My guess is that Substack is following a similar trajectory to other creator led platforms and the top 1 per cent of Substackers are making 90 per cent of the money. It’s an obvious strategy to highlight the success stories but like other platforms Substack won’t hit the kind of growth that pleases VC types until it can reliably create a middle class.
I actually think if they can get this sponsorship program up and running with more partners it will be great for smaller letters. Curious if any of you have participated in that feature yet.
I probably don’t make as much money as I could if I promised people that they could make a bunch of money on Substack. I would never do that.
Substack can be immensely profitable but not necessarily financially. I'm talking personally, professionally, creatively. The connections that can be made: my clients have gotten book deals and written for major media outlets and built businesses and created what used to be considered an enormous email list, especially for a writer just starting out. (There was a time when having a hundred people on your email list made you the boss.)
Making any money as a writer is a rare thing and always has been. (When I came of age as a writer, I was paid $250 for a book review for the New York Times. It was impossible to make a living.)
And we forget that email addresses alone are so valuable that Meta won't give them to us. There's much to be made here and it isn't just cash.
I consider Substack the place where I share work that matters to me (on my own newsletter). But because of that work, I was hired as the managing editor of another (totally free) Substack newsletter 2+ years ago. That ongoing freelance role is a significant source of income for me. My own (paid) newsletter is a supplementary source of income. While my total income from these two “Substack jobs” is modest by North American standards, I don’t live in North America.
Recently two pretty big newsletter writers (Emma Gannon and Webworm) shared graphs showing gradual downward trajectories of paying subs since 2024/2025. I'm on 600~ paying subs and have noticed the increased competition for a limited pool of potential paid subs in the last 2 years as well, despite having early adopter advantage (2021) and a pretty clear niche.
Would be wild if she kept that. I have a feeling whoever buys is going to be hiring a designer. Theres only so many lives this current set up can live…
Very, VERY true. I lived around the corner from that apartment (20th and 3rd, above Barfly, my very first place of my own!!) and it was a pleasure to be neighbors: Ben, his driver, was the sweetest guy, and the few times I ran into Jimmy, he was a delight.
(Also, I once ran into him wearing tiny running shorts...dude has solid legs!)
I like the Pangram idea in theory, but I’m not convinced it’s accurate enough yet. Try running your own emails through it (assuming you wrote them yourself). More often than not, it’ll tell you they’re more likely AI than human, even if AI never touched them.
I think there are still some kinks to work out before it’s unleashed in an ecosystem that’s already becoming a little…unkind with one another. But I guess we’ll all sort through that together.
The social aspect of Substack is a key attraction to users that cannot be monetized by Substack, the company. A recent example: I recently read (and enjoyed) the novel Cubafruit by Alex Sorondo who I "met" through his excellent Substack. Today I got to chat with him (a phone call) about his novel. How cool is that!
The subscription model alone won't get most writers to real income. But Substack's evolution into social (notes, chats, community engagement) is exactly what makes sponsorships work. Brands are here because they see the value in community. For smaller writers to actually make money, Substack needs to make partnerships more accessible, or get out of the way while they figure it out themselves (as many already are).
I see Substack as a combination of business platform and social media. The cream rises to the top. The potential to build a following here and then build that audience for whatever you want is endless.
@Emily Sundberg what are your thoughts on London Falling so far?
I’ve been working through the author-read audio book on my dog walks and commutes the past few weeks, and I find it alternately gripping and then painstakingly detailed and slow, seemingly chapter to chapter.
My guess is that Substack is following a similar trajectory to other creator led platforms and the top 1 per cent of Substackers are making 90 per cent of the money. It’s an obvious strategy to highlight the success stories but like other platforms Substack won’t hit the kind of growth that pleases VC types until it can reliably create a middle class.
I actually think if they can get this sponsorship program up and running with more partners it will be great for smaller letters. Curious if any of you have participated in that feature yet.
I probably don’t make as much money as I could if I promised people that they could make a bunch of money on Substack. I would never do that.
Substack can be immensely profitable but not necessarily financially. I'm talking personally, professionally, creatively. The connections that can be made: my clients have gotten book deals and written for major media outlets and built businesses and created what used to be considered an enormous email list, especially for a writer just starting out. (There was a time when having a hundred people on your email list made you the boss.)
Making any money as a writer is a rare thing and always has been. (When I came of age as a writer, I was paid $250 for a book review for the New York Times. It was impossible to make a living.)
And we forget that email addresses alone are so valuable that Meta won't give them to us. There's much to be made here and it isn't just cash.
The Feed Me Manifesto is very Dylanesque; undertakers, debutantes, gamblers, and train yard senators
Wait until you meet my dad
I consider Substack the place where I share work that matters to me (on my own newsletter). But because of that work, I was hired as the managing editor of another (totally free) Substack newsletter 2+ years ago. That ongoing freelance role is a significant source of income for me. My own (paid) newsletter is a supplementary source of income. While my total income from these two “Substack jobs” is modest by North American standards, I don’t live in North America.
Recently two pretty big newsletter writers (Emma Gannon and Webworm) shared graphs showing gradual downward trajectories of paying subs since 2024/2025. I'm on 600~ paying subs and have noticed the increased competition for a limited pool of potential paid subs in the last 2 years as well, despite having early adopter advantage (2021) and a pretty clear niche.
Great letter today. Buzzy and nosy and fun! Thanks.
I wonder if that Cara/Fallon apartment still has the slide built in or if they ripped it out after Jimmy left...
Would be wild if she kept that. I have a feeling whoever buys is going to be hiring a designer. Theres only so many lives this current set up can live…
Very, VERY true. I lived around the corner from that apartment (20th and 3rd, above Barfly, my very first place of my own!!) and it was a pleasure to be neighbors: Ben, his driver, was the sweetest guy, and the few times I ran into Jimmy, he was a delight.
(Also, I once ran into him wearing tiny running shorts...dude has solid legs!)
I'm very happy with the quality of the Feed Me beach towel that arrived in the mail today.
CHRISTINE <3 my warehouse is cooking
I do think of Substack as social media, but in the modern sense of the word: less quaintly "social" and more about idealizing life
This Pangram partnership almost feels like Turnitin but for posts instead of essays
So like, scratching the same itch as Pinterest/entertainment
I like the Pangram idea in theory, but I’m not convinced it’s accurate enough yet. Try running your own emails through it (assuming you wrote them yourself). More often than not, it’ll tell you they’re more likely AI than human, even if AI never touched them.
I think there are still some kinks to work out before it’s unleashed in an ecosystem that’s already becoming a little…unkind with one another. But I guess we’ll all sort through that together.
The social aspect of Substack is a key attraction to users that cannot be monetized by Substack, the company. A recent example: I recently read (and enjoyed) the novel Cubafruit by Alex Sorondo who I "met" through his excellent Substack. Today I got to chat with him (a phone call) about his novel. How cool is that!
The subscription model alone won't get most writers to real income. But Substack's evolution into social (notes, chats, community engagement) is exactly what makes sponsorships work. Brands are here because they see the value in community. For smaller writers to actually make money, Substack needs to make partnerships more accessible, or get out of the way while they figure it out themselves (as many already are).
I see Substack as a combination of business platform and social media. The cream rises to the top. The potential to build a following here and then build that audience for whatever you want is endless.
@Emily Sundberg what are your thoughts on London Falling so far?
I’ve been working through the author-read audio book on my dog walks and commutes the past few weeks, and I find it alternately gripping and then painstakingly detailed and slow, seemingly chapter to chapter.