So, you’ve been toying with the concept of turning your e-mail listing into an income stream, but you’re bewildered by all the choices available. Audio acquainted? You’re not alone. If you’ve been utilizing a fundamental e-mail service and scraping your head about sponsorships, advertisements, and paid subscriptions, it may be time to take a look at beehiiv. In this guide, I’ll walk you with everything you need to find out about utilizing beehiiv to turn your e-newsletter into cash money– all from my very own experience. Ready? Let’s dive in Beehiiv Greg Isenberg
Why You Might Be Stuck with Your Existing Email System
You’ve possibly attempted the normal suspects: Mailchimp, ConvertKit (now Kit), Substack, or something similar. And if you’re like most small content developers, below’s what likely took place:
- Limited Money Making Options
You have a handful of dedicated subscribers– perhaps 500 to 1,000 individuals– yet zero easy method to make money. Sponsorships feel like an international language, and you’re not keen on cold-emailing brand names on a monthly basis.
- DIY Automation Headaches
You intend to leak campaign new subscribers, send out a welcome collection, and section folks for targeted emails … however setting up those automations seems like you require a computer science level.
- Platform Fees Draw
Every single time you think of paid registrations, the platform takes a massive portion, and the repayment arrangement is a lot more complex than it deserves.
- Development Delays
Development hacks seem to work for everyone else– yet not for you. You desire there was a very easy method to discover new subscribers without manually chasing them down.
I remained in your footwear at the beginning of 2024. I ‘d been using Kit (previously ConvertKit), however it felt like a stumbling block for money making. Don’t get me wrong– Kit is wonderful for developing funnels and setting up fundamental automations. Yet when it pertained to making a few hundred dollars a month from a tiny list, there had not been an apparent “on” switch.
Go into beehiiv.
My Change to beehiiv: A Reality Inspect
In January 2024, I lastly pulled the trigger and moved my e-newsletter from Kit to beehiiv. Here’s the honest truth: I didn’t have time to pursue sponsors, bargain prices, or construct complex paid funnels. I run a SEO composing service full time, so my e-newsletter was always going to be a side project. I needed something that practically ran itself.
The “Sell Me” Moment
What sold me on beehiiv was easy:
- Integrated Money making: Right from the start, beehiiv yells, “Hey, you can make money right here!” It had not been an afterthought or a third-party add-on.
- Low-Effort Sponsorships: As opposed to me combing LinkedIn for sponsors, beehiiv brings deals directly to my control panel. All I have to do is click “approve,” drop in the ad copy, and hit send out.
- Easy Income Boosts: By promoting various other newsletters in my regular email, I gain $1–$ 3 per referred subscriber. No hefty lifting, no challenging analytics– just consistent, step-by-step revenue.
Looter alert: It paid off. In my first complete year on beehiiv (2024 ), I pulled in $940 from advertisement sponsorships and boosts alone– on a listing that never covered 1,000 clients. I didn’t develop a paid program. I didn’t introduce an item and I just let beehiiv do its point.
My Partner Program Windfall
As if that had not been enough, I likewise signed up with the beehiiv Partner Program– essentially an affiliate program. By writing about beehiiv on my blog site and sharing my experience with buddies, I took $5,108 in referral compensations via completion of 2024. Yep, you read that right: over 5 grand, simply by talking about the platform.
So if you’re wondering whether beehiiv is worth it for tiny developers or newbies, take my word: It’s a game-changer. Yet, naturally, it isn’t remarkable. Let’s break down the great, the bad, and the cool stuff you need to understand.
The Upside of Using beehiiv
1. Money Making Made Ridiculously Basic
What I love finest concerning beehiiv is exactly how easy it is to generate income on autopilot. You don’t require a substantial audience. Right here’s how it functions:
- Advertisement Network Sponsorships: Once you strike just 1,000 active clients, brands start lining up. You get 3– 6 ad demands monthly typically. You choose the ones you like, place the copy, and you’re done. They ppc or view– no complex invoicing. And because beehiiv matches you with relevant brands, your clients are more likely to click.
- Boosts Referral Income: Don’t have sponsors yet? No problem. Promote various other creator newsletters for $1–$ 3 per client. It’s like Amazon’s affiliate program, however, for email listings. I gained numerous hundred bucks by doing this without breaking a sweat.
- Paid Subscriptions (When You’re Ready): Down the line, if you decide to charge for exceptional material, beehiiv takes a minimal cost (2.9% + $0.30 per purchase by means of Stripe). You can set up numerous pricing tiers, run totally free tests, or even let clients “call their rate.”.
- Partner Program Payments: Not in it for the brief haul? Register for the affiliate program. Earn 60% commission on beehiiv’s month-to-month or annual plans when someone register with your code. It’s essentially extra cash for sharing something you already like.
Simply put, beehiiv turns money making right into an integrated feature, rather than a job you dread.
2. Analytics That Do Not Make Your Head Explode
If you’ve ever looked at a dashboard thinking, “What does any of this actually mean?”, you’ll appreciate beehiiv’s approach:.
- Clear Customer Development Graphs: See specifically the number of new individuals joined, how many dropped off, and why your list diminished (extra on that particular in a sec).
- Open and Click Rates: Beehiiv breaks down efficiency over the last 1 month, so you can identify fads today. For instance, I kept an eye on my open rate (hovering around 64%– okay) and my click-through (around 3.5%). If either metric dips, I fine-tune my subject lines or calls-to-action.
- Money making Dashboards: Sponsorship profits, boosts revenue, companion referral earnings– you understand. Revenue streams are neatly separated so nothing gets lost in the shuffle.
It’s like having a sidekick who informs you, “Hey, your January email killed it– below’s why,” or “Uh oh, your February open rates are tanking– let’s fix this.”.
3. Growing Your List Without Marketing Your Soul
A lot of e-newsletter platforms will bill you for every single added subscriber after a limit. Not so with beehiiv– for up to 2,500 clients, it’s free. You get:.
- Endless email sends out.
- Access to the boosts network (expand your audience by promoting your newsletter on other beehiiv newsletters).
- Basic analytics and forms.
If you’re a beginner or have a small target market, this is huge. You can trying out subject lines, send out frequency, and various lead magnets without bothering with hitting a paywall.
4. Built-In Internet Site & Customized Pages
Picture dropping WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace completely due to the fact that your newsletter platform doubles as a website builder. That’s beehiiv essentially:.
- Newsletter Archive Pages: All your past e-mails survive a blog-like web page that’s automatically SEO-optimized.
- Personalized Landing Pages: Required a lead magnet web page? A thank-you page? A web page to market an item? You can develop it right in beehiiv’s website builder.
- Mobile-Friendly Templates: Everything looks fantastic on phones– vital since a lots of individuals check out emails on mobile.
Sure, you will not obtain every expensive drag-and-drop that a dedicated website builder offers, but for most creators, it’s more than enough.
5. Referral Program to Turbo Charge Development
Beehiiv’s referral program is amazing if you intend to take advantage of a community of similar creators. When your customer clicks on “Recommend This Newsletter” and joins, both you and the referring designer obtain credit. It’s a clever method to grow your checklist without spamming.
The Downsides: What to Watch Out For
No item is best– and beehiiv has its hiccups. Before you dive in, right here’s what could journey you up:.
Feature Overload initially
When you log in, there are many alternatives– Types, Boosts, Advertisements, Partner Program, Analytics, Website Builder– that it can really feel overwhelming. If you’ve just made use of a basic service that sends out one-off e-mails, you could need a number of days to get comfy.
Irrelevant Advertisement Requests
Sometimes the sponsors beehiiv matches you with have nothing to do with your specific niche. A gaming newsletter might obtain provided a code-review device for developers. Make certain to decrease anything that does not jive with your audience, or you’ll storage tank your click-throughs.
No Time At All Zone– Based Sends Out
If your list is global, you can’t immediately set up e-mails based upon each client’s time zone. All sends out go out at once, so you may wake up to reduced open rates if half your listing is asleep.
Custom Page Builder Isn’t Very User-friendly
Creating a landing page is possible, however the UI could be smoother. I invested a few hours (and a helpful conversation with assistance) obtaining a freebie opt-in web page ideal. If you’re impatient or design-averse, you might find it clunky.
Minimal Integrations
If you make use of Gumroad to sell products, you’re out of good luck– no direct integration yet. You’ll have to make use of embed codes or a Zapier workaround.
All that claimed, beehiiv’s team is frequently presenting updates– and those disadvantages are gradually however surely being addressed.
Who Should Think about beehiiv?
Not everyone needs a totally featured e-newsletter system. But if any of the complying with explains you, beehiiv might be a match made in paradise:.
- Absolute Beginners: You have actually never ever sent out an email blast, you don’t wish to spend cash ahead of time, and you need a cost-free, easy way to experiment. Beehiiv lets you begin totally free, send out limitless e-mails to approximately 2,500 clients, and expand naturally with the boosts network.
- Small-List Creators: If you already have a few hundred or a couple thousand clients however no clue just how to transform that into earnings, beehiiv’s advertisement and boost programs are custom-made for you. In my initial 10 months, I was making regarding $92/month with a ~ 1k listing. Okay for coffee cash, right?
- Designers Who Hate “Salesy” Things: You do not intend to pitch items nonstop or sling digital training courses. You ‘d rather share value, develop count on, and let the cash been available in on auto-pilot. Beehiiv’s advertisement network and boosts let you make without crafting a four-part sales funnel.
- Switchers Who Do Not Wish To Restore Every Little Thing: Possibly you get on Substack, Ghost, or Mailchimp, and your email automations are a twisted mess. Beehiiv guarantees a smooth migration from those systems. And also, if you have a large checklist (claim 10k+), you can get help from beehiiv’s support group to move everything over without shedding your automations.
Beginning: A Detailed Walkthrough
Join and Explore the Control panel
As soon as you produce an account, beehiiv drops you into a control panel where you see your customer count, open prices, click-through rates, and any type of pending ad deals. Think of it as your mission control– every little thing you need is simply a click away.
Develop Your Very First Subscribe Form
Navigate to Target Market ’ Subscribe Types ’ Develop New Kind. You’ll need:
- A heading that hooks visitors
- A brief blurb describing what your e-newsletter has to do with
- A call-to-action switch (e.g., “Join My E-newsletter”)
- Your logo design or a relevant image
- A post-subscribe message or redirect (e.g., “Thanks for signing up with! Examine your inbox in a sec.”)
You can choose from various form designs: full-width, fixed-width, slim embed (simply the e-mail field), or advanced (with tracking codes). The modification options are fundamental– shades for buttons and background images– however it’s surprisingly reliable for catching e-mails.
Establish Your Web Site and Custom Pages
If you want more than just a kind, hop right into Layout ’ Website Builder ’ Personalized Pages ’ Internal Page. Use this to:
Host your e-newsletter archive (all previous issues, searchable and SEO-friendly).
Develop a landing page for a giveaway (e.g., “Download my SEO rip off sheet”).
Build a thank-you page that goes online after somebody subscribes.
I invested a few hours tweaking my initial landing page, but once I mastered it, I realized just how powerful it is to have everything under one roofing system. Rather than managing Leadpages, WordPress, and Mailchimp, beehiiv does it all.
Draft Your First E-newsletter
Click the big “Begin Creating” button in the top-right edge. You’ll see a clean, distraction-free editor where you can:
- Write your email duplicate Beehiiv Greg Isenberg
- Place pictures, headers, and custom HTML obstructs
- Preview how it’ll look in inboxes and on your website
- Arrange or send out right away
One catch: Customization is limited. Every subscriber sees “Hello there” rather than “Hey [First Name]” If you require hyper-personalization, you may miss that. But for the majority of folks, a friendly, conversational introduction suffices.
Turn On Money making
When you strike 1,000 energetic subscribers, beehiiv will invite you to:.
- Join the Ad Network: Immediately obtain sponsorship demands that match your particular niche. Choose which ones to approve, insert the ad duplicate into your e-newsletter, and make money per click/view.
- Set Up Boosts: Apply to promote other e-newsletters. If a person joins through your web link, you earn $1–$ 3 per customer.
For paid e-newsletters, navigate to Money making ’ Paid Memberships. You’ll attach your Stripe account (beehiiv doesn’t bill extra fees past Stripe’s handling), establish your pricing plans (monthly, annual, or “Name Your Rate”), and determine what web content goes behind the paywall.
Monitor and Optimize
Examine your analytics weekly. If open prices go down below 40%, reassess your subject lines. If a sponsorship gets no clicks, it might be irrelevant to your target market– decrease similar future ads. When a boost transforms well, submit even more boost requests or fine-tune your deal.
It may feel like a great deal initially, however I guarantee you’ll master it within a couple of days. And the incentives– both monetary and in terms of your audience’s development– are worth the first curve.
Deep Dive: beehiiv’s Money making Options
If you’re serious about transforming your e-newsletter into an economic device, let’s break down each income stream carefully.
1. beehiiv Partner Program (Affiliate Earnings)
Think about this as beehiiv’s affiliate program. Below’s the lowdown:.
- How It Functions: You register for the Partner Program, order your special referral link, and share it on your blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, wherever. When a person clicks, signs up for a paid plan (Scale or Max), you earn a commission.
- Commission Fees: Approximately 60% of their first-year settlement. If they pay $100, you might see $60. Cha-ching.
- Payout: Beehiiv pays month-to-month via PayPal. No minimum limit, no hoops to leap via.
In my situation, I published a Medium message walking people through my beehiiv experience (looter: this guide right here is part of that effort). Via a mix of blog web traffic and word-of-mouth, I transformed $5,000 in affiliate commissions by December 2024. All I did was share my genuine experience.
2. Boosts: Make by Assisting Others Expand
Boosts are generally funded promos– beehiiv’s spin on a “send for pay” version. Here’s the scoop:.
- Come To Be a Boost Sponsor: If you think your e-newsletter can help others grow, use in the Boosts dashboard. You’ll clarify why your audience is a good fit and set a cost you would certainly spend for a new customer.
- Relate to Boost Others: If you desire fast subscribers, you can pay to boost your e-newsletter on other creators’ listings. However what many small designers like is the opposite: you put on be a boost companion for other newsletters. When a person signs up through your boost, you obtain $1–$ 3
- Limits:
- You can send up to 25 boost uses per month, but beehiiv only surfaces 3 offers each time to possible companions.
- If a boost is doing well, other makers will select it up promptly.
Here’s a fast example: In October 2024, I promoted a fellow search engine optimization maker’s newsletter for $1.75 per client. Over two weeks, I created 200 brand-new subscribers for them– and made regarding $350 in the process. Win-win.
3. beehiiv Ad Network (Sponsored Advertisements)
This is where the big dollars can come in, even if your list is “little.” Here’s just how it goes:
- Eligibility: You need at the very least 1,000 active customers and a regular send out schedule (a minimum of one email per month, though regular is excellent).
- Automation: When authorized, you’ll begin obtaining 3– 5 sponsorship requests monthly. Beehiiv matches you with brand names based upon your target market’s interests– so a marketing SaaS business could approach an SEO-focused e-newsletter, as an example.
- Repayment Version:
- Expense Per Click (CPC): You make money every single time a person clicks the advertisement in your e-mail.
- Price Per Mille (CPM): You gain based upon a thousand impressions.
- Alleviate of Use: You can accept or decline each offer right from your control panel. Beehiiv takes care of all the invoicing. All you do is copy-paste the advertisement right into your e-newsletter.
In 2024, I ran 37 sponsored ads, consisting of a few high-profile brands like HubSpot. I made $632 from ads alone, with my top campaign generating $112 from 35 clicks (4.5% click-through). Keep in mind: significance is king. Irrelevant advertisements tank click-through rates, so be careful.
4. Paid Subscriptions (” Costs Content”)
If you create absolutely one-of-a-kind material– deep dive reports, special tutorials, or insider analyses– you might take into consideration a paid rate. Right here’s the 101:
- Setup: Go to Monetization ’ Paid Subscriptions, connect Stripe, and select your pricing:
- Month-to-month
- Annual (typically discounted)
- Single settlement (for a single guide or course)
- Name Your Cost (your clients choose what they can manage)
- Income Split: Beehiiv doesn’t charge you a system charge; they just pass Stripe’s handling charge (2.9% + $0.30) on to you.
- Examples: If you have 100 customers paying $7/month, that’s $700/month = $8,400/ year (minus Stripe costs). Not bad, best? Of course, getting to 100 paid customers suggests you need a devoted, involved base.
Currently, be reasonable: Paid registrations are a grind. You need consistent, high-value content that makes people comfortable taking out their budgets. If you’re just starting, the advertisement network and boosts might be quicker wins.
Pricing Plans: What You’ll Pay (and Get)
I understand pricing is a large question mark when you’re considering switching over systems. Below’s the malfunction as of mid-2025:.
- Free Plan (as much as 2,500 customers): Great for pet projects or if you’re examining the waters. You still get boosts for listing development, basic analytics, and endless sends out– just no ad network or paid subscriptions yet.
- Scale ($ 39.20/ month): Perfect if you’re serious about monetizing. You get ad network gain access to, boosts, paid registrations, and the AI Composing Aide to speed up your e-newsletter production.
- Max ($ 87.29/ month): If AI tools (photo generation, grammar repairing, translation) matter to you, and you want top priority support, this is the wonderful spot. Plus, you can launch a mobile application for your subscribers.
- Enterprise (100k+ clients): For brands and mega-creators who need personalized migrations, service-level arrangements, and progressed safety and security. Very few small designers need this.
My recommendation? Start on the Free plan. Get a feel for the control panel, grow your list to 1,000, after that upgrade to Scale once you understand you want ad earnings and boosts.
Special Features Beehiiv Greg Isenberg
You could be thinking, “Okay, ads and boosts are awesome. But what else can beehiiv do that others can’t?” Let me highlight a few standout features:.
1. Sound E-newsletters
Ever thought about turning your email into a podcast-like experience? Beehiiv’s built-in sound newsletter feature immediately transforms your emails into spoken-word sound. No additional editing and enhancing software, no outsourcing to Fiverr– just toggle it on, and your clients can listen on the go. For busy audiences who drive or work out, this is a convenient method to remain connected.
2. Personalized Mobile Apps for Viewers
A lot of platforms offer you a “mobile-optimized website.” Beehiiv goes one action better: you can release a customized mobile application for your customers. Once they include it to their home screen, your e-newsletter ends up being a one-tap experience– no inbox mess. Visualize getting up and seeing application notices when you drop a brand-new concern. Speak about engagement.
3. “Name Your Price” Memberships
As opposed to compeling every person right into $5 or $7 tiers, let your most dedicated followers choose what to pay. It’s a trust-building move and can lead to greater lifetime worth. I haven’t evaluated this feature personally yet, however, for creators who feel a little bit uneasy about price points, 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 godsend:
- AI Creating Aide: Generate e-newsletter drafts based on bullet points or topics. For days when you’re staring at an empty page, this jumpstarts your creative thinking.
- AI Text Tool: Grammar, spelling, tone checks– no need for Grammarly. You obtain a clean, polished draft that really feels human Beehiiv Greg Isenberg.
- AI Image Tool: Develop customized header pictures or images without purchasing supply images. Simply type a timely, and voila.
- AI Translator: Intend to send your newsletter in several languages? Convert your content right into Spanish, French, German, Italian, or Portuguese instantly.
These features can cut hours off content creation and help you try out brand-new formats.
Pro Tips For Succeeding on beehiiv
Since you recognize what beehiiv can do, here are some insider hacks to make the most of it:
Tidy Your Listing for Better Performance
In August 2024, I cut my subscriber matter in half (from about 2,400 to 1,200) by removing non-active emails– individuals who had not opened anything in six months. My open rates jumped from ~ 45% to over 60%, which implied marketers paid even more per click. It hurt to lose clients, yet a lean, engaged list is worth greater than a puffed up, easy one.
Try Out Topic Lines Like a Pro
Subject lines make or break open prices. Do A/B examinations on tiny segments before sending to your entire checklist. Brief, punchy, question-based topics (” Ready to increase your traffic?”) usually outperform common ones (” April E-newsletter”).
Be Pickier with Ad Offers
If an ad doesn’t resonate with your specific niche, say no. Pointless advertisements frustrate visitors and storage tank click metrics. Gradually, beehiiv’s algorithm will certainly discover what fits your audience– decline enough off-topic deals, and they’ll stop sending them.
Usage Boosts to Examine New Audiences
Got a brand-new category you wish to discover? Try improving your e-newsletter in a relevant niche. The cost per client standards $1.63– but if those customers remain, it deserves it. I when increased a SEO newsletter in a digital marketing target market and got a surprising uptick in retention.
Utilize AI for Faster Manufacturing
On evenings when I’m worn out, I ask the AI Creating Assistant to compose a rough outline: introduction, three main points, verdict. Then I flesh it out with my own stories and design tweaks. It’s not excellent, yet it’s a solid structure that conserves me 30– 45 minutes per email.
Capitalize on the Mobile App
Motivate customers to install your e-newsletter’s mobile application. In your next email, create a fast “Just how to Add Our Newsletter to Your Home Screen” tutorial. More app installs mean even more presence, and push notifications defeat inbox sound.
Deal Occasional Paid-Only Content
Rather than making every issue cost-free, tease a “benefit report” once a quarter behind a paywall ($ 5–$ 7). Promote it greatly to your list. Even if you only sell 20 copies, that’s $100–$ 140 that offsets your monthly beehiiv expense.
Concluding: Is beehiiv Right for You?
If you have actually stuck with me this much, you most likely come under one of these camps:
- You’ve never sent an e-newsletter, yet you’re itching to begin– beehiiv’s free plan and intuitive devices are best for learning the ropes.
- You have a tiny listing (< 2,500) and want to generate income from without frustrations-- beehiiv's advertisement network and boosts pay you for doing nearly nothing extra.
- You’re a mid-sized developer (1k+ customers) wanting to range– beehiiv’s analytics, AI tools, and referral program assist you expand much faster and make much more.
- You despise complex e-mail platforms– beehiiv strikes a balance in between powerful features and easy to use design.
Sure, the feature set can feel intimidating initially, and you might obtain a couple of unnecessary ad demands. Yet consider this: in under a year, I made practically $1,000 on a small checklist and over $5,000 in associate commissions simply by sharing my experience. I’ve seen sufficient to know that if you spend a little time learning the platform, the returns can be considerable.
So, what are you waiting on? Enroll in beehiiv, explore the dashboard, and let the monetization engines transform. Your future self will thank you when the checks roll in.