I Tried Substack for a Month, You Won’t Believe What Happened
Over the past few months, I’ve become increasingly interested in Substack.
Actually, I’ve heard a lot about its potential to help writers build their own audiences and monetize their content, and I’ve been curious to learn more about it.
One thing that really caught my attention was an article I read recently about how Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has expressed interest in buying Substack. This got me thinking about the platform’s potential even more and how it could become an even bigger player in the media landscape if Musk were to acquire it.
As someone who’s always looking for new ways to earn money, I’ve set some ambitious goals for myself this year. One of them is to earn a specific amount of money, and I know that I’ll need to explore a variety of income streams to make that happen.
That’s why I’ve decided to focus on building a tech product, investing in different sectors, and writing high-quality content that people will want to read.
To that end, I’ve been doing a lot of research and learning everything I can about Substack. For that, I’ve been reading some of the best articles and watching videos to get a sense of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to creating successful newsletters on the platform.
And I’m excited to say that my efforts have already paid off — I’ve started to see some real results and I’m optimistic about the future.
Let me share with you some details.
One Month, 485 Subscribers
When I first started my Substack newsletter, I set a simple goal for myself: to reach 500 free subscribers as quickly as possible.
And now, just one month in, I’m thrilled to say that I’m getting very close to reaching that mark — much faster than I ever expected.
But that’s not the only thing that’s been surprising me lately. I’ve also been thrilled to see that I already have 15 paid subscribers, which means I’m making close to $75 in revenue from Substack each month. For someone who’s new to the platform, I’m pretty happy with those results.
Of course, now that I’ve hit my initial goal, I’m not content to stop there. My next objective is to reach 1,000 free subscribers as soon as possible.
I’m confident that with the momentum I’ve built up so far, and with the help of some of the strategies I’ve been experimenting with, I can make that happen sooner than I might have thought possible.
And this is what I followed.
- Balancing Quality and Revenue: 3 Free Posts and 1 Paid Post
After reading one of Tim Denning’s posts on Substack, I was struck by his recommendation to start by writing free articles to build up a following, and then gradually introduce paid articles to convert those followers into paying subscribers.
It just made sense to me, and I knew I wanted to try it out for myself.
So, right from the first month of launching my Substack newsletter, I decided to hit the ground running with this strategy.
I started by publishing two paid articles, and to my delight, I was able to attract 18 paid subscribers — despite the fact that three of them dropped out after the free trial ended.
Of course, I don’t yet know exactly how many articles I’ll be writing each week or month on Substack — but what I do know is that I want to maintain a ratio of around 75% free content and 25% paid content.
That way, I can be confident that I’m still providing plenty of value to my readers while also building a sustainable business model for myself.
So far, it seems to be working pretty well — but of course, only time will tell whether this strategy will continue to pay off in the long run.
Behind the Numbers: Analyzing My Substack’s Stats, Open Rates, and Conversion
I have to admit, I haven’t always been the most consistent with my Substack newsletter. Despite launching back in September 2022, I went several months without publishing a single post.
But that all changed in February when I decided to get serious about my Substack presence.
In just one month, I’ve managed to publish 14 new posts — and I’m thrilled to report that most of them have been getting more than a 50% open rate, with at least 10–15 new subscribers per post.
Of course, I have to acknowledge that the stats haven’t been totally consistent from post to post. But overall, I’m feeling pretty good about the progress I’ve made so far.
As a relative newbie to the world of Substack, I’m happy with the engagement and growth I’ve seen in just a few short weeks — and I’m excited to see where things go from here.
Now that I’ve completed my first month on Substack, I’m eager to take the lessons I’ve learned and start planning for the future.
During my initial foray into the platform, I had a lot of questions about what would work best — but after some experimentation and observation, I feel like I have a better handle on things.
Some more questions that you may have.
- Why I’m Using Substack to Grow My Audience Beyond Medium?
While it’s great that I have a dedicated following on Medium, I want to expand my audience and reach new readers. That’s where Substack comes in — it’s a platform with a large and engaged community that I can tap into.
Although Medium sends out a daily digest to my followers, I’ve found that my Substack audience is more interactive and engaged with my content.
In fact, most of my Substack subscribers regularly read my posts, as opposed to just receiving them via email.
Another reason I’ve decided to continue with Substack is that I don’t want to be solely dependent on a single platform. By diversifying my online presence, I can mitigate the risk of losing my audience if one platform were to go under or change its policies.
So while I’ll still be writing on Medium, I’m excited to see how Substack can help me connect with even more readers and grow my following.
2. Do I Need to Add a Paid Subscription Option?
I believe that it’s important to maintain the quality of my work and not compromise it for the sake of making more money.
This is why I haven’t added any affiliate links to my Medium posts, as I want to remain honest and practical with proof.
I plan to apply the same lesson to Substack, and I have already written two paid posts(to give it a try) that have helped me gain 15 paid subscribers.
From this, it’s clear that writing quality content can lead to a growing number of paid subscribers on this platform.
While I don’t believe that a paid subscription option is necessary, I do need to earn money from the time I spend on Substack.
Therefore, I have decided to write both free and paid posts.
Hope you like it.
That’s it — thanks.
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