If you haven’t checked Substack in a few months, we get it. We’ve also missed things. The platform is moving fast: algorithm changes, a TV app, a built-in recording studio, email automations… and rumors of advertising.
Here’s a no-fluff summary of what’s happened in the last few months, what’s working, and what you’ll want to adjust if you want to keep growing in 2026.
The big one: the Notes algorithm no longer favors your followers
This is the most important change and the one that’s caught most creators off guard. In late 2025, Substack changed the Notes algorithm: the feed no longer prioritizes content from people you follow. Now most of what you see in your feed comes from creators you’ve never followed.
What does that mean for you?
- Your Note can reach completely new audiences without extra effort.
- But it also means your long-time subscribers may not be seeing what you publish on Notes.
- Growth no longer depends on “having followers” but on writing Notes the algorithm decides to amplify.
It’s a major shift. If you’ve been publishing Notes assuming your base reads them by default, it’s time to rethink.
Restacks are now signal number one
If you only remember one thing, make it this: restacks are the algorithm’s key metric.
When someone restacks your Note, the algorithm understands two things:
- Your content is worth amplifying.
- The audience of the person restacking will probably want to read you too.
Result: Substack starts showing your Notes to that person’s subscribers. It’s the fastest way to reach new, relevant audiences.
Concrete action: spend time restacking creators in your niche. Reply with value to Notes you admire. Acting like part of the conversation is one of the most effective ways to grow right now.
Notes are no longer “casual thoughts”
Another important shift: Notes are no longer the place where you drop a three-line thought. They’ve become micro-stories.
One in three Notes now includes a photo or video, and that ratio keeps climbing. Substack has even redesigned the media tab as a scrollable feed, similar to Instagram, to make visual content easier to discover.
If you’re still writing Notes in tweet format with no image, you’re leaving reach on the table.
Substack TV: the app for the living room
In January 2026, Substack launched Substack TV, an app for Apple TV and Google TV that lets you watch videos and livestreams from the creators you’re subscribed to.
Both free and paid subscribers can access it, with content varying by tier. It’s a clear move: Substack is no longer just email — it’s a multimedia platform.
If your newsletter includes video, this benefits you directly. If it doesn’t, no problem, but it’s worth knowing where the platform is heading.
Recording Studio: a built-in video studio
In March 2026, Substack launched its built-in Recording Studio, available on desktop. It lets you:
- Record solo videos without external tools.
- Conduct interviews with up to two guests.
- Publish directly without going through external editing.
Before, you had to use Streamyard, OBS, or similar. Now you can do it all from inside Substack. For creators who don’t want to mess with recording software, this is a game changer.
Live video: now with RTMP and email notifications
The live features have grown too:
- RTMP integration: you can stream from Streamyard or OBS directly to Substack.
- Up to two guests in your live.
- Live chat that you can keep open, restrict to paid subscribers, or limit to founding members only.
- After the live, Substack automatically saves the recording as a draft post so you can email it to subscribers who missed it.
And the best part: when you go live, Substack sends an email to every single one of your subscribers. No algorithm in the way. It’s one of the few ways to guarantee you reach your full list.
Email automations rolling out to everyone
Another big update: throughout 2025, Substack rolled out email automations to Bestseller creators. In 2026, it’s opening up to all creators.
What can you do with this?
- Build welcome sequences for new subscribers.
- Automate onboarding.
- Win back inactive subscribers.
It’s what Beehiiv, Kit, and others have had for years. Substack was missing this and it’s finally here.
The rumor: advertising on Substack
Now we’re in speculation territory, but it’s worth knowing. Several analysts believe Substack will introduce advertising in some form sometime in 2026. The company has said it would maintain its creator-friendly approach, but the move is in the air.
If it happens, it’ll be a huge cultural shift for the platform. We’ll keep you posted as things get confirmed.
What’s no longer working
Quick recap of what doesn’t perform like it used to:
- Tweet-style Notes with no image: visual format is winning.
- Trusting that your followers will see your Notes by default: the algorithm no longer prioritizes them.
- “Publish and forget” strategy: with no restacks or interaction with other creators, growth stalls.
- Skipping livestreams and video: you miss the push the platform is giving multimedia.
What’s working now
- Restacking generously to creators in your niche.
- Posting Notes with a photo or video, not just text.
- Repeating your core message in different formats so people associate you with one specific theme.
- Going live to reach your entire list by email.
- Collaborating in livestreams with other creators (up to two guests now allowed).
- Trying the Recording Studio if your content calls for video.
And in the meantime, monetizing
All these changes are great, but they still don’t solve the monetization piece for small newsletters. Substack pushes you toward paid subscriptions, but we know how hard it is to land your first ones.
That’s why we exist. At Niusleters, we help small newsletters land their first sponsorships regardless of which platform you use (Substack, Beehiiv, Kit, whatever). Brands look at real impressions, not inflated lists. And our job is to convince them that a small, committed community is worth more than a huge list that ignores emails.
If you’ve been creating content on Substack for months and feel you already have an audience that reads you, it’s a good time to think about sponsorships. Sign up for free on Niusleters and start receiving proposals.
