Substack versus Buy Me A Coffee

Should writers publish exclusively on Substack? Or diversify their publishing platforms with alternatives like Buy Me A Coffee?

Recently, I emailed all of my Substack readers to give them a heads-up that I’d be mirroring my content on Buy Me A Coffee. I did this for two reasons:

1. To make sure that my BMAC supporters and subscribers were able to access my content if they did not wish to buy a paid sub on Substack (since I had put all my content behind the paywall).

2. To make sure that I did not have all my eggs in the Substack basket.

Since I sent that email yesterday, I’ve been thinking about some of the differences between BMAC and Substack. So I wanted to explore some of that here for the benefit of other writers and also readers who might have used Substack but might not have used BMAC.

Changes to Substack’s business model

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Substack is changing. It used to be solely a newsletter business. Then it added Notes, Podcasting, Live Video, etc. Substack’s business model is changing before our eyes. Some Substack publishers are genuinely enthusiastic about these changes. They’ve embraced all the new features and incorporated them into the content creation process.

However, there are others who bemoan these new features, and who would have preferred that Substack stick with being a newsletter platform. These people usually consider themselves to be writers, not content creators who also do video, podcasts, etc. They want Substack to focus on writing, not on social media and a bunch of other stuff.

Enter Buy Me A Coffee.

This is what my front page looks like on Buy Me A Coffee.

Buy Me A Coffee is the old Substack (sort of)

Buy Me A Coffee is widely used as a tipping platform for Substack writers. That’s how I started using it, and I have about 95 supporters and subscribers on BMAC now. But did you know that you can also publish articles on BMAC? Yes, you can, and it works the same way as on Substack.

You write your article, and when you go to publish it, you can choose to email it to your supporters and/or subscribers, or you can just publish it on BMAC. You can also decide who can see the post, as you can see in this screenshot:

Supporters are people who have given you a one-time contribution, and members are people who pay a monthly subscription (more on that below). Your article is sent to their email inbox, and that’s it. The article also gets published on my BMAC posts page.

You can also make some of your articles free for people to read who might become supporters or subscribers.

In a sense, BMAC is what Substack used to be: a publishing platform for newsletters, articles, or whatever you want to call your content. There is no Notes social media platform, nor is there live video streaming, etc. You can record audio and upload it, though, but the feature seems a bit more primitive than Substack’s right now.

BMAC is currently a simpler platform that reminds me of Substack in its earlier days. However, I’m also betting that BMAC is probably going to eventually expand like Substack has been expanding. I have no proof of this, but the audio recording is a bit of a giveaway on that point.

BMAC also offers a shop feature where you can sell things too:

I have not bothered with the shop feature. What would an undead sell anyway? Pieces of my tattered skin? A bone or two that fell off my body? I do not know. 🤔

Buy Me A Coffee supporters and subscribers

BMAC offers two ways for readers to support writers. A reader can make a one-time contribution as often as they like by buying a coffee or two or more, or they can buy a paid monthly membership. BMAC also lets you set different tiers for your paid subscriptions.

For example, you can offer different price points for each tier. When you publish an article, you can allow whichever tiers you want to see it, or you can allow them all to read it.

In my case, I have three membership tiers: Zombies, Ghouls, and Undead.

Zombies pay $1 per month, Ghouls pay $3, and Undead pay $5. I could segment my content based on price, but I prefer to send it to all of them. The tiers are just there to give my BMAC readers options that fit their monthly budget. Anybody can pay whichever price they can afford or prefer to pay.

You get the idea here, right? BMAC offers price flexibility in a way that Substack currently does not. On Substack, it’s one price that fits all subscribers. That model seems to work well enough for Substack, but in some cases, it also prices out some readers who can’t afford the subscription price some writers ask for on their Substacks.

These are hard times for some people, and they might not be able to afford to pay multiple writers $5 or more per month. So that is why I have given my BMAC readers options as to how much they pay for my content on that platform. I leave the pricing up to them, according to their financial situations.

It’s odd that Substack doesn’t offer tiered subscriptions; it seems like a very basic idea to me that might help bring in more paying subscribers. 🤔

Where is Substack’s tipping option?

One thing that has puzzled me from the beginning of my time on Substack is the lack of a tipping option for free content. Some readers either don’t want to buy a paid subscription or cannot afford to pay for multiple subscriptions from various writers. That is why so many of us put BMAC links in our articles.

I do not understand why Substack has not built something like BMAC into Substack’s interface. It is a basic feature that would likely help increase Substack’s revenue from readers who want to support a writer, but don’t want to buy a paid subscription.

Am I wrong about this? Or do you think a tipping option is a good idea?

Buy Me A Coffee’s weakness: Discoverability

One of BMAC’s weak points is discoverability. BMAC does not have a social media service like Notes where people come together, and where you can find articles and other content from writers. So it is not as easy to discover new content that you like and want to support.

However, it does have an “Explore Creators” page where you can look for new creators that might interest you, as well as see posts from creators you are following:

One of the biggest ways that Substack increases free and paid subscription is Recommendations. Writers can send each other subscribers, and it has worked out very well for many of us. BMAC still seems to lack such a feature. I could find no way to recommend anyone, so this is a weakness on BMAC’s part for sure.

Ironically, all of my BMAC supporters and subscribers came from my Substack. So that goes to show you how important it is to have a presence elsewhere if you want to build a group of supporters and subscribers on BMAC. BMAC needs to step up their social networking game in the future so that cross-pollination occurs between writers.

Content guidelines for BMAC and Substack

One other potential difference between BMAC and Substack is BMAC’s list of prohibited content. Substack has been very strong in protecting free speech rights, for the most part. You can view Substack’s content guidelines for yourself and then compare them with BMAC’s prohibited content.

A screenshot of Substack’s content guidelines:

A screenshot of a portion of BMAC’s prohibited content:

It seems to me based on the above that Substack is a bit less heavy-handed in their content guidelines. But click through and read both pages to make up your own mind.

I am wary of putting all my eggs in the Substack basket

One of the issues that has come up for me is becoming too dependent on Substack. I still love the platform, don’t get me wrong. But what if somebody bought it and then changed it in a way I didn’t like? I’d have to scramble to move my content and email list to another platform.

So I decided to mirror my content on BMAC too. And I decided to make it available for all of my supporters and subscribers on BMAC. Some of them prefer not to buy a paid sub on Substack, so mirroring gives them my content in their email inbox via BMAC, just as they would get it on Substack.

Part of the reason why I decided to do this can also can be found in the changes to Substack’s business model. What other changes are in store for us? I do not know, but with BMAC I have another option to offer readers. If Substack went out of business tomorrow, I could direct my readers to BMAC to get my content.

SubscribeStar is also another platform I’m experimenting with right now. I put up a profile page and a few articles. However, I am still wrapping my head around SubscribeStar. I don’t have a feel for that platform, and I am pressed for time, so I haven’t been able to explore it fully. But it’s worth keeping in mind as another alternative platform.

Buy Me A Coffee and Substack transaction fees

One significant area of difference between Substack and BMAC is that BMAC charges a 5% fee on all transactions, and Substack charges 10%.

So you keep 95% of your earnings on BMAC, and 90% on Substack. I don’t know how big of a deal this is for some people, but it is something to consider.

I still love Substack, but no single platform can be trusted

I want to be clear here that I still love Substack, and I will continue to publish on it. However, I think it is a mistake to be too dependent on one platform. We cannot know the future, so it makes sense to have alternative platforms for my content. It opens the door to a whole different crowd of readers, and it makes me less vulnerable if something bad happens to Substack.

Also, my experience with my BMAC supporters and subscribers is that they have been extremely generous to me. They saved my ass a few times last winter when my delivery work dried up, the weather was horrible, or I was too sick to leave the house to drive in the cold (I had a bad case of the flu). I am forever grateful to them, so it’s important to me that they get my content, even if they don’t buy a paid sub on Substack. 🥰

Anyway, I hope this article provides some helpful information on the differences between Substack and BMAC. I recommend using both platforms to ensure that you and your readers have options and that you are not solely dependent on Substack.

---

How you can support my writing

• Please share this post

• Tip with Buy Me A Coffee

• Tip with Bitcoin

• Buy a paid subscription

Thank you; your support keeps me writing and helps me to pay for rent, electricity, food, car payment and insurance, heat, and other necessities.

All contributions from readers are greatly appreciated. 👍🏻 💀

---