Yesterday, I shared that if I had to grow a Substack from scratch again, I’d spend 20 focused minutes a day on Notes.
Not because Notes are a magic button that guarantees thousands of subscribers, but because even the best Substack can’t grow if the right people never discover it.
Your newsletter is where readers get to know you…Notes is often how they find you in the first place…
But knowing that Notes matter and consistently using them are two different things.
Most writers don’t struggle because they aren’t capable of writing a good Note. They struggle because they don’t know what to post, how often to post, or how to turn a few minutes on Notes into something that supports their newsletter growth.
So today, I’m officially opening the 7-Day August Notes Challenge.
The August Notes Challenge begins on Thursday, August 20 and runs for seven days.
Each day, I’ll send you one specific Notes assignment, prompt, or template to put into action. Every assignment will be designed to help you understand a different part of an effective Notes strategy without spending your entire day on the app.
Over the seven days, you’ll practice writing Notes that:
Share your ideas and experiences in a compelling way
Teach something useful without writing a miniature newsletter
Start genuine conversations with relevant writers
Give the right readers a reason to visit your profile and subscribe
The goal isn’t to help you publish one lucky viral Note.
It’s to help you understand which ideas connect with your audience and develop a repeatable Notes routine you can continue using after the Challenge ends.
This time, I’m adding a private Substack Chat cohort for 25 writers.
Each day, members can share the Note they created from that day’s assignment, connect with other participants, and join a daily Notes Boost.
I’m intentionally keeping the group small. I want participants to recognize one another, have real conversations, discover writers they genuinely enjoy, and receive meaningful support as they work through the Challenge.
This won’t be a shallow engagement exchange where everyone is expected to like everything.
The goal is to help you publish consistently, make genuine connections, and introduce your work to more relevant readers.
Everyone who joins the Challenge will receive all seven daily assignments. The private Chat cohort and daily Notes Boost will only be available to the first 25 eligible writers who claim their spot.
The Challenge gives you seven days of focused action. The Notes Growth Workshop gives you the complete strategy behind those assignments.
I created the Workshop for writers who know Notes could help them grow but are tired of posting randomly and hoping something eventually works.
Inside, I walk you through the Notes system I’ve used to turn Notes into one of my strongest sources of new subscribers, including:
The types of Notes most likely to attract relevant readers
How to turn your existing newsletter ideas into multiple Notes
How to create curiosity without relying on gimmicks
How frequently to post without letting Notes consume your day
How to engage strategically instead of endlessly scrolling
How to improve your profile so more visitors become subscribers
How to build a repeatable Notes routine in approximately 20 minutes a day
At one point, Notes brought me 225 new subscribers in a single week and 916 over 30 days. Those results didn’t come from posting all day or stumbling onto one viral idea.
They came after I stopped treating Notes casually and started following a system I could repeat.
That’s the system you’ll learn inside the Workshop—and the August Notes Challenge will help you put it into practice.
When you join the Notes Growth Workshop by Tuesday, August 18, you’ll receive:
Immediate access to the complete Notes Growth Workshop
The Notes Writing Playbook with more than 30 prompts and templates
All seven daily assignments from the August Notes Challenge
The opportunity to claim one of 25 private Chat cohort spaces
Access to the daily Notes Boost if you secure a cohort place
After joining, you’ll receive instructions explaining how to claim one of the remaining spaces in the private cohort.
Join the Notes Workshop & Challenge
I’m not going to promise that you’ll build an enormous audience in one week.
But seven focused days can help you stop wondering what to post, discover which ideas connect with readers, and build a routine you can continue long after the Challenge ends.
More importantly, you won’t still be approaching Notes randomly and hoping something eventually changes.
Enrollment closes on Tuesday, August 18, but the 25 private cohort spaces may be claimed before then.
[Join the Notes Growth Workshop and receive the August Notes Challenge.]
The Challenge begins Thursday, August 20. You’ll receive immediate access to the Workshop and Notes Writing Playbook so you can start preparing today.
Let’s finally make Notes work for you. And let me know any questions in the comments or via DM.
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