Thank you so much Claire! This was so helpful. I have been thinking a lot about discounts recently as though I find a big bump in upgrades when I put on a discount, I also see a big bump in paid unsubscribes about 2 months later. It seems that those who upgrade through offers churn much quicker than those who choose to upgrade at full price. Though as I tick closer to 100 paid subscribers I don't know if this is just par for the course with a larger paid readership...! It's been quite disheartening though and I needed a bit of direction. This chat was perfect! I personally find all the Black Friday/etc. deal emails overwhelming so think I'm going to lean into that and avoid offering my own, but choose a quieter time of year to offer something with a bit less rush. Thank you again!
The main stat you would to try and understand on the way to bestseller is how quickly on average people are churning or how long they are staying - it’s the same question really.
It’s also great to understand how many monthly and annual subs you have.
It’s like the time / conversion axis. Since the growth slowed for me the churn is outpacing my growth so I’m constantly in the grey but that’s only one part of the picture.
I’m still celebrating all the lovely things that have happened and leaning into offers I might want to do instead of panic discounting… I’m leaning toward an extra bonus for annual subs who upgrade in Jan and ignoring Black Friday entirely focussing on my free planner as the incentive to invite new folks in…
I’m really grateful for improved Substack metrics on subscriber churn (even if it can be disheartening to face). I’m still in the green, but last month’s unsubscribes felt hard after a fairly positive summer. For now, I’m embracing the deeper connection I have with paid subscribers, through exclusive comments and chats, and I really love getting to know a smaller group of people better. And I think, like you, I will probably end up doing a gentler ‘welcome to all the new readers joining Substack in January’ discount (though whether we’ll see the huge increase in readers that we saw at the start of 2025 remains to be seen…).
I loved every minute listening to your live and i hope to listen again. I don’t remember feeling my time so well used on a live ever! Thank you from the bottom of my heart ❤️ a wonderful gift 🎁
I’m so glad i took a screenshot (which only had the name Venus because the subscribe button covered the rest on the live video) with brain fog that comes with perimenopause, i had long forgotten the name, and although i subscribed i only found in my inbox a letter from some other substacker that wasn’t at all memorable and I didn’t even remember who she is and why i had signed up 😅 so I’m grateful to myself for being practical and taking the screenshot during the live - that’s how i now found the challenge 😍 (as well as this wonderful replay)
Oh that’s so sweet! They should make it easier to subscribe when we’re on a live… I think it used to be easy! I also shared the link in the subscriber chat for you guys to click on. 🥰
I think the issue is not really a hardship in subscribing, because I DID subscribe during the live, only that Substack didn’t send me an automated confirmation of it so that I remember your name when i want to search for the replay (i’m bad at remembering names sometimes, sorry 🙂 brain fog 🧠)
There are so many skilled people not earning their worth and looking to build more income streams to protect themselves in an uncertain employment climate.
My career was taken by a major life change, but because of AI automation, many are facing huge changes whether they like it or not.
Learn Grow Monetize is for exactly these skilled professionals to learn how sell their skills and future-proof their income.
Thank you so much Claire! This was so helpful. I have been thinking a lot about discounts recently as though I find a big bump in upgrades when I put on a discount, I also see a big bump in paid unsubscribes about 2 months later. It seems that those who upgrade through offers churn much quicker than those who choose to upgrade at full price. Though as I tick closer to 100 paid subscribers I don't know if this is just par for the course with a larger paid readership...! It's been quite disheartening though and I needed a bit of direction. This chat was perfect! I personally find all the Black Friday/etc. deal emails overwhelming so think I'm going to lean into that and avoid offering my own, but choose a quieter time of year to offer something with a bit less rush. Thank you again!
Hey Holly! Aww thanks for taking part!
The main stat you would to try and understand on the way to bestseller is how quickly on average people are churning or how long they are staying - it’s the same question really.
It’s also great to understand how many monthly and annual subs you have.
It’s like the time / conversion axis. Since the growth slowed for me the churn is outpacing my growth so I’m constantly in the grey but that’s only one part of the picture.
I’m still celebrating all the lovely things that have happened and leaning into offers I might want to do instead of panic discounting… I’m leaning toward an extra bonus for annual subs who upgrade in Jan and ignoring Black Friday entirely focussing on my free planner as the incentive to invite new folks in…
Feeling in is always the way - I’m here for you!
I’m really grateful for improved Substack metrics on subscriber churn (even if it can be disheartening to face). I’m still in the green, but last month’s unsubscribes felt hard after a fairly positive summer. For now, I’m embracing the deeper connection I have with paid subscribers, through exclusive comments and chats, and I really love getting to know a smaller group of people better. And I think, like you, I will probably end up doing a gentler ‘welcome to all the new readers joining Substack in January’ discount (though whether we’ll see the huge increase in readers that we saw at the start of 2025 remains to be seen…).
Thanks so much for the tips!
I loved every minute listening to your live and i hope to listen again. I don’t remember feeling my time so well used on a live ever! Thank you from the bottom of my heart ❤️ a wonderful gift 🎁
Aww that is such a lovely thing to say! ✨
I’m so glad i took a screenshot (which only had the name Venus because the subscribe button covered the rest on the live video) with brain fog that comes with perimenopause, i had long forgotten the name, and although i subscribed i only found in my inbox a letter from some other substacker that wasn’t at all memorable and I didn’t even remember who she is and why i had signed up 😅 so I’m grateful to myself for being practical and taking the screenshot during the live - that’s how i now found the challenge 😍 (as well as this wonderful replay)
Oh that’s so sweet! They should make it easier to subscribe when we’re on a live… I think it used to be easy! I also shared the link in the subscriber chat for you guys to click on. 🥰
I think the issue is not really a hardship in subscribing, because I DID subscribe during the live, only that Substack didn’t send me an automated confirmation of it so that I remember your name when i want to search for the replay (i’m bad at remembering names sometimes, sorry 🙂 brain fog 🧠)
Ahh that makes sense! Thank you for explaining the flow.
You’re so welcome! 💗🙏
So glad to be able to have caught some of the live stream this morning! Thank you for your advice!
Aw you’re welcome! Nice to be connected! 🪁
Hi Claire, I feel the same.
There are so many skilled people not earning their worth and looking to build more income streams to protect themselves in an uncertain employment climate.
My career was taken by a major life change, but because of AI automation, many are facing huge changes whether they like it or not.
Learn Grow Monetize is for exactly these skilled professionals to learn how sell their skills and future-proof their income.
Oh that’s lovely. We have so much more freedom than we realise hey?
Thanks for the great info as always, Claire, and shoutout! So grateful to be part of this community☀️.
Aw you're so welcome. Thank you for working with me lovely one.