How Do You Build a $1,000-a-Day Cash-Flowing Newsletter Startup on beehiiv?

TL;DR

To build a cash-flowing newsletter on beehiiv, combine multiple acquisition and onboarding features rather than searching for one growth trick. Tyler Denk grew Big Desk Energy from zero to 90,000 subscribers in about 14 months and says it earns $20,000 to $30,000 monthly with roughly five hours of work per week. Read on for his specific approach to websites, popups, signup flows, automations, and compounding growth.

Transcript

people ask me all the time Greg if you were to start a business which one would you start if you're just trying to get to 10 to 20K a month and I usually say start with an email-based business so start with building a newsletter there are platforms like beehive that make it a lot easier to go from Z to 100,000 subs and then start monetizing at 10 1... Read More

Key Insights

• An email-based business is the recommended starting point for reaching $10,000 to $20,000 a month, because platforms like beehiiv make it easier to grow from zero to 100,000 subscribers and then monetize.
• A newsletter of around 90,000 subscribers can generate between $20,000 and $30,000 a month as a side project, even with a full-time job and only about five hours of work per week.
• There is no silver bullet for growing from zero to 90,000 subscribers in a year; it is a compounding of eight to ten different things, each adding roughly 100 subscribers a week until growth reaches 1,500 to 2,000 subscribers per week.
• beehiiv is an all-in-one platform combining a full customizable website builder, email capture, subscriber data collection, referral programs, and monetization, removing the need for separate tools like Substack, Kit, Framer, or Webflow.
• Publishing a newsletter on beehiiv simultaneously creates an email newsletter and an SEO-optimized web article hosted in the same location, so there is no need to copy content into WordPress or Webflow separately.
• Email capture popups can be customized per web page and per traffic source, showing different language for visitors arriving from Facebook or Twitter, and can lift conversion incrementally in a 'Death By A Thousand Cuts' approach.
• Custom signup flows control what a new subscriber sees after entering an email, including newsletter recommendations, a data-collection survey, and a thank-you page introducing the brand; different subscribe forms can route to different flows.
• Automations are automated email journeys that range from a simple welcome email to a 15-step sequence with logic; different signup pages and lead magnet pages can trigger entirely different automation sequences.

Questions & Answers

Q: How do you grow a newsletter to nearly 100,000 subscribers on beehiiv?

Tyler Denk grew Big Desk Energy from zero to 90,000 subscribers in about 14 months by combining multiple beehiiv features and acquisition channels. His approach drives traffic from platforms such as X, Instagram, and TikTok to a customizable website, then uses targeted email capture, signup flows, referrals, and automated onboarding to convert and retain subscribers.

Q: How much can a newsletter with 90,000 subscribers earn?

Denk says his newsletter earns between $20,000 and $30,000 per month. He describes it as a side project that takes about five hours per week alongside his full-time job.

Q: Is there one secret to growing a newsletter quickly?

No single silver bullet took the newsletter from zero to 90,000 subscribers. Denk describes growth as eight to ten different efforts compounding together, with each potentially adding roughly 100 subscribers per week until total growth reaches 1,500 to 2,000 subscribers weekly.

Q: Why does Greg Isenberg recommend starting an email-based business?

Isenberg recommends a newsletter when people ask what business could reach $10,000 to $20,000 per month. He says platforms such as beehiiv make it easier to grow from zero to 100,000 subscribers and pursue monthly monetization levels of $10,000, $15,000, $20,000, or $30,000.

Q: What beehiiv features support newsletter growth and monetization?

beehiiv combines a customizable website builder, email capture, subscriber data collection, custom signup flows, automations, referral programs, and monetization tools. Publishing also produces an email newsletter and an SEO-optimized web article in the same location, avoiding the need to copy the content into WordPress or Webflow.

Q: How can beehiiv email capture popups increase subscriptions?

Popups can be customized by page, timing, and traffic source, including different language for visitors from Facebook or Twitter. They are one incremental part of the broader growth strategy, not a standalone secret for acquiring subscribers.

Q: What happens in a custom beehiiv signup flow?

A custom signup flow controls what a reader sees after submitting an email address. It can recommend other newsletters, collect subscriber information through a survey, and finish with a thank-you page introducing the publisher and newsletter; separate forms can route readers into different flows.

Q: How do beehiiv automations onboard new subscribers?

Automations create email journeys that can range from one welcome message to a 15-step sequence with logic and updated parameters. Different signup pages, forms, and lead-magnet pages can trigger separate journeys, while Denk's own welcome series uses about 10 steps.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Greg Isenberg advises anyone aiming for $10,000 to $20,000 a month to start an email-based business by building a newsletter, since platforms like beehiiv simplify growing from zero to 100,000 subscribers and monetizing at $10,000 to $30,000 a month.

• beehiiv co-founder Tyler Denk, who earlier helped Morning Brew reach 3.5 million subscribers and a $75 million acquisition, grew his own newsletter Big Desk Energy from zero to 90,000 subscribers in about 14 months while working a full-time job.

• The platform serves as top-of-funnel, driving social traffic from X, Instagram, and TikTok to a customizable website and subscribe pages, using per-page email capture popups, custom signup flows with surveys, and automated welcome sequences to convert and onboard subscribers.