Substack Head of Comms, Helen Tobin — As influencers, journalists and celebrity writers join Substack, how to brands reach new audiences?
When Helen Tobin joined Substack in 2021, it was still known mostly as a niche newsletter platform. Today, it is a billion-dollar media ecosystem encompassing video, podcasts, and a social app—all designed around a single premise: amplifying independent voices. As Head of Communications, Tobin has been instrumental in steering Substack’s cultural and strategic ascent, not through corporate campaigns, but by making the writers themselves the story.
“My first role here was ‘help make writers famous,’” she said. “It was a dream job… We want to help elevate you in the world.”
That ethos of creator-first storytelling has not only shaped Substack’s external image but has become its strategic backbone. In a conversation that ranged from the evolution of journalism to AI’s looming influence on trust, Tobin laid out a compelling case for why Substack isn’t just another media platform—it’s a rethinking of how culture is created, distributed, and monetized.
From Gatekeepers to Direct Access
Before Substack, Tobin’s résumé read like a who’s who of traditional publishing: Penguin Random House, People Magazine, and The Atlantic. Far from seeing her new role as a rejection of legacy media, Tobin sees continuity in her mission.
“I’ve always been really motivated by helping writers, creators—people who make our culture—succeed in the world,” she said. “I believe that a book can change your life… and my whole career has been about helping elevate writers.”
What Substack offered was a chance to democratize that elevation. “My opportunity was to help a bunch of smart, brilliant, creative writers… share their work with the world and get paid for it. And I think that’s really important,” she emphasized.
She acknowledges the lasting value of traditional institutions—The Atlantic, The New York Times, Penguin Random House—but sees Substack as expanding the pie. “Substack has really made it possible for anyone to have a voice and share it with the world and get paid for their work,” she said. “It’s fewer gatekeepers and more of those voices being heard.”
Substack as a Talent Engine
One turning point for Tobin came when a colleague at The Atlantic reached out asking to syndicate a piece from a Substack writer. “That’s amazing that this person could type into a box in their computer—or now… just pick up their phone and talk into it—and make culture that has a lot of value, get paid for it.”
Substack, in her view, is not just a publishing platform—it’s a talent engine. “These legacy institutions are searching Substack. They’re using Substack to find new voices, to syndicate pieces, to find writers for book deals,” she said. “These people don’t have to wait to be discovered.”
Rethinking PR: From CEOs to Creators
Tobin’s philosophy of public relations upends conventional corporate strategies. Rather than polishing CEOs into “all-knowing wise oracles,” as she puts it, her team places the writers front and center.
“Some of the best storytelling we’ve done is when we put creators front and center… and had them go tell the world: ‘Substack changed my life,’” she said. “Substack made it possible for me to have a voice or quit my job… and make Substack my full-time job.”
That creator-forward messaging didn’t just build trust—it built the brand. “Before we had an app… people would subscribe to their favorite creator. They wouldn’t necessarily subscribe to Substack,” she noted. Now, in 2025, “Substack is a destination because so many of those amazing creators are here.”
Can Brands Belong?
Though Substack is still synonymous with journalism and opinion writing, Tobin emphasized that the platform is far broader today. “Fashion is a huge category. Food is a huge category… everyone has their own experience of Substack,” she said.
And yes, brands are welcome—but with caveats. “We only make money when creators make money,” Tobin reminded. “There’s no advertising on the platform… if you’re gonna use it as just an email marketing platform, it’s not gonna work for you.”
The key, she says, is for brands to behave like people: “People trust people and people trust individual voices,” she said. “You have to think deeply about which worlds you want to be a part of and which communities you want to show up in.”
Human-Centered Tech: A Different Feed
What differentiates Substack from social platforms like Twitter or Instagram isn’t just features—it’s incentives. “We don’t make money because you spend more time on Substack,” she said. “We make money when creators build relationships and get paid.”
In other words, virality isn’t the goal—depth is. “If you’re going viral on Notes, you can click in your note and it can tell you: this led to 32 paid subscriptions, which made you $800,” she said. “It’s completely different than posting on those other platforms.”
One such post reportedly earned $10,000 in subscriptions, she recalled. “My creative work is valuable and I get paid for it—not one of these other guys.”
To further signal authenticity, Substack introduced badges showing which users pay for subscriptions. “A lot of creators… want to have conversations with real people. And it’s a really positive signifier,” Tobin said. “You’re not here to just be a troll or a bot… you want to have an interesting conversation.”
How to Grow on Substack
So what’s the “magic sauce” for attracting a following on Substack?
Tobin lays it out clearly:
- Tap into your human network. “Make a list of people you admire.” she said. “ask them to recommend you.” She says you can contribute or do live shows with others as well.
- Share externally. “We have AI tools that automatically clip the five or six most interesting parts of your podcast or post.” she said. “You can share them to LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter.”
- Use Notes as top of funnel. “You’ve already done the hard work of the thinking,” Tobin explains “Share clips of it on Notes.”
But above all, she urges creators to participate in the community. “How good of a community member are you?” she asked. “Word of mouth is really powerful. It’s that human-to-human connection.”
Defending Against the Ai Slop Wave
With the rise of generative AI, trust in content is under threat. But Tobin argues that Substack is structurally resistant to “AI slop.”
“People trust people. Direct relationships are going to become even more important,” she said. “Substack is not anti-AI… but our whole model incentivizes trust and direct relationships.”
While the platform allows creators to opt out of being scraped by AI models, Tobin said their focus is on preserving creative integrity. “We want to make sure people can see who the real people are… who are paying for culture, so that we can continue to elevate original thought.”
She wouldn’t comment directly on whether Substack might license content to AI companies, but reiterated: “We care a lot about creators having ownership and control.”
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In a media landscape increasingly dictated by algorithms, ad revenue, and impersonal metrics, Substack’s human-centered model—championed by communicators like Helen Tobin—stands out. Its mission is not to chase clicks, but to create space for connection.
“What makes Substack different is that it’s optimized for quality,” she said. “It’s optimized for smart people.”
And that, perhaps, is the most disruptive idea of all.
