Substack Growth Mastermind, a new weekly live program on the publishing platform Substack, is turning passive viewing into active subscriber-building sessions. Co-hosts Amy Chang and John Toomey lead the initiative, which is not formally associated with Substack itself. The program invites creators to participate in interactive activities designed to increase their reach through simple, repeated actions.
"We noticed that most Substack Lives are a passive experience for people in the Chat," says program producer Soani Gunawan. "Typically they watch one or two experts talking to each other. The content might be valuable or not, but it's strictly a hands-off experience; there is no opportunity for participants to build or create during the session itself. We wanted to improve upon that by making each Live a working opportunity for attendees to gain followers, subscribers, and in some cases clients."
The sessions incorporate several growth-focused elements. Each week, SuperStacker Prizes are awarded to members who contributed the best Notes, Articles, Comments, or Restacks from the previous week. This recognition encourages superior performance of these mini-skills, which are often overlooked but invaluable for creator growth. Audience members also submit their own Notes in the Chat and then like, comment, and restack those of other creators during the live session. This leads to lively discussions of the most insightful Notes.
Additionally, at least one Note from an audience member is used as a central topic for a group mind mapping session using Ayoa.com. Everyone in the Chat can comment on and add to the mind map, which is then posted to the program's social media and website. Submissions that can be used as a main prompt for a Claude Artifact, GPT, Gemini Gem, or Perplexity Space, and that address one of the UN's 169 Sustainability Indicators, can earn a Hero Award. The most insightful contributions are added to a draft press release before the end of the program, giving attendees the chance to see their writing referenced by news publications. If time allows, the hosts conduct a mini-audit of an audience member's Substack publication to identify areas for future growth. Sometimes Substack Superstars are invited as guests, and evocative sentences from their Notes and Articles are used as AI prompts for the group mind maps.
"Building in public during a Live is not only effective, but it's a fun social occasion, which allows members to see how fulfilling creating on Substack can be," adds Chang.
The producers plan to incubate and nurture other writers who want to mount their own similar live programs. "We find that live video is the best way to get a potential audience to know, like, and trust you," says Chang. "And the way we do it makes it fun. So we want to support as many people as possible to conduct these types of shows for their own subscribers and clients. We want to build and promote a Substacker Live Network."
Future plans include a weekly challenge that offers participants ways to build significant growth before the next week's program, during which their achievement will be celebrated. A SuperStacker prize will be offered to creators who help another writer reach Bestseller status.
For creators, this initiative could provide a structured, collaborative approach to audience building, leveraging swarm intelligence. It may also signal a shift toward more interactive and community-driven growth strategies on Substack and beyond. To join, visit https://substack.com/@growbyhelpingothers. To apply to be a participant or guest, write to admin@aibrainstormcreator.net. To find out about the Hero Award, see theheroaward.net. To learn more about Substack, visit substack.com.
