My Simple Substack Notes Growth Strategy

Do you have 20 minutes a day to grow your audience?

When I first created my Substack back in 2022, I had no clue what I was doing.

I thought I had to write an exclusive weekly newsletter.

What a donkey.

I had too many things on my plate, saw no growth, and quit miserably.

I came back in July 2024 and understood that growth doesn't happen by just writing articles. Especially when you start with 0 followers.

You have to use Notes.

Since then, my sub count ballooned to 8,000+ subs, my abs are more ripped than a Playboy model’s, and... Okay, okay, I'll stop here.

Let me show you my simple Note strategy (without the abs part.)

Posting frequency

1-3 times a day.

More, if you're motivated.

Think of notes as Battleship. Some things will work; most won't.

So how do you know? By simply posting more.

Today, I post less because I don't enjoy Notes much and I can afford it. My audience is at a point where merely writing articles triggers growth.

But when you're new here, you NEED to do this.

Write about these topics

I stick to my niche like glue.

I write about content creation.

The tactics like:

• Email marketing

• Course creation

• Article writing

But I also write about the mindset, like:

• Perfectionism

• Overthinking

• Consistency

That's it. I don't post about my breakfast, my non-existent workouts (remember, the abs?), or my political views.

You could get a lot of views, likes, and restacks by posting a pic of your Granny or your dog.

But that attention doesn't move the needle.

Those people won't buy your courses. They won't subscribe to your newsletter. They're just there for the entertainment.

I'd rather get 5 likes from people who are genuinely interested in learning how to create online courses than 500 likes from people who just want to scroll and laugh.

Best types of Notes to write

I've posted 811 Notes so far.

It's a mixed bag of different types.

I never post photos because I'm an introvert and hate taking selfies. But sometimes tutorials, sometimes listicles, sometimes a quick tip, or a rant.

All of these work.

The key is testing different formats and seeing what you enjoy writing and what your audience likes to read from you.

Throw a lot of things against the wall and see what sticks.

Don't just post & ghost

This is where most people screw up.

They post their Note and disappear. They say, "I'm glad I left social media for Substack."

Are you kidding me?

Notes are social media.

And if you don't engage, you're screwed.

Spend 15-20 minutes after posting a Note just engaging with others. Like and comment on other people's Notes.

That's it.

The thing is to do this frequently. People see and recognize your name, then maybe start a conversation in the DMs to perhaps do some swaps or guest posting.

Some of my best connections on Substack started with a simple comment on someone's Note.

Just get it out there

Notes are not about perfection.

I used to spend 10 minutes crafting the perfect Note. Editing every word. Making sure it was brilliant.

Total waste of time.

The Notes that perform best are usually the ones I write in 2 minutes. Some of them had typos.

Who cares?

Some Notes will flop. Heck, MOST will flop. That's fine. The algorithm is mysterious and cruel.

Don't take it personally.

All this doesn't matter if you end up there

The real secret? Simply sticking to it.

After a few days of being consistent and still getting ignored, you'll be tempted to throw in the towel.

But don't.

I see people quit after a week because their Notes aren't getting traction. They think the platform doesn't work. They think their content sucks.

The truth? They just didn't give it enough time.

Audience building is a process. It's not a sprint. It's not even a marathon. It's more like training for a marathon while the marathon is happening.

Building an audience on any platform takes months, not days. Notes is no different.

The people who win are the ones who keep showing up when nobody's watching. When the likes are 0.

They keep posting because they believe in what they're doing.

That's the real strategy. Everything else is just tactics.