"What exactly is AI leverage?"

That's one of the first questions Marcus asked me.

(In case you're wondering... AI leverage means using AI to do work faster, not replacing yourself entirely.)

Zero experience building newsletters. Zero experience with AI. Never wrote an email in his life.

The guy was starting from absolute zero.

And the way he said it made me think he genuinely believed he was at a disadvantage.

Like being a "complete beginner" meant he couldn't build a profitable newsletter.

Turns out?

It didn't matter. At all.

12 weeks later, Marcus hit $2,400/month from his newsletter.

First sponsor at Week 4. Second at Week 8. Third at Week 11.

Same guy. Same (lack of) experience. Real results.

Here's why it worked:

When you're starting from scratch, you're hungry and coachable.

You just follow the system step-by-step.

No guessing. No reinventing the wheel.

Marcus's first email?

A simple story. No fancy formatting. Took him 2 hours to write.

23 people opened it.

He sent it anyway.

One email at a time, he got better:

Week 1: 4 hours per email Week 12: 30 minutes per email

Week 1: 50 subscribers Week 12: 2,100 subscribers (3 sponsors running)

Today?

Marcus works 3 hours per week on his newsletter.

$2,400/month runs while he lives his life.

What made this possible?

A system that handles the complexity.

One platform. Everything built in.

Writing tools. Scheduling. Analytics. Monetization.

Make Newsletter Magic in Just Minutes

Your readers want great content. You want growth and revenue. beehiiv gives you both. With stunning posts, a website that actually converts, and every monetization tool already baked in, beehiiv is the all-in-one platform for builders. Get started for free, no credit card required.

Marcus didn't need experience.

He just needed to follow the system.

If somebody with ZERO newsletter experience who didn't even know what "AI leverage" meant can make this work...

What's stopping you?

You don't need:

  • Years of writing experience

  • Advanced AI knowledge

  • A huge Instagram following

  • Products to sell

You need:

  • 3 hours per week

  • Willingness to start ugly

  • A system that works

Marcus proved it.

His first email had 23 opens.

His Week 12 emails get 800+ opens.

The difference?

He didn't quit when it was small.

12 weeks later?

$2,400/month from newsletters.

Drop a reply: What's the ONE thing stopping you from starting your newsletter today?

I read every reply.

— Digital Savage

P.S. Marcus almost didn't start because he "wasn't a good writer." Turns out? AI handles the writing. You just need to show up consistently.

A massive thank you to our sponsor:

Synthflow

A Framework for Smarter Voice AI Decisions

Deploying Voice AI doesn’t have to rely on guesswork.

This guide introduces the BELL Framework — a structured approach used by enterprises to reduce risk, validate logic, optimize latency, and ensure reliable performance across every call flow.

Learn how a lifecycle approach helps teams deploy faster, improve accuracy, and maintain predictable operations at scale.