The platform that made newsletter writing cool again — peaking in 2021 as journalists, writers, and creators fled traditional media to monetize their own audiences directly.
The 2021 Boom
Substack’s growth:
- 2020: ~100K paid subscriptions across platform
- 2021: Over 1 million paid subscriptions
High-profile migrations:
- Glenn Greenwald (The Intercept → Substack, 2020)
- Matt Taibbi (Rolling Stone → Substack, 2019)
- Casey Newton (The Verge → Platformer, 2020)
- Anne Helen Petersen (BuzzFeed → Culture Study, 2020)
- Judd Legum (ThinkProgress → Popular Information)
By 2021, leaving a media job to “go independent on Substack” was a viable career path — if you had an audience.
Why It Worked
Direct monetization: Readers pay you directly. No ads, no middleman (well, except Substack’s 10% cut).
Email > social media: You own your email list. You don’t own your Twitter followers. Platform independence mattered.
Simple tools: Write, publish, get paid. No coding required.
Discovery: Substack’s homepage and recommendations helped new writers find audiences.
Community: Comments, threads, and reader engagement built loyal followings.
The Discourse
“Substack is saving journalism!”
- Pro: Writers could make a living outside collapsing legacy media
- Con: Only works if you already have an audience. New writers struggled.
“Substack is destroying journalism!”
- Pro: Journalists could write without editorial interference
- Con: No editors = less accountability, more hot takes, echo chambers
The privilege problem:
- Most successful Substacks were by established white male journalists with existing followings
- Women, POC, and early-career writers faced steeper climbs
The Money
Top earners (reported 2021):
- Heather Cox Richardson (history/politics): $1M+/year
- Matt Taibbi: $500K+/year
- Glenn Greenwald: $500K+/year
The reality for most: Making a full-time living required 1,000+ paid subscribers at $5-10/month = $60K-120K/year before taxes and Substack’s cut.
Many writers earned $0-500/month. The dream of quitting your job for Substack was viable for <1% of writers.
The Backlash
Substack’s moderation (or lack thereof):
- The platform took a “free speech” stance, hosting controversial writers
- Critics called it a haven for transphobes and contrarians
- Writers left in protest over content policies
The newsletter glut:
- Everyone launched a Substack in 2021
- Reader fatigue set in (“I can’t subscribe to 40 newsletters”)
The Culture
“I’m on Substack now!” became the LinkedIn humble-brag.
Newsletter swaps: Writers promoted each other’s Substacks to grow audiences.
Podcast add-ons: Many writers added podcasts to justify higher subscription prices.
The Legacy
Substack proved direct-to-audience monetization could work — but it wasn’t a silver bullet for media’s problems.
By 2022, competitors emerged (Ghost, Beehiiv, Medium’s revamp) and the Substack gold rush cooled. But the newsletter economy was here to stay.
Sources
- Substack growth data 2020-2021
- Columbia Journalism Review Substack analysis
- Writer earnings reports (Casey Newton, Anne Helen Petersen interviews)
- Nieman Lab “The Substack Debate” (2021)