For the low, low price of just $7/month, you can receive ... pretty much exactly what you're getting for free right now—plus, starting next week, an additional perk!
I haven't seen "data" per se, but my decisions about how to proceed are being made in consultation with the company based on the experiences of other writers.
I'm also a paid subscriber and am rather surprised that it's not a requirement to access content. Most of the other substacks I read are for paying subscribers only. I've canceled subscriptions to those I no longer find valuable to make room for those I do.
For Substack newsletters written by people who come with a very large preexisting readership, it's possible to make all content available only to paying subscribers right away, but that's actually quite rare. Most do a mix of free and exclusive content, because it's necessary first to get new people to subscribe, and then to get them to convert to paying. The most common model is to make everything available for free for the first few months and then to drop a paywall. I planned to do my version of that around Labor Day, but my father was near death at that time, and I thought it best to wait until after he had died to make the change. Thanks for reading and paying!
As a massive podcast consumer (50+ regular feeds, 3.5x listener), I love the audio idea... only caveat would be that it would be especially nice to get a feed that I could sub to in my podcast player, as I rarely venture out from my that app for my audio content... in any case, love your content, appreciate the transparency, and happy to financially contribute to your ongoing efforts!
3.5x??? Jeeeez. I'm at 1.6x and it gets comically chipmunky after that in the Castbox app. I actually tried listening to a Ben Shapiro episode once (I was REALLY bored) and could not understand him at that speed.
Come to think of it, it’s the Audible app that goes up to 3.5x, Overcast tops out at 3x, but then has a “Smart Speed” feature that selectively edits out the silence between words - which allows the speed to get up to ~3.2ish max... still... yeah... I used to work a mindless manual labor job where ~8am I could start listening to 5+ hours worth of daily current events and political podcasts and still fit a whole 8+ hour audiobook in before getting done ~4pm 😝
Nice! I use Castbox (I have a Samsung phone) and I've tried their silence-clipping feature, but it just sounded too weird to me. I'm a patrol Trooper so I spend most of my day in the car--I too can crank out A LOT of content in a shift.
Like all your efforts, this approach seems to be down the middle. I think it's worth a shot. I subscribe because I used to follow you on The Week until I had a fight with their medieval subscription system. Now I'm hoping they go out of business.
Damon, I came to know you and listen to you through your participation on the "Beg to Differ" podcast which I really enjoy. I am now a paid subscriber and very happy with what I think is important and insightful content. Hopefully other listeners to that podcast will seek out your Substack.
I don't like podcasts. They put me to sleep. For me to subscribe, I would appreciate longer, in depth discussions of your views and the history behind them. In brief, I want to learn something new.
Thanks for your good work. This column nudged me to start paying, so that's another one. I also found you through the Bulwark podcast, then looked up your written work on 'The Week' and followed you to the Substack. I also appreciate your explanation of the business side of making a living from your efforts; very interesting and a good nudge as well.
Does Substack share any data with writers about the types of "nudges" that are most likely to result in subscriptions and reader loyalty?
I haven't seen "data" per se, but my decisions about how to proceed are being made in consultation with the company based on the experiences of other writers.
I'm ALREADY paying.
Thanks for being one of the few!
I'm also a paid subscriber and am rather surprised that it's not a requirement to access content. Most of the other substacks I read are for paying subscribers only. I've canceled subscriptions to those I no longer find valuable to make room for those I do.
For Substack newsletters written by people who come with a very large preexisting readership, it's possible to make all content available only to paying subscribers right away, but that's actually quite rare. Most do a mix of free and exclusive content, because it's necessary first to get new people to subscribe, and then to get them to convert to paying. The most common model is to make everything available for free for the first few months and then to drop a paywall. I planned to do my version of that around Labor Day, but my father was near death at that time, and I thought it best to wait until after he had died to make the change. Thanks for reading and paying!
As a massive podcast consumer (50+ regular feeds, 3.5x listener), I love the audio idea... only caveat would be that it would be especially nice to get a feed that I could sub to in my podcast player, as I rarely venture out from my that app for my audio content... in any case, love your content, appreciate the transparency, and happy to financially contribute to your ongoing efforts!
3.5x??? Jeeeez. I'm at 1.6x and it gets comically chipmunky after that in the Castbox app. I actually tried listening to a Ben Shapiro episode once (I was REALLY bored) and could not understand him at that speed.
Come to think of it, it’s the Audible app that goes up to 3.5x, Overcast tops out at 3x, but then has a “Smart Speed” feature that selectively edits out the silence between words - which allows the speed to get up to ~3.2ish max... still... yeah... I used to work a mindless manual labor job where ~8am I could start listening to 5+ hours worth of daily current events and political podcasts and still fit a whole 8+ hour audiobook in before getting done ~4pm 😝
Nice! I use Castbox (I have a Samsung phone) and I've tried their silence-clipping feature, but it just sounded too weird to me. I'm a patrol Trooper so I spend most of my day in the car--I too can crank out A LOT of content in a shift.
Like all your efforts, this approach seems to be down the middle. I think it's worth a shot. I subscribe because I used to follow you on The Week until I had a fight with their medieval subscription system. Now I'm hoping they go out of business.
Damon, I came to know you and listen to you through your participation on the "Beg to Differ" podcast which I really enjoy. I am now a paid subscriber and very happy with what I think is important and insightful content. Hopefully other listeners to that podcast will seek out your Substack.
I don't like podcasts. They put me to sleep. For me to subscribe, I would appreciate longer, in depth discussions of your views and the history behind them. In brief, I want to learn something new.
Thanks for your good work. This column nudged me to start paying, so that's another one. I also found you through the Bulwark podcast, then looked up your written work on 'The Week' and followed you to the Substack. I also appreciate your explanation of the business side of making a living from your efforts; very interesting and a good nudge as well.