I Think Paid Subscriptions Are the Hardest Way for New Writers to Make Their First $1,000

📌 This weekend only: Join the Substack Growth Masterclass and I’ll include my $1K Digital Product Formula to help you choose your first product idea and create a plan for making your first $1,000.

Join the Masterclass & Get the Bonus

I think paid subscriptions are one of the hardest ways for a new writer to make their first $1,000. There, I said it.

Not because paid newsletters don’t work. They absolutely can, and recurring revenue can become incredibly valuable once you have enough paying readers.

But getting those first paid subscribers can be difficult when your entire newsletter only has a few hundred people.

You turn on paid subscriptions, put a few posts behind the paywall, and then start worrying that paying readers aren’t receiving enough…

So you add more posts, a private community, additional access, or another benefit to an already demanding writing schedule.

After all that extra work, you may still only have a handful of paying subscribers.

For many newer writers, paid subscriptions create an ongoing content obligation long before they create meaningful income.

I think (actually I know…) there may be an easier place to begin.

I didn’t wait until I had thousands of subscribers before I started monetizing this newsletter.

I made my first $1,000 when fewer than 500 people were subscribed.

That money didn’t come from convincing hundreds of readers to pay me every month.

It came from creating a focused product around a problem my readers already wanted help solving.

That first $1,000 didn’t replace my income, but it changed what I believed my newsletter could become.

It was the first time I saw it as something that could eventually make me less dependent on client work.

It also proved that a small audience could be enough.

For example, a $50 product only needs 20 buyers to generate $1,000 in sales.

That can be a more realistic first goal for a writer with a few hundred engaged subscribers than building a large paid membership immediately.

Of course, those 20 sales produce $1,000 once, while 100 people paying $10 per month could continue producing income month after month.

That’s what makes paid subscriptions so valuable over time.

I just don’t think they’re always the easiest place for a newer writer to begin.

If you write purely because you enjoy it and never want to monetize, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

But if you want your newsletter to become another source of income, your readers may not need you to publish even more content.

They may need help applying what you already write about.

That could be a guide, toolkit, collection of templates, focused workshop, or another simple product that helps a particular reader solve one problem.

It doesn’t need to include everything you’ve learned throughout your career. It needs to give the right person a clear result.

Most writers don’t need their newsletter to replace their salary tomorrow, either.

Maybe you want it to pay a bill, build an emergency account, fund part of a family trip, or let you take one fewer client next month…

Maybe you simply want proof that your writing can produce something more than likes and comments.

Over time, one product became several, and a small income stream became a meaningful part of what I earn.

Today, I can turn down clients who aren’t a good fit without immediately worrying about where that money will come from instead.

I didn’t get there by putting all of my best writing behind a paywall. I built the right audience and created useful products they could purchase when they wanted more help.

The hardest part of making money from a digital product isn’t creating the file.

It’s having the right people there to buy it.

Inside the Substack Growth Masterclass, I’ll show you how to position your newsletter, attract the right readers, get your writing discovered, and build an audience that trusts you.

Then, the $1K Digital Product Formula will help you choose your first product idea, shape it into a focused offer, decide what to include, price it, and create a simple plan for making your first $1,000.

• The Masterclass helps you build the audience.

• The Formula helps you give that audience something useful to buy.

I still think paid subscriptions can become an excellent long-term income stream.

But if you’re trying to make your first $1,000 from a small newsletter, one focused digital product may help you get there sooner.

Join below by clicking the button by Sunday night and you’ll receive both.

Join the Masterclass & Get the Formula

Keep writing, Wes

📌 Question: Curious, have you been sitting on a product idea? Share it in the comments, I’d love to hear.

♻️ Restack: If you think your people would find this post helpful, would you consider restacking it? This brings it into the feed, so others can find it, too.