Is Beehiiv Like Substack – Full Picture!

So, you’ve been toying with the concept of transforming your e-mail checklist right into a profits stream, yet you’re overwhelmed by all the choices around. Noise familiar? You’re not alone. If you’ve been using a standard email solution and scratching your head about sponsorships, ads, and paid memberships, it could be time to look into beehiiv. In this guide, I’ll walk you via whatever you need to find out about using beehiiv to transform your e-newsletter right into cash money– all from my very own experience. Ready? Let’s dive in Is Beehiiv Like Substack

Why You Might Be Stuck with Your Current Email System

You’ve possibly tried the common suspects: Mailchimp, ConvertKit (currently Kit), Substack, or something similar. And if you’re like most small-scale material creators, here’s what likely took place:

Restricted Money Making Alternatives

You have a handful of devoted clients– perhaps 500 to 1,000 people– yet zero easy way to earn money. Sponsorships seem like a foreign language, and you’re not keen on cold-emailing brand names every month.

DIY Automation Headaches

You want to trickle campaign new subscribers, send a welcome collection, and sector people for targeted emails … but setting up those automations seems like you need a computer science level.

Platform Charges Suck

Every single time you think about paid registrations, the system takes a big chunk, and the payment configuration is more complex than it deserves.

Growth Stalls

Growth hacks appear to work for everybody else– yet except you. You wish there was a very easy method to find brand-new customers without manually chasing them down.

I remained in your shoes at the beginning of 2024. I ‘d been making use of Kit (previously ConvertKit), but it felt like a stumbling block for monetization. Do not get me wrong– Kit is great for developing funnels and setting up standard automations. Yet when it came to making a couple of hundred bucks a month from a small listing, there wasn’t a noticeable “on” switch.

Enter beehiiv.

My Switch over to beehiiv: A Fact Check

In January 2024, I finally shot and relocated my newsletter from Kit to beehiiv. Here’s the honest truth: I didn’t have time to hunt down enrollers, work out prices, or build complicated paid funnels. I run a SEO creating business full time, so my e-newsletter was constantly mosting likely to be a side project. I required something that practically ran itself.

The “Offer Me” Moment

What marketed me on beehiiv was basic:

Integrated Money making: Right from the start, beehiiv shouts, “Hey, you can make money right here!” It wasn’t an afterthought or a third-party add-on.
Low-Effort Sponsorships: Rather than me scouring LinkedIn for enrollers, beehiiv brings deals right to my dashboard. All I need to do is click “accept,” drop in the ad duplicate, and hit send.
Passive Income Boosts: By advertising various other newsletters in my regular email, I make $1–$ 3 per referred subscriber. No hefty training, no challenging analytics– simply consistent, incremental income.

Looter alert: It paid off. In my first complete year on beehiiv (2024 ), I pulled in $940 from ad sponsorships and boosts alone– on a listing that never topped 1,000 customers. I really did not develop 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 had not been sufficient, I additionally signed up with the beehiiv Partner Program– primarily an affiliate program. By blogging about beehiiv on my blog site and sharing my experience with chums, I took $5,108 in referral commissions with the end of 2024. Yep, you review that right: over five grand, just by discussing the system.

So if you’re asking yourself whether beehiiv is worth it for small creators or newbies, take my word: It’s a game-changer. Yet, of course, it isn’t remarkable. Let’s break down the great, the poor, and the trendy things you need to know.

The Benefit of Using beehiiv

1. Money Making Made Extremely Straightforward

What I love ideal regarding beehiiv is how very easy it is to make money on autopilot. You do not require a huge target market. Below’s exactly how it functions:

Ad Network Sponsorships: As soon as you hit simply 1,000 energetic subscribers, brands begin aligning. You get 3– 6 ad demands per month typically. You select the ones you like, put the duplicate, and you’re done. They ppc or view– no difficult invoicing. And because beehiiv matches you with appropriate brands, your subscribers are more likely to click.
Boosts Referral Income: Do not have sponsors yet? No problem. Promote various other developer e-newsletters for $1–$ 3 per subscriber. It’s like Amazon’s affiliate program, but also for email checklists. I made several hundred bucks this way without breaking a sweat.
Paid Subscriptions (When You’re Ready): Down the line, if you determine to bill for exceptional material, beehiiv takes a marginal fee (2.9% + $0.30 per purchase by means of Stripe). You can establish multiple pricing rates, run totally free tests, or perhaps let customers “call their cost.”.
Partner Program Compensations: Not in it for the brief haul? Enroll in the affiliate program. Make 60% commission on beehiiv’s regular monthly or yearly plans when a person register with your code. It’s actually extra cash for sharing something you already like.

Simply put, beehiiv turns monetization into an integrated feature, as opposed to a job you fear.

2. Analytics That Do Not Make Your Head Explode

If you’ve ever stared at a dashboard reasoning, “What does any of this really suggest?”, you’ll appreciate beehiiv’s method:.

Clear Subscriber Growth Charts: See precisely the number of new people joined, the number of handed over, and why your listing diminished (much more on that in a sec).
Open Up and Click Prices: Beehiiv breaks down performance over the last thirty day, so you can identify fads as soon as possible. For instance, I watched on my open price (hovering around 64%– tolerable) and my click-through (around 3.5%). If either statistics dips, I fine-tune my subject lines or calls-to-action.
Money making Dashboards: Sponsorship revenue, boosts income, partner referral incomes– you get the picture. Income streams are nicely divided so absolutely nothing obtains lost in the shuffle.

It resembles having a sidekick who tells you, “Hey, your January email killed it– below’s why,” or “Uh oh, your February open prices are tanking– let’s fix this.”.

3. Expanding Your List Without Offering Your Spirit

A lot of newsletter systems will certainly charge you for every single additional client after a limit. Not so with beehiiv– for approximately 2,500 subscribers, it’s totally free. You get:.

Limitless email sends.
Access to the boosts network (grow your audience by advertising your newsletter on various other beehiiv e-newsletters).
Standard analytics and types.

If you’re a newbie or have a small audience, this is huge. You can explore subject lines, send regularity, and various lead magnets without stressing over striking a paywall.

4. Integrated Web Site & Personalized Pages

Picture dropping WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace entirely due to the fact that your newsletter system doubles as a website builder. That’s beehiiv in a nutshell:.

Newsletter Archive Pages: All your past e-mails survive on a blog-like page that’s instantly SEO-optimized.
Personalized Landing Pages: Need a lead magnet web page? A thank-you web page? A web page to market a product? You can build it right in beehiiv’s website builder.
Mobile-Friendly Templates: Everything looks terrific on phones– crucial given that a ton of folks read emails on mobile.

Sure, you will not obtain every fancy drag-and-drop that a devoted website builder offers, but for a lot of creators, it’s more than enough.

5. Referral Program to Turbo Charge Development

Beehiiv’s referral program is awesome if you intend to tap into a community of like-minded designers. When your customer clicks “Recommend This E-newsletter” and joins, both you and the referring developer obtain credit rating. It’s a clever method to grow your listing without spamming.

The Downsides: What to Watch Out For

No item is perfect– and beehiiv has its missteps. Prior to you dive in, here’s what could journey you up:.

Feature Overload at First

When you visit, there are many options– Kinds, Boosts, Ads, Partner Program, Analytics, Website Builder– that it can feel frustrating. If you have actually just utilized a basic service that sends one-off e-mails, you could need a couple of days to obtain comfortable.

Irrelevant Advertisement Requests

In some cases the sponsors beehiiv matches you with have nothing to do with your particular niche. A gaming newsletter might obtain provided a code-review tool for developers. Ensure to decline anything that does not jive with your audience, or you’ll storage tank your click-throughs.

No Time Zone– Based Sends Out

If your checklist is global, you can not instantly arrange e-mails based upon each client’s time zone. All sends head out simultaneously, so you might get up to low open rates if half your listing is asleep.

Custom-made Page Builder Isn’t Super Instinctive

Producing a landing page is possible, but the UI could be smoother. I invested a couple of hours (and a practical chat with support) obtaining a freebie opt-in web page perfect. If you’re impatient or design-averse, you might locate it cumbersome.

Limited Integrations

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

All that stated, beehiiv’s group is regularly rolling out updates– and those disadvantages are slowly however definitely being addressed.

Who Should Take into consideration beehiiv?

Not everyone requires a totally featured e-newsletter system. But if any one of the following defines you, beehiiv might be a suit made in heaven:.

Outright Beginners: You’ve never sent out an email blast, you don’t want to spend money upfront, and you require a complimentary, simple method to experiment. Beehiiv allows you begin free of charge, send unlimited e-mails to up to 2,500 customers, and grow organically with the boosts network.
Small-List Creators: If you currently have a couple of hundred or a pair thousand clients but no hint just how to transform that right into income, beehiiv’s ad and boost programs are tailor-made for you. In my very first ten months, I was making regarding $92/month with a ~ 1k checklist. Tolerable for coffee cash, right?
Designers Who Despise “Salesy” Things: You don’t intend to pitch items continuously or sling digital courses. You ‘d rather share value, build trust, and let the cash been available in on autopilot. Beehiiv’s ad network and boosts let you make without crafting a four-part sales funnel.
Switchers Who Do Not Intend To Reconstruct Whatever: Maybe you’re on Substack, Ghost, or Mailchimp, and your email automations are a tangled mess. Beehiiv assures a smooth movement from those platforms. And also, if you have a large checklist (state 10k+), you can obtain aid from beehiiv’s assistance group to relocate every little thing over without shedding your automations.

Beginning: A Detailed Walkthrough

Register and Explore the Dashboard

When 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 type of pending advertisement offers. Think of it as your mission control– every little thing you need is just a click away.

Construct Your Initial Subscribe Form

Browse to Audience �’ Subscribe Kinds �’ Create New Type. You’ll need:

A heading that hooks visitors
A brief blurb describing what your e-newsletter is about
A call-to-action button (e.g., “Join My Newsletter”)
Your logo 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 select from various form styles: full-width, fixed-width, slim embed (simply the e-mail area), or advanced (with monitoring codes). The customization alternatives are standard– colors for switches and background photos– however it’s surprisingly reliable for catching emails.

Set Up Your Web Site and Custom Pages

If you want more than just a form, hop right into Layout �’ Website Builder �’ Personalized Pages �’ Internal Page. Utilize this to:

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

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

Build a thank-you page that goes live after a person subscribes.

I invested a couple of hours tweaking my initial landing page, once I got the hang of it, I understood just how effective it is to have everything under one roof covering. Rather than handling Leadpages, WordPress, and Mailchimp, beehiiv does it all.

Draft Your Very First Newsletter

Click the big “Beginning Creating” switch in the top-right corner. You’ll see a tidy, distraction-free editor where you can:

Compose your e-mail copy Is Beehiiv Like Substack
Put pictures, headers, and custom HTML blocks
Preview exactly how it’ll look in inboxes and on your internet site
Arrange or send out promptly

One catch: Personalization is limited. Every subscriber sees “Hey there” instead of “Hi [Given name]” If you need hyper-personalization, you could miss that. But for a lot of folks, a friendly, conversational introduction is enough.

Activate Money making

As soon as you hit 1,000 active customers, beehiiv will certainly invite you to:.

Join the Advertisement Network: Automatically receive sponsorship demands that match your specific niche. Pick which ones to approve, place the advertisement copy into your e-newsletter, and make money per click/view.
Set Up Boosts: Apply to advertise other newsletters. If someone signs up with using your link, you earn $1–$ 3 per customer.

For paid newsletters, browse to Monetization �’ Paid Subscriptions. You’ll connect your Stripe account (beehiiv doesn’t bill extra charges past Stripe’s handling), establish your pricing plans (monthly, annual, or “Name Your Cost”), and choose what content goes behind the paywall.

Display and Optimize

Check your analytics weekly. If open prices go down listed below 40%, reassess your subject lines. If a sponsorship gets no clicks, it could be pointless to your target market– decrease similar future advertisements. When a boost converts well, send more boost demands or fine-tune your offer.

It may feel like a whole lot in the beginning, yet I assure you’ll get the hang of it within a few days. And the incentives– both monetary and in terms of your audience’s development– deserve the initial contour.

Deep Dive: beehiiv’s Monetization Options

If you’re serious about turning your e-newsletter right into a profitable device, let’s break down each income stream in detail.

1. beehiiv Partner Program (Affiliate Profits)

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

How It Functions: You register for the Partner Program, order your distinct referral link, and share it on your blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, any place. When somebody clicks, signs up for a paid plan (Range or Max), you earn a payment.
Commission Fees: Approximately 60% of their first-year settlement. If they pay $100, you could see $60. Cha-ching.
Payment: Beehiiv pays regular monthly via PayPal. No minimum limit, no hoops to leap via.

In my instance, I released a Medium article walking individuals via my beehiiv experience (looter: this overview right here belongs to that initiative). With a mix of blog site web traffic and word-of-mouth, I transformed $5,000 in associate compensations by December 2024. All I did was share my authentic experience.

2. Boosts: Earn by Helping Others Grow

Boosts are basically funded promotions– beehiiv’s spin on a “send for pay” model. Here’s the scoop:.

End Up Being a Boost Sponsor: If you believe your newsletter can assist others expand, use in the Boosts control panel. You’ll discuss why your audience is a good fit and set a rate you would certainly spend for a new customer.
Apply to Boost Others: If you desire quick subscribers, you can pay to boost your newsletter on various other creators’ checklists. But what many tiny creators like is the opposite: you relate to be a boost partner for other newsletters. When somebody register through your boost, you get $1–$ 3
Restrictions:
- You can send up to 25 boost offers each month, but beehiiv just surfaces three deals each time to possible companions.
- If a boost is carrying out well, various other creators will choose it up rapidly.

Right here’s a quick instance: In October 2024, I advertised a fellow search engine optimization creator’s newsletter for $1.75 per customer. Over 2 weeks, I generated 200 brand-new clients for them– and made concerning $350 while doing so. Win-win.

3. beehiiv Ad Network (Sponsored Advertisements)

This is where the big dollars can can be found in, even if your list is “small.” Here’s exactly how it goes:

Eligibility: You need a minimum of 1,000 energetic customers and a constant send out routine (a minimum of one e-mail per month, though weekly is excellent).
Automation: Once authorized, you’ll begin getting 3– 5 sponsorship demands monthly. Beehiiv matches you with brand names based upon your audience’s interests– so a marketing SaaS firm might approach an SEO-focused newsletter, as an example.
Payment Model:
- Expense Per Click (CPC): You make money every time someone clicks the ad in your e-mail.
- Price Per Mille (CPM): You gain based on a thousand impacts.
Relieve of Use: You can approve or decline each offer right from your dashboard. 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 advertisements, including a few high-profile brand names like HubSpot. I made $632 from ads alone, with my leading campaign creating $112 from 35 clicks (4.5% click-through). Remember: importance is king. Pointless advertisements storage tank click-through prices, so be selective.

4. Paid Subscriptions (” Premium Web Content”)

If you develop genuinely one-of-a-kind content– deep dive reports, unique tutorials, or insider analyses– you may take into consideration a paid rate. Right here’s the 101:

Configuration: Go to Money Making �’ Paid Registrations, connect Stripe, and choose your pricing:
- Monthly
- Annual (usually marked down)
- One-time repayment (for a single overview or program)
- Call Your Rate (your subscribers pick what they can afford)
Revenue Split: Beehiiv doesn’t bill you a platform charge; they just pass Stripe’s processing cost (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 fees). Okay, appropriate? Of course, reaching 100 paid subscribers indicates you require a loyal, involved base.

Now, be realistic: Paid memberships are a grind. You need regular, high-value web content that makes individuals comfy taking out their budgets. If you’re just beginning, the advertisement network and boosts might be quicker success.

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

I recognize pricing is a big question mark when you’re considering switching systems. Below’s the failure since mid-2025:.

Free Plan (up to 2,500 clients): Great for pet projects or if you’re checking the waters. You still get boosts for list growth, basic analytics, and unlimited sends out– just no ad network or paid registrations yet.
Scale ($ 39.20/ month): Perfect if you’re serious about generating income from. You obtain advertisement network accessibility, boosts, paid registrations, and the AI Creating Assistant to quicken your e-newsletter creation.
Max ($ 87.29/ month): If AI tools (picture generation, grammar dealing with, translation) issue to you, and you desire priority support, this is the pleasant place. Plus, you can release a mobile application for your subscribers.
Enterprise (100k+ customers): For brands and mega-creators who require custom-made migrations, service-level agreements, and advanced safety and security. Few tiny designers need this.

My suggestion? Start on the Free plan. Get a feel for the control panel, expand your listing to 1,000, then upgrade to Scale once you know you classified ad revenue and boosts.

Distinct Features Is Beehiiv Like Substack

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

1. Audio Newsletters

Ever before thought about turning your email right into a podcast-like experience? Beehiiv’s integrated audio e-newsletter feature automatically converts your e-mails into spoken-word sound. No additional editing and enhancing software program, no outsourcing to Fiverr– simply toggle it on, and your customers can pay attention on the move. For busy audiences who drive or exercise, this is a handy method to remain connected.

2. Custom-made Mobile Apps for Readers

Many systems give you a “mobile-optimized web site.” Beehiiv goes one action better: you can launch a personalized mobile application for your subscribers. Once they include it to their home screen, your newsletter becomes a one-tap experience– no inbox mess. Imagine awakening and seeing application alerts when you drop a brand-new concern. Discuss involvement.

3. “Name Your Rate” Registrations

Instead of requiring everybody right into $5 or $7 rates, let your most dedicated fans decide what to pay. It’s a trust-building relocation and can lead to higher lifetime value. I have not examined this feature directly yet, but also for designers who feel a little bit anxious concerning rate factors, it’s a sweet option to try out.

4. beehiiv AI Collection

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

AI Creating Aide: Generate newsletter drafts based on bullet factors or topics. For days when you’re staring at an empty page, this jumpstarts your creativity.
AI Text Tool: Grammar, punctuation, tone checks– no requirement for Grammarly. You obtain a clean, refined draft that really feels human Is Beehiiv Like Substack.
AI Picture Device: Produce personalized header pictures or pictures without purchasing stock pictures. Simply type a punctual, and voila.
AI Translator: Intend to send your newsletter in multiple languages? Translate your content right into Spanish, French, German, Italian, or Portuguese immediately.

These features can shave hours off material creation and aid you trying out new layouts.

Pro Tips For Doing well on beehiiv

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

Clean Your Checklist for Better Efficiency

In August 2024, I reduced my client matter in half (from about 2,400 down to 1,200) by getting rid of inactive emails– individuals who had not opened anything in 6 months. My open rates leapt from ~ 45% to over 60%, which indicated advertisers paid even more per click. It hurt to shed customers, but a lean, involved listing deserves more than a bloated, passive one.

Experiment with Topic Lines Like a Pro

Subject lines make or break open rates. Do A/B examinations on little sections prior to sending to your entire list. Short, punchy, question-based topics (” Ready to double your web traffic?”) typically outperform common ones (” April Newsletter”).

Be Pickier with Advertisement Offers

If an ad does not resonate with your particular niche, say no. Pointless advertisements annoy visitors and storage tank click metrics. Over time, beehiiv’s formula will certainly learn what fits your target market– decrease enough off-topic deals, and they’ll stop sending them.

Use Boosts to Evaluate New Audiences

Got a new group you intend to explore? Attempt increasing your e-newsletter in a related particular niche. The price per client standards $1.63– however if those subscribers remain, it deserves it. I as soon as enhanced a search engine optimization newsletter in a digital marketing target market and obtained an unexpected uptick in retention.

Leverage AI for Faster Manufacturing

On nights when I’m burnt out, I ask the AI Composing Aide to compose a rough outline: intro, 3 bottom lines, conclusion. After that I flesh it out with my very own narratives and design tweaks. It’s not ideal, but it’s a strong foundation that saves me 30– 45 minutes per e-mail.

Benefit from the Mobile Application

Motivate subscribers to install your e-newsletter’s mobile application. In your next e-mail, compose a quick “How to Include Our E-newsletter to Your Home Display” tutorial. Even more app mounts indicate more exposure, and press alerts defeat inbox noise.

Offer Occasional Paid-Only Web Content

Instead of making every concern free, tease a “reward report” once a quarter behind a paywall ($ 5–$ 7). Advertise it heavily to your list. Even if you just offer 20 copies, that’s $100–$ 140 that offsets your month-to-month beehiiv costs.

Wrapping Up: Is beehiiv Right for You?

If you have actually stuck to me this far, you possibly fall under one of these camps:

You have actually never sent out a newsletter, yet you’re itching to start– beehiiv’s free plan and intuitive devices are best for learning the ropes.
You have a tiny checklist (< 2,500) and want to monetize without headaches-- beehiiv's advertisement network and boosts pay you for doing almost absolutely nothing additional.
You’re a mid-sized designer (1k+ customers) looking to scale– beehiiv’s analytics, AI devices, and referral program aid you expand faster and gain more.
You dislike complicated e-mail systems– beehiiv strikes an equilibrium between effective features and user-friendly design.

Sure, the feature collection can really feel daunting initially, and you could obtain a few irrelevant advertisement demands. Yet consider this: in under a year, I made nearly $1,000 on a tiny checklist and over $5,000 in affiliate payments 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 substantial.

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