Substack’s influencer marketing era has arrived

Billy Odell Tucker-Robinson Founder & Host — Banking With Billy Network • Intelligence Network • Data Science • AI Research • World News
Published: 2026-10-09T11:55:35.553Z • Permanent link

Substantial changes are underway in the world of influencer marketing, and at the epicenter is Substack, the popular platform for writers and thinkers to share their ideas directly with their audiences. Rothy's, the sustainable footwear company, has taken a bold step into the Substack universe, committing to a multi-year partnership that will see the brand sponsor a range of content, from IRL (in real life) events to personal essays from influential voices. This move represents a significant shift in the way brands engage with their target audiences, leveraging the power of Substack's community-driven approach to build brand awareness and drive loyalty.

Key figures in the Substack ecosystem are taking notice, as other brands begin to follow suit. For example, the fashion brand, Everlane, has recently launched its own Substack newsletter, which promises to deliver exclusive content and behind-the-scenes insights into the company's design process. This trend is set to have far-reaching implications for the financial market data space, where companies like Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters are likely to feel the impact. By tapping into the Substack network, these brands can gain access to a vast pool of influential voices and build their own communities around their products and services.

Substack's success can be measured by its impressive user growth, which has seen the platform expand its subscriber base by over 50% in the past year alone. This impressive growth has been driven by a combination of factors, including the platform's user-friendly interface, its focus on community-building, and its willingness to experiment with new formats and features. As the influencer marketing landscape continues to evolve, Substack is well-positioned to play a major role in shaping the conversation around brand engagement and audience interaction.

The rise of Substack is set to have a profound impact on the financial market data space, where companies like Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters have long been the go-to destinations for news and analysis. These firms have built their brands around the idea of providing authoritative, data-driven insights into global markets and economies, but the Substack phenomenon threatens to disrupt this status quo. By tapping into the platform's vast network of influencers and thought leaders, brands can gain access to a new kind of data – data that is more nuanced, more human, and more relevant to the needs of their target audiences.

One of the key companies that is likely to feel the impact of Substack's influence is Refinitiv, the financial data and analytics firm that was spun out of Thomson Reuters last year. Refinitiv has built its brand around the idea of providing cutting-edge data and analytics solutions to financial professionals, but the rise of Substack threatens to challenge its dominance in this space. By partnering with influencers and thought leaders, Refinitiv could gain a new kind of insight into the needs and preferences of its target audience, and build a more nuanced and effective brand around its products and services.

The rise of Substack is part of a larger trend in the world of influencer marketing, which has been driven by the growing demand for more human, more relatable content in the digital age. In recent years, we have seen a proliferation of platforms and formats designed to facilitate the kind of community-building and audience interaction that Substack has pioneered. From podcasting to YouTube, and from social media to online forums, the internet has become a vast and diverse landscape of voices and perspectives, each with its own unique strengths and weaknesses.