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Slowly Leaving Substack
I started growing Creators Getting Paid during the COVID years. The newsletter truly started on Substack August 2022. But I did have podcast and website prior to that. Before I get into that, I would like to share (briefly) Creators Getting Paid’s origin story.
My first online brand was in the personal finance space. I didn’t try to teach money, I was interested in having conversations about how policy, pop culture and power influenced and impacted our money specifically in the United States. At the same time I began to notice a lot of online creators who were building financially sustainable online brands. So, I started asking questions and those conversations needed a place to live and that became “Creators Getting Paid”
Here’s what I wanted people to know.
- You can make money online
- Each brand is unique…kind of like snowflakes which complicates the monetization process. What products, goods, or experiences you decide will work with you may be different from other people’s brands.
- Finding where the money comes typically happens after you figure out how you’ll be serving your audience.
- The process takes longer than you would expect and longer than you like. However the compound effect of effort is everything.
- Every creator that is earning “big money” had one of two things
- An email list
- Or, a newsletter
Both of those tools empower and help creators stay connected with their audiences and communities (specifically off of third party platforms such as Threads/Facebook/Instagram/etc.
So, the chatter around Substack captured my attention and my interest at the time I was starting this newsletter. I decided to say “yes” to Substack and for quite awhile I was really happy with the platform then things began to change. I’m not going to talk about the notsees (spelled this way on purpose) or the referral network. Instead, I’m going to talk about the mood connected to the platform.
People were really pissed off at Substack and it would take awhile for me to notice problems because at first they were just so subtle and easily missed. But once I did, I knew that eventually I would have to make some changes. And I was trying to wrap my head around how I would shift the most import things I was focused on (building community and conversations) off of the platform.
Trying newsletter platforms was like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. First I tried Beehiiv. I really liked the platform but it ended up being a bit too complicated and too many bros. Also, there were two things that I wanted it to do and I couldn’t get those functions to work on the platform. That was really surprising to me.
Then I tried out Flodesk. I really like Flodesk but it didn’t quite fit the project and was not as robust a product for what I’m trying to do. I do still use it for my romance pen name’s email list.
Finally, I tried out KIT. It’s an almost perfect fit for Creators Getting Paid and of course would be the last tool that I tested out. Painful.
What was I looking for?
- The aesthetics were basically what I was looking for and I really liked the templates
- Honestly, having a free tier that I could test things out with was HUGE. The amount of money that I wasted testing out other products is so frustrating.
- Substack didn’t have a “Pay What You Want” feature and it drove me crazy. I love that KIT has this.
- The ability to build out and sell digital products or other services via the KIT platform.
- The subscription option.
- Opportunities to collaborate and share the work of other creators who are a good fit for my audience.
- Payment plan options for products, etc.
- I wanted a tool with a community feature for the users of the tool. I love that KIT runs Craft and Commerce. An event that I’ve wanted to attend.
What’s missing from KIT. There’s no Klarna or Afterpay integration for higher ticket products. Since I’ve begun using KIT I’ve noticed that engagement has gone up. Click throughs to my website have gone up. Most importantly it feelslike I’ve gained back some of the control over where I can pitch my products, how I’m making sakes and who I’m in community with. I’m still going to be active in on Substack but purposely integrating KIT for a better experience for both myself and the Creators Getting Paid Community.