I Became a Substack Bestseller in Just 3 Months

On November 15th, exactly 2.5 months after I went all in on Substack, I woke up to see my brand new Bestseller badge!

A day later I got the email notification and received all the benefits that go with it.

But is it REALLY JUST 3 MONTHS?

I kicked off my Substack strategy and went all in on September 1st 2024. This is what accelerated my growth. It’s been two months and a half since then. So I count this period and to me it’s real.

But it’s also true that I didn’t start at zero.

Back then I already had 20 paid members, and that was the reason why I decided it’s time to go all in.

So these 2.5 months brought me the rest 81 subscribers. It’s still quite an achievement!

How much time in total?

5 months.

But it was really 2.5 months of testing and learning, and 2.5 months of actual work.

Why you should aim for a bestseller badge?

You might say this is vanity.

And I’d agree if there wasn’t a quite tangible (for me) difference.

Let’s start with the obvious…

1.     Status.

Like it or not, people look at you differently.

Put your hand on your heart and tell me honestly: would you trust someone with a proven track record or someone who hasn’t made it yet?

For me, as someone who helps with Substack, this is very important.

If I can’t prove that what I’m doing is working, then who would ever trust me?

2.     Benefits

I knew bestsellers have access to beta features like the live video and the ability to connect YouTube directly to Substack.

But there’s more to it.

I automatically joined the Substack Bestsellers publication, which I never knew existed!

I’m now part of the Product Lab, where I can learn about Substack’s roadmap, participate in tests and give feedback. As a product development expert, who loves to test new things, I’m all in!

I’m now part of the Substack Business School where I can learn more about how to grow on Substack. This is not available to all publications and is invaluable to me!

I’m committed to helping other people grow on Substack, so this comes in quite handy. Up until now I was testing and proving what works and what doesn’t, which I’ll continue to do, but it’s great to have a reference.

Bestsellers also have priority support. Not that I can complain from the Support so far, I always got a fast reaction (opposed to Medium where I felt forgotten…).

3.     Features

I now have access to more advanced stats in my subscriber report. I now can see my retention rates and paid subscriber growth rates.

All of these metrics are compared to Substack average, so this is huge for me!

Not because I love to compare myself, but because I’d prefer to make data-driven decisions. Those metrics are key to Substack growth and invaluable to me.

What gets measured, gets managed.

What Helped Me Become a Substack Bestseller?

Here’s my whole journey.

How it all started?

I created my account on Substack in March 2023 but back then I was convinced there was no discoverability, so I started building my subscriber list on Medium and social media.

Big mistake! But because of it, I learned how to write online, gained some audience on Medium, and connected with some great people. I believe Medium still has potential, so I continue to post there.

In June 2024 I found out about Notes and I kicked off my Substack.

I had no strategy or clarity on monetization.

I was just testing.

I wasn’t very consistent with writing or posting Notes, but I gained about 400 new subscribers and 20 paid subscribers by the end of August. 

This was the moment when I decided to go all in, build my strategy, and kicked it off. 

What did I change?

The things that made the most difference are:

• I started posting at least one Note per day (find my Notes templates in the Notes Challenge)

• I started interacting with other people on Notes (find my exact strategy in the Notes Challenge)

• I started building a community - started the Chat and launched the Monthly Challenges

• I started writing focused content - my Write2Sell column where I post analyses, case studies, and strategies to grow paid subscribers on Substack

• I added more value with custom-made GPTs

• I made sure I wrote at least 1-2 posts per week consistently

• I made my annual plan price a no-brainer ($36/year which I communicated as $3/month vs $9/monthly)

• I described very clearly the benefits on my subscribe page

• I started paywalling more and wrote persuasive CTAs communicating the $3/month price

What I didn’t do?

• huge discounts or promotions, because of the annual price offer. I did price increase as of 1st on November and communicated “last chance” to get the $3/month (paid yearly) offer.

• cold DMs. Not my thing…

• collaboration posts - I might change that... This is my first one, published after I became a bestseller. It’s an interview about my Substack journey, I think you gonna love it ;)

Can anyone land here?

I used to believe this takes tons of business background to achieve. Which I have, so that’s why I went all in. But my research proves that it’s not a must.

I’m now convinced that anyone can do this, provided you have:

• Highly valuable content

• Deliver and overdeliver consistently for your paid subscribers

Yes, it might take more time for some and less time for others depending on the niche and topic, but it’s definitely doable.

Here’s what I found to be helpful to boost your value and quality:

Some elements that boost your quality and value:

• Authentic writing style

• Unapologetic voice

• Controversial topics

• Non-obvious solutions to painful problems

• Your content saves money or time or both to people

• Tools, templates, presentations, and infographics you create

• Deep-dives, Research and Analysis you perform yourself and can’t be found online

• Photos you take / unique images you generate with AI

• Workshops on focus topics

• Podcasts and webinars

• Interviews with industry experts

• Challenges and gamification features

• Access to an engaged community – Substack chat or elsewhere

• Access to yourself – meetings with you / coaching services

And of course, you’d better be in one of the evergreen niches:

• Health

• Wealth

• Relationships

But make sure you niche down, here’s how.

That’s it!

It’s quite simple.

Not easy though.

Still, if you’re serious about your online business you need to have a paid newsletter.

And if you ever get stuck, join my paid membership, where I help people grow their Substacks.

Here’s what some of my paid members say about it:

I see you inside!

Yana