Are free readers parasites on Substack?

Some writers get frustrated when readers don't pay for a subscription, but free readers support writers in different ways

So I was browsing the Substack app this morning and ran into a post by Rurik Skywalker (formerly Rolo of the Slavlands). Rurik’s post excoriated free readers for not paying for a subscription in a very direct way by calling for a general strike by writers:

But I was wrong. I was terribly wrong again. I had forgotten just how shameless and greedy the casual reader is. My heart is just too pure to believe that such free-loaders could even exist. I struggle to believe it. I don’t want to believe it. I cried out to the heavens and then I began to doubt God.

This is the second general Substack writers’ strike. I am going to go on an even longer content strike. If you see other writers not writing during this period, it is because they are participating in the strike with me. And, yes, it will be hard-going … but not writing free content is a sacrifice I am willing to make for other struggling writers everywhere.

As a matter of fact, there are about 200 new readers who have joined since then and vanishingly few of them have subscribed over the last 2 months.

We must seize the subscriptions by any means possible. The tight-fisted readers are greedy. They are oh so very greedy. They hoard and hide the money that they know they owe us. It belongs to us, not them! Only with threats and intimidation will we ever coerce them into supporting alternative media. Most of them still send money to giant media corporations and buy up Alex Jones’ penis pills. They know he lies to them, but they don’t care! They just feel obligated to give their overlords and charlatans money. It is a moral imperative for them!

Rurik is obviously being a bit tongue-in-cheek in his post, but underneath that, you can see that he is frustrated that more people are not paying for a subscription. I suspect there are many writers who feel the same way. It can be demoralizing to keep putting out content and not get paid for it.

Readers only have so much money to spend on subs

However, I think it is important to keep in mind that there are so many great writers on Substack that it is hard for readers to allocate limited funds to pay for subscriptions. How many subscriptions can a reader afford to pay? 5? 10? 20? After a certain point, a reader has to draw the line.

Perhaps this is a weak point in Substack’s business model? Maybe there needs to be some sort of bundling option for publications? I do not know how this would work, but maybe just selling subscriptions to one pub at a time doesn’t scale well because readers only have so much money to spend?

I’m not a business guy, but if you are, please share your thoughts in the comments about possible adjustments to Substack’s business model. I’m interested in seeing if anybody has a good idea or two we can forward to Substack.

Free readers also support writers by sharing content

I also want to note here that free readers can help a writer’s publication grow significantly by sharing content. Sometimes they share via email, messaging, or social media. Such sharing often goes unrecognized by writers, but it happens all the time, and it helps small publications grow on Substack.

Don’t discount the sharing done by free readers. It’s an important part of growing a Substack publication's audience. My thanks to all of my free readers who have shared my articles; it is much appreciated.

Readers support via Buy Me A Coffee and crypto too

Don’t forget, too, that readers sometimes contribute through other means than paid subscriptions. Some readers simply don’t want to get tied into any kind of paid sub at all. But they will tip via Buy Me A Coffee, Bitcoin, or some other cryptocurrency.

I make it a point to have a How You Can Support My Writing section after the end of each article. I include a discounted subscription option, Buy Me A Coffee, and a Bitcoin address. I didn’t see anything similar on Rurik’s article page. So he is effectively leaving his readers with only one way to support him: paid subscriptions.

In a sense, Rurik is his own worst enemy here. Why not make it easy for readers to support you by other means? It does no harm whatsoever, and some readers really appreciate having another option to financially support a writer besides just a paid subscription.

My readers have helped me out a number of times

I have found my readers to be incredibly generous, too. I have asked for help several times when I didn’t have offline work because of the weather, and a number of readers have donated help via Buy Me A Coffee or bought paid subs. I cannot convey how relieved I was to get such help; my readers saved my ass, and I will always be grateful to them.

God bless each of you who helped me when I needed it. Thanks so much. 🙏🏻

Don’t give up, keep writing

So if you are feeling frustrated that you don’t have more paid subscriptions, consider what I’ve written here. Keep writing, and keep growing your base of readers. You will likely get more paid subscribers as you continue to build a relationship with your readers, and your readers share your content.

And don’t forget to give your free readers other options to financially support you besides a paid subscription. You never know what you’ll get if you offer other financial options to free readers.

Above all else: keep writing! 👍🏻

Update 2

I set up a poll about the price of yearly subs in another post. Please take the poll and share your thoughts about yearly sub prices in the comments.

Here is the article link:

What is your preferred price for an annual paid subscription?

Thanks!

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How you can support my writing

• Please share this post

• Tip with Buy Me A Coffee

• Tip with crypto

• Select a paid subscription option that fits your budget

All contributions from readers are greatly appreciated. Thanks! 👍🏻 💀