I spent my first two months on Substack stuck under 50 subscribers.
Every week, I’d publish posts. I’d write notes every day. And each one barely got two likes — from my husband and my daughter, who I had to remind to like them.
Then I started paying attention. Not just to my own newsletter, but to dozens of others in the same rut. Creators writing well. Showing up consistently. And still going nowhere.
I've spent over 15 years in academia doing social research, so I did what felt natural — I turned it into a study.
I used Claude to analyze 100 creator accounts that, just like me, couldn't break 100 subscribers after 2+ months. Then I compared them to accounts that hit 1,000+ subscribers in the same timeframe.
The pattern I found wasn’t about writing quality. It wasn’t about niche selection. It wasn’t even about posting frequency, though that does matter.
It was the same three mistakes — over and over again. Silent killers that most writers never even realize are holding them back.
Once I fixed them, everything changed. I hit 100 subscribers in 25 days. Then 200 just 17 days after that. Now I have 1894 subscribers — a true active audience every writer wishes for. And new readers keep coming every day.
Same person. Same writing quality. Completely different approach.
Here are the three mistakes destroying Substack growth before it even begins.
Mistake #1: Treating Substack Like a Broadcasting Platform
Here’s what most failing newsletters believe: *Write great content → People will find it → Subscribers roll in.
Here’s reality: Write great content → Literally nobody sees it → You talk to yourself for weeks.
When you have 2, 5, or 10 subscribers — or even 50 — Substack’s algorithm doesn’t show your notes or posts in the general feed. No matter how many posts or notes you publish.
Because Substack doesn’t respond to the volume of content you put out. It responds to how much you interact with other people on the platform — whether you leave comments, whether people leave comments under your posts.
So the very first thing you need to do is: Stop broadcasting. Start chatting.
I began spending 1-2 hours every day doing this:
Finding creators with 2–50 subscribers — people in my exact position
Reading their posts
Leaving 3–5 genuine comments on their posts if the topic resonated with me
Subscribing to them
Being generous with likes
I wasn’t asking for sub-for-sub. I was looking for content that genuinely interested me and subscribing when the ideas clicked. Many subscribed back. We were all struggling together, supporting each other.
This strategy works no matter how many subscribers you have. Even now, with over 1,700 subscribers, the moment I start replying to comments, notifications about new subscribers start popping up on my phone. And that’s not a coincidence.
“But where do you find creators with a small number of subscribers? Substack only shows me big accounts in the general feed,” — one of my subscribers asked me this.
Here are a few ways:
First, keep an eye on notes published by other creators who invite, for example, writers under 10, under 100, or under 500 subscribers to share links to their accounts. Like this one:
Among those who shared links to their accounts, you’ll always find at least a couple of writers who are at the same stage as you and whose topics genuinely interest you.
Or, when participating in note boosts, browse through the authors there, looking for those who are at the same stage of growth as you.
Or join a community where creators support each other.
Mistake #2: Dismissing Notes As “Fake” or Meaningless
At first, I didn’t really understand the point of notes. “Nobody reads those.” “It’s too hard to write something every single day.” “It feels artificial.” “They don’t work.”
I almost skipped notes entirely.
Here's what I didn't understand — and what many new writers miss too: Notes are your main growth engine on Substack, especially when you’re small.
Everyone kept saying “publish 3 notes a day” and I kept resisting. That felt overwhelming. Impossible. Like I’d run out of things to say.
Then I started with just one note a day. Because one note is definitely better than zero notes.
The secret isn’t quantity. It’s consistency and variety. I learned to rotate between three types of notes:
Community-building notes (these performed best):
These were my rocket fuel. They got people talking, engaging, and remembering my name.
Educational notes:
Quick tips I’d learned / Lessons from my own mistakes.
Motivational notes:
Encouragement for other struggling creators / Celebrating small wins / “You’re not alone” messages
Notes are not mini blog posts. They’re conversations. Two sentences can be enough. A quick observation is fine.
When I stopped treating notes like they had to be perfect content pieces and started treating them like talking to friends, everything got easier. Notes aren’t fake. They’re not meaningless. They’re how people discover you exist.
Mistake #3: Not Joining Note Boosts Immediately
This was my single biggest regret. I waited weeks before participating in my first note boost.
Why did I wait? Fear, mostly. Imposter syndrome. ”My content isn’t good enough yet.” “I need more posts first.” “I need more subscribers first.”
Absolute nonsense.
Here’s what actually happened when I finally tried note boosts:
My very first boost participation brought 12 likes to a note that previously would have gotten 2. Some boosts brought me 50+ subscribers. Others brought a handful. But every single one expanded my reach.
It’s thanks to note boosts that I finally hit 100 subscribers by my third month.
I started doing 3–4 boosts per week. The rule is simple: share your note, then genuinely engage with at least three other writers. I always engaged with way more than the minimum — because these were real people trying to grow, just like me.
The shift in my growth timeline tells the story:
Without boosts: 2-5 subscribers per week
With boosts: 50 subscribers in 25 days (after hitting my first 50)
Don’t make my mistake. Join your first note boost this week. The timeline doesn’t lie.
If you want to see a Notes Boost in action, come join my subscriber chat. I host a Notes Boost every Thursday + a Meet & Greet Monday (where we all share our latest articles). You're very welcome!
The Complete Blueprint (Day-By-Day)
If you’re stuck under 100 subscribers, here’s your week:
Today:
Ask 1-2-3 friends to subscribe (I know it feels weird, just do it)
Find 5 creators with similar subscriber counts
Subscribe and leave genuine comments
Write one note, just one (for example, about Substack)
This week:
Publish 1-2 notes daily, you can schedule them in advance (two sentences counts)
Rotate between community-building, educational, and motivational notes
Join your first note boost
Write and publish one post
Comment on 1-3 posts from other creators with similar subscriber counts
During the month:
Repeat the weekly routine
Track what resonates (some notes pop, others don’t — that’s data)
Keep taking action based on the insights you’ve found throughout the next month
Analyze your gathered data with AI to identify what exactly makes your notes bring in subscribers and build the repeatable, sustainable system around Notes. You can learn exactly how in The Substack Notes Engine Playbook below.
Why Posting Consistently Isn't Enough — And What to Do Instead
If you're serious about growing your Substack and turning your writing into income — you need a notes system that consistently brings in engaged subscribers.
The Substack Notes Engine Playbook gets you there in 30 minutes. It’s a complete beginner's guide to what notes are, what types of notes actually bring in new subscribers, and how often to publish them + a pack of AI prompts to help you build a Substack notes growth system tailored to YOUR OWN data and your niche.
14 prompts with step-by-step frameworks that will help you quickly identify what works, what doesn’t and how to fix it - in about 30 minutes.
This Playbook is for you:
if you're just starting your newsletter and want to build the right system from day one;
if you've been publishing notes for a while but they're not getting traction and you can't figure out why.
No technical skills required. Just the free version of any AI tool: Claude, ChatGPT, or Perplexity.
This AI prompts pack includes:
Instructions How To Collect Data (both manually and automatically)
Prompts for Express Audit why your Notes Aren’t Getting Engagement
Prompts for Competitor Comparison
Deep-Dive Analysis Prompts: A Full Picture of What’s Working and Why
Prompts to Generate Notes from Your Top Patterns
Ready-to-use swipe file with my 30+ best-performing Substack notes, including the notes that each brought me between 100–200 new subscribers, complete with data (impressions, likes, and exactly how many subscribers each one drove).
Here’s what changes on your Substack after you apply this playbook:
Your notes start getting more likes — not occasionally, but consistently, week after week, as you refine your formula based on real data rather than guesswork.
New subscribers arrive from your notes which become your main growth engine.
Your posts get higher open rates — because the readers your notes attract are genuinely interested in what you write, not random passersby.
Comments start appearing under your notes and posts. Real conversations, not silence.
You stop losing subscribers. When your notes speak to the right people, the wrong audience stops subscribing — and the right one stays.
And instead of spending an hour every morning wondering what to write, you sit down with a system, pick a note type, follow the structure, and publish in 15 minutes.
You’ll build your own personalized notes system — one that fits your niche, reflects your creativity, and brings you new subscribers every day.
Right now, you can get The Substack Notes Engine Playbook for $17.
Price goes to $34 on Monday — grab it now.
Dear Substackers, where are you right now — under 50 subscribers, under 100, or pushing past 500? Tell me, and let's figure out your next move together.
May I ask... what is a Notes boost, thats new to me 🙏🏻
I'll try anything, but it appears to me the only posts going anywhere are written about how to win on Substack. Where is the content of quality? I'm sick of seeing Sub 4 Sub notes. I need content to actually read!