How To Grow Your Substack Newsletter
Skyrocket your Substack newsletter subscribers, incentivise referrals, and grow your social media following with these awesome tips and tricks.
Growing your Substack newsletter can be tricky. People need to be genuinely interested to subscribe to long form content now that viral, short form, free content has taken over.
To help you stand out, we've compiled the best tips and tricks to make the most of social media, newsletters, mailing lists, and giveaway campaigns to get your newsletter in front of huge new audiences who want to subscribe to your newsletter.
Of course, there are the general pieces of advice that apply to most social media platforms- consistency, quality, and a clear area of writing, but we're going to be focusing on some actionable ways you can get your newsletter out there today.
Make the most of all your social media channels by regularly sharing content snippets and highlights from your newsletter.
Make sure you tailor your content to each platform: use short videos for TikTok and Instagram Reels, eye-catching graphics or carousel slides for Facebook and Instagram posts, compelling tweets to engage your Twitter followers, and slightly longer posts for LinkedIn that leave readers wanting more.
Plus, make sure to include your Substack link in your social media bio to encourage subscriptions and grow your audience.
It's also a great idea to use Instagram and Facebook stories to offer sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes looks and engage your audience with polls and questions.
Reddit is also a great tool to actively participate in relevant discussions and respond to comments where you can provide value with your newsletter.
The main thing is that you tailor your content to fit the strengths of each platform, maintain consistent branding, and provide easy access to your Substack.
Notes are a fantastic way to garner more interest in between long form, more polished content that you'll be publishing in your newsletters.
You can think of it like how you can use Instagram stories to keep your followers up to date when you don't have content for a main in feed post.
You can post short snippets, thoughts, or replies on the notes section and they won't be emailed out to your subscribers like a newsletter would be. This is a great way to keep your subscribers interested and engaged if you only post once a month or so.
Just as it's important to have a great bio, you need to have a great about you page.
This is especially important if your content is only accessible via a paid subscription.
Make sure your about you page is punchy and to the point so people don't lose interest before subscribing and can easily get a feel for what you're page offers.
Your About You page is often the first thing potential subscribers see, so make sure it clearly shows why they should choose your content.
In a similar way to how we discussed for Reddit- Substack is a community in which you need to provide genuine value. Just look at the success stories, you'll struggle to find any authors that have had success on substack that haven't had to be generous with their knowledge and time.
So the actionable tip here on how to be generous with your time to build a genuine community on Substack is to get involved; join communities on WhatsApp groups, discord servers, slack channels, wherever your audience is hiding, and dedicate some time to write out some thoughtful responses in your writing area.
Plus, engaging with other authors on Substack is also an excellent way to increase your visibility, as the reply will showcase your page to a broader audience.
Partnering up with other writers for guest posts can be another great way to boost your newsletter's reach by helping you access the followers of writers similar to you and build a network of supporters.
Collaborate with influencers or writers in your niche to exchange guest posts, providing fresh content for both your audiences.
This cross-promotion not only introduces your newsletter to a new set of readers but also builds credibility.
This strategy works well for social media too, where you can feature each other's content, host joint live sessions, or co-create posts, expanding your audience and engagement on both sides.
Once you're providing value and engaging with your community, you need to make sure everyone can easily find you and see all your hard work.
It's important to add a Linktree to all your social media bios to make it easy for followers to find your Substack newsletter link and other important links. Similarly, you can add your Substack link or Linktree in the bottom of all of your emails.
This way, whether they visit your Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn profile, they can quickly access your content and subscribe to your newsletter.
Sending email blasts to your existing contacts can help promote your Substack newsletter. Crafting a compelling subject line is crucial to increase open rates and attract more subscribers.
Create an email that highlights the unique content and benefits of your newsletter, and include a clear call-to-action to subscribe.
Personalize your emails to make them more engaging. You can also offer an incentive, like exclusive content or a discount, to encourage sign-ups. By using your existing email list, you can reach more people and grow your subscriber base.
Using capture pop-ups on your website can effectively promote your Substack newsletter. Set up pop-ups that highlight the benefits of subscribing and include a clear call-to-action.
By using well-timed capture pop-ups, you can turn website visitors into newsletter subscribers and grow your audience.
Running a giveaway is an awesome way to promote your Substack newsletter.
Announce a contest where participants must subscribe to your newsletter to enter, and add in a few extra actions like subscribing to your mailing list and following your socials for extra entries.
Offer attractive prizes that are relevant to your audience, such as books, exclusive content, or gift cards, but always make sure you're choosing prizes that are specific enough to target people with a genuine interest in your Substack.
Then, promote the giveaway on your social media channels and website to maximize reach.
By running a giveaway, you can attract new subscribers and create tons of new excitement around your newsletter which all helps to grow your audience.
Running a referral program giveaway is a similar method to promote your Substack newsletter.
It's the same as a sweepstakes, but you're focussing on driving referrals. Create a contest where existing subscribers can refer friends to enter, and both the referrer and the new subscriber get a chance to win a prize.
Offer exciting rewards like exclusive content, merchandise, or gift cards. Clearly explain the rules and make it easy to participate. Promote the referral program through your newsletter, social media, and website.
This strategy encourages your current subscribers to help grow your audience which is a fantastic way to increase your newsletter's reach and engagement.
Friends recommening a product is always more effective than advertising coming from the person trying to sell the product- so this is a really valuable strategy.
Offering rewards can really effectively promote your Substack newsletter and help attract and retain paid subscribers.
Provide incentives such as exclusive content, early access to new posts, or special discounts if your articles are paid subscriptions in return for subscribing.
Highlight these rewards in your promotional materials and within your newsletter to attract more subscribers.
By offering valuable perks, you can encourage more people to sign up and engage with your content, helping to grow your subscriber base.
Last but not least, ask everyone to share you newsletter and substack! Add it at the bottom of your posts, emails, tweets, stories- everywhere! Sometimes people need a gentle reminder to repost or share your work, so let them know you'd appreciate it.
So, now you know everything you need to know about the best tips and tricks to acclerate your growth on Substack. Good luck!
Charlotte Czarnota
Charlotte is a Growth Intern at Gleam. Share this post if you got something out of it ☺