The pressure on payment processors from credit card companies to shut down any discourse about sex is disgusting. It's terrible, but all people having a paid Substack about sex should consider they're here on borrowed time.
I thought about that before starting mine, and I decided I'd enjoy Substack's reach as long as I can, and I'll see what happens. But I did my research for alternatives, and as far as I remember, Ghost allows Patreon as a payment processor, so that could be a way to have a Substack-like platform with a payment processor that accepts adult content.
I hope Stripe reconsiders, but I wouldn't count on it too much. What matters are your words, so if they're published elsewhere, people will follow :)
Wow, this is really awful to hear…I was wondering if/when this would start happening on Substack, but it’s really disheartening to see. I hope that you’re able to get your account back and don’t have to switch to one of the other platforms 🌻
Ugh, that sucks! My paid Substack got the same treatment last year; I've kept it free as a promotional tool, but losing the income stream wasn't awesome. I'll second Ream, it uses Stripe as well but they've made some sort of agreement to allow spicier content. You might also look at SubscribeStar.adult, which is also set up to work around payment processor BS, but it doesn't have the reach of Substack.
Thank you. What ended up happening to your Substack and Stripe? Did they leave you in limbo like they have with me for months now? It would be great to know what to expect these coming weeks, if anything. I'm looking into both now.
They shut down my Stripe after about a week; I was using it for paid Substack subs and also to sell ebooks on Wordpress (I think it was actually the ebooks that came to their attention).
I've seen some people recommend changing your profile to remove references to "erotica" and toning down images attached to posts in an effort to look less controversial during their review. I didn't go that route myself - there's no disguising 90% of my ebooks as anything but erotica - but it might be something to try if you want to keep paid subscribers as part of your Substack. Once they've finished their review they probably won't be back.
Since you can have a Substack without paid subscribers, I just kept my Substack as it was and converted my paid subs to free and encouraged them to move to SubscribeStar (and removed paid subscriber content that I didn't want to give away). Substack doesn't seem to mind explicit content, it's just Stripe that has a problem.
I'd recommend downloading your Substack subscribers list just in case (probably a good practice to do periodically in any case); you can bring your audience over to another platform like Ream, SubscribeStar, Ghost, or a newsletter service if Substack starts shutting things down (which I don't anticipate they would do at this point, but who knows in the current climate ...).
you may want to explore Ream or Patroen to publish your material. Ream was developed by writers for writers but both seems to be the platforms that the people getting kicked off substack are gravitating towards
Thanks, Thomas, that's exactly what I needed to hear. This has been going on for a long time now. It started months ago, so I'm skeptical when they tell me it'll be resolved in a few weeks. I'll explore my other options.
Your openness has not only been VERY appreciated, but it is also NEEDED. The internet and the world in general needs more sex-positive, liberated souls like yours. How dare Stripe try to extinguish your shining light. Your courage to be real, open, and vulnerable can inspire many, and it’s a shame that some powers that be would try to put a stop to that.
I hope you find something that works better for you. Any person or any company that tries to silence or asphyxiate you because they can’t handle a little thing in life called S-E-X is not worth your time. Just like you, I too have been through religion-based sexual shame, and after overcoming it, I SHALL NOT be forced back into that soul-crushing place.
It's crazy how we see the ugliest racism and craziest conspiracy theories, but people can't handle mature, sensible topics about humans having sex. Every single one of us was born from sex and somehow, we can't handle people talking about it. Religion is definitely to blame and that should be the new commandment.
Nicole, I tried to follow your Reddit account, but it’s not coming up.
Give me a bit. I just created it. I'll update this Substack soon with more places to follow me.
OK.
The pressure on payment processors from credit card companies to shut down any discourse about sex is disgusting. It's terrible, but all people having a paid Substack about sex should consider they're here on borrowed time.
I thought about that before starting mine, and I decided I'd enjoy Substack's reach as long as I can, and I'll see what happens. But I did my research for alternatives, and as far as I remember, Ghost allows Patreon as a payment processor, so that could be a way to have a Substack-like platform with a payment processor that accepts adult content.
I hope Stripe reconsiders, but I wouldn't count on it too much. What matters are your words, so if they're published elsewhere, people will follow :)
Wow, this is really awful to hear…I was wondering if/when this would start happening on Substack, but it’s really disheartening to see. I hope that you’re able to get your account back and don’t have to switch to one of the other platforms 🌻
Ugh, that sucks! My paid Substack got the same treatment last year; I've kept it free as a promotional tool, but losing the income stream wasn't awesome. I'll second Ream, it uses Stripe as well but they've made some sort of agreement to allow spicier content. You might also look at SubscribeStar.adult, which is also set up to work around payment processor BS, but it doesn't have the reach of Substack.
Thank you. What ended up happening to your Substack and Stripe? Did they leave you in limbo like they have with me for months now? It would be great to know what to expect these coming weeks, if anything. I'm looking into both now.
They shut down my Stripe after about a week; I was using it for paid Substack subs and also to sell ebooks on Wordpress (I think it was actually the ebooks that came to their attention).
I've seen some people recommend changing your profile to remove references to "erotica" and toning down images attached to posts in an effort to look less controversial during their review. I didn't go that route myself - there's no disguising 90% of my ebooks as anything but erotica - but it might be something to try if you want to keep paid subscribers as part of your Substack. Once they've finished their review they probably won't be back.
Since you can have a Substack without paid subscribers, I just kept my Substack as it was and converted my paid subs to free and encouraged them to move to SubscribeStar (and removed paid subscriber content that I didn't want to give away). Substack doesn't seem to mind explicit content, it's just Stripe that has a problem.
I'd recommend downloading your Substack subscribers list just in case (probably a good practice to do periodically in any case); you can bring your audience over to another platform like Ream, SubscribeStar, Ghost, or a newsletter service if Substack starts shutting things down (which I don't anticipate they would do at this point, but who knows in the current climate ...).
you may want to explore Ream or Patroen to publish your material. Ream was developed by writers for writers but both seems to be the platforms that the people getting kicked off substack are gravitating towards
Thank you. I'll look into those.
If Stripe terminates you due to your awesome content, Stripe can go to hell.
Thanks, Thomas, that's exactly what I needed to hear. This has been going on for a long time now. It started months ago, so I'm skeptical when they tell me it'll be resolved in a few weeks. I'll explore my other options.
Your openness has not only been VERY appreciated, but it is also NEEDED. The internet and the world in general needs more sex-positive, liberated souls like yours. How dare Stripe try to extinguish your shining light. Your courage to be real, open, and vulnerable can inspire many, and it’s a shame that some powers that be would try to put a stop to that.
Thank you. It really means the world to me to hear this stuff right now.
I hope you find something that works better for you. Any person or any company that tries to silence or asphyxiate you because they can’t handle a little thing in life called S-E-X is not worth your time. Just like you, I too have been through religion-based sexual shame, and after overcoming it, I SHALL NOT be forced back into that soul-crushing place.
It's crazy how we see the ugliest racism and craziest conspiracy theories, but people can't handle mature, sensible topics about humans having sex. Every single one of us was born from sex and somehow, we can't handle people talking about it. Religion is definitely to blame and that should be the new commandment.
your welcome and I hope things work out