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Laurie Stone's avatar

What has worked well for me on "Notes" and attracted many subscribers is writing mini pieces as hors d'oeuvres for a larger course on the stack. Write well. Don't ask for love. Don't ask for understanding. Don't whine. Fascinate and seduce. Make the reader hot. Make the reader laugh.

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Birgitte Rasine's avatar

So interesting Sarah, thank you for doing this deep dive! I have found, in the relatively little time I've spent on Notes, that those with larger newsletters naturally gather more engagement on their Notes. This makes sense bc they've got more subscribers. I also see that Notes focusing on life, personal matters, topics that are more emotion-adjacent, do better. Yet it baffles me when two people post very similar topics, yet one goes a little viral and the other has crickets.

This is why I don't like algorithms. They're lifeless things, and yet they're capable of triggering such disappointment, self-doubt, and low self-esteem. Let's not let them.

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