So, you have actually been dabbling the concept of transforming your email checklist right into an earnings stream, however you’re overwhelmed by all the choices available. Noise familiar? You’re not the only one. If you have actually been utilizing a fundamental e-mail solution and scratching your head regarding sponsorships, ads, and paid memberships, it may be time to have a look at beehiiv. In this guide, I’ll walk you through whatever you need to understand about using beehiiv to transform your e-newsletter right into cash– all from my own experience. Ready? Let’s dive in Beehiiv Alternatives
Why You Might Be Stuck with Your Existing Email System
You have actually possibly tried the normal suspects: Mailchimp, ConvertKit (now Kit), Substack, or something similar. And if you’re like the majority of small-scale web content developers, here’s what likely occurred:
- Minimal Monetization Choices
You have a handful of dedicated customers– perhaps 500 to 1,000 individuals– however absolutely no easy method to generate income. Sponsorships seem like an international language, and you’re not keen on cold-emailing brands every month.
- DIY Automation Headaches
You wish to trickle campaign brand-new subscribers, send a welcome collection, and segment people for targeted e-mails … however establishing those automations feels like you require a computer science degree.
- System Costs Draw
Whenever you think of paid registrations, the platform takes a significant piece, and the repayment configuration is a lot more complex than it deserves.
- Development Stalls
Growth hacks appear to work for everybody else– however except you. You want there was a very easy method to locate brand-new subscribers without by hand chasing them down.
I remained in your shoes at the start of 2024. I would certainly been utilizing Kit (previously ConvertKit), yet it seemed like a stumbling block for monetization. Do not get me wrong– Kit is fantastic for developing funnels and establishing basic automations. However when it came to making a couple of hundred bucks a month from a tiny list, there had not been an evident “on” switch.
Go into beehiiv.
My Switch over to beehiiv: A Reality Examine
In January 2024, I ultimately pulled the trigger and moved my e-newsletter from Kit to beehiiv. Below’s the honest truth: I really did not have time to pursue sponsors, work out rates, or develop challenging paid funnels. I run a SEO composing company full time, so my e-newsletter was constantly going to be a side project. I needed something that almost ran itself.
The “Sell Me” Moment
What sold me on beehiiv was easy:
- Built-In Monetization: Right from the start, beehiiv yells, “Hey, you can make money here!” It had not been an afterthought or a third-party add-on.
- Low-Effort Sponsorships: As opposed to me scouring LinkedIn for enrollers, beehiiv brings deals straight to my control panel. All I have to do is click “approve,” drop in the ad copy, and struck send out.
- Passive Revenue Boosts: By promoting other e-newsletters in my weekly email, I earn $1–$ 3 per referred subscriber. No heavy training, no complicated analytics– just steady, incremental earnings.
Spoiler alert: It paid off. In my initial complete year on beehiiv (2024 ), I drew in $940 from advertisement sponsorships and boosts alone– on a checklist that never covered 1,000 subscribers. I didn’t create a paid course. I didn’t launch a product and I just let beehiiv do its point.
My Partner Program Windfall
As if that wasn’t sufficient, I also signed up with the beehiiv Partner Program– primarily an affiliate program. By blogging about beehiiv on my blog and sharing my experience with pals, I swiped $5,108 in referral payments through the end of 2024. Yep, you read that right: over five grand, just by discussing the system.
So if you’re wondering whether beehiiv deserves it for tiny designers or newbies, take my word: It’s a game-changer. However, naturally, it isn’t remarkable. Let’s break down the great, the negative, and the cool stuff you require to understand.
The Advantage of Using beehiiv
1. Money Making Made Ridiculously Simple
What I enjoy finest about beehiiv is just how very easy it is to earn money on autopilot. You do not need a massive audience. Right here’s how it works:
- Ad Network Sponsorships: When you hit just 1,000 energetic clients, brand names start aligning. You obtain 3– 6 ad demands monthly usually. You select the ones you like, put the copy, and you’re done. They pay per click or watch– no difficult invoicing. And because beehiiv matches you with appropriate brand names, your subscribers are more likely to click.
- Boosts Referral Revenue: Do not have sponsors yet? No problem. Promote other designer newsletters for $1–$ 3 per customer. It resembles Amazon’s affiliate program, however, for email lists. I made several hundred dollars by doing this without breaking a sweat.
- Paid Subscriptions (When You’re Ready): Down the line, if you decide to bill for exceptional material, beehiiv takes a marginal fee (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction by means of Stripe). You can establish multiple pricing rates, run free trials, or even let subscribers “name their cost.”.
- Partner Program Compensations: Not in it for the short haul? Register for the affiliate program. Make 60% payment on beehiiv’s month-to-month or yearly plans when somebody signs up with your code. It’s actually extra cash for sharing something you already enjoy.
Put simply, beehiiv turns money making right into a built-in feature, as opposed to a task you fear.
2. Analytics That Don’t Make Your Head Explode
If you’ve ever before stared at a control panel thinking, “What does any one of this in fact mean?”, you’ll appreciate beehiiv’s approach:.
- Clear Subscriber Growth Graphs: See exactly the number of new individuals signed up with, the number of left, and why your list diminished (extra on that in a sec).
- Open and Click Prices: Beehiiv breaks down performance over the last 1 month, so you can detect trends right now. For instance, I watched on my open price (hovering around 64%– not bad) and my click-through (around 3.5%). If either metric dips, I modify my subject lines or calls-to-action.
- Money making Dashboards: Sponsorship earnings, boosts income, partner referral incomes– you understand. Earnings streams are nicely separated so absolutely nothing obtains lost in the shuffle.
It resembles having a partner who tells you, “Hey, your January e-mail killed it– here’s why,” or “Uh oh, your February open rates are tanking– let’s repair this.”.
3. Growing Your List Without Offering Your Soul
The majority of newsletter platforms will certainly bill you for every single added subscriber after a threshold. Not so with beehiiv– for up to 2,500 subscribers, it’s cost-free. You obtain:.
- Limitless email sends.
- Access to the boosts network (expand your target market by advertising your newsletter on various other beehiiv e-newsletters).
- Standard analytics and forms.
If you’re a beginner or have a small audience, this is substantial. You can experiment with subject lines, send out regularity, and different lead magnets without bothering with striking a paywall.
4. Integrated Internet Site & Custom-made Pages
Envision dumping WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace altogether due to the fact that your newsletter platform functions as a website builder. That’s beehiiv in short:.
- E-newsletter Archive Pages: All your past e-mails reside on a blog-like web page that’s instantly SEO-optimized.
- Custom-made Landing Pages: Need a lead magnet page? A thank-you web page? A web page to sell a product? You can develop it right in beehiiv’s website builder.
- Mobile-Friendly Templates: Whatever looks great on phones– crucial considering that a ton of individuals check out e-mails on mobile.
Sure, you will not obtain every fancy drag-and-drop that a specialized website builder offers, but also for a lot of developers, it’s more than enough.
5. Referral Program to Supercharge Growth
Beehiiv’s referral program is incredible if you wish to use a community of like-minded developers. When your client clicks “Recommend This E-newsletter” and signs up with, both you and the referring creator get debt. It’s a clever method to grow your listing without spamming.
The Downsides: What to Keep an eye out for
No product is excellent– and beehiiv has its hiccups. Before you dive in, right here’s what might journey you up:.
Feature Overload in the beginning
When you visit, there are a lot of alternatives– Kinds, Boosts, Ads, Partner Program, Analytics, Website Builder– that it can really feel overwhelming. If you’ve just utilized a simple solution that sends out one-off e-mails, you may need a number of days to obtain comfortable.
Irrelevant Advertisement Requests
Occasionally the sponsors beehiiv matches you with have nothing to do with your particular niche. A video gaming e-newsletter could obtain provided a code-review tool for programmers. Make sure to decrease anything that doesn’t jive with your target market, or you’ll container your click-throughs.
No Time At All Area– Based Sends
If your checklist is worldwide, you can’t automatically arrange e-mails based upon each subscriber’s time zone. All sends out head out at once, so you might wake up to low open rates if half your listing is asleep.
Custom Web Page Builder Isn’t Very Instinctive
Producing a landing page is possible, but the UI could be smoother. I invested a few hours (and a handy conversation with support) obtaining a giveaway opt-in web page just right. If you’re impatient or design-averse, you may discover it confusing.
Restricted Integrations
If you make use of Gumroad to offer products, you run out luck– no direct integration yet. You’ll need to utilize embed codes or a Zapier workaround.
All that claimed, beehiiv’s group is constantly presenting updates– and those cons are slowly yet definitely being dealt with.
Who Should Think about beehiiv?
Not everyone requires a fully featured e-newsletter system. But if any one of the adhering to describes you, beehiiv may be a suit made in heaven:.
- Absolute Beginners: You’ve never ever sent out an e-mail blast, you don’t want to spend cash ahead of time, and you require a cost-free, simple way to experiment. Beehiiv lets you start free of cost, send out unlimited emails to up to 2,500 customers, and grow naturally with the boosts network.
- Small-List Creators: If you currently have a couple of hundred or a pair thousand clients yet no idea just how to turn that into earnings, beehiiv’s ad and boost programs are tailor-made for you. In my very first ten months, I was making about $92/month with a ~ 1k list. Not bad for coffee cash, right?
- Makers Who Hate “Salesy” Stuff: You don’t intend to pitch products nonstop or sling digital training courses. You prefer to share worth, build trust, and let the money been available in on auto-pilot. Beehiiv’s ad network and boosts let you gain without crafting a four-part sales funnel.
- Switchers Who Do Not Want to Rebuild Everything: Possibly you get on Substack, Ghost, or Mailchimp, and your email automations are a tangled mess. Beehiiv promises a smooth movement from those platforms. And also, if you have a large checklist (state 10k+), you can get help from beehiiv’s assistance team to relocate every little thing over without shedding your automations.
Getting Started: A Detailed Walkthrough
Sign Up and Check Out the Control panel
As soon as you create an account, beehiiv drops you right into a control panel where you see your customer count, open prices, click-through prices, and any pending advertisement offers. Consider it as your mission control– whatever you need is simply a click away.
Build Your Very First Subscribe Kind
Navigate to Audience ’ Subscribe Forms ’ Create New Kind. You’ll need:
- A headline that hooks site visitors
- A short blurb discussing what your e-newsletter has to do with
- A call-to-action switch (e.g., “Join My Newsletter”)
- Your logo design or a relevant photo
- A post-subscribe message or redirect (e.g., “Thanks for signing up with! Inspect your inbox in a sec.”)
You can choose from various form designs: full-width, fixed-width, slim embed (simply the email area), or advanced (with monitoring codes). The personalization choices are basic– colors for switches and history images– yet it’s remarkably efficient for capturing emails.
Establish Your Site and Customized Pages
If you want more than simply a type, hop into Style ’ Website Builder ’ Customized Pages ’ Internal Web Page. Use this to:
Host your e-newsletter archive (all previous issues, searchable and SEO-friendly).
Produce a landing page for a freebie (e.g., “Download my SEO rip off sheet”).
Develop a thank-you web page that goes online after someone subscribes.
I invested a couple of hours tweaking my first landing page, but once I got the hang of it, I realized how powerful it is to have everything under one roofing. Rather than handling Leadpages, WordPress, and Mailchimp, beehiiv does it all.
Draft Your Very First Newsletter
Click the huge “Start Writing” switch in the top-right corner. You’ll see a tidy, distraction-free editor where you can:
- Write your email copy Beehiiv Alternatives
- Place pictures, headers, and personalized HTML obstructs
- Preview how it’ll look in inboxes and on your site
- Schedule or send quickly
One catch: Personalization is restricted. Every subscriber sees “Hi there” instead of “Hey [First Name]” If you need hyper-personalization, you may miss that. But also for a lot of folks, a friendly, conversational introduction suffices.
Turn On Monetization
As soon as you hit 1,000 active subscribers, beehiiv will invite you to:.
- Join the Advertisement Network: Immediately get sponsorship requests that match your particular niche. Pick which ones to accept, put the ad copy into your newsletter, and get paid per click/view.
- Establish Boosts: Put on promote various other newsletters. If somebody signs up with via your web link, you earn $1–$ 3 per subscriber.
For paid e-newsletters, browse to Monetization ’ Paid Memberships. You’ll link your Stripe account (beehiiv does not charge additional fees past Stripe’s handling), establish your pricing plans (monthly, annual, or “Name Your Cost”), and determine what material goes behind the paywall.
Screen and Optimize
Inspect your analytics weekly. If open rates drop below 40%, reassess your subject lines. If a sponsorship gets zero clicks, it could be unimportant to your target market– decline similar future ads. When a boost converts well, submit even more boost demands or modify your deal.
It might seem like a great deal at first, however I promise you’ll get the hang of it within a couple of days. And the rewards– both economic and in terms of your target market’s development– deserve the preliminary contour.
Deep Dive: beehiiv’s Monetization Options
If you’re serious about turning your e-newsletter right into a money-making maker, let’s break down each income stream in detail.
1. beehiiv Partner Program (Affiliate Profits)
Consider this as beehiiv’s affiliate program. Below’s the lowdown:.
- How It Works: You enroll in the Partner Program, order your special referral web link, and share it on your blog site, Twitter, LinkedIn, anywhere. When someone clicks, register for a paid plan (Scale or Max), you gain a payment.
- Commission Rates: As Much As 60% of their first-year payment. If they pay $100, you might see $60. Cha-ching.
- Payment: Beehiiv pays month-to-month using PayPal. No minimum limit, no hoops to jump through.
In my situation, I released a Medium post walking people via my beehiiv experience (looter: this overview right here belongs to that initiative). Via a combination of blog site traffic and word-of-mouth, I made over $5,000 in associate commissions by December 2024. All I did was share my real experience.
2. Boosts: Make by Assisting Others Expand
Boosts are basically funded promotions– beehiiv’s spin on a “send for pay” model. Below’s the scoop:.
- Become a Boost Sponsor: If you assume your e-newsletter can aid others expand, apply in the Boosts control panel. You’ll describe why your audience is a great fit and set a cost you would certainly pay for a new customer.
- Put on Boost Others: If you want fast subscribers, you can pay to boost your newsletter on various other designers’ checklists. But what a lot of little designers enjoy is the reverse: you apply to be a boost companion for other e-newsletters. When someone signs up with your boost, you get $1–$ 3
- Limitations:
- You can send up to 25 boost offers monthly, yet beehiiv just surface areas 3 deals each time to prospective partners.
- If a boost is executing well, other designers will certainly pick it up swiftly.
Here’s a quick instance: In October 2024, I advertised a fellow SEO designer’s newsletter for $1.75 per subscriber. Over two weeks, I created 200 new clients for them– and gained regarding $350 at the same time. Win-win.
3. beehiiv Ad Network (Sponsored Ads)
This is where the huge dollars can come in, even if your list is “tiny.” Here’s just how it goes:
- Eligibility: You require at the very least 1,000 energetic customers and a regular send out timetable (at the very least one e-mail monthly, though regular is optimal).
- Automation: When approved, you’ll start receiving 3– 5 sponsorship demands monthly. Beehiiv matches you with brand names based on your audience’s rate of interests– so a marketing SaaS firm might come close to an SEO-focused e-newsletter, for example.
- Repayment Model:
- Cost Per Click (CPC): You make money every time somebody clicks the advertisement in your e-mail.
- Price Per Mille (CPM): You make based upon a thousand impressions.
- Alleviate of Use: You can approve or decrease each offer right from your control panel. Beehiiv handles all the invoicing. All you do is copy-paste the ad into your e-newsletter.
In 2024, I ran 37 sponsored ads, including a few top-level brands like HubSpot. I made $632 from ads alone, with my top campaign creating $112 from 35 clicks (4.5% click-through). Bear in mind: relevance is king. Irrelevant advertisements tank click-through rates, so be discerning.
4. Paid Subscriptions (” Costs Web Content”)
If you develop genuinely special content– deep dive reports, unique tutorials, or insider evaluations– you could think about a paid rate. Below’s the 101:
- Setup: Most Likely To Money Making ’ Paid Registrations, link Stripe, and pick your pricing:
- Monthly
- Annual (usually marked down)
- Single payment (for a solitary overview or training course)
- Name Your Rate (your customers pick what they can afford)
- Earnings Split: Beehiiv does not bill you a platform charge; they just pass Stripe’s processing fee (2.9% + $0.30) on to you.
- Examples: If you have 100 clients paying $7/month, that’s $700/month = $8,400/ year (minus Stripe fees). Not bad, appropriate? Obviously, reaching 100 paid customers indicates you require a devoted, involved base.
Currently, be realistic: Paid memberships are a work. You require constant, high-value web content that makes people comfortable taking out their pocketbooks. If you’re just beginning, the advertisement network and boosts might be quicker wins.
Pricing Plans: What You’ll Pay (and Obtain)
I understand pricing is a big question mark when you’re considering switching over systems. Below’s the breakdown as of mid-2025:.
- Free Plan (approximately 2,500 customers): Great for pet projects or if you’re evaluating the waters. You still get boosts for checklist development, standard analytics, and unlimited sends– just no advertisement network or paid memberships yet.
- Scale ($ 39.20/ month): Perfect if you’re serious about generating income from. You get advertisement network access, boosts, paid subscriptions, and the AI Creating Assistant to quicken your newsletter creation.
- Max ($ 87.29/ month): If AI devices (photo generation, grammar fixing, translation) issue to you, and you want top priority support, this is the pleasant place. And also, you can release a mobile app for your subscribers.
- Enterprise (100k+ subscribers): For brands and mega-creators who require personalized migrations, service-level agreements, and advanced protection. Few small developers need this.
My suggestion? Begin on the Free plan. Obtain a feel for the dashboard, grow your checklist to 1,000, then upgrade to Scale as soon as you recognize you classified ad profits and boosts.
One-of-a-kind Features Beehiiv Alternatives
You could be believing, “Okay, advertisements and boosts are great. Yet what else can beehiiv do that can’t?” Let me highlight a couple of standout features:.
1. Sound E-newsletters
Ever before thought of transforming your e-mail right into a podcast-like experience? Beehiiv’s built-in sound e-newsletter feature automatically converts your e-mails into spoken-word sound. No added editing and enhancing software program, no outsourcing to Fiverr– simply toggle it on, and your customers can listen on the move. For active audiences who drive or exercise, this is a helpful means to stay connected.
2. Personalized Mobile Apps for Readers
A lot of systems provide you a “mobile-optimized website.” Beehiiv goes one action additionally: you can release a custom mobile app for your customers. Once they add it to their home display, your newsletter comes to be a one-tap experience– no inbox mess. Picture waking up and seeing application notifications when you go down a brand-new problem. Talk about involvement.
3. “Name Your Rate” Registrations
As opposed to forcing everybody right into $5 or $7 rates, let your most loyal fans choose what to pay. It’s a trust-building relocation and can bring about higher lifetime value. I haven’t tested this feature personally yet, but for makers who feel a bit worried about rate factors, it’s a wonderful alternative to trying out.
4. beehiiv AI Suite
For those on Scale and Max plans, beehiiv’s AI tools are a blessing:
- AI Creating Aide: Generate e-newsletter drafts based on bullet points or topics. For days when you’re looking at an empty page, this jumpstarts your imagination.
- AI Text Device: Grammar, punctuation, tone checks– no need for Grammarly. You get a tidy, polished draft that feels human Beehiiv Alternatives.
- AI Image Tool: Develop customized header pictures or images without purchasing stock images. Simply type a prompt, and voila.
- AI Translator: Wish to send your e-newsletter in numerous languages? Equate your content right into Spanish, French, German, Italian, or Portuguese immediately.
These features can shave hours off content production and aid you trying out new formats.
Pro Tips For Succeeding on beehiiv
Since you know what beehiiv can do, here are some insider hacks to take advantage of it:
Clean Your Listing for Better Performance
In August 2024, I reduced my client matter in half (from concerning 2,400 to 1,200) by eliminating inactive e-mails– individuals who had not opened anything in six months. My open rates leapt from ~ 45% to over 60%, which indicated advertisers paid even more per click. It injured to lose clients, however a lean, engaged listing deserves more than a puffed up, easy one.
Trying Out Subject Lines Like a Pro
Subject lines make or break open rates. Do A/B tests on tiny segments before sending to your whole listing. Brief, punchy, question-based subjects (” Ready to double your website traffic?”) typically outperform common ones (” April Newsletter”).
Be Pickier with Ad Offers
If an ad does not resonate with your specific niche, say no. Unimportant ads annoy readers and storage tank click metrics. In time, beehiiv’s algorithm will discover what fits your target market– decline sufficient off-topic offers, and they’ll stop sending them.
Usage Boosts to Check New Audiences
Obtained a new category you intend to explore? Attempt increasing your e-newsletter in a related particular niche. The expense per customer standards $1.63– however if those subscribers stick around, it deserves it. I as soon as boosted a SEO newsletter in a digital marketing target market and got a shocking uptick in retention.
Take Advantage Of AI for Faster Production
On nights when I’m burnt out, I ask the AI Composing Aide to compose a rough outline: introduction, 3 bottom lines, verdict. Then I flesh it out with my very own anecdotes and style tweaks. It’s not excellent, yet it’s a solid foundation that conserves me 30– 45 minutes per email.
Take Advantage of the Mobile Application
Motivate subscribers to mount your newsletter’s mobile application. In your following email, create a fast “How to Include Our E-newsletter to Your Home Screen” tutorial. More app installs mean even more visibility, and push notices beat inbox sound.
Offer Occasional Paid-Only Material
Instead of making every problem totally free, tease a “incentive report” once a quarter behind a paywall ($ 5–$ 7). Promote it greatly to your checklist. Even if you only market 20 duplicates, that’s $100–$ 140 that offsets your regular monthly beehiiv costs.
Completing: Is beehiiv Right for You?
If you’ve stuck to me this far, you most likely fall under one of these camps:
- You have actually never ever sent an e-newsletter, however you’re itching to start– beehiiv’s free plan and user-friendly tools are best for learning the ropes.
- You have a tiny list (< 2,500) and wish to generate income from without frustrations-- beehiiv's ad network and boosts pay you for doing virtually absolutely nothing extra.
- You’re a mid-sized creator (1k+ customers) looking to range– beehiiv’s analytics, AI devices, and referral program assist you grow quicker and earn much more.
- You despise complex email systems– beehiiv strikes an equilibrium between effective features and user-friendly design.
Sure, the feature collection can really feel daunting at first, and you may get a few unnecessary ad requests. However consider this: in under a year, I made virtually $1,000 on a tiny listing and over $5,000 in affiliate commissions simply by sharing my experience. I have actually seen adequate to know that if you invest a bit of time learning the platform, the returns can be considerable.
So, what are you awaiting? Sign up for beehiiv, check out the dashboard, and let the money making engines transform. Your future self will certainly thanks when the checks roll in.