My newsletter list doubled overnight in February 2023. It wasn’t because of Substack.
When I moved my newsletter to Substack in October 2022, I had less than 250 subscribers. At the end of January 2023, that number had grown to 263. And then, in the first two weeks of February, my list doubled, until at the end of 2023, I had 1522 subscribers.
Was this the famous Substack-effect that the company likes to talk about?
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What caused my newsletter subscribers to double
It wasn’t Substack. In late January 2023 I was interviewed on the Art Juice podcast about marketing without social media. Overnight, my list exploded. Substack was not the cause, or the engine—it was the destination.
That podcast interview remains an important piece of content for me: new clients still find me through it, as do new subscribers. Three years after that episode, my newsletter list has grown to around 3500. But even that isn’t because of Substack alone.
Where my subscribers came from
This past year, the Substack network brought me 434 new subscribers. And 484 new subscribers came from outside of Substack.
Looking at my Substack stats for the past year, this is where new subscribers came from:
- 434 came through the Substack network (explained below);
- 320 came through my website;
- 103 came ‘directly’, by clicking a bookmark or through sources that don’t pass referral data (I suspect this includes Pinterest);
- about 40 of them came through search engines and AI platforms;
- 21 came through imports when I add someone manually to my list (like when someone signs up for my free email series Move your business away from social media).
Out of those 434 subscribers who came through the Substack network, 247 came from recommendations—when someone else recommends my newsletter through their own. This is a really lovely Substack feature.
130 came through ‘other’ (delightfully vague), 28 through Substack’s search function, 21 through Notes, 5 through ‘onboarding’, 2 through trackbacks and 1 through the leaderboards function.
📽️ I created a short video companion to this post where I talk through it in a shorter form. If that’s your thing, check it out here.
Why I’m not relying on Substack for growth
I work with many small business owners who want to grow their newsletter through Substack.
That work starts with some honesty: Substack is not a quick fix. The vast majority of us will not be making a living through our Substack newsletter alone.
I’ve never been comfortable relying mainly on one platform, whether it was Instagram or Substack. It makes me feel fragile, like I’m outsourcing my business in an uncomfortable way. And, every time we use platforms like Substack, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube etc. we’re also working for these platforms. It’s only about us and our businesses to a small extent.
There isn’t a single platform that allows me 100% control over what happens to my content, my data and how the platform behaves (from algorithm to the business decisions a platform makes). It’s a payoff that I’m accepting—but I’m by no means tied to any platform for ever.
If there’s one place that I want people to visit on the internet, it’s my website.That’s the spot where I have maximum control. Yes, WordPress can still collapse, but I control what my website looks like, how it behaves, what it shows. No algorithms, no changes that I don’t control.
And finally, focusing on just one platform makes your marketing fragile. Platforms change and collapse: I know so many stories of small business owners who built their business through Instagram, and for whom algorithm changes had a huge, negative effect. Don’t put yourself at the mercy of a platform’s whims.
When I joined Substack in late 2022, I did so because I wanted to build more community around my newsletter, and Substack’s comment feature has been great for that. I also wanted to monetize my newsletter through paid subscriptions.
I’m not interested in cracking this month’s Substack growth secret, or hacking the algorithm.
Both of these are still the reasons I stay, although the community part has become more important to me than the monetizing. Paid subscriptions are a lovely and welcome addition to my income, but I’ve also learned that for people like me, for whom their newsletter is part of their business rather than their full business, Substack will rarely generate a full income.
I’m still happy to be here—but I don’t buy into most of the hype around the platform. I’m not interested in following every algorithm change, of letting my marketing be led by the platform’s whims. I’m not interested in cracking this month’s Substack growth secret, or hacking the algorithm. None of that fits in with my personality and, importantly, with my desire to run a slow, gentle and profitable business.
If you want help making Substack work for your business without the algorithm-chasing, that’s exactly what my course is built for.
Since I first launched Substack for small business owners, freelancers and creatives in 2023, over 150 people have taken the course—and they love it:
I’ve been working through your Substack course and I’m happy to say that it’s really helped me pull my Substack together. I love how you invite the possibility of everything being light, slow and playful, but still manage to drill down into the practicalities. It was just what I needed!
— Lottie Randomly, facilitator, educator, writer and funeral ceremonialist
I have LOVED YOUR COURSE. I will be recommending it to everyone who asks me a Substack question. Thank you so much for putting the course together. I’m still watching the final video, but found it hugely inspiring and helpful!! The checklist from the second video was exactly what I needed, too.
— Katie Sadler, book marketeer
The course is now completely refreshed for 2026, with all new videos, new examples and new options for growth in the final video. I also include behind-the-scenes videos on how I use Substack, and added mini-videos with quick tips to make the most of Substack—from how to combat Substack overwhelm to best practices like regularly backing up your data.
📍 Get the course for €55, with lifetime access to new additions.
I’d love to know what resonates with you from this post.
Please feel free to share this post it with business friends, in your newsletter or elsewhere. 💛
I’d love to support you in all phases of your business. Providing clarity, focus and next steps is something that my clients tell me I’m really good at. If you’re curious about how we can work together through 1:1 mentoring, check out what I offer or send me an email–no strings attached. I have payment plans available, and flexible options for mentoring calls.
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