Pros & Cons of Subscription-Based Content for Creative Entrepreneurs

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In 2021, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in the On-Ramp Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator program through the Indiana Arts Commission. In addition to providing me with a grant to partially fund my first audiobook, On-Ramp also included a three-day business course for creative entrepreneurs in Indiana.

Creative individuals across many disciplines — writing, painting, sculpting, dancing, songwriting, etc. — came together to learn, network, encourage each other, and discuss business strategies. Some of the artists strongly encouraged me to build a Patreon community.

I had heard of Patreon before, but I’d never considered it a viable option for me. Subscription-based content was intriguing as a source of passive income… but would people actually pay to read my posts?

I’ve now been on Patreon for three years, and I recently started a Substack subscription as well. Here are my thoughts on the pros and cons when it comes to publishing subscription-based content as part of your business model.

What are Patreon & Substack?

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Patreon and Substack perform similar functions. Both platforms give creatives the opportunity to publish their work online and have subscribers pay a monthly fee to access it.

Substack prioritizes written content with minimal design options. It can also host podcasts and videos, but it doesn’t have a lot of customization options. You can publish your content for free, which is how I share my monthly newsletter now that I’ve migrated it over from MailChimp. You can also set up a monthly subscription for fans who pay for your premium content. Substack allows you to set prices for monthly/annual subscriptions, group subscriptions, or the “founding member” plan. You can also do a half-and-half option by inserting a paywall into your content that allows people to read for free up to a certain point, and then they have to upgrade if they want to continue reading.

Patreon supports text, audio, video, polls, livestreams, and more. For subscription plans, Patreon offers more versatility by allowing creators to set various membership tiers at different price points with different perks. You can also publish free posts for the general public.

I started Patreon for my fans by offering three membership tiers with perks ranging from a handwritten thank-you note, to timelapse videos to watch me sketch a new drawing every month, to sneak peeks and deleted scenes from my book series, to having a place or minor character named after you in an upcoming book.

Substack was intended to host my free monthly newsletter and nothing more. However, a local artist reached out to me and suggested that I create a new Patreon tier for artists and other creatives who might be interested in my advice for finding and applying for events, being a successful vendor, marketing, branding, et cetera. I considered her proposal but decided that rather than expand Patreon to add a new demographic, I would create a separate Substack community that focused on business topics for creative solopreneurs.

Pros of Subscription Content

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Monetized Publications

Subscriptions enable creators to monetize their work and earn compensation for their time, skills, expertise, and unique perspectives.

I publish a lot of free content on social media, my monthly newsletter, and this blog. Free content serves important roles in my business. It’s how I connect with new fans, reach new readers, communicate my schedule and important announcements, build hype around my book series, share my art, and more. Free is great… but it doesn’t pay the bills.

That’s where monetization comes in to fill the gap when I publish content that goes beyond my basic posts and articles. As you can imagine, finding additional ways to earn money in between events and book releases is critical to building my business so I can not only survive, but also invest money back into the business.

Recurring Revenue

The biggest advantage of having subscription-based content is knowing that I have a steady (albeit small) stream of income at the beginning of each month.

Most of my revenue comes from sales at events, but that’s not always consistent. Inclement weather, low foot traffic, illness, and other unforeseen circumstances can result in cancelations or poor sales, and one poorly timed bad event can completely mess up my financial stability.

The recurring monthly revenue that comes from subscription content is a little extra padding to help protect me from those mishaps. In an emergency, that income can help me cover bills. When everything is running smoothly, it goes straight back into the business by covering costs such as website hosting and domains, editing and publishing costs, liability insurance payments, inventory orders, vendor fees, and more.

Highly Engaged Niche Audience

When fans subscribe to your content, it’s safe to assume that they’re genuinely interested in what you’re publishing. In comparison, when I post on my blog or social media, I’m sending content out to a potentially wide range of readers on the internet. It’s hard to know how engaged those readers are or what type of content they prefer since I write for different audiences, depending on the topic and post.

But the casual readers aren’t the ones who are likely to pay for premium content. Subscribers open the door for much more interesting conversations and topics since they’re highly invested in the subject matter. On Patreon, I know these are fans of my books and/or art, so I can go into much more detail. On Substack, I’m dealing with creative professionals who are interested in the business side of art and writing. These highly engaged niche audiences enable me to tailor my publications and speak to them in depth on the subject matter.

Exclusive Content

Subscribers expect premium content, giving creators a prime opportunity to share exclusive information, sneak peeks at the creative process, glimpses behind the scenes, early access to releases before they’re made public, and more. Subscription content raises publications up to the next level, which is not only fun for the creator, but also for the fans who get to see behind the curtain.

I like to describe Patreon as getting a VIP pass at a concert. I’ll share my finished art for free online, but patrons get to go backstage and actually watch me draw it, which is an entirely different experience for true fans.

Support Individual Creators Instead of Corporations

From an integrity standpoint, it’s much more satisfying to know that your subscriptions are supporting a hardworking, creative individual whose work you appreciate rather than going to a big corporation that’s taking advantage of its customers while the CEO and stockholders pad their pockets.

There’s currently a grassroots push to support small local businesses, artists, authors, musicians, and other creatives who are struggling to stay afloat. I feel optimistic that in the wake of the pandemic, the public will continue to follow this trend as people become more and more frustrated by the corporate greed that’s been price-gouging us for a long time. That’s my hope, anyway.

Cons of Subscription Content

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Getting Subscribers

My greatest challenge has been getting people to actually subscribe. For the On-Ramp artist who initially pushed me to join Patreon, attracting subscribers was easy. She had an incredibly supportive fan base that was eager to support her.

I didn’t have that. I also have a history of struggling to market myself, especially when it comes to seeking money for donations, fundraising, flash sales, or even general sales. My short list of subscribers has fluctuated over the few years I’ve had Patreon, and my growth has been slow and incredibly frustrating. Simply put, I’m not good at asking people for money, so I struggle to push my subscriptions.

Competition for Subscribers

Unfortunately, we live in a subscription world now. It seems like almost everything is a subscription. (I’m still mad at Adobe for eliminating the single-purchase option for their programs… I’ll continue using Photoshop CS6, which stopped receiving support in 2014, until the bugs make it unusable and I’m forced to start paying for the subscription.)

Netflix, Prime, Disney+, utilities, rent, apps, games, meal kits, Spotify, news publications, Microsoft, Adobe, internet, phone… So many subscriptions. I get it. I’m on a tight budget myself. It’s hard to compete with all of those big corporations sucking up everyone’s money every month. Why should people sign up for yet another subscription to add when many people are trying to cut back on their monthly spending?

Burnout

When subscribers are paying monthly, there’s constant pressure to publish, publish, publish. If you stop publishing, they’ll either stop paying, or you’ll feel guilty because they’re not getting what they paid for.

This nonstop pressure to create and publish new content on such a regular basis opens the door for creative burnout. What if you run out of topics? What if life gets hectic and you don’t have enough time to gather your own thoughts, let alone organize them and publish a post? What if you want to take a long vacation?

Fees

Patreon and Substack are both free to use. However, they have to make their money somehow, and they do that by taking out fees from the pledges your subscribers make. Patreon takes 8% plus processing fees, which altogether add up to just under 14%. Substack’s cut is even steeper at 10% plus Stripe’s processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

Yes, you’re making money, but as your subscriber list grows, you end up losing a chunk of your revenue. However, you’re also using the platform, tools, domain, and host for free, so some fees are to be expected.

Some creators have become frustrated and opted to leave these platforms in favor of using their own websites instead. But, if you have a WordPress website like I do, you’d have to pay for a plugin to collect those monthly or annual fees. If you have a lot of subscribers, that avenue might be worth it. If you don’t, that option would be more expensive for you. It’s a growing pain you’ll have to consider if your following expands.

Conclusion

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Is subscription content the right move for you as a content creator?

As long as you’re willing to stick with it, I say go for it! It doesn’t cost you anything except time if you’re using a platform like Patreon or Substack. They take a percentage of your revenue; they don’t charge you upfront for anything (unlike a WordPress plugin, which would charge you a monthly or annual fee).

Just remember that it can take a long time to get established and build your subscriber list, so try not to get too frustrated. Competition against other subscriptions is steep, and people are frugal about where they spend their money.

There’s also the risk of burnout, so it might be beneficial to follow other creators, brainstorm a list of content ideas, establish a publication schedule, and take other measures to prepare.

The benefits are definitely worthwhile if you have exclusive content worth sharing with a select niche of engaged fans. Until you get established, subscriptions will most likely serve as a small supplemental source of revenue rather than your primary income, but it has the potential to grow into a much bigger stream over time. Some creators have successfully amplified their subscriptions enough to make up half or more of their total revenue. I’m not there yet, but I’ll continue to publish exclusive content for my biggest fans and followers as my business keeps growing.