No, Substack Alone Is (Probably) Not Enough For You
Are you paying attention to the wrong platform?
I’ll be honest for a moment: I’m not making the bulk of my money off Substack. I’m a Medium girlie, through and through. Most of my money is still being made there and I honestly love the different nuances in the communities between Medium and Substack.
When I hear about Substack bestsellers (and my ~100 subscribers) I definitely feel like I’m getting to somewhere I want to be. However, those subscriptions generally only account for about $9,000 dollars of my annual income, not including my psychic readings and other monetization methods like tips.
Everyone and their grandma is now trying to hustle up the Substack game, but this might not be the best move for them.
Contrary to popular belief, Substack is not the be-all, end-all of moneymaking platforms.
There’s no doubt about it. It’s a great platform that can quickly become a major moneymaker for people who are willing to build a following on there. If you are willing to keep posting Notes and doing the thing, you can make an actual living here.
Heck, according to Substack’s own charts, there are at least 50 people making $1 million per year here. If you’ve got the sauce, then there’s no reason why you can’t be one of the many people to make a living on here too.
With that said, things can happen:
You can get banned or suspended from Substack.
You might, for one reason or another, not get the fandom you earn.
Or you might have a weird glitch with your followers like I am having that is slowly making you go bonkers.
Your audience on Substack might just not want to pay you.
These. Things. Happen.
One of the quieter reasons why people tell you to diversify your platforms deals with how you get paid.
I’ll be blunt: some people are just more beloved on certain platforms than others. I’m going to be a Medium fan for a while. It’s how I make a large portion of my income and it’s one of the platforms I’ve really grown on.
I’ve also been told that’s a bit unusual, that my essay-like writing tends to pick up better on there than on other platforms. Whatever the reason may be, Medium likes my work and I get paid pretty well there. Most of my readers also know I’m on Substack, so there’s that, too.
Having that diversity, even if it’s a matter of just getting the same stories (or most of the same stories) on both platforms is important. If you’re not on that platform, you’re missing out on money and opportunity.
If you’re lagging on your income, the best thing you can do is diversify your platforms.
If I had quit Medium the way I wanted to, I’d have missed out on over $3,000 last month. That’s a lot of money! And as a person who has a lot of bills, that’s more than a lot of money to miss out on. That’s about three times the amount I made here on Substack.
A lot of people have been missing out on money because they decided to leave Medium to “make a statement.” Or, they have gotten tired of other platforms that were not paying them enough to just post—like WordPress.
And if you want to max out your income, it’s okay to focus on the less popular platforms.
I’ll be honest. It feels like I’ve been hitting a brick wall when it comes to my follower count, my paid subscriptions, and my free subscriptions. The numbers just aren’t actually adding up and no matter how much I publish or what I publish, I’m not getting anywhere.
I’m far from alone on this. I’m not going to name names, but almost every single major writer I’ve spoken to has noticed a major stagnation on their end when it comes to their followers. Some are even losing money.
Here’s the deal: I’m not going to be one of those people who tells you to keep toiling away at Substack.
Substack can be great for some. For others, it might not be. If you’re falling flat on your face, it’s okay to say that this platform isn’t right for you.
In the meantime, just focus on promoting and working on the platform that does do right by you. For me, I’m actually a lot happier when I write on Medium or WordPress than I am when I’m doing my Substack thing.
And I think it shows when I interact with people on there.
It’s okay to “quiet quit” Substack.
If you’re not feeling the stats or feel like you’re doing too much for too little, “quiet quit” it. Much like quiet quitting a job, you need to protect your sanity. Sometimes that means that you just “phone it in” with the bare-minimum.
What does this look like on here?
Just post your posts. Let the work speak for itself and let it grow at its own pace.
Don’t worry about Notes unless you have to. Just post. Let people pay at their own rate. If it takes off, great. If it stagnates, eh. You tried. If it fails, well, it’s up to you to decide what to do. I don’t blame you if you choose to walk off underperforming platforms.
Real talk: part of it is timing, too.
Most platforms have a certain window of content creator love and acquisition. It usually goes like this:
Stage 1: Just Starting
When a platform first launches, their goal is simple: get people on the site. They will do whatever to get those content creators on board, especially pay them.
Stage 2: The Boom
This is when the platform is doing well but still hasn’t gotten enough content to get a steady stream of celebrities to back it. They will often cut down their payouts slightly, since they already have their “seed creators” that will make content for them and get people visiting.
However, creator platforms are not going to do away with content payouts or slash them too much. They still want to make content creation worth it for the typical user and would-be creator. If the platform is powered by paid subscriptions from fans, they will push newbies to the front of the page during this time.
For many people, this is the “golden age” of a platform. It’s the time when everyone can make money and you still have a decent shot at being a megainfluencer as long as you put in decent, organic work.
If you want to get an easy fanbase, get in on a platform that’s during it’s Boom phase or earlier.
Stage 3: The Ad Phase
Not all social media platforms have this phase, but most do. This is the age when a social media platform starts letting people pay for memberships or letting creators pay for added visibility on their platform. Payouts usually stay the same.
This is a major turning point for platforms because it often indicates that enshittification is on its way. Depending on the platform, the ad phase can be subtle or it can become an unofficial requirement if you want to see your content in the feed.
By the time you hit the ad phrase, most “typical” writers are not going to have a good time if they try to make a living. They have missed their window for easy growth but there’s still a decent chance that you can make it if you work hard and invest money.
Stage 4: The Hypercommercialism Flood Phase
This is the phase when it becomes genuinely hard to make money on a platform or gain followers on a platform. This is when celebrities flood in, when everyone seems to have an account, and when scammers start saying they can manage and promote you for an additional fee.
At this point, your chances of making it big with hard work tend to shrink. You can still do it, but it’s an uphill battle. This is when enshittification tends to start happening in full swing.
If this is a site that pays per view, this is also when earnings tend to get slashed to the point that most other people no longer feel like they can make a buck off it. Almost all sites have this phase eventually. It sucks, but it’s true.
Stage 5: The Boot Phase
This is a rare stage, but it can happen. It happened with Newsbreak. This is when a site becomes an institution and decides that it will become ultra-choosy on who it lets on. Most creators end up getting booted or demonetized when this happens.
Ick.
Some sites also will muzzle writers who go against their typical narratives at this stage. This is often when you’ll see writers leave for greener pastures.
With that said, you need to pour your love on the platforms that actually vibe with you.
I’m going to be blunt: you need to pour in where you’re getting the love. If you’re not getting good results, it’s okay to wait a while and say, “Hey, this is not exactly working and I might want to try another platform.”
Focus where the love is going. So, what I’m saying is:
If you feel a site is trying to muzzle you or is hurting your sanity, step away for a bit. Or “quiet quit.”
If the site you love the most (community and all) isn’t the “cool one,” just focus on being on that site. I get flak for my love of Medium. I still tend to prefer it to Substack from time to time.
Do be open about your love for certain platforms. I think a lot of writers right now are facing platform burnout. I tried Beehiiv and hated it. It just wasn’t working for me. I do WordPress, Medium, and Substack. That’s enough. Be open if you’re feeling crispy and stick to a maximum of three platforms.
Yep. That about wraps it.
A fascinating read Ossiana - I have been on Medium for over two years, and for me it went into decline last year and crashed from January - so interesting to hear it is still working for you - this seems to be the exception? It is sad that so many people have left Medium, but understandable in the circumstances.
Also interested to see what you say about advertising. Personally I don't see how platforms, and writers' incomes, can grow without it - it could be ethically screened and kept inobtrusive.
Good article - thank you. 😀
Ossiana, you created the greatest word ever in this post. If I use it I will always do my best to give you credit. Since this isn’t a game show, the word is “enshittification.”