How to Share Substack on Instagram

You’ve poured your heart into your latest Substack post, and now you want the world - or at least your Instagram followers - to see it. Because Instagram doesn’t allow clickable links in feed post captions, getting people from their scroll to your newsletter can feel tricky. This guide will show you exactly how to do it by optimizing your bio, creating compelling promotional content for your feed, Stories, and Reels, and building a simple workflow to turn every Substack post into a powerful subscriber magnet.

Why Sharing Your Substack on Instagram Isn't So Simple (And Why That's Okay)

The biggest hurdle every Substack writer faces on Instagram is the "no links in captions" rule. You can't just share your latest post with a clickable URL and hope for the best. This limitation feels frustrating initially, but it’s actually a blessing in disguise. It forces you to be a marketer, not just a link-dropper.

Instead of just telling people what you wrote, you have to show them why it’s worth their time to leave the app and read it. You have to capture their attention, earn their trust, and create a genuine curiosity that makes them want to click. This is how you build a real audience - not by spamming links, but by offering value upfront. Your Instagram content becomes the appetizer that makes people hungry for the main course: your Substack newsletter.

Turn Your 'Link in Bio' into Your Substack Command Center

Since you can't place links in captions, directing your audience to your bio is the most important action you can take. Your "link in bio" is the single most valuable piece of real estate on your Instagram profile for driving traffic. It's the bridge between your Instagram content and your Substack. Here are a few ways to set it up for success.

Strategy 1: The Direct Link Method

If your primary goal is to get subscribers or promote one specific post, the simplest approach is often the best. A direct link points straight to a single destination. This is ideal for:

• Your Substack’s main landing page to encourage new subscriptions.
• Your latest newsletter post to drive immediate readership.
• A popular "greatest hits" post that serves as a perfect introduction to your writing.

When using this method, make your bio’s CTA laser-focused. For example: "Author & Chef. My latest essay on the Focaccia Paradox is out now. Click below to read! ↓” This creates a clear, direct path with zero confusion.

Strategy 2: The 'Link Hub' Method

Sometimes, one link isn’t enough. That’s where “link in bio” tools like Linktree, Beacons, or a custom landing page on your own website come in handy. A link hub lets you create a simple menu of links, allowing you to direct your audience to multiple places at once.

A good link hub for a Substack writer might include:

• Top Link: "Read My Latest Post: [Post Title]"
• Second Link: "Subscribe to My Free Newsletter"
• Third Link: "Browse the Archives"
• Fourth Link: "About Me & My Writing"

The trick here is to avoid overwhelming your visitor. Keep the options focused on your Substack goals. The top link should always be your highest priority action, which for most creators is driving traffic to the newest piece of content.

The Final, All-Important Part: Your Call-to-Action

No matter which method you choose, your strategy won't work without a clear call-to-action (CTA) in every piece of content. Condition your audience to know exactly where to go. End every caption, Story slide, and Reel with a consistent directive like:

• “Read the full essay at the link in my bio.”
• “For the complete list/story/guide, tap the link in bio.”
• “Link in bio to subscribe and get the next one in your inbox.”

It sounds repetitive, but clarity is kindness. Never assume your audience knows what to do next.

Strategies for Every Instagram Format: From Feed Posts to Reels

Once your bio is optimized, it's time to create content designed specifically to pique interest and drive clicks. Each Instagram format offers a unique opportunity to promote your Substack.

Instagram Feed Posts: Static, but Never Boring

Your feed is your content library. It’s where you build a visual story that makes people want to know more about your work.

Use Carousel Posts to Tease Your Content: Carousels are the single best format for deconstructing a Substack post. Treat each slide as a standalone piece of value that builds on the last.

• Slide 1: The Hook. Use your Substack post's title or a provocative question as a headline. Pair it with a high-quality image.
• Slides 2-5: The Key Points. Pull out the most interesting stats, frameworks, tips, or quotes. Use minimal text on each slide to keep it readable. Think of this as the "trailer" for your "movie."
• Final Slide: The CTA. This slide is dedicated to telling people where to go. Use clean text like, “Want the full story? Read it now at the link in our bio.” Add a visual cue like an arrow pointing up and to the left toward your profile picture.

Create Quote Graphics: Comb through your newsletter and find the most impactful sentence - the one that stops a reader in their tracks. Turn that sentence into a clean, well-designed graphic. In your caption, you can add a little bit of context behind the quote and, of course, guide people to the "link in bio" for the full article where the quote originated.

Make Your Caption Do the Heavy Lifting: The caption is your sales pitch. Don't waste it with "new Substack out now." Start with a strong hook, tell a micro-story related to your post, or share a surprising data point to get people reading. After delivering that initial value in the caption, transition to the CTA, inviting them to read the rest of the story at your Substack.

Instagram Stories: Driving Urgent Clicks

Stories are immediate, personal, and interactive. They are also your only spot where you can use a direct, clickable link to anywhere you want.

The Link Sticker is a Game-Changer: The most direct way to drive traffic is the Instagram Story link sticker. You can customize the text to be your article's title or a CTA like "Read it here!" or "Tap to read." But don't just slap it on a screenshot of your post.

Build a Narrative Sequence: Great stories have an arc. Use a few Story slides to create context before presenting the link.

1. The Poll/Question: Start with an engaging sticker. If your post is about productivity, ask "Feeling burnt out this week?" This gets viewers to tap and engage.
2. The Teaser: On the next slide, share a simple graphic with a key insight from your post. Something like, "The fix might not be another app, but a 'shutdown ritual'."
3. The CTA: On the third slide, post your beautiful 'New Post' graphic. Add the link sticker, and text that says, "I wrote a full guide on this - tap the link to read it for free."

Talk to the Camera: The most powerful tool you have is you. Film a short video of yourself talking directly to your followers. Tell them what you wrote about and why you’re so excited about it. Personal passion is incredibly persuasive. A simple, "I just published something I’m really proud of and I think it will help anyone feeling [problem]. I’ll drop the link on the next slide," is often more effective than any slick graphic.

Instagram Reels: Growing Beyond Your Followers

Reels are designed for discoverability. This is your chance to reach thousands of people who have never heard of you and turn them into new readers.

Turn Your Substack into a Short-Format Video: Your newsletter is already full of incredible Reel ideas. You just need to reformat them.

• Hook Them with Text Overlays: Film yourself talking or simply use aesthetic b-roll footage. Use text overlays to highlight 3-5 key points, stats, or steps from your newsletter. Use a trending audio to maximize reach. The theme is quick, valuable, and easy to digest.
• Share a Provocative Opinion: Record a 15-30 second “hot take” related to your niche, summarizing the core argument of your Substack post. Controversy and strong opinions spark conversation and drive people to learn more.
• Read an Excerpt Aloud: Film a cinematic clip of you at your desk or a coffee shop and do a voiceover reading a powerful paragraph from your newsletter. This gives people a direct taste of your writing style.

The CTA in Reels happens in three places: verbally at the end of the video ("For the full story, head to the link in my bio"), clearly in the caption, and often in a pinned comment for extra visibility.

Building a Repurposing Workflow That Works

Treating your Substack and Instagram as separate entities is exhausting. Instead, view them as an ecosystem. Every Substack edition is a content goldmine waiting to be repurposed for Instagram.

A single 1,000-word newsletter can become:

• One high-value carousel post.
• Three separate quote graphics.
• Five to seven individual Story slides (polls, text, quotes, video).
• Two different Reels based on different "hooks" from the article.

By planning this out when you publish your Substack, you turn one creative effort into a week's worth of high-quality Instagram promotion. Don't promote your post for one day, promote its core ideas all week long, sending a steady stream of curious readers back to your archive over time.

Final Thoughts

Promoting your Substack on Instagram isn’t about just dropping links, it’s about strategically teasing your long-form content by giving your followers value in short, visual forms. By creating engaging teasers on your feed, building narratives in your Stories, and reaching new audiences with Reels, a new tab will no longer feel a universe away - it will feel like the natural next step for an intrigued reader.

Creating this much content - from carousels to Reels and Stories - across weeks can become a huge organizational challenge. We built Postbase to fix this, giving creators a simple visual calendar to plan everything at a glance and schedule it across platforms reliably. It’s designed to help you execute your content strategy without the chaos.