What it takes to grow on Substack in 2026

Why traction comes from relationships, retention comes from writing, and growth happens when both finally align.

A strong foundation is everything.

Most writers struggle on Substack because they’re building on the wrong foundation.

They believe the platform will reward good work.

They believe consistency alone creates momentum.

They believe the algorithm will eventually notice them.

It won’t.

Substack isn’t the kind of platform people think it is.

Sustainable long term growth here isn’t the result of performance, hustle, or volume. It isn’t a content lottery where one lucky post reshapes the curve, and it certainly isn’t the inevitable outcome of “showing up every week.”

Substack is a human network.

People, as in other writers and readers, create traction, and compelling persuasive writing creates retention.

Growth emerges when the two finally align.

Until a writer understands this architecture, they experience the platform as a confusing, inconsistent, and sometimes even demoralising loop.

They publish in good faith and hear nothing back. They write sincerely and feel invisible. They watch others seemingly take off overnight and assume they’re missing something critical.

But what they’re missing isn’t talent or discipline. What they’re missing is structure.

I’ve grown to 6000+ subscribers in a year and a half. Depending on your own trajectory this might seem like a lot but I’ve seen many others grow at much faster rates for several reasons which is what this essay is about.

“Growth,” as in growing your list, is architectural and requires focused attention but most writers are building without a blueprint.

When I first joined Substack, I didn’t understand any of this.

The interface felt really clunky. Even logging in and out was tricky. There was no obvious place to meet people.

Contrary to many others who joined with the specific goal of growing their existing business here my first goal was not growth.

I did not start, desperately wanting to go viral. My initial goal was to just start writing. I wanted to see if I could publish two essays a month, say something of meaning and contribute to the culture.

I wrote into the void for a long time and it was only after I had developed some clarity on my message, my rhythm and tone of voice that I started to think about growth.

I started messaging random writers in an attempt to start a conversation and get a feel for the social landscape. This wasn’t so much a strategy as it was just genuine interest and curiosity.

The turning point came slowly, I began noticing patterns among the writers who were quietly growing.

They weren’t necessarily writing more or better.

They were building an architecture.

Identity → Resonance → Rhythm → Relationships → Surfaces.

Once I saw this pattern, I couldn’t unsee it. And once I applied it, everything changed.

The Architecture of Substack Growth

I want to give you a high level principles based view of how growth works here. This will not cover growth hacks or short term solutions (you can grow quickly by implementing hacks but that is not what I’m interested in).

I want to give you foundational pillars that you can work towards with slow intensity and strength one by one.

This will take longer than trying to go viral but going viral never brings in the right people anyway. The very nature of virilaty is that it brings in everyone for a short spike after which most of them just leave again.

If you want sustainable, meaningful growth on Substack, you need five pillars. Weakness in any one creates structural collapse. But do not try to master these all at once.

They must be tackled in sequential order.

This is the architecture that successful writers build whether they do it consciously or not.

1. Identity — The Differentiation Layer

Identity is the first pillar because it determines everything downstream.

Readers don’t share “content.” They share perspectives, voices and people.

Identity is what makes your work recognisable in a crowded space. Without knowing who you are on the page your writing becomes easy to skim, easy to forget, and impossible to amplify.

Identity is the architecture of recognition. It’s the reason people say, “You need to read this.” This is why developing an unmistakable voice across your writing is essential.

This is not something that can be done over night.

The very idea of an identity is that it is constructed over time, through many different touch points, and so you are going to have to spend several months on this to build the base. Furthermore, this is an ongoing process which you are never “done” with.

2. Resonance — The Retention Layer

Writing matters, but not in the way most people think.

Strong writing isn’t a growth engine. Strong writing is a retention engine.

It’s what turns a curious visitor into a devoted reader. A recommendation into a long-term relationship. And It’s what shapes your reputation as someone worth returning to.

When resonance is weak, no amount of networking or exposure will convert.

When resonance is strong, every new visitor carries the potential for compounding trust.

Resonance has much more to do with emotional clarity than it does with literary flourish. It’s really about the ability to articulate something someone has already felt but never had language for. That is what creates loyalty.

In order to create resonance you need to understand what you are writing about and who you are writing for at an emotional level. You have to feel it, not just understand it intellectually.

This is relevant for every niche and it is why I advocate to write for your former self because nothing beats personal, lived experience.

3. Rhythm — The Trust Layer

Publishing rhythm is not an algorithmic hack.

Rhythm creates predictability.

Predictability creates trust.

Trust creates loyalty and the desire to help spread your message.

A writer with rhythm becomes part of a reader’s mental landscape. When you show up consistently, you become familiar. Familiarity lowers resistance. Lower resistance increases willingness to share.

Rhythm is the architecture of expectation. It’s how you become someone readers rely on, not someone they rediscover.

But rhythm is useless without a strong identity and without resonance. This is what makes me want to tear my hair out (if I still had any) when people talk about consistency, or “just showing up” because most people who spread this message have skipped the difficult and challenging work required for steps 1 and 2, making “just showing up” a complete waste of time.

I recently listened to a podcast from Colin and Samir where they interviewed Rachel Karten (link in bio) about her substack journey.

She only turned on paid after she had been writing for over two years and built a following of over 20,000 free subscribers.

Her goal was to first develop her rhythm and make sure she could develop consistent value at the same pace every week before even thinking about growth or monetisation. I know there are plenty of people telling you to monetise from day one but it is my belief that the slow and measured approach is the right one.

4. Networks — The Traction Layer

This is the pillar that short term growth hackers immediately start at and that deep thinkers and serious writers never get to.

Here’s the truth:

Traction comes from other people sharing your work and growth comes from entering networks, not writing in isolation.

Your work may be profound, but if no one hears it, nothing happens.

Your ideas may be exceptional, but if no one passes them forward, your growth stagnates.

Readers amplify you, other writers connect you and recommendations carry you.

You don’t need to play politics. But you do need to participate in the human ecosystem.

There is no getting around this.

Substack is a networked environment. Visibility moves from person to person. Networking here is not transactional (yet). It’s relational.

Thoughtful comments. Genuine engagement. Small conversations. Shared perspective. Parallel journeys.

This is how writers discover one another. It’s how audiences spread and how networks form, and networks are the architecture of traction.

Everyone is different, I get that. But a good rule of thumb is to behave as you would in real life.

Would you approach a stranger at a coffee shop, shove a pdf into their hands and say “I would love your feedback on this”

Would you stop someone in the street and ask them to bring you clients?

No. I hope not. So just approach people with care and respect and lead with curiosity.

You get the idea.

5. Surfaces — The Visibility Layer

Substack has five primary discovery surfaces:

• Essays → depth, credibility

• Notes → visibility, first contact

• Comments → network building

• Recommendations → exponential reach

• Chat → community cohesion

When these surfaces work together, they create momentum. When used inconsistently, they collapse into noise.

Growth is not the outcome of one surface.

Growth emerges when your identity, resonance, rhythm, and relationships flow across multiple surfaces in a coherent way.

This is what turns a Substack account into an ecosystem. Essays and notes are non negotiable because you need to write both to lock in all the previous steps.

If you struggle with networking and socialising then focus on recommendations, this is largely passive and runs in the background. Also starting private conversations by DMing people is highly underrated.

Retention and Traction: The Honest Equation

At the heart of this architecture is a simple, uncomfortable truth:

Writing creates retention. Networks create traction. Growth requires both.

Most writers only build one half. Some publish in isolation and wonder why no one finds them. Others network aggressively but lack a compelling centre of gravity. Few integrate the two.

The ones who do create consistent growth. It may be slow but it is also relentless and it builds over time.

If you need a map to build the inner architecture that I’ve described here the 15-Note System might be helpful.

Check it out and enjoy the rest of your day.