ENTER: Janey’s Paywall Conundrum

Substack’s Yin and Yang

Oct 06, 2023

“Before I built a wall I’d ask to know

What I was walling in or walling out,

And to whom I was like to give offense.

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,”

— Robert Frost, “Mending Wall”

In days gone by, a printed newspaper showed up on your door step, carefully folded and tossed there by a neighbor kid. You noted the headlines, clipped the coupons, argued with the letters to the editor. You read it or used it to line the bird cage. And, once a month that delivery kid came by and collected a modest amount to continue your connection to your larger community.

What was the point? News? Connection? Community? Generosity toward a budding entrepreneur?

Fast forward to Substack. We’re the kid … who spent yesterday writing and printing what today we fold and deliver. One cold morning our heroic paper deliverer … let’s call her Janey … walked by a bunch of houses that weren’t on the delivery list and thought: “The newspaper is paperless now, I could just give it to them … maybe they’d like it enough to subscribe.”

“But…,” Janey thought …

“If I make it free for them, then everyone will want it for free.” (Hmmmmm ?????)

Lightbulb! I know … I’ll only give the non-subscribers a preview of the paper and they’ll have to pay to get the rest! Then everyone will be happy!

And then …
Mr. Jones complained because all those freebies were piling up on his doorstep. He didn’t want the damn things.
Sarah Smith only wanted the coupons … couldn’t she just get those?
Sam, the butcher, got cut off in the middle of a fishing report, and called and left an irate voice mail.
Ginny, a fourth grade teacher, noticed that everything she wanted to read was in the free preview so she unsubscribed. She was underpaid anyway.

Janey was so busy taking care of complaints, she didn’t have time to write up the high school football game. Ten people unsubscribed.

“This isn’t working, plus it’s no fun,” she thought. I used to have conversations with my subscribers … now it seems like they’re all mad. The local sports are the most popular part of the paper, so I’ll charge just for it and make the rest of the paper free.

Surely, that would work,” she thought.
Ooops! Hornet’s nest … ten more subscribers gone.
“What now?” Janey thought as she sat on her front steps with her chin in her hands.

“Maybe I should just give up. Not enough people want to pay for this and it’s taking up all my spare time to try to give them what I thought they wanted.”

Don’t give up, Janey! Keep experimenting. We’re all looking for an answer. Here’s a thought:

Many of us have been pondering this conundrum for a long time. Claire Venus is having a workshop to discuss this issue and I would be there except that it’s a world away at 1:30 in my California morning! But for those of you who can make it, I hope you share your wisdom when you return. Here are details from Claire:

***Setting up and Sustaining your Creative work behind the paywall

Monday 9 October, 9.30-10.45am BST

This is our agenda for our workshop and call.

9.30am - intros in the chat
Ways to run a paid for Substack (paid subs, paywalls, founding members).
Workshop and problem solving - setting a rate that works for you, delivering sustainable paid content for your members, launch dates, coupons and playing the Substack long game.
10.20am - our work slot - critical friend slots - volunteers from the call to share ‘paid for content ideas’ and feedback from me and the group in chat…
10.45am - close.