How to Be Lucky on Substack
Don’t waste your viral moment—here’s how to prepare your Substack to turn attention into real growth.
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Now Back to the Article
This is a general concept you can apply to pretty much any area of life and in any platform of content creation, But today, my story will be taking place in Substack.
When I first started writing here, I thought:
“Okay, let me write about everything I know. I’ll keep publishing more and more until something clicks until one of them goes noticed.”
So I did that. I churned out articles, one after another.
And after about three months of doing that, something finally happened.
One of my Notes a completely honest, random thought went semi-viral.
That little note brought me 92 new subscribers.
Which was wild to me.
Right then, I thought: This is it. My time has come.
That note was my breakthrough.
I thought “This was the moment my visibility would skyrocket, people would start reading my articles, and my work would finally pay off.”
So I continued writing the way I was and waited.
And waited.
But… nothing changed.
My articles were still getting the same views as before.
No new subscribers aside form the bulk that came from my notes
My publication?
Crickets.
The world kept spinning, and that semi-viral Note got buried, lost in a pile of random stuff I had published.
So I figured, maybe that wasn't the one.
I went back to writing as often as I could.
And then, it happened again.
Another piece went big this time, a full article.
It brought in over 4,000 views and around 90 new subscribers.
And I thought, Here we go again. This is the one.
But just like the first time… everything went quiet after that.
Back to the same numbers. Same story.
But the second time around, I finally saw what I was doing wrong.
Those weren’t luck, those were opportunities, and opportunities I missed because I was not prepared.
They were opportunities to become lucky
But instead I made them into opportunities wasted.
When readers landed on my page after a viral post, what did they find?
A chaotic pile of disconnected thoughts.
No focus.
No follow-up.
Just… noise.
Like doomscrolling.
They’d get curious, check out my other stuff and bounce.
After that, I vowed to make some changes, I prepared a net to finally catch the attention being thrown at me.
To finally capture the opportunity and turn it into luck.
The third time I got a bit of attention, something different happened.
Though the article didn’t blow up like the last two,
I noticed my old articles were getting read too.
Every time this article gets liked my other articles were getting likes too.
Readers were bingeing my content.
One piece led to another. And another.
I had finally built a net.
That day, I gained nearly 39 new subscribers—without going viral.
My Substack notifications were lighting up.
Why?
Because my content was finally connected.
It had a thread, a message, a purpose.
The articles worked together.
It wasn’t as explosive—but the impact went deeper.
I started turning random attention into actual momentum.
And this is why things might not be clicking for you even when you show up:
Your Notes don’t convert to anything because there’s no solid content behind them to catch interest.
Your big articles go viral once and then fade because they’re isolated.
Your bio doesn’t convert even if it’s clear because people land on your page and still don’t know what you stand for.
Your growth feels random because you’re relying on luck instead of building a system that captures it.
You get attention but no traction because there’s no message, no focus, no throughline.
You don’t need to go viral again.
You need to build something worth sticking around for.
So what can you do to get lucky?
✅ Build a strong content library
Don’t just post Notes make sure there’s actual substance behind them.
Give people something to find when they get curious.
Create cornerstone articles that explain your core ideas these become your “anchor” posts.
Organize your posts by themes or series. You can even add a mini-directory in one article that links to all others in the same niche.
If someone discovers one of your Notes or posts, they should instantly be able to go down a rabbit hole of similar, valuable content.
✅ Connect your articles
Think about your posts as part of a larger conversation, not one-off drops. Let them lead somewhere.
Link your other articles inside your new ones whenever it makes sense especially when you're building on something you've said before.
Use a “More Like This” section at the bottom with 2–3 related reads.
Reference your older work as part of your story. Show readers the continuity.
e.g. “I actually talked more about that [here]…”
The goal: make it easy for someone to binge your writing.
✅ Clarify your message across your page
A clear bio is great but it only works if your content supports it.
When someone lands on your profile, they should feel what you stand for.
Make sure your recent 5–10 posts reflect the message in your bio.
Pin or feature articles that embody your “why.”
If you say you write about [X], make sure that’s clearly visible in your post headlines and descriptions.
✅ Create a system, not just content
Luck might give you a spike but a system keeps people around.
Build article clusters around themes.
Use tags, internal links, and short intros to show how everything connects.
Plan ahead: create a light content calendar or Notion system so you’re not always starting from scratch.
Think of your publication like a library, not a bulletin board.
✅ Find your throughline
Ask yourself: What do all my best posts have in common?
What’s the one idea, vibe, or message that runs through it all?
Write it down. Literally.
Then use that to shape how you show up in Notes, articles, your About page—even your welcome email.
This becomes your “brand” without needing a fancy brand guide.
📥 Still Available:
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Most Substack writers early in their journey, somewhere between 50 to 200 subscribers, struggle with a few common things:
Drowning in advice, but not sure where to start
Learning a lot, but not applying it consistently
Publishing, but not knowing if it’s working or just leading to burnout
I created a Premium Handbook for writers in that exact stage.
It’s filled with principles, tools, and frameworks to help you master the three core content types on Substack: Articles, Notes, and Subscriber Chat.
If you want clarity, structure, and something that moves you forward, check it out below.
Take a look inside:
Get full access and start building with clarity now!
I included a 24-hour 30% discount 🔥 to help you gear up during the slow Substack summer — so you’re ready when September’s high season hits and the internet wakes back up.
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Up Next: One of the Most Underrated Tools on Substack
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This guide breaks down how to use them to get unstuck, spark ideas, and shape your content with your readers.
For creators who want to stop guessing and start co-creating.
That’s all for today!. I appreciate you so much for reading up until here! 😊 If you think this article could help someone, feel free to share it or like it it really helps expand its reach to help others as well. 💌
Thank you so much for the shout-out! I truly appreciate your kind support, and am grateful we connected. I get so much out of your awesome content as a growing Substack publication, and recommended your brilliance to my community of readers! 🌻
I’m doing it all wrong! Thank you!