Do These 7 Things If You Have Less Than 1,000 Substack Subscribers

If you know what to focus on, you can speed up your Substack growth.

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When you're below 1,000 subscribers, growing your Substack can feel like an uphill battle. But if you know what to focus on (and what not to focus on), you can definitely speed up your progress.

After taking the Write • Build • Scale publication from zero to 8,900+ subscribers in ten months, here are seven things I recommend to speed up your subscriber growth.

Let’s dive right in.

#1: Exchange Newsletter Recommendations

If you’re not leveraging newsletter recommendations on Substack, you’re missing out on one of the easiest ways to grow your audience.

This one strategy helped us gain thousands of new subscribers, and all we had to do was reach out to other creators asking if they wanted to swap recommendations.

Here's how to get the most out of newsletter recommendations:

• Find creators who have similar audiences (it doesn’t have to be the exact same niche, just a bit of overlap).

• Reach out and build a genuine connection first. Engage with their posts, leave thoughtful comments, and show genuine interest.

• Suggest swapping recommendations once a relationship is established. Clearly communicate why their audience would enjoy your content and vice versa.

• Keep track of these recommendations and consistently reach out to different creators every month to maximize growth.

Don't underestimate this growth strategy, as it’s both highly effective and pretty much ‘hands off’.

#2: Publish One Note a Day

About 20 - 25% of our subscribers discover us through Substack Notes.

For example, just this one Note below has generated dozens of new subscribers to the Write • Build • Scale publication:

On top of attracting new subscribers, writing daily Notes also keeps you top-of-mind with your current subscribers.

It’s a daily touchpoint they have with you and your content, which builds a stronger connection with you.

But not all Notes are created equal…

Some get a lot of engagement (likes, comments, and restacks) and bring in new subscribers, while others disappear into the void.

So what separates a good Note from a forgettable one?

Keep It Short

Notes are meant to be quick, snackable bits of content that people can consume in seconds. It’s not an essay (save that for your long-form posts), so keep it short and sweet.

Attractive Formatting

Even if your Note has the best content in the world, no one’s going to read it if it looks boring. That’s why attractive formatting plays a massive role in how much engagement your Note will get.

Use lots of whitespace, add bullet points, and highlight key words or phrases in bold or italics to draw attention to them.

Compelling Hook

A great hook grabs attention and makes people curious enough to read more. It’s basically the first thing people see—and it determines whether they’ll stop and read your Note or keep scrolling.

For example, a bad hook would be: “I’ve been thinking a lot about how to grow on Substack, and I’ve come up with a few ideas I want to share.”

While a much better hook is: “Want to grow your Substack faster? Here are 3 hacks I wish I knew sooner 👇”

One Clear Message

If your Note doesn’t have a clear message, it’ll feel scattered. Instead, decide what you want your Note to achieve and stick to that objective.

#3: Start Guest Posting

Writing a guest post for another Substack publication allows you to get yourself in front of hundreds or thousands of people who might’ve never heard of you before.

If your guest post is valuable, those readers will likely check out your Substack and potentially subscribe, making it an effective strategy to reach new subscribers.

If you want to start guest posting more often, here’s what I recommend:

• Find The Right Publications: If you’re going to invest time and energy into writing a guest post, you want to make it worthwhile, so look for creators with audiences that overlap with yours.

• Connect With People First: Just like asking for a newsletter recommendation, it’s usually not a good approach to directly slide into someone’s DMs with a cold pitch asking for a guest post. Instead, build a connection first.

• Pitch Thoughtfully: Please don’t just approach someone with, “Can I write a guest post for you?” Instead, pitch 1 - 3 specific content ideas and explain why it’s a match with their publication and audience.

• Bring Your Best Work: Your guest post is often someone’s first impression of your writing, so make it count. Share actionable insights, compelling stories, or valuable tips that make readers want more. Don’t hold back.

Aside from bringing in new subscribers, guest posting also works like a stamp of approval. If another creator features your work, it signals to their audience that you’re someone worth listening to.

So, the more guest posts you have on respected publications, the more you’ll boost your credibility and position yourself as an authority in your niche.

#4: Engage With Other Creators

Unlike most social media platforms, Substack is a community. Yes, you can take a solo approach, but growth will likely be slow, and it can feel as if you’re just posting in the void most of the time.

That’s where

Philip Hofmacher

’s 10-5-1 Rule comes in.

Every time you publish a Note, do the following:

• Like 10 Notes from other creators

• Write 5 meaningful comments

• DM 1 creator in your niche

When you follow the 10-5-1 Rule, you’ll no longer be posting into the void, hoping people will engage with your content.

Instead, you’re proactively building relationships with other Substack creators.

This leads to more engagement on your content and potential collaborations (in the form of newsletter recommendations, guest posting, or joint livestreams) that will accelerate your growth.

#5: Set Up A Consistent Publishing Schedule

If you only publish every now and then—and sometimes let weeks pass without sending your audience anything—you won’t be on top of people’s minds.

You need to show up consistently if you want to build a connection with your audience and attract new readers.

That’s why I recommend the following publishing schedule for most Substack creators:

• Publish one or two long-form posts per week

• Post at least one Substack Note per day

You can think of your long-form posts as the main meal and your Notes as the snacks in between.

Together, they create a steady flow of content that keeps your audience engaged and connected to you.

But the bottom line is to follow a consistent publishing schedule.

It’s not always the most talented online writers who succeed, but it’s the most consistent ones who make it big.

#6: Clearly Define Your Newsletter

If people visit your Substack publication and can't quickly understand what it's about, they're not subscribing. It’s as simple as that.

That’s why it’s essential to define:

• The 1-3 core topics your newsletter covers

• Who your target audience is

• What value your subscribers get from your content

Clearly defined Substack publications don’t just attract more subscribers, but also the right subscribers.

Make sure that it’s obvious what your publication is about, so that people who’ve just discovered you are much more likely to hit the subscribe button.

#7: Host Substack Livestreams With Other Creators

I love Substack livestreams, as they build a genuine and personal connection with your subscribers. But aside from that, Substack lives are a highly effective way to attract new subscribers.

When you co-host a livestream with another Substack creator, their subscribers will attend the session as well, which immediately puts you in front of a new audience who doesn’t know you yet.

Here's how to get the most out of Substack livestreams:

• Team up with another Substack creator (or even two) and host a joint livestream on a topic interesting to both your audiences

• Promote the livestream in advance to both audiences via Notes and an email notification

• Immediately repurpose the livestream replay and post it to both your publications

• Cut the livestream into short clips and post it as a Note (like this one)

Even though we don’t have any specific data on how many people subscribed to us because of livestreams, we see a clear uptick in monthly subscriber growth ever since we started doing them.