Thank you for clarifying the technical part! How do you suggest communicating the targeted discount to those most-engaged free subscribers? I'm still unclear on that. Should I write a personal email to each of them with the offer and the link? And if so, do you have wording you'd suggest?
I've never offered discounts. I feel like that's almost unfair to the people who paid full price for a subscription.
I have never had a viral post turn into a large number of paid subscriptions. It's been a slow grind, with most posts generating zero, one, or maybe two paid subscribers. But it adds up if you are posting twice a week for three years.
I agree that it seems unfair to offer discounts. You're so right. What does it say to those who paid full price? We aren't a clothing store with seasonal items.
I feel like gamification is exactly what they did by adding the petal badge for all subscribers (to indicate how many Substacks you subscribe to). And you’re right that it is designed to keep us anxious and striving and then generate a “more”/scarcity escalation. I ran a special for a month (was supposed to be two weeks but I messed it up since it was my first promo ever and I had no idea how it worked. I hadn’t been clear about the end date in my emails even though it was on the subscribe page and some folks begged for the special rate after the fact I didn’t know I could offer them individually a different rate so I just extended it. I’ll probable do another promo at my one year anniversary but shorter and targeted only to existing free via email, no banner on home page etc. also shorter time frame, like a week or five days). I had just gotten my badge but this more than doubled where I was. When I turned it off I thought it would be a while before anyone paid full but they still did. My issue for sure is over delivering so I’m working on that!
Yes a 100 times! thank you for this post Sarah. Honestly "find your value & focus on pain point" is the type of advice that annoys me the most. As a reader, I'm tired of hearing about all the things I do wrong and fail at. As a writer, I've been confused for so long because value/pain point means I need to commodify and water down my writing to the point where it doesn't sound like me anymore. At least when it comes to articles/books/etc not everyone read to solve a pain point. They read to relax, unwind, get entertained, inspired. Those sale tactics i feel like only work for a certain type of product/services but essentially selling our words doesn't feel as linear and I'm glad you were able to put this into words and show me that it isn't just me doing it wrong!
You're so right. It just feels like such nonsense.
I read somewhere (I can't remember where right now so take it with a grain of salt, but it was a legitimate source) that the "pain point" approach doesn't even work anymore. The world is so crazy that speaking to people's pain points actually turns people off.
You hit it: "They read to relax, unwind, get entertained, inspired."
This is such an interesting article Sarah. It tells me if I want that badge, I’ll need to devote some additional time and energy, maybe even some cash, into learning how others have done it and figuring out what I’d actually be selling (hopefully not my soul).
For context, here’s what I already do: daily notes, a free monthly newsletter, roughly two Lives a month, chapter-worthy posts every 5–8 weeks that I eventually paywall, and a set of in-depth, practical deep-dive articles on subjects like anxiety, depression, stress, and anger. I’m also working on getting my book The Wellbeing Equation published, that’s what first brought me to Substack.
So for me, the paid tier probably looks something like this:
Paid subscribers ($10/month or $80/year) get:
-Access to my in-depth, chapter worthy essays (archive + new longform pieces)
-Practical deep dives on subjects that affect daily life, with tips and action items
-Occasional early looks at revisions from The Wellbeing Equation
-Everything else: daily notes, the free newsletter, and my Lives, remains open to the wider community.
Here’s what I keep wondering, though: is that enough? Or does moving toward the badge mean I need to create something unique beyond what I already do—or perhaps simply reframe and package it so readers feel/see more clearly what’s distinct about the paid tier?
Hi, Bronce! First, you're doing such great work. You have something so singular to share. We've worked on how to communicate it to people. That's huge and one of the hardest parts of all of this.
We're going to be looking at your paid subscription in October.
The question is, Is this what you would pay for?
That, to me, is the best way to create a paid subscription.
What would you pay for?
Because you are your first paid subscriber--literally.
That's one of the best ways to tap into a paid offer that fuels you and actually converts and perhaps leads to the badge.
I would also say it's too much. People tend to pay us to save them time, energy, and money.
Thank you, Sarah. Your no nonsense, honest and thoughtful approach is what the world the Substack World (and the rest of it as well) needs. I haven’t been writing/tending my space. And when I see a Stripe payout I feel a twinge of guilt. As I work to manage my personal issues, it’s your professional writing guidance I will continue to rely on. Brava, Sarah, brava. Never stop Substacking!
Love this, Sarah -- thank you! Question: For targeted discounts, once you apply that filter, how do you actually create a targeted discount?
Ah. I should have said this:
Settings > Special Offers
Opt for it only to apply to the annual (just my suggestion) and only people with the link.
Thank you for clarifying the technical part! How do you suggest communicating the targeted discount to those most-engaged free subscribers? I'm still unclear on that. Should I write a personal email to each of them with the offer and the link? And if so, do you have wording you'd suggest?
I've never offered discounts. I feel like that's almost unfair to the people who paid full price for a subscription.
I have never had a viral post turn into a large number of paid subscriptions. It's been a slow grind, with most posts generating zero, one, or maybe two paid subscribers. But it adds up if you are posting twice a week for three years.
I agree that it seems unfair to offer discounts. You're so right. What does it say to those who paid full price? We aren't a clothing store with seasonal items.
I feel like gamification is exactly what they did by adding the petal badge for all subscribers (to indicate how many Substacks you subscribe to). And you’re right that it is designed to keep us anxious and striving and then generate a “more”/scarcity escalation. I ran a special for a month (was supposed to be two weeks but I messed it up since it was my first promo ever and I had no idea how it worked. I hadn’t been clear about the end date in my emails even though it was on the subscribe page and some folks begged for the special rate after the fact I didn’t know I could offer them individually a different rate so I just extended it. I’ll probable do another promo at my one year anniversary but shorter and targeted only to existing free via email, no banner on home page etc. also shorter time frame, like a week or five days). I had just gotten my badge but this more than doubled where I was. When I turned it off I thought it would be a while before anyone paid full but they still did. My issue for sure is over delivering so I’m working on that!
You offer so much and have such a clear sense of what you're doing on here. And you so overdeliver. You do such great work.
Thank you for being the voice of reason and sense. I value your advice.
Thank you, Jorunn.
Yes a 100 times! thank you for this post Sarah. Honestly "find your value & focus on pain point" is the type of advice that annoys me the most. As a reader, I'm tired of hearing about all the things I do wrong and fail at. As a writer, I've been confused for so long because value/pain point means I need to commodify and water down my writing to the point where it doesn't sound like me anymore. At least when it comes to articles/books/etc not everyone read to solve a pain point. They read to relax, unwind, get entertained, inspired. Those sale tactics i feel like only work for a certain type of product/services but essentially selling our words doesn't feel as linear and I'm glad you were able to put this into words and show me that it isn't just me doing it wrong!
You're so right. It just feels like such nonsense.
I read somewhere (I can't remember where right now so take it with a grain of salt, but it was a legitimate source) that the "pain point" approach doesn't even work anymore. The world is so crazy that speaking to people's pain points actually turns people off.
You hit it: "They read to relax, unwind, get entertained, inspired."
Must confess am tired of the gameificatio of things. Just want to write my fantasy serials attract new readers and enjoy myself.
Agreed.
This is such an interesting article Sarah. It tells me if I want that badge, I’ll need to devote some additional time and energy, maybe even some cash, into learning how others have done it and figuring out what I’d actually be selling (hopefully not my soul).
For context, here’s what I already do: daily notes, a free monthly newsletter, roughly two Lives a month, chapter-worthy posts every 5–8 weeks that I eventually paywall, and a set of in-depth, practical deep-dive articles on subjects like anxiety, depression, stress, and anger. I’m also working on getting my book The Wellbeing Equation published, that’s what first brought me to Substack.
So for me, the paid tier probably looks something like this:
Paid subscribers ($10/month or $80/year) get:
-Access to my in-depth, chapter worthy essays (archive + new longform pieces)
-Practical deep dives on subjects that affect daily life, with tips and action items
-Occasional early looks at revisions from The Wellbeing Equation
-Everything else: daily notes, the free newsletter, and my Lives, remains open to the wider community.
Here’s what I keep wondering, though: is that enough? Or does moving toward the badge mean I need to create something unique beyond what I already do—or perhaps simply reframe and package it so readers feel/see more clearly what’s distinct about the paid tier?
Hi, Bronce! First, you're doing such great work. You have something so singular to share. We've worked on how to communicate it to people. That's huge and one of the hardest parts of all of this.
We're going to be looking at your paid subscription in October.
The question is, Is this what you would pay for?
That, to me, is the best way to create a paid subscription.
What would you pay for?
Because you are your first paid subscriber--literally.
That's one of the best ways to tap into a paid offer that fuels you and actually converts and perhaps leads to the badge.
I would also say it's too much. People tend to pay us to save them time, energy, and money.
Wise advice. Thanks, Sarah. You’ve reminded me of what really matters and the importance of personal integrity.
Thank you, Sarah. Your no nonsense, honest and thoughtful approach is what the world the Substack World (and the rest of it as well) needs. I haven’t been writing/tending my space. And when I see a Stripe payout I feel a twinge of guilt. As I work to manage my personal issues, it’s your professional writing guidance I will continue to rely on. Brava, Sarah, brava. Never stop Substacking!