Growth idea action plan
Substack endorsement blurbs on the welcome page
Move creator praise onto the welcome page so a first-time visitor sees who already trusts the publication before deciding whether to subscribe.
Why this can grow a startup
A newsletter welcome page often wastes the highest-intent visit on a generic hero image and one sentence of self-description. Substack lets publishers add recommendation blurbs from other creators directly onto that page. That changes the trust surface from self-assertion to borrowed proof. A new visitor can see why other writers recommend the publication before they have read enough issues to decide alone.
Key metric to watch
Substack lets publishers add up to 3 endorsement blurbs to the Welcome page.
Ian's take
From scaling consumer platforms across MENA and Southeast Asia, my default is to distrust growth work that only looks good in a slide. My bias is to treat this as a small market test first. Make the audience narrow, make the promise concrete, and let the first real response decide whether it deserves more work. I would run it small enough to learn quickly, then only scale the parts that real users repeat, save, reply to, or buy from. For this tactic, I would watch one clear growth signal before putting more time or budget behind it.
Action plan
- Define one narrow startup segment where substack endorsement blurbs on the welcome page can create a measurable lift.
- Turn the tactic into one offer, page, campaign, or workflow for the Substack and Brand channel.
- Use the evidence from support.substack.com to set the first version of the message, format, and audience.
- Launch a small test for 7 to 14 days with one success metric: one measurable growth signal.
- Review the result, keep the winning message, remove weak variants, and turn the learning into a repeatable growth playbook.
Source-backed example
Substack says publications that have recommendations enabled can add up to three endorsement blurbs from other recommending creators to the Welcome page shown to new visitors.
Source: Substack Support: How do I add an endorsement to my Substack publication? (support.substack.com)
GrowthDex source hub: Substack Support: How do I add an endorsement to my Substack publication?
Last checked: 2026-06-05T11:05:57Z
Adjacent tactics in the same lane
If this page is close to your problem, these tactic pages usually belong in the same working set.
- Substack subscriber count hidden until social proof is real 3 shared channels · 2 shared stages
- Substack skip-button copy lets browsers say not yet 2 shared channels · 1 shared stage
- Facebook group profile founder story before pitch 2 shared channels
- Firefox Add-ons no-surprises copy before install 2 shared channels
Related GrowthDex essays
- The newsletter should do the second subscribe creator tools, community-led growth, conversion
Read GrowthDex essays
The Blog turns real growth tactics into plain-English case studies by niche, channel, and buying situation.
Why this is worth your time
GrowthDex starts with tactics that founders, marketers, and product teams have actually tried. Each essay turns the evidence into a practical move you can test without pretending one case study is a guarantee.
Ian Goh has helped grow consumer platforms across Southeast Asia, India, and MENA. His work includes scaling Tiki to 100M+ users, doubling BIGO's MENA revenue in 7 months, and increasing OYO's direct booking share across 6 Southeast Asian markets.
- Helped scale Tiki to 100M+ users.
- Doubled BIGO's MENA revenue in 7 months.
- Raised OYO's direct booking share by 50% across 6 Southeast Asian markets.
Want help turning this into a growth system?
If you want someone to pressure-test this against your real market, Ian works with founders on growth, market entry, and operator-led distribution.
Work with Ian on growth advisory