Can we please have a function where readers can offer us a one-off "gift"? I would like that option for my Substack. I find myself very uncomfortable with the individual subscription system. It seriously discriminates against poor people. I strongly believe that people should be encouraged to pay for what they value, but only after they have paid their rent and fed their kids. That call has to be their own. As a pensioner, I cannot myself afford subscriptions to every writer I value, so I subscribe to none, and as a result, I find myself a becoming increasingly a second class citizen on Substack.
Second, can you design a very clear labeling system for those articles that are pay-walled so we know that we are not permitted to engage before we waste our time going into the article to read it. Teasers followed by begging for subscriptions, or whole articles with comments pay-walled, are just so insulting. I am finding myself increasingly annoyed, so I am now routinely, when I get caught by one of those cruel marketing stunts, un-subscribing from that person. I don't need the constant reminder of my second class status, based not on intelligence but on bank balance.
I’ve supported about 10 worriers over the last several years. I’ve let a couple lapse and plan to pick up several more. However the budget doesn’t allow me to support all 31 that I follow. I’d love an option to pay/donate for a single article. Is that a possibility? I think many people would be willing and able to pay for outstanding articles without requiring an annual subscription.
I believe, firmly, that authors should not have to write for free. However, paying a minimum of $60/year for every writer I like is beyond my means. I can't find hard statistics but if only 5%-10% of readers are paying subscribers, I can't be the only one. Back when everyone was on Patreon, I could spread the money amongst more writers than I can here. So, I'm thinking pledging is beyond most of us, if 90-95% aren't subscribing already.
I like the idea of pledge until I realized that it was just another button to take me to the subscription page ... here’s a different idea ... allow me to buy 10, 20, 50, hell ... a hundred dollars of tokens. Then let me as a writer associate each paywalled piece with a kind of ‘micro payment’ ... subscribe for 6 per month or pay me ‘n’ tokens to access this single article.
This allows me to pay for what I am reading if the writer is asking, without committing way above the means ...
The tokens might also be used just to say ‘Thankyou’ ... think of the ‘buy me a coffee’ idea ... all nicely contained in the substack eco system.
I do want to support authors who create great writing, yet being retired, I cannot afford $50 for every Substack author whose writing I like. How can I send a few dollars to multiple authors to support them and get access to their work yet not run out of money?
I’m not ready to pledge. I am not a regular reader of any writer. I dip my toes in the water occasionally. If pressured to pledge, which I understand for those who read everything an author writes, I’ll likely just unsubscribe. I do think regular readers should pay for content they value enough to read all the time.
I write a FREE weekly newsletter on Substack. In my newsletter this week, a friend commented on the two “Pledge Your Support” button that appeared in my newsletter. I did not put this button in, I do not want it there and and even though I contacted Substack about this issue, and how to remove it, no one responded to me. That Substack put this new feature in my newsletter without my permission was very upsetting. I want to choose when and how I get compensated for my work. I finally deleted my “Share” and “Subscribe Now” buttons, as it appears that they showed up as “Pledge Your Support” to subscribers (but not in my version).
To be clear, this is my choice. There are many many very fine writers on Substack and elsewhere who use the paid subscriptions option, and that’s great. I understand that this helps support their excellent work and I happily subscribe to those I can (I echo the comments of many here to say that I can’t support everyone).
Really disappointing to get zero response from Substack. And try to find a way to connect - it’s laughably lame. Customer service and “writer support” does not consist of a list of FAQs, but actually giving your writers the ability to speak to a human.
I’m a retired literary agent, and I love the SubStack structure. You are doing a great service for the writing and reading community. I cancelled my WSJ subscription and have since spread around that amount of money to a group of SubStack writers whom I have chosen to read almost daily. As I’ve found new writers, I’ve begun as a free reader, and when I find that I value the writer’s work, I’ve subscribed.
There is so much I love about Substack. I love that the why behind what you’re doing is to support great writing. But a couple thoughts. First, I’m one of the many people here who cannot afford to subscribe to every writer I like and will sooner unsubscribe than continue as a reader. As a writer, I’m still at the point where I frankly just appreciate that someone is reading my writing, even having been paid for some of my published pieces. The check system makes me uncomfortable because it feels like my writing is still not good enough since I don’t ask for paid subscriptions and have, for now, turned off pledges as well. Like others here, I would rather see an option to pay for particularly good pieces and see the checks go away, along with pledges.
Like several other commenters, I find the Substack subscription model too expensive for me.
My favorite writer's paid subscription runs to over $170/year.
Substack has, I believe, a business model error at work. Paid subscriptions Per Writer are always going to be too expensive for many readers.
I see options for Substack - and its writers - to thrive, long term:
(a) Lower the amount for a paid subscription - to about $0.50 or $1.00 per month. At that level, many more readers would switch to paid. Conceivably, leading to higher total remuneration than the now-typical $14/month level.
(b) Adopt the cable TV model: Quote a monthly rate for a bundle of the reader's favorite writers. E.g., $12/month for a bundle of 10 writers.
Allow us to give what we can give, not your stipulation. The structure of Substack is such that I only occasionally read most authors. I subscribe to 2, and even those I don’t read consistently, not because they aren’t great, but because I have a crazy busy multitasking life, like most people. I hate that what used to be a couple newspaper subscriptions has turned into what is essentially subscribing to multiple individuals. It just isn’t something I can commit to, as a middle class individual juggling bills.
Two requests.
Can we please have a function where readers can offer us a one-off "gift"? I would like that option for my Substack. I find myself very uncomfortable with the individual subscription system. It seriously discriminates against poor people. I strongly believe that people should be encouraged to pay for what they value, but only after they have paid their rent and fed their kids. That call has to be their own. As a pensioner, I cannot myself afford subscriptions to every writer I value, so I subscribe to none, and as a result, I find myself a becoming increasingly a second class citizen on Substack.
Second, can you design a very clear labeling system for those articles that are pay-walled so we know that we are not permitted to engage before we waste our time going into the article to read it. Teasers followed by begging for subscriptions, or whole articles with comments pay-walled, are just so insulting. I am finding myself increasingly annoyed, so I am now routinely, when I get caught by one of those cruel marketing stunts, un-subscribing from that person. I don't need the constant reminder of my second class status, based not on intelligence but on bank balance.
I’ve supported about 10 worriers over the last several years. I’ve let a couple lapse and plan to pick up several more. However the budget doesn’t allow me to support all 31 that I follow. I’d love an option to pay/donate for a single article. Is that a possibility? I think many people would be willing and able to pay for outstanding articles without requiring an annual subscription.
I pledge to support Substack any way I can. Thank you to the entire team for protecting free speech and empowering writers!
I believe, firmly, that authors should not have to write for free. However, paying a minimum of $60/year for every writer I like is beyond my means. I can't find hard statistics but if only 5%-10% of readers are paying subscribers, I can't be the only one. Back when everyone was on Patreon, I could spread the money amongst more writers than I can here. So, I'm thinking pledging is beyond most of us, if 90-95% aren't subscribing already.
I like the idea of pledge until I realized that it was just another button to take me to the subscription page ... here’s a different idea ... allow me to buy 10, 20, 50, hell ... a hundred dollars of tokens. Then let me as a writer associate each paywalled piece with a kind of ‘micro payment’ ... subscribe for 6 per month or pay me ‘n’ tokens to access this single article.
This allows me to pay for what I am reading if the writer is asking, without committing way above the means ...
The tokens might also be used just to say ‘Thankyou’ ... think of the ‘buy me a coffee’ idea ... all nicely contained in the substack eco system.
I do want to support authors who create great writing, yet being retired, I cannot afford $50 for every Substack author whose writing I like. How can I send a few dollars to multiple authors to support them and get access to their work yet not run out of money?
I’m not ready to pledge. I am not a regular reader of any writer. I dip my toes in the water occasionally. If pressured to pledge, which I understand for those who read everything an author writes, I’ll likely just unsubscribe. I do think regular readers should pay for content they value enough to read all the time.
I write a FREE weekly newsletter on Substack. In my newsletter this week, a friend commented on the two “Pledge Your Support” button that appeared in my newsletter. I did not put this button in, I do not want it there and and even though I contacted Substack about this issue, and how to remove it, no one responded to me. That Substack put this new feature in my newsletter without my permission was very upsetting. I want to choose when and how I get compensated for my work. I finally deleted my “Share” and “Subscribe Now” buttons, as it appears that they showed up as “Pledge Your Support” to subscribers (but not in my version).
To be clear, this is my choice. There are many many very fine writers on Substack and elsewhere who use the paid subscriptions option, and that’s great. I understand that this helps support their excellent work and I happily subscribe to those I can (I echo the comments of many here to say that I can’t support everyone).
Really disappointing to get zero response from Substack. And try to find a way to connect - it’s laughably lame. Customer service and “writer support” does not consist of a list of FAQs, but actually giving your writers the ability to speak to a human.
I’m a retired literary agent, and I love the SubStack structure. You are doing a great service for the writing and reading community. I cancelled my WSJ subscription and have since spread around that amount of money to a group of SubStack writers whom I have chosen to read almost daily. As I’ve found new writers, I’ve begun as a free reader, and when I find that I value the writer’s work, I’ve subscribed.
Sophia, this is so well written. I had not thought of the subscription from the reader as an expression of gratitude, but that's a nice way to put it
Still not entirely sure what a Pledge is or means? 🤷♂️
Fair initiative. Glad to have (finally) migrated to Substack today and to this news. Only upwards and onwards from here! ✨
Alright alright already, you’ve convinced me! I’ll turn on pledges.
There is so much I love about Substack. I love that the why behind what you’re doing is to support great writing. But a couple thoughts. First, I’m one of the many people here who cannot afford to subscribe to every writer I like and will sooner unsubscribe than continue as a reader. As a writer, I’m still at the point where I frankly just appreciate that someone is reading my writing, even having been paid for some of my published pieces. The check system makes me uncomfortable because it feels like my writing is still not good enough since I don’t ask for paid subscriptions and have, for now, turned off pledges as well. Like others here, I would rather see an option to pay for particularly good pieces and see the checks go away, along with pledges.
Like several other commenters, I find the Substack subscription model too expensive for me.
My favorite writer's paid subscription runs to over $170/year.
Substack has, I believe, a business model error at work. Paid subscriptions Per Writer are always going to be too expensive for many readers.
I see options for Substack - and its writers - to thrive, long term:
(a) Lower the amount for a paid subscription - to about $0.50 or $1.00 per month. At that level, many more readers would switch to paid. Conceivably, leading to higher total remuneration than the now-typical $14/month level.
(b) Adopt the cable TV model: Quote a monthly rate for a bundle of the reader's favorite writers. E.g., $12/month for a bundle of 10 writers.
Allow us to give what we can give, not your stipulation. The structure of Substack is such that I only occasionally read most authors. I subscribe to 2, and even those I don’t read consistently, not because they aren’t great, but because I have a crazy busy multitasking life, like most people. I hate that what used to be a couple newspaper subscriptions has turned into what is essentially subscribing to multiple individuals. It just isn’t something I can commit to, as a middle class individual juggling bills.