8 Lessons Growing an AI Newsletter from Zero to $30K ARR and 9,700 Subscribers

8 Lessons in 8 Months Growing My AI Substack from ZERO to $30K+ ARR and 9700+ Subscribers

TLDR: A complete growth autopsy of building an AI newsletter from scratch - 20-25% came from viral posts, Notes engagement is non-negotiable, guest posting beats recommendations for quality subscribers, and SEO fundamentals now drive both Google rankings and AI search citations.

Summary:

This is one of the most transparent newsletter growth breakdowns I've encountered. The author, Wyndo, started from absolute zero - no existing audience, no imported email list, no large following on other platforms. Eight months later: 9,700 subscribers and $30K+ annual recurring revenue from paid subscriptions launched just four months ago.

Let's start with the uncomfortable truth: virality accounts for roughly 20-25% of the growth. Two NotebookLM posts went viral, generating 2,000+ subscribers combined. The author is honest that this isn't reproducible, but offers an insight: Substack rewards high-value posts with a single, specific message and practical steps, especially those that embody "show, don't tell."

The Notes strategy is where actionable advice emerges. The half-truth everyone repeats is "post consistently and the right audience will come." The reality: posting into the void doesn't build an audience - posting AND engaging does. The author posts 3-4 Notes daily and engages with 10+ other people's Notes every morning. Every comment on their Notes gets a reply. 30-45 minutes daily just on replies.

The counterintuitive insight: don't engage with big creators because they rarely engage back. Focus on people on a similar trajectory where you can have real conversations. That's what makes the game more fun, and it actually works for growth.

The recommendation system analysis is valuable. 17% of subscribers came from recommendations, but only 5% of paid revenue. The dark UX pattern: when someone subscribes to another newsletter, Substack shows a modal with auto-selected recommendations. People click "Subscribe" reflexively to get through the screen. You end up with more subscribers but lower engagement.

Guest posting emerges as the most underrated strategy. Three posts for AI Supremacy alone yielded roughly 1,000 subscribers. The benefit compounds: people who subscribe from guest posts have actually consumed your writing. Over the long term, this means better engagement and monetization, plus SEO backlink benefits.

The SEO section challenges the "SEO is dead" narrative. An empirical study found that pages ranking #1 in traditional Google search have about 25% chance of being cited in AI Overviews. The fundamentals - proper heading structure, meta descriptions, internal linking, clean URLs - are exactly the signals AI systems use for retrieval. Google represents less than 5% of subscribers but already contributes 10% of paid revenue.

For architects and technical leaders building content strategies: the "Job To Be Done" framework is useful. Free subscribers are hiring the newsletter to stay informed and inspired. Paid members are hiring for specific outcomes - in this case, automating at least one work-related task. This distinction shapes everything about content structure and pricing.

Key takeaways:

• Viral posts accounted for 20-25% of growth but aren't reproducible - focus on value and consistency
• Notes engagement is non-negotiable: engage with 10+ Notes daily, reply to every comment
• Guest posting drives higher-quality subscribers than recommendation exchanges
• SEO fundamentals now optimize for both Google rankings and AI search citations
• Survey subscribers early to understand their "Job To Be Done" - don't wait until 2K subscribers

Tradeoffs:

• Recommendation exchanges build subscriber count but yield low engagement and paid conversion
• Viral posts accelerate growth but create unrealistic expectations for reproducibility

Link: 8 Lessons in 8 Months Growing My AI Substack

This article was generated from newsletter content. Topics covered may reflect the source material's focus and editorial perspective.