The great Substack land grab of 2025
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I’m convinced Substack will be huge for creators in 2025. As I write this, the platform is spending $20 million to court TikTok users to migrate. Big-name authors and creators, including John Cleese and Hanif Kureishi, regularly write on the platform. I’ve also talked to many former journalists and creators who write on it and earn money from it. If you haven’t been writing on Substack regularly yet, let me share a few tactics for organically growing your publication. First, let’s discuss what most creators do wrong. They treat Substack like any other social network. But it’s not X or LinkedIn—it’s much more intimate, and your content has a longer shelf life. What’s fascinating is that most Substack publications post less than once a month. If you publish weekly, you’re already ahead of the pack. But publishing a newsletter isn’t enough. Start by finding creators in your niche. Don’t just follow them - recommend their publications. When you do, they get a notification. And here’s the secret: they’re more likely to recommend you back. I’ve tested this. When I recommend publications like Flow State, my publication appears on their dashboard. They can click the yellow “recommend” button to access it. Pro tip: Focus on creators who are roughly your size. The heavy hitters with tens of thousands of subscribers rarely reciprocate. Now, let’s talk about daily notes, Substack’s viral growth engine. Think of them as tweets, but with a longer shelf life. A 100–150 word note can keep driving engagement for days. The magic number? Three daily notes. One is good, two is better, but three is the sweet spot. I’m currently at one per day but planning to ramp up. I wrote this Substack note in 3 minutes, it popped off and attracted over 200 organic new subscribers: "Medium is dead. X is rife with misinformation Facebook is for Gen X. Insta is saturated with influencers. But Substack? It’s an underrated gem for creators." Here’s another insider tip: Substack recently rolled out AI video creation. But here’s why I’m really bullish on Substack: You own your audience. Unlike other platforms, you can export your entire email list anytime. Just hit export, download the CSV, and you’re free to take your subscribers anywhere. That means you don’t need to worry so much about an algo. Think of it as a type of digital insurance. Watch
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