Markdown: Simple Formatting for Writers (Not Coders)

How to add basic formatting to Substack Notes and Comments

Markdown is a text-based way to add formatting to writing without buttons, menus, or HTML.

Substack supports a practical subset of Markdown that works especially well in posts, comments, Notes, and on mobile.

Instead of tags like <b> or <i>, Markdown uses characters you already type every day — asterisks, dashes, numbers, and brackets. The text stays readable even before it’s formatted.

It was designed to make writing more intuitive than HTML, especially for people who care more about ideas than layout.

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Markdown that works on Substack

Emphasis

• *italic* → italic

• **bold** → bold

• ***bold and italic*** → bold and italic

Bullet lists

Use a dash (“-”)

- One idea
- Another idea
- A final thought

• One idea

• Another idea

• A final thought

Numbered lists

1. First step
2. Second step
3. Third step

1. First step

2. Second step

3. Third step

Helpful note: you can type 1. on every line and Markdown will still number correctly.

Block quotes

> This is a quoted idea.

This is a quoted idea.

Links

[The AI Doodle](https://theaidoodle.com)

The AI Doodle

Paragraph spacing

A blank line creates a new paragraph. That spacing is part of Markdown’s design.

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Markdown you’ll see in other places (but not fully on Substack)

Markdown originated as a general-purpose writing format, and many platforms support more features than Substack does.

You may see these elsewhere:

• Headings using # and ##

• Inline code using backticks: `like this`

• Horizontal rules using ---

• Tables, checklists, and footnotes

Substack intentionally limits these to keep writing consistent across web, email, and mobile.

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Where Markdown is also used

Once you learn Markdown on Substack, you’ll recognize it across the internet:

• Reddit

• GitHub

• GitHub Issues and Pull Requests

• Slack

• Discord

• Notion

• Stack Overflow

• Technical documentation

• Many AI tools and chat interfaces

Learning it once pays off repeatedly.

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Why Markdown exists

Markdown was created for one reason:

To let people write in plain text and add structure without learning HTML.

It’s human-readable, easy to remember, and works almost everywhere.

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The takeaway

On Substack, Markdown is best used for clarity, emphasis, and flow — not layout control.

If your writing is easy to read and feels natural to type, you’re using it correctly.

You probably already knew Markdown.
Now you just know what it’s called.

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The ideas and concepts in this article are the author’s own. AI assisted with ideation and editing.