Revenue trajectory
2021
$24K
Launch. Tyler, Ben & Jake. Morning Brew alumni
2022
$1M
41× growth. Lost co-founder CTO. Seed round
2023
$7M
Monthly profitability April '23. Series A in 6 days
2024
$20M
Ad Network + Boosts mature. Series B. $225M valuation
2025
$30M
Platform expansion: digital products, podcasts, AI web builder
Full funnel — 8 stages
1
Awareness
Awareness
Multiple inbound flywheels bring potential creators to beehiiv's orbit
9M+
Monthly website visits
SEO Content Engine
Hundreds of long-form articles targeting "how to start a newsletter," "Substack alternatives," "newsletter monetization." 80.8% AI visibility score — highest in category.
YouTube (33% social traffic)
Practical tutorials by Steven Van + Tyler Denk on creator channels (Greg Isenberg). 0.737 correlation with AI visibility. Co-branded landing pages + UTM tracking.
Tyler's Social (X + LinkedIn)
37.7K X followers, 58K LinkedIn. Builds in public: revenue milestones, hiring, failures. Broad entrepreneurship content, not just newsletters. Retweets creator migrations.
"Powered by beehiiv" Watermark
Every free + Scale email carries the brand. 1B+ emails/month = massive organic impressions. Converts newsletter readers into potential creators. CAC → near zero.
Affiliate Program
50–60% commission on referred revenue for 12 months. $15K per-referral cap. 60-day cookie. "Share & Earn" button in every dashboard. Quarterly Beach Club contest.
Recommendation Network
Free plan feature. After subscribing to any beehiiv newsletter, users see up to 4 other newsletters. Network grows as more creators join — classic network effect.
Academy + Expert Directory
Previously $999, now free. Case studies with data-rich creator profiles. Template libraries. Attracts high-intent prospects already committed to starting a newsletter.
Investor-Creator Strategy
Seed investors chosen as newsletter creators (e.g., Litquidity / Exec Sum, 100K+ subs). Financial alignment = user + evangelist + investor in one. Series B Wefunder for community.
↓ User discovers beehiiv — lands on site or blog post
2
Acquisition
Acquisition
Frictionless self-serve signup — no credit card, immediate access
90K+
Total customers
Self-Serve Signup Flow
No credit card required. Signup leads directly to dashboard. Minimal friction — name, email, newsletter niche. Immediate free access with generous limits.
yourname.beehiiv.com Subdomain
Every free user gets a beehiiv subdomain. Each newsletter shared on social broadcasts the brand. Implicit co-marketing at zero cost.
ROI Calculator on Pricing
Interactive tool: input subscriber count, see projected Ad Network earnings. Converts fence-sitters by showing concrete revenue potential before they even sign up.
Competitor Comparison Pages
Detailed pages vs. Substack, ConvertKit/Kit, Ghost, Mailchimp. Migration guides lower switching costs from competitors. SEO-optimized for "alternative" queries.
↓ Signs up — enters 30-day reverse trial automatically
3
Activation
Activation — The Reverse Trial
30-day full Scale/Max access, no credit card. Creates loss aversion, not just feature awareness.
30 days
Full premium access
30-Day Full Premium Access
New users immediately access Scale or Max features — Ad Network preview, automations, A/B testing, advanced analytics. No credit card required. Hybrid freemium + trial.
Soft Downgrade (not lockout)
After 30 days, users fall back to free Launch plan — they don't lose access entirely. This feels like losing something they had vs. never getting it. Converts higher than hard trials.
First Newsletter Send
Activation metric: publishing first issue. Dashboard design funnels new users toward this action. Once they've sent to real subscribers, switching cost begins accumulating.
Pink Growth Chart Dashboard
Dashboard leads with subscriber growth chart in distinctive pink. Deliberate design choice: creators are more likely to share milestones. Creates viral UGC social loop.
↓ Trial ends → drops to free Launch plan, begins building audience
4
Habit Formation
Habit Formation (Free Tier)
Users build real audiences, develop deep platform familiarity, accumulate switching costs — before seeing any upgrade prompt
2,500
Free subscriber limit
Generous Free Launch Plan
Unlimited email sends, website builder, custom domains, API access, up to 2,500 subscribers. Enough to build real habits and real audiences before any upgrade pressure.
Recommendation Network
Available on free plan. Cross-promote up to 4 newsletters. Publications that complete Top 4 grow 2× faster. Turns competitors into collaborators. Compounds as platform grows.
"Powered by beehiiv" Distribution
Every email sent on free plan carries the brand watermark. Reader → potential creator → beehiiv user pipeline. Watermark removal requires Max plan ($96+/mo) — upsell lever.
Contextual Feature Previews
Premium features are visible in dashboard but locked. Upgrade CTAs appear only when users try to use them — never aggressive, always contextual. Primes the upgrade conversation.
Accumulating Switching Costs
Dozens of published issues, audience relationships, beehiiv subdomain links shared across social — by 1,000 subscribers, switching to a competitor means losing history, SEO, and audience data.
Milestone Sharing Loop
Pink subscriber growth chart designed to be screenshot-worthy. Creators share "just hit 500 subscribers on beehiiv!" on social. Tyler retweets. Narrative of growth = beehiiv brand.
↓ Approaches 2,500 subscribers or wants to monetize → upgrade triggers fire
5
Conversion
Conversion — Free → Paid
Upgrade triggers fire when users are already invested. Not desperation pricing — monetization unlocking.
$43/mo
Scale plan entry
2,500 Subscriber Limit
Hard limit creates a natural conversion moment — but users are already invested (hundreds of subscribers, weeks of publishing). Upgrade to Scale is the only way to keep growing.
Monetization Access Gate
Ad Network, Boosts marketplace, paid subscriptions (0% revenue take), and digital product sales all require Scale plan. Creators who want to earn must upgrade — logical, not extractive.
Branding Removal ($96+/mo)
"Powered by beehiiv" removal requires Max plan. Professional credibility + brand identity are strong motivators for creators with 1,000+ subscribers and growing revenue.
Automations + A/B Testing
Visual workflow builder, A/B testing, surveys locked to Scale+. Once creators understand growth, they want optimization tools. Upgrade timing coincides with sophistication growth.
ROI-Framed Upgrade CTAs
Upgrade prompts show projected earnings, not just features. "Unlock the Ad Network and earn $X/month based on your subscriber count" — positions upgrade as revenue decision, not cost.
0% Revenue Take Positioning
Central marketing message vs. Substack's 10%. For creators earning $1K/month from subscriptions, Scale at $43/month pays for itself with the Substack savings alone. Built-in ROI.
↓ Upgrades to Scale → monetization unlocked → expansion levers activate
6
Expansion
Expansion — Scale → Max → Enterprise
Revenue expands automatically as creators succeed — pricing tied to success, not usage
$96/mo+
Max plan
Subscriber-Based Tier Escalation
Pricing scales automatically with audience size. As creators grow, their plan price increases — but their revenue grows faster. Expansion MRR happens without sales intervention.
Multiple Publications (Max)
Scale allows 1 publication; Max allows multiple. Media companies and agencies running multiple newsletters are pushed to Max purely by operational need.
Team Seats (Max)
Unlimited team seats on Max vs. limited on Scale. Growing newsletter teams hit this limit naturally. Converts solo creators into team accounts with much higher lifetime value.
Enterprise + Product-Led Sales
Creators exceeding 100,000 subscribers are automatically routed to account executives. No cold outreach — customers route themselves by growing. Sales motion starts with product use.
Digital Products + Podcast Hosting
Nov 2025 expansion: digital product sales (0% commission), podcast hosting, AI website builder, advertiser self-serve portal. Increases per-user revenue without raising prices.
Ad Network (beehiiv's Big Bet)
AG1, HubSpot, Deel, Fisher Investments. $10K min campaign, $50K avg spend/month. CPC + CPM. beehiiv takes 20%. Tyler: "the next Facebook Ads Manager for email."
↓ Economic lock-in deepens — creators earn within the ecosystem
7
Retention
Retention — Economic Lock-In Flywheel
Not feature lock-in — economic lock-in. Leaving beehiiv means leaving money on the table.
$5M+
Total Boosts payouts
Ad Network Revenue
Creators choose which ads to run (editorial control), get paid monthly via Stripe. beehiiv takes 20%. The '92 newsletter: $50K+/month. Every dollar earned deepens platform dependency.
Boosts Marketplace Loop
Pay $2–4/verified subscriber acquired. beehiiv takes 20%. Tyler spends $3K/month at $2.50/lead, earns ~$4/lead promoting others — net positive. Closed-loop reinvestment cycle.
0% Subscription Revenue Take
beehiiv keeps 0% of paid subscription revenue (Stripe fees only). vs. Substack's 10%. For a creator earning $10K/month in subscriptions, switching costs $1K/month in lost savings.
Publishing History + Archive
Years of published issues, subscriber data, analytics history, and SEO-linked URLs all live on beehiiv. Migrating means losing institutional memory and backlink authority.
Recommendation Network Equity
Active publications in the Recommendation Network have built incoming subscriber flows. Leaving means losing a passive growth channel that took months to establish.
Captain Yar / '92 Newsletter
Standout Boosts performers: Captain Yar at $16,600/month, The '92 at $50K+/month. These case studies function as retention proof — "this is what leaving would cost you."
↓ Profitable creators become evangelists — advocacy loop begins
8
Advocacy
Advocacy — Creators as Distribution
Happy, profitable creators become beehiiv's most effective sales channel — financially incentivized and emotionally aligned
$10K+
Affiliate earnings (e.g. V. Kurichenko)
Share & Earn (50–60% commission)
In-dashboard button. 50–60% of referred revenue for 12 months. $15K cap per referral. Victoria Kurichenko earned $10K+ writing about her experience. 5 Scale signups/month = $2,970/year.
Tyler Retweet Flywheel
Creator migrates → tweets about it → Tyler retweets → creates visible migration narrative. "Innocent bystanders see 7 people moving over... builds a narrative on social media."
Milestone UGC Loop
Creators share subscriber milestones from their pink growth charts. Each screenshot is organic beehiiv brand content. Deliberate dashboard design creates shareable moments.
beehiiv Beach Club
Quarterly competition: top affiliate partner wins all-expenses-paid vacation. Creates urgency, friendly competition, and press-worthy moments. Partners compete publicly = brand awareness.
Big Desk Energy (Tyler's Newsletter)
120K+ subscribers. Monetizes through Ad Network + Boosts + direct sponsorships ($7K/placement) + Mastermind events (~$70K/event). Tyler IS the end user. Every feature stress-tested here first.
Community Investment (Wefunder)
Series B: $1M allocation to loyal users via Wefunder. Users booked Times Square billboard. Financial ownership deepens advocacy. Press coverage from the campaign = free awareness.
Primary upgrade triggers — Free → Scale
Subscriber Limit (2,500)
The most common trigger. By the time users hit 2,500 subscribers, they've published dozens of issues and have real audience momentum. Upgrading is growth continuation, not a purchase decision.
Monetization Desire
Ad Network, Boosts, paid subscriptions, digital products all require Scale+. When creators are ready to earn, the upgrade conversation is easy — beehiiv immediately becomes a revenue center, not a cost.
Brand Removal (Max)
"Powered by beehiiv" footer removal costs $96+/month (Max plan). As newsletter becomes a professional identity, branding control becomes a priority. Max plan is the natural unlock.
Pricing architecture — gates output, not input
Launch (Free)
$0
Up to 2,500 subscribers
- Unlimited email sends
- Website builder
- Custom domain
- API access
- Recommendation Network
- Ad Network
- Boosts marketplace
- Paid subscriptions
- Automations
- A/B testing
Most Popular
Scale
$43/mo (annual)
Scales with audience size
- Everything in Launch
- Ad Network access
- Boosts marketplace
- Paid subscriptions (0%)
- Email automations
- A/B testing
- Surveys + analytics
- Referral programs
- Branding removal
- Multiple publications
Max
$96/mo (annual)
Scales with audience size
- Everything in Scale
- Remove "Powered by beehiiv"
- Multiple publications
- Unlimited team seats
- Advanced reporting
- Priority support
- Digital product sales
- Podcast hosting
- AI website builder
Enterprise
Custom
100,000+ subscribers
- Everything in Max
- Dedicated account exec
- Custom contracts
- SLA + uptime guarantees
- White-label options
- Custom integrations
- Product-led → sales
The retention flywheel — closed-loop economics
beehiiv's Self-Sustaining Growth Engine
Every dollar earned within the ecosystem makes leaving more expensive
💰 Earn from Ad Network
Creators receive weekly ad opportunities from premium advertisers (AG1, HubSpot, Deel). Choose which to run. Paid monthly via Stripe. beehiiv takes 20%. The '92: $50K+/month.
↓ reinvest earnings
📈 Invest in Boosts
Spend earnings on Boosts to acquire new subscribers at $2–4 each. Tyler's formula: spend $3K/month at $2.50/lead. Net positive when Ad Network pays ~$4/lead from your newsletter.
CLOSED
LOOP
FLYWHEEL
LOOP
FLYWHEEL
🚀 Grow Subscriber Base
Boosts-acquired subscribers are verified and opted-in. Larger audience = higher ad rates + more Boosts income from recommending other newsletters. Network effects amplify ROI.
↑ audience earns more
🔒 Deepen Economic Lock-In
Each cycle earns more. Switching to a competitor means abandoning: active Boosts campaigns, Ad Network relationships, 0% sub revenue savings, and the Recommendation Network flow. Switching cost compounds.
7 reusable PLG principles — mapped from beehiiv's playbook
1
Gate output, not input
Let users form deep habits with creation tools before asking them to pay. beehiiv gates monetization, automation, and analytics — only needed after users have built something worth optimizing.
2
Make every free user a distribution channel
The watermark, subdomain, and Recommendation Network turn free users into marketing assets. 1B emails/month × beehiiv brand = near-zero CAC for watermark-driven acquisition.
3
Build a reverse trial, not just a free tier
Give new users temporary access to premium features. Creates loss aversion — users experience the full product and feel the downgrade. Converts at higher rates than hard trials.
4
Make your customers profitable
Ad Network + Boosts + 0% revenue take = beehiiv users make money by staying. When your product is a revenue center rather than a cost center, churn drops and switching costs compound.
5
Turn your founder into a media channel
Tyler Denk generates more awareness than paid marketing. Key: broaden content beyond product category to attract entrepreneurially minded audiences. Build in public with transparent metrics.
6
Ship velocity is a marketing strategy
48+ Product Hunt launches. Relentless feature releases generate recurring press cycles, social proof, and loyalty. "Shipping high-impact features became our entire go-to-market strategy."
7
Create closed-loop economics within your platform
Boosts + Ad Network + reinvestment cycle create a self-sustaining economy. Every dollar circulates within beehiiv's ecosystem. Leaving means leaving money on the table — the most defensible retention.