u/growwith_bianca

Has anyone used Zeely.ai for marketing?
Is it as good as good as they claim it to be.?

Built a discovery leaderboard for newsletters because Substack’s own one only ever shows the same massive accounts

Been growing a newsletter myself and got frustrated that Substack’s leaderboard is dominated by the same huge names every single time. If you’re under 50K subscribers, there’s basically no organic discovery path for you.

So I built savd.site It ranks newsletters by actual reader engagement (saves, clicks, likes) instead of subscriber count. A smaller, sharper newsletter can outrank a bigger passive one.

Free to list, no invite code needed. Would love feedback from anyone here who also writes a newsletter. what would actually make you want to use something like this?

Free to list: Discover, follow, and support independent newsletter writers.

Built a discovery leaderboard for newsletters because Substack’s own one only ever shows the same massive accounts

Been growing a newsletter myself and got frustrated that Substack’s leaderboard is dominated by the same huge names every single time. If you’re under 50K subscribers, there’s basically no organic discovery path for you.

So I built savd.site It ranks newsletters by actual reader engagement (saves, clicks, likes) instead of subscriber count. A smaller, sharper newsletter can outrank a bigger passive one.

Free to list, no invite code needed. Would love feedback from anyone here who also writes a newsletter. what would actually make you want to use something like this?

Been growing a newsletter myself and got frustrated that Substack’s leaderboard is dominated by the same huge names every single time. If you’re under 50K subscribers, there’s basically no organic discovery path for you.

So I built savd.site — ranks newsletters by actual reader engagement (saves, clicks, likes) instead of subscriber count. A smaller, sharper newsletter can outrank a bigger passive one.

Free to list, no invite code needed. Would love feedback from anyone here who also writes a newsletter — what would actually make you want to use something like this?

Building a community is both terrifying and exciting. Especially alone.

So I’m doing something about it — building out savd into more than just a leaderboard. The goal is for it to actually help newsletter writers grow, not just be another place to list a link and disappear.

If you write a newsletter and want real discovery instead of competing with accounts that already have 7K+ subscribers, come be part of it early.

savd.site

Been growing a newsletter myself and got frustrated that Substack’s leaderboard is dominated by the same huge names every single time. If you’re under 50K subscribers, there’s basically no organic discovery path for you.

So I built savd.site — ranks newsletters by actual reader engagement (saves, clicks, likes) instead of subscriber count. A smaller, sharper newsletter can outrank a bigger passive one.

Free to list, no invite code needed. Would love feedback from anyone here who also writes a newsletter — what would actually make you want to use something like this?

Hey everyone,
Just wanted to share something I’ve noticed.

For a while I was using the typical “template-style” posts on Substack and getting very little engagement. Recently, I started shifting many of my Notes from generic formats to more narrative, story-driven writing.

The difference has been noticeable.
People seem to connect more with stories than with tips, frameworks, or polished templates. Stories feel human. They invite conversation.

If you’re struggling to get traction, it might be worth experimenting with storytelling. Instead of teaching a lesson, tell the story behind it.

One thing I’ve noticed about Substack growth:
There’s no real discovery layer for mid-sized newsletters.

Big names dominate recommendations, and small/new ones struggle to get seen — but the 200–20K subscriber range is where most interesting writing actually happens.

Feels like there’s a missing middle:
• Not small enough to be “new creator discovery”
• Not big enough to already have distribution
• But often producing the most consistent content

Curious if others feel the same — where do you actually discover newsletters in that range?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately after missing out on several opportunities where my target keywords were mentioned across Reddit, Twitter, and other platforms.

There's this constant tension between DIY solutions and paid tools. You can set up Google Alerts, create custom Reddit searches, monitor social media manually - but let's be honest, most of us either forget to check consistently or get overwhelmed by the noise.

On one hand, we're bootstrapping and every dollar counts. On the other hand, time is money and manual monitoring is incredibly tedious.

I've been working on something called SubHunt to scratch my own itch with Reddit keyword alerts, but it got me wondering about the broader market psychology here.

What fascinates me is how we'll readily pay $50/month for project management tools or email marketing platforms, but hesitate when it comes to monitoring tools that could directly lead to new customers or opportunities.

Is it because the ROI feels less tangible? Or because we think we should be able to handle it ourselves? I'm curious if others have noticed this pattern in their own decision-making.

For those who do pay for monitoring tools - what finally pushed you over the edge? And for those who stick with free methods - is it purely budget-driven or something else?

Been doing Reddit outreach for 2 years now and the biggest pain point isn't knowing where your customers hang out. You probably already know your ICP is active in r/entrepreneur, r/startups, r/SaaS, etc.

The real problem is the manual monitoring. I used to have browser tabs open for 15+ subreddits, refreshing throughout the day looking for relevant posts. Then I'd scan each post to figure out if someone was actually looking for a solution or just venting.

Here's what I learned works better:

Set up keyword alerts across multiple subreddits

Instead of browsing randomly, focus on specific pain points your product solves. Create alerts for phrases like "looking for a tool that" or "does anyone know how to".

Score posts by buying intent

Not all posts are equal. Someone asking "what CRM do you recommend" has way higher intent than someone complaining about CRMs in general. Prioritize posts with questions, budget mentions, or timeline urgency.

Response timing matters more than perfect copy

Being first or second to reply with genuine help beats having the perfect pitch 6 hours later. Reddit moves fast.

I ended up building SubHunt to automate this process because doing it manually was eating 2-3 hours daily. But even with manual monitoring, these principles helped me close 15+ customers from Reddit last quarter.

The biggest limitation: Reddit users can smell sales pitches from miles away. Your first comment should never mention your product. Lead with genuine advice, build rapport, then maybe mention your solution in a follow-up if it's truly relevant.

Anyone else doing Reddit lead gen? What's your biggest challenge with it?

The wrong way:
Cold DMing strangers
Arguing in the comments
Posting "buy my stuff" every hour.

The right way:
1 Pain post to stop the scroll
1 Value post to build trust
1 Direct offer to close the deal.