My Substack Subscribers Growth Doubled After Applying This Simple Hack
The Biggest Newsletter Growth Myth That's Keeping You Stuck
There’s a lie circling around newsletter growth.
Like a bad rumor at a high school reunion.
“Just write great content, and they’ll subscribe.”
Sounds elegant.
Sounds fair.
Sounds… like the best way to stay stuck with a small audience.
Humans Are Distracted, Skeptical, and Need Repetition
People don’t just stumble onto a fantastic article, feel a rush of gratitude, and eagerly smash the subscribe button.
It takes 10–20 interactions before someone trusts you enough to let you into their inbox.
Why? Because attention is currency, and people aren’t handing it over to just anyone.
They’re bombarded with content.
They’ve been burned by too many bad email lists.
They assume signing up means spam, sales pitches, and regret.
So, if you’re betting on “great content” alone, you’re leaving thousands of potential subscribers on the table.
Build the Interactions, Don’t Shorten the Cycle
Instead of hoping one blog post or tweet will convert a reader into a subscriber, stack their exposure to your brand.
Here’s how you do it:
1. Show Them Snippets of Your Best Content
Most people won’t read a 2,000-word masterpiece from a stranger. But they will read:
A bold quote from your latest post.
A spicy take on a common misconception.
A two-sentence insight that slaps them in the face with relevance.
Make them curious. Get them nodding along. Hook them with small, digestible bits.
That’s the job of your Substack Notes.
My growth was mediocre — 5–10 new subscribers per day (yes, Substack does that to us, spoils us. You won’t get that growth of followers on Medium, but you do get these subscribers (emails!) on Substack and you feel they’re small).
Once I started posting more Notes, the right type of Notes, my growth went more than double — to 20–30 new subscribers per day. I automatically add them to Kit, so I can easily track.
Here’s the trend on total subscribers from Substack charts:
But Substack stats are kinda meh…These are total subs, I can’t see a growth chart of only new subscribers. I had to put some lines to be able to see the trends…
Good that I can see it on Kit (I tag them properly so that I can filter only Substack subs), here it is:
See? From barely touching 16 to now barely touchoing 32. Love it.
2. Make Them Feel the Pain of Missing Out
Ever notice how we only appreciate things after they disappear?
Your audience needs to feel that if they don’t subscribe now, they’ll miss:
A game-changing insight.
A trend that’s about to take off.
A story that will shift their mindset forever.
You don’t need gimmicks. You just need to position your newsletter as a source of irreplaceable value. Continuous irreplaceable value.
3. Make It Stupidly Easy to Subscribe
If someone has to:
Click three times
Fill out a form
Prove they’re not a robot
Choose a subscription plan
Double-confirm their email
They’re gone.
You lost them.
Your subscribe button should be one click away. Your opt-in should be frictionless.
The easier it is, the more people will do it.
On Substack, you can subscribe to a person directly from a Note:
Are You Doing All Three?
If not, you’re losing subscribers every day.
Not because your content isn’t good enough. Not because your audience isn’t out there.
But because you’re making it too hard for them to say “yes.”
Your next 1,000 subscribers aren’t waiting for “better content.” They’re waiting for more chances to trust you.
So, start showing up more. Start creating FOMO. Start making it effortless.
A simple hack made me grow three times faster. I use my Notes Writer GPT which I trained to write viral Notes. People say it’s absolutely amazing. Give it a try:
And watch your newsletter grow.
Yana
P.S. Join the Substack Quest: Everything you need to grow your earnings on Substack, all in one place: courses, challenges, community, toolbox and the ultimate Substack Quest workbook!