3 Substack Notes Templates That Turned Casual Readers Into Subscribers In the Last 30 Days
Who vote with their subscription and wallets for you
As I told published and indie authors when I attended the Leipzig Book Fair1 a few weeks back:
Substack Notes is your business card. Your newsletter is your book.
Substack Notes as the new kid on the block is really refreshing right now. That’s what I hear often from my members and in my interviews with small guys and successful creators.
When I asked you in Q1 what you’d like me to cover more, you told me Notes.
That’s why I started a Notes series where I want to cover all things Substack Notes for Beginners as I’m offering you access to me (learn from me, have fun together, dance in the Notes Club which I’ll be reopening) in the LIVE Substack Notes Bootcamp which opens its doors on April 7, 2 days left for you to join with
KRISTINAFRIEND for
⌛$149 for the next 12 hours only.⌛
In my opinion, Notes is still one of the most underrated growth levers on the platform.
When I had my rehearsal with co-host Ellen Scherr who went from zero to 21,000 subscribers in just 8 months, she was so excited when I could show her that Notes now is her #1 growth engine.
And my goal for everyone I support in the backend is also to make Notes the #1 growth engine to grow your subscriber base and paid subscriptions. Because we’re all strangers first. So we have to give give give first to build that trust. Attention is at an all-time high and trust at an all-time low.
So I picked three prolific Notes writers from the Club that could turn people into subscribers with their short form posts… to get inspired, grow your subscribers by piggybacking on their templates in the loveliest way and win new subscribers and turn them into paid fans.
If they can do it, YOU CAN DO IT TOO!
Just channel some main character energy:
A quick story before we get to the templates
First, I want you to meet my friend Kristi Keller 🇨🇦 from the old days on Medium.
In the early days of my Club, she followed me from Medium to Subsatck and joined as a member of the inner circle. Now she’s a dear subscriber. Her growth is tremendous. She uses zero social media outside of Substack.
In September 2023, she wrote in a comment of the Online Writing Club:
“LOL nobody reads my notes either. I just talk to myself in there.”
Fast forward to March 2024, one of her notes hit 4,788 likes and 396 restacks.
When I posted about her transformation on Notes in a viral long form post she replied:
“Well I can testify to the ‘stick with it’ mantra because honestly, my growth has been stupid crazy because of notes.”
No outside social media. Just Substack Notes.
So, what changed? She started experimenting, dared to be YOU-ier (as co-host of this year’s Substack Notes Bootcamp Karen Salmansohn would say) and experimented a lot.
If you’re feeling stuck, have no idea what to post and how to grow your subscribers with Nots, let me share three inspiring examples from the Online Writing Club community with you that turned followers into (paid) subscribers in the last 30 Days:
Template 1: The Provocation Note Karen Salmansohn
What makes it special: It challenges a widely-held assumption and makes people feel something, often mild outrage, recognition, or both. The key is that it takes a clear stance. No hedging.
“Every time I see a ‘Rising Stars Under 30’ list, I think: Rising from what? They haven’t fallen yet.
Show me the 60-year-old who rose from the ashes of a career that ended, a marriage that ended, a body that changed, a world that told her she was done. Show me the 73-year-old who’s still rising. Still learning. Still trying. The 85-year-old who started painting her grief onto canvases. That’s the freaking story of rising. What did you do after everyone counted you out?”
Why it works:
It flips a familiar concept (rising stars) on its head
It speaks directly to an underrepresented audience (older readers)
The comments are full of people adding their own stories which boosts reach
Old Codger Steve your relate and replied:
“At 74 I like to think I can still evolve. Take on new challenges. Still question life’s conditioning. Intellectually. Philosophically. Emotionally.”
Dee Dee Vicino added:
“Show me a 60-year-old who has just gotten her medical degree, a 70-year-old who has gotten her law degree, a 65-year-old selling wrinkle cream. Then I’ll be impressed.”
The formula: Take something everyone celebrates, ask who it’s actually leaving out, paint a vivid counter-picture.
If you loved this template, you’ll gonna love our Substack Notes Bootcamp opening its doors in 2 days with co-host Karen Salmansohn who understands perception and engagement. You’ll become a better short form storyteller, master the art of writing (viral) Notes and create aesthetically appealing visuals. As visual appeal is everything on social media that is Notes.
Template 2: The Intimate Observation Note Nora In New York
I love this one so much because it’s coming from a WOW-worthy Bootcamp grad that belongs to the category: “I knew her when she joined my Bootcamp…!”
What makes it special: It’s a tiny, specific moment, almost too small to matter, that turns out to be deeply relatable. A scene that makes people say “oh, that’s so human.”
Example:
“Today I found out that my father, who lives in Hungary, 8000 kilometers away, checks the weather in New York every single day, just to know what the sky looks like above me.”
807 likes. 61 comments. 13 restacks as I’m writing this. I bet it will get more attention.
The comment section is filled with people sharing their own versions of this exact quiet act of love.
And also for me it’s so relatable as I remember the time when I was living 650km away from my dad and he was always checking the weather on the German island I lived on. Informing me about thunderstorms or lightning warnings There was a day when he told me a storm surge would hit the island… I sent him a picture of me walking along the beach with my baby with a beautiful sunset, everything was calm… but he was right.
That night… you could hear the wind howling and the waves crshing and the nect day the storm surge had flooded the coast.
Why it works:
It’s completely specific (Hungary, 8000 km, New York)
It requires zero explanation, the emotion lands immediately
It invites readers to share their version
The formula: One small, concrete detail + one universal feeling = a note that travels
Template 3: The Anti-Hustle Manifesto Note
What makes it special: It gives people permission to want something different. It’s not advice. It’s a declaration and it reads like something people have been thinking but not saying out loud.
Example:
“I am so fucking done with hustle culture.
I want to wake with the sun and sip my coffee slow. I want to grow my own food and share meals with people I love. I want to read books worth sharing. I want to write words worth reading. I want to live a life that actually feels like living.”*
1,212 likes. 153 comments. 88 restacks as of the time when I’m writing this.
Why it works:
The opening line is a match thrown into dry grass
What follows is longing, which is much more shareable
It doesn’t tell anyone what to do. It just says I want over and over again.
The formula: Name what you’re rejecting, describe what you actually want, in sensory detail. Don’t moralize. Jusr say what you want!
🤫Psst! You can meet Ryan on Day 4 of the Substack Notes Kickstarter Bootcamp! Join us with
KRISTINAFRIEND
The big takeaway
Three very different notes. Three very different styles. One thing in common:
They made people feel less alone in this crazy world.
That’s the job of a Note.
To make one person ( I call this HOPE principle, help one person every day) read it and think: yes, exactly that.
If you want to practice writing Notes this week(end), pick one of these 3 templates and write your own version. Keep it under 300 words. Post it. See what happens.
🎉Oh and this month, Notes turns 3! 🎉
I have two kids in the house, 2 and 5 years-old.
It’s still early.
You’re not late kickstarting your Notes journey.
Hope to meet you inside the 2026 Bootcamp.
xo,
Kristina
Any Qs? Tomorrow evening my Berlin time, on Sunday, I’ll host an AMA where you can ask me anything. Don’t wait. Hit reply, let me know what you think.
PS. Here’s another great Notes template from Melanie Goodman
Substack Notes Bootcamp opens its doors on April 7, 2 days left for you to join with
KRISTINAFRIEND for
⌛$149 for the next 12 hours only.⌛
This was useful. The best Notes are usually not the smartest ones, just the most human.
Honestly, I didn't dare to be anything except myself. I don't know how to be anyone else and I believe everyone can do well on notes. There's no strategy or template for being human! I'm just incredibly active within my community and I write interesting stories that people want to read. Anyone can do this without a template. Just flex your humanity muscle. Simple.