I'm considering a premium newsletter focused on land use and zoning in the county we cover. How do you decide which articles to leave free, and which to put behind the paywall.
Hey Larry, I think it's best to mix it up and see what works over time. I wouldn't always hide your best stuff behind the paywall. It's important to showcase your best work to give people an idea of what they are signing up to.
The Banter, back when it was a daily blog, used to have an advertising business model, but you abandoned it when you pivoted to Substack. Do you think you'll ever reintroduce ads? If so, what would your strategy be?
Yes, I'd be open to ads, but not on our locked content. Also depends on the CPMs. I wouldn't run ads if they were intrusive and didn't pay much. Not worth the trade off.
When you first launched The Banter, Substack was the main player for paid newsletters. Now Revue has reverted to free after Twitter's acquisition and Ghost is gaining traction. How are you thinking about your longterm prospects of staying at Substack?
I like the feel of Substack and its simplicity. If we were double the size, I might look into switching as the fees would be hard to justify on Substack. I've been in contact with Revue, but I'm skeptical about their commitment to their readers (it took them 3 weeks to get back to me for example) and I don't like their CMS. Substack has a lot going for it, but they do need to innovate and think carefully about fee structure if they want to remain top dogs.
I'm considering a premium newsletter focused on land use and zoning in the county we cover. How do you decide which articles to leave free, and which to put behind the paywall.
Hey Larry, I think it's best to mix it up and see what works over time. I wouldn't always hide your best stuff behind the paywall. It's important to showcase your best work to give people an idea of what they are signing up to.
The Banter, back when it was a daily blog, used to have an advertising business model, but you abandoned it when you pivoted to Substack. Do you think you'll ever reintroduce ads? If so, what would your strategy be?
Yes, I'd be open to ads, but not on our locked content. Also depends on the CPMs. I wouldn't run ads if they were intrusive and didn't pay much. Not worth the trade off.
With Trump gone, have you noticed any changes in your growth or open rates for the newsletter? Are readers as engaged during a Biden presidency?
Yes, overall readership has gone down, as has traffic and open rates. This is part of every politics cycle though, so to be expected.
When you first launched The Banter, Substack was the main player for paid newsletters. Now Revue has reverted to free after Twitter's acquisition and Ghost is gaining traction. How are you thinking about your longterm prospects of staying at Substack?
I like the feel of Substack and its simplicity. If we were double the size, I might look into switching as the fees would be hard to justify on Substack. I've been in contact with Revue, but I'm skeptical about their commitment to their readers (it took them 3 weeks to get back to me for example) and I don't like their CMS. Substack has a lot going for it, but they do need to innovate and think carefully about fee structure if they want to remain top dogs.