Fluctuation on substack. Real talk.
271 paying subscribers has been the largest amount of real people I’ve had, willing to pay for my writing here on Substack
With a 9AU subscription that was around $2439 AUD a month or about $609AUD a week.
This was totally wild and somewhat mind-blowing to me considering my initial goal was to have coffee & two hours of my time covered each week.
This is relevant to my publication the Mother Makers because I literally write for the mother creatives who are dancing with entrepreneurship, creativity and motherhood. I want to help them know themselves deeper, make $ without sacrificing their gifts or purity of their creations. Many of them are writers themselves and wanting to make $$ here on Substack, or through any of their creative endeavours/ businesses. My ability to move forward and “PROVE” that you can make money on a platform like substack, while typing away next to a sleeping baby - is important.
Let’s break it down.
I have found about a 10% rate of those subscribing for free are willing to then upgrade to a paid offer.
My thoughts: I have heard those percentages to be lower for many typically over substack but honestly, If you are curating a community of some sort, a hub, then people will come. People want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, but simultaneously something that can support them selves - especially in motherhood.
Creating a quality space with high value - is CRUCIAL for mothers who have limited time and are fussy with where they want to invest said time. It needs to be worth it. Musings are great to read to feel less alone in the struggles, but to enter a space where you leave feeling seen and uplifted - I believe, is important for mothers.
My numbers have gone up and down. I spend a lot of time in my dashboard monitoring from a place of recognising patterns. Never from a place of desperation. I want to see what is working for my community. What they enjoy. What they don’t enjoy. This is because I am co-creating with the needs of a community and responding to them in order to write. I could totally “just write for me” and “see who comes”. But I know I want to create and serve here in a different way.
I took an almost year long break here, and paused subscriptions. On my arrival back, I now have 171 paying subscribers.
This is totally expected and normal.
My audience initially came from instagram in the early days where as now about 70%+ are coming through the substack platform. Again, this BLOWS MY MIND.
I would say this is due to notes, community engagement, connecting with other writers in a similar field to me and actually participating in their communities genuinely.
Also regular posting free, high value offerings here that are shareable and impactful.
I want to share this process with you as I keep on writing, making video and audio content here and keep on creating FOR the creative mothers, showing them that it is possible to make $ here, AND fluctuation, ebs and flows, are totally a part of that process and incredibly normal. These should be expected.
I plan to share my journey transparently and also “not so seriously” where I can. Have many of you read my “Hey dad I’m a paid writer” post? I go into my entire first year on substack with monthly timestamps in a LOT of detail. This post got shared by substack itself and was very impactful for a lot of people. If you are new here I recommend going and finding it.
Lots of love
Kat