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This issue is presented by Honeyblocks → |
Hey honeys and hustlers,
The barriers to connection, generally speaking, have not changed since the dawn of humanity. People connect with others through shared experiences, stories, and shared backgrounds — often in environments that make those connections feel possible. Spaces that feel welcoming usually have shared rituals: small, repeatable signals that say “you belong here,” whether that’s how people greet each other, the inside jokes everyone learns over time, the routines that make newcomers feel included, or even the customs that set the tone for how people listen and respond. How we create, however, has never been more expansive, with an abundance of software, hardware, and analog tools at our fingertips.
Generative AI technically makes creation a possibility for people who don't want to learn creative software from Apple, Adobe, Figma, or DaVinci Resolve. Riverside (affiliate link in footer) has now added the ability to use AI to generate a newsletter from a podcast recording. While a one-click newsletter sounds appealing, I honestly think that’s the least appealing feature they could’ve added. We’ve seen the results of the image generator tools being used to create everything from books (yuck), AI flyers (Canva is free and has templates), and even brand logos. But what if we used generative AI to build tools rather than media? That’s what I’ve done with Bolt AI. Anyone can churn out slop on the internet (sorry to the folks using AI to create flyers catching a stray) and call it marketing. But using AI to build a tool to leverage the long-form media you’ve already created to generate marketing assets is something that felt like a good use of time. Marketing my newsletter is something I’ve struggled with. It’s also a frequent question I see online from people who tried blogging in the past and are now brand-new to newsletter writing—without an algorithm to help them go viral.
Newsletters not being dependent on an algorithm can be a good thing for the consistency of reaching your audience and community. The hard part is reaching new potential subscribers. Your audience members can share your articles for you, which is powerful, but may not happen often. So how can you have consistent marketing materials? Well, the tool I’m building will help with that.
It seems some of you weren’t feeling the names I presented on Saturday, so it doesn’t have a name at present. Dropping some new names for consideration below. Comment or reply to this email with your suggestions!
What should I name this newsletter social image generator?
I also used Bolt AI to create a tool that allows beehiiv users to create and save blocks for their newsletters, a functionality beehiiv does not currently offer for some reason. It’s not that I don’t want to build this for other newsletter hosts, but beehiiv is what I’m most familiar with at the moment, and it has an open API (wink wink Substack). beehiiv lets you create newsletter templates or use their stock templates as starting points. However, what if a new sponsor enters the rotation? Or you want to promote a new affiliate link? Or you have an event coming up? Searching through past newsletters to copy and paste a section is the most painstaking task ever, and not the least bit efficient (trust me, I’ve done it). Having the ability to create reusable templates in beehiiv was a game-changer, don’t get me wrong. But this takes things a step further, allowing you to mix and match sections and custom blocks as you please.
I’ve had a few folks ask me about what newsletter templates I’ve used, and after talking with the beehiiv team, I found two things:
beehiiv has explicitly told me they don’t intend to allow newsletter creators to sell templates as digital products on their site. They either want the beehiiv-created stock templates to be a selling point for new or upgrading customers, or they want people to use the beehiiv experts to get templates made for them. The first are lackluster options (respectfully), and the second are very expensive for people who are just getting started (while I do think that freelancers should be paid their worth).
Templates can be replicated, thus making them a one-time purchase. beehiiv doesn’t allow users to create and save custom blocks. Templates, while incredibly helpful in my experience, are not static. Your publication and offerings will grow and change, and your ability to customize and remain flexible makes that change much easier. beehiiv ships quickly, but for some reason, it hasn't enabled this for folks. I think having the ability to create branded sections that are reusable with a quick copy-and-paste, without a ton of searching or open windows, will be such a huge help for writers.
I created both of these at the same time because they feel complementary: one tool to make writing a newsletter easier, and one tool to make marketing a newsletter easier. The social image generator works for any article or newsletter with a URL or RSS feed. The beehiiv block creator is only available for, well, beehiiv users. They’re both a one-time fee at the moment because I know people hate subscription fees, but demand may change that. If you’re not on beehiiv and want me to build something like this for your newsletter host, leave a comment or reply to this email. Based on demand, I’ll build for that platform next!
It’s the luckiest day of the year, and I’m rooting for you.
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