--- title: "How Gayjoy Grew to 1,000 Subscribers as a Solo Creator Using beehiiv" canonical: https://www.beehiiv.com/case-studies/gayjoy description: "Building queer visibility, community, and pop culture commentary beyond major cities" source: live-converter generated: 2026-06-03T05:47:30.131Z --- # How Gayjoy Grew to 1,000 Subscribers as a Solo Creator Using beehiiv # How Gayjoy Grew to 1,000 Subscribers as a Solo Creator Using beehiiv ## Building queer visibility, community, and pop culture commentary beyond major cities ![How Gayjoy Grew to 1,000 Subscribers as a Solo Creator Using beehiiv](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/aXcQogIvOtkhB7Eo_Untitleddesign-28-.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%2Fgayjoy&title=How%20Gayjoy%20Grew%20to%201%2C000%20Subscribers%20as%20a%20Solo%20Creator%20Using%20beehiiv&summary=Building%20queer%20visibility%2C%20community%2C%20and%20pop%20culture%20commentary%20beyond%20major%20cities)[](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Fgayjoy&text=How%20Gayjoy%20Grew%20to%201%2C000%20Subscribers%20as%20a%20Solo%20Creator%20Using%20beehiiv)[](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Fgayjoy)[](https://www.threads.net/intent/post?text=How%20Gayjoy%20Grew%20to%201%2C000%20Subscribers%20as%20a%20Solo%20Creator%20Using%20beehiiv%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Fgayjoy) ### Table of contents ### Overview **Gayjoy Digest** is a weekly newsletter covering queer pop culture, celebrity news, and community stories, built for lesbian, trans, and nonbinary readers who are often underserved by mainstream media. Founded by **Nicole Ripka**, Gayjoy started as an extension of a fast-growing queer events brand in New York City. But the newsletter was created with a broader mission: reach queer people outside major cities who may not have access to in-person community or representation. In under a year, Gayjoy Digest grew to **1,000 subscribers**, driven by authenticity, partnerships, and beehiiv’s built-in growth tools. ### The Newsletter - **Newsletter:** Gayjoy Digest - **Founder:** Nicole Ripka - **Frequency:** Weekly - **Subscribers:** 1,000+ - **Focus:** Queer pop culture, celebrity news, deep dives, and community spotlights Each edition blends light-hearted gossip—queer celebrity relationships, coming-out moments, upcoming films—with thoughtful cultural analysis and community features. ### The Challenge As a solo founder, Nicole needed a platform that supported: - Organic growth without heavy operational overhead - Referral-driven expansion - Long-term audience ownership While Substack was appealing from a branding perspective, it lacked the built-in growth infrastructure needed for a one-person operation focused on scaling. ### Why beehiiv Gayjoy migrated to beehiiv to prioritize growth from day one. Key reasons: - Native referral program (no third-party tools required) - Platform designed for newsletters as businesses—not just writing tools - Strong founder-led product vision “When I found Tyler’s post about building Morning Brew’s referral system, it was a no-brainer. As a solo entrepreneur, I need growth support.” ### Growth Strategy Gayjoy’s growth has been driven by: - **Referral incentives** (e.g. Pride Guides unlocked with one referral) - **Events-to-newsletter flywheel**, converting in-person attendees into long-term readers - **Partnerships and earned media**, including features in _The New York Times_ and _The Cut_ One referral campaign alone generated **70 referrals** from a list of ~1,000 subscribers—validating referrals as a scalable, low-effort growth lever. ### Audience Focus Gayjoy is intentionally built for: - Lesbian, trans, and nonbinary readers - Queer people outside major cities - Readers seeking joyful, affirming representation—not corporate-filtered coverage The newsletter functions as both media and community touchpoint for readers who may not have local access to queer spaces. ### Favorite beehiiv Feature **Referral Program** “If your platform doesn’t offer built-in growth, you’re wasting time. With beehiiv, the referral system is just there—and it works.” ### Results - 1,000+ subscribers as a solo creator - High-quality referrals driven by community incentives - Strong conversion from events to email - A scalable foundation for expanding Gayjoy into a larger lifestyle business Gayjoy Digest proves that you don’t need a team or paid ads to grow a meaningful media brand, you need the right platform. beehiiv gave a solo founder the tools to: - Launch fast - Turn readers into referrers - Own the audience relationship from day one If you’re building a newsletter rooted in community, identity, or culture and want growth without operational drag- **Start your newsletter on beehiiv for free** ## Related Case Studies ![How The Small Bow Left Substack for beehiiv and Grew Open Rates by 35%](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/ahVlu7K9tuLqEJDp_Untitleddesign-39-.png?auto=format,compress) ### How The Small Bow Left Substack for beehiiv and Grew Open Rates by 35% A recovery newsletter breaks free from Substack, builds its own branded platform on beehiiv, and immediately sees a 35% jump in open rates [ Read Case Study → ](/case-studies/the-small-bow) ![How TechCrunch Streamlined Editorial Workflows with beehiiv](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/aPdWMrpReVYa3gfP_Untitleddesign-29-.png?auto=format,compress) ### How TechCrunch Streamlined Editorial Workflows with beehiiv The Growth Playbook Powering TechCrunch’s Media Engine [ Read Case Study → ](/case-studies/techcrunch) ![How a Queer Sports Newsletter Doubled Its Revenue After Leaving Substack](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/agwKIqYofJOwHWi7_Untitleddesign-37-.png?auto=format,compress) ### How a Queer Sports Newsletter Doubled Its Revenue After Leaving Substack Why leaving Substack was the best business decision Frankie de la Cretaz ever made [ Read Case Study → ](/case-studies/out-of-your-league) ![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,onerror=redirect,format=auto,width=640,quality=75/www/boosts-promo-2x/rockets.svg) ## The Only Writing & Publishing Tool You Need [ Start Your Free Trial ](https://app.beehiiv.com/signup?plan=max)