Aaron Severson (2024) recently posted a story that asks readers for feedback about how he can better monetize his auto history writings at Ate Up With Motor. I would like to offer some thoughts. I do so here because I would like to invite more readers into the conversation and discuss Indie Auto’s situation.
My perception is that the U.S. is experiencing a golden age for reader-supported, smaller-scale publications. This has partly been driven by necessity — mainstream media have sustained heavy staff cuts in recent years, and that has led to a boom in out-of-work scribes attempting to launch their own publications. These brave souls have been helped by the advent of technology that can make it easier to deal with the logistics of subscriber-based funding.
It’s hard to say what will happen once we hit another recession, but at least right now I’m seeing an encouraging number of success stories — at least outside of the auto-history realm. Our field seems to have gotten so used to the idea that information should be free that it is tougher to ask people to pay for content rather than expect advertisers to do so.
Collectible Automobile hints at potential approaches
Of course, there are exceptions to that tendency. Collectible Automobile does not run advertising, so it presumably survives on revenue from subscriptions and back-issue sales. I have sometimes complained that this magazine does not advance automotive history the way that it could, but Collectible Automobile has managed to stay alive — which is admirable. Might smaller-scale publications learn something from their experience?
My sense is that Collectible Automobile benefits from three main factors. First, they have carved out a clearly defined niche. Second, their product is relentlessly consistent. Third, they appear to be careful to only give away content on the web that supports the sales of their print edition.
How might this apply to the likes of Ate Up With Motor or Indie Auto? I don’t think one should merely try to scale down and copy their approach. The future belongs to electronic media, so it would make more sense to develop a partial web-based paywall rather than launch a print edition.
Severson (2024) wrote that he was “very reluctant to put articles behind a paywall.” I get the skepticism, but I think that the key is implementation. The most successful websites I have seen do a strip tease. They make available terrific content that lures readers into subscribing so they get even more.
What might that look like? Some of the non-automotive websites I follow offer both free and paid subscriptions. They often produce around three posts per week, with one available to everyone and the rest for paid subscribers only. To entice unpaid subscribers to upgrade, they will send out emails to their entire list that includes the first few paragraphs of the paywalled story and a handy prompt for upgrading to a paid subscription.
Vendors have differing strengths and weaknesses
Substack has been a popular vendor for small-scale publishers because they have a well-developed subscription-fulfillment and e-newsletter system. However, other vendors such as Ghost and Beehiiv offer somewhat similar services. Or you can add a paywall to a WordPress website.
Choosing among vendors is a bit like figuring out what kind of car to buy — each has strengths and weaknesses. So which one you gravitate to will depend upon your specific situation. For example, Ghost has better-quality website templates but requires more coding than Substack.
Severson seems to be drawn to Patreon. My impression is that it works best for content creators who want to do more than run a website that distributes content via e-newsletters (Robbin, 2024). All of which raises the question — what kind of content is most salable by an automotive historian?
Note that “content” can include more than articles. For example, I subscribe to one non-automotive website primarily because of its lively comment sections. Another website I subscribe to has weekly question-and-answer posts where I can ask an expert specific technical questions. With the above-listed vendors, you as a publisher have the flexibility to make comment threads available only to unpaid or paid subscribers.
What content could find a large enough audience?
Severson quite rightly expressed skepticism about whether there is a large enough audience to fund the substantive automotive research he likes to do. That said, I suspect that the auto history field is underdeveloped when it comes to a reader-supported, small-scale websites. The first competent writer who carves out a clear and consistent niche could become the pint-sized version of Collectible Automobile if they have a decent business plan.
What would that look like? My sense is that the web demands a consistent flow of product. Although I personally would prefer to write articles that are upwards of 3,000 words in length, it’s clear from Indie Auto reader data that most people would prefer shorter pieces — and posting new content at least three times per week. That has forced me to think differently about how I package content.
Severson might find that he has quite a bit of content he could spin off into smaller posts simply by rummaging through research that didn’t make it into his magazine-length stories.
Posting multiple times per week throughout the year can be time consuming, so I have borrowed Curbside Classic’s approach of reposting existing stories. However, instead of doing so without making any changes, I will typically update and expand a story. This is hardly the only way to engage in “continuous improvement,” but the key point is to not assume that you need to write a new article from scratch — particularly if you have existing content that hasn’t been updated in years, as Ate Up With Motor does.
So what does all this mean for Indie Auto?
In the last month Indie Auto has received a burst of donations from both new and ongoing supporters. I am grateful for your generosity. This gives me increasing confidence that we are on the right track.
That said, I suspect that Indie Auto is getting close to the stage where it would benefit from a partial paywall. I haven’t settled on the right approach. For example, I recently tested out Ghost for another media project with the idea of potentially shifting Indie Auto over to that platform. At this point I’m not optimistic that it would be a good fit. So my next step is to take another look at software that can be added to our existing WordPress website.
This may be too inside baseball for most readers, but I think it is important to occasionally talk about what it takes to run an auto-history website. By all means chime in with your thoughts — either here or over at Ate Up With Motor. And do consider making a donation to Severson. He’s one of the best historians around and deserves support.
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Robbin; 2024. “Substack vs Patreon: The Best Platform for Creators in 2024.” Creatoregg. Update Feb. 19.
- Severson, Aaron; 2024. “Patronism?” Ate Up With Motor. Posted March 19.
If I ponied up for paid subscriptions for every website I read, I’d be broke! I don’t mind how The Autopian runs its paywalls as most articles are free. I read a lot of substacks but there is just no way I could pay for most of the sites that I enjoy. I thought this year that I would start supporting my favorite authors, but then I did the math! Several authors give you one or two articles and a list of links per week.
(I don’t pay for music or video streaming services either, and I use my digital library card a lot!)
I would totally pay for a book version of Ate Up With Motor articles! Aaron’s website is one of the best & most comprehensive automotive resources out there.
I am a newer reader of Indie Auto, so the article refresh technique works for me.
I don’t mind ads, unless you’re talking about ones that pop up and cover the content.
You make some important points. Those of us who live on a budget inevitably need to prioritize our subscriptions — and that may become tougher during recessions. For example, I typically only pay for those automotive publications that I need in order to produce Indie Auto and can’t access the full content without paying for it. Currently I only place Collectible Automobile and Automotive News in that category.
Running advertising has historically been the favored way to fund websites because the technology has made it a pretty simple way to generate income — at least as long as one has a high enough readership (thus the pressure for clickbait). However, in recent years ad revenues have fallen for a goodly number of publications. This has led to some publications going out of business while others have scrambled to boost reader subscriptions.
I think you’re right that the quality of Aaron’s work is such that, at least in theory, he could sell his content in books. The challenge is that publishing at a scale large enough to generate a decent income can be daunting, particularly for a solo writer. Collectible Automobile may represent a useful compromise, but they have had decades to build an infrastructure to sell their book-like magazine.
From a journalistic standpoint, I think that the greatest value of a website continuously updating its content is that the field of automotive history has relied too heavily on books that rarely get updated. This has resulted in obsolete ideas and outright errors getting endlessly repeated. I find it particularly frustrating when even highly esteemed historians continue to recycle debunked narratives as if they were still writing in 1990. This undercuts the advancement of automotive history.
Steve / Editor: My donation will arrive in April, 2024. (I am on a fixed income, but I enjoy “Indie Auto” so much ! I know: “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride” is a proverb and nursery rhyme, first recorded about 1628 in a collection of Scottish proverbs, which suggests if wishing could make things happen, then even the most destitute people would have everything they wanted.[2] It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20004.