Beehiiv Vs Buttondown – Everything Explained!

So, you have actually been dabbling the concept of turning your email listing into an earnings stream, yet you’re bewildered by all the alternatives out there. Noise acquainted? You’re not alone. If you’ve been making use of a basic email solution and scraping your head regarding sponsorships, ads, and paid subscriptions, it may be time to take a look at beehiiv. In this overview, I’ll walk you with everything you require to find out about utilizing beehiiv to transform your e-newsletter into cash money– all from my very own experience. Ready? Let’s dive in Beehiiv Vs Buttondown

Why You Might Be Stuck with Your Present Email System

You’ve most likely attempted the usual suspects: Mailchimp, ConvertKit (now Kit), Substack, or something similar. And if you’re like many small content designers, here’s what likely occurred:

• Limited Money Making Options

You have a handful of faithful clients– maybe 500 to 1,000 individuals– but no simple method to earn money. Sponsorships feel like a foreign language, and you’re not keen on cold-emailing brand names monthly.

• Do It Yourself Automation Headaches

You intend to drip campaign new subscribers, send a welcome series, and sector folks for targeted emails … yet setting up those automations seems like you need a computer technology degree.

• System Costs Suck

Every time you think about paid subscriptions, the platform takes a substantial chunk, and the repayment setup is more complicated than it deserves.

• Development Delays

Growth hacks seem to work for every person else– however not for you. You wish there was a simple method to find new subscribers without manually chasing them down.

I was in your footwear at the start of 2024. I would certainly been making use of Kit (formerly ConvertKit), yet it seemed like a dead end for monetization. Don’t get me wrong– Kit is fantastic for developing funnels and setting up fundamental automations. Yet when it involved making a couple of hundred dollars a month from a tiny list, there wasn’t an obvious “on” switch.

Get in beehiiv.

My Change to beehiiv: A Fact Examine

In January 2024, I finally pulled the trigger and relocated my e-newsletter from Kit to beehiiv. Here’s the honest truth: I really did not have time to hound sponsors, negotiate rates, or construct complicated paid funnels. I run a SEO composing business full-time, so my e-newsletter was always mosting likely to be a side project. I needed something that virtually ran itself.

The “Sell Me” Minute

What sold me on beehiiv was basic:

• Integrated Money making: Right from the start, beehiiv shouts, “Hey, you can generate income below!” It wasn’t an afterthought or a third-party add-on.
• Low-Effort Sponsorships: As opposed to me scouring LinkedIn for sponsors, beehiiv brings deals directly to my dashboard. All I have to do is click “approve,” drop in the ad copy, and hit send.
• Passive Income Boosts: By promoting other newsletters in my once a week email, I earn $1–$ 3 per referred subscriber. No heavy lifting, no difficult analytics– just steady, step-by-step income.

Looter alert: It repaid. In my initial full year on beehiiv (2024 ), I pulled in $940 from ad sponsorships and boosts alone– on a listing that never topped 1,000 clients. I really did not create a paid training course. I really did not launch an item and I just let beehiiv do its thing.

My Partner Program Windfall

As if that wasn’t enough, I likewise joined the beehiiv Partner Program– essentially an affiliate program. By writing about beehiiv on my blog site and sharing my experience with chums, I pocketed $5,108 in referral payments with the end of 2024. Yep, you check out that right: over five grand, simply by discussing the system.

So if you’re wondering whether beehiiv deserves it for little creators or newbies, take my word: It’s a game-changer. However, certainly, it isn’t flawless. Let’s break down the excellent, the negative, and the great things you need to know.

The Benefit of Using beehiiv

1. Monetization Made Extremely Easy

What I like best regarding beehiiv is exactly how easy it is to earn money on auto-pilot. You do not require a massive target market. Here’s how it functions:

• Advertisement Network Sponsorships: Once you hit just 1,000 energetic clients, brands start lining up. You get 3– 6 ad requests each month generally. You choose the ones you like, put the duplicate, and you’re done. They ppc or see– no complex invoicing. And since beehiiv matches you with appropriate brands, your clients are more likely to click.
• Boosts Referral Revenue: Don’t have sponsors yet? No problem. Promote other creator e-newsletters for $1–$ 3 per customer. It resembles Amazon’s affiliate program, but for email listings. I gained several hundred bucks this way without breaking a sweat.
• Paid Subscriptions (When You’re Ready): Down the line, if you decide to charge for superior material, beehiiv takes a very little cost (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction using Stripe). You can establish several pricing rates, run free tests, and even let clients “name their rate.”.
• Partner Program Payments: Not in it for the short haul? Sign up for the affiliate program. Make 60% payment on beehiiv’s regular monthly or annual plans when someone join your code. It’s literally additional cash money for sharing something you already like.

Put simply, beehiiv turns money making right into a built-in feature, instead of a job you dread.

2. Analytics That Do Not Make Your Head Explode

If you’ve ever looked at a control panel reasoning, “What does any one of this really imply?”, you’ll appreciate beehiiv’s strategy:.

• Clear Subscriber Growth Graphs: See exactly the number of brand-new people signed up with, the amount of left, and why your listing diminished (much more on that in a sec).
• Open Up and Click Prices: Beehiiv breaks down performance over the last one month, so you can spot trends right away. For instance, I kept an eye on my open rate (hovering around 64%– not bad) 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 earnings, boosts revenue, companion referral revenues– you get the picture. Revenue streams are nicely divided so absolutely nothing gets lost in the shuffle.

It’s like having a partner who informs you, “Hey, your January e-mail killed it– here’s why,” or “Uh oh, your February open rates are tanking– let’s fix this.”.

3. Expanding Your Listing Without Marketing Your Heart

Many newsletter platforms will certainly charge you for every extra client after a limit. Not so with beehiiv– for up to 2,500 customers, it’s complimentary. You obtain:.

• Limitless email sends out.
• Access to the boosts network (grow your target market by advertising your newsletter on various other beehiiv newsletters).
• Fundamental analytics and kinds.

If you’re a novice or have a small audience, this is massive. You can explore subject lines, send frequency, and various lead magnets without worrying about striking a paywall.

4. Integrated Internet Site & Custom-made Pages

Visualize dumping WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace altogether because your newsletter system doubles as a website builder. That’s beehiiv essentially:.

• Newsletter Archive Pages: All your past e-mails survive a blog-like page that’s automatically SEO-optimized.
• Custom Landing Pages: Need a lead magnet web page? A thank-you web page? A web page to sell a product? You can build it right in beehiiv’s website builder.
• Mobile-Friendly Templates: Whatever looks great on phones– important because a ton of people review emails on mobile.

Certain, you won’t obtain every elegant drag-and-drop that a devoted website builder provides, however, for a lot of makers, it’s ample.

5. Referral Program to Supercharge Development

Beehiiv’s referral program is incredible if you want to tap into a community of similar creators. When your subscriber clicks “Recommend This E-newsletter” and signs up with, both you and the referring maker get credit history. It’s a smart method to grow your listing without spamming.

The Downsides: What to Look out for

No product is ideal– and beehiiv has its hiccups. Before you dive in, right here’s what might journey you up:.

Feature Overload at First

When you log in, there are a lot of options– Types, Boosts, Ads, Partner Program, Analytics, Website Builder– that it can really feel overwhelming. If you have actually only made use of a basic service that sends out one-off e-mails, you may require a couple of days to obtain comfy.

Pointless Advertisement Requests

Sometimes the sponsors beehiiv matches you with have nothing to do with your niche. A pc gaming e-newsletter could obtain supplied a code-review tool for developers. Ensure to decline anything that doesn’t jive with your audience, or you’ll storage tank your click-throughs.

No Time At All Zone– Based Sends Out

If your list is international, you can’t automatically schedule e-mails based on each customer’s time zone. All sends go out at the same time, so you could wake up to low open prices if half your list is asleep.

Personalized Web Page Builder Isn’t Incredibly Instinctive

Creating a landing page is possible, but the UI could be smoother. I invested a couple of hours (and a practical chat with assistance) getting a free offer opt-in web page perfect. If you’re impatient or design-averse, you may locate it confusing.

Minimal Integrations

If you make use of Gumroad to offer products, you run out luck– no direct integration yet. You’ll have to utilize embed codes or a Zapier workaround.

All that said, beehiiv’s group is frequently presenting updates– and those cons are slowly however surely being attended to.

Who Should Consider beehiiv?

Not everyone needs a completely included newsletter system. However if any one of the following defines you, beehiiv may be a match made in paradise:.

1. Absolute Beginners: You’ve never 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 allows you begin for free, send out unlimited emails to up to 2,500 subscribers, and expand organically with the boosts network.
2. Small-List Creators: If you already have a couple of hundred or a pair thousand customers but no idea just how to turn that right into earnings, beehiiv’s ad and boost programs are tailor-made for you. In my initial 10 months, I was making about $92/month with a ~ 1k checklist. Not bad for coffee money, right?
3. Developers Who Hate “Salesy” Things: You don’t intend to pitch items continuously or sling digital courses. You prefer to share value, construct trust, and let the money can be found in on auto-pilot. Beehiiv’s advertisement network and boosts let you earn without crafting a four-part sales funnel.
4. Switchers Who Don’t Intend To Restore Every Little Thing: Possibly you get on Substack, Ghost, or Mailchimp, and your e-mail automations are a twisted mess. Beehiiv assures a smooth migration from those platforms. Plus, if you have a huge checklist (claim 10k+), you can get aid from beehiiv’s support team to relocate everything over without shedding your automations.

Beginning: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Join and Check Out the Control panel

Once you create an account, beehiiv drops you right into a dashboard where you see your customer matter, open rates, click-through prices, and any type of pending ad offers. Think of it as your mission control– whatever you need is just a click away.

Build Your First Subscribe Form

Navigate to Audience �’ Subscribe Forms �’ Develop New Kind. You’ll require:

• A headline that hooks site visitors
• A brief blurb clarifying what your newsletter is about
• A call-to-action button (e.g., “Join My Newsletter”)
• Your logo design or an appropriate image
• A post-subscribe message or redirect (e.g., “Many thanks for joining! Examine your inbox in a sec.”)

You can choose from various kind designs: full-width, fixed-width, slim embed (just the e-mail area), or progressed (with tracking codes). The customization alternatives are basic– shades for buttons and history images– however it’s surprisingly effective for catching e-mails.

Set Up Your Website and Custom Pages

If you desire more than simply a form, hop right into Layout �’ Website Builder �’ Customized Pages �’ Internal Web Page. Use this to:

Host your newsletter archive (all past issues, searchable and SEO-friendly).

Create a landing page for a freebie (e.g., “Download my search engine optimization rip off sheet”).

Develop a thank-you page that goes online after someone subscribes.

I spent a few hours tweaking my initial landing page, once I mastered it, I recognized just how powerful it is to have everything under one roof covering. As opposed to managing Leadpages, WordPress, and Mailchimp, beehiiv does it all.

Draft Your Initial E-newsletter

Click the huge “Start Writing” switch in the top-right edge. You’ll see a clean, distraction-free editor where you can:

• Create your email copy Beehiiv Vs Buttondown
• Put photos, headers, and personalized HTML blocks
• Preview how it’ll look in inboxes and on your web site
• Schedule or send out promptly

One catch: Customization is restricted. Every subscriber sees “Hello there” rather than “Hello there [Given name]” If you require hyper-personalization, you could miss out on that. But for a lot of individuals, a pleasant, conversational introductory is enough.

Switch on Money making

When you hit 1,000 active subscribers, beehiiv will certainly welcome you to:.

• Sign Up With the Advertisement Network: Automatically receive sponsorship demands that match your particular niche. Select which ones to approve, place the advertisement duplicate right into your newsletter, and earn money per click/view.
• Establish Boosts: Relate to advertise various other newsletters. If a person signs up with using your link, you make $1–$ 3 per subscriber.

For paid e-newsletters, browse to Monetization �’ Paid Registrations. You’ll attach your Stripe account (beehiiv does not charge added fees past Stripe’s handling), set your pricing plans (monthly, annual, or “Name Your Cost”), and decide what content goes behind the paywall.

Screen and Enhance

Examine your analytics weekly. If open prices go down listed below 40%, rethink your subject lines. If a sponsorship obtains absolutely no clicks, it might be unimportant to your audience– decrease comparable future advertisements. When a boost transforms well, submit more boost demands or tweak your offer.

It might seem like a great deal at first, yet I promise you’ll get the hang of it within a few days. And the benefits– both financial and in terms of your audience’s growth– are worth the preliminary contour.

Deep Dive: beehiiv’s Monetization Options

If you’re serious about turning your newsletter right into a money-making machine, let’s break down each earnings stream carefully.

1. beehiiv Partner Program (Affiliate Incomes)

Think of this as beehiiv’s affiliate program. Here’s the lowdown:.

• How It Functions: You enroll in the Partner Program, get your special referral web link, and share it on your blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, wherever. When someone clicks, signs up for a paid plan (Range or Max), you earn a payment.
• Commission Fees: Approximately 60% of their first-year repayment. If they pay $100, you may see $60. Cha-ching.
• Payout: Beehiiv pays regular monthly through PayPal. No minimum threshold, no hoops to jump with.

In my situation, I published a Medium article walking individuals with my beehiiv experience (looter: this overview right here is part of that initiative). With a mix of blog web traffic and word-of-mouth, I made over $5,000 in associate commissions by December 2024. All I did was share my authentic experience.

2. Boosts: Make by Helping Others Grow

Boosts are essentially funded promos– beehiiv’s spin on a “send for pay” version. Here’s the scoop:.

• End Up Being a Boost Sponsor: If you think your newsletter can aid others expand, use in the Boosts dashboard. You’ll describe why your target market is an excellent fit and set a cost you ‘d pay for a brand-new subscriber.
• Relate to Boost Others: If you want fast customers, you can pay to boost your e-newsletter on other makers’ checklists. Yet what the majority of little creators enjoy is the opposite: you put on be a boost partner for other newsletters. When a person signs up through your boost, you get $1–$ 3
• Limits:
  • You can send up to 25 boost provides monthly, yet beehiiv only surface areas three offers each time to prospective companions.
  • If a boost is carrying out well, various other developers will choose it up rapidly.

Below’s a quick instance: In October 2024, I promoted a fellow search engine optimization designer’s newsletter for $1.75 per client. Over two weeks, I generated 200 new subscribers for them– and gained regarding $350 in the process. Win-win.

3. beehiiv Ad Network (Sponsored Advertisements)

This is where the big bucks can come in, even if your checklist is “small.” Below’s just how it goes:

• Qualification: You require at the very least 1,000 energetic customers and a consistent send out routine (a minimum of one email per month, though weekly is excellent).
• Automation: As soon as authorized, you’ll begin getting 3– 5 sponsorship requests each month. Beehiiv matches you with brands based upon your audience’s rate of interests– so a marketing SaaS business might come close to an SEO-focused newsletter, as an example.
• Settlement Design:
  • Expense Per Click (CPC): You make money whenever a person clicks the ad in your e-mail.
  • Expense Per Mille (CPM): You make based upon a thousand perceptions.
• Alleviate of Use: You can accept or decrease 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 newsletter.

In 2024, I ran 37 funded advertisements, consisting of a few top-level brand names like HubSpot. I made $632 from ads alone, with my top campaign creating $112 from 35 clicks (4.5% click-through). Remember: relevance is king. Pointless advertisements container click-through rates, so be discerning.

4. Paid Subscriptions (” Premium Material”)

If you create absolutely unique material– deep dive reports, unique tutorials, or insider evaluations– you may take into consideration a paid rate. Below’s the 101:

• Configuration: Most Likely To Money Making �’ Paid Memberships, link Stripe, and pick your pricing:
  • Regular monthly
  • Annual (generally marked down)
  • Single repayment (for a single guide or training course)
  • Name Your Cost (your subscribers select what they can manage)
• Income Split: Beehiiv doesn’t bill you a system fee; they just pass Stripe’s handling fee (2.9% + $0.30) on you.
• Instances: If you have 100 subscribers paying $7/month, that’s $700/month = $8,400/ year (minus Stripe costs). Tolerable, right? Naturally, reaching 100 paid clients implies you need a dedicated, involved base.

Currently, be practical: Paid registrations are a grind. You need consistent, high-value content that makes individuals comfortable pulling out their wallets. If you’re simply beginning, the advertisement network and boosts could be quicker victories.

Pricing Plans: What You’ll Pay (and Get)

I understand pricing is a huge enigma when you’re considering switching over platforms. Here’s the failure since mid-2025:.

• Free Plan (as much as 2,500 clients): Great for pet projects or if you’re testing the waters. You still obtain boosts for listing growth, fundamental analytics, and endless sends– simply no advertisement network or paid subscriptions yet.
• Scale ($ 39.20/ month): Perfect if you’re serious about monetizing. You get ad network access, boosts, paid subscriptions, and the AI Writing Assistant to quicken your newsletter production.
• Max ($ 87.29/ month): If AI devices (photo generation, grammar repairing, translation) matter to you, and you desire concern assistance, this is the wonderful spot. Plus, you can launch a mobile application for your clients.
• Enterprise (100k+ clients): For brand names and mega-creators who need custom-made migrations, service-level contracts, and advanced protection. Very few tiny makers require this.

My referral? Begin on the Free plan. Get a feel for the control panel, expand your checklist to 1,000, after that update to Scale when you know you classifieds earnings and boosts.

Distinct Features Beehiiv Vs Buttondown

You could be thinking, “Okay, ads and boosts are great. But what else can beehiiv do that others can not?” Let me highlight a few standout features:.

1. Sound E-newsletters

Ever thought about turning your email into a podcast-like experience? Beehiiv’s integrated sound newsletter feature automatically converts your emails into spoken-word audio. No added editing software application, no outsourcing to Fiverr– simply toggle it on, and your clients can pay attention on the go. For hectic audiences who drive or work out, this is a handy way to stay connected.

2. Custom Mobile Application for Readers

The majority of platforms provide you a “mobile-optimized internet site.” Beehiiv goes one action even more: you can release a custom mobile application for your subscribers. Once they include it to their home screen, your e-newsletter comes to be a one-tap experience– no inbox mess. Picture awakening and seeing application alerts when you go down a brand-new issue. Talk about interaction.

3. “Name Your Price” Registrations

Instead of forcing everybody right into $5 or $7 rates, let your most loyal followers decide what to pay. It’s a trust-building relocation and can bring about higher lifetime value. I have not tested this feature personally yet, but for designers who really feel a little bit uneasy concerning price points, it’s a wonderful option to trying out.

4. beehiiv AI Collection

For those on Scale and Max plans, beehiiv’s AI devices are a blessing:

• AI Writing Aide: Create e-newsletter drafts based on bullet points or subjects. For days when you’re staring at an empty web page, this boosts your creative thinking.
• AI Text Device: Grammar, punctuation, tone checks– no requirement for Grammarly. You get a clean, sleek draft that feels human Beehiiv Vs Buttondown.
• AI Image Device: Create custom header pictures or images without acquiring supply images. Simply type a prompt, and voila.
• AI Translator: Intend to send your newsletter in multiple languages? Translate your content into Spanish, French, German, Italian, or Portuguese quickly.

These features can shave hours off content development and aid you explore new formats.

Pro Tips For Doing well on beehiiv

Since you understand what beehiiv can do, right here are some insider hacks to make the most of it:

Tidy Your Listing for Better Efficiency

In August 2024, I reduced my client count in half (from concerning 2,400 down to 1,200) by removing non-active e-mails– individuals who hadn’t opened anything in 6 months. My open prices leapt from ~ 45% to over 60%, which suggested marketers paid more per click. It hurt to shed subscribers, yet a lean, involved listing is worth more than a puffed up, easy one.

Explore Subject Lines Like a Pro

Subject lines make or burst rates. Do A/B examinations on small sectors prior to sending to your whole listing. Brief, punchy, question-based subjects (” Ready to double your website traffic?”) frequently outperform common ones (” April E-newsletter”).

Be Pickier with Advertisement Offers

If an advertisement doesn’t resonate with your niche, say no. Unimportant ads frustrate visitors and container click metrics. Over time, beehiiv’s formula will certainly learn what fits your audience– decrease enough off-topic offers, and they’ll quit sending them.

Usage Boosts to Evaluate New Audiences

Got a new group you want to discover? Attempt enhancing your e-newsletter in an associated particular niche. The expense per subscriber averages $1.63– yet if those clients linger, it deserves it. I once boosted a SEO newsletter in a digital marketing target market and obtained an unexpected uptick in retention.

Utilize AI for Faster Production

On evenings when I’m burnt out, I ask the AI Creating Assistant to draft a rough outline: intro, three bottom lines, verdict. Then I flesh it out with my own stories and style tweaks. It’s not ideal, however it’s a solid structure that saves me 30– 45 mins per e-mail.

Benefit from the Mobile App

Urge customers to mount your e-newsletter’s mobile application. In your following email, compose a fast “Exactly how to Include Our Newsletter to Your Home Display” tutorial. More application installs indicate even more presence, and push alerts defeat inbox sound.

Offer Occasional Paid-Only Web Content

Rather than making every concern totally free, tease a “bonus offer report” once a quarter behind a paywall ($ 5–$ 7). Promote it heavily to your checklist. Even if you only offer 20 copies, that’s $100–$ 140 that offsets your regular monthly beehiiv costs.

Finishing up: Is beehiiv Right for You?

If you have actually stuck with me this much, you most likely come under among these camps:

• You’ve never sent out an e-newsletter, but you’re itching to begin– beehiiv’s free plan and intuitive tools are perfect for learning the ropes.
• You have a little listing (< 2,500) and intend to generate income from without migraines-- beehiiv's ad network and boosts pay you for doing virtually nothing additional.
• You’re a mid-sized creator (1k+ subscribers) looking to range– beehiiv’s analytics, AI tools, and referral program help you expand faster and gain a lot more.
• You dislike complicated email systems– beehiiv strikes an equilibrium between effective features and easy to use style.

Sure, the feature set can really feel intimidating initially, and you might get a couple of unimportant advertisement demands. However consider this: in under a year, I made nearly $1,000 on a little checklist and over $5,000 in associate commissions just by sharing my experience. I have actually seen sufficient to recognize that if you spend a little bit of time learning the platform, the returns can be considerable.

So, what are you waiting on? Enroll in beehiiv, explore the control panel, and let the money making engines turn. Your future self will thanks when the checks roll in.