Updated: Oct 25, 2024
How to create a post
For those new to beehiiv, we’ve created a helpful video tutorial to guide you through creating and publishing a post (aka your newsletter). Below the video, you'll find written instructions with timestamps, allowing you to go directly to specific sections of the video.
The post creation flow is organized into five tabs (Compose, Audience, Email, Web, Review) at the top of the Post Builder. The post flow is designed to guide you step-by-step through crafting and publishing a post, using the ‘Next’ button to move between pages. If you prefer to navigate out of order, you can use the five tabs to jump directly to any stage in the process of creating your post.
Watch and learn: How to Write a Post in beehiiv
Getting Started
- Click Start Writing to open the Post Builder instantly.
- Click the arrow next to Start Writing to choose from:
Blank Draft which will open the Post Builder instantly.
Use Template to choose from an existing template you’ve created.
- Click Posts to view all of your previous posts and drafts.
- Click Start Writing in the upper right corner to open the Post Builder instantly.
Accessing the Post Builder
Upon logging in, you’ll be brought to your account Dashboard where there are a few easy ways to start creating a post. From the left panel options, you can:
Once you begin drafting or choose a template, you’ll be redirected to the Post Builder.
Drafting content in the Post Builder
In the Post Builder, you’ll find five pages at the top: Compose, Audience, Email, Web, and Review. Follow the steps below to create, configure, and publish your post.
Compose Page
- Give your post a title
- Include a subtitle
- Add a post thumbnail
- Add content tags
- Add authors
- View and place your available ad opportunities from the Ad Network
- Create your content using the post editor
- Remove or set yourself as the author.
- Select any of your team members as the author.
- Add or invite guest authors.
- Create bullet lists, block quotes, or code blocks.
- Change the font size, color, and family.
- Use beehiiv’s AI editing features to improve your writing, translate text, or fix grammar.
- To highlight and select the individual node you’re working in, type: Command/Control + A (1x)
- If you want to highlight and select the entire section you are working in, type: Command/Control + A (2x)
- If you wish to select the entire newsletter you have written, type: Command/Control + A (3x)
- Customize the appearance of sections: Adjust the spacing, background color, text color, border styles, and more.
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Set the Visibility of the section: You can limit the visibility of sections to show only on your website, email, or both. This is especially useful for free and paid newsletters, where you can control what content is visible to free or paid subscribers.
- View how the post will appear on your beehiiv website or in different email clients.
- See how it will look on both desktop and mobile devices.
- Simulate the view for specific subscribers by entering their email.
- Send a test email to up to 10 email addresses (if you're on a paid plan).
Post Builder
The Post Builder opens on the Compose page, where you create the content of your post.
On the Compose page, you can:
Uploading a thumbnail
To upload a thumbnail for your post, click Add Thumbnail and select Upload an Image.
Once your thumbnail is uploaded, you'll notice a Visibility icon in the upper-right corner. Click this icon to toggle the Show at top of web post option on or off. You can replace or delete the thumbnail anytime.
Adding content tags
Content tags help categorize your post and make it easier for readers to filter posts by topic on your website. Refer to this article for more detailed instructions to create or assign content tags.
To add content tags to your post, click Add Content Tags above the post title and select from existing tags or create new ones.
Assigning Authors
Your name will automatically appear as the author of your post.
From the 6 dots menu next to your name, you can:
Refer to this article for more detailed instructions on adding authors to your posts.
Adding a post title and subtitle
By default, the post title and subtitle will appear at the top of your email post and serve as your email’s subject line and preview text.
To hide the title and subtitle from showing in your email, click the 6 dots next to the title or subtitle, select Visibility, and toggle off Show in email. Keep in mind there is a separate toggle for both the title and subtitle, and by default, they are set to show in the email.
If you toggle Show in email off, a Visibility icon will appear next to the title or subtitle. You can click the icon at any time to adjust the toggle settings.
Creating your newsletter content
To begin writing your post, click in the designated text area where it says Click here to start writing.
Or, type the forward slash key ("/") to access the post editor where you’ll find several options including images, buttons, code blocks, content breaks, and more to add to your post. The post editor options are organized into 5 sections: Basics, Headings, Embeds, Dynamic Tags, and Premium (available based on your plan).
Using the text toolbar
Once text has been added, a toolbar will appear, providing styling options such as bold, italic, underline, and others.
Here are some of that various formatting options accessible in the toolbar:
Growth features in the post editor
If you're on a paid plan, you’ll have access to our Premium blocks in the post editor:
Additional features and shortcuts
AI Writer: Access the beehiiv AI tools to improve your writing, translate text, fix spelling and grammar, and more. Explore the AI tools available on beehiiv by reading this article.
Shortcuts in the post editor
The beehiiv post editor offers a slew of easy shortcuts to speed up your workflow.
Toolbar Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Command |
| Bold |
To quickly apply or remove bold from your text, type: Command/Control + B |
| Italicize |
To quickly apply or remove italics from your text, type: Command/Control + I |
| Underline |
To quickly apply or remove underline from your text: type Command/Control + U |
| Strikethrough |
If you need to add strikethrough to your text, type: Command/Control + Shift + X |
| Highlight |
Need to highlight your text? Type: Command/Control + Shift + H |
| Superscript |
To see your text in superscript formatting, type: Command/Control + |
| Subscript |
To see your text in subscript formatting, type: Command/Control + |
| Markdown |
Using markdown will also work, like typing your text in * for italics or ** for bold |
| Align Right |
To align your text to the right, type Command/Control + Shift + R |
| Align Left |
To center align your text, type Command/Control + Shift + E |
| Align Justify |
To justify align your text, type Command/Control + Shift + J |
Text Visualization Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Command |
| Blockquote |
Need to quote someone? Use Command/Control + Shift + B to see their quote pulled out from the text as a blockquote. |
| Codeblock |
Have some code to share? Use Cmd/Ctrl + Opt/Alt + C then select which kind of code it is to display a line or chunk of code. |
| Heading |
Switch between heading levels by typing Command/Control + Opt/Alt + <number> with the number indicating heading size for the text (H1, H2) |
| Numbered List |
Easily create an ordered, numbered list by typing Command/Control + Shift + 7 |
| Bullet List |
Create a bulleted list by typing Command/Control + Shift + 8 |
General Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Command |
| Open menu |
Open the beehiiv editor by typing / |
| Adding Emojis |
Type a colon (:) followed by the emoji name |
| Search and replace |
Use Command/Control + F to search and replace words or phrases in your post. You can replace one instance or all instances of a specific word. |
| Undo |
Make a mistake? No problem. Use Command/Control + Z to undo your last action. |
| Redo |
If you used Undo and didn’t mean to, you can always fix it by typing Command/Control + Shift + Z to redo what you just undid. |
| Copy |
Easily copy your work by typing Command/Control + C |
| Paste |
Use Command/Control + V to paste with formatting |
| Paste without formatting |
Remove all formatting and paste by typing Command/Control + Shift + V |
Shortcuts Native to beehiiv
| Shortcut | Command |
| Select Parent |
|
| Insert new Footnote with marker |
Insert a new footnote with a market by typing ^^ |
| Insert marker for existing footnote |
If you wish to add a marker to an existing footnote, type: ^<footnoteNumber> |
| Insert content break |
To insert a content break into your newsletter post, type - + - + - |
| Insert line break |
Use Shift + Enter or Command/Control + Enter to insert a line break |
| Insert backlinks |
To insert backlinks, type [ + [ |
Working with sections
Adding borders and working with sections are options in the post editor that allow you to group one or more components together. To create a section, type /section and select it from the post editor menu, or highlight multiple components and group them into a section.
Using the 6 dots menu to the left of a section, you can:
Previewing your post
Before publishing, you can preview your post by clicking the Preview button in the top right corner.
In Preview you can:
Sharing a draft
If you’d like to share a draft of your post with team members or others, click the dropdown arrow next to the Preview button and select Draft Link.
This will generate the web version of your post that you can share without publishing it.
You can also send test emails to yourself or your team members by selecting Send Test Email from the same dropdown menu.
To learn more about sending test emails, please refer to this article.
Collaborating with team members
beehiiv allows for collaborative editing. You and other team members can edit the same post simultaneously, with real-time updates reflecting each person's changes. You’ll also see the initials of team members currently editing at the top of the editor.
Comments and version history
You can leave comments for your team members as well. Simply highlight text or sections and leave comments for team members. Or, tag others by using the "@" symbol to notify them.
Please read this article to learn more about using comments to collaborate in the post editor.
Version History allows you to view previous versions of your post and restore them if needed. The Version History icon is located in the top right corner.
Saving and using templates
If you frequently use similar layouts for your posts, you can create templates.
Click the Template icon in the top right corner.
Name the template and click Save.
Saved templates will be available for future posts.
Learn more about saving a post as a template by reading this article.
Audience Page
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Included/Excluded segments: Choose specific groups based on predefined conditions.
Please read this article for more information on segments.
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Preview recipient count in Summary: On the right side of the page, you'll see an estimate of how many people will receive your post based on your selected options.
Selecting your audience
On the Audience page, you can define which segments of your audience will receive the post. This is where you can include or exclude specific segments of subscribers. The segmentation options allow for greater personalization of your email content, ensuring the right people receive the right message.
Key Elements
Email Page
- Subject line: Craft a compelling subject line to capture the recipient’s attention.
- Preview text: Add text that shows in the inbox preview, giving more context to the subject.
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A/B test: Test out different subject lines for your post. To learn more about A/B tests, please read this article.
- Social, Like, and Comment buttons: You can add social sharing, like, and comments to a post. Please refer to this article to learn more about enabling social sharing options for your post.
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Custom Read Online URL:By default, the 'Read Online' link will lead to the web version of your post. You can choose to override this and redirect to a different site instead. Click into the Advanced Settings drop down menu to get started.
Prepping your email
On the Email page, you'll set up the email details that will be sent to your subscribers. This is where you can personalize the subject line, preview text, and sender details.
Key Elements
Web Page
- Post URL: Customize the slug for your web version before the post is published.
- Advanced email capture: Add a popup or gated capture for your post.
- Comments: Control who can comment on your post.
- Audio newsletter: Toggle this feature on to offer an audio version of your post, a player will be displayed at the top of the web post.
- SEO title and meta description: Customize how your post appears in search engines.
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Post Visibility: Decide whether to hide the post from the feed or feature it by toggling the available options. You can feature up to six posts on your webpage.
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Custom display date (Eastern Daylight Time): Click into Advanced settings to choose a custom display date for your article. By default, the publish date is displayed, but you can easily override this without impacting the actual publish date.
Posting on your website
The Web page focuses on how your post will appear on your publication website. This section lets you preview and edit the SEO settings, post visibility, and more.
Key Elements
Review Page
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Review audience and email settings: Ensure the segments and email content are accurate.
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Verify your A/B settings: If you conducted an A/B test, this section lets you confirm the winning subject line and other details.
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Scheduled post or publish immediately: Decide when the post should go live.
Tech Note: When you publish a new post to both Email and Web, any edits made after the campaign is sent will only appear on the Web version. If you have an A/B test scheduled, the Web version cannot be edited until the A/B test period has ended.
Previewing and posting
The Review page provides a final overview of all the settings before the post is published. You can review the audience segments, email, and web configurations, ensuring everything is correct before hitting publish.
Key Elements