Everything I Did to Grow My Substack: A Guide for Sports Creators

Build and grow your sports Substack from day one

Jan 06, 2026

Substack is not just another newsletter platform. It is where many new writers are making their first real money online, and sports creators are still massively underrepresented. That is your edge!

By the way…I’m the guy in the picture, Robbin Marx, your humble and grateful guide. I gave a TED talk in 2024, so anytime I wanna share a photo of myself, I use this one. Don’t judge me…lol

If you are tired of dropping articles into the void and hoping someone important sees them, this is your chance to build a real home for your work, own your audience, and turn your sports brain into something that compounds over time.

Opening Tipoff

Sport Stacker did not start in a boardroom. It started with me standing in line at Target. Cart full. Brain fried. Half thinking about dinner and half scrolling. Then this quirky idea popped into my head.

What if sports creators actually had a place to support each other’s work instead of grinding alone. What if we could turn all these scattered game threads, breakdowns, and newsletters into a connected ecosystem. That thought turned into our first #31DaySprint in December 2025. I sent one lone Note into the universe and somehow a movement was born. Sports writers, podcasters, analysts, and creators all raised their hands and said they were in.

I’m not exactly looking for a new project. I’m a two time dad, a husband, an award winning author, and a social media marketer with more spinning plates than you can count. The last thing I needed was another thing to do. Ya di yadi ya da. From the outside, my life already looked pretty full.

But something was missing. There was no true home built specifically for sports creators who wanted to grow together, share what works, and stop treating their best ideas like disposable social posts. Out of that gap, Sport Stackers was born. Organically. Naturally. From one Note and a group of writers who genuinely care about each other’s content.

This is the first of many articles to help you unpack how the Substack platform really works for sports creators and also share other ways to use social media and digital tools to grow, earn more, and create more impact with the work you already love doing.

What Substack Really Is

More Than “A Newsletter”

Calling Substack a newsletter tool is like calling game film “just video.” Technically correct, totally missing the point. Substack mixes three things in one place.

Email, so you land in inboxes
A publication, so your work lives on the open web
Discovery, so new readers can actually find you

That combo is why it works so well for sports journalists, analysts, and creators who want subscribers instead of just followers.

The Three Layers Of Substack

Think of Substack as a three layer system.

Layer one is your newsletter. These are the posts/articles that get emailed to subscribers.
Layer two is your publication. This is your site, your hub, your home on the web.
Layer three is the discovery network. Notes, recommendations, and search that help new people stumble into your world.

Most writers only use layer one. They hit publish, send emails, and wonder why growth feels so slow. You are going to use all three layers, so you are not relying on Hail Mary plays.

Your Profile And Your Publication

Your Profile

Your profile is you as a person. It carries your face, your short bio, and your promise to the reader. Anywhere you comment, post a note, or show up around Substack, people see that profile and can click through to your publication.

Make it clear and specific. Let people know you are here for…readers who are obsessed with your topic!

Important: We recommend using a photo of yourself for your profile image…not your Logo. You can use that for your publication. Readers connect with humans… not with nifty symbols and fonts.

Your Publication

Your publication is your brand. It is where your actual content lives, and it has its own

Name
Logo or simple mark
About page
Navigation

You can run multiple publications under one profile, but unless you have wild amounts of time, it is better to build one strong brand first rather than three weak ones.

For the name, you have two good paths.

Clear and direct
- “The Fantasy Football Playbook”
- “Basketball Film Room”
Branded and memorable
- “The Press Box ”
- “Clubhouse Notebook”

Avoid using just your personal name unless you are already well known. Let your profile be your name, and your publication be the brand that sports readers and writers remember and share.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR THIS ARTICLE

The Social Layer: Your 5/5/5 Notes Strategy

Why Notes Matter

Notes are the discovery engine of Substack. They give the system something short and snackable to show to people who have never heard of you before.

The 5/5/5 Routine

Each day, my Notes routine is:

Five notes
Five comments
Five restacks

You are not writing five essays. You are dropping five quality nuggets each day.

Examples of notes you can post

Quick value notes
- A short breakdown of a play or coaching decision
- A mini framework for writing a better game recap or feature
Engagement notes
- Polls about upcoming games
- Questions like “What is the most overused narrative in sports media right now?”
Promo notes
- Teasers for new posts
- Short reminders of what paid members get

For comments, focus on leaving thoughtful replies on other profiles in your niche. That is how you get on the radar of people who already read the kind of thing you make.

For restacks, share posts and notes from others that your audience would love, and add a line of your own context.

Ninja Trick: Restack your best-performing pieces so they get a second life without extra writing.

Run this 5/5/5 rhythm and the social layer stops being an afterthought and becomes part of your daily routine.

Writing Articles Readers Actually Finish

Keep The Editor Simple

Substack’s editor is intentionally clean so you can focus on the words. You can add headings, images, buttons, and dividers, but the core job is still the same.

For each post

Use a straightforward and easy-to-understand title
Open with a short hook that sounds like your voice, not a press release
Break the post into sections and subheadings so it is easy to skim
Add visuals or embeds when they truly add understanding, not just decoration

Understanding Your Audience

Your Subscriber Dashboard

Substack gives you a view into who is actually reading and how engaged they are. You can see open rates, paid vs free, and activity levels.

For a sports creator, this means you can

Identify your most active readers and super fans
Create offers just for paid members
Send special thank you notes or bonuses to your top readers

You can also filter by activity and behavior, like people who comment often. That is a natural group for community offers, live sessions, or deeper feedback.

Plz reply and let me know if you want us to do a deep dive on Substack analytics. I nerd out over that stuff.

Monetization For Sports Creators

Three Core Models

You have three main structures you can lean on.

Paywalled model
- Some posts free
- Deeper breakdowns, long form features, or resources locked for paid
Support model
- Everything stays free
- Paid tier exists for people who want to support your work and get occasional extras
Community model
- Free readers get your main content
- Paid readers get access to a private community, chats, events, or workshops

Pricing Basics

Most creators land somewhere in the low two-digit range per month, with annual pricing set to feel like a clear win for the reader, so they stay longer and give you more chances to deliver value.

Your Growth Playbook From Zero

The underlying tutorial outlines a growth path from zero to your first few hundred subscribers. Here is that path translated for sports creators.

Stage One: Zero To 100 Subscribers

Your job here is to set the foundation.

Clear profile and bio specific to sports writers and sports fans
Strong publication name, logo, and about page
Run your 5/5/5 Notes routine, so discovery is baked into your daily behavior, not a random burst once a week.

Stage Two: 100 To 500 Subscribers

Now you have proof people care. Time to accelerate.

Pitch guest posts and collabs to aligned publications
Use recommendations so new subscribers discover you through other writers
Offer recommendation swaps with similar-sized publications when it makes sense
Keep running your 5/5/5 Notes routine to stay visible every day

Where You Go From Here

Right now, Substack is still in that early-adopter phase, where it is much easier for new writers to get seen and for good work to travel. That window will not stay this wide forever.

With this playbook, you have everything you need to

Set up your profile and publication
Use all three layers of Substack
Run a simple Notes routine with your 5/5/5 strategy
Understand your readers and segment them
Launch a paid tier using one of the three core models
Grow from zero using systems instead of guesswork

Final Buzzer

Here is the simple truth. Substack gives you three weapons at once. A direct line to readers through email. A home base for all your work in your publication. And a built in discovery engine through Notes, recommendations, and your daily presence. When you use all three together on purpose, you are not just “posting” anymore; you are building an actual sports media community.

Your job is to run a repeatable game plan, not chase every new tactic. Set up a clear, sports-specific profile and publication. Ship a few strong pillar posts that show exactly what you do. Use Notes with your 5/5/5 routine, so you show up daily without burning out. Learn what your readers care about, then build a paid offer that genuinely helps them think better, write better, or build better.

If you do that consistently, you are not just another voice yelling into the timeline. You are the one running your own sports media outlet, and a growing list of readers who actually chose to be there.

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