How to grow your Substack audience on autopilot (and it's not through Notes)
This growth lever accounts for over 50% of my subscriber base.
➡️ If the thought of promoting your writing gives you the heebie-jeebies, make sure to download my free 3-page guide, Sharing Without The Cringe.
Here’s something I’ll bet you didn’t know about me: I was once a wedding videographer.
‘Twas many moons ago now.
I’d just finished uni. A friend dropped me a message, something to the effect of: “Hey Davey-boy, I hear you’re good with a camcorder. Can you film our wedding?”
I said yes.
A few weeks later, they said yes (to each other).
And just like that, my first ever business was born.
That was back in the early days of social media, and as far as I knew, social media was purely for posting updates about how hungry you were, or hacking your friend’s Facebook account and changing their relationship status.
At the time, the internet was still a glorious mystery to me. I had no idea how to promote my fledgling videography business and bring in more clients.
Thankfully, in those first few months, I didn’t have to - my clients did the promotion for me.
Every gig I booked came from one thing: word-of-mouth.
If someone loved my work, they told a friend, and that friend became my next client. Seems so simple, right?
(That’s because it was!)
But I wasn’t exactly business-minded at the time. I actually started hating it after a while, but that’s a story for another day.
I wasn’t actively growing my little business. I sure as heck wasn’t tracking leads or building systems. Early 10s David had no idea those things existed.
Eventually, I let that path go.
And oddly enough, as I started building my audience on Substack quite a while later, I realised I was circling back to the same principle: recommendations.
But this time, with purpose.
As of today, over 500 other Substack writers recommend my publication, How to Write for a Living.
In fact, more than 50% of my audience growth over the last two years came from that growth lever alone, which is pretty astonishing.
And the best part?
It didn’t require me to constantly be online, churning out content, or feeling like I was on a treadmill I couldn’t step off.
Over time, recommendations became the most powerful (and sustainable) growth tool I’ve used on Substack.
Substack growth is hard in the beginning
Growing on Substack is super rewarding.
Right now, there are days when I’ll pick up 100+ subscribers in 24 hours. Sometimes it’s more. Often it’s less.
(Caveat: there are plenty of days when I barely grow at all, especially when I send a lot of emails in quick succession)
But let’s be honest - growth is also hard, especially in the beginning.
It’s usually down to:
Inconsistent progress. Unless you’re constantly posting on Notes, publishing regularly, and engaging with other Substack users, you risk stagnating. Or at least, you’ll fear stagnation, and that’s often just as damaging. Being constantly online isn’t realistic for everyone.
Burnout. The pressure to constantly create can lead to feelings of overwhelm and open the door to the crippling monster that is imposter syndrome. It’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind. I still feel that way every day when I look around at all the other incredible writers on the platform.
Limited reach. Without a massive network, it can feel like you’re screaming into the void. Organic discovery can take an age. Growth stalls more easily than any of us would like to admit.
But there’s good news, because this is where recommendations come in.
Why recommendations work
Substack’s recommendation system is one of the most underutilised (yet most powerful) tools available to writers today.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that it totally changed the game for me on the platform in a similar way to Notes.
Here’s why:
It automates growth. Once another publication recommends you, readers will automatically discover you when subscribing to theirs, without you lifting a finger. Your audience will grow while you sleep.
It fosters built-in trust. Readers are far more likely to subscribe when someone they already follow says something like, “You should check out this specky wee fella from Northern Ireland.” If someone else has taken the time to recommend you, there must be something genuinely valuable in what you’re offering, right?
It’s supportive by nature. Unlike ugly social media algorithms that feast on competition and noise, Substack recommendations feel collaborative and human.
I’ve seen it firsthand.
Over 500 Substack publications now recommend mine. Some were big, some were small. But together, they’ve brought 11,000+ readers my way, and counting.
How to get mutual recommendations that drive growth on autopilot
Fortunately, you don’t need to wait until you have a massive audience to benefit from recommendations.
As long as you’ve built a modest base (let’s say at least 100 subscribers, to be realistic), you’ve got something to offer fellow small publication owners.
I started reaching out to other writers fairly early on and never looked back.
This is the exact approach I used to pick up my first mutual recommendations on Substack (I’ve even thrown in a handy direct message template for good measure).
Paid subscribers can read about it below.