Branded Substacks? Only if done right.

Hi,

No shortage of newness lately on the podcast. We’re introducing another series.

GOOD TO KNOW

Deep dives into topics that seem to be on everyone’s mind, and what you need to know about them.

And the question we haven’t managed to escape the last few weeks, in every meeting, at every conference, and all the porch hangs with friends (granted, many of our friends work for brands) is ‘Should we start a Substack?’

The format for these episodes will be (we think, would love feedback!):

• What’s happening?

• Who’s doing it well?

• Fundamentals, basics, granular shit you really should know.

• Red flags, avoid these things, pls don’ts.

• Big takeaways, insights and nuggets.

So, if you’re considering starting a branded Substack, this episode is for you.

If you’re in a room where you’re being pushed to start one and you’re a) lost or b) thinking this is a terrible idea, but no one is listening because they don’t get it, this is also for you (to share).

Finally, if you’re thinking, when are they going to do the podcasts they were doing? We have a plan. Rather than weekly, we’ll do the companion podcasts once a month. Pulling the top examples from 4 issues, so it’s less ‘recap’ and even more useful. Stay tuned/let us know if it’s insane to change things. We’re building and flying the plane as we go, and all feedback helps.

Enjoy!

GOOD TO KNOW: BRANDED SUBSTACKS

Click the links to find what you fancy

03:01 — WHAT’S SUBSTACK? // Hysterical to write this in a Substack, but many people listen to us only on Apple Podcast or YouTube. I still get asked ‘What’s Substack?’ weekly, so a primer felt like a good idea.

08:55 — WHO’S NAILING IT? // Branded Substacks are here. Most are cringe. Even worse, boring. But a few? Genuinely interesting.

12:03 — AMERICAN EAGLE x CASEY LEWIS // If you read Sunday’s letter, you know AE did something very smart: they hired Substack OG

Casey Lewis

to guest edit their first few posts. We talk about why this is smart and what they got right (because great partnerships are only as good as you allow them to be.)

14:53 — HINGE’S 5-PART TEASE // Hinge launched a Substack called

No Ordinary Love

this week. It’s an extension of their synonymously named ongoing campaign. I’d called this a mini-series approach—which I love. Big picture, it’s tapping into the BookTok, romance novel trend, which is not just big, but big on Substack. A nice and native to the platform—love that too. They also partnered with big Substackers like

Hunter Harris

and micro-accounts—more to love. We talk about the lessons to be learned here. Clearly, there are many.

17:56 — LOEFFLER RANDALL’S FOUND-LED TAKE //

Jessie Loves

is Jessie Randall’s, founder of Loeffler Randall, personal Substack. Thus far I’d say this approach is more ‘typical’ but she’s doing it at a high-caliber. Similar in style to Ghia’s founder, Melanie Masarin’s Substack,

Night Shade

. Both tapping into their interests, cementing them as tastemakers, without an ounce of hard sell. We talk more about the granular things that are working.

20:59 — MUST-HAVES AND MUST-NOTS // We move back to big picture and talk about the must-dos and must-not dos. The big one: I can’t stress enough that if your Substack doesn’t have a unique lens, it’s not worth it. Start there or don’t start. But there’s more in here worth knowing.

39:53 — WHO’S READING? // We laughed that many of the lessons in this guide are Brand 101 things. Like ‘Who’s this for?’ But really, who you are sharing this with is essential to figuring out another critical piece: 'What’s the value?’

46:45 — THE BASIC BASICS // Names, welcome letters, cross-posting, Notes, etc. These tidbits are peppered throughout, but we cover the fundamentals. I also rec this post by

Wes Pearce

that goes into a lot of the things I wish I knew when I started. I’ve shared it dozens of times, you’ll learn a lot.

52:04 — TAKEAWAYS, INSIGHTS AND NUGGETS // The way you need to be thinking and what you need to be thinking about.

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Missed last week’s letter where I mentioned AE & Casey? This way:

That’s all, folx.

Let me know what you think. If there’s a topic you want to hear about (recovery, perimenopause, analog gathering, etc) drop me a note or comment.

-Chris

If you read this and liked it, that little heart is there for that. The algo and I appreciate it.

PS. If you prefer Apple, Spotify, or YouTube you can listen there too.