I’ve Written on Notes Every Day for 365 Days Straight. Only 3 types ever brought me subscribers.
Over 1,000 Notes. Countless hours testing. Here's what actually worked, what stopped working, and the simple system anyone can copy.
Most writers trying to grow on Substack spend months posting on Notes and getting almost nothing back.
Not because their writing is bad. Because nobody ever showed them which types of Notes actually bring subscribers…
I was the same way when I started. I had no idea what I was doing.
I showed up every day and hoped something would click. Eventually it did, but it took longer than it needed to because I spent months writing the wrong types before I found the pattern.
Here’s what I want you to take away before anything else:
If you’re struggling to grow your Substack right now, Notes is the answer.
It’s the single best place to start. Simply learn which types actually work, get consistent, and your growth changes.
I’ve watched it happen for myself and for hundreds of writers who finally gave it a real shot.
I’ve now posted every single day for 365 days straight. Over 1,000 Notes. Some did nothing. Some brought in subscribers all day long.
After all that testing, I’ve found only three types consistently moved the needle. And one of them replaced a type that used to work and stopped.
Now I gain around 20 to 30+ new subscribers a day, and the vast majority come straight from these types of Notes.
Substack is the rare platform that actually wants you to grow
Most platforms are built to work against you. They make their money keeping people on the app staring at ads, not sending them off to read your newsletter.
Substack is built the opposite way. The entire feed is designed to turn readers into subscribers.
Mike Cohen, Substack’s head of machine learning, said it plainly: The goal of the Notes feed is to get people to discover, subscribe, and ideally pay.
Not time spent scrolling or ad clicks. Actual subscriptions between real writers and real readers.
That one fact changes how you should show up here.
The 3 types of Notes that actually bring subscribers
After over a year of writing Notes, I’ve found there’s essentially three types that bring subscribers.
(1.) Story Notes are the most powerful of the three.
These are a specific honest moment from your own experience that your reader recognizes in themselves.
A real moment from your actual life. The doubt you felt. The thing you got wrong. The small win that meant more than it should have.
They convert better than anything else because they build connection before someone has even clicked your profile. A reader sees themselves in your story, feels understood, and wants more of that feeling. That want is what turns into a subscribe.
Here’s the kind of thing I mean:
“The beginning on Substack is strange. You’re writing with nobody reading. But those quiet early days are where you actually find your voice, before there’s any pressure or any audience watching.
If you’re in that phase right now, take heart. This is where it starts.”
(2.) Community Notes are the second type.
These genuinely invite other writers to participate.
Maybe it’s to share a link to their latest post. Drop a tip. Join a conversation you started.
Substack seems to push these to new readers, and they build real relationships with other writers at the same time.
Something this simple works:
“If you’re growing on Substack right now, drop a link to your latest Note or post below. Then find someone else’s link and go support it. The best way to grow here is to lift each other up.”
The key is that you actually come back and engage. The more you engage with the responses, the better these perform.
(3.) Motivational Notes are the third.
These speak directly to the struggle your reader is dealing with right now. The honest kind of encouragement that makes the right person feel like you wrote it specifically for them.
A Note like this tends to land:
“You’re not too late. You didn’t miss the window. The best time to start writing online was years ago and the second best time is today.
Start anyway and let the results speak for themselves.”
Writers here are looking for permission and reassurance more than they’ll admit.
When you make someone feel seen in a hard moment, they remember you. And people subscribe to voices they feel connected to.
A year ago I’d have added a fourth type. But, here’s why I dropped it.
A year ago I would have told you “Educational Notes” belonged on this list. Quick tips. Tactical advice. One useful insight explained simply.
They used to convert reasonably well. That changed.
People have Google now. They have AI that can generate a thousand tips on any topic in seconds. Information is everywhere and it’s free.
Handing someone another tip they could have found elsewhere doesn’t make them feel anything, and feeling something is what makes a person subscribe.
What nobody else can give them is your specific story and your actual voice.
Last thing: The Note that gets 100 likes is almost never the one that brings subscribers
I’ve found that there’s a massive difference between a Note that gets 100 likes and a Note that brings 10 subscribers. They are almost never the same Note.
A clever hot take or a funny meme gets a wave of likes and zero new subscribers.
However, a simple Story Note that connects with your reader gets fewer likes, yet brings in new people all day long.
Most writers chase the likes because they feel good in the moment, then wonder why their subscriber count won’t move.
Write the Notes that bring people in, not the ones that just feel good to post.
📌 Want the complete system behind this?
If you want everything I just shared broken down in full — the specific Note types with real examples, the exact routine, and the restacking strategy — it’s all inside the Notes Growth Workshop.
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:
Here’s what Laura Howard shared after putting this into practice:
“Wes, I really subscribe to what you said about Notes and it has launched my Substack to almost 2,000 subscribers this month, just using Notes three times a day since November.”
And whether the Workshop is for you or not, I want to genuinely encourage you to start writing Notes.
Show up every single day. Give the algorithm time to learn your voice.
I genuinely believe you’ll be in a completely different place this time next month.
Keep writing, Wes
If you only reach one person and you’re the catalyst for change then you can’t ask more than that.
Just one word can be the change. Just one word can change the world.
Keep going you never know who you’re inspiring.
♍️🌿♾️💤♾️
That’s a strong signal about what actually resonates