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A funny thing happens when someone decides, “I want to start a newsletter.”
They start researching.
And Googling.
And talking to ChatGPT or Perplexity or whatever AI tool it is they use.
And maybe even journaling about their “voice.”
They compare beehiiv to Substack and Mailchimp and ConvertKit and then say “honestly I’m thinking of just doing it in Notion first and sending a screenshot.”
And then... they stop.
But starting a newsletter is ridiculously easy in 2025.
Sticking with it is a different story.
Case in point, you haven’t heard from me on this newsletter in a few months. I own and operate 8 newsletters, and 2 go out every single week. This is one of the newsletters that sometimes get a little neglected, but not because of any reason beyond me having 2 children under 4 years old, owning 3 companies, and being a full-time employee at beehiiv 😅
But before you worry about newsletter open rates and referral programs and “what if nobody reads it,” you just need to hit send.
One time.
That’s the magic number. Send one newsletter.
Start there.
Presales for Newsletter Founder, the course & community I created with Justin Gordon are officially LIVE.
This course and community is created for people who know they want to start a newsletter and just need that extra nudge of support and accountability.
We want to help take you from 0 to 1 and beyond with a newsletter.
Not only are we sharing our insights from operating newsletters with tens of thousands of subscribers...
We're building a community to actually make sure you get help building yours.
This course & community is for creators, founders, and marketers who want to build, grow, and monetize a newsletter.
Whether you're just starting or already have traction, the course gives you a clear roadmap.
Super excited to see where this goes!
Let me know if you have any questions 😊
More to come soon, but the presale ends April 30th.
Because your audience is disappearing in real-time. Unless you're staying top of mind, you’re being forgotten.
In a world where platforms are throttling reach, YouTube is a grind, and X is whatever it is this week, and LinkedIn, well… Idk what LinkedIn is doing, but I’m getting millions of impressions per month there being a total dufus.
All to say… email still just works.
You don’t need a million followers.
You don’t need a mic or a camera or a team.
You just need an idea — and a few people who trust you enough to open an email.
That’s it. And if you do it right? You’ll build something that compounds.
Don’t Overthink It
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked to someone who says, “I’ve been planning a newsletter for months.”
Then I ask if they’ve written anything.
“Nah, still figuring out the format.”
This is a little like building a menu before you know if your stove works.
Here’s what I tell people: open a Google Doc, write something, and ask yourself one simple question — Could I send something like this every week for a year?
If yes — great. You’re good.
If no — also great. Now you know it’s not the one.
Done is better than perfect. Especially in email.
Start Smaller Than You Think
When I launched my first newsletter in 2014, it had 200 subscribers. That’s not a typo. And yes — most of them were related to me or had heard me speak in real life.
It was a spiritual formation newsletter. I was in seminary, writing about faith, life abroad, stuff I was reading and processing.
Not monetized. Not optimized. Just honest.
And you know what? Those 200 people showed up every time I hit send. Some replied. Some forwarded it.
A few hundred people reading your words every week is not a failure. It’s a gift.
Treat it that way.
Use beehiiv (Yes, I’m Biased — But Still)
I’ve built newsletters on Substack, Mailchimp, Ghost... all of them.
I use beehiiv now. I work at beehiiv. And I would still recommend it, even if I didn’t (in fact, I did recommend it for a full year before working here).
It’s Morning Brew in a box.
Referral program: built in.
Analytics: robust.
Segmentation, automations, ad network — all of it at the tip of your fingers seamlessly.
And it’s completely free to start.
You could have a newsletter live in five minutes. You really don’t have an excuse anymore.
Pick a Topic You Won’t Hate in Six Months
You don’t need the perfect niche. That’s a myth.
You just need a topic you can show up for — when you’re busy, when you’re tired, when you don’t feel like writing.
That’s the test: Could I write about this 52 times this year and still care?
If yes, that’s your topic.
If no, move on.
You’re not choosing a tax bracket here. You’re choosing something to obsess over in public. That’s all a newsletter really is.
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