Say Something True: The Only Notes Strategy You Need

A few words on getting traction on Notes and a Midstack Notes share thread

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Notes since the feature was first released, and I’m sure I’m not alone among our Midstack community.

I’m by nature more of an observer, especially on social media. Social media feeds overwhelm me, and I hate the expectation that I need to share, share, share (the details of my life, my inner thoughts) to succeed on them.

There are weeks when I spend a lot of time on Notes — posting my own, commenting on others’, restacking. Then there are weeks when I don’t want all the noise.

I recently had a series of semi-viral Notes, which led to thousands of new subscribers, and I’ve spent a lot of time wondering why these Notes resonated and why certain Notes are impactful more generally and some are not.

Here’s one of them:

I didn’t say anything that particularly profound or personal.

I just said something that I felt was true, deep in my bones, in that moment.

Soon I couldn’t stop noticing: The Notes that I was pulled to when I was scrolling — like these from ProfessorMeredith, Kimberlee Murray, and Caitlin Weaver — were often the same ones that others responded to because they said something true, simply and honestly.

They weren’t written with the help of a Notes hack or a formula or a piece of marketing. They weren’t a link drop. (Not that there’s anything wrong with posting links on Notes; I do it!)

I wrote each of the semi-viral Notes in a matter of seconds — not as carefully constructed marketing attempts — because I felt each of these sentiments deep in my bones.

Maybe your feed is inundated with Notes growth strategy advice or Notes formulas from Substack gurus.

Instead, try writing one thing on your mind that you believe in your heart, or that you question, or that you want others to know.

💬 Share a Note of yours below, or an example of another writer’s Note that resonated with you. And then take a minute to comment on or share another Note.