Substack Adds Three New Sponsorship Formats

Substack's sponsorships program adds the upgrade, the unlock and the masthead, three brand-paid formats for opted-in publishers, plus Kantar brand studies.

Can a brand pay for your newsletter without putting an ad in it? That is the idea behind three new sponsorship formats Substack announced on October 8, 2026. In a post on Substack's own blog, Dan, Substack's Head of Brand Partnerships, said the company is unveiling the next phase of its Sponsorships program at Advertising Week.

The three formats

The upgrade. A brand pays for a month of paid access for a publisher's free subscribers. Readers get the full publication at no cost and can become paying subscribers when the sponsored month ends.

The unlock. A brand sponsors one of a publisher's paid posts, making it free for everyone to read. Substack says the publisher gets paid for the work and can reach new readers who may go on to subscribe.

The masthead. A brand partners with writers and creators to present work on a theme in a dedicated destination on Substack. The post compares it to a digital zine, such as a retail brand collecting gift guides or a hotel brand highlighting travel writing.

How publishers get in

Participation is opt-in. Substack says publishers choose whether to take part and opt in through their Creator Kit, the customizable media kit it introduced for Substack bestsellers in June, when it announced the first phase of its native sponsorships program.

The post says Substack is "bringing small groups of bestsellers and brands together as we test and learn." Bestsellers interested in sponsorships are told to turn on their Creator Kit to be considered. Those who already have, the post says, may not have heard back yet because "we're still early in that process."

Substack says it has been testing ideas with brands including Balenciaga, Uber and T-Mobile. It does not publish rates, revenue splits or how many publishers have been paid through the program.

Measuring more than clicks

For large campaigns, Substack says it will now offer Kantar studies, which it describes as independent, privacy-safe surveys that track changes in brand awareness, perception and consideration. The post argues that creator marketing is usually measured only by impressions and clicks.

"An ad grabs you by the collar; a sponsorship is the wind at your back," the post says. Substack frames subscriptions as "the floor, but not the ceiling," and says it wants "a world where ads work for writers instead of writers working for ads."

What the post does not say

The post does not give a launch date for any of the three formats, the minimum size a publication must be, how a sponsored month affects a writer's paid-subscriber numbers, or what share of the sponsorship fee goes to the writer. It also describes the format images as "mock-ups shown for illustrative purposes only."

Why it matters for authors

The upgrade is a free trial someone else pays for. If you run a paid Substack, a sponsored month puts your full archive in front of free subscribers, and they can convert when it ends. That is the same trial-to-paid path many author newsletters already use, paid for by a brand.

The unlock turns a paywalled post into a reach play. A sponsored paid post becomes free for everyone, so a strong excerpt or essay can travel further while you still get paid for it.

Only bestsellers are in the door so far. Substack ties the program to its Creator Kit for bestsellers and says it is still early. If your newsletter is smaller, there is nothing to sign up for yet beyond turning on the kit if you qualify.

Sources

Substack: A new vision for sponsorships (October 8, 2026)

Substack Adds Three Sponsorship Formats That Pay Writers Without Running Ads