Why I Turned Off Substack Monetization

Controversial view on making money with Substack.

Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash

Do I hate money? Not quite.

I’ve simply chosen a different way to make it.

“Turn payments back on”

“Writers deserve to be paid”

“People have the money to pay”

The comments rolled in as I shared my controversial opinion after I turned off payments and pledges.

While none of these statements are incorrect I still decided to walk a different path.

Maybe this will help you understand where I’m coming from. Here’s a mantra that I read every morning to ground myself for the day ahead:

“Remember: You do not need to take the traditional path or do what ‘everyone else’ is doing to be successful.”

I agree that the simplest way to make money on Substack is to turn on payments and start paywalling content.

Here’s the catch…

I’m not concerned with making a buck today. The old me was obsessed with the fastest and easiest way to make money online. I would have sold you the shirt off my back.

As I’ve matured, experienced some business failures, invested in mentorship, and spent my fair time in therapy… I’ve changed what I’m chasing.

It’s no longer striving for money — And the fastest way to get it.

It’s about building a business that supports my lifestyle — And not being short-sighted in how it’s achieved.

When we visit research performed by Les Binet and Peter Field this sentiment is echoed. They’ve shown that long-term brand building outpaces short-term sales.

Again, data reinforcing my long-term outlook on building businesses applied to Substack.

This does not mean I’m against monetization.

As I responded to many comments outlining how paid subscriptions or the 99 variations to implement this model may be perfect for some…

…I’m building something different.

So why would I turn off payments and turn off pledges?

Allow me to break it down.

Substack is growing.

This is something I think we can all agree on, yes?

As the platform grows each niche will become more saturated as more publications are launched.

We’re already noticing decreased reach across Notes in the last couple of months as beautifully broken down this week Tom Kuegler here.

I anticipate that it will become harder to acquire paid subscribers.

More competition and decreased reach does not create an environment to accelerate growth.

If this happens I am betting that having a larger readership and community will provide me better leverage in building my online business. (And the ways I choose to monetize)

I’ve decided to reduce friction by removing payments and pledges to get people to my content more easily and faster (to maximize growth) instead of potentially throttling growth by gating and paywalling content.

Next, I talked with my people.

When polling my subscribers most of them pay for access and the ones that did said it was getting harder to decide what to pay for because there are so many to choose from.

And, I also do not have a paid subscription to a single Substack publication.

Now, this might sound a little crazy..?

But I also have a soft spot for helping people.

I don’t believe information should be withheld from people who cannot afford it.

This comes from personal experience. I’ve sat on the other side of sales calls feeling shame because I couldn’t afford the investment.

I’ve also made the investment at times when I shouldn’t have and suffered the repercussions of those decisions.

And I’ve witnessed the cost of courses and programs increase year over year and seen so many people like myself spend 1000s of dollars on programs that didn’t work.

This has given me a desire to help.

I’m not here to say if $5 or $10 is cheap or expensive, that’s not my place.

While there are circumstances where paid subscriptions may be the right fit I also acknowledge it is a different business model.

Giving someone access for a $5-10/Month subscription is not the same as selling it as a 1-time payment.

Subscriptions are monthly recurring payments…

…You need to re-sell them on keeping their subscription each month.

And if the “Offer” was a product, what happens after they consume it — What keeps them coming back?

And real quick,

When you have a paid sub at $5/Month and your dashboard annualized it to $60 — It’s telling a half-truth. That’s only if they stay for 12 months. That’s only if you keep consistently delivering high-value content to retain them for an entire year.

That ^^ changes the dynamic of the content you need to produce.

Lastly,

I’d like to highlight a great point made by writer and friend Matt Giaro on this topic.

Low-cost items work best, in terms of revenue generated, with large followings. Having a smaller following and 8 paid subscribers at $5/Month isn’t supporting what I am trying to build.

That leaves us here,

There are almost infinite ways to monetize with Substack.

We’re only limited by our creativity. I do believe that paid subscriptions are the right move for some. Whether that’s someone with a large audience or someone who’s passionately writing and happy to make a few bucks at the same time.

Nor, am I here trying to say I am a saint offering everything for free.

I do monetize (and will) in different ways.

Books, courses, coaching, services, consulting, etc.

All of these decisions are based on a theory and the current business and lifestyle I am creating.

The thing I LOVE about business is that it can change at any time, we’re not bound to anything or any ‘way’ of doing it. Nothing is permanent.

My views on this may change and I may craft the best damn offer around paid subscriptions Substack has ever seen…

…But you can be sure if I do I will share my entire story and journey along the way.

Landon.