35 paying subscribers out of 8,000 seems to be very low, especially for 15 years.

Do most people actually pay and support most newsletters? Wouldn't it be more stable income to have sponsors or commercial sponsors?

What's with the "everything has to be monetized" or optimized for earning?

Why do people have to earn money on their hobbies?

Why a person can't just publish stuff for others to read?

Why should we be obligated to pay?

If someone has to make a living, maybe they should stick to a proper job not a hobby side gigs. Well I have a friend that makes living from basically making side gigs, but he is not looking to "make it big" - he just values freedom more and if he gets some money to just get by he is happy with it. He is not going to optimize conversion rate of paying supporters. But he is authentic that is why people who drop him some money do so - second he starts "revenue optimizing" I believe anyone who follows him will just drop it and move on.

It doesn’t seem like making money Is the object.