The hottest Marketing Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

Queen's Wish: A Portmortem Of Mixed Success

The Bottom Feeder • 994 implied HN points • 11 Mar 26
🕹 Technology Marketing
  1. The Queen's Wish series was finished with a free epilogue DLC, but its commercial run was mixed: the first game’s Kickstarter succeeded while the second game bombed, and remasters were used to stabilize finances.
  2. The games tried bold innovations—a family-and-royalty-focused narrative, mission-based tactical combat, and an empire-simulation with crafting and fort upgrades that tie systems together.
  3. The biggest failures were the visuals and exposure: poor graphics, weak marketing, and design changes that alienated longtime fans hurt sales, teaching the creator to prioritize a unified visual style and balance innovation with retaining customers.

Why We Make the Exeter Hammer

The American Peasant • 2715 implied HN points • 27 Oct 24
💼 Business Marketing
  1. The Exeter Hammer was developed over three years to create a lightweight, balanced tool ideal for furniture makers. It combines good design and functionality to improve woodworking tasks.
  2. The hammer's design process involved scrapping an earlier project that felt too similar to common hammers on the market. This led to creating a unique hammer that meets specific needs of woodworkers.
  3. The first 400 hammers sold quickly, showing a strong demand and approval from users. This success suggests that thoughtful design can resonate well with the target audience.

A Feral Guide to Marketing

Knowingless • 2552 implied HN points • 19 Mar 26
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Pay attention to where your gaze and tiny desires actually land, even on things you dislike; those subtle attention signals show what will grab other people.
  2. Marketing is mostly selling a story and a self-image, not just a product; make narratives that give people meaning and make the marketing itself enjoyable.
  3. Be brave and experimental: publish lots of things, get feedback, notice what sticks, and lean into those hits instead of trying to perfectly predict viral success.

Earlywood: Take My Advice, I’m Not Using It

The American Peasant • 2555 implied HN points • 26 Oct 24
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Keep your day job until you are financially secure. It’s smart to build your business while you still have a steady income.
  2. Network with other creative people. Making friends in your field can lead to new opportunities and support when you need it.
  3. Learn a bit of everything. Knowing skills like photography and website design can save you money and help your business thrive.

What is next for collaborations?

The Sociology of Business • 737 implied HN points • 28 Oct 24
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Brands are now combining different areas like food, art, and fashion to create unique experiences for customers. This helps them stand out and attract more attention.
  2. Collaborations allow brands to show their taste and connect with customers in a deeper way, almost like building a community around their identity.
  3. Creative directors play an important role in making brands culturally relevant by exploring new collaborations outside their core market, which helps them grow and stay appealing.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

The Casual Fridays Edition

Why is this interesting? • 1749 implied HN points • 05 Mar 26
🎭️ Culture Marketing
  1. Casual Friday wasn't a natural workplace trend but a deliberate marketing campaign by Hawaii's garment industry to sell aloha shirts.
  2. The industry used soft lobbying—sending shirts to politicians and getting prominent figures to wear them—to normalize aloha attire in official and corporate spaces.
  3. That long-running effort successfully manufactured a social norm and widespread consumer demand, turning a local product push into a national workplace habit.

This Week in Marketing: Evidence of Social Media Outrage vs. the Emergence of AI Sloptainment

The Social Juice • 85 implied HN points • 22 Mar 26
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Social platforms reward outrage and engagement, which lets harmful and scammy content spread quickly. Companies often fail to enforce their own rules, leaving users and advertisers exposed to risk.
  2. AI is rapidly reshaping search, publishing, and advertising, cutting referral traffic and forcing marketers to rethink where value and measurement live. That shift creates big uncertainty for publishers, brands, and agencies about monetization and control.
  3. Low‑quality, viral AI‑generated entertainment is exploding on social feeds, driving attention but creating safety, copyright, and creator‑rights problems. Creators and regulators are pushing back as these ‘AI slop’ formats scale.

Downstream Problems

The Breaking Point • 199 implied HN points • 29 Oct 24
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Focus on solving the root problem, not just the surface issues. Fixing the wrong thing will only lead to more problems.
  2. Quality leads are crucial for a successful sales process. Even a flawed process can succeed if the leads are strong and motivated.
  3. Looking upstream for solutions can help fix multiple problems at once. If you improve one area, other issues may also resolve.

The age of SUPERCONTENT

The Sociology of Business • 957 implied HN points • 21 Oct 24
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Brands are becoming content creators to engage a wider audience, not just their customers. They create fun and informative content to attract fans and observers.
  2. Today's successful content is often found in show business style, blending storytelling and entertainment across various platforms. This means brands are constantly producing engaging material that keeps their audience interested.
  3. Content is vital for a brand's success, often affecting how products are viewed and sold. Good content can help a brand stand out and become more discoverable, especially in a crowded market.

One Product, Three Revenue Streams

Tiny Empires • 61 implied HN points • 13 Mar 26
💼 Business Marketing
  1. A single product can support three revenue streams: the core sale, audience monetization via sponsors or affiliates, and productized knowledge like guides, workshops, or consulting.
  2. For solo founders, three streams hit the sweet spot—diversify enough to cushion revenue shocks but avoid the extra maintenance that four or more streams create.
  3. Start with your existing customers: spot common needs, run cheap tests (an affiliate link, a short guide, or a consulting session), and scale whatever shows real demand to stabilize income.

Inside Inter Miami’s 350% Revenue Surge: The Messi Effect, Ballon d’Or Clauses, and Nu Stadium Explained

Huddle Up • 151 implied HN points • 16 Mar 26
🎾 Sports Marketing
  1. Signing Lionel Messi triggered a roughly 350% revenue surge, growing annual revenue from about $56 million to $250 million and lifting the club’s valuation from $585 million to $1.45 billion.
  2. The club prepped sponsors with Ballon d’Or escalator clauses that automatically double fees if they sign a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, letting them capture much bigger commercial value when a superstar arrives.
  3. Messi’s contract is a mix of cash, equity vesting, and revenue-sharing with partners—costing roughly $70–80M a year but only $20M guaranteed—and the new stadium is positioned as the long-term revenue engine to sustain growth beyond Messi.

Sell Me This Pen

Astral Codex Ten • 11975 implied HN points • 08 Jan 26
💼 Business Marketing
  1. The content is behind a paywall and requires a paid subscription to access.
  2. The title "Sell Me This Pen" indicates a focus on sales, persuasion, or pitch-style techniques common in marketing and interviews.
  3. Published on Jan 08, 2026, the entry includes engagement numbers that suggest modest reader interaction.

The Campa Cola Edition

Why is this interesting? • 1085 implied HN points • 19 Feb 26
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Nostalgia gives revived local brands a built-in advantage because consumers already understand and trust them. That makes it much easier to win buyers than starting a new brand from scratch.
  2. When a local brand is backed by a powerful retailer, it can use low prices, preferential shelf space, and deep distribution to dominate daily purchase channels. That systems-level muscle multiplies the effect of nostalgia in ways global firms struggle to match.
  3. As geopolitical fragmentation and rising local confidence reshape markets, belonging and local identity can trump global scale. This doesn't doom giants like Coca-Cola, but it ends the automatic assumption that the biggest players will always win.

The Profile: The Spanx billionaire’s new invention & the DNA testing company running out of options

The Profile • 356 implied HN points • 20 Oct 24
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Telling stories from unexpected perspectives can make them more interesting. For example, focusing on a gravedigger during a famous event reveals a unique viewpoint.
  2. Sara Blakely created a new shoe that mixes style and comfort, but it has received mixed reactions. She sees this as a sign of innovation, even if some people think it's odd.
  3. 23andMe, a DNA testing company, is facing big challenges after a data breach and struggles to make a profit. Their future is uncertain as they try to stay relevant in the market.

Brands, ads, and video games

SuperJoost Playlist • 416 implied HN points • 17 Oct 24
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Brands are realizing that video games offer a better way to connect with younger audiences compared to traditional media like TV and magazines. This shift is important for capturing the attention of the next generation.
  2. There is a growing trend for brands to work directly with gaming companies to create engaging and immersive experiences. However, many brands still struggle to commit to long-term strategies instead of just one-time campaigns.
  3. As user acquisition costs rise, game developers are looking for new ways to make money, leading them to collaborate more with brands. This partnership is changing how audiences experience both gaming and advertising.

Should media outlets vet their advertisers?

Simon Owens's Media Newsletter • 274 implied HN points • 03 Mar 26
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Media outlets can’t realistically audit every advertiser because that would be too expensive, so clear sponsorship disclosures and letting advertisers police their own claims are the practical safeguards.
  2. Smart dealmaking can create value even when leadership is weak on creativity; sometimes walking away or playing rivals off each other improves a company’s long-term position.
  3. Marketing and content skills can be turned into media ownership — building an online presence and audience can be a direct path to monetizing and growing niche publications.

The Rock Star Who Couldn't Sing or Play a Note

The Honest Broker • 12400 implied HN points • 26 Nov 25
🎶 Music Marketing
  1. The music industry shifted from trusting musical expertise to prioritizing image and commercial appeal over actual talent, sidelining aesthetic judgment.
  2. A 1958 example showed producers could manufacture hits by using a charismatic non-singer who spoke or ‘rapped’ over music and pairing them with a real vocalist, proving marketability could trump ability.
  3. That formula helped normalize influencer-style fame, appearance-driven acts, and formulaic pairings that still shape mainstream popular music today.

Unsexy Things That Are Surprisingly Great

Total Rec • 9286 implied HN points • 22 Jun 24
🪞 Fashion & Beauty Marketing
  1. Finding value in unsexy products can lead to surprisingly great discoveries, separating genuine quality from flashy marketing gimmicks.
  2. Shopping for uncool items allows you to prioritize personal preferences over brand influence, leading to a more fulfilling shopping experience.
  3. Embracing unsexy brands helps in appreciating products for their true value and reduces the chase for novelty, fostering contentment and a more thoughtful consumption approach.

Perceived Value

The Breaking Point • 279 implied HN points • 17 Oct 24
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Value is based on how the buyer sees it. For example, ice cubes can be very valuable on a hot day, but not so much on a cold one.
  2. Customers often find high value in features that are easy to create, rather than the complex ones. A simple 'Export to Powerpoint' function ended up being super useful for many users.
  3. Sometimes, the reasons customers buy a product aren’t just about how useful it is. They might buy it for the customer service, prestige, or other factors that might surprise you.

How Big Pharma Mixed Addiction With Social Justice

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 3638 implied HN points • 09 Jan 26
🏥 Health Politics Marketing
  1. Purdue ran a deliberate, identity-targeted marketing campaign to get doctors to start and keep patients on high-dose opioids, using fake patient profiles and other tactics that helped drive widespread addiction.
  2. They co-opted feminist and empowerment language to sell pills to women, planning to "educate women in their natural settings" — including things like Tupperware parties — to normalize and increase demand.
  3. After massive harm and lawsuits, bankruptcy deals offer modest payouts (often $3,500–$16,000) and let the company rebrand and move into addiction treatment, even as many clinicians were misled about how addictive modern opioid therapy really is.

An Ugly New Marketing Strategy Is Driving Me Nuts (and You Too)

The Honest Broker • 30453 implied HN points • 11 Jun 25
💼 Business Marketing
  1. A new marketing trend encourages companies to annoy customers instead of trying to sell to them. This strategy makes people want to pay for premium services just to escape the annoying ads.
  2. Digital platforms now focus on grabbing user attention through irritating tactics. This creates an 'Annoyance Economy' where companies prioritize engagement over good customer experience.
  3. Customers are getting fed up with these annoying practices, and some are even choosing to walk away from brands altogether. Companies that ignore this feedback risk losing their customers in the long run.

The $1000 side-project

Tiny Empires • 306 implied HN points • 21 Feb 26
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Pick a tiny, focused product you can build and sell quickly so you learn what customers actually want instead of spending months on something no one buys.
  2. Solve problems you personally understand and validate early by selling manually to your first customers; direct feedback from those first sales beats fancy marketing funnels at the start.
  3. Price your product properly, keep costs minimal, and commit to one compounding marketing channel so revenue can grow sustainably — higher prices and low expenses make $1k/month actually useful.

‘Bridgerton’ Only Pretends to Be Progressive

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1386 implied HN points • 29 Jan 26
🎭️ Culture Marketing
  1. The show is sold as progressive but mostly repackages traditional patriarchal norms into a glossy product. It presents itself as liberated while keeping familiar power dynamics intact.
  2. Stylish casting and sexy marketing act like a rebrand that distracts from old romance-and-power tropes. The production values and diversity paper over conservative plot patterns.
  3. It romanticizes a fantasy of preserved courtship and traditional marriage roles rather than imagining real social change. The series offers nostalgic ritualized romance dressed up as liberation.

How Starter Story grew from a side project into a multi-million dollar media business (and why HubSpot bought it)

Simon Owens's Media Newsletter • 24 implied HN points • 10 Mar 26
💼 Business Marketing
  1. A simple side project of interviewing founders and publishing detailed case studies can grow into a scalable media business.
  2. Growth came from constantly reinventing distribution, building proprietary data from thousands of interviews, and leaning into video (YouTube) while shifting monetization away from ads toward higher-priced products and bootcamps.
  3. Bootstrapped and profitable, the company reached hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs and multi-million dollar revenue, culminating in an acquisition by HubSpot.

Best of Advertising: Forget Influencers, Focus on Narrative

The Social Juice • 66 implied HN points • 14 Mar 26
💼 Business Marketing
  1. A product needs a strong narrative; without a compelling story, influencer marketing and ads become more expensive and less effective.
  2. Brands can create big attention cheaply by controlling the story — through events, keynote-style reveals, familiar faces (even CEOs), or stunts that make the product unignorable and invite organic creator coverage.
  3. The industry is shifting: brands are experimenting with rebrands, mascots, partnerships and AI-driven creative, while agencies restructure and new measurement tools change how advertising performance is judged.

🎯 The Ultimate Pitch Deck Collection

The VC Corner • 739 implied HN points • 31 Aug 24
💼 Business Marketing
  1. A good pitch deck should include essential slides that clearly outline your business, like the problem you're solving and your market opportunity. This structure helps investors understand your idea quickly.
  2. Telling a compelling story around your startup's journey is crucial. It helps investors connect emotionally and see the value of what you're doing.
  3. Design matters a lot in a pitch deck. A clean and modern design can make your presentation look professional and helps communicate that you are serious about your business.

This Week in Marketing: Instagram has links, Disney is Quibi, and Perplexity exits Amazon

The Social Juice • 53 implied HN points • 15 Mar 26
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Social platforms are racing to capture attention with new formats and creator tools, from clickable links and edit features on Instagram to Disney’s vertical 'Verts' and TikTok’s radio and podcasts.
  2. AI is reshaping content and commerce but also causing legal, safety, and trust headaches — shopping agents face blocks, deepfakes and misinformation are rising, and publishers are pushing licensing and protections.
  3. Big tech is changing business models and controls by shifting costs to advertisers, altering privacy and moderation rules, and rolling out ad and AI features that could reduce traditional traffic and revenue.

AI won't kill marketing. We'll do it ourselves.

The Social Juice • 151 implied HN points • 07 Mar 26
💼 Business Marketing
  1. AI is overhyped and partly a bubble — many AI tools promise productivity but often add workload and don’t solve new marketing problems. Marketers should use AI to learn and research, but not fall in love with packaged productivity that replaces real work.
  2. Ethics and trust must guide AI use: disclose AI-generated content, guard against deepfakes, and keep real people in testing and creative decisions. Don’t let dependence on black-box chatbots replace human judgment or customer research.
  3. Brand, creativity, and human insight still matter most: big holding companies chasing AI ecosystems risk losing creative trust while indie agencies and brands that invest in long-term brand building will fare better. Focus on honest brand search, real customer contact, and avoid vagueposting or short-term attempts to game AI.

Big Technology's Cyber Monday Discount!

Big Technology • 3752 implied HN points • 01 Dec 25
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Big Technology Premium is on sale for Cyber Monday at just $60 for the first year. It's a great opportunity to access exclusive perks.
  2. The package includes access to a private Discord server and bonus reporting, adding extra value to the subscription.
  3. Supporting Big Technology helps keep their reporting going, so your purchase makes a difference beyond just getting content.

Welcome to the Era of Astroturf Fandom

Freddie deBoer • 9653 implied HN points • 19 Aug 25
🎭️ Culture Marketing
  1. Many popular trends today, like 'brat summer' and 'Barbiecore,' are actually created by companies, not by fans. This means what looks like a new craze is often just clever marketing.
  2. People don't really know what's real anymore in pop culture. It’s hard to tell if a hit song is actually loved by people or if it’s just promoted by companies with big budgets.
  3. The fun of discovering music and culture is fading because everything feels controlled. Fans are often led to like what's trendy instead of exploring and forming their own tastes.

You Shouldn't Start a Newsletter in 2024

Kristina God's Online Writing Club • 3776 implied HN points • 24 May 24
💼 Business Marketing
  1. You don't need a big following to start a newsletter. You can grow your email list right from the beginning, and it's more valuable than just chasing followers.
  2. You can write about broad topics and narrow down later. Starting vague is okay, and you can figure out your niche as you go along.
  3. Having a small, engaged audience can be more profitable than a large one. Even with just a few subscribers, you can still earn good money if they truly care about your content.

Deal Ended: $89 Lifetime Lunduke Journal Subscriptions Through Tuesday, Dec 2nd

The Lunduke Journal of Technology • 2297 implied HN points • 29 Nov 25
💼 Business Marketing
  1. The Lunduke Journal had a huge increase in new subscribers and views, hitting over 12 million views in October alone.
  2. They offered a big discount on Lifetime Subscriptions for a limited time, reducing the price from $300 to $89 if paid with Bitcoin, or $99 through other methods.
  3. If a Lifetime Subscription is not what you're looking for, there are also 50% off Monthly and Yearly subscriptions available until December 2nd.

The Fastest Way to Make Money with Your Newsletter in 2024 📧

Kristina God's Online Writing Club • 1878 implied HN points • 06 Jul 24
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Short newsletters are becoming more popular. People prefer quick reads over long articles.
  2. Atomic newsletters focus on one idea and are usually around 250 words. This makes it easier to create content and determine what your audience likes.
  3. To make money from newsletters, use methods like affiliate links or sponsorships. This can help you earn income without much extra effort.

Why influencers are creating fake sponsored content

Simon Owens's Media Newsletter • 174 implied HN points • 18 Feb 26
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Some influencers post fake “sponsored” content to make it look like they work with big brands and boost their credibility when pitching paid deals, and that strategy often goes unpunished.
  2. New platform features like creator subscriptions make it easier to monetize fans, but when the platform controls payments and data creators can lose direct access to their audience, so many still prefer channels where they own email lists and relationships.
  3. Scammers are using deepfakes and AI avatars to impersonate real creators and push affiliate or product scams, which can earn real money while evading platform moderation.

What I Learned from Bob Cialdini

Remarkable People • 339 implied HN points • 28 Aug 24
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Reciprocity is powerful. When you do something nice for someone, they feel compelled to return the favor. This helps build trust and strong relationships.
  2. Cialdini's six principles of influence include social proof, authority, and scarcity. Using these ideas can make your messages more effective and persuasive.
  3. It's important to use persuasion ethically. The goal should be to create a win-win situation, where everyone feels good about the outcome.

Cadeau : une formation gratuite

L'Atelier Galita • 79 implied HN points • 13 Oct 24
💼 Business Marketing
  1. There's a free training available on how to sell if you don't like selling. It's a chance to learn useful skills without any cost.
  2. This training is available for a limited time of 24 hours, specifically for premium members. It's a special offer to appreciate loyal subscribers.
  3. The training focuses on the basics of copywriting, which can help improve selling techniques. Even if you're not a fan of sales, these tips can be valuable.

The Insufferable Bros Who Run Corporate America

BIG by Matt Stoller • 56953 implied HN points • 26 Dec 23
💼 Business Marketing
  1. The pharmaceutical industry is heavily influenced by aggressive marketing campaigns targeted at doctors, controlled by corporations like IQVIA.
  2. IQVIA, a major player in the healthcare industry, is involved in a trial over a merger that could impact the future of advertising to healthcare professionals.
  3. The FTC alleges that IQVIA's acquisition of advertising firms like DeepIntent could lead to a monopolization of the healthcare provider advertising platform market.

Don't Snooze on Substack Notes. The Opportunities for Writers Are Stupid Crazy | Interview with David Mcllroy

Kristina God's Online Writing Club • 3037 implied HN points • 02 May 24
💼 Business Marketing
  1. Substack Notes is a great place for writers to grow their audience without the hassle of traditional social media. It allows you to own your following and make real connections.
  2. Many writers are not using Substack Notes effectively, missing out on its community benefits. Engaging with this feature can lead to rapid growth in subscribers.
  3. Substack Notes is ad-free and helps writers discover one another, creating a refreshing social media experience focused on writing and community.

Privatize Ollantaytambo

Bet On It • 241 implied HN points • 09 Feb 26
🏝 Travel Marketing
  1. Machu Picchu and its transfer logistics are badly managed, with confusing booking, underpriced tickets, and excessive passport checks that make visiting needlessly painful.
  2. Privatizing Ollantaytambo—auctioning the main and satellite sites plus the road from the train station—could quickly fund better marketing, easy payments, bag checks, and a frequent luxury tram, boosting visitor satisfaction and local tourism income.
  3. Making Ollantaytambo a privatization showcase is politically easier than selling Machu Picchu and could prove the case for wider private management by delivering fast economic and infrastructural wins.