I make $1500+/month on Substack — here are topics people will actually pay to read [Substack Growth: Part 2]

I’ve seen what makes people actually pull out their credit card. Here are topics people will happily pay to read if you want to monetize your writing here. I'm sure you'd be able to do at least one!

I started writing articles on this platform exactly 10.5 months ago and it’s already generating around $1,500 per month.

But, aside from being a writer on here, I also love reading what other people are publishing, and I become a paid subscriber when I’m eager to see more. Or sometimes the info is so valuable or entertaining and I just know I’ll enjoy every article they publish. In other cases, the writer is so likable, I just want to pull out my card to support their work.

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So that brings me to the psychology of…

“Why do people pay for your content when they could get it for free somewhere else?”

“What are the topics that would help you gain PAID subscribers?”

You can always write about literally whatever interests YOU. Substack can be your journal and you might not care about making money from this, and that’s cool.

But, what if you do want to make money here?

Now, let’s talk about different things that you could write about… and I’m going to break it down in 3 main categories.

Category 1: Unique Experiences

A. Illnesses, Tough Times & Life-Altering Experiences

Think about when YOU go through something difficult in your life. You don’t know many people who have gone through it in your immediate circle, so you turn to the internet. You’re desperately looking through forums, YouTube videos, blogs from people who have experienced exactly what you’re going through at the moment.

The exact symptoms, the ups and downs, how they handled a situation, what gave them hope, what worked, what didn’t…

Whether you’ve had a bout with cancer or lost a sibling, you can find it healing to write about it. Writing about it can be cathartic for you, and someone going through it might relate to it, want to read more and also support your work.

B. Hyper-Specific Life Experiences

Are you a mom of 7? Are you a lawyer who also creates content about your family life? Are you a coffee lover who has now discovered you’re allergic to coffee? Are you 50 years old and have never been in a relationship?

Those are things that are quite specific, which might make you think you’ll have a narrower market to appeal to. But, that’s a good thing! Those people don’t usually find many people like them talking about their experiences, so they’ll relate to the little things only you, as a member of that particular group, experience..

Plus, you’ll have tons to write about because it’s just about taking a look at what you experience every day and putting it out there.

C. Behind-the-Scenes Experiences

What about your life (not necessarily work-related) makes people come up to you and ask you questions? What are they curious about?

People like to feel like insiders, so think about what you could write about that would make them want to know more because it’s something they’re either interested in doing or they just want insider access to your life.

So, if it’s work-related, we could do things like:

“What’s it like to work on a cruise ship?”: From the gossip about the relationships and situations going on in everyone’s personal life to where you sleep and how much free time you have. A person who wants to work on a cruise ship would pay to read more.

“The life of a bikini waxer”: This one could have a comedic angle on what you see every day, how some people react to pain and why people tell you they’re getting the wax. I’m sure they have crazy stories to tell. Plus, aside from becoming a paid subscriber, they could fall in love with your content/personality and want to book your services if they’re in your area.

If it’s NOT work-related, you could do:

“What’s it like to be the sister of a famous rapper?” This applies to any kind of famous or interesting person around you. Of course, don’t go violating their privacy, and you might want to be anonymous for this one too so you can get into the really juicy stuff. It’s also fun because people will try to guess who it is, which will generate lots of comments (yay, engagement!) and even content outside the platform.

“The sad life of a wife who knows her husband is cheating” Gosh, I got dramatic with this one, sorry… but if someone is going through the same thing, you bet they’ll want to read. Plus, there might be people just in it for the gossip, and of course, you could make this an anonymous Substack... or not, the husband is cheating anyway! If they can sneak around, you can too. LOL.

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Category 2: Your Secret Sauce

A. Recipes People Can’t Get Anywhere Else

Does everyone love everything your grandma makes? Why would you gatekeep that if it could literally generate money? I mean, it’s cute to keep it a family secret, but who cares if someone across the world also makes your grandma’s sancocho? Sell it! (Ask grams for permission, though. Don’t wanna piss her off.)

And to take it even a step further, if you have a restaurant, you could also share the recipes. The biggest thing stopping you might be the competition stealing your secret sauce and getting your customers, I guess? But that would be really weird of them—to copy the recipe you’re most known for.

On the other hand, if a restaurant in another country or even city copies your recipe, that’s fine… they weren’t competition anyway. Plus, they’re not “stealing” it, they’re literally paying you to get all your recipes. Why not monetize from the stuff you know?

B. How You Help People Do Something

For example, how you help people get remote jobs. Haha. If you’ve ever read my Substack—this one right here—you know that’s mostly what it’s about. So, I’d like to use myself as an example.

I figured out how to work remotely (I’ve been working remotely since 2015), and my first remote job was in HR, which means I know about getting remote positions both as an employee and as an employer.

Then, I started helping people get remote jobs. The first person I ever helped was my brother. I’ve helped tons of friends and my mom, who is 62. I also create content (tons of videos) and resources (like courses and challenges) to help people get remote jobs. I already have all that content, so why not also write about it, right?

In your case, what do you help people do? Even if they don’t pay you for it, you’re clearly good at it, so that could be your Substack’s main niche!

Maybe you help people organize their fridge, find good sales on clothing online, figure out what career they should go into, follow the curly hair routine… whatever it is. Start writing about it because people will want to pay for step-by-step guidance, plans, ideas and insights… just like I do here.

C. Your Personal Accomplishments and Routines

Let’s go a bit deeper for this one… because people are also interested in achieving things in their personal lives, and they might not know who to talk to or go to for advice, so that’s where you come in.

I know people love consuming this type of content because I have another entertainment brand where I talk about things like this, and people are inspired and love hearing about it.

So, here I share things like:

“How I started doing everything alone”

“Why I have so many hobbies”

You’d be surprised how many people want to change that aspect of their life and look up to others who have already done it. People want to read more about others who have accomplished things they want to do, so what’s something you’ve managed to do in your personal life? Write about that. It doesn’t need to be life-changing or help them make money.

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Category 3: Your Taste, Opinions & Recommendations

A. The Reviews & Recommendations You Already Give Your Friends

This is SO doable for many of you. Again, think about what people come to you for a lot. What do you enjoy and know a lot about that people around you would be able to confirm?

Could be anything, literally. Books. Makeup. Hotels. Restaurants. Apps. Concerts. TV shows. Coffee shops. Clothes. Fitness classes. Grocery products. Travel destinations. Online courses. Baby products. Skincare. Video games. Whatever!

Now, how do we make people pay for this when this information is already readily available on places like Yelp or Letterboxd? Because you’re going to write so much about the same topic that you’ll essentially become an expert in the niche. No market is saturated when you can make it your own and bring your personality, expertise or writing style.

So again, it’s about getting specific about something you’re particularly good at. You could write about the best taquerias in Mexico City where locals actually go, books actually worth reading if you hate self-help books, or every hotel you’ve stayed at as a solo female traveler that made you feel safe.

You don’t need a culinary degree to know where you and your family like to go eat tacos, you know what I mean?

B. Your Controversial Takes & Unpopular Opinions

I know you’ll be like, “But why would they want to hear what I, a woman from St. Peters, Missouri, have to say about why Hollywood weddings are tacky?”

One thing we’re going to do around here is stop it with your impostor syndrome, okay?

Remember, it’s not what you talk about, it’s how you do it. And you might have a take that’s so interesting or an angle that’s so funny that people might crave every article you post and pay you for your brilliance.

Why do people pay to go see comedians? Because they say what we think about but aren’t brave enough to say, AND they say it in a way that makes you think and laugh. Well, you can do the same here.

Pop culture commentary. Controversial thoughts on parenting. Opinions about modern work culture. Fashion commentary they won’t find in a traditional magazine. Dating observations from your own experience. Sports hot takes. Anything, as long as it’s uniquely YOU.

C. Curation: Finding the Good Stuff

You probably already do some version of this without even realizing it.

Maybe you’re the friend who always knows how to get points, deals and miles by using the right credit card. Or you’re constantly finding cheap flights. You somehow always discover cool small purse brands from local artists around the world. Or you find the best sales on Amazon (this is cool because you could get paid by your subscribers AND through the links you share on Amazon).

Other entertainment angles for this could be: You know which Netflix shows are worth watching for people who are into crime documentaries. You know every new indie rock album coming out. You find interesting articles every week from independent writers here on Substack.

Everyone has something they’re good at finding online, and your recommendations might be exactly what someone is looking for. Make it available to them, but charge for it because you deserve to get paid for the hours you spend researching!

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See how this starts becoming more doable for everyone?

So, many people say, “Why would someone pay little old ME for info they can find online?”

Just because you’re good at finding that kind of information doesn’t mean that everyone is. You could essentially save people time and point them to cool things they wouldn’t have found otherwise!

And with the more personal stories, I remember when I got a terrible allergic reaction on my nails from getting gel nail polish. I searched all over to see what I could do while I was experiencing symptoms, and then after the fact, I kept searching to see how long it took for other people’s nails to recover. After that, I KEPT looking to see what products they used that wouldn’t spark another allergic reaction.

If I was that invested in a relatively short-lived condition, can you imagine how much more people are searching for and looking to connect with someone going through a life-altering illness? There’s a reason why there are so many books by cancer survivors or women who have gone through specific traumatic experiences.

People want to relate to others! Be that person for someone!

Think of it like this (if you have impostor syndrome)… you don’t have to claim, “I am the biggest fashionista in the world and the utmost expert when it comes to finding affordable dresses.”

Nope. We don’t have to do all that.

You’re just saying, “Hey, so I’m already spending way too much time looking for these things. I might as well share the good ones with you so YOU don’t have to spend hours looking and not finding them.”

That’s how you get people to pay you for your writing!

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I got tired of the Substack topic recommendations I kept seeing, because it’s NOT limited to just:

How to invest, How to start a business, How to be more productive, How to improve your finances, How to use AI, How to advance your career….

It’s about knowing what you’re uniquely good at and writing about what you know and, most importantly, about what you enjoy.

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Now how do you actually make money from it?

Hopefully, by now I’ve convinced you that you probably have WAY more to write about than you thought.

Figuring out what to write about is only one part of it, and I just covered that here.

But then comes the part everyone actually wants to know…

How do you get people to PAY for it?

I started my Substack 10.5 months ago, and today it generates around $1,500 per month. When I first wrote about my strategy in June, I was making $1,120 per month, so I broke down exactly what I was doing to get there in an article.

In that article, I’m telling you:

• How I decided what to charge and when to start charging

• How often I actually publish

• How fast my monthly revenue grew (how long it took me to make money)

• How I grow within Substack itself, without needing a big audience somewhere else

Because writing cool articles is the first step, but you eventually need to learn a bit about how the platform works to actually monetize it.

I broke down the whole strategy here:

Btw… the funny part is that I’m already making closer to $1,500/month now (about 2 months later)… so apparently the strategy is still working. 😂

I published a new article about what I did those 2 months to bring that monthly revenue up. You can read it here.

Now, based on the topic ideas I shared here, what do you think you could write about? Would love to know if you got some clarity from this article!

💜

Andrea Valeria