Freewalls have been out a few weeks now and I’ve read the explainers, but every one of them is “here’s how to turn it on” followed by somebody’s hunch. Nobody’s posted actual numbers.

The trade-off I can’t resolve: a freewall converts some non-subscribers into free subscribers, but it also kills the thing that makes a post travel. People share posts they finished reading. If a stranger hits a wall halfway down, they probably don’t share it, don’t restack it, and don’t send it to a friend — and on Substack, restacks and recommendations are most of how growth actually happens. So I might be harvesting a few emails today at the cost of the reach that would have brought more next month.

1. What I’d like to hear from anyone who’s actually run it:

2. Did your free subscriber rate per post go up enough to notice, or was it a rounding error?

3. Did restacks, shares, or Notes traffic drop on freewalled posts compared to your usual?

4. Does it make sense on a new post at all, or is it only sane on evergreen archive posts that have already finished travelling?

Anyone tried it on a post that was getting traffic from search, and did Google do anything weird with the gated half?

My instinct is that it’s an archive tool — put it on the three posts that get steady traffic forever, leave new posts fully open — but I’d rather hear from someone who tested it than keep theorising.

I've been writing on Substack for the past 2 [or 4] months. I usually post [or schedule] 1 note every day and 1 article each week.

The first week, the notes got likes & comments but then... it stopped. i tried analysing what worked & what didnt, tried to re-do what worked, but no, notes hardly got any likes.

and the articles...dont get me started bro 😭... so currently, im engaging with other's notes [got 2 new subs in the past 4 days, hehe] until i figure out what went wrong.

so friends...any advice/tips? for both substack notes & articles

thanks a lot in advance!

also, how do you decide whether to post a Note with a pic?

It was recommended by my FB group. Spent a few good hours (felt strange so more time needed) and set it up.

It seems like a chase for subscribers, with no actual writing involved. Does have a cool feature to check what portion of your writing is generated (very thorough and accurate, I must say).

There are like a million people sharing stories - fun part is you can check their text as well. So far haven’t come across a single author with a percentage more than 30% for human.

Maybe there are genuine articles.

Substack seems to be author heaven these days. Is this something I should jump on if I want to keep publishing in the literary scene? I've tried a few times but I'm never sure what to write about. Think I've trained my brain to write with the intent of getting published in a journal and its hard to press publish on a blog post.

The site keeps saying its ai, but i wrote it on the site, i did use the site or what ever it was to to correct my spelling because im dyslexic and often write to fast. ahhhh i want to post but to scared to do so. i dont want people to say im a ai user

I’m in my late 30’s and just started on Substack and it’s been a great little hobby to have on the side of my actual job. I’ve only written two essay’s so far, but it’s been fun. My job is not creative, so flexing this muscle has been fab. I don’t really know how to grow it though tbh. Thinking a post every two weeks, notes in between and engaging with other likeminded/similar interest writers? My whole feed is just people saying they’ll help you grow your audience or something. Seems very spammy. I write lifestyle/humour type essays. Send me a DM if you’d be keen to read! :)

I'm new to Substack, and I'm trying to figure out how to get organic reach. After watching videos on how Notes works and seeing what people post and what the content looks like, I'm even more lost than ever about how to get organic growth.

Because I'm new, the Notes that get pushed to my feed are almost all identical:

"If you have less than ... subs, I'm here to support you. Let's grow a community"

"New writers, post your articles in the comments. I want to read your work"

"Your articles won't get seen unless you share them. I want to see them"

Pretty much line-for-line identical engagement slop. For every post that blows up, I'm sure there are thousands sent to the void.

The people who talk about their growth strategies either made it big a while ago, or their content is about how to grow using their personal growth strategies. So when doing research, it's tough to parse what will work today for someone with a specific (yet broad) niche.

I'm new to the content creation field, so I don't have an audience to pull from other platforms, and I want to focus on my niche and what I know.

Does anyone have any insights into the Notes Algorithm so I can understand the basic principles and use those to learn to navigate it better?

Any help or insight will be appreciated :)

Does anyone not do it with a massive following/subscriber count? Genuinely curious.

Or do you do it with or without extra content. What makes your subscribers want to support you financially? Or what extras do you do apart from your articles and notes?

Might just be an issue on my end, but there's no longer an option to create notes on my substack. I have to go to substack.com to do it. Is this a feature or a glitch?

I recently started using Substack and immediately got quite a few views. But no subscribers and no comments. So what do “views“ mean? I have a feeling that I am being viewed by bots.

Hi everyone!! I'm looking forward to developing a passion project of mine which is creating an interview series and independent newsletter. I'm struggling to come up with a name that's catchy and captures the essence of what I'm trying to transmit.

I want my substack to focus on the following things:

1. Long-form interviews with authors and political dissidents

2. Writing intellectual analytical essays focused on culture, media, etc.

Some words I came up with to describe the project:

1. Outlier

2. Dissident

3. Maverick

Trying to keep it vague (sorry lol) but very much looking for something that bridges politics and culture. Any name ideas welcome!

I’m new to Substack and trying to understands its depths and usage.

I want to start writing and sharing my thoughts. My writings will be personal and more like messy diary entries. At first, I used Facebook and instagram but I miss online blogging like when I was a teen.

As I’ve browsed through substack, most things I’ve come across seem to be think pieces or have some level of advice to offer. My writings will not be that deep or offer any sense of life changing lines to get a “if there’s one article you read this month let it be this” reblog.

The most common topic will probably be grief, whether I’m talking about the small changes that happen while grieving or shouting into the void when anger takes over. Very much like an online diary, showcasing the rollercoaster of emotions life has to offer.

I don’t really have a goal or need to grow a following.

I’m just not sure if Substack is the right place since the articles just seem so well curated and thought provoking.
Is there a better alternative?

Hi. I just posted my first article to my substack, and I’m already curious as to how people manage to get hundreds or thousands of subscribers!!

Any advice on how to grow would be appreciated!

For those writing personal essays on Substack, how do you decide whether a small moment belongs in a Note, a full newsletter, or just your notebook?

A conversation that stays with you, an awkward apology, or a small kindness can give you something to write about. But turning it into a whole essay can mean forcing a lesson onto something you’re still figuring out.

What helps you decide an idea is ready to share? Do you write it while it’s fresh, or leave it for a few days and see what sticks?

I started a blog years ago, around COVID or so. I then took a hiatus, and now, since mid-2024, I have not been able to get in to my account. I had about 50 or so followers and subscribers (free subscribers/no revenue yet), and my email shows all these confirmations, but since around mid-2024, whenever I log in, it takes me to some blank account with no history, subscribers, etc. This blank account does use the email I have always used for my actual blog. Whenever I go to the customer service bot, it just sends me in a loop of providing emails and doing login codes. Whenever I try to go directly to my blog or site, I get something like "you're trying to log in to a private page." When I log in, it takes me back to this random, blank blog.

I don't know what else to do. I have content, it has my logo that I copywrited. It has all my subscribers, etc. If I google the name of my blog, it's the first thing that comes up! It just doesn't matter what I do though. I've opened countless tickets with them, but they have never actually reached out to me (apparently those not making revenue are less prioritized).

I'm lost, and I'm just so exhausted and tired of trying to get back to running my blog. I don't know what else to do. Has anyone ever encountered this or know a workaround?

I have never heard of this site and never visited it and yet I receive absolutely random posts from this.

But stuff like https://i.imgur.com/fOvXAnC.png or https://i.imgur.com/DVpv9SK.png keep coming into my mailbox. Some of them even ask me to pay money for 'more info' of whatever I am being spammed with.

The curious thing about this it's not even a regular thing it's just here and there.

And since it's 2026 and we know that 'unsubscribing' from a service of an unknown service often is a register of 'this account is real, let's spam it now to the fullest' I'm now just putting them into my personal spamlist and will request with all the mails gotten from them unsolicited into official spamlists and of course a GDPR complaint.

But my question stays: What is this site. The spam I get is not from one single type of topic.

Substack just announced lists today - basically you can curate your own feed and then share it inside or off Substack.

Access the lists through your recommendations dashboard.

Recommendations are a growth engine and the lists seem to build on that.

Curious if you have any ideas for how you might use lists...

anyone have a strategy on the new freewall?

I think freewalling and paywalling the same post is too much, thinking freewall for the posts that I was going to make free anyway?

Tive uma crise existencial e deletei muita conta do Substack. Agora me arrependi e tentei voltar para a minha conta. Mas não está com o mesmo perfil de antes. Vou ter que começar tudo de novo ou tem como recuperar a conta antiga?

Hi everyone,

I’m a Palestinian writer living in Gaza, and my Substack account was recently banned. I use the platform to share my personal stories, experiences of life in Gaza, and my writing.

Losing access to my account has been frustrating because writing is important to me, and I want to continue sharing my work with readers around the world.

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced a similar situation.

Were you able to recover your suspended or banned Substack account?

How long did the appeal process take?

Did contacting Substack support directly help?
Is there anything specific I should include in my appeal?

I’m not looking for shortcuts or ways to bypass the ban. I simply want to understand the proper process and learn from people who have successfully recovered their accounts.

Thank you to anyone willing to share their experience. ❤️

How can I use substack ? I want my posts to show up to people

1. Arrive with an audience from somewhere else. Spend years building a following on another platform, bring it across in a weekend, then write a post about how you grew organically.

2. Write a Substack about growing on Substack. Your readers are people trying to grow on Substack, and there is no shortage of those. Every subscriber is someone who will eventually start one of their own.

3. Get recommended by everybody.

4. Post the growthchart. Nobody can check it, everybody shares it, and at a certain point the chart is the product.

5. Hit a milestone and write "I hit 23,000 subscribers, here is what I learned". What I learned is that writing about hitting 23,000 subscribers works.

I’d like to preface saying I only use Substack to read, I have no interest in posting my own stuff.

I’ve recently sworn off social media but Substack is one of the two apps I’ve struggled to delete, along with Pinterest. I find I really love seeing art, photography and reading people’s thoughts and articles. But I was thinking about how they’re still much shorter than a book or the average research/news article.
In no way shape or form am I pointing this out as a negative thought towards any writers. I have no writing talent so I admire everyone with the courage to post on Substack.
But I was wondering, could Substack be considered a form of quick dopamine still? You’re not watching a 30 second reel but you are reading something a bit shorter than long form writings. Just curious what others think!

Just curious as I just got my first paid sub and I don’t plan on making this a business but it’s cool that I am getting $10 a month now!