Marketing in 2025: Substack

Number One: Substack

I took a break from my screen yesterday and met a friend for a walk. Because we both live in the middle of Los Angeles, finding a spot with a view isn't easy. We drove 20 minutes to a park that meanders above the city, and on a good day even has a sliver of an ocean view. And yet, it was so worth it to find a moment of joy, quiet and connection.
 
Whether you are marketing your business, products, service or book online this year, it's the same thing -- it's vital that we take that drive, that we go beyond what is easy to get to, and find those places and actions that are joyful, quiet(er) and yet still create connection with our audience and clients.

I know right now you are asking how!!  

I have three platforms and actions I'm taking this year for myself and my clients. Because these are not always short musings, (consider yourself warned!) I'll talk about each separately in three of my upcoming Brand Therapy Museletters.
They are: 
1. Substack for long-form content creation and community building (in this Museletter)
2. Website power pages for better SEO and to bring your community to you
3. Creating mini workbooks that you can offer to your community

➕ Notice: The common thread in each of these ideas is community.

We have more information at our fingertips than ever before and more ways to get it. No one needs more content. But what we do need is a way to create content that connects us with others on the same journey, to support one another and build something together. 

On Substack, people are finding a common ground for creativity, long-form content (that people actually read and engage with) and a way to grow their audience whether for their books, creative work and services. 

Note: Whether you ever use Substack or not, I think that as we market ourselves ever more online, it's important to stay informed about each platform, what it does, and how it interacts with other platforms. You never know how this information will be helpful, or when. Here's a look at one of my favorite food writers and his page on Substack. 

        

So, what is Substack? 
According to its website, Substack is “an American online platform that allows journalists, writers, and other content creators to publish newsletters and establish a subscription-based audience.”
 
I am very new to it but so far, I’ve found Substack to be a very user-friendly platform. It works as a blog with a social media aspect to it. You can write articles and grow an email list for free (which I find is its best feature). With Notes, (Substack’s popular social media feature similar to X), you can grow your subscribers all within the same platform. Here is the beginning of my Substack page. Subscribe and watch as I use all the techniques I've learned from other Substackers to refine grow it. I'll give you tips along the way!

Why I am recommending Substack

✅ Substack is built more like a network, helping your content reach a larger audience as opposed to a newsletter sent like this one which is being sent on Mailchimp where growth comes from opt-in, freebies, and adding in email lists we get from networking or speaking.

✅ Substack has a built-in audience looking for quality content. When readers subscribe to a newsletter, they often get recommendations for similar newsletters, which helps you get discovered.

✅ Substack posts are optimized by search engines which then suggests posts and newsletters to readers based on their interests and subscriptions.

✅ Unlike social media, Substack allows users to own their audience. Every subscriber is directly accessible via email, ensuring more engagement and visibility.

✅You can offer free and paid subscriptions, attracting both casual readers and dedicated followers who want exclusive content.

✅ Substack newsletters are easily shareable. If a reader enjoys a post, they can forward it (or "Stack") to others, helping that writer gain organic traction.

✅ Users can recommend each other’s newsletters, creating a network effect that helps everyone grow.

✅ Writers can link their Substack to platforms like Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and Instagram, automatically posting newsletter updates and attracting new readers.

       
How this can work for you

As it gets more challenging to reach our ideal clients, we are always looking for new, creative ways to promote our work, business or book. And while this might not pan out to be a place to directly promote your business, (for that I suggest LinkedIn or Instagram), Substack encourages you to build your audience, and establish yourself as an authority on a subject.

Examples of how to use it
An event professional such as a caterer, wedding photographer or floral designer can have a weekly column on tips for their community, new ideas, trends, how tos. There is a whole generation out there who have not had extensive exposure to this type of content. We all need to keep teaching, entertaining and speaking to this audience.

For my memoir authors, I am setting up Substacks for the authors I am working with and will begin to publish excerpts of their books, BEFORE they are published. With books, it's all about marketing before you publish so there is an audience for you when you are ready.

Here are five ways to start marketing your work before you are published.