5 Substack Notes That Brought Me the Most Subscribers This Month. And Why They Worked.
These weren't viral. They didn't get the most likes. But they quietly brought in new subscribers all month long. Here's what each one did right.
This month I went back and looked at which Notes actually brought in subscribers. Not which ones got the most likes. Those are rarely the same thing.
The Notes that grew my newsletter weren’t clever or viral. They didn’t have some perfect hook. They made people feel something.
Here are five of them, and exactly why each one worked.
1. The one for writers in their earliest days
“The beginning on Substack is strange: writing with nobody reading. But those early days are where you find your voice. When it’s just you, no audience, no pressure.
Then slowly people start showing up. One reader, then another. If you’re in those early days, take heart.
This is when you’re figuring out who you are and what you have to say.”
Almost every writer has felt like they’re writing into nothing, and most are too discouraged to say it out loud.
When you name that feeling and tell them to keep going, they feel understood. And people stick around for the writer who actually gets what they’re going through.
2. The one that took a stand
“I’m tired of ‘Under 40’ success stories.
Show me the 68-year-old who went back to college.
Show me the single mom who sold everything to fund her dream of writing a novel.
Show me the 55-year-old who said no to their career and started over completely.
Show me the people who ignored society’s timeline and created their own path anyway.
Those are the stories worth celebrating.”
This one is a little polarizing, and that’s the whole point. It champions a group that rarely gets celebrated, the late starters and the career changers.
When you openly take someone’s side, they don’t forget it.
3. The one about encouragement
“You’ll never regret encouraging someone else. We live in a culture so self-focused that helping others almost feels strange. But it matters more than you know.
Send them a thank you note. Leave a comment on their Substack. Tell them you love their writing. All of it matters. Every single bit.
Imagine if we all did one encouraging thing for someone else on purpose each day?”
This one models the kind of community people actually want to belong to. It’s warm, it’s generous, and it gives the reader something good to go do.
Writers who care about that kind of culture read it and think, these are my people.
4. The short one that hit a nerve
“Repeat after me: I don’t care who is doing better than me.
I’m doing better than I was last year. It’s Me vs Me.”
Two lines. That’s it.
It names the comparison trap every writer falls into, and it does it in the time it takes to read.
You don’t need paragraphs to connect. Sometimes one honest line people wish they’d written themselves is the whole thing.
5. The vulnerable one
“One kind comment changed my entire trajectory. I was about to quit because I thought nobody was reading.
Then someone said, ‘Thank you for this post. Your writing matters to me.’ That one moment kept me going for months.
Most creators are starving for genuine support. Real ‘I see you’ moments. Be that person for someone today.”
Being honest about almost quitting is something most people are afraid to do, which is exactly why it lands. Then it turns outward and asks the reader to go be that person for someone else.
A real story paired with a small nudge to act is hard to scroll past.
How I actually do this every day
Notice what none of these are. They’re not tips. They’re not tactics. They’re not how-to threads or growth hacks.
They’re stories, honest opinions, and encouragement. That’s what actually brings people in now.
I spend about 20 minutes a day on Notes. That’s it.
I scroll the feed for a few minutes to spark some ideas, then I pull from my own templates and write two or three Notes for the day. Then I go live my life.
This is because I’ve refined a simple system and routine that’s repeatable (and works).
That simple routine is the engine that brings new subscribers in all day long, even while I sleep.
📌 Want to write Notes like these?
If you want to learn how to write the kinds of Notes you just read (and grow your Substack), here’s how.
The Notes Growth Workshop teaches you the specific types of Notes that actually bring subscribers
…including, the 20-minute daily routine, and the restacking strategy that teaches the algorithm exactly who your readers are.
And the Notes Writing Playbook gives you 30+ of my best prompts and templates, so you never sit down to a blank screen wondering what to post.
Today and tomorrow only, as we close out the month, the Notes Writing Playbook comes as a bonus when you join the Workshop. After tomorrow night it’s gone.
Here’s what you get when you join:
The Notes Growth Workshop — my complete 20-minute daily Notes routine behind 18,000 subscribers and consistent 10+ subscriber days. The three Note types broken down with real examples so you know exactly what to write and why it works.
The Notes Writing Playbook — 30+ of my best Notes prompts and templates included as a bonus. Open it every morning, pick a prompt, and never sit down with nothing to say.
Over 300 writers have joined the Workshop in the last year and are growing every day with Notes. You can join below:
Honestly, Notes really isn’t complicated. I promise.
And yes, I promise you Notes will work for your niche. (even you fiction writers)
If you learn the system and plug into it, you’re going to be in a completely different place 90 days from now.
Question: Which of these five resonated with you most? Or drop your own latest Note below so we can support each other and find some new writers to read.
I like how you break down what’s actually driving results beneath the surface—it makes the whole process feel more intentional. Note #2 stood out to me in particular; it hits on something deeper that people instinctively respond to.
Thank you SO much for addressing the concern regarding fiction writers! 😊