Last week, Sinem and I went live to share practical strategies to level up your Substack publication.
We covered everything from attracting new readers, gaining more paid subscribers, creating content more efficiently, and making your newsletter stand out.
These are some of the most effective strategies we’ve learned after being on Substack for more than a year, during which we grew to nearly 17,000 subscribers and over 650 paid subscribers.
You can either watch the replay of the livestream or continue reading below, where I’ve written out all the 15 strategies we shared. 👇
#1: Don’t Post Into The Void
A lot of new Substack creators make the mistake of posting in isolation and hoping the algorithm will magically boost them.
But that’s a recipe for a lot of frustration, as you’ll likely just post ‘in the void’ with zero engagement.
Instead, for every Note you publish, do the following:
Like 10 Notes from other creators
Leave 5 meaningful comments on other Notes
Send 1 DM to a Substack creator you don’t know to build a connection
This is what my business partner
calls the 10-5-1 Rule, which helps you build a network of Substack creators who will also start engaging with your content (instead of merely posting in the void).#2: Start With Notes (Even If You’re Not Ready To Launch)
If you don’t know your niche yet, your newsletter name, or what your homepage should look like, don’t let that stop you from publishing on Substack.
If you’re not yet ready to launch your publication, start by writing Notes first (at least one per day).
Notes can be anything from quotes, quick tips, or short personal stories - they’re much easier to write than a long-form post.
By focusing on Notes first, you’ll already build momentum, attract an audience, and begin connecting with other creators.
This gives you a head start for when you’re actually ready to start your publication.
#3: Treat Your Paid Tier Like a Product
If you want to attract a lot of paid subscribers, your paid tier needs to feel like a no-brainer.
Paying for “extra emails” isn’t very sexy.
But paying for a membership that includes mini-courses, workshops, templates, or coaching is far more compelling.
Adding completely different resources than more ‘exclusive articles’ has been one of the main drivers of our paid subscriber growth.
If the only difference between free and paid is that some posts cut off halfway, that’s not compelling enough for people to pay.
Treat your paid tier like a product, and attracting paid subscribers becomes much easier.
#4: Run Dedicated Promotions For Your Paid Tier
Don’t just throw a paywall on your posts and expect readers to upgrade.
We get most of our paid subscribers by running dedicated promotions for our paid tier (with temporary discounts, bonuses, or special offers).
These dedicated windows give people a real reason to upgrade now instead of “someday.”
#5: Analyze Engagement To Find Your Best Topics
Pay close attention to which of your posts, Notes, or emails get the most opens, comments, and likes.
Those are signals from your audience about what resonates most. Lean into those topics more and more.
Not only will this help you grow faster, but it’ll also show you what people might be willing to pay for.
If a Note about a certain topic sparks tons of engagement, that’s a clear sign it could become a paid deep-dive article.
And if your articles on a certain topic get a lot of engagement, that’s a signal you can create a paid workshop, course, or other digital product on that topic.
Before we continue with this post, we’ve got exciting news for you:
On October 2nd, we’ll host a live Substack Growth Masterclass where we share exactly how to grow your audience and income on Substack.
This live masterclass is completely free to attend, so secure your seat now and set yourself up for success on Substack:
#6: Show More Of Yourself
People don’t just subscribe for your information - they also subscribe because they resonate with you.
In an age of AI-generated content, it’s becoming more and more important to share bits of your personality, personal hobbies, or behind-the-scenes stories.
Showing your human side builds a level of connection that AI can’t.
So, whether it’s in your Notes, a podcast, a Substack Live, or your long-form writing, show more of you to attract a loyal audience that feels connected to you.
#7. Use Your Navigation Bar
Adding links to the navigation bar of your Substack publication is one of the easiest ways to drive more traffic to the resources you want people to see.
For example, in our navigation bar, we link to our:
Become a Member Page (where we show the benefits of joining our paid tier)
Premium Content Library (where we link to all of our premium content)
This way, every visitor to our publication immediately sees some of our most important resources.
This automatically leads to new paid subscribers, course students, podcast listeners, or YouTube subscribers - without us having to do much for it.
#8: Collaborate on Substack Lives
Hosting a Substack live together with another creator is one of the best ways to grow.
You get to show up in front of your own audience and their audience, while delivering value together.
Plus, people get to ask you questions and connect with you directly on the livestream, which builds trust and connection fast.
Recordings can also be repurposed into posts (like we’re doing with this post) or bonus content for paid subscribers.
#9: Repurpose Your Content Into Notes
Every long-form post you publish is full of nuggets you can turn into short Notes.
Instead of letting those ideas get buried in a 1,000-word post, pull out 1 - 3 key messages and post them as Notes.
It’s a super simple way to multiply your content and get more visibility with hardly any extra effort.
#10: Make Chat Work For You (But Only Later)
If you’re brand new to Substack, I recommend ignoring the chat feature, as it can be a distraction from posting more content.
But once you have 100+ subscribers, it can be a valuable channel to build closer relationships with your audience, host AMAs, or even test ideas for paid offerings.
For example, in our Write • Build • Scale chat, we post multiple new threads per week, ranging from Notes Boosts, product giveaways, networking opportunities, and much more.
This helps us build a closer relationship with our audience, as we’re engaging with people in a more personal and direct way.
#11: Guest Post On Other Publications
One of the fastest ways to grow is to write for an audience that’s already there. That’s why guest posting is so effective.
Guest posting on another Substack publication introduces you to new readers who may not have found you otherwise.
Especially when you’re just starting out - and you don’t have many subscribers yourself - guest posting can help you get that initial bit of traction on Substack.
#12: Use Newsletter Recommendations (A Lot)
Newsletter recommendations are one of the most powerful growth features on Substack.
We have 468 Substack publications recommending Write • Build • Scale, which brought 6,500+ new subscribers to our publication.
(That’s almost 40% of our total subscriber count.)
In other words, don’t sleep on Substack’s recommendation feature.
The best thing about the recommendations feature is that it’s a passive way to grow your audience.
All you have to do is:
DM other Substack creators and suggest a newsletter recommendation swap
Set up the newsletter recommendation swap in your publication settings
Have new subscribers join your publication on autopilot
Just as a quick tip, it works best to suggest a newsletter recommendation swap with creators you already have a connection with.
If you go straight into proposing a recommendation swap without any prior connection, it comes across as transactional, and it might be less effective.
#13: Think Multimedia (Not Just Writing)
Yes, you can build a successful publication purely with writing. But going forward, adding video content, podcasts, or images will matter more and more.
In an AI-driven world, showing your face and voice builds trust that text alone can’t (since that’s super easy to generate with AI nowadays).
So, consider adding at least one multimedia element to your Substack. Whether that’s a podcast, Substack Lives, videos, or Notes with personal images.
It adds a level of personal connection and trust to your Substack that’s hard to accomplish if you only create written content.
#14: Create A Strong About Page
Most people underestimate the ‘about’ page on Substack, but it’s one of the first things many new readers check.
Write a clear, compelling description of what your newsletter is about, who it’s for, and why someone should subscribe.
Also, add a personal story (and picture) so people know more about the person behind the publication.
When you do the ‘about’ page right, you can easily turn strangers into new subscribers.
#15: Treat Substack As A Long-Term Game
Like all good things in life, growing on Substack takes time.
Don’t get discouraged if you’re not blowing up in your first month(s).
Every Note you post, every article you publish, and every collaboration you engage in will compound over time - and reap rewards for your future self.
Play the long game.
A year from today, you’ll be happy you got started.
Join The Substack Growth Masterclass [Free]
Wherever you are in your Substack journey, we want to help you grow.
That’s why we’ll host a live masterclass on Thursday, October 2nd, where we share exactly how to grow your audience and income on Substack.
This live masterclass is completely free to attend, so secure your seat now and set yourself up for success on Substack:
The Substack Growth Masterclass is for you if…
You want to learn the best ways to grow on Substack
You want to start writing online, but don’t know where or how to begin
You want to attract more paid subscribers and earn an income writing online
You feel frustrated with your lack of growth on Substack (and are worried if you should even continue writing)
You want to leverage Substack to build your audience, so you can sell more books, coaching programs, or digital products
If any of this resonates, the Substack Growth Masterclass is for you:
✅ Yes, I Want To Join The Live Substack Growth Masterclass [Free]
If you can’t attend the masterclass live, no problem. You’ll also get access to the replay, as long as you sign up.
