Ads on Substack: Threat or Opportunity?
Here's what you should know...(The good, the bad and the ugly of having ads on Substack.)
Since it became clear that ads are coming to Substack (according to recent news), people on Substack started taking sides.
Some people see ads as the holy grail solving the slow growth problem, we’re all facing lately.
Others? Well, they think that’s the end of the platform as we know (and love) it today. The beginning of the enshitification. And there are good reasons for that.
What’s your opinion?
After all we all saw what happened to social media.
I personally witnessed how Facebook erased organic growth to increase ad revenue.
And I have no words to describe to you how hard it was for me to convince my business clients to develop their Facebook pages with organic content (and sell social media content creation services). Impossible. They all wanted ads instead. Because ads brought them sales. So my Facebook content creation services died, but my Facebook ads services took over.
But do we actually understand what’s coming to Substack? Ads are not ONLY what we see on social media.
There are many options, and we still don’t have enough clarity about what Substack plans to implement.
One thing is clear…
Money.
That’s what every for-profit business exists for.
And Substack is not an exception.
Once upon a time, Substack was the indie writer’s safe haven. A nice, no-ads, reader-funded safe place where you could finally just write without getting caught in the algorithmic grinder.
But things are now shifting. Fast.
As of this year, Substack is now officially a unicorn, valued at $1.1 billion. That’s a lot of zeros, right?
But with big money comes big responsibility. And its latest pivot? Ads. Substack is now warming up to the very thing it once stood against.
And we need to talk about it.
What’s Changing Exactly?
Substack’s founders always emphasized reader-funded media. No ads. No clickbait. No interruptive popups promising you six-pack abs if you click "next."
But now that they’ve secured that unicorn badge and need to keep investors smiling, monetization at scale is knocking on their door. And advertising is a very tempting answer.
But there’s one problem: Substack is not like social media. We have paid subscribers. Millions of them.
So what’s on the table?
Let me elaborate on the options as I see them:
1. Sponsorships.
What is it: You get paid from brands, not directly but through Substack to display their ads in your content.
Some people say that’s it. But what is it exactly? We already do sponsorships manually. Why would we need Substack in the middle? What’s the added value of the platform, that it can monetize? Do we get a new programmatic type of technology, where we can deal with brands and placements and Substack takes a cut? It’s possible.
Who benefits: we, as creators, Substack and brands.
What are programmatic ads? Those ads, which most media websites display after they make a deal with a programmatic advertising agency, with brand directly or using their own Google Ad Manager account along with Adsense.
So can Subtack become the new Google Ad Manager? Why not? I personally doubt that simply because it’s a very complex platform to build inside of Substack (just my opinion, I have no insider information).
2. Paid recommendations.
What is it: Imagine being able to pay to Substack for recommendations instead of counting on the organic growth of your recommendations list.
Or even better: we pay each other for recommendations, much like we do on Sparkloop.
Who benefits: us, the creators. And Substack. Not brands, not at all.
If we get that, I’d be the first one to test it.
3. Sponsored posts or Notes (or both).
What it is: you pay to Substack to distribute your content on the platform. This will simply give you more visibility. And growth. I’d definitely try that one too.
Who benefits: us, the creators. And Substack. Not brands, not so much, unless the post has sponsorships - that’s a win-win-win.
4. Full-blown ad infrastructure.
Now that’s the prerequisite for enshitification. Why? Because what is it: brands pay to Substack to distribute their ads in our feeds.
Who benefits: Substack and the brands. Not us, the creators. We only produce the vehicle - the content that caries the ads. And if the model replicated social media, we won’t get paid for it. That’s what most people are afraid of.
Because that’s what will kill organic growth for all of us.
Will this happen?
I honestly doubt it. That’s far too complex functionality to be lauched within Substack. Most (if not all) social media have separate ads platforms connected to the actual social media, with business management, audience management, commerce management, data, attribution, and many other functions.
Think of it as the baby between YouTube, Gmail, Blogger and Google Ads (OMG, can you even picture this?!).
Also because Substack leadership seems to know what they’re doing and they do it right. I trust that they do. Because they created social media with Notes already, but it’s nothing like other social media. It’s social media done right.
I trust that Substack will introduce ads done right.
Probably a brand new model we haven’t seen, a combination of some of the above, which will evolve with time.
Because there are so many questions with no answer, for example:
What type of content will be enabled for ads? How about videos?
What and how to we manage what ads to be displayed on our content?
How do we distinguish between visualization of ads for free and paid subscribers?
Imagine being able to pay for a higher conversion rate of your paid newsletter, why not?!
Ads on Substack as an Opportunity
Let’s not romanticize poverty. Writers want to get paid. Creators want to grow. And newsletters are notoriously slow to scale without outside fuel.
Here’s what well-executed ads could mean for us:
1. Accelerated Growth
You know what’s hard? Organic growth in summer 2025 on Substack. It’s not like it was last year.
Notes, lives, recommendations - they help, but they’re slow and just recently became so unpredictable.
Paid distribution could put your writing in front of thousands of relevant eyeballs today.
Especially if done right.
2. More Monetization Paths
Right now, Substack’s primary model is: write → hope people pay. But not everyone wants to go paid-subscription only. Ads offer another revenue stream for creators, one that doesn’t cannibalize your core content.
Again, if done right.
You can keep your newsletter free and still get paid. Revolutionary? Not quite. Useful? Extremely. And Substack’s business model is not against it anymore.
3. Strategic Partnerships
Imagine if Substack’s ad engine allowed you to match with proper brands - those that your audience actually cares about.
Like a productivity writer collaborating with Notion. Or a wellness creator with Calm. That kind of targeting could feel less like “ads” and more like partnerships.
In short: ads don’t have to suck. If done right.
Yes, but…
Ads on Substack as a Threat
Let’s talk about the digital elephant in the room: what happens to platforms once ads become the priority?
Yes, we’re about to use the E-word: enshittification.
It describes the slow rot of digital ecosystems where platforms start off user-first, then slowly pivot to advertiser-first, until neither group is happy and the whole thing collapses.
Remember Facebook’s early days?
Here’s what could go wrong:
1. Algorithm Bias Toward Sponsored Content
Substack’s algorithm currently prioritizes engagement. But if advertisers enter the chat, guess what gets boosted? Paid posts. Not necessarily good posts.
Your readers have just two eyes and the same about of time to spend on the platform. So it’s either your organic post or someone else’s boosted post.
Naturally, those who pay will win the eyeballs.
Unless ads are done right.
2. The External Link Drain
If brands start promoting offers, services, and courses that take your readers off Substack, the whole internal ecosystem begins to erode.
Instead of building a loyal reader base, we might be reduced to click-farming someone else’s funnel.
Suddenly, the vibe goes from “intimate coffee chat” to “Times Square billboard.”
And writers? We get drowned in noise. Again.
Unless ads are done right.
3. The Unsubscribed Risk
Let’s be real: if you start posting sponsored content, will readers see you as resourceful… or just another sellout?
This depends entirely on your audience and how transparent and aligned your ad partnerships are. And also, how much control do you have over the ads that are displayed on your content?
After all, we have paid subscribers. I personally don’t like the idea of irritating them with intrusive ads.
And I DO want to be able to control that. We should. If ads are done right.
Ads Done Right
The truth is, ads aren’t inherently evil, but bad ad systems can be catastrophic.
So, what would it look like if Substack got this right?
Here’s a wishlist from my point of view
Ad Control
Let me choose if, when, and how I include ads in my content. Aldo, the type of content, and the advertiser.Relevance & Alignment
Substack should only connect me with brands that genuinely match my niche and voice. Ideally, I want to be able to filter and select.Reader Respect
Full transparency. Clear labeling. And maybe even a way to turn off ads if you’re a paid subscriber.
Imagine something like “This post is sponsored by Notion, and here’s why I said yes.”
After all, it’s all about our personal intimate connection with our subscribers.
And unlike social media, we OWN our audience. So we have to be in control.
That’s honest. And powerful.
That’s how I see ads done right.
So… What Should We Do Now?
I trust that Substack will do this right. From my point of view it highly unlikely that we get into the enshitification phase, at least because of the complexity.
But I also trust Substack leadership will make the right decisions.
So here’s what I’m doing (and maybe you should, too):
Watching how Substack handles ads.
Staying 100% transparent with my audience.
Exploring paid ads opportunities when we get them (we’re likely to win).
And backing-up my email list outside of Substack, just in case.
Because if we’ve learned anything from doing business online, it’s this:
Platforms change. Algorithms change. Terms change.
But your audience, your voice and your value - that’s what stays.
The Bottom Line
Substack adding ads could be a massive win if done right - with creators and readers in mind. Everyone wins.
But if not handled carefully, it could be the beginning of a slow enshittification spiral, dragging our trust and reach down with it.
I trust that Substack will do it right.
And I’m very much looking forward to it.
Do you?
Stay Unplugged!
Yana
P.S. If Substack still feels slow, check out this link.
👉 Start a discussion in the Unplugged community! Get help or simply introduce yourself and connect with like-minded members, and create meaningful connections.
Kickstart Your Substack Growth:
Get a FREE 10-Day Substack crash course to grow your first 1000 subscribers
Join the One and Only Substack Quest to build a high-converting Substack
Work with me to get your Substack up and growing
Save Tons of Time! Use My Custom GPTs:
The Title Generator that gives me headlines that stop the scroll
The Notes Writer that writes Viral Notes, bringing me hundreds of subs
The Writer Pro that turns my Notes into >90% human drafts (here’s the free version).
Or get the bundle with all the tools, now at a very special price ;)
Become an Affiliate:
Earn 30% from each sale. Apply here (I approve everyone).
My Newsletters:
FREE Daily BiTES: A daily mail with just 3 bullets from the most helpful things I read about writing and making money online with AI
Have a GUT Time: A weekly short but powerful technique to build a growth mindset and achieve anything you want
Unplugged: The place to be if you want to grow an AI-powered paid newsletter and create content that sells itself.
Hopefully Substack doesn't turn into Facebook. It's so painful to be on that site now since it's 95% ads.
We'll have to see how this goes. Your faith that Substack can get it right gives me more confidence in them.