Substack is launching a feature that allows writers to paywall entire chats or specific threads to paid or founding members only, the company announced Wednesday. The rollout of this new feature comes 18 months after Substack launched chat as a way for writers to communicate directly with their loyal readers.
The company believes that paywalled chats help keep conversations intimate and prevent trolls, while also serving as a paid perk for readers. According to Substack, its data shows that active Chat participants are 12% more likely to maintain their subscription.
Writers can choose to paywall the entire chat or individual chat threads. When a writer paywalls a chat, free subscribers and non-subscribers are asked to upgrade to view the chat.
Image credit: Substack
Substack is also upgrading its chat interface to make navigating large groups easier. The company is launching a feature to search chats to help people find old threads. Additionally, we're introducing thread notifications and new reply badges to help users stay in the conversation. Substack is also upgrading its backend systems to load new chats and replies in real time, making it easier to stay up to date with conversations when discussing live issues.
When Substack first launched Chat, it wanted to capitalize on the turmoil at Twitter following Elon Musk's acquisition. As he notes in his latest blog post, “Many readers prefer the simplicity of Substack Chat over other platforms.” I think of it as an alternative. The company then highlighted comments from paid subscribers that Chat is a great alternative to X.
Chat isn't the only feature Substack is trying to take on X; the company introduced a Twitter-like “notes” feature a year ago. The Notes feature allows users to share posts, quotes, comments, images, videos, and more in a tweet-like format. Short-form content appears in a dedicated Twitter-like feed.