Two hundred and thirty-eight subscribers in two years. Go ahead and take a moment with that number, because the Substack success story machine would have you believe it means I did something wrong. It does not. It means I did something real. No email list transferred over. No Instagram audience redirected. No existing community migrated from another platform. Just a woman writing in her second language, starting from zero, showing up when the only person reading was probably a bot.
Those headlines promising 1,000 subscribers in 30 days are not lying exactly, they are just leaving out the part where the person already had an audience waiting. If you are starting from scratch, the math works differently. And 238 humans who actually open and read your work? That is not a consolation prize. That is a foundation worth building on.
The Same Mistake, Different Platform
I did what every creator does when they find a new platform: jumped in with enthusiasm and zero strategy.
Just like I did on Instagram. And Medium. And Pinterest.
I’d create a lead magnet, post it everywhere, wait for the subscribers to flood in. They never did.
So I switched to Substack. Heard about the success stories. Attended the free events. Thought, “This is it. This is the one that finally works.”
Then I made the exact same mistake I always make: I wrote without understanding the platform.
If you’re searching for advice on how to grow your email list through Substack and you think it’s just about writing good content and hitting publish, you’re already setting yourself up for disappointment. I posted my articles. Didn’t interact with other writers. Didn’t engage with readers. Didn’t participate in Notes Substack’s Twitter-like feature that’s become essential for discovery.
I just wrote into the void and wondered why no one cared.
Same behavior, different platform, same disappointing results.
What Nobody Tells You About Substack (Because It’s Not Sexy)?
Substack is becoming wildly popular right now, and I understand why. People are sick of scrolling social media and getting nothing of substance. They’re tired of quick hits with no depth. They want real conversations. Authentic perspectives. Content that makes them think.
Substack gives you that. It’s a combination of newsletter and blog. When you publish, your content goes to email subscribers and lives on your blog permanently. Someone discovering you a year from now can read everything you’ve ever written. You can add podcasts, videos, different types of content.
It’s powerful. But it’s not magic.
If you’re serious about learning how to grow on Substack, you need to understand what it actually is: a social platform disguised as a newsletter tool.
The Notes feature, which works like Twitter, is your discovery engine. It’s how people find you. But most people who engage with your Notes won’t read your long-form content. They’re scrolling for quick hits, not committing to 2,000-word essays.
So you need both. Notes for discovery. Newsletter for depth. Think of it like a funnel: Notes are your top-of-funnel discoverability. Your newsletter is where you build real relationships.
When I finally understood this and started working both sides posting Notes regularly AND publishing thoughtful newsletters that’s when I started seeing real growth.
The Authority Trap That Killed My Engagement
When I started Substack, I positioned myself as the expert. The authority. The one with all the answers.
“You need to do this. You need to do that. Here’s the strategy. Here’s the framework.”
My articles were well-written. Educational. Informative.
And completely ignored.
People would open them. Maybe even read them. But no likes. No comments. No connection.
Then in October 2025, I switched. Started sharing micro-stories. Behind-the-scenes moments. My actual story connected to my clients’ stories.
Suddenly, people responded.
This is critical when you’re figuring out how to grow on Substack as a small creator. Nobody wants another expert talking at them. They can get that anywhere. What they can’t get everywhere is your specific perspective, your unique story, the particular way you connect seemingly unrelated ideas.
Stop performing authority. Start sharing humanity.
That’s when people subscribe. Not because you’re the smartest person in the room, but because they feel like they know you. Like you get them. Like reading your work is a conversation with someone who understands.
The “1,000 Subscribers in 30 Days” Lie Everyone’s Selling
I’d see the headlines everywhere:
“I grew my Substack to 1,000 subscribers in 30 days!” “$1,000 my first month on Substack!” “The platform that changed everything!”
I’d click. Get excited. Read the whole thing. Start planning my own explosive growth.
Then notice the fine print buried at the end: “I transferred my audience of 50K from Instagram.”
Or: “I already had a successful newsletter with 10K subscribers.”
Or: “I’ve been building my platform for 5 years.”
They weren’t starting from zero. They were moving an existing empire to a new address and acting like they discovered a shortcut.
If you’ve been thinking about how to grow your email list on Substack and comparing yourself to these stories, stop. You’re not behind. You’re just building from a different starting line.
They had audiences. You’re building one. Those are completely different games.
The Business Strategy Nobody’s Talking About
Substack lets you charge for subscriptions. $5/month. $10/month. $100/month. Whatever you want.
I saw bigger creators making thousands from paid subscriptions and thought, “That’s the goal. That’s what success looks like.”
But I was a small creator. 238 subscribers. Most of them new. If I put up a paywall immediately, I’d be monetizing before building trust. Charging before creating value. Extracting before giving.
So I made a different choice: Use Substack to build my business, not just my subscriber count.
This is crucial advice on how to grow your email list strategically. I didn’t just want subscribers. I wanted an engaged community of people who might actually buy from me.
So I used Substack to:
Sell digital products
Promote my freebie
Build an email list of people who actually wanted to buy
Test content I wanted to create
Find my people
Create genuine engagement
Because at the end of the day, Substack is a newsletter. But I’m building a business. And 238 engaged subscribers who convert is worth more than 10,000 passive readers who never buy anything.
Monetization could come later, when it was authentic, not desperate.
The Both/And Revolution
I’d been told my whole life to choose:
Money or love. Money or family. Money or health. Business or body.
Pick one. You can’t have both.
So when my clients came to me wanting everything, wanting to build their business AND stay fit, make money AND have good relationships, I almost told them the same lie.
Then I stopped myself. Why do we need to choose?
This became one of my core messages on Substack. I started talking about mindset AND marketing. Business AND health. Money AND wellness.
Not because it was trendy. Because my people, like me, wanted the whole life, not half of one.
And this is part of understanding how to grow on Substack as a human, not just a content machine. You don’t grow by becoming a one-dimensional expert. You grow by being the multidimensional person you actually are.
People don’t subscribe to topics. They subscribe to perspectives. To voices. To humans they want to hear from regularly.
Give them all of you, not just the “professional” parts.
The Patience No One Wants to Hear About
If you’re searching for quick tactics on how to grow on Substack, this next part is going to frustrate you. Because the real answer isn’t a hack. It’s patience.
Two years to get to 238 subscribers when you start with zero? That’s not failure. That’s foundation-building.
The success stories don’t tell you about:
The months of writing to crickets
The articles that got 3 views
The times I almost quit because it felt pointless
The weeks where I questioned if anyone actually cared
They skip straight to the part where it “took off.”
But the patience is the work. Showing up when nobody’s watching. Writing when nobody responds. Building when there’s no proof it’s working.
That’s not the glamorous part of the story. But it’s the real part.
And when you’re learning how to grow your email list from nothing, this is the truth you need to accept: it’s slow at first. Sometimes painfully slow. But slow and sustainable beats fast and fraudulent every single time.
What Actually Worked (After I Stopped Trying to Go Viral)?
After two years of trial and error, experimentation and frustration, these are the things that actually moved the needle on how to grow on Substack:
I stopped treating it like a broadcasting platform. Substack is social. I started reading other people’s work. Commenting thoughtfully. Engaging in Notes. Building relationships with other writers. Your growth doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens in community.
I shared micro-stories instead of expertise dumps. People connected with my behind-the-scenes moments, my struggles, my specific experiences, not my generic advice. Your story is your differentiator. Use it.
I used Notes as my discovery engine. Short, valuable posts on Notes brought people to my longer work. Think of Notes like Instagram and your newsletter like your blog. Different purposes, same ecosystem.
I stopped chasing paid subscribers too early. Instead, I used Substack to build my actual business. Promoted my offers. Sold digital products. Built an email list of buyers, not just readers.
I posted consistently without obsessing over metrics. Weekly publishing schedule. No exceptions. Even when the numbers didn’t move. Especially when the numbers didn’t move.
I wrote about multiple interests. Mindset, business, health, relationships, I stopped niching down to the point of boredom and started writing about everything that mattered to me. My people wanted the whole perspective, not just the business parts.
I gave up on overnight success. Once I accepted that this was a long game, the pressure lifted. I could focus on writing well instead of writing strategically. Ironically, that’s when things started working.
The 30-Day Reality Check
Everyone’s selling the dream: “Start your Substack and make money in 30 days!”
Can it happen? Sure. If you already have an audience to transfer.
But if you’re starting from zero subscribers, zero platform, zero recognition,the truth about how to grow your email list on Substack is this:
It takes time. Months. Maybe years.
And that’s okay.
Because you’re not just building a subscriber list. You’re building:
A body of work that compounds over time
A community that actually engages with what you create
A voice that people recognize and seek out
A foundation that lasts beyond algorithm changes
The “overnight success” stories are exciting to read. But the slow build is sustainable. The patient approach is profitable. The consistent showing up is what actually works.
What 238 Subscribers Actually Means?
Put 238 people in a room. That’s a lot of humans.
238 people who chose to give you their email address. Who open your messages. Who read your words. Who engage with your ideas.
That’s not a failure. That’s a community.
And when you’re learning how to grow on Substack from zero, every single subscriber matters. Not because of the number, but because of what they represent: proof that your voice matters. Evidence that your perspective resonates. Validation that you’re building something real.
I could have transferred an existing audience and hit 1,000 subscribers in a month. But I wouldn’t have learned what actually works. I wouldn’t have built the foundation I have now. I wouldn’t have the engaged community that actually converts.
Slow growth taught me things fast growth never could.
If You’re Starting From Zero
If you’re wondering how to grow on Substack when you’re starting with nothing, no audience, no email list, no platform to leverage, this is what I want you to know:
It’s going to be slow at first. Embrace it.
The first 100 subscribers will feel impossible. Then the next 100 will come faster. Then faster still. Compound growth is real, but you have to get through the painful beginning to experience it.
Quality beats quantity every single time.
238 engaged subscribers who read your work, respond to your ideas, and buy your offers? That’s better than 10,000 passive email addresses who never open a single message.
The platform rewards consistency and community.
You can’t just write and disappear. You need to engage with other writers. Comment on work you love. Participate in Notes. Build relationships. This isn’t a solo game.
Use it to build your business, not just your vanity metrics.
Subscribers are great. Buyers are better. Use Substack as part of your overall business strategy, not as the entire strategy.
Stop comparing your beginning to someone else’s middle.
Every “overnight success” you’re envious of? They either had an existing audience or they’ve been building for years. You’re not behind. You’re just at a different mile marker.
The Choice You Need to Make
You can keep chasing the “1,000 subscribers in 30 days” promise. Keep buying courses that teach you “hacks.” Keep comparing your day one to someone else’s day 1,000.
Or you can make a different choice.
You can show up consistently. Build slowly. Focus on depth over speed. Create work that matters instead of work that’s optimized for algorithms.
You can accept that how to grow your email list authentically takes time. That building something real is slower than building something flashy. That patience is a competitive advantage in a world obsessed with overnight success.
Two years. 238 subscribers. Zero shortcuts.
And a foundation I’d never trade for fast numbers that don’t mean anything.
That’s the real story of how to grow on Substack. Not the one that gets clicks. But the one that’s actually true.
(Want to know exactly where to start? The $5K Breakthrough System will show you what’s broken in your business so you can fix it before investing another dollar.)
If you want to work with me because you'are tired to spend more time in your head than in your business? Posting content that nobody is engaging. You can take one to one session with me.
Did you enjoy this blog post? Here are some other blog posts you may enjoy:
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See you soon
XOXO
