What creators get wrong about Substack
A few months ago, Substack announced it had reached 32 million users.
That number pales in comparison to platforms like LinkedIn, X, and Facebook, but that’s exactly what makes it interesting.
Substack is still in its growth phase, with strong organic reach and an engaged user base.
My prediction is that it will hit 100 million users within the next few years.
If you’re just starting out here, you’re still early.
Think of it like joining Twitter in 2010.
Most platforms reward people who show up before the crowd does.
What Makes Substack Different
I’m no Substack guru.
I stumbled onto this platform out of curiosity after reading about it in a Medium post back in 2024.
But after nearly two years of writing here, I’m convinced Substack beats most writing platforms on the internet, and here’s why.
1. It rewards depth
If you’re tired of algorithm changes and AI-generated content flooding your feed, Substack feels like a breath of fresh air.
You can write long-form pieces, explore nuanced ideas, and cover whatever you’re passionate about — your personal life, business, politics, poetry, all of it.
There are no arbitrary format restrictions.
A 2,000-word deep dive works just as well as a 300-word reflection. The platform gets out of your way.
2. Subscribers, not just followers
This is the most underrated advantage Substack offers.
When someone subscribes to your newsletter, they hand you something incredibly valuable — access to their inbox.
That’s a fundamentally different relationship than gaining a follower on LinkedIn, Instagram, or YouTube.
Followers are passive. They might see your content, or they might not, depending on what the algorithm decides that day.
A creator with 10,000 followers might only reach a few hundred people per post.
Subscribers are different. They opted in. They want to hear from you.
Here’s a useful way to think about it:
A follower is like a casual music fan who enjoys a few of your songs.
A subscriber is the true fan who buys every album, shows up to concerts, and wears the merch. They’re invested in you, not just the content.
Right now, Substack is the only major platform built around that kind of relationship.
Where Most Creators Go Wrong
Here’s the mistake I see over and over again: creators build a small audience, flip on the paid subscription toggle, and wonder why nobody converts.
Substack’s business model is built around paid subscriptions — you publish content, grow subscribers, then charge for access. It sounds straightforward.
But putting up a paywall too early is one of the fastest ways to kill your momentum.
Trust comes before monetization. Always.
Substack doesn’t currently offer a welcome email sequence, which means a brand-new subscriber might receive their very first post from you and immediately hit a paywall.
That’s not a sales funnel, that’s a door being slammed in someone’s face.
Research consistently shows it takes an average of seven touchpoints before someone is ready to buy. You need to earn that trust first.
There’s also a math problem with subscriptions that most people overlook.
One hundred subscribers paying $5 a month equals $500.
That’s a nice milestone, but it’s not a business, especially when you consider the platform takes a cut, and churn is a constant battle.
And let’s be honest about who’s winning the paid newsletter game.
Take a look at Substack’s weekly bestseller leaderboard.
Most of those names built massive audiences before they arrived here — Hollywood actors, New York Times bestselling authors, well-known journalists, and podcasters.
They brought their audiences with them.
For the rest of us, competing at that level on subscriptions alone is an uphill battle.
There’s also a broader market problem: people are already drowning in subscriptions.
Netflix, Spotify, Amazon, gym memberships, X… the average person is looking to cut subscriptions, not add more.
When you launch a paid newsletter, you’re competing directly with billion-dollar companies for a shrinking slice of someone’s monthly budget.
That’s not a fight you want to pick too early.
The Smarter Play
Use Substack for what it does best — building a trusted, engaged audience around a niche, a skill, or an area of expertise.
Then monetize with higher-value offers on the back end.
If you write about advertising strategy every week, your readers start to associate you with expertise in paid media.
When one of them needs help with their ad campaigns, you’re the first person they think of. That’s leverage.
Good thing, you don’t need a massive list for this to work.
A hundred business owners who trust your expertise and hire you for consulting is worth far more than a thousand random subscribers paying $5 a month.
The goal isn’t a leaderboard badge. The goal is building something that actually pays.
On that note, in my last post, I ran a poll asking whether you’d want a workshop on turning your Substack into a client attraction channel.
This is the approach I’ve followed for the last six months, and it’s allowed me to build a real business with my newsletter.
The response was a clear Yes, so we’re making it happen in early March.
I’ll send more details via email. Keep an eye on your inbox.
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I admit, Substack is a refreshment. I like it here. A new city and new people. Fresh and still being built.
Good take. The small audience, real relationship angle feels honest. Build the bond first, money comes later. Makes sense.