Three cheers for this and especially the props to the discoverability factor. It sometimes makes me wonder if folks had ever tried to rig up a full scale website, manage and tend to 2-4 external social media profiles, write distinctively for each of those PLUS write guest posts on other sites to extend their reach. This is literally what full scale marketing agencies do for clients — and Substack brought it all in-house … and did a helluva job.
Also, raising my hand as someone who had 12 readers and no social sites and made my way to bestseller. Maybe not as fast as others but the timing has been just right for me.
Thanks for the reminders about how to use this amazing network. Time to do a little refresh on my side …
I started putting a real shape to (and testing!) my Writing Plan in June 2023; before that I was just kind of roaming around and deciding if I liked being on Substack. And I became a bestseller in July 2024. So just over a year. ☀️
Thanks for your generosity in sharing these insights, for laying them out so clearly and backing them up with evidence from your own experience. As I only started my Substack 3 months ago it’s good to know that the progress I’ve made is actually not too bad! I’m not a writer but a composer (who also writes a bit) so I feel I’m a bit of an outlier here, but that seems more like an opportunity than a hindrance. Time will tell.
Your Substack was one of the first I subscribed to and one of the reasons I knew I had discovered something extraordinary here that was worth investing my time and energy in.
This was great. I share your concerns about the excess of “ouroborotic writing” on Substack about Substack, but this is definitely one of the best and most useful articles in the genre!
My experience has been quite similar to yours—I don’t really promote my Substack on Twitter or Instagram (and am basically a nonentity on both anyway), but a lot of people have found me because of notes I’ve posted. Many of those notes are sharing other great writing—the network effects of engaging with other people’s work are very helpful (and it also feels good to generously engage with other writers! this shouldn’t just be a self-centered me-me-me kind of platform). Concretely: I’ve been writing since Dec 2013 (so 8 months?) and most of my 4k-ish subscribers are from the Substack network, with a few people who have found me from one semi-viral post that was shared on other sites, and a few people through my bylines elsewhere
Thank you! I feel once you start to get traction on Notes it becomes its own self-fulfilling prophecy and quite addictive. Glad to hear it’s working for you too!
I love a “how to Substack” that makes me laugh. This one’s a keeper. I’ve personally seen you do all of these things and tried most of them myself. I can attest they work and will be leaning more into a few. A great thing about Substack networking is that it *feels good*.
I’m so with you on the discoverability factors I’ve seen so many complaints about this and couldn’t work out if I was missing something as Substack has a brilliant discoverability factor
This was super helpful, thank you for the illustrations! I'll send you my ouroboronotes snake illustration; I needed something to draw this morning anyway. I am part of building a new network of people here on Substack clustered around the concept of Ubuntu (there is also a Substack by that name which is part of tha cluster) based on the "I Am Because We Are" African philosophy. Together, we have brought new users - mostly community development organizers and practitioners from Africa - on to Substack to try their hand at building networks and connecting on Substack. Substack is complicated enough and requires sufficient tech capacity (and data for internet) to participate. So, it's slow going. But, we are doing it... together. Reading this post after having gone through the last 3 months trying to support this growing network, really drove it home for me. Particularly the piece about developing a cluster that champions and encourages one another.
I figured you had a connection somewhere in all of your travels. Also, I swore I was subscribed to this Substack. Maybe it's the other? Anyway, glad to be back.
As a former journalist, I enjoyed the clarity of your explanations in this "How-to Substack".
As a former trainer, I found it very pedagogical.
Social media have never cut the mustard for me (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)
As a newbie on Substack, your writing has not only opened my eyes but also ignited a newfound enthusiasm and energy in me. It has given me a Strategy to re-start and keep going on this unique platform.
Thank you, Mikey… this is just what I needed to know about Substack since I’ve been flailing around in it for a few months. Navigating, reading, laughing and learning, searching but also feeling like a stalker when I’d rather be a presence.
Trying not to be annoying to people I am following with my comments. Lo, and behold, my followers are gone and suddenly overnight I have a few subscribers! The decision to go from recreational reading to something of substance is what working on right now.
I need to get organized now that I understand the potential of Substack and community. I’m in no hurry to complete my assignment but reading this has made me aware that I’m already behind!
You are a master at explaining and guiding people to success with this piece. Hamish and team would be wise to officially use your template, better explained by you than what I’ve read so far. Thanks!
Superb advice, Mike. And, yes, Substack deserves all the credit for producing a wonderful platform for writers. I’ll be forever grateful for this chance to engage and grow.
Notes did it all for me, too. My two newsletters are everything I want them to be—communities where readers are friends now, and most of them come from my own engagement on Notes.
Really appreciated this piece. The framework you put substack in has really helped my mind understand it. It’s given me a path to start from. I am working in a network, now, I must use effective networking tools to flourish in it! Thanks!
Great post, thanks! I particularly like the connections to network theory. You might enjoy a segment of the Sam Corcos interview on Tim Ferriss’s podcast from a while back. Sam took a sabbatical year and studied network theory. The relevant time stamp is around the 2:26 mark. https://tim.blog/2023/09/20/sam-corcos/.
He draws out a point related to yours about the power of loose connections and the value of their dense networks. Some of the most valuable connections are those who are connected to a lot of folks who are not already part of your existing network.
Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll check it out. Yes those loose connections, or as Mark Granovetter put it “the strength of weak ties” are often the most vital ones!
Thank you for all this good information! I’ll have to bookmark this page, it’s so much. As far as discoverability, I’ve complained about it as a reader because I found the search engine not amazing, and the feature boards for fiction almost never feature fiction. As a writer, it’s more that my Substack doesn’t come up on Google (not at the top, anyway.) maybe it’s not like that now, it might have been a year ago or so.) All of that could be user error though!
This is one of the best posts I’ve seen about Substack, tips and suggestions about the platform, and patience as a writer. Thank you! New subscriber here. And you’re absolutely write, having a lot of followers on social media is not an indicator that your Substack will explode. Im definitely learning that in a very humbling way. Quality and consistency on Substack, to your point. Thanks for writing this and cheers!
Three cheers for this and especially the props to the discoverability factor. It sometimes makes me wonder if folks had ever tried to rig up a full scale website, manage and tend to 2-4 external social media profiles, write distinctively for each of those PLUS write guest posts on other sites to extend their reach. This is literally what full scale marketing agencies do for clients — and Substack brought it all in-house … and did a helluva job.
Also, raising my hand as someone who had 12 readers and no social sites and made my way to bestseller. Maybe not as fast as others but the timing has been just right for me.
Thanks for the reminders about how to use this amazing network. Time to do a little refresh on my side …
Thanks, Amanda — and great to see the Editing Spectrum doing so well, you’re smashing it.
Thanks for sharing this - you give me hope! Write on!
How long did it take you to become a bestseller?
I started putting a real shape to (and testing!) my Writing Plan in June 2023; before that I was just kind of roaming around and deciding if I liked being on Substack. And I became a bestseller in July 2024. So just over a year. ☀️
Sorry newbie here—bestseller of what? A book or Substack subs?
Bestselling newsletter. :)
Oh wow! Very cool. Congrats!
Thanks for your generosity in sharing these insights, for laying them out so clearly and backing them up with evidence from your own experience. As I only started my Substack 3 months ago it’s good to know that the progress I’ve made is actually not too bad! I’m not a writer but a composer (who also writes a bit) so I feel I’m a bit of an outlier here, but that seems more like an opportunity than a hindrance. Time will tell.
Your Substack was one of the first I subscribed to and one of the reasons I knew I had discovered something extraordinary here that was worth investing my time and energy in.
Thank you very much for the kind words, Glyn, and best of luck with your own project
A composer writing on Substack sounds intriguing! I’ll be sure to check it out!
Thank you, Allison. I hope you find my Substack of interest to you.
This is excellent! One of the only 'how-to-Substack' posts that hasn't made me want to vomit copious amounts of my insides.
(feel free to use that quote Mikey)
That is actually quite disappointing. I was hoping you’d vom.
This was great. I share your concerns about the excess of “ouroborotic writing” on Substack about Substack, but this is definitely one of the best and most useful articles in the genre!
My experience has been quite similar to yours—I don’t really promote my Substack on Twitter or Instagram (and am basically a nonentity on both anyway), but a lot of people have found me because of notes I’ve posted. Many of those notes are sharing other great writing—the network effects of engaging with other people’s work are very helpful (and it also feels good to generously engage with other writers! this shouldn’t just be a self-centered me-me-me kind of platform). Concretely: I’ve been writing since Dec 2013 (so 8 months?) and most of my 4k-ish subscribers are from the Substack network, with a few people who have found me from one semi-viral post that was shared on other sites, and a few people through my bylines elsewhere
Thank you! I feel once you start to get traction on Notes it becomes its own self-fulfilling prophecy and quite addictive. Glad to hear it’s working for you too!
I love a “how to Substack” that makes me laugh. This one’s a keeper. I’ve personally seen you do all of these things and tried most of them myself. I can attest they work and will be leaning more into a few. A great thing about Substack networking is that it *feels good*.
It does feel good!
oh my god i made it on the mike notes roundup
(also this is a good post esp about How To Notes)
also is your name actually mike because i feel like i have that piece of info somewhere in my head but i can't verify it so i'm not 100% convinced
My full name is Michaelmusbartholomew the third but most people just call me Mikey
salute emoji michaelmusbartholomew
I’m so with you on the discoverability factors I’ve seen so many complaints about this and couldn’t work out if I was missing something as Substack has a brilliant discoverability factor
100%
This was super helpful, thank you for the illustrations! I'll send you my ouroboronotes snake illustration; I needed something to draw this morning anyway. I am part of building a new network of people here on Substack clustered around the concept of Ubuntu (there is also a Substack by that name which is part of tha cluster) based on the "I Am Because We Are" African philosophy. Together, we have brought new users - mostly community development organizers and practitioners from Africa - on to Substack to try their hand at building networks and connecting on Substack. Substack is complicated enough and requires sufficient tech capacity (and data for internet) to participate. So, it's slow going. But, we are doing it... together. Reading this post after having gone through the last 3 months trying to support this growing network, really drove it home for me. Particularly the piece about developing a cluster that champions and encourages one another.
Sounds like you’re doing it right, Emily. And very nice to hear the word “Ubuntu” again, makes me nostalgic for my Zambian days
I figured you had a connection somewhere in all of your travels. Also, I swore I was subscribed to this Substack. Maybe it's the other? Anyway, glad to be back.
Thank you, Mickey!
As a former journalist, I enjoyed the clarity of your explanations in this "How-to Substack".
As a former trainer, I found it very pedagogical.
Social media have never cut the mustard for me (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)
As a newbie on Substack, your writing has not only opened my eyes but also ignited a newfound enthusiasm and energy in me. It has given me a Strategy to re-start and keep going on this unique platform.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mikey… this is just what I needed to know about Substack since I’ve been flailing around in it for a few months. Navigating, reading, laughing and learning, searching but also feeling like a stalker when I’d rather be a presence.
Trying not to be annoying to people I am following with my comments. Lo, and behold, my followers are gone and suddenly overnight I have a few subscribers! The decision to go from recreational reading to something of substance is what working on right now.
I need to get organized now that I understand the potential of Substack and community. I’m in no hurry to complete my assignment but reading this has made me aware that I’m already behind!
You are a master at explaining and guiding people to success with this piece. Hamish and team would be wise to officially use your template, better explained by you than what I’ve read so far. Thanks!
That’s very kind of you to say, Gundy — and I wish you the best of luck with it!
Superb advice, Mike. And, yes, Substack deserves all the credit for producing a wonderful platform for writers. I’ll be forever grateful for this chance to engage and grow.
Notes did it all for me, too. My two newsletters are everything I want them to be—communities where readers are friends now, and most of them come from my own engagement on Notes.
I love it!
So pleased to hear that, Ramona!
I thought of you when I saw this. Hmm, wonder if my interactions with you triggered this post in my feed…
Really appreciated this piece. The framework you put substack in has really helped my mind understand it. It’s given me a path to start from. I am working in a network, now, I must use effective networking tools to flourish in it! Thanks!
Great post, thanks! I particularly like the connections to network theory. You might enjoy a segment of the Sam Corcos interview on Tim Ferriss’s podcast from a while back. Sam took a sabbatical year and studied network theory. The relevant time stamp is around the 2:26 mark. https://tim.blog/2023/09/20/sam-corcos/.
He draws out a point related to yours about the power of loose connections and the value of their dense networks. Some of the most valuable connections are those who are connected to a lot of folks who are not already part of your existing network.
Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll check it out. Yes those loose connections, or as Mark Granovetter put it “the strength of weak ties” are often the most vital ones!
Love that line!
As someone in week one of my Substack experience, I feel immensely grateful for having stumbled across this. Thanks for sharing your insights!
You’re very welcome, and best of luck with it!
Thank you for all this good information! I’ll have to bookmark this page, it’s so much. As far as discoverability, I’ve complained about it as a reader because I found the search engine not amazing, and the feature boards for fiction almost never feature fiction. As a writer, it’s more that my Substack doesn’t come up on Google (not at the top, anyway.) maybe it’s not like that now, it might have been a year ago or so.) All of that could be user error though!
This is one of the best posts I’ve seen about Substack, tips and suggestions about the platform, and patience as a writer. Thank you! New subscriber here. And you’re absolutely write, having a lot of followers on social media is not an indicator that your Substack will explode. Im definitely learning that in a very humbling way. Quality and consistency on Substack, to your point. Thanks for writing this and cheers!