Building a Brand on Substack

If readers don’t get you in seconds, they’re gone.

A2Z AI / Adobe Stock

Building a recognizable brand on Substack isn’t about logos, colors, or fonts. It’s about clarity. Readers subscribe when they instantly understand who you are, what you write about, and how it helps them.

If that’s not obvious the moment they land on your page, they won’t stick around. You don’t need a marketing degree or a branding agency. You need a clear message, a strong point of view, and a reason for someone to subscribe. Substack is built for creators who want to build trust, not hype. So the more direct and authentic your brand feels, the faster it clicks with your audience.

Start with your name. You don’t have to overthink this. If you’re the face of the brand, use your own name. People connect with people, and this makes your voice the centerpiece of your newsletter.

If you’d rather keep things separate or create something niche-specific, pick a name that’s short, memorable, and self-explanatory. Avoid vague metaphors or clever references that only make sense to you.

The name doesn’t need to be poetic, it needs to signal what the reader is signing up for. Something like “The Email Edge” tells readers this newsletter is about email marketing. “Deep Work Dispatch” signals a focus on productivity and focus. Clarity wins.

Your niche is the core of your brand. It’s not just what you write about, it’s who you serve and why they care. Pick a topic you can write about consistently, that aligns with what your audience wants to learn or explore, and that you won’t burn out on after three weeks.

The tighter your focus, the easier it is to grow. You’re not trying to reach everyone. You’re trying to become the go-to voice for a specific type of reader. Maybe that’s solopreneurs trying to grow without ads.

Maybe it’s Gen X professionals pivoting into freelancing. Maybe it’s introverts navigating business growth in a loud world. The more defined your niche, the more powerful your positioning.

Positioning is your edge. It’s how you take a common topic and make it feel different. Lots of people write about productivity. But one writer does it through the lens of ADHD. Another through minimalist lifestyle design.

Another through deep research and science. If three people can write about the same thing and sound the same, none of them have strong positioning. Your job is to take your topic and shape it through your perspective. What do you believe about your topic that others don’t? What do you challenge? What do you champion? That’s where branding starts to form.

Your “About” page is not an afterthought. It’s where curious readers go when they’re deciding if they want to subscribe. You don’t need a life story. You need a promise. Open with what your newsletter is about and who it’s for.

Then tell them what they’ll get from subscribing. Focus on value. Say what kinds of posts you write, how often you send them, and what kind of results or takeaways the reader can expect.

If you have credentials or personal experiences that support your authority, mention them, but only after you’ve spoken to what the reader wants. End with a simple call to action: “If that sounds like what you need, subscribe and stick around.”

A welcome post gives readers something to land on after they subscribe. It sets the tone. Think of it like a personal handshake. Let them know what to expect, how often you’ll write, and why you’re doing this in the first place.

Speak in your voice, not marketing jargon. This isn’t a pitch. It’s orientation. Keep it warm, clear, and conversational. You can link to a few past posts if you already have content published or preview topics you plan to cover. Let them feel like they’re joining something, not just adding another newsletter to their inbox.

Your tone and voice are what shape the emotional feel of your brand. Are you direct and bold? Thoughtful and calm? Funny, sarcastic, empathetic, hopeful? You don’t need to force a personality, but you do need to be consistent.

Your voice is how readers will recognize you, even if the topic changes. If you write like a robot in one post and a stand-up comic in the next, readers get confused. But if you write like yourself every time, clear, strong, and grounded, people trust you. And they come back. Your brand isn’t just what you say. It’s how you say it, and how reliably you show up with that same energy.

Substack gives you a few visual elements to play with, but keep it simple. Choose a header image that reflects the feel of your brand. Use your profile picture to reinforce personality, your face is often best, but if you’re running under a pseudonym or brand name, a clean logo or symbolic graphic can work too. Don’t get caught up in design.

The default look on Substack is clean and minimal, which means your writing does the heavy lifting. That’s the point. Focus more on your message than your layout. Consistency is what makes a brand stick.

You don’t need to publish every day. You just need to publish on a rhythm your readers can count on. Weekly, biweekly, or monthly can all work, just pick a pace and stick to it. Your publishing cadence becomes part of your brand.

If you say you’ll show up every Tuesday and then vanish for three weeks, people notice. If you’re erratic, readers lose interest. But if you show up reliably, even once a month, you become someone they look forward to hearing from. And that anticipation builds trust.

Don’t wait until you have everything figured out to publish. Start with what you know. The more you write, the faster your voice sharpens. The more posts you publish, the clearer your brand becomes.

You can refine as you go. Branding isn’t a one-time event. It’s a pattern you establish through repeated action. You get better with every email, every reply, every headline that clicks.

If you’re still unsure what a strong Substack brand looks like, there are plenty of examples to study. Lenny’s Newsletter is a standout in the product and growth marketing space.

It’s written in a casual, informative tone, blends personal insights with interviews and curated links, and sticks to a weekly rhythm. The branding is simple, just his name, face, and a clean layout, but the content is consistently useful and clear. Readers know what they’re getting and why it’s worth reading.

Another example is Every, a collective publication with individual writers under one umbrella. It shows how multiple voices can still maintain cohesion if the topics and tone are aligned.

The focus is on business, strategy, and personal development, and each writer brings their own angle to the mix. The design is minimal, but the writing is strong. It feels premium without trying too hard.

If you’re running a niche-focused Substack, look at The Diff by Byrne Hobart, which covers finance and tech analysis. The writing is detailed, the positioning is sharp, and the tone matches the subject matter, smart but not arrogant. Every element reinforces the brand, from the subject lines to the pacing of the content. Readers know this isn’t for everyone. And that’s exactly why it works.

The strongest Substack brands don’t try to be all things to all people. They’re sharp, specific, and consistent. They speak clearly to their niche. They show up when they say they will. And they build a voice that people remember. That’s what your readers are looking for. Not perfection. Just something real they can rely on.

You’re not just building a newsletter. You’re building a place where your ideas live, your personality comes through, and your readers feel connected to something that matters to them.

Substack is just the container. The brand is what makes people want to stay. When that brand is rooted in clarity, honesty, and value, it doesn’t matter whether you have 10 subscribers or 10,000. You’ll grow. And you’ll grow the right way, with the right people, for the right reasons.