For Substack writers
Substack Link in Bio That Grows Subscribers and Sells Your Book, Workshop and Consults
Gated and paid links on every plan. No platform branding, ever.
Build your page
What your fans see
The short answer
A Substack link in bio is the address on your social profiles that sends followers to your newsletter. Substack's own guidance for writers is to put the publication in your bio, and for a writer whose whole business is the newsletter, the bare yourname.substack.com/subscribe address is the right answer.
Once you also sell a book, a workshop, templates or paid calls, that address has nowhere to put them. ExclusiveLink keeps Subscribe as the top button and adds paid links that sell a single item for a one-time price, an email-locked sample chapter, and on Pro, clicks by post and the page on your own domain.
Maya Ortiz
Weekly essays on small business money
- Subscribe on Substack
- The book, paperback and ebook$24
- Pricing workshop replay $39
- Sample chapter Email
- Book a 45-minute call
maya.com
Example page. The writer and prices are illustrative.
01 · What goes on it
Subscribe first, then everything a reader can buy from you
Most writers with a growing list have two or three things for sale besides the paid tier. The bio page puts them in the order a new reader needs them.
- 1
Subscribe on Substack. Link the /subscribe page, not the home page, so one tap opens the email field.
- 2
The post people came for. The essay your last Reel or thread quoted. Relabel the button each time you post.
- 3
One paid item. A workshop replay, a template pack or a guide sold once, for readers who will never take a monthly plan.
- 4
The book and the call. Your book on the retailer of your choice and a booking link for consults or speaking.
02 · Your Substack page and a bio page
What your Substack page already does, and the jobs it leaves to you
Substack handles well
- Free and paid subscriptions, the archive and the About page
- A custom domain for the publication, for a one-time $50 fee
- Recommendations and the Substack app, where readers find new writers
- Paid tiers, for 10% of subscription revenue plus card processing
Left for the bio page
- A one-time sale of a replay or template pack, with no subscription attached
- Your book, your podcast, your booking page and your shop side by side
- Which Instagram post, thread or LinkedIn update sent each tap
- One address for every profile that outlives any single platform
Substack's checkout is built around subscriptions. A writer who wants to sell a $39 workshop replay to readers on the free list needs a checkout somewhere else, and the bio link is the natural place for it, because it is the one link every new reader taps first.
What a one-off sale is worth
Paid subscribers stay on Substack, one-time buyers pay you directly
Two different readers, two different checkouts. Here is what each platform keeps.
$39 as a paid subscription on Substack
$5.33
10% platform fee plus 2.9% + $0.30 card processing, before any recurring billing fee.
$39 replay on ExclusiveLink Creator
$2.21
2% platform fee plus the same card processing.
$39 replay on ExclusiveLink Pro
$1.43
0% platform fee, card processing only.
Card processing assumed at 2.9% + $0.30 for every row. Substack's 10% fee and its one-time $50 custom domain fee are from Substack's own help pages. Our plan prices are on the pricing page.
A worked month, as an illustration
A writer with 4,000 free subscribers runs a live pricing workshop and sells the replay for $39. If 1.5% of the list buys, that is 60 copies and $2,340 in a week, from readers who were never going to pay $8 a month. The workshop does not replace the paid tier. It earns from the 95% of the list who stay free.
When Substack alone is enough
If your income is subscriptions and sponsorships inside the newsletter, and you sell nothing else, keep yourname.substack.com/subscribe as your bio link and skip us. A bio page earns its plan once there is a second thing to buy.
Set up in one evening
How to add your Substack link to your Instagram bio and every other profile
-
1
Copy the subscribe URL
Add /subscribe to your publication address, or to your custom domain if you set one up on Substack.
-
2
Build the page
Subscribe button first, then the current post, the paid item, the sample chapter and the booking link. Import a Linktree in one step if you have one.
-
3
Paste it into each profile
Instagram: Edit profile, Links, Add external link. Threads and TikTok: Edit profile. LinkedIn: Contact info, Website.
-
4
Tag and read it
On Pro, tag each profile with its own UTM campaign and see whether Instagram or LinkedIn sends the subscribers who buy.
TikTok only shows the Website field to accounts with 1,000 followers or a business account. Platform details are on the link in bio for Instagram and link in bio for TikTok pages, and the tagging itself on the link in bio tracking page.
Options for writers
Substack link alone, Linktree, Beacons or a selling page
Four ways newsletter writers handle the bio link. Each one is right for somebody.
| Setup | Cost | Cut on one-off sales | Own domain | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yourname.substack.com alone | $0, $50 once for a domain | No one-off checkout | Yes, for the publication | Writers whose only product is the newsletter |
| Linktree | $0, $8, $15 or $35 a month | 12% Free, 9% Starter and Pro, 0% Premium | Not offered | A plain list of links next to Substack |
| Beacons | $0, $10, $30 or $100 a month | 9% on Free and Creator, 0% from $30 | On paid plans | A cheap store plus a media kit for sponsors |
| ExclusiveLink | Creator or Pro, see pricing | 2% on Creator, 0% on Pro | On Pro | Writers selling replays, guides and calls who want clicks by post |
We do not send newsletters and we do not try to. Substack does that, with the network behind it. If you want the bio page on your own name, the custom domain link in bio page explains the setup, and writers with a book out will find the link in bio for authors page useful for the retailer buttons.
People also ask
Substack link in bio questions
How do I add my Substack link to my Instagram bio?
In Instagram tap Edit profile, then Links, then Add external link, and paste your publication address with /subscribe on the end so the tap opens the signup field. If you also sell a book or a workshop, paste a bio page instead and keep Subscribe as the first button.
How to link Substack in TikTok bio?
Go to Edit profile and paste the address into the Website field. TikTok shows that field to accounts with 1,000 followers or a business account. Below the threshold, writers point viewers to their Instagram or Threads bio, where the link field works for every account.
Should I use Substack as my link in bio?
Yes, if the newsletter is the only thing you sell. Substack's own guidance points writers there, and the subscribe page asks for one thing only, an email. Use a bio page once you have a second offer, such as a book, a course, a template pack or paid calls, because the Substack page has no place to sell those on their own.
Does Substack let you use a custom domain?
Yes. Substack charges a one-time $50 fee per publication to connect a custom domain, after which you can add or change domains at no extra cost. That domain covers the newsletter. A bio page on a subdomain such as links.yourname.com can sit beside it on ExclusiveLink Pro.
How much does Substack take from paid subscriptions?
Substack keeps 10% of paid subscription revenue, and card processing comes on top, about 2.9% plus $0.30 per charge plus a small recurring billing fee. Free newsletters cost nothing. One-time sales made through a bio page are outside Substack and pay only that page's own fee.
Can you sell digital products on Substack?
Substack's checkout is built for subscriptions, so most writers sell one-off products such as guides, replays and templates somewhere else and link to them. On ExclusiveLink a reader taps the item, pays once and the link opens, with no account, and you keep the buyer's email.
What is the best link in bio for writers?
For a writer with one newsletter and nothing else to sell, the Substack subscribe link is best. For a writer selling books, workshops or calls who wants to know which post brought each reader, a selling bio page fits better. The best link in bio app comparison sets the tools side by side.
For writers with something to sell
Keep the newsletter on Substack and sell the rest from your bio.
Subscribe up top, paid one-off links, an email-locked sample and clicks by post, on your own domain with Pro.