An email newsletter is one of the best ways to build an audience. So why are newsletter platforms suddenly adding community features?
According to Beehiiv CEO Tyler Denk, whenever they ask customers what they want next, the answer is overwhelmingly "a community platform on top of their newsletter." That's a revealing answer because Beehiiv didn't decide on its own that newsletters needed community features. The company is responding to what creators have been asking for.
Email isn't going away. But Beehiiv is acknowledging that many creators need something beyond a way to publish content.
Why creators are asking for community.
For years, newsletter platforms have helped creators publish content, grow an audience, and generate Content Revenue through advertising, sponsorships, premium subscriptions, and other forms of monetized content.
Now many creators want something more than a list of subscribers. They want readers who know each other, help each other, and keep coming back because they feel connected—not just because another email arrived. That's because newsletters and communities do different jobs.
Newsletters help people hear from you. Communities help people find each other.
Once you're trying to build relationships between members instead of simply reaching an audience, you need a different kind of tool.
Different business models require different tools.
If your goal is to generate Content Revenue, you need content creation and distribution tools. That's what Beehiiv has always been exceptionally good at.
If your goal is to generate Community Revenue, you need space-building tools. You need a place where members can ask questions, solve problems together, celebrate milestones, and build relationships with one another.
Creators aren't abandoning newsletters—they're building on them. That's the bigger story behind Beehiiv's announcement.
The tools are changing because the business model is changing.
Join me for The Why? Workshop.
If you're looking to start generating Community Revenue, it's easy to get caught up comparing platforms like Beehiiv, Circle, and Mighty Networks.
But that's the second decision you need to make. The first is figuring out why people would want to belong to your community at all.
People don't join a community because of the software platform. They join because it provides something valuable to them.
We'll discover what that value is for your community members in The Why? Workshop.
Together, we'll define your community's shared mission and identify the transformation that gives people a reason to belong.
Because once you know why people would gather, deciding where they should gather becomes much easier.
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