Make Substack Growth Effortless with a Routine That Adapts to You

How to design a strategy that works without leading to burnout.

For the last two years and a half, I've been practicing yoga for 15 minutes every day. I'm almost 43, I wish I was so lean, strong and flexible in my 20s.

A 15 minute practice is easy, so the results seem effortless. That’s why consistent routines are the gateway to success.

That's true in every area, even on Substack. I've been relentlessly practicing and optimizing my routine on this platform for about 8 months. Now I have over 1400 subscribers, an abundant archive of content, and many relationships with interesting creators.

In this article, I’ll show you how to build a sustainable routine that brings you closer to your desired results on Substack without burning out.

First, I'll go through all you can or need to do. Then I'll tell you how to combine those tasks into a custom routine that fits your situation.

The absolute priority

This is obvious: publishing your newsletter.

But how often? Results may vary, but, if you consider the most successful authors, once a week might be the sweet spot.

Publish less frequently, and you risk losing touch with your audience. Publish more frequently, and it can become overwhelming, especially if Substack isn't your main job.

Many newsletters perform best with two to three posts per week, but if you’re writing part time (and who’s not in the beginning?), that can be too much.

For most newsletters, 1,000 words per post are ideal. If you write longer, you’ll need strong writing skills to hold your audience’s attention and deliver enough value per word. And the editing time will explode.

Now, prioritizing your newsletter is easy. Isn't it the reason why we are here?

Unfortunately, it isn't enough to grow your publication.

The ugly priority

"Build it and they'll come" doesn't work. You can't just publish once per week, then sit down and wait for readers to flock in awe. You need to promotion.

Substack is currently a great ally for this. In the past, you needed to attract traffic through SEO or on a social network to get email subscribers. Now, if you don't already have an audience on your site or another platform, you don't need it.

You can "just" use the tools Substack provides. I’m using double quotes here because having all the tools in one platform makes it simpler, but it’s still neither easy, nor effortless.

So, let’s assume you want to keep it simple, focus your efforts, and handle everything within Substack. If you also use platforms like LinkedIn or Instagram, you can adapt some of these strategies there.

What can you do to grow your publication? Let’s go through the best tactics. Later, you’ll see how to build a routine around them.

Engagement

Start by reading and commenting on other people’s content. Engage with both short posts on Notes and full articles (posts, in Substack's lingo).

This strategy always works, regardless of the whims of the algorithm. And it comes with many benefits:

• you catch the creator’s attention, planting the seeds for a relationship,

• you gain visibility with their audience,

• you learn what works on the platform by seeing the reactions to their content,

• you find new ideas by reading the other comments, especially the questions and objections.

Click here to read my guide on how to leave thoughtful comments that build your brand

Recommendations

Recommendations should be every Substack author's favorite growth tool. They are the most passive way to attract subscribers.

If you exclude the imported accounts, over half of my subscribers come from recommendations. With almost no effort on my side:

How do recommendations work? If you ever subscribed to any publication on Substack you've already seen them in action.

After you subscribe, you are shown a list of additional publications. They are automatically selected from the author’s picks.

If you build relationships on Substack with other creators with overlapping audiences, you can then exchange recommendations. If you spend time commenting on other people's content, you are already organically building those relationships. Recommendations are the natural evolution.

As you grow, you constantly get new recommendations without asking. I have dozens of people recommending me, but I actively only swapped about 10 recommendations.

Notes

By this time, you know it: Substack Notes is Substack's social network. Currently, Notes can really accelerate your growth. If you use the right formats and topics, the algorithm rewards you and puts you in front of many new readers.

But, you read it right "if you use the right formats and topics". If this reminds you of traditional social networks, you're right. Notes can work handsomely, but if you came to Substack to escape from X, LinkedIn or Instagram, you won't enjoy it.

To be successful on Notes you need to:

• constantly keep your fingers on the pulse of what's working (topics, templates, types of content),

• write short content,

• post frequently (possibly more than once per day).

Guest Posting

Publishing a guest post is another way to leverage other publications.

The rules are simple:

1. find potential publications with an overlapping audience,

2. send them an article that adds value to their readers.

I wrote an entire guide about this.

I love this tactic because it leverages what writers already do best and love—creating long-form articles. At the same time, it’s totally algorithm-proof. Your guest post ends in the host’s subscribers inboxes like their normal posts.

Studying what works

Another activity you can't avoid is studying the platform’s best practices. Walter Rhein makes a living basically from writing on platforms and he’s constantly observing and applying the best practices (here’s my interview with him). This seems like a waste of time, and you don't want to lose your voice by trying to please the algorithm.

But every platform has its own rules. If you want to grow, you need to understand them and find a compromise with your preferences and inclinations.

You don't need to spend too much time on this. Follow a couple of reputable sources and scroll through their content for half an hour every week. Listen or read what feels most helpful to you.

Regular Review

Finally, your routine must include a regular review.

No one can design the perfect strategy from scratch. You'll constantly evolve it by publishing, studying other creators, engaging with your audience, and reflecting on your results. And building on platforms is like walking on the ocean: the landscape is constantly shifting. You have to adapt, or you’ll sink.

Just an hour every month is enough to gather data and decide what to adjust. Here's an article to guide you on which data to watch and how to act on it.

Building Your Routine

Your head might be spinning right now: so much to do, so little time!

The good news is you don’t need to do everything you just read. Choose based on your inclinations and the time you have. Let me help you design the best routine for you.

The essentials

Here's what you can't avoid:

• publishing one newsletter per week,

• reviewing your stats once a month,

• spending 30 minutes each week reading about Substack,

• practicing at least one growth activity, possibly daily.

Which growth activity?

If you're short on time, just comment regularly. Reading something and leaving a thoughtful comment takes 5 minutes tops.

Guest posting offers the best ROI, in my opinion. A carefully placed guest post can bring in dozens or even hundreds of subscribers over time. And if you're not a total perfectionist, you can find a host publication and write the article in less than 3 hours.

But if you’re a social media animal, Notes is your best choice.

Stepping things up

Everything in this article can be scaled, depending on the time and energy available to you:

• more newsletter issues every week,

• more notes every day,

• more comments every,

• more guest posts every month.

But be careful not to sacrifice quality for quantity or risk burnout. Once you reach a healthy growth rate, consider instead creating your own products or services.

You're ready to go

The last recommendation before we part ways.

Humans are notoriously bad at estimating how long tasks will take. We are always too optimistic.

If you choose a routine that's too ambitious, you'll quickly be disappointed and burn out. So, start small.

Start with the minimal routine. Then, at the end of each week, review your results: did you do what you planned? Do you feel exhausted? Adjust accordingly.

If you have extra time and energy, increase your commitment. For more guidance, check out my mini book on designing your custom writing system.

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