How I tripled my subscriber growth on Substack using Notes (and how you can too)
How to Go Viral on Substack
The first time one of my Notes went viral, I felt… confused.
Not excited. Not validated.
Just deeply confused.
I had no call-to-action. No lead magnet. No hooky sales link.
It was a Note I wrote about my mom, because it was her birthday.
No SEO. No strategy. No smart funnel design.
Just me, sharing something that felt a little too honest.
That Note?
98,146 Impressions
10,200 likes
169 subs
In just a week or so. Here it is:
I got so excited that I wrote an article about it:
But I also got confused. I’ve seen much higher subs/likes conversion ratio on viral Notes.
The problem? This Note was not connected to my newsletter. At all…
Took me a total of 6 months to figure how to grow faster using Notes. This one Note brought me much closer than ever before.
That was the day I stopped treating Substack Notes like social media and started treating them like a trust-building machine.
That was the moment I realized how to build my Notes system so that I can take advantage of virality, but more importantly steadily grow without it (just by getting more engagement on my Notes).
And I did it. My second viral Note kicked in, and my third…
Unitll I tripled my subscribers growth in about a month, here’s the proof:
Case Study: My Second Viral Note (that got me 2 paid subs)
It wasn’t complex.
It was honest. And that’s why it worked.
Here’s a screenshot of the stats:
58,144 Impressions
3,300 likes
181 subs, 2 paid (!)
Here it is (link to it):
Your first 50 posts will be ignored.
Your next 50 will be skimmed.
Your next 50 will get polite applause.
And then one day someone will message you:
“This changed everything for me.”
Keep going.
The people you’re writing for are out there.
They just haven’t found you yet.
Why Did This Go Viral?
Every writer who read it saw themselves.
Not the polished version.
Not the “10K followers and counting” version.
The one sitting alone, posting into silence, wondering if any of it matters.
Here’s the breakdown of why it worked:
1. It spoke to the beginner’s hell.
Most Notes talk about success.
This one talked about the slow climb before that.
It validated the quiet part of the journey, the one people don’t post screenshots about.
2. It had structure and rhythm.
The “first 50 / next 50 / next 50” format is visually scannable and musical to read.
Each line is its own scroll-stopper.
The rhythm keeps readers moving, and emotionally syncing.
You need aesthetic writing that meets emotional pacing.
3. It gave hope, but didn’t sell it.
There’s no CTA. No pitch. No “subscribe for more.”
Just an earned moment of belief.
The final line?
They just haven’t found you yet.
That hits.
It doesn’t say you’ll make it.
It says you matter, even when they haven’t found you yet.
And sometimes that’s the line that gets someone to keep going.
4. It was written for the reader, not for me.
That’s the hidden ingredient behind most of my viral Notes.
Even when they look personal, they’re not about me.
They’re written to the version of you still doubting your worth.
Still stuck in the quiet middle.
That’s the version of you I’m always writing for.
This Note led to hundreds of comments, shares, and new subscribers.
Not because it was the smartest thing I’ve ever written.
But because it was the most human.
So, How Do You Go Viral on Substack?
I won’t sell you a magic formula.
But I will tell you what actually worked for me (after 6 months of posting Notes that went nowhere):
What works:
Rhythm and white space
Raw, punchy vulnerability
Notes written for your audience, not your ego
One idea, one emotion, one twist, one takeaway
Hooks that open loops (and close with a gut-punch)
What doesn’t:
Clever CTAs
Sales language
Overexplaining
Dense paragraphs
Vague updates that lack value
Notes Are Tiny Lead Magnets
I call them tiny value bombs.
Not because they explode with information.
But because they’re precise. Sharp.
One thought. Delivered cleanly.
And when they hit the right nerve?
People like and restack.
People talk to you.
People subscribe.
That’s how you go viral on Substack.
By being the most relatable, readable person in the scroll.
Here’s what I found about how Substack algorithm works to get your Note go viral:
I analyzed my viral Notes and I finally cracked the algorithm, but there's a catch.
I thought virality was random.
But there’s more to that. You actually need to write in a style that might not be natural to you.
My Note-Writing Rules
If I had to hand you my system on a napkin, it would read:
One sentence per paragraph.
If your Note looks like a block of text, it’s getting skipped.No intros, no hashtags, no headlines.
You’ve got one second. Open strong or get ignored.Use white space like a designer.
Make your Note feel like breathing — not reading.Third-grade readability.
Simplicity sells. Complexity confuses.Write for emotion, not applause.
If they don’t feel it, they won’t follow.One problem. One twist. One truth.
Don’t try to impress. Just try to connect.No CTAs.
I mean it. Not even a sly “click here.”
Notes are not the place to push.
Notes are where you pull.
If You’re Using Notes to Sell, You’re Already Losing
I dare you, don’t sell on Notes! Your views and engagement will tank at the bottom of the ocean in an instant.
Notes are not social media posts with hashtags.
They’re not for your “free guide.”
They’re not for your clever lead magnet or your “new course just dropped” announcement.
Notes are your handshake.
Your vibe check.
Your chance to be noticed before you’re followed, subscribed, or paid.
If you want to make money on Substack, your Notes should NOT scream “monetize me.”
They should whisper: “You can trust me.”
Want to Build a Substack Newsletter That Actually Grows?
Here’s what I wish someone had told me:
You don’t even need a giant audience.
You don’t need to chase virality.
You need trust.
Built slowly, beautifully, and consistently. Note by Note.
That’s how I grew my Substack newsletter and tripled my subscriber count.
As you can see from the graph, I have no major spikes. Yes I have some viral Notes, but the majority of them a simply Notes with more engagement.
That’s the key to a consistent growth.
The System I Built (and Why It Works)
I use a custom GPT and a content strategy that’s connected to my newslettter.
It’s trained on 400+ viral Notes, not from big names, but from tiny creators who earned trust, not fame. That’s key, because Notes from big creators get viral easy and I want to have genuine organic viralilty.
I was tired of guessing:
templates
writing style
formatting…..
Tired of hoping that this Note might land.
So I used data and built a GPT to write the right format. It’s not thinking instead of me. It’s turns my ideas into Notes that have high engagement (and potentially go viral).
Now it’s available to my paid subscribers.
And yes, some of them have gone viral too, here’s my interview with
So if you haven’t already, go use Substack Notes.
It’s the only place you need to be if you want a fast growing high-quality email list.
Stay Unplugged!
Yana
P.S. Start using my system so you can triple your subscribers growth starting today.
👉 Join the conversation in the Unplugged community! Start a chat to get help or simply introduce yourself and connect with like-minded members, and create meaningful connections.
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This is a fantastic piece, Ms. Yana. I truly appreciate all the details you share. I am saving this information to my notes.