5 Ways To Make An Extra $500/Month By Writing On Substack

I’m convinced Substack is one of the best platforms to monetize your expertise.

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When I started writing on Substack, I didn’t expect it would quickly become one of my most reliable income streams.

But ten months and multiple five figures in revenue later, I’m convinced Substack is one of the best platforms to monetize your expertise—even if your subscriber count is modest.

That’s why, in this article, I’ll share five proven, practical ways to turn your Substack newsletter into a consistent revenue stream, so you can start earning at least $500 per month on Substack.

Let’s jump straight in.

#1: Paid Subscribers

Substack’s built-in paid subscription feature is one of the simplest ways to start monetizing your writing.

Let’s do some quick math:

• 50 new subscribers at $10/month = $500/month

• 10 new annual subscribers a month at $50/year = $500/year

Most Substack creators hope they’ll magically get more paid subscribers. But hoping people will pay you isn’t a reliable strategy.

If you want to attract more paid subscribers, make your paid tier so valuable that it’s a no-brainer to join.

You do this by adding special benefits for paid subscribers that go beyond exclusive articles, like:

• A monthly live Q&A / group coaching session

• Actionable guides

• Downloadable templates

• Video workshops

• Mini-courses

• Audio courses

• Paid subscriber-only chat

• Challenges

This transforms your paid Substack from ‘just another paid newsletter’ to a full-blown membership, which will be far easier to sell.

This is exactly how we’ve been able to attract 300+ paid subscribers to our Write • Build • Scale publication. Not just by offering exclusive articles, but by packing our paid tier with valuable resources that make subscribing an easy decision.

(If you want a step-by-step way on how to attract more paid subscribers, check out this premium article right here.)

#2: Founding Members

Next to offering a monthly and annual plan for your Substack, setting up a Founding Member tier can be a very profitable way to monetize your Substack.

Our Founding Member tier is priced at $997 a year, and it includes three private coaching calls where we create a custom roadmap to help you build your online writing business (on top of all the other paid member perks).

We don’t actively promote this tier, but every now and then, we get a new Founding Member, which is a nice boost in revenue.

When you set up your Founding Member tier, I recommend not going below $500 per year. At this price point, you only need one new founding member per month, and you’ll already be hitting the $500/month goal.

But again, hoping people will just pay you isn’t a solid strategy, especially not when it’s $500 or more. You need to make the Founding Member tier so valuable that people can easily justify the purchase.

You can do this by offering:

• Monthly group coaching sessions

• A package of 1:1 coaching/consulting calls

• Access to your flagship courses or online programs

• Access to a private community of like-minded people

When you add perks like this to your Founding Member tier, it will easily justify the higher price point, and you’ll be able to attract more Founding Members.

#3: Sell Digital Products

Selling digital products is one of my favorite monetization methods.

The best thing about a digital product is that you create it once, but you can sell it forever (with no extra costs or effort required).

This makes digital products one of the most scalable revenue sources out there.

Common examples of digital products you can create and sell are: