I used to post a Note, get a few likes, and go check again an hour later hoping something had happened. Nothing had.
I did that for weeks. Some days I skipped Notes entirely because what was the point?
I told myself maybe I just didn’t have it, whatever “it” was that other writers seemed to have figured out.
Other days I wondered if the whole thing was rigged against anyone who didn’t already have a following.
It wasn’t rigged. I just didn’t understand what I was actually working with, and once I did, everything about what I post changed.
You already know this one in your bones, even if you’ve never said it out loud.
You build something on a platform for a year, and one little algorithm change tanks your reach overnight. (it’s happened to me many times)
The app was never trying to help you get discovered. It was trying to keep you scrolling long enough to see one more ad.
Substack’s co-founder Hamish McKenzie explained it plainly at one of their events, standing in front of a room full of writers:
“Most platforms don’t really care about writers and creators.
They keep you trapped in a big, closed garden where you don’t own your audience, your relationships, or even your content.”
Then he said something that actually reframed the whole thing for me:
“We want you to grow. We want you to reach as many people as possible, influence as many people as possible, and make as much money as possible. And we’ve built our business model around that. We only make money when you make money.”
Mike Cohen, the guy who actually built the algorithm, put it even more directly. The goal of the Notes feed, in his words, is “to get people to discover, subscribe, and ideally pay. That’s how we built it.”
Not time spent. Not ad clicks. Real people finding real writers they’d actually stick around for.
I remember the exact moment this actually landed for me, reading those two explanations back to back and realizing I’d been treating Notes like every other feed…
…posting and hoping, instead of understanding it was built to work with me if I gave it something worth surfacing.
Before this clicked, I was stuck at 2 or 3 subscribers a day, most days closer to zero.
I assumed that was just my ceiling, that maybe my niche was too small or I’d started too late.
Once I understood what the algorithm was actually looking for and started posting accordingly, that number became 10 a day within a few weeks.
Some days 20…Some days over 40…
I remember checking my numbers the first week it happened, certain I was misreading something. I wasn’t. I’d just finally started giving the algorithm what it was built to reward instead of fighting it.
This is where most writers get stuck, and I don’t think it’s talked about clearly.
You can fully believe Notes wants you to succeed and still open the app most mornings with no idea what to actually write.
You post inconsistently, or you post something and get likes but no subscribers, and after a few days of that, it’s easy to quietly give up and tell yourself you’ll just write more full posts instead.
That was me too, for quite awhile…
You could absolutely take what I’ve explained here and go figure out the rest on your own.
But if you want the complete strategy behind writing Notes that actually attract subscribers, not just a handful of ideas to try this week, that’s exactly why I created my “10+ Subscribers a Day” Notes Growth Workshop.
Inside, I’ll show you how to:
Choose Notes topics that attract relevant readers
Turn your newsletter content and existing ideas into multiple Notes
Write Notes that create curiosity without relying on gimmicks
Avoid chasing likes and comments that don’t produce growth
Improve your profile so more visitors become subscribers
Engage strategically without endlessly scrolling
Create a sustainable Notes routine in approximately 20 minutes a day
When you join the Notes Growth Workshop by Tuesday, August 18, you’ll also get access to my new August Notes Challenge as a bonus.
How the Challenge works? Starting Thursday, August 20, I’ll send you one focused Notes template each day for seven days, so you can put the strategy into practice immediately instead of guessing where to start.
I’m also opening a private Substack Chat cohort for 25 writers.
Members can share their daily Notes, connect with each other, and take part in a daily Notes Boost. I’ve got a few spots left for the cohort, and you can join below:
Join the Notes Workshop & Challenge
Enrollment closes Tuesday, August 18. The Challenge begins Thursday, August 20, but the 25 private cohort spots may fill before then.
You don’t need to master every type of Note this week. You need to start posting the right ones consistently enough to actually find out what works for you.
Keep writing, Wes
📌 Question: I’m curious how you’re finding Notes so far. Are you enjoying writing them, or has it been more of a challenge?
♻️ If you found this helpful, consider restacking it. Hitting restack puts this post back in your feed, so more writers can find it.
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