How did beehiiv win its first customers?
With personal emails to its waitlist, and by turning its investors into users. Tyler Denk, co-founder of the newsletter platform beehiiv and Morning Brew's second employee, told Mixergy founder Andrew Warner in an interview published on 1 November 2024 that before raising a seed round the team posted its thesis on Twitter and collected about 400 waitlist emails from one tweet, when Denk had about 2,000 followers. As soon as beehiiv launched, Denk emailed all 400 personally; by Denk's estimate, maybe 25 to 30 of them converted. One recipient, Denk said, moved over years later and posted that June 2021 email on Twitter.
The second move was to make early investors into early customers. Denk said the first seed round had 25 investors, including roughly two dozen people with newsletters who wrote cheques of $10,000 to $25,000, and that Denk then asked them to move their newsletters to beehiiv. One of them, the meme account Liquidity, moved a list of more than 100,000 subscribers from MailerLite and became beehiiv's first big user. Because nobody could remove beehiiv's branding at the time, each of those sends put beehiiv's logo in front of 100,000 readers.
beehiiv's About page says the company was founded in 2021 by Tyler Denk, Benjamin Hargett and Jacob Hurd, early employees at Morning Brew.
What did beehiiv offer people switching from ConvertKit?
Six months free and a migration done for them. By 1 October 2024, beehiiv was running the Convert-to-beehiiv Kit, an offer for users of ConvertKit, which now calls itself Kit. These are the terms on the offer page, as captured by the Wayback Machine on 1 October 2024:
| Part of the offer | Terms on the page (our summary) |
|---|---|
| Free months | Free for 6 months, no commitments; a credit card needed to activate; cancel at any time |
| Free VIP migration | Onboarding Specialists help move the whole subscriber base, set up the account and guide the move, starting with a 30-minute kickoff call, then by email |
| What moves | Subscribers, custom fields, paid subscribers, posts, automations, newsletter design, custom domain and dedicated IP where applicable; ConvertKit performance data does not |
| Extras | $500 in credits for beehiiv's Boosts marketplace, guaranteed weekly premium ad opportunities, early access to beta features |
| Who qualified | Any ConvertKit user with two months of receipts (July to September) or one annual-plan receipt; no list-size limit; applicants also emailed their latest edition |
| If you didn't qualify | beehiiv might still offer a custom migration plan or a discount |
| Deadline | 31 October 2024 |
Denk mentioned the same promotion to Warner: entirely free for six months for anyone moving from ConvertKit. The reasoning was about who to target. Getting someone to start a newsletter is hard, Denk said, so beehiiv goes after people already sending one on Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Substack or ConvertKit.
As of 20 October 2026, the old offer address redirects to beehiiv's Kit comparison page. That page also says when to choose Kit instead: complex commerce automations, selling digital courses and products, and custom landing pages and funnels.
How does the beehiiv partner program pay in 2026?
Up to 60% of a referred customer's revenue every month for a year, as of 20 October 2026. In the 2024 Mixergy interview, Denk described 50% for 12 months: a referred customer paying $1,000 a month in the first year earns the partner $500 a month. beehiiv's partner page now sets the rate by tier, based on lifetime paying referrals:
| Tier | When you reach it | Commission and perks (checked 20 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Launch | On joining | Tracking link and dashboard |
| Bronze | First paying referral | 50% commission, $100 of beehiiv merchandise, a partner badge |
| Silver | More paying referrals (number not given) | 55% commission, co-branded landing page, performance bonuses, priority support |
| Gold | More paying referrals (number not given) | 60% commission, quarterly bonus and bounty opportunities |
The rules around it are as useful as the rates:
- Two-sided. Referred customers get a 14-day trial and 20% off their first 3 months.
- A 60-day window. A lead who clicks a partner link and signs up within 60 days is credited to that partner.
- Monthly payouts. Partners are paid on the 15th of each month for the previous month, through Dub.co.
- No search ads. Search ads on Google or Bing, especially on beehiiv's brand terms or domain, are prohibited. Ads on Meta, LinkedIn and other social platforms are allowed.
- No self-referrals. Signing up with your own link earns nothing.
beehiiv says partners have earned over $2,000,000 (company-reported). The page lists agencies and consultants among its partner types, and agencies get a personalised landing page from the start. The page describes agencies as migrating clients, so one partner can bring several switchers.
What does beehiiv migrate for switchers today?
Mostly tools you run yourself, with hands-on help at the top end. The migration page, checked 20 October 2026, sets out what happens to each asset:
| What you have | What happens, per beehiiv (our summary) |
|---|---|
| Subscribers | Export a CSV from your current platform and import it |
| Paid subscribers | Transferred through Stripe; billing continues |
| Content | The Content Import tool: paste your URL or upload an export file |
| Custom domain | Connected through Entri, with no manual DNS changes |
| SEO and backlinks | Keep your domain; Substack post URLs transfer automatically, and redirects can be set up for other platforms |
The same page says all plans include documentation, tutorials and email support, Enterprise plans include a dedicated customer success manager, and anyone who wants the work done for them can hire a vetted migration specialist from beehiiv's Experts Directory. The pricing page lists concierge onboarding for Enterprise. The page is also plain about limits: custom automations, integrations and workflows tied to the old platform may need rebuilding.
Compare that with October 2024, when a free VIP migration came with the switch offer. The done-for-you migration was the offer; the self-serve tools are the default.
What can a small B2B team copy from beehiiv?
Four moves, all within reach of a small team. Our reading of beehiiv's playbook:
- Target people who already pay for the category. We think Denk's reasoning applies to most B2B tools: convincing someone to switch is easier than convincing them to start.
- Remove the double payment. Free months cover the overlap while a customer's old contract runs out. Asking for receipts, as beehiiv did, keeps the offer for real paying customers.
- Do the migration for them. A 30-minute kickoff call and a written list of what moves and what doesn't make the switch feel safe.
- Pay the people who move clients. Agencies and consultants switch several accounts at once. Pay them monthly for a year, with clear rules.
Also copy the fairness. beehiiv's own comparison page tells readers when Kit is the better choice, which makes the rest of the page easier to believe.
How to win customers from a competitor in 30 days
Pick one competitor, one switch offer and a 30-day deadline. These steps are our suggestion for a team of one to five people:
List people who use the competitor
Look for public signals: reviews of the competitor, posts asking for an alternative, job ads that name the tool, and people who comment on the competitor's posts. Siela's AI SDR can track a competitor on LinkedIn and X and turn people who post about it or engage with it into leads, each with a one-line reason. Our guide to buying signals for small teams covers free ways to do this by hand.
Write the offer
Example: switch before the deadline and you don't pay us until your current plan ends, up to six months, and we do the migration. Ask for a recent invoice as proof, as beehiiv asked for receipts.
Publish a what-moves list
One page listing each type of data, whether it moves, who does it and how long it takes. Say plainly what doesn't move.
Email every prospect yourself
Write each email personally, the way Denk emailed all 400 people on the waitlist. Use the template below, and our cold email templates for follow-ups.
Run the kickoff call and do the import
Thirty minutes to map their data, then you run the import and send a written confirmation when it's done.
Recruit two or three partners
Ask consultants or agencies who serve your buyers. Pay a monthly share of revenue for 12 months, and copy beehiiv's rules: a fixed attribution window, no bidding on your brand name, no self-referrals.
Watch the competitor's moves
Price changes and launches change your pitch. Siela's Competitor Watch sends a Monday briefing on what each competitor launched, priced, hired or posted, with links.
Frequently asked questions
What was beehiiv's Convert-to-beehiiv Kit offer?
An October 2024 offer for ConvertKit users moving to beehiiv: six months free with no commitment, a free VIP migration with an onboarding specialist, $500 in Boosts credits, weekly premium ad opportunities and beta access. Applicants sent two months of ConvertKit receipts or one annual receipt. The offer expired on 31 October 2024.
How much does the beehiiv partner program pay?
As of 20 October 2026, beehiiv's partner page says partners earn 50% of a referred customer's revenue after their first paying referral, rising to 55% at Silver and 60% at Gold, every month for a year. Referred customers get a 14-day trial and 20% off their first three months, and payouts arrive on the 15th of each month.
Can beehiiv partners run Google ads on the beehiiv name?
No. beehiiv's partner page, checked 20 October 2026, says search ads on Bing or Google, especially on branded terms or domain names, are prohibited and will result in a ban. Ads on Meta, LinkedIn and other social platforms are allowed. Signing up with your own partner link is also not allowed.
How did beehiiv get its first users?
Tyler Denk told Mixergy in a 2024 interview that one tweet gathered about 400 waitlist emails before the seed round, and Denk emailed all 400 personally at launch. Denk also asked seed investors who ran newsletters to move them to beehiiv; one moved a list of over 100,000 subscribers from MailerLite.
Does beehiiv migrate your newsletter for you?
Not by default. beehiiv's migration page, checked 20 October 2026, describes self-serve tools: CSV import, Stripe transfer for paid subscribers, a content import tool and domain connection. Enterprise plans include a dedicated customer success manager, and others can hire a migration specialist from beehiiv's Experts Directory. The 2024 Kit offer included a free VIP migration.
Sources
- Mixergy: How is beehiiv making $15 mil per year? (Tyler Denk interview transcript) (published 1 Nov 2024)
- beehiiv: About (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- beehiiv: Convert-to-beehiiv Kit offer page (Wayback Machine) (snapshot 1 Oct 2024)
- beehiiv: old Kit offer address (now redirects to the Kit comparison) (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- beehiiv: Kit vs. beehiiv comparison (updated 2 Oct 2026; checked 20 Oct 2026)
- beehiiv: Partner program (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- beehiiv: Migrate to beehiiv (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- beehiiv: Pricing (checked 20 Oct 2026)