On Notes was the key. Having a singular vision and a strong, consistent message helped. Everytime someone liked my Note (not Substack post), I would 'follow' them. The occasional Note went viral (attracting over 1000 likes) which meant I atracted an audience to my Substack. Generally, those who liked my Notes, subscribed to the JPF Substack.

Once you get going, growth was quite fast. I went from 100 to 1000 subs within a month.