Earning money (on Substack) without burning out...
❤️🔥 - Taking good care, a timeline, the numbers and some thoughts for you on navigating the 'what ifs' for your 2024...
Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.
Brene Brown
Hi!
If you’re new here I’m Claire. I’m an Engagement Consultant and Mentor for the Arts and Heritage sector and I write Creatively Conscious here on Substack.
I also teach creatives who also like to write how to use the platform over at Sparkle on Substack. I live under dark skies on the Northumberland Coast with my family and 5 pet chickens.
We live life in the slow lane and writing here on Substack has helped make my dream of being able to take care of my family a reality. Thank-you for supporting me and my work. ✨
Substack subscriptions currently bring in $12,500 dollars into my business. My work teaching Substack beyond that brings in another £8000+.
I don’t run a 6figure business but I’d like to…
Today’s post is for my members. You are welcome to pay to read it. It’s part of the ‘behind the scenes of my creative business’ section. It’s called ‘Your Self Seeded Business’ because if I can; you can!
You can read more here.
Paid members here at
get access to x 4 online seasonal workshops a year, at least one exclusive post a month, special previews and discounts on my courses, masterclasses and workshops. They also get free access to all my vision board resources and videos.It’s currently £10 a month or £70 for the year here. Here’s the overview of 2024.
Substack and the Long Game
Over in my members community at
where we talk about Substack and our journey with it, the most popular question is;how to grow sustainably (and joyfully).
and the next most popular question is.
how to set up a paid community where you feel paid properly for your creative work and without burning out delivering 12 months a year!
Shall I tell you my story?
I started writing on Substack in April 2022.
I had zero subscribers.
I turned on ‘paid subscriptions’ from the start and figured I’d grow into what that could be later. This was a mindset decision rather than a practical decision.2
Three people paid straight away. I felt a mixture of pressure and elation.
Spoiler alert - that combination still exists EVERY TIME someone pays to join my community. Depending on where I am feeling with my self worth, creativity and hormones I might feel elated or I might feel a tiny bit sick!
In October 2023 I got my Substack bestseller badge; I wear it with pride. 😉. Imposter Syndrome tells me I only got it because my work is zeitgeist - i.e people want to learn about Substack on Substack and I teach that. 🙉.
I can sit with it, I can lean into the discomfort and noise of people who did once subscribe here now ignore me but I can only do that because my work is an act or service AND so many of you support it.
I taught a masterclass to my paid subscribers over on about how to feel confident in charging money for your Substack, for your writing, your creative offering. We dig into how to make it feel sustainable and how it might fit into the rest of your online eco-system.
A practical workshop with oodles of support, some ‘honest’ maths and some practical decision making. Do join us over there and watch the replay?
The 2023 price for Sparkle is £8 to jump in for the month and you get access to the whole back catalogue of Sparkle calls and workshops too! (£70 for the year is your better value option) We are a growing community supportive and magical creatives who want to grow sustainably and joyfully on Substack - come say hi!?
Success on Substack - A Timeline
From self expression to space holder.
Here’s the rest of my Substack creation timeline including the REAL numbers…
Paid members get access to all of my member archives of posts, access to workshop recordings and next year’s classes and articles too if you want to stay.
April - September 2022
A real reset of my nervous system and out-pouring of taking up space in written form through storytelling, in memoir, in the thick of it.
Reading and connecting with a handful of other folks here.
October 2022
Imported by (mailchimp) mailing list (x300 people) I’d been gathering since 2017. 5 years of telling people I send a monthly email. One (funded) partnership with an ad agency with a £500 spend made for a list of 300 mostly engaged subs on a list. People I could tell about my projects, people who occasionally replied.
December 2022
Complete digital detox from everything except Substack. So many light bulb moments about all of the distractions we’re pulled into from comparison to compulsion to buy, to copy, to create away from our true north, to be someone other than we actually are, to mask, to move away from our soul work!
January 2023
Hosted a Ways into Creative Journalling masterclass to share in setting goals for the year.
Heard myself say out loud that I wanted Substack to be a big part of my year. 🤓. Leant into the curiosity of what that could mean for my creative expression and my business.
February
Published a post ‘Is Substack a Side Hustle’ that so far has driven 43 subs…I’ll say since writing this folks have become a lot more transparent about their earnings here and I’ll share mine at the bottom.
March
Hosted a masterclass for folks to learn Substack; it’s key to tell your people about what Substack is and isn’t in whichever way that works for you!
April
Our first holiday abroad as a family of four. No access to laptop but could tell my Substack kept growing, more folks were finding my words… there was an energy - a buzz about the scheduled posts I’d shared. Felt magic. Felt a brilliant place to put energy.
Came home and Substack Notes launched, felt unsure here for the first time. Change was in the air.
Started thinking about YouTube and what I might share there…
May
Made some goals around collaborations… I think I’m at around 15 collaborations now. Here on Creatively Conscious and as part of other people’s publications too.
Starting using Substack Notes daily.
Started a temporary post series called ‘Stay Creative on Substack’ - it was very well read and engaged in.
June
Launched a new publication
with my pal and business bestie . We currently have 160 subscribers - a community of mothers who want to explore being, balance and business in motherhood with us through podcasts and community. This publication grows around 30 subscribers a month IF we post.Made my first YouTube video and started a playlist called ‘Joyful Growth on Substack.’ It now has 257 subscribers. I pop my podcasts on there as unlisted and then make them public when they are ready for everyone else.
July
Hit 1000 subs on here on Creatively Conscious on Substack.
Started
to make more space, to be more expansive with my teaching on Substack! I was keen to make MORE space for creatives who also like to write, for artists and those unravelling diverse income streams in their business (Substack being one of them). I didn’t want to loose my voice and make this space all about teaching, sharing, Substack stuff….I wanted to keep the identity of whole hearted living and share behind the scenes of my business.
August
Started teaching masterclasses, holding space for co-working sessions and workshops over at Sparkle on Substack.
Started wondering more about
and making sure I’m not “in competition with myself” and it all fits together as part of a wider business eco-system.Hit 500 subs on
Hit 2000 subs (under my writer name here). The 2000 subs was a combo of all 3 spaces I write under.
Did a celebratory dance, wondered about success in all of it’s forms and if this is it - if I’ve finally made it to a place where I can relax into consistent success and some gentle turn-over that isn’t reliant on the high risk/ high reward funding landscape of the cultural sector…. 👀
September
Dealt with some tricky online things; realised it was a whole different ball game to working with people IRL and I’ve worked with A LOT of egos of the years.
Lots of practises to help myself feel safe and connected with people I can trust.
There was a leak in one of my circles and someone got upset but I’ll never know which and it doesn’t matter now. I’ve basically got 3 people I can talk to about anything and the rest of my conversations I imagine as a billboard and a screen shot before I have them… ✨
Met some new Substack enthusiast colleagues and beautiful souls - this space became something more precious than I could ever imagine.
October
Got Substack bestseller - I wasn’t expecting this but it was a quiet goal.
Invited to speak at Alnwick Story Fest about Substack. A paid gig and one I’m so excited about.
Paused my 1-2-1s as felt stuck in the mud delivering them…
November
Poured more energy into both of my podcasts; learnt how to edit.
Felt the sting of some burn out… pulled back from everything…
Worked with mentors and coaches, started therapy to pull on themes of rejection and self worth.
Black Friday weekend - Launched my group programme for Substack; Your beautifully curated Magazine. 6 spots. Sold out! x 2.
December
Hit 4000 subs total including; 1700 subs here and 1900 over on Sparkle.
257 on YouTube
5.5k podcast downloads (there are 7 episodes).
Linked IN group for Substack writers has 200+ lovely souls.
Celebrated new friendship, kinship, colleagueship
Organised a Substack meet up IRL. Coming Feb 2024!
Invited to run a year long Substack programme for the cultural sector in the North East; a new commission and one I’m so excited about.
Wrapped up the year feeling very proud of myself and of us all. This is such a WORLD, A universe to navigate; we are all amazing!
My website/ crm emailed me and told me I had 400 customers! I needed to upgrade to the next plan…
This is growth in real time, it’s also success of course and I feel that. I also feel tired and ready to rest…
In all honesty, I’d say the more people who have joined me the more pressure I’ve felt and the more I’ve had to sit with the maths - I’m not good at maths! Maths is key to running a business that doesn’t burn you out…
Onto the energy, numbers and income
I’ve spent pretty much every day on Substack since April 2023 - I want to be really transparent about that.
I ditched instagram in June and I’ve gone in on learning the platform here and connecting to folks in strategy sessions one to one and testing out writing and notes. I’m since back on the gram but I’m not attached to it if that makes sense?
I’ve not had a ‘sales strategy’ for my paid subs I’ve simply been happy to grow organically and see them trickling in learning what tips folks into paid for content as I go.
I do have one now (a strategy) and I’ll share this in the up-coming workshop for those interested in started paid communities over on
next month.Both my subscription models here are membership models. More on the difference here by Substack growth wizard
Money in! “Gross Annual Revenue” - say whaaaat?!
Now this confused me in the dashboard - it doesn’t mean the money you actually earn… I’ve found it SO hard to work that out but here’s a simple sum I use.
A subscriber pays you £8 for the month and you receive anywhere between £6.80 - £7.14 depending on the exchange rate at the time into your bank.
A subscriber pays me £80 for the year and in the last two emails from Stripe I’ve received £67.23 and £74.47 depending on the currency they have paid in.
So if I take
and work out the paid subs average and earning opportunity….x 10 subscribers at £7 average a month is £70
x 10 annual subscriptions at £70 average is £700
My goal would be to have mostly annual subscribers so if I focus there x 50 subscribers at £70 would be £3500 per year.
If I have say 5 a month coming in new that’s £35 x 12 months of the year = £42
That’s why I focus on giving a lot of value to encourage folks to sign up for the whole year. I also find it energetically difficult if people come and go; maybe I’ll get better at dealing with that…
Substack is not my job but it’s part of my work.
So how’s it going now, what’s the breakdown?
- is real mix of monthly and annual subs… some free trials from special offer to her subs to join my space here. And on
which I set up with a VERY clear focus and niche back in July…there were 73 paid subs (some comps), now there are 148.This means this Substack is helping me bolster my business income and I am so grateful for that after x5 funding rejections this summer.
So rather than thinking I need to just ‘keep' going’ with both I’ve come to a place where I’ve set a strategy for encouraging MORE annual subs to both.
If you’re keen to learn more; sign up to
I’d love that!You are welcome to re-stack it and continue the conversation on this topic there if you’d like!
Thanks for being here and sharing in my journey. I’m so open to any questions you might have?
Claire x
✨
Maybe I’d be less relatable if I did? I would like to so long as I can make it fit with my values of slower, sustainable living… so long as it felt creative and joyful. So long as I had time away from screens… I’d like to because I want to continue to take care of my husband and my kids but also take care of myself in all the ways I need to.
Substack staff advise you turn paid subs on from the off there are lots of ways to decide what to offer behind the paywall later… Come to my workshop to chat more?
Ooooh this is so easy to understand... my brain likes it! Thank your to breaking it all down and making it feel ‘possible’... I am still playing with the role Substack plays in my whole business ecosystem... but I love how you show so much truth and transparency on it all. So grateful for you being in my life this year. To think at the start of 2023 I didn’t know you existed and now we are making magic together. 💕 xxx
This is amazing, Claire. What an accomplishment. I love how you wrote out your inner thoughts through each month and then also broke down the money aspect, that was so helpful. There are so many ups and downs to running a business, aren't there? I am so excited to see where you continue to go, and I love how honest and authentically "you" you are in everything you create. I also hope you get some much needed rest over the holidays because you've been busy!! Thank you so much for this, I will definitely be returning to it for my own growth journey.