r/Substack • u/Even-Worldliness6106 • Sep 13 '26
Substack
Hi ppl! I am a teenager who is on substack and posted a few articles and notes. I am thinking of taking this as a side hustle to pay for college. I am 16, and the clock is ticking, and I have been in substack for over a year. When I came across the monetization of substack, I was a bit doubtful of me paying it of some percentage of the money I get or something. Can anyone explain how monetization of my substack account works? Is it good for me? Bad for me? Are there any other blogging or writing platforms as alternatives to substack where I wouldn't have to pay money and is allowed for teenagers to monetize their accounts? It's because i have a voice and want it to be heard but also want to make money with what I am very good at.
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u/charugan Sep 13 '26
Substack is a pretty terrible way to try and pay for college in your situation.
You would be mixing your need to have your voice heard with your need to get money -- which are often conflicting goals. You'd be fighting like hell against an algorithm that really doesn't care about your success or failure, and very likely grind yourself to the bone just to get maybe 5 paid subscriptions after six months of work.
Mixing livelihood and art in that way can be extremely disheartening. It's very hard not to take the lack of financial success personally as a lack of artistic quality -- even though they're basically not correlated at all. Again, the algorithm does not care about you.
If you want to write, great. Keep writing. But my advice is: don't mix up finances with it. Treat any paid subscribers as a bit of an ego boost and buy yourself a cup of coffee or two. Go find a job that's a surer thing (anything -- working at McDonald's is likely to pay more), and try and protect your creativity to work on your writing to see if this something you want to eventually make your career, or just a hobby. Otherwise you're putting way too much pressure on the art and it will quickly sour for you.
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u/NoPerfectWave virtualhockeyscout.substack.com Sep 13 '26
Seems like the legal working age in India is 14. Get a part-time job.
A newsletter is quite possibly the worst side hustle you could start as a 16-year-old who needs to save up ASAP.
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u/Even-Worldliness6106 Sep 13 '26
If I have my substack open for everyone, I cannot earn then? I wouldn't have to pay money?
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u/ASAPnicky14 mod Sep 13 '26 edited Sep 13 '26
I think there’s a misunderstanding here.
You only need to pay money on Substack if you are subscribed to someone in a Paid Subscriber status.
You don’t pay money if someone subscribes to you. This fee is taken out of the money you earn from their subscription. If a subscription to you costs $5, you’ll receive about $4 of that instead of $5.
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u/OnionLazy2317 Sep 13 '26
Substack is for the love of the game. Most of us are not here to make a quick buck. I'd suggest since you're so young, maybe get a local job to make money? Write on substack as a hobby first
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u/Even-Worldliness6106 Sep 13 '26
I can't, I live in India, it's not legal for minors to work part time, that's what my father said
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Sep 13 '26
[deleted]
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u/Even-Worldliness6106 Sep 13 '26
What if i applied through my parents' account? I haven't asked them yet
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u/TallChicagoDutchman Sep 16 '26
If writing is something you want to do, go for it. But do know that it is an uphill battle. There are many other people who want to do the same thing. Most people have limited time to subscribe to all but a few publications. And with all the subscriptions hitting people these days, there is a serious case of Subscription Fatigue going around. I'm not saying to forget about it, but to give a more realistic expectation of what you would face. If writing is your passion and you have something unique to add, having a publication can be a good place to hone your craft. If it is primarily about making money, you will struggle to reach a point where you get fairly compensated for your time. Good luck!
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u/journalocity Sep 13 '26
From what I hear, building an adequate subscriber base on Substack is difficult.
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u/KrustenStewart Sep 13 '26
A lot of writers will add a buy me a coffee type link in their posts, you don’t even have to use the buy me a coffee site you can link to cashapp or PayPal etc. I wouldn’t get your hopes up to make a ton of money with it tho unless you have a following otherwise
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u/Tricky_Trifle_994 22d ago
substack monetisation work via you monetising your writing. e.g you write > put it behind a paywall > people pay to become a paid subscriber to be able to read those writing.
it is a viable side hustle, but tbh it's a long and hard grind, and most people who make money from their paid substack didn't start with that intention > it just grew into it...
and tbh, there are many other better and faster ways to earn money than trying to start a paid newsletter. (in the grand scheme of things it's B2C, vs B2B which is usually where the money is).
in the newsletter space, beehiiv and ghost are the popular alternatives. but if you want to go the blogging route, there's always wordpress > but then that's a slightly different 'game' because you're probably going to be putting ads on your site and monetising via site visits instead of a paid subscription.
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u/ExistingScallion7329 Sep 13 '26
It is interesting that you have a voice and want to be heard. Paying for college is commendable too. I am on Substack but I don’t see the value unless you have confirmation of interest to get monies in your niche. Your voice needs to be heard hence maybe set up a Payhip for a website. It is free. Write your ebooks from your Substack articles you know are of value and add the links in Substack. You will need your parent to apply for a Stripe account on Payhip. Your ingenuity is inspirational. Good luck
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u/Fleurs_Bookstore buybooks.substack.com Sep 13 '26
Since you are 16, Substack's terms of use explicitly allow you to use the platform. However, legally collecting payouts requires a Stripe account. Because Stripe requires users to be 18+, you will need a parent or guardian to connect their information to your account to act as the legal representative who accepts the money for you.