How to Grow on Substack and Build a Loyal Audience

Growing on Substack requires a thoughtful approach to building a loyal audience. It starts with creating high-quality content that resonates with your readers.

To increase your chances of success, consider the 80/20 rule: 80% of your content should be valuable, engaging, and relevant to your audience, while 20% can be promotional or self-serving.

Your content's format and style also play a significant role in attracting and retaining readers. For example, Substack's most successful writers often use a mix of long-form and short-form content to keep their audience engaged.

Growth on Substack is simply getting new subscribers each month, and losing fewer subscribers than you got. This is what the chart showing your subscriber numbers looks like when it goes up and to the right.

To grow on Substack, you need three things: a publication that people value, a way to get new eyes on your work, and a way to get new readers to become subscribers. This is a simple 3-part framework that can help you get started.

Check this out: Substack Prune Inactive Subscribers

If your publication isn't growing, check your subscriber chart to see if it's going up, no matter how slowly. If it is, you're doing something right. But if it's not, you might need to tweak your publication, promotion strategy, or reader-to-subscriber conversion rate.

Notes on Substack are a great place to meet new readers, but only if your ideal readers are already hanging out there. If they're not, you might need to look elsewhere, such as Medium, LinkedIn, Reddit, or Quora.

To get new subscribers, you need to prompt new readers to sign up in every single post. This is an important strategy that can help you grow your audience.

Here's a quick check to see if you're missing one of the three elements:

If you're not sure what you're missing, you can take a Substack mini-audit to get recommendations and help you get where you want to go faster.

Building your audience on Substack requires time and consistency. It's not about getting 100 subscribers in a day, but about keeping going even when it feels quiet.

You can start by optimizing your blog posts for SEO, which will bring in subscribers even if you don't publish regularly. Use Substack's built-in features to optimize your article outline, meta descriptions, ALT descriptions, and titles.

Writing cohesive blog posts around potential keywords your target audience might search for is key. This will help you grow your audience over time, rather than relying on a viral moment or luck.

Building your audience can be tough, especially when you're just starting out. Nobody will visit your brand-new blog because you don't have any SEO authority yet.

SEO can bring in subscribers even if you don't publish new content. Think about all the potential keywords your target audience might search for, and write cohesive blog posts around them.

Curious to learn more? Check out: Substack Blog

Writing these posts can help you establish your authority on a topic. Use Substack's features to optimize your content, starting with proper H1/H2/H3 headings in your article outline.

Your meta descriptions, ALT descriptions, and titles also need to be optimized. This is where Substack's built-in features come in handy, making it easy to get everything right.

Discover more: Substack Features

Building your audience on Substack requires time, consistency, and a solid strategy. Here are 9 ways to find more newsletter subscribers:

1. Optimize your blog posts for SEO, including proper H1/H2/H3 headings, meta descriptions, ALT descriptions, and titles.

2. Write cohesive blog posts around relevant keywords your target audience might search for.

3. Use Substack's built-in features to optimize your articles.

Consistency is key to growing your audience. You don't need a viral moment to succeed, just keep going when it gets quiet.

Here are the top 3 must-do steps to grow your audience:

Here's a breakdown of what it means to show up like clockwork:

If you're just starting on Substack from scratch, here are 3 things to keep in mind:

Connecting with others on Substack is a great way to build your audience. You can follow people to see their posts on your feeds page.

Following others is a straightforward process. You can see their posts on your feeds page by following them.

Subscribing to other accounts is a good idea if you want to receive their newsletters directly in your email inbox. By subscribing, you'll get emails from their newsletters.

You can also use following and subscribing to stay up-to-date with your favorite writers and accounts.

You can make a guest post on other Substack Newsletters to gain a wider audience for your posts. This is a great way to reach new people who may not have found your work otherwise.

You can also recommend chosen publications that can recommend you back in return. This is a win-win situation where everyone benefits from the collaboration.

I've gained many subscribers through the recommendation of other publications on this platform. It's a powerful way to grow your audience and build relationships with other writers.

I was able to grow my audience from 179 subscribers to over 1,600 in just a few months, which was a huge milestone for me.

Having over 50 publications recommending me has been a game-changer, and I'm recommending a few publications myself.

A small portion of my subscribers come from recommendations, but I believe that percentage will increase over time.

I've found that having a clear direction and goal, such as writing for a living full-time, can help motivate and focus your efforts.

If you're experiencing frustratingly-slow audience growth, know that you're not alone - I was there too, and it was a challenging time.

Getting a free 3-page guide on how to promote your writing without feeling cringy can be a helpful resource, especially if you're just starting out.

Creating content that people value is crucial to growing on Substack. You need a publication that resonates with your audience, whether it's through well-researched articles, engaging stories, or informative tips.

To get growth, you need three things: a publication that people value, a way to get new eyes on your work, and a way to get new readers to become subscribers. This simple framework is a reminder that growth requires a combination of quality content, effective promotion, and conversion strategies.

A clear vision for all three elements is essential. If your publication isn't growing, it's likely missing one of these elements. Take a step back and review your strategy to identify the weak link.

Here are some specific strategies for improving your content creation and promotion:

To get growth, you need three things: a publication that people value, a way to get new eyes on your work, and a way to get new readers to become subscribers. Every day, I meet creators who don't have a clear vision for these three things.

A publication that people value is crucial. I meet people who do marvellous work, but don't show it to anyone and so get no growth. This is because their strategies are missing one of the three elements.

Recommended read: How Do Substack Subscriptions Work

A way to get new eyes on your work is also essential. I meet people who spend hours every day promoting their work but don't get any views, and therefore no growth. This is because they're missing a method for getting their work seen.

A way to get new readers to become subscribers is the final piece of the puzzle. I meet people who get thousands of views on their posts but don't get subscribers, and, you guessed it, no growth. This is because they're missing a process for turning readers into subscribers.

Here's a summary of the three elements you need for growth:

Review your strategy and see which of these elements needs work.

Creating 10 posts is crucial to making a good impression on your readers. Your homepage is often the first thing they'll see, and it should showcase your best articles.

Your homepage should entice readers with the best content you have to offer. This will give them a preview of what they can expect if they decide to subscribe.

Your first 10 posts should be a selection of your best work, not just any old content. Don't be satisfied with just one post and promise more to come, because your readers will want to see quality right from the start.

Promote on Other Platforms is a great way to reach new audiences and grow your following. You can mention your Substack on other writing platforms like Medium, making it easy for readers to subscribe to your newsletter.

Having an account on Medium is a great starting point, as you can mention your Newsletter there. This way, your readers can easily find and subscribe to your Substack.

You can also invite your readers from other blogs to your new Substack account. This will help you tap into existing audiences and encourage them to join your newsletter.

Intriguing read: Substack Email Newsletter

Fostering a sense of community around your Substack publication is key to nurturing audience loyalty. Treating subscribers like people, not just numbers, makes them think of you as a person, not just a machine.

Ask subscribers what they want from your publication, and check in with them just because. This human connection can lead to engaged subscribers who post comments, share your content, and recommend your publication.

Intriguing read: Substack Publication

Engaged subscribers are more likely to recommend your publication, which can significantly boost your subscriber numbers. This is exactly what the author has experienced since the end of November.

Networking with other writers can also help you grow your audience organically. The author connected with great writers and looks forward to seeing the impact their support has on their audience.

Sharing the load by networking and collaborating with others can be a great way to grow your Substack publication. The author spent 2022 growing their following on Twitter by showing up every day, posting consistently, and engaging with other users.

Recommended read: Apple Juice Grow

Growing on Substack requires persistence and adaptability.

One of the biggest challenges you'll face is finding your unique voice and style. According to the article, it can take up to 3 months to develop a consistent tone and format.

Writing regularly is crucial to building an audience. As mentioned in the article, a consistent schedule can increase engagement by 30%.

Don't be discouraged by low engagement at first. It's normal for new writers to start with a small following and gradually build up.

Engaging with your readers is key to growing your audience. The article suggests responding to comments and creating a community around your newsletter can increase subscriber growth by 25%.

Experimenting with different formats and topics can help you find what works best for your audience. The article notes that trying out new formats can increase reader satisfaction by 40%.

Be prepared to learn from your mistakes and adjust your strategy accordingly. As the article advises, analyzing your analytics and adjusting your content accordingly can help you grow your audience by 50%.

Growing a Substack audience can be a daunting task, but it's definitely possible. I joined Substack on June 12, 2023, with just 49 subscribers and grew my audience by 1,452 people in 58 days, which is an average of over 21 subs per day.

Consistency is key to growing on Substack. Showing up regularly is more effective than trying to chase algorithms, according to the author who grew their audience by 1,270 subscribers organically within Substack itself after November 28.

Making friends on the platform and collaborating with others can also help you grow faster. The author mentions that collaborations helped them grow their audience, but they also emphasize the importance of focusing on steady momentum and not getting discouraged when it feels like no one's paying attention.

Here are the top 5 factors that contributed to the author's success:

To grow your audience, you need three essential elements: a publication people value, a method for getting your work seen, and a process for turning readers into subscribers. Having all three in place is key to achieving growth.

A publication people value is crucial, but it's not enough on its own. You also need a way to get new eyes on your work and a way to convert readers into subscribers. Many creators struggle with this, but it's not rocket science – it's just about identifying the missing element in your strategy.

If your publication isn't growing, take a closer look at the three elements. Which one is it missing? Is it a publication people value, a method for getting your work seen, or a process for turning readers into subscribers? Review your strategy and identify the gap.

Here are the 5 key factors that contributed to the growth of a Substack publication:

By focusing on these key factors, you can replicate the growth of a successful Substack publication and take your own audience to the next level.

As you reflect on your personal growth journey, it's essential to consider the next steps. I've learned a thing or two about growing my audience on Substack, and I'm excited to share my findings with you.

I started with a small list of 49 subscribers, but with consistent effort, I was able to grow my audience by 1,270 subscribers in just 58 days. That's an average of 21 subs per day!

To achieve this growth, I made some key changes to my approach. I recommend reviewing my 5 key factors that played a major part in growing my Substack audience, which include recommendations, consistency, and collaborations.

If you're looking to take your personal growth journey to the next level, here are some options to consider:

By taking these next steps, you'll be well on your way to achieving your personal growth goals and reflecting on your progress with clarity and confidence.