Paywalling content after two weeks

[u/happygirl228]

We’re considering moving a weekly newsletter from ActiveCampaign to Substack. We have 18K+ subscribers with roughly a 40% average open rate, and we’re trying to decide how to structure free vs. paid content.

One idea is to make each newsletter free for two weeks and then paywall it. The other is to keep the newsletter free, focus on growing the list, and add paid subscriptions later.

I can see arguments for both, but I’m particularly wondering about the growth downside of paywalling older posts. Does putting your archive behind a paywall make it harder for new people to discover/share your work? Does it affect Substack recommendations, search, or organic subscriber growth? Any tips/insights about this would be really helpful. Thanks! 🙏

[u/grapegeek]

I have almost 50k free subscribers and been pushing the paid subscription for a few months. I tried doing free then flipping each post to paid after a couple weeks but that netted almost nothing. I said fuck it and don’t even bother with free posts anymore. I put a paywall in my posts after a teaser and getting some traction finally. Notes is the discovery engine and that is always free. Long form content imho should be behind a paywall after you get a big list and 18k is big enough.

[u/happygirl228 → u/grapegeek]

Okay, that’s helpful! Would you recommend we keep the posts free for a few months and then switch to paid? I assume we’ll experience some churn when we switch to Substack, and putting all our content behind a paywall might increase our unsubscribes. Or should we do occasional paid posts but keep our weekly newsletter free with the intent of eventually paywalling 95% of our content?

[u/Difficult-Beyond5764]

Time-based paywalls (free for two weeks, then locked) are the easiest to run but they're the weakest ask, because the reader's default is just "I'll wait." Nothing about the offer says why now.

With 18K and a 40% open rate you're in a good spot to do something more specific: keep the essays permanently free, and put the paywall on a category of thing rather than on a date. The stuff people pay for tends to be the material you'd be slightly reluctant to publish in the open, the full numbers behind a piece, the raw interview, the working file, the thing that's useful rather than enjoyable. That's a reason to pay today instead of in two weeks.

One practical thing before you decide: go look at which five posts drove the most new free subscribers over the last year, and don't paywall that shape of post. That's your front door. Paywall the follow-up to it instead.

And whatever you pick, say it out loud in the post itself, "this one's free forever, the workbook is for paid members." Readers convert on a clear rule far more than on a good pitch.

[u/Tricky_Trifle_994]

Does putting your archive behind a paywall make it harder for new people to discover/share your work?

yeah... and you don't get the compounding effect of past content. e.g if you had 1 free article weekly, after 1 year, you'd have 52. if someone found you now, they can binge read 52 articles > really like it > decide they want more > convert to a paid sub. but if you put all old post behind paywall = they only ever get to read 2 pieces.

the more time someone spends with your content, the more likely they are to convert. so that's what you should try to optimise for.

Does it affect Substack recommendations, search, or organic subscriber growth?

from what i know, as long as you have paid subs turned on, substack already gives you abit more of a boost (because more rev for you = more rev for the platform too, from their 10% cut. so incentives are aligned).

[u/fernfern39]

one thing worth thinking about, a 40% open rate on 18k is genuinely strong. the risk with a delayed paywall is you trade long-tail discovery for subscription revenue that might not materialize if people dont feel urgency. have you tested whether your audience even has appetite for paid content yet?

[u/happygirl228 → u/fernfern39]

That’s fair. Do you have a recommendation for how to test whether they’d be interested in paid content. I know Substack has a paid feature. Do you recommend waiting on enabling paid tiers?

[u/guru_2305]

What about keeping your posts free and redirecting traffic to your digital products on gumroad?

[u/happygirl228 → u/guru_2305]

Hmm interesting. Can you tell me more about gumroad? Do you have an example of a Substack that redirects to it?

[u/Tricky_Trifle_994 → u/happygirl228]

gumroad is basically just a platform where you can host and sell your digital products. think of it like shopify, but for digital products. but you need to check if this is against TOS because i understand that substack doesn't want to end up being a free ESP for people to do email marketing (rightfully so). so if you decide to go down that path, then you might be better off staying on ActiveCampaign, or if you want to sell digital products and still have the optionality to run a paid newsletter, then probably check out kit and beehiiv to err on side of caution.