This past October we began offering a paid subscription option to the DEEPER side of things, and while there is a standard offering for paid subscriptions on Substack we still agonized for some time prior to adding the option. Mostly, writers on the platform write additional posts and restrict commenting to paid subscribers. This is the common method, and we went with it.
But it never felt entirely right to us. Yes, there is a certain logic in that paid subscribers are most obviously enthusiastic supporters of a writer’s work and not likely to troll or harass others in the comments section, which makes it a safe space to share one’s deeper thoughts and feelings. But we’ve never experienced trolling or harassment, free or paid.
Additionally, we often receive direct email replies from free subscribers sharing deep and insightful thoughts in response to our posts, and we ponder how awesome it would be if they could leave their thoughts in the comments for others to benefit from.
Part of why we launched the DEEPER side of things was to create a community of deep thinkers — people who crave depth and meaningful connections with people who get them. Perhaps if we had thousands of paid subscribers we would have such a community, but we have to think that even still there would be thousands more who are equally as deep but would be unable to take part in the conversation.
So, we’ve made a change to our subscription options. Paid subscribers receive additional paid only posts and full access to the archives, while everyone can comment freely on our content.
We understand that for some (perhaps many) it can feel more than a little uncomfortable to share your deepest thoughts in a public forum. If this is true for you, feel free to continue sending us personal emails, we love to read them and gain from your unique perspective. Alternatively, we encourage you to share freely. The more we learn about our subscribers, the more we come to see them (you) as fascinating individuals with a deep capacity for nuance and perspective.
The Substack platform is unique and trend setting. It’s non-advertising based and flexible. Writers are discovering all sorts of ways of reaching an audience of like-minded individuals with creative methods of paid versus free. Substack celebrates this diversity of methods, as it’s precisely the point of their business model — to create a community of writers and readers.
We feel this new tweak to our subscription model is our creative method and we thank you for joining us on this journey.
With depth,
Glenn & Maria
Hi Glenn. I like your thinking on this. And to honor your intention I'm leaving a comment this time instead of replying in an email.