Eligible creators can now offer paid monthly subscriptions to their subscriber-only posts.
Some of the best thinking on Lumin takes real time and expertise to produce. From today, the people writing it can be paid for it.
How it works
Creators mark posts as subscriber-only and set a monthly price between £5.99 and £49.99. Readers subscribe from a locked post or the creator's profile, pay securely through Stripe, and get access to everything that creator publishes for subscribers.
The fee, plainly
Lumin keeps 10% of each subscription. Stripe's card processing fees are deducted first, and the rest goes straight to the creator's own Stripe account. Lumin never holds creator funds, and creators manage their payouts in their own Stripe dashboard.
Earned, not bought
Most platforms let anyone start charging on day one and worry about quality later. We've done it the other way round. Before a creator can sell a single subscription, five things need to be true:
- A Pro plan is active on their account.
- A Lumin Rating of 2,000 or more, the Visionary tier, built through contributions that have already been recognised by peers.
- The creator terms have been read and accepted, as a separate step rather than a box ticked in passing.
- A person at Lumin has reviewed the account and approved it.
- Stripe has verified the creator's identity and bank details, in a country Stripe supports for payouts.
None of this is friction for its own sake. It means the ability to charge comes after a track record, not before one.
The ability to charge comes after a track record, not before one.
What readers see
A locked post isn't a blank wall. Readers see the headline, the author and a short preview of the real content, along with the creator's storefront: what the subscription is, what it costs and what to expect. The full post stays on our servers until someone subscribes, so it's a real paywall, not a blurred box.
Subscribers can manage or cancel any time from their own billing page, without having to ask anyone.
A small detail we cared about
If a creator stops offering subscriptions, their subscriber-only posts disappear from the feed for anyone who isn't already subscribed, so nobody hits a Subscribe button that goes nowhere. Existing subscribers keep their access.
For creators
Creators get their own storefront, with a title, description and cover image, plus a subscriber list they can search and manage.
Apply when you're ready
If you've built a Lumin Rating of 2,000 or more on a Pro plan, you can apply from your settings today. If you're not there yet, keep sharing your thinking. The way to get there is the same way you'd earn subscribers anyway.
