All The Ways To Make Money In Media Without Ads

The two main monetization channels for newsletter writers are: subscriptions and ads. Subscriptions are great because they provide recurring revenue but it usually takes a bit of time to build enough trust for people to pay for a subscription. Subscriptions also suffer from what I call “the paywall paradox”.

The most powerful and interesting media model will remain raising money from members who don’t just permit but insist that the product be given away for free.

There are extremely compelling reasons to consider diversified revenue streams. Expanding revenue beyond ads allows for the simple fact that people’s preferences change. Digital marketing experts estimate that Americans are exposed to around 4,000 to 10,000 ads daily. There is a point where you can no longer stuff more ads down a consumer’s throat;... See more

In the past few years, startups like Substack, Patreon, and Shopify have created alternative ways for creators to build businesses online through direct transactions, rather than advertising. This shift exposed a simple fact: in an ad-driven world, creators were generally under-monetizing their audiences.