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Do you aspire to create the next great independent newsletter, a la Morning Brew? beehiiv might be the battle ax that takes you there.

beehiiv is a creator-friendly newsletter platform that lets writers charge both free and premium subscriptions. Founded in 2021 by three former employees of Morning Brew, the beehiiv newsletter platform is unique in having its own display ad network, which allows creators to serve ads in their newsletters and monetize their writing.

Newsletter creators also love the robust subscriber analytics, and beehiiv has almost all the features that made Substack popular in recent years.

Here’s an overview of the beehiiv network and whether the email marketing software is right for you.

beehiiv Review Overall: A Modern Newsletter Platform

Newsletters have been a gold mine for years for companies because they offer a way to reach users more directly and advertise for free. But recently, email has allowed for independent journalists and creators to launch their own media companies, with impressive results. For example, Morning Brew, the former workplace of beehiiv’s founders, was acquired by Insider for an estimated $75 million.

Email service providers like ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign have dominated the industry for years, but an ESP can be clunky and confusing at first. Many creators want a lighter, leaner newsletter platform that’s more about subscriptions and less about automated email sequences or marketing funnels.

Paid subscription plans also became increasingly popular as a creator business model after Substack burst onto the scene in 2017.

beehiiv Features

Here’s a rundown of the essential features you’ll find in the beehiiv newsletter platform.

Customization Options

It’s easy to integrate beehiiv into your own brand aesthetic. The software’s sleek minimalist editor covers most basic blogging capabilities, giving content creators the freedom to personalize typography and design. This level of design control also works for embed forms, even on the free plan, and there are plenty of website customization options.

More Monetization Options

Substack offers its users a paid subscription model as a way to generate revenue. beehiiv takes this a step further by introducing multiple monetization options for your active subscribers.

These include:

• Selling premium subscriptions to paying subscribers.
• Premium content.
• A way to make donations.
• Advertisements.

This variety gives writers and bloggers versatility in how they can get paid for their work, and it incentivizes the ability to reach a target audience.

Engagement Analytics

Understanding your audience is crucial for any content creator, and beehiiv helps you get the feedback you need by providing detailed analytics. This feature allows users to track their open rates, click-through rates, and subscriber growth, providing valuable insights into the performance of their newsletters.

Armed with this data, content creators can refine their strategies and tailor or adjust their content accordingly to maximize engagement.

Seamless Integration

It’s important that your email software play well with other softwares on the playground.

beehiiv integrates with plenty of third-party applications like Zapier, making it easy to build automations or integrations that save you time and effort.

🔗 Related: How Zapier Automations Help You, No Matter Your Level of Tech

Assisted Migration

One of the notable benefits of beehiiv is its migration feature, allowing users of Substack or another ESP to seamlessly transfer their existing content and email list to beehiiv’s platform. This saves content creators the hassle of migrating manually.

Any time you change email service providers, your deliverability will take a hit for a few weeks or months as you re-establish sender reputation. Don’t change ESPs before a big promotion.

beehiiv Pricing

beehiiv has a free plan, the Launch plan, that allows for up to 2,500 subscribers, with limited features.

Paid plans start at $42 per month when paid annually, and allow additional features with API access, the internal referral program feature, and priority support. beehiiv offers the same user-friendly interface at all tiers, whether you have a paid plan or not.

Beehiiv Comparisons

beehiiv vs. Substack

Substack is a similar newsletter platform that offers referral programs and the option to sell a paid membership to new subscribers. Although Substack’s community is better, and it did recently launch its Substack Notes feature, beehiiv excels in giving creators more monetization options.

If you know your subscriber base wouldn’t mind seeing inline display ads, beehiiv offers a built-in display ad network that is tough to beat.

🔗 Related: Substack Review: An Updated Features Summary

beehiiv vs. ConvertKit

ConvertKit is an email service provider that makes writing newsletters easy. The software is one of the most well-known newsletter platforms, and positions itself as an ESP for creators.

beehiiv threatens to eat into ConvertKit’s market share, as the platform is just as good as subscriber management, although beehiiv’s Grow plan is more expensive than ConvertKit’s Creator plan.

🔗 Related: ConvertKit Review: The Top Pros and Cons

beehiiv vs. ActiveCampaign

If you’re a serious content creator or business owner, ActiveCampaign’s subscriber management features are world-class. You can create automations and manage your sales pipeline all within one comprehensive solution. As ActiveCampaign is often an enterprise plan, however, it has higher prices, too.

🔗 Related: ActiveCampaign Review: A Robust Email Service Provider

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Charge Paid Subscriptions with beehiiv?

Yes. You can offer paid plans, one-off exclusive newsletters, and/or display ads with beehiiv. The platform has multiple monetization features.

Does beehiiv Have a Referral Program?

beehiiv does have a referral program. After you’ve signed up, if someone purchases beehiiv on your affiliate link, you’ll receive a 50% commission on the first 12 months of customer dues.

Is beehiiv the Same as Substack?

beehiiv and Substack are different software companies, but they both specialize in email newsletters. beehiiv is more like a full-serivce Email Service Provider (ESP) than Substack.

Can You Make Money on beehiiv?

You can make money on beehiiv by selling one-off paid newsletters, paid newsletter subscriptions, or display ads.

How Many People Are on beehiiv?

beehiiv has “7,500 active newsletters that collectively have 35 million unique readers and see 350 million monthly impressions,” per recent reporting from TechCrunch.

Can You Create on beehiiv for Free?

beehiiv has a free plan called the Launch plan that will let you have up to 2,500 email subscribers for free, with limited features.

Is beehiiv the Right for You?

beehiiv's unique features and benefits make it a viable alternative to Substack, catering to a diverse range of content creators. Whether you are just starting out or looking to take your newsletter to the next level, beehiiv could be the platform that meets your requirements.

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