Substack Is The New Branding Frontier for Founder-Influencers. Is It Working?

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The best part of my job is being surrounded by content-obsessed folks.

They’re pros at creating great content, but also at sniffing it out.

So when two of them, without coordination, point me to Substack, I pay attention. 

Source: Google Trends, six-month rolling average

Apparently, the self-publishing platform is enjoying a fresh boost in popularity — many entrepreneurs are seeing it as a better alternative to social media.

“Substack is the new Instagram,” Free People’s director of brand marketing, Libby Strachan, told Glossy.

What’s Old Is New Again 

Substack was founded to help content creators, writers, and journalists connect with their readers in a way that wasn’t possible in traditional media.

They get to be their own publisher, and build up a loyal audience who’s willing to pay them directly for their work.

Yup, that's creator economy 101 stuff.

But what’s interesting now is that a wave of D2C founders are rediscovering this platform as their personal branding outlet.

Melanie Masarin of Ghia (that vintage chic non-alcoholic brand), for instance, has a Substack newsletter where she shares “founder musings” and other snippets of her life.

Source: Substack

It’s a more curated take on “building in public,” where founders get to connect with potential customers in a more intimate way.

They write like influencers — about what they wear, what they eat, where they travel to — and plug their products when the time is right.

The writing’s clear: as social media and short videos divide consumer’s attention into a million different pieces, blogging is back in full swing to ensure you — and your brand, as an extension — get seen.

Is It Working?

👍 Yes…

Creators own the audience they earn on Substack. These are real email lists (leads) that can be taken with them to any other platform.

It’s also easier to monetize than social media, even with a way smaller subscriber base.

Say you charge $50 per annual subscription, 2,000 fans will get you to 100k ARR. Not too shabby. (That’s <1% of Trends’ subscriber count… maybe we should get on Substack??) 

Jumping into Substack like… Source: GIFDB

And if folks fall under your influence, then they’re more likely to buy your products, too. This could work wonders for D2C brands in fashion, beauty, wellness, or food & bev — where people are more prone to follow the advice of a founder-influencer.

👎 …And No

But where does your personal brand end, and your “brand” brand start?

D2C investors are concerned about their ROI if a company’s founder is constantly posting on Substack about their life and musings. Sometimes it can even mask the fact that the company isn’t doing so hot.

Get back to work. Source: Digiday

So whether Substack will work for you depends on your goal.

If you’re fully invested in your business and see it as a new channel to meet customers, go for it. 

If you’re here for personal clout, or use it as a backup plan in case your business doesn’t pan out — it most likely won’t pan out.

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