Substack is trying to court displaced TikTok creators

“We’re going to rescue the smart people from TikTok!” Substack CEO Chris Best wrote in a Note posted Monday.

If you’ve been on your Substack newsfeed lately, you’ve likely seen the platform rolling out a warm welcome to TikTok users, as the days count down to a potential TikTok ban in the U.S. Just this week, Best announced a new initiative to help creators transition from TikTok to Substack: “We want to help creators save their audiences and build a sustainable livelihood of subscribers before they lose what they’ve built.”

Substack is offering a $25,000 prize to the “creative genius” who can make a TikTok video that sparks a trend. However, the winner won’t be the creator with the most viral video, but rather “the one that inspires others to post their own video inviting their audience to Substack and building a sustainable future” (how Substack plans to track that remains unclear).

“The bigger the audience reaction—and the more videos it inspires on TikTok in response—the better,” the Note continues. “When your video gains traction, let us know immediately. Submit as many videos as you like and we’ll find the winner who made this viral trend happen.”

The winning creator will be announced on January 19—regardless of what happens to TikTok in front of the Supreme Court—and will receive not only the prize money but also an opportunity to work with Substack as a creative adviser.

Beyond short-form video, TikTokers moving over to Substack gain access to a variety of content formats, including long-form video posts, written posts, Chat, and Notes. Substack upped its game this morning by announcing access to live video features for all publishers, doubling down on its video push. While traditional writers on Substack can experiment with video or ignore it entirely, TikTokers also now have the choice to stick with what they know or explore new ways to build community and engage subscribers.

Many are already making the leap. “Trying to find all my favorite creators before I realized they moved to Substack,” one creator posted. News influencer Aaron Parnas, with 1.6 million TikTok followers, and food creator @lailaspantry, with 268.5K followers, are among those posting videos promoting their Substack newsletters and encouraging others to join the platform. Another added: “Had to call bro and tell him don’t worry about the tiktok ban cause we all moving to Substack anyways.”