Episode
Rating popular Substack strategies
- Podcast
- Hapitalist
- Published
- Jul 23, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 3748
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
Let’s be real. Most advice about growing on Substack feels either too vague to be useful or too hacky to feel good. That’s why we decided to do something different. We’re not outside observers. We live in this ecosystem. We talk to creators every day, see what’s working in real time, and watch what quietly fizzles out once the hype dies. So instead of theorizing, we sat down and gave each strategy a gut-level, real-world rating, based on what we’ve actually seen succeed (and what’s quietly destroying people behind the scenes). This is not a list of silver bullets. It’s an honest look at what’s getting traction right now, what’s sustainable long term, and what’s just noise. Every tactic we rate below came up in our conversation, and got scored on a 10-point scale. Easy is without difficulty, easeful is without friction. So, what can you do without friction? 1. The "X More Subscribers Until Y" Notes Strategy Example: “Only 17 more until I hit 1,000!” Russell : “It works. It’s dumb, but it works.” Erin : “I’m on the fence, but I’m going with six. It does work.” This is the ‘milestone begging’ strategy. It leverages urgency and social proof—just enough to make people think, "Oh sure, I’ll help you hit that number.” We’ve seen it pop. But it’s got no longevity. It doesn’t build trust or excitement. It’s a party trick. * Our Take: While this strategy can offer a quick "jolt" of new subscribers and create a sense of excitement , we've found it's generally not effective for long-term engagement. It can feel a bit "dumb" if overused, and historically, this type of plea hasn't sustained growth across platforms. Our Rating : ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ (6/10) Summary : A shallow bump. It’s a sugar high, not a growth plan. 2. Posting 3-10 Times a Day on Notes AKA “The Blitzkrieg of Content” strate…