My Brutally Honest Review of Substack After 10 Months (The Good, Bad & Ugly)
The messy truth about growing from 0 to 10,000+ subscribers and $5K+ monthly revenue
"Hey, what happened to your Substack? You're a good writer. You should try again."
It had been almost a year since I quit my first Substack. Not paused. Not took a break. Quit. Deleted the whole thing and pretended it never happened.
You know that feeling when someone asks about the thing you're secretly ashamed you gave up on? That pit in your stomach when you realize you quit something before giving it a real shot?
That was me.
My first Substack was a disaster. It was boring. No plan. Just me throwing content at the wall hoping something would stick. After three months of publishing to crickets, I pulled the plug and walked away.
I wrote about what I thought people wanted to read. I’ve now learned that’s a mistake.
For almost a year, I didn't write anything. I convinced myself I wasn't cut out for it. That maybe I should stick to my day job and forget this whole "creator" thing.
But my friend’ text stuck with me. Sometimes all you need is one friend to believe in you, right?
So I decided to try again. New niche. New strategy. Zero expectations.
What happened next surprised everyone, including me.
The Real Problem with All the Success Stories We Hear…
Here's what drives me crazy about most Substack advice.
Open Medium or LinkedIn and you'll see the same stories repeated over and over:
"I made $10K in my first month on Substack…"
"How I grew to 50,000 subscribers in 6 months…"
"Substack changed my life overnight…"
Maybe some of those stories are true. But they're not the whole story.
What about the weeks where you get more unsubscribes than new sign-ups?
What about the 3 AM panic attacks wondering if anyone actually cares about what you're writing?
What about the mental health toll of putting yourself out there every week?
Nobody talks about the messy middle. The place between starting and succeeding where nothing feels like it's working.
The success stories dominate because they're inspiring. But they're not preparing you for the real experience.
And that's doing you a disservice.
Here's What Really Clicked for Me
I get it - we want the sugar-coated version. We want someone to tell us it's easy and we’ll be making money in month two.
But here's what really clicked for me after 10 months of doing this the second time around:
The brutal truth is more valuable than pretty lies.
When I started again, I did it differently. I picked a specific niche (helping newsletter writers grow and monetize). I had a strategy. But most importantly? I had zero expectations.
That mindset shift changed everything.
The Numbers That Tell the Real Story
After a couple months of my second attempt, something clicked.
I published a Note that caught fire. To be honest, it was a simple Note that took me maybe 15 minutes to write. I didn’t think much about it but it resonated with people.
It was about how Substack felt like a cozy coffee shop, where you sit in the back corner booth with a cup of coffee and a good book.
That Note brought in about 100+ new subscribers and it lit a fire under me.
I realized something: everyone was hungry for the real story.
That's when my growth accelerated. From zero to over 10,000 subscribers in 10 months. From no revenue to a consistent $5K+ per month from digital products.
But the numbers only tell part of the story.
The Real Substack Experience: What I Actually Learned
I’ve had some serious life lessons over the last 10 months. I’ve had some “ups” and plenty of “downs.” I wanted to quit a few times, but I decided to just keep at it.
Let me break this down for you in a way nobody else will:
The Good: What Actually Exceeded My Expectations
Substack helped me fall in love with writing again.
After years of client work and corporate content, I'd forgotten why I started writing in the first place. Substack gave me that back. The clean editor, the engaged readers, the feeling like my words actually mattered.
The side hustle income is real.
$5K+ per month from digital products while working maybe 10 hours per week total. That's not hustling across multiple platforms - that's just focused work within Substack itself.
The quality of writers here is incredible.
This isn't social media. There's much less drama and politics. People genuinely value quality content and thoughtful discussion. It feels like the internet I always hoped we'd have.
The community is genuinely supportive.
Writers here actually want to see each other succeed. The collaboration, cross-promotion, and genuine encouragement - it's refreshing in a world of zero-sum thinking.
The Bad: What's Harder Than Expected
You have to be consistent to grow.
This isn't Instagram where one viral post can change everything. You need to show up every day, write good content, connect with other people, and promote yourself. It's just the way it is.
The momentum takes time to build.
My first few months felt like shouting into the void. Growth was slow. Engagement was minimal. You have to push through that period where it feels like nothing is working.
You can't just post and disappear.
Success here requires genuine engagement. Commenting on other people's work. Sharing valuable content. Building real relationships. It's more work than just writing.
The Ugly: What Nobody Talks About
The negative comments and trolls are real.
I've had people leave brutal comments questioning my expertise, my results, even my character. It stings every time, even when you know it's not personal.
Impersonators and spammers exist.
I've had people create fake accounts with my name trying to scam my subscribers. (I guess that means you've officially made it?)
The mental health toll is significant.
Putting yourself out there every week for judgment takes a toll. Some days, a single unsubscribe can ruin your mood. It's irrational, but it's real.
The income is unpredictable.
One month you make $5K and the next nothing. It's hard to plan around that kind of volatility, especially if you're trying to replace a full-time income. I decided mentally to remember this is a side hustle (…at least for now…).
What Surprised Me Most About Growing to 10,000 Subscribers on Substack
There’s been a few things that did surprise me over the course of this little journey. They’ve been good things and I’m so glad I decided to do this again.
Substack Notes has been my biggest growth driver.
I expected my growth to come from external social media. Instead, most of my subscribers come from within Substack itself - through Notes, Recommendations, and Restacks. There's a huge word-of-mouth element here.
I now spend 10 hours or less per week total.
That includes writing posts, engaging on Notes, responding to comments, and working on digital products. The system becomes incredibly efficient once you dial it in.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t hustle or that I didn’t spend a lot more time in the beginning. Now that I’ve been doing this for nearly a year, I learned what mundane tasks I can cut.
I try to focus my writing around my energy and doing things that I enjoy here.
You're Not the Only One Who Struggles
If you're reading this thinking "Finally, someone who gets it" - you're not alone.
The messy middle is where most people quit. The place between starting and succeeding where nothing feels like it's working.
But here's what I learned: the messy middle is where the magic happens.
Every successful newsletter writer went through it. The difference is they didn't quit when it got hard.
Some weeks you'll feel like you're changing lives. Other weeks you'll wonder why you started.
Both feelings are normal. Both are part of the process.
The key is showing up anyway.
The Substack Future is Bright
After 10 months, here's my honest take:
Substack isn't a magic bullet, but it's the best platform I've used for building a real relationship with an audience and turning that into sustainable income.
Is it hard? Absolutely.
Will you question everything? Probably.
Is it worth it? For me, yes.
The future of newsletters and Substack is incredibly bright. I'm excited to be here helping other people grow their own audiences and businesses.
We'll keep pushing forward together.
Ready to Grow Your Substack (for real)?
Look, I spent 10 months figuring out what actually works on Substack. The growth strategies that convert. The monetization approaches that don't feel sleazy. The systems that let you work 10 hours a week instead of 40.
If you're serious about building a profitable newsletter without the years of trial and error, I've put everything into my Six-Figure Substack Growth Masterclass.
Here's exactly what you'll learn:
✅ My proven, simple growth system that took me from 0 to 10,000+ subscribers (including the exact content calendar I use). I don’t complicate this stuff.
✅ The digital product creation process that generates $5K+ monthly without paid subscriptions or constant launching
✅ My Notes strategy that brings in 10-30 new subscribers daily with just 20 minutes of work
✅ The monetization blueprint that turns your expertise into consistent revenue streams within your first 90 days
✅ Substack's hidden features that 99% of writers ignore but drive massive growth for those who use them
✅ My complete email sequences that convert free readers into paying customers automatically
This isn't theory from someone who's never built a real newsletter business. This is the exact system I use to maintain $5K+ monthly revenue while working less than 10 hours per week.
If you’re ready to figure out this Substack thing and actually start growing, you can join 100’s of writers inside the masterclass below:
P.S. Still thinking about it? Remember what my friend said: "You're a good writer. You should try again." Sometimes you just need someone to believe in you. Consider this your permission to start (or restart) building something meaningful.
This was one of the most grounded, no-BS takes I’ve seen on Substack in a while. Thanks Wes!
Been a month on Substack and I can already smell what you're talking - the community here is unbeatable compared to the ones on X or Li. And the best, I genuinely enjoy making friends here.
Thanks for being a support to new writers on this platform. It’s not unappreciated, and what makes substack unique from other platforms.