Hey,
Issue #005. Let's get into it.
⚙️ AI TOOL OF THE WEEK:
If you're an engineer starting a newsletter, you're going to pick one of two platforms: Beehiiv or Substack. Most people pick based on vibes. Here's what actually matters.
Substack
Dead simple to start, zero setup
Built-in discovery network
Takes 10% of paid subscription revenue — nothing else
Problem: audience skews journalism/politics/culture. Technical content gets less organic boost
No native ad network. Sponsorships = DIY outreach
Beehiiv
Free up to 2,500 subscribers
$99/month (Scale plan) above that
Native Ad Network — brands pay per send
Boosts — other newsletters pay you per subscriber they acquire through your list
Built-in referral program
Zero revenue cut on any of the above
The math by stage:
Subscribers Substack Beehiiv
1,000 Free, no ads Free, Boosts active
5,000 Free, still no ads $99/mo, Ad Network = $200–500/issue
10,000 Free, no ad infrastructure $99/mo, Ad Network + Boosts
At 5,000 subscribers with Beehiiv's Ad Network, you're realistically earning $200–500 per issue in ad revenue. The $99/month pays for itself at issue two.
Verdict: Starting now → Beehiiv. Already on Substack with organic growth → stay. The switching cost is real (SEO, network position).
💰 MONEY MOVE:
Build the affiliate stack early
Don't wait until you have 10K subscribers to set up affiliates. Do it at issue one.
Beehiiv referral: $50 per person who signs up for a paid Beehiiv plan through your link
ElevenLabs: 22% recurring commission
Railway: Revenue share program
Most tools you'll cover have affiliate programs paying 15–30% recurring
A technical newsletter with the right affiliate stack can generate more from affiliates than from ads within 6 months — at any subscriber count.
⛓️ CRYPTO/WEB3 SIGNAL
Mirror.xyz is the on-chain version of Substack — writers publish to Ethereum, readers collect posts as NFTs. Volume is low but the model is interesting: content ownership is verifiable, monetization is programmable, and there's no platform taking a cut beyond gas. Worth watching as the infrastructure matures.
🔗 3 LINKS WORTH YOUR TIME
Beehiiv — what Deploy or Die runs on, free to start
Beehiiv Ad Network — how the native ad monetization works
Mirror.xyz — on-chain publishing, worth understanding even if you don't use it
That's Issue #005.
Forward it to one engineer. Still the only growth strategy running.
— Deploy or Die