1. EachPod

How to become a Substack Bestseller your way with Caroline Donahue and Stephanie Bennett Vogt

Author
Sarah Fay, Caroline Donahue, and Stephanie Bennett Vogt
Published
Thu 29 May 2025
Episode Link
https://www.substackwritersatwork.com/p/how-to-become-a-substack-bestseller

Subscribe to Substack Writers at Work: www.substackwritersatwork.com

Main takeaway: We have to ask people to pay. Yup. No way around.

Some of us just expect people to pay. And writers and creators/creatives tend to dislike asking, but there’s no way around it.

I’ll be talking about how to ask people to pay without feeling icky and salesay 6/10 and in our paid-subscriber workshop on 6/13.

Highlights from our live!

Substacks mentioned and to subscribe to:

* Stephanie Bennett Vogt: The Journey Home

* Caroline Donahue: Book (& Craft) Alchemy

* Simon Haisell: Footnotes and Tangents

* haley larsen, phd: Closely Reading

* Meghan Daum: The Unspeakeasy with Meghan Daum

3 Components of a Substack Bestseller:

* Know what your Substack is (your Substack DNA)

* Know what you offer

* Articulate that offer to people

Please check out and subscribe to Caroline Donahue and Stephanie Bennett Vogt. Their Substacks are terrific.

* 00:00:30 - Caroline's Substack

* 00:07:07 - Stephanie's Substack

Core Concepts

* 00:03:05 - 3 components of bestseller

* 00:21:05 - What people pay for

Paid Strategies

* 00:14:15 - Business models

* 00:19:04 - Paywalling tips

* 00:35:42 - 3 paid models

* 00:43:16 - Calls to action

* 00:45:37 - Discounts and special offers

* 00:52:54 - Nurturing subscribers

Sustainability

* 00:54:02 - Avoiding overwhelm

* 00:55:30 - Consistency

For the comments: What’s worked for you in converting paid subscribers?



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.substackwritersatwork.com/subscribe

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