Fav Five 🖐️ | Getting paid on Substack
You won’t want to miss these resources
Dear friend
As you know, I am on a money mindset journey. I turned off paid subscriptions because I wanted the freedom to just play. As a recovering people pleaser and someone who is trying to step away from the hustle culture, I was scared it would derail my enjoyment on Substack.
I tell people who will listen, to avoid doing what I did and turn ON paid subs straightaway. I realised I was blocking myself from receiving and I didn’t want that for anyone else. (In a full circle moment, early last month I DM’ed from
to turn on paid subs and not to do what I did and wait. A month later she messaged me, encouraging me to turn on paid. So ironic!)I recently turned on paid subs, and it was quite an interesting experience.
I decided not to make a big announcement about it; instead, I quietly turned it on as a personal act of bravery. With plenty of encouragement from my community, I felt ready to open the door I had been avoiding since I started writing regularly in December 2023.
It’s as if every bit of angst and tension about going paid was causing an imaginary balloon to grow larger and LARGER. When the time finally came to turn on paid, and essentially “pop the balloon”, I was filled with trepidation, fear, and unease. When I turned on paid, it was like the balloon popped but there was no bang—nothing scary happened.
This experience taught me a significant and valuable lesson. Often, the fear of an impending event is much greater than the event itself. Our minds have a tendency to amplify worries and anxieties, making them seem insurmountable. However, when we confront these fears, we often find that they are not as daunting as we imagined. This taught me the importance of facing fears head-on, rather than letting them grow uncontrollably in our minds.
If you’ve found my writing helpful and you’re in a position to do so, here is the link to upgrade (currently NZ$55 a year (as of today US$34/£27)). If you are unable to, or are happy to stay on the free subscription, that is totally ok with me too! I’m just glad you’re in our supportive community.
I'm excited to share some of my favorite resources that I've been collecting since I started on Substack. I hope you find them as interesting as I do!
Enjoy!
1. Behind-the-scenes surveys
I am super excited to share with you ’s Substack Income Transparency Project. It “aims to get a clearer picture of how much writers actually make from their newsletters on Substack.” How cool is that?!
The anonymous spreadsheet is super informative and very eye opening!
If you earn on Substack, please take the time to fill out the survey and give Anna some love for putting this together!
Don’t miss checking out ’s survey results about paid newsletters! She put it together “in the name of collective benefit and transparency”, asking questions such as “What’s the main reason you pay (or would consider to pay) for someone’s publication? Super helpful to those contemplating this next step.
2. Paid subscription with no paywalls
This note by is gold! The comments are incredibly affirming and helpful too. I love that this proves there is a path for you if you aren’t ready/or don’t want to offer workshops, extra newsletters etc.
3. One-off payments for writer support
in her post How To Stop Feeling Awkward About Asking Readers To Pay You introduces us to another way to get paid on Substack via one-off payments.
“Nobody who uses tipping apps is making demands. They’re giving readers the option to show appreciation for art being consumed. They’re putting a suggestion out into the universe, not keeping a spreadsheet of who does or doesn’t fork over some cash….Especially on Substack where we don’t have a built-in tipping option. A reader might not want to give you $5.00 every month but they might want to give you $5.00 today. And if they do, it’s not the tip that’ll change your life, it’s the feeling that accompanies the tip.”
Some options for one-off payments: Kofi or Buy me a coffee.
4. Insightful newsletters about money mindset
If you’re wondering whether or not to turn on paid, these posts could help:
The Full Time Substack Dream - How Long Does It Take? by (the numbers he shares are fascinating and VERY sobering)
5. Strategies for going paid
With all Substack strategies, take what you like, leave the rest. You do you!
I’m About to Make My Substack Newsletter Paid. If You’re a Writer, You’re Going to Want to Read This by
Substack Payments: Everything You Need to Know Before You Go Paid by
✍️ Have you got any other resources you would recommend? How do you feel about paid subscriptions?
Thank you so much for stopping by! You may enjoy reading these as well:
Good for anyone who receives paid subscriptions. I have a different approach. I don't need the income so what I offer instead, besides always free subscriptions, is an opportunity for anyone to make a pledge n any amount, one time or recurring, which I contribute to a non-profit scholarship fund. The AMS Scholarship for Underserved Communitiesl awards funding to minority students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the sciences, especially Hispanic, Native American, and Black/African American students. The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is committed to, and benefits from the full and equitable participation of a diverse community, advancing core values of diversity, inclusion, and equity across all aspects of the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences.
Congrats on going paid, Mika! And thank you for your generous resources as always 🥰🧚♀️ I juuuust wrote a note about how good it feels to tip. Not many of us can afford to subscribe to more than 3-5 publications but a one-off tip feels empowering and so nurturing for my spirit!