How much money can you make from a newsletter?

At 5,000 subscribers with sponsorships: $1,000-$3,000/month. At 10,000 subscribers: $2,000-$5,000/month. At 50,000 subscribers: $10,000-$30,000/month. Paid subscription models earn roughly 3-7% conversion × subscriber count × subscription price. The top newsletters earn millions annually, but the median newsletter earns under $500/month.

How long does it take to grow a newsletter to 5,000 subscribers?

For most people: 9-18 months of weekly publishing with active growth efforts. With an existing audience (YouTube, social media, blog): 3-6 months. With paid advertising: 2-4 months (at $1-3 per subscriber acquisition cost). Organic-only growth without an existing audience typically takes 12-18 months.

Is a newsletter really passive income?

It's the least passive form of content-based income because you need to write new issues regularly. However, curation newsletters (30-60 min per issue), batched writing, and eventually hiring a writer can reduce your time to 3-5 hours/week. The income is recurring and grows over time, making it 'semi-passive' — your hourly rate improves dramatically as the audience grows.

Substack vs Beehiiv: which is better?

Substack is better for: paid subscriptions (easier setup, built-in payment, discovery network). Beehiiv is better for: sponsorship monetization (better analytics, referral tools, ad network integration, custom domains). If your primary revenue model is paid subscriptions, choose Substack. If it's sponsorships, choose Beehiiv. Both are free to start.

Guide

Email NewsletterPassive IncomeContent CreationUSA

Newsletter Passive Income: How Paid and Sponsored Newsletters Earn (2026)

Email newsletters are having a renaissance. Platforms like Substack, Beehiiv, and ConvertKit have made it trivially easy to publish a newsletter and monetize through paid subscriptions or sponsorships. The challenge isn't the technology — it's building an audience of 5,000-50,000 subscribers who actually open your emails. Here is the honest breakdown.

Last updated: February 26, 2026

Step-by-Step Guide

Choose your newsletter niche and angle

Pick a specific topic with a defined audience. 'Marketing' is too broad. 'AI marketing tools for solopreneurs' is specific. Your angle is what makes your newsletter worth reading versus the 50 others in your space.

Set up on Beehiiv or Substack

Beehiiv is best for sponsorship-based monetization (better analytics, referral tools). Substack is best for paid subscriptions (built-in payment). Both are free to start. Write 5 issues before launching publicly.

Launch to your existing network first

Email everyone you know, post on social media, announce on any platform where you have an audience. Target 100+ subscribers in week one. These first subscribers provide social proof and early feedback.

Build a video content engine for growth

Create YouTube videos or social media content that serves the same audience as your newsletter. Drive video viewers to subscribe. This is the most sustainable growth channel — use FluxNote to produce video efficiently.

Monetize at 2,500+ subscribers

Start pitching sponsors at 2,500 subscribers (some brands work with smaller newsletters in specific niches). Launch a paid tier at 5,000 subscribers. Target $1,000/month within 12 months of consistent publishing.

Newsletter monetization: the two models

Model 1: Sponsorships (advertising-based)
You write a free newsletter and sell ad placements to brands. The standard metric is CPM (cost per thousand subscribers) or CPC (cost per click).

- Newsletter CPM rates: $20-$60 per 1,000 subscribers (niche-dependent)
- Typical sponsorship pricing: $25-$50 per 1,000 subscribers per issue
- At 5,000 subscribers: $125-$250 per sponsored issue
- At 10,000 subscribers: $250-$500 per sponsored issue
- At 50,000 subscribers: $1,250-$2,500 per sponsored issue

With 2 sponsors per weekly issue (common) at 10,000 subscribers: $500-$1,000/week = $2,000-$4,000/month.

Model 2: Paid subscriptions (reader-supported)
Readers pay $5-$15/month for premium content. Typical conversion: 3-7% of free subscribers convert to paid.

- 5,000 free subscribers × 5% conversion × $7/month = $1,750/month
- 10,000 free subscribers × 5% conversion × $7/month = $3,500/month
- 50,000 free subscribers × 5% conversion × $7/month = $17,500/month

Hybrid model (most common):
Free newsletter with sponsorships + premium tier with exclusive content. This maximizes both audience size (more sponsors) and per-reader revenue (paid tier).

Reality check: Most newsletters never reach 5,000 subscribers. The median Substack newsletter has fewer than 500 subscribers. Growth is the hard part.

Growing to 5,000 subscribers (the minimum viable audience)

5,000 subscribers is the threshold where newsletter income becomes meaningful. Here is how to get there:

Timeline (realistic):
- Month 1-3: 100-500 subscribers (friends, social media, organic)
- Month 4-8: 500-2,000 subscribers (content marketing, cross-promotions)
- Month 9-15: 2,000-5,000 subscribers (referral programs, paid growth)

Growth tactics ranked by effectiveness:

1. YouTube/video content → email capture (best): Create video content on your newsletter topic and drive viewers to subscribe. A YouTube channel with 10K subscribers can typically convert 200-500 newsletter subscribers per month. Use FluxNote to produce consistent video content that drives signups.

2. Newsletter cross-promotions: Partner with similar-sized newsletters to recommend each other. Platforms like SparkLoop and Beehiiv have built-in recommendation features. Expect 50-200 new subscribers per cross-promotion.

3. Twitter/X content strategy: Build a following by posting threads and insights related to your newsletter topic. Convert followers to subscribers with a pinned tweet and regular CTAs. Conversion rate: 1-3% of followers subscribe.

4. Referral programs: Give existing subscribers incentives to refer friends (free content, discounts, physical rewards). Morning Brew grew to millions using this strategy. Beehiiv and SparkLoop offer referral program tools.

5. SEO/blog content: Write blog posts that rank in Google and capture email addresses via lead magnets. Slowest but most sustainable — articles drive signups for years.

What doesn't work: Buying email lists (destroys deliverability), posting newsletter links on social media without context (no one clicks), and growth hacking without quality content (subscribers leave immediately).

Making newsletter income more passive

Newsletters are inherently less passive than other content forms — you need to write every issue. But you can reduce the time investment:

1. Batch-write issues in advance
Write 4 issues in one weekend and schedule them throughout the month. This turns weekly writing into monthly writing sessions.

2. Curate instead of create
Curation newsletters (aggregating the best content on a topic) take 30-60 minutes per issue versus 2-4 hours for original analysis. Example: 'This Week in AI' curating the top 10 AI developments with brief commentary.

3. Hire a writer once you're profitable
Once your newsletter earns $3,000+/month, hire a writer for $500-$1,500/month to handle drafting. You edit and maintain voice. This makes the income substantially more passive.

4. Automate sponsorship sales
Use platforms like Swapstack or Passionfroot to automate sponsor matching. Once your newsletter reaches 5,000+ subscribers, sponsors come to you instead of you pitching them.

5. Create a video content flywheel
Repurpose newsletter content into video (using FluxNote) and video content into newsletter topics. One research session produces both a newsletter issue and a video, doubling your content output per hour of research.

The 'passive' endgame:
A newsletter with 20,000+ subscribers, a writer handling drafts, and automated sponsor sales requires roughly 3-5 hours/week of your time while generating $5,000-$15,000/month. That's as close to passive as newsletter income gets.

Pro Tips

Consistency beats quality in the growth phase — a good-enough weekly newsletter grows faster than a perfect monthly one
Your open rate is your most important metric — if it drops below 30%, focus on subject lines and content quality before trying to grow
Video content (YouTube, Shorts) is the most effective newsletter growth channel in 2026 — create video versions of your newsletter content using FluxNote
Sponsorships in niche newsletters command premium CPMs — a 5,000-subscriber newsletter about SaaS tools charges more per subscriber than a 50,000-subscriber general business newsletter
Build your newsletter on a platform you own (or can export from) — never let a platform control your subscriber list