How Substack Notes Actually Works

Launch Your Substack in 3 Weeks Cohort starting this week on May 7th at 11am Central Time. There is still a couple of spots left. You can read all about it here:

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Many Substack creators understand that they need to use Substack Notes for discoverability but when they use it for a week or two, they might get a few likes - or they may just be “shouting into the void” - and then they give up.

Sometimes they even give up on Substack all together, disappointed with the lack of growth and noticeable traction.

But here’s the thing: Substack Notes isn’t broken – the platform does work, just not in the way that many of us think it should.

The Expectation (That Causes the Problem)

Most people come to Notes thinking it’s another version of social media.

They expect visibility, engagement, quick growth and maybe even for something to “go viral”.

When none of that happens, it feels like failure, like maybe Substack isn’t a good place to be and they’re not going to be able to grow here.

Substack isn’t necessarily the problem, often it’s our expectations. If you’re expecting social media-style results, Notes can feel underwhelming.

You might notice low engagement compared to Instagram or Twitter, no big spikes in reach, and slow, almost invisible growth

That’s normal. In fact Notes rarely “go viral”, and that’s by design

Substack isn’t trying to give you a moment of attention. It’s trying to help you build something more valuable long-term:

An audience that wants to read your work.

What Substack Notes Actually Is

Substack Notes isn’t built to reward virality. It’s built to do one thing really well:

Match the right readers with the right writers and creators

Unlike traditional social media platforms, there are no ads driving the system, which means there’s no incentive to push “viral” content and keep you scrolling endlessly.

Instead, the Substack Notes discoverability algorithm is designed around reader behavior:

• what people click on

• what they read

• what topics they engage with

Over time, and with the tools Substack provides readers to curate their feed, the algorithm learns what each reader is interested in, and shows them more of that.

So instead of asking: “How do I get more attention?”

The better question is: “How do I help the right people find me?”

To understand how Notes works, you have to shift how you think about growth and Substack Notes.

1. Substack Notes Finds Aligned Readers, Not Attention

The algorithm isn’t asking: “Is this popular?”

It’s asking: “Who would care about this?”

That’s why clarity matters so much: your topics, your Substack publication title, long form content titles, and the keywords you use in your notes (when sharing your content) should all provide clear guidance for the right people to find you.

These are the main signals that help the platform match you with the right people.

2. Notes Support Your Long-Form Content

Notes isn’t the destination. Likes and Comments on your notes are not the end goal.

Your long form posts are the destination. Engaged subscribers are your goal.

Substack Notes helps people discover you, recognize your work, and click through to your posts. From there, hopefully, they subscribe, keep reading, stay in your ecosystem and become part of your Substack community or publication.

Growth doesn’t happen on Notes. It happens through Notes.

3. Notes Build Familiarity Over Time

This is the part most people underestimate.

Growth using Substack Notes is gradual but compounding. People see your name, your ideas and point of view. They start to recognize you, respond, and then eventually they subscribe.

Not because of one note, but because of repeated exposure.

The Different Ways to Use Notes

There isn’t just one way to use Notes, your Notes should naturally fall into a mix of:

• Sharing your posts so readers can get to know your content

• Writing short, standalone thoughts so readers can get to know you

• Engaging with others in conversations (arguably the most important part of Notes - more on this next week)

Each of these plays a role in growth. But the key isn’t which one you use.

It’s how consistently and clearly you show up.

If you strip everything back, growth comes down to a few core things:

Clarity: The platform algorithm needs to understand what you write about and who it’s for. The words you use in your notes are important here.

Consistency: Not perfection, and not volume. Five notes per day is not necessary, you simply want to show up regularly enough to become recognizable and stay visible.

Participation: Notes isn’t just about posting your content. Far more important for growth is your engagement and participation within the ecosystem of Substack: responding, connecting, restacking are all important signals for the algorithm as well as great ways to connect with your audience in a real, human centered way.

Write your content for the right reader. Don’t use Notes to create vague thoughts that could appeal to anyone - and therefore appeal to no one. Use Notes to attract the people who will want to read your long form content, the people who you are writing for.

If Notes isn’t working for you yet, it usually comes down to this: You’re trying to use it like social media.

Instead, try switching up how you think about Notes:

• Stop trying to go viral and start trying to be findable

• Stop trying to perform and start trying to connect

• Stop chasing attention and start building alignment

Because on Substack Notes the goal isn’t reach, it’s attracting the right reader.

Want More Help Applying This?

Understanding how Notes works is one thing.

Actually using it well—consistently, clearly, and in a way that leads to growth—is another.

If you’re new to using Substack Notes and you want help with:

• what to post

• how often to show up

• how to structure your Notes so they reach the right audience

That’s exactly what I walk through in my Notes Newbie Workshop.

It’s designed to take this from “I think I get it…”

To: “I know exactly how to do this.”

You can learn more about it here:

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New Substack Update, May 2026:

Substack just updated your notes stats. (stats are found by going to your notes tab, clicking on the 3 dot menu beside each note and choosing “view stats” from the drop down menu.

You can now see impressions, not just clicks, likes, and comments. This is further broken down into where these impressions are coming from (Surface) and who is looking at your notes - how many subscribers, followers and unconnected Substack users saw this specific note.