I Talked to 15 of Substack's Fastest Growers. They're All Doing The Opposite of What We've Been Taught

I realized something recently. And you may not like what I’m going to share.

But sometimes we just have to see how things are.

Substack is still our lovely little corner on the internet where connection matters. But that’s not how the platform is making money.

They make money if you make money. Which seems like a fair system.

But this system has drawbacks, too. They want you to spend more and more time on the platform. Kind of trap you in an attention loop. Like all other social media platforms, too.

What does that mean? Well, it seems that Substack rewards you for sharing more ad-hoc information.

This goes against everything I’ve been reading from big newsletter experts. And even against my own advice about sticking to a tight Tuesday schedule.

But it turns out, if you want to be successful on this platform, you need to pivot, adapt, and go with what works at the time.

So, I talked to my 15 fastest-growing Substackers, and here’s what they’re doing.

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Before We Start: Some Quick Wins

Here are a few resources that might help you on how to grow 🚀 on Substack and how to monetize 💰 it.

• How To Grow On Substack (and How I Gained 1176 New Subscribers In 2 Months As A Newbie)

• How a Writer with 800 Subscribers Makes More Money Than Someone with 15,000

Okay, ready to learn more about your writing schedule and what works on Substack right now?! Let’s go.

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The “Strike While Hot” Strategy

I talked to my 15 quickest growing Substackers and here is what the they are doing right now:

They write their content when the iron is hot.

Not when the calendar says so. When the MOMENT says so.

Let me show you what they look for.

1. Jumping on trends

Instead of scheduling posts weeks in advance, they keep a “ready to ship” draft folder with 3-4 nearly-finished posts.

Then they watch for:

• A viral discussion in their niche

• A trending Substack Note they can add to

• A news event their audience cares about

When they spot the moment, they quickly polish the most relevant draft and hit publish within 2-4 hours.

Result: Their post rides the wave of existing attention instead of trying to create attention from scratch.

Example: When everyone was debating Substack’s new algorithm last month, the writers who published same week got 3x their normal engagement.

2. Turn their conversations into something new

They turn their best comment conversations into next-day posts.

This one is actually quite brilliant:

1. Engage genuinely in comments (your own posts + others)

2. Notice when a comment thread goes deep

3. That night: Expand that comment into a full post

4. Publish next day while the conversation is still warm

5. Tag the people you were discussing with

This does three things:

• Guarantees you’re writing about what people actually care about

• Gives you built-in social proof (the engaged comment thread)

• Creates natural promotion (tagged people often share)

How to prepare

Week 1: Build Your Backup

• Write 4-5 posts to 80% completion

• Make them evergreen but adaptable

• Don’t publish ANY of them yet

Week 2: Set Up Your Radar

• Create a “trending” folder in your browser

• Follow 10 fast-moving voices in your niche

• Check Substack Notes 2x daily for hot discussions

Week 3: Practice the Quick Polish

• When you spot a moment, take your closest draft

• Add a timely hook (reference the trending topic)

• Add a “why now” paragraph

• Publish within 4 hours of spotting the trend

Week 4: Find Your Rhythm

• You’ll naturally develop a sense for “hot moments”

• You’ll get faster at the polish-and-publish process

• You’ll start seeing patterns in what works

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The One Non-Negotiable Rule

You still need a minimum baseline. Mine is: At least one post every week, no matter what. And I actually do it every Tuesday.

This system allows me to write, publish and be ready for inbetween posts as well.

The ones that seem to make my 15 Substack friends growing like crazy right now.

Here’s why this hybrid approach works so well:

Your weekly baseline prevents:

• Algorithm penalties for going completely dark

• The guilt spiral of “I haven’t posted in forever”

• Losing momentum with your audience

Your “strike when hot” posts create:

• Viral moments that accelerate growth

• Higher engagement from timely content

• The excitement that keeps writing fun

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Was this helpful?

I’d appreciate it so much if you interact with this post, if you find it helpful. It helps me create more (hopefully) useful content like this one. Thank you!

Also, lately I’m curious about what my audience writes about. Would you participate in this poll - you will see the outcome, too!

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Can you believe there are more than 11,000 of us here now? 🤯

If you are thinking about monetizing your efforts like the other 11,000 creatives, then join our Wander Wealth Community

New to Substack? Check out my resources to get started.