--- title: "Taypedia’s Playbook with beehiiv: Community-Building To Company-Building" canonical: https://www.beehiiv.com/case-studies/taypedia description: "How a Swiftie Newsletter Became a Pop Culture Social Network" source: live-converter generated: 2026-05-19T14:11:45.898Z --- # Taypedia’s Playbook with beehiiv: Community-Building To Company-Building # Taypedia’s Playbook with beehiiv: Community-Building To Company-Building ## How a Swiftie Newsletter Became a Pop Culture Social Network ![Taypedia’s Playbook with beehiiv: Community-Building To Company-Building](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/aS172HNYClf9noaB_Untitleddesign.png?auto=format,compress) Written by Taylor Cromwell Published on 07 Apr 2025 [](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Ftaypedia&title=Taypedia%E2%80%99s%20Playbook%20with%20beehiiv%3A%20Community-Building%20To%20Company-Building&summary=How%20a%20Swiftie%20Newsletter%20Became%20a%20Pop%20Culture%20Social%20Network)[](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Ftaypedia&text=Taypedia%E2%80%99s%20Playbook%20with%20beehiiv%3A%20Community-Building%20To%20Company-Building)[](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Ftaypedia)[](https://www.threads.net/intent/post?text=Taypedia%E2%80%99s%20Playbook%20with%20beehiiv%3A%20Community-Building%20To%20Company-Building%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.beehiiv.com%2Fcase-studies%2Ftaypedia) ### Table of contents ## Situation: For seven years, Krista Doyle co-hosted the _Holy Swift_ podcast, spending countless hours dissecting Taylor Swift’s music, marketing, and fandom. When the podcast ended in 2022—right before the Eras Tour boom—she realized there was a gap: lots of Swiftie podcasts, but almost no dedicated newsletter for fans. So she launched Taypedia, a beehiiv-powered newsletter for Swifties: weekly news, stories, merch updates, and deep-dive fan content. Within two years, that newsletter didn’t just grow an audience, it became the launchpad for Chalant, a social network for pop culture fans. ![](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/aXtyswIvOtkhCEyA_image3.avif?auto=format,compress) ## Challenge: Krista’s journey had a few big hurdles: 1. She wasn’t a “newsletter person” (yet). She had to learn everything from scratch: open rates, benchmarks, and subscriber growth without SEO. 2. She needed to stand out in a crowded Taylor Swift content universe. Podcasts and social accounts were everywhere — but owned, written, high-trust fan media? Not so much. 3. She wanted to build _beyond_ content. Taypedia wasn’t just a fan project; Krista wanted it to become a community and eventually a business foundation. She needed a platform that could handle audience growth, monetization, and eventually, startup operations, without forcing her into a complex tech stack. ## Solution: ### 1\. Launching Taypedia on beehiiv Krista chose beehiiv for three core reasons: - Supportive, creator-focused team - Economics that worked from day one (start free, then tap into the Ad Network and other features) - Built-for-business infrastructure, unlike legacy tools that felt dated and limiting She launched Taypedia on beehiiv and leaned into: - Weekly Swiftie content - A strong, personal voice - Clear value for superfans One of her biggest growth levers? Giveaways. By running high-intent promos like _Eras Tour floor seat_ and Taylor Swift merch giveaways, Krista was able to 10x her newsletter audience in months. ### 2\. From fan newsletter → startup launchpad As Taypedia’s community grew, so did the ambition. Future co-founder Bekah June reached out on LinkedIn after following Krista’s work. Bekah had been thinking about a social product for pop culture fans; Krista had already built a distribution engine and engaged community. They combined forces and created Chalant — a social media network for music and pop culture communities. beehiiv became the operating system for the launch: - A separate Chalant publication to collect waitlist signups - Taypedia as the primary acquisition channel and alpha tester pool - Launch emails inviting loyal readers to be the first to try the product The result: - 300+ people on the early waitlist - A pool of beta testers and early adopters - Even potential investors sourced from that email list Taypedia became “a steady source of user acquisition” as Chalant moved from concept to product. ### 3\. Two newsletters, two jobs — one platform Krista and Bekah now run two distinct newsletters on beehiiv, each with its own role: - Taypedia → Editorial hub & community engine - Swiftie content - Minimal product promotion - Builds loyalty, trust, and long-term affinity - Chalant Newsletter → Product & growth engine - User onboarding - Feature announcements - Engagement loops to drive app usage Both live on beehiiv, but they function as separate growth machines — one for fandom, one for startup operations. ![](https://images.prismic.io/beehiiv/aXtypAIvOtkhCExt_image14.avif?auto=format,compress) ## Results: - Taypedia grew from a niche fan newsletter into a scaled, high-trust Swiftie community, powered by giveaways and consistent content. - Chalant used that community as: - A user acquisition channel - An alpha/beta tester base - A validation engine for the product vision - beehiiv enabled Krista to: - Start for free and scale without switching platforms - Run both a media brand and a startup funnel from the same ecosystem - Turn a personal obsession into a venture-backed product roadmap ### Lessons from Krista’s Playbook - Be a person, not a faceless brand. Readers followed Krista from newsletter to startup because they trusted _her_, not just the content. - Consistency beats everything. Showing up regularly with thoughtful content built the foundation that made Chalant possible. - Communities want a home. In a fractured social landscape, tightly focused newsletters on beehiiv are becoming the new “home base” — and, increasingly, the launchpads for companies. If you’re sitting on a niche you can’t stop talking about, the playbook is clear: Start the newsletter. Build the community. Then see how big it can get. Try beehiiv’s free trial today and start turning your fandom into a business. ## Related Case Studies ![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 for Out of Your League [ Read Case Study → ](/case-studies/out-of-your-league) ![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 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) ![](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)