The Benefits of a Restack Swap on Substack
What are the Benefits of a Substack Restack Swap, and why do Restacks help both publications?
If you’ve been hanging out on Substack for more than five minutes, you’ve probably saw people posting about “restack swaps” or “exchanging restack’s” for growth.
At first, it sounds like some kind of growth-hacking trick. But honestly, it’s much simpler and way more effective - by using community engagement to be seen and grow.
Let’s break down what it actually is, why people do it, and why it’s secretly one of the best ways to grow without constantly feeling like a self promoter.
What is a Restack Swap, Anyway?
A restack swap is basically just Writer A shares a post from Writer B to their own audience, then Writer B does the exact same thing for Writer A.
It’s mutual support.
The Real Magic is What Happens with a Restack
To understand why restack swaps actually matter, you have to look at how Substack’s ecosystem works - specifically on Notes!
When you drop a thought or a link on Notes, who sees it? Mostly your own followers and subscribers. Which is great, but let’s be real - those people already know you exist. They already hit subscribe. They’ve already bought what you’re selling.
Publishing to your own feed is preaching to the choir. It’s comfortable, but it doesn’t get you seen anywhere new.
This is where the restack changes the entire game.
When another writer restacks your post, it instantly goes out to all of their followers, too. People who have never heard of you. People who might stumble across your writing, realize you share their exact weird obsessions, and hit subscribe.
The Compounding Effect & Why It Works
This creates what people call the compounding effect, though I just think of it as the digital version of word-of-mouth.
If you just rely on your own reach, your growth hits a natural ceiling. You can only shout so loud on your own street corner. But when you partner up with other writers, you start building bridges to entirely different neighborhoods.
Let’s say one restack introduces you to 10 new people.
Then from there, two of those people share your stuff or subscribe.
Suddenly, you’re popping up in feeds you didn’t even know existed.
It turns growth from a grueling solo grind into a community effort. You’re no longer just staring at your dashboard, sweating over “how am I going to get more views?”
Instead, you’re writing, your peers are sharing your best work, and you’re doing the same for them.
And best of all, it’s actually the Substack Community helping one another grow!
Come join the new Substack Restack Exchange - where we’re currently looking for other people like you, who are interested in doing Restack Swaps.
Paul Arino
The Substack Restack Exchange Newsletter
Helpful Reference Links:
If anyone would like to do a Restack swap, either with myself or another person…
Just simply hit Restack on this post, then I will know who to Restack back.
If not, just leave a Comment here, so other users can see you and what you write about, then they can decide from there who they’d like to do a Restack swap with.