Gulp! The subs are coming in too fast to keep up with ... and I just got my very first "Founders" level subscription for $250!!!
Thank you Kristin! About two months ago, I added that level of support, figuring "what the heck" someone might show that level of support. But this is the first subscription I've received at this level. I actually don't even offer any "extras" for Founding members. I've decided I'm going to keep letting everyone make Reader Comments (many sites allow only comments for paid subscribers).
I haven't written a book I can send anyone. All I can do is say "thank you. I am very touched."
This generosity and show of support certainly inspires me to work even harder moving forward.
I'm irked by substacks that withhold content and the ability to comment from non-paying subscribers. It's their right, of course. It's also my right to be irked, right or wrong,. I assume the main reason is to incentivize readers to pay, Berenson is especially clear about that. I wonder if the ratio of paid vs non-paid is related to this tactic. Some would pay to get the extra content, but some others would be less likely to pay, feeling coerced. Substack readers are probably more averse to coercion than most. And it's not like there's a dearth of content available for free. We're rooting for you Bill.
I never put my articles behind paywalls, but I often put my comments behind paywalls because I am heavily montitored by law enforcement. Therefore, I am subject to abuse and infiltrators (bad actors). It's not about the money at all - it's about filtering the bad actors and abuse.
I don't make much money at all - unfortunately 50% of my Substack earnings went to the tax office this year so it's kind of just keeping me afloat. I am paying the government that is killing us in a hostage situation and it feels terrible. If I stop paying, they take everything I own.
SOUNDS LIKE BULLSHIT TO ME . . . YOU CAN ALWAYS BLOCK THE 'BAD ACTORS' . . . ABUSE? WELL, AREN'T YOU THE SENSITIVE LITTLE SNOWFLAKE?
I don't need the money, and I never ask for it . . .
I am only interested in spreading the information . . . I’m not begging for shekels on the internet, trying to sell books or advertising space.
Dialogue with readers by a lot of online personalities is never permitted. Critical examination is always discouraged, and it’s always a one-way conversation. You are supposed to buy the book, blindly accept the parameters of dialogue and the provided terminologies . . . like “stochastic terrorism,” which I have in use frequently . . .
The word stochastic, in everyday language, means “random.” Terrorism, here, supposedly refers to “violence motivated by ideology,” or you guessed it, white men.
Juliette (Jew-liette) Kayyem, served in the Department of Homeland Security as Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs used the term stochastic terrorism on Twitter, on CNN, and in an op-ed for the Washington Post:
❝ Public speech that may incite violence, even without that specific intent, has been given a name: stochastic terrorism, for a pattern that can’t be predicted precisely but can be analyzed statistically. It is the demonization of groups through mass media and other propaganda that can result in a violent act because listeners interpret it as promoting targeted violence — terrorism. And the language is vague enough that it leaves room for plausible deniability and outraged, how-could-you-say-that attacks on critics of the rhetoric. ❞
I don't need the money, and I never ask for it . . . I am only interested in spreading the information . . . I’m not begging for shekels on the internet, trying to sell books or advertising space.
Dialogue with readers by a lot of online personalities is never permitted. Critical examination is always discouraged, and it’s always a one-way conversation. You are supposed to buy the book, blindly accept the parameters of dialogue and the provided terminologies . . . like “stochastic terrorism,” which I have in use frequently . . .
The word stochastic, in everyday language, means “random.” Terrorism, here, supposedly refers to “violence motivated by ideology,” or you guessed it, white men.
Juliette (Jew-liette) Kayyem, served in the Department of Homeland Security as Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs used the term stochastic terrorism on Twitter, on CNN, and in an op-ed for the Washington Post:
❝ Public speech that may incite violence, even without that specific intent, has been given a name: stochastic terrorism, for a pattern that can’t be predicted precisely but can be analyzed statistically. It is the demonization of groups through mass media and other propaganda that can result in a violent act because listeners interpret it as promoting targeted violence — terrorism. And the language is vague enough that it leaves room for plausible deniability and outraged, how-could-you-say-that attacks on critics of the rhetoric. ❞
I will also be very interested to see if anyone from Substack contacts me if and when we achieve this eye-opening, unprecedented result.
As a Substack author, I routinely receive profiles and Q & As from Substack that offer tips on how to grow your paid subscriber base. I have followed some of these suggestions and enjoy learning more about my fellow Substack colleagues and their personal backstories.
It’s occurred to me that it would be interesting (maybe disconcerting) if Substack took no interest in this “success story.”
The risk for Substack in interviewing someone like myself is I’m going to talk about the Covid frauds and the fact my readers are fed up with the captured MSM.
Perhaps Substack doesn’t want to go overboard promoting the fact its star writers fall in the same group? Maybe they are trying to keep the censors from coming after them by not focussing on writers like myself? If this is the case, maybe I understand their thinking.
All that really matters is that Substack doesn’t “go wobbly” and the company and platform continues to allow free speech.
PROTOCOLS OF THE MEETINGS OF THE LEARNED ELDERS OF ZION . . . Protocol X – Preparing for Power . . . (((SARS-CoV2)))
❝. . . utterly exhaust humanity with dissention, hatred, struggle, envy and even by the use of torture, by starvation, by the inoculation of diseases. by want, so that the “Goyim” see no other issue than to take refuge in our complete sovereignty in money and in all else.❞
E Grogan, I actually don't know and was thinking about the same question earlier today. My guess would be that you'd have to cancel the monthly subscription and then go back and subscribe again at the annual rate. This would save you money if you plan to subscribe for the whole year.
I actuallly make more money if people do the monthly option, but I love the quick cash flow from the annual subscriptions. I've been suprised to learn that maybe 85 percent of my subscribers get the annual subscription at the up-front rate.
In the next few months, a big tranche of my earlier subscriptions are going to expire, so I'm crossing my fingers most of my current subscribers renew.
Some people also buy gift subscriptions for family members or friends.
My experience just recent was that it was automatic, so that is that. I sure hope SubStack has contingencies in place fiscally cause any business man knows - you can't just rely on one supplier now can you?
In a way, a monthly subscriber is more profitable assuming they keep subscribing, but for the host and the reader assuming the reader is willing to make a commitment, then longer term subscriptions are a win-win and the way I look at it is my power bill in the heat of summer has been over the amount in one month it takes to subscribe to this Stack, so the discerning reader needs to decide - is it worth it to make a long term commitment, but if you think about it really it isn't a long term commitment but rather a way to save some funds long term from an author you think has merit and if you consider what you spend on other services versus what you might learn, well then....seems an easy choice to me, but I may be biased because while I am not by any means wealthy, I am debt free, so the money I spend is spent with deliberation.
Oh yeah, I'm going to save (and later publish) as many of the nice comments as I can. This is subscribers' opportunity to send your own message to the folks who gave us our Status Quo.
Here's a funny one I just got (paraphrasing): "I supported your work ... because it is much better than Lay's (overrated) potato chips."
.... I still can't get over the $7.70 bag of Lay's potato chips. I swear a bag of chips was $2.30 before "Covid" hit.
I once dated a girl whos photo didn't truly show her proportions. On the date we got talking about snacks and I mentioned that Potato chips is horribly fattening to which she replied "you mean I shouldn't be eating 2 large bags of chips every evening?" I then knew why she was tipping the scale at 300 plus pounds.
If, at the end of this week, I suddenly have 1,000 paid subscribers, this would represent 21.7 percent of my total subscribers. I’m almost certain this figure would be unprecedented on Substack, at least for authors with at least a 1,000 total subscribers.
This is another reason, with the help of my readers, I want to produce this eye-opening ratio. Nobody else on Substack has achieved this level of support. This would be big-time “news” IMO. It would show what’s possible.
I usually notice interesting people writing substacks from their comments on other substacks, like I just noticed this week the commander has a substack as well. And when you subscribe there is usually a list of like-minded substacks, and sometimes I subscribe to one or more
As noted, I have 4,6000 subscribers, but only 162 paid. This means only 1 in 28 of my subscribers (about 3.5 percent) are paid. I’ve researched this ratio and think it’s commonplace for Substack authors, even with the Covid “All Stars” we’ve all heard of.
This statistic actually worries me as I wonder how many Substack authors can do this job full-time if they can only expect 1 in 28 of their subscribers to purchase a paid subscription.
Long-term, for the sustainability of Substack, this percentage needs to increase to at least 10 percent IMO.
There are probably quite a few people still enrolled as free subscribers, but they've stopped reading the blog, or the Substack, whichever you call it. But, you're less likely to keep paying the monthly subscription if you're no longer reading.
I have roughly the same ratios as well. We've talked about this before, but I'm positive that my sub count is at least partly some sort of botnet. My number of 'opens' or 'views' is always lower than my total sub base, meaning there's a lot of zombie accounts out there made to spam comments or emails.
My point is that the 'real' ratio of 'real' paid subs is probably higher than 3.5%
Well - the deeper question is does SubStack have IP addresses or other info to make sure the count is fair?
Of course, is it fair that they have that info, if they do, and I don't know, in the first place?
I'd say probably it is not - and really if you message resonates, then eventually it will be evident. Otherwise, the message don't resonate and there are lesson in that as well - don't you think?
(well wishes to all SubStack authors wondering...about the algorithms and whatnot)
BK
ps - if you got a sense of how the run the algorithms that informs judgement in real time...
I agree because I know how many "times" I look at my own site and the count reflects that, but digging a bit deeper what about if you access it from another device - does it get its own number? I think these question matter for those of us trying to keep up on the data, but at the end of the day what matters most is whether or not SubStack gets SubSumed.....as an investor I sure as hell hope not, but I wonder - can I sell my measly "Angel Investment" of $2000 - does it have value recognized?
Thirteen new paid subscribers in 90 minutes. I thought this might end up bering exciting and I'm humbled by the show of support, but I'm going to keep working this. Let's keep the subscriptions coming. This isn't supposed to be possible.
Thank you to Fletcher Horn! $50 towards the revenue figure I hope it's going to blow everyone's mind (and show what's possible).
Fletcher is a subscriber oddity. He's an old buddy and college fraternity brother who lives in B'ham. I would estimate that only about 1 percent of my subscribers are people who actually know me. In my hometown of Troy, I think hardly anybody even knows I'm a Substack author. My easiest way to communicate with my local neighbors was primarily through FB .... but I'm personna non grata at that "speech platform."
I've always thought my paid subscriber numbers would be much higher if I could just post my articles on Facebook. No telling how much $ that censorship policy costs my journalism business.
If I went along with all the key narratives, I'd be killing it. Still, some of my old friends have found me on Substack.
Another point: I'm struck by the number of people who still don't know what Substack is. That's a good thing and a bad thing. Lots of room for growth is the good thing.
Thank you to reader Mary Ann who upgraded from free to paid for $6. She is my first paid subscriber. This subscription came in seconds after I posted this article, so it probably is pretty easy to hit the subscribe button. How do you get 838 paid subscribes in seven days? One subscriber at a time!
I picked a goal of 1,000 paid subscribers because this is a good even number. However, 1,000 paid subscribers also happens to be the “magic number” for Substack authors. If you have 1,000 paid subscribers, you should gross at least $50,000/year, which is enough money for many of us to make a living from this job.
Many of the long-term Substack writers probably already had enough savings - or a spouse
bringing in enough income - where they don’t need to make $50,000 or $60,000/year. Unfortunately, I’m no longer in that group as I have recently tapped out any savings I had. While my wife works as a school teacher, this modest salary doesn’t come close to supporting a husband and wife with two young children.
I should also note that Substack takes a cut from every Subscription, as this company should for creating this unique platform, their willingness to embrace free speech and their effort to help independent writers like myself, independent writers who are really unhirable at corporate-owned newspapers due to our contrarian bent of mind).
I’d also note that almost no site pays for freelance articles any more, especially freelance articles that challenge conventional wisdom … which is the only articles I write.
Luckily, I have no wife and no kids, so my goal is 400 paid subs so I can squeak by eating ramen. :) I need to JUST about triple. (165 as of today) Let me know how your drive goes!
165, per my research, probably puts us in the top 2 percent of Substack authors. But even this isn't nearly enough to pay the bills. 1,000 is the magic number and to get 1,000 paid, you probably need at least 20,000 total subcribers (if 4 percent is your paid ratio).
As you can see, I'm trying to defy all models this weeks - and instead of waiting four or five more years, go straight to the magic figure. If we can pull it off, I think EVERY Substack author is going to take note.
Simulation Commander needs at least 500 paid subscibers if not 1,000.
I've actually done subscription drives when I was publisher of my own weekly newspaper 20 years ago. We started off as a free paper (completely supported by advertising). That didn't work so after one year we went to paid subscriptions. I hired a subscription telemarketing company and sold as many as I could myself. In about three weeks, we had more than 3,000 paid subscribers in a county of 30,000.
So I know it can be done. That's why 162 paid subscribers seems so tiny to me. I got 3,000 paid subscribers in just one little town. My "marketing or prospect base" on Substack is the entire world.
The newspaper analogy is apropos in the sense that in that first year we proved we were going to at least publish a newspaper people would enjoy reading. People knew we cared about our work. So when we did go paid subscriber, our neighbors were buying a known commodity that had value to them.
I waited six months to do my first subscription drive. That one netted me 22 paid subscribers. What if I went from 22 in one drive to 800 in my second drive? Wow.
Regarding the $6 price of a one-month subscription ….
For surreal context, I recently visited Publix and a bag of Lays potato chips (for some inexplicable reason) was placed in a high-visibility location near the front of the store. A regular-size bag (15.5 ounces) was $6.99. With 10 percent sales tax, these chips cost $7.70 … I shook one of the bags, which was only half full fo potato chips. Anyway, I’m asking my readers to spend 71 percent of what they might spend on a half-full bag of potato chips.
I’m going to go full bore on this project for a week, providing updates in both the Reader Comments and updated articles. So if you are interesting in watching the polling returns filter in, please check back often!
You never know what person posts a message or a link that gets the momentum going, but once enough enough people buy into a unique proposition, initiatives like this can take off almost on their own. That is, if I shock the world with this proposal, it will be because a couple of my readers also “bought-in.”
So, I have upgraded from $5 a month to a founding member and when you "run the numbers" that is equivalent to what?
Well I think it was $250, so $5 a month equals $60 for the year on planet earth where there are 12 months, and therefore, $250 corresponds to the equivalent of 4.16666666667? subscribers - why not just subtract out the 1/6th decimal aspect of it and consider my increase as equivalent to 3 new monthly subscribers and that ought be considered in the accounting of it.
BK, I just saw that massive upgrade. I went a year without a Founding subscription and today I got two! I can't thank you enough for the generosity and the show of support.
You might change your mind after you read what I typed above but congrats on Alabama's victory this weekend!
(by the way Mississippi State is my Father-In-Laws alma mater before he went on to get his PhD at some school in Atlanta the name of which escapes me presently - oh yeah it was Emory University - he got it after he came back from Vietnam - he is in surgery today, so please send well wishes his way).
Glad to be supporting you on your journey, and happy to have your support on mine (although sometimes I laugh that all we're doing is giving Stripe and Substack a little cash)!
No lie, though, I didn't realize you looked like Tucker ;)
I've never heard that one. We do just take turns paying subscriptions to each other. It's a good investment or a thank you for all the support you've given me.
I love the way Substack authors seem to pull for one another.
Both my mom & mother-in-law were redheads & tho I’m blond & husband has dark brown hair, we figured we’d get @ least one. One time we were at an after-Little-League game dinner w/ the team & my son was sitting w/ a family of red headed boys. He looked more like them than his brother, me or his dad 😅
Both of my parents had dark black hair. I don't know where the red hair comes from. My hair used to be strawberry blond. My older brother has rust-colored red hair. My father had no redheads on his side of the family. My mother was adopted so her biological family must have had some red-heads.
I don't think Bill looks like Tucker, but I do think they share some sentiment.
Bill looks to me like some of my more healthy neighbors and he has some red-hair background and his family ended up in Alabama, so I'm speculating here most inappropriately that he probably has some Celtic ancestry as I do and the fact that I live not too far away increases the probability of the accuracy of that statement.
I like Bill's workshirt cause it reminds me of going into the office for a day at the desk just trying to get some good journalism going.....and the smile on his face is probably most appreciated by his wonderful wife and companion who knows better than all of us about Bill.
That is what I think and I think that is worth about 3 subscriptions in the count - give or take!
I suspect a problem I have is shared by others.... While $6/mo is not a lot of money, please do not take offence, but there are a dozen or more other stacks that I would also like to support. How does one choose which to pay for as it does start to add up? This is not really a Bill Rice problem, but a limitation of the current substack framework. I've wondered whether some sort of organic bundling would work.
I like the "bundling" idea, which a few other people have mentioned. I'm going to write an article that gives my two cents on how people like yourself can "help" the cause (although you are already helping the cause). I think your situation is very common. Many people are already supporting several or many Substack sites, and they just set a quota or limit on their monthly Substack donations. Which makes sense and is something I understand. I do the same thing.
I wish you good luck with this project. As you know, I was part of the 3.5% but you motivated me to renew as an upgraded Founder. Hope it counts for something.
“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
Gulp! The subs are coming in too fast to keep up with ... and I just got my very first "Founders" level subscription for $250!!!
Thank you Kristin! About two months ago, I added that level of support, figuring "what the heck" someone might show that level of support. But this is the first subscription I've received at this level. I actually don't even offer any "extras" for Founding members. I've decided I'm going to keep letting everyone make Reader Comments (many sites allow only comments for paid subscribers).
I haven't written a book I can send anyone. All I can do is say "thank you. I am very touched."
This generosity and show of support certainly inspires me to work even harder moving forward.
I'm irked by substacks that withhold content and the ability to comment from non-paying subscribers. It's their right, of course. It's also my right to be irked, right or wrong,. I assume the main reason is to incentivize readers to pay, Berenson is especially clear about that. I wonder if the ratio of paid vs non-paid is related to this tactic. Some would pay to get the extra content, but some others would be less likely to pay, feeling coerced. Substack readers are probably more averse to coercion than most. And it's not like there's a dearth of content available for free. We're rooting for you Bill.
I never put my articles behind paywalls, but I often put my comments behind paywalls because I am heavily montitored by law enforcement. Therefore, I am subject to abuse and infiltrators (bad actors). It's not about the money at all - it's about filtering the bad actors and abuse.
I don't make much money at all - unfortunately 50% of my Substack earnings went to the tax office this year so it's kind of just keeping me afloat. I am paying the government that is killing us in a hostage situation and it feels terrible. If I stop paying, they take everything I own.
And here we are.
SOUNDS LIKE BULLSHIT TO ME . . . YOU CAN ALWAYS BLOCK THE 'BAD ACTORS' . . . ABUSE? WELL, AREN'T YOU THE SENSITIVE LITTLE SNOWFLAKE?
I don't need the money, and I never ask for it . . .
I am only interested in spreading the information . . . I’m not begging for shekels on the internet, trying to sell books or advertising space.
Dialogue with readers by a lot of online personalities is never permitted. Critical examination is always discouraged, and it’s always a one-way conversation. You are supposed to buy the book, blindly accept the parameters of dialogue and the provided terminologies . . . like “stochastic terrorism,” which I have in use frequently . . .
The word stochastic, in everyday language, means “random.” Terrorism, here, supposedly refers to “violence motivated by ideology,” or you guessed it, white men.
Juliette (Jew-liette) Kayyem, served in the Department of Homeland Security as Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs used the term stochastic terrorism on Twitter, on CNN, and in an op-ed for the Washington Post:
❝ Public speech that may incite violence, even without that specific intent, has been given a name: stochastic terrorism, for a pattern that can’t be predicted precisely but can be analyzed statistically. It is the demonization of groups through mass media and other propaganda that can result in a violent act because listeners interpret it as promoting targeted violence — terrorism. And the language is vague enough that it leaves room for plausible deniability and outraged, how-could-you-say-that attacks on critics of the rhetoric. ❞
https://cwspangle.substack.com/p/how-the-grift-right-gimps-for-the
I don't need the money, and I never ask for it . . . I am only interested in spreading the information . . . I’m not begging for shekels on the internet, trying to sell books or advertising space.
Dialogue with readers by a lot of online personalities is never permitted. Critical examination is always discouraged, and it’s always a one-way conversation. You are supposed to buy the book, blindly accept the parameters of dialogue and the provided terminologies . . . like “stochastic terrorism,” which I have in use frequently . . .
The word stochastic, in everyday language, means “random.” Terrorism, here, supposedly refers to “violence motivated by ideology,” or you guessed it, white men.
Juliette (Jew-liette) Kayyem, served in the Department of Homeland Security as Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs used the term stochastic terrorism on Twitter, on CNN, and in an op-ed for the Washington Post:
❝ Public speech that may incite violence, even without that specific intent, has been given a name: stochastic terrorism, for a pattern that can’t be predicted precisely but can be analyzed statistically. It is the demonization of groups through mass media and other propaganda that can result in a violent act because listeners interpret it as promoting targeted violence — terrorism. And the language is vague enough that it leaves room for plausible deniability and outraged, how-could-you-say-that attacks on critics of the rhetoric. ❞
https://cwspangle.substack.com/p/how-the-grift-right-gimps-for-the
I will also be very interested to see if anyone from Substack contacts me if and when we achieve this eye-opening, unprecedented result.
As a Substack author, I routinely receive profiles and Q & As from Substack that offer tips on how to grow your paid subscriber base. I have followed some of these suggestions and enjoy learning more about my fellow Substack colleagues and their personal backstories.
It’s occurred to me that it would be interesting (maybe disconcerting) if Substack took no interest in this “success story.”
The risk for Substack in interviewing someone like myself is I’m going to talk about the Covid frauds and the fact my readers are fed up with the captured MSM.
Perhaps Substack doesn’t want to go overboard promoting the fact its star writers fall in the same group? Maybe they are trying to keep the censors from coming after them by not focussing on writers like myself? If this is the case, maybe I understand their thinking.
All that really matters is that Substack doesn’t “go wobbly” and the company and platform continues to allow free speech.
PROTOCOLS OF THE MEETINGS OF THE LEARNED ELDERS OF ZION . . . Protocol X – Preparing for Power . . . (((SARS-CoV2)))
❝. . . utterly exhaust humanity with dissention, hatred, struggle, envy and even by the use of torture, by starvation, by the inoculation of diseases. by want, so that the “Goyim” see no other issue than to take refuge in our complete sovereignty in money and in all else.❞
https://cwspangle.substack.com/p/protocol-x-preparing-for-power-sars
And two more just came in - $50 annual subs! Thank you Karen and Joan!
Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!
Hi Bill, I'm a subscriber and pay by the month. If I paid $50 for an annual sub would that count as a new sub?
E Grogan, I actually don't know and was thinking about the same question earlier today. My guess would be that you'd have to cancel the monthly subscription and then go back and subscribe again at the annual rate. This would save you money if you plan to subscribe for the whole year.
I actuallly make more money if people do the monthly option, but I love the quick cash flow from the annual subscriptions. I've been suprised to learn that maybe 85 percent of my subscribers get the annual subscription at the up-front rate.
In the next few months, a big tranche of my earlier subscriptions are going to expire, so I'm crossing my fingers most of my current subscribers renew.
Some people also buy gift subscriptions for family members or friends.
We're off to a good start.
If you "upgrade" your subscription you get credit for any previous payment.
Yep. I've actually had a couple people "upgrade" to founder and had Stripe take money from me! (No complaining, it's just funny.)
It is likely in the "fine print" but seems as if Stripe may not be a reliable partner and SubStack ought not have this vulnerability.
Thanks Buffalo Ken, appreciated. Do I need to request a credit or does it happy automatically?
My experience just recent was that it was automatic, so that is that. I sure hope SubStack has contingencies in place fiscally cause any business man knows - you can't just rely on one supplier now can you?
Anyhow - good choice I reckon.
Michelangelo's Last Judgement and a Damned Soul... LIFE IMITATES ART...
https://cwspangle.substack.com/p/michaelangelos-last-judgement-and
Thanks, Bill. Just bought an annual subscription and am a happy subscriber!
In a way, a monthly subscriber is more profitable assuming they keep subscribing, but for the host and the reader assuming the reader is willing to make a commitment, then longer term subscriptions are a win-win and the way I look at it is my power bill in the heat of summer has been over the amount in one month it takes to subscribe to this Stack, so the discerning reader needs to decide - is it worth it to make a long term commitment, but if you think about it really it isn't a long term commitment but rather a way to save some funds long term from an author you think has merit and if you consider what you spend on other services versus what you might learn, well then....seems an easy choice to me, but I may be biased because while I am not by any means wealthy, I am debt free, so the money I spend is spent with deliberation.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply, Ken, appreciated.
Oh yeah, I'm going to save (and later publish) as many of the nice comments as I can. This is subscribers' opportunity to send your own message to the folks who gave us our Status Quo.
Here's a funny one I just got (paraphrasing): "I supported your work ... because it is much better than Lay's (overrated) potato chips."
.... I still can't get over the $7.70 bag of Lay's potato chips. I swear a bag of chips was $2.30 before "Covid" hit.
BTW, I didn't buy those chips.
I once dated a girl whos photo didn't truly show her proportions. On the date we got talking about snacks and I mentioned that Potato chips is horribly fattening to which she replied "you mean I shouldn't be eating 2 large bags of chips every evening?" I then knew why she was tipping the scale at 300 plus pounds.
These days, everything but the necessities are "only when it's on sale" -- meaning the price that it was 3 years ago (hopefully).
If, at the end of this week, I suddenly have 1,000 paid subscribers, this would represent 21.7 percent of my total subscribers. I’m almost certain this figure would be unprecedented on Substack, at least for authors with at least a 1,000 total subscribers.
This is another reason, with the help of my readers, I want to produce this eye-opening ratio. Nobody else on Substack has achieved this level of support. This would be big-time “news” IMO. It would show what’s possible.
I usually notice interesting people writing substacks from their comments on other substacks, like I just noticed this week the commander has a substack as well. And when you subscribe there is usually a list of like-minded substacks, and sometimes I subscribe to one or more
SC is one of the Substack All-Stars. He thinks like me, but he writes much better.
That is NOT true.
Yep. So many 'faces' I recognize when I'm commenting on other 'Stacks :)
As noted, I have 4,6000 subscribers, but only 162 paid. This means only 1 in 28 of my subscribers (about 3.5 percent) are paid. I’ve researched this ratio and think it’s commonplace for Substack authors, even with the Covid “All Stars” we’ve all heard of.
This statistic actually worries me as I wonder how many Substack authors can do this job full-time if they can only expect 1 in 28 of their subscribers to purchase a paid subscription.
Long-term, for the sustainability of Substack, this percentage needs to increase to at least 10 percent IMO.
There are probably quite a few people still enrolled as free subscribers, but they've stopped reading the blog, or the Substack, whichever you call it. But, you're less likely to keep paying the monthly subscription if you're no longer reading.
I have roughly the same ratios as well. We've talked about this before, but I'm positive that my sub count is at least partly some sort of botnet. My number of 'opens' or 'views' is always lower than my total sub base, meaning there's a lot of zombie accounts out there made to spam comments or emails.
My point is that the 'real' ratio of 'real' paid subs is probably higher than 3.5%
I almost never open substack emails, I just come over to the site and read. Do you guys need opened emails to count as views?
Well - the deeper question is does SubStack have IP addresses or other info to make sure the count is fair?
Of course, is it fair that they have that info, if they do, and I don't know, in the first place?
I'd say probably it is not - and really if you message resonates, then eventually it will be evident. Otherwise, the message don't resonate and there are lesson in that as well - don't you think?
(well wishes to all SubStack authors wondering...about the algorithms and whatnot)
BK
ps - if you got a sense of how the run the algorithms that informs judgement in real time...
I'm pretty sure they just count unique views because my 'views' are pretty constant no matter if there's 40 comments or 200.
I agree because I know how many "times" I look at my own site and the count reflects that, but digging a bit deeper what about if you access it from another device - does it get its own number? I think these question matter for those of us trying to keep up on the data, but at the end of the day what matters most is whether or not SubStack gets SubSumed.....as an investor I sure as hell hope not, but I wonder - can I sell my measly "Angel Investment" of $2000 - does it have value recognized?
Those are good questions, and I'm sure the botters know the answer. :*(
I'm worried about Stripe, and for good reason it seems:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/banking/article-12540653/Stripe-backlash-debanking-controversy-Silicon-Valley.html
I'll have a full article out tomorrow, but there's a sneak peek at some sources.....
So how is a "unique" view defined I query rhetorically?
Still, I'm curious how this is done from an "IT" and programming perspective.
Moreover, it ought be evident there is much data in the activity occurring on the "server" and is the data backed up and if so who owns this?
Nope, there's a little breakdown of who views from the email (or clicks on it) and who views through the app or the site.
Thirteen new paid subscribers in 90 minutes. I thought this might end up bering exciting and I'm humbled by the show of support, but I'm going to keep working this. Let's keep the subscriptions coming. This isn't supposed to be possible.
Thank you.
Please share or cross post if you can.
Holy balls!
See, I told you I wasn't better at writing.
Thank you to Fletcher Horn! $50 towards the revenue figure I hope it's going to blow everyone's mind (and show what's possible).
Fletcher is a subscriber oddity. He's an old buddy and college fraternity brother who lives in B'ham. I would estimate that only about 1 percent of my subscribers are people who actually know me. In my hometown of Troy, I think hardly anybody even knows I'm a Substack author. My easiest way to communicate with my local neighbors was primarily through FB .... but I'm personna non grata at that "speech platform."
I've always thought my paid subscriber numbers would be much higher if I could just post my articles on Facebook. No telling how much $ that censorship policy costs my journalism business.
If I went along with all the key narratives, I'd be killing it. Still, some of my old friends have found me on Substack.
Another point: I'm struck by the number of people who still don't know what Substack is. That's a good thing and a bad thing. Lots of room for growth is the good thing.
Thank you to reader Mary Ann who upgraded from free to paid for $6. She is my first paid subscriber. This subscription came in seconds after I posted this article, so it probably is pretty easy to hit the subscribe button. How do you get 838 paid subscribes in seven days? One subscriber at a time!
Thank you, Mary Ann!
I picked a goal of 1,000 paid subscribers because this is a good even number. However, 1,000 paid subscribers also happens to be the “magic number” for Substack authors. If you have 1,000 paid subscribers, you should gross at least $50,000/year, which is enough money for many of us to make a living from this job.
Many of the long-term Substack writers probably already had enough savings - or a spouse
bringing in enough income - where they don’t need to make $50,000 or $60,000/year. Unfortunately, I’m no longer in that group as I have recently tapped out any savings I had. While my wife works as a school teacher, this modest salary doesn’t come close to supporting a husband and wife with two young children.
I should also note that Substack takes a cut from every Subscription, as this company should for creating this unique platform, their willingness to embrace free speech and their effort to help independent writers like myself, independent writers who are really unhirable at corporate-owned newspapers due to our contrarian bent of mind).
I’d also note that almost no site pays for freelance articles any more, especially freelance articles that challenge conventional wisdom … which is the only articles I write.
Luckily, I have no wife and no kids, so my goal is 400 paid subs so I can squeak by eating ramen. :) I need to JUST about triple. (165 as of today) Let me know how your drive goes!
165, per my research, probably puts us in the top 2 percent of Substack authors. But even this isn't nearly enough to pay the bills. 1,000 is the magic number and to get 1,000 paid, you probably need at least 20,000 total subcribers (if 4 percent is your paid ratio).
As you can see, I'm trying to defy all models this weeks - and instead of waiting four or five more years, go straight to the magic figure. If we can pull it off, I think EVERY Substack author is going to take note.
Simulation Commander needs at least 500 paid subscibers if not 1,000.
I've actually done subscription drives when I was publisher of my own weekly newspaper 20 years ago. We started off as a free paper (completely supported by advertising). That didn't work so after one year we went to paid subscriptions. I hired a subscription telemarketing company and sold as many as I could myself. In about three weeks, we had more than 3,000 paid subscribers in a county of 30,000.
So I know it can be done. That's why 162 paid subscribers seems so tiny to me. I got 3,000 paid subscribers in just one little town. My "marketing or prospect base" on Substack is the entire world.
The newspaper analogy is apropos in the sense that in that first year we proved we were going to at least publish a newspaper people would enjoy reading. People knew we cared about our work. So when we did go paid subscriber, our neighbors were buying a known commodity that had value to them.
I waited six months to do my first subscription drive. That one netted me 22 paid subscribers. What if I went from 22 in one drive to 800 in my second drive? Wow.
... It can be done though.
Sure would be easier if we weren't banned from everywhere else.
But such is life! It will be more rewarding pulling it off!
I try to limit my number of subscriptions and subscribed last week to Bill-s. I am now over my limit but oh well
Got a waiting list of other good substackers but they will have to wait another year.
I feel your pain, I'm in the same boat!
yes, but we are rowing ! might be a poor boat but we are afloat ! LOL. (after 3 years living on 450 bucks a month, I now got SS and feel rich !)
Regarding the $6 price of a one-month subscription ….
For surreal context, I recently visited Publix and a bag of Lays potato chips (for some inexplicable reason) was placed in a high-visibility location near the front of the store. A regular-size bag (15.5 ounces) was $6.99. With 10 percent sales tax, these chips cost $7.70 … I shook one of the bags, which was only half full fo potato chips. Anyway, I’m asking my readers to spend 71 percent of what they might spend on a half-full bag of potato chips.
I sometimes joke than thanks to inflation, my 'Stack is the best value in the world :p
Who says we buy potato chips anymore? -)
I’m going to go full bore on this project for a week, providing updates in both the Reader Comments and updated articles. So if you are interesting in watching the polling returns filter in, please check back often!
You never know what person posts a message or a link that gets the momentum going, but once enough enough people buy into a unique proposition, initiatives like this can take off almost on their own. That is, if I shock the world with this proposal, it will be because a couple of my readers also “bought-in.”
Maybe if you said you'd make a special guest appearance at a meet-up........ ;)
So, I have upgraded from $5 a month to a founding member and when you "run the numbers" that is equivalent to what?
Well I think it was $250, so $5 a month equals $60 for the year on planet earth where there are 12 months, and therefore, $250 corresponds to the equivalent of 4.16666666667? subscribers - why not just subtract out the 1/6th decimal aspect of it and consider my increase as equivalent to 3 new monthly subscribers and that ought be considered in the accounting of it.
Good Luck on your ambitions!
BK
BK, I just saw that massive upgrade. I went a year without a Founding subscription and today I got two! I can't thank you enough for the generosity and the show of support.
You might change your mind after you read what I typed above but congrats on Alabama's victory this weekend!
(by the way Mississippi State is my Father-In-Laws alma mater before he went on to get his PhD at some school in Atlanta the name of which escapes me presently - oh yeah it was Emory University - he got it after he came back from Vietnam - he is in surgery today, so please send well wishes his way).
Ken
Great wishes to your father. He must be a smart man! I thought for sure Bama-State would be a close game.
His daughter is even smarter and that is why I married her!
Go Bama!
Go Buffalo Bills!
Well wishes to you as well Bill....I'll be around and I hope your effort here is rewarding.
Ken
Glad to be supporting you on your journey, and happy to have your support on mine (although sometimes I laugh that all we're doing is giving Stripe and Substack a little cash)!
No lie, though, I didn't realize you looked like Tucker ;)
I've never heard that one. We do just take turns paying subscriptions to each other. It's a good investment or a thank you for all the support you've given me.
I love the way Substack authors seem to pull for one another.
Probably just the angle and lighting.
Nope, redheads are a tribe unto themselves & look more like each other than their families. I know this, as I have one (a son).
I have one uncle who also has red hair. Everybody joked he was adopted until I also came out with red hair!
Both my mom & mother-in-law were redheads & tho I’m blond & husband has dark brown hair, we figured we’d get @ least one. One time we were at an after-Little-League game dinner w/ the team & my son was sitting w/ a family of red headed boys. He looked more like them than his brother, me or his dad 😅
Both of my parents had dark black hair. I don't know where the red hair comes from. My hair used to be strawberry blond. My older brother has rust-colored red hair. My father had no redheads on his side of the family. My mother was adopted so her biological family must have had some red-heads.
Fun fact, that family started with just two kids, but they've slowly been adding random red heads like your son throughout the years!
I don't think Bill looks like Tucker, but I do think they share some sentiment.
Bill looks to me like some of my more healthy neighbors and he has some red-hair background and his family ended up in Alabama, so I'm speculating here most inappropriately that he probably has some Celtic ancestry as I do and the fact that I live not too far away increases the probability of the accuracy of that statement.
I like Bill's workshirt cause it reminds me of going into the office for a day at the desk just trying to get some good journalism going.....and the smile on his face is probably most appreciated by his wonderful wife and companion who knows better than all of us about Bill.
That is what I think and I think that is worth about 3 subscriptions in the count - give or take!
ha, ha.
BK
Everybody knows red-heads have mean tempers.......making them great journalists. ;)
I suspect a problem I have is shared by others.... While $6/mo is not a lot of money, please do not take offence, but there are a dozen or more other stacks that I would also like to support. How does one choose which to pay for as it does start to add up? This is not really a Bill Rice problem, but a limitation of the current substack framework. I've wondered whether some sort of organic bundling would work.
I like the "bundling" idea, which a few other people have mentioned. I'm going to write an article that gives my two cents on how people like yourself can "help" the cause (although you are already helping the cause). I think your situation is very common. Many people are already supporting several or many Substack sites, and they just set a quota or limit on their monthly Substack donations. Which makes sense and is something I understand. I do the same thing.
Thanks for the feedback!
Bill,
I wish you good luck with this project. As you know, I was part of the 3.5% but you motivated me to renew as an upgraded Founder. Hope it counts for something.
“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
― Winston Churchill