35 Comments
Apr 7, 2022Liked by Richard Hanania

I suspect the paid subscriber problem is due in large part to Apple’s restrictive iOS TOS. But reader apps now have the ability to have a link to send the person out to the Regular Web and do the subscription there. I’m sure it’s on Substack’s app dev to-do list

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As much as I love a new platform committed to free speech, the business model is absolutely terrible. Bundling exists for a reason: a simple economics lesson shows it benefits both the suppliers and the consumers.

I can't justify paying $50-$100 per year for one writer when for that price I can get The Atlantic or most of the cost of NYT/WSJ. All my favorite writers are on substack but I don't pay for any. We live in an age of abundance; just as you won't spend 10 seconds to subscribe for free to a new blog, I won't pull out my credit card when there are hundreds of great free articles in my inbox, and thousands with my subscriptions to NYT/WSJ/Atlantic.

If someone does pay, it's because they're obsessed with you and already agree with everything you say. Paywalling articles therefore reduces your reach and influence to almost zero. It's sad how many great articles are now being read by so few because of paywalls. Fortunately you realize this and operate on a patronage model, but that's not viable for most.

The solution already exists: a magazine (gasp!). I would happily pay $200/year or maybe more to get access to 20-100 excellent substack writers, some of whom I mostly agree with and some I do not. Substack could offer an "unlimited" plan (not sure how/if that would work) or writers could bundle themselves like The Dispatch.

The problem is not independent subscriptions, but free speech. Andrew Sullivan got fired and you would too if you worked for a mainstream publication. All we need is a quality magazine committed to diverse viewpoints, not a whole new business model.

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I tend to agree (though I don't personally really have enough spare time to maintain a newsletter). I haven't even tried the app yet, I don't really interact with content through my phone very much at all, I use my laptop at home, and more often than not a Kindle if I really need a mobile reader. The thing I love the most about Substack is obviously their commitment to free speech, but more that as long as there's something like Substack committed to free speech, it's really impossible to fully censor things they way it was done even as recently as October 2020. Twitter, Facebook, Google, YouTube, etc., are all platforms that function more as ways to direct people to original content, but aren't really critical to the original content itself, and it's the content itself that ultimately matters most. The "press" obviously is critical to content creation, but relying on established press is not really the promise of the internet, because not everyone can "start a newspaper/station/network". Substack returns us to the original promise of the internet, which was that anyone and everyone could create content, removing the gatekeeping. To put it another way, if there is to be censorship on the Internet, the best possible counterbalance is a free speech platform that facilitates long-form writing and email-based audiences. Once a particular set of facts or perspectives is in the public square in full form, it's very difficult to cover it up completely.

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Substacks brilliance is that it makes creating and monetising a website and mailing list as easy as sending an email. More importantly it's super easy for readers to find you. Oh and I believe the reason you can't go paid is the Apple tax.

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Thank you! I found it annoyingly difficult to navigate through econlog to get to Bryan's website and I didn't like the BetOnIt style all that much. It also was a bit more inconvenient to comment on both.

Another advantage on here is that my comments link to my blog. So, if Richard wants to go comment on Scott Alexander's or Bryan Caplan's blog and Richard seems very insightful with his comments, someone can quickly click through and see what Richard is about and then subscribe quickly.

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We've seen prediction after prediction that the Free Market will save us. Censorship has always intensified. We have the same "free market" as always, what's different this time?

Corporations have decided to be woke in large part because they've gambled that conservatives will continue to support the "free market" no matter what. Sometimes you need to punch back, even if it will hurt you as well.

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I'm a fan of Substack for the same reason's you outlined above. But, I can't help but think of Nick Szabo' quote: "Trusted third parties are security holes."...Anytime you are dependent on one platform that becomes a choke point to target. Lets see how long Substack is able to fend off the establishment woksters.

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Interesting you have found Substack to be so seamless and effortless. It's been nothing but hassle for me at every step...so far. I know they have been hiring, so hopefully it will get better.

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Hi Richard. Great read. Are you happy to give me some feedback about my top post?

https://benalexander.substack.com/p/why-is-retirement-hard?r=7ioeb&utm_medium=ios

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As if on cue, the NY Times ran a hit piece about Substack a week after you wrote this. The platform's growing pains amount to a few resignations based on "transphobia."

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/13/business/media/substack-growth-newsletters.html

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Just read Hanania's Twitter thread on Musk's ownership of Twitter and that his lack of a Master's degree is a threat to democracy. LMAO! Brilliant satire! I howled thinking of the self-important, over-educated ass clowns that bought it!

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I agree and love substack but have realized that building up a following on Twitter is the best shot I have at gaining on audience which is something I'm still learning how to do and not the easiest.

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The app needs an android version!

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Ah ok when it says the app is "Now available on iOS" it means "Only available on iOS".

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I find substack very frictionful in certain ways. Like it seems almost impossible to view all my subscriptions in one place, and easily navigate them. I even tried dusting off hoary old RSS to try to get this to work.

But yes in most other ways it is simple to use.

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There's no need to read the NYTimes - it's hyperbolic wokeness, pants-on-fire propaganda. I unsubscribed several years ago after being a 40-year-subscriber. There are too many other really good sources of news without reading the 'crazy'.

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