#ad · Affiliate disclosure: This page contains beehiiv and Systeme.io affiliate links. If you sign up for a paid plan through them, Top Shelf Picks may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We have no affiliate relationship with Substack or Stripe.

How to make money with a newsletter in 2026 (7 honest ways)

By Top Shelf Picks · October 31, 2026 · Fees and features checked Oct 31, 2026 on beehiiv.com (pricing, Ad Network, Recommendations and Referral Program pages), Substack's "How much does Substack cost?" help page and systeme.io/pricing. Opinions are ours.

Short answer: newsletters make money in seven main ways: ad networks, direct sponsors, paid subscriptions, paid recommendations, affiliate links, digital products and courses or coaching. None of them pays much without an engaged list, so growth comes first. We won't promise you a dollar figure; anyone who does is guessing.

What's free vs. paid on beehiiv (checked Oct 31, 2026)

Prices rise with list size (for example, Lite is $79/mo monthly at up to 2,500 subscribers). Check the current price on beehiiv's pricing page before upgrading.

1. Ad networks (the beehiiv Ad Network)

Instead of selling sponsorships yourself, an ad network brings offers to you. On beehiiv, the Ad Network is open to Lite and higher plans that are actively sending. You see up to 15 personalized offers, pick the ones that fit, and drop them into a post by typing /ads in the editor. You never have to run an ad you don't like.

• How it pays: each offer is CPM (per 1,000 unique opens) or CPC (per verified unique click), set by the advertiser. beehiiv's own example: a $5 CPM pays $5 per 1,000 unique opens. The estimate shown before you reserve is not guaranteed.
• Limits: up to 5 reserved offers at a time and up to 3 ads per post (1 primary with logo, 2 secondary). Clicks and opens within 72 hours of the send count.
• Getting paid: through a Stripe Express account, on the 20th of each month for the prior month.
• Not exclusive: you can still run your own sponsors alongside it.

2. Direct sponsors

Selling a sponsorship slot yourself usually means more control over who appears and what you charge, but you do the sales work. A simple media kit (audience, open rate, click rate, price per slot) is enough to start. beehiiv's Pro plan adds a Sponsorship Storefront; on any platform you can just email brands you already use. Always label sponsored sections clearly.

3. Paid subscriptions

Put your best content (deep dives, templates, a community) behind a paywall. The platform's cut matters here:

• beehiiv: 0% of paid subscription revenue on paid plans; you pay Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
• Substack: free to publish, but keeps 10% of subscription revenue, plus Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 and 0.7% Stripe Billing on recurring payments.

We ran the break-even arithmetic in beehiiv vs Substack 2026.

4. Paid recommendations (formerly beehiiv Boosts)

beehiiv renamed Boosts to paid recommendations; they now sit with free recommendations under the Grow tab. When a reader signs up to your newsletter, they see newsletters you recommend. With paid recommendations, other publishers pay you for each qualified, verified subscriber you send them, and you can also pay to get recommended yourself. Free recommendations work on every plan; paid ones need Lite or Pro.

5. Affiliate links

Recommend tools or products you actually use and earn a commission when readers buy. It works from issue #1 and needs no minimum list size. Two rules: disclose every affiliate link clearly (we use #ad), and check each program's terms, since some ban email links or brand-name ads.

6. Digital products

Templates, guides, checklists or swipe files sell well to a newsletter audience that already trusts you. beehiiv's Free plan lets you sell one digital product with one-time purchases; Lite allows 3 and adds discount codes, pay-what-you-want and a tip jar; Pro is unlimited.

7. Courses, coaching and funnels

If your newsletter teaches a skill, a course or coaching offer is often the biggest earner per reader. An all-in-one tool like Systeme.io covers this: its free plan (checked Oct 31, 2026) includes up to 2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels, 1 course and unlimited email sends with no credit card, and Systeme.io says all plans have 0% transaction fees. Paid plans start at $17/month (Startup). Step-by-step setup: how to start an online business for $0 with Systeme.io. Full verdict: Systeme.io review, and how it compares in Systeme.io vs Kajabi vs ClickFunnels.

Growth comes first: the referral program

Every method above scales with engaged readers. beehiiv's referral program (Lite and up) gives each subscriber a unique link and rewards them at milestones you set, with digital rewards (PDFs, bonus content) delivered automatically and physical ones (stickers, shirts) fulfilled by you. Add it to any post with /referral program in the editor. Our how to start a newsletter guide covers the first 100 subscribers.

A simple order to try them (our opinion)

1. Day one, $0: launch on beehiiv Free, add disclosed affiliate links, turn on free recommendations, sell one digital product.
2. Once readers open and click consistently: move to Lite to unlock the Ad Network, paid recommendations, a referral program and a paid tier.
3. Once you know what readers want: pitch direct sponsors and build a course or coaching offer.

Not sure beehiiv is the right home? Read our beehiiv review for the downsides too.

Related: beehiiv review 2026 · How to start a newsletter · beehiiv vs Substack 2026 · Systeme.io review

Sources

beehiiv.com/pricing (plan table, feature comparison, FAQ), beehiiv.com/features/ad-network (FAQ), beehiiv.com/features/boosts (Recommendations FAQ), beehiiv.com/features/referral-program, support.substack.com "How much does Substack cost?" (updated Oct 29, 2026) and systeme.io/pricing (FAQ), all checked Oct 31, 2026. Prices and features change; check current terms before upgrading. No earnings figures on this page are predictions.