“The culture is losing creatives at a rate of knots,” says Farrah Storr, head of writer partnerships at Substack UK and Europe. Creators can bypass algorithms with the platform and grow revenue via subscribers rather than with views or brand deals. “You don’t have to rely on ads. You don’t have to fear algorithms. This is a direct connection between you and your audience,” she says.
Overview:
- Substack has 50 million active subscriptions and more than five million paying subscribers.
- Storr’s own Substack has more than 50,000 subscribers. Her earnings from this are greater than the salary from her first editor-in-chief role.
- Creators are adopting the platform due to its app, new video capabilities and a declining trust in big tech.
- Food is one of Substack’s fastest growing verticals.
- Brands are driving awareness through sponsoring posts, affiliate marketing, hosting joint events and launching their own Substacks.
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The former editor-in-chief of Women’s Health, Cosmopolitan and ELLE, Storr also runs her own Substack called Things Worth Knowing, which has more than 50,000 subscribers. “I have a relationship with my readers that I could only ever have dreamt of when I was in magazines. I have a proper community – I talk with them, I know lots of them, I’ve met lots of them, and they pay me for my work,” Storr explains. She writes her Substack on weekends and her earnings from this are greater than her initial salary was at Women’s Health UK.
Substack’s creator boom
Founded in 2017, Substack initially attracted journalists, academics and Twitter personalities, which are still a big part of the platform’s landscape – Storr highlights India Knight and Jim Waterson as standout examples. Over the past 18 months a growing number of creators have launched Substacks to distil core audiences and monetise their expertise or passion. Storr says: “I always say to people, don’t think of Substack as a newsletter platform, think of it as a media channel for the individual.”
She highlights two key reasons for the platform’s growth among creators. Firstly, the company has made changes to become more appealing. These include launching an app, incorporating video and introducing notes. The platform’s video offering has catapulted it into a new era. In April 2024, more than half of the 250 highest-revenue creators used audio and video. By February 2025, that number had surged to 82%.
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Writers and creators who post video or audio on Substack grow their revenue more than 2.5 times faster than those who publish text alone. Better discoverability and incorporation of visual elements has also led to a rise in paying subscribers. As of February 2025, subscribers’ likelihood of paying for other Substacks has nearly tripled, skyrocketing from 52% to 150% in just six months. The platform now has 50 million active subscriptions and more than five million paying subscribers.
The other reason for Substack’s popularity among creators is a lack of trust in big tech. “I think there’s nothing more horrifying than spending years and years dedicating your life and your work to these platforms, and at the end of the day, you can’t reach your own community,” Storr says. Amid fears of a TikTok ban, lack of platform moderation, faltering Instagram algorithms and billionaires acquiring social platforms to further personal agendas, it’s no wonder a lot of creators are open to a new approach.
However, Substack is a long game compared to platforms such as TikTok, where a creator can become an overnight success. “People need to understand the value of virality. It can get you a huge amount of eyeballs very quickly, but are those eyeballs going to stay? Are they staying there for the conversation? Are they going to pay you for your work?” Storr asks.
The fast-growing food vertical
The company hosted its inaugural live food festival, Grubstack, featuring more than 40 leading food profiles in March 2025. “The types of people we have in our food vertical are really varied,” Storr says. Yotam Ottolenghi, Alison Roman, Anna Jones, Melissa Hemsley and Notorious Foodie are just some of the creators who have built successful Substack communities. The platform is also hugely effective in driving book sales.
As for brands’ role on Substack? Some have launched their own channels, such as Tory Burch and Bobbi Brown. Others are leaning into creators’ dedicated audiences by sponsoring posts – see NET-A-PORTER’s collaboration with Anna Newton for example. There is also a flurry of businesses tapping into the platform through affiliate marketing, discount codes, giveaways and joint events. With engaged follower bases growing and algorithm fatigue driving dissatisfaction with Instagram and TikTok, it is entirely likely more brands will join the Substack boom.
“I think it’s just the beginning,” Storr says.
By Dina Zubi, news and features writer for CORQ.
