The Golden era of Substack is over. Now what?
7 lessons from the inside
The golden era of Substack is over.
That early phase when people were just here to write, to read, to connect and to share.
It was an ideas platform, driven by culture and community. By a desire to do it differently, to go deeper, be quieter and revel in obscurity. But that’s changed.
Substack is big news! Huge creators, A-list celebrities and the next wave of wannabe millionaires are flocking to the platform.
Everyone wants a piece of the pie. The growth hackers, the content machines, the monetisation marketers - they are all here.
So what does this mean for us? The writers, the thinkers and the creatives?
Can we still grow a readership without making ourselves into a content machine?
10 months ago I started from scratch with 0 following. Since then I’ve grown to 2700+ subscribers. I’ve done this while running a profitable YT channel, a full time job, and the usual family obligations that we all have.
When I started I made a decision to do this on my own terms and I want that for you too, so here are 7 lessons I’ve learned that will help you get set up for success..
1. Substack isn’t a Secret anymore, and that’s a good thing
Substack has officially gone mainstream.
Over 35 million people now use the platform. It boasts 5 million paying subscribers and app downloads remain extremely high.
Huge celebrities continue to join such as Author James Patterson, Journalist Jennifer Rubin and CNN host Jim Acosta.
Not only that but native creators with massive followings such as Dan Koe, Justin Welsh, and Jay Clouse have also started publishing actively on the platform.
That might sound like the end of the golden era, but it’s not. It’s just the end of obscurity. Yes, it’s louder now. Busier. More chaotic. But more attention means more opportunity, if you know how to stay focused.
The rise in visibility isn’t a threat to independent writers. It’s fuel. When the platform grows, your potential readership grows too.
The key is to build your rhythm, know your reason for being here, and write like none of the noise matters.
2. Substack is a social media platform!
I don’t know why this is a controversial statement.
If you are having an emotional reaction right now you are still clinging onto a bygone era. And I get it. Nostalgia is powerful. But it won’t help you navigate the platform. Understanding the present will.
Why is this important?
Because if you want to grow a readership, you need to understand the rules of the game. Substack isn’t just a newsletter tool anymore. It’s a full ecosystem. One where discovery, engagement, and connection all happen inside the platform.
And that’s a gift.
You don’t need to rely on Twitter or LinkedIn or SEO to grow. You can find readers right here. Once you accept that, you can stop resisting the changes and start using them with intention.
Substack is evolving. The question is: will you evolve with it?
For a detailed breakdown of the evolution of substack Charlie (
) wrote a fantastic piece here: The enshittification of social media3. Organic reach on notes is unparalleled
I’m sure you’ve heard this before but the exposure that the notes feature gives new writers is like nowhere else.
I regularly see notes getting 10s of thousands of likes and pulling in thousands of subscribers. I have never gone viral on any other platform but on substack it has happened multiple times.
It is possible to grow a readership solely within the Substack universe and I do not know of any other platform that allows you to build an email list as quickly and as easily as Substack.
4. How important is growth to you? be honest
Most creators don’t pause to ask: How important is growth to me? And why?
They hit a wall because they’re secretly desperate for validation. They’re not writing to explore or build something timeless, they’re writing to be seen.
I get it. You pour your soul onto the page, and it’s crushing when no one seems to care. That’s human. But if you’re not careful, the need for validation starts steering the work.
You bend your tone. You chase trends. You lose the very thing that made you worth reading in the first place.
And the things is the more you write to grow, the less your writing grows you.
As a side note a lot of growth happens in the shadows. You don’t see the private masterminds, the Telegram groups, the cross-promotions, the network effects. You just see the numbers and wonder why yours don’t match.
Growth requires more than just good writing. This is why self-awareness matters. Substack is a social platform, but you still get to choose the game you’re playing. You can carve out your own quiet corner here if that’s what you want.
So ask yourself, honestly:
Do you want to grow? Or do you want to write?
You can do both, but only if you know which comes first.
5. You Don’t have to move fast and break things
A few months ago, Substack rolled out Lives for everyone. The hype was immediate. This was the new way to build connection. The tool for growth, for collaboration, for authority.
If I’m honest, I got swept up in it. I started reaching out to others, booking Lives, juggling calendars. It got stressful - fast. I work a full-time job, and coordinating all that became overwhelming. After a month, I pulled the plug. I haven’t gone live since.
I didn’t come here for that. I came to write. To develop ideas. To build a community around thoughtful work. And I refuse to let myself get distracted from this.
Substack is moving fast. It’s experimenting. It wants you to try everything. And that’s fine, if it serves you.
But If you came here to write then write.
The rest is optional.
6. Build a Rhythm, not a routine
This sounds obvious, but it’s surprisingly easy to forget:
You don’t have to post daily. You don’t have to keep grinding. You just need to find a rhythm that actually serves you.
For me creativity thrives within constraints. I have found that there is a way to build a vague interest into a burning obsession. But it’s a delicate process and cannot be rushed.
Consistency isn’t about rigid schedules. It’s about rhythm.
Like the waves on a beach or the score of a song there’s a pulse, but also variation. It’s not fixed. It’s fluid. It builds and recedes, intensifies and softens.
Most people will tell you to write daily emails. I write an article twice a month. That’s what works for me. It’s effortless, enjoyable and reaches the right people.
The moment you need discipline and grit is the moment you loose your creative spark.
Instead of desperately trying to post everyday really tune into what makes you feel good.
Are you posting everyday because you have something to say? Or is it just because some one told you that’s how to grow a following?
7. I have yet to find someone who is growing without a niche.
This debate gets boring fast, so I won’t argue it either way. I’ll just tell you what I’ve seen:
I have yet to find a single writer who’s grown a serious following without some kind of niche.
That doesn’t mean boxing yourself in. It means starting with something clear enough for people to get what you’re about, and specific enough for the right readers to find you.
The first six months are for you. Experiment like crazy. Write about anything. Test your voice. Watch what lands.
But eventually, if you want traction, you’ll need direction.
Most of the biggest writers today started small and specific. Only later did they broaden out.
The best newsletters aren’t defined by topics, they’re defined by perspective.
They’re voice-driven. Idea-driven. Rooted in a clear philosophy, not a marketing persona. It might be helpful to think of your niche not as a topic but as lense.
It’s the thing beneath the thing, the worldview you keep coming back to.
If you try to game categories, you become just another productivity or business account. But if you write from your core, you become unforgettable.
Implementing the content tree changed everything for me. It is what I use for my Youtube channel and this substack. You don’t need to use that exact blueprint but some kind of system will be necessary for sustainability.
Conclusion: You’re in the Right Place
The golden era of Substack might be over—but that’s not a loss. It’s a shift.
The truth is, most people won’t make it. Not because they aren’t talented, but because they’ll burn out trying to be someone they’re not.
But if you can resist the pull to perform…
If you can build from your core, not your ego…
If you can stay human in a system that rewards the opposite…
Then you’ll have something rare: a body of work that reflects who you really are. And an audience who actually cares.
If that’s the kind of path you want to walk too, you’re in the right place.
Let’s build it together.
If you are interested in structure you can download my notion template here.
Otherwise consider joining my quiet group chat.
It really is depressing all of a sudden. Up until I started publishing on here I was doing my own thing. Writing, dreaming, crafting. Now I’m being hit with how AI has doomed the human writer, and Substack is too full. I’m just gonna focus on the writing and ignore the stuff that’s out of my control.
I’ve never had a single Note lead to more likes, subscribers, or reach—despite sharing thoughtful content, full posts, and sometimes videos. Meanwhile, I see Notes like “just gained 20 more subscribers” getting thousands of likes. It honestly leaves me baffled. Substack often feels like a dark tunnel with no clear path, and with so many people now flocking to the platform, I’m not sure that’s a good thing.
To be very honest, I’m currently using Substack more as a vault for my writing than as a discovery tool. I don’t feel the algorithm (if there even is one?) does much to circulate my work, no matter how consistent or meaningful it is.
That said, I still appreciate the platform’s design and ease of use—and this article was an interesting read. I'm just not convinced there was ever a true "Golden Era" here.