Navigating the fast-paced world of content delivery is a challenge for many business-to-business (B2B) audiences seeking valuable insights.

Martech Record, led by publisher Michael McNerney, emerges as a beacon in this landscape, expertly addressing topics like affiliate marketing, influencer strategies, and retail media tailored to a niche audience.

The publication’s success story highlights how innovative newsletter strategies can effectively connect content and commerce.

But the real story here is how Martech Record leveraged beehiiv to transform its newsletter operations and scale its business.

Let's unpack this success story.

From Zero to Six Figures With Martech Record

Martech Record focuses on "the collision of content and commerce" within affiliate marketing, creator and influencer marketing, and retail media.

After five years of running newsletters, a pivotal change in Martech Record’s strategy occurred when one of their publications transitioned to the beehiiv platform in Q3 of last year. 

This move has proven fruitful, with Martech Record projected to generate $100,000 this year from its newsletter operations.

McNerney reflected on his initial pricing strategy: “In the beginning, I tried to price [the newsletter] relatively low to encourage people to try it, but no one would buy it,” he recalled, expressing his confusion over the lack of sales despite what he believed was a high-quality product.

McNerney’s frustration led him to a bold decision: “I just said I'm going to double the price of the newsletter because I know it's worth it.”

This gamble paid off; within a month, McNerney sold out for the entire year.

The experience taught him a vital lesson about marketing to B2B audiences: “Sometimes people want to buy a premium product. They don’t want to hear it’s half-price; they want to hear it’s worth buying.”

McNerney’s insight into the value of perceived worth not only validated his offering but highlighted the importance of understanding what quality means to his audience.

Through strategic pricing and a keen awareness of customer preferences, Martech Record has successfully carved a niche in the evolving landscape of content and commerce.

The "Easy To Sell" Media Product

For B2B publishers, newsletters offer distinct advantages compared to other media products, primarily due to their predictability and ease of planning.

As McNerney explains, "It's easy to sell a newsletter in a B2B context for the simple reason that people plan newsletters. I've got one on May 8. It goes to this many people. It can go in a spreadsheet very easily."

This straightforward approach, combined with strong margins, makes newsletters particularly valuable for B2B media companies. 

When you have engaged readers who make purchasing decisions for their companies, you can command premium pricing that might seem astronomical by consumer newsletter standards.

McNerney’s journey in newsletter publishing began humbly on Wix and later moved to Mailchimp as his publication grew. However, he faced challenges with functionality and flexibility. 

“We lacked flexibility in publishing and wanted a multiplatform solution,” he noted.

This prompted McNerney to seek a platform that could support collaboration with other newsletters and drive subscriptions effectively.

Enter beehiiv, which offered precisely what he was looking for: a design-friendly, multiplatform solution with innovative features for partnerships.

“It’s super easy for me to say, ‘Hey, the newsletter is now a new section of our site,’” McNerney shared. 

With beehiiv's simplicity, his team could focus more on content creation instead of grappling with technical hurdles.

Why Trust Me

Linda Hwang has extensive experience in B2B marketing and previously worked at a renowned international facilities management company. There, she played a crucial role in creating effective content and social media marketing plans. Now, Hwang is a marketing consultant who helps small businesses create compelling brand stories.

Meeting Readers Wherever They Are

One of McNerney's key insights is understanding that different segments of his audience consume information in different ways.

Rather than forcing everyone into a single channel, Martech Record embraces a multi-platform approach.

"My job is not to tell people where they should be getting our information. It's to be reaching them where they want to be getting information," McNerney emphasizes. "A good portion of them want to do that via newsletter. A separate portion goes to our website, attendees of a webinar, live event, or even our Slack group."

This is where beehiiv's flexibility becomes crucial.

McNerney’s approach is simple yet effective: deliver content where readers prefer to consume it. His bi-weekly newsletter reaches 10,000 subscribers via email, LinkedIn, and a 5,000-member Slack group.

Furthermore, the strategy doesn’t stop at distribution.

McNerney actively engages with individuals mentioned in the newsletter, encouraging them to share or comment on social media platforms like LinkedIn. This creates a ripple effect of engagement that amplifies reach organically.

Why beehiiv Won the Platform Battle

When launching a new publication, Martech Record knew they wanted a solution that addressed limitations they'd experienced with their previous platform.

After consulting with an email marketing consultant, Martech Record chose beehiiv for three key reasons:

1. Multi-platform publishing: "The ability to easily publish straight to the web and then update the website with different creative and different content" ranks as McNerney’s favorite feature.

2. Cross-promotion potential: beehiiv makes it "easy to find other newsletters that are similar and start potentially doing some cross-promotion."

3. User-friendly interface: "No one in the process has had to spend more than an hour figuring out how to use it... As far as I can tell, no one's complained, and they've all got their jobs done really fast, which is all I really need."

The B2B Newsletter Lifecycle

For Martech Record, their newsletter isn't just a standalone product—it's an essential component in their audience engagement ecosystem:

"In any good B2B business, the newsletter is part of an overall cycle of users," McNerney explains. "That often starts with the newsletter but then cycles into registration for certain events or certain content that we create, that ends up with someone attending an event, which ends up with content that we can write about that gets into a newsletter that gets someone else to sign up."

This virtuous cycle makes the newsletter's reach and engagement metrics particularly valuable.

As McNerney puts it, "The newsletter is the element in that cycle that we know kind of captures everyone. And that's hugely valuable."

While Martech Record is currently breaking even on its beehiiv newsletter, McNerney is confident about its future profitability. 

"B2B marketers are extraordinarily risk-averse. I am launching a new newsletter. We're now six months into it. I knew six months ago they wouldn't really buy this thing for another six months... It will drive a ton of profit in six months."

This long-term view reflects the realities of B2B sales cycles, where trust and proven track records matter enormously.

By establishing its newsletter as a valuable resource first, Martech Record is positioning itself for substantial revenue growth.

Future-Proofing Your Content Strategy

When discussing advice for friends considering launching a newsletter, McNerney shared his straightforward perspective: “Newsletters are one of the best products—easy to sell in a B2B context because they’re cost-effective and have clear [return on investment] ROI potential.”

McNerney also highlighted the importance of community in content creation, stating, “We're in a world in which people are constantly shifting how they're consuming information.”

For those starting a newsletter, McNerney emphasized the necessity of choosing adaptable platforms, noting the critical need for flexibility as consumption habits evolve.

He remarked, “I need something that has that flexibility because it's going to change. Today, it's web and mobile. Three years from now, it's something totally different, and I don't know what that is.”

In this context, McNerney would recommend beehiiv without hesitation, praising its user-friendly interface and multi-platform capabilities. This forward-thinking approach to content distribution is exactly why such features have proven so valuable for Martech Record.

Transform Your Newsletter Strategy With beehiiv

Martech Record's experience highlights the power of the right newsletter platform to drive engagement, streamline operations, and generate significant revenue.

By embracing flexibility and understanding audience preferences, they've positioned their content as premium, attracting eager advertisers.

Michael McNerney’s success with beehiiv further demonstrates that with the right tools, you can scale your newsletter operations, engage your audience across multiple channels, and see substantial growth.

Whether you're starting fresh or seeking an upgrade, beehiiv can help you build a flexible and profitable newsletter operation that connects with your readers wherever they are.

Transform your newsletter experience today—sign up for beehiiv and unlock your potential for success!