5 Substack 'Secrets' To Take Your Publication To The Next Level

Effective strategies to grow and monetize your Substack faster than ever in 2025.

Jan 27, 2025

Hi,

Easily one of the best groups of humans I’ve met in the past year were the team of Jari Roomer, Sinem Günel, and Philip Hofmacher from Write • Build • Scale. I had been recommending Sinem’s publication on Sparkloop for a while, so having them come to Substack was super cool. I’ve since gotten to know them better, and now they’re launching a new Substack program.

If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend their publication.

Note that there is an affiliate link in this post, it won't cost you anything and anything I receive from the affiliate goes to my coffee fund.

When I joined Substack in July 2024, I didn’t expect my publication, Write • Build • Scale, to hit the ‘bestseller’ status just a few months later.

Honestly, I just wanted to try something new after years of writing on Medium. But what started as an experiment turned into a game-changer.

In just six months, the Write • Build • Scale publication has:

Grown to over 4,200 total subscribers
Gained over 150 paying subscribers
And earned the Substack ‘bestseller’ badge

Over these past six months, I’ve tested dozens of Substack growth strategies and monetization methods. Many of them didn’t work, but some of them worked exceptionally well.

Let’s dive into five of these effective Substack growth strategies (that most creators on the platform don’t use enough).

#1: Set Up a 'Become a Member' Page

The default offer page Substack provides is okay, but let’s be real - it’s pretty basic. If you want to convert more subscribers, you need a more compelling page.

That’s why we created a 'become a member' page for our publication (think of it as a sales page for your paid Substack). This page is by far the most profitable page of our entire publication.

A custom ‘become a member’ page allows you to explain the value of your paid plan in more detail, share testimonials of other paid subscribers (to add social proof), and add visuals that make your offer ‘pop’.

In other words, it’s a much better marketing asset than the standard offer page Substack provides.

Here’s how to create your 'become a member’ page:

Go to your publication’s settings and click on ‘website’
Go to ‘custom pages’ and click on ‘add’
Write a clear explanation of what’s included in the paid plan
Be specific about the benefits (e.g., “Save hours with exclusive templates and tools”)
Add screenshots and testimonials from existing subscribers
Be clear about the pricing and add a link to the standard Substack offer page

Tip: Link to your 'become a member' page in many of your emails and make it easy to find on your Substack (add it to your publication’s navigation bar).

#2: Narrow Your Focus

If people don’t understand what your Substack publication is about within 30 - 60 seconds, they’re not going to subscribe. It’s harsh, but true.

Your Substack needs a clear focus. That means knowing exactly:

Who you’re writing for (your audience)
What problems you’re solving (your value)
Why it’s worth subscribing to your publication (your unique angle)

The challenge is that many writers want to appeal to everyone.

They fear that narrowing their focus will limit their audience, but the opposite is true.

When you’re clear about your niche, you attract the right people. And those people are way more likely to subscribe, engage, and eventually buy something from you.

For my Write • Build • Scale publication, the goal is clear: We help online writers and creators grow their audience and monetize their expertise.

Everything we write reinforces that message.

Tip: Ask yourself, “What do I want readers to get out of my Substack?” Write your answer in one sentence and use it as the foundation of your tagline, about page, and posts.

Want to grow your Substack in 2025? Join our upcoming masterclass on January 30th to learn how to grow your audience and income on Substack (even if you’re just starting out).

#3: Create Your ‘Premium Content Library’

Our premium content library is a separate page on our publication where we feature all links to our paywalled content.

This way, paid subscribers can easily access the exclusive content they’ve unlocked, making sure they get the most out of their paid subscription.

But aside from keeping paid subscribers happy, this premium content library also serves as a marketing tool for our paid tier.

Since the page is accessible to free subscribers as well (they just can’t access any of the content), they get a glimpse of everything they’re currently missing out on, which creates interest and desire to join the paid tier.

Here’s how to create your premium content library:

Go to your publication’s settings and click on ‘website’
Go to ‘custom pages’ and click on ‘add’
Hyperlink to all of your premium content and sort it by content type (like guides, courses, templates, and replays of live sessions, etc.)
Add this page to your Substack’s navigation bar so your subscribers see it often

Tip: Create a premium content library, keep it up to date, and feature it prominently in your Substack publication.

#4: Use the ‘Free + Paywall’ Strategy

One of the best ways to convert free subscribers into paying ones is the free + paywall strategy. Here’s how it works:

Write a premium article
Make 25 - 50% of the post free to read for everyone
Add a paywall that prompts free subscribers to join paid to unlock the rest

The free + paywall strategy is really effective because it lets readers experience the quality of your paid content without having to take out their credit card first.

It’s like giving your readers a taste of the cake before asking them to buy the whole thing. If the free section is valuable enough, they’ll likely want to see the rest as well.

I strongly prefer this strategy over simply paywalling entire articles. When you lock 100% of your premium content behind a paywall, free subscribers will never get a taste of your premium content (making them less likely to join the paid tier).

Tip: Make the free section valuable enough to hook readers, but leave the most valuable insights behind the paywall.

#5: Don’t Go At It Alone

Substack is a community, and the fastest way to grow is to connect with other creators on the platform.

I know this can be a struggle for a lot of writers, as many of us tend to enjoy writing because it’s more of an introspective activity.

But if you go at it alone, growing on Substack will be difficult. You’ll grow so much faster when you collaborate with other writers, especially through:

Guest Posting: Cross-posting or guest writing for other Substacks puts you in front of new audiences, bringing in new subscribers
Newsletter Recommendations: Swapping newsletter recommendations introduced over 2,000 (!) new subscribers to our publication

Tip: Engaging with 3 - 5 writers in your niche every week. Comment on their posts, restack their Notes, exchange newsletter recommendations, and reach out for potential guest post opportunities.

Want To Grow Your Substack In 2025?

Join our live masterclass on January 30th (free) if you want to learn how to grow your audience and income on Substack - even if you’re just starting out:

» Yes, I Want To Lean How To Grow & Monetize My Substack In 2025

If you liked that one, I highly recommend checking out their masterclass. Just click on the link above and sign up. So, what do you think?

What’s your favorite secret?
How are you going to change your own publication to take advantage of these tips?

Let us know in the comments.

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