9 Things You May Not Be Doing To Earn More on Substack

How a certain tweak can help you grow your Newsletter exponentially

May 01, 2024

I stumbled upon Substack when I was looking for a free Newsletter service for my posts.

I used to avail of Aweber, but there was a time when I got short on budget and I had to let it go.

Fortunately for me, I found Substack. Not only is it a free Newsletter, it is also a writing platform where I can earn through paying subscribers!

As of the moment, I have more than 1,700 subscribers, and some of them are paid ones. Through their generosity, I get a monthly passive income that helps me continue writing full-time.

Still, I continue to look for ways to improve my articles and apply various strategies so that I can devote myself more later on to writing.

If you don’t have a Substack Newsletter, yet you can try one yourself. If you are like me, you may want to grow your Substack and increase the number of your followers there.

In this article, I have listed 9 things you may not not be doing yet to increase your Substack earnings and subscriptions:

1. Using the power of Notes

Substack has grown to the point that it has become more than a Newsletter service.

Today, it is a multi-media platform that can showcase your content using various media like images, videos and audio podcasts.

One way to maximize Substack’s features is to use the power of “Notes”.

Notes has its very own feed that is similar to those found in social media accounts. While I used to only post links there to my newest articles, I have learned that Substack readers also appreciate directly posting images and texts there.

Since my Newsletter is about faith, I now post inspiring quotes and short reflections with accompanying images that are visually appealing to readers.

The more your Notes are liked and “restacked” (shared) by other readers, the more chances of gaining new subscribers for your Newsletter.

2. Showing your Ko-fi account to receive tips

This is a practice I have just recently tried on Substack. I have linked a custom button and image to my Ko-fi page for those who would like to give me a tip for certain posts.

This would work especially for those who may not want to be a regular paid subscriber at the moment but could be very happy to give their tip for a particularly enlightening and inspiring article.

3. Saving your Notes as an image for sharing on social media

Did you know that you can save an image of your Substack Notes? Sometimes, you just want to share a practical advice or an inspiring reflection in your Notes with no accompanying image.

This feature helps you because it can turn your Note into a shareable image for your social media accounts! You can then simply share a text on your Notes and then download an image for Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

4. Including your services (freelance, book review service, etc.) on your “Welcome e-mail”

Do you also offer other services like freelance writing or social media management? Don’t forget to include them in your “Welcome e-mail” so that your new subscribers can be informed about them.

They can be your next clients, but only if they know.

5. Showing the benefits of being a paid subscriber in your “About page”

Are you clear about the benefits your paid subscribers are going to get?

In my Newsletter’s “About page”, I listed the various benefits that my paid subscribers are going to avail of. This includes free e-books as well as access to my “Writer’s Resources” and other locked posts.

6. Including a link to your books at your “Navigation bar”

I have included a link to my books on top of my Substack page. You can also do this by editing the links included in your Navigation bar in your Dashboard’s Settings.

You can easily enter the link to your Amazon Author Central or create a new Substack page to showcase your published books.

7. Recommending other Substack Newsletters

One of the best ways to gain more subscribers is through referrals. By referring other Substacks, you also increase your chances of being referred by them.

But of course, you have to select which ones are relevant to your Newsletter. Choose those that are close to your niche and that you can really recommend to your readers.

Don’t just refer as many Substacks as possible and then remove them from your list as soon as they refer you.

Collaborate and build lasting relationships. This will help you more in the long run.

8. Turning on the “Subscriber referrals” feature

I didn’t know about this Substack feature until I tried to edit some other things in my Dashboard Settings.

It turns out that you can offer some benefits or freebies to your biggest referrers. When selecting this feature, you can indicate what benefits you are willing to give such as a free subscription (one month or more) or free books to those who can refer your Substack to a certain number of people

You can customize your reward tiers and your reward email where you can put a link to your freebies

9. Turning on the “Gift subscriptions” feature

This is different from the Subscriber referrals feature of Substack. While the latter rewards those who refer a certain number of subscriptions to your Substack, this one enables paid subscribers to give paid subscriptions to a select number of people that they choose to share it with.

As an example, if John is already a paid subscriber, he can send a gift subscription to Erwin so that Erwin can become a paid subscriber even without paying for the first month.

If Erwin becomes happy with his subscription, he can continue being a paid subscriber and from then on, he will be the one paying for his own subscription.

Note that each paid referrer can give three gift subscriptions each (one month of paid subscription per subscriber)

Final Thoughts

Have you missed any of the above Substack features that can help you earn more? While you don’t have to do all of them, you can try the feature you feel could be most applicable to your Newsletter.

Writers and freelancers on Substack have an opportunity to showcase not only their writing but their other services. They can promote their books to their target readers. Most of all, they can grow a following that can support them in their current and future endeavors. Why not make the most of what Substack can give you today?