I Analyzed 1,000 Substack Notes, Here's The 10 Biggest Mistakes People Make
+ 9 Exercises To Avoid Them
One of the cool things about making something like The NoteSmith is you get a mountain of data from it.
So far, writers have used The NoteSmith 1,000+ times to get feedback on their Notes (and many have gone VIRAL)! I thought it could be fun to copy all these messages, feed them into Claude, and analyze what the most common mistakes were.
Oh, Lordy.
It didn’t disappoint.
In an effort to help you write better Notes, here’s the 10 most common Notes mistakes people make, and a quick exercise to help you fix each of them.
Tom, What Is A Note, Though?
Go to your homepage. What do you see? You’re going to see a long scroll of short posts—or Notes—from various Substack authors. Here’s a few from Don Boivin and Elin Patronella!
These are not articles. They are Notes.
Notes are short-form posts that are typically no longer than 250 words.
Articles are long-form posts that are typically 500 - 5,000+ words long.
What you’re reading right now is an article.
This is a Note. 👇
Here’s how to write a Note if you need some help.
Notes are great subscriber generators. There’s stories of folks getting 10,000+ subscribers from a single Substack Note. Last year, I gained over 10,000 subscribers just from writing daily Notes. It’s a great way to:
Grow your Substack
Practice writing
Be “present” on Substack without too much effort
Engage with your audience
If you’re not writing Notes, I highly suggest you start. 😬
And if you need extra help, try my tool, The NoteFinder—upload the full text of any article you wrote and it will find, format, and spit back at you 3 Notes to publish automatically. Completely based in your own writing, too!
Okay, now that you know what Notes are, here are the most common mistakes people make..
Note Structure Issues
Writing great Notes is kind of like a crafting a beautiful house. The structure—or foundation—is just as important as the style. Here are some structural issues many people have.
1. Weak Opening Lines
This is by far the biggest mistake people make. It’s like starting off a movie with 3 minutes of darkness (HELLO 2001: A Space Odyssey! YEAH, YOU WERE AWFUL AND I’LL DIE ON THAT HILL). Your first line is often the only thing people will read before deciding to “read more” or scroll past it.
Many writers start their Notes with general statements or setup rather than grabbing attention immediately. Here’s what I mean:
Example
Bad: “I've been thinking about productivity lately. It's an interesting topic that many people struggle with in their daily lives...”
Good: “I deleted all my productivity apps last month. My output doubled.”
Exercise #1
See how that reads way better? To help with this problem, try this exercise..
The First Sentence Flip: Write your note as you normally would. Then delete the entire first paragraph and start with what was originally your second paragraph. See how this forces you to begin with substance rather than setup.
NOTE: I’m including a huge worksheet for paid subscribers with 3 additional exercises for each major Notes mistake. You can find it at the end of this article.
2. Abstract Writing
Nothing puts your audience to sleep faster than abstract writing. Here’s an example:
Example
“Emotional intelligence is essential for effective leadership. Leaders who develop this skill can better navigate workplace challenges and build stronger relationships with their teams. It helps in creatin………..ASFASDFASDCN” sorry, I fell asleep at the keyboard writing that example.
Notice there were:
No specific examples of emotionally intelligent leadership
No stories or scenarios showing it in action
No concrete details about what this actually looks like
No named individuals or specific situations
Concrete writing is the opposite of abstract writing. Here’s what it looks like:
“At 5:43 yesterday, my laptop died during the final edit of my presentation due at 6:00.
No backup. No extra time. No mercy from my client.
That's when I discovered resilience isn't some lofty concept—it's the moment you take three deep breaths instead of screaming, then rewrite the entire thing from memory in 15 minutes flat.”
I mean, damn! Can you feel the difference? I’m sure you can.
Exercise #2
Use “The Evidence Test” to help you cut abstract writing.
The Evidence Test: Highlight any sentence making a claim about how things work or how people feel. For each, write "For example..." and provide a specific example that proves your point. No example? Consider cutting the claim.
3. Excessive Details
Ever had a conversation with someone who talked so fast they literally took flight and flew away? Just me?
People do this in their writing a lot. Details, more details, and oh! More details! They’re like a cat chasing a red dot. Don’t worry, this happens to all of us. This is actually the opposite of the previous point. Here’s an example:
Bad Example
“This morning I went for a run at the park near my house. I woke up at 6:15 AM, had a quick breakfast of toast with almond butter and a banana, got dressed in my running clothes, tied my shoes, and filled my water bottle. I drove to Lakeside Park, which is about 5 minutes from my house. The weather was partly cloudy, around 65 degrees with a slight breeze.”
Like…where is this going? Can we get to the point already? It’s not so much that there’s details, it’s just that these details don’t serve the story.
Good Example
“I woke up at 6 AM for my morning run around the lake. The maple leaves reflected in the water this morning—half green, half crimson, all reflected in perfect stillness.
I ran for 2 miles, but stopped short when I realized this powerful lesson: nature doesn't resist its changes. It displays them proudly.”
This is slightly shorter than I would like, but it still shows the point well.
Exercise #3
The Ruthless Highlighter Method: Take a copy of your draft and highlight only the essential sentences that directly support your main message. Be ruthlessly selective—aim to highlight no more than 30% of the text. Now, rewrite your note using only the highlighted portions as your guide, connecting them with minimal transitions where necessary.
4. Generic Conclusions
Here’s a problematic Note ending..
“So remember to always be kind to others and practice gratitude in your daily life. This will help you lead a better and more fulfilling existence.”
I mean… yeah? Tell me something I don’t know?
It’s a well-meaning ending, and I don’t want to tear people down.. but this is the internet. We’ve heard it all before. There is an abundance of crap here, too. How do you begin to stand out with your endings?
Here’s a good example:
“Write down three names tonight—people who shaped you but never heard your thanks.
Text one tomorrow. Call one next week. Visit one next month.
Gratitude isn't a mindset. It's an action waiting to happen.”
It’s actionable. It’s different. It’s giving people something to try right now.
Exercise #4
The Specificity Ladder: For your conclusion, write three versions, each more specific than the last. The first might be "be kind to others," the second "write thank-you notes," the third "send a handwritten card to someone who helped you this week." Use the most specific version.
Stylistic Issues
Okay, so the foundation is in place. Now let’s talk about the actual words and sentences we’re writing. Many people trip up here. Let’s dive in.
5. Inconsistent Tone
Imagine talking to someone about cute elephants when, suddenly, they bring up how crushed they are about their parent’s death. Look, it’s fine to talk about our emotions, but it would be jarring to switch to such a heavy topic so quickly in a conversation, right?
It just doesn’t feel right. It’s the same concept in our writing. Some writers mix tones like paint, and the only color that ends up coming out, unfortunately, is brown.
Example
Bad Example: “Hey guys! Just wanted to share a quick thought about economic policy that I've been pondering. The macroeconomic implications of current fiscal decisions may have significant ramifications for inflationary pressure. Nevertheless, the Fed's approach appears somewhat lackluster in its efficacy. OMG it's so frustrating to watch them get this wrong again and again!”
Good Example: “The Fed just made the same mistake they've made for 40 years.
They're fighting inflation by crushing regular people while barely touching the corporate profits driving prices up.
Same playbook, same results, same winners and losers.
It's not a technical failure. It's a choice.”
See how the tone doesn’t shift from light to serious in the “good” example?
Exercise #5
The Trusted Friend Method: Before writing, identify a specific friend whose voice you'll channel throughout the note. Write as if you're speaking directly to another specific person in your life.
6. Way Too Many Questions
When my introverted ass meets people, I get nervous and start asking them a billion questions. It’s just par for the course with me. People do this in their writing, too, and the problem is that every time you ask a question, you’re forcing the reader to expend brain power answering it.
This tires them out until they get burned out and scroll past your Note.
This doesn’t need an example.. we all know what questions are. Don’t ask the reader too many questions in your post—if at all.
Exercise #6
The Question Budget: Give yourself a strict limit of one question per note. Choose carefully where that single question will create the most impact.
#7. Passive Voice
Oh, no. The bane of writers everywhere! Passive voice to writers is like garlic to vampires.
Example
Active voice: "The dog ate my homework."
Passive voice: "My homework was eaten by the dog." Or even just "My homework was eaten."
In active voice, we know right away who did something. In passive voice, we either have to add extra words to say who did it, or we don't say it at all.
When you're writing notes, it's usually better to tell people straight up who did what - just like when you're telling a story to your friends. It's clearer and more interesting!
A quick fix to this problem is to just put the doer of the verb at the start of the sentence.
Exercise #7
The Responsibility Challenge: In every sentence, ensure someone or something is clearly performing the action. If you can add "by zombies" after the verb and it makes grammatical sense, it's passive—fix it! Example:
"The report was written (by zombies)." ✓ Passive
"The team wrote the report (by zombies)." ✗ Not passive
Genre Confusion
Our last three mistakes deal with just general confusion people have about what Notes are, and what’s acceptable here. These are the easiest to correct, because they just require a slight mindset shift. :)
#8. Promotional Content
I do like promotional Notes ON OCCASION. I think once every 2 weeks, it’s fine to directly promote your paid subscription or some sort of a paid offering.
But judging by the amount of Notes people sent into the NoteSmith that were promotional in nature, I think many people misunderstand what Notes is really about.
Notes is about providing value first, and promotion as a distant second.
Your Notes are not going to get shared if they’re promotional. If they’re helpful, or inspirational, they will! And guess what? You’ll get more free subscribers when they get shared, which can then turn into paid subscribers at a higher clip than if you just hard-promoted 3-4 times a week.
Keep this in mind.
#9. Way Too Many Words
I had a catch all rule with the NoteSmith that would refuse to edit a Note that was more than 500 words in length. It was a bad rule, and I’ve gotten rid of it, but it was surprising how many people sent in Notes that were 500+ words, or even full blog posts that they hoped The NoteSmith would just magically make a Note out of.
We have the newly released NoteFinder that helps with that now (😉), but you need to understand that Notes are not meant to be more than 250 words. Some rare talents can write a note that’s longer than that and go viral, but it doesn’t happen often.
As a general rule of thumb, keep your Notes short. This is not a blog post.
Exercise #8
The One-Minute Rule: Set a timer for one minute and explain your Note idea aloud. Record or transcribe only what you said in that minute—that's the foundation of your note. The time constraint forces you to focus only on your core message.
#10. Academic Tone
Notes is a place where people share cat photos, raw personal stories, and funny reactions to current events. If you waltz up into Notes writing like an academic (which is kinda boring), you’ll get left in the dust.
Your analysis of the financial markets of Peru can’t compete with cats, man. It just can’t.
So do this instead:
Exercise #9
The 12-Year-Old Test: Rewrite your note as if explaining the concept to a curious 12-year-old. This forces clarity, simplicity, and accessible language while preserving the core insight.
#11. Formatting (Bonus)
A lot of NoteSmith users really struggled understanding how Notes should be formatted. Let’s go over some basic rules I like to follow..
Opening sentence should be no longer than 10 words.
It should also stand on its own. Write it, press enter twice, and start another sentence on a new line with some white space between.
White space is VERY important
If you study Notes, you’ll see that lots of white space is very important. Try to put sentences on new lines when it makes sense for you to “lead” the readers eye down the page.
Paragraphs should be no longer than 3 lines long. Don’t give us a huge wall of text to read. That will make people click out immediately. Keep your paragraphs short.
Feel free to put important sentences on their own line by themselves.
That’s really all you need to know for now. I’ll talk about formatting a lot more in a future article.
4 Things The Best Notes Did Well
Sometimes authors who sent their Note into The NoteSmith didn’t get a lot of negative feedback—here’s what most of them did very well.
Personal Anecdotes: The most engaging notes often included specific personal experiences or observations.
Counter-Intuitive Insights: Notes that challenge conventional wisdom tended to get positive feedback.
Emotional Authenticity: Content that shares genuine vulnerability or emotion connects better than generic inspirational content.
Actionable Takeaways: Notes that provide clear, practical next steps are highlighted positively in the feedback.
33 Practical Exercises To Elevate Your Substack Notes
In addition to the 9 exercises I included here, I’m giving paid subscribers access to a massive list of 33 exercises to “cure” these common Note problems and elevate their Substack Notes. Download this 5-page workbook just beneath the paywall.
Also, paid subscribers get 50 monthly credits to The NoteSmith and The NoteFinder. If you’re serious about Notes, and want to start growing your newsletter by hundreds of subscribers per month, become a paid subscriber today and start using these tools.