Last week, I came across a Note by a Subhacker who said he had “data” (though he failed to reveal the methodology of said data collection) and had supposedly “analyzed” the “top Substacks” (though he didn’t say which or how he defined “top”) and came up with all sorts of conclusions and gross generalizations about how to achieve “success” on Substack.1
The stuff he claimed to know was suspect, e.g. how many minutes these “high-growth newsletters” spend reading on the platform (I didn’t know newsletters read) and how many comments a “top-performing newsletter” leaves (didn’t know newsletters comment either). He even said he knew the metrics “successful newsletters tracked.” Huh? Unless he was behind their dashboards or interviewed them or was in their brains, he couldn’t know that. He said “newsletters that grew fastest” (which, by the way, is different from “top-performing” or even “successful”) posted 2-3 times/week and should consist of specific types of posts.
The Note got all kinds of likes and restacks. People were so grateful for the information, they said. You could hear the relief in their words.
It disturbed and saddened me more than I can say—enough to ignore my cats and write a Note in response.
I focused on the post-2-to-3-times-per-week claim.
Here’s what I wrote:
This isn’t helpful. It’s also damaging because it could really lead someone down the wrong path.
The real answer [to how often you should post] is much more nuanced and personal to you:
It depends on your category. The average isn’t a guide to go by. U.S. Politics and Finance—any Substacks that are in a news cycle—obviously post multiple times/week or every day. But someone posting essays, cultural critique, food writing, wellness tips? That could be once a week or once a month and everything in between.
It depends on your subscribers. Your relationship is with your subscribers, not the algorithm or how often other people post. Substack has always emphasized that it’s a platform based on relationships of trust—between you and your subscribers. If you want to post and your subscribers want to hear from you (because remember, it’s going in their inboxes, into their lives) seven times a day or seven times a week or seven times a month, that’s how often you should post.
It depends on you. What’s right for you, in your life? Because Substack should work for you; you shouldn’t work to please it. We’ve done that on social media for too long. I don't want any of my clients— I don't want any of you doing anything for the sake of it. We've spent too much time trying to game social media and thinking I have to do this and I have to do that. No, you don't.
Substack just changed the game. And you get to do what is actually right for you.
You’re amazing. Now go to it.
After posting the Note, I wondered if I was being defensive. Don’t I give advice and tell people what to do on Substack?
Yes, but I sleep well at night knowing my advice comes from working with private clients and everyone at Substack Writers at Work. I see how unique you are.
Each Substack is wholly individual: your content, your mailing list, your work, your self. The beauty of Substack is that it offers the opportunity not to have to be like everyone else in order to game an algorithm. Most of us are here because we’re tired of comparing ourselves to other people just to get our work into the world.
And I’ve seen how Substack can be used in wildly different ways by extraordinarily different people. (Without this, I’d have gotten bored a long time ago.) The reason most of us are here is because we’ve finally been given our own small space on the internet and a way to earn an income doing what we love our own way.
But was this guy’s Note that bad? Wasn’t I just being petty? Shouldn’t everyone be welcomed onto the platform to give advice no matter how skewed it might be?
Perhaps.
Yes.
Then I realized I might have made a terrible mistake: I assumed the Note was written by a human.
When I read it again (and again), it was tinged with AI, complete with inane emojis and asinine ChatGPT phrases like Surprising finding and Here’s what shocked me and Ready for the plot twist? and Why This Matters NOW. And the fact that the Note anthropomorphized Substack writers as “newsletters” as if people didn’t write them. And the social media template prompt at the end: P.S. Curious which pattern resonated most with you? Let me know in the comments 👇 ♻️ Restack & share this Note.
To be clear: I don’t have anything against AI. Far from it. Many of you know that I have a profound professional relationship with Claude. I don’t use him (him) to generate or write for me—more as a sounding board to repeat back to me what I’ve written. I primarily limit it to headlines, pitches, and sales pages. He’s very good.
And I have no idea if the Note was AI-generated. The guy may have internalized AI-like writing patterns and internalized AI-generated-social-media-engagement prompts and use templates for everything he writes. Who knows?
But just the idea that the Note could have been AI-generated made me feel foolish and (again) disturbed and sad.
Which is why I’m excited to announce our new weekly Substack Writers at Work Office Hours—live!
You (a human), your uniqueness, and your questions
+
me (a human) who’s accountable and can make mistakes and respects you in all your humanness
=
your growth (personal, professional, creative, and financial) on Substack.
I love helping you be your amazing self on Substack.
Above is the replay from Friday’s popup Office Hours. It was unbelievably fun to see everyone, get to answer your Substack questions, and just generally cheer you on. Thank you,
, , , , , , , and everyone who was there!Typically these will be for paid subscribers, but everyone can watch the replay above or listen in the app or on Apple or Spotify.
Highlights:
4:17 Do you need a niche on Substack?
7:35 Setting up subscriber challenges/workshops
9:33 Understanding your subscribers’ engagement (Activity tab)
14:18 How often should you really post?
29:56 How much time should you spend on Notes?
33:02 Your value
39:01 Headers, footers, and banners—design elements
42:02 The reality vs. the perception of getting subscribers
44:21 Custom domains and Substack URLs
48:46 Selling your Substack while still being authentic
51:31 Writing calls to action (asking people to upgrade) effectively
» This week’s Substack Office Hours: Thursday, 11/14 at 12:15 CT
Details below…
Details:
Who?
Me, you, all of us together working on Substack.
What?
Your Substack questions answered.
When?
I’ll announce the day and time of each live Substack Office Hours every Tuesday in that week’s post.
We’ll also have popup Office Hours.
Where?
You’ll be notified in email and the app when we’re live.
We’ll be live in the app.
Why?
To keep you going on Substack.
Imagine: Getting to ask me instead of the bot.
Imagine: No more confusion. No more frustration. No more feeling alone.
What are they like?
Watch the replay above to find out! (Great to listen to in the app or on Spotify or Apple. Timestamps are below.)
Basically, come on, be with each other, connect, put your questions in the chat, and I’ll try to get to each one.
How?
For all paid subscribers. Join us by upgrading to paid.
Join us in the app!
See you there!
Sarah
P.S. Again, this week’s Substack Office Hours: Thursday, 11/14 at 12:15 CT.
Curious what resonated most with you. Let me know in the comments 👇 ♻️ Restack & share this post. (I’m kidding—and by the way, that’s a recycling emoji, not a restack.)
def. Subhacker: someone who tells people how to get a gazillion subscribers even though they 1) are new to Substack, 2) assume Substack is like other platforms, and 3) have no proven track record of their advice helping anyone. (Not yet in Merriam-Webster, but it’s just a matter of time.)
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