The Ultimate Stack: Automate Your Newsletter with Notion & Beehiiv

Let's be real, managing a newsletter can feel like a part-time job. Brainstorming ideas, drafting content, formatting, scheduling – it's a never-ending cycle, especially if you're an indie hacker or solopreneur juggling multiple plates. Your newsletter, while a crucial asset for audience building and direct income, can quickly become a bottleneck.

But what if you could put most of that on autopilot? What if your content, once drafted in your trusted Notion workspace, could magically appear in your Beehiiv drafts, ready for a quick review and send? That's not some futuristic fantasy; it's a very achievable reality in 2025, and it’s a setup I've personally used to keep my content flowing consistently without losing my mind. This guide isn't about becoming a "guru" or scaling to 100k subscribers overnight. It's about setting up smart, practical automation that saves you time and ensures your audience consistently hears from you. We're diving deep into how Notion and Beehiiv, powered by a little integration magic, can become your newsletter's best friends.

Why Automate Your Newsletter? The Indie Hacker's Edge

For solopreneurs and indie hackers, time is a non-renewable resource. Every minute spent on repetitive tasks is a minute not spent building your product, serving your customers, or, let's be honest, enjoying a bit of downtime. This is where automation truly shines for newsletters.

Think about the benefits:

  • Consistency: A reliable newsletter schedule builds trust. Automation helps you maintain that consistency even when life gets hectic. No more last-minute scrambling!
  • Time Savings: This is the big one. Imagine writing your content in Notion, marking it "ready to send," and having it pop up in Beehiiv. Hours reclaimed, week after week.
  • Reduced Mental Load: The less you have to think about the mechanics of sending, the more you can focus on crafting valuable content.
  • Scalability: As your content ideas grow, so does your Notion database. This automated pipeline scales with your ambition.

It's not just about efficiency; it's about making your content creation process enjoyable again, removing the friction that often leads to burnout and inconsistent communication with your audience.

Setting Up Your Automation Workflow: A Step-by-Step Guide

Alright, let's get into the nitty-gritty. This setup involves Notion as your content hub, Beehiiv as your email service provider, and a clever integration tool (like Zapier or Make.com) to bridge the gap.

Preparing Your Notion Database

Your Notion workspace will be the brain of this operation. It's where your ideas live, where your drafts take shape, and where you'll signify when a piece of content is ready to be sent.

Structure Your Newsletter Database

Create a database in Notion specifically for your newsletter issues. Here are the essential properties:

  • Name (Title): The main title of your newsletter issue.
  • Content (Text/Rich Text): The body of your newsletter. Use Notion's full editor to draft your content, including headings, bold text, links, and even images.
  • Status (Select): A crucial property with options like "Idea," "Drafting," "Ready to Send," "Sent." This is what your automation tool will monitor.
  • Publish Date (Date): When you intend for the newsletter to go out.
  • Beehiiv Post ID (Text): (Optional, but useful for tracking) A placeholder for the ID once it's created in Beehiiv.

You can also add properties for internal notes, featured links, or a brief summary.

Screenshot of a Notion database structured for newsletter content with columns for title, content, status, and publish date.

Connecting the Dots with Zapier (or Make.com)

This is where the magic happens. We'll use Zapier (but Make.com works just as well) to monitor your Notion database and create posts in Beehiiv when a certain condition is met. This integration is key. If you're new to connecting Notion with other tools, check out our guide on Notion and Zapier workflows for a broader understanding.

The Zapier Workflow Explained

Here’s a common zapier setup:

  1. Trigger: Notion – "New Database Item (or Updated Database Item)"
    • Set this up to watch your Newsletter Database.
    • Crucially, add a filter step after the trigger: "Only continue if Status is 'Ready to Send'". This ensures your automation only fires when you're truly ready.
  2. Action: Beehiiv – "Create Post"
    • Connect your Beehiiv account.
    • Map the fields:
      • Title: Map this to your Notion "Name" property.
      • Content: Map this to your Notion "Content" property.
      • Type: Set this to "Newsletter" (or "Post" if that's what Beehiiv calls it for your plan).
      • Status: Set to "Draft" (you want to review it before sending).
    • You can also map tags or segments if you have those properties in Notion.
  3. Action (Optional, but Recommended): Notion – "Update Database Item"
    • Update the original Notion item.
    • Change the "Status" property to "Sent" or "In Beehiiv Drafts". This helps you track what's been processed.
    • If Beehiiv returns a Post ID, you can also update the "Beehiiv Post ID" field in Notion.

This simple automation pipeline takes your written content from Notion and pushes it directly into your Beehiiv drafts. The best part? You only have to build this once.

Diagram showing a Zapier workflow with Notion as the trigger (new database item with status 'Ready to Send') and Beehiiv as the action (create draft post).

Crafting Your Beehiiv Template for Automation

Beehiiv is powerful, but for seamless automation, you need to set up a clean template that anticipates incoming content.

  • Default Template: Design a default post template in Beehiiv that includes your standard header, footer, social links, and any other consistent branding elements. When Zapier creates a new post, it will use Beehiiv's default settings for new posts, so ensure your branding is baked in.
  • Minimalism: Keep the automated content section of your Beehiiv template minimal. The rich text content coming from Notion will fill the main body.
  • Review Process: Always plan for a quick human review in Beehiiv before sending. Automation is fantastic, but a final check for formatting quirks or last-minute edits is always a good idea.

Real-World Automation Case Studies (and a personal anecdote)

I've used variations of this automation stack for several niche content projects over the years. One notable example was a weekly digest for new AI tools that I started back in late 2023. The goal was to launch it quickly and maintain consistency without it becoming a time sink.

My process looked like this: I had a Notion database where I'd dump links and quick notes about interesting AI tools throughout the week. On Thursdays, I'd review them, flesh out brief descriptions, and update the "Status" to "Ready to Send." By Friday morning, a draft was waiting in Beehiiv, beautifully formatted from my Notion rich text, complete with internal links. A quick scan, maybe a header image addition, and hit "Send."

This small automation allowed me to consistently publish a newsletter that brought in a modest but steady $200-$300/month from affiliate links and sponsorships, all while requiring less than an hour of active "newsletter management" each week. It was essentially a side hustle stack that paid for itself in time saved, freeing me up to focus on other projects. This isn't theoretical; this is how income streams get built with minimal fuss.

Best Practices for Seamless Newsletter Automation

Setting up the automation is half the battle. Maintaining it efficiently and getting the most out of your setup requires a few best practices.

Content Curation & Scheduling in Notion

  • Batching: Try to write several newsletter drafts in Notion at once. This allows you to get into a flow and have content queued up.
  • Calendar View: Use Notion's calendar view for your newsletter database to visually plan your publishing schedule. Drag and drop issues to adjust dates.
  • Templates within Notion: Create Notion page templates for new newsletter issues within your database. Pre-fill sections like "Introduction," "Main Topic," "Call to Action," to streamline drafting.

Testing, Testing, 1-2-3

Before you rely heavily on your automation, thoroughly test it.

  • Send Test Zaps: Use Zapier's "Test Trigger" and "Test Action" features.
  • Create Test Posts: Set a Notion item to "Ready to Send" and watch it appear in Beehiiv. Check formatting, links, and everything.
  • Send Test Emails: Always send a test email from Beehiiv to yourself and a few trusted friends to ensure it looks good across different email clients.

Leveraging Beehiiv's Advanced Features

While Notion handles the content, Beehiiv offers powerful features you can still utilize.

  • Segmentation: Once your content is in Beehiiv, use its segmentation features to send targeted versions of your newsletter to different subscriber groups.
  • Analytics: Pay attention to Beehiiv's analytics to understand what content resonates. This feedback loop can inform your Notion content strategy.
  • Monetization: Explore Beehiiv's native monetization options, like premium subscriptions or sponsorships, that sit on top of your automated content delivery.

Beyond the Basics: Scaling Your Newsletter Automation

Once you've mastered the Notion + Beehiiv stack, you can explore further automation possibilities:

  • Automated Content Summaries: Use AI tools (integrated via Zapier) to generate brief summaries of your Notion content for social media promotion.
  • Audience Feedback Loop: Connect Beehiiv's engagement data back to Notion to track popular topics or links clicked.
  • RSS to Notion: If you curate content from other sources, you could set up an RSS feed reader to automatically add new articles to your Notion database, ready for your weekly review.

The goal here isn't just to send emails; it's to build a resilient, low-friction content machine that supports your broader solopreneur endeavors. This isn't complex guru-level stuff; it's just smart leverage of the tools at your disposal in 2025.

Start Automating Your Newsletter Today

The path to a more efficient and consistent newsletter is clearer than ever. By integrating Notion as your content command center and Beehiiv as your reliable delivery platform, all stitched together with intelligent automation, you’re not just sending emails; you’re building a scalable content asset.

Stop letting manual tasks drain your energy. Embrace this powerful stack and reclaim your time, allowing you to focus on what truly matters: creating valuable content and growing your audience. Give this setup a try, and watch how it transforms your content automation game.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use other tools instead of Zapier for this automation?

Absolutely! While Zapier is widely popular, other integration tools like Make.com (formerly Integromat), Pipedream, or even custom scripts (if you're comfortable with code) can achieve the same results. The core concept is connecting Notion's database changes to Beehiiv's post creation API.

What are the main benefits of using Notion for newsletter content?

Notion offers an incredibly flexible and collaborative environment for content creation. You can easily brainstorm, outline, draft, and organize all your newsletter ideas in one place. Its rich text editor supports various formatting options, and the database functionality allows for powerful tracking, scheduling, and content categorization, making it a superior alternative to simple document editors.