How I build an email newsletter with beehiiv in 2024 course

Summary

This video script offers a step-by-step guide on creating an email newsletter using Beehive, a user-friendly email service provider. It emphasizes the importance of content selection, the flexibility to pivot topics, and the ease of using templates to streamline the newsletter creation process. The script also highlights Beehive's affordability, customization options, and features like image integration and section organization, ensuring a visually appealing and mobile-optimized newsletter. The guide concludes with tips on scheduling and publishing the newsletter, inviting viewers to engage with any questions.

Takeaways

• 🔥 Email newsletters are gaining popularity in 2024 as a powerful tool for businesses and content creators.
• 📝 The first step in creating a newsletter is to decide on the content, focusing on topics you enjoy and can talk about.
• 🔄 Flexibility is key; you can pivot your newsletter's focus after a few months if your interests change.
• 🛠 Choosing the right email service provider (ESP) is essential, with options like Substack, ConvertKit, and Beehive.
• 🐝 Beehive is the speaker's preferred ESP due to its ease of use, free plan, and flexibility to export and move lists.
• 📑 Creating an email template is recommended for consistency and ease of use in your newsletter creation process.
• 🖋 The Beehive editor offers various features like bullet lists, images, quotes, columns, and buttons to enrich your newsletter.
• 🖼️ Images can be easily integrated from libraries like GIPHY and Unsplash, with customization options for borders and sizing.
• 📈 The editor also includes features for organizing content with sections, tables of contents, and visibility settings for different types of subscribers.
• 📅 Once your newsletter is created, you can preview it on mobile to ensure it's optimized for all readers, and then schedule or publish it.
• ❓ The speaker encourages viewers to ask questions in the comments for further assistance or potential video content.

Q & A

Why are email newsletters becoming increasingly popular in 2024?

Email newsletters are gaining popularity because people are recognizing their power for business and content creation, offering a direct way to engage with audiences and share information regularly.

What is the first step in starting an email newsletter according to the video?

The first step is to determine what you want to write about, focusing on topics you enjoy and are knowledgeable about.

What advice does the video give if you're unsure about the longevity of your chosen newsletter topic?

The video suggests that it's okay to pivot to a different topic if your interest changes. You can update your subscribers about the change and give them the option to unsubscribe if they are not interested in the new direction.

What are the top three email service providers mentioned in the video?

The top three email service providers mentioned are Substack, ConvertKit, and Beehive.

Why is Beehive the go-to email service provider for the speaker in the video?

Beehive is chosen because it is easy to start with, offers a free option, and is favored by many big newsletter creators. It also allows for flexibility as you can export your list and move it to another platform if needed.

What is the significance of creating an email template when starting a newsletter?

Creating an email template helps streamline the process of writing and formatting your newsletter, making it easier to maintain consistency and save time in the long run.

What features does the Beehive editor offer to enhance the creation of a newsletter?

The Beehive editor offers features like bullet lists, image uploads with customization, quote blocks, columns for dividing content, number lists, code blocks, horizontal rules, subscriber breaks, buttons, tables, and sections with various customization options.

How does the video demonstrate the importance of mobile optimization for email newsletters?

The video emphasizes checking the preview of the newsletter on mobile to ensure it is optimized for mobile readers, as many people read their emails on mobile devices.

What does the video suggest for handling the situation when you want to include a large amount of content in your newsletter?

The video suggests using features like sections and tables of contents to organize the content, making it easier for readers to navigate through the newsletter.

How can you ensure that your newsletter reaches the right audience according to the video?

You can customize the delivery settings to send the newsletter only to specific groups, such as paid subscribers or free subscribers, ensuring that it reaches the intended audience.

Outlines

00:00

📧 The Power of Newsletters in 2024

Newsletters have gained significant popularity in 2024, becoming a crucial tool for businesses and content creators. This video aims to guide viewers on how to start an email newsletter, emphasizing the importance of choosing topics that align with personal interests. The flexibility of pivoting to new subjects over time is also discussed. The video will showcase how to use the presenter's favorite email service provider to build a newsletter, starting with defining the content focus.

05:03

🛠️ Choosing the Right Email Service Provider

Selecting the appropriate email service provider is a key step in building a successful newsletter. The video highlights three top providers: Substack, ConvertKit, and Beehive. Substack is noted for its popularity among creators, ConvertKit for its automation tools and suitability for selling products, and Beehive for its ease of use and affordability. The presenter prefers Beehive and plans to demonstrate how to create a newsletter using its user-friendly platform.

10:03

✏️ Creating an Email Template in Beehive

The process of creating an email template in Beehive is detailed, starting with setting up the main heading and structuring different sections such as introduction, main content, curation, and conclusion. The video explains how to use formatting tools to customize the appearance and organization of the template, emphasizing the efficiency gained by having a reusable template for consistent content creation.

15:03

🖼️ Customizing Content in the Beehive Editor

The Beehive editor offers various features for customizing newsletter content, including adding images, quotes, bullet lists, and columns. The integration with Unsplash for image sourcing and the ability to create visually appealing sections are highlighted. The video also covers the use of horizontal rules for section separation and the inclusion of buttons and tables for enhanced interactivity. The importance of optimizing newsletters for mobile viewing is emphasized.

📊 Advanced Features and Publishing

Advanced features of the Beehive editor are discussed, including embedding social media content, using AI tools (available in the premium version), and configuring post settings for SEO and deliverability. The ability to save and reuse templates, customize visibility settings for different subscriber types, and preview the newsletter on various devices is showcased. The video concludes with instructions on scheduling and publishing the newsletter, inviting viewers to ask questions or suggest topics for future videos.

Keywords

💡Email Newsletter

An email newsletter is a regularly distributed message, typically containing information or content, sent to a list of subscribers via email. It is a powerful tool for businesses and content creators to engage with their audience, share updates, and build a community. In the video, the main theme revolves around teaching viewers how to start building their own email newsletter, emphasizing its importance in 2024.

💡Content Creation

Content creation refers to the process of producing various forms of content such as articles, videos, podcasts, etc., to be consumed by an audience. In the context of the video, content creation is closely tied to the email newsletter, as the creator discusses how to write and share content through newsletters, which can include written articles, curated links, and other media.

💡Email Service Provider (ESP)

An Email Service Provider is a company that offers services related to sending emails, often including tools for creating, sending, and managing email marketing campaigns. The video mentions several ESPs, such as Substack, ConvertKit, and Beehive, which are platforms the creator uses or recommends for building and managing email newsletters.

💡Pivot

To pivot in the context of the video refers to the act of changing the direction or focus of a project or business strategy. The creator advises that if one's interest in the newsletter's subject matter wanes, they can easily pivot to a new topic, illustrating the flexibility of content creation in email newsletters.

💡Template

A template in the video is a pre-designed layout or structure for creating consistent and organized content in an email newsletter. The creator demonstrates how to create and use a template in Beehive to streamline the process of writing and formatting newsletters, which helps maintain a professional appearance and saves time.

💡Editor

The editor mentioned in the video is the interface or tool within Beehive where users can write, format, and design the content of their email newsletters. It includes features for adding images, quotes, sections, and other elements to create a visually appealing and engaging newsletter.

💡Customization

Customization in the video pertains to the ability to tailor the appearance and functionality of the email newsletter to suit one's preferences or branding. The creator highlights various customization options in Beehive, such as changing image borders, adjusting section spacing, and setting visibility for different types of subscribers.

💡Automation

Automation refers to the process of creating email sequences or workflows that are triggered by specific actions or events. While not explicitly detailed in the script, the mention of ConvertKit implies the use of automation in email marketing, which can help in managing and scaling email newsletters more efficiently.

💡Subscriber Break

A subscriber break in the context of the video likely refers to a section or element within the newsletter that is specifically designed to engage or acknowledge the subscribers, possibly offering exclusive content or a call-to-action. The term is used to describe a feature within the Beehive editor.

💡Mobile Optimization

Mobile optimization ensures that the email newsletter is readable and visually appealing on mobile devices, which is crucial given the high percentage of people who read emails on their smartphones. The video emphasizes the importance of previewing and optimizing the newsletter for mobile to enhance the reader's experience.

Highlights

Email newsletters are gaining popularity in 2024 for businesses and content creators.

The video provides a step-by-step guide on building an email newsletter from scratch.

Identifying the content focus for the newsletter is the first step, suggesting writing about topics the creator enjoys.

Creators are advised they can pivot their newsletter's topic if their interests change over time.

Choosing the right email service provider is crucial, with options like Substack, ConvertKit, and Beehive.

Beehive is recommended for its ease of use, flexibility, and affordability.

A customizable email template is suggested to streamline the newsletter creation process.

The Beehive editor allows for rich formatting options, including images, quotes, and sections.

Images can be integrated from GIPHY and Unsplash within the Beehive editor.

The editor features a block system for organizing content and a table of contents for long newsletters.

Buttons can be customized for actions like subscribing, unsubscribing, or visiting recommended newsletters.

Sections can be visually customized with borders, spacing, and visibility settings.

The editor includes a preview feature to see how the newsletter will appear on mobile devices.

Post settings allow customization of the email subject line, preview text, and authorship.

The video offers to create additional content on premium features if there is audience interest.

The process concludes with scheduling and publishing the newsletter, ensuring it's optimized for mobile.

The video encourages viewers to ask questions in the comments for further assistance.

Transcripts

newsletters are very hot right now in

2024 and people are starting to see the

power of having an email newsletter for

their business or content creation as

well so in this video I want to share

with you how you can start to build an

email newsletter starting today just by

following this video so in this video

I'm going to walk you through of how to

build an email newsletter using my

favorite email uh service provider right

now so let's start so one of the first

things of course before start building

uh a oops before we start building a

newsletter right is to know what you

want to write about right so this is

like a lot I got a lot of emails like

from email from email subscribers from

my newsletter about newsletters about

you know they want to start a newsletter

but they don't know what to write about

right that's the number one question and

so what I tell people are usually is to

write about things that you know they

enjoy to read about talk about and

create about right but then they're like

what happens if I don't like to write

about that like in two months right then

that's you know that's an easy fix right

you could pivot and so I think a lot of

people get stuck in this mindset that

you know you have to only write about a

certain Niche when you're starting out

your newsletter and not that's not the

case like in six months you could switch

if you want to something else right your

email right you'll get you could just

you know update your email subscribers

and tell them hey like I'm not no longer

interested in this subject I'm now

moving to this subject if you want to

unsubscribe you can unsubscribe it's

that simple right so the next thing of

course is choosing the right or email

service provider I think you saw in the

video right which one I'm going to

choose right so there's a ton of email

email service providers that you can

choose from that you know you know it

doesn't matter which one you choose from

as long as you just choose the one that

works for

you so we have the three top like the

top three here that like I consider the

top three right so we have substack

right which is you know a very popular

and one of the OG newsletter esps here

right that allows creators to quickly

create an email newsletter right and you

know there's a lot of great email

newsletters I'm subscribed to that are

from

substack and then of course we have here

is convert kit right this is like

probably one of the more popular ones

right for a lot of creators who have

maybe like products online products that

they sell right and a lot of great

automation tools convert kit has and

some of the biggest like newsletter

creators right soio Bloom right used

convert kit Tim Ferris as well so you

know you're in good hands if you choose

to convert kit as well and of course my

go-to uh emo emao service provider is

right now is beehive right this is mine

you know a lot of big newsletters as

well are using beehive right it's like

you know one of my favorite ones Arnold

uh mixxl milk road so you're in good

hands also if you choose a like be high

and one of the best things about this is

that you don't need to worry about like

being stuck to one platform right you

can export that list and move it to

another list so it doesn't matter which

one you choose when when when you decide

to start your email

newsletter so for this video of course

we're going to be building an email

newsletter with

beehive and why beehive well first off

it's very easy tool to get started on

it's uh the the free option is one of my

favorite things about it and also

reminds me about Shopify like you know

how Shopify made it really easy for you

to build an online store well that's

what vhive is doing but for newsletters

it just makes it so simple to start an

email newsletter that you know it just

makes sense to start

one so like I said top newsletters right

like the Arnold Swit inator milk Road

right and newsletter Circle and of

course my newsletter as well is also

hosted on theive and like I said one of

the best things about it is the pricing

is just very affordable able even if you

just use the free plan there's so much

things that you could get out of it

under the free plan as

well all right all right so this is how

it looks the dashboard when you make a

beehive newsletter now I'm just using a

dummy account here that I created right

a a while back and so this is the

dashboard pretty much of where you will

be running your email newsletter on

beehive so one of the first things you

want to do when you have your newsletter

on behive is go to under the right

section and click on post and then

you're going to want to go to um right

here you just go to use template so

you're going to want to create an email

template just because it will make it so

much more easier for you when you're

starting out your email newsletter cuz

you could just go in and fill in the

blanks and you'll know what type of

content you want to share every single

week when so you're going to create a

template right okay call this main 4

right and so here is the editor right of

your template right so let's just say

that this one is going to be an H1

heading right this is where the title is

going to

go of the

newsletter right and then I'm going to

click shift enter like that cuz if I

click just enter it's going to give me a

big space but if I hold down on shift

it's going to give me a nice little you

know it's not going to give me a big

space right so now I'm just going to

write

by you know then I'm going to fix that

size of the font so we're going to just

click here and then what we're going to

do click here oh so it looks like it's

not going to let me that would let me

actually but I guess I'm going to have

to just click enter again so we're going

to just T this to be center right and

there we go we go and then

this be

oh we're just going to start fresh okay

so we're going to just click H1 right so

this is this is this is the title

section

right now here is where we're going to

click on

I and Daniel and we're going Center this

right so now anytime I create this this

could be it right now

text right click

there there we go okay so I want this of

course centered right which makes it

look nice and a little bit organized

right and then of course buy so that you

know you know if you want to have like

every week you want to know who wrote

the newsletter you can have this you can

have you could maybe add the date as

well like you could go at date as well

so that people know what day that

newsletter was sent out so you can have

sections right so that's what I like

about having it so like we call this you

know the introduction section so H2

right introduction section so you know

this could be the area of where you're

going to just write a quick

introduction a quick

introduction about the letter

issue ruction

right and then you can have maybe double

space it right to have another section

called right you could have this called

like the main section right the Deep

dive so what is called let

like right this is where you know you

can write about you can write the

main issue like the main

newsletter piece

spell p

right and then of course you could end

it up with like another section if you

want right so this will just give you

easy you know and then we could have

like one two pointers here right we can

have like a curity section as well right

curation

section call this one H2 right so this

is where all your Cur section so like

this is like typ of newsletter that

maybe you're subscribed to if you know

Tim feris or other newsletters where

they share with you Links of you know

interesting web articles or videos or

music that they're listen too um and

then so you could just have like buet

points or like you know number so one

two three four five

right so and then like to end it off

right you can just have like you know

conclusion conclusion right and so we're

going to just click

oops section two and just you know U

this this could be like you know your

ending ending piece oops I can't spell

your ending piece

right so now I have like you know a

basic template right I'm going to save

it now now I have the option to use this

template every single week right so and

I'm inside the editor right and that's

it right so very easy to create a

template and this will just make it so

much more easier for you um to know what

you want to write about what you want to

share every single week right so if you

have like if you want to share a deep

dive right or maybe you just want to

share links with your you know your

email subscribers of what they should

read or watch videos they should watch

or music that should listen to and your

conclusion piece that's it right so

that's pretty much it on how to create

an email template which I recommend you

do before you even send out your first

email newsletter because this will save

you so much more time now the next thing

of course is to get walk you through the

editor here so this of course is the

bive editor this is where you're going

to spend most of your time when you're

finalizing and edit um all your things

when it comes to The Beehive newsletter

so what I like about this is that like I

kind of like reming an ocean the editor

right because I can just click the slash

right and it just launches all the

features that it I could use so since

this account I'm using this the free

version right the paid version is locked

me from these features but I think I'll

be able to log in from my main account

and just show you so of course we have

the bullet list right which I showed you

your images so if you want to upload

images you can into your newsletter so

what I like is that it integrates with

giy and unsplash so you can use from

library and go to unsplash right so

let's say I want to do something

editorial right and then like let's say

I want to choose this awesome image

right here right and what I like about

this is that you can customize it as

well so like you can change the borders

and change the radius like I like

rounded images so so so look how like

that looks now and then of course you

can choose like a thickness outside that

outlines it with colors or Dash or solid

right but I'm not going to touch that

and then the image size so you can

change it either typing it or like you

know just clicking like that to click it

and what I like about it already um

tells you what source it is right right

it gives credit to the person who took

this picture and the area where you got

it from so you don't need to worry about

that as well then of course we have is

the block

right so blockes it's just a quote

section so like this is a quote which is

great if you're like maybe writing a

long piece and then you want to quote

something like that somebody famous said

about like that topic that you're

writing about in your right and this was

said by Daniel right and then what I

like about it is you have like different

ways that you can view it so like if you

want this version you can if you want

this version you can or if you want the

quote section like that I like this one

just really nice looks really nice but

if you want to keep it simple you can

and what I like about it is you could

preview it which one you like right so

like you know it just gives you an easy

way to you know just quickly see um how

it's going to look before you publish it

and then moving on we have of course

columns right so that means you could

divide you have sections right maybe you

have like an image or a product that you

sell right you got product one product

two right so let's show you right so

product

one

product two and then what's cool is that

like inside you can add images right so

like We'll add an image here you add an

image here as well right so that means

like if you have something to sell right

people can quickly click on the image

and go to that product if you're selling

something so that's really useful that's

why like the column feature you can use

it for other things as well like your

imagination like something thing that's

stopping you so we continue we have

number list right code block uh not

going to go into too much detail in that

section just because um I'm not really a

Cod or developer so I don't really use

this horizontal rule right so this is

very great so if you want to divide

sections so like let's say I want to

divide the introduction section between

the Deep dive right I could quickly just

you know enter line right so that people

know that is another section now right

so it gives me that option right there

that makes it look really nice right so

that you know it just makes it nice and

simple to be able to understand and then

moving on we have of course if I keep

going deeper here right we have the

subscriber break as well and then we

have buttons right so you have like a

custom button so like if you wanted to

like you want to take the subscriber

somewhere else you can have them click

that button or like see my

recommendations right so if you have

newsletters that you recommend you can

share those newsletters as well or you

can also have like you know unsubscribed

right so like if you want to just have

the person unsubscribed give them the

option you can do that as well well or

you can have like the Subscribe Button

as well so that if maybe there people

are reading it in the web people can

subscribe to your email newsletter as

well and then moving on of course we

have the table section which is really

nice then my favorite section I I think

is the section like the section piece of

the editor right so this is where you

can have like you know a whole section

of things so let's say I want to have

like

section

oops

section one right then I have a section

here right this is a

section and then this could have like

contains an image right maybe this

section right it can also contain maybe

you know quote as well so you can have

like a section what I like about this is

that you can move this around too like

if you want can like move it up there

and then you have a section right there

and then this could like oops I don't

want to add that piece so delete this

you can also edit it right so like

visual settings and you can have this

into like have a border let's say I want

this to be you know I like I like

rounded edges so

here and spacing we're going choose

maybe 10 so that just looks a little bit

nicer right and then if I click

preview right section so it's not

showing right because I didn't have a

border yet so usability oops we're going

to click on usual settings right border

and color right and then

there you go right so that's the border

right here and you can see it's rounded

right which is really awesome and of

course another thing before I forget

right you have your visibility so this

is great if you have like you know if

you want to only show people this

section maybe to email users right so

you can turn this off and only em only

email users will be able to U see this

or like free subscribers or pay

subscribers so you know you can

customize to play around with it to see

may maybe you want to hide this section

to web users because you want them to

sub subcribe right so you can have this

turned on and have this turned off as

well and then moving on of course we

have after the section right we have

table of contents so this is great if

you have like a long piece of newsletter

right so like let's go back to the top

and create a table of

content right so you can have like see

as you can see already did automatically

because like the H2 right so everything

is anchored so if I click here it takes

me to Deep dive what which is really

awesome right or like people so this is

great for people if you want to like

that you give options to people to like

you know go to their favorite section so

maybe people don't really like to read

your deep Dives but they like to create

a section right of interesting finds to

you find for them so you click here and

it'll take them right there so that's

awesome in the editor here and moving on

we have of course is headings right

which you know what they do right H1 H2

H3 right then what is also cool is that

you can embed tweets right Tik Tok

videos YouTube videos Instagram account

uh photos as well and then the premium

section you have ai right so you want to

see that um if you want to see the

premium features let me know in the

comments below and I'll make a video

about it how you can use this which is

really awesome but yeah that's pretty

much it for this editor part and then of

course you have your post settings right

so here's where the title will go so if

you want to show in the email you can if

not then you can have it off right then

subtitle you know which author created

this piece if you want to add multiple

authors you can a guest author right and

then you can custom it for the email

right so here's your subject line of

what people will see when it lands in

the inbox right the preview text as well

and then you have more advanced stuff

here then the website right so if you

want to add a thumbnail you can add a

thumbnail to this post for like on the

web so for the blog section of this

right and then we have SEO as well and

deliverability so if you want you could

like customize it where you only send it

maybe like if you have a paid newsletter

you have it s to only paid users this

email newsletter or if you have it's

free send it to everybody so you can

customize it who you want to send it

from here which is really awesome and

let's say like I really like this

template and I like you know I don't

want to like create it again you could

like save the template here right and we

could call this like main five right and

save and continue right so it saved this

template so that I could go in and edit

it and just you know remove some of the

stuff that I liked about

it and then of course you can customize

it where you could just focus on like

just writing the piece right I like work

like this with me um and then one of my

favorite things of course is the preview

section you can see how it looks on

mobile right cuz you want to make sure

it's optimize your newsletter for mobile

because like a lot of people read their

like their emails on that so you can see

how it will look on on mobile as well

which is very very important and so yeah

that's pretty much it on how to create

an email newsletter and how to build an

email newsletter like today right with

beehive and as you can see like after

I'm done I can schedule it right and

then either choose publish now or

schedule and just you know select the

day and time that works for me review

build your first newsletter right now so

if you have any questions uh please let

me know in the comments below and I'll

be happy to answer any of them or even

make a video about that so until then

I'll see you guys later

peace