The simplest system I’ve ever found that works with both myself in the past but mainly clients is a 6 tier monetisation system.
Each lower tier gathers data and validates the next tier on the list. Here’s the basic list. But obviously there’s loads of wiggle room. This baked in data and feedback gather and treats each tier and experimentation.
Free - content like Substack, tweets, YouTube vids.
Very low - $3 - Turn successful free content into a low paid offer. PDF etc. test to see if people will actually hand over money to fix this problem.
Low - $30 - successful very low products are turned into 20 page guides, along with some templates, etc.
medium - $300 - successful low prudcts are turned into medium DIY products. Can include video courses, communities. Challenges. More PDFs. Lots of bonus. Webinars etc.
high - $3000 dollars - successful medium products are turned into premium done with you products. Here people get direct access to you, or a comparative coach. Faster more personal feedback loops introduced as a result.
Very high - $30k+ - ultra premium done for you agency model where the sky the limit. Here you are no longer teaching but complete doing the work for you client.
Anyway this is the very basic value ladder I use with clients. Again the important thing is to treat lower rungs as experiments for the higher rungs. Do that and keep doing that and you should fail.
You can also extend this into your content and marketing touch points. You can experiment with low cost small touch points and then feed the winners by turning them into higher quality larger touch points.
Yes free is best. I know from myself I'd rather pay for a coaching course than a subscription, and if it's a subscription I choose the ones am really interested in.
As someone just starting on Substack, I agree. Your concept is a lot more beneficial for building relationships, audience and revenue. Thanks for sharing. Great article!
I think stock investors would be more interested in regular updates rather than a one-off solution. I'm not sure the 3 Cs model should be the core framework. It can work better as one component rather than the main focus. Personally, I’d lean toward positioning it as an annual newsletter to reach a $300–$400 price point.
So what you’re saying is that Substack is the OnlyFans for writers? ;-)
that’s up to you haha
This was a great read ! Very helpful tips for a newbie
Looks like a loop you would use to hang yourself lol
how did you notice
Thanks for sharing!
97% of everybody never make nothing. Pareto explains
true words
🙃
Yes, I saw people jump to a paid mode literally with 1-2 subscribers. Grow first, come on.
Spot on. Most writers underestimate how much a paywall chokes growth. Build reach first, then worry about revenue — audience is the real asset.
how I manage my medium https://medium.com/@aisharajpoot2006
Is it a good idea to use Substack to raise funds to donate to others?
love your insight. i came to substack just to have somewhere to post, it's easy to get sucked into the vacuum of what everyone else is doing.
im not putting up a paywall because thats not what i came here for. finding the right product for my audience is what im working on now!
The simplest system I’ve ever found that works with both myself in the past but mainly clients is a 6 tier monetisation system.
Each lower tier gathers data and validates the next tier on the list. Here’s the basic list. But obviously there’s loads of wiggle room. This baked in data and feedback gather and treats each tier and experimentation.
Free - content like Substack, tweets, YouTube vids.
Very low - $3 - Turn successful free content into a low paid offer. PDF etc. test to see if people will actually hand over money to fix this problem.
Low - $30 - successful very low products are turned into 20 page guides, along with some templates, etc.
medium - $300 - successful low prudcts are turned into medium DIY products. Can include video courses, communities. Challenges. More PDFs. Lots of bonus. Webinars etc.
high - $3000 dollars - successful medium products are turned into premium done with you products. Here people get direct access to you, or a comparative coach. Faster more personal feedback loops introduced as a result.
Very high - $30k+ - ultra premium done for you agency model where the sky the limit. Here you are no longer teaching but complete doing the work for you client.
Anyway this is the very basic value ladder I use with clients. Again the important thing is to treat lower rungs as experiments for the higher rungs. Do that and keep doing that and you should fail.
You can also extend this into your content and marketing touch points. You can experiment with low cost small touch points and then feed the winners by turning them into higher quality larger touch points.
Yes free is best. I know from myself I'd rather pay for a coaching course than a subscription, and if it's a subscription I choose the ones am really interested in.
https://substack.com/home/post/p-169780384
As someone just starting on Substack, I agree. Your concept is a lot more beneficial for building relationships, audience and revenue. Thanks for sharing. Great article!
I really enjoyed the read, but I'm not sure this is totally applicable to financial newsletters.
Why wouldn't it?
I think stock investors would be more interested in regular updates rather than a one-off solution. I'm not sure the 3 Cs model should be the core framework. It can work better as one component rather than the main focus. Personally, I’d lean toward positioning it as an annual newsletter to reach a $300–$400 price point.
Yes, it somehow ties into “Course” or ongoing infoproduct. I might need to find a C-word so it fits into the 3Cs or add a 4th to it.
What about Continuity?
But the way Substack makes money is through paid subscriptions.
Will Substack recommend you when your content is all Free?
For now, yes.
In the future, this might change. And when it does, I'll adapt my strategy
Ok, Cool.