How I Got My First 1,000 Substack Newsletter Subscribers in 90 Days
Lessons, Mistakes, and Improvements
Need help growing your audience on Substack?
I created a resource bank to help you do just that: The Creator’s Vault
It’s a collection of mini guides and resources to help you create better content, grow your audience, and monetize with offers.
I first heard about Substack from a Medium story in June 2024. Like most people, I got curious and decided to check it out.
It was a cool platform (still is). I read a few posts, launched my own newsletter, and started writing.
But the first few months were brutal. I had zero subscribers. No prior email list. No social media presence.
My posts and notes received no engagement. I was shouting into the void.
It took me three months to reach my first 100 subscribers in October 2024. Then, everything took off.
Over the past 90 days, my newsletter grew from 100 to over 1,000 subscribers. And 90% of them came from the Substack app and Notes.
But how did I grow so fast? What mistakes did I make? And what am I improving going forward?
Let’s break it down.
What Drove My Newsletter Growth
1. Defining My Niche and Audience
Many creators launch their newsletters with excitement, only to give up after a few months.
One of the key factors in growing a successful newsletter is having a well-defined niche and audience.
Think about it, would you subscribe to a newsletter that covers politics one day, sports the next, and then health?
Probably not.
People subscribe to newsletters because they’re interested in a specific topic.
To build a loyal audience, center your newsletter around a few core topics.
When I started, I was eager to learn and share how content creators grow and monetize their audiences—hence the name Creators Playbook.
But I soon realized that ‘content creator’ is a broad term. It includes YouTubers, podcasters, writers, and artists, all of whom create content in different ways.
So, I decided to niche down and focus specifically on newsletter creators.
This shift gave me a clearer understanding of my audience’s challenges and how I could help them better.
If you're just starting out, I recommend casting a wide net at first.
Explore different areas, then refine your niche over time based on what resonates most.
2. Posting Daily Notes
Substack Notes is the biggest driver of newsletter subscribers on this platform.
If you’re not posting Notes, you’re leaving growth on the table.
I’ve been posting Notes almost daily for the last six months. I’ve had plenty of Notes that got zero engagement, but also many that went viral and brought in hundreds of subscribers.
Most of my Notes now get solid engagement, but that’s because I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t.
I’ve built a strategy that has been invaluable for growing my subscribers. And I put this strategy into a guide to help others do the same.
It’s available exclusively to my paid subscribers.
To access this guide and all other resources to grow your newsletter, become a paid subscriber today.
3. Engaging With Other Creators (Without Being Spammy)
Apart from posting Notes, I spend at least 30 minutes daily engaging with other creators.
Substack is a social platform, much like LinkedIn or Twitter.
If you want to grow, you need to connect with other creators in your niche.
Instead of just posting and blasting my Substack link everywhere (which never works), here’s what I did:
I found 5-10 creators writing about similar topics.
I genuinely engaged with their content—liked their posts, left thoughtful comments, and started discussions.
Then I shared or restacked their work when it made sense.
What happened?
Some of them noticed, replied, and even followed me back.
Over time, they checked out my newsletter and gave shoutouts in their posts, which led to growth.
If you’re just starting out, I recommend doing the same.
Spend at least 30 minutes daily on the platform and engage with other writers in your niche.
Provide value first, and growth will follow.
4. Getting Recommended by Other Newsletters
This was a game-changer.
Substack allows writers to recommend each other, and getting featured in just one popular newsletter can bring in hundreds of new subscribers.
But here’s the trick: Nobody recommends a boring, inconsistent newsletter.
I made sure my newsletter was:
Consistent (at least 20+ issues published).
Focused on a niche audience (not scattered across random topics).
And valuable enough (engaging content people wanted to read).
Then, I reached out to five writers I admired and asked if they’d consider recommending my newsletter. Two said yes.
One creator with 10k+ subscribers recommended my newsletter in their post, and overnight, I gained 100 new subscribers.
Key takeaway: If you create something worth recommending, people will share it.
What I Haven’t Done Much and Need to Improve
Not Having a Publishing Schedule
This has been my biggest drawback. As much as I’d love to be consistent, I haven’t had a steady publishing schedule.
I started by publishing one newsletter a week. Some weeks, I sent out two or three posts.
This inconsistency stalled my growth because my audience didn’t know when to expect a new post.
I’m fixing this by committing to a regular posting schedule:
📅 Three times a week—Mondays to Fridays.
To Wrap Up:
I didn’t have an existing audience. I didn’t pay for ads. I didn’t rely on viral moments.
I simply showed up, engaged, and made it easy for people to find and share my work.
And if I can do it, so can you.
Need Help Growing and Monetizing Your Audience?
I created a resource bank to help you do just that: The Creator’s Vault
It’s a collection of mini guides and resources to help you create better content, grow your audience, and monetize with offers.
Quite helpful, thank you. I have not given notes any attention, but now I will.
I only downloaded the app yesterday and I am finding it so interesting exploring the possibilities of the app. Thank you for sharing your advice!