Monetizing? I'm Thinking About It
...but not most of my posts, let me explain
Where just a few months ago, I thought I was wasting my time on this platform, it has now gained serious traction and I’m getting new subscribers daily. My sub count was stagnant for the first six months or so. With that, I’m also getting decent engagement and the posts find their own life on Twitter (and possibly other platforms I never look at anymore).
Anyway, I'm thinking of doing some monetization on Substack. Not for every post, in fact, most wouldn't be. However, I was thinking of posting a weekly chapter of a short story that's tied to the larger Barbarians of the Storm mythos. Eventually, these would be collected and published in future anthology books but they'd be out much earlier for those who sub.
I've been thinking about monetization avenues for awhile but I've also had some short story ideas I want to work on in addition to Book III. I'd also have the short stories done before I started posting chapters, so it'd still probably be awhile before I launched this. I'm not really a fan of Patreon and if I start seriously YouTubing, it'll be awhile before I hit 1000 subs (if I even can). Plus, YouTube hates their creators and apparently making money.
I have grown to like Substack a lot and that has to do with the community of creators here and because the platform doesn’t seem like a place that is trying to shut people up for wrongthink. Granted, I mostly talk about writing and my book series here. Honestly, I hate talking about politics and all that bullshit because I did on another blog a long time ago and it made me do heavy drugs and drink a lot. But anyway, moving on!
Please, share your thoughts on this idea. I understand that we now live in a time where people vehemently hate paywalls. However, I do want my writing and everything associated with it to become my sole full-time job. While that won’t happen overnight, making money is necessary for me to reach that goal. And while I don’t expect to make a lot here, over time, I’d like to see it grow into something really worthwhile that can help me give my passion much more of my attention.
For now, I am thinking $3 per month, which I think is reasonable and it is less than I pay other creators on various platforms. And why do I support them? Because I like their content and want to see them succeed and achieve their dreams as well. I’d rather pay creators making content I enjoy than give my money to corporations that hate me (the feeling’s mutual, at this point).
I get it though, paying for stuff like this might not be your cup of tea and that’s fine. Most of the things I continue to post won’t be behind a paywall. However, book royalties alone aren’t in a spot where they’re paying my bills yet and my commission from merchandise is even less. So experimenting with other monetization avenues is necessary if I want to do this for real, real.
When I sat down to give this some thought myself, I concluded that the most important thing to focus on if you plan to monetize is consistency. If you can consistently publish "exclusive" content, then I think it's reasonable to ask for compensation. I'm not keen to all the ins and outs of monetization on the platform, but publications seem to do best when there's a mix of free and paid content; those who don't pay won't feel excluded from following the work of an author they like, and those that do get a little something extra. Either way, godspeed!