The Fastest Way to Make $1,000 on Substack

A proven system for pricing your work, running promotions, and building a paid subscriber base that actually sticks around.

If you’re writing on Substack right now (or thinking about joining the platform soon) and wondering, “Could I actually make money doing this?” — the answer is YES.

I’m breaking down exactly how to make your first $1,000 writing on Substack, even if you’re just starting out.

You’ll learn:

• What to put behind your paywall

• How much to charge

• How to adapt your content strategy

• And the exact steps to turn free subscribers into paying supporters.

This is the same system we used at Write • Build • Scale to go from zero to over 800 paying members since joining Substack last year:

And I promise: if you apply even half of these ideas, you’ll be way ahead of most writers on the platform.

Before we dive into the tactics, let’s start with a small mindset shift:

Making money on Substack doesn’t happen just by writing more.

It happens when you start thinking of your publication as a business.

Your free content builds trust, but your paid content is where people raise their hands and say, “I believe in this enough to actually invest my money.”

At Write • Build • Scale, we didn’t just flip on paid subscriptions and hope people would sign up.

Instead, we treated it like a product launch.

We asked ourselves:

• What’s the clear value?

• Who is this for?

• Why would someone want to pay for this?

If you shift from “I’m just writing posts” to “I am creating an experience worth paying for,” you will immediately approach Substack differently.

Now let’s dive into how you’ll actually make money on Substack!

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1. What Should You Put Behind Your Paywall?

This is one of the biggest questions people have, and here’s the mistake we see all the time:

Writers just lock certain parts of their free posts as their paid content.

The truth is that this rarely works.

Instead, your paid tier should feel like a meaningful upgrade for your readers. It should be something free subscribers look at and think, “Yes, that’s really worth it.”

Here are a few things that have worked for us and our students at Write • Build • Scale:

We created member-only posts where we share advanced strategies we don’t publish publicly.

We also run private chats, live calls, and behind-the-scenes updates that make our paying members feel like genuine insiders.

Other examples include resource libraries, templates, or even premium Q&A sessions for your members.

Think about what your audience needs most.

Is it deeper insight?

A shortcut?

More access to you?

Whatever it is, put that behind your paywall.

The golden rule is:

Don’t just take something away from your free subscribers and give it to your paid subscribers.

Instead, give your paying readers something ✨extra.✨

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2. How Much Should You Charge?

The sweet spot on Substack is usually between $5–$10 per month or $50–$100 per year.

That’s where most creators price their subscriptions.

At Write • Build • Scale, we set our paid tier at $20 a month or $85 a year.

We intentionally made this choice because we want to encourage readers to opt into our annual plan (I’ll explain why that matters toward the end of this post).

But here’s a simple way to think about your paid tier:

To make your first $1,000, you need just 100 paying subscribers who pay $10 a month.

At $5 a month, you need 200 paying subscribers.

When you look at it that way, making your first $1,000 on Substack might seem more tangible for you.

But this also shows why a low price tier can make it much harder for you to achieve that goal.

I know it can sound intimidating to charge $10 or $20 instead of just $5 per month, but if you consider that you need twice as many people to upgrade to achieve a significant earning threshold, you might be compelled to actually up your prices.

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3. Adapt Your Content Strategy

Once you have a paid tier, your content strategy needs to evolve as well.

Your free posts now play a different role: They are the top of your funnel.

Their job is to attract readers, build trust, and create curiosity about your paid tier.

At Write • Build • Scale, we often give away high-quality free content, but inside that post, we’ll link to a bonus resource or a deep-dive article that’s behind the paywall.

This creates what we call a content funnel.

Imagine this: A free post shares three quick tips. At the end, you tease: “Inside the paid tier, I’ll show you five more strategies with step-by-step instructions.”

That’s how you guide readers naturally toward upgrading without being too pushy.

We have an entire detailed video explaining what a content funnel is and how to build yours, it’s exclusively available for our paid subscribers on Substack:

How To Gain More Paid Subscribers By Using "Content Funnels"

The most important point to note here:

Having a paid tier doesn’t take away the pressure of creating high-value free content.

It just makes your free content even more important.

Because if people don’t enjoy the free content, they’ll never check out what lives behind the paywall.

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4. How to Actually Get People to Pay

Here comes the big question: How do you actually get people to pay?

The number one thing that worked for us at Write • Build • Scale was running dedicated promotions.

We don’t just casually mention our paid tier and invite readers to upgrade.

Instead, we run dedicated promotional campaigns with:

• A clear offer

• A promotional window of a couple of days

• Reminders of all the benefits readers will get when they upgrade

This exact strategy helped us become Bestsellers within 60 days.

Instead of just launching the paid tier and saying, “Here it is,” we ran an entire bootcamp.

We called it the Substack September Bootcamp, and we hosted several live events that paid members could participate in.

Here’s one example of those events:

And we still use this strategy by running multiple promotional campaigns throughout the year.

Every time we do, we see a big spike in upgrades, like you see on this chart:

And when we run these promotions, we primarily promote our annual plan (I’ll share why in a moment).

So if you truly want to grow your paid subscriber base on Substack, running these types of dedicated promotions is your fastest solution.

And remember:

Promotions don’t have to feel salesy.

They’re simply moments of focus that give your free readers a reason to take action today instead of “someday.”

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5. Focus on Retention (This Is Where the Real Money Is)

The final piece of the puzzle is retention.

It’s exciting to gain new paying members, but the real money is made by keeping them.

If someone pays you once, that’s great.

But if they stay for a year? That’s 12 times the income without you having to sell to them over and over again.

At Write • Build • Scale, we focus heavily on retention:

• We deliver consistently

• We make our members feel like insiders

• We ask for their feedback

• We provide multiple touchpoints, from member-only posts to live sessions and community chats

All of this makes people feel connected, and that’s why they stick around.

So as you think about making your first $1,000, don’t just plan how to get people in the door. Plan how to keep them happy once they’re inside.

How to Keep Your Paid Members [Ft. Ciler Demiralp]

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Bonus Tip: Always Promote Your Annual Plan

Before we wrap up, here’s the bonus tip that made a huge difference for us:

When you run promotions or discount offers, always focus on the annual plan.

Here’s why: Monthly subscribers are far more likely to cancel after just a few months.

But when someone commits for a year, you lock in 12 months of income upfront and drastically reduce your churn rate.

Even if your annual plan is much cheaper than the monthly one, you’ll be better off locking someone in for the entire year because you’ll have more touchpoints and opportunities to actually turn them into a super fan.

At Write • Build • Scale, we highlight the annual plan in almost any promotion we run, and we often don’t even offer the discount for the monthly plan.

This not only brings in more stable revenue, but it also gives new members more time to see the real value of your work before they ever think about leaving.

So if you’re running a campaign, make your annual tier the star of the show.

It’ll be much more attractive to your readers and a whole lot more comfortable for you.

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The Bottom Line

To make your first $1,000 on Substack, you need three things:

1. A paid tier that feels like a meaningful upgrade

2. A smart promotion to get people in the door

3. A focus on retention so they stay

Now, the truth is, none of this happens overnight.

But if you apply these steps, $1,000 is absolutely within reach, and it can be the first milestone in building something much bigger around your writing.

If you found this helpful, check out our free Substack Bestseller Workbook. It walks you through all the key decisions that will help you build a profitable publication with the Bestseller badge.

And don’t forget to subscribe so we can grow on Substack together! 🧡

Let me know in the comments: Are you currently offering a paid tier on Substack? What’s been your biggest challenge so far?

— Sinem