VUE
State of Drops New arrivals Brand Audit

Sponsor The VUE Edit

Sponsor an issue. Keep the editorial.

VUE's weekly fashion newsletter goes to readers who already pay attention to drops. Three ways for a brand to sit alongside the editorial — without changing what makes the editorial work.

Inquiries by email — grayson@vueniverse.com. Pricing below is the starting card; longer-term commitments and custom packages are welcome.

The card

Pick the surface that fits what you're trying to do. Each tier preserves editorial control — you pre-approve placement, we keep the voice.

Tier 01 — Drop Spotlight

Featured in the Monday VUE Edit.

$750

Per issue · 1 slot per Monday

  • One brand spotlight in that week's issue — 100–200 words editorial framing, one product image, one link to the brand
  • Marked clearly as Sponsored per FTC convention, written in The VUE Edit's editorial voice
  • VUE picks the angle and writes the copy; you pre-approve before publish
  • Distribution: every Monday email subscriber plus the public Substack issue archive
Inquire — Drop Spotlight →

Tier 02 — Brand Feature · Most popular

A dedicated brand section in a Monday issue.

$1,500

Per issue · 2 slots per month max

  • A full editorial section dedicated to your brand — 400–800 words, multi-product showcase, optional founder Q&A
  • 2–3 product images, multiple links, brand-context paragraph for new readers
  • Marked Sponsored Feature, written in The VUE Edit's editorial voice
  • VUE preserves editorial control on the angle; you pre-approve before publish
  • Distribution: every Monday email subscriber plus the public Substack issue archive, indefinitely
Inquire — Brand Feature →

Tier 03 — State of Drops Monthly

A partnership line in the monthly report.

$2,000

Per month · 1 slot per month max

  • "In partnership with [brand]" framing on that month's /state-of-drops report, in the header and footer
  • One sponsored section embedded inside the report — context on the brand and a 200–300 word editorial framing tied to that month's data
  • Distribution: organic web traffic to /state-of-drops, press distribution (Modern Retail, Glossy, Magasin, etc.), Substack republish
  • VUE keeps full editorial control of all data findings; the partnership line is presentation, not influence
Inquire — Monthly Partnership →

The deal we keep

Sponsorship works when readers can still trust what they're reading. We use the framing that fashion magazines have used for decades: brands buy presence, editors write the copy, everything is clearly marked. VUE writes the editorial. You get pre-publication approval on facts and tone. We don't change findings to suit a sponsor.

"VUE's editorial integrity is non-negotiable. That's why sponsorship has any value."

About The VUE Edit

VUE's weekly fashion editorial newsletter

The VUE Edit is the Substack arm of VUE — a women's fashion drop calendar published at vueniverse.com. Each Monday issue covers what dropped, what mattered, and the pattern underneath, drawn from VUE's live catalog of new arrivals across a growing list of brands.

Read it at thevueedit.substack.com.

Who reads it

Fashion people who pay attention

Substack subscribers, fashion-industry readers, journalists who write about retail and drop calendars, and the brand founders and PR teams of the labels VUE tracks. Plus the organic readership of /state-of-drops, which gets press distribution beyond the email list.

Specific subscriber + open-rate numbers are available on request — email Grayson with what you'd find useful.

How it works

Inquiry to publish, usually two to three weeks. Faster if the slot is open and you're ready.

  1. Email Grayson with the brand, the tier you're interested in, and what you'd like to feature. Reply same day, usually.
  2. We confirm the slot and walk through editorial angle and timing. Invoice via Stripe.
  3. VUE drafts the editorial section. You get pre-publication approval on facts and tone (not on whether VUE writes positively — that part is implicit).
  4. Issue ships on the scheduled Monday. We send you the published URL and email metrics two weeks after.

Common questions

How is this different from a regular newsletter ad slot?

Regular ad slots are commodity — display creative + a link, written by the brand. This is editorial sponsorship — VUE writes the copy in the voice that makes The VUE Edit get read in the first place. The deliverable is presence inside the editorial, not advertising next to it.

Will my brand be the only sponsor in the issue?

The Drop Spotlight tier allows one slot per Monday issue. The Brand Feature tier caps at two per month total — never more than one in a single issue. The State of Drops Monthly Partnership is exclusive for that month. We err on the side of fewer sponsors per surface, not more.

Do you take affiliate links instead of cash?

For brands VUE is already affiliate-approved with (Farm Rio, Shopbop, Bloomingdale's, and a growing list), affiliate revenue is in addition to sponsorship — we'd still earn commission on click-throughs the brand generates from the issue. Sponsorship is the primary deal; affiliate is downstream.

Can I pre-approve the editorial copy?

Yes — for facts, product details, and tone. VUE retains control of the editorial angle and headline. We send the draft 48 hours before publish for your sign-off. In practice the back-and-forth is light because we get the framing right on the first pass nine times out of ten.

Can I buy a multi-issue or annual package?

Yes. Standard packages: 4 Drop Spotlights for $2,500 (one a month), 6 Brand Features for $7,500 (every other month), or annual State of Drops partnership for $20,000. Reply to the inquiry email — we'll talk through it.

What happens if a sponsored feature doesn't perform?

"Doesn't perform" is hard to pin down on a single newsletter issue — the link clicks, the subsequent week's brand search lift, and any tagged conversions through VUE's /go/ redirect all get reported. We share what we can measure, honestly. We don't guarantee specific outcomes — what we guarantee is the placement, the editorial quality, and the distribution.

What kind of brands do you say no to?

VUE is women's fashion. We don't take sponsorship from menswear, kidswear, fast-fashion ultra-cheap players, or anyone whose product VUE wouldn't editorially write about anyway. We also don't take sponsorship from brands whose values clearly conflict with our readership (greenwashing without substance, exploitative labor practices that are public knowledge). When in doubt, ask — better to know early.

Not a brand?

If you're press, an analyst, or a brand team looking for data on a single brand, see VUE Brand Audit — the per-brand version of /state-of-drops, in a five-page PDF for $99.