So you want to launch a brand on Substack?

The marketer’s Substack playbook, from evaluation to execution.

Feed Me told you more brands will join Substack. Link In Bio prompted you to think strategically about how your brand might show up here. False Start’s place in marketers’ media diet is more tactical. If you’re thinking about launching a brand on Substack, I’ll walk you through exactly how I’d approach the project, from early evaluation to execution. Let’s go.

Step 1: Know the best practices

The platform’s content guidelines explicitly state, “Substack is intended for high quality editorial content, not conventional email marketing.” What this means for your brand: You need a writer to create your Substack content. This is likely not your marketing manager (no, not even as a “stretch assignment,” unless they have experience writing quality long-form content). The platform isn’t meant for brands, so marketers need to respect that the space is for writers above all — and then hire one who can write great editorial pieces for your brand.

Of course, standard marketing best practices also apply to Substack. Choose a regular publishing cadence, craft a promotional plan, and make sure your content says something that your audience cares about and can’t get elsewhere. Most brands should not share behind-the-scenes content from the office because no one cares. Most brands are not Saie.

One final thought: don’t neglect your existing email marketing strategy to focus on Substack; it’s a supplement, not a replacement.

Step 2: Determine if Substack is right for your brand right now

There’s a lot to consider — business priorities, risk appetite, audience evaluation, and so much more. Personally, I believe the most important factors are organic channel performance and resourcing.

You can’t build on a shaky foundation. If your organic channels and marketing funnel aren’t humming, now is not the time to pursue something new. Instead, focus on fixing what’s broken, especially if you have available resources. If you don’t know what content your audience enjoys on Instagram, the chances you’ll figure it out on a platform like Substack are pretty slim.

On the topic of resources, I have a broad, flexible interpretation. I’m pro-scrappiness, but you’ll need to consider your brand’s growth stage, team bandwidth, internal culture, and budget. Maybe resources are tight, but you know of a great writer available for contract work. Now, you just need to shift the budget to make the hire. If all signs point to Substack, get creative.

Step 3: Pitch it to your team

Depending on your role and level within the organization, I’d suggest starting the evaluation phase (step 2) on your own or with your manager. If you decide to move forward, prepare to share your rationale with the team.

As a next step, set up a meeting with the right players. That could mean your marketing team, your boss, and relevant cross-functional partners such as creative. If I were you, I’d prep a deck that answers the following questions:

• Background + Context

  • What is Substack?

  • Why are we talking about this now?

• [Your Brand Name]’s Substack Opportunity

  • Why do we believe in a Substack test? [share rationale from step 2]

  • What do we believe our unique opportunity is?

  • How will Substack help support current business priorities?

  • How will we resource against this?

  • What are the risks?

• Measuring Success

  • How will we know if this is successful?

  • What are the KPIs?

Step 4: Build your project plan

Assuming you got the green light in step 3 (congrats!), the next step is to build a project plan and fill in the details with your team.

1. Timeline: Give yourself a target launch date for Substack and get as detailed as possible with a timeline. Deadlines are helpful, even if you get off track and have to course correct.

2. Hiring: Who will write your Substack? If you don’t have them yet, how will you find them? What are the responsibilities of the role?

3. Substack Positioning: What will your brand’s Substack be about? How would you describe it? To kick things off, I suggest utilizing customer insights (quantitative and qualitative) and group brainstorming sessions.

4. Visual Identity: Most brands use their logo and existing brand guidelines, but some do it differently, eschewing traditional branding altogether or playing with existing elements.

5. Substack Setup: You need a name, a URL, a standout one-liner, and an “about” page. Substack has a solid resource on publication setup as a helpful starting point.

6. Approval Process: What’s the approval process for posts? Who needs (and wants) to be involved internally? What does the timeline look like?

7. Editorial Calendar: Build a content calendar for at least your first month (if not more). You’ll want to give yourself the flexibility to adjust based on learnings, but depending on how quickly your brand’s audience grows, those learnings might take time.

8. Promotional Plan: How are you promoting your Substack and announcing the launch? Through what channels? (Don’t forget about Substack Notes.) How far in advance? Is this press-worthy? What’s the angle?

9. Marketing Calendar Integration: Bring your Substack posts and notes into your existing marketing calendar, and look for ways to align your strategy across your channels to amplify your message further.

Step 5: Launch and refine

As I said in the intro, be strategic about your launch plan, but don’t wait for perfection. Give yourself room to learn and respond to feedback in real-time. Here are two recommendations for ongoing optimizations:

Make sure you have a regular reporting cadence in place with the following information: open rate, CTR, Views, subscriber growth, traffic sources, sales and revenue (if relevant), and qualitative feedback from your audience. And don’t forget to set up a regular project sync with the relevant players. Use the time to discuss the reporting, the process, audience feedback, and content ideas.

My closing remarks: I know firsthand how challenging the pace of change in marketing is. The introduction of a new channel, like Substack, can be simultaneously exciting and stress-inducing, depending on the day. Processes, like the one outlined above, have always helped to soothe my brain while catapulting me into action — and I hope this will do the same for you.

Questions? Comments? I’d love to hear from marketers who have launched a brand on Substack and can share any specific insights or learnings. I know you’re out there!