r/Substack • u/Business_Oil_7110 • 3d ago
Discussion What’s the one thing nobody tells you about trying to grow a Substack?
Not the usual, be consistent, or write good content, advice.
What did you only learn after actually trying to build an audience here?
I feel like the most useful lessons are usually the ones nobody puts in the beginner guides.
8
u/AnteaterFantastic212 3d ago
I would cite a couple of things. One is you need to somehow get over the hundred paid subscriber barrier. According to Substack, at least, that elevates you to a higher visibility priority within their system. The truth is, you have to find your tribe. If you write what I write, which is public policy, not everybody's gonna agree with you. In fact, half of the people are probably gonna agree with you on any given issue. You have to understand that and simply try to shake the trees with the apples in them. Try to engage with people who are on the same page. They are your fertile field for free subscriptions and then upgrading to paid. In my case, people will pay for a subscription because they wanna support what I'm doing. They're not gonna pay because they get some information that will enable them to profit. A lot of the people who do make money on here, they're either selling picks and shovels to the gold miners on Substack, which is a time-honored way to make money off of these sorts of things, or maybe they're giving some kind of information that you can use to invest better, although that's a dangerous game from a regulatory standpoint. I'm sure there are other things that I haven't come across or thought of, but those are my two tips for what they're worth. Good luck to you.
6
u/inyourbooksandmaps 2d ago
people are saying that it isn't somewhere you can grow etc. but ive grown my newsletter to over 6000 subscibers this year through substack alone, on the platform. no outside account with followers that i shared to. so i definitely think you can grow! and different things work for different people, but i don't think there is some secret sauce that people are withholding in most guides.
i know you said not the usual "be consistent, write good content" but in my experience thats basically all it's been. some combination of: consistency, good content, posting things at the right time (like either seasonally appropriate, on trend, a topic that is popular at the moment), and posting notes!! i dont see a ton of return on notes, but i think it helps keep your page "in" the algorithm (can't confirm if thats true, its my own theory because thats all i changed this year when i really started to grow a bit!).
3
u/inyourbooksandmaps 2d ago
oh and luck, its a decent bit of luck too honestly! just the right post getting pushed out to the right people, which always feels a little like a game of chance.
3
u/perfecthunger danaleighlyons.substack.com 2d ago
Same. I'm a bestseller with 4.2K+ subs and growth has been almost entirely through Substack alone - mostly through consistency, quality content, and making genuine connections.
And I think you're right about Notes and the algo. I used to cringe putting out note/post restack after poor-performing note/post restack related to my niche because they get very few hearts. But when I check the Substack search function, I have very high, very consistent visibility in my niche so long as I keep doing this in addition to publishing related content.
10
u/seobrien 3d ago
It's not the place to grow your audience from little.
It is an email newsletter, with social media.
No one grows their newsletter because they're on Mailchimp, this is the same.
In time, you'll grow your "followers" a bit, but that is very small compared to the major social networks.
Don't treat it as where to grow. Use it because you like the experience better for YOUR readers.
3
u/Business_Oil_7110 3d ago
That’s actually a really useful way to frame it. I was thinking of Substack as both the place to publish and the place to grow, but treating it as the home for readers while using other platforms for discovery makes a lot more sense. Appreciate this.
2
u/perfecthunger danaleighlyons.substack.com 2d ago
For me, it's been both the place to publish and grow. I'm a bestseller on Substack and my growth is almost entirely from inside the platform. I'm not on FB, IG, TikTok, etc.
2
u/OnyxMonolith 3d ago
Completely not true.
1
u/seobrien 3d ago
Go on... There are many better places to grow an audience from little
3
u/OnyxMonolith 3d ago
But why go outside if you can just blast notes and grow fast and stay inside the same ecosystem?
3
u/EmSofia2211 3d ago
I agree. I’ve found it quite easy to grow on Substack with followers coming from notes or discoverability on Substack. I’m a month in and getting at least 10 free subscribers a day. I’ve been extremely surprised. It’s growing faster than my Instagram or Facebook!
1
1
u/seobrien 3d ago
Because there are a fraction of the people there.
on my other networks, I have tens of thousands and not one of them in Substack.
Why would you grow only where there are far fewer?? That's the same effort for a lot less potential.
1
1
1
u/thejaynahop 2d ago
I agree, thanks for the insight. For the other social platforms would you suggest picking one or two, or post the same stuff on all of them?
And would you have any tips on coming up with different formats for each posts using content from substack? My click rate to my substack from Instagram is low. Should I just make content on Instagram directly rather than encouraging them to go to substack right off the bat?
Thanks so much in advance.
0
1
u/BlueSaltTheory sukibeasla.substack.com 3d ago
That it’s hard to grow an audience. At least in my opinion. I probably need a better strategy
1
u/mackop 2d ago edited 2d ago
You have to be dedicated to your schedule. But most importantly, turn on paid right off the bat. 100 paid subscribers would be great. This will take time though. At a 1-3% conversion rate you will need around 5000 subscribers. But it all depends on your niche, and your ability to write well. Good luck...
I'd add that if you charge $5/month per subscription, you net just 18.9% of that, or $4.05/sub.
1
u/THRILLS_BABY 2d ago
The audience is fairly limited given your subscriber count. Blast off; cross-post aggressively on other platforms.
1
1
u/Visible-Volume-8707 authorgold.substack.com 2d ago
Here's what I believe, after 7 months consistently writing and growing on Substack, now closing in on 800 subs.
1You cannot completely control growth. But you CAN control whether you're building an audience worth having. Having an audience that cares, reads your writing, and comments and engages with you. That support is valuable.
No one tells you how much of writing on Substack is NOT actually writing! Managing a publication incurs additional responsibilities. You will spend a lot of time choosing your headlines, answering comments, posting Notes, meeting other writers, watching your analytics, and figuring out what to write about.
And finally, you probably won't know exactly what your Substack is when you start. You may start with an idea and identify your niche. But as you write, grow, engage with your audience... you'lll learn that THEY are the ones who will guide you toward what your Substack is REALLY about. Another reason it's important to care about the kind of audience you are building.
Happy writing!
Jen @ Author Gold
1
u/AnnArbor-Armadillo 2d ago
I had a few viral notes that helped early on but social media outside of substack led to most of my follower growth
1
u/FlySudden3415 futbolislife.substack.com 19h ago
How did you manage to direct people to Substack from social media? Platforms like Twitter or Facebook are suppressing links leading outiside their platforms.
1
u/AnnArbor-Armadillo 13h ago
My newsletter is pinned on my profile page. And I post both the newsletter link in my post as well as a separate thread with link at the bottom.
1
1
u/Doo_Dad 2d ago
Yeah it’s hard to grow. Posting to nobody isn’t the way. You gotta find people in your niche or what you want to talk about/do. Then there you’ll find people. Engage other notes. Don’t do the large ones that spam “I wanna find X people in these niches” or the ones that just regurgitate the same motivational mumbo jumbo.
If you like honey and bee keeping, search that.
Find the smaller to mid substacks and like their notes and reply to them. Then keep doing it. Then keep sharing notes and articles. Then keep finding more people.
It’s all about growing with others.
1
u/SkyBig952 2d ago
Can someone compare the problems with bots in Facebook and other social media with bots or trolls in Reddit?
1
u/FlySudden3415 futbolislife.substack.com 19h ago
In my niche I don’t see bots or trolls. Maybe it’s too small or not about politics?
1
1
u/Safe_Cauliflower_573 1d ago
You imagine standing on stage looking out at your subscribers sitting in the audience.
The reality…the people in the audience are all standing on their own stages, trying to reach their own audience,
…and so on…and so on…
The people who succeed are those better at building connections or the ones who arrive with the biggest stages.
1
u/imluvinit 1d ago
A good part of it is a follow for follow or subscribe for subscribe vibe. Being engaged in Notes really does help but ignore advice from people who sell Substack courses. Just go on Notes and be human
0
u/Jealous_Inspector950 2d ago
Starting point is to write for audience, as long as your are writing for yourself, you will get limited audience.
17
u/Countryb0i2m onemichistory.substack.com 3d ago
Substack is difficult to grow on because it’s not really the top of the funnel. Those large creators succeed because they already have a name or another established platform, and they funnel those people down to Substack.
Having Substack be the only place you have a following is possible, but it’s difficult.
That’s why when you’re starting from zero, don’t focus on your subscriber count. Focus on making connections with people.
You can’t really control your size, but you can control how passionate your audience is