🎧 Write Substack Subscriber-Worthy Personal Essays
Should Substack subscribers pay for your personal essays?
🎧 Listen to the podcast version:
One writer I was helping grow her Substack asked me if she had to write personal essays on here—as if it’s a requirement. One might think so given the number of writers who come on here to write about themselves.
But are Substacks that feature personal essays worth subscribing to and paying for?
The hard truth
As
writes in “Intuitive Eating Is Not for Everyone,”Personal essays are a tough sell on Substack. Although shelling out $6 (or more) a month for journalism that brings them fresh reporting or for finance articles that analyze the market for them makes sense, paying that much to read our thoughts, bursts of creative expression, and Facebook-esque stories of our daily lives doesn’t.
So how do we write (often confessional) personal essays in such a way that they
attract paid subscribers and
lead to subscriber engagement and subscriber retention?
And all without losing the artistry and intimacy that can make the personal essay one of the most exquisite genres in literature and us feel free and fulfilled as writers?
The other hard truth
Paid subscribers get access to guidance from my proven proprietary Substack Growth Framework—trusted by 700+ private clients and tens of thousands of subscribers and Mastermind members who’ve achieved real, measurable growth. Reach all your Substack goals by joining us today.