Creator's Playbook

Creator's Playbook

Share this post

Creator's Playbook
Creator's Playbook
How I Got My First 1,000 Substack Newsletter Subscribers in 90 Days
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

How I Got My First 1,000 Substack Newsletter Subscribers in 90 Days

Lessons, Mistakes, and Improvements

Mark Wils's avatar
Mark Wils
Feb 17, 2025
∙ Paid
35

Share this post

Creator's Playbook
Creator's Playbook
How I Got My First 1,000 Substack Newsletter Subscribers in 90 Days
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
11
6
Share
person holding space gray iPhone 6
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

Struggling to grow your newsletter on Substack?

My Newsletter Growth Masterclass shows you how to gain 10–20 new subscribers a day and monetize your writing.

Get it here


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 clearly 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.

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Mark Wils
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More