Substack Marketing for Beauty and Wellness Brands: A Deep-Dive Strategy
As a beauty and wellness marketing agency, you know that long-form storytelling and sincere connection build real brand loyalty. That’s why clean beauty content via Substack, like lifestyle essays or behind-the-scenes narratives, is becoming essential for brands seeking authenticity outside of fast social platforms.
Below, learn what works, why brands like Saie, Crown Affair, and Rare Beauty are leading the way, and how to use beauty brand newsletter strategy on Substack, wellness marketing on Substack, and using Substack to build beauty brand community to elevate your client’s footprint.
What is Substack and Why It Matters for Brand Marketing
Substack is an email newsletter platform launched in 2017, designed to empower writers and creators to build and monetize their audiences through direct communication. Unlike traditional social media, where algorithms dictate who sees your content, Substack puts control back in the hands of creators—allowing them to send long-form, thoughtful content directly to their subscribers’ inboxes.
Originally popular with independent journalists and thought leaders, Substack has quickly evolved into a powerful tool for brands—especially in beauty and wellness—seeking more intimate, authentic connections with their communities. In an era where consumers crave transparency, storytelling, and substance over promotion, Substack offers brands a space to go deeper: sharing founder stories, product insights, rituals, and values in a format that builds trust and long-term loyalty. As email remains one of the highest-performing marketing channels, Substack combines the reach of newsletters with the polish of a modern editorial platform—making it an essential strategy for brands looking to foster meaningful engagement in 2025 and beyond.
5 Tips for Building a Substack Audience
Here are 5 actionable tips for building a Substack audience, especially as a brand or creator in the beauty and wellness space:
1. Lead With Value, Not Promotion
Think of Substack as a storytelling platform, not a sales channel. Share useful, engaging content—whether it’s behind-the-scenes, product rituals, or thoughtful essays. Give your audience a reason to read and return.
2. Cross-Promote Strategically
Use Instagram, TikTok, and even your website to tease content and drive sign-ups. Add a “Subscribe to our Substack” CTA in Linktree, pinned posts, and email footers to grow awareness across your ecosystem.
3. Offer Exclusive Content
Give your subscribers something they can’t get anywhere else: early product drops, founder notes, playlist drops, interviews, or brand diaries. Exclusivity creates a reason to sign up—and stay.
4. Collaborate With Other Newsletters
Partner with aligned brands or Substack creators for newsletter swaps or guest features. It’s an organic way to reach new audiences who already value long-form content and intentional storytelling.
5. Be Consistent, But Human
Set a predictable cadence (weekly, biweekly, monthly) and stick to it. But don’t be robotic—let your brand voice or founder personality shine through. The more human your content feels, the stronger your audience connection will grow.
Take Cue from Fashion and Lifestyle Brands on Substack
Beauty and wellness brands can take plenty of cues from how fashion and lifestyle brands build their Substack audiences—especially since those industries have pioneered long-form, community-driven storytelling that goes beyond product hype. Here’s how:
Embrace Narrative-Driven Content
Fashion and lifestyle newsletters often focus on stories—whether it’s a designer’s inspiration, seasonal trends, or cultural commentary. Beauty and wellness brands can similarly use Substack to share founder stories, ingredient journeys, self-care rituals, or even wellness philosophies, creating a richer emotional connection.Leverage Founder and Insider Voices
Many successful fashion Substacks are led by founders, editors, or insiders who build trust through transparency and authenticity. Wellness and beauty brands can highlight their founders or in-house experts, creating a “behind-the-scenes” feel that humanizes the brand.Create Community Spaces Around Shared Values
Lifestyle brands often use newsletters as hubs for communities with shared interests—whether it’s sustainability, slow living, or inclusivity. Beauty and wellness brands can foster subscriber communities that feel like exclusive clubs, with Q&As, challenges, or guest features that deepen engagement.Balance Education and Inspiration
Fashion brands mix trend forecasting with styling tips and interviews. Similarly, wellness and beauty newsletters can blend practical tips (skincare routines, ingredient deep-dives) with inspiring lifestyle content (mindfulness, body positivity).Experiment With Formats and Collaborations
Fashion Substacks frequently include interviews, curated playlists, and event invites. Beauty and wellness brands can diversify content formats—like founder essays, creator spotlights, or exclusive offers—and collaborate with creators or wellness experts to cross-pollinate audiences.
By adapting these approaches, beauty and wellness brands can build loyal, engaged Substack audiences that value connection, trust, and thoughtful storytelling—just like their fashion and lifestyle counterparts.
Saie: Editorial Transparency as a Brand Voice
Saie’s Substack: From the Saie Office was an early adopter among beauty brands launching on Substack. Their weekly newsletter offers readers glimpses of Saie HQ—from makeup tutorials tied to shows like The White Lotus to team picks and product dispatches—not for hard-selling, but for brand-building. It’s storytelling, not sales promotion.
This beauty brand newsletter strategy on Substack focuses on cultural relevance and authenticity, earning consistent subscriber growth by more than 20% month over month—boosted by Substack’s own discoverability tools.(EnVi Media, Modern Retail)
Rare Beauty: Values and Vision Beyond the Product
Rare Beauty’s Rare Beauty Secrets, penned by internal creative strategists—rather than outsourced influencers—shows how long-form content can humanize a celebrity brand. The newsletter dives into product development, the Rare Impact Fund, and internal culture in a format that feels editorial, not promotional.
With around 17% of subscribers acquired via Substack discovery channels, Rare Beauty demonstrates how wellness marketing on Substack can power high engagement, stronger brand affinity, and transparency.(Modern Retail, Vogue Business)
Crown Affair / Dianna Cohen: Founder-Led Storytelling
Crown Affair founder Dianna Cohen launched her Substack Take Your Time to explore haircare, creativity, and entrepreneurial insights beyond the brand. With ~5,700 subscribers, her personal approach blends lifestyle content with subtle brand touchpoints—showing readers who she is, not just what she sells.
This is a powerful example of using Substack to build beauty brand community that centers on founder-led authenticity and trust.(Modern Retail)
Why Substack Works for Clean Brands in 2025
Substack offers a uniquely intimate channel:
Ownership: Unlike Instagram or TikTok, Substack lets you control the full experience, free from algorithms.(agentur-loop.com)
Discovery: Substack’s internal feed surfaces engaging newsletters to new readers, helping clean beauty brands expand beyond existing audience touchpoints.(Modern Retail)
Trust over Transaction: Brands are using Substack not as another sales funnel, but as a community-building tool with long-form story—fostering credibility for clean wellness messaging.(Modern Retail)
How to Launch a Clean Beauty Newsletter on Substack
1. Define Your Voice and Format
Choose whether the newsletter is brand-led (like Saie or Rare Beauty) or founder-led (like Take Your Time). Both work: brand-first offers structure and continuity, while personal voices help humanize content.
2. Commit to Storytelling, Not Sales
Build a beauty brand newsletter strategy on Substack that prioritizes narrative-driven content over direct promotion—e.g., ingredient walkthroughs, campaign prep, wellness guides, or mental health content tied to brand values.
3. Collaborate with Substack Creators
Consider partnerships with independent Substack writers whose aesthetic and audience match your clients. Sponsored posts or newsletter takeovers introduce your brand to engaged, aligned readers.(The Goat Agency)
4. Promote Strategically Across Channels
Promote Substack via Instagram, TikTok, and email, but don’t republish content. Instead, share teasers and drive subscriptions while delivering exclusive content inside Substack only.
5. Use Metrics Beyond Sales
Track open rates, reader feedback, and engagement in comments—not just conversions. Substack is about wellness marketing on Substack with long-term community building and brand depth.
Substack vs. a Traditional Blog: What’s the Difference?
While both Substack and traditional blogs are platforms for publishing content, they differ in key ways that affect how creators and brands engage their audiences:
1. Distribution & Delivery
Substack: Primarily an email newsletter platform—content is delivered straight to subscribers’ inboxes, ensuring direct, personal engagement without relying on social media algorithms.
Blog: Usually hosted on a website where visitors must actively come to read new posts, relying more on SEO, social shares, or paid promotion to drive traffic.
2. Monetization
Substack: Built-in tools make it easy to offer paid subscriptions or memberships, allowing writers to monetize premium content seamlessly.
Blog: Monetization requires additional setup (ads, memberships, sponsored content), often needing third-party integrations.
3. Community & Interaction
Substack: Often fosters a more engaged community with features like comments, replies, and discussion threads directly linked to each newsletter. Readers tend to be more loyal because of the direct email connection.
Blog: Interaction is usually limited to comments on the website, which can be less visible and less immediate.
4. Content Format
Substack: Focuses on long-form, serialized content sent at regular intervals, encouraging ongoing dialogue and subscription-based engagement.
Blog: Can vary widely in format and frequency, from short updates to long articles, but typically lacks the direct subscription model.
5. Discovery
Substack: Has an internal discovery system where readers can find new newsletters based on interests, helping creators grow organically within the platform.
Blog: Growth depends largely on SEO, social media, and other marketing efforts.
In short: Substack is a hybrid between an email newsletter and a publishing platform designed for direct, consistent audience connection and monetization—while blogs are more traditional, website-based content hubs requiring visitors to seek out content.
For beauty and wellness brands, Substack offers a way to build a dedicated, engaged community through storytelling and conversation that goes deeper than typical blog posts.
In today’s digital landscape, Substack marketing for beauty and wellness brands offers a unique opportunity to build authentic, long-lasting relationships with your audience. By leveraging the platform’s direct-to-inbox delivery, community-building features, and focus on meaningful storytelling, brands can cut through the noise of traditional social media and create deeper engagement.
Whether you’re sharing founder stories, product insights, or wellness tips, Substack allows you to connect on a more personal level—turning subscribers into loyal advocates. As clean beauty and wellness brands continue to prioritize transparency and trust, investing in a thoughtful Substack marketing strategy will be key to standing out and growing in 2025 and beyond.
Ready to grow your substack? Connect with Sloane at hello@sosloane.com
