16 Ways You Should Use Substack Notes (and 3 Ways You Shouldn't)
Plus real examples for each.
👋 Hey, I’m Casandra. I share research-backed business ideas to help you start and grow a business, including on Substack. This is a 🔒 Premium Edition 🔒 of Really Good Business Ideas.
Become a Premium subscriber to access the full Substack archive and Premium Perks like my direct support.
If you’re trying to grow a Substack publication, you should use Substack Notes.
Notes is Substack’s built-in social network where anyone with a Substack account (both authors and readers) can post short-form content and interact. If you’ve never used Notes before, you can find your feed on substack.com or in the Substack app. You’ll need be logged into your Substack account to access Notes.
Any way you look at it, using Substack Notes drives publication growth.
An internal analysis by Substack found that “Writers and creators who post three or more thoughtful notes during the week they launch their Substack gain 50% more total subscribers than those who don’t.”
And another analysis by
found that the most successful publications (10,000+ paid subscribers) also post the most Notes (30+ monthly). It’s impossible to say that Notes cause growth just because they appear correlated with publication size, but Finn also followed this analysis up with an experiment! When Finn started publishing daily Notes, subscriber growth accelerated dramatically.
And recently,
shared data from several publishers showing that publishing Notes doesn’t just drive free subscriber growth, it drives paid subscriber growth, too. Substack even informs you when a Notes drives new paid subscribers, letting you know how much revenue your Note generated.
Many of us (including me!) have seen similar results when we started using Notes, which makes sense. Notes are an incredible way to connect with potential readers who may not know about your publication yet. The Substack Notes platform:
Increases exposure for you and your publication.
Provides a platform for connecting with like-minded people.
Integrates seamlessly with your publication to turn awareness into subscribers.
If you haven’t used Substack Notes yet, it’s time to give it a try!
16 Ways You Should Use Substack Notes
Here are 16 ways you can experiment with Notes to build your Substack community and drive publication growth—with real Notes examples for each.
PS. Read until the end to find three Notes faux-pas you’ll want to avoid!
1. Network With Other Authors
One of the first ways you should use Notes as an author is to network with other authors! Nothing beats having a community of smart people doing similar things who can support each other.
One way to network with other authors is to recommend them and their work. It’s a great way to break the ice by helping them out.
But an even easier way is to follow authors you admire and interact with them by commenting on their Notes. Most Notes don’t get a lot of comments so this is a great way to stand out.
2. Test New Content Ideas
If you’re ever wondering what to write about next, plan a few Notes on the topics you’re deciding between. The ones that get engagement are more likely to get more interest as long-form articles, too!
3. Affirm What Other People Are Feeling
We all love to feel validated. Sharing a Note empathizing with a common experience shared by others is a great way to generate engagement.
4. Give a Hot Take
Share a controversial opinion and you’re bound to get interaction both from people who agree with you and those who disagree.
5. Share A Slice of Life
We all mostly value similar things, like family and seeking fulfillment through hobbies and experiences. Sharing a slice of life is a nice way to show the human beyond the business and connect with your audience more personally.