Day 8/30: The Notes Goldmine—Why 89% of Substack Writers Are Ignoring Their Fastest Growth Channel

(And My 3-Note Daily System That Adds 347 Subscribers Per Week)

Ana Calin

Jun 09, 2025

I ignored Substack Notes for the first month on Substack. Called it "Twitter for newsletter writers." Waste of time.

Then I spent one week testing a simple 3-note system.

Result? 47 new subscribers in 7 hours. From Notes alone.

Now I'm kicking myself for that 1 lost month.

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The Notes Blindspot That's Costing You Money

Here's what I see when I audit struggling Substack publications:

They're publishing 2-3 newsletters per week, spending hours on SEO, optimizing landing pages, tweaking subject lines...

And completely ignoring the growth channel that's built into their platform.

89% of Substack writers either don't use Notes or use them wrong. They treat it like a promotional dumping ground instead of a subscriber acquisition machine.

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The $42,847 Discovery That Changed My Strategy

Last month, I tracked every subscriber source for my newsletter. The results shocked me:

Newsletter referrals: 1237 new subscribers
Google search: 231 new subscribers
LinkedIn posts: 12 new subscribers
Substack Notes: 2289 new subscribers

That's $42,847 in additional annual revenue (at my lowest av subscriber value) from something I was completely ignoring.

The math hit me like a brick: I'd been leaving money on the table every single day.

The 3-Note System That Prints Subscribers

After analyzing my highest-performing Notes and reverse-engineering what works, I discovered three note types that consistently drive growth:

Note Type #1: The Behind-the-Scenes Reveal Posted 9 AM daily

Not your polished newsletter content. The messy, real stuff.

Example that got 50 likes and 23 new subscribers:

Why it works: People subscribe to humans, not content machines.

Note Type #2: The Value Bomb Posted 2 PM, 3x per week

One actionable insight from your expertise. No fluff, no setup, just pure value.

Example that brought in 34 subscribers:

Why it works: It demonstrates your expertise without selling anything.

Note Type #3: The Community Catalyst Posted 6 PM, 2x per week

Questions that spark conversations and reveal your personality.

Examples that generated 340+ comments and 119 new subscribers:

And this one, that generated “only” 4 new subscribers AND 3 paid subscribers:

Why it works: Vulnerability creates connection. Connection drives subscriptions.

Today's Growth Action: The 10-Mins Notes Test

Tag me

Ana Calin

in your notes sharing your progress too.

The Notes Mistake That Kills Growth

Most creators treat Notes like a newsletter promotion tool. They post:

"New article is live!"
"Check out my latest post"
"Link in post"

This is subscriber repellent.

Instead, treat Notes like a conversation starter.

Your goal isn't to drive traffic to your newsletter—it's to make people curious about the person behind the newsletter.

The Anti-Promotional Growth Hack

Here's the counterintuitive truth: The less you promote your newsletter in Notes, the more subscribers you'll get.

One of my highest-converting Note in the last 2 weeks never mentioned my newsletter once:

Result: 56 new subscribers in 24 hours.

Why? Because people subscribed to get more insights like that one. They weren't subscribing to my newsletter—they were subscribing to my brain.

Do me a favor, if you read this far and enjoyed it, share this article with your friends too. It only takes 2 seconds.

The Notes Analytics Secret

Substack doesn't give you this level of detailed Notes analytics, but I track my own:

Notes that include personal stories: 3.2x more likes
Notes asking questions: 4.7x more comments
Notes sharing tactical advice: 2.8x more subscribers
Notes posted between 2-4 PM: 67% higher engagement

After 6 months of data, the patterns are clear.

Vulnerability + value + timing = growth.

Your Complete Notes Strategy Session

If you want the full system that's generated 1,200+ subscribers in the last week from Notes alone, I'm running a focused workshop next week:

3 Types of Notes that Drive Growth for Substack Creators

$~~97.00~~ $37.00 (62% off for newsletter readers)

You'll discover:

The exact 3-note framework I use daily
My content calendar template for consistent posting
How to turn Note engagement into newsletter subscribers
Advanced strategies for building community through Notes
The psychology behind why certain Notes go viral

Reserve Your Spot Here →

This isn't about posting more. It's about posting strategically to build genuine connections that convert.

The Brutal Reality Check

Most creators will read this and do nothing. They'll keep treating Notes like an afterthought while wondering why their growth has plateaued.

The creators who implement today's 10-minute system will start seeing results within 48 hours.

Small, consistent actions compound into massive advantages.

Share Your Notes Experiment

Try today's 3-note challenge and drop your results in the comments. Which note type got the most engagement?

First 5 commenters get a personalized Notes strategy review from me.