So you wanna be paid well on Substack? + The thing we all get wrong with monetisation of our newsletters.

The 6 figure dream, conversion; paywalls, paid newsletters, paid communities, memberships - getting paid on Substack. 💰

Hi Sparklers,

Next week it’s time for an updated live class on ‘Paid Subscriber Conversion on Substack’ - one of my favourite topics. The great mystery of the free to paid subscriber will be solved - lol. You can join us as a paid member of Sparkle on Substack and access hundreds of tutorials, articles and our wonderful community for just £220/ USD $300 a year. (Price rising 1st March so get in if you’ve been on the fence?)

Here’s the thing we all do wrong when it comes to getting paid on Substack so you can read that early in this article and crack on with your day!

Expecting more of your whole list to pay!

Substack’s conversion rate (from free to paid) sits at around 5%. The average for most writers is 2-5% and I have seen it as high as 10 or 14%.¹ Once you understand YOUR unique conversion rate, you can settle in and enjoy it. ² 🫖 💫

Without significant growth, nurture, depth of connection and wild social proof that conversion rate will only ever alter slightly.

Inside of being paid on Substack.

There are usually multitudes happening at once…

• Your friends/ family are being supportive - some might pay, some might just be curious about your writing evolution

• Your ex colleagues might pay - same reason as above

• You might have people on your list who have been getting to know you and your work for a while and be ready to pay (these are the people who usually need to understand Substack first)

• You might have folks on free trials or people who ‘pay to read’

• Some gift subscriptions in the mix

• Group discounts (massively under-utilised if you ask me)

• You might send a discount and that’s ‘the thing’ that gets people over the line…

• It might just be their right time!

• You might have people who have been paying for a while and are ready to swap out or ‘churn’/ leave.

“I love Claires energy and passion, not just for Substack but for creative business in general! Sessions with Claire recently have helped me get over the freeze and overwhelm of not knowing where to start, and to take small actionable steps that have made a real difference to me. It’s boosted my confidence to talk about my work and myself, and helped me to describe and define my offerings more succinctly. I love every time Claire leads us in journalling prompts, it doesn’t feel like being taught, it feels like being gently guided to our own inner knowing! Eternally grateful for Claires guidance and support.” Jo Thomas 🌿

But here’s the VERY best reason (IMO) for a free subscriber to convert to paid…

they 💜 love what you do and they want to stay for the long term.

Join us!

Two things you need to go and stay paid on Substack

Say you have a goal of 6 figures on Substack. One way is 2500 people paying £40/ $40 a year.

1. You need to be in communication with your paid subscribers to understand why they are there and how long they plan to stay. Then you can scale. Conversations, polls, surveys, real life meet ups - that’s the fabric of you understanding where your work meets your audience. I’m not really sure how long we will stay ‘subscribed’ to each other - none of us are - this is why it’s all such a fun para-social experiment.

2. You also need to understand the money side before you OPEN up the energetics to what you goal is here. Do you know someone who earns 6 figures here pays $10,000 to Substack? Stripe fees of around $2600.³ Then there’s tax, accountancy bills all the customer service and admin. Work out if you want that or something else? Don’t let anyone sell you a dream that isn’t yours!

I have community built into my spaces on purpose because it’s so joyful to me and so I have BEAUTIFUL communications with my paid subs every week.

I know my audience and my work meets them where they are at.⁴ I had 100 people in my Diamond Membership before I closed it. I know how to meet the needs of my audience and have them tell their friends and colleagues about it. Huge shout out to my top affiliate Georgina Dean 🌟

I’m SO proud of the community I’ve build inside Sparkle on Substack and inside Creatively Conscious by Claire Venus - community is a key factor in the decision folks take to stay once they have paid. (and I don’t mean zoom calls).

Community (in my eyes) is EVERYTHING. The fabric of your invite, your presence, the way you see your relationship with the people who are there, presentation - your language. With community comes friendship, kinship, colleagueship, accountability, a supportive place to land for the long term.

Come and learn more and dive deeper at class next week or catch the replay inside the membership?

Claire

💫

P.S - nearly 900 people joined me for this Substack live on Joyful Substack Growth and Depth of Connection last week if you fancy listening to the replay you’ll find it inside your favourite podcast app.

Here are some other articles and replays on being paid here.

REPLAY - The Four Buyer Types on Substack

9 Reasons people unsubscribed from my paid subscriptions over 7 weeks.

I LOVED this from Leyla Kazim recently too.

Why I’m tearing down my newsletter paywalls

1. My colleague just told me about someone with 20% - anything is possible but setting our expectations is important as well as experimenting with what FEELS good!

2. Joyful growth without the hustle, without the constant dashboard checks, feeling GOOD and good enough all at the same time - this is what I embody and what I teach. Shiny object syndrome disconnects you from source - get aligned, get paid, settle in to the work you are here to do! 💫

3. If your goal is to keep more of what you earn inside your business there are lots of ways to build a business online for way less than £10k. Maybe you get brilliant organic growth here so you can write it off as an advertising fee in your mind?

4. This is the last month to download my Audience Alchemy (Audience Development Classes) for free before I charge for them. Here’s the link.