The Instagram Stories Podcast Episode #79 - Bella Rose Mortel from beehiiv on how Email Newsletters are a Growth Hack
Bella Rose Mortel is a social media strategist and creative copywriter known for building authentic, high-impact digital brands. Currently at beehiiv, she leads content + strategy across LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Instagram and other platforms, blending strategy with storytelling to drive growth and engagement. With a background at Workweek and Morning Brew, plus her own Gen Z–focused newsletter The Personality Hire, she’s passionate about making B2B content feel human, relevant, and genuinely fun. Host Daniel Hill and Bella Rose discuss the critical importance for creators to "own their audience" through an email newsletter, as social media platforms can be unreliable due to algorithm changes or potential bans. Bella Rose highlights beehive's key differentiators from competitors like Substack, including its 0% cut on paid subscription revenue (only Stripe fees apply), a built-in ad network that offers sponsorship opportunities with no minimum subscriber count (even for those with as few as 100 subscribers), and a new fully integrated website builder. The discussion also covers beehiiv's tools designed to make content creation easier, such as AI writing assistance and various newsletter and website templates, emphasizing its role as an all-in-one platform to simplify growing and monetizing a content business. Bella Rose also shares insights from her dual perspective as a newsletter creator and social media strategist, explaining how newsletters foster a deeper connection with an intentional audience compared to the passive scrolling on social media, and offering practical advice on managing multiple social platforms.(2:30) beehiiv's All-in-One Platform & Website Builder: Bella Rose introduces beehiiv's new website builder, allowing for a fully integrated website with a newsletter, and highlights its growth and monetization tools as an all-in-one solution(3:30) Why Owning Your Audience with a Newsletter is Critical: Bella Rose emphasizes that creators cannot always trust social media algorithms (like TikTok bans or LinkedIn changes) to reach their audience, making owning an email list "super critical"(5:30) beehiiv's 0% Cut on Paid Subscriptions: Bella Rose states that beehiiv takes "0%" of subscription revenue, allowing creators to keep all their earnings except for Stripe fees, unlike Substack which takes a big cut(6:00) beehiiv's Built-in Ad Network for Sponsorships: She explains that beehiiv has an "ad network built in within the platform" that serves users sponsorship opportunities from premium sponsors like Roku and HubSpot(7:00) No Minimum Subscribers for beehiiv's Ad Network: Bella Rose clarifies that there is "not a minimum size" for newsletters to receive ads, noting that even those with "maybe 100 subscribers get offered ads"(10:00) beehiiv's AI Writing Tools: Bella Rose mentions that beehiiv offers AI tools within its editor to help writers tighten content, change language, or edit images, making the writing process easier(11:30) Full Website Hosting on beehive: Bella Rose confirms that users can host their entire custom website on beehiiv, fully integrated with their newsletter, eliminating the need for separate hosting platforms(17:30) Bella Rose's Social Media Strategy and Tips: She shares insights into her role as social media strategist at beehiiv, managing content for platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Threads, focusing on making product content fun and engagingFind Bella Rose:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bellarosemortel/Newsletter: The Personality Hire - https://bella-roses-newsletter.beehiiv.com/t/lifestyleFind beehiiv: Web: https://www.beehiiv.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beehiiv/Find Daniel:Social Media News Podcast: https://pod.link/1467688778Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielhillmedia/Email Newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/danielhillmedia