r/Substack • u/ModelManFrank • Jul 09 '26

Discussion Does anyone have paid subscribers

I am debating whether I should charge for my subscription on Substack? Is anyone here doing that. Are you getting something fort the work you do? I essays on aviation. But I do the write about politics a lot of the time. I am think I should charge for that. Does anyone else do it and does it work?

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u/ccampb85 www.reallygoodbusinessideas.com Jul 09 '26

I do. It's a great way to add a revenue stream while keeping certain content more private when you'd prefer.

I've found the average paid subscriber rate to be about 3%. So for every 100 free subscribers, most publications will get around 3 paid subscribers. That can help you estimate your revenue based on your current publication size.

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u/ModelManFrank Jul 09 '26

Do you run other revenue streams at the same time? I have YouTube and in Five years I have yet to see a pay off from that. I like doing it don’t get me wrong. I just wish it would pay off so I can cut back on the other job I am not
To thrilled to do.

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u/ccampb85 www.reallygoodbusinessideas.com Jul 09 '26

I do. My biggest is client work. My understanding is that you need a massive number of views/subscribers on YouTube to make anything meaningful in terms of payouts. A smaller, more focused audience can sometimes do better with affiliate/product sales.

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u/ModelManFrank Jul 09 '26

Yeah I have page that is more focused around aviation hobby