Appreciate the honesty! I’m finding that after starting, new avenues open up for exploring, that wouldn’t have popped up if I were still thinking about starting. So maybe even if you don’t know how you will make money, just share what you would like to and see what happens 🍻.
Thank you for sharing, it is easy to think that we are failing if we don't make millions with our first newsletters! But it is good to see that with perseverance and work (and something to actually write about) we can achieve success!
Thanks for being so open and forthcoming about making money on Substack! Hearing you talk candidly about money is so refreshing - and gives me realistic hope for my publication here.
It's good to hear how you are doing so others can be inspired to get to where you are. And because we are all just learning as we go, now we see what to spend time learning. If we want to make a living from writing. Another good post Karen!
Great post. I've been a self-employed writer for nearly 19 years. At least the past decade has been in 6-figure territory. However, the reality is that if you want to make a solid income, you're not always going to be able to write about things you are passionate about. There's going to be a struggle between income and passion. Do you just want to be a "writer" and pay the bills? Or so you want to really write about things you love and prioritize your passion? Because they are completely different things. I started out in travel writing when I was in my 20s but that was never going to really pay the bills. All of my income comes from business and technology writing, primarily ghostwriting for executives and in white papers and reports. I only recently started a Substack as an outlet for my real passion for adventure travel writing. I don't ever expect to make any money here. My goal here is merely to have an outlet and within time, hopefully land more subscribers. Then, maybe I use that to get back into some magazines and other outlets where I was writing before. But my "passion" writing will never provide any substantial income. I'm okay with that. For now I like being able to balance lucrative writing then using that to pursue passion on the side.
Thanks for sharing, Karen! Really appreciate your transparency. And congrats on your wins with Substack and Medium!
I’m curious if you know what’s contributing to your 1K/month regular rise in paid subscribers, how long it’s been growing like this for for you, and if you’d be willing to share? That sounds like a great momentum!
Annnd now I’m going back to figuring out how I can best help people, with my writing and outside of this, ideally without burning myself out. :D
Thanks Sandi, my $1K per month is ten new paying subscribers, which comes from a total of 160 - 170 new subscribers. The trick to getting more paid subscribers is getting more free subscribers.
The current growth is, I suspect, partly seasonal. This is a less busy and less vacation-y time of year for my audience, so they are more likely to be checking LinkedIn, reading the emails I send and more likely to have time to upgrade to pay, compared to busy or vacation-y times like July, September and December.
It's unexciting but I'm really just staying consistent, trying to produce great work each week and add a little more fun occasionally. The only thing I have changed in the past two months is two to three extra LinkedIn posts each week and posting to groups more often.
Two newsletters sounds like a lot but it is not too bad, because my free newsletter doesn't take much time, it's totally doable if you can stick to a time limit for each issue.
"Can you do this too? Perhaps not. I have skills, expertise and experience that people are willing to pay for, and not everyone has that. I also have the freedom to take financial risks - like quitting my job to build a Substack publication - and not everyone can do that either."
Very true reality!
I'm glad you spoke on it, the reward is immense if you can!
Hi Anna, When I report gross revenue from Substack and Medium it's always in USD because that's what I can screen-shot from my dashboard.
I've been deliberately non-committal with currency, and mostly used percentages, because the actual figures really don't matter. I live in an expensive city so my cost of living is high, and my income is "small". But if I lived in a regional part of Australia things would be different. If I lived in the Philippines this income would be a fortune!
Thanks for clarifying! You’re right, the number itself doesn’t mean much if you don’t take cost of living into consideration. I’m happy this is working for you! 💕
Appreciate the honesty! I’m finding that after starting, new avenues open up for exploring, that wouldn’t have popped up if I were still thinking about starting. So maybe even if you don’t know how you will make money, just share what you would like to and see what happens 🍻.
I'm with you on this one! Action is the first and best step!
I agree . . .sometimes we don't know what to "sell" but once we have an audience, we can then find out what they might "buy"
Thank you for sharing, it is easy to think that we are failing if we don't make millions with our first newsletters! But it is good to see that with perseverance and work (and something to actually write about) we can achieve success!
Thanks for being so open and forthcoming about making money on Substack! Hearing you talk candidly about money is so refreshing - and gives me realistic hope for my publication here.
It's good to hear how you are doing so others can be inspired to get to where you are. And because we are all just learning as we go, now we see what to spend time learning. If we want to make a living from writing. Another good post Karen!
Great post. I've been a self-employed writer for nearly 19 years. At least the past decade has been in 6-figure territory. However, the reality is that if you want to make a solid income, you're not always going to be able to write about things you are passionate about. There's going to be a struggle between income and passion. Do you just want to be a "writer" and pay the bills? Or so you want to really write about things you love and prioritize your passion? Because they are completely different things. I started out in travel writing when I was in my 20s but that was never going to really pay the bills. All of my income comes from business and technology writing, primarily ghostwriting for executives and in white papers and reports. I only recently started a Substack as an outlet for my real passion for adventure travel writing. I don't ever expect to make any money here. My goal here is merely to have an outlet and within time, hopefully land more subscribers. Then, maybe I use that to get back into some magazines and other outlets where I was writing before. But my "passion" writing will never provide any substantial income. I'm okay with that. For now I like being able to balance lucrative writing then using that to pursue passion on the side.
Thanks for sharing!
Just the type of information I'm looking for. Many thanks!
Thanks for the honest and helpful information.
Thanks for sharing, Karen! Really appreciate your transparency. And congrats on your wins with Substack and Medium!
I’m curious if you know what’s contributing to your 1K/month regular rise in paid subscribers, how long it’s been growing like this for for you, and if you’d be willing to share? That sounds like a great momentum!
Annnd now I’m going back to figuring out how I can best help people, with my writing and outside of this, ideally without burning myself out. :D
Thanks Sandi, my $1K per month is ten new paying subscribers, which comes from a total of 160 - 170 new subscribers. The trick to getting more paid subscribers is getting more free subscribers.
The current growth is, I suspect, partly seasonal. This is a less busy and less vacation-y time of year for my audience, so they are more likely to be checking LinkedIn, reading the emails I send and more likely to have time to upgrade to pay, compared to busy or vacation-y times like July, September and December.
It's unexciting but I'm really just staying consistent, trying to produce great work each week and add a little more fun occasionally. The only thing I have changed in the past two months is two to three extra LinkedIn posts each week and posting to groups more often.
This is the topics I’m most interested. Thanks for sharing
Saving this for later
Karen thanks for sharing these numbers, it's cool to see the 'revenue pie' - where the money is really coming from
You have quite a ton of income streams. I also love having my eggs in many baskets.
How do you manage 2 newsletters at a time? You must have some excellent systems in place.
Two newsletters sounds like a lot but it is not too bad, because my free newsletter doesn't take much time, it's totally doable if you can stick to a time limit for each issue.
"Can you do this too? Perhaps not. I have skills, expertise and experience that people are willing to pay for, and not everyone has that. I also have the freedom to take financial risks - like quitting my job to build a Substack publication - and not everyone can do that either."
Very true reality!
I'm glad you spoke on it, the reward is immense if you can!
Love the honest and open approach here. Thank you.
Karen thank you for sharing and sorry for being obnoxious but...are these Australian or American dollars? 😅
Hi Anna, When I report gross revenue from Substack and Medium it's always in USD because that's what I can screen-shot from my dashboard.
I've been deliberately non-committal with currency, and mostly used percentages, because the actual figures really don't matter. I live in an expensive city so my cost of living is high, and my income is "small". But if I lived in a regional part of Australia things would be different. If I lived in the Philippines this income would be a fortune!
Thanks for clarifying! You’re right, the number itself doesn’t mean much if you don’t take cost of living into consideration. I’m happy this is working for you! 💕