Beehiiv Launches Community Feature for Newsletter Expansion

Newsletter platform Beehiiv has released a new feature that allows writers and creators to build communities with their readers using a Slack-like interface. This move aims to differentiate the company from rivals such as Substack.

According to Beehiiv co-founder and CEO Tyler Denk, the primary request from customers has been for a community platform to supplement their newsletters. The feature is in high demand because content creators use Beehiiv to gather audiences interested in their viewpoints, often sharing common interests in topics like sports, politics, or technology. These niche communities can become valuable products.

Beehiiv customers can now launch their own community platforms, each customizable with creator-defined controls and pricing. Denk emphasized that the goal is for these communities to have distinct identities, avoiding a uniform Beehiiv branding to stand out from competitors.

Beehiiv draws a comparison to Shopify, positioning itself as infrastructure for the creator economy, while contrasting with Substack, which it likens to Amazon. "We want to be the tools and infrastructure that operate invisibly in the back end, simply empowering these different content creators to succeed," Denk stated.

Community platforms on Beehiiv include a feed where newsletter posts and podcast episodes appear automatically. Members can comment on and share these content pieces with each other, as well as post their own photos, videos, text, and audio.