Subtitle: 90 days of daily consistency, honest numbers, hard lessons, and what I’d do differently if I were starting again today.
Yesterday marked my first 90 days on Substack.
Ninety days of showing up. Every. Single. Day.
And I need you to understand what that means coming from me.
I’ve built multiple businesses and reinvented myself more times than I can count. But daily consistency… the unglamorous, no-one-is-watching kind… was the one thing I had never truly mastered.
Until now.
So today, in honour of the woman I was 90 days ago when I was staring at an empty profile, wondering if anyone would care - I want to share the truth of what these first three months have looked like.
The real numbers. What worked. What didn’t. What I would do differently.
And the intentional decisions that helped me grow faster than I expected.
I wanted to share this for anyone who is also building from zero here too, you deserve honest numbers instead of polished highlight reels.
Where I started
Ninety days ago, I had zero followers, zero subscribers and one simple belief:
If I showed up with intention, the right women would find me. I decided to call this publication Starting From Zero because that is exactly what this season was.
Yes, I’ve spent years building Intentional Living Magazine. Yes, I’ve helped women step into visibility, authority, reinvention and a more intentional next chapter.
But on Substack?
Nobody knew my name and the organic algorithm owed me nothing.
I was starting from the same place every creator starts:
With an empty page and a decision to begin.
And in many ways, that was the whole point.
The honest numbers
Here is my 90-day scorecard, straight from the exports:
408 subscribers and 748 followers - from zero
178 Notes posted
22,900+ impressions
2,200+ likes
400 comments
130 subscribers that Substack traced directly to individual Notes
No ads. No viral moment. No hacks.
Just Notes, conversation, intention, and ninety days of not quitting.
And while the follower growth has been exciting, the number that matters most to me is this:
130 subscribers directly from Notes.
That was the moment daily posting stopped feeling like content for content’s sake — and started feeling like a real growth system.
The rest of this post includes the five things that worked, what I’d do differently, and the behind-the-scenes decisions that helped me grow faster.
If you’d like to read the rest and follow the next chapter as I build it, subscribe here.
What these numbers actually taught me
What surprised me most is this:
My growth did not come from polished strategy. It came from visibility, conversation, and the courage to be seen.
The Notes that performed best were not always the cleverest. They were often the most human. The most direct. The least overthought.
That changed the way I think about Substack entirely.
Five things that actually worked
1. The Note that grew my community most had no words at all
My single best-performing Note of the entire 90 days - 15 new subscribers and 191 likes was a quote:
No caption. No hook. No polished insight.
That taught me something important:
“People do not only subscribe to information. They subscribe to energy, identity and the person behind the words.
The more willing I’ve been to let myself be seen, the stronger the response.
Show the true essence of yourself.
It matters more than most writers realize.”
2. Comments beat almost everything
My top-converting Notes had one thing in common:
Conversation.
The Notes that brought in the most subscribers often sparked 13 to 19 comments. That changed how I post now. I don’t just publish and disappear. I stay. I reply. I ask real questions.
Those first ten minutes after posting matter so make sure you’re engaging.
3. Tuesday and Saturday became my golden days
When I looked through my data, Notes posted on Tuesdays and Saturdays brought in significantly more subscribers per post than my quietest days. That may not be true for everyone. But it was clearly true for me.
Your best strategy is often hidden in your own numbers, not someone else’s advice.
4. Imperfect beat perfect every time
The Notes I almost didn’t post were often the ones that did best.
The vulnerable share.... the one that made me hesitate and almost delete.
Those were the ones that landed because nobody is waiting for your perfect Note - they are waiting for your honest one.
5. Generosity compounds
One of the most unexpected lessons of these 90 days was how much momentum came from being a real participant, not just a publisher.
Celebrating other writers.
Restacking with intention.
Leaving thoughtful comments.
Showing up in genuine support. This platform runs on reciprocity. The more sincerely you participate, the more trust you build.
And trust, over time, creates growth.
What I would do differently if I were starting again today
This is the part I hope helps someone else most.
1. I would turn on paid from day one
Not because I now see Substack as a traditional subscription model but because I see paid as a form of backing for being of service.
A way for someone to say:
I value this. I believe in this. I want to support this work and go deeper with you.
If I were starting again today, I would switch paid on immediately and treat it less like a subscription and more like an invitation into deeper support.
2. I would go live more, much earlier
Lives opened up some of the best conversations I’ve had on this platform. They also did something writing alone cannot do: they let people experience your essence.
Your voice.
Your energy.
Your warmth.
Your personality.
In my first 90 days, I hosted four Lives:
one with my accountability partner, Ellen Newhouse
one with Rachel Perry - Not Done Yet, whose audience is beautifully aligned with mine
one with Jari Roomer , where we talked about making Substack home
one with Anne-Louise Harbutt, where we explored what it means to lead with soul
Every one of those conversations opened new doors. I’m officially hooked on Lives now and I’ll be doing more of them both here and through Intentional Living Magazine.
3. I would have an instant resource ready the moment someone joins
This is a big one.
If someone subscribes - and especially if someone pays - there should be something immediate waiting for them.
A welcome resource.
A guide.
A page that says: you made the right decision, and here is something valuable right now.
If I were starting over, I would build that from the beginning because those first moments after someone joins matter.
A few quiet decisions that helped more than I expected
Not everything that helped me grow was visible from the outside. Some of the smartest things I did were thoughtful decisions behind the scenes.
I designed my About page with care. I also created a Start Here page that felt styled, intentional and distinctive.
I wanted someone landing on my publication to feel, immediately, that this was different.
That mattered more than I expected.
Because on Substack, people are not only deciding whether they like your writing. They are deciding whether they trust the world you are building.
I also created Canva templates in the exact dimensions for profile images, article graphics, and email headers:
I originally made them while helping a client launch her Substack. I wanted a clean visual system that made the process simpler and more professional.
Then I realised: if this helped me, it would probably help other writers too.
So I turned it into a one-off product: 22 Canva templates for $22.
That offer did not come from trying to invent something new.
It came from packaging what I was already using in a way that could help someone else.
What didn’t work
A few things consistently underperformed.
Announcement-style Notes. Anything that felt too much like “here is what I’m doing” without giving the reader a reason to care.
Anything that felt too much like a pitch. People can feel when something reaches for a transaction before it has earned trust.
Sunday evening posting. For me, those Notes were usually much quieter.
And so were the moments when I got too precious about saving my best ideas for later.
Momentum matters more than perfection. Every single time.
The part I want to say out loud
Ninety days in, only a fraction of my followers have become subscribers yet.
I’m sharing that on purpose. Because growth here is slower, more relational, and more human than many online gurus would have you believe.
And honestly, that is part of what I love about it.
This does not feel like performing for an algorithm.
It feels like building trust with real people over time.
That kind of growth may be slower.
But it is stronger.
Who this is really for
One of the most beautiful surprises of these first 90 days is that the women finding me are exactly the women I hoped would.
Writers.
Founders.
Coaches.
Creatives.
Women in midlife building something meaningful and refusing to disappear. When I looked more closely, I found that 94% are writers and builders themselves.
It is proof of concept for the kind of woman this space is built for:
A woman with life experience.
A woman with depth.
A woman with wisdom, ideas, and a next chapter still waiting to be expressed.
A woman who is not done.
If I can do 90 days of daily consistency from absolute zero, with a magazine to run and a full life around me, then so can you.
What happens next
I’m not done. If anything, I feel like I’m just beginning.
1. Join my First 90 Days Live Review
I’m going live on Substack to walk through this report in more detail - the dashboard, the surprises, the flops, the lessons, and the questions people don’t always ask out loud.
If you want the behind-the-scenes version, make sure you’re subscribed so you get the invite and the replay.
2. Book a Pick My Brain session
I’ve opened a small number of 45-minute Pick My Brain calls for women who want focused support on their Substack, visibility, positioning, personal brand, or next chapter.
If you want thoughtful eyes on what you’re building, this is the closest way to work with me directly.
3. Get the Substack Branding Kit
If you’ve seen my visuals and wondered how I’m creating that polished editorial look, I’ve bundled the exact system into my Substack Branding Kit.
It includes 22 Canva templates for $22, designed to help your publication look intentional, distinctive, and established from day one.
If you’d like the link, comment template and I’ll send it over.
Final thought
Ninety days ago, I was afraid nobody would care.
Today, hundreds of you are here.
And I know some of you are exactly where I was — cursor blinking, profile empty, wondering if it is worth beginning.
Here is my answer:
It is.
Somewhere in these last 90 days, I didn’t just build a Substack. I became the kind of woman who shows up before she feels fully ready.
If you are starting from zero too, tell me in the comments:
What could change in your life if you gave something 90 honest days?
I’ll be reading every one.
Sarah
