Thanks for the helpful post! Would you answer a couple of questions?
For the strategic launch tier, you said the key requirement is a few hundred subscribers that are genuinely engaged. How do you objectively determine genuine engagement? Specific open rates, likes, comments?
Also, with regard to the 20-subscriber rule, how do you market the paid tier until you get to that threshold without exclusive content?
Hi Bobby! :) I'm not a fan of focusing on specific metrics, especially not in the early days. When you don't have a lot of data, the data might not be as meaningful as you might expect. Instead of focusing on open rates or the number of likes, I would rather focus on conversations. These can happen in the comment sections, it can happen in your chat, it can happen via private messages. You basically need to listen to signals coming from your audience of individual people clearly saying that they resonate with your work. Of course this is harder than just tracking numbers, but those signals are way more powerful.
And regarding the 20 subscriber rule, I would actually look at it the other way around. I would wait with the initial launch until I believe that I can easily convert 20 people to paid subscribers. Of course you can never know it for sure, but if you know that your content is getting decent engagement and you have some super fans, you can trust that these people will convert once you make a solid offer.
I value these insights and find them very helpful. However, I’m concerned that among your recommendations is treating Substack as a discovery tool without ever turning on paid subscriptions, while making your money elsewhere. That doesn’t seem like the right thing to do especially since Substack’s model brings us joy and spares us the typical social media frustrations. If Substack were to struggle and close down, it wouldn't bode well for all that we worked hard to create. Yes, you can back up your email list, content, and whatnot, but showing appreciation and reciprocity is not just good karma (which is a lot); it feels good to do.
Still, I appreciate your insights here. Thank you.
I understand your thought process, but that's a personal decision that will vary for every creator depending on their preferences and opportunities. Some creators also can't turn on paid subscriptions simply because the Stripe connection doesn't work in their countries. Not everyone is frustrated with social media and monetizing externally either.
Thanks for the helpful post! Would you answer a couple of questions?
For the strategic launch tier, you said the key requirement is a few hundred subscribers that are genuinely engaged. How do you objectively determine genuine engagement? Specific open rates, likes, comments?
Also, with regard to the 20-subscriber rule, how do you market the paid tier until you get to that threshold without exclusive content?
Thanks so much!
Hi Bobby! :) I'm not a fan of focusing on specific metrics, especially not in the early days. When you don't have a lot of data, the data might not be as meaningful as you might expect. Instead of focusing on open rates or the number of likes, I would rather focus on conversations. These can happen in the comment sections, it can happen in your chat, it can happen via private messages. You basically need to listen to signals coming from your audience of individual people clearly saying that they resonate with your work. Of course this is harder than just tracking numbers, but those signals are way more powerful.
And regarding the 20 subscriber rule, I would actually look at it the other way around. I would wait with the initial launch until I believe that I can easily convert 20 people to paid subscribers. Of course you can never know it for sure, but if you know that your content is getting decent engagement and you have some super fans, you can trust that these people will convert once you make a solid offer.
I value these insights and find them very helpful. However, I’m concerned that among your recommendations is treating Substack as a discovery tool without ever turning on paid subscriptions, while making your money elsewhere. That doesn’t seem like the right thing to do especially since Substack’s model brings us joy and spares us the typical social media frustrations. If Substack were to struggle and close down, it wouldn't bode well for all that we worked hard to create. Yes, you can back up your email list, content, and whatnot, but showing appreciation and reciprocity is not just good karma (which is a lot); it feels good to do.
Still, I appreciate your insights here. Thank you.
I understand your thought process, but that's a personal decision that will vary for every creator depending on their preferences and opportunities. Some creators also can't turn on paid subscriptions simply because the Stripe connection doesn't work in their countries. Not everyone is frustrated with social media and monetizing externally either.
I don't t know why the grab free substackers kit page is showing not found ?
Oups - might've been a mistake, it's fixed now and here's the link: https://www.writebuildscale.com/starterkit
Thanks for your feed back 😁
https://substack.com/@797877/note/c-187139154?r=3cj4n&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action