If you’ve ever thought, “I want to grow on Substack, but I just don’t have the time…” this guest post is you.

Substack’s Notes is kind of like Substack’s version of X —but with a powerful built-in discovery engine that helps writers actually get seen. It’s the place to be if you love short-form writing or simply want to grow your audience without burning out.

Besides offering my Substack Notes Bootcamp with

And today, I’m excited to introduce another tribe member who's taken things even further: meet

Full disclosure: I haven’t had the chance to deep-dive into it just yet. I downloaded it, tested it with 2-3 posts, and that’s about as far as I’ve gotten. But I will give it a proper test soon, share all the details with you and also will offer a LIVE with Yana where she’ll share more about how she built her business with AI and how you can use it to increase your creativity or productivity too.

In the meantime, Yana’s sharing her favorite Notes strategies in today’s guest post—and if you want to try her custom GPT tool for yourself, members get a special discount of 50% OFF.

I’m not an affiliate!

You’ll find the 50% discount at the bottom of the post. 👇

If you're writing Notes like they're social media posts, you’re already losing the game.

This isn’t social media. It’s not a place for clickbait, hashtags, or fluffy storytelling that ends with "link in bio" or "follow for more".

Notes are different.

They’re not for selling.

They’re not for your course.

They’re not even for your lead magnet.

They’re for one thing: winning trust. They're the top of the funnel.

I treat them like value bombs. Like tiny lead magnets. And I never sell in Notes.

It took me 6 months to figure it out, but now I finally get decent (and consistent) engagement. I developed a system and my subscribers growth tripled in a month. Here’s one of latest viral Notes that brought even some paid subscribers:

So here’s what I’ve learned…

Don’t sell

You know that awkward feeling when someone pitches you something before even shaking your hand?That’s what it feels like when you drop a sales link in a Note.

People buy, but they hate to be sold to. And they don’t buy from strangers. They buy from someone they already trust. Someone who feels them. Someone they feel has already walked the same painful path.

Trust takes time, and Notes are where it all begins.

So don’t sell. Don’t pitch. Don’t drop a CTA that says, “Subscribe now to get this free download.”

I’ve tested it. It doesn’t work. Because it feels transactional.

What does work?

• Relatability

• Vulnerability

• And tons of value

Let them meet the real you. The human. The struggler. The one who's figuring it out in public.

That’s what earns attention. That’s what creates loyalty.

The hook

If your first sentence doesn’t hit, nothing else matters.

The hook should:

• Surprise

• Intrigue

• Confuse (in a good way)

This is your curiosity gap.

Open a loop in their brain and force them to close it by reading the next line.

Say something controversial. Exaggerate. And make is punchy.

Examples:

• Don’t say: “Here’s what I got wrong about going viral.”

• Say this instead: “A viral post cost me everything”

You don’t need formulas. You need truth that sounds like a contradiction.

Curiosity wins attention. Every. Single. Time.

Storytelling

Want to write Notes that people talk about?

Tell a story.

But not a long one. And definitely not a polished, book-proposal version.

Your story needs:

• A strong opening (hook)

• One clear problem

• One emotional twist

• A learning or takeaway

And all of that needs to happen in about 100 words.

Keep it punchy. Keep it moving.

Add a bizarre adjective. Create contrast. Be a little uncomfortable.

That’s what makes people feel something.

Simplicity

We love to complicate our writing because we think it makes us sound smart. It doesn’t.

If you can say something hard in a way that makes it easy to understand, that’s mastery. And that’s what builds trust.

So when you write a Note:

• Don’t try to sound intelligent.

• Try to be instantly understood.

The power of one

Here’s the golden rule:

One problem. One solution. One outcome.

If you try to do too much, people feel overwhelmed.

If you say one thing well, they feel seen.

That’s what gets them to click your name again. That’s what gets them to read more. That’s what earns the next open.

Wrap-up: my short-form writing rules

After studying hundreds of Notes and having a few viral Notes of my own, I finally figured how to actually write a Note that relates.

Notes follow their own rules. And here’s what they are:

1. One Sentence Per Paragraph

No dense chunks.

One thought. One line. One scroll-stopping point at a time.

It’s not dumbing things down.

It’s respecting how fast people scroll.

2. No titles,no Intros and no hashtags.

This isn’t Instagram.

This isn’t a blog.

This is not the place to explain yourself.

You open with fire or you don’t get read.

People will simply scroll.

You have less than 1 second to grab their attention. Make that count.

3. Make It visually beautiful

Use white space like it’s part of your message.

If your Note looks like a wall of text, it’s getting skipped.

If it looks clean, airy, and bite-sized, it gets read.

Aesthetic writing matters more than you think.

4. Keep it readable for a 3rd grader

Yes, that low. Not 12th, not 6th, but 3rd.

If someone has to read a sentence twice, you’ve already lost them.

Don’t write like you’re trying to impress.

Write like you’re trying to connect.

Simple beats smart. Always.

5. Be emotional

Use power words that punch the gut.

Think money. Time. Fast. Easy. Simple. Guilt. Shame. Hope. Relief.

Anything that hits a nerve will stop the scroll.

And if you’re not feeling something when you write it, they won’t feel anything when they read it.

6. Use bullets

Bullets are:

• Fast to read

• Easy to scan

• Great for rhythm

They perform. Period. Use a maximum of three and make them aesthetic.

7. Create coherence

Start strong. End stronger.

If you open with a question, finish with a conclusion.

If you open with a twist, end with a reveal.

Your final sentence should tie the loop.

Not trail off. Not ask them to click. Just give them something that sticks.

8. No call to actions.

This one hurts a lot of marketers.

But hear this:

No CTAs. No links. No “click here to learn more.” No “link in bio”. No “hashtags”.

Even if you think it’s subtle. Even if you think it belongs there. It doesn’t.

Notes are not the place to push.

Notes are where you pull.

Let them come to you. Let them subscribe because they’re curious, not because you asked.

Trust is the new conversion driver. CTAs don’t help.

9. Write for them, not for you.

I treat Notes as the top of my funnel, so they need to be connected to my newsletter.

Your Note has a chance to go viral only after it gets enough engagement from your subscribers and followers. Too much personal updates kill your engagement.

Your audience needs value.

Deliver it.

Bottom line

I tested everything I’ve shared here.

Some of it came from trial. Some from mistakes. Some from experiments I ran just to prove myself wrong.

What worked:

• Emotional language

• Short, rhythm-based writing

• Zero CTA

• Strong visual formatting

• Hooks that created questions

• Bold opinions, delivered with clarity

What didn’t work:

• Salesy lead magnets

• “Click to read” CTAs

• Dense text blocks

• Explaining instead of showing

• Overthinking tone, underdelivering value

• Sharing too much personal updates and no actual value

I’ve built a system based on the above rules that helped me triple my subscribers growth in just one month.

Big part of my system is my custom GPT, which I trained with all of the rules above, some more instructions and more than 400 viral Notes from creators with smaller audiences, to make sure that the Notes didn’t get initial engagement from the existing audience.

Don’t get me wrong, data driven training is everything.

Before I trained this GPT with data, it only had the above rules and I didn’t get a single viral Note.

The AI needs data.

Period.

Need a Substack Bootcamp (covering Notes)?

My successful Bootcamp series is now available as on-demand course!

From zero to a healthy and thriving email list of engaged subscribers - in just 5 days!

You can get the Substack Bootcamp with ALL resources including:

• The (Almost) Daily Substack Notes Writer

• Get Started on Substack Notes in 2025

• Grow Your Substack Checklist

In addition to the on-demand course, all bootcamper will have the opportunity to meet me in May, June and July for special Q&A sessions to get an answer to all questions. See you inside!

Ready to Level Up Your Substack Notes Game in 2025?

Get the Viral Substack Notes Tool:

👇🏻Here’s the exclusive 50% OFF discount code for Online Writing Club members👇🏻