Ghost Integration with Existing Subscription System

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There are a number of different scenarios for people with existing subscription-based sites. Some of them are simple, some a bit more complicated, and some are Enterprise-level challenges. We're happy to advise on any transition, or just talk. If you are thinking about switching, drop us a note at info@outpost.pub.

Moving from Substack to Ghost

This is one of the simplest, because both Ghost and Substack use your Stripe account to handle memberships. That means moving from Substack to Ghost is very simple. The good folks at GhostPro are experts at handling this, and can help you make the transition.

Moving from Pico to Ghost

For sites using Pico to handle memberships, including those running on WordPress or other CMSs, the transition to Ghost is quite simple. Pico, like Ghost and Substack, use your Stripe account to control memberships, and the good folks at GhostPro know how to make transition run smoothly.

Moving from Memberful to Ghost

Memberful, like Pico, Substack, and Ghost, uses your Stripe account to control memberships. This means it's a simple switch, and the good folks at GhostPro can help your transition.

Moving from Patreon to Ghost

Moving from Patreon to Ghost is a little more complicated and less clean, but entirely possible (and the right choice to make). With Patreon, you do not control the billing relationship with your subscribers. What that means is that your Patreon subscribers pay Patreon's Stripe account, not your Stripe account, so you can't take that billing relationship somewhere else.

When moving to Ghost, your best bet is to have all of your new subscribers subscribe through Ghost, and leave your existing Patreon subscribers on Patreon. You can then use a service like Outpost to keep memberships in sync between Patreon and Ghost, so your paying Patreon subscribers are marked in Ghost as Paid Subscribers. That way, when you send out new updates via Ghost, your Patreon subscribers get the updates according to their level of payment. In this scenario, Patreon will continue to take their 8-12% cut of your existing subscribers, but your new subscribers won't be subjected to Patreon's platform tax (Stripe will still take a percentage from each credit card payment, generally about 3%).

Alternatively, you could try asking your existing Patreon subscribers to sign up again with Ghost, which would set up their payment with your Stripe, then delete their Patreon subscription. We do not recommend this, as you are likely to lose a significant percentage of your audience. It's better just to leave those patrons on Patreon, and build the rest of your audience on a more open platform.

Integrating Ghost alongside your existing subscription system

If you are a large publisher with an established log-in/registration system, and you want to add newsletters to your mix while continuing to use your existing registration system, then Outpost can help.

We can build custom integration that bypasses Ghost's native membership system, while still providing all the capabilities of Ghost's free and paid membership system.

For example, on The Atlantic's Subscriber Newsletters, all 9 sites use The Atlantic's existing log-in system. Existing Atlantic subscribers get paid privileges on all of the newsletters without readers interacting with Ghost's log-in system at all. The system is quite elegant and seamless. For example, if someone signs up on a newsletter with an email address associated with a paid Atlantic subscription, they are immediately granted paid privileges, and get a different welcome email than someone who signs up with a email address not associated with an Atlantic account.

If you are looking to build something similar, please drop us a note to see if we can of help at info@outpost.pub.

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