The Substack Boost upsell email is a targeted message which we'll send to your most engaged free subscribers to help convert them into paid subscribers. This email is automated and we'll send it out on your publication's behalf at the optimal time. However, you can edit and customize the upsell email anytime.
We use a "score" to predict a free subscription's likelihood to convert to paid, based on a variety of engagement metrics. The email is currently designed to go to a very small segment of the email list (~0.1% of the email list each day). There are filters in place to make sure an individual subscriber doesn't receive this email more than two times per year.
Note: The default upsell email template includes a special offer of 20% off for one year for the recipient. All of this is subject to change as we test and try to find the most optimal approach to the email.
Follow these steps to make changes to the upsell email:
1. Head to Boost on your publication's Settings page.
2. Click on "Edit" next to "Upsell email to engaged subscribers".
3. Change the subject and body of the text as you'd like using the editor (while this may look like a draft post, it will be sent out as an email).
Can I change the default 20% off special offer?
Yes! If you'd like to offer a discount that's more or less than 20%, you can delete the "Redeem special offer" button in the draft email template and add your own button. Alternatively, this upsell email is 100% customizable and it isn't required to include a discount in order for it to be sent to your free subscribers.
In the editor toolbar, select Special offer.
Once you select "Special offer" you can add an existing special offer or create a new offer.
Your most engaged free readers can then click on the special offer button when they receive the upsell email and easily become a paid subscriber.
Note: If you remove the default 20% off one year button, you'll also want to edit the body of the email template that mentions the 20% off.
Can I turn off Boost on my publication?
When you turn on payments on your publication, Boost will automatically be enabled and a new section will appear on your publication's Settings page.
To turn Substack Boost off, head to the Substack Boost section on your publication's Settings page and click on the toggle to move it to the left. A gray toggle indicates that the feature has been disabled. To re-enable it on your publication, click the toggle to move it to the right.
