We make subscription publishing simple. Start your Substack at breakfast; start bringing in revenue by lunchtime.
Create your SubstackFeatures | Seeking Alpha | Blog | Substack |
---|---|---|---|
Editorial freedom | |||
Easy to set up | |||
Quick and easy to monetize | |||
You own your content and rights | |||
You own your subscriber list | |||
Support helpdesk for your customers | |||
Platform’s cut of revenue | 25% | Varies | 10% |
Network effects | Varies | ||
Cashtag integration |
Frequently asked questions about getting started with publishing about finance, investing, economics, business, and crypto on Substack.
Substack is a subscription network for independent writers, podcasters, and video creators to set up a free or paid publication and earn money from subscriptions.
A Substack publication functions like a blog, but with email. Publishers can deliver posts to the web, app, and email simultaneously, so you can find new potential subscribers while always reaching your existing audience. Meanwhile, your publication page on the web and within the app acts as a traditional blog would—a permanent online archive of all your posts. These posts can include podcasts, audio clips, video, file embeds, and more. Publishers choose whether to add a paywall to their posts or to make them free for all readers.
For each post, you can choose who will receive it (free subscribers, paid subscribers, or everyone) and whether or not it will be sent by email. Subscribers get your posts directly in their email, on your publication site, and/or in Substack’s app. available to download for free on iOS and Android devices. We make it easy for new people to sign up for your mailing list when they visit your publication site.
There are no set expectations or requirements for posting frequency; you can do whatever you want. Writers and creators on Substack are typically most successful when they post regularly and consistently. Many of the top Substacks post twice a week. But, others may choose to post monthly, or even only when they have something to say.
By default, Substack is free to use. We don’t make money unless you do.
If you turn on paid subscriptions, Substack will keep a 10% cut of revenues for operating costs like tech development and customer support. When you turn on paid, Substack’s platform fee is 10%, and the credit-card payment processor, Stripe, also takes a fee, of 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction.
No, you don’t have to make your publication paid. You’re welcome to keep your posts free. Many publishers who take this route often turn on Pledges, a tool for your audience to show you they believe your work is valuable. This feature allows your subscribers to pledge to become a paid subscriber if and when you turn on paid subscriptions.
Turning on paid subscriptions enables a paywall, but it’s always up to you who each individual post goes out to. With each post you publish, you choose whether to send it to “Everyone”, “Paid subscribers only”, or “Free subscribers only.” Most publications with paid turned on publish a mix of free and paid posts.
Yes, you can turn on paid subscriptions and still publish all your posts free to everybody. Those who use this model typically invite their most dedicated fans to pay for subscriptions as a way of supporting their work, but then don’t restrict any content to paying subscribers only.
The minimum amount you can charge (for US-dollar Stripe accounts) is $5 per month and $30 per year.
You will always own your content, your email list, and your payment relationships with your subscribers. You are completely independent and do not work for Substack. Each publication gets its own RSS feed, and we make it easy to import and export your content, list, and payments to and from other platforms.
Answers to most frequently-asked questions about Substack can be found on our Support center.
You can also subscribe to On Substack for advice, inspiration, community events, and product news for investing and business writers, or visit our Resource hub.