Seventeen Sponsors Keep the Newsletter Free
The Story
Maja keeps the GTM Strategist Substack and LinkedIn newsletter free to every reader, and pays for it with sponsors rather than a paywall. “In 2024, 17 partners supported my content,” with the biggest backers being Clay, Amplitude, HubSpot, and MeetRecord.
The economics are explicit to her readers. Sponsor money is what removes the subscription ask: “Your support helps keep this Substack free for everyone.” It also funds the team and the time that goes into the content.
Keeping the front door free is what makes the sponsorships worth buying. A larger ungated audience across the Substack and the 52K-follower LinkedIn presence is the inventory she sells, so free reach and sponsor revenue reinforce each other instead of competing.
Lesson for Creators
Sponsorship and free reach compound. Keep the newsletter open to everyone, sell the resulting audience to a roster of flat-fee brand partners, and let sponsor revenue, not reader paywalls, fund the work.
Quotes
- “In 2024, 17 partners supported my content”
- “Your support helps keep this Substack free for everyone”
Sources
Related (matched on mechanism)
- A Revenue Mix Anchored on Sponsorships — tom-alder, matched: flat-fee-sponsorships
- Undercut the CPM Lock the Long Term Deal — adam-biddlecombe, matched: flat-fee-sponsorships
- Make Your Best Paid Content Free — olivia-wickstrom, matched: free-drives-paid
- The Paid Newsletter That Gates Nothing — kyla-scanlon, matched: free-drives-paid
- Free Post Hooks, Paid Post Pays Off — tomas-pueyo, matched: free-drives-paid
- The Free Offer as a Megaphone — adam-robinson, matched: free-drives-paid