Beehiiv Review (2024): 3k Email List, 6 Months In Use

What is Beehiiv?

Beehiiv is a newsletter growth platform launched in 2021 by Benjamin Hargett, Jacob Hurd, and Tyler Denk, who was formerly a product manager at Google. The founders claim that the primary goal of the platform is to help you easily build, grow, and monetize your newsletter.

Beehiiv is positioned as “the most creator-friendly newsletters platform.” However, many other newsletter platforms also have a clear UI and powerful functionality.

So, what’s special about Beehiiv?

Here is how Tyler Denk, the platform co-founder, explains it:

Beehiiv has been operating for four years and has already made so much buzz on the web and X ( former Twitter) to attract novice and well-established creators. 

Apart from its rather bizarre name (I believe the name and the logo are associated with “beehive”), the platform is easy to understand and navigate around. 

I registered on Beehiiv in May 2022 to explore its functionality,  decide whether moving my email list from Convertkit to Beehiiv was worth it, and share my Beehiiv review with my readers. 

In January 2023, I moved my email list of 2,000+ subscribers to Beehiiv, which is my primary email software for email marketing and newsletter monetization.  

It took me some time to learn Beehiiv’s features and functionality. However, I’m honestly satisfied with their powerful toolkit for content creators. 

Let me show you how Beehiiv works and what I use it for.

How Beehiiv works

Beehiiv offers three plans for content creators. 

The Launch plan is free for up to 2,500 subscribers. So, if you want to launch a newsletter with minimum costs, you can do it with Beehiiv.

Paid plans come with a 30-day free trial, which is enough to understand whether the tool works for you.

As soon as you join Beehiiv, you’ll be redirected to the dashboard, where you can see your subscribers’ statistics and the overall performance of your email campaigns for the last 30 days. 

You can see my Beehiiv dashboard below. 

The number of active subscribers on my Beehiiv account is 3,151. The chart line is steep since I imported a list with subscribers’ data from Convertkit. The procedure is effortless and takes a couple of minutes. 

You can also see the average open and click rate from the past 4 weeks.  

All your published posts on Beehiiv will be in chronological order in the top right corner. It’s very convenient if you want to quickly check them. 

Overall, I use the Beehiiv dashboard to quickly review my stats and the performance of my recent newsletters. 

If you are new to Beehiiv and wonder how to start, I recommend the following action steps:

1. Create a subscribe form to capture email addresses 
2. Create a Beehiiv-hosted website to publish your emails and expert posts
3. Customize a website
4. Create a newsletter 
5. Customize a newsletter design 
6. Create a lead magnet page on Beehiiv
7. Set up automation
8. Turn on Beehiiv monetization, such as Boosts

Does it sound like a lot of work?

Not really! I spent several days moving my newsletter to Beehiiv, creating landing pages for lead magnets, and setting up the automation. 

Let me show you how to create a subscribe form on Beehiiv.

Navigate to Audience → Subscribe Forms →Create a new form 

You have to come up with the headline, write a description, create a call-to-action (CTA), and upload the logo. Besides, consider what you want your subscribers to see or do once they join your email list. You can show them a success message or redirect them to a separate URL. 

Once you are done, hit “Save.”

The Beehiiv’s subscribe form design is very simple with limited customization. You can change the button colors and copy. However, that’s pretty much it. Anyway, it works well to capture new email addresses. 

Beehiiv offers several types of forms depending on your needs: full width, fixed width, slim embed (email field only, without header, background, or description), and advanced configuration with attribution tracking. You can embed it anywhere, including a website or Medium posts, which is an excellent opportunity to grow your email list.

Here’s what my Beehiiv’s subscribe form looks like in action:

If you wonder, “How do I create a landing page on Beehiiv?” Let me show you step-by-step how. 

I believe it’s one of the best Beehiiv features, with many customization opportunities for content creators. 

Navigate to Design → Website Builder → Custom pages (pick from the drop-down menu) → Custom Pages → Internal Page

In my opinion, it is one of the most frequently used features. That’s why read this Beehiiv review carefully to learn how it works. 

You can create pages on Beehiiv to publish content, sell products, and promote your freebies. In a way, Beehiiv can replace a standard website you’d have to create otherwise.

It took me a few hours and a friendly chat with the Beehiiv support team to understand how to create and customize a landing page with a subscribe form. 

Here’s how you can do it on Beehiiv:

1. Create a subscribe form
2. Create a customized page to download your product
3. Embed the subscribe form
4. Save the page
5. Create a thank you page with a thank you message 
6. Create an automation that will send users an email after the subscription.

Here’s what the simplest landing page looks like on Beehiiv. This is one of the pages I use to participate in bundles. 

Furthermore, I use the thank you page to promote other Beehiiv creators and make money through Boosts.

The first three recommendations are Boosts, which means I’ll make money if my subscribers join other creators’ email lists. 

Beehiiv pays $1+ per subscriber, making it an excellent way to earn extra money online. Please note that custom pages are only available for Beehiiv Scale plan users. 

Alright, I’ve shown you how to create a subscribe form and a custom page on Beehiiv. What’s next?

The next step is to learn how to write a newsletter. 

A big button, “Start writing,” in the top-right corner of the creator dashboard will redirect you to the content editor, where you can create a post, an email, or a Beehiiv SEO optimized website page.

In my example below, I used a content editor to create an email. It’s super easy to understand and use. The only con I’ve noticed is a lack of email personalization. That’s why all my subscribers will get an email starting with “Hi there.”

You can use the Beehiiv content editor to:

• Create and publish posts on your Beehiiv website
• Create and send newsletters
• Publish newsletters on your Beehiiv website

You can also use the content preview feature to see how your content will look after it is published or sent via email.

In my opinion, Beehiiv is an excellent newsletter platform if you are just starting your online business. Many essential features are free to help content creators “taste” the platform before upgrading to the paid plan. 

If you want to start with a free plan, here is what you should know:

• The Beehiiv free plan is unavailable for content creators with over 2,500 subscribers.
• You will only be able to create 3 audience segments.
• Unlimited email sends.
• Automation is unavailable, so you won’t be able to create automated email campaigns. Good news, newsletter scheduling is available.
• Beehiiv monetization features, such as a referral program, Boosts, Ad Network, and paid subscriptions, are unavailable. 

However, there are many Beehiiv features established content creators with big email lists will benefit from. 

For example, I have over 3,000 subscribers in my email list. Nevertheless, I can make four figures by leveraging various Beehiiv monetization features. 

Beehiiv’s monetization opportunities

According to the Litmus guide, email drives an ROI of $36 for every dollar spent, which is higher than any other channel.

This is mindblowing information indicating the massive potential of newsletters for content creators! 

Let me share a few proven-to-work methods for monetizing your email list and making money with Beehiiv.

1. Beehiiv Partner Program

Beehiiv Partner Program is one of the best ways to earn money Beehiiv has made for content creators. 

The logic is simple:

1. Register as a Beehiiv partner
2. Promote Beehiiv among your target audience
3. Earn 50% commission from every sale during the first year for referring new paid customers to Beehiiv

Here’s how much I’ve earned from the Beehiiv partner program by August 2024.

I’ve used my Medium blog and this Beehiiv review to promote the platform. The results are promising! 

Beehiiv sends your commissions to your PayPal account every month. Please note that it’s the only option to get your affiliate commissions.

2. Boosts

Boosts is another way to grow your email list faster and create an additional revenue source.

For those looking to grow an email list faster, Beehiiv offers an opportunity to promote your newsletter among thousands of qualified Beehiiv newsletters to reach your target audience. 

According to the Beehiiv Boosts page, the average cost of one active subscriber is $1.63.

If you want to monetize your newsletter on Beehiiv, you can apply to boost other newsletters and get paid for every new subscriber. Please note you’ll have to set up a Stripe account to get your Boost earnings. 

Beehiiv’s Boosts Marketplace provides many opportunities for your consideration. If you believe you can help other creators grow their email lists, send an application and explain why your newsletter is a good fit.

You can apply to a maximum of 25 Boost offers per month. However, Beehiiv will only show up to 3 boosts at a time. 

Besides making money by referring new subscribers, there’s one more Boost type called “Earn per send.” It means you can also make money by featuring other creators’ newsletters in your newsletter. Some creators pay up to $1,000 per send! 

Can you imagine making up four figures by sending just one sponsored newsletter? It’s possible with Beehiiv Boosts. 

You can learn more about making money with Boosts in this video.

3. Ad network

The Beehiiv ad network is a way for newsletter creators to connect with premium brands and earn revenue by featuring ads in their newsletters. The network matches brands with newsletters based on audience demographics and interests so that the right people see ads.

You must have more than 1,000 subscribers and be actively sending emails to join the Beehiiv ad network. 

Once approved, you’ll receive inbound ad opportunities from the Beehiiv team. You can choose to accept or decline any placement, and you’ll be paid a portion of the ad revenue generated.

It is a great way to monetize your newsletter and reach a wider audience. It’s also a hands-off way to manage your ad sales, as beehiiv handles all the ad placement and reporting.

Let me share my experience with the Beehiiv Ad network.

When I joined Beehiiv, I had 2,000+ subscribers. I’ve sent a few newsletters and set up my custom domain on Beehiiv. 

I thought I’d need time to earn credibility on the platform before I’d get any offers from advertisers. Surprisingly, I was wrong!

I’ve got 3 sponsored ad requests on my third week on Beehiiv! 

Here’s what the recommended offer looks like on my dashboard. 

Since January 2024, I’ve run 16 ads for various companies, including well-known brands like Hubspot. 

Overall, I’ve made $370.94 from the Beehiiv Ad Network by simply embedding the ad into my weekly newsletter. 

The best-performing ad campaign made me $112, got 35 clicks, and had a 4.5% click-through rate.

It’s also worth mentioning that the ad was relevant to my audience. That’s why they actively responded to it.

It’s also worth noting that Beehiiv regularly sends ad opportunities if you have over 1,000 subscribers and you keep your account active. 

Once, I’ve had a record-breaking month with 6 ad sponsorship requests from Beehiiv.

On average, I get 3-5 requests monthly.

Occasionally, you’ll receive irrelevant ad offers or multiple sponsorship inquiries from the same company. It happened to me many times. 

From my experience, I can say that irrelevant ads have obviously the worst performance since users aren’t interested in clicking on the ad. 

Besides, if you run the same ad several times, you might get different results! For instance, Hubspot sent me a sponsorship request twice. The second time, I got almost twice as many clicks. 

So, ensure to experiment with the copy and tone of voice to find what resonates with your audience.

4. Paid Subscriptions

As an email newsletter platform, Beehiiv offers content creators an opportunity to build a recurring revenue stream through paid subscriptions. 

Beehiiv doesn’t charge any fees for paid newsletters, and they only take a 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee from Stripe, their payment processor.

With their platform, you can:

• Set up a paywall to protect your premium content
• Offer different pricing plans
• Offer monthly and yearly plans
• Create custom offers and free trials directly on the platform
• Track your subscription revenue
• Promote your paid newsletter

Here is how much you can earn from Beehiiv paid subscriptions over a year if you have 100 paid subscribers paying $7/m. 

The path toward monetizing an email list is not easy, even for established content creators. Therefore, I encourage you to try different monetization options to determine what works for you.

Beehiiv pricing 

I hope this Beehiiv review has been helpful to you by now. 

In this paragraph, I will discuss Beehiiv’s pricing in detail. Even though many features are free on Beehiiv, most essential functionalities, including monetization options, are only available for users of the Launch, Scale, Max, and Enterprise plans.

I’ve created the following table to help you better understand what each Beehiiv pricing plan offers and which is most suitable for you.

Beehiiv also provides a customized plan for content creators and companies having over 100,000 subscribers. 

If it’s your case and you want to learn about what Beehiiv can offer, you can inquire about the enterprise plan here.

Beehiiv features worth knowing

Even though I’ve already covered a lot on how Beehiiv works and how you can leverage it as a content creator, I’ve handpicked a few more features worth knowing. 

These are unique features that make Beehiiv stand out from other creator tools.

Audio newsletter

Beehiiv announced this update right when I was writing this Beehiiv review. 

I think the sky is the limit for the Beehiiv team since they continue to impress their users with new features while competitors can’t keep up. 

With an audio newsletter, you can let your subscribers listen to your newsletters instead of reading them. 

This feature is available by default, which means you don’t have to do anything to turn it on. 

I’ll soon test it on my audience and share their feedback. Overall, this seems to be a helpful feature for busy people. 

Newsletter mobile app

With Beehiiv, your readers can install your custom app, add it to their home screen, and never miss another piece of content from you.

This is a new level of engagement with your target audience  I haven’t seen other platforms offering. 

To launch your app, simply toggle it on in your account here: Design → Website Builder → Settings → Mobile App.

Here’s what it looks like when you open a Beehiiv newsletter on mobile.

“Pay what you want” subscriptions

Beehiiv has a new feature called “Name Your Price,” which could be a game-changer for you if you send paid newsletters. 

It lets subscribers decide how much they want to pay for premium content. This is a great way for content creators to earn income while giving their audience more flexibility.

I haven’t used it yet, but this might be a great additional revenue stream. 

In total, Beehiiv lets you can offer multiple subscription plans, consisting of varying prices and billing cadences:

• Monthly subscription
• Annual subscription
• One-time payment
• Name Your Price

Beehiiv AI

Last year, Beehiiv introduced its own suite of AI tools to help you streamline your content creation. 

Here’s what you’ll find inside your Beehiiv dashboard:

• AI Writing Assistant to create newsletters faster
• AI Text Tool to fix all possible grammar and spelling mistakes and autocomplete your sentences
• AI Image Tool to create unique images for your newsletters
• AI Translator to translate your content into Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese 

It’s worth mentioning that Beehiiv AI is only available for users on a Scale and Enterprise plan. 

If you are interested in giving it a try, I recommend signing up for a 30-day free trial first.

FAQ

Have you already tried Beehiiv? Feel free to share your experience and opinion about Beehiiv in the comments below.

I’ve also collected frequently asked questions about Beehiiv that people actively search for. 

Is Beehiiv legit?

Beehiiv is a relatively new but fast-growing platform. 

According to Crunchbase, the company raised its first investment round on September 30th, 2021, and raised $2.6. 

Since the fundraising, Beehiiv’s founders announced that funds will be allocated in the following way:

With the new capital, beehiiv will triple the size of its team with numerous hires across engineering, community, growth, and marketing. It will also continue to invest in growth and product development—including robust data analytics, a native referral program tool, etc.

In May 2024, Beehiiv had its fifth investment round. It’s now funded by 30 investors with New Enterprise Associates and Sapphire Sport being the most recent ones.

The fundraising and the company’s announcements bring me to this conclusion:

The company is actively growing, attracting investors, and building long-term plans. It makes me believe that Beehiiv is legit and will likely stay with me for a long time.

Is Beehiiv free?

Beehiiv has a free tier for content creators, where you can grow your email list up to 2,500 subscribers and use most of its functionality for free.

However, let’s not forget that Beehiiv is not a charity organization. It’s a company that does business. The main goal of every business is to become profitable and generate revenue. 

Therefore, Beehiiv offers three more paid tires for content creators who want to offer premium subscriptions, run multiple websites under the same account, link a custom domain, and launch a referral program. 

It’s worth mentioning that Beehiiv offers the most generous pricing plans, where you’ll only have to pay $299 on a Scale plan for running an email list with up to 100,000. 

If you are interested in starting a newsletter, you can learn more about Beehiiv pricing here. This link will provide you with 20% off your first 3 months and a 30-day free trial.

What are Beehiiv alternatives?

Beehiiv vs. Convertkit

I’ve seen so many Twitter posts about Beehiiv and Convertkit. 

I sometimes think people post the question: “Beehiiv vs.Convertkit – What’s better?” only to create buzz. 

I’ve used Convertkit for three years and was thrilled with the platform. Unlike Beehiiv, Convertkit has many pre-built landing pages for various purposes that you can set up in a few minutes.

For example, Convertkit has landing pages to promote a freebie, an ebook, an event, a podcast, and more. Beehiiv, on the other hand, doesn’t offer any templates (yet), and you’ll have to spend quite a lot of time figuring out how to create landing pages to promote your products. 

However, Beehiiv has more customization features to make your newsletters and website look beautiful. Besides, Beehiiv is definitely a winner when it comes to monetization features. Beehiiv offers Boosts, sponsored ads, paid subscriptions, and the Partner Program, which made me $3,500 in a few months.

Beehiiv vs. Substack

Beehiiv and Substack are two of the most popular platforms for creating and publishing newsletters. Both platforms offer a variety of features, including email marketing, landing pages, and monetization options. 

Exec Sum put together an illustrative table that compares the costs and benefits of Beehiiv and Substack as your revenue growth.

It turns out that paying a flat fee can benefit you more, especially once your earnings start to grow.

Does Beehiiv have landing pages?

Yes, you can create a dedicated landing page for your newsletter on Beehiiv for free. The landing page will have a cluttered-free design, a brief description of your newsletter, a call-to-action, and a subscribe form.

Does Beehiiv have newsletter templates?

Beehiiv doesn’t have pre-built newsletter templates. However, you can customize the newsletter background, fonts, and colors. Furthermore, they have a powerful newsletter embed feature, which lets you embed various elements and make your newsletters look nicer.

Have you already tried Beehiiv? Feel free to share your experience and opinion about Beehiiv in the comments below. 

If you are interested in starting a newsletter, join via my partner link, which will provide you with 20% off your first 3 months and a 30-day free trial.