What Is The Difference Between Beehiiv and Gumroad

So, you’ve been dabbling the concept of turning your e-mail list into a profits stream, but you’re overwhelmed by all the choices available. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. If you have actually been making use of a basic e-mail service and scraping your head about sponsorships, ads, and paid subscriptions, it may be time to have a look at beehiiv. In this guide, I’ll stroll you through everything you need to understand about utilizing beehiiv to turn your e-newsletter into money– all from my very own experience. Ready? Let’s dive in What Is The Difference Between Beehiiv and Gumroad

Why You Might Be Stuck with Your Existing Email Platform

You have actually possibly tried the typical suspects: Mailchimp, ConvertKit (now Kit), Substack, or something comparable. And if you’re like a lot of small-scale content designers, below’s what likely occurred:

Restricted Money Making Alternatives

You have a handful of faithful clients– perhaps 500 to 1,000 individuals– but zero simple method to generate income. Sponsorships seem like an international language, and you’re not keen on cold-emailing brand names monthly.

DIY Automation Headaches

You wish to trickle campaign brand-new subscribers, send out a welcome collection, and section individuals for targeted emails … but establishing those automations feels like you require a computer science degree.

System Fees Draw

Every single time you think about paid subscriptions, the platform takes a huge piece, and the settlement configuration is extra complex than it deserves.

Development Delays

Growth hacks seem to help everyone else– however except you. You desire there was a very easy means to find new clients without by hand chasing them down.

I was in your shoes at the beginning of 2024. I would certainly been using Kit (previously ConvertKit), however it felt like a dead end for monetization. Don’t get me wrong– Kit is fantastic for developing funnels and establishing fundamental automations. But when it concerned making even a couple of hundred bucks a month from a tiny checklist, there had not been a noticeable “on” switch.

Get in beehiiv.

My Switch to beehiiv: A Reality Inspect

In January 2024, I lastly shot and relocated my newsletter from Kit to beehiiv. Here’s the honest truth: I really did not have time to hound enrollers, negotiate prices, or build challenging paid funnels. I run a search engine optimization composing business full time, so my newsletter was always mosting likely to be a side project. I required something that practically ran itself.

The “Offer Me” Moment

What offered me on beehiiv was basic:

Built-In Monetization: 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: Rather than me searching LinkedIn for sponsors, beehiiv brings deals straight to my dashboard. All I need to do is click “accept,” drop in the ad duplicate, and hit send.
Easy Earnings Boosts: By advertising other e-newsletters in my once a week e-mail, I gain $1–$ 3 per referred subscriber. No heavy lifting, no complex analytics– simply consistent, step-by-step income.

Looter alert: It settled. In my initial full year on beehiiv (2024 ), I drew in $940 from advertisement sponsorships and boosts alone– on a checklist that never ever covered 1,000 subscribers. I didn’t produce a paid course. I didn’t launch a product and I just let beehiiv do its point.

My Partner Program Windfall

As if that had not been enough, I likewise joined the beehiiv Partner Program– basically an affiliate program. By covering beehiiv on my blog site and sharing my experience with buddies, I filched $5,108 in referral commissions with the end of 2024. Yep, you review that right: over five grand, just by talking about the platform.

So if you’re questioning whether beehiiv deserves it for small developers or newbies, take my word: It’s a game-changer. Yet, obviously, it isn’t perfect. Let’s break down the great, the bad, and the great things you need to know.

The Upside of Using beehiiv

1. Monetization Made Ridiculously Basic

What I enjoy finest regarding beehiiv is exactly how easy it is to earn money on autopilot. You do not require a huge target market. Below’s exactly how it functions:

Ad Network Sponsorships: As soon as you strike simply 1,000 energetic customers, brands begin aligning. You get 3– 6 advertisement requests per month typically. You pick the ones you like, place the duplicate, and you’re done. They ppc or view– no challenging invoicing. And due to the fact that beehiiv matches you with pertinent brands, your clients are most likely to click.
Boosts Referral Earnings: Don’t have sponsors yet? No worry. Promote various other designer e-newsletters for $1–$ 3 per client. It’s like Amazon’s affiliate program, but for e-mail listings. I made a number of hundred bucks this way without breaking a sweat.
Paid Subscriptions (When You prepare): Down the line, if you make a decision to bill for superior material, beehiiv takes a marginal charge (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction using Stripe). You can establish numerous pricing tiers, run free tests, and even let subscribers “call their rate.”.
Partner Program Payments: Not in it for the short haul? Sign up for the affiliate program. Earn 60% compensation on beehiiv’s monthly or yearly plans when somebody join your code. It’s literally added money for sharing something you already love.

Put simply, beehiiv transforms money making into an integrated feature, instead of a job you fear.

2. Analytics That Don’t Make Your Head Explode

If you’ve ever before looked at a dashboard reasoning, “What does any one of this actually indicate?”, you’ll value beehiiv’s technique:.

Clear Customer Growth Charts: See specifically the amount of brand-new individuals signed up with, the number of left, and why your list reduced (much more on that in a sec).
Open and Click Prices: Beehiiv breaks down performance over the last 1 month, so you can find patterns today. For instance, I watched on my open price (hovering around 64%– tolerable) and my click-through (around 3.5%). If either metric dips, I tweak my subject lines or calls-to-action.
Monetization Dashboards: Sponsorship profits, boosts revenue, partner referral revenues– you get the picture. Earnings streams are nicely separated so nothing obtains lost in the shuffle.

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

3. Expanding Your Listing Without Offering Your Soul

A lot of newsletter systems will bill you for each additional subscriber after a limit. Not so with beehiiv– for as much as 2,500 customers, it’s cost-free. You obtain:.

Limitless e-mail sends out.
Accessibility to the boosts network (expand your audience by advertising your newsletter on other beehiiv newsletters).
Standard analytics and types.

If you’re a novice or have a small target market, this is substantial. You can try out subject lines, send out regularity, and different lead magnets without stressing over striking a paywall.

4. Integrated Web Site & Custom Pages

Envision ditching WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace completely because your e-newsletter platform doubles as a website builder. That’s beehiiv basically:.

Newsletter Archive Pages: All your past emails reside on a blog-like web page that’s immediately SEO-optimized.
Customized Landing Pages: Required a lead magnet page? A thank-you page? A web page to market an item? You can develop it right in beehiiv’s website builder.
Mobile-Friendly Templates: Every little thing looks wonderful on phones– critical because a lots of individuals check out emails on mobile.

Certain, you won’t get every elegant drag-and-drop that a specialized website builder provides, but for the majority of makers, it’s sufficient.

5. Referral Program to Supercharge Growth

Beehiiv’s referral program is remarkable if you want to take advantage of a community of like-minded creators. When your client clicks on “Recommend This Newsletter” and signs up with, both you and the referring developer obtain credit scores. It’s a clever 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, below’s what might journey you up:.

Feature Overload in the beginning

When you visit, there are a lot of options– Kinds, Boosts, Ads, Partner Program, Analytics, Website Builder– that it can feel frustrating. If you’ve just made use of a basic solution that sends one-off emails, you might require a number of days to get comfy.

Pointless Ad Requests

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

No Time Zone– Based Sends Out

If your listing is global, you can not immediately set up e-mails based upon each client’s time zone. All sends out go out at the same time, so you may wake up to low open prices if half your checklist is asleep.

Custom-made Web Page Builder Isn’t Very Intuitive

Developing a landing page is possible, yet the UI could be smoother. I invested a couple of hours (and a helpful chat with assistance) getting a giveaway opt-in page perfect. If you’re impatient or design-averse, you might discover it cumbersome.

Limited Integrations

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

All that said, beehiiv’s team is regularly presenting updates– and those disadvantages are gradually but definitely being resolved.

Who Should Take into consideration beehiiv?

Not everybody needs a totally featured e-newsletter system. Yet if any of the adhering to defines you, beehiiv may be a match made in paradise:.

Outright Beginners: You’ve never sent an e-mail blast, you don’t intend to invest cash ahead of time, and you require a free, very easy method to experiment. Beehiiv lets you begin for free, send out unrestricted e-mails to approximately 2,500 clients, and grow organically with the boosts network.
Small-List Creators: If you currently have a couple of hundred or a pair thousand subscribers however no idea how to transform that into income, beehiiv’s ad and boost programs are custom-made for you. In my initial 10 months, I was making about $92/month with a ~ 1k checklist. Not bad for coffee money, right?
Creators Who Dislike “Salesy” Stuff: You don’t want to pitch items nonstop or sling digital courses. You prefer to share value, build trust, and let the cash can be found in on autopilot. Beehiiv’s advertisement network and boosts let you gain without crafting a four-part sales funnel.
Switchers Who Do Not Intend To Rebuild Whatever: Maybe you get on Substack, Ghost, or Mailchimp, and your email automations are a tangled mess. Beehiiv guarantees a smooth migration from those platforms. Plus, if you have a large list (claim 10k+), you can obtain help from beehiiv’s support group to relocate everything over without losing your automations.

Getting going: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Register and Explore the Control panel

When you create an account, beehiiv drops you right into a dashboard where you see your client count, open rates, click-through prices, and any pending advertisement deals. Think about it as your mission control– everything you need is just a click away.

Build Your Initial Subscribe Type

Browse to Target Market �’ Subscribe Types �’ Produce Brand-new Type. You’ll require:

A heading that hooks site visitors
A brief blurb discussing what your newsletter is about
A call-to-action switch (e.g., “Join My E-newsletter”)
Your logo or a pertinent photo
A post-subscribe message or redirect (e.g., “Thanks for signing up with! Examine your inbox in a sec.”)

You can select from various form designs: full-width, fixed-width, slim embed (just the email area), or progressed (with tracking codes). The modification choices are standard– shades for switches and background pictures– yet it’s remarkably reliable for catching e-mails.

Establish Your Site and Personalized Pages

If you want more than just a form, hop right into Design �’ Website Builder �’ Custom-made Pages �’ Internal Web Page. Use this to:

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

Create a landing page for a free offer (e.g., “Download my search engine optimization cheat sheet”).

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

I invested a couple of hours tweaking my first landing page, but once I got the hang of it, I realized exactly how powerful it is to have everything under one roof. Rather than handling Leadpages, WordPress, and Mailchimp, beehiiv does it all.

Draft Your Initial E-newsletter

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

Compose your e-mail duplicate What Is The Difference Between Beehiiv and Gumroad
Insert images, headers, and personalized HTML obstructs
Preview how it’ll search in inboxes and on your site
Set up or send out right away

One catch: Personalization is limited. Every client sees “Hey there” instead of “Hey [First Name]” If you need hyper-personalization, you might miss out on that. But also for a lot of people, a friendly, conversational intro suffices.

Turn On Money making

When you strike 1,000 active customers, beehiiv will certainly welcome you to:.

Sign Up With the Advertisement Network: Immediately get sponsorship demands that match your niche. Pick which ones to approve, put the advertisement copy right into your e-newsletter, and make money per click/view.
Establish Boosts: Apply to advertise other newsletters. If someone joins via your link, you earn $1–$ 3 per customer.

For paid e-newsletters, navigate to Monetization �’ Paid Memberships. You’ll connect your Stripe account (beehiiv does not charge added charges past Stripe’s handling), establish your pricing plans (monthly, yearly, or “Call Your Rate”), and decide what web content goes behind the paywall.

Display and Enhance

Check your analytics weekly. If open rates go down listed below 40%, reconsider your subject lines. If a sponsorship gets zero clicks, it may be unnecessary to your audience– decline similar future advertisements. When a boost transforms well, submit more boost requests or tweak your offer.

It could feel like a whole lot at first, however I guarantee you’ll master it within a couple of days. And the benefits– both financial and in terms of your audience’s growth– are worth the preliminary curve.

Deep Dive: beehiiv’s Money making Options

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

1. beehiiv Partner Program (Affiliate Incomes)

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

How It Works: You sign up for the Partner Program, order your one-of-a-kind referral link, and share it on your blog site, Twitter, LinkedIn, anywhere. When someone clicks, register for a paid plan (Range or Max), you earn a compensation.
Commission Rates: Approximately 60% of their first-year settlement. If they pay $100, you might see $60. Cha-ching.
Payout: Beehiiv pays regular monthly via PayPal. No minimum limit, no hoops to jump through.

In my situation, I released a Medium message walking people through my beehiiv experience (looter: this overview right here belongs to that effort). Through 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 genuine experience.

2. Boosts: Gain by Helping Others Grow

Boosts are generally sponsored promos– beehiiv’s spin on a “send for pay” version. Right here’s the scoop:.

Come To Be a Boost Sponsor: If you think your e-newsletter can assist others expand, apply in the Boosts control panel. You’ll clarify why your audience is a good fit and established a cost you would certainly spend for a brand-new client.
Put on Boost Others: If you desire fast customers, you can pay to boost your newsletter on various other creators’ listings. Yet what many little developers like is the reverse: you apply to be a boost companion for other e-newsletters. When somebody register via your boost, you obtain $1–$ 3
Limitations:
- You can send up to 25 boost offers each month, yet beehiiv just surfaces three deals at once to potential partners.
- If a boost is carrying out well, various other developers will certainly choose it up swiftly.

Below’s a fast instance: In October 2024, I promoted a fellow SEO developer’s e-newsletter for $1.75 per subscriber. Over two weeks, I created 200 new subscribers for them– and made concerning $350 at the same time. Win-win.

3. beehiiv Ad Network (Sponsored Ads)

This is where the big dollars can come in, even if your listing is “little.” Below’s exactly how it goes:

Eligibility: You need at the very least 1,000 energetic customers and a consistent send out routine (a minimum of one e-mail per month, though weekly is optimal).
Automation: Once approved, you’ll begin receiving 3– 5 sponsorship requests each month. Beehiiv matches you with brand names based upon your audience’s passions– so a marketing SaaS firm may come close to an SEO-focused newsletter, for instance.
Settlement Design:
- Price Per Click (CPC): You make money every single time somebody clicks the advertisement in your e-mail.
- Cost Per Mille (CPM): You make based on a thousand perceptions.
Alleviate of Use: You can accept or decrease each deal right from your dashboard. Beehiiv manages all the invoicing. All you do is copy-paste the ad into your e-newsletter.

In 2024, I ran 37 funded advertisements, including a few high-profile brand names like HubSpot. I made $632 from ads alone, with my top campaign generating $112 from 35 clicks (4.5% click-through). Keep in mind: importance is king. Unimportant advertisements storage tank click-through rates, so be careful.

4. Paid Subscriptions (” Premium Web Content”)

If you develop really unique web content– deep dive reports, special tutorials, or expert analyses– you may consider a paid tier. Below’s the 101:

Configuration: Go to Monetization �’ Paid Subscriptions, attach Stripe, and choose your pricing:
- Regular monthly
- Yearly (usually marked down)
- One-time payment (for a solitary guide or program)
- Call Your Price (your subscribers choose what they can pay for)
Earnings Split: Beehiiv does not bill you a platform cost; they just pass Stripe’s processing cost (2.9% + $0.30) on you.
Instances: If you have 100 subscribers paying $7/month, that’s $700/month = $8,400/ year (minus Stripe fees). Not bad, right? Naturally, getting to 100 paid customers implies you need a loyal, involved base.

Currently, be reasonable: Paid registrations are a work. You require constant, high-value material that makes people comfy taking out their wallets. If you’re just beginning, the advertisement network and boosts could be quicker wins.

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

I recognize pricing is a big enigma when you’re thinking of switching platforms. Right here’s the failure as of mid-2025:.

Free Plan (as much as 2,500 clients): Great for pet projects or if you’re checking the waters. You still obtain boosts for checklist development, standard analytics, and endless sends– simply no ad network or paid registrations yet.
Scale ($ 39.20/ month): Perfect if you’re serious about monetizing. You obtain advertisement network accessibility, boosts, paid registrations, and the AI Composing Assistant to speed up your newsletter development.
Max ($ 87.29/ month): If AI tools (image generation, grammar repairing, translation) matter to you, and you want concern support, this is the sweet area. And also, you can introduce a mobile app for your customers.
Enterprise (100k+ customers): For brands and mega-creators who need custom movements, service-level agreements, and advanced protection. Very few tiny developers require this.

My recommendation? Start on the Free plan. Get a feel for the control panel, expand your list to 1,000, then update to Scale as soon as you know you classifieds profits and boosts.

Unique Features What Is The Difference Between Beehiiv and Gumroad

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

1. Sound Newsletters

Ever thought about turning your e-mail right into a podcast-like experience? Beehiiv’s built-in sound e-newsletter feature instantly transforms your e-mails into spoken-word sound. No extra editing and enhancing software program, no outsourcing to Fiverr– just toggle it on, and your subscribers can listen on the go. For busy audiences who drive or work out, this is a convenient method to stay connected.

2. Customized Mobile Apps for Readers

A lot of systems offer you a “mobile-optimized website.” Beehiiv goes one action further: you can release a customized mobile app for your subscribers. Once they include it to their home display, your newsletter becomes a one-tap experience– no inbox mess. Visualize waking up and seeing app notifications when you drop a new concern. Talk about interaction.

3. “Call Your Price” Subscriptions

Instead of compeling everybody into $5 or $7 tiers, let your most loyal followers decide what to pay. It’s a trust-building move and can lead to greater life time value. I haven’t tested this feature directly yet, but for creators who really feel a bit worried about price points, it’s a sweet choice to trying out.

4. beehiiv AI Collection

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

AI Composing Assistant: Generate e-newsletter drafts based on bullet factors or subjects. For days when you’re staring at an empty web page, this boosts your creative thinking.
AI Text Tool: Grammar, spelling, tone checks– no demand for Grammarly. You get a tidy, sleek draft that feels human What Is The Difference Between Beehiiv and Gumroad.
AI Photo Device: Create customized header photos or illustrations without purchasing stock images. Simply type a timely, and voila.
AI Translator: Want to send your newsletter in multiple languages? Convert your web content right into Spanish, French, German, Italian, or Portuguese promptly.

These features can shave hours off material production and assist you experiment with brand-new styles.

Pro Tips For Succeeding on beehiiv

Now that you know what beehiiv can do, below are some insider hacks to maximize it:

Tidy Your Listing for Better Performance

In August 2024, I reduced my customer matter in half (from regarding 2,400 down to 1,200) by getting rid of non-active emails– people who hadn’t opened anything in 6 months. My open prices leapt from ~ 45% to over 60%, which indicated marketers paid more per click. It harmed to lose clients, yet a lean, engaged checklist deserves greater than a puffed up, passive one.

Explore Topic Lines Like a Pro

Subject lines make or burst rates. Do A/B examinations on small sectors prior to sending out to your whole list. Short, punchy, question-based subjects (” Ready to increase your traffic?”) typically outperform generic ones (” April E-newsletter”).

Be Pickier with Advertisement Offers

If an ad does not resonate with your particular niche, say no. Unnecessary advertisements annoy viewers and tank click metrics. In time, beehiiv’s formula will learn what fits your target market– decline enough off-topic offers, and they’ll quit sending them.

Usage Boosts to Evaluate New Audiences

Got a new group you wish to discover? Attempt boosting your e-newsletter in an associated specific niche. The cost per subscriber standards $1.63– however if those subscribers stick around, it deserves it. I as soon as boosted a search engine optimization newsletter in a digital marketing target market and got a shocking uptick in retention.

Utilize AI for Faster Production

On evenings when I’m stressed out, I ask the AI Composing Aide to draft a rough outline: introduction, 3 bottom lines, verdict. Then I flesh it out with my very own anecdotes and design tweaks. It’s not best, yet it’s a strong structure that conserves me 30– 45 minutes per e-mail.

Make use of the Mobile Application

Encourage subscribers to mount your newsletter’s mobile app. In your following email, compose a quick “Just how to Add Our E-newsletter to Your Home Display” tutorial. More application installs indicate even more presence, and push notices defeat inbox noise.

Offer Periodic Paid-Only Content

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

Wrapping Up: Is beehiiv Right for You?

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

You have actually never ever sent an e-newsletter, yet you’re itching to start– beehiiv’s free plan and instinctive devices are excellent for learning the ropes.
You have a little checklist (< 2,500) and wish to monetize without frustrations-- beehiiv's advertisement network and boosts pay you for doing practically nothing extra.
You’re a mid-sized designer (1k+ customers) aiming to scale– beehiiv’s analytics, AI devices, and referral program assist you grow much faster and make more.
You dislike complex email systems– beehiiv strikes an equilibrium in between powerful features and easy to use layout.

Sure, the feature collection can feel intimidating initially, and you might get a couple of irrelevant ad requests. But consider this: in under a year, I made almost $1,000 on a tiny checklist and over $5,000 in associate compensations just by sharing my experience. I’ve seen enough to know that if you invest a little time learning the system, the returns can be substantial.

So, what are you waiting for? Register for beehiiv, explore the control panel, and let the monetization engines turn. Your future self will certainly thank you when the checks roll in.