How I Tripled My List in 30 Days (And You Can Too)
The Fastest Way to Grow Your Email List Without Funnels, Freebies, or Frustration
Writers have it tough.
You spend hours crafting a story, praying the algorithm shines a little light your way, and if you’re lucky, you get…what?
A few dollars?
Maybe a trickle of new readers?
But building an email list?
Good luck with that.
Most platforms are designed to keep readers on them.
Not to send them to your list.
Not to help you own your audience.
Not to help you grow something that lasts.
If you want email subscribers, you’re basically forced to build lead magnets, create awkward signup forms, cross your fingers… and then wait.
And wait.
And wait.
Even then, growth is variable.
What Changed Everything for Me
In the last 30 days, I grew by almost 900 new email subscribers.
Guess where 52% of them came from?
Substack Notes.
Let me show you:
Before I implemented my system I used to grow with about 300 subscribers per month.
That’s triple!
Not SEO.
Not paid ads.
Not viral social media posts.
Short, punchy Notes dropped right inside Substack’s ecosystem.
Sharp takes.
Mini-lessons.
Quick thoughts.
Stuff that grabs attention, starts conversations, and, most importantly, gets people to click “Subscribe.”
No landing pages.
No freebie PDFs.
No complicated funnels.
Just pure organic growth inside a platform that actually wants you to succeed.
And it takes me just 15 minutes per day, I have my exact system described here.
I don’t know ANY other platform that can do that to your email list right now. FOR FREE.
Why Substack Notes Beats All Other Platforms Every Day of the Week
Substack Notes: You write short posts. You create real engagement. You own every email that subscribes.
All other platforms: You write long posts. You hope for views. You rent an audience you don’t own.
They pay you if you play by their rules — and even then, their payout model is unstable.
Substack lets you build your list directly — and monetize it however you want.
Big difference.
Bigger freedom.
The Smart Way
I’m not saying ditch other platforms entirely.
(Although… I wouldn’t blame you if you did.)
Here’s the move:
Turn your long stories into short-form posts.
Post those on Substack Notes.
Use your free posts on Substack to continue nurturing.
Lock your deeper HOW-to strategies behind a paywall.
Other platforms become your top-of-funnel.
Substack becomes your growth and revenue engine.
This combo works because you’re not fighting the platforms — you’re using each one for what it’s best at.
The Bottom Line
If you’re tired of:
depending on unpredictable earnings,
fighting for algorithm scraps,
and begging readers to sign up for a lead magnet they don’t even want…
then it’s time to evolve.
Substack Notes is the fastest path to real audience growth.
It’s already happening.
It’s happening fast.
And it’s only getting bigger.
Writers who catch this shift early will build the email lists — and the businesses — that others envy in a year.
The rest?
Still stuck hoping other platforms send them another $27 next month. Or not…
Your call.
So tell me: Which platforms you currently use?
Stay Unplugged!
Yana
👉 Find my story along with a dozen other stories from creators who built their own path to consistent $10k+ months through newsletters, courses, communities, consulting, and more, in this FREE 10k Secrets Book!
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As you point out, the fastest way to build subscribership on Substack is to offer a plan that is represented to offer a fast path to monetization for writers. And since becoming a “best selling” author on Substack requires only 100 paid subscriptions (likely total annual gross revenue of $4k to $5k), it’s an easy claim to make. But far from the realization of a life-changing promise. Marketers of shortcuts to making money online, IMO, detract from the overall value delivered by a platform such as Substack. Cheers!