How Emily Polner Built a Bold Fashion Community with the Help of Linktree

For Emily Polner, fashion has always been about more than just clothes—it’s a form of self-expression, a creative outlet, and a way to challenge the status quo. As the creator of The Emsider, a Substack dedicated to maximalist fashion and creative styling, she encourages people to rethink how they approach their wardrobes.

Her mission is simple: you don’t need an endless closet to be a maximalist. You just need the confidence to experiment—playing with colour, layering, and unexpected pairings to make your wardrobe feel fresh and exciting. Through The Emsider, Emily shares styling inspiration, highlights emerging brands, and invites her readers to push the boundaries of their personal style.

But as her audience grew, so did the challenge of keeping everything accessible.

From Scattered Links to a Seamless Experience

Before using Linktree, Emily faced a frustrating reality as a digital creator: she was constantly sharing recommendations—whether it was a Substack post, an indie designer, or a styling tip—but there was no easy way to keep everything in one place.

“I was struggling to create a hub for everything,” Emily says. “I’m always mentioning, tagging, and linking to things I love, but across multiple platforms, things would get siloed or lost. I wanted to make sure my audience could easily find everything about The Emsider—from my Substack to my affiliate links to community resources.”

She first discovered Linktree over five years ago when she noticed another creator using it in their Instagram bio. At the time, Instagram restricted link-sharing features to accounts with over 10,000 followers, leaving smaller creators like Emily without a way to easily direct followers to their content.

“It was frustrating because I had so much to share, but I couldn’t use Stories to grow in the way I wanted,” she explains. “When I found Linktree, it was a relief—it gave me the space to put direct links to my latest obsessions, other social platforms, and anything else I wanted.”

A Personalised and Strategic Approach to Growth

More than just a collection of links, Linktree became a key part of Emily’s content strategy. With full control over the design and layout, she tailored her Linktree to match The Emsider’s branding, creating a seamless and trustworthy experience for her followers.

“I love that I can organize my links based on what I’m prioritizing at the moment,” she says. “Right now, my focus is growing my Substack readership, but I know that will evolve. Having the flexibility to update, reorder, and refresh my links whenever I need to is so important.”

Emily also found that the ability to visually align Linktree with her brand helped strengthen the connection with her audience. “Being able to customize my Linktree to reflect The Emsider’s aesthetic makes a difference—it immerses people in the world I’ve built from the moment they click.”

Breaking Records and Building Community

One of Emily’s biggest wins with Linktree came when she used it to promote a post on fashion styling inspired by indie artists.

“Linktree helped drive 16% of the total views to that post,” she shares. “It was a personal best for The Emsider, and it showed me just how powerful having a central hub can be.”

With features like Linktree Shops, Linktree has also made it easier for her followers to engage with her recommendations. “Not everyone knows how to navigate traditional affiliate link platforms, so having a simple way for them to shop my favorite finds has been a game-changer.”

Advice for Fellow Creators

For fashion enthusiasts and Substack writers looking to expand their reach, Emily’s advice is clear:

“Centralizing your links with Linktree is one of the best things you can do for your growth. If you want to increase traffic to an emerging platform like Substack, having one place where followers can find everything makes all the difference. It gives people an easy, reliable way to connect with you and stay engaged.”

Thanks to Linktree, Emily Polner has been able to turn The Emsider into more than just a newsletter—it’s a growing community of fashion lovers who are unafraid to embrace creativity, experiment with style, and make bold statements. And for Emily, that’s exactly the kind of impact she set out to create.

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