How I Grew My Audience to 160 Subscribers in 2 Months
(Without The Toxic Hustle and Growth Hacks)
Lately, I’ve been receiving comments and messages from creators who are just starting out on Substack. It feels like it was just yesterday when I was in their position 🥹 I’m still a beginner too, but it feels like I’ve gone through so much already! I can’t believe it hasn’t even been 2 months yet 😯
When I started my newsletter on November 20 last year, I thought no one would care about what I was writing, let alone subscribe.
But something miraculous happened…
I started gaining my first few subscribers and now, just a few days before my 2nd Substack monthsary, 160 people have joined this community 🙏🏻💗
It’s incredible because honestly, I’m still figuring things out too. Since I’m still a beginner, my focus is to improve myself and not worry too much about the metrics for the first few months.
I said to myself that I will just track my monthly growth, and regardless of how many subscribers I have, I will be grateful 🥹💖
Thank you so much for being here and accompanying me throughout my journey 🙏🏻 I’m beyond grateful for this blessing and I hope I can help my fellow newbie creators grow their audience too 🌿
I believe that any success I achieve, no matter how big or small, is not mine alone. This journey isn’t just about me, but also about you. My mission is to share all the lessons I’m learning so that we can grow together ✨
What’s The Secret Behind My Fast Growth As a Beginner?
There are a lot of growth hacks out there that teach you how to gain more subscribers, but I find that most of them don’t align with my values.
I don’t like the idea of using catchy headlines just for the sake of getting eyeballs on my work.
I also don’t like hustle culture and toxic productivity advice that make me feel like a content machine.
My goal is not to catch attention or gain subscribers—that’s only part of the process, but my real aim is to provide value and connect with my readers.
I stopped relying on guru advice and instead followed this guiding principle:
Focus on what truly matters, and the results will follow.
It seems too good to be true, but I can attest to it as someone who was a consistent student achiever all throughout my school years.
The moment I stopped worrying about grades and focused on what matters to me—learning and sharing my knowledge with others—not only did I feel much happier, but the results also followed even without me actively chasing them.
It’s about the journey, not the destination.
Don’t be so caught up in chasing outcomes that you forget to enjoy the process.
Practical Strategies That Helped Me Grow My Audience
Before we get into the strategies, remember to focus on meaning and purpose, and don’t feel obligated to follow anyone’s advice (including mine) 100%. Adapt them according to your own goals and values.
For me, these are the basic strategies that I’ve been implementing to grow my audience. The best part about it is that I don’t feel the need to hustle and act like a content machine. I’m having fun along the journey and I’m forming meaningful connections with my readers and fellow writers 💗
1. Setting Up My Substack Profile and Newsletter
I want to make sure that when someone visits my profile, they can get to know me and what my newsletter is all about. These are the following areas that I pay attention to:
I. Personal Profile
Name — This one is important because it’s how people will address you! 😄 There are times that I want to call someone by their nickname but I can’t tell if it’s their real name or if it might just be a random username 🥲 Sometimes it’s also hard to distinguish the first name vs. surname—in this case, it might be helpful to write your nickname in your Bio or About Page to let people know how you want to be called.
Bio — Introduce yourself and don’t be afraid to showcase your personality and be creative with it~ Aside from your newsletter’s description, this is one of the first few things that people check before they follow or subscribe. Help your target audience get to know you 😊
Profile Picture — If you’re camera-shy like me, it’s okay if you’re not yet ready to show your face. I used a cartoon photo at the start and I was still able to form a connection with my readers purely through my words 🤍 If you plan to go faceless, you want to make sure that your writing highlights your unique voice and personality~ (so they know you’re human and not AI 😂)
II. Newsletter Details
Newsletter Title — Don’t worry if you can’t think of the perfect title yet, you can always change this later on. I changed mine 3 times (Alea’s Newsletter → The Aspiring Creator → The Creator’s Journey). It was only when I started writing that I came up with better ideas for my newsletter title.
Logo — You can use a Canva template to help you design your logo—that’s what I did to keep it simple and hassle-free. I’m still in the process of developing my visual style too and I’ve found that as long as people can connect with my writing, the aesthetics don’t matter as much. Don’t be afraid to experiment and have fun! For me, this is the best part about being a beginner 😄
Description — This is how people will know what our newsletter is about and whether this is for them so we want to make sure it will resonate with our target readers. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect; you can always improve it later. I’m still in the process of refining mine too.
These are the guide questions that I use to brainstorm for this:Who is my ideal audience?
What value will they get from my newsletter?
What are the main topics that I want to talk about?
What unique perspective do I offer on my chosen topics?
About Page — I noticed that a lot of people overlook this section, which I think is a missed opportunity. When I’m interested in someone’s newsletter and they don’t have a lot of posts yet, I check their About page to know more. Unfortunately, I often just see the default template and I don’t find any helpful information 🥲 If you haven’t set up your About Page yet, I encourage you to do so because this is a great place to elaborate on the purpose and aim of your newsletter 💗 Again, it doesn’t have to be perfect. You can always improve this later on. Mine is still a work in progress too but you can take inspiration from it if you find it helpful 😊
Here are some prompts to help you in writing your own About page:
What’s your newsletter all about?
Who’s your target audience?
What’s the story behind your creator journey?
What made you decide to write this newsletter?
What can they expect if they subscribe to you?
III. Content
Notes (Short-form) — This is a great way to boost your discoverability on the platform and reach your target audience as they see your notes on their Home feed. You can write an Introduction note and describe the target audience you’re looking for.
Posts (Long-form) — Although notes are a great way to capture the attention of your ideal audience, your long-form posts are usually the determining factor in whether they’ll subscribe to your newsletter or not. Unlike notes, long-form posts are sent directly to your readers’ email. Nobody wants their inbox to be flooded and spammed, so they want to know what they can expect when they subscribe.
On my first day, I started with 2 long-form posts—the first one is a simple introduction of myself and the newsletter. The second one is an essay I’d already pre-written and had just been sitting around in my drafts. By having at least these two posts, I’m helping my target audience know me and decide whether they want to continue reading my work in the future.
2. Promoting My Newsletter and Posts
Big accounts help smaller ones grow their audience by regularly posting “Introduce Yourself” notes and “Notes/Post Boost” threads in their Subscriber Chats 🤍
Participating in these threads helped me a lot in discovering new friends and reaching my target audience 💖
Pro Tips:
Prepare your introduction note beforehand — Have a template ready that you can simply copy and paste when the opportunity comes. This will help you save time and effort.
The earlier the better — The best timing is when there are still only a few replies—yours can quickly get buried when there are already a ton of comments. But if you do come in rather late, try interacting with others. People usually check out your profile too, especially when they get to talk to you through comments 😊
Support others! — Check out other people’s newsletters and follow/subscribe to those that you find interesting. It’s also a big help to leave a like and comment—it can help you build friendships and at the same time, you’re helping them reach more audience by boosting the visibility of their note. It’s all about collaboration and support 💖
3. Being Active in the Community
The best part about Substack is really the community. The collaborative culture here is really what sets it apart from other platforms 💗
Forget about trying to hack the algorithm and whatnot—just engage genuinely.
👍🏻 Like, comment, restack, and quote other people’s work
📝 Try to post at least one note a day
(But don’t stress too much about missing a day or two—your old notes usually still show up on people’s feeds even after weeks or months)
💌 Engage in subscriber chats and reach out to people through direct messages
The more active you are in the community, the higher your visibility on the platform. But here’s the secret:
Give more than you receive.
Stop waiting for people to subscribe to you and engage with your posts.
Go out there and genuinely show your support and appreciation for others’ work.
Stop obsessing over numbers—focus on people.
This mindset has helped me build friendships and meaningful connections throughout my journey, and this is what I hope to pass on to you. 💖
May we always value meaning over metrics and create with purpose,
✨ Alea’s Cabinet of Curiosities
Check out the following articles by these awesome Substack writers! 💖
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Thank you so much for your generosity and endless support! 🙏🏻💖
Great stuff Alea, a blueprint for beginners, really well written.
congratulations, @Alea Montañez