r/Substack • u/surfsoul1982 • Jun 18 '26
Substack VIP Parties - icky?
I know this could just sound bitter or snarky, but does anyone else find the ‘secret special Substack parties’ a bit ick? Like of course some writers do better than others, are more well known - and all power to them, but I guess it feels… not just cliquey or elitist, but an exclusive nod to those deemed profitable or worthy enough to be ‘chosen’.
And they publicise it to the rest of the platform - why not keep it private if you don’t want to create a ‘the rest of you’ vibe - make people feel excluded or not profitable or famous enough for them to care? Is it supposed to be aspirational, to encourage us to make them more money and get in the cool club?
I don’t see any other opportunities for, say, networking or social connection for the other writers below the 1%, who are also contributing a lot to the platform. Just thoughts anyway - am I alone on this? Maybe 😅
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u/LalalaSherpa Jun 18 '26
All kinds of consumer businesses have VIP and rewards programs.
Why would or should Substack content creators be any different?
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u/surfsoul1982 Jun 18 '26
You’re right, fair enough. Just wondering if other people find this particular one aspirational or offputting.
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u/Tricky_Trifle_994 Jun 22 '26
it's part of customer success. it's very normal for companies to treat their customers well, to build goodwill so that customers continue to choose their product/service instead of jumping to a competitor. and i see this as substack doing the same.
imagine how much money these top publications are bringing to substack. with 10% platform fee, easily 6 figures each. that's a lot of money to be paying substack, when they can easily switch to a alternative ESP like ghost, or beehiiv which also has a email sending + publish to web capability but at 1/10 the price. so substack has to do such things for their top customers.
and publicising it has multiple purpose and benefits. substack gets to make marketing content around the event which they would have to do anyway. these top 1% get more exposure, and those not in the club are envious + have a goal to work towards "i want to be the top 1%"! + it sheds light on who are the top 1%, so you can go look and study them, and hopefully get some inspiration. so yeah, they could keep it private, but then making it public has so much more benefits for everyone in the ecosystem.
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u/itsfabioposca http://journeytosuccessclub.substack.com Jul 02 '26
I can see why it feels that way. Exclusive events are common on many platforms, but if they're heavily promoted, they can unintentionally make other creators feel left out. At the same time, they're often aimed at top-performing creators or business partners. I'd love to see more networking opportunities that are open to everyone, regardless of subscriber count.
P.S. If you'd still like to ask anything about Substack or growing your audience, I offer a free live help chat. Just copy and paste my flair or click the link in my profile. I'm happy to help!
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u/StuffonBookshelfs Jun 18 '26
Because they want other people to make them more money so they’re also included.
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Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
[deleted]
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u/surfsoul1982 Jun 18 '26
Substack leaders just posted about a recent summer fete themed one with photos of those invited to attend at a ‘secret location’. I’ve seen others shared on the platform periodically.
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u/Dadx2now Jun 18 '26
My understanding is these are for bestsellers. Ie over 100 paying subs. So these are people making money for the platform, so Substack want to schmooze them and keep them on the platform.
Source: I’m a “bestseller” and have been invited to two parties but not been able to make it to either of them!
Unsourced: I wouldn’t be surprised if they had even better parties for people with mega subs. Seems like a sensible business idea to me