Something people often don't think about when they're doing something like this is what YOU get out of those relationships. At first, you're trying to connect and build your newsletter but at some point you realize how much you enjoy interacting with everyone and discovering all the wonderful things THEY bring to Substack.
this is so true. At first, it feels formulaic and selfish - but in the giving we get . . . folks who don't do it, don't understand! thanks for sharing !
I actually started interacting in the comments of other people's posts because I really identified with the topic. Before I knew it, I was replying to other comments as well and ended up talking to people through private messages. I met some really interesting people and learned about experiences that were completely different from mine!
Hi Paulo, I'm Jeremy. I see we both write about investing and enjoy learning. I will read some of your posts to see what I can learn and share with my audience. You're welcome to do the same. If not, keep learning.
of course - one more thing - I always upload in batches
for example, if you have 3000 to move . . .pull the BEST 300 leads you have and put them in the new platform and mail a few times so you can anchor good open rates
then move the next 600 and mail a few times
this keeps open rates and internal signals high
by the time you get to your worst leads, the platform trusts you
then delete any undeliverable, etc, don't just mark them or exclude them, get them OUT
We are just following normal funnel mechanics, a few of us are doing it with different funnels, it's really just going back to building trust in here, then sending them to a low ticket workshop
As always, great article Sean! Thank you for sharing the knowledge behind your success.
Do you think that what is even more important is WHAT you are writing about? Of course, your advice are applicable to any niche, but some topics, especially about marketing, business, growing on social media… are hot topics now and more people follow those who talk about them. Shouldn’t we take that into consideration?
Yes, you are right. As with everything, reach and number of people does not equal quality leads or community. One should ask themselves that question- what is the real goal? But even when the goal is the right audience, there is still an internal fight against wanting to have big numbers…
Meaningful commenting takes an immense amount of thought and actually reading through interactions. It's one of the most basic social skills that we're meant to pick up as we grow.
This is the type of thing you can do on any social media platform, but it's one that has to be done with genuine interest in reaching out and connecting with others. Most people can sense this regardless of whether it's through a screen or in person.
I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the people that I've connected with from other platforms!
This is interesting, Sean! Are you telling us that by commenting on a post like this one, we could be gaining subscribers?
👋
Does this replace the "subscribe and I'll subscribe back" scheme? Just to be clear: I always subscribe back, especially to people reading this right now. It's just that it tends to flood my inbox.
yes definitely you want to be strategic about it, specifically targeting folks who might be a good fit - but my experience is, without taking some much time that you lose a ton of efficiency - a bit of a balance
but yes, in concept, yes, target the right newsletters and publications
Ha ha, yeah, it's still a matter of personally building trust and connection, kind of like I am doing here by personally responding . ,not just mindlessly making zillions of comments !
This is almost exactly how I do it, particularly going 2-3 levels deep in the followers. Saw lots of growth when I did this. Haven't done it in a while due to a crazy end of the year schedule, but back on it in 2025.
I am blown away by all these amazing comments! thank you!
Something people often don't think about when they're doing something like this is what YOU get out of those relationships. At first, you're trying to connect and build your newsletter but at some point you realize how much you enjoy interacting with everyone and discovering all the wonderful things THEY bring to Substack.
this is so true. At first, it feels formulaic and selfish - but in the giving we get . . . folks who don't do it, don't understand! thanks for sharing !
I actually started interacting in the comments of other people's posts because I really identified with the topic. Before I knew it, I was replying to other comments as well and ended up talking to people through private messages. I met some really interesting people and learned about experiences that were completely different from mine!
yes, it's amazing how after a little bit of intentional effort, it becomes unlike effort becomes the relationships become so easy!
Hi Paulo, I'm Jeremy. I see we both write about investing and enjoy learning. I will read some of your posts to see what I can learn and share with my audience. You're welcome to do the same. If not, keep learning.
good to see you here!
Yes I believe in reaching out and engaging with others. It’s working well for me on Medium. Everyday I have several new followers..
That's awesome! love that you are getting several new followers everyday!
Yes, engaging with others definitely works! I'm doing that on LinkedIn as well
yes, it works well in linkedin too! I have fun with it :-) just like having this convo with you lol !
yaaaay!:) likewise
Sean I like this approach, it’s authentic and genuine.
Question: I’d be interested to hear how you’re exporting new Substack subs into an auto responder somewhere like Kit.
I’d love to do this but heard it might impact deliverability over time, since they technically didn’t opt in on a form with Kit. Thoughts?
Wes, over the years I've developed a complicated way of importing subscribers.
I generally use 2 autoresponders and return addresses, one I'm less concerned about losing.
It goes something like this:
I import leads there, send 3 emails over a few days, then delete all non-opens.
The I export only opens to my preferred autoresponder.
Then after 3 emails, I again delete non-openers.
This tends to leave a strong list.
of course, it's always a risk . . . as is anytime subscribers optin voluntarily, and you still get spam or erroneous emails :-)
I tend to be aggressive with getting non-responsive emails out of my autoresponders, so it's something I do even when I'm not exporting/importing.
This is great. I might reach out to you about this soon, if it’s alright. I’m going to try this.
of course - one more thing - I always upload in batches
for example, if you have 3000 to move . . .pull the BEST 300 leads you have and put them in the new platform and mail a few times so you can anchor good open rates
then move the next 600 and mail a few times
this keeps open rates and internal signals high
by the time you get to your worst leads, the platform trusts you
then delete any undeliverable, etc, don't just mark them or exclude them, get them OUT
Thanks for sharing this. Is there a proven method of converting these free subscribers into paid ones?
We are just following normal funnel mechanics, a few of us are doing it with different funnels, it's really just going back to building trust in here, then sending them to a low ticket workshop
As always, great article Sean! Thank you for sharing the knowledge behind your success.
Do you think that what is even more important is WHAT you are writing about? Of course, your advice are applicable to any niche, but some topics, especially about marketing, business, growing on social media… are hot topics now and more people follow those who talk about them. Shouldn’t we take that into consideration?
I think it depends on your goal . . are you trying to get more readers?
or trying to reach the right readers?
Yes, you are right. As with everything, reach and number of people does not equal quality leads or community. One should ask themselves that question- what is the real goal? But even when the goal is the right audience, there is still an internal fight against wanting to have big numbers…
This feels like such a relief😅 honestly, i feel like ‘grammatically correct” doesn’t always express the full essence of my ideas
Totally! In day to day life we don't always use full sentences!!
Love this method! Thanks for sharing ✨
you're welcome, thanks for the comment!
good information
thanks!
Thank you for sharing this
you're welcome
Meaningful commenting takes an immense amount of thought and actually reading through interactions. It's one of the most basic social skills that we're meant to pick up as we grow.
This is the type of thing you can do on any social media platform, but it's one that has to be done with genuine interest in reaching out and connecting with others. Most people can sense this regardless of whether it's through a screen or in person.
I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the people that I've connected with from other platforms!
Vince, you are so right - meaningful commenting is hard work - just like real life relationships! love the comment!
This is interesting, Sean! Are you telling us that by commenting on a post like this one, we could be gaining subscribers?
👋
Does this replace the "subscribe and I'll subscribe back" scheme? Just to be clear: I always subscribe back, especially to people reading this right now. It's just that it tends to flood my inbox.
So just commenting isn't going to get you subscribers.
But commenting on someone's note that might be a good person who needs your newsletter, can trigger them to go to your newsletter.
Then they have to see your newsletter and think it's a good fit.
if it is a good fit, they subscribe.
if it's not a good fit, they don't subscribe (and no love lost)
The reason I don't like, "subscribe and I'll subscribe back"
is that just gets you subscribers just because they want subscribers.
I don't subscribers for the number of subscribers, I want subscribes who WANT and NEED what I teach
I hope this helpful
Sean
Yes, you have taken the words out of my mouth! For this to happen, I also feel, one should comment on the same niche posts or notes. What do you 🤔?
yes definitely you want to be strategic about it, specifically targeting folks who might be a good fit - but my experience is, without taking some much time that you lose a ton of efficiency - a bit of a balance
but yes, in concept, yes, target the right newsletters and publications
I see, it's not quite as easy as I had hoped. Thanks for explaining though!
Ha ha, yeah, it's still a matter of personally building trust and connection, kind of like I am doing here by personally responding . ,not just mindlessly making zillions of comments !
This is almost exactly how I do it, particularly going 2-3 levels deep in the followers. Saw lots of growth when I did this. Haven't done it in a while due to a crazy end of the year schedule, but back on it in 2025.
it's working now, and once you get the subscribers of course, then they do the work for you:-)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Sean. Really helpful information.
glad it was helpful . . .thanks for the feedback!
Solid advice, thanks Sean.
Question: what's the churn from this method?
Hans, honestly I haven't done this long enough to determine churn
Fair enough. Maybe a post on churn in future?