Do You Need Multiple Revenue Streams?
Maybe... but look before you leap...
Hello everyone, how are you all?
Let’s talk multiple revenue streams, since all the gurus are saying you need them unless you want to be a complete failure on Substack. Facepalm.
Before we discuss whether you actually need to create extra revenue streams or not, let me share my situation with revenue.
I work for myself, having bailed from a corporate career in 2021, and I love it.
These past 3 weeks, I’ve been extra grateful to be self-employed and able to set my own hours, because there have been some intense family things happening. Working for myself means I can give all my favourite humans the attention they need without burning myself out.
But let’s be real, I do not earn a full-time income from my Substack publications. I have multiple revenue streams. And most of those are not related to Substack. Multiple revenue sources work for me, but they are definitely not a must-have for everyone.
In this post, I’ll explain what multiple revenue streams are, why the gurus are super-biased about this topic, and how these biases cause them to give you bad advice. I’ll also help you decide whether you are missing out if you choose not to chase extra revenue sources and - phew! - give you permission to ignore this so-called ‘must-have’ aspect of being an online creator.
What are multiple revenue streams?
Multiple revenue streams means different ways of bringing money (revenue) into a business.
In online creation, multiple revenue streams typically include revenue from newsletter subscriptions, coaching, online courses, e-books, templates, workshops, newsletter sponsorships and affiliate commissions.
What the gurus say
This month in the How-to-Substack universe, the gurus are preaching that you need multiple revenue streams to succeed on Substack. I want to challenge that.
It’s not that the gurus are totally wrong. Some people need multiple revenue streams. The gurus need multiple revenue streams. I need multiple revenue streams. But you, my dear subscribers, may not.
Multiple revenue streams are only necessary for a small proportion of people who write on Substack. They are not a must-have, and you aren’t ‘failing’ if you haven’t built them.
What worries me is that multiple streams are not just unnecessary for many Substackers, but can be massively unhelpful. They add layers of complexity and overwhelm to your life as a creator and that can sabotage your progress in areas where it really counts.
The gurus are biased because they have hitched their wagons to the world of online creation and have gone all-in on it. Kudos to them. But online creation is in a state of massive disruption right now.
The rise of AI-assisted writing and coaching is changing how our audiences and clients interact with us. At the same time, one of the biggest consumer markets in the world, the US, is having a nervous breakdown, and consumers there are changing the way they spend their precious dollars.
In this context, full-time online creators need - desperately need - multiple sources of income, so they can adapt quickly and maintain a safety net when one income source fails.
No wonder they evangelise about multiple revenue sources.
By the way, if you’re wondering why I don’t consider myself an ‘all-in’ online creator, I have consulting clients related to my corporate career - a source of revenue that is safely shielded from the shit-storm of AI-related disruptions (for now!)
The FOMO is real
Multiple revenue streams hustle porn is the ultimate FOMO (fear of missing out) trigger for me. Every time I read a post saying Substack creators need extra revenue streams to complement paid subscriptions, I feel a spike of anxiety.
Which is dumb, coz I already have revenue streams from digital products, coaching clients, done-for-you services and old-fashioned consulting work.
But you? I can only imagine how stressful it must be if you’re new to online creation and you keep seeing these exhortations to create new stuff! Make digital products, launch a membership site, create a workshop, get sponsors, sign ten coaching clients…. ALL. THE. THINGS.
It’s too much!
Whether you’re here on Substack to share your work for free or become a gazillionaire, your first job is to get your Substack strategy in order. Your second job is to implement it and get in the groove of writing and pressing ‘Send’. Extra stuff comes later.
So if you’re losing sleep over the e-book you haven’t written or the group coaching offer you don’t have time to create, then know that these things should not be your priority until you’ve got your publication in a good place.
Only if your publication is in a good place already, with a solid strategy that’s delivering results, AND only if you have the bandwidth to take on a new project, should you start working to create a second or third income stream.
But don’t neglect your publication to do so. Without a strong publication to help you connect with your audience, a new digital product or coaching offer won’t deliver solid revenue, because you won’t have anyone to sell to.
And finally, before you commit to learning and creating new things, be wary of the risk of overwhelm and burnout. Creating new offers takes time and energy that might not be available to you right now. And they can suck the joy out of your Substack adventures. Beware!
Summing up
If you’re a full-time creator, multiple revenue streams are a necessity, but for part-time creators, they add complexity and can hinder progress.
While it sounds like a great idea to sell digital products, sign sponsorship deals, write e-books and launch coaching services, be warned that these projects can damage your Substack publication by sucking your time and energy and putting you at risk of burnout.
You need your Substack publication to be solid and settled if you want to add extra revenue streams to complement it - after all, your Substack readers are the people who will buy your other offers.
Alternatively, consider other revenue streams from outside the world of online creation. Or simply take a deep breath and fight the FOMO. It’s okay to do less.
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That’s it for Pubstack Success for this week. Have a good one,
Bye!
P.S. If you want to know exactly how I stacked online revenue streams to build an escape route from the corporate rat race, join The Transformation Zone for a no-holds-barred personal tour of my dashboards, financial reports, audience acquisition channels, and highest-converting offers. To get access, reply to this email, or send me a DM.
Totally agree Karen.
In an older version of my coaching business, I was very gung ho about creating all kinds of information products to supplement my one-on-one coaching.
I actually enjoy content creation so making the products was fun. However, and this is the heart of what I learned, creating a product, promoting it, and setting up the infrastructure to support sales takes time, lots of time.
Looking back I would have been better off spending my time cultivating my network and doing other activities that contributed more directly to my business.
The other issue people seem oblivious to is that most information products, etc. make very little money. They are essentially loss leaders, a way for folks to "try you out" and a huge percent of people never even open the product after they buy it.
Folks always want to write a book. But books don't make much money unless you have a huge following and good ways to promote it. If your book helps you get high paid speaking gigs and other opportunities, great but very, very few authors get to this space.
Biggest lesson I learned was to make sure I have a very sound strategic reason to add another item that I'll have to put effort into creating and selling. Time is our scarcest resource and we need to be very thoughtful about how we use it.
Thanks for this great reminder! There is a lot of pressure to DO ALL THE THINGS. But, like you said, you don’t HAVE to....