How To Stop Feeling Awkward About Asking Readers To Pay You
Is it cheesy and desperate to ask for money or isn’t it?
I might want buy you a coffee but I can’t if you never build a Starbucks in your front yard.
There seems to be a great internet debate about writers asking for coffee/tip money. I feel like the argument scale is fairly even on both sides.
Is it cheesy and desperate to ask for money or isn’t it?
I once read a fellow writer’s viewpoint on why she would never ask her readers to buy her a coffee. She was convinced that throwing around coffee money will turn into a tit-for-tat game where writers start keeping a tally of who owes whom a tip.
Here’s the thing though….
She thinks of it as tipping. I call it paying it forward.
Nobody who uses tipping apps is making demands. They’re giving readers the option to show appreciation for art being consumed. They’re putting a suggestion out into the universe, not keeping a spreadsheet of who does or doesn’t fork over some cash.
Giving or receiving a virtual coffee is an opportunity, not an expectation.
Especially on Substack where we don’t have a built-in tipping option. A reader might not want to give you $5.00 every month but they might want to give you $5.00 today. And if they do, it’s not the tip that’ll change your life, it’s the feeling that accompanies the tip.
From my perspective, it’s a karma thing.
Long before I tested these tipping apps for myself (on Medium), I occasionally tipped other writers anywhere between $5 and $50 depending on the situation.
I like to tip writers because they're delightful people who deserve an unexpected smile, not because they've written something profound.
Several years ago, a fellow Medium writer randomly sent me $1000.00 😳 and I didn’t even have a tip jar. I woke up to a PayPal email advising me of the money transfer.
I felt so strongly that it was a scam that I phoned Paypal to ask if the sender was a verified user. Indeed he was.
I reached out to thank him but also to decline the money because I didn’t feel right accepting it.
He responded by saying that if I declined the money, I’d deny him the pleasure of giving it.
He basically refused my refusal.
After experiencing his incredible generosity I had no choice but to look for a way to pay it forward by tipping another writer $50.00. Not because I wanted something in return but because I could.
Why can’t we just consider buying random coffees for random writers as an acknowledgement for all the UNpaid work we do?
So, instead of assuming that everyone who wants to get paid is a prime suspect, try leaving yourself open to possibility.
You never know what might fly in through an open window.
I have enough coffee in my cupboard so if you choose to click the link below, I’ll buy a treat for my 85-pound lap dog. She’s a bottomless pit.
Do you love the idea of this tipping call to action? ⬆⬆ Let me design a custom one for you! Here’s how…
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I'm sure Substack thinks people will tip instead of subscribing, but it's at least equally possible that people who weren't going to be paid subscribers will tip from time to time.
Readers are, for the most part, oriented toward individual transactions, like buying a book. Sure, magazines and newspapers have always worked on subscriptions models, but at least in print, they're rapidly declining. People who read nonfiction may still subscribe to online newspapers, but people who read mostly fiction aren't as likely to do that. And some moves to subscription models, like with software, have been very unpopular with consumers.
We also need to be conscious of the fact that Substack is a lot for people who aren't used to it. Many readers are highly reluctant to give up emails, aren't used to the concept of getting huge amounts of reading in their inbox, and they're possibly a little phobic about long-term commitments. One-time donations may be a nice bridge between the free internet and the Substack model.
It's honestly uncanny how every week on here, your articles are exactly what I'm thinking about working on or planning to do! I think a Tip Jar is a great idea and much more palatable for most readers than committing to a full subscription. It's something I see a lot in the music world, where it's very common for audience members to offer a little tip if they're enjoying the performance and it's a wonderful way for them to show their appreciation. I think the same thing could work very well for writing. I do have one question, though. Are we only permitted to use 'Buy Me A Coffee' for Tips, as it's part of Stripe, or can we use PayPal as the provider instead/as well? Thanks... 😎