In today’s podcast episode, I talk about the Substack world with none other than Ciler Demiralp, creator of Newsletter Circle and author of a groundbreaking report analyzing 75,000 Substack newsletters. Yes, you read that right—75,000.
Did you know Substack has over 4 million paid subscriptions, and its top 10 writers collectively earn more than $40 million annually? 50,000 newsletter writers make money on Substack.
As a Substack bestseller myself with 11,000 subscribers earning $2,700 monthly, I can confirm it’s absolutely possible to make your newsletter dreams a reality. But navigating the Substack landscape is a lot easier when someone hands you the map—and that’s exactly what Ciler can do.
Around Christmas, I already shared a guest post from Ciler and the feedback was mind-blowing!
A few hours ago, I shared our video interview on YouTube to illustrate her findings. Guess what happened? It’s trending!
So it’s a topic that needs to be covered inside The Online Writing Club podcast.
As a marketing manager myself, I love those data to make informed decisions for my own pricing or activity on Substack (Notes).
Here’s what Ciler is saying about the WHY behind her report and the WHAT
Intrigued by the usage statistics, I got my hands dirty and analyzed publicly available data from 75K Substack newsletters and created a free comprehensive report.
The report gives answers to questions such as:
How many newsletters are actively publishing new issues and how many of them are just staying inactive?
How frequently do creators publish new issues?
What are the subscriber ranges?
What is the usage rate of Substack Notes and Substack Recommendations?
How many newsletters offer a paid subscription?
What are the average paid subscription prices?
What are the social media channels most preferred by different categories?
🎙️Enjoy the show and learn all you need to know
Your feedback is invaluable to Ciler and me. So it would be great to hear from you in the comments.
You can listen to our interview or watch our video interview in which we I have illustrated the report for you - in a nutshell.
» Past podcast episodes live HERE.
⭐Table of Contents
0:00 Intro
1:16 Ciler Introduction
3:34 How many newsletters are actively publishing?
4:36 How many newsletters have paid subscriptions? And what are the average prices?
6:09 What's the usage rate of Substack Notes
7:18 What social media channels are preferred by different categories?
Hungry for more? Meet Ciler on Friday, Jan 31
Ciler is definetly a PLUS - someone better than you to guide and critique.
So I have surprise for you! We gonna discuss our pricing strategies, activity on Notes and publishing cadence with Ciler inside the Club.
Club members can add the event (with Zoom link) to their calendars inside the membership experience. Bootcampers are all set as well.
If you want to join, mark your calendar:
January, 31
3pm EST (usually we meet at 2pm!)
45 min
Join the Substack + Medium Bootcamp: Your Map to Success 🚀
I also invite you to my Substack Flywheel Bootcamp 2025 together with co-host and PLUS Derek Hughes.
We’re handing you the map to navigate Substack and build a content flywheel.
The best part? You won’t do it alone. You’ll connect with 50 fellow bootcampers inside, all working toward the same goals.
Most come for the skills, the guidance, and the strategies to grow their writing. But they stay for the incredible community inside the Online Writing Club.
🌟Ready to join? Let’s build something amazing together. 🌟
5 spots are left. One is for YOU!
❤️🔥Your feedback is just a spark but it’s enough to keep us going.❤️🔥
We hope this interview inspires you and helps you become clearer about your Substack strategy.
Yours truly,
P.S. Liked it? Please share, like, and let me know what you think about this podcast episode💗 Your feedback is important and can spark many ideas. Thanks sooooo much!
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