The Art of Substacking
"Thank you. I see you."
When she was just starting out as a musician, Amanda Palmer had a day job as a “living statute” called the Eight-Foot Bride.
In her TED talk “The art of asking,” Palmer explained this job and what it taught her.
She would dress up as a painted bride, then stand still on a box with a can at her feet. When someone walked up to her and put money in the can, she handed the person a flower.
Most important, she would look at the person. And sometimes the person, perhaps quite lonely, would look back at her.
And my eyes would say: "Thank you. I see you."
And their eyes would say: "Nobody ever sees me. Thank you."
Some people weren’t so friendly to the Eight-Foot Bride. And presumably some people weren’t lonely or interested in interaction. But some connected.
More generally, Palmer learned she could ask people for something (such as a little money in the can at her feet) and give and receive thanks with a connection. For example, she could give away her music, and some people would pay for it anyway.
I’m starting to understand how “The art of asking” applies to Substack.
Perhaps you’ve gotten advice like this:
Publish your best content for free in order to get more paid subscriptions.1
And maybe you thought, as I did: But why would someone pay for a subscription if your best content is free?
The answer is because you’ve connected with them. You’ve said something meaningful. You’ve responded to what people are feeling. They like you. They trust that your content will be good.
If you offer paid subscriptions, not everyone will pay or can afford to.2 If you offer free subscriptions, not everyone will subscribe. But some will. And some might help you in other ways, like posting links to your articles.
A personal note:
All I want to accomplish in life is to help people. I want to earn money so that I can help people more – my family, of course, but also people in general.
As an introverted, private person, I feel I haven’t connected as much as I should.
But I’m learning to be better connected. I hope you can help me to learn more.
Maybe you can relate. And maybe I can help you too.
Even if we don’t realize it sometimes, I think we all seek moments of connection:
“I see you.”
“Thank you.”
I hope that we find these moments, in our newsletter community and elsewhere.
As Amanda Palmer noted in her TED talk, not everyone agrees with this view. Some musicians oppose free downloading of music; some publications put up paywalls. And maybe this is the best strategy for some content providers. Maybe it will be best for you. But Palmer’s talk suggests that giving and asking can be better, at least for some people in some situations. Personally, I am offering more for a paid subscription – but anticipate that some people will get a paid subscription mainly to show support. I’m grateful either way.
While I want paid subscriptions, I feel the worst thing would be to make free subscribers feel bad in any way. And likewise for people who don’t subscribe at all or cancel their subscriptions. There are many reasons why people might not subscribe. No one has subscriptions to everything. Someone should subscribe if they’re willing and able, not because they feel guilty.
Thank you so much for sharing this, Scott. I'm going to watch it again and again and again until I finally get it that, as Amanda says, it's about trust and it's about giving to EACH OTHER. It's not about begging. There is no shame in asking.
Wow! Now I need to go and think about this.
Great post!
I've been struggling to figure out my Substack strategy for the past year. I've finally decided to follow Palmer's lead and make all my posts free and offer a paid subscription for anyone who wants to support my work. I'm also doing something similar with my publishing. My books are available for purchase, but I'm also putting all the content out for free on my social channels.
Obscurity is the true enemy of all artists. Putting my best stuff out in the world makes the world a better place and helps me build an audience. If I can connect with enough people and make a difference in their lives I will get what I need sent back to me one way or another.