brand Substacks finally deliver measurable results

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• How branded Substacks moved from storytelling to sales
• The RealReal: anonymous voice, clear revenue
  • Audience growth linked to commerce
• M.M.LaFleur: moving editorial onto Substack and learning readers’ wants
  • What surprised the team
• Rare Beauty: community and conversation over direct KPIs
  • Using Substack’s community tools
• Features and mechanics that matter on Substack
• How brands measure success—and the limits of single-post attribution
• Practical recommendations for brands launching on Substack

Brands that once treated Substack as an experiment are now discovering something unexpected: newsletters can build community and move merchandise. What began as editorial play has turned into measurable commerce for fashion and beauty companies. Below, we examine how three brands used Substack differently, which platform features mattered most, and what metrics teams are watching as newsletters shift from hobby to sales channel.

How branded Substacks moved from storytelling to sales

Substack started as a place for long-form writing. Brands saw a chance to stretch beyond social media. Fashion and beauty teams joined in force, using newsletters to publish deeper stories and to surface products in context.

Over the last few years, the number of fashion and beauty publications on Substack has surged. Many companies emphasize community-building at first. But for some, placing products inside those stories became a powerful way to sell.

Not every newsletter is the same. Some are dormant for months. Others post weekly and use Substack’s discovery tools to reach new readers. The difference often comes down to cadence, creative voice, and whether brands treat the channel purely as marketing or also as commerce.

The RealReal: anonymous voice, clear revenue

Luxury resale platform The RealReal launched a gossip-inflected Substack in early 2025 written by an anonymous “RealGirl.” The voice aimed to be conversational rather than promotional. But readers began buying items highlighted in the posts.

At first the company did not track sales from newsletter links. After seeing repeatedly sold-out items, it started measuring results. The RealReal traced more than $334,000 in sales back to the Substack.

Audience growth linked to commerce

• Views climbed from about 58,400 to 236,000 in a year.
• Subscribers rose from roughly 3,470 to 8,281.
• Followers on the platform increased by roughly 8,000, a 150% jump.

The newsletter mixes culture, trend pieces and product links. One story, timed to a film sequel, curated items tied to that movie. Readers treated the content as helpful shopping guidance rather than an ad, which drove conversions.

Lesson: Authentic editorial voice can turn readers into buyers without an overt sales pitch.

M.M.LaFleur: moving editorial onto Substack and learning readers’ wants

Workwear brand M.M.LaFleur migrated its editorial newsletter to Substack about 16 months ago. The move aimed to tap the platform’s discovery features and boost subscriber growth.

The switch paid off: Substack discovery contributed roughly 6,000 new subscribers to The M Dash. The publication now counts more than 81,000 subscribers overall.

What surprised the team

• Styling guides perform well, but personal essays about careers drew the most engagement.
• A candid founder essay outpaced other posts in views and interaction.
• Open rates rebounded to around 50%, which the brand says is stronger than typical marketing emails.

M.M.LaFleur uses Substack both to support commerce and to build long-term affinity. The marketing team watches how partnerships perform and discovered one collaboration drove many orders from existing customers rather than new ones. That clarified that engagement does not always equal new-customer acquisition.

Approach: Invest in original photography and recurring columns, and treat the newsletter as a sustained brand-building asset rather than a weekly sales trigger.

Rare Beauty: community and conversation over direct KPIs

Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty launched its Substack to prioritize audience interaction and creative storytelling. The brand tracks growth in engagement more than pure sales attribution.

Over the past year, Rare Beauty reported viewership rising by about 281%, and subscriber totals growing roughly 40%. The company says it evaluates success through messages, comments, and overall sentiment.

Using Substack’s community tools

• Notes: short updates and social-style posts to spark quick conversations.
• Chat: direct messaging with subscribers for real-time feedback.
• Weekly newsletter cadence complemented by spontaneous posts in the app.

Rare Beauty’s team treats Notes and Chat as places to respond to community suggestions and to share behind-the-scenes moments. Those interactions create a feedback loop that shapes future content.

Takeaway: Substack can be a listening post as much as a publishing tool.

Features and mechanics that matter on Substack

Brands are using platform capabilities to extend reach and engagement. Some features are especially valuable for companies testing newsletters.

• Discovery channels that surface content to new readers on the platform.
• Inbox subscriptions that deliver posts directly to subscribers.
• Followers within the app who see posts but don’t receive emails.
• Notes and Chat for spontaneous posts and direct engagement.

Publication frequency is a clear lever. Substack recommends posting weekly. Brands that post consistently tend to see better growth and sharing.

How brands measure success—and the limits of single-post attribution

Different marketing teams set different KPIs for Substack. Some treat it as a commerce channel. Others focus on engagement and brand lift.

Common metrics include:

• Views and subscriber growth
• Open and click-through rates
• Sales tied to tracked links
• Engagement in Notes, Chat, and comments

Brands that have linked newsletter items to e-commerce saw direct revenue. But teams warn that high engagement doesn’t always bring many new shoppers. In some partnerships, a majority of orders came from returning customers.

Practical recommendations for brands launching on Substack

Companies that want to succeed on Substack should treat the platform as a mix of publishing and community management.

1. Post regularly. Consistency drives discovery and sharing.
2. Keep the voice authentic. Editorial authenticity often converts better than hard sell copy.
3. Use platform features. Notes and Chat deepen connections beyond the newsletter.
4. Track multiple metrics. Combine engagement signals with direct sales attribution.
5. Test collaborations carefully. Measure who is buying: new users or existing customers.

Bottom line: When brands publish with care, Substack can be both a storytelling forum and a real business channel.