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Consider this - the newsletter, that faithful and often overlooked cousin of the e-mail, is making a serious comeback. It's surprising, right? In the overflowing mailbox of our digital lives, newsletters seem to be the only thing that stick. Don’t take my words for it, let’s read some facts.
New York-based startup, beehiiv, a hive of newsletter activity, has managed to raise a not-to-be-scoffed-at $33 million. That's right, folks! And they're planning on using this cash-filled honey pot to extend their business reach while enhancing their platform's mighty technical capabilities.
This round was led by the admirable NEA with Sapphire Sport and Lightspeed Venture Partners, previous backers, also participating. Though the overall valuation is kept under wraps, the startup has successfully raised $46.5 million to date. That’s not a mere bug; it’s a queen bee!
But where there's honey, there's bees. The funding follows some intense growth. Down memory lane, when the company sprung up like spring flowers, they were supporting 7500 active newsletters that reached 35 million unique readers, gracing their eyes with 350 million monthly impressions. Fast forward to now, and they're sending a whopping 1 billion emails per month from nearly 20,000 newsletters. Users range from individual writers to big players such as Boston Globe Media and Brex, and even the Terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Talk about star power!
A hive is never too crowded for more bees. beehiiv, in the past year, built an advertising network to broaden its feature and functionality spectrum and they claim that on an average month, their clients make around $1.2 million in collective monthly revenue on the platform. Sweet deal, isn’t it?
In the words of co-founder and CEO Tyler Denk, the ad network is something of a "holy grail" for advertisers. Why, you may ask? Because it can pair specific ad campaigns with niche audiences that may be keen on viewing and responding to them. The catch is, these newsletters can now splurge on ads, similar to big streaming platforms sponsoring them.
However, don't let the sweet taste of honey fool you. The focus will be on economies of scale. The startup is vigorously investing in marketing and signing deals with larger publishers for bringing in more inventory. After all, every bee counts in the hive!
They're no stranger to competition though, along with other marketing platforms, services from companies with strong email marketing backgrounds and open source competitors swarm this field. Still, beehiiv is all set to fly higher with strategies that make migration to their platform smoother and versatile APIs that help interplay with other tools for their clients. It’s a bee-eat-bee world out there!
Despite the challenges and complexities, the investors are confidently betting on beehiiv. As per Danielle Lay, Partner at NEA, newsletters, being one of the most enduring digital channels, carry massive untapped potential for publishers to grow and monetize their audiences. Looks like beehiiv is ready to sting the market with its potential!
Now that we are deep into the conversation about newsletters and boosting business reach, it wouldn't be fair not to mention how Alight Strategic can help businesses. Alight Strategic, being a full-stack online marketing agency, offers services that include website design, e-commerce websites, email marketing, photography and video, social media management, consulting, and Google and Facebook Ads. They even have an AI-powered tool called "Lead Finder" that saves time and ensures your business networking is effective and fruitful. So why wait, browse over to Lead Finder and fly to success, like the newsletter bee!
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