I Analyzed 80+ Viral Substack Notes — Here's Exactly What Makes Them Explode
Monthly Intelligence Edition #2 from the Notes Underground (May 2025)
Hey friends!
I’ve got a banger for you.
Last week, I analyzed 80+ of the most viral Notes on Substack, from creators getting 200 to 10,000+ likes. I wanted to know:
What’s working right now on Notes?
What patterns do high-performing writers follow?
And what do most people miss?
After analyzing 27 creators across most of the 29 Note categories, I spent hours clustering common traits, dissecting emotional beats, and building tools to help you reverse-engineer virality.
What came out of it?
A 7,000-word beast of a report, with real examples, takeaways, and Note frameworks you can use today.
Here’s what you’ll get inside:
7 viral structures that top Notes follow — with examples
6 emotional tones that drive reactions (not just inspiration)
Data-backed word counts & formatting tricks to improve readability
7 universal themes that keep going viral — including parenting, burnout, creativity, and more
10 high-impact writing prompts to spark viral Notes
5 plug-and-play templates to turn your ideas into viral-worthy drafts, based on what’s going viral right now.
Normally, this level of Notes Intelligence is for paid subscribers only, but this time I’m letting you read the first 1,000 words for free.
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You can read the first 1,000 words of last month’s Notes Intelligence email here.
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If not, enjoy the first 1,000 words of this report.
May 2025 Notes Intelligence Report
Viral Substack notes share several common characteristics in how they’re structured, the emotions they invoke, their length, and the themes they tackle. Below is a deep analysis of these patterns, followed by a Prompt Library of idea starters and a Template Bank to help you craft your own high-engagement Substack notes.
Typical Structures of Viral Notes
Viral notes tend to fall into a few structural archetypes. These structures make the writing easy to read, impactful, and shareable:
🔍 Short, Punchy Wisdom – A brief insight or epiphany delivered in one to three lines. Often structured like a quote or proverb, these notes get straight to the point. Example:
📜 Micro-Story with a Twist – A very short anecdote or scenario (usually under 300 words) that builds to a single “aha!” insight. The note often starts in the middle of a personal story to hook the reader, then ends with a one-line revelation or moral. Example:
🗒️ List or Countdown – A list of items or tips centered on a theme, delivered as bullet points or numbered lines. These notes break content into bite-sized nuggets that are easy to skim. Example:
🎙️ Dialogue or Q&A Setup – A note structured as a series of questions or a mini dialogue that leads to a punchline or insight. The initial lines build anticipation; the final line delivers the payoff. Example:
This Note opens with the quote “I would die for my family” and then asks a series of rhetorical questions (“would you exercise for them? … eat healthy for them? … quit bad habits for them?”) before flipping the script in the last line: “You don’t need to die for them. You need to live for them.” This Q&A format engages the reader and lands an emotional point at the end.
📝 Poetic Reflection – A note that reads like free-verse poetry or a prayer, often with each phrase on a new line and a rhythmic cadence. These notes use repetition and parallel structure for emotional effect. Example:
This note where each line begins with “May I…” or “May this week…”, creating a meditative, prayer-like flow.
😂 Relatable Humor – A lighthearted anecdote or observation, usually drawn from everyday life, that many readers find familiar. These often employ hyperbole or absurd detail for comedic effect, ending with a witty one-liner. Example:
This Note narrates a chaotic attempt at a peaceful dinner, complete with a toddler “landscaping for the Indy 500” with a toy lawnmower, and concludes, “Fatherhood: it’s not a vibe—it’s a survival sport.” The structure is a mini-story that leads to a humorous truth.
💡 Contrarian or Thought-Provoking Claim – A note that starts by challenging a common assumption or highlighting a paradox, then provides a brief explanation. These often use contrast or “X vs Y” comparisons. Example:
This Note contrasts unhealthy indulgences with healthy habits in a few stark lines.
Formatting and pacing in these notes reinforce the structure. They tend to use short paragraphs or single-sentence lines to create ample white space, making them easy to read quickly.
Key phrases are often given their own line for emphasis.
Key Insight: Viral notes favor brevity and simplicity in structure. Whether it’s a tiny story or a list of tips, the message is packaged in a format that’s immediately clear and easy to consume in a glance. This aligns with broader observations on viral content: content that evokes a strong emotional response and is easily relatable tends to get shared widely.
Word Count and Engagement
How long are viral notes? In general, Substack notes are very short, and the most popular ones adhere to this. Our analysis found:
Typical length: ~50–120 words. Many high-performing notes cluster in this range, which is just a few sentences or a short paragraph.
Upper limits: The longest viral notes in the dataset were ~300–360 words. These are exceptions; very few exceed 300 words. Even the more narrative-driven viral posts came in around 240 words.
Ultra-short notes: Some notes under ~30 words went viral, but this was less common unless the message was especially punchy or from a user with a large following.
In essence, brevity correlates with shareability, up to a point. Readers on a platform like Substack Notes scroll quickly, so getting to the emotional core in under 150 words is ideal. Many of the highest-like notes resemble expanded tweets or miniature stories – delivering value without asking for much time.
However, note that a slightly longer note can do well if it is gripping and payoff-rich. The key is that every sentence must earn its place.
For example, this Note from Beckett kept readers engaged with vivid imagery and emotional tension all the way to the end, where the insight (“Sometimes the soul just needs a reset…”) lands. It didn’t feel long because it was paced in very short lines and paragraphs, maintaining suspense.
Takeaway: Aim for brevity, but don’t fear a few extra sentences if you’re telling a compelling story. As a rule of thumb, 50–100 words is a sweet spot for many viral notes – long enough to establish context or a narrative, but short enough to be read in a few seconds. On average, viral notes in our set had ~87 words, which equates to about 3–5 sentences in total.
Emotional Tones and Psychological Appeals
One of the strongest commonalities in viral notes is how they make readers feel. Successful notes resonate on an emotional level – whether that’s making us laugh, tear up, feel seen, or feel motivated. Research into viral content confirms that evoking high-arousal emotions (like joy, astonishment, anger, or fear) increases shareability, and these notes tap into those feelings. Here are the recurring tones and appeals we see:
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The emotional tones that drive the most engagement (spoiler: it's not just inspiration)
7 evergreen themes that consistently go viral — including parenting, burnout, purpose, and more
10 custom writing prompts designed to spark high-engagement Note ideas fast
5 plug-and-play viral templates for turning your idea into a polished, viral-worthy draft, based on what’s going viral right now.