Phil Plait Beehiiv – Detailed Overview!

So, you’ve been toying with the idea of transforming your email listing right into an income stream, however you’re overwhelmed by all the alternatives out there. Noise familiar? You’re not alone. If you have actually been making use of a fundamental email solution and damaging your head about sponsorships, advertisements, and paid memberships, it could be time to check out beehiiv. In this guide, I’ll stroll you with whatever you need to know about utilizing beehiiv to transform your newsletter into cash money– all from my very own experience. Ready? Let’s dive in Phil Plait Beehiiv

Why You May be Stuck with Your Existing Email Platform

You have actually possibly attempted the common suspects: Mailchimp, ConvertKit (currently Kit), Substack, or something comparable. And if you’re like many small-scale web content makers, below’s what likely happened:

Restricted Money Making Options

You have a handful of faithful subscribers– maybe 500 to 1,000 individuals– however zero simple way to make money. Sponsorships seem like a foreign language, and you’re not keen on cold-emailing brand names monthly.

DIY Automation Headaches

You want to leak campaign brand-new customers, send out a welcome series, and section folks for targeted emails … but setting up those automations feels like you require a computer science degree.

System Charges Suck

Every time you think of paid memberships, the system takes a huge piece, and the payment configuration is extra difficult than it’s worth.

Development Delays

Development hacks appear to benefit everybody else– but not for you. You want there was an easy method to locate brand-new customers without manually chasing them down.

I was in your footwear at the beginning of 2024. I would certainly been making use of Kit (formerly ConvertKit), however it seemed like a dead end for money making. Don’t get me wrong– Kit is excellent for constructing funnels and setting up standard automations. However when it pertained to making even a couple of hundred bucks a month from a tiny listing, there had not been an evident “on” button.

Get in beehiiv.

My Change to beehiiv: A Truth Examine

In January 2024, I finally pulled the trigger and relocated my e-newsletter from Kit to beehiiv. Here’s the honest truth: I didn’t have time to hound enrollers, bargain prices, or construct difficult paid funnels. I run a SEO writing service full-time, so my e-newsletter was constantly mosting likely to be a side project. I needed something that almost ran itself.

The “Market Me” Moment

What offered me on beehiiv was straightforward:

Integrated Monetization: Right from the beginning, beehiiv yells, “Hey, you can earn money right here!” It had not been an afterthought or a third-party add-on.
Low-Effort Sponsorships: Rather than me combing LinkedIn for enrollers, beehiiv brings deals directly to my dashboard. All I need to do is click “accept,” decrease in the advertisement copy, and struck send out.
Easy Earnings Boosts: By advertising other newsletters in my once a week e-mail, I gain $1–$ 3 per referred subscriber. No heavy training, no complex analytics– simply stable, incremental income.

Looter alert: It settled. In my very first complete year on beehiiv (2024 ), I drew in $940 from ad sponsorships and boosts alone– on a checklist that never covered 1,000 customers. I didn’t produce 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 sufficient, I likewise joined the beehiiv Partner Program– basically an affiliate program. By blogging about beehiiv on my blog and sharing my experience with chums, I pocketed $5,108 in referral payments via completion of 2024. Yep, you read that right: over five grand, simply by talking about the platform.

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 cool things you need to know.

The Upside of Using beehiiv

1. Monetization Made Unbelievably Straightforward

What I enjoy best regarding beehiiv is exactly how easy it is to generate income on autopilot. You don’t require a massive audience. Here’s just how it functions:

Ad Network Sponsorships: Once you hit simply 1,000 active customers, brand names start aligning. You obtain 3– 6 ad demands per month usually. You choose the ones you like, place the duplicate, and you’re done. They ppc or check out– no challenging invoicing. And because beehiiv matches you with pertinent brands, your clients are most likely to click.
Boosts Referral Income: Do not have enrollers yet? No problem. Advertise other creator e-newsletters for $1–$ 3 per customer. It’s like Amazon’s affiliate program, however, for e-mail lists. I made several hundred bucks in this manner without breaking a sweat.
Paid Subscriptions (When You’re Ready): Down the line, if you make a decision to bill for superior material, beehiiv takes a marginal cost (2.9% + $0.30 per purchase using Stripe). You can establish several pricing tiers, run complimentary trials, or perhaps let subscribers “call their cost.”.
Partner Program Commissions: Not in it for the brief haul? Sign up for the affiliate program. Earn 60% payment on beehiiv’s regular monthly or yearly plans when somebody signs up with your code. It’s actually extra cash money for sharing something you already enjoy.

In other words, beehiiv transforms money making into an integrated feature, instead of a job you dread.

2. Analytics That Do Not Make Your Head Explode

If you’ve ever stared at a control panel thinking, “What does any one of this in fact imply?”, you’ll value beehiiv’s method:.

Clear Client Growth Graphs: See specifically the amount of brand-new people signed up with, the amount of handed over, and why your list diminished (more on that in a sec).
Open Up and Click Rates: Beehiiv breaks down performance over the last thirty days, so you can detect patterns right away. For instance, I watched on my open price (floating around 64%– tolerable) and my click-through (around 3.5%). If either statistics dips, I modify my subject lines or calls-to-action.
Money making Dashboards: Sponsorship profits, boosts revenue, partner referral incomes– you understand. Revenue streams are neatly divided so nothing obtains shed in the shuffle.

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

3. Expanding Your Listing Without Marketing Your Soul

A lot of newsletter systems will certainly charge you for each extra customer after a threshold. Not so with beehiiv– for approximately 2,500 customers, it’s cost-free. You get:.

Unrestricted e-mail sends.
Accessibility to the boosts network (grow your audience by advertising your e-newsletter on other beehiiv newsletters).
Fundamental analytics and types.

If you’re a novice or have a small audience, this is substantial. You can experiment with subject lines, send out regularity, and various lead magnets without stressing over hitting a paywall.

4. Integrated Internet Site & Custom-made Pages

Think of ditching WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace altogether since your newsletter system doubles as a website builder. That’s beehiiv essentially:.

Newsletter Archive Pages: All your past emails survive a blog-like page that’s immediately SEO-optimized.
Customized Landing Pages: Required a lead magnet web page? A thank-you web page? A web page to offer an item? You can construct it right in beehiiv’s website builder.
Mobile-Friendly Templates: Whatever looks fantastic on phones– critical because a lots of folks read emails on mobile.

Sure, you will not get every fancy drag-and-drop that a dedicated website builder supplies, but also for most developers, it’s sufficient.

5. Referral Program to Supercharge Growth

Beehiiv’s referral program is amazing if you want to use a community of similar creators. When your subscriber clicks on “Recommend This E-newsletter” and signs up with, both you and the referring designer obtain credit rating. It’s a wise method to grow your listing without spamming.

The Downsides: What to Look out for

No item is excellent– and beehiiv has its hiccups. Before you dive in, right here’s what may journey you up:.

Feature Overload initially

When you visit, there are many choices– Kinds, Boosts, Ads, Partner Program, Analytics, Website Builder– that it can feel overwhelming. If you’ve just utilized a simple service that sends out one-off emails, you could require a number of days to get comfy.

Unimportant Ad Requests

Often the enrollers beehiiv matches you with have nothing to do with your specific niche. A pc gaming newsletter could obtain provided a code-review device for programmers. Ensure to decline anything that doesn’t jive with your audience, or you’ll container your click-throughs.

No Time Area– Based Sends

If your listing is global, you can’t instantly arrange e-mails based upon each client’s time zone. All sends head out at once, so you may wake up to low open rates if half your list is asleep.

Custom-made Page Builder Isn’t Very Instinctive

Creating a landing page is possible, yet the UI could be smoother. I spent a few hours (and a helpful conversation with support) getting a free offer opt-in web page perfect. If you’re impatient or design-averse, you may find it cumbersome.

Restricted Integrations

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

All that stated, beehiiv’s team is continuously rolling out updates– and those disadvantages are slowly however certainly being attended to.

Who Should Consider beehiiv?

Not every person requires a fully included e-newsletter system. Yet if any one of the complying with explains you, beehiiv might be a suit made in heaven:.

Outright Beginners: You’ve never ever sent an e-mail blast, you do not wish to invest cash in advance, and you require a totally free, very easy method to experiment. Beehiiv lets you begin for free, send unlimited e-mails to as much as 2,500 customers, and expand organically with the boosts network.
Small-List Creators: If you currently have a few hundred or a couple thousand subscribers but no hint just how to turn that right into revenue, beehiiv’s advertisement and boost programs are custom-made for you. In my initial 10 months, I was making concerning $92/month with a ~ 1k checklist. Tolerable for coffee money, right?
Makers Who Hate “Salesy” Things: You don’t want to pitch products nonstop or sling digital training courses. You prefer to share value, develop trust, and let the money been available in on autopilot. Beehiiv’s advertisement network and boosts let you earn without crafting a four-part sales funnel.
Switchers Who Do Not Intend To Rebuild Every Little Thing: Possibly you’re on Substack, Ghost, or Mailchimp, and your email automations are a tangled mess. Beehiiv assures a smooth migration from those platforms. Plus, if you have a large listing (state 10k+), you can get assist from beehiiv’s support team to move every little thing over without losing your automations.

Beginning: A Detailed Walkthrough

Join and Check Out the Dashboard

As soon as you develop an account, beehiiv drops you into a control panel where you see your client count, open prices, click-through prices, and any kind of pending ad offers. Think of it as your mission control– everything you require is just a click away.

Construct Your First Subscribe Type

Browse to Target Market �’ Subscribe Types �’ Produce New Form. You’ll require:

A headline that hooks visitors
A brief blurb explaining what your e-newsletter has to do with
A call-to-action button (e.g., “Join My E-newsletter”)
Your logo or a relevant photo
A post-subscribe message or redirect (e.g., “Many thanks for signing up with! Check your inbox in a sec.”)

You can pick from different type styles: full-width, fixed-width, slim embed (simply the email field), or progressed (with tracking codes). The modification options are basic– shades for switches and background pictures– but it’s remarkably reliable for catching e-mails.

Establish Your Web Site and Custom-made Pages

If you want more than simply a kind, jump right into Design �’ Website Builder �’ Customized Pages �’ Internal Web Page. Use this to:

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

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

Construct a thank-you web page that goes live after somebody subscribes.

I spent a couple of hours tweaking my first landing page, once I got the hang of it, I understood how effective it is to have every little thing under one roofing system. As opposed to juggling Leadpages, WordPress, and Mailchimp, beehiiv does it all.

Draft Your Very First E-newsletter

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

Write your email duplicate Phil Plait Beehiiv
Put images, headers, and custom-made HTML obstructs
Preview exactly how it’ll look in inboxes and on your website
Schedule or send quickly

One catch: Customization is limited. Every subscriber sees “Hello there” instead of “Hi there [Given name]” If you require hyper-personalization, you could miss that. But also for many individuals, a friendly, conversational intro is enough.

Activate Monetization

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

Sign Up With the Advertisement Network: Instantly obtain sponsorship demands that match your particular niche. Pick which ones to accept, put the advertisement copy right into your e-newsletter, and earn money per click/view.
Establish Boosts: Put on advertise various other newsletters. If somebody signs up with through your link, you gain $1–$ 3 per client.

For paid newsletters, browse to Money making �’ Paid Registrations. You’ll link your Stripe account (beehiiv does not charge added fees beyond Stripe’s processing), establish your pricing plans (monthly, annual, or “Call Your Cost”), and choose what content goes behind the paywall.

Screen and Enhance

Check your analytics weekly. If open rates go down listed below 40%, reassess your subject lines. If a sponsorship gets no clicks, it might be unnecessary to your audience– decrease similar future advertisements. When a boost converts well, send more boost demands or modify your deal.

It may seem like a whole lot in the beginning, yet I assure you’ll get the hang of it within a few days. And the rewards– both financial and in terms of your target market’s development– deserve the first contour.

Deep Dive: beehiiv’s Monetization Options

If you’re serious about transforming your e-newsletter right into an economic maker, let’s break down each revenue stream carefully.

1. beehiiv Partner Program (Affiliate Revenues)

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

How It Works: You sign up for the Partner Program, grab your unique referral link, and share it on your blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, anywhere. When somebody clicks, enroll in a paid plan (Scale or Max), you make a compensation.
Compensation Fees: Approximately 60% of their first-year repayment. If they pay $100, you could see $60. Cha-ching.
Payout: Beehiiv pays month-to-month by means of PayPal. No minimum limit, no hoops to jump through.

In my instance, I published a Medium blog post strolling individuals via my beehiiv experience (looter: this guide right here becomes part of that initiative). Via 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 real experience.

2. Boosts: Earn by Helping Others Expand

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

Become a Boost Sponsor: If you think your e-newsletter can assist others expand, apply in the Boosts dashboard. You’ll describe why your target market is a good fit and established a cost you ‘d pay for a new customer.
Apply to Boost Others: If you desire fast subscribers, you can pay to boost your newsletter on various other creators’ lists. Yet what a lot of little creators enjoy is the opposite: you apply to be a boost companion for various other newsletters. When a person join with your boost, you get $1–$ 3
Limits:
- You can send up to 25 boost supplies monthly, however beehiiv just surface areas three offers at a time to potential companions.
- If a boost is performing well, various other creators will choose it up rapidly.

Below’s a fast example: In October 2024, I promoted a fellow SEO maker’s newsletter for $1.75 per subscriber. Over 2 weeks, I created 200 new clients for them– and gained about $350 at the same time. Win-win.

3. beehiiv Ad Network (Sponsored Advertisements)

This is where the huge bucks can can be found in, even if your listing is “small.” Below’s exactly how it goes:

Qualification: You need a minimum of 1,000 energetic clients and a regular send out timetable (at least one email each month, though once a week is perfect).
Automation: When accepted, you’ll begin receiving 3– 5 sponsorship requests per month. Beehiiv matches you with brands based on your target market’s passions– so a marketing SaaS firm could come close to an SEO-focused newsletter, for example.
Repayment Version:
- Cost Per Click (CPC): You earn money every time a person clicks the ad in your e-mail.
- Expense Per Mille (CPM): You gain based upon a thousand perceptions.
Reduce of Use: You can accept or decrease each offer right from your control panel. Beehiiv manages all the invoicing. All you do is copy-paste the ad into your newsletter.

In 2024, I ran 37 funded advertisements, consisting of a couple of prominent brand names like HubSpot. I made $632 from ads alone, with my leading campaign producing $112 from 35 clicks (4.5% click-through). Bear in mind: significance is king. Pointless ads storage tank click-through rates, so be selective.

4. Paid Subscriptions (” Costs Content”)

If you create really one-of-a-kind content– deep dive records, special tutorials, or insider evaluations– you might think about a paid tier. Here’s the 101:

Setup: Go to Money Making �’ Paid Subscriptions, attach Stripe, and select your pricing:
- Regular monthly
- Annual (normally marked down)
- One-time settlement (for a solitary overview or program)
- Call Your Cost (your subscribers select what they can pay for)
Earnings Split: Beehiiv doesn’t bill you a platform fee; they only pass Stripe’s handling cost (2.9% + $0.30) on to you.
Instances: If you have 100 subscribers paying $7/month, that’s $700/month = $8,400/ year (minus Stripe fees). Tolerable, appropriate? Naturally, getting to 100 paid subscribers indicates you need a dedicated, involved base.

Now, be reasonable: Paid registrations are a grind. You need consistent, high-value content that makes individuals comfy pulling out their budgets. If you’re simply starting, the ad network and boosts may be quicker wins.

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

I understand pricing is a huge enigma when you’re thinking about switching over platforms. Here’s the malfunction as of mid-2025:.

Free Plan (approximately 2,500 subscribers): Great for pet projects or if you’re checking the waters. You still obtain boosts for list development, fundamental analytics, and unlimited sends out– simply no ad network or paid subscriptions yet.
Scale ($ 39.20/ month): Suitable if you’re serious about monetizing. You get ad network access, boosts, paid registrations, and the AI Creating Assistant to quicken your e-newsletter development.
Max ($ 87.29/ month): If AI tools (photo generation, grammar fixing, translation) issue to you, and you desire concern support, this is the wonderful spot. And also, you can launch a mobile app for your customers.
Enterprise (100k+ customers): For brands and mega-creators who need personalized movements, service-level arrangements, and progressed safety. Not many little makers need this.

My recommendation? Begin on the Free plan. Get a feel for the dashboard, expand your listing to 1,000, then update to Scale when you understand you classified ad income and boosts.

Unique Features Phil Plait Beehiiv

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

1. Audio Newsletters

Ever before thought of transforming your e-mail right into a podcast-like experience? Beehiiv’s integrated sound e-newsletter feature immediately converts your emails right into spoken-word audio. No extra editing software program, no outsourcing to Fiverr– simply toggle it on, and your subscribers can listen on the go. For hectic target markets who drive or exercise, this is a helpful way to stay connected.

2. Custom-made Mobile Application for Viewers

Most platforms offer you a “mobile-optimized website.” Beehiiv goes one action better: you can introduce a customized mobile app for your subscribers. Once they include it to their home display, your e-newsletter ends up being a one-tap experience– no inbox clutter. Envision awakening and seeing app alerts when you drop a new concern. Discuss interaction.

3. “Call Your Cost” Registrations

As opposed to requiring every person into $5 or $7 rates, let your most devoted followers determine what to pay. It’s a trust-building step and can bring about greater life time value. I have not checked this feature directly yet, but also for developers who feel a little bit worried about cost points, it’s a sweet choice to try out.

4. beehiiv AI Collection

For those on Scale and Max plans, beehiiv’s AI tools are a godsend:

AI Creating Assistant: Create e-newsletter drafts based upon bullet factors or topics. For days when you’re staring at an empty page, this jumpstarts your imagination.
AI Text Tool: Grammar, spelling, tone checks– no requirement for Grammarly. You obtain a tidy, sleek draft that really feels human Phil Plait Beehiiv.
AI Image Device: Create personalized header pictures or illustrations without buying stock images. Simply type a punctual, and voila.
AI Translator: Intend to send your e-newsletter in multiple languages? Translate your material right into Spanish, French, German, Italian, or Portuguese immediately.

These features can shave hours off material development and aid you try out new styles.

Pro Tips For Prospering on beehiiv

Now that you know what beehiiv can do, below are some insider hacks to make the most of it:

Clean Your Listing for Better Performance

In August 2024, I cut my subscriber matter in half (from about 2,400 down to 1,200) by eliminating inactive e-mails– individuals who had not opened anything in six months. My open prices jumped from ~ 45% to over 60%, which implied marketers paid even more per click. It hurt to lose clients, but a lean, engaged checklist deserves more than a puffed up, easy one.

Try Out Topic Lines Like a Pro

Subject lines make or break open rates. Do A/B examinations on tiny sectors prior to sending to your entire checklist. Brief, punchy, question-based topics (” Ready to double your website traffic?”) frequently outperform common ones (” April E-newsletter”).

Be Pickier with Ad Offers

If an advertisement doesn’t reverberate with your niche, say no. Irrelevant ads frustrate viewers and container click metrics. Over time, beehiiv’s formula will discover what fits your audience– decrease enough off-topic deals, and they’ll stop sending them.

Usage Boosts to Examine New Audiences

Got a brand-new classification you want to discover? Attempt boosting your newsletter in a related niche. The price per customer standards $1.63– yet if those subscribers linger, it’s worth it. I as soon as boosted a search engine optimization newsletter in a digital marketing audience and obtained a surprising uptick in retention.

Leverage AI for Faster Production

On evenings when I’m burnt out, I ask the AI Writing Assistant to prepare a rough outline: intro, three main points, conclusion. After that I flesh it out with my own anecdotes and design tweaks. It’s not excellent, yet it’s a solid structure that conserves me 30– 45 minutes per e-mail.

Make the most of the Mobile Application

Urge clients to mount your e-newsletter’s mobile application. In your next e-mail, create a fast “How to Add Our Newsletter to Your Home Display” tutorial. More application mounts mean even more visibility, and press notifications defeat inbox noise.

Offer Occasional Paid-Only Web Content

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

Finishing up: Is beehiiv Right for You?

If you have actually stuck with me this far, you most likely come under one of these camps:

You have actually never sent an e-newsletter, however you’re itching to begin– 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 ad network and boosts pay you for doing nearly nothing extra.
You’re a mid-sized designer (1k+ clients) looking to scale– beehiiv’s analytics, AI devices, and referral program assist you expand much faster and earn a lot more.
You hate intricate e-mail systems– beehiiv strikes an equilibrium in between effective features and easy to use design.

Sure, the feature collection can really feel discouraging in the beginning, and you might obtain a few 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 just by sharing my experience. I have actually seen enough to recognize that if you invest a little time learning the system, the returns can be significant.

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