Free or Paid?

That is the question.

I see it mentioned all the time. I’ve asked, and I’ve been asked. I have discussed it more than once with fellow Substack writers…

Free or Paid? That is the question.

I recently received a message from a fellow writer asking, “What made you decide to go behind a paywall?”

I replied, “There was no decision to begin with, I joined Substack with the intention of gaining income with my writing.”

My Substack has always been paid—but the answer is also much deeper than that…

Eager to help, I followed with a flurry of messages, “Now, after the first couple of weeks I struggled with the decision. So, what I've done is make it easy to circumvent. I paywall after 30 days, so that gives the free readers loads of time first. And I also offer a free 24hrs of the paid level in case a new subscriber wants to read through my archives.

Also, remember that anyone receiving the newsletter via email has their own archive, so it doesn't matter if the articles are paywalled later or not. Oh and I always allow subscribers to use their 1 free view on any published article.

Oh yeah! I almost forgot. Even if you turn on the paywall, you're still able to remove it from any post. I've removed it from select essays, and also remove it temporarily, and share the older stuff from time to time. Okay, I think that's about it. Maybe I'll write an essay on this!”

But here’s the thing, I completely understand why others struggle to put their content behind a paywall. I mean, if we’re doing this to shine our light, shouldn’t it be free to anyone who needs it? I have struggled with this question as well—that’s why I offer a Free Trial. That’s why I’ve unlocked some of the essays that I think serve a special purpose. That’s also why I’ve got my subscription set at the minimum allowed, because I certainly feel as if my writing is better than minimum, or at least I hope it is.

Now it would be different if I didn’t need the money. If I were more financially capable, I wouldn’t hesitate to offer everything I’ve written for no cost. My blog would be totally Free. But alas, just yesterday I was joking with my sweetheart and said, “Now that I’ve finally gotten a paycheck, we get to move back up out of the “poor” bracket, into the “low income” bracket again. Whoo hoo!”

Plus, let’s not forget that Paid Subscriptions are how Substack offers us this wonderful community! Our experience here is completely AD-FREE because of Paid Subscriptions, so I kinda feel like I owe it to Substack to offer Paid Content. I despise ads. Yes, I’m not your average copywriter😉when I write for your business, it will not sound like an ad. Wait, does that sound like an ad? I digress.

This is just me though, a struggling artist who is doing his best to turn his dream into a paying career. My dream is to be able to support my meager lifestyle by my writing alone—so yes, The Southern Copywriter blog offers a Paid Subscription level. Heck, if you’re really feeling generous I even offer a Founding Membership where I’ll write you something!

Still though, if none of that sounds like you, maybe Free is where it’s at. And that’s okay. Substack offers Free, so you should take full advantage of it to let your light shine.

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Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please consider sharing it and clicking that ❤ button, and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. And if you’re an email reader, just hit reply—I want to hear from you too! What do you think, paywall or no?

Well I’ve been seeing signs. Nothing crazy, it’s not like God has sent one of those kids with the spinning signs beside the road to flag me down or anything— but I’ve been seeing them all the same. Here and there over the past few months, just a little nudge or maybe a whisper.