From time to time, I find it necessary to publish an appeal to readers who might be able to support my Substack newsletter with a paid subscription or one-time Ko-Fi donation.
(One of those times is at the end of the month when the family checking account balance is dangerously close to going into the red.)
Here’s my key numbers …
I’ve always been a Substack author who doesn’t mind sharing my subscription data.
I can report that in the past 30 days my Substack newsletter has added one (net) paid subscriber. This was an annual subscription ($50) and after Substack and Stripe’s cut, I made $40.
I fancy myself a truth teller, so I might as well tell the truth about myself and report that it’s hard to keep one’s wife from having a nervous breakdown about family finances when your main business is producing $40/month.
From my previous research, I’ve calculated that most successful Substack authors seem to have a paid ratio of 3 to 4 percent. The good news for my Substack business is I’m above this benchmark as 4.55 percent of my 5,641 total subscribers are “paid.” (I currently have 257 paid subscribers).
If I could grow my total subscribers to 22,000 and 4.55 percent of these subscribers were “paid,” I’d have 1,001 paid subscribers.
This is my magic number as a Sustack author as 1,000 paid subscribers would translate to an annual net income of about $40,000. This is still far less than a typical salaried journalist for a mainstream news organization earns in a year, but with my wife’s teacher’s salary, it would allow our family to live comfortably and stress free in Troy, Alabama.
According to Substack metrics, my current paid subscribers figure projects to $14,200 “gross annualized revenue.” As Substack and its payment processor (Stripe) take about 10 percent of author subscriptions, I am on course to net $12,780 in income over the next 12 months from my writing business.
The good news is, thanks to the support of my readers, in the 18 months since I started this newsletter, I’ve grown my Substack business to 5,641 total subscribers. The bad news is I’m still 16,369 subscribers away from reaching my goal of 22,000 total subscribers.
As I’m averaging 313 new subscribers/month, it will take me 52 more months (4 1/3 years) to reach my goal … which is depressing to think about … but that’s what the current numbers say.
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I recognize these personal revelations might come across as a posting pity party and I’m also aware nobody forced me to to become a Substack author, but I still decided to post this information because I think such data might give readers a better understanding of the challenges that come when one decides to be a full-time Substack author.
My take-away is that unless a writers has another “real” job, a big corpus of savings, or a spouse whose income can support the entire family, writing on Substack might not be a wise micro-economic decision.
I also think the people and organizations we “contrarian” writers seek to debunk or discredit are probably aware of the potential threat posed by (uncensored and independent) Substack journalists. My hunch is they’ve also performed a similar analysis and expect many writers like myself will raise the white flag and be forced to take any non-journalism job they can get to make ends meet.
(The option of becoming a salaried writer at a mainstream news organization is, of course, off the table for maverick journalists such as myself … as our archived Substack stories, if discovered, would be instantly disqualifying.)
But all the news and trends aren’t depressing!
Speaking for myself, I’m not planning on quitting. I actually think I’m gaining momentum and am becoming much better known on Substack and other alternative media sites that sometimes pick up my Substack articles.
In working on this story, I went back and looked at my recent article metrics. Since January 1, 2024, my “page views” number is 207,730. (This doesn’t count the 80,000 people who read one of my “early spread” articles at Zero Hedge or freedom defenders who read my stories published by The Brownstone Institute.)
Many of the people who show up in my “page view” statistics are repeat subscribers. However, only about 40 percent of my subscribers open one of my emails (my current “open rate,” per Substack metrics). This means 60 percent of my readers in the last 53 days are NOT current subscribers.
My Substack story “views” in the last 53 days ranged from a low of 3,530 to a high of 41,000. For the last 53 days, my stories, on average, have been viewed by 8,655 people. These readers come from all 50 states and approximately 70 countries.
For someone who always wanted to write about topics I think are neglected and important, these numbers are gratifying and humbling.
Furthermore, some people who read my articles have far more influence and reach far more people than I do. I’ve always thought any small contribution I might make in any national dialogue would come from influencing the influencers.
I could apply for a job at Wall-Mart, but I want to keep doing what I’m doing right now.
(Sharing my articles also helps me grow my business. Thanks for sharing!)
Future stories my subscribers will receive …
I think I’ve already written many original and important articles, but I haven’t even scratched the surface on the stories I plan to write.
For example, I hope to interview embalmer Richard Hirschman today. Richard, could be - should be - one of the most significant Covid whistleblowers in the world for showing readers in the alternative media the bizarre and terrifying clots he’s finding over and over in deceased citizens who were vaccinated.
Early this week, I had a brainstorm to develop and support my thesis that the real Infection Fatality Rate for Covid is vastly smaller than what the experts have told us. To provide more evidence of this, I emailed the CDC, NIH and Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) and asked their media affairs staff a simple question:
“How many of your employees have died from Covid in the last four years?”
I’ve gotten one non-answer from the ADPH and I’m still waiting to see if the CDC and NIH have the guts or integrity to honestly answer this question.
The bottom line for me is that I need minimal reader support to continue to write stories like this.
It has occurred to me that if just 1 percent of my current subscribers became paid subscribers every month, I’d never have to write another “subscription appeal” article again.
As a friend always says, “You’ve got ‘no’ in your pocket. Go ahead and ask.”
I know many Substack readers are already supporting numerous Substack authors and real inflation is the bane of newsletter writers who depend on paid subscriptions, but I’m hoping my recent drought of no paid subscribers might end with this column!
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(Just $6/month - cancel any time; $50 year - save $22 … or really help the Rice family by becoming a Founder’s Level benefactor!)
New paid subscriber Bonnie Mathison said it was okay to publish her nice note:
"I believe we need to support people who are going to the trouble and effort of writing the truth. We are in a struggle between good and evil. Choose good and "put your money where your mouth is." This is so important, please share."
Thank you, Bonnie. I continue to be struck by how many Substack newsletters many people are supporting. Some people are spending four and five figures to support journalists and writers they'll never meet.
This must scare the heck out of the people and organizations who control the mainstream media companies.
The drought is over! I've already received two new paid subscriptions (annuals). Thank you very much. I hate I have to solicit my readers every now and then ... but I guess it's part of the deal.
I'll say again, I think the people who are supporting their favorite Substack "freedom" or "sanity" writers are the real heroes of our world right now. They are the antidote to the captured mainstream journalists (who don't have to do this).