How TechCrunch Powers Its Newsletter Engine With beehiiv
At a Glance: Impact of the Migration
Subscriber growth: Mobility +14%, StrictlyVC +4% in just two months
Editorial efficiency: Writers and editors produce faster with fewer bottlenecks
Revenue diversification: Monetization via the Ad Network, sponsorships, and future subscriptions
Experimentation unlocked: Editorial teams empowered to test new ideas without dev resources
Smarter targeting: beehiiv’s segmentation filters bot subscribers and protects deliverability
TechCrunch had long recognized the power of newsletters to build direct audience relationships. StrictlyVC, the venture capital daily, and Mobility, the weekly deep dive into transportation, had both grown loyal followings. But under the hood, their publishing stack couldn’t keep up.
HubSpot handled the sends, but the workflow was cumbersome:
A complex, technical setup made even small editorial changes resource-intensive.
Rigid templates stifled creativity and slowed iteration.
A lack of integrated growth tools meant subscriber acquisition was a manual, uphill battle.
For a media company where speed and agility are everything, the infrastructure was holding them back.
Why beehiiv: Editorial Flexibility Meets Business Growth
TechCrunch needed a single platform to power growth and monetization. For Matt Gross, Vice President of Digital Initiatives at TechCrunch’s parent company, Archetype, that platform was beehiiv.
By combining beehiiv’s editorial-first design with its built-in monetization and growth tools, TechCrunch replaced fragmentation with focus.
The Results: What Changed After the Move?
1. More Editorial Agility
The most immediate change? Writers and editors could work faster, without leaning on developers or wrestling with clunky tools.
2. Compounding Subscriber Growth
TechCrunch’s previous platform, HubSpot, offered standardized churn rules that removed readers too aggressively. Once on Beehiiv, the team was able to set up specific re-engagement automations tailored to the business's needs.
On the growth side, it took just a few months for SEO-optimized archives and integrations like HelloBar popups to drive measurable gains:
Mobility grew 14% over the period.
StrictlyVC grew by 4%.
Every newsletter issue now doubles as a long-term acquisition asset, discoverable via search and supported by referral programs.
3. Monetization That’s Always On
Previously, revenue depended heavily on direct-sold campaigns. With beehiiv, TechCrunch unlocked:
The industry’s largest native Ad Network: Offering relevant ad opportunities to fill unsold inventory on short notice.
Paid subscriptions: A new revenue lever, ready to launch when timing is right.
Streamlined sponsorships: Integrated tools make it easier for sales teams to manage inventory and for editorial teams to insert sponsored content.
For TechCrunch, beehiiv makes revenue predictable and scalable, not ad hoc.
And it’s not just them. Check out this case study on how The AI Journal uses beehiiv to earn revenue on repeat.
4. Experimentation Without Barriers
Legacy systems made experimentation too costly. With beehiiv, TechCrunch can test everything from reader polls to new newsletter formats directly in the editor.
“Like everywhere else, TechCrunch newsletters are a way to find our most loyal readers and keep them engaged with our work. And now that we’ve got systems set up to make email experimentation easy, we want to use them as much as possible… The important thing is we now have the ability to ask the questions.”
Instead of asking if something is possible, editors are now asking “what else can we try?”
5. Cleaner Segmentation, Cleaner Data
Fake signups and bots had plagued TechCrunch’s newsletters, inflating numbers and skewing analytics. With beehiiv, segmentation tools allow them to flag and filter those accounts.
The result: healthier lists, better targeting, and more accurate performance metrics.
beehiiv turned TechCrunch’s newsletters into the core growth engine of the business, supporting every other initiative:
Audience Growth → SEO archives, referrals, pop-ups.
Engagement → Polls, segmentation, and analytics.
Revenue → Sponsorships, Ad Network, subscriptions.
Events & Podcasts → Newsletters drive awareness and registrations for TechCrunch Sessions and amplify StrictlyVC’s podcast reach.
Every issue compounds TechCrunch’s reach, revenue, and authority.
Lessons for Media Leaders
TechCrunch’s journey highlights four lessons any publisher can apply:
Empower your editorial teams with tools that let them create more easily, instead of wrangling with complicated software.
Treat newsletters as standalone products, with distinct branding, content strategy, and goals.
Design for evergreen growth, turning each issue into a discoverable asset.
Experiment constantly, and make it easy for teams to iterate without resource roadblocks.
The Inbox as the Modern Media OS
TechCrunch’s reinvention proves how the inbox is becoming the operating system of modern media.
With beehiiv, TechCrunch accelerated growth, diversified revenue, and put editorial control back where it belongs: in the hands of its journalists and creators.
For publishers navigating 2025 and beyond, the lesson is simple. The key to growth is effective distribution, and newsletters are a crucial piece of the strategy. If you’re looking to reimagine your distribution strategy, there’s no better platform than beehiiv.
