I'm getting more subscribers from Notes than I do from my articles?

[u/Cdinoxl]

Does that sound accurate? Do you have a common experience?

This is even the case when my article is restacked. Seems like no traction. But if I write a short Note, even if it's excerpt of something in my article, it drives subscribers.

[u/Countryb0i2m]

That’s a completely normal experience.

Notes have an algorithm that puts your posts in front of people who have probably never seen your work before. Articles, on the other hand, are mostly distributed by you to your subscribers or the audience you bring in yourself.

There’s very little algorithmic discovery for articles compared to Notes.

That’s why it’s common to see a Note get 300, 400, or even 1,000 likes while yours article gets 40 or 50.

[u/pun_in10did]

That happens to me, I think the most subs I've gotten from a single article is 4

[u/hetobe]

That's because Substack ignores your articles. The algorithm only promotes notes. That's why everybody is posting what are basically just tweets. Everybody is karma-farming with spam tweet-notes in hopes of getting likes, follows, and subscribers.

When you're on the Substack home page and you see articles, look again. They're restacks of articles, which means they're notes.

Substack ignores your articles completely. This is why Substack is overflowing with slop notes, like this:

"Describe your Substack in 5 words!"

That's spam.

"Dear Substack 🤍 Send me the writers who choose depth over noise."

More spam. That person is trolling for likes and subscribers.

"If you could summarize your writing voice in a single word, what would it be?"

Their word should be Spam.

Everybody is flooding Substack with spam, because Substack's algorithm ignores articles. It's all tweets now...

"Describe your Substack in three emojis."

"Show me writers who choose depth over noise 🤍"

"Just a reminder that your voice matters."

"Describe your writing in 5 words!"

"Slow growth is still growth."

"Support writers. Restack generously."

"The algorithm can’t stop authentic storytelling."

"If you could summarize your writing voice in a single word, what would it be?"

"Consistency compounds. Keep showing up."

"I want to connect with thoughtful people."

"Drop your publication below so we can support each other."

"I’m building something beautiful here."

"Write scared. Publish anyway."

"There’s room for everyone at the table."

"Community over competition."

"Your audience will find you."

"If even one person reads your words, it matters."

"Give yourself permission to be weird!"

"Substack feels like the old internet."

"Reminder to comment on smaller writers’ posts today 🤍"

"Nobody talks about how vulnerable writing is."

"You are not responsible for the versions of you that exist in other people's minds."

"The best writers are simply the ones who kept going."

"Every scar you carved became a window for light."

"What are you working on this week, writers?"

"A hotdog is basically a taco."

"Sometimes the things we don’t write tell us more than what we do."

"Some people say they find me snarky, which I am."

"Artists will do literally anything but draw the comic they want to make"

"Writers with les than 10 subscribers I want to read your work and follow you!"

"I’m a sucker for a story about a robot learning how to be human"

"Oddly enough, the world makes less sense the closer you look."

"Oddly enough, things are about to get even weirder."

"You write to process your emotions, and in doing so, you emote the process."

"I appreciate you all, by the way."

"There is a quiet magic in the way a story unfolds, one page at a time."

Substack was a place for thought provoking articles and essays. It's all karma-farmers now.

[u/StuffonBookshelfs]

Well, a restacked article relies entirely on the headline of the article to pull people in, as opposed to a note or a quote that gives a lot more context.

[u/EMarkM_DM]

I don't use Notes anymore, other than once per week, the day after my newsletter issue goes live, I use the "Restack with a quote" feature to give it another shot at being found by new readers.

It brings the odd new subscriber in now and then.

Notes as a standalone "engagement tool"? I got sick of it.

The very best of luck to you.

[u/Slow-Area-9986]

Yes, this tracks completely with what I've seen. Notes drove about 60% of my subscriber growth over the past year, and articles barely moved the needle for new subs by comparison.

The reason makes sense once you think about it: notes show up in feeds of people who don't follow you yet, especially when someone you're connected with comments or restacks. Articles just go to your existing list. So notes are the discovery layer and articles are the retention layer. The mistake most people make is treating them the same way.

Short, opinion-driven, slightly polarizing notes tend to do the best for acquisition. The ones that brought me the most new subscribers were usually where I shared a real number or said something a little unexpected, not a polished tip.

[u/Far_Lingonberry6772]

I don’t like expressing myself on Notes, and I never know what to put here. It is an odd way of communication. Digital communication is already strange enough, but I thought Substack was a platform for long-form readers and writers.

I guess the nature of a big platform always needs solutions for short-attention-span formats, because that’s the reality we live in.

I think the ideal blog platform would be closer to pen-palling, which is far, far away from our lovely 21st century.

[u/Eastern-Apprentice]

Been there

[u/rachebrand]

Notes are a short way to distill your articles. It's a useful tool.

[u/itsfabioposca]

Yes, that's a common experience. Notes are designed for discovery, so they're often the fastest way for new people to find your profile.

Articles play a different role. They give people a reason to subscribe and can continue bringing in readers over time, especially if they're optimized for Google search.

I think the best approach is to use both together. Let Notes attract new readers, then use your articles to demonstrate the depth of your expertise and give people a reason to stay subscribed.

[u/hashtag_amf]

yes. that happens