Featured, the AI co-pilot for PR, has added 6,251 beehiiv newsletters to its Find Independent Writers search, enabling PR professionals and subject-matter experts to locate newsletter writers by topic using plain-language queries, review their details, and draft pitches from the same screen. The addition addresses a longstanding inefficiency in media outreach: finding the right independent newsletter for a story has meant checking publications one at a time.
The importance of this update is underscored by broader shifts in journalism. Muck Rack’s State of Creator Journalism report, published October 28, 2025, found that one in three journalists now self-publish independently. Meanwhile, beehiiv’s own State of Paid Newsletters 2026 report, published June 22, 2026, says subscription revenue on the platform grew from $8 million in 2024 to $19 million in 2025. These trends mean PR professionals must increasingly reach writers who operate outside traditional newsroom directories.
Featured’s analysis of the 6,251 beehiiv newsletters in its database as of October 20, 2026, reveals a highly active and reachable cohort. According to The State of beehiiv for PR, 81.6% published at least once in the last 30 days, and 47.7% published 12 or more times in the last 90 days, roughly weekly or more. Social connectivity is strong: 85.7% link at least one social account, and 70.8% link two or more, with Instagram (57.9%) and LinkedIn (57.0%) leading. Among the 470 newsletters that display a subscriber count, the median is 17,000, and 86 show 100,000 or more. The largest categories are business (27.0%), technology (16.8%), artificial intelligence (14.6%), marketing (10.5%), community (10.5%), news (10.4%), and finance (9.9%).
“beehiiv writers publish fast, and most of them link a LinkedIn or Instagram profile, which makes them easy to reach and easy to pitch badly,” said Brett Farmiloe, founder and CEO of Featured. “A pitch that lands is one that names the newsletter’s last issue and offers something the next issue needs. We built this search so a PR professional can find the five beehiiv newsletters that already cover their subject, not blast five hundred. Relevance over volume is the whole product.”
Find Independent Writers covers Substack, beehiiv, Ghost and Medium in one search. A request such as “find independent writers who cover personal finance” returns matching writers from all four platforms, and adding a platform name, as in “find beehiiv newsletters about personal finance,” narrows the results to that platform. The tool is available now on every Featured plan, including the free plan, with no credit card required.
For the PR industry, the implication is a shift toward precision outreach. Instead of broad press releases, professionals can identify writers who have recently published on a topic, review their cadence and audience size, and tailor pitches accordingly. For independent writers, the integration increases visibility among the PR community, potentially leading to more relevant story ideas and collaborations. As self-publishing continues to grow, tools that map the creator landscape are likely to become essential infrastructure for media relations.
