7 Warning Signs Your Substack Strategy Is Completely Broken (And How to Fix It)

92% of Substack writers make less than $500 a month.

Matt Giaro ⚙️

Jul 29, 2025

I remember that day of January 1st, 2023, when I sat down and mapped out 52 Substack newsletter ideas in under an hour.

I was excited. I saw other writers grow here.

But then reality hit: I posted 10 newsletters and quit.

Why? I had too many things on my plate.

Add to this what I saw:

No growth.
No traction.
Just silence.

I thought Substack was broken.

I came back to Substack in July 2024, and since then, my subscriber count has been growing by at least 300 new subscribers each month.

Some months were stupidly crazy, like April 2025 with 1,070 new subs a month.

I’m not the biggest “Substacker.” I don’t have the orange bestseller badge. But I’ve built a decent, profitable audience on this platform, writing only in the mornings.

Here are the 7 signs your strategy is broken (and what I learned the hard way).

1. You’re obsessed with paid subscriptions

Everyone’s obsessed with making money with their newsletter.

But when you’re just starting out, you’re trying to squeeze juice from a fruit that hasn’t even ripened.

And that’s the exact reason your Substack’s stuck.

Most people rush to slap a price tag on their content. $8/month sounds cute… until you do the math.

Only ₃% of your free subscribers are going to turn into paid subscribers.

At that rate, you’d need around 600 paying subscribers just to hit a humble $5K/month. Do the math. You know what gets you there? Roughly 10,000 free subscribers.

If you’re growing by 500 subs a month (which you probably aren’t), you’d need 2 years to hit these numbers.

That’s hard when nobody can share your best stuff. Because paid content can’t go viral. It’s invisible. Hidden behind a wall no one can peek over.

So when someone lands on your Substack, they don’t get a taste of your value. They get a gate.

A better plan is to give your content away for free.

Free content spreads. Free content gets shared. Free content builds trust.

Go free first.

2. You’re a selfish jerk

Sorry.

But nobody cares about your passion or what YOU want to write about.

If your Substack isn’t growing, it’s maybe because you’re writing for yourself—not for the people you’re trying to reach.

You’re sharing your interests, your musings, your latest rabbit hole obsession. But people don’t subscribe to watch your journal unless you’re Lady Gaga.

They subscribe (and pay) to get help.

And help means solving real, painful problems.

Problems that keep them up at night. Problems that make them feel stuck, dumb, or behind.

Think about it. Would you subscribe to a newsletter called “Stuff I Think About While Drinking Coffee”?

Exactly.

But “How to Grow a Profitable Newsletter Without Burning Out in Just 2 Hours a Day (Even If You Have a Full-Time Job and Kids)”?

Now we’re talking.

That’s a problem people feel.

You’re like a street performer playing jazz flute in a food court. Technically impressive. But no one cares. They’re hungry and waiting for their supersized fries and burger.

So here’s what to do right now: Go to Amazon or Reddit. Key in your main interest—the one you want to write about.

Then look at what people complain about in the comments.

Then write about that.

Write about the pain they’re already feeling.

3. You confuse everyone

If your Substack looks like a buffet, you’ve got a problem.

I get it—you’ve got range. Multi-passionate. Maybe even some ADHD.

And you want to write about EVERYTHING. One day it’s productivity tips. The next is your thoughts on AI. Then a personal story about your dog’s digestive issues.

Cool for a diary. But terrible for growth.

People don’t subscribe to “variety.” They subscribe for consistency.

If they don’t know what they’re gonna get next week, they’re out.

I made this mistake on my YouTube channel back in 2020.

I thought I was doing everything right—talking about how to build a successful business online.

LOL. What does that even mean?

One day I’d talk about getting testimonials for your online courses… the next, I’d go deep on Google Trends… then I’d switch it up with a video about passive income. And in between, I also posted some content about how to build a second brain.

It felt productive because I was banging out 6 videos a week. But it murdered my growth.

When you’re all over the place, you confuse the algorithm. More importantly, you confuse people.

A confused algorithm doesn’t know who to show your content to. And confused people bounce.

If you want your Substack to grow, pick one clear theme. Not five. Not three. One.

That doesn’t mean you have to write the same post over and over.

It means you write about the same problem, from a hundred different angles.

Send one clear signal to earn attention.

4. You post once a week and disappear

Most people just don’t get it.

Writing one newsletter a week? LOL. You’re playing the game without reading the rulebook.

Every platform has its own way of working. Substack’s no different.

Substack writers treat it like a blog from 2005. Write a long post, hit publish, and cross fingers.

Meanwhile, the ones who grow are using every tool Substack gives them.

Notes.
Comments.
Recommendations.

If you ignore those, you’re basically walking into an American football match and trying to play soccer.

Totally different ballgame.

Substack favors interaction. It rewards engagement. Growing with one long-form piece a week? Go on, I’m waiting.

I’m not making fun of you. Because I used to be the guy who’d write the weekly essay and disappear. Zero engagement. Zero growth.

Then I started showing up in Notes, dropping real comments on other posts, and actually publishing something here. Daily.

Things changed. Fast.

Substack isn’t Medium. It’s not X. It’s a hybrid. And if you treat it like a passive publishing tool, you’re leaving attention (and subscribers) on the table.

So if you’ve been posting into the void… now you know why it’s so quiet.

Want to grow? Spend 15 minutes a day reading Notes, replying with actual thoughts, and leaving meaningful comments on posts you like.

Posting without interaction = 0, baby.

5. You’re stuck in “research mode”

The fastest way to kill your growth? Don’t post.

That’s it. That’s the trap.

But most people don’t call it what it is. They dress it up.

“I’m outlining.” “I’m researching.” “I’m brainstorming angles.”

Nah. You’re procrastinating.

Avoiding because you don’t feel ready. You don’t feel clear. You don’t think it’ll be good enough.

I used to spend hours tweaking headlines, rewriting intros, and jumping between five drafts—none of which got published.

It feels productive. But it’s just glorified procrastination.

Here’s what I figured out:

You don’t need more time.
You don’t need better tools.
You don’t need a new system.

You need to press publish.

I write and post one Substack article almost every day. It takes less than an hour.

Is every post a masterpiece? Absolutely not. Some have typos. Some would make your copy editor scream “MURDER!”

But some hit hard. And those only exist because I showed up daily.

Growth comes from momentum—not perfection.

A lot of things can happen if you just make the decision to post something daily.

6. You’re hiding from interaction

I’m an introvert to the bone.

If you saw me in public and said “Hi,” I’d probably panic, sweat, and pretend I didn’t hear you.

That’s why I love the internet. I can sit in my briefs, say (what I think are) smart things from behind a screen, and no one asks me to make eye contact.

That’s why I love writing.

But here’s the problem: Substack isn’t just a writing platform. It’s also a social platform.

And social platforms run on interaction.

Publishing a weekly article and ghosting the rest of the time? Doesn’t work.

You have to interact. Even if you’re shy. Even if you hate it. Even if it feels awkward.

Because that’s how people discover you. That’s how you earn trust. That’s how the damn algorithm notices you exist.

Just 15–30 minutes a day. Skim Notes. Comment on stuff you genuinely care about. Respond to other writers.

That’s it.

But don’t drop lazy comments like “Nice post” or “I agree.” That’s useless. Add something. Continue the conversation.

7. You believe everyone on this platform

You want the number. I know. So let me give you two numbers: 2 & 5.

Now, add another word to it: years.

Most people can’t stomach this reality.

They want to make $10K a month with a newsletter in 30 days. They want to go from zero to full-time income in 90 days. Yes, it makes a great sales page headline. It makes a crusty Note.

But it’s a damn lie.

The truth is, building a relationship with people on the internet takes time. You do this one piece of content at a time.

I’ve been making money online for 10+ years. I’ve seen them all. The get-rich-quick schemers. The overnight success stories.

Most of them are horse feces.

Building a profitable newsletter is like planting an oak tree. You water it daily. You protect it from storms. And maybe in 2–5 years, you get to sit in its shade.

But most people give up after 3 months when they don’t see “results.”

They think results = money. But real results = consistency, growth, and trust.

The money comes later.

Want to build something that lasts? Set low expectations with consistent work. That’s what gives the most joy and is the most sustainable long term.

Build before you bill.