The Tenuous Promise of the Substack Dream

In the early days, Substack seemed like the answer to every writer’s prayer: an easy, direct way to reach readers, earn income, and bypass the traditional media maze. Yet, beneath that appealing surface lies a story of growing pains, financial strain, and a dream that may be slipping through many creators’ fingers.

The Allure: Independence Meets Monetization

Substack offers writers a sleek, easy-to-use platform—complete with email delivery, payments, analytics, and even social features like Notes—with a modest 10% fee to the platform TechRadar Wikipedia. In 2025, the platform saw a resurgence of notable names—journalists like Terry Moran and Mehdi Hassan turned to Substack to reclaim editorial control and income, with the company claiming “more than 50” writers earn over $1 million a year WIRED.

The Catch: For Most, It’s Not a Dream

However, that success is not universal. Many creators awaken to a harsh reality:

Monetary Fragility: Substack endured staggering losses—$25 million burned in 2021 despite gross revenue of $11.9 million—thanks in part to costly “minimum guarantees” offered to attract big-name writers The Information The Verge. Its fundraising efforts faltered amid economic softness, raising concerns about sustainable growth Eric Ashman sarahmchappell.com.
Discovery Drought: Substack lacks genuine platform-driven network effects. It works more like SaaS than a media aggregator—authors control their lists but can’t easily tap into a broader, shared audience unchartedterritories.tomaspueyo.com. As a result, writers must hustle on social media, engage deeply with peers, and drive all subscriber growth independently Reddit+1.
Crowded, Costly Landscape: With millions of newsletters flooding in, standing out is nearly impossible. Reader fatigue is real—many are already paying for multiple newsletters, making each additional paid subscription harder to justify Vogue Business WIRED. As one Wired critic puts it, subscription fatigue and high costs threaten the scalability of the indie model WIRED.
Structural Inequities: Studies show most successful Substack writers started with big followings. That leaves newcomers with limited reach and slim financial prospects Columbia Journalism Review. Meanwhile, paywalls risk deepening the media divide—quality may be locked behind a paywall that few can afford Medium WIRED.

Substack’s Strategic Shifts: A Blueprint or Band-Aid?

To counter stagnation, Substack has rolled out initiatives like a $20 million creator accelerator fund aimed at luring TikTok creators navigating platform uncertainty The Verge. They’ve also nurtured a close-knit community of writers through fellowships and personalized support—though scaling that intimacy remains challenging www.alexanderjarvis.com.

Final Thoughts: A Dream on Shaky Ground

Substack’s model is undeniably tempting: direct audience connection, simplified monetization, and editorial autonomy. But for most, it’s still an uphill climb built on uneven ground. Financial losses, discoverability barriers, subscriber fatigue, and deepening inequalities threaten the platform’s ambition to become the new indie media haven.

The dream remains alluring—but for Substack to truly fulfill it, the company must confront structural fragilities, nurture equitable discovery, and prove that the indie model isn’t just a privilege for the well-known—but a viable path for emerging voices, too.