Very interesting chat! I see myself in Hannah's words. Each of my articles and podcasts costs around £1,000 to produce. It will take me many years to recoup that investment.
So, my mindset is "If you weren't doing Substack, you would spent it anyway." So, I'm giving myself 24 months to see how it grows. Meanwhile, I won't care about how much money I do. I just want to enjoy the process.
And that is only possible, because I am not jumping blindly. I have another income stream that pays the bills.
Fernando this is incredible! And I appreciate you sharing so openly about how this venture is funded by other income streams. We all have different resources we have (or don’t have) access to. How long have you been on Substack?
After a trial period and checking how Substack worked, I started to post regularly in August. Each post is a deep dive into a destination I travel to, so I can't really do more than one a month due to budget and my family which is always my priority.
I love the writing and the podcast production and I put a lot into it, time and cash. If I try to make financial sense, I would probably give up. So, as I say, worse case scenario, at the end of the 24 months, I will have a book to publish already written :)
I get really stuck pricing writing workshops, being aware of the variations in people's circumstances, especially cost of living. And different countries. And the time cost benefit of a 12 mth drip offering, how much live, recorded , all that. My ADHD spins me around a bit, plus imposter syndrome! Anyway, I've spent quite some time sitting back and deepening my own practice. It's time to bring it back into the world. And the pressure-that-sabotages, it feels, of going into it thinking I need the income as my uppermost thought (there's that fear driven) - especially when there are many bills. Versus the authentic calling to support writers and make a difference. Sorry for the confusing blah dump, it's 2:32 am but I wanted to connect. If you can sift something out of that to respond to, cool. But thanks for this offering and thought starters.
I certainly relate with the back and forth of setting the right pricing. What do you know about your audience, or the people you hope to serve? What is their budget for "extravagances" like books, hobbies, tools like (I find it often reflects your own when you were in a similar season)? That might be a more fruitful ground to consider ... who am I trying to reach and how do I make my work accessible?
I'm a big believer that for people with smaller audiences, such as myself, the best strategic path is to set pricing at a level that respects my expertise AND enables as many people to come to the table as possible. It's why, if you look at my yearly subscription cost, it averages out to $5 a month. And my digital guides and workshops (sold outside Substack) stay firmly in the $15 - $50 range. I know my readers and I know my own history with over-hyped, over-priced resources that overlook the fact that I have to still have energy to implement the knowledge from said resources. Anyways, I hope that's helpful. Cheering you on!
Yes it does help, thanks. Thanks for taking the time to reply, and to do so thoughtfully. There was a comment from a writer after another of your posts, about paying deeper attention to the readers you have. I felt that one ring true, a bell of integrity and connection, and your talk of smaller audiences chimes with that. Now I'm writing this, Dougal Hine's words - of walking the smaller paths - feels like a vine gently growing over the street signs and billboards (and screen in my hand), over those metallic messages of self, of fame, of growth. So now that I think about it, of what you've said, I find I do know where some of my readers are with finance, those that I know from workshops. But those who've joined through Substack I don't, and that's the first place to fix, maybe even one at a time. I imagine, slowing down to a pace to walk alongside each person, there is an amazing amount to be learned, and much of it will help other reader relationships and the broader patterns of connection I think you're talking about.
And, thanks for the space you've curated to allow me to think out loud like this. A lot of my thinking-toward-action is clarified in being able to think through a comment.
I'm also learning valuable ideas from how you present yourself, which seems part of your teaching practice. I won't overload my reply to you with more thankyous, so here's an otter: 🦦
Really interesting. Thank you Amanda & Hannah. I don't think I knew much about "money mindset." But what Hannah said about many of our responses to money being emotional really rings true for me.
For those of us who run memberships here, most of us are grossly undercharging and I’d love to change that. I did it because no one was modelling charging more and it was quite bold at the time to charge what I did. It’s been worth it. I’m making some changes including a price hike and have been working since April to make my whole eco system more sustainable. Really enjoyed this chat.
Thanks Amanda and Hannah for this great interview. The reminder to pay attention to the cost of the tools I'm using to create is very good and timely. One of the things I like most about this conversation is your statement that while spending is often an emotional decision we certainly need to keep our eye on the logistics of what's happening with the money.
Very interesting chat! I see myself in Hannah's words. Each of my articles and podcasts costs around £1,000 to produce. It will take me many years to recoup that investment.
So, my mindset is "If you weren't doing Substack, you would spent it anyway." So, I'm giving myself 24 months to see how it grows. Meanwhile, I won't care about how much money I do. I just want to enjoy the process.
And that is only possible, because I am not jumping blindly. I have another income stream that pays the bills.
Fernando this is incredible! And I appreciate you sharing so openly about how this venture is funded by other income streams. We all have different resources we have (or don’t have) access to. How long have you been on Substack?
After a trial period and checking how Substack worked, I started to post regularly in August. Each post is a deep dive into a destination I travel to, so I can't really do more than one a month due to budget and my family which is always my priority.
I love the writing and the podcast production and I put a lot into it, time and cash. If I try to make financial sense, I would probably give up. So, as I say, worse case scenario, at the end of the 24 months, I will have a book to publish already written :)
I get really stuck pricing writing workshops, being aware of the variations in people's circumstances, especially cost of living. And different countries. And the time cost benefit of a 12 mth drip offering, how much live, recorded , all that. My ADHD spins me around a bit, plus imposter syndrome! Anyway, I've spent quite some time sitting back and deepening my own practice. It's time to bring it back into the world. And the pressure-that-sabotages, it feels, of going into it thinking I need the income as my uppermost thought (there's that fear driven) - especially when there are many bills. Versus the authentic calling to support writers and make a difference. Sorry for the confusing blah dump, it's 2:32 am but I wanted to connect. If you can sift something out of that to respond to, cool. But thanks for this offering and thought starters.
I certainly relate with the back and forth of setting the right pricing. What do you know about your audience, or the people you hope to serve? What is their budget for "extravagances" like books, hobbies, tools like (I find it often reflects your own when you were in a similar season)? That might be a more fruitful ground to consider ... who am I trying to reach and how do I make my work accessible?
I'm a big believer that for people with smaller audiences, such as myself, the best strategic path is to set pricing at a level that respects my expertise AND enables as many people to come to the table as possible. It's why, if you look at my yearly subscription cost, it averages out to $5 a month. And my digital guides and workshops (sold outside Substack) stay firmly in the $15 - $50 range. I know my readers and I know my own history with over-hyped, over-priced resources that overlook the fact that I have to still have energy to implement the knowledge from said resources. Anyways, I hope that's helpful. Cheering you on!
Yes it does help, thanks. Thanks for taking the time to reply, and to do so thoughtfully. There was a comment from a writer after another of your posts, about paying deeper attention to the readers you have. I felt that one ring true, a bell of integrity and connection, and your talk of smaller audiences chimes with that. Now I'm writing this, Dougal Hine's words - of walking the smaller paths - feels like a vine gently growing over the street signs and billboards (and screen in my hand), over those metallic messages of self, of fame, of growth. So now that I think about it, of what you've said, I find I do know where some of my readers are with finance, those that I know from workshops. But those who've joined through Substack I don't, and that's the first place to fix, maybe even one at a time. I imagine, slowing down to a pace to walk alongside each person, there is an amazing amount to be learned, and much of it will help other reader relationships and the broader patterns of connection I think you're talking about.
And, thanks for the space you've curated to allow me to think out loud like this. A lot of my thinking-toward-action is clarified in being able to think through a comment.
I'm also learning valuable ideas from how you present yourself, which seems part of your teaching practice. I won't overload my reply to you with more thankyous, so here's an otter: 🦦
Really interesting. Thank you Amanda & Hannah. I don't think I knew much about "money mindset." But what Hannah said about many of our responses to money being emotional really rings true for me.
For those of us who run memberships here, most of us are grossly undercharging and I’d love to change that. I did it because no one was modelling charging more and it was quite bold at the time to charge what I did. It’s been worth it. I’m making some changes including a price hike and have been working since April to make my whole eco system more sustainable. Really enjoyed this chat.
Thanks Amanda and Hannah for this great interview. The reminder to pay attention to the cost of the tools I'm using to create is very good and timely. One of the things I like most about this conversation is your statement that while spending is often an emotional decision we certainly need to keep our eye on the logistics of what's happening with the money.