10 Things You Need To Know About Substack Notes This December
December 2024 Notes Algorithm Update
On October 22 I wrote a post about how the Substack Notes algorithm changed in 2024.
Since then, Substack Notes has undergone a pretty significant transformation. This December Notes Algorithm Update is 2,500 words long, and a 12-minute read. I’ll talk about:
10 things you need to know about Substack Notes this December.
3 tips to get more traction on Notes in December.
1 big revelation about how the Substack Notes algorithm works right now.
What kinds of Notes are going viral right now.
This is the only in-depth analysis you’ll find on the Notes algorithm. These insights come from someone with experience posting 300+ Notes on Substack in 2024, and generating over 70,000 likes over the course of the year. Become a paid subscriber now to get access to this special Notes Algorithm Update.
Also, I’ll be critiquing paid subscribers Notes in my chat this Thursday. You won’t want to miss that.
Without further ado, here’s what I discovered:
1. The Algorithm Stopped Prioritizing Stories In Late November
In October, I helped a few students write viral story Notes. One of my students got 600 subscribers within two weeks. I wrote a viral story Note on my second profile,
, in October as well. 👇But in late November I noticed something on my second profile: Personal stories weren’t doing as well anymore.
It’s weird, because in early November I wrote a variety of stories on my second profile that did well.
This story got 230 likes.
This story got 180 likes.
This story got 170 likes.
But here’s a Note I wrote later that month that probably would’ve gotten 100+ likes before November 15.
It got 57 likes.
This story got a measly 22 likes before Thanksgiving.
When you get as meticulous as I do about Notes, you can sense how many likes in a certain number of hours is normal or not normal. In November I would publish a personal story on
, get maybe 20 likes in the first few hours, then by lunchtime it would be up to 50-60 likes and steadily increase from there up to 150+.In the last few weeks, I haven’t seen a “second wind” boost in the algorithm at all for my personal Notes. They get an initial 20-30 likes and die.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Upon scrolling through my Substack Notes feed on Monday, December 9th, I’m seeing more story-based Notes in my feed now. Last week when I wrote this newsletter, I was seeing absolutely zero personal stories in my feed. I need to test on
whether personal stories are making a comeback by posting a few story Notes before I confirm to you all that personal stories are indeed “back” this December. This just shows you how quickly things change on Notes!