Newsletter writer connects Beehiiv to Claude so every issue gets a grade and a lesson

What they did

They told Claude their Beehiiv URL and asked it to pull the last eight issues, analyze performance, and build a dashboard. The Google Sheet now updates each week with a rolling eight-week comparison of growth, open and click rates, a grade for each issue, a tab with every issue's numbers, a picture of who reads the newsletter (job level, companies, location) to use in sponsor pitches, and a 'learning hub' that explains what worked. They also had Claude set up a Beehiiv segment of people who hadn't opened in about 60 days.

How it went

When one issue's open rate came in four points below their eight-week average, the system flagged it the same day and found that how-to and tutorial framing did better than opinion pieces, so they went back to tutorials. They say it replaces about two hours of digging through the data by hand.

Worth knowing

• Beehiiv's MCP was in beta when they filmed: you have to apply, and not every plan has access. Claude Cowork needs a paid Claude plan. They say any newsletter platform with an MCP or a data export will work. They share the prompt for free and sell templates.
• Price check: Claude: free plan; Pro: US$20/month, or US$17/month on a yearly plan (US$200/year) (checked Nov 1, 2026); beehiiv: free plan; Lite: US$59/month, or US$49/month on a yearly plan (US$588/year) (checked Oct 26, 2026).

Paying for Claude? See cheaper Claude alternatives.

Try it yourself

Paste this into a chatbot, then add your own details underneath.

Here are the stats for my last eight newsletter issues: subject line, topic, send time, open rate, click rate and new subscribers. Compare them side by side, give each issue a grade from A to D, and tell me which topics or angles did best and worst. Then suggest what my next issue should be about and how I should frame it.

Original post

See Brandon Smithwrick's original post on YouTube → (Jun 16, 2026)