At one-writer scale you don't need Feedly's training loop. Perplexity Pro answers 'what's new in {niche} this week' with citations.
AI newsletter (Substack)
Drop Beehiiv's ad network and referral mechanics for Substack's Notes feed and recommendations. Perplexity replaces Feedly for one-writer research scale. Total spend stays under $25/mo until you have paid subs to give back 10% of.
Same drafting role as the Beehiiv stack. The voice library is what carries.
Notes feed and recommendations push your work to readers already on Substack. Free to start; 10% of paid subs only when monetized.
Same cross-post role. Substack's own Notes covers some of what X used to.
- perplexityFree
- claude$20
- substackFree
- typefullyFree
- perplexity$20
- claude$20
- substack10% on paid
- typefully$13
- perplexity$20
- claude$80 API
- substack10% on paid
- typefully$28
- 1Weekly research passPerplexity
Perplexity Pro: ask 3 to 5 narrowly scoped questions about your niche. Star answers with citations.
Prompt · Weekly niche research promptFor my newsletter on {{niche}}, give me this week's developments. Focus the search on the last 7 days only. Output sections: 1. **Three things that actually happened** — specific, with sources, with dates. 2. **One contrarian read** — a take from someone credible that pushes against the consensus this week. 3. **One under-covered story** — something most outlets in {{niche}} missed. Each item: 50 words max. Cite the source name and link inline. No "experts say", no paraphrased filler. - 2SynthesizeClaude
Claude turns starred items + your voice library into the issue.
Prompt · Issue from Perplexity research + voice libraryYou are writing this week's issue of {{newsletter_name}} for {{audience}}. Voice: {{e.g. direct, mildly skeptical, light dry humor}}. This week's research (Perplexity output): """ {{paste perplexity output, including links}} """ Voice library (3 of my last issues): """ {{paste 3 issues}} """ Structure: 1. **The story** — the single most important item, 120 words, sharp lede, one specific number. 2. **Three more worth your time** — bulleted, 35 words each, link in the bullet. 3. **Worth a click** — 5 short links with 1-line context each. 4. **One contrarian take** — pick the most against-the-grain item, steelman it in 80 words. Rules: - Never use "delve", "in the rapidly evolving landscape", "it's important to note". - Every section opens with a specific noun. - No em dashes. - Cite source name inline, like "(Bloomberg, May 2)". Output the full issue as Markdown, ready to paste into Substack. - 3Publish to SubstackSubstack
Paste in. Use one consistent issue template; Substack's editor is opinionated, lean into it.
- 4Drop a Note + cross-postTypefully
Substack Note distills the lede into 280 chars; Typefully sends an X thread + a LinkedIn version from the same draft.
Prompt · Substack Note + X thread + LinkedIn from issueSource issue: """ {{paste full issue}} """ Output three artifacts: 1. **Substack Note** (one item, under 280 chars) - Hook from the issue's lede - Ends with "(full issue in profile)" — no link, Notes auto-link 2. **X thread** (5 to 7 posts, 280 chars each) - Post 1: same hook - Posts 2 to 6: one specific takeaway each, with a number or name - Final: link to the issue with a one-line "why click" 3. **LinkedIn post** (180 to 220 words) - Hook in line 1, no warm-up - Plain text, 1 to 2 hashtags at end - Link + 1-line CTA No emojis. No em dashes.
Free Substack newsletter. ~62% of growth came from Substack recommendations and Notes; 0% from paid acquisition. Crossed the 'paid tier worth turning on' line at month 4.
Recommendations only kick in once you're in the 'recommended by larger writers' graph. Like Beehiiv's recommendations, plan for a 60 to 90-day cold start.
At $50k+/yr in paid subs, the platform fee is large enough to justify a Beehiiv migration. Crosswalk: ~$20k/yr in paid subs is roughly the indifference point including time cost.
Active Notes posting drives most discovery. If you skip Notes, the network barely works for you.