No Engagement on Substack? Read This First
Why Your Substack Gets Views but No Engagement—and How to Increase Comments, Likes, Restacks, and Organic Growth.
Your Substack subscribers aren’t ignoring you because they’re busy or because they have too many emails in their inbox.
The reason is very different.
Many readers simply stay quiet, especially as your post views begin to increase. They’re there. They’re reading. But many of them forget to click the like button, for example.
Many of them hesitate to leave a comment simply because they don’t know whether they’ll express themselves the right way. Others don’t dare to be vulnerable in public.
Some people are simply there to read, and that’s something many of us struggle to understand.
Recently, I published an essay about life on social media - a provocative topic that I expected would generate a lot of engagement and discussion. The exact opposite happened: a high number of views, but a low engagement rate.
At the same time, I have posts with more than 3 000 views, plenty of likes, hundreds of comments, and dozens of new subscribers. On top of that, my revenue increased because of them.
So why does this happen, and how do you fix it?
The truth is that every Substack creator goes through this challenge. We think we have no visibility, when in reality, it’s there - it just isn’t measured in the way we’re used to.
Engagement and visibility on Substack are not the same thing.
That’s exactly what I recently had to explain during one of my 1:1 Substack growth coaching sessions.
Substack’s algorithm feeds on likes, comments, and restacks.
That’s the biggest difference between Substack and Medium. On one platform, you rely on an additional feed through Notes, while on the other, revenue is based on the amount of time people spend reading your article.
🔦If you want your writing to reach the right audience, join Not Exactly Ana as a paid subscriber and become part of the Visibility Project. Now is the perfect time to join the new edition because there are still spots available.
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For a long time, I analyzed what exactly helps me generate engagement so I wouldn’t have to rely on momentum alone.
It turned out that every post containing a personal story receives significantly more engagement and visibility than any dry, theory-based post.
That’s exactly why I encourage you to allow yourself to be vulnerable from time to time.
No matter what you write about, always include a small example from your own life or introduce your audience to who you are. It’s much easier for someone to connect with another human being than to feel like they’re being spoken to by a teacher or an AI robot.
Go back to your older Substack posts and reply to the comments. It’s one of the things many people forget to do - including me.
Every time you reply to a comment, you’re showing activity, and the algorithm counts that as a positive signal. Those are the moments when your post starts “working” for the algorithm again.
Try to reply with a question so you can keep the conversation going, especially when the post is personal and emotional.
I believe this works well for fiction writers too, because you can always ask which character left the biggest impression or invite readers to share their thoughts.
Don’t forget that feedback is what creates engagement.
And don’t forget to restack your older posts as well.
Restack quotes from them.
Also, make sure to invest time in external sources of direct organic traffic, such as Pinterest.
That’s exactly why I created my Pinterest guide, because I know how many people need additional guidance. And let’s admit it - we’re all exhausted by AI advice that simply doesn’t work.
If you want more engagement on your Substack posts, learn how to speak directly to your audience.
Look for opportunities to communicate with them.
Share short personal thoughts in Notes.
Share quotes that resonated with you.
Share both your happiness and your struggles, because you never know who might be going through the same thing as you.
Reply to comments, because if someone has taken five minutes of their time to read your work and show you respect, then you can take those same five minutes to show them that they matter to you.
And perhaps one of the most important principles I’ve followed on my journey from zero to nearly 5 000 subscribers is to be a reader, not just a writer, on Substack.
I make time for other authors - that’s where the key to additional engagement truly lies.
Allow yourself to be brave enough to step outside your own feed and spend time in someone else’s. By that, I mean setting aside time on certain days to engage not only with other people’s posts, but also with their Notes.
The more places you show up, the more people begin to notice you.
And in doing so, you’re not just building visibility and engagement- people begin to associate you with the person you are.
And don’t forget: at the end of every article, leave a comment button and ask your audience one question.
It can be something as simple as, “How are you feeling today?” even if it has nothing to do with the topic.
Believe me, it’s often the simplest questions that create the best discussions.
Thank you, Nicole Alta for the trust - and I wish you so much success in your Substack journey. I believe in you!
📌Starting this month, I’ve launched my limited 1:1 coaching sessions.
These are conversations with me where we’ll map out your Substack journey together so you can achieve the results you’re aiming for.
If you’d like me to share my experience with you and show you how to apply it to your own Substack, join by clicking the button below and choosing the 1:1 Substack Session plan, or feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions.
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I’m one of those people who don’t know how to comment the right way…
Thank you for this article. This especially resonated with me: Many of them hesitate to leave a comment simply because they don’t know whether they’ll express themselves the right way. Others don’t dare to be vulnerable in public.
That makes sense. Sometimes that's how I feel. I'm "getting over" the very little activity around my posts and notes. Reading this article helped.