How writers and creators are using Notes to reach more subscribers
Tips from publishers on how to add firepower at launch and grow your publication
Since we launched Notes last year, we’ve seen it become one of easiest and most powerful channels to grow your subscriber base. Notes is a unique way for ideas and discussion to travel through the Substack Network. The stream of new ideas spread here can spark contact of the best kind with other writers and creators. Writers and creators who post three or more thoughtful notes during the week they launch their Substack gain 50% more total subscribers than those who don’t.
Since the Substack app and network drive 50% of all new free subscriptions, and 30% of all new paid subscriptions, it’s worth learning how Notes can be used to introduce your work to new audiences and collaborate with other creators.
In this guide, we share some of the latest tips from writers and creators who are using Notes to launch and grow their publications.
Writing your first note
Law and government teacher
created a short video to greet her followers from other digital platforms, introduce herself to potential new subscribers, and provide an overview of what to expect from . With one click, she restacked her introduction video to celebrate her Substack’s launch.Read more: Creators go live with video on Notes
To generate excitement about her upcoming launch, cookbook author
shared the news on Instagram and offered free subscriptions to people who had supported her career to thank them for their help over the years. When 40 Ingredients Forever debuted in Notes, Ali’s community liked, replied to, and restacked the note, which appeared on their readers’ homepage and took it beyond her immediate network. Community amplification of Ali’s note generated over 1,900 subscribers within the first month of launch.Read more: What is a restack on Substack Notes?
When subscribers interact with your note, which shows up on their home feed, the note can be surfaced with their followers who might enjoy your work, but have yet to discover it. After you post a note, it’s good practice to circulate it with your existing social media followers and encourage them to join you in the Substack app.
Here are three simple tips to try:
Share links and preview images of your notes to bring your Substack to your followers on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube.
After you post your first note, customize the announcement template that is automatically created in your drafts to let your subscribers know that they can hear from you in the Substack app.
Include a call to action at the end of each post to remind your subscribers to continue the conversation with you readers on Notes.
Ways to keep the momentum going
There are many ways creators are leveraging Notes to strengthen their relationship with their community and continue to reach new subscribers beyond their first note:
Notes as a testing ground
Notes makes it easy to experiment and get immediate feedback on ideas, topics, and formats before investing time in a full post, series, or subscriber benefit.
uses Notes to gauge interest in topics that she’s exploring for full essays. Her followers and subscribers act as a built-in focus group, making it easier for Michelle to create Stir the Pot posts she knows subscribers will value. Seeing her community’s reaction to a note featuring Oreo Sour Patch Kids ultimately led to Michelle writing a full post about ultra-processed foods. She says:“I share recipe ideas, favorite essays, thoughtful excerpts from other authors, and posts that make me laugh. The feedback is immediate. This helps me figure out which ideas in my head are also floating around in the zeitgeist and which are better kept to myself.”
Venture capitalist
solicits reader input to help him quickly iterate on his monthly content series, Deep Dives, by releasing the table of contents in his notes. His latest preview built up anticipation and encouraged readers to subscribe ahead of the post.Notes as a collaboration space
People are eager to join interesting conversations. Notes makes it easy for publishers to develop continuing relationships with subscribers, other publishers in your category, and discover some of the brightest minds today.
After receiving an overwhelming response to a question he posed on Notes,
spun up a new Substack entirely written by guest writers, many of whom contributed to that first note thread). Since launching , M.E. has hosted more than 50 guest writers and attracted several thousands of readers to his publications by amplifying fellow writers in his notes. He says:“My favorite thing about Notes is discovering so many excellent writers—many of whom have contributed excellent pieces to BTMU, which wouldn’t exist without Notes. It feels like we are all building a community together in real time. It’s been doubly pleasing to hear that the features have resulted in subscriber growth for every single writer who has written for us.”
Photographer
asks photographers across the Substack network to introduce themselves, pitch their work, and share tips and opinions about the world of photography in his notes. He responds to each comment, making each person feel seen and heard.Notes as an introduction to new subscribers
Publishers use Notes to give new followers and subscribers a window into their world. Whether that’s observations on daily life, travel photos, or a favorite quote from a recent Substack post they enjoyed, Notes is a tool that builds trust and familiarity with readers.
Fresh off her writing debut in the New York Times’ Modern Love column,
modeled the type of vulnerability she wanted to experience with other bereaved parent in a note. She was met with a groundswell of compassion and a spike in subscribers who were eager to process their grief in community. She says:“The day the article came out, I wrote a note with a catchy first line: ‘I am a Substack nobody.’ It was an honest expression of my feelings at the moment. I was new and I only had a few subscribers, so I wanted to share my astonishment at the sudden opportunity for meaningful connection that was coming to me via Substack. My goal in Notes is to interact in the same way I would if I were meeting a friend in real life.”
Pulitzer prize-winning author
candidly offer up parts of his life that normally remain unseen. He views Notes as a welcoming space to commiserate with others about the challenges and joys of being a professional writer and give back to the writer community. He says:“If my Substack is the open studio I’m hosting, then Notes is the bench or the park in front of the studio where the work of the studio spills out and mingles with the world beyond. It is an invitation for contact of the best kind.”
Notes’ informal nature creates a low-pressure, low-stakes environment that makes room for Junot to delve into topics beyond writing, showing followers what makes his voice and perspective unique.
Artist
sends out a weekly list of 10 things that inspire him, ranging from movies to interesting articles. He extends that amplification by highlighting thought-provoking links, photos, quotes, and videos from other Substacks in his notes. These personal shares give his subscribers a more holistic view of who he is as an artist.
Feeling inspired? Say hello to the wider Substack network on Notes today:
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