I Analyzed Every Interaction From My First 6 Months on Substack - Here’s What Drove My Rapid Growth

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It’s wild to think that 6 months ago Product With Attitude didn’t even exist.

No community. No coffee chats. No StackShelf.

I had no idea how many brilliant people treat Substack like home. Or how much I needed a place where I could write exactly how I talk aaaand have it land.

I started at 0 followers (see my piece on why that was a blessing in disguise).

Yes, I pushed hard, but the growth still caught me off guard.

This week, I went full data nerd and built a Python script to measure the impact of every interaction I’ve had on Substack (DMs excluded).

Quick Stats

• This week: 2.1K+ subscribers and ranked #63 in Rising in Technology

• Past 7 weeks: Consistently featured in Rising in Technology, peaking at #19 and never dropping below #87

It’s almost cliché to say I couldn’t do it without you — but this time, I’ve got the data to prove it

My growth on Substack would look completely different if:

• No one had ever recommended my publication - 712 subscribers came from recommendations alone (!)

• People like

  Dee McCrorey
  ,
  Jenny Ouyang
  ,
  Anfernee
  ,
  Joel Salinas
  ,
  Karen Spinner
  hadn’t consistently restacked my posts (full analysis below)

• Paul Chaney
  hadn’t bought me my first-ever digital coffee - the real mental pick-me-up

• Kacper Wojaczek
  and
  David Weiss
  hadn’t been so relentlessly encouraging

• I hadn’t been manically reading everything

  Yana G.Y.
  has written

• I hadn’t attended

  David McIlroy
  ’s workshop - one hour with David helped me finally nail my positioning

• Karen Smiley
  hadn’t introduced me to other women in tech

• I hadn’t been using

  Orel Zilberman
  ’s Writestack to schedule some of my Notes (it can get overwhelming, don’t you think?)

Before we get into what worked, here’s what didn’t — maybe it’ll save you some time.

What Didn’t Work

1. Rigid posting schedule

I tried publishing on the same day every week, I reaaaaally did. It just didn’t work.

I’m not as productive as the real, full-time writers, and my perfectionism won’t let me hit publish if I’m not happy with a piece.

The data below confirms it: for me, a rigid schedule didn’t just fail to help — it hurt.

Posting consistently matters, but there’s value in betting on quality and leaving yourself some wiggle room.

2. Cross-posting on social media

I’m rubbish at it. I said no to TikTok for ethical reasons, and my Instagram, Bluesky, and Twitter are basically abandoned.

Maybe their algorithms have figured out I prefer Substack and now punish me for it, which seems petty but also fair. From what I know

Anfernee

rocks social media, we should probably learn from him.

3. Cross-posting on Medium

I’m 100% doing something wrong here. I get zero traction there - not low, not modest, but zero.

Every time I posted, Medium ignored me a little louder, so I just stopped.

But I know

Yana G.Y.

and

Burk

get great results there, so if you want to grow, don’t make my mistake of starting from scratch without talking to them first.

What Worked

The Content Themes That Drive Growth

Do you like this chart? Use my free prompt to generate your own in Perplexity Max 🤗

When I break down my top-performing posts, three themes keep bubbling to the surface, and each one pulls in readers for a different reason:

1. Substack-Specific Content

For obvious reasons, this topic is relevant for everyone. And it shows:

• Highest viral potential

• Highest engagement rate: 0.84 comments per like

• Example: My analysis of Substack’s roadmap is still getting restacks months later.

2. Practical AI/Product Content

I write about AI and product because it’s my background, my sandbox, and my obsession.

I suspect readers show up for this category partly because it’s a hot topic, and partly because what I share is both practical (systems to use right away) and insider (the kind of lessons you usually only hear in product team meetings).

• High viral potential

• High engagement rate: 0.53 comments per like

• Example: Self-Improving Prompt System

3. Product, UX & Ethics

• Slower burn, smaller audience, except when it hits a nerve.

• Lowest overall performance… with the exception of this very post about user personas.

Nothing in these stats is particularly surprising. Let’s dig deeper.

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The Two Hidden Engines

I’ve suspected it for a while, but the numbers make it undeniable: