A few months ago, I started on Substack with zero subscribers. No audience here, no roadmap, no email list to add, and no guarantee anyone would read what I was writing. I just knew I wanted to build something new again.
Starting from zero is humbling. You hit publish and nothing happens; no comments, no subscribers, sometimes not even a single like. You wonder if anyone even saw it, and you question whether you’re wasting your time or if you should just stop before you embarrass yourself trying.
But then the next day, you show up and try again. And slowly, things start to shift. A few people begin reading. Someone subscribes. Someone replies and says something you wrote resonated with them.
Momentum doesn’t arrive all at once. It sneaks in quietly.
Now I’m over 4100 subscribers and 5,500 followers. And while that sounds exciting when I type it, growth rarely feels dramatic while you’re inside it. Most days it still feels quiet, slow, and a little messy.
It looks like showing up to share something real, even when you’re tired, because you know something you write might resonate with someone else. It looks like sharing ideas and lessons in real time instead of waiting until everything feels perfectly polished.
Mostly, it looks like showing back up.
For a long time, I thought consistency meant never missing, never slowing down, always being on.
But real life gets in the way. Work piles up, motivation dips, and some days your brain just says, not today.
After more than a decade of being an entrepreneur, failing, rebuilding, and getting back up again and again, I’ve learned something simple: some days you build, and some days you rest.
Consistency isn’t about being perfect. It’s about coming back. Coming back after doubt creeps in, after a slow week, after growth feels invisible.
Momentum isn’t built through perfection, it’s built by returning. I’ve learned that most people quit right before things start working. So keep going.
A lot of writers and entrepreneurs message me asking how growth actually happens on Substack. What should they post? How do Notes help? How do you gain traction when nobody knows you yet?
And the honest answer is… there wasn’t one viral moment.
There were hundreds of small ones.
Posting consistently. Replying to comments. Engaging with other writers. Sharing lessons as I learned them. Helping other people grow too.
Substack growth isn’t just algorithmic. It’s relational. People follow people they connect with.
Connection compounds.
So, last month, after answering the same questions again and again, I finally sat down and put everything I’d learned into a guide.
At the time, I had around 650 subscribers. Since releasing it, we’re now approaching 1,200.
Same platform. Same writing style. Just clearer structure and consistency.
I didn’t create it as some big expert playbook. It’s the roadmap I wish someone had handed me when I was starting, the things that helped me move the needle when growth felt stuck.
Inside, I share what actually helped: what to post when you don’t have an audience yet, how Notes really help growth, engagement strategies that matter, how readers become subscribers, and how momentum starts compounding.
Not theory. Just what’s working while I build in real time.
If you want someone a few steps ahead to show you what helped, you can grab the guide here:
Grab my Substack Growth Guide Here
(Just sharing what worked for me, not affiliated with Substack.)
If nothing else, I hope it saves you a few months of guessing.
If you’re starting from zero right now, keep going. Rest when you need to, and then come back tomorrow.
Momentum starts quietly. And before you realize it, you’ll look back and see how far you’ve come.
I’m nearly four months into Substack and honestly can’t believe how much has changed already. I can feel that entrepreneurial energy waking back up, and I’m excited to see where this journey leads. I’m really glad we get to build this together.
💌
Jenn from The Mom Society™