No, Substack Isn't Collapsing

Your behind-the-scenes look at what’s really happening and working on Substack right now—with the platform’s leading Growth Strategist, Sarah Fay.

There’s been a lot of talk about how paid subscriptions have stalled on Substack. Outrage-bait articles and Notes abound, such as the recent viral, well-meaning-but-fear-inducing article by Scott Carney that cited a supposed “Substack Collapse” and the not-so-viral but equally-worrying Note by Taylor Lorenz, two Substack writers I respect, read, and pay for annually. (I highly recommend subscribing to both.)

Carney and Lorenz aren’t alone. Many of the larger Substack accounts I’ve worked with have seen their paid subscriptions plateau or tank.

People are hypothesizing the reasons—subscription fatigue, economic insecurity, too many Substacks costing too much, etc.—and offering the usual quasi-solutions—$1 newsletters (which won’t lead to revenue), bundling (it’s hard enough to sell one Substack, let alone three), and a platform-wide flat fee (we do not want to go the way of Medium).

But all that is missing the point.

The main reason paid subscriptions have stalled? The landscape has gotten more crowded, and Substack writers are terrible marketers.

That’s it.

And rightfully so. The ‘m’ word isn’t what we signed up for. Few are trained to do it and even fewer are interested in it.

Here’s the thing: We aren’t just ‘Substack writers;’ we’re our own editors, publishers, publicists, and, yes, marketers.

Before I share how to be your own Substack marketer in just a few simple (very basic) ways, let’s dispel some of the misinformation and misunderstanding about what to expect on Substack in terms of revenue and paid subscribers.

Few Substack writers and creators know how many paid subscribers they want or need. They just want more paid subscribers. And then they hold ridiculous sales just to get paid subscribers (and maybe a checkmark), which doesn’t lead to revenue. That way madness and outrage lie, my friends.

You can’t be outraged when you have an actual number. Money and numbers are math, not drama.