One Million Strong is More Than Enough
It’s no secret that ever since I discovered Substack I have been singing its praises to just about any fiction writer I know who is frustrated with their current newsletter situation. And if you want to know just how great I feel Substack is for fiction writers, you need look no further than here.
That being said, “mama didn’t raise no fool.” And what I mean by that is, while Substack is a really great tool, that’s all it is, a tool. And like any tool it is in the business of getting as many people as possible to use it and get others to use it. One could argue that the best way to get that done is by honoring the many requests of its customers? But is that truly feasible? Everyone wants something. Especially when it’s a tool that has the potential to make you money. And there’s this belief that if I make money using the tool, then they make money from me, therefore, doesn’t it compute that they should want to do everything in their power to help me make money? Not even close. Whether I make $1M or $100 their cut (while higher at one end than the other) remains the same 10% and that does not a successful business make. All this comes up in my mind because of this blog post that Substack shared, boasting about one million paying subscribers and how much money they are bringing in to the top ten earners who use the tool.
I’ve seen some of the commentary on this and the one that stands out the most is this sense that Substack isn’t being transparent enough. They are intentionally leaving data out of their findings because they want to continue to keep us in this false sense of security that using their tool will one day put us in that top echelon currently earning upwards of $20m annually. Well, DUH! Of course they want us to believe that! They would be stupid not to. And the reason isn’t the idea that if you or I (assuming you are like me and have zero paying subscribers) come on board and bring them a handful of paying subscribers they can somehow keep their tool afloat. In the grand scheme of things not even the top ten earners they boast about isn’t going to keep the Substack lights on.
What counts (pardon the pun) is the number of users of their tool. The fact that anyone using it happens to be making money (some even earning a living from the money they earn) is icing on the cake. But at the end of the day, the money Substack cares about is the kind they will get from investors. And investors want to see how many people are using the tool before they even consider investing.
Of course, for us, $20m is a lot of money! But for a company like Substack who stays afloat by investors, that number, as I said, only matters to you or I and that is why they shared it. We hear that and we dream that maybe we can be the bearers of a piece of that pie. And Substack is correct in one regard in their business model which is to get more users. The more who use their tool the more money they will bring in for the rest of us. Huh? You must be asking.
Well, and I hate to use this as an example, but take Amazon for example. The first time I used them it was probably to buy a book. I realized how inexpensive it was compared to getting it from an indie book store or even Barnes & Noble (of which I am a member) and so I always go back to Amazon whenever I am looking to buy a book. But pretty soon Amazon is where I went for things outside of books. Now, groceries are probably the only things I don’t get from Amazon and the majority of my life comes from Amazon. That is to say, someone who becomes a paid subscriber to someone on Substack on a particular subject may find themselves searching for other material to read and instead of going elsewhere the likelihood that they will stay in Substack for their search increases exponentially. Cause I don’t know about you, but I am lazy. And if I can get some great reading or book or whatever from one location, I’m more likely to stay there than go somewhere else.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Substack does, in fact, help its users to grow their readership even though at times it may seem like they don’t. They deliver blog posts that spotlight those who may not have the reach or numbers of a Salmon Rushdie. And in kind that person will highlight other Substack users they have discovered. I personally like the “pay it forward” approach that Substack has taken in order to help us little people grow. They even have their office hours every Thursday as a way for us to meet each other and possibly connect for collaborative endeavors. What more can we ask of them? At some point we need to do the footwork ourselves. It’s not their job to bring the customers to our door. They are not in the business of bringing us customers. They are in the business of providing a tool where we can bring them for ourselves.
Substack is user focused and for me, that is what I prefer. I’ve spent time in the halls of MailChimp and Mailerlite (and all the others just like them) and to be perfectly honest, I never felt more ignored there.
Those kinds of platforms do care more about the money you bring them. It’s evident in just about everything that they do and offer. And if you are looking for every possible way to trick and squeeze money out of your newsletter then perhaps you should go to a place like MailChimp or Mailerlite. They are better suited for marketing and selling.
But if you are looking for a place that is centered around you and making sure you have the tools you need in order to connect with your audience, then Substack is the best answer (for now…).
I’m not naive. I realize my ability to get a piece of the $20m pie is probably impossible, but it’s nice to know the pie is there. I can’t say the same for any other newsletter service. The best thing we can all do is focus less on “how much should I expect?” or “how quickly should I expect it?” and more on “how can I improve the quality of my newsletters?” and “am I offering to my readers something I’d be willing to pay for?”
Just remember that Substack is a tool and like any other tool, it’s all in how you use it that will determine its usefulness.
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Erica, I enjoy your posts and I've learned a lot. I started my newsletter in May 2021 and I'm having fun at this point. All my content is free and will probably remain that way, at least for the foreseeable future. It seems like the newsletters that are making the majority of the $20M pot are political newsletters and I subscribe to several of them. I think the road ahead for non-political newsletters is much harder. I'm trying to grow my subscribers, but I still have a full time job for 2 more years, so I don't have much time to promote. Until I retire and can devote more time to it, this is just an outlet for me to share my love of books and reading with others. For that, I'm thankful. :)