"Drop Your Substack!": Posts Are Not About You. They're About Them.
Unmasking the 'Drop Your Link' Posts: Who Really Benefits?
You’ve seen the Notes.
“Drop your Substack below! I love supporting new writers!”
“Got under 50 subs? Share your work so I can read it!”
“Let’s build community 🥰✨👇”
Sounds wholesome. Looks generous.
But it’s not.
So why do they really do it? I mean—what’s the actual reason? I’d genuinely like to understand.
It’s Never Been About Helping You.
1. It’s an algorithm trap.
These “support threads” aren’t about discovery — they’re about reach.
Every comment you drop? It fuels the visibility of the original Note.
Not yours.
Every like? Every reply?
They signal to the platform: “This Note is on fire. Boost it.”
Meanwhile, your link gets buried under 40 others no one’s clicking.
You're not getting discovered — you're getting used.
2. It’s soft personal branding.
The person who starts the Note looks:
helpful,
kind,
connected.
They position themselves as a curator, a connector.
A safe leader in a chaotic space.
Even if they don’t read a single word you write, they walk away with:
more followers,
a bigger audience,
and social capital.
You? Just another hopeful comment.
And their ✨emoji-covered subject lines✨?
They’re not fooling anyone.
They don’t trust their words to carry enough weight —
so they rely on visual bait instead of a sharp title or a compelling hook.
Because deep down, they know:
💬 A well-crafted idea beats a shiny distraction every time.
3. It’s engagement farming dressed as generosity.
They know exactly how to trigger the loop:
“If I comment, maybe they’ll follow me back.”
“If I drop my Substack, someone might read it.”
The truth: they won’t.
The whole thing is a passive traffic trap.
They post. You engage.
They win. You vanish.
4. It’s a stealth content promotion strategy.
Watch closely.
Many of these posters will slide their own Substack link into the thread,
as if by accident.
“Oh by the way, I just wrote this too!”
They recycle their own content in the chaos.
More eyes. More clicks.
Still their Note. Still their audience.
The Data Behind the Strategy
Real-world data confirms that initiating "drop your Substack" Notes significantly benefits the original poster:
Subscriber Growth: Writers who post three or more thoughtful Notes during their launch week gain 50% more total subscribers than those who don't.
Engagement Correlation: Top-performing publications (10,000+ paid subscribers) often post 30+ Notes monthly, indicating a strong link between frequent Notes and subscriber growth.
Visibility Through Interaction: Notes with active author engagement in the comments attract more visibility and sustained attention, leading to higher engagement.
Bottom line?
The original poster wins. Not the participants.
🤝 A Note on Intentions
I don’t harbor resentment toward those who start these “drop your Substack” Notes.
They’re trying things out, like many of us.
And no, this tactic doesn’t hurt anyone directly.
But let’s be honest:
it’s not exactly honest either.
I’m just a regular guy.
Altruism always looks nice — and I believe it often starts with good intentions.
What bothers me is this hidden mechanic:
Young newsletter writers — often still figuring out their voice — are being treated like algorithm fuel.
Used to drive traffic upward to someone else’s platform.
And it makes me wonder:
Do these posters see subscribers as people, or just potential wallets?
My Substack is still new.
But I take the time to connect — even briefly — with every person who subscribes.
Sure, any one of them might become a paying reader.
But honestly?
What matters most is writing content I’m proud of — and bringing together people who care about truth, clarity, and a message that wasn’t just whipped up to please an algorithm.
That’s the kind of audience I’m building.
A slow, intentional, real one.
And let’s be clear:
authenticity has a cost these days.
Not everyone’s willing to pay for it.
But those who do?
My paying subscribers get more insight, clarity, and depth in one of my articles or newsletters than in some $197 “masterclass” filled with recycled fluff you could have Googled for free.
No bait.
No “waitlist soon” promises.
Just work. Just words.
Just value.
Like the one you’re reading right now.
And yes — I drop a heavy report every month, sold for $36 outside Substack, on my site theredpillfiles.com. That’s it. Everything’s clear with me.
---
Alright, enough about good intentions.
Let’s get back to the real game — You know the kind of Notes I’m talking about.
The ones that look generous. Supportive. Community-driven.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
They’re not really built to help you grow.
❌ Why It Doesn't Help You
Let’s be brutally honest.
You're invisible.
You're link #42 in a scroll of desperation.The readers aren’t qualified.
They’re here to promote themselves, not to discover you.You become a prop.
Fuel for someone else’s metrics.You build dependency.
Relying on Notes instead of building your own machine.
✅ What to Do Instead
1. Create high-signal prompts.
Not “drop your link.” That’s weak.
More like:
“Most online business advice is just repackaged common sense.
What’s one truth you had to learn the hard way?”
→ I’ll turn the 3 most brutal answers into visuals this week.
Give value, then ask for interaction.
Flip the dynamic. Be the initiator.
Try something that demands thought, courage, or creativity.
You’re not just asking for participation — you’re filtering for substance.
💡 If you comment on this kind of post, do it to take back control — to reclaim some authority over the thread and disrupt the flood of desperate self-promotion.
2. Use these Notes to study — not submit.
Look at:
who writes well,
who gets attention,
who has real ideas vs buzzwords.
Turn “support threads” into intel gathering missions.
3. Build actual authority.
Don’t just drop your link in someone else’s Note and hope for scraps.
That’s not visibility. That’s dependency.
Instead, take the time to write your own Note.
Even if it gets 3 likes, it’s yours.
Your words, your rules, your tone.
Stop jumping into posts that look supportive but are really just engagement farms for the host.
Let’s call them what they are: Notes for the desperate, dressed as kindness.
If you’ve got something to say — say it on your own ground.
Post your unpopular opinion.
Your honest doubt.
Your latest truth.
Build signal.
Not hopes.
That’s how people remember you — not as a link in someone else’s thread,
but as a voice that stands on its own.
Yes, I know — it takes time, it’s not instant, and there are no guaranteed results.
But tell me…
do you really get more certainty by dropping your link in those so-called “supportive” Notes?
If the idea of posting your own Note crosses your mind — do it, or don’t.
Everyone acts based on what feels right to them.
Most people follow one of three paths:
They’ve done it before and know what works for them.
They have no idea, but assume that if everyone else is doing it, it must be the move.
They’re well-informed, and know what’s worth their time — and what isn’t.
I’m just here to inform. That’s it.
What you do with it is up to you.
I only do customer service for my own work — not for someone else’s Notes.
🛑 And One More Thing… before I tell you what you can actually do.
Substack Notes are rigged in favor of the poster.
They get the likes. They get the comments.
All engagement feeds back into their post — not yours.
It’s not a community. It’s a funnel.
And unless you’re the one running it,
you’re not the one getting paid.
Want real traction?
Stop dropping links in someone else's yard.
Start building your own house.
Here’s how!
You didn’t think I was going to leave the whole playbook out in the open, did you?
Behind the paywall:
– 7 real tactics to build visibility on Substack without begging for clicks
– The strategy that turns readers into ambassadors
– And the one sentence that makes your Notes work harder than any promo thread ever could.
Click. You won’t regret it.
Unless staying invisible was the plan all along.