The Headline System That Took Me from Zero to Over 5,000 Substack Subscribers in Only 6 Months

Are you struggling with growing your following on Substack?

Are you frustrated because you are following all the experts’ guidelines, posting quality content on a consistent schedule but getting little subscriber growth or traction?

If so, you're not alone—you see, there was a time when I was one of those frustrated writers.

But what if things started to shift?

What if you had an insight, an edge that could turn everything around for you?

And what if you could implement that insight very quickly, without much effort or an exhausting learning curve.

What if that insight could start bringing you NEW subscribers NOW?

Imagine you wake up and see these notification emails in your inbox:

9:30 AM - You have a new free Substack subscriber.
9:46 AM - You have a new free Substack subscriber.
9:52 AM - You have a new paid Substack subscriber.

Feels good, doesn’t it?

And when those notifications start stacking up—day after day, week after week—it feels like you’ve finally cracked the code.

Your voice is FINALLY being heard.

People are paying attention. Some are even paying money.

But it didn’t always feel that way for me.

In fact, I remember a time when that inbox was quieter than a church at midnight.

So how did I go from zero subscribers to nearly 6,000 in only 6 months on Substack?

Let me tell you a story about what changed everything.

When I couldn’t afford a copywriter, I became one

Years ago, when I first started putting my work online, I didn’t know the first thing about headlines.

I had something to say—but no one was listening.

I thought the words inside the post mattered most. I thought, If the content is good, people will find it.

Spoiler: They don’t.

I didn’t know what a swipe file was. I didn’t know why copywriting mattered so much.

I didn’t know about or understand the psychology behind writing a compelling headline.

What I did know was this: if no one opened my email, clicked on my post, or even paused to read the title… it didn’t matter how good my writing was.

Because no one would ever see it.

Back then, hiring a copywriter wasn’t even an option. The good ones were charging thousands, even hundreds of thousands for a single landing page.

Yikes!

There was no way I could ever afford that.

So, I did what I’ve done my whole life when I couldn’t afford the shortcut—I studied the craft myself.

I spent hours at the library. I devoured old-school direct mail books.

I bought every book on marketing I could find.

I reverse-engineered headlines from the best in the business. I collected swipe files like a squirrel collects nuts before winter.

I wrote headline after headline, testing them in newsletters, blog posts in my first blogs.

Headlines are the tipping point

The more I learned, the more I saw one truth rise above everything else:

Your headline is your one shot.

That first sentence is your front door, your handshake, your chance to pull someone in or lose them forever.

It doesn’t matter how great your Substack post is if no one opens it. If the headline falls flat, the post dies in the inbox.

When I finally started writing better headlines, everything changed.

• My open rates went way up.
• People started replying to my emails.
• I got more likes, restacks and shares
  

Today, I have nearly 6,000 subscribers on Substack. You can see in the screen shot above from my Substack dashboard that my growth is happening very quickly.

I don’t say this to brag, but just to show you what is possible. This is all organic growth on Substack.

If I can do it, you can do it too.

I have never paid for ads on Substack.

I just got really good at writing headlines that work.

But here's the thing: I don't think you should have to go through what I went through.

I don’t think you need to spend years figuring this out like I did.

Because I already did that part for you.

Most Substack writers quit after 3 months

When I was first starting out on Substack a couple of years ago, I spent a lot of time just looking around—clicking through the directory, checking out different categories, trying to find voices I liked, writers I thought I might enjoy.

That’s when I stumbled on this one guy. I don’t remember how I found him—maybe a comment, maybe a restack. But something about his writing pulled me in. So, I followed him and subscribed.

Then the emails started coming.

And immediately, I noticed a problem.

His headlines were... well, bad.

Really bad.

Sometimes he sent out just two or three vague words that gave no reason to click.

No hook.

No urgency.

No curiosity.

It was like he’d skipped the most important part of the post entirely.

Still, I gave him a chance. I read a few of his essays, and you know what?

He was good. Thoughtful. Insightful. A good writer, honestly. He definitely had something to offer, and he was spending his time to get it out there.

But sadly, good writing isn’t enough.

Then not long ago, I noticed something: the emails stopped coming. I checked his Substack.

No new posts.

No updates.

Eventually, I realized what had happened—he’d quit.

Another writer on Substack gone with the wind.

And I see it all the time.

Doctors. Lawyers. Professors. Engineers. People with impressive credentials and powerful insights—posting on Substack for a few weeks, maybe a few months, then quietly fading away.

The writing might be professional.

The formatting might be tight.

But the headlines?

Flat. Forgettable. Easy to scroll past. Even confusing.

Turns out, having a PhD doesn’t guarantee you can write a click-worthy subject line on Substack.

And if no one clicks, no one reads. And if no one reads, it’s hard to keep going.

I guess that’s why I decided to make my 27 Headlines available.

Because too many good people are struggling to get noticed.

Not because they can’t write—but because no one ever taught them how to start with a headline that makes someone stop scrolling.

And that’s a shame I’m trying to fix.

Steal my 27 highest-converting headlines

After years of trial and error, I compiled the 27 headline templates that have made the biggest difference in my writing career.

• These are proven formats.
• They’ve helped me grow this Substack to thousands of subscribers.
• They’ve gotten me shares, restacks, paid subs, and replies.

I call them simply: 27 Headlines That Get People to Click

But I didn’t stop there.

Because I know even a good template isn’t always enough.

You need a system. Something plug-and-play.

So, I added one more thing: The Perfect Prompt.

This prompt turns any AI into your personal copy chief.

Here’s how it works:

1. You upload the 27 Headlines file into your AI’s memory.
2. You paste in the prompt.
3. You give it your topic or article idea.

In seconds, the AI gives you headline after headline—each one shaped by years of copywriting experience and real-world results.

• You don’t have to write from scratch.
• You don’t have to guess what will work.
• You just copy, paste, and publish.

It’s not cheating.

It’s smart.

Why this works (when everything else doesn't)

There are lots of listicles out there.

There are plenty of posts saying “10 headline formulas that work” or “how to write better email subject lines.”

Most of them are fine. Some are even good.

But this swipe file isn’t theory.

It’s not some marketing fluff.

These 27 headlines were born in the trenches—on Substack, in emails, in posts that had to perform.

I’ve used them successfully for years.

I use it every day in my Substack posts to get a consistent 36% Open Rate.

They’ve been battle-tested on real people, not just “optimized” by algorithms.

And the AI prompt? That’s the force multiplier.

• It removes the friction.
• It gives you a running start.
• It helps you come up with better hooks, faster—so you can spend more time writing what matters, and less time staring at a blank title bar.

If you’ve ever struggled with headlines…
If you’ve ever felt invisible online…
If you’ve ever watched other people grow while your work sits unread…

This is your chance to change that.

Use it NOW, Get Results NOW

This isn’t something you have to study for weeks.

There’s no waiting, no complicated system to learn, no 50-page course to grind through.

But more importantly for YOU, there’s no complex or exhaustive learning curve.

You can literally implement this right NOW in your next post.

Copy.
Paste.
Headline done.

And the payoff is immediate:
✅ More people clicking
✅ More people reading
✅ More people subscribing

You don’t have to “get better at copywriting.” The swipe file already is good copywriting. The AI prompt just makes it automatic.

One file. One prompt. One action.

Results in real time.

Because good headlines don’t take time to work—they work the moment they’re read. And they could be reading your better headlines in YOUR NEXT POST,

What's inside the 27 Headlines Swipe File

Here’s what you get when you download the 27 Headlines swipe file:

✅ A PDF guide of all 27 headline formats with real-world examples
✅ A copy-paste AI prompt that turns these templates into custom hooks
✅ Simple instructions to load the swipe file into your favorite chat AI
✅ Lifetime access with free future updates
✅ And most important: a tool you’ll come back to again and again

I built this for creators who want to grow.
Writers who are ready to stop guessing.
People like me—like you—who just want their work to be seen.

Let’s talk about the price

You’re probably wondering: How much is it?

I thought about charging a lot.
After all, some copywriters charge $250 just for a headline consultation.
Others charge thousands for email sequences and sales pages.

But I didn’t make this for big brands or ad agencies.

I made it for indie writers, people like you and me right here on Substack.
People publishing essays, newsletters, and blogs.
People like me when I started.

So, I priced it at $57.

That’s it. Fifty-Seven dollars.
Less than a night out with pizza and beers.
And it could be the best investment you make this year.

Because once you know how to write headlines that get clicks, everything else gets easier.

Parting words: You’re one headline away

When I look back at everything I’ve built—the thousands of subscribers, the paid supporters, the replies in my inbox—I can trace it all back to one skill:

Writing headlines that stop the scroll.

That’s what I want for you.

Not just more readers.
Not just more restacks or retweets.
But the confidence that your ideas are landing.
That people are paying attention.
That your voice is being heard.

This swipe file can be your shortcut.
The tool I wish I had when I was struggling to get anyone to care.

You’re one headline away from your next breakthrough.

Let’s make it a good one.