Sooner or later, ads come for everyone.
Substack—long a holdout—is taking its most concrete step yet toward advertising, announcing a limited beta program on Tuesday that allows a small group of writers to insert paid sponsorships directly into their newsletters.
The pilot, which Substack describes as “creator-first” and opt-in, is designed to formalize a practice that already exists across the platform, where some writers independently line up brand sponsors alongside their subscription businesses.
Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie said in a post that the effort is meant to help creators earn additional revenue while preserving editorial control and keeping paid subscriptions at the center of its business.