Your newsletter subscribers are now free members of your publication. The same people, with the same email addresses and the same settings. They now appear in your members list alongside your paying members, and each of them has a Steady account.

The separate subscribers page is gone. If you had it bookmarked, it now takes you to your members page.

Two practical consequences:

Someone who joined your publication without paying. A free member:

A free member does not:

And if a free member unsubscribes from your emails, their free membership ends.

Users can join as free members from various touchpoints:

We created a plan called Free for your publication. You can edit its name, its image and its benefits, exactly like a paid plan. The price is the one thing you cannot change.

You can also decide whether it appears publicly. Hiding it removes the free plan card from your plans page and from your checkout on your own website. Readers can still become free members through your newsletter sign-up. Hiding the plan is not the same as switching free membership off.

If your newsletter was already active, your free plan is visible from the start. If it was not, the plan exists but stays hidden until you show it.

For your existing subscribers. We created an account for each of them in the background. Nothing is required of them, and they keep receiving your posts exactly as before. The first time one of them signs in to Steady, they are asked to accept the terms and conditions. From then on they can manage all of their free and paid memberships in one place.

Until they do that, they appear in your members list without a name. That is expected. Names arrive when someone completes their profile.

For new free members. Anyone joining now accepts the terms and conditions at the point of signing up, with a checkbox on every entry point: the newsletter layer, the embedded form, and the free plan.

Can I let free members read a paywalled post?

No. The free plan does not appear in a post's access settings, so it cannot be granted access to paid content.

Does the paywall disappear on my own website for free members?

No. Free members see the paywall on paid posts, the same as anyone who is not a paying member.

Can free members get access to podcast feeds?

No, for the same reason. Podcast access is granted through plans, and the free plan cannot be selected there.

Can free members comment?

No. Commenting stays a benefit for paying members.

Can I send a direct message to a free member?

No. Direct messages also stay a benefit for paying members.

Can a free member become a paying member?

Yes, and it takes fewer steps than before. Because they already have a Steady account, they only need to add a payment method.

What happens if I hide my free plan?

The free plan card disappears from your plans page and from your checkout on your own website. Readers can still become free members through your newsletter layer, your embedded form, your sign-up page, and recommendations from other publications. You can also still import an email list. Your existing free members keep their membership.