Re: Paygating and Substack (congratulations on the new blog!): Is there a general forum to discuss the Substack business model and alternative payment ideas? Does Substack management even think about such things? The current model of subscribing blog-by-blog is great for frequent, consistent readers of the blogs in question. There are only so many blogs one can read – and only so many subscriptions one wants to pay – on a regular basis. The current Substack model doesn’t work well for occasional or sporadic readers – think of recommendations and links to specific posts. Two additional models that I think could work with the current model without significantly cannibalizing regular subscription revenue are single-payment options for a limited number of posts and/or a “blog buffet” subscription that allows access to a certain number of Substack posts from any blog writer for a regular monthly or yearly price (think Apple News). (For what it’s worth, a number of publishers recently reported that Apple News has been a significant and welcome source of income.) Authors could opt in or out of the additional payment models. There are so many good writers on Substack now, and it would be great to have the option of financially supporting them without having to commit to a regular monthly or yearly subscription limited to just the one blog.
Re: Paygating and Substack (congratulations on the new blog!): Is there a general forum to discuss the Substack business model and alternative payment ideas? Does Substack management even think about such things? The current model of subscribing blog-by-blog is great for frequent, consistent readers of the blogs in question. There are only so many blogs one can read – and only so many subscriptions one wants to pay – on a regular basis. The current Substack model doesn’t work well for occasional or sporadic readers – think of recommendations and links to specific posts. Two additional models that I think could work with the current model without significantly cannibalizing regular subscription revenue are single-payment options for a limited number of posts and/or a “blog buffet” subscription that allows access to a certain number of Substack posts from any blog writer for a regular monthly or yearly price (think Apple News). (For what it’s worth, a number of publishers recently reported that Apple News has been a significant and welcome source of income.) Authors could opt in or out of the additional payment models. There are so many good writers on Substack now, and it would be great to have the option of financially supporting them without having to commit to a regular monthly or yearly subscription limited to just the one blog.