#164 How Paid Substack Creators Are Making Subscriptions Sticky
I've been watching a shift happen with content subscription products, and I want to jam on this with you because I have a prediction.
Creators and brands who built their businesses on media, podcasts, YouTube channels, newsletters, are adding community experiences to make their subscriptions more sticky... and it's working.
I know you've heard (read) me say this 100x but bonus content isn't enough to retain subscribers anymore. Ad free content isn't enough anymore either. When everyone is drowning in things to consume, paying a premium for more content just adds to the overwhelm. You're not solving a problem for your members, you're handing them another one.
It's also less common now to subscribe just to support a creator you admire. That model had its moment, but none of us can pay $8 a month to our ten favorite creators forever. People are far more likely to pay you, even a small monthly fee, when there's a community element layered on top of the content.
And when I say "community element" I don't mean a Substack chat. I mean an experience, unique solution to your readers problems, or activation... and that's going to get more competitive over time so creativity wins the race.
My team went down a rabbit hole on this after we did a strategy session with Design Better Podcast, who run a premium membership on Substack. They're doing some really great programming, like their Portfolio Club series where members get live portfolio feedback, and they've just added a Slack community for paid members. So my team member Danielle pulled together a list of what other Substack subscriptions are doing beyond bonus content.
Lenny's Newsletter is the gold standard here. The paid tier isn't just the full archive. It's a private Slack full of product people, local meetups, "Ask Me Anything" sessions, and access to a bundle of premium product tools called "Lenny's Product Pass". Access and status are doing as much work as the content is. If you're serious about your product career, you're probably paying for Lenny's subscription.
Your Brain on Money adds playbooks, guides, and quarterly live workshops. Behind the Craft bundles discounted tool subscriptions, a Slack community, and an actual course for product managers. Laid Offruns a curated experience called Pen Pals, matching two members each week with a writing prompt. Priya Parker's Group Life teaches live sessions on hosting and gathering. Family Troubles does monthly live Q&As with experts. The Audacity by Roxane Gay runs a book club with monthly author Q&As.
These are all different niches, but they're doing the same things: programming, community forums, in person and virtual events, resources, and access to people.
There's some nuance here to getting the paid offer right...
You don't want to overwhelm your readers / listeners with too much. You have to choose the top value adds and not create a laundry list of "benefits".
The paid subscriber benefits needs to make sense and be relevant for your subscribers, not just copying what everyone else is doing. Talking to your readers is how you get here!
Experimentation is Queen! Don't forget to leave room for trying new things with your programming & be careful what you promise on the payment page.
You need to be creative. The AMAs or Q&As won't be sticky enough for most people. Design Better podcast have created some really cool micro-tools that are personalized for their members... like getting a curated content playlist based on their interests. I think we'll see more personalization like this!
If you're thinking through how to add community features to your content subscription, or whether your platform still makes sense, this is exactly the kind of thing we dig into in our strategy offer! Book a free discovery call to get started.
In my podcast episode this week I also dig into Substack & Patreon's 10% fees and whether it's worth it to use those platforms. Listen here!