[DAY 6] Grow your first 1000 subscribers in just 15 minutes / day
I keep seeing people outside Substack preaching that the officially stated 5%-10% conversion rates are unreal.
Those people never tried to monetize Substack directly, i.e. running a paid newsletter.
Most likely never tried to use Substack strategically.
Substack has its own game.
What works elsewhere doesn’t work here.
What works here can’t be replicated anywhere else.
Why?
Because Substack is a unique place.
It is:
a blog
a newsletter
a social media
and a community with a totally different mindset. People are willing to pay you directly if you have value to deliver.
Substack is not a writing platform. It’s a business place for writers and creators.
Like any other business, it needs:
the right culture (mindset)
solid strategy (for monetization)
sound execution (to ensure you stay consistent)
enough investment (of your time and effort to build it)
and time (and patience) especially when you start seeing progress.
Progress. That’s what fuels motivation. That’s your sign to success.
My progress? I became a Bestseller in just 3 months.
On day 9 I'll share the whole case study about how I got there.
If you approach it as a business, you’ll find the best way to grow.
How to gain your first 1000 subscribers FAST?
Use Notes!
My conversion rate of people coming from Notes varies between 8% and 11%!
It's above the Substack average!
How?
Few months ago I decided to look at it from a business point of view.
Not just social media, but a growth channel. I don’t go random with people and content.
I have a content strategy and engagement strategy.
Here’s exactly what they look like…
1. Content Strategy
Post at least one Note every day. If you can, post more.
Use this to attract the right people:
Notes connected to my learning curve: I share my struggles. Those are highly relatable.
Growth Notes: I share my results from applying the methods I paywall. People ask me how I do it in the comments, and I tell them to read my newsletter.
Notes connected to my paywalled posts: I write Notes before and after I publish a paywalled post.
I recently got my first Note going viral with over 10,000 likes, over 24,000 clicks and aver 160 new subscribers! In just a few days!
I made a breakdown of it, so you can see exactly what I used to get it go viral.
Pro tip: Define your audience problems, then ask ChatGPT for 10-20 inspirational quotes related to these problems. Then edit a bit and post. These notes are highly relatable and you get to learn more about your audience's struggles.
And here’s what I DO NOT DO by all means:
I DON’T PROMOTE ANYTHING on Notes. I think people are irritated by that.
I DON’T SHARE ANY LINKS on Notes. Except when I restack a quote from my posts.
I DON’T TRY TO SELL on Notes. Just talk about the value of my paywalled content and the outcomes it delivers.
2. Engagement Strategy
This is to get the attention of more from the right people - those who are most likely to convert ot paid.
This is especially important if you have less than 2k subscribers coming from the organic Substack channels(imported don’t count). I came up with this number from my research of top-performing bestsellers.
Once you get to that number, things should start peaking off. I’m halfway there.
So here’s what I do:
Engage with 5-10 other people on Notes. Make sure they're in our niche.
Subscribe to your competitors and stay active in their community chats.
Start recommending other growing publications. Look for people with thousands of subscribers. Some will start recommending you back.
Pro tip: Don't just say "Great tip. Thanks for sharing". Ask questions and add to the conversation. Share your wisdom, even give them some of your most valuable advice. This way they get an insight into what they'll get if they subscribe to you.
You'll be amazed by your growth, I promise!
How Long Till 1000 Subscribers?
I'm now steadily growing with 10 to 30 subscribers per day. If you get to that level, you'll have your 1000 subscribers in 1 to 3 months! And if you get a Note go viral, you can get it in just few days.
I've seen may people on Substack achieve this, myself including.
You can too!
No sugarcoating!
It's just the fact that Substack is a young platform, but it's rapidly growing.
That's why YOU HAVE TO ACT NOW!
Because it's not guaranteed that this will stay in the future.
Don't sleep on your revenues.
Start now!
What’s Next?
Tomorrow, we’ll talk about how to convert free to paid subscribers — it's about how you get to that high conversion rate and ultimately that Bestseller badge!
See you then, Yana
P.S. I designed my monthly Notes30 challenge to help you stay consistent on Notes and engagement. People say it's a game-changer. You'll find tons of templates, writing tips, and tools! Join here and get a chance to win a Spotlight session with me, where we talk about your Substack so that more people can subscribe to you. I do this to help you grow faster. Join here!
P.S.S. I still haven't announced this yet, so you're the first to know: I'm deep-diving into these (and some more topics) about Substack, compiling them into a flagship course, called Substack Quest - where you'll have everything in one place. All my strategies, case studies and tools I use to achieve these results. Once I complete it, I'll increase the price (currently just $5/month (paid annually)). Upgrade now and secure your spot at this low price forever!