LinkedIn Networking Sucks, Substack Is The Better Solution
Reply frameworks, DM scripts, and subscriber chat strategy, steal the full system.
Howdy, Wealth Gang🤠
The growth gurus tell you to network on LinkedIn.
So you create a profile, write a bio that sounds nothing like you, and start sending connection requests to strangers with a copy-paste message from the “LinkedIn Beginner Guide 2026” you watched on YouTube.
Then you wait, and what do you get back?
Conversations with the emotional depth of a terms and conditions page.
No wonder most busy people give up on networking entirely.
Meanwhile, Substack is sitting in the corner with a full vibe switch.
No fake engagement bait, just real writers, sharing real thoughts, building real relationships.
Substack is the best networking platform online right now but almost nobody is using it that way.
So today, I break down the full system I use to network on Substack, split into two parts:
Part 1 — Network With Your Audience
✓ Why replying to every comment is the highest-leverage habit on Substack
✓ How I DM every new subscriber once a week (and what I actually say)
✓ The Subscriber Chat feature and how the best creators are using it
Part 2 — Network With Other Creators
✓ How to find new creators worth connecting with
✓ How to slide into DMs without sounding like a bot
✓ The 2 networking mistakes quietly killing your reputation
Let’s start with the people already reading you…
Part 1: Network With Your Audience
Reply to Every Single Comment
Think about who’s reading your Substack.
They are probably as busy as you.
9-5
Maybe kids
A to-do list that never gets shorter
Their free time is precious, and they’re already spending a piece of it reading your content.
Now imagine they don’t just read it.
They stop, think and type out a comment.
That person is busy, just like you.
They could’ve scrolled past, liked it, and moved on, but they didn’t.
The least you can do is reply back.
Why Comments Are Gold
Replying to every comment is basic human respect, and it happens to also be the highest-leverage habit for the Substack algorithm.
A like takes one second. A restack takes two. But a comment takes intention. It means someone read what you wrote, formed a thought, and cared enough to share it publicly.
The Substack algorithm reads that signal loudly.
More comments = Substack pushes out your content to more people.
But beyond the algorithm, something more valuable is happening.
Every comment is a micro-relationship waiting to be built. The person commenting is already warm. They already trust you enough to engage. All you have to do is show up for them, the same way they just showed up for you.
The Reply Framework
✓ Reply to every comment, every time — on your notes AND your articles. No exceptions.
✓ Make it personal — reference something they actually said. Don’t copy-paste the same “Thanks for sharing!” back at everyone.
✓ End your reply with a question — A question invites them to respond again. Now you have a real conversation happening inside your content.
Something like:
“That’s exactly what happened to me in my first month, took me way too long to figure out. What’s been the hardest part for you so far?”
That one line can turn a single comment into a full-fledged conversation, and this convo happens to be the best way to boost your content AND build real relationships.
Now let’s talk about the people who just hit subscribe, and why the first week is the most important window you have…
DM Every New Subscriber
Most creators celebrate a new subscriber for about three seconds.
They see the notification, feel a little dopamine hit, and move on.
And yes… I’m sure they get an amazing, personal welcome email from you.
BUT Substack gives us something even more direct than that, and almost nobody is using it.
The DM feature.
Every week, new subscribers are joining your world, and most creators let that moment pass with nothing but an automated email.
Why the First Week Matters Most
Think about it from their side.
They just found your Substack. They’re curious and actually want to hear from you; that’s literally why they subscribed.
That window doesn’t stay open forever.
Life gets busy. Inboxes fill up. The excitement fades.
The creators who reach out in that first week catch people at exactly the right moment, when the connection is fresh and the interest is real.
How I Do It
Once a week, I open Substack, go through every new subscriber from that week, and send each one a simple DM.
Here’s an example from me:
“Howdy [name] :D
I just saw you subscribed to my newsletter. :)
As you might know, I help people escape the 9–5 hell by growing and monetizing their Substack Personal brand, so I would love to connect with you. :)
Are you in a situation like this?”
That’s it.
Short, human and ends with a question, that starts a conversation. :)
The goal is to start a convo, because a subscriber who has actually talked to you is ten times more likely to stick around, reply to your emails, and eventually buy from you.
Why This Works For Side-Hustlers
I know what you’re thinking.
“Timo, I barely have time to write a weekly article. Now you want me to DM every new subscriber too?”
Fair point, but this takes 15 to 20 minutes once a week.
✓ Pick one day a week and make it your “subscriber DM day”
✓ Don’t pitch anything, just be a real person saying hello
✓ Always end with a question to open the conversation
✓ Keep the message short, 2 to 3 sentences max
The compounding effect of this habit is insane.
Fifty new subscribers a month means fifty real conversations started. Over a year, that’s hundreds of people who actually know you, not just people who once clicked a subscribe button.
Now let’s talk about a feature most Substack creators completely ignore, and how the best ones are using it to turn their newsletters into full-fledged communities…
Use the Subscriber Chat
Substack has a built-in chat feature.
A direct, real-time line between you and every single one of your subscribers.
No algorithm deciding who sees it and no inbox filters, just you, talking directly to the people who care most about your work.
Most creators never touched it.
That’s like having a private room full of your most engaged readers and never walking in.
What the Subscriber Chat Actually Is
Think of it as a group chat that lives inside your Substack.
Only your subscribers can access it, which means everyone in there already knows who you are, already reads your work, and already wants to hear from you.
It’s basically a minimal viable community, where every subscriber can talk with you and each other.
How to Use The Subscriber Chat
The good news is there’s no single right way to run your chat.
Here are two different approaches from creators who successfully built a real community feeling inside their subscriber chat
The Template Approach by Anfernee
Anfernee runs structured weekly prompts. Same format, every week, on repeat.
Finish Friday — “What did you ship this week?”
Mission Monday — “What’s one desired outcome you have for this week?”
Tweak Thursday — “Drop a link to your current project and I provide feedback.”
Same question. Every week, almost zero extra effort once you set it up.
What it creates is a community rhythm. Subscribers start showing up because they know what to expect. They answer, they read each other’s answers, they start talking. Anfernee just asked one question, and the community does the rest.
If you’re time-constrained and want to run a chat without it taking over your life, this is the model to copy.
The Intimate Approach by Jenny Ouyang
Jenny’s approach is simple but powerful.
Every time she publishes a new article, she shares it in the chat, but not just as a link dump.
She adds a little background, the thought behind the piece, tomething personal that didn’t make it into the article itself.
It creates this intimate feeling, like subscribers are getting a private look behind the newsletter. Not just what she published, but why she wrote it and what she was actually thinking.
Then she ends with a question to spark a real conversation inside the community.
The article is public. The chat is personal and that small difference makes subscribers feel like insiders.
The Simplest Way to Start
You don’t need a full system on day one.
Start with Jenny’s approach, it takes two minutes:
✓ Publish your next article
✓ Share it in your chat
✓ Add one genuine question or a private thought you didn’t include in the article
That’s your first chat post.
The Subscriber Chat won’t replace your newsletter, but it has the power to transform your newsletter into something that feels like a real community
Now let’s flip to Part 2 — and talk about the people you haven’t met yet...
Access your FREE Substack Side-Hustle Sprint - your subscribers-only 5-day masterclass to build the base for a $2K/month Substack business.
I created this 5-day course for people who want to get out of the 9-5 hell and turn Substack into a real income stream — something I wish existed when I started, and it cuts your learning curve by months.
Now, it’s yours... FREE!
Part 2: Network With Other Creators
How to Find New Creators to Network With
When you first join Substack, finding creators to connect with feels easy.
You discover a few newsletters you like, follow some people, start engaging.
But at some point — usually faster than you expect — you’re stuck in a bubble.
So here’s the system I use to consistently find new creators worth connecting with.
Method 1 — The Suggestions Tab
Substack has a built-in discovery feature that most creators scroll past without a second thought.
The Suggestions tab.
It’s Substack’s way of saying: “based on what you read and who you follow, here are creators you might like”
You find if you scroll down a little bit on your For You Page and it’s the fastest and easiest way to find creators relevant to you.
Method 2 — The Network Of Your Network
Every creator you follow already has a network of their own.
Pay attention to who they collaborate with, who they mention, who they restack.
When a creator you respect does a collab post with someone new, that’s how you find out about a creator you never would have discovered on your own.
This isn’t a method you actively sit down and do; it happens in the background as you consume content naturally.
Method 3 — Curation Newsletters
Curation newsletters are dedicated to spotlighting other creators worth reading.
Once you find them, they are the most efficient discovery tool on Substack, and it solves a problem a lot of creators quietly struggle with.
Mia Kiraki 🎭 put it perfectly in the comments of one of my own Curation posts:
“I’m having a very hard time finding new people to follow (Substack, hear me out... sort out your search algorithms haha) so these types of post help a lot!”
Substack’s search isn’t great, so curation newsletters are the workaround.
3 Curations I highly recommend:
AI Creator Curation by yours truly🤠
Now you know how to find creators worth connecting with.
Here’s how to slide into their DM’s without making it weird…
How To Connect
Most DMs fail before they even get read because the message makes it painfully obvious that the sender didn’t do their homework.
You know the type:
“Hey, love your work! Would you be down to recommend each other?”
That message tells the other person exactly one thing: You didn’t read a single word they wrote.
The fastest way to get ignored by a creator you admire is to treat them like a networking checkbox.
Step 1 — Engage Publicly
Don’t cold DM someone you’ve never interacted with before.
Warm the relationship up first.
Restack their articles and leave a thoughtful comment on their notes.
When you finally slide into their DMs, you’re not a stranger anymore.
They’ve seen your name and your message lands smoother because of it.
Step 2 — Read Their Work
Before you send a DM, go read their work.
Not a quick skim. Actually read it.
This is what separates a message that gets a reply from one that gets ignored.
Step 3 — Reach Out With Something Specific
Now you’re ready to DM.
And the keyword is specific.
A genuine question about something they wrote. A thought their article sparked for you. A compliment that couldn’t have been copied and pasted to anyone else.
Something like:
“Hey, I just read your piece on [specific topic] and the part about [specific point] completely changed how I think about [X]. Do you find that most of your audience struggles with this too?”
That message does three things at once.
It proves you actually read their work. It shows you’re thoughtful and it opens a real conversation instead of a transaction.
Now you know exactly how to find creators and how to reach out the right way.
You can do all of that perfectly and still blow it.
There are two specific mistakes I see creators make all the time on Substack, and either one of them is enough to kill your reputation.
Let’s make sure you’re not making them…
The 2 Networking Don’ts
Don’t #1 — Drop Links to Your Articles in Other People’s Comments
This one is more damaging than it seems.
You see a creator post a note that’s relevant to something you’ve written, so you jump in the comments and drop your article link. Feels natural, right?
Wrong.
To everyone reading that comment section (including the creator) it looks like you showed up purely to self-promote.
Orel, put it perfectly:
“Don’t use other people’s notes as a billboard.”
Don’t #2 — Use AI to Reply to Comments
It’s tempting to let a bot handle your engagement through, sliding into DMs, and leaving comments on other creators’ notes.
Save time, stay consistent, keep the algorithm happy, right?
BUT people can tell, the reply is too clean, too structured. It has none of the texture of a real human response.
The moment someone figures out they just “connected“ with a chatbot, trust is gone.
The whole point of networking on Substack is that it’s human.
The second you automate engagement, you’re not networking anymore, you’re just running a bot with your face on it.
Two simple rules.
Don’t drop links that feel like promotion. Don’t fake replies.
Everything else is fixable. These two things leave a mark.
Now let’s turn this knowledge into action…
Next Step
Substack rewards relationship-builders more then just “writers”.
You now have the full playbook: How to engage with your audience, how to find and connect with other creators, and the two mistakes that quietly kill your reputation.
The only thing left is to use it.
Pick one thing from what you just learned and do it in the next 24 hours:
✓ Set up your Subscriber Chat and drop your first message
✓ Open your subscriber list and DM every new subscriber from this week
✓ Find one new creator through the Suggestions tab and engage with their content today
If you want to go beyond networking and build a full system for turning your Substack into a $2K/month business, I created a 5-day masterclass called the Substack Side-Hustle Sprint exactly for that.
Subscribe to Write Your Way To Wealth and get instant access to the Substack Side-Hustle Sprint.
See ya soon
Timo Mason🤠
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Timo.
I ended up reading this.. I started.. liked what I read.. and kept going.
I agree with a lot of what you said.
The DM thing. Hmm. Yes.. I could tell you stories. . . .. .
=) The subscriber chat is something I been wanting to do.. I think being on the love side of it vs being fearful is the way to go.
I want to activate my subscriber chat.. That to me would be a more public form of the DM system and less likely to require more heavy monitoring. And I wonder about the details.. I need to dive in.
✨💫⭐️
Thanks!
MM
I've read two of your articles -- they were both stellar! Now, my to-do list got longer with excellent steps to take. As a first step, I just recommended three substackers. I added a comment to the recommendation as you suggested. I hesitate to ask for a recommendation back since I've only been on Substack for a few weeks. What do you think, Timo? Should I wait a few more months or jump in with gusto?