--- title: "How The B-Side Hit 10,000 Subscribers and 60% Open Rates on beehiiv" canonical: https://www.beehiiv.com/case-studies/b-side description: "Boston Globe Media built a daily Gen-Z newsletter with standout engagement in just 5 months" source: live-converter generated: 2026-05-10T16:17:26.020Z --- # How The B-Side Hit 10,000 Subscribers and 60% Open Rates on beehiiv # How The B-Side Hit 10,000 Subscribers and 60% Open Rates on beehiiv ## Boston Globe Media built a daily Gen-Z newsletter with standout engagement in just 5 months ![How The B-Side Hit 10,000 Subscribers and 60% Open Rates on beehiiv](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/aXcOgwIvOtkhB7D3_Untitleddesign-20-.png?auto=format,compress) Written by Kanishka Kumawat Published on 07 Apr 2025 [](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Fb-side&title=How%20The%20B-Side%20Hit%2010%2C000%20Subscribers%20and%2060%25%20Open%20Rates%20on%20beehiiv&summary=Boston%20Globe%20Media%20built%20a%20daily%20Gen-Z%20newsletter%20with%20standout%20engagement%20in%20just%205%20months)[](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Fb-side&text=How%20The%20B-Side%20Hit%2010%2C000%20Subscribers%20and%2060%25%20Open%20Rates%20on%20beehiiv)[](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Fb-side)[](https://www.threads.net/intent/post?text=How%20The%20B-Side%20Hit%2010%2C000%20Subscribers%20and%2060%25%20Open%20Rates%20on%20beehiiv%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Fb-side) ### Table of contents ### Overview - Newsletter: The B-Side - Company: Boston Globe Media - GM: Andrew Grillo (Director of New Product Revenue) - Launch: October 2022 - Platform: beehiiv - Frequency: Daily - Audience: 20–30-year-olds in Boston - Results: 10,000 subscribers, ~60% open rates ## The Backstory Boston Globe Media saw a clear shift: Gen Z wasn’t consuming local news through newspapers, TV, or traditional websites. Rather than forcing old formats onto younger readers, the team pitched a new product—a creator-led, email-first news brand built specifically for how Gen Z consumes content. The idea for The B-Side came out of a company-wide hack day and was greenlit as an internal startup. ## Why a Newsletter Email offered what social and web couldn’t: - A direct, one-to-one connection with readers - A consistent daily habit - Ownership of the audience, independent of algorithms The goal wasn’t just reach—it was daily engagement. ## Why beehiiv Before beehiiv, Boston Globe Media primarily used Mailchimp. For The B-Side, they needed something different. beehiiv stood out because it allowed the team to: - Launch a self-contained media business from zero - Access deep analytics without an analytics team - Build a distinct brand separate from Boston Globe Media - Scale without pricing penalties Andrew described beehiiv as differentiated enough to justify breaking from existing tooling. ## Growth Strategy The team avoided blasting the newsletter to existing Boston Globe lists (which skew older). Instead, they focused on high-intent, on-brand acquisition: - Targeted placements on Boston.com (food, culture, events) - University partnerships (BU, Northeastern) - Giveaways and local brand collaborations - Event-based signups with partners like Sofar Sounds - Strong social presence via short-form video Growth was intentional, slow, and audience-first. ## Monetization Current: - Native newsletter ads written in The B-Side’s voice - Premium placements amplified across Boston.com Planned: - beehiiv Ad Network - Live events for 20–30-year-olds in Boston - Membership (guides, events, exclusive access) ## Results After 5 months on beehiiv: - 10,000 subscribers - ~60% open rates (daily send) - 8–10% click-through rates - Strong deliverability and platform reliability Andrew emphasized quality over vanity metrics, noting the audience was “hyper-engaged.” ## Favorite beehiiv Features - 3D Analytics: Clear visibility into growth, engagement, and acquisition sources - Segmentation: Easily analyze cohorts (students, event signups, referral sources) - Brand & Design Tools: Consistent look across email, site, and forms - Flat Pricing: Predictable costs as the list scales ## Key Takeaways - Don’t force legacy audiences onto new products—build for the right reader from day one - Daily newsletters can work if the content is fast, relevant, and voice-driven - Native ads outperform banners when they match editorial tone - beehiiv enables lean teams to run serious media businesses - Engagement beats scale when monetization is the goal ## Related Case Studies ![How AdQuick Scaled Industry Sponsorships with beehiiv's Ad Network](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/Z_VpXHdAxsiBwdKG_adquick.png?auto=format,compress) ### How AdQuick Scaled Industry Sponsorships with beehiiv's Ad Network Solving scale and visibility challenges in B2B marketing [ Read Case Study → ](/case-studies/adquick) ![How Particle for Men Generated a 1.73 ROAS Through Newsletter Ads](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/abfLOrbci2UF6CEY_Untitleddesign-34-.png?auto=format,compress) ### How Particle for Men Generated a 1.73 ROAS Through Newsletter Ads Scaling newsletter advertising to 8.3M readers while achieving 809 conversions with beehiiv [ Read Case Study → ](/case-studies/particle-for-men) ![The Founder Who Turned His 400k+ Newsletter Into a Negative CAC Machine](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/afL59cBOoF08xfCT_Untitleddesign-36-.png?auto=format,compress) ### The Founder Who Turned His 400k+ Newsletter Into a Negative CAC Machine How Open Source CEO pioneered model where newsletter ad revenue offsets customer acquisition costs with beehiiv. 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