With newsrooms shrinking and short-form video becoming the most popular form of content for most audiences, experienced journalists and tastemakers have been left wondering if there’s still a market for original written content with a strong point of view. Writers who want to express themselves outside of video content are turning to Substack to curate their recommendations and connect with their audience. For many, the newsletter platform has become a way to regain control over the audience they garnered through years of writing and reporting for outlets they eventually outgrew.Substack is often an extension of the writer’s online persona, blending the nostalgia of the blogging boom from the early to mid-2000s with a forward-looking vision for the future of magazines and print publishing. Under the subscription model, writers create their own communities, and readers choose which communities to participate in, sometimes paying pricy annual subscription fees. These passionate communities are literally invested in the writers they follow, which creates a more engaged and loyal audience base. Recently, beauty brands have been exploring how to tap into these audiences through ad sponsorships. As the newsletter platform continues to grow, it presents a new opportunity for brands to connect with readers in a more authentic, targeted way. Brand sponsorships on Substack are still in the early stages for both brands and authors, but a few brands have been brave enough to test the Substack waters. BeautyMatter spoke to Medik8, Malin+Goetz, and Versed to find out the key to cracking the Substack code and learn how beauty brands can best leverage this powerful channel.