I\u2019ve recently been using Substack to find new music to listen to. That\u2019s probably not quite what its founders had in mind, but it has a ton of newsletters written by people who just really love music. It\u2019s less professional music criticism and more \u201chey, this album was great, give it a listen.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not the only off-label use for Substack. Today\u2019s master of marketing is also a Substack fan \u2014 and she took a big risk with it.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n Claim to fame:<\/strong> Launched Rare Beauty\u2019s \u201csemi-authorized\u201d Substack newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n Novelty wears off fast when you\u2019re in the trenches.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking in the office, [our product] is something\u201d \u2014 a new blush, say \u2014 \u201cthat we\u2018re around all the time. We go to meetings about how products are made every week,\u201d Kassab tells me. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel necessarily thrilling from the inside when you’re in it for a year and a half.\u201d<\/p>\n But your audience\u2019s first peek at a new product? That\u2019s<\/em> magical.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re brainstorming new content, think about it from your consumers\u2019 perspective. <\/strong>What do you know that they don\u2019t? If you\u2019re marketing a new product or service, what got you excited about it in the first place?<\/p>\n Even though Kassab might attend weekly meetings about a new product, she\u2019s not necessarily there every step of the way. So for her newsletters, she takes the opportunity \u201cto find out some of the bloopers, or [other] things that happened.\u201d<\/p>\n For one newsletter, Kassab sat down with Rare Beauty\u2019s chief product officer to get the scoop on how the newest blush came to be<\/a>. One reason they developed a powder blush? Some customers found Rare Beauty\u2019s famed liquid blush too<\/em> pigmented. Not something you\u2019ll hear most beauty companies admit.<\/p>\n \u201cTo share these and see how excited people get [about this information] \u2014 that is really rewarding and makes it interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n Like a middle schooler with their first palette, the road to the perfect liquid blush is lined with some highly pigmented mistakes.<\/p>\n It\u2019s tempting to brush those under the rug, but remember: Everybody loves a blooper reel. Whether it\u2019s from your fav TV show or it\u2019s about a new lipstick, sharing mistakes breaks down the artifice between consumer and producer. Sort of a \u201cCelebrities, they\u2019re just like us!\u201d for your marketing strategy.<\/p>\n Plus, it brings a human element to her newsletters.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are showing the trials and tribulations of making a product. So I think embracing the idea that even as a big brand, we’re not perfect either<\/strong> \u2014 we hit bumpy roads and things turn out okay in the end,\u201d Kassab says. \u201cI hope that kind of thing is encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n Kassab\u2019s idea to launch a Rare Beauty Substack newsletter had a simple origin: She was already a Substack fan.<\/p>\n Designed to publish individual voices, Substack has built a community that reminds me a bit of early social media \u2014 back when everybody was having a good time instead of doomscrolling ourselves to sleep every night. It\u2019s a place that tends to value good writing over self-promotion. Introducing a brand voice to that ecosystem was always going to be a risk.<\/p>\n But in some ways, Kassab isn\u2019t<\/em> a brand voice. That\u2019s underscored by her cheeky Gossip Girl<\/em>-esque signoffs, the \u201csemi-authorized\u201d anonymous byline, and even by how lean her team is. (\u201cIt\u2019s a very scrappy team,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s me.\u201d) Even though she\u2019s representing Rare Beauty, she\u2019s still a solo content creator.<\/p>\n\n Don\u2019t worry, the lesson here isn\u2019t to reduce all<\/em> your content to one person. (Unless you are a very small business, please don\u2019t<\/em> do that; I beg on behalf of writers everywhere.)<\/p>\n If you\u2019re going to take a risk like Kassab and Rare Beauty did, think about the value that users are getting from the platform \u2014 and work with that, not against it.<\/strong><\/p>\n What is your favorite thing about marketing that can\u2019t be easily measured? <\/strong>\u2014Brenna Loury<\/a>, CMO, Doist<\/p>\n Kassab: The emotional connection. I love the way marketing can make people feel something. It could be inspiration, motivation, curiosity, nostalgia, or just a moment of joy. For us it comes down to self-acceptance and belonging. That connection drives everything we do, no matter how impossible it is to quantify (although I\u2019m sure AI is trying).<\/p>\n Helping even one person in our community feel seen and comfortable in their skin\u2014I love so much about my work, but that\u2019s really what gives it all meaning.<\/p>\nMeet the Master<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
MacKenzie Kassab<\/h2>\n
Director of Creative Strategy, Rare Beauty<\/a>
\n<\/h3>\nLesson 1: Get curious about your own product.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Lesson 2: Embrace your imperfections.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Lesson 3: Respect the platform.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Lingering Questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n
This Week\u2019s Question<\/h3>\n
This Week\u2019s Answer<\/h3>\n
Next Week\u2019s Lingering Question<\/h3>\n