SmartFlyer is launching a Substack publication, "Stay Awhile." The New York-based host agency will post new content on Substack each week that is then pushed to subscribers via an email newsletter.
Substack is a media platform that houses content and enables users to create paid subscription options. The platform was attractive to SmartFlyer because the agency believes it can connect with a new audience there, said Kayla Douglas, SmartFlyer's director of content.
"For us, it's about community. And community is, yes, of course, our agents -- they're the foundation of everything we do, and we have a really successful email program that they can participate in," Douglas said. "But this is kind of opening us up to a new group of people that we can engage with, both those who already use Substack, but also just because of its shareability and ease of gaining subscribers by sharing the posts that we'll create. I think we'll find a new audience here, which is exciting."
Douglas is no stranger to the platform. She has her own Substack, but hadn't considered it for SmartFlyer until earlier this year when she noticed several beauty brands cropping up on the platform.
Stay Awhile will have distinct sections. In "Overheard in the Penthouse," SmartFlyer COO and managing partner Erina Pindar will share news that comes across her desk. The Penthouse is SmartFlyer's new headquarters, located on West 25th Street in the Chelsea Gallery District.
In "Flight Mode," SmartFlyer founder and CEO Michael Holtz will talk about air travel, a passion of his (he's earned the nickname "Mr. 2A" based on his preferred seat). The first Stay Awhile will include an interview Douglas conducted with Holtz on his recent travels to Japan.
The "Just Back From" section got its name from terminology SmartFlyer has been using internally for years, Douglas said. When advisors return from a fam, the agency hosts an internal call to share what they've learned.
"We're really just trying to translate that to the wide community, whether that's our partners who are certainly going to subscribe but the clients, as well," she said.
Both advisors and SmartFlyer team members will contribute to that section.
In the "Field Notes section," SmartFlyer director of product and partnerships Barrett Hollo, will share updates on hotels, villas, yachts and cruises.
Douglas will also have her own section, "In a New York Minute," focused on the city SmartFlyer calls home. She'll talk about everything from new gallery openings to where to go for Easter lunch.
"We really want to come back to our roots," she said. "We've definitely invested a lot in the Penthouse being in this space that is so New York."
There will be a paid component to Stay Awhile: destination guides. While the guides won't be a main focus of Stay Awhile, Douglas said they will be a form of added value for paid subscribers. However, Douglas noted that SmartFlyer's advisors will all have access to everything in Stay Awhile, paid or not.
Stay Awhile was a team effort to create. In addition to those contributing sections, director of marketing Tori Boos immediately got behind the project, Douglas said. Communications manager Hailey Petersen designed the Substack's logo, cover image and elements. Social media and community manager Cece Fox has already begun promoting it across other channels. The name itself came from marketing coordinator Jennifer Goldberg.
"As opposed to outsourcing the brand identity for this, everything was done in house, which allows us to be a lot more nimble," Douglas said.
Leaning on her personal experience with Substack, Douglas said the platform enables a person or brand to have a wider reach.
"You're able to bring people into your ecosystem who wouldn't have found you otherwise," she said.