Facebook has opened up fan subscriptions to any creator in the US, the UK, and several other markets. The feature lets creators with Facebook pages charge $4.99/month for membership that paywalls exclusive content, along with other perks. Eligibility criteria: having 10,000 followers or more than 250 return viewers, and either 50,000 post engagements or 180,000 watch minutes in the last 60 days. Facebook takes up to 30 percent of subscription revenue. Learn more from Facebook. As a side note, we just read an excellent take on why Patreon, a competing fan subscription platform, can ultimately be limiting to career growth; we believe much the same applies to Facebook’s program.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
