Why Your Substack Growth Feels Stuck (And You Don’t Even Know Why)
How one overlooked feature can quietly unlock a flood of new subscribers — without writing longer posts or spending more hours.
The Mistake Most Creators Make
If you’re anything like I was, you’re probably doing everything “right” on Substack.
You’re writing thoughtful posts.
You’re showing up consistently.
You’re focused on quality over clickbait.
And yet… your subscriber count barely moves.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth:
It’s not because your writing isn’t good enough.
It’s because you’re missing the part of Substack that actually drives growth.
Why Your Efforts Aren’t Paying Off
Picture this:
You spend hours writing your post.
You fine-tune the headline.
You pour energy into making it “worth reading.”
You hit publish.
A few opens trickle in.
Maybe a reply or two.
But the subscriber count?
Flat.
And slowly, doubt creeps in:
Is Substack growth just slow for everyone?
Am I not good enough?
Maybe I just need to grind for another year…
That’s the trap.
And most creators never realise they’re in it.
What Nobody Tells You About Substack Growth
I used to believe that long-form posts were the key to audience growth.
Turns out, they’re not.
The creators quietly adding hundreds, sometimes thousands of subscribers?
They’re not writing longer posts.
They’re using something most creators overlook:
Substack Notes.
The Hidden Growth Engine: Substack Notes
Think of Notes like Twitter, but embedded inside Substack, without the noise.
Most creators treat Notes like:
A place for random thoughts
Optional filler content
A “nice to have” afterthought
That’s the mistake.
Notes aren’t optional.
They’re your growth engine.
Your long-form content keeps subscribers.
Your short-form Notes attract them.
What Happened When We Switched Strategies
We didn’t just start posting random Notes.
We built a system around them.
Here’s what happened:
In one month, our subscriber growth doubled.
By month two, over 80% of new subscribers were coming from Notes.
In three months, we were growing faster, spending less time.
It wasn’t magic.
It was strategy.
Why Most Creators Stay Stuck
If you’re wondering why your Notes aren’t working (or why you’re not using them at all), here’s what we discovered:
The wrong way to use Notes:
Sporadic, off-the-cuff thoughts
No strategy behind them
Inconsistent posting
The right way:
Notes crafted to trigger curiosity and emotional response
Posted consistently, like clockwork
Designed to move readers from “never heard of you” to “I need to subscribe”
The Missing Piece: Strategic Notes
Here’s what surprised us the most:
A single Note, written in under a minute, could outperform a 1,500-word post in subscriber growth.
Most creators’ Notes are scattered and random, they never move readers toward subscription.
There’s a repeatable system for turning every Note into a subscriber magnet.
Once you see how it works, you can’t un-see it.
What You Can Try Today
If you want to test this for yourself, here’s a simple starting point:
Step 1: Open Substack Notes.
Step 2: Write a short, curiosity-driven thought related to something you’re working on.
Step 3: End with an open loop or question.
Example:
"I used to think long-form posts were the key to Substack growth. I was wrong and here’s why…"
Post one Note like this every day for a week.
Watch what happens to your subscriber count.
A Faster Way to Do This
If you don’t want to spend time reinventing the wheel, we built the exact system we use:
Here’s what’s inside:
Note Builder
A tool that turns your ideas into 20 strategic Notes in seconds each crafted to hit emotional triggers and awareness stages.
Note Planner
A Notion dashboard that shows you which triggers and stages you’re hitting, and where your content gaps are.
Note Publisher
A Chrome extension that auto-publishes your Notes straight from Notion.
No copy-paste. No formatting. No busywork.
You plan it once. It posts for you, every day.
Ready to Start Growing Faster?
We’re offering Introductory pricing for the first 20 creators.
After that, the price goes up.
Quick FAQ
Can I use this if I only have 50 subscribers?
Yes — it works even better when you’re small, because you can accelerate growth from the start.
What if I don’t know what to post in a Note?
That’s exactly what the Note Builder solves — it generates ready-to-post Notes instantly.
Is this only for Substack?
No. The strategy and system work on any short-form platform: Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Threads, and beyond.
We have a page dedicated to FAQ here.
Final Thought
If you’re wondering why your subscriber growth feels stuck…
It’s not you.
It’s your strategy.
The creators growing fastest aren’t working harder.
They’re using Notes strategically.
Now, so can you.
Keep Scaling,
P.S. If you have questions about how this works or how it might fit into your workflow, just hit reply. Happy to chat!
@Stephen Moore