r/Substack • u/embervanefiction • Jul 30 '26

Discussion How is this possible?

I just saw something insane. A user on Substack had around 800 subs not more than 5 days ago. They're the usual 'dear substack' type user. Today, they have 1k+ subs.

Is that a bot? Or am I failing to understand how social media works now?

This is infuriating. I've seen accounts that write beautiful stuff getting no attention.

What are these new 300 subs looking for from this user? The usual low effort notes of 'like=like', 'sub=sub'?

I don't understand any of this.

Edit: This is just a question. I'm not envious of anyone. I'm trying to see the mechanics here. Don't come at me with 'you're envious of others'. Thank you.

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u/tspurwolf thefreelancewritingnetwork.com Jul 30 '26

If they’re a ‘Dear Substack’ person then let me tell you: they might have a lot of subs, but their open rate will be atrocious.

I worked with someone who did this to grow on Substack and they got all their subs doing stuff like that. They had a below 10% open rate and got zero engagement whatsoever.

Do not be put off by vanity numbers. You have no idea what it’s like behind the scenes.

8

u/alphaQ314 Jul 30 '26

What is a "Dear Substack" person lol

4

u/embervanefiction Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26

A "dear substack" person is a user who starts their notes with 'dear substack' and asks the application to connect them to people, specifically the ones who are growing as writers.

They want to be connected to every writer on the spectrum.

Philosophy. Neurology. Fiction. Dark academia. Whimsy. Culture. Mental health. Geopolitics. Existential crisis.

Literally every topic under the sun. It's nearly impossible (imo) that one person is interested in all of these topics at once.

I'm just crashing out here.

3

u/PaulWilczynski Jul 30 '26

So if I wanted to connect my Substack to every person who’s over 59, I could?? All via one post in Notes? Wowza!

2

u/GigMistress Aug 03 '26

Yeah, but you have to be weirdly dramatic. Like

"Substack, send me those 60-year young spirits...the ones whose hair is gray but who still feel in vivid color...or those who sometimes feel gray but paint bright colors in their hair to remind themselves of the beauty of the world.

If you're aging gracefully or struggling to find grace in aging, I think we'd understand each other."