don't chase virality. chase connection.
building an audience in the age of the algorithm
In my first month of writing on Substack, I grew to over 600 subscribers — an audience that could fill a high school auditorium. I’m very grateful and wish I could say it was entirely due to my captivating, high-quality writing. But it wasn't.
Here’s what really happened:
I accidentally went viral.
This random, off-the-cuff shower thought has been floating through the Substack ecosphere, gathering views and collecting subs with absolutely no effort on my part. It was seen by 330k people, 2200 of whom clicked on my profile, 300 of whom then subscribed to my publication — that's nearly half my audience, built off a single viral note.
For the past month, I’ve been riding a validation high, watching thousands of likes and dozens of subscribers flow in every day. A part of me hoped it would last forever. But all good things must come to an end.
The note reached its 30-day shelf life, got dropped by the algorithm, and stopped getting pushed out to new viewers. Consequently, my subscriber growth stalled, my views plummeted, and I was left feeling empty, abandoned.
I had gotten a taste of fame and it only left me wanting more.
So I started chasing virality.
I searched online for ways to grow my audience, fast. I browsed marketing and growth hacking forums. I studied the methods of popular YouTubers and bloggers.
There was a general consensus: for better or worse, the best way to build an internet audience is to leverage the algorithm. This is true regardless of your platform or medium — long form, short form; video, audio, or text.
But how? The advice I found ranged from feasible to contradictory to downright useless:
Post daily. Post twice a day. Post as much as you can. But don’t post too much. Respond to every comment. Comment on every post. Go like for like and share for share and sub for sub. Choose trending topics. Write for your audience. Never mind, ignore your audience — write for yourself.
What a mess. And the most widespread, insidious advice of all: Just keep making great content and the rest will take care of itself!
Bullshit.
The algorithm could not care less about the quality of your work. Plenty of trash goes viral every day. And artists1 who deny this fact, no matter how great, will toil forever in obscurity. Algorithms are built to reward engagement:
Will people click on your post? And if so, will they read through it? Will they like or leave a comment? Then will they share it with their friends?
Virality is inherently unpredictable. But content creators believe there is a craft to going viral: make your work visible and engaging.
This means packaging your work intentionally. Choose intriguing thumbnails and titles to draw viewers in. This is vital — large YouTubers have entire teams dedicated to designing thumbnails that will get the most clicks.
“Oh that's shallow, oh that's clickbait.” Bite me. Let's be realistic here. How can someone appreciate your work if they never see it? Clickbait is only unethical if you don't deliver genuine value.
So how do you deliver engagingly? Tell a good story and tell it well. Use hooks to draw your reader in. Create moments of intrigue, of conflict. Slowly build up tension, higher and higher, until your reader can barely stand it … then release it.
Make it sing, make it flow. Make it clear. Rewrite a million times if you have to.
Do this and your work might just go viral. Do it consistently and you have the makings of an online audience.
That was the fruit of my deep dive — a strategy for harnessing the power of the algorithm.
Still, I wasn’t satisfied with what I’d found. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something important. Something deeper, closer to the heart of the work itself.
I reached out to
who has been on a tear lately, growing her audience with funny, relatable notes. I was curious about how she managed to go viral so consistently.She was open, inviting, and completely transparent about her process. Here’s her secret, in her own words:
“I don’t chase virality at all. I chase connection. And ironically, that’s what tends to resonate most. For me, it’s about writing the thing I actually believe or feel, and then shaping it with intention. I don’t go viral because I tried to; I go viral (sometimes!) because I said something real in a way that made someone feel like they weren’t alone.”
Pure gold.
Her explanation gave me the final piece of the puzzle — authenticity.
That broccoli note that went viral? It had only done so well because it was an authentic, funny little thought that tickled a lot of brains. Not because I’d tried to catch the algorithm.
By chasing virality, I’d put the cart before the horse — vanity metrics before authentic expression. But likes and followers are only satisfying because of what they represent: genuine human connection — the sense of, oh, you like me? you like what I made?
We become artists, writers, and creators because we want to connect with people — to occupy not just their eyes, but their hearts. To touch, to relate and inspire, and be touched in return. That is our highest virtue.
And virality is only a means to that end.
So how do you build an online audience? Here’s my recipe:
It stems from authenticity. Grows through visibility and engagement. And ripens with consistency.
That’s the approach I’m taking, and I’m sticking to it. I won’t chase trends; I won’t try to be someone I’m not. I’ll follow my genuine interests, speak with my own voice, and find the people who resonate with me — my authentic self.
I’ll pour my heart out, shape it as best I can, and leave the rest up to fate.
👻 weekly updates:
I spent the week learning Debussy’s First Arabesque, and I was thiiiis close to finishing the piece… when I sprained my finger playing basketball (see how swollen below). Might not be able to play keys or guitar for a week or two.
Since I’ve written off medical school, I’ve been looking for avenues to build a career in the arts. This week, for personal branding purposes, I asked my friends and to describe my clearest strength and most noteworthy personal trait. The ultimate verdict: multimodal intelligence and creativity. Let me know if that rings true.
I use artist, writer, and content creator interchangeably throughout this essay. The concepts remain the same.
Connection is also a link to Creativity. Love the message!
~M
So cool to see other basketball players on here! I also sprained my finger a few weeks ago! Love your recipe. Wish you a speedy recovery!