Stop Doing This on Substack (2026 Update)
4 Shifts every Substack creator needs to understand right now.
If you started your Substack publication a few months ago, the platform you’re using right now is probably already different from what it looked like when you started.
The way people consume content has changed.
What readers expect from creators has shifted.
And most importantly, AI has completely rewritten the rules of what makes content valuable.
I see creators every week who are doing exactly what the old “how to grow on Substack” advice told them to do—and they’re stuck, wondering what they’re doing wrong.
The answer is usually nothing. They’re just following rules that no longer apply.
Over the past 18 months, my co-founders and I grew the Write • Build • Scale publication to over 1,000 paid subscribers. And we didn’t do it by following the playbook from 2023. We had to adapt constantly as everything around us evolved.
In this piece, I’m breaking down the four major shifts happening on Substack right now and how to position yourself on the right side of each one.
The 2026 Reality Check
Before I get into the shifts, let me paint the picture of what’s actually happening right now: AI has made written content easier than ever to produce.
Anyone can spin up a convincing “how-to” article in seconds.
The internet is flooded with polished, professional-sounding content that all looks and sounds the same.
At the same time, platforms are more crowded than ever.
When Substack Notes first launched, early adopters had a massive advantage. The feed wasn’t competitive. Showing up consistently was enough.
That era is over.
And here’s what most creators haven’t realized yet: readers are getting smarter. They can sense when something feels generic. They can tell when content lacks a real human behind it. And they’re actively looking for something different.
This is actually good news if you understand what’s shifting.
The creators who are struggling right now are the ones still optimizing for the old game: more content, more consistency, more polish.
The creators who are winning have realized the game itself has changed.
#1. Personality Over Polish
The biggest competitive advantage you have as a creator in 2026 is something AI cannot replicate: your personality.
We’re entering a phase where anonymous, faceless, perfectly polished content is everywhere.
That means creators who never show their face, voice, opinions, or real human experiences will slowly blend into the noise.
And when everything sounds the same, people start looking for something real.
Your readers don’t just follow you because your content is helpful. They follow you because they trust you—the human behind the words.
And trust doesn’t come from information alone. AI can generate infinite amounts of that.
Trust comes from your stories, your voice, your results, your quirks, your face, your lived experience. The things that make you unmistakably human.
So what does this look like practically on Substack?
Share personal stories in your long-form posts.
Don’t just explain what to do. Show people how you learned it, how you struggled, how you figured it out. AI can’t replicate your life experience.
Add personality to your Notes.
Post behind-the-scenes moments. Share small wins. Show photos of your workspace, your morning coffee, your dog—whatever reflects your actual life. Stop trying to sound like a polished media company.
Let your opinions show.
Take stands. Be willing to disagree with conventional wisdom. The creators who try to please everyone end up connecting with no one.
Our posts that perform best aren’t the most comprehensive or the most polished. They’re the ones where we share real struggles, real failures, real behind-the-scenes moments. Because in a world of AI-generated content, being genuinely human is the ultimate differentiator.
#2. Community Over Broadcasting
Running a thriving creator business in 2026 won’t just be about publishing content. It will be about building a community around your content.
Creators who simply broadcast to their audience will fall behind. Creators who build a community—where readers feel involved, seen, and connected—will win.
In an age where AI-generated content floods every platform, people crave what AI cannot replace: real connection, human interaction, a sense of belonging.
Your audience wants to feel part of something. They want to feel connected to you and to each other. They want to feel like their voice matters and like they belong in your world.
And the moment someone feels like they belong, they naturally become more loyal, more engaged, more supportive, more likely to share your work, and more likely to become a paid subscriber.
How to Actually Build Community on Substack
The most underrated feature on the platform right now is Substack Chat. This is where people talk with you, not just read from you.
Use Chat to ask questions, start discussions, learn what your audience is working on, find out what they’re stuck with, share behind-the-scenes stories, and get their input on what they want from you.
When you use Chat consistently—even just a few times per week—your publication stops feeling like just a newsletter and starts feeling like a community.
The other powerful tool is Substack Lives. Live sessions are powerful because they show the real you. There’s no hiding behind your writing. People connect with your personality. Readers can ask questions in real time. You build trust ten times faster than with text alone.
We’ve seen this firsthand. Every time we run a Substack Live, engagement goes up, Chat activity goes up, paid conversions increase, and readers turn into superfans.
Live sessions create a feeling of closeness and community that AI simply cannot replicate.
#3. Collaboration Over Isolation
If there’s one growth trend every creator needs to pay attention to in 2026, it’s this: collaborations.
The creators who embrace this early are the ones who grow the fastest.
If you’re trying to grow by just writing into the void—publishing your posts, relying on an algorithm, hoping people find you—you’re making the game ten times harder than it needs to be.
When you collaborate, you tap directly into another creator’s audience. That’s how you get discovered faster, reach a warm audience, grow through trust instead of algorithms, and build long-term relationships with peers in your space.
Creators who isolate themselves will fall behind. Creators who collaborate will grow exponentially.
Look at the features Substack has shipped over the past two years: Restacks, guest posts, cross-posting, Substack Lives, podcasting, newsletter recommendations. Every feature screams the same message: you grow faster when you grow together.
And more creators are waking up to this. In 2026, we’re going to see a huge rise in co-written articles, co-hosted Lives, multi-creator collaboration posts, and coordinated launches between creators.
Collaboration is becoming the norm, not the exception.
How to Start Collaborating
Start by building genuine relationships with other creators in your space before you ask for anything. Engage with their work. Comment thoughtfully. Share their posts. Show up consistently.
Then look for collaboration opportunities that benefit both audiences. Maybe you guest post on their publication. Maybe they join your Live. Maybe you create a series together.
The key is thinking about collaboration as a long-term relationship strategy, not a one-time growth hack.
#4. Multimedia Over Text-Only
The fourth shift is about format.
AI has made written content easier than ever to produce. But audio and video are a different story.
Your voice, your face, your energy, your personality—these can’t be faked by AI. At least not believably. Not yet.
This means creators who embrace video and audio will naturally differentiate themselves from the flood of AI-generated text content.
Multimedia content gives your audience more ways to interact with you. They can listen while driving, walking, or doing chores. They can see your facial expressions, tone, enthusiasm, and personality. They can join live, ask questions, and build a connection that text alone can’t create.
Substack clearly sees this too. They’re building the infrastructure to become the all-in-one home base for creators—not just a newsletter platform.
The creators who win on Substack in 2026 will be the ones who mix writing, video, audio, and the occasional livestream.
Not because you need to become a full-time YouTuber or podcaster, but because showing yourself is becoming essential for building trust.
You don’t need expensive equipment or professional production. A simple video recorded on your phone can build more connection than a perfectly written article.
Start small. Record an audio version of one of your posts. Do a casual Live where you answer questions. Post a video Note sharing a quick insight.
The bar is lower than you think, and the payoff is higher than most creators realize.
The Uncomfortable Truth
The creators who are struggling on Substack right now aren’t struggling because the platform is broken. They’re struggling because they’re applying 2023 tactics to a 2026 environment.
And I get it. The old playbook was simpler: write good content, post consistently, and the algorithm will reward you. That’s easy to understand. It feels fair.
The new reality is more nuanced.
Personality matters more than polish.
Community matters more than content volume.
Collaboration outperforms solo grinding.
Showing your face and voice builds trust faster than text alone.
This isn’t harder. It’s just different. And it requires you to let go of tactics that used to work but don’t anymore.
The creators I see winning right now share one trait: adaptability.
They pay attention to what’s working. They test constantly. They’re willing to change their approach when the environment changes.
The ones who are stuck share a different trait: they’re doing what worked two years ago and wondering why it’s not working now.
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This is the most sensible post I've read in the last few months. Finally, someone has clearly explained the differentiators needed to break away from the uniformity of industrialized production. Thank you so much, Sinem.
Thank you. Very helpful