A Small Change for Better Discoverability
But Everything Stays Free!
Hi everyone,
I wanted to give you a quick heads-up about a small technical change I’m making to this publication starting December 1st.
TL;DR: All my content will remain completely free. Nothing changes for you unless you choose to support me.
What’s Changing?
I’ll be switching on Substack’s paid subscription feature, but only as a “technical toggle” for discoverability. Every article I publish will remain free and accessible to everyone, as it always has been.
Why Make This Change?
Substack’s algorithm significantly favours publications that have paid subscriptions enabled, even if you’re not actually charging for content. Writers who don’t turn on this feature face several disadvantages:
Reduced visibility in recommendations: Substack’s discovery algorithms deprioritise publications without payment options enabled
Lower placement in search and browse: Free-only publications rank lower in Substack’s internal discovery systems
Fewer promotional opportunities: Substack’s editorial features and recommendation engines favour publications with subscription options
Essentially, Substack’s platform architecture treats the payment toggle as a signal of “seriousness” or commitment, regardless of your actual monetisation strategy. For writers who want to keep everything free while still reaching new readers, this creates a bit of a bind.
What This Means for You
Absolutely nothing changes for you unless you want it to.
Every article/post/story remains free to read
None of my articles will be paywalled
You can also still use the Ko-Fi button you find on some of my posts to give a one-off tip
The only difference is that there will now be an option for readers who regularly want to support my work financially. Think of it as a voluntary tip jar that, unlike the Ko-Fi button, also happens to help more people discover my publication.
A Note for Those Who’ve Pledged
If you’ve previously pledged to support this publication, this is your heads-up. Once I enable subscriptions on December 1st, Substack will convert your pledge. You are under absolutely no obligation to follow through. I’m so grateful you expressed interest in supporting me, but please don’t feel any pressure whatsoever to keep your pledge going, especially if you made it a long time ago. That’s why this newsletter goes out to you in the first place.
I appreciate you being here and reading what I write. That’s the support that matters most to me. This change is simply about working within the platform’s constraints to help my writing reach more people who might find it valuable or interesting.
As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you for sharing this… I felt a little weird about turning on paid, but for exactly the reasons that you have just laid out so eloquently, I’m going to turn it on and keep my stuff free too!