How Do I Switch From Substack To Beehiiv

So, you have actually been toying with the idea of turning your e-mail listing into a profits stream, however you’re bewildered by all the options around. Noise acquainted? You’re not the only one. If you have actually been using a fundamental e-mail solution and damaging your head concerning sponsorships, advertisements, and paid memberships, it may be time to have a look at beehiiv. In this guide, I’ll walk you with every little thing you require to know about utilizing beehiiv to transform your e-newsletter right into money– all from my own experience. Ready? Let’s dive in How Do I Switch From Substack To Beehiiv

Why You Might Be Stuck with Your Present Email System

You have actually most likely tried the normal suspects: Mailchimp, ConvertKit (now Kit), Substack, or something comparable. And if you’re like the majority of small-scale content developers, here’s what likely occurred:

Limited Money Making Options

You have a handful of devoted clients– maybe 500 to 1,000 people– yet no very easy method to generate income. Sponsorships seem like a foreign language, and you’re not keen on cold-emailing brands each month.

Do It Yourself Automation Headaches

You wish to trickle campaign new customers, send a welcome series, and sector people for targeted emails … but establishing those automations feels like you require a computer science level.

Platform Charges Draw

Every time you consider paid subscriptions, the platform takes a substantial piece, and the payment configuration is much more difficult than it deserves.

Growth Delays

Growth hacks seem to benefit everybody else– however except you. You desire there was a simple method to find new clients without by hand chasing them down.

I was in your shoes at the start of 2024. I ‘d been using Kit (formerly ConvertKit), but it seemed like a stumbling block for money making. Don’t get me wrong– Kit is terrific for developing funnels and setting up basic automations. Yet when it concerned making a couple of hundred dollars a month from a small listing, there wasn’t an apparent “on” button.

Go into beehiiv.

My Switch to beehiiv: A Truth Inspect

In January 2024, I ultimately pulled the trigger and relocated my e-newsletter from Kit to beehiiv. Right here’s the honest truth: I didn’t have time to hound enrollers, discuss rates, or construct difficult paid funnels. I run a SEO writing organization permanent, so my newsletter was always going to be a side project. I required something that practically ran itself.

The “Sell Me” Minute

What marketed me on beehiiv was straightforward:

Integrated Monetization: Right from the beginning, beehiiv yells, “Hey, you can make money here!” It wasn’t an afterthought or a third-party add-on.
Low-Effort Sponsorships: Rather than me combing LinkedIn for sponsors, beehiiv brings deals straight to my control panel. All I have to do is click “accept,” drop in the ad copy, and struck send.
Passive Revenue Boosts: By advertising various other newsletters in my weekly e-mail, I make $1–$ 3 per referred subscriber. No hefty lifting, no complex analytics– simply stable, step-by-step income.

Looter alert: It paid off. In my first complete year on beehiiv (2024 ), I drew in $940 from ad sponsorships and boosts alone– on a list that never covered 1,000 subscribers. I didn’t produce a paid training course. I didn’t introduce an item and I just let beehiiv do its thing.

My Partner Program Windfall

As if that wasn’t sufficient, I also joined the beehiiv Partner Program– primarily an affiliate program. By covering beehiiv on my blog site and sharing my experience with friends, I filched $5,108 in referral compensations through completion of 2024. Yep, you read that right: over five grand, just by discussing the platform.

So if you’re questioning whether beehiiv deserves it for tiny developers or newbies, take my word: It’s a game-changer. However, certainly, it isn’t remarkable. Let’s break down the excellent, the bad, and the great stuff you require to understand.

The Advantage of Using beehiiv

1. Monetization Made Ridiculously Easy

What I like ideal about beehiiv is exactly how simple it is to generate income on autopilot. You don’t need a big audience. Here’s how it functions:

Advertisement Network Sponsorships: When you hit simply 1,000 active subscribers, brand names begin lining up. You get 3– 6 ad demands monthly usually. You pick the ones you like, put the duplicate, and you’re done. They ppc or watch– no complicated invoicing. And since beehiiv matches you with pertinent brand names, your clients are most likely to click.
Boosts Referral Earnings: Do not have sponsors yet? Not a problem. Advertise other maker e-newsletters for $1–$ 3 per customer. It’s like Amazon’s affiliate program, but for email lists. I earned 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 superior web content, beehiiv takes a very little fee (2.9% + $0.30 per deal using Stripe). You can establish numerous pricing tiers, run totally free trials, and even let subscribers “call their price.”.
Partner Program Payments: Not in it for the brief haul? Register for the affiliate program. Gain 60% commission on beehiiv’s month-to-month or annual plans when somebody register with your code. It’s actually extra money for sharing something you already love.

In other words, beehiiv turns money making into an integrated feature, as opposed to a task you dread.

2. Analytics That Don’t Make Your Head Explode

If you’ve ever stared at a dashboard thinking, “What does any one of this really suggest?”, you’ll value beehiiv’s technique:.

Clear Client Development Charts: See precisely the number of brand-new people signed up with, the amount of dropped off, and why your list reduced (a lot more on that particular in a sec).
Open and Click Rates: Beehiiv breaks down performance over the last one month, so you can identify patterns as soon as possible. For example, I kept an eye on my open rate (hovering around 64%– tolerable) and my click-through (around 3.5%). If either statistics dips, I tweak my subject lines or calls-to-action.
Money making Dashboards: Sponsorship earnings, boosts income, partner referral earnings– you get the picture. Profits streams are nicely separated so absolutely nothing gets shed in the shuffle.

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

3. Expanding Your List Without Marketing Your Spirit

The majority of newsletter platforms will certainly bill you for every single additional customer after a limit. Not so with beehiiv– for approximately 2,500 customers, it’s totally free. You get:.

Unlimited e-mail sends out.
Access to the boosts network (grow your audience by advertising your e-newsletter on other beehiiv e-newsletters).
Basic analytics and kinds.

If you’re a newbie or have a tiny target market, this is huge. You can experiment with subject lines, send regularity, and various lead magnets without bothering with hitting a paywall.

4. Integrated Site & Custom-made Pages

Envision abandoning WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace altogether due to the fact that your e-newsletter system functions as a website builder. That’s beehiiv in a nutshell:.

E-newsletter Archive Pages: All your past e-mails reside on a blog-like page that’s instantly SEO-optimized.
Custom Landing Pages: Required a lead magnet web page? A thank-you page? A web page to offer an item? You can develop it right in beehiiv’s website builder.
Mobile-Friendly Templates: Whatever looks excellent on phones– crucial because a ton of individuals review e-mails on mobile.

Certain, you won’t obtain every elegant drag-and-drop that a devoted website builder uses, but for most creators, it’s ample.

5. Referral Program to Supercharge Development

Beehiiv’s referral program is awesome if you wish to use a community of similar developers. When your client clicks “Recommend This E-newsletter” and joins, both you and the referring designer get credit rating. It’s a smart method to expand your list without spamming.

The Downsides: What to Look out for

No item is best– and beehiiv has its missteps. Prior to you dive in, below’s what may trip you up:.

Feature Overload at First

When you log in, there are a lot of options– Kinds, Boosts, Advertisements, Partner Program, Analytics, Website Builder– that it can feel frustrating. If you have actually just made use of an easy service that sends out one-off e-mails, you could need a couple of days to obtain comfy.

Irrelevant Advertisement Requests

Often the enrollers beehiiv matches you with have nothing to do with your specific niche. A gaming e-newsletter may obtain used a code-review device for developers. Ensure to decrease anything that doesn’t jive with your target market, or you’ll tank your click-throughs.

No Time At All Zone– Based Sends

If your checklist is worldwide, you can not instantly schedule e-mails based upon each customer’s time zone. All sends head out at once, so you could awaken to low open rates if half your listing is asleep.

Customized Web Page Builder Isn’t Incredibly Instinctive

Producing a landing page is possible, yet the UI could be smoother. I spent a couple of hours (and a handy conversation with support) getting a giveaway opt-in page perfect. If you’re impatient or design-averse, you could find it confusing.

Minimal Integrations

If you use Gumroad to market items, you run out luck– no straight integration yet. You’ll need to use embed codes or a Zapier workaround.

All that said, beehiiv’s group is constantly rolling out updates– and those disadvantages are gradually however definitely being resolved.

Who Should Think about beehiiv?

Not every person requires a completely included newsletter system. But if any one of the following explains you, beehiiv might be a suit made in heaven:.

Outright Beginners: You’ve never ever sent out an email blast, you don’t wish to invest cash ahead of time, and you require a cost-free, easy means to experiment. Beehiiv allows you start totally free, send out endless emails to as much as 2,500 clients, and expand organically with the boosts network.
Small-List Creators: If you already have a few hundred or a pair thousand subscribers yet no clue exactly how to transform that right into earnings, beehiiv’s advertisement and boost programs are tailor-made for you. In my very first 10 months, I was making about $92/month with a ~ 1k list. Okay for coffee money, right?
Developers Who Despise “Salesy” Things: You do not wish to pitch items nonstop or sling digital training courses. You prefer to share value, develop count on, and let the cash been available in on auto-pilot. Beehiiv’s ad network and boosts let you gain without crafting a four-part sales funnel.
Switchers Who Don’t Intend To Reconstruct Whatever: Perhaps you get on Substack, Ghost, or Mailchimp, and your e-mail automations are a twisted mess. Beehiiv promises a smooth migration from those systems. Plus, if you have a large listing (claim 10k+), you can obtain assist from beehiiv’s support group to relocate every little thing over without shedding your automations.

Getting Started: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Subscribe and Explore the Control panel

Once you create an account, beehiiv drops you right into a dashboard where you see your client count, open prices, click-through prices, and any type of pending ad deals. Consider it as your mission control– everything you need is just a click away.

Construct Your Initial Subscribe Kind

Navigate to Audience �’ Subscribe Types �’ Produce Brand-new Type. You’ll need:

A heading that hooks site visitors
A short blurb describing what your newsletter has to do with
A call-to-action switch (e.g., “Join My Newsletter”)
Your logo or a relevant image
A post-subscribe message or redirect (e.g., “Thanks for joining! Inspect your inbox in a sec.”)

You can choose from different kind styles: full-width, fixed-width, slim embed (simply the email field), or advanced (with tracking codes). The customization options are fundamental– colors for buttons and background images– but it’s remarkably effective for recording e-mails.

Establish Your Site and Custom-made Pages

If you want more than simply a kind, jump into Layout �’ Website Builder �’ Custom Pages �’ Internal Page. Use this to:

Host your newsletter archive (all previous concerns, searchable and SEO-friendly).

Produce a landing page for a free offer (e.g., “Download my SEO rip off sheet”).

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

I invested a couple of hours tweaking my very first landing page, but once I mastered it, I recognized just how effective it is to have every little thing under one roofing system. As opposed to handling Leadpages, WordPress, and Mailchimp, beehiiv does it all.

Draft Your First E-newsletter

Click the large “Start Composing” button in the top-right edge. You’ll see a tidy, distraction-free editor where you can:

Compose your e-mail copy How Do I Switch From Substack To Beehiiv
Put images, headers, and custom-made HTML obstructs
Preview exactly how it’ll look in inboxes and on your internet site
Schedule or send out right away

One catch: Customization is restricted. Every subscriber sees “Hi there” instead of “Hey there [First Name]” If you need hyper-personalization, you may miss that. But for most folks, a friendly, conversational intro is enough.

Activate Money making

Once you hit 1,000 active clients, beehiiv will invite you to:.

Sign Up With the Ad Network: Immediately get sponsorship requests that match your particular niche. Choose which ones to accept, place the ad duplicate right into your e-newsletter, and make money per click/view.
Set Up Boosts: Put on promote various other e-newsletters. If a person joins through your link, you make $1–$ 3 per customer.

For paid e-newsletters, navigate to Money making �’ Paid Registrations. You’ll connect your Stripe account (beehiiv does not charge extra fees beyond Stripe’s handling), establish your pricing plans (monthly, yearly, or “Call Your Rate”), and determine what content goes behind the paywall.

Display and Enhance

Examine your analytics weekly. If open prices drop below 40%, reassess your subject lines. If a sponsorship gets zero clicks, it could be pointless to your target market– decrease similar future ads. When a boost converts well, submit even more boost demands or modify your offer.

It might feel like a great deal at first, however I guarantee you’ll get the hang of it within a couple of days. And the incentives– both economic and in regards to your audience’s development– are worth the first contour.

Deep Dive: beehiiv’s Money making Options

If you’re serious about transforming your newsletter into a profitable machine, let’s break down each profits stream thoroughly.

1. beehiiv Partner Program (Affiliate Incomes)

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

How It Works: You register for the Partner Program, get your special referral web link, and share it on your blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, any place. When somebody clicks, register for a paid plan (Scale or Max), you gain a compensation.
Payment Rates: Up to 60% of their first-year settlement. If they pay $100, you may see $60. Cha-ching.
Payout: Beehiiv pays monthly by means of PayPal. No minimum limit, no hoops to leap via.

In my situation, I published a Medium post strolling people with my beehiiv experience (looter: this guide right here becomes part of that initiative). Via a mix of blog site website traffic and word-of-mouth, I made over $5,000 in affiliate compensations by December 2024. All I did was share my real experience.

2. Boosts: Make by Helping Others Grow

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

Become a Boost Sponsor: If you assume your newsletter can help others grow, use in the Boosts dashboard. You’ll clarify why your target market is a great fit and established a price you ‘d spend for a new client.
Put on Boost Others: If you want quick clients, you can pay to boost your newsletter on various other designers’ checklists. Yet what most tiny designers like is the reverse: you relate to be a boost partner for various other e-newsletters. When somebody register via your boost, you get $1–$ 3
Limitations:
- You can send up to 25 boost supplies per month, yet beehiiv just surfaces 3 deals each time to potential companions.
- If a boost is doing well, other makers will choose it up promptly.

Here’s a quick example: In October 2024, I promoted a fellow search engine optimization developer’s newsletter for $1.75 per client. Over two weeks, I produced 200 brand-new clients for them– and earned about $350 at the same time. Win-win.

3. beehiiv Ad Network (Sponsored Advertisements)

This is where the huge dollars can be available in, even if your checklist is “little.” Below’s just how it goes:

Qualification: You require a minimum of 1,000 active clients and a regular send out schedule (at least one email each month, though regular is perfect).
Automation: As soon as approved, you’ll start receiving 3– 5 sponsorship requests each month. Beehiiv matches you with brands based upon your audience’s passions– so a marketing SaaS business could approach an SEO-focused e-newsletter, for example.
Payment Version:
- Expense Per Click (CPC): You make money every time a person clicks the ad in your e-mail.
- Price Per Mille (CPM): You gain based upon a thousand impressions.
Ease of Use: You can approve or decrease each deal 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 ads, consisting of a couple of prominent brand names like HubSpot. I made $632 from ads alone, with my top campaign producing $112 from 35 clicks (4.5% click-through). Keep in mind: significance is king. Unimportant advertisements container click-through prices, so be careful.

4. Paid Subscriptions (” Premium Web Content”)

If you develop genuinely special content– deep dive records, exclusive tutorials, or insider evaluations– you could think about a paid rate. Here’s the 101:

Configuration: Go to Money Making �’ Paid Memberships, link Stripe, and choose your pricing:
- Monthly
- Annual (usually marked down)
- One-time settlement (for a single guide or program)
- Name Your Cost (your customers choose what they can afford)
Income Split: Beehiiv does not charge you a platform fee; they only pass Stripe’s handling cost (2.9% + $0.30) on to you.
Instances: If you have 100 clients paying $7/month, that’s $700/month = $8,400/ year (minus Stripe fees). Tolerable, best? Obviously, reaching 100 paid customers indicates you need a devoted, involved base.

Currently, be sensible: Paid registrations are a grind. You require regular, high-value content that makes individuals comfy taking out their wallets. If you’re just beginning, the advertisement network and boosts might be quicker success.

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

I understand pricing is a huge enigma when you’re thinking of changing systems. Right here’s the break down as of mid-2025:.

Free Plan (up to 2,500 clients): Great for pet projects or if you’re examining the waters. You still get boosts for list development, standard analytics, and unrestricted sends out– simply no ad network or paid memberships yet.
Scale ($ 39.20/ month): Perfect if you’re serious about monetizing. You get ad network accessibility, boosts, paid registrations, and the AI Creating Assistant to accelerate your e-newsletter development.
Max ($ 87.29/ month): If AI tools (picture generation, grammar taking care of, translation) issue to you, and you desire top priority support, this is the wonderful area. And also, you can introduce a mobile app for your clients.
Enterprise (100k+ customers): For brand names and mega-creators who require customized movements, service-level contracts, and progressed safety and security. Not many tiny developers require this.

My referral? Begin on the Free plan. Get a feel for the dashboard, grow your checklist to 1,000, then upgrade to Scale once you recognize you want ad profits and boosts.

Distinct Features How Do I Switch From Substack To Beehiiv

You may be thinking, “Okay, ads and boosts are amazing. But what else can beehiiv do that can’t?” Let me highlight a few standout features:.

1. Sound E-newsletters

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

2. Custom-made Mobile Apps for Visitors

Many systems provide you a “mobile-optimized website.” Beehiiv goes one step better: you can introduce a custom-made mobile application for your subscribers. Once they add it to their home display, your newsletter ends up being a one-tap experience– no inbox clutter. Envision awakening and seeing app notices when you go down a brand-new concern. Discuss involvement.

3. “Call Your Rate” Registrations

Rather than forcing every person into $5 or $7 tiers, let your most devoted fans choose what to pay. It’s a trust-building action and can result in higher lifetime value. I have not tested this feature directly yet, but also for developers who really feel a little bit uneasy about cost factors, it’s a wonderful option to try out.

4. beehiiv AI Suite

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

AI Creating Assistant: Generate e-newsletter drafts based on bullet points or subjects. For days when you’re staring at an empty page, this starts your imagination.
AI Text Device: Grammar, punctuation, tone checks– no demand for Grammarly. You get a tidy, refined draft that really feels human How Do I Switch From Substack To Beehiiv.
AI Picture Tool: Create personalized header images or images without buying stock photos. Simply type a timely, and voila.
AI Translator: Want to send your newsletter in multiple languages? Translate your content into Spanish, French, German, Italian, or Portuguese immediately.

These features can cut hours off web content development and aid you trying out new layouts.

Pro Tips For Succeeding on beehiiv

Since you understand what beehiiv can do, right here are some expert hacks to take advantage of it:

Tidy Your Listing for Better Efficiency

In August 2024, I cut my customer matter in half (from about 2,400 to 1,200) by removing inactive e-mails– individuals who had not opened up anything in six months. My open rates leapt from ~ 45% to over 60%, which indicated marketers paid even more per click. It harmed to shed clients, yet a lean, engaged listing deserves more than a puffed up, easy one.

Explore Subject Lines Like a Pro

Subject lines make or break open prices. Do A/B tests on small segments before sending to your entire listing. Short, punchy, question-based topics (” Ready to double your traffic?”) typically outperform generic ones (” April E-newsletter”).

Be Pickier with Advertisement Offers

If an advertisement does not reverberate with your niche, say no. Irrelevant advertisements frustrate readers and storage tank click metrics. Over time, beehiiv’s algorithm will discover what fits your target market– decrease sufficient off-topic offers, and they’ll stop sending them.

Use Boosts to Examine New Audiences

Obtained a new category you want to check out? Try increasing your newsletter in an associated niche. The cost per subscriber standards $1.63– yet if those subscribers stick around, it deserves it. I once increased a search engine optimization newsletter in a digital marketing audience and obtained a shocking uptick in retention.

Utilize AI for Faster Production

On evenings when I’m worn out, I ask the AI Writing Aide to draft a rough outline: intro, 3 bottom lines, conclusion. Then I flesh it out with my very own narratives and design tweaks. It’s not excellent, yet it’s a solid foundation that saves me 30– 45 mins per email.

Make the most of the Mobile App

Encourage customers to mount your newsletter’s mobile app. In your following email, create a quick “Exactly how to Include Our E-newsletter to Your Home Screen” tutorial. Even more application sets up mean even more exposure, and press notifications beat inbox sound.

Offer Occasional Paid-Only Web Content

Rather than making every issue totally free, tease a “incentive record” once a quarter behind a paywall ($ 5–$ 7). Promote it greatly to your list. Even if you just offer 20 copies, that’s $100–$ 140 that offsets your monthly beehiiv costs.

Finishing up: Is beehiiv Right for You?

If you’ve stuck to me this far, you possibly fall into among these camps:

You have actually never sent out a newsletter, yet you’re itching to start– beehiiv’s free plan and user-friendly devices are excellent for learning the ropes.
You have a small listing (< 2,500) and intend to monetize without headaches-- beehiiv's advertisement network and boosts pay you for doing virtually nothing additional.
You’re a mid-sized designer (1k+ subscribers) seeking to scale– beehiiv’s analytics, AI devices, and referral program help you expand quicker and earn extra.
You dislike complex email platforms– beehiiv strikes a balance between powerful features and user-friendly style.

Sure, the feature collection can feel discouraging initially, and you could get a couple of irrelevant ad requests. However consider this: in under a year, I made almost $1,000 on a tiny listing and over $5,000 in affiliate compensations simply by sharing my experience. I have actually seen adequate to know that if you invest a little bit of time learning the system, the returns can be substantial.

So, what are you waiting for? Enroll in beehiiv, check out the control panel, and let the money making engines turn. Your future self will thank you when the checks roll in.