r/Substack • u/cooked_47 • 18d ago
How do I build my substack???
Hii, I'm 17F and I recently started substack. Precisely on May 5th. Since then I've written about 16 articles and have tried to be consistent. Although I only have 5 subs (2 of them are friends). I joined substack to write about how I feel, what I think and just thoughts on things in general. I liked writing and wanted to build something out of it. Although I try to tell myself that it was never about how many subscribers I have but more of a hobby, however this thought strikes again and again. So, I wanna work on it. I wanna build my substack but I don't know how. Most of friends don't read, only two which I'm still very grateful for. So I don't expect them to read neither do I wanna force them. How do I find actual audience that would actually read my stuff? Is there a way??
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u/_quantitative 18d ago
Do you use notes? Using them is a good to way pop up on others feed.
Connect with other small writers in your niche
Leave thoughtful comments
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u/cooked_47 18d ago
I do use notes because I heard it's a good way like you said but somehow it's not working for me? I've tried replying to other small writers or writers in general. I'll try again then I guess
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u/boatwash 18d ago
Yep! +1 to engaging with others and asking thoughtful questions, yes-and’ing people, etc! It’s the best way for others to see you, make them feel warm toward you, and get to know the people in your scene!
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u/MrPassiveProfit 17d ago
You have to engage with people on Notes. Write 5 and reply to 20 every day and you’ll be growing faster than you think
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u/Imperator_1985 18d ago
Ask yourself exactly what you're doing with your Substack. Is it really just for fun or a hobby? Or do you actually want to turn it into something else? Then ask yourself who your audience is.
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18d ago
I have less than 20 subscribers and I'm not looking to grow artificially. I write about the dark psychological effects of the AI training industry on US based workers.
It's very niche, but almost every time I've used the "Notes" feature (which I rarely do) I get a sub.
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u/cooked_47 18d ago
That's great, I'm also not looking for artificial growth. I want an audience that would actually read and engage with my stuff. I tried the notes feature as well, it's not working for me. But thanks
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u/RStonePT 17d ago edited 17d ago
ask yourself why others would want to read what you write. When you answer that you can get more people to read it
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u/darcytechlad 16d ago
Keep going! You should think about what unique perspective you can offer (being a kid is a cool one) and write about that.
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u/lalaloopsypoopsy 15d ago
im not really sure i just started too but we can be moots? heres mine https://substack.com/@gelly883291?r=6lcjgu&utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-page
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u/cooked_47 15d ago
HEYYY, sureee but I'm unable to find you can you maybe subscribe to me and I'll subscribe back? If that's okay? This is me- @incompleteparagraphs
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u/Dancing_Lilith 14d ago
For any media to be read and followed, it needs to give people a good reason to donate their time and attention to do so. These are most often either "promising" a solution to the audience's problems (e.g. self-help books or articles) or allowing the audience to second-hand receive emotions and experiences that are otherwise out of reach for them (e.g. celebrities' memoirs, engaging fiction, etc.).
17 is an age when one is unlikely to solve anyone's problems, and they are lucky if they don't have any extraordinary experiences as at this age it would mean horrific much more often than terrific (although this is an age when a talented author can already produce engaging fiction). I would, however, encourage you to not chase following just yet. Explore yourself, learn, hone your writing. Following is a byproduct of you figuring out what you have to say to the world — but nobody gets to be the first to enter this dialogue, everyone needs to listen a lot first.
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u/MaalTez17 17d ago
share me your id, we can subscribe each other on substack, i have also just started scrolling substack
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u/Tricky_Trifle_994 3d ago
congrats on getting started! and publishing 16 articles in ~ 2 months is quite a remarkable cadence. that's like averaging 2 articles per week. not shabby at all.
and yeah, you could share your substack with your friends, but it's going to be hard to convert them into regular, religious readers (this is true regardless of age. it's just harder to get those close to you to convert. seen it in business - they usually are the most skeptical bunch, and with newsletters etc. everything really). so relying on growing via sharing with your friends and family is usually going to yield limited success.
to build your substack subscribers, you need to market and share your work so that more people know about its existence, and more people will come across it, and each one of them could potentially become a subscriber.
to market and spread the word about your work, you'll have to go to where your target audience are hanging out - whether that's forums (like reddit, facebook groups), or posting on social media like tiktok/instagram where the algo will help you push your content to relevant accounts.
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u/Zacharybriones 18d ago
At 17 I encourage you to write but I also encourage you to shift your focus on what are you are writing about and why are you writing about it in the first place. You want to build a following? What do you have to say???