Is Substack Right for Your Brand?

Brands are spoilt for choice when it comes to marketing channels. Substack adds to that list, but with a twist. It’s not trying to replace your existing platforms. Instead, it pulls together the strengths of email, content, and community under one roof – raising the question: is Substack right for your brand?

For some, that mix can unlock real impact. For others, it may not be worth the effort. The difference lies in how you use it and whether the platform’s culture of originality and voice-driven publishing fits your brand.

Once a haven for journalists and independent writers, Substack is now evolving into a serious publishing hub for brands and B2B organisations. It’s something we’ve been watching closely at HRS. In her Substack newsletter Link in Bio, Rachel Karten shares insights from Christina Loff, Substack’s Head of Lifestyle, Writer Partnerships, who reminds us that success isn’t about promotion, it’s about perspective. What resonates here is originality and voice.

And the best way to see that is through the people already doing it well, from nutrition scientists to food storytellers, there are lessons in how they’ve truly made Substack their own.

So how does it work, where does it fit, and when does it make sense to use it? Let’s take a closer look.

How Substack Adds Value and When It Is Right for Your Brand

Substack brings together the strengths of core marketing disciplines (email, content, community, and social) into one owned space.

Posts land directly in inboxes without algorithm interference, while also living on a Google-indexed archive that boosts discoverability. Built-in features like comments, polls, and subscriber threads encourage real community, while its format offers a lighter, more agile alternative to running a full corporate blog or magazine.

It’s also inherently shareable: recommendations and cross-promotion can drive organic growth beyond your existing audience, while guest contributions and partnerships open doors to collaboration and even monetisation. Dr Federica Amati’s Eating Science with Dr Fede demonstrates this potential. Her recent Substack Live with stateside journalist Liz Dunn showed how collaboration can extend reach and spark new conversations well beyond her existing readership.

What makes Substack stand out is its ability to tie multiple disciplines together in one hub. It doesn’t replace other channels, but it can make them work harder by consolidating content and strengthening the links between them. Used well, it becomes the place where those threads converge. Which brings us to the question: how do you do Substack well?

Our Top 7 Tips for Doing Substack Right

1. Lead with value
Every post should feel worth your reader’s time. Offer insight, perspective, or storytelling they can’t get elsewhere.

2. Start with your ‘why’
Be clear on your purpose. Who are you writing for, what do you want them to take away, and how will you measure success?

3. Find your voice
Readers respond to people, not faceless brands. A named editor, a founder’s perspective, or a consistent tone helps build connection.

4. Integrate, don’t isolate
Share Substack posts on LinkedIn, in email signatures, or at events. More entry points mean more subscribers.

5. Engage your audience
Ask questions, run polls, and reply to comments. Treat it as a two-way space, not a one-way channel.

6. Commit to cadence
Reliability matters more than frequency. Weekly or monthly, stick to a rhythm readers can count on.

7. Optimise and refine
Watch open rates, growth, and feedback. Double down on what resonates, adapt what doesn’t.

When Substack Works (and When It Doesn’t)

Substack is most powerful when you have something meaningful to say and the willingness to say it in your own voice.

It rewards ideas and stories that go beyond press releases or product updates. Hannah Wilding’s Table Read is a perfect example. Recipes and reflections on food and lifestyle where beans make frequent but unforced cameos. It’s not brand-first, it’s voice-first which is why it works. Readers come for her perspective, and along the way, they discover Bold Bean Co.

But it isn’t right for everyone. Its culture is conversational and editorial, closer to publishing a column than sending a campaign email. Dr Emily Prpa’s Science & The City, with its Sex-and-the-City-inspired storytelling lens on women’s health, shows what that looks like when it’s done well. But brands with slower approval cycles, strictly corporate tone, or overly sales-focused output may find traction much harder to build.

For organisations already emailing frequently, a Substack will only add value if it feels genuinely different, with fresh commentary, perspective, or a more human voice. And while setup is easy, sustaining momentum takes commitment.

Substack is still early in its brand adoption curve, meaning there’s space to establish a niche before the platform gets crowded. But sometimes the smartest move is not starting at all. If your audience is best reached elsewhere, or your content works better in short-form channels, resources may be better invested there.

Deciding If Substack Is Right for You

Substack has moved far beyond its roots as a platform for independent writers. Today, it’s a serious tool for brands, B2B organisations, and thought leaders who want a direct line to their audience. Its strength lies in pulling content, email, and community into one space, offering a home where consistency builds the kind of trust that’s harder to achieve when efforts are scattered across multiple platforms.

It isn’t right for everyone, and that’s important to acknowledge. Its culture is more conversational and editorial than campaign-driven, demanding originality, perspective, and a clear voice. Brands tied to rigid approvals or reliant on reactive promotion may struggle to gain traction.

Substack won’t be right for every brand and recognising that is as strategic as knowing when to move early. For those already stretched thin, it could risk becoming another channel without real purpose. But for the brands ready to lean into originality, perspective, and a more human voice, it offers a space to bring content, email, and community together in a way few other platforms allow.

Sources

1. Substack
2. Substack newsletter: Link in Bio by Rachel Karten
3. Substack newsletter: Eating Science with Dr Fede by Dr Federica Amati PhD
4. Substack newsletter: Table Read by Hannah Wilding
5. Substack newsletter: Science & The City by Dr Emily Prpa PhD