I love your questioning and your questions. They reflect a lot of my own. “What if we all operated from a place of mutual respect, trust, kindness, and generosity? What would this look like?”
I feel like my whole life is asking me to live in accordance with my values, and I’ve no idea how to do that as truthfully as I’d like to, possibly because the structures I want to live in aren’t as readily available or adopted by the mainstream. It’s almost like having to choose, (except I think that’s a false frame. I think it’s being asked to go first, to lead, with a deeper sense this is where many of us are heading, or want to. To hold the vision of what a future like this could look like.)
There’s so many people living like this in a smaller scale. I wonder what it would look like if we were more interconnected and together. Maybe this is where we’re heading.
On a side note, I really appreciated you sharing your start here guide. Thank you! I’m a bit overwhelmed by my internal sense of ‘I need to do this before March 4’, but I’ve already downloaded and looked through the pdf, and am reflecting on those questions throughout the day. Planning to sit down with it tomorrow and Fri.
Part of what’s held me back is how to handle “this is who I am and how I’m orienting in the world according to my inner values now,” and this is everything I’ve learned about marketing and connection over the last 15 years, and I don’t know where the paywall fits for me either.
I think there’s truth in that we don’t currently live in a mainstream world where people will always automatically pay and support. It feels hard to interface with that world when you’re really living and orienting from a different place internally. I’m not sure how to do it yet either.
The one thing that’s felt true to me is to have a “paywall” setup to keep comments private and clean, and offer a safer space to share. But if that option existed without needing to charge for it, I think it opens up more doorways.
How to do all this and have a different model for it that isn’t consumption-based but is perhaps more generative, and generous. And nourishing.
Appreciate so much of what you're reflecting on here, Sandi. I think the tension is real: that there's an inner sense of values that immediately start conflicting with what it takes to create traction in online spaces with distracted people who are accustomed to BIG digital boundaries.
I think that's something I've always tried to guide people around (in my offline work): what their ethos is and also what is required in order for the "basic mechanics of the newsletter engine" to move forward. It's really lovely to publish on Substack when it doesn't NEED to produce income, or it doesn't NEED to grow a readership. But the machination of growth often comes with spikes into my values... it's just not clear cut all the time.
I like that you're trying to find what feels true to you around paywalls, and also knowing that it might evolve. I know personally, my paywalling of comments has had to shift as my community became larger: in order to keep authentic communication (a core value for me), I couldn't (wouldn't) feign the appearance that I can deep dive into every comment section. So paywalls/comments have shifted and evolved. But that's a whole other discussion.
Amanda, I have my archives on paywall and I question that at times, like when I link to a related post in a new post. I also never paywall comments because I want my readers to feel seen and heard.
I can certainly appreciate the nuance around paywalling archives. I know so many people feel a sense of ease knowing that the "creepy crawlies" can't get into their old writing without permission (or payment/good intent). And I honor that need to paywall.
Strategically speaking, I also know that until someone has built significant momentum in their newsletter/online writing, the archives really can do so much heavy lifting in letting someone explore and discover our work on their own. It's a really important discussion to have!
Paywalling comments ... such a big discussion, too. I shared a bit above in Sandi's comment about some intentional ways I've paywalled comments just recently — mainly so I don't have to HIRE a person to manage them. I'd rather keep things lean and authentic/connected to me in the comments in focused ways ... rather than keep everything open and have to hire someone to manage them. So much nuance here. I really appreciate your reflections.
Amanda, I know some writers hire others to respond to comments when they start getting more than they can handle. Other's let their readers know that they might not get to respond to all the comments and for the most part, readers who comment understand that. This was my experience as a political blogger.
I really enjoyed this chat and found it very thought provoking. I have been thinking about paywalls recently as I want to re-word my "benefits" on the upgrade page to lean toward reciprocity rather than it unlocking different content. I am still early on in my writing life, so I don't have a massive archive or masses of articles that I'd prefer to keep pay walled for privacy's sake (which is my more likely other scenario moving forward), so that's how I'd like to move forward for now. My only paid subscribers are already those who just wanted to support my writing, not paying because of any "benefit". I appreciate this is entirely my personal approach and situation, but I think if we look at paywalls conscientiously and with our values in mind, that's got to help it stay more aligned and less clickbaity and feverish. Thank you for your honesty, I am absolutely always here for the untangling conversations ❤️
Thank you for removing the paywall. I appreciate your sharing your knowledge.
I love your questioning and your questions. They reflect a lot of my own. “What if we all operated from a place of mutual respect, trust, kindness, and generosity? What would this look like?”
I feel like my whole life is asking me to live in accordance with my values, and I’ve no idea how to do that as truthfully as I’d like to, possibly because the structures I want to live in aren’t as readily available or adopted by the mainstream. It’s almost like having to choose, (except I think that’s a false frame. I think it’s being asked to go first, to lead, with a deeper sense this is where many of us are heading, or want to. To hold the vision of what a future like this could look like.)
There’s so many people living like this in a smaller scale. I wonder what it would look like if we were more interconnected and together. Maybe this is where we’re heading.
On a side note, I really appreciated you sharing your start here guide. Thank you! I’m a bit overwhelmed by my internal sense of ‘I need to do this before March 4’, but I’ve already downloaded and looked through the pdf, and am reflecting on those questions throughout the day. Planning to sit down with it tomorrow and Fri.
Part of what’s held me back is how to handle “this is who I am and how I’m orienting in the world according to my inner values now,” and this is everything I’ve learned about marketing and connection over the last 15 years, and I don’t know where the paywall fits for me either.
I think there’s truth in that we don’t currently live in a mainstream world where people will always automatically pay and support. It feels hard to interface with that world when you’re really living and orienting from a different place internally. I’m not sure how to do it yet either.
The one thing that’s felt true to me is to have a “paywall” setup to keep comments private and clean, and offer a safer space to share. But if that option existed without needing to charge for it, I think it opens up more doorways.
How to do all this and have a different model for it that isn’t consumption-based but is perhaps more generative, and generous. And nourishing.
Appreciate so much of what you're reflecting on here, Sandi. I think the tension is real: that there's an inner sense of values that immediately start conflicting with what it takes to create traction in online spaces with distracted people who are accustomed to BIG digital boundaries.
I think that's something I've always tried to guide people around (in my offline work): what their ethos is and also what is required in order for the "basic mechanics of the newsletter engine" to move forward. It's really lovely to publish on Substack when it doesn't NEED to produce income, or it doesn't NEED to grow a readership. But the machination of growth often comes with spikes into my values... it's just not clear cut all the time.
I like that you're trying to find what feels true to you around paywalls, and also knowing that it might evolve. I know personally, my paywalling of comments has had to shift as my community became larger: in order to keep authentic communication (a core value for me), I couldn't (wouldn't) feign the appearance that I can deep dive into every comment section. So paywalls/comments have shifted and evolved. But that's a whole other discussion.
Amanda, I have my archives on paywall and I question that at times, like when I link to a related post in a new post. I also never paywall comments because I want my readers to feel seen and heard.
I can certainly appreciate the nuance around paywalling archives. I know so many people feel a sense of ease knowing that the "creepy crawlies" can't get into their old writing without permission (or payment/good intent). And I honor that need to paywall.
Strategically speaking, I also know that until someone has built significant momentum in their newsletter/online writing, the archives really can do so much heavy lifting in letting someone explore and discover our work on their own. It's a really important discussion to have!
Paywalling comments ... such a big discussion, too. I shared a bit above in Sandi's comment about some intentional ways I've paywalled comments just recently — mainly so I don't have to HIRE a person to manage them. I'd rather keep things lean and authentic/connected to me in the comments in focused ways ... rather than keep everything open and have to hire someone to manage them. So much nuance here. I really appreciate your reflections.
Amanda, I know some writers hire others to respond to comments when they start getting more than they can handle. Other's let their readers know that they might not get to respond to all the comments and for the most part, readers who comment understand that. This was my experience as a political blogger.
What products and services are offered free or for pay should be voluntary and totally up to the individual. No pressure, no coercion.
But paying forward is a cool response of gratitude for generosity.
I really enjoyed this chat and found it very thought provoking. I have been thinking about paywalls recently as I want to re-word my "benefits" on the upgrade page to lean toward reciprocity rather than it unlocking different content. I am still early on in my writing life, so I don't have a massive archive or masses of articles that I'd prefer to keep pay walled for privacy's sake (which is my more likely other scenario moving forward), so that's how I'd like to move forward for now. My only paid subscribers are already those who just wanted to support my writing, not paying because of any "benefit". I appreciate this is entirely my personal approach and situation, but I think if we look at paywalls conscientiously and with our values in mind, that's got to help it stay more aligned and less clickbaity and feverish. Thank you for your honesty, I am absolutely always here for the untangling conversations ❤️