7 Useful Notes Tips From Don Boivin
Lessons Learned From Writing 100's Of Notes In 2024
Hello friends!
Today I want to introduce you to
, someone I’ve been following since March of this year. He writes , which has over 3,000 subscribers on Substack. To me, a few things stand out about Don:He’s truly one of the best writers on Substack.
He genuinely loves connecting with people on this platform.
He is a true practitioner of Notes, publishing hundreds of Notes this year about a variety of topics.
It’s important for me to show you different perspectives on how to approach Notes and what works for other people—especially those who don’t write about writing. I personally got a lot out of this guest post, and I know you will to. Without further ado, meet Don Boivin.
Thank you, Tom, for inviting me to say a few words about Substack Notes.
I love to write so much. It makes me happy to work with words and sentences, to lay down my ideas in an orderly and thematic fashion, going over my creation again and again until I’m happy with the results. When I can finally sit back and see that I’ve created a narrative that succinctly articulates some relatable sentiment, from a place of empathy and human understanding, it’s a pure thrill. That’s why I love publishing on Substack and it’s why I really enjoy Notes.
That enjoyment is the key and my main motivation for posting on Notes nearly every day. It boosts my spirits to share a thought, an idea, an inspiration, a carefully chosen quote or image that may please some known or unknown reader. It’s the creativity plus the connection that lifts me up.
I see likes and comments as, first, affirmation that I wrote well, and only secondly as a path to growth.
1. Viral Notes Don’t Always Create More Newsletter Readers
I won’t lie; to have a Note garner hundreds of likes, or even to go viral, is a thrill. And the resultant boost in subscriptions is of course just what the doctor ordered, right? To expand one’s reach. To be seen and heard. To grow. But unfortunately, seeing a boost in your subscriber numbers as a consequence of a viral Note does not necessarily mean more engagement with your regular posts. I’ve seen the proof of this in my own blog, as well as those of a few friends; a spike in subscriber numbers immediately following a very popular Note, and no corresponding increase in views or likes of published email posts. I don’t know if this is the norm or an exception. But that’s why it’s gotta be fun first and foremost. If it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing.
2. Notes Isn’t A Marketing Platform, It’s A Publishing Platform
I don’t like to think of posting Notes as a marketing move. I think of Notes as another publishing platform, a creative opportunity that parallels posting long-form essays, but one where you get to interact in real time, using short narrative pieces as both art form and conversation in one.
A brief note on marketing:
recently commented that most marketing tactics will work if you have good content and will not work if you don’t, and therefore one should spend more time improving one’s writing than marketing. I agree. Besides not being good for the soul, it’s not fair to your readers to expect them to read slapdash, unedited, or poorly organized work. If you want to be a writer, study the art of writing, brush up on grammar and punctuation, sentence and paragraph structure, organizational techniques, point-of-view, voice and tone. There are plenty of books and workshops out there.3. Getting 100 Likes On A Note Is Rare
But let’s get back to Notes. I’ve been on Substack for one year this month and I have been participating in Notes pretty actively the whole time. I’ve had plenty of Notes get zero or just a few likes and I’ve also had a few—not many—get more than 500. I just took a look at all my Notes from the past eight months and found that about 75 of them earned over 100 likes. I broke 500 four times and one Note garnered 1200 likes.
I don’t know how this compares to others and I don’t really care (I am aware that I’m not breaking any records!). Substack will make sure you see plenty of viral Notes in your feed, leading to the feeling everyone is going viral but you. That is false. Even having a Note get more than 100 likes is rare.
4. To Have Friends On Notes, You’ve Got To Be One
I should mention that in order for your Notes to be seen you need followers, so that’s the first order of business. I follow everyone who interacts with me in any way. Some of them follow me back. I also follow many of the people that Substack “suggests” on the Notes feed. Remember, in order to have a friend, you’ve got to be one. Another important way to gain followers is simply to be seen a lot on the Notes feed. To be seen as a generous supporter who often shares and promotes the work of others is the best way (promoting only work that you like, of course; being fake is yucky and unsustainable). People love that and won’t hesitate to follow you when they start to see you in this capacity. Other ways of gaining followers are writing your own Notes often (twice a day? Twice a week? Whatever fits into your schedule and feels right), commenting on others’ Notes, restacking work you enjoy, restacking your own work, and this definitely: if you read something, like it. Click that heart generously!
5. Don’t Obsess About Going Viral—Try To Be Yourself Instead
Here is my most popular Note so far:
The above Note contains 35 words and a picture of a stack of books that happened to be on my dining table one day. The words came to me out of the blue. I wasn’t trying to write a viral Note, I just had a thought and recorded it. It was pure luck that the sentiment was one that so many resonated with.
Yes, I have grown into the habit of thinking in terms of what might make a good Note or essay as I go about my day (I often record thoughts into my phone), and, No, I do not write Notes based on someone else’s template or idea of what’s got potential for “traction” or “virability.” It’s so much easier to just be myself, experiment, note what works and what doesn’t. Of course, I read the tips and advice that come my way. If it feels right, I’ll implement it, and if it makes me uncomfortable, I’ll ignore it.
Tom researches the changing algorithms and trends in Notes (thank you for your hard work, Tom!). Apparently, right now it’s all about “story” Notes that are longer than the traditional Note, sometimes going on for hundreds of words. These Notes are all over the feed right now and some are getting lots of attention. Personally, I don’t know how long this trend will last. I’m already skimming and skipping many of them. Perhaps I’ll try writing one if I find myself inspired, but for the most part I’ll stick to relying on my own inspiration—sometimes my Notes are long, most often they’re short.
6. A Note Should Only Be As Long As It Needs To Be
I will say that my third most popular Note (here), not a story but a list of advice for people new to Substack, was quite long, at 923 words, but the top two were well under 50 words each. (here and here)
I can’t repeat this often enough: A Note or post should be as long as it needs to be to say what you want to say and not a word longer.
I know that Tom has worked one-on-one with writers, helping them edit down their stories, removing redundancies and irrelevancies and awkward qualifiers (“I think” “I would say” “My opinion is...”). Terse, tight, and to the point is the goal!
7. Ask Yourself Why People Would Be Interested In This Particular Note
Another piece of advice: Do ask yourself, when composing a Note, why others would be interested in what you have to say. Would you find this Note engaging if you came across it in the Notes feed? Does it address a relatable human question or is it specific only to a few people? For example, telling people you’ve found a great doctor in Boston for your hip surgery is of limited appeal, but telling them about the epiphany you had while recovering from that surgery, and how it led to your resolve to spend more time with family; that’s going to resonate.
The most important thing, though, is to be yourself and to engage in a way that brings you joy.
I wish you all great luck and ever-improving skill. Thanks again to Tom for all of his hard work and for inviting me to say a few words about Substack Notes.
Special thanks to
for writing this guest post for us. Subscribe to his newsletter, , and give him a follow on Substack as well! | A guest post by
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Tom, thank you so much for sharing my letter with your readers. You did such a fabulous job of laying it out, adding subtitles, and organizing it in an easily digestible way. We make a great team lol!
I'm deeply grateful. 🙏💚
Tom and Don, this was so helpful for me today. I have been scratching my head about the Notes I write that seem to "take off" in terms of relatability and engagement - they are, as you wrote, the micro-stories that showcase something specific about my kids or a snippet from real life. My shorter Notes get maybe 1 or 2 likes.
But to know, from both of you, that it's normal to post Notes that don't get a lot of traction, and really, we need to write what is meaningful and fun and playful TO US without feeling bogged down by algorithms and metrics - that is most helpful to me.
You both are incredible, and I feel honored to have connected with you and your work here on Substack!