Stick with it. I think Substack will soon offer better options that will make the effort worth it. My thinking is keep writing important information and the rest will eventually follow.
Thanks so much, Daniel! Appreciate that. Yes, I'm done with quirks and just keen to get back to why I'm here -- to spread stuff I think is important and if that gets supported, I'd love it. Cheers!
For about 6 months about 12 years ago, I was living Ina small mountain town in South Africa's Easter Cape region. The town was situated in some of the most beautiful forestry in the country, with mountains, and valleys and waterfalls and meadows, and a wonderfully diverse biosphere.
In those 6 monthsI lived with a nature guide. An old man who had grown up in the town and knew pretty much every root of every tree, and every bend in every creek. He had been struggling for years to get the tourists that visited the town to pay set fees for guided walks through the surrounding area, which was a shame, because he was a delightful combination of funny and informative. So I suggested he do the walks for free and let people pay what they thought the walk was worth. Within 3 weeks, he had a waiting list of tourists wanting him for their walks, and every single person paid him between 3 and 10 times what he had previously been charging as a set fee.
Sadly, he passed away last year, but all the money he had made in the last decade went toward conservation societies in the area, and as it turned out, he had made an insane amount of money with the pay-as-you-like walks, enough to support those societies for several years with expanded mandates.
So I obviously think this is the exact right move by you. Good on you.
That is such a beautiful story! Thanks for sharing it. How cool that it worked out so well for him -- and conservation in the area!
Radiohead's experiment worked out for them too -- they made more money before the physical release of In Rainbows than they had for the entire sales of Hail to the Thief (which is actually my favourite album funnily enough). So yes, it seems this can work. I wish substack made it easier. I've just got 3 options available but open to others. I'd love to be able to offer an empty box or slider to select amount.
Anyway, glad you think this is a good move! Cheers
Hey Jonathan, that all seems to make sense! I hope it pays off both in increased reach and readers recognising the value of your work (not to mention appreciating the time it takes which along with your teaching, research and family responsibilities, must be stretched thin!). I wanted to check as I’m in an ‘old’ sub model - I’ve just paid £22 for another year (half price deal, cheers 😁!) you do still get that, don’t you? I was worried it might just be floating about in the substack coffers if it isn’t a current payment plan…😱!?
Hi Rebecca. I'm happy to hear you think so! Yes, I saw that come through. I so appreciate your continued support, Rebecca. Truly grateful. I'm glad you're sticking around for another year. Thank you! :)
Thanks for thinking of this. For now, I’d prefer to just keep the substack subscription option. My monthly rates are pretty low so you can always pay for a single month but annual is preferable. In fact, I’ve learned that stripe takes a fixed rate from all transactions so at the lower ‘community’ rate, the monthly option isn’t ideal. Anyway thanks for thinking of this :)
Whilst I don't like the idea of any writer not being paid for the work that goes into public communication, I've just come back to Substack after seeing you open up Predirections-->. You are writing into a niche of interest that I am trying to understand more about. I'm in the last year of my PhD (Environmental Studies) with the existential terror of the visible end to funding (my only income) on the horizon. Even committing to regular small payments makes me nervous and Substack makes me feel sad that I effectively slink around looking for freebies to read. Particularly because I have been in a career before and very able to support many writers in the past. So this is (guiltily) exciting for me. *Sigh. When I am a stable-income receiving post-doc (ha!) I will be paying all of the open writing kindness back somehow. Very grateful and looking forward to learning.
Thanks for your thoughts. You are exactly the kind of person I don't want to lock out! That's why I've gotten rid of paywalls again — I'm hopeful that enough people will chip in that it helps keep it free for folks like you and it stays sustainable without asking people in your position to pay.
Please don't feel guilty about this one. The precarity of PhD stipends and the academic job market is stressful. Genuinely glad to have you reading. Good luck with the last stretch of the PhD!
Good on you for allowing free access to your posts. I think it is important for all walks of life to be able to learn and grow their knowledge. So often people are denied this access because they can't afford the fees or annual subscriptions.
Thanks so much. Your work is vital! I like this tiered idea. There are too many great Substacks for readers to fully support every one. Maybe someday they’ll let us bundle publications.
Thank you, Julie! I'm rapt you're along for the ride. I totally agree -- it's impossible to support all the writers you want to support. So I fully get it.
Stick with it. I think Substack will soon offer better options that will make the effort worth it. My thinking is keep writing important information and the rest will eventually follow.
Thanks so much, Daniel! Appreciate that. Yes, I'm done with quirks and just keen to get back to why I'm here -- to spread stuff I think is important and if that gets supported, I'd love it. Cheers!
For about 6 months about 12 years ago, I was living Ina small mountain town in South Africa's Easter Cape region. The town was situated in some of the most beautiful forestry in the country, with mountains, and valleys and waterfalls and meadows, and a wonderfully diverse biosphere.
In those 6 monthsI lived with a nature guide. An old man who had grown up in the town and knew pretty much every root of every tree, and every bend in every creek. He had been struggling for years to get the tourists that visited the town to pay set fees for guided walks through the surrounding area, which was a shame, because he was a delightful combination of funny and informative. So I suggested he do the walks for free and let people pay what they thought the walk was worth. Within 3 weeks, he had a waiting list of tourists wanting him for their walks, and every single person paid him between 3 and 10 times what he had previously been charging as a set fee.
Sadly, he passed away last year, but all the money he had made in the last decade went toward conservation societies in the area, and as it turned out, he had made an insane amount of money with the pay-as-you-like walks, enough to support those societies for several years with expanded mandates.
So I obviously think this is the exact right move by you. Good on you.
That is such a beautiful story! Thanks for sharing it. How cool that it worked out so well for him -- and conservation in the area!
Radiohead's experiment worked out for them too -- they made more money before the physical release of In Rainbows than they had for the entire sales of Hail to the Thief (which is actually my favourite album funnily enough). So yes, it seems this can work. I wish substack made it easier. I've just got 3 options available but open to others. I'd love to be able to offer an empty box or slider to select amount.
Anyway, glad you think this is a good move! Cheers
Hey Jonathan, that all seems to make sense! I hope it pays off both in increased reach and readers recognising the value of your work (not to mention appreciating the time it takes which along with your teaching, research and family responsibilities, must be stretched thin!). I wanted to check as I’m in an ‘old’ sub model - I’ve just paid £22 for another year (half price deal, cheers 😁!) you do still get that, don’t you? I was worried it might just be floating about in the substack coffers if it isn’t a current payment plan…😱!?
Hi Rebecca. I'm happy to hear you think so! Yes, I saw that come through. I so appreciate your continued support, Rebecca. Truly grateful. I'm glad you're sticking around for another year. Thank you! :)
Can you offer the 'buy me a coffee'? So on the good days of our own personal economic roller coasters we can splash something your way?
Thanks for thinking of this. For now, I’d prefer to just keep the substack subscription option. My monthly rates are pretty low so you can always pay for a single month but annual is preferable. In fact, I’ve learned that stripe takes a fixed rate from all transactions so at the lower ‘community’ rate, the monthly option isn’t ideal. Anyway thanks for thinking of this :)
Whilst I don't like the idea of any writer not being paid for the work that goes into public communication, I've just come back to Substack after seeing you open up Predirections-->. You are writing into a niche of interest that I am trying to understand more about. I'm in the last year of my PhD (Environmental Studies) with the existential terror of the visible end to funding (my only income) on the horizon. Even committing to regular small payments makes me nervous and Substack makes me feel sad that I effectively slink around looking for freebies to read. Particularly because I have been in a career before and very able to support many writers in the past. So this is (guiltily) exciting for me. *Sigh. When I am a stable-income receiving post-doc (ha!) I will be paying all of the open writing kindness back somehow. Very grateful and looking forward to learning.
Thanks for your thoughts. You are exactly the kind of person I don't want to lock out! That's why I've gotten rid of paywalls again — I'm hopeful that enough people will chip in that it helps keep it free for folks like you and it stays sustainable without asking people in your position to pay.
Please don't feel guilty about this one. The precarity of PhD stipends and the academic job market is stressful. Genuinely glad to have you reading. Good luck with the last stretch of the PhD!
Good on you for allowing free access to your posts. I think it is important for all walks of life to be able to learn and grow their knowledge. So often people are denied this access because they can't afford the fees or annual subscriptions.
Indeed, Kim! Thanks for all your support. I truly appreciate it. I’m much more comfortable with this model. :)
Hope this works for you! Appreciate your work here.
Thanks very much, Dawn! Great to have you here.
Thanks so much. Your work is vital! I like this tiered idea. There are too many great Substacks for readers to fully support every one. Maybe someday they’ll let us bundle publications.
Thank you, Julie! I'm rapt you're along for the ride. I totally agree -- it's impossible to support all the writers you want to support. So I fully get it.
So appreciate your work!
Thanks Stephanie! I very much appreciate your appreciation! :)
Loving reading all these comments. Thanks everyone -- what a great group of people we have here. ❤️❤️
https://open.spotify.com/track/0H8ukN2MIW2iNvqJP1kb4O