For the first 5 years of my career as a digital writer, I only published long-form content.
2,000-word articles on Medium.
Deep-dive newsletters.
Pieces that took days (sometimes weeks) to finish.
I told myself that's just who I was.
A "real" writer.
Someone who didn't need to chase trends or post bite-sized content for likes.
Short-form felt... beneath me?!
(Cringe, I know.)
So when I first heard about Substack Notes, I watched from the sidelines.
I saw other creators posting daily. Building momentum. Growing their audiences in ways I wasn't.
And I kept telling myself I didn't need to do short-form.
But here's the thing about resistance: sometimes it's wisdom. Sometimes it's just fear dressed up as principle.
Mine was definitely the second one.
I was afraid I wouldn't be good at it.
Afraid my ideas needed 2,000 words to land.
Afraid that short-form would somehow dilute what I'd built.
So I stayed comfortable. For way too long.
But when we decided to go all-in on Substack in 2024, I started posting Notes. Reluctantly at first. Almost experimentally.
And then... I started enjoying it?!
I loved the immediacy, the conversations, and the way a single idea can spark connection without needing a 10-minute read.
Notes didn't replace my long-form writing. They amplified it.
They became the bridge between my deeper work and the people who hadn't discovered it yet.
And it's a huge part of how we've grown to over 1,000 paid subscribers in just eighteen months.
If you've been resisting something because you've decided it's "not you" — I get it.
But maybe ask yourself: is that actually true? Or is it just comfortable?
I spent five years as a long-form-only writer.
Now I publish Notes daily and publish a new YouTube video every week.
Turns out I wasn't just a "long-form writer."
I just hadn't tried everything yet.
Worth Your Time This Week
If you're exploring how to grow on Substack, these might help:
→ Our Complete Substack Strategy for 2026 — A deep-dive article where I break down exactly what we're doing differently this year
→ Why We Launched a Second Substack Publication — Our latest podcast episode on the strategy behind Smarter Substack
→ Substack Notes for Beginners: Complete Tutorial — A full breakdown of what Notes are, how they work, and how to use them for growth
Cheers to trying the thing you swore you wouldn't,
Sinem
P.S. Speaking of Notes... we've been working on something. 🤫
A course that breaks down exactly how we approach Substack Notes — what to post, how often, and how to turn Notes into real growth.
More details soon. But if Notes have been on your "I should probably figure this out" list... this one's for you.