How to Make Your First $1 Online with Beehiiv (Step-by-Step)

Summary

The video presents Beehiiv as a way for beginners to build an email audience and earn revenue without first having a product, service, or large social following. Its central business argument is that an email list is an owned audience, less exposed to changes in social media platforms.

The presenter demonstrates a newsletter about AI news and tools. It sends two emails per week, promotes the presenter’s content, and earns mainly from ads in Beehiiv’s Ad Network rather than from selling products.

Business Model and Monetization

• Beehiiv Ad Network: Advertisers offer placements that publishers can add to newsletter emails. The presenter describes offers that pay by click or impression. Examples shown include $1.50–$3.70 per click and an offer of up to $3 per click.
• Ad placement: Place an ad near the top of the email to improve its visibility. The presenter typically uses two ads per newsletter—one near the beginning and another within the content—and advises keeping them relevant without overloading the email.
• Other revenue options: Paid recommendations that pay for referred subscribers, premium newsletter tiers, and paid digital products such as PDFs. The video gives example premium pricing of $5 per month or $50 one-time.
• Platform requirements: The Ad Network requires at least Beehiiv’s Light plan, and payouts require connecting a Stripe account. Beehiiv’s free plan can be used to start sending emails, but the presenter says monetizing through the Ad Network requires a paid plan.
• Ad timing and limits: Publishers can reserve up to five ads at a time. An ad is valid for five days (120 hours) after the email is sent; the recipient must take the qualifying action within that window for the publisher to earn.

Newsletter Operating Playbook

• Choose a focused subject that is relevant to a defined audience. The presenter’s example is a digest of AI news, tools, ChatGPT tips, and new industry developments.
• Use Beehiiv’s templates and drag-and-drop editor to assemble the email. The presenter says no designer is needed and describes customizing sections, images, links, videos, and ads.
• Keep emails concise: the presenter recommends roughly 300 words and publishing two or three times weekly. Their own newsletter sends two issues per week.
• Include useful material beyond promotions. The presenter aims to give subscribers more detailed or sophisticated insights than social posts.
• Segment subscribers by activity or source when a campaign calls for a particular audience, such as webinar attendees.

Subscriber Acquisition Playbook

The presenter describes three tactics for collecting email addresses:

1. Automated social media messages: Use ManyChat to send new followers a direct message offering a free resource, such as an e-book, in exchange for an email address.
2. Free resource on a website: Offer a free product—in the example, access to a catalog of AI tools—and add subscribers to the Beehiiv list.
3. Lead magnet through a bio link: Offer free downloads alongside other links, requiring an email address to access them.

The general recommendation is to promote the newsletter signup link across videos, YouTube, blogs, and social channels, and to consistently offer something useful in exchange for an email address.

Metrics and Examples Cited

• The presenter reports having just over 25,000 subscribers, gathered over “a couple of months, maybe a little longer.”
• The presenter shows ad-payment notifications of $9, $13, $15, and $26, and says payments arrive frequently. They also say the newsletter had been running for two or three months. These are personal examples, not guaranteed results.
• The presenter says a friend using the same approach earns over $3,000 per month; no supporting details are provided.
• The presenter mentions having 4 million social media followers, while saying the newsletter’s revenue comes from its ad placements rather than from selling services or paid products.

Sources and Presenter

• Presenter: Unnamed presenter on the Simply Digital channel.
• Sources discussed: The presenter’s Beehiiv dashboard, newsletter, and Ad Network; the presenter’s reported earnings and subscriber figures; and an anecdote about a friend identified in the subtitles as “Ur.”