The Gentle Art of Paywalling on Substack

Here’s an actual statistic: 100 percent of the people I’ve helped on Substack once believed that going paid and having a paid Substack means paywalling. 

It doesn’t. I promise you it doesn’t. 

It can, of course, but randomly placing annoying paywalls in your posts isn’t the way to go about it. That comes from outdated marketing ideas and (often) the plethora of “subhacks” being sold to people right now. 

Amongst digital media publishers, the thinking around paywalling has changed a lot even in just the last six months. (I totally geek out on this. One of my favorite podcasts is about trends in digital media paywalling. That’s all it’s about, and I’m riveted.)

If and how to paywall isn’t a one-size-fits-all way to make money. There are no tricks on Substack. Actually, the only “tricks” (if there are any) are 1) having support and help and 2) making your Substack entirely you—right down to the presence or absence of paywalls.

Having helped so many Substackers grow and earn an income, I’ve learned 3 things about what works and doesn’t when it comes to paywalling. 

Paywalling on Substack

1. It’s not the only or necessarily the best paid strategy on Substack.

2. To be effective, it has to be done intentionally and with a generous spirit. 

3. You need a paywalling strategy (that’s the intentional part) and to think less about some abstract idea of “producing quality content,” which is relative and vapid, and instead more about connecting with your subscribers.

#1: Paywalling isn’t necessarily the only or best paid strategy on Substack

Paywalling isn’t necessarily necessary 

If paywalling just “worked,” Judd Legum, Heather Cox Richardson, and others would be very poor and the majority of Substack writers out there haphazardly paywalling would be very rich. Judd Legum has over 10,000 paid subscribers and paywalls nearly none of his posts; Heather Cox Richardson—who is supposedly the highest-grossing Substack writer—was 100 percent free and only recently started paywalling the audio of her posts. 

Another case in point: Anne Helen Petersen—90-ish percent of her posts aren’t paywalled. Her entire paid strategy is paywalling her wonderful threads (now called discussion posts). And it’s working because supposedly—and who knows if this is true—she’s making $500,000/year.

Paywalling has to gel with your values and vision for your Substack

Yes, Emma Gannon and others are nearly 100 percent paywalled. Why? Mostly because it makes sense for them. It matches their philosophy on what people should have access to. Your approach has to match yours.

Paywalling isn’t the only paid strategy

It’s only one of three strategies that can help you be (deservedly) paid for the good work you do. Two others are the service model and the NPR model. I won’t go into all three because I cover them in-depth here. 

#2: To be effective, it has to be done intentionally

Avoid automatically paywalling the archive in your dashboard settings

Irritating people by interrupting their reading mid-sentence with an ellipsis doesn’t make for happy, long-term subscribers. They may become a subscriber to read that post but it’s unlikely they’ll stay.

That’s the default on Substack’s automatic paywall: a mid-sentence paywall. 

Instead, paywall where it makes sense to do so. Your intentionally paywalled posts will then live in your archive. Then send subscribers to paywalled archived posts in free posts. 

Paywall with a generous spirit

You want a deep paywall, i.e., far down the post. Short previews don’t work; they just cause people to bounce.

I love

Jeannine Ouellette

’s paywalling philosophy and approach. She never thinks of giving non-paying subscribers a free preview; instead, she thinks of it as a full post with something juicy beneath. 

For you, that might be a deeper dive, community challenge, or prompt. (We’ll talk more about paywalling the comments and other features next week.)

#3: When developing a paywalling strategy, focus on connection

What we know: People become paid subscribers when they’re ready. Period. They do so when feel that what you have is necessary to them and in their lives—paywall or not.

I’ve tested this with clients. With one client, we did two posts—similar content published about the same time, one with a paywall and the other without. She converted eleven paid subscribers on the free post and eleven paid subscribers on the paid post. Why? Because paywalls don’t just “work.”

What I’ve seen work most often is paywalling access. Most people don’t understand paywalled content—these words are free but those words cost money. But they do understand paying for quality connections with you and your community. 

Substack has given us so many ways to build community:

• Video and audio can build relationships and now we have live streaming. 

• Substack has given us so many community features—discussion posts (aka threads), the chat—and we can hold Zoom gatherings, workshops, and more. 

(Paid members, we’ll be doing a deep dive into building community the entire month of January.)

Think of this in terms of what you write too. Writing on Substack is all about voice—your voice, making your subscribers feel like you’re talking to them, with them. Beautiful sentences are great—I’m a fan—but if we went through the leaderboard in the categories most of you are in (health and wellness, culture, faith and spirituality, literature, food and drink, etc.), the top-grossing Substacks are all voice, not style. 

(The voice workshop with the amazing Marya Hornbacher will change your life and your Substack.)

What to do next:

1. Think about all of this and what it means for you. Journal on it. Go for a walk and ponder. Is paywalling the best paid strategy for you? Does it gel with your values and vision? How do you—or could you—paywall more intentionally? How might you connect more deeply with your subscribers? 

2. Share in the comments below because we want to know.

3. Connect with your subscribers with the Develop Your Unique Voice: 2 Expert Strategies to Boost Your Substack here.

4. Explore your potential paid strategies in the Make Money on Substack Workshop here. 

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I highly suggest going all-in, committing to your Substack, and becoming a paid member of the community. If you really want to achieve your goals, it helps to have some skin in the game—and expert guidance (not hacks). Join us!