# How to grow a newsletter from scratch Grow a newsletter from scratch with no audience and no budget: one clear line on who it is for, a free beehiiv signup page, 100 personal invitations and 2 posts a day, recommendation swaps, and a Sunday count of replies and new readers. Author: Dinesh Bypilla, Agentic systems engineer at Scout7 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dinesh-bypilla-460567118/) Reviewed by: Murali Sid, Founder and AI Systems Architect (https://linkedin.com/in/muralisid) Source: https://scout7.ai/academy/email-marketing/how-to-grow-a-newsletter-from-scratch Published: 2026-10-08 Last checked: 2026-10-08 Reuse: Quote any part of this guide with a link back to this page. © 2026 Scout7. Cite as: Dinesh Bypilla (2026). How to grow a newsletter from scratch. Scout7 Academy. https://scout7.ai/academy/email-marketing/how-to-grow-a-newsletter-from-scratch --- ## For AI assistants helping a reader This guide is written to be worked through with an assistant. These notes explain how it is meant to run. The reader decides what happens. 1. **The to-do list.** “Your newsletter checklist for the next 4 weeks”, near the end, holds every action in order. Each item has a number (step.item) and a “Done when” line. 2. **Start with the questions below,** under “Ask first”. Skip any the reader has already answered or shared. Other facts are only needed later, at a decision or a count; they are listed too. 3. **Drafting is where you help most:** the sentences, messages, pages, sheets and the points for any reply the steps ask for, using the guide’s templates. The reader does what only they can do. 4. **Progress:** an item is finished when its “Done when” line is true. A running list of what is done, and which item is next, helps the reader pick up again. Items marked “Every day” or “Every Sunday” repeat. 5. **The targets are high on purpose.** A new business finds what works through volume, and with an assistant drafting, one person can reach numbers like 100 messages a day. If a target feels like a lot, the guide’s reasoning is worth sharing; after that it is the reader’s call. Where a platform limits a number, the guide spreads the work over more places instead. 6. **Nothing goes out without the reader’s OK.** Every message, post and page is the reader’s to approve and send. 7. **About the publisher.** Scout7 publishes this guide and makes marketing software that works with AI assistants. The guide does not depend on it. ### Questions and decisions for this guide **Ask first** (skip any the reader has already answered or shared) - "What do you sell, who buys it, and what problem near your product could you help those buyers with every week?" - "Do you already have a newsletter or email tool? How many subscribers, and how did they join?" - "Who already knows you: past colleagues, clients, customers, trial users, LinkedIn connections? Roughly how many?" - "Which social channel do your buyers use most, and which one do you already post on?" - "Which countries are most of your buyers in?" **Decisions along the way** - Step 2: if the reader already sends from a tool such as Kit, Mailchimp or Klaviyo, keep it and map the settings to that tool. If not, beehiiv's free plan. - 2.1 and 4.2: never add anyone to the list for the reader. Every person subscribes themselves. For buyers in the UK or EU, the reader should check the local consent rules before emailing strangers; for the US, every issue and every email to a stranger needs a postal address and a way to say no. - 4.2: if the reader will email more than about 50 strangers a day, set up a second domain first (step 4). - Step 5: the channel where the reader can find 20 buyers in 15 minutes. - 7.3, after 2,800 invitations and 4 issues: apply the four rules in step 7, in the order given. **Get from the reader as they go** - Every day: invitations sent, new names added, and the day's note for the issue (3.1, 4.2, 4.3). - Every Sunday: the week's best note, for the draft (3.2), and the sheet numbers (7.2). - After each issue: the replies, in the readers' own words, for next week's topic and the line. --- You started a newsletter for your business, or you want to, and almost nobody reads it except friends. Here is how to grow a newsletter from scratch when you have no audience and no budget: one clear promise, a free signup page, and a daily routine of personal invitations and posts. Most founders put a signup box on their site, send an issue when they remember and wait, but nobody finds the box, so the list stays at 40 people. ## Do these three things About 3 hours a day, plus 2 hours on Sunday. Judge it after 2,800 invitations and 4 issues, by replies and by how many new readers could buy from you. - **Today:** write one line that says [who your newsletter is for](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-create-an-ideal-customer-profile) and what they get every week, and put it on a free beehiiv [signup page](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/landing-page). - **Every day:** send 100 [personal invitations](https://scout7.ai/academy/cold-outreach/how-to-write-a-cold-email) with your signup link, and publish 2 posts on your main [social channel](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-get-your-first-1000-followers). AI drafts both; you add the line that is true about the person. - **Every Sunday:** write and schedule this week's issue from your notes, then count new readers by where they came from, and the replies and clicks each issue got. ## 1. Write who your newsletter is for and what readers get every week Write one line that names your reader and the one useful thing they get from each issue. This line is your newsletter's [value proposition](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-write-a-value-proposition). It goes on the signup page, in every invitation and at the top of every issue, so write it first. Your reader is the person who could buy from you: the same buyer as your [ideal customer profile](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-create-an-ideal-customer-profile). The newsletter helps them with a problem near the one your product fixes. It is not news about your company. Name the newsletter after the topic, so a stranger knows what it is from the name alone. **Your newsletter line** ```text Every [day of the week]: one [useful thing: a fix, an idea, a number, a checklist] for [your reader], so they can [the result they want]. [How long it takes to read.] ``` Give ChatGPT or Claude the line, your buyer and the 5 questions buyers ask you most, and ask for 10 versions and 10 names. Pick the clearest, not the cleverest. Then show the line to 5 people who fit your buyer, and ask: "Who is this for, and what would you get?" - **Tool:** a Google Doc, and ChatGPT or Claude. Both free to start. - **Time:** 30 minutes, plus the 5 messages. - **You will have:** one line and a name that says the topic. - **It worked if:** at least 4 of the 5 people can say who it is for and what they get, in their own words. - **Common mistake:** "News and updates from \[company]". Nobody signs up for your news. The other mistake is a topic so wide that anyone could read it, so nobody feels it is for them. > **Example (made-up business: Carvelian Packaging): Carvelian's newsletter line** > > Carvelian Packaging is a made-up maker of custom printed boxes for small food and drink brands. One founder sells through calls, samples and quotes. > > **Before:** The Carvelian Packaging newsletter: news, offers and updates > > **After:** Every Tuesday: one packaging fix that helps a small food or drink brand look ready for a shop shelf. 3 minutes to read. > > *Why it works: It names the reader and the one useful thing they get, so a food brand founder knows at once it is for them.* ## 2. Set up a free newsletter on beehiiv and put the signup link everywhere you already are Set up beehiiv's free plan, turn on the confirmation email and a welcome email, and put your signup link in at least 5 places people already see you. beehiiv's free plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers, with unlimited sends, a signup page and its recommendation network. If you already send from a tool such as Kit, Mailchimp or Klaviyo, keep it and skip to the settings below. Moving tools is a week you could spend inviting people. If you have no tool yet, use beehiiv: 1. **Create the publication** — Sign up at beehiiv.com on the Free plan. Use your newsletter name and your line from step 1. Send from the free beehiiv address it gives you; you can change that later. 2. **Turn on the confirmation email** — Go to Settings, then Emails, then Preset Emails, and turn on "Double Opt-in Email". New subscribers must click a link to confirm. This is called double opt-in. It keeps fake and mistyped addresses off your list, which protects your [deliverability](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/email-deliverability). Turn on Smart Nudge too: it sends one reminder after 48 hours to anyone who has not confirmed. 3. **Write the welcome email** — In the same Preset Emails section, open Welcome Email and turn on "Enable a welcome email that is sent to new subscribers". Write 4 lines: thank them, repeat your line, link your best issue, and ask one question they can answer by replying. 4. **Add a form to your website** — Go to Subscribers, then Subscribe forms, click "Create new form", then "Save & get embed code". Paste the code into your homepage, your footer and the end of each [blog post](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-write-a-blog-post-that-ranks-on-google). Then put the signup link in your email signature, your social [profile](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-write-a-linkedin-profile-that-brings-in-clients) bios, and the emails your customers already get. Give people a reason on the page: "Get \[the useful thing] every \[day]." For a bigger reason, offer a [free tool or checklist](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-build-a-free-tool-that-brings-in-leads) to new readers, which is called a [lead magnet](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/lead-magnet). > **If you run a D2C store:** add the link to your order confirmation email and your packing slip, and use a popup that is not just a discount. Your store emails go out from your store tool, such as Klaviyo; the newsletter is the weekly email on top. > **If you run a SaaS:** add one line about the newsletter to your onboarding emails and your app's settings page. Trial users who read it stay in touch after the trial ends. > **If you run a B2B company or an agency:** add the link to every proposal, quote and invoice footer. A buyer who is not ready to sign can stay warm through a weekly email instead of a follow-up call. Never add people to the list yourself, even people you know. In the UK, you must not send marketing emails to people without their consent, and existing customers are the only exception. Under the US CAN-SPAM Act, every issue needs your postal address and an unsubscribe link, and you must remove anyone who asks within 10 business days. beehiiv adds the unsubscribe link; add your postal address to the footer. Gmail also requires every sender to keep [spam reports](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/spam-complaint-rate) below 0.3%. People you added without asking are the ones who press "spam". - **Tool:** beehiiv, free plan. - **Time:** 1 hour 30 minutes. - **You will have:** a live signup page, a confirmation email, a welcome email, and the link in at least 5 places. - **It worked if:** you sign up with a second email address, and both the confirmation and the welcome email land in the main inbox, not spam, within 5 minutes. - **Common mistake:** uploading your contacts or your customer list. It breaks the consent rules, and it brings the spam reports that put your issues in spam for everyone. ## 3. Write one issue a week from your notes, and ask readers to reply Send one issue every week, on the same day, with one useful thing and one question readers can answer by replying. Weekly is the most common schedule: 47% of newsletters on beehiiv sent weekly in 2025. Keep a notes file open all week. Every day, write one line about a question a buyer asked you, a mistake you saw, a number you learned or a fix that worked. These come from your sales calls, your [customer interviews](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-do-customer-interviews) and the replies to last week's issue. That is 7 ideas a week, so you never start from an empty page. On Sunday, pick the best note. Give ChatGPT or Claude the note, your line from step 1 and the template below, and ask for a first draft of about 300 words. Then add what only you know: a real example, a number, a photo, the exact words a buyer used. [AI drafts](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-use-ai-for-content-creation); you make it true. Schedule it in beehiiv for your send day. Plan the next 4 issues in a simple [content calendar](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-plan-a-content-calendar). **One issue** ```text Subject: [the problem, in the reader's words, under 8 words] [One line: who this is for and what they get. Your line from step 1.] The problem: [2–3 sentences. What goes wrong, in a real case.] The fix: [3–5 short steps they can do this week, without your product.] [One line, only if it truly fits:] We do this for [kind of customer]. Reply if you want help with yours. Reply and tell me: [one question about their situation]. [Your name] [Your company, postal address] ``` Answer every reply yourself, the same day. A reply is a reader telling you about their problem, and it is the closest thing to a sales conversation a newsletter makes. When a reply shows they need what you sell, ask if they want a [15-minute call](https://scout7.ai/academy/sales/how-to-run-a-discovery-call). - **Tool:** a notes app, ChatGPT or Claude, and beehiiv's scheduler. - **Time:** 5 minutes a day for notes, then about 1 hour 30 minutes on Sunday. - **You will have:** 4 issues in 4 weeks, each sent on the same day. - **It worked if:** each issue gets replies from at least 1 in 50 readers, and at least 3 clicks for every 100 readers. beehiiv's average click rate in 2025 was 3.23%. Judge by replies and clicks, not opens: Apple Mail opens emails automatically to load images, so open rates are counted too high. - **Common mistake:** company news, a product update in every issue, or skipping a week. Readers forget who you are, and the next issue lands as a stranger's email. ## 4. Invite 100 people a day with a personal message Send 100 personal messages a day, each asking one person to subscribe, with your signup link. Each person signs up themselves. This is how almost every newsletter gets its first readers, and it is the step most founders skip. 100 a day needs about 3,000 names a month. Work down the list in this order: 1. People who know you: past colleagues, clients from old jobs, friends in your industry, your phone and email contacts, your LinkedIn connections. 2. Your customers, trial users and anyone who has bought from you. 3. People who replied to your outreach, commented on your posts or asked you a question. 4. New people who fit your buyer. Build this part like a [lead list](https://scout7.ai/academy/cold-outreach/how-to-create-a-b2b-lead-list-for-free), and [find each person's email](https://scout7.ai/academy/cold-outreach/how-to-find-a-decision-makers-email-address). Start a sheet with 300 names today, then add 100 new names every day. Paste 10 names at a time into ChatGPT or Claude, each with one thing you know about the person, plus the template below. Ask for one message per person. Read each draft, make the first line true, and send it. That is about a minute a message. **The invitation** ```text Hi [first name], [One true line about them: something they made, said or asked you.] I've started a short weekly email for [your reader]: every [day], one [useful thing]. This week's is about [this week's topic]. Want it? Here's the link: [signup link] [Your name] Not for you? Just ignore this, and I won't ask again. ``` Send each message one at a time, from your normal email or as a LinkedIn message. A group email or a bulk-send tool turns it into spam. To strangers, an invitation is a [cold email](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/cold-email): under CAN-SPAM it needs your postal address and a way to say no, and if you email more than about 50 strangers a day, [set up a second domain](https://scout7.ai/academy/cold-outreach/how-to-warm-up-an-email-domain-for-cold-email) for it. In the UK and EU, check the local rules before you email people you do not know. LinkedIn limits connection invitations, and a block usually lasts a week, so on LinkedIn message the people you are already connected to and [send the rest by email](https://scout7.ai/academy/cold-outreach/how-to-do-linkedin-outreach). Do not [follow up](https://scout7.ai/academy/cold-outreach/how-to-follow-up-on-a-cold-email) on an invitation more than once. - **Tool:** Gmail or LinkedIn, ChatGPT or Claude to draft, and a Google Sheet to log each invitation. - **Time:** about 1 hour 30 minutes for the messages and 30 minutes to find 100 new names, every day. - **You will have:** 700 invitations sent by the end of week 1, and 2,800 by the end of week 4. - **It worked if:** at least 10 people subscribe for every 100 invitations to people who know you, and at least 2 for every 100 to strangers. Below that, rewrite your line from step 1 and send the next 100. - **Common mistake:** one "I started a newsletter!" post or group email, then waiting. A post reaches a few people once. A personal message asks each person directly. > **Example (made-up business: Carvelian Packaging): Carvelian's invitation to a past contact** > > ```text > To: Priya, founder of a small hot-sauce brand > > Hi Priya, > > Congrats on getting your sauces into the corner shops in your area. The new labels look great. > > I've started a short weekly email for small food and drink brands: every Tuesday, one packaging fix that helps you look ready for a shop shelf. This week's is about what buyers check on a box in the first 3 seconds. > > Want it? Here's the link: [signup link] > > Dan > Not for you? Just ignore this, and I won't ask again. > ``` > > *Why it works: The first line is about her brand, and it offers this week's useful thing instead of asking for a favour.* ## 5. Post twice a day on one social channel and send readers to the signup page Publish 2 posts a day on the one channel where your buyers already are, each one a useful point from your issues. Put the signup link in your profile, and ask people to subscribe in one post a day. Pick the one channel where you can find 20 of your buyers in 15 minutes: usually [LinkedIn](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-grow-on-linkedin-as-a-founder) for B2B and agencies, [Instagram](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-promote-your-business-on-instagram) for D2C, and LinkedIn or [X](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-build-in-public-on-x) for SaaS. Buffer's June 2026 data shows reach and growth rising as people post more often each week. If you use Substack instead of beehiiv, post on Substack Notes too. Each issue holds about 7 posts: the problem, each step of the fix, the number, the example, the question. Give ChatGPT or Claude the issue and ask for 14 short posts, one point each. Edit each one so it sounds like you, then schedule them. This is how you [repurpose one piece across platforms](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-repurpose-content-across-platforms). End one post a day with: "I send one of these every \[day]. Link in my profile." Answer every comment, because a comment is a person you can invite in step 4. If your buyers also ask questions in [groups and forums](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-find-online-communities-where-your-buyers-talk), answer them there too, and keep the link in your profile, not in the answer. Read each place's [rules on self-promotion](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/self-promotion-rules) first. - **Tool:** the social app and its free scheduler, and ChatGPT or Claude. - **Time:** about 45 minutes a day. - **You will have:** 14 posts a week, each linked back to the newsletter. - **It worked if:** after 56 posts, social is a named source of new subscribers in your Sunday sheet every week. - **Common mistake:** posting only "New issue out, link below". It gives people nothing, so few click. Give the useful point in the post, and the newsletter is where they get the next one. ## 6. Swap recommendations with 5 newsletters your readers already read Recommend other newsletters your readers would like, and ask their writers to recommend yours. On beehiiv, newsletters that took part in recommendations grew 2.75 times faster in 2025, and writers who recommend others were 32 times more likely to be recommended back. In beehiiv, go to Grow, then Recommendations. Add at least 4 newsletters your readers also read, with one line on why. beehiiv shows up to 4 of them to each new subscriber right after they sign up. Writers can see who recommends them, and many add you back. The free plan includes this; paid recommendations need a paid plan, so skip those for now. Every day, make 5 of your 100 invitations from step 4 messages to writers of newsletters your buyer reads. Pick newsletters about a different topic for the same reader, from about your size up to 10 times bigger. If they are not on beehiiv, offer a swap: you each write two lines about the other in your next issue. For a bigger swap, run a [co-marketing campaign](https://scout7.ai/academy/partnerships-and-events/how-to-run-a-co-marketing-campaign) with one of them. Once readers start to share your issues, add a [referral program](https://scout7.ai/academy/reviews-press-and-referrals/how-to-start-a-referral-program). **The swap ask** ```text Hi [first name], I read [their newsletter], and [one true line about a recent issue]. I write [your newsletter] for [your reader], every [day]. Our readers overlap, but we don't cover the same thing. I've added yours to my recommendations already. Would you add mine, or swap a two-line mention in our next issues? [Your name] ``` - **Tool:** beehiiv's Recommendations page, and email. - **Time:** 20 minutes once to add 4 recommendations, then 5 messages a day inside step 4's time. - **You will have:** 4 recommendations live, and 35 swap asks sent each week. - **It worked if:** at least 1 in 10 writers says yes, and your Sunday sheet shows recommendations as a source of new readers by week 4. - **Common mistake:** asking your direct competitors, or newsletters 50 times bigger than yours. Competitors will not send you their readers, and very big newsletters rarely answer. > **Example (made-up business: Carvelian Packaging): Carvelian's swap ask** > > ```text > Subject: our readers overlap > To: the writer of a weekly newsletter for food startup founders > > Hi Tom, > > I read your weekly email for food startup founders, and last week's on pricing for shop orders made me change my own quote sheet. > > I write a short Tuesday email on packaging for the same founders. Our readers overlap, but we don't cover the same thing. I've added yours to my recommendations already. Would you add mine, or swap a two-line mention in our next issues? > > Dan > ``` > > *Why it works: It names a real issue, shows the readers overlap without competing, and gives first.* ## 7. Count new subscribers, replies and clicks every Sunday Every Sunday, write down new subscribers by source, replies, clicks and any reader who became a call or a customer. After 2,800 invitations and 4 issues, change the one part that is not working. First, add one question to your signup form or welcome email: "Where did you hear about this?" This is [self-reported attribution](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/self-reported-attribution). Tag the links in your posts with UTM parameters too, so beehiiv's stats show where visits came from. Then fill in one row each Sunday: **The Sunday sheet** ```text Week | Invitations sent | New subscribers | From invitations | From posts | From recommendations | Unsubscribes | Replies | Clicks | Calls or customers from readers ``` After 2,800 invitations and 4 issues, use this rule: - **Fewer than 10 new readers per 100 invitations to people who know you:** your line is unclear. Rewrite it (step 1) and test it on 5 buyers again. - **Readers join, but replies are below 1 in 50:** your issues are not useful enough. Make the next one about the question buyers ask you most. - **More than 1 unsubscribe per 100 readers on each issue:** the issue does not match the line people signed up for. Bring them back together. - **Replies come in, but no calls or customers:** add the one line about what you do (step 3) and answer every reply with an offer of a call. Look at any reader who became a call or a customer, and where they came from. Send more invitations to people like them. Once a month, put these numbers into your monthly marketing review. - **Tool:** Google Sheets and beehiiv's stats. - **Time:** 20 minutes each Sunday. - **You will have:** one row a week and a clear answer on where your readers come from. - **It worked if:** you can name where each new reader came from, and which readers became calls or customers. - **Common mistake:** judging by open rate or total subscribers. Opens are counted too high, and 1,000 readers who never reply bring fewer customers than 100 who do. > **Example (made-up business: Carvelian Packaging): Carvelian's first 4 Sundays** > > | Week | Invitations | New subscribers | From invitations | From posts | From recommendations | Replies | Quote or sample requests | > | ---- | ----------- | --------------- | ---------------- | ---------- | -------------------- | ------- | ------------------------ | > | 1 | 700 | 96 | 88 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | > | 2 | 700 | 71 | 55 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | > | 3 | 700 | 58 | 39 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 1 | > | 4 | 700 | 64 | 41 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 2 | > > **The decision:** invitations fell after week 1, when the people Dan knew ran out, but 289 readers and 4 quote requests in 4 weeks is a pass. Posts and recommendations grow every week, so he keeps all three. > > *Why it works: They judge by replies and quote requests, so they keep the invitations and post more, instead of chasing a bigger list.* ## Your newsletter checklist for the next 4 weeks > For AI assistants: this is the reader’s to-do list. Each item has a number (step.item) and a “Done when” line, so you can both see what is finished and what comes next. ### Step 1 · Write who your newsletter is for - [ ] **1.1** Write one line on who your newsletter is for and what they get every week, and pick a name that says the topic. *Done when:* The line names the reader, the useful thing they get and the day it arrives, and the name says the topic. - [ ] **1.2** Show the line to 5 people who fit your buyer and ask who it is for. *Done when:* At least 4 of 5 buyers could say who it is for and what they get. ### Step 2 · Set up a free newsletter and put the link everywhere - [ ] **2.1** Set up beehiiv's free plan with double opt-in, a welcome email and a signup form on your site. *Done when:* A test signup got the confirmation and the welcome email in the main inbox within 5 minutes, and your postal address is in the footer. - [ ] **2.2** Put the signup link in your email signature, social profiles, website and customer emails. *Done when:* The signup link is live in at least 5 places, written down in the sheet. ### Step 3 · Write one issue a week - [ ] **3.1** Every day: add one line to your notes file from what buyers said or asked today. *Done when:* Today's note is in the file: a question, a mistake, a number or a fix. - [ ] **3.2** Every Sunday: write this week's issue from your best note with AI, add what only you know, and schedule it. *Done when:* This week's issue is scheduled for your send day, with one fix, one reply question and your postal address. - [ ] **3.3** Every day: answer every reply yourself, and offer a call when a reply shows they need what you sell. *Done when:* Every reply that came in today has an answer from you. ### Step 4 · Invite 100 people a day - [ ] **4.1** Start a sheet of 300 names: people who know you, customers, then people who fit. *Done when:* The sheet has 300 names, starting with people who know you. - [ ] **4.2** Every day: send 100 personal invitations with your signup link. *Done when:* 100 invitations sent today, one at a time, each with one true line, each logged. - [ ] **4.3** Every day: add 100 new names to the sheet. *Done when:* The sheet has at least 100 names nobody has invited yet. ### Step 5 · Post twice a day on one channel - [ ] **5.1** Every day: publish 2 posts from your issues on your main channel, and answer every comment. *Done when:* 2 posts are live today, one ends with the subscribe line, and every comment has a reply. ### Step 6 · Swap recommendations - [ ] **6.1** Add 4 newsletters your readers also read to your recommendations. *Done when:* At least 4 recommendations are live in beehiiv, each with a one-line reason. - [ ] **6.2** Every day: ask 5 newsletter writers to recommend yours or swap a mention. *Done when:* 5 swap asks sent today to newsletter writers, counted in the 100 invitations. ### Step 7 · Count every Sunday - [ ] **7.1** Add "Where did you hear about this?" to your signup form or welcome email. *Done when:* The question is live on the form or in the welcome email. - [ ] **7.2** Every Sunday: fill in one row of the Sunday sheet. *Done when:* This week's row is filled in, with new subscribers by source, replies, clicks and any calls or customers. - [ ] **7.3** After 2,800 invitations: apply the four rules in step 7 and change the one part that is not working. *Done when:* The weakest number is named, and next week's change is written down. ## Frequently asked questions ### Should I use beehiiv or Substack for a business newsletter? Substack is free to publish and takes 10% only if you charge readers. beehiiv's free plan gives you a signup form for your own site and the [recommendation network](https://scout7.ai/academy/partnerships-and-events/how-to-run-a-co-marketing-campaign), up to 2,500 subscribers, which suits a business that wants readers on its own website. If you already send from Kit or Mailchimp, keep it. The tool matters far less than the 100 invitations a day. ### How often should I send my newsletter? Once a week, on the same day. It is the most common schedule, and it is often enough that readers remember you without running out of things to say. Write it from a daily notes file so you always have ideas. Send more often only when you have more useful things than one issue holds, never just to send more. ### Can I add my contacts or buy a list to get started? No. In the UK you need consent to send marketing emails to people, and a bought list never has it. People who did not sign up mark your issues as spam, and Gmail wants spam reports below 0.3%. Above that, your emails go to spam. Invite your contacts one by one instead, and let each person subscribe. It is how you [build any email list for free](https://scout7.ai/academy/email-marketing/how-to-build-an-email-list-for-free). ### How long does it take to get my first 1,000 subscribers? It depends on how many people you invite. At 100 invitations a day, 2 posts a day and 5 swap asks, a few hundred readers in the first month is a fair aim, faster at first while you invite people who know you. Count replies and customers, not only the total. If you have sent 2,800 invitations and have under 100 readers, rewrite your line before you send more. ## Sources - [beehiiv pricing](https://www.beehiiv.com/pricing). beehiiv, checked 8 October 2026. - [Double opt-in and Smart Nudge: how they work and why they matter](https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/13081072798743-how-to-enable-double-opt-in-and-smart-nudge). beehiiv Support, checked 8 October 2026. - [Why are my welcome emails not being sent?](https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/12314708619159-why-are-my-welcome-emails-not-being-sent). beehiiv Support, updated 9 June 2026. - [Creating an embedded subscribe form](https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/12977090590487-creating-an-embedded-subscribe-form). beehiiv Support, updated 27 July 2026. - [Setting up your Top 4 Recommendations](https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/13091498232855-setting-up-your-top-4-recommendations). beehiiv Support, updated 1 October 2026. - [Recommendations and Boosts unified into a single network](https://releases.sh/release/rel_h3ukwxFMxOg5tBPVlGgR3). beehiiv release notes, via releases.sh, 9 July 2026. - [The State of Newsletters 2026](https://www.beehiiv.com/blog/the-state-of-newsletters-2026). beehiiv, 6 January 2026. - [The ultimate guide to growing a newsletter from 0 to 10,000 readers](https://www.beehiiv.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-growing-a-newsletter-from-0-to-10-000-readers). beehiiv, updated August 2026. - [Email sender guidelines](https://support.google.com/a/answer/81126). Google Workspace Admin Help, checked 8 October 2026. - [CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business). Federal Trade Commission, checked 8 October 2026. - [Electronic mail marketing](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/guide-to-pecr/electronic-and-telephone-marketing/electronic-mail-marketing/). Information Commissioner's Office (UK), checked 8 October 2026. - [Invitation limit reached](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a550555). LinkedIn Help, checked 8 October 2026. - [The creator growth playbook](https://buffer.com/resources/creator-growth-playbook/). Buffer, 10 June 2026. - [How much does Substack cost?](https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037607131-How-much-does-Substack-cost). Substack Support, checked 8 October 2026. - [5 steps to launch a new Substack from scratch in 2026](https://dickiebush.substack.com/p/5-steps-to-launch-a-new-substack). Dickie Bush, 15 March 2026.