The Substack Growth Hack That's Working Right Now (Jan 2026)

Oct 28, 2025

Let me tell you something.

My summer on Substack was absolutely horrible.

For the first time in my Substack journey (if you ignore the first very lonely 3 months on here when I just started), I completely stopped growing, and had almost no interaction.

Every morning I would get up just to stare at the screen and see basically nothing. Maybe 1-2 subscribers per day when I was lucky. Plus, every time I would post something or send out an email, I lost subscribers.

And while I tried to be positive, preaching about just going on (which, fair to say, I did), internally I was panicking. Was that it? Was this my Substack drive for 1.5 years and now it’s over? It cannot be…

Luckily, I don’t give up easily.

So, I pivoted and changed things up.

And there is exactly 1 thing that seemed to have outperformed anything that I tried to do. Let’s get to it.

Before I forget:

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My only growth hack that has catapulted me out of my summer hole

Here’s some proof: My growth pretty much stalled in June and started again in October. It pretty much exploded again, as you can see. And I’m thankful to every single subscriber that follows my journey. 🧡

Okay, but now: how did I manage to grow again?

The answer might bore you to death (but stay with me because there’s a twist): Substack Notes.

But not the same old story of simply posting 2-3 Notes per day, restacking them, engaging with other Notes. No. This is what I did all summer long anyway and it didn’t bring me further.

No, I pivoted my approach to Notes as the ones I was writing did not seem to work anymore.

My Notes Pivot

But this did…My Notes now get around 150 likes on average and bring me tons of new subscribers.

And trust me when I say, this is the best source to grow on Substack. Look at this. 884 free subscribers from one Note. A new paid subscriber from another Note.

It works.

What I changed on Notes

Instead of simply sharing tips, I started writing tiny stories.

Real moments that happened to me.

Look, here’s what works: Start with the exact moment. “I checked another creator’s stats. 50,000 subscribers. I had 47.” Not “I felt discouraged.” Give me the numbers. The time. The specific thing that happened.

Then show me what you did next. “I closed my laptop and went for a walk.” Don’t tell me you were upset. Show me closing the laptop. Walking. The street musician with five people watching.

Here’s my formula: Specific moment → What you did → What you noticed → The shift → The lesson.

Like this: “Someone unsubscribed with a message: ‘Your content isn’t for me anymore.’ I spiraled. Checked my last five posts. Then I got a paid subscription: ‘I’ve been waiting for you to offer this.’ You can’t be for everyone.”

See? No “here’s what I learned about audience building.” Just: This happened. Then this. Here’s what it means.

Write it like you’re texting your friend. Short sentences. Real numbers. “47 unread DMs” not “lots of messages.” “6.30 AM” not “early morning.” The DM that said exactly: “I’ve been struggling to get out of bed lately.”

I started to tell my little stories and not simply share my learnings. People want to feel connected. They want to feel you being human.

And it changed everything.

I hope this helps you, too. If you have any question, let me know! I’m here.

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