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Put a Paywall on Every Post
Free readers cannot see where the cutoff lands before they start reading. That is the whole trick. Every post becomes a place where somebody decides to upgrade.
Sponsorships without pitching a single brand
Kit has a Newsletter Sponsorships feature that matches you to sponsor offers based on what you write and how engaged your readers are, and pays you per click. It is the easiest second income line to bolt onto a newsletter you are already sending, and it does not touch your subscription revenue.
Check Out Kit →The tool this runs on
Some of the links below are affiliate links — if you sign up or buy through them I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only ever share tools I actually use.
Kit
Where my list lives outside the platform, where my free guides get delivered, and where the sponsorship matching happens. Your paid tier lives on Substack. Your leverage lives on a list you own.
Free readers do not convert on their own
Every post gets a cutoff
Not just the big ones. A free reader cannot see in advance whether the paywall lands after a full teaching section or after one bonus thought. So every single post carries a real chance they upgrade to find out.
Cut where the story ends
Story above the line, system below it. Roughly half to two thirds of the way through by length. Give them enough that they are leaning in, then stop exactly where the how-to starts.
Competence is the conversion
Nobody pays for enthusiasm. They pay for the person who obviously knows the thing. Show the numbers, the mistakes, the workaround you found at midnight. That is what makes a card come out.
Two revenue lines, one publication
Paid subscribers are line one. Brand sponsorships are line two. They come from different budgets and they do not cannibalize each other, so stack them instead of choosing.
How free readers turn into paying ones
Nothing here requires a big list. It requires a paid option that exists and a cutoff on every post.
Turn the paid option on immediately
The day you get your first free subscriber, open paid. Not at a thousand subscribers. Not when you feel ready. If somebody was willing to subscribe for free, some version of that person was willing to pay, and if there is no button, they cannot hand you anything. I got my first free subscriber and my first paid subscriber on the same day because the option was already sitting there.
Write the free half so it stands alone
The part above the paywall has to be worth reading even if nobody ever pays. A free reader who feels baited does not upgrade, they unsubscribe. Give them a complete story, a real insight, something they could quote to a friend.
Cut where the story ends and the system begins
This is the line. Above it: what happened, why it mattered, what you noticed. Below it: the exact steps, the template, the prompt, the numbers. If you cannot find the seam, paste your draft into an AI assistant and tell it to name the exact sentence to cut after. Be literal with it. Vague questions get vague answers.
Put something real behind the line
Not a summary of what you just said. The thing you would not hand a stranger. The framework, the swipe file, the spreadsheet, the part where you say what you would do if you were starting over today. Extra value, not the only value.
Paywall every post, even the light ones
Some weeks all you have behind the line is a few extra thoughts and a link. Use it anyway. The point is that nobody knows in advance, so the upgrade decision is live on every post instead of once a month. Consistency here is what makes the cutoff feel normal rather than pushy.
Prove you know the thing in public
Trust is the actual product. Teach the small stuff for free in notes, all day, without a pitch attached. Someone who has watched you be right about ten small things does not need convincing on the eleventh. This is also why one publication in one lane beats two publications splitting your energy.
Price it like it is worth something
Rock bottom pricing makes people ask what is wrong with it. Start where you are comfortable and raise it as your archive grows. Existing subscribers keep the price they signed up at, so raising it is not a bait and switch. Offer the annual plan at a discount, or throw in a guide, so the year commitment has a reason to exist.
Bolt on the second revenue line
Once you are publishing consistently, add sponsorships on top of subscriptions. You are not choosing between them. One is your readers paying for access, the other is a brand paying for attention, and the same newsletter carries both. Here is the 14 day version of wiring the whole revenue side up.
Kit matches you to sponsors automatically →Want the paywall mechanics written out?
Substack 101 covers the setup, the article structure, where the cutoff goes, how the pricing tiers work, and what actually gets people to upgrade. No fluff, no filler.
Get Substack 101 for $27 →“If you do not give them an option, they cannot give you money.“— Lori Ballen
The 3-Bucket Business Field Notes
The one person business model I actually run. What to build, what to buy back, and what to leave alone. Free PDF, no fluff.
The two guides that pair with this
Substack 101
Setup, notes, articles, paywall placement, and pricing. The no fluff guide to building and growing a paid newsletter.
From Idea to Income
Turn what you know into a paid guide. This is the product you sell to the readers who are not ready for a subscription yet.
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Open the paid option today. Put a cutoff on the next thing you publish.
Not ready to buy yet? Grab the free field notes above, or get Letters from Lori for more of these.
Hey there! Just a quick heads-up: some of the links on this site are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase (including through the Amazon Associates program), at no extra cost to you. Occasionally, products featured here are gifted by brands.
I also use AI tools to help research and create content for you! While I love sharing strategies to help you succeed, please remember that everyone's journey is unique—individual results vary, and there are no guarantees. Thanks so much for stopping by!
