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Gifting a post allows you to provide a URL to a post with your paid content and share it with readers who are not paid subscribers. This is a great way to share your paid content with your subscribers to encourage them to upgrade to a paid subscription, share with key stakeholders, or collaborate with other publishers for links to your best content, without a paywall.
<blockquote data-type="tech-note">A gift link can only show paid content. For the best experience, we recommend using gift links for posts that contain only paid content. If any of your post editor blocks visibility settings are set to free, it will not be available in the post gift link.</blockquote>
<h2 id="h_01JEYB1CG4YX6CRTYR0HPB0PQ7">How to create a post gift link</h2>
<blockquote data-type="note">In order to create a gift link, your post must already be published as a web post.
</blockquote>
There are two ways to can generate a post gift link: 
<h4 id="h_01JEYB1CG4Z8DC74VM0C5ZBKS6">From the posts library page </h4>
<ol>
<li>From the left panel dashboard, click Posts. <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28488047380887" width="226" height="204"> 
</li>
<li>Navigate to the post you wish to generate the gift link for. Click the three dots menu next to the post, then click Gift link to paid content. <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28488073172887" width="1414" height="772"> 
</li>
<li>A modal will appear with your generated post gift link. Click Copy to copy the link to your clipboard. You can now share your link anywhere. When you are done, click Close to exit the modal. <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28488047382167" width="624" height="364"> 
</li>
</ol>
<h4 id="h_01JF028DS0Z0K9729JY0J5JPVG">From the post overview</h4>
<ol>
<li>From the left panel dashboard, click Posts. <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28488073162647" width="230" height="208"> 
</li>
<li>Navigate to the post you wish to generate the gift link for. Click the title of the post to be taken to the post overview page. <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28488047369367" width="567" height="164"> 
</li>
<li>Once in the post overview for your preferred post, click the arrow next to Edit Post to access the drop down menu, then select Gift link to paid content. <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28488073170071" width="383" height="295">
</li>
<li>A modal will appear with your generated post gift link. Click Copy to copy the link to your clipboard. You can now share your link anywhere. When you are done, click Close to exit the modal. <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28500651677847" width="624" height="364">
</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="h_01JEYB1CG4GHZE6SNG52B1GZM8">
 How to remove access to a gift link
</h2>
If you no longer wish to give access to your paid content and want the content to again be behind a paywall, you can do so easily within your account. 
<ol>
<li>From the left panel dashboard, click Posts. <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28488073178775" width="228" height="206"> 
</li>
<li>Navigate to the post you wish to remove access to the gift link. Click the three dots menu next to the post, then click Gift link to paid content. <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28488073172887" width="1414" height="772"> 
</li>
<li>A modal will appear with your generated gift link. Click Reset link to revoke access. <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28488047382167" width="624" height="364"> 
</li>
<li>A new modal will pop up to ask you if you wish to reset your gift link. If so, click Reset. <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28488073180823" width="624" height="268"> 
</li>
</ol>
<blockquote data-type="reminder">After clicking Reset, the link will revert to the paywalled post and readers will no longer be able to see the paid content without a paid subscription, including anyone currently using the link.</blockquote>
<h2 id="h_01JEYB1CG4T0FW8ND94A6Z2A62">Frequently asked questions about creating a gift link for a paid post</h2>
<ol class="js-toggles">
<li title="I have different visibility settings for each tier in my post and my reader can see all of the content with the gift link?">
The gift link to paid content will show any paid content. It cannot be limited by tiers, so the content for all paid tiers will be shown while viewing a gift post link. Free content will not be visible with your gift links. 
</li>
<li title="I’ve added a subscriber break and the content is hidden, even though I’ve shared a gift post link?">
If you’ve added a subscriber break to a post, a reader will still need to subscribe in order to see the paid content via the post link. 
</li>
<li title="Can I share the gift link for content that is free and doesn’t have a paid tier?">
No, this feature is only for posts with paid content. Any free content will not be visible in the gift link.
</li>
</ol>

How to create a gift link for a paid post

In the evolving world of email marketing, understanding true engagement is more challenging than ever. Earlier this year, we observed a significant rise in bot-generated clicks, which are often caused by ISPs and anti-phishing software scanning emails. This creates inflated click metrics, making it harder to gauge genuine audience engagement.
To address this, we’ve spent months developing a sophisticated data platform that filters out bot activity with precision. By analyzing dozens of signals — such as IP addresses, user agents, and click patterns — beehiiv can confidently identify and exclude bot clicks using our Verified Clicks process. For example, if a recipient registers multiple clicks within seconds of opening an email, those are likely bot interactions. Our platform cross-verifies this with additional data points to ensure accuracy. The result? Cleaner, more reliable data you can trust.
<hr>
<h2 id="h_01JEPZMH2ARA24ME3WKW2VYF4E">Common challenges with email engagement metrics</h2>
In the email ecosystem, engagement metrics are often distorted for legitimate reasons, including:
<ul>
<li>
Inflated Click Rates: Bots and anti-phishing tools scan email content and test links for potential threats, artificially increasing click counts.</li>
<li>
Authentication Changes: Platforms like Gmail and Yahoo require DMARC records for authentication, adding automated scrutiny that may further skew engagement data.</li>
</ul>
While these measures enhance security, they can significantly distort click metrics depending on your audience's email platform.
<hr>
<h2 id="h_01JEPZMH2AXKMNJAX53AF56S38">Our Solution: Verified Clicks</h2>
We built Verified Clicks to provide accurate, actionable data you can trust. 
Here’s how it works:
<ul>
<li>
Our Verified Clicks metric: Verified Clicks combines first and third-party data models to filter out bot activities and noise.</li>
<li>
Transparency and flexibility: We provide both unfiltered click data and verified metrics, allowing you to choose what works best for your needs.</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="h_01JEPZMH2AKJBAJS69A6MTZ9RN">Click metrics breakdown</h3>
With Verified Clicks, your click data is categorized into clear, actionable metrics:
<ul>
<li>
Total Clicks: All recorded clicks, including potential bot interactions.</li>
<li>
Verified Total Clicks: Clicks verified as genuine, filtered for accuracy. 
</li>
<li>
Unique Clicks: The number of individual users who clicked, regardless of frequency.</li>
<li>
Verified Unique Clicks: Individual verified users who clicked. 
</li>
<li>
Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of recipients who clicked on any link.</li>
<li>
Verified Click-Through Rate: The percentage of recipients verified as genuinely engaging.</li>
</ul>
By leveraging Verified Clicks, you’ll gain confidence in your email metrics while maintaining full visibility into all click interactions. This transparency allows you to make data-driven decisions with clarity and precision.
<hr>
<h2 id="h_01JEPZMH2A9A5MFGRD0VXREKZM">Where to view Verified Clicks for a post</h2>
<ol>
<li>From the left panel, go to Posts. Click on one of your published posts to open its dashboard, then click on the Performance tab.  <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28404633655063" width="514" height="195"> 
</li>
<li>Navigate to the Click Through Rate box and click the arrow next to Show Verified Clicks. A dropdown will reveal the Verified Click Rate, Verified Unique Clicks, and Verified Total Clicks for the post.</li>
</ol>
<hr>
<h2 id="h_01JEPZMH2AP2A060ZB5M1J5MHH">Where to view Verified Clicks for a subscriber</h2>
<ol>
<li>From the left panel, go to Audience &gt; Subscribers. Click on one of your subscribers to open their dashboard/profile. <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28404633656599" width="568" height="208"> 
</li>
<li>Navigate to the Click Through Rate box and click the arrow next to Verified CTR. A dropdown will reveal the Verified Clicks percentage.</li>
</ol>

Introducing Verified Clicks: Accurate email engagement metrics

If you no longer wish to <a href="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/14492990172823" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">use a custom domain for your beehiiv publication</a>, you can remove it from its assigned roles. This includes its use as a Web Domain or Redirect Domain, where your publication is hosted, or as an Email Domain used for sending newsletters. 
Click on the steps in the interactive image to review them, and/or view the written instructions below.
<div style="position: relative; box-sizing: content-box; max-height: 80svh; width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 1.9381663113006398; padding: 40px 0 40px 0;"><iframe style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" title="How to remove a custom domain in beehiiv" src="https://try.beehiiv.com/embed/cm3hfrew7467h8hspcnh773t2?embed_v=2" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allow="clipboard-write"></iframe></div>
<ol>
<li>From the left panel Dashboard, scroll down and click Settings. <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28253473462423" width="145" height="339"> 
</li>
<li>Your publication settings will open. If you have multiple publications, select one from the dropdown options. Select Domains from the left panel. On the right side under Verified Domains, navigate to the domain you want to remove and click the 3 dots to reveal the dropdown options. Click Disconnect Domain. <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28253473464983" width="642" height="345"> 
</li>
<li>A popup will appear outlining what to expect. To confirm your choice, click Disconnect Domain. Important Note: Disconnecting your domain will cause all existing links associated with your web domain to become inactive or break. After disconnecting a domain, be sure to also remove all associated DNS records for it with your DNS provider. <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28253481088279" width="533" height="389"> 
</li>
<li>Repeat steps 1–3 for each domain you wish to disconnect. Once a domain has been removed, your beehiiv subdomain will reappear. If needed, you can configure a custom domain again by clicking Setup Custom Domains. <img src="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/28253473468951" width="532" height="554">
</li>
</ol>

How to remove a custom domain

In the ever-evolving world of email, big changes are on the horizon; this time courtesy of Apple. With the upcoming release of iOS 18.2 (slated for Dec 2024), Apple Mail will introduce on-device categorization, a feature that automatically sorts incoming messages into tabs. If this sounds familiar, it’s because Gmail introduced a similar tabbed inbox back in 2013. That change sparked a wave of concern among email senders, yet ultimately reshaped how subscribers engage with their inboxes.
Now, Apple Mail’s redesign is poised to make an impact as well. Let’s dive into what this means for email senders and how you can prepare for these updates.
<hr>
<h2 id="h_01JE438TA8NPMXJZMTFMDJDA9F">What’s Changing</h2>
Apple Mail will now categorize emails into 4 distinct tabs:
<ul>
<li>
Primary: Messages from people you know and time-sensitive communications.</li>
<li>
Transactions: Receipts and order confirmations.</li>
<li>
Updates: Newsletters and social media notifications.</li>
<li>
Promotions: Sales and marketing emails.</li>
</ul>
By default, messages will automatically sort into these tabs. However, users will have the ability to adjust the categorization manually. Notably, this feature will only apply to Apple Mail on iOS, leaving desktop users unaffected for now.
<hr>
<h2 id="h_01JE43BBZGSRW5SJKDWZ7WMN77">Will tabs impact open and click rates?</h2>
It’s natural to wonder whether Apple Mail’s new tabs will impact email performance metrics. Historically, when Gmail introduced tabs, senders feared significant declines in open rates, especially for marketing emails routed to the Promotions tab. But those fears didn’t entirely materialize. Subscribers adapted, learned to navigate their tabs, and continued engaging with the content that mattered most to them.
That said, the new Apple Mail tabs feature will have some impact, particularly as users grow accustomed to the changes. But here’s the key takeaway: the Promotions and Update tabs are still part of the inbox. For newsletters and marketing emails, landing in one of these tabs doesn’t mean landing in the dreaded spam folder; it simply means a more organized inbox experience for the recipient. 
<hr>
<h2 id="h_01JE43CZ51ZG843CQFEYZB45ZQ">Other new features in Apple Mail</h2>
Apple’s updates go beyond tabs. Here are a couple additional features to note:
<ul>
<li>
Digest View: Apple will group messages from the same sender into a single view, making it easier for users to browse, archive, or delete emails.</li>
<li>
Summaries: Before opening an email, users will see a short AI-generated summary of its contents, with the option to tap 'Summarize' for lengthy emails.</li>
</ul>
These features highlight Apple’s continued focus on improving the user experience while giving senders new opportunities to stand out.
<hr>
<h2 id="h_01JE43E0NEW48DQW14DC7CPHS9">What should beehiiv senders do?</h2>
While there’s no immediate action required, here are a few best practices to keep in mind:
<ol>
<li>
Focus on engaging content: As always, creating high-quality, relevant content is key to capturing attention, no matter the tab your email lands in.</li>
<li>
Educate Subscribers: Encourage recipients to drag your emails to their Primary tab or adjust settings if they’d like to see your messages there.</li>
<li>
Practice list hygiene: As bounces, unsubscribes, and spam complaints all impact engagement, and ultimately where your emails land, make sure you consistently keep your list clean and up-to-date. </li>
<li>
Test Placement: Test for yourself where your mail is landing and seek to understand why Apple is placing it there. </li>
</ol>
<hr>
<h2 id="h_01JE43FAHJN93NPHTQCNZS0DPS">Adapting to an ever-changing email landscape</h2>
Whether it’s Gmail tabs, Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection, or now on-device categorization, the email world never stands still. While changes can feel daunting, they often pave the way for new opportunities to connect with audiences in meaningful ways.
Looking ahead, we expect more and more mailbox providers jumping on the Tabs bandwagon. And that’s a good thing. It's time that we as senders embrace the Promotional and Updates tabs instead of looking for ways to trick algorithms. As a colleague once said way back in 2013, "Send stuff people want and whatever inbox providers do with their interfaces will have little effect."  This quote still rings true today.

Apple Mail’s new tabs: What email senders need to know

Whether you’re a content creator, email marketer, or newsletter publisher, understanding how your audience engages with your email is essential to building strong connections. However, in today’s world of automated interactions and security filters, accurately interpreting click data has become increasingly challenging. In this article, we’ll help you understand the complexities behind click metrics, including the rise of non-human interactions like bots. We'll dive into how click tracking works, why metrics vary across platforms, and give insight into how beehiiv filters non-human clicks. Finally, we'll outline beehiiv’s click-tracking naming conventions, and offer other suggestions for evaluating success.
<hr>
<h2 id="h_01JD37SMSBQDABDQMCBY36J1BX">Click tracking explained</h2>
Click tracking is the process of recording when someone clicks on a link within your email content. This is done by replacing the original URLs in your content with a special, trackable version of the link. When a recipient clicks on a link, they're first directed to a tracking server, where the click event is logged, including details such as the time of the click, the recipient’s email address, the device used, and the link that was clicked. After logging the data, the email is then redirected to the intended destination.
<hr>
<h2 id="h_01JD363WEK6D7DRX0G2Q84Z81Z">Why click rates vary across platforms</h2>
Accurately filtering non-human interaction (NHI) clicks is important to ensure engagement metrics accurately reflect the behavior of real readers. However, the methods for detecting and filtering these non-human clicks vary significantly between email service providers (ESPs). Each platform employs its own proprietary algorithms and filtering techniques, ranging from analyzing user-agent strings to detecting abnormal click patterns. Heck, some ESPs don’t do any filtering at all!
 This wide-ranging variation in filtering methodologies highlights the challenge of evaluating click performance across different platforms. The metrics you see at one ESP most likely will be processed differently than another, even for identical content and audiences. There is no ‘industry standard’.  At beehiiv, we’re often asked, "Why were my click rates higher with another service compared to here?" Of course, there’s no one single answer, but knowing that we employ some of the most accurate filtering technologies in the industry leads us to point to the probable differences between platforms.
<hr>
<h2 id="h_01JD363WEK4SMFYKTEXBAWBVCF">Filtering non-human interaction (NHI) clicks</h2>
As mentioned, some platforms might not filter out non-human interactions as effectively, or at all, resulting in inflated click rates that make engagement appear higher than it really is. Below are just a few of the techniques used at beehiiv to give you the most accurate click metrics:
<ul>
<li>
Time interval analysis: Bots often click links in rapid succession, far quicker than a human could. This timing data is used to identify and filter automated interactions. 
</li>
<li>
User-agent analysis: beehiiv analyzes the 'user-agent' strings that bots use when clicking links. Many security bots have recognizable user-agent strings or contain hard-coded keywords, allowing us to filter them out from your metrics. 
</li>
<li>
Click pattern analysis: Bots tend to click all the links in an email or follow a predictable order. By analyzing these patterns, we can more accurately identify automated clicks. 
</li>
<li>
Autonomous System Numbers (ASN): We identify ASNs, often identified as ISPs or data centers,  that have been confirmed to be all bots related.</li>
</ul>
Like any forward-thinking service provider, beehiiv understands that security measures constantly change, including those that identify and analyze links in your email.  It’s a dynamic ongoing process.  So too are the tools and processes beehiiv uses to eliminate NHI and provide you with the most accurate data available. 
<hr>
<h2 id="h_01JD363WEK5JMRKRPGV29PWQB4">Navigating industry naming conventions for click metrics</h2>
The email industry lacks a standardized set of naming conventions for engagement metrics, which can lead to confusion, especially when trying to compare data from different email service providers. Each platform may use slightly different terms to describe similar click metrics, often with subtle variations in what each term means. That’s why it’s important to understand exactly what you’re being provided when speaking to various click metrics. Below, is a list of terms used within beehiiv’s product, along with definitions to help clarify their meaning.
<hr>
<h2 id="h_01JD363WEKGJBE56311S6BZ9R5">beehiiv’s click metric terms</h2>
<ul>
<li>
Unfiltered Clicks or Unfiltered Email Clicks: The total number of links that are clicked within an email, including all detected interactions without applying filters to remove non-human interactions (NHI) or multiple recipient clicks. Many refer to this metric as ‘raw’ clicks, as well, some in the industry refer to this as ‘total clicks’, which again is why clarification is often needed. 
</li>
<li>
Total Clicks or Total Email Clicks: The total number of links that are clicked within an email, excluding non-human interactions (NHI) or automated clicks. This count does include multiple clicks by the same recipient. 
</li>
<li>
Unique Clicks or Unique Email Clicks: The total number of individual recipients who clicked on any link within an email at least once, counting each recipient only once regardless of how many times they clicked on that specific link.  This metric doesn’t count multiple clicks by the same recipient or NHI clicks, so it’s often viewed as a more accurate measure of unique audience interest. Some may refer to this metric as Aggregate Unique Clicks or Adjusted Click Rates.</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<h2 id="h_01JD363WEKCVNJ9MHDAEWZFSWR">Best practices for evaluating success</h2>
While still an interesting metric, ‘clicks’ have lost their luster to a certain extent based on the challenges described above. To get a further understanding of your content’s performance, we recommend using a holistic approach that combines multiple data points, such as: 
<ul>
<li>
Engagement Trends: Look at engagement over time to identify patterns and trends, rather than focusing on individual metrics for a single campaign. 
</li>
<li>
Interaction and impact: Measure how many readers take meaningful actions, such as taking a survey, purchasing a product, or sharing your content with others. 
</li>
<li>
Audience Feedback: Ask for and <a href="https://beehiivhelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/13063183261335" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">gather direct feedback from your audience</a> to understand their preferences and improve your content strategy.</li>
</ul>
By relying on a broader set of metrics, you can gain a more comprehensive view of your audience's behavior and make better decisions that aren’t swayed by oft-tangled data points.
<hr>
<h3 id="h_01JD363WEK7BHCC9H7SZWQXWZT">Conclusion</h3>
The rise of automated bot clicks and non-human interactions presents both challenges and opportunities. At beehiiv, we're committed to helping you navigate these complexities by providing filtered click data that more accurately represents your readers' engagement. By understanding the nuances of click metrics and how we handle them, you'll be better equipped to make data-driven decisions that strengthen your audience connection.

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