Brands are scrambling to stand out while social reach keeps shrinking. After watching HubSpot Marketing’s Bridget Oor map out a no-fluff plan for launching a publication, I’m convinced: Substack should be part of your growth stack this year. Not as a trendy side project, but as an owned channel that drives leads, revenue, and trust.
Here’s my view as a CMO and agency founder: email plus clear positioning beats algorithm roulette. If you build a newsletter like a product, not a post, you win. If you chase volume, you’ll quit by spring.
The Core Idea: Own The Relationship
Bridget frames Substack as a simple promise: write once, reach everyone who opted in. That’s not how social works anymore. She says it plainly:
“Think of Substack like a blog meets email list… Every subscriber receives it straight to their inbox. No algorithm, no pay to play.”
She also names the big trap most brands fall into. It isn’t bad writing. It’s sameness:
“45% of all Substacks created go inactive… It’s an undifferentiated position.”
I agree. Strategy decay starts with weak positioning. If your angle is vague, your open rates sink and your team burns out. The fix is to validate a niche before you ever hit publish.
Position First, Cadence Second, Format Third
What I liked most was her simple filter to test a niche. My version for clients is nearly the same, and it works:
- Specific person: One sentence, no buzzwords.
- Earned authority: Firsthand proof you’ve done it.
- Monetization path: Clear line from read to revenue.
- Differentiation: Fewer than three direct clones.
Pass those, and you’ll avoid the churn that kills most launches. Then set a realistic cadence. Bridget’s take is refreshingly human: match output to your week, your research load, and your early list size. Early on, quality beats frequency. I’ve seen brands jump from weekly to twice monthly and improve results because they finally shipped something worth reading.
What To Publish—and How To Ship It Fast
Substack supports articles, audio, video, and notes. But writing is the on-ramp. Bridget treats Substack as a spoke that repurposes her YouTube hub, using AI to draft, then editing for voice. I do the same with keynote clips and client stories. My rule: repurpose with intent, not laziness. Add a fresh intro, a clear lesson, and one useful takeaway.
Distribution matters more than most want to admit. She pushes direct sends to existing contacts, LinkedIn posts per issue, and smart swaps like cross-recs and guest features. That’s the right ladder. If your subscriber growth is flat, add a channel before blaming the content.
Make It Pay: Practical Beats “Thought Leadership”
Here’s where many newsletters stall. People don’t pay for ideas they can’t use. Bridget nails the model:
“The ones making money are not writing thought leadership. They’re writing things that people can actually use the next morning.”
That squares with what I see across B2B. Toolkits move wallets. Vague takes don’t.
Practical ways to design tiers:
- Free: Useful on its own. Build trust.
- Paid: One clear upgrade—templates, case study deep dives, or access to you.
Pricing between $5 and $15 a month fits most use cases, with B2B at the top end. Factor the 10% platform fee. Then build four conversion levers over your first year: light positioning lines in every issue, low-bar value offers, a direct ask after 8–12 sends, and a few focused conversion pieces with a single call to action. That sequence works because it respects timing and proof.
Where I Push Even Harder
As a CMO, I’d add two moves:
- Map content to a simple funnel: awareness stories, problem checklists, and proof-driven case studies.
- Tag your list by interest. Send issue topics that match what they clicked. Relevance lifts open rates fast.
Also, set red lines. If open rate drops below 30%, it’s a positioning problem. If sends slip, fix cadence, not willpower. If growth stalls, improve your offer and add a partner channel.
The Bottom Line
Owned audiences win. That’s the thread through Bridget Oor’s plan and my experience with clients. Social can amplify. Ads can accelerate. But an inbox relationship compounds.
If you’re on the fence, pick a tight niche, draft your first two issues this week, and line up three distribution actions before you publish. Keep it useful. Keep it specific. Then ask for the next step when you’ve earned it.
Your move: validate your niche, set a sane cadence, ship issue one, and add a single conversion lever. Don’t wait for perfect. Hit send and learn. The brands that do this right won’t worry about the next algorithm change—they’ll be too busy serving readers who asked to hear from them.
