Titles, subtitles, length, structure, timing. One month of real data. And a few findings that should make you rethink the advice you've been following.
The data exposes something most writers won’t admit: they’re optimizing for what feels bold and what looks minimal. Short titles feel punchy. No question mark feels confident. But the data says those instincts are backwards.
What’s actually happening is a trust gap. First-person titles, negative framing, longer specificity, they all do the same thing: they make a promise the reader can verify. “On Burnout” asks the reader to take a leap of faith. “What I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Burned Out” gives them something to grab before they decide to click.
35 years of communication taught me this: people don’t engage with ideas. They engage with people who seem to have lived them. The “I” in the title isn’t ego – it’s evidence. And evidence earns the open.
Unlike most of these how I built a Substack with more subscribers than the population of Tokyo while you drank your morning coffee, this post was really helpful. Love the data driven approach!
Super complete and very useful just in time! I was just touching this point and anañyzing my titles, subtitles and long vs short posts just yesterday! ☺️
I've worked in journalism, in print and online, for decades, and some of these findings subvert old rules, practices and taboos about headline length et al. I love it. Thanks for this new perspective!
Amazing analytics! I will definitely use these suggestions. Except MAYBE using no capital letters in the title. I'm an English teacher and it would actually kill a little piece of my soul to skip capitalizing even the first word of the title. 😂 Question: What's the suggested practice for using all caps like I did above for emphasis?
This is awesome thank you!! I adopted Substack early and started returning to my passion for writing as I went through cancer. I started Chemo Yogi and am now trying to build want started as a personal journal into a business that will support women going through breast cancer. I guess the question would be ways/ success stories of how to best with authenticity grow something personal into something that is more public and accessible to the masses?
Wow, this sounds fascinating! 🚀 Analyzing that many posts must have revealed some real gems. Can’t wait to see what insights you’ve uncovered about growing a publication. Always keen to learn
Much appreciated! It’s easy to overlook those specific metrics, but they truly are the hidden levers that make all the difference in the long run. Thanks for that!
Thanks for a really useful set of data. I’ve wondered about title length and it is helpful to know a longer title should work well. I will be implementing some of these ideas immediately!
The data exposes something most writers won’t admit: they’re optimizing for what feels bold and what looks minimal. Short titles feel punchy. No question mark feels confident. But the data says those instincts are backwards.
What’s actually happening is a trust gap. First-person titles, negative framing, longer specificity, they all do the same thing: they make a promise the reader can verify. “On Burnout” asks the reader to take a leap of faith. “What I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Burned Out” gives them something to grab before they decide to click.
35 years of communication taught me this: people don’t engage with ideas. They engage with people who seem to have lived them. The “I” in the title isn’t ego – it’s evidence. And evidence earns the open.
Good stuff.
I agree with you, Todd!
I thank you for the data. They're priceless to newbies like me.
Unlike most of these how I built a Substack with more subscribers than the population of Tokyo while you drank your morning coffee, this post was really helpful. Love the data driven approach!
I enjoyed reading this your provided us with a lot of key information. Thanks for your time and effort and creating this report. Time to edit lol
Super complete and very useful just in time! I was just touching this point and anañyzing my titles, subtitles and long vs short posts just yesterday! ☺️
I've worked in journalism, in print and online, for decades, and some of these findings subvert old rules, practices and taboos about headline length et al. I love it. Thanks for this new perspective!
Amazing analytics! I will definitely use these suggestions. Except MAYBE using no capital letters in the title. I'm an English teacher and it would actually kill a little piece of my soul to skip capitalizing even the first word of the title. 😂 Question: What's the suggested practice for using all caps like I did above for emphasis?
Fantastic info! Many thanks!
This is awesome thank you!! I adopted Substack early and started returning to my passion for writing as I went through cancer. I started Chemo Yogi and am now trying to build want started as a personal journal into a business that will support women going through breast cancer. I guess the question would be ways/ success stories of how to best with authenticity grow something personal into something that is more public and accessible to the masses?
Always looking out for help
Did you notice with first person titles, if it mattered if the I/my was up the front of the title? Or could it be in the middle.
Eg. My number one lesson from being made redundant vs. Redundancy sucks, but here's the biggest lesson I learned.
Good question.
Wow, this sounds fascinating! 🚀 Analyzing that many posts must have revealed some real gems. Can’t wait to see what insights you’ve uncovered about growing a publication. Always keen to learn
Much appreciated! It’s easy to overlook those specific metrics, but they truly are the hidden levers that make all the difference in the long run. Thanks for that!
Thanks for a really useful set of data. I’ve wondered about title length and it is helpful to know a longer title should work well. I will be implementing some of these ideas immediately!
Thanks for this invaluable data. I’ve worked writing headlines for others, but this goes far beyond any of the guest work.
thank you guys!! this article is awesome and very helpful!!!