How Newsletters Use Freemium Models to Grow Revenue

The Newsletter Podcast with Fexingo: Substack, Beehiiv, and Email Newsletter Business · Jun 15, 2026 · 8m · transcript

Lucas and Luna dive into how email newsletters are increasingly using freemium pricing — offering a free tier alongside a paid subscription — to maximize reach and revenue. They examine the strategy behind Lenny Rachitsky's shift to a partial paywall, Morning Brew's hybrid model, and the data behind conversion rates. The episode explores why freemium works for newsletters, how to balance free and paid content, and what metrics matter most. Specific numbers include typical conversion rates of 2-5 percent and revenue per subscriber benchmarks. By the end, listeners understand how to…