NEW MARKETING CHANNELS REDEFINING GROWTH: SUBSTACK, REDDIT AND ONLYFANS
By Amy Kapolnek, Founder, the fwrd group + Fractional CMO, Growth Strategist, Indie Brand Specialist, Beauty + Wellness Leader, Contributing Expert + Speaker
Every Thursday, THE BOARD BRIEFING brings you curated industry insights directly from our Members to your inbox.
For years, the marketing playbook revolved around the same platforms: Instagram for visuals, Facebook for community, Google for search and Email for retention. But the digital landscape has shifted, and brands that want to stay relevant must look beyond the usual suspects.
Three emerging (and sometimes unexpected) platforms - Substack, OnlyFans and Reddit - are quietly reshaping how brands reach, engage and convert audiences.
Here’s how forward-thinking companies are tapping into them.
SUBSTACK: THE BLOG REINVENTED
Substack has transformed the humble newsletter into a powerful publishing hub for brands. What began as a tool for independent writers is now a channel where brands can:
Build A “Living Blog:” Instead of housing insights or announcements on a static blog that few people actively visit, brands can deliver thought leadership and storytelling directly to inboxes. Substack’s clean interface and subscription features make content feel more like media than marketing.
Partner With Credible Voices: Brands can sponsor newsletters or collaborate with top Substack creators as a way to leverage their loyal readership. Because these writers often cultivate niche but highly engaged audiences (beauty insiders, wellness enthusiasts, financial analysts, cultural critics), the partnership feels authentic and targeted.
CHANNEL PLAY
Rare Beauty leaned into this by launching Rare Beauty Secrets on Substack. Instead of polished social posts, they send letters that feel personal and handwritten: team reflections, product sneak peeks and candid conversations about mental health and purpose. No hard sell, just authenticity. The payoff? Their open rates outperform typical email blasts, and subscribers discover them directly through Substack’s own platform. That’s the power of depth over noise.
FINAL WORDS
Think of Substack as influencer marketing but with long-form substance and community-driven trust baked in.
ONLYFANS: BEYOND THE HEADLINES
Often associated with adult content, OnlyFans is being re-framed by savvy marketers as a new frontier for partnerships. Its top talent now includes fitness trainers, chefs, musicians, and lifestyle personalities who command deeply engaged followings willing to pay for access. The key is to shift perspective: OnlyFans isn’t just adult entertainment - it’s a monetized creator economy with untapped potential.
EXCLUSIVE COLLABORATIONS: Brands can partner with creators to offer behind-the-scenes content, tutorials or even product demos that feel intimate and exclusive.
MEMBERSHIP MODELS: The subscription format aligns perfectly with brands experimenting in loyalty or “insider” programs. Imagine a skincare brand partnering with a wellness creator to launch a members-only routine series or early product drops.
EVENT TIE-INS: For campaigns tied to launches or cultural moments, creators can host live streams or Q&As that cut through the noise and drive real-time engagement.
CHANNEL IN PLAY
When you hear OnlyFans, beauty marketing may not come to mind. But that’s exactly why Urban Decay made waves by partnering with creator Ari Kytsya in their “anti-bland” campaign. The collab was unapologetic, raw and stirred conversation across the industry. Some called it bold, others controversial, but everyone was talking about it. Urban Decay proved that showing up differently can cut through the clutter in ways a standard influencer campaign never could. The goal wasn’t shock value but more about visibility and daring to meet audiences where loyalty already runs deep.
FINAL WORDS
The platform’s brand image is only beginning to clean up and very slowly. There’s still a strong cultural association with adult content, and that stigma won’t disappear overnight. For brands, this means two things:
Partnerships on this platform must align authentically with your positioning.
Your target audience should already be open to, or at least comfortable with, the platform.
REDDIT: THE INTERNET’S FOCUS GROUP
Reddit remains one of the most underutilized channels in beauty - and one of the most powerful. Known as the “front page of the internet,” it thrives on user-generated discussions across thousands of subreddits (or communities). Brands are realizing its power in three distinct ways:
SOCIAL LISTENING: Subreddits serve as unfiltered focus groups. Whether it’s r/SkincareAddiction, r/Beauty or r/Fitness brands can observe authentic conversations about consumer frustrations, product gaps and emerging trends, most often months before they surface elsewhere.
COMMUNITY BUILDING: A brand that shows up respectfully (not salesy) in relevant subreddits can build trust and credibility. Hosting AMAs (“Ask Me Anything”), answering questions and sharing real value can position a brand as an authority within niche audiences.
PAID MEDIA: Reddit’s ad platform has quietly matured, offering highly targeted placements based on subreddit interest groups. The ads feel less intrusive because they’re served within the context of the conversation.
CHANNEL IN PLAY
For their Water Bank collection, Laneige didn’t just run ads; they listened. By monitoring communities like r/AsianBeauty, they picked up on unfiltered conversations around skincare frustrations, then designed campaigns that spoke directly to them. Instead of generic promos, Laneige placed thoughtful ads in the very threads where those conversations were happening. The result was a campaign that felt native, earned trust and converted curiosity into consideration.
FINAL WORD
Used well, Reddit becomes both a listening tool and an activation platform - a full-circle channel for brands that value insight and authenticity.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The future of marketing isn’t about chasing every new app. It’s about recognizing where audiences are already spending time, attention and money. Substack, OnlyFans and Reddit may not look like traditional marketing channels, but they’re where culture, community and commerce are converging.
Forward-thinking brands that explore these platforms now - before they become mainstream - will have the advantage of shaping the rules but also capturing market share, deepening community loyalty and unlocking new streams of revenue.
