t have a call to action.

It spoke to a (very) specific problem that a segment of my audience was experiencing. Someone read this post, proceeded to binge my articles, and then referred me to two of their clients. Both hired me.

Over time sharing my experiences and lessons turned readers into paying clients for my paid advertising services. These retainers generated the equivalent of 100s of paid subscriptions—while keeping my content free.

These clients referred me to more clients. Showing me the compounding effect that well-written content can provide.

And instead of making $5/Month these retainers were generating 4-figures.

Every piece of content became a revenue-generating data point.

12 months of consistent content creation provided me the insights I needed to expand on my Substack monetization efforts.

In the beginning, I posted about a wide variety of topics.

As I was finding my footing, my voice, and discovering what worked I posted about Facebook ads, ADHD, business failures, life lessons, content creation, living nomadically, and more.

With time, I followed the breadcrumbs of likes, comments, and restacks.

Slowly I began refining my content topics and testing new theories. As I did, my publication grew and certain topics stood out even further.

With time:

• I turned my top content into books.

• I turned the questions in my comments into lead magnets.

• And conversations in the DMs planted the seed for my products.

Today, I have published 2 books on Amazon (with a 3rd in progress). I’ve created multiple lead magnets and launched my first digital product (with 4 lined up).

Every one created from the insights I gathered from my posts.

From noticing what I call signals, I refined the content I created and watched if it worked. I replied to every comment asking questions to get deeper insights into the problems people were experiencing.

Taking it a step further, as I began to have ‘ideas’ for the problems I could solve I verified them by surveying my audience.

I asked them what they wanted and then I created it.

I still follow this process today.

Then there was affiliate revenue.

I used to think affiliate revenue required massive audiences—I was wrong.

It was completely unexpected but so aligned with my content that it felt effortless.

Affiliate revenue isn’t reserved for promoting products on Amazon or your favorite software as I originally thought.

When I saw $300 deposited into my bank because I referred someone to a friend’s program I realized affiliate revenue could be another revenue source.

This was another income stream built off relationships formed from Substack.

It can be as simple as talking about or showing the tools you’re using, referring a friend’s programs, or having links strategically placed through your publication and articles. I’ve realized affiliate revenue is possible with smaller audiences and is amplified as it grows.

Repurposing my content on Medium began generating me 100s of dollars.

I was pretty late to Medium.

It’s been around for years and some writers earn their entire income there.

I was first introduced to it by that coaching inquiry—they ran a program for Medium writers and suggested I check it out.

Now, I didn’t have time to produce extra content. So I took my Substack articles and started repurposing them on Medium.

I began doing this on Fridays as an experiment.

I publish within publications on Medium. As I have zero experience with Medium, nor had the time to learn, I followed this recommendation when it was given to me.

(Note: The publications I post in are run by people I met on Substack)

After having a few articles boosted I’ve started to see the commission checks hit my bank account—just by using my Substack articles.

Building a profitable Substack differently.

After turning off Substack’s built-in monetization I was generating a healthy income supporting my family and providing my wife the security she needed to stop working and go back to school.

My goal for articles like this is to provide perspective.

There are alternative ways to do things and I encourage you to find what feels right.

Keep in mind that I wrote for 6 months before I started to profit from Substack.

In those first 6 months, I only gained around 31 subscribers. 16 months after starting I’ve gained over 3,000 subscribers.

Growth and monetization don’t happen overnight.

It’s predicated on consistency and what Oliver Burkeman refers to as Radical Incrementalism—two concepts I embody with my Substack.

Don’t force monetization too soon. I find it often comes naturally and presents itself when the time is right. I spent my first 6 months finding my voice—not monetizing.

Allow yourself to incrementally improve your content.

Don’t be afraid to tell people about what you do.

And let the results compound with time.

I’ve learned that Substack doesn’t have to fit into a cookie-cutter mold.

It’s a tool, a platform, a sandbox—and the possibilities are endless when you think creatively.

I don’t believe there is anything wrong with paid subscriptions. Some of my closest friends on the platform run them—but they weren’t right for me at the time.

After nearly two decades in marketing, I’ve embraced the idea that everything can work when you’re curious enough to find what works for you.

Maybe it’s something I’ll experiment with in the future but for now, I’m happy watching leads, sales, and new product ideas flow while I sit here at my laptop and publish free content for you.

Enjoyed this post? Share your thoughts in the comments or spread the word by hitting the Restack button.

Landon

PS.

Here’s the thing: I didn’t start with a perfect product or fancy software. I started with what I already had—my top content, reader comments, and conversations. That’s it.

The best part? You already have everything you need too.

Inside Subliminal Selling, you’ll learn the 3-step process to create your first (or next) digital product using your Substack. Whether it’s your top-performing content, insightful reader comments, or meaningful conversations, you’ll discover how to turn what you’re already doing into something your audience needs—and start earning from it—all with zero-cost tools.

Curious how it works? Check it out right here.