Readers are voting with their dollars for a better culture

Celebrating six months and $8.5 million unlocked for writers from Substack Pledges

Six months ago, we introduced a new feature called Pledges to let readers show writers that they believe their work is worth paying for. In that short time, readers committed more than $1.2 million in pledges to writers on Substack, and writers who have chosen to convert their pledges into paid subscriptions have gone on to earn $8.5 million collectively. To date, more than 20,000 writers have received pledges.

We built Pledges as a way for readers to boost the confidence of the writers they love and show them how much they value their writing. A pledge tells writers that the time and effort they invest in their work will pay off with the subscription model—and that there’s a ready audience willing to reward them. 

When

Poetry Unbound

, a Substack that invites “poetry lovers and the poetry-curious” into conversation around the power of words, began to accept pledges, the authors emphasized the importance of artists getting paid for their work. “Art—while it cannot be reduced to a singular purpose—can be a call for integrity,” they wrote.  

This is the beating heart of our mission: we need integrity to build a trustworthy media system, and at the core of it are writers and readers with full agency and intention who invest their time, money, and attention into work they deeply value. 

What the readers who pledged a subscription did was more than simply express admiration and support to a writer they love. In many cases, that choice convinced the writers to commit to their own work and take it as seriously as they would any profession. With their pledge, readers invested in protecting and promoting a better media culture, and the moment the writers accepted these payments, they saw that investment pay off.

By making a pledge as a reader, you are inspiring new writers to get to work and to do it as honestly as possible. By accepting a pledge as a writer, you are recognizing that the responsibility you must honor is not only to your readers but to what they are trying to protect: your integrity and theirs.

We’ll leave you with a relevant short story by Lydia Davis (to whom I would definitely pledge my support if she ever started a Substack):

“Money”

I don’t want any more gifts, cards, phone calls, prizes, clothes, friends, letters, books, souvenirs, pets, magazines, land, machines, houses, entertainments, honors, good news, dinners, jewels, vacations, flowers, or telegrams. I just want money.

The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis

A pledge is not a gift, a card, a prize, or an honor. It is money. Your writing is worth it. 

Don’t write? Share this post with your favorite writer and encourage them to start a Substack. Then pledge your support.

The Substack promise

We solemnly swear:

Ownership. You will always own your mailing list, subscriber payment information, and intellectual property. If you decide to leave us, you’ll take it all with you.

A direct relationship with readers. Algorithms shouldn’t decide who sees your work. On Substack, you control the relationship with your readers and the community you create with them through Chat and comments. 

Audience growth. More than 40% of all new free subscriptions and 20% of paid subscriptions to Substacks now come from within our network.

Simple, easy-to-use tools. Zero tech knowledge is required to write on Substack. We take care of everything except the hard part (the writing itself). 

A better financial model. No one likes to see ads, and very few independent writers can earn a reasonable income from them. With the subscription model, a few hundred paid subscribers can support a livelihood and a few thousand make it lucrative. Estimate your earnings here. If you’re not ready to start a Substack with paid subscriptions, you can test the waters with Pledges. 

Don’t take our word for it.

While a free newsletter suited me in the beginning, going paid has allowed me to prioritize my own worth, gave me the confidence to do better work, and has also reinforced to me that my community appreciates everything that I put into my recipes and writing. —

Hetty Lui McKinnon

,

To Vegetables, With Love

Read how

Hetty Lui McKinnon

’s community convinced her to go paid by pledging their support.