What Is Substack and How Are Brands Using It?
Over the past few years, Substack has emerged as a powerful publishing platform that’s reshaping how individuals, and increasingly, brands, communicate with their audiences. What started as a newsletter tool for independent writers has grown into a content ecosystem with millions of readers and a variety of use cases for brands, media outlets, and independent creators alike.
Whether you’re a founder building in public, a marketer looking to deepen customer loyalty, or a creative trying to expand your reach, Substack offers a unique way to grow and engage your audience.
Here’s a breakdown of what Substack is, why it’s different, and how forward-thinking brands are putting it to work.
At MOD, we think this is the next big thing in branding.
What is Substack?
At its core, Substack is an email newsletter platform that allows anyone to publish directly to an email list. Writers can create both free and paid newsletters, with Substack taking a 10% fee of any subscription revenue. The platform also hosts your content online, so it doubles as a blog with no website necessary.
But Substack is much more than just a publishing tool.
It’s become a creator-first ecosystem where writers, journalists, and creatives can earn directly from their work, free from algorithms and ad-based monetization models. With features like podcast hosting, video uploads, discussion threads, affiliate linking, and a built-in recommendation network, Substack is positioning itself as a complete platform for owned audience growth.
The “owned audience” is extremely important here.
Why Substack Appeals to Brands
While Substack was initially popular with independent journalists and thought leaders and resulted from the the shifting mainstream media landscape in 2017. The poster child for this was Bari Weiss of The Free Press who left the New York Times to start her own independent media company, which she ended but starting entirely through Substack. It’s now being reported that she makes about $800,000 per year just from her Substack subscribers.
As this platform evolves and the digital landscape evolves, the benefits of Substack are increasingly relevant to brands:
Direct audience ownership: This is the most important feature. Brands don’t have to fight algorithms or pay for reach. If someone subscribes, you can reach them directly in their inbox. You can promote your Substack in other places like Linkedin, Instagram, and on your website to grow the audience.
Content control and depth: Unlike a tweet or TikTok video, a Substack post gives you the space to share long-form insights, stories, or behind-the-scenes updates.
Trust and authenticity: Newsletters feel more personal and intentional. The format builds trust which is key for brand loyalty and community building.
Revenue potential: If applicable, brands can offer paid subscriptions for premium content, early access, or member perks. We are also seeing brands utilize affiliate links in their Substack posts to complement their products or services.
How Brands Are Using Substack
Let’s look at a few real-world ways brands, both big and small, are leveraging Substack in smart, strategic ways.
1. The “Build in Public” Brand Diary
Brands like Not Boring by Packy McCormick and Lenny’s Newsletter began as individual creators but now operate like micro-media brands. For product-led businesses or startups, this model is increasingly popular: Founders share their journey, insights, and growth lessons in real time to attract loyal followers and customers.
For example, if you're launching a new skincare brand, you might use Substack to talk through product development, ingredient choices, or marketing experiments, inviting your audience into the process.
Think of how Glossier got their start. Founder, Emily Weiss, built a blog where she interviewed women about their makeup routines before she ever created a product. She created the world of Glossier and nurtured an extremely engaged community that she then monetized later.
Brands like Tory Burch, The Real Real, and Saie Beauty have hopped on the Substack train and are experimenting with this platform in interesting ways.
Our recommendation? Subscribe to these Substacks to see how it works. Take note of their cadence, voice, and strategy.
2. Thought Leadership & Industry Insights
Brands in consulting, tech, or finance often use Substack to publish in-depth thought leadership. This is especially valuable for B2B companies or agencies. For instance, a design studio could share a monthly newsletter on brand trends, UX tips, or breakdowns of campaigns that work.
By giving value up front, you position your brand as an expert and stay top-of-mind when potential clients need your services. These types of Substacks are the perfect type of content to share and repurpose on Linkedin.
3. Nurturing Community with Content
Lifestyle, travel, and consumer brands are using Substack to build community in an editorial way, sort of like an owned magazine. A handbag company might share packing tips, destination guides, or style inspiration and a wellness brand could feature interviews with experts and routines.
What makes Substack special here is that it’s more intimate than social media but less formal than a website. Brands can write in a casual, personal tone and invite dialogue through comment threads or subscriber-only chats.
Maybe it doesn’t entirely replace your email strategy, but this can be your main brand-building station while still using MailChimp or Flodesk for your product-specific announcements.
What we love about Substack is the way founders and marketing teams can provide value outside of pushing product of sales. Why would someone follow your brand? Successful brands have more than just a good product - they have a world or a value proposition that people are buying into. There’s no better place to build this (in our opinion) than Substack.
4. Testing Paid Memberships or Exclusive Content
For some brands, especially those in media, education, or entertainment, Substack is a viable revenue stream. You can offer subscribers paid tiers with perks like early access, members-only articles, behind-the-scenes content, or private AMAs.
While this model isn’t right for every business, it’s an interesting path for community-led brands, educators, or influencers expanding into content monetization.
Substack Best Practices for Brands
If you’re thinking about launching a Substack newsletter for your brand, here are a few tips to get started:
Know your audience. Write with a clear sense of who you're speaking to. What do they care about? Why would they open your email? What is your ideal audience member interested in in their day-to-day?
Be consistent. Whether you post weekly or monthly, set an expectation for your subscribers and stick with it.
Keep it personal. Even as a brand, write like a human (!!!). Use a conversational tone, share opinions, and include behind-the-scenes moments when possible.
Give value. Don’t just sell. Teach, inspire, entertain, or spark conversation. Subscribers should walk away feeling like it was worth their time. Sales will follow.
Promote it. Share each issue on your social channels, include a sign-up in your link in bio or Linktree, and embed it on your website.
We’ll See You on Substack
Substack isn’t just for writers and politics anymore. It’s quickly becoming a strategic tool for brands that want to build trust, communicate directly, and create long-form content that actually gets seen. Whether you’re a startup founder, a marketer, or a legacy brand looking to reinvent your content approach, now’s a great time to experiment with Substack.
You don’t need to be a writer to make it work. You just need a point of view and something to say.