Blogging platform Substack’s paid content program called, “Substack Pro” for freelance writers, started some months ago, has panned out well, making the platform “to accelerate & expand the Substack Pro program to make that future happen faster,” according to its co-founder.
In a blog post, co-founder of Substack Hamish McKenzie writes: We started experimenting with advances, paying a small number of writers sums ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 to cover them for a few months as they got established on Substack. They paid back the money over time through a revenue-sharing agreement. We also introduced a fellowship program, where, over two cohorts, we offered writers coaching, business advice, and more cash advances.
The advances worked well. They helped writers start high-quality and profitable publications beloved by their readers. And they gave us confidence that we could invest even more deeply in writers in a way that would help both them and us. “
But the advances also had limitations since by this method, Substack as a platform could never really do better than break-even. What a Substack advance was effectively an interest-free loan that would never be paid back if a publication failed. Thus was born the idea of a new structure, Pro, that allowed it to absorb more risk on the writer’s behalf, ensuring they’d get paid for a year of work no matter how their publication performed.
With Substack Pro, writers are paid an upfront sum to cover their first year on the platform. The idea is that the payment can be more attractive to a writer than a salary, so they don’t have to stay in a job (or take one) that’s less interesting to them than being independent. In return for that financial security, a Pro writer agrees to let Substack keep 85% of the subscription revenue in that first year. After that year, the deal flips, so that the writer no longer gets a minimum guarantee but from then on keeps 90% of the subscription revenue.
Hamish calls this “business decisions, not editorial ones”. “We don’t commission or edit stories. We don’t hire writers, or manage them. The writers, not Substack, are the owners. No-one writes for Substack – they write for their own publications,” he writes.
Today, these Pro deals result from a combination of writers coming to Substack, or writers referring their friends, or Substack itself identifying writers already on Substack with growth potential, & proactive outreach. Still in its infancy, Hamish says Substack will continue to build on fellowships, mentorship programs, educational resources, & grants to help writers at all different stages in their careers.
Image credit: Substack
