The page itself isn't really the play anymore-you're spot on about reach tanking. From what I've seen, treat it as an ad account gateway and a trust signal, not a content distribution channel. When someone clicks your ad and lands on your page, they see you're legit, not some random account. Then funnel them straight to your newsletter signup. That conversion moment is where the page matters, not the organic feed posting.
For groups, skip building your own unless you're already established elsewhere. Your instinct about owning your list on Substack is exactly right-way smarter move. Instead, find 3-5 existing groups where your audience hangs out, participate genuinely, answer questions, build relationships, then mention your newsletter naturally when relevant. The group members who care will find you, and you've saved yourself the admin headache.
On the reach issue for ads themselves, Instaboost has been solid for targeting consistency-no fake spikes, growth actually held without tanking engagement quality. That matters when you're trying to build a real list.
