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Video is helping smaller creators on Substack grow their subscriber numbers faster — but larger creators aren’t experiencing the same boost.
July 02, 2025

Substack’s video bet could be a growth hack for small creators

Video is helping smaller creators on Substack grow their subscriber numbers faster — but larger creators aren't experiencing the same boost.

Additional coverage:

  • An increase in bots scraping content from publishers’ sites represents a huge threat to their businesses. But scraping for AI training and scraping for real-time outputs present different challenges and opportunities.
  • This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at how mobile still accounts for an overwhelming majority of YouTube video views and why some Gen Z viewers aren’t tuning into YouTube on TV screens.
  • Future is betting on AI to boost recirculation – and make that stickier audience more appealing to advertisers.
  • From sister site, Modern Retail: From E.l.f. to Pillsbury, brands bet on Labubu to generate their next viral social media moment.

Other things to know about
  • As movers form new habits — like purchasing new kinds of products, exploring new brands, outfitting their new home and more — advertisers have the opportunity to reach new consumers if they get their targeting right. Sponsored by Realtor.com.
  • The advertisers that are leading in the crowded video ad space are the ones that are using interactive elements. This report looks at the platforms delivering the strongest ROI and the strategies driving meaningful outcomes. Sponsored by PadSquad.
  • Neuro-contextual ad targeting mirrors human cognition by acting as a brain to understand audience signals. An AI agent is the body that translates insights into action, making marketers less reliant on traditional contextual tools. Sponsored by Seedtag.

Top Stories
Ivy Liu
Video is helping smaller creators on Substack grow their subscriber numbers faster — but larger creators aren’t experiencing the same boost.

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How to master converged linear, CTV and digital media

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An increase in bots scraping content from publishers’ sites represents a huge threat to their businesses. But scraping for AI training and scraping for real-time outputs present different challenges and opportunities.

From Digiday’s sister brand Modern Retail: Setting brands up to achieve deep, long-term connections with their customers involves a technology-led strategy that emphasizes AI-powered analytics, a wide mix of marketing channels and regular experimentation.

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This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at how mobile still accounts for an overwhelming majority of YouTube video views and why some Gen Z viewers aren’t tuning into YouTube on TV screens.

For digital channels like email and SMS to deliver high ROI, brands and agencies need to power their efforts with timely, relevant and behavior-driven logic and data.

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Future is betting on AI to boost recirculation – and make that stickier audience more appealing to advertisers.

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Most enterprises still operate without access to the identity infrastructure marketing teams use every day, leaving other teams underserved and underconnected.

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Scaled ad tech companies need to maintain relationships with startups, when the sector is experiencing ongoing disruption due to AI.

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