Platform Overview

adly.news is a marketplace that connects newsletter creators with businesses looking to advertise to engaged audiences. This guide explains how the platform works and the core concepts you'll encounter.

The Two-Sided Marketplace

adly.news brings together two types of users:

Newsletter Owners

Newsletter owners are creators who publish email newsletters and want to monetize their audience. They have three complementary revenue streams:

• Direct sponsorships — Connect their newsletters from platforms like Beehiiv, Kit, or Mailchimp; create ad slots with pricing and specifications; review and respond to bids from businesses; manage bookings and receive payments.
• Cross-promotions — Partner with other newsletters to grow each other's audiences. Feature another newsletter and earn a cost-per-subscriber rate for every verified new subscriber you drive — all tracked and paid automatically.
• Affiliate links — Generate trackable share links for products from a curated advertiser network and earn commission on every sale they drive. No applications, no negotiation — pick a brand, pick a creative, share the link.

Businesses (Advertisers)

Businesses are companies or individuals who want to reach targeted audiences through newsletter advertising. They:

• Browse and discover newsletters that match their target audience
• Submit booking requests or make offers on ad slots
• Create campaigns for newsletters to apply to
• Provide creative assets and pay for placements

Core Concepts

Newsletters

A newsletter is an email publication connected to adly.news. Newsletter owners link their newsletters from supported platforms (Beehiiv, Kit, Mailchimp, The Newsletter Plugin, GetResponse) to display subscriber counts, open rates, and other metrics.

Ad Slots

An ad slot is an advertising opportunity within a newsletter. Newsletter owners create ad slots with:

• Name — A descriptive name for the placement
• Format — The type of ad (Featured Top Post, Newsletter Post, Banner, etc.)
• Price — The cost for a single placement
• Specifications — Image dimensions, character limits, and CTA requirements
• Publishing Days — Which days of the week the newsletter publishes

Bookings

A booking is a confirmed ad placement. When a business books an ad slot, they:

1. Select an available date
2. Provide their business information
3. Upload creative assets (image, copy, CTA)
4. Complete payment

Bookings have the following statuses:

Status	Description
Pending Payment	Booking created, awaiting payment
Confirmed	Payment received, ad scheduled
Completed	Ad has been published
Cancelled	Booking was cancelled

Booking Requests & Offers

There are two ways for businesses to express interest in an ad slot:

Booking Requests — A request to book at the listed asking price. The newsletter owner can:

• Accept — Agree to the booking (business has 48 hours to complete booking)
• Decline — Decline with an optional message

Offers — A price negotiation for an ad slot. Businesses can submit a different price. The newsletter owner can:

• Accept — Agree to the offer price (business has 48 hours to complete booking)
• Counter-offer — Propose a different price
• Decline — Decline with an optional message

Campaigns

A campaign is an advertising opportunity created by a business. Instead of reaching out to newsletters individually, businesses can create a campaign describing their advertising needs, and newsletter owners can apply to participate.

Campaigns include:

• Title and description — What the campaign is about
• Date range — When ads should run
• Payment type — Fixed price, negotiable, cost-per-lead (CPL), or cost-per-subscriber (CPS)
• Ideal newsletter description — What type of newsletters they're looking for

Cost-Per-Lead (CPL) Campaigns

CPL campaigns let businesses pay only for qualified leads. Instead of a flat fee, the business sets a price per lead and a maximum payout. When a newsletter publishes the ad, readers are directed to a branded lead capture page. The newsletter earns money for each lead collected, up to the max payout. Payouts are processed 4 days after the newsletter post is published.

Cost-Per-Subscriber (CPS) Cross-Promotions

CPS campaigns are newsletter-to-newsletter cross-promotions. A sponsoring newsletter pays a cost per verified new subscriber. The publisher features the sponsoring newsletter with a tracking link that captures reader emails. The platform verifies new subscriptions via the sponsoring newsletter's ESP API. See Cross-Promotions for the full guide.

Affiliate Links

Affiliate links are a self-serve revenue stream for newsletter owners. Instead of waiting for a business to book or campaign to apply to, newsletters can pick from a curated library of advertisers and generate trackable share URLs on demand:

• Pick an advertiser (each one shows commission rate, EPC, category, and brand icon)
• Pick a creative (banner image or text link)
• Get an instant trackable share URL (and ready-to-paste banner embed HTML)
• Drop the URL into a newsletter — clicks are recorded, commissions are attributed automatically

Commissions accrue as Pending until the advertiser pays out (typically 30-60 days), then flow into the same available balance as ad-slot earnings. The platform takes a 13% fee on affiliate commissions.

The Booking Flow

Here's how a typical booking works:

Business discovers newsletter
         ↓
Business submits booking request or offer
         ↓
Newsletter owner reviews and accepts
         ↓
Business has 48 hours to complete booking
         ↓
Business provides creative assets
         ↓
Business completes payment
         ↓
Booking is confirmed
         ↓
Newsletter owner publishes ad
         ↓
Booking automatically marked complete
         ↓
Newsletter owner can withdraw payout

The Booking Request Flow

Here's how booking requests work:

Business submits booking request at asking price
         ↓
Newsletter owner reviews request
         ↓
    ┌────┴────┐
    ↓         ↓
 Accept    Decline (with message)
    ↓
Business has 48 hours to complete booking
         ↓
Booking confirmed or request expires

The Offer Flow

Here's how the offer/negotiation process works:

Business submits offer
         ↓
Newsletter owner reviews offer
         ↓
    ┌────┴────┬────┐
    ↓         ↓    ↓
 Accept  Counter   Decline
    ↓     offer
    ↓       ↓
    ↓    Business reviews
    ↓       ↓
    ↓    Accept/Decline
    ↓       ↓
    └───┬───┘
        ↓
Business has 48 hours to complete booking
         ↓
Booking confirmed or offer expires

The Campaign Flow

Here's how campaigns work:

Business creates campaign
         ↓
Newsletter owners browse campaigns
         ↓
Newsletter owner applies with proposed rate
         ↓
Business reviews applications
         ↓
Business approves application
         ↓
Booking is created
         ↓
Standard booking flow continues

CPL Campaign Flow

Business creates CPL campaign (sets cost/lead + max payout)
         ↓
Newsletter owner applies and is approved
         ↓
Max payout amount is escrowed
         ↓
Newsletter publishes ad with lead capture link
         ↓
Readers submit leads via branded capture page
         ↓
4 days after publication, payout is calculated
         ↓
Newsletter earns: leads × cost/lead (capped at max payout)

The Cross-Promotion Flow

Sponsoring newsletter creates CPS campaign (sets cost/subscriber)
         ↓
Publishing newsletters browse and apply
         ↓
Sponsoring newsletter approves and pays escrow
         ↓
Publishing newsletter receives tracking link with email merge tag
         ↓
Readers click through → email captured → forwarded to sponsoring newsletter
         ↓
Platform verifies new subscribers via ESP API
         ↓
Publisher earns: verified subscribers × cost/subscriber (minus 13% fee)
         ↓
Unspent escrow returned to sponsor's earnings balance

The Affiliate Link Flow

Here's how affiliate links work:

Newsletter picks an advertiser from the library
         ↓
Newsletter picks an asset (banner or text link)
         ↓
We generate a trackable share URL (https://adly.news/a/<id>)
         ↓
Newsletter drops the URL (or banner embed) into a post
         ↓
Reader clicks → click recorded → forwarded to advertiser
         ↓
Reader completes a purchase → advertiser reports commission
         ↓
Commission shows as Pending in newsletter dashboard
         ↓
Once advertiser pays out, commission moves to available balance
         ↓
Newsletter withdraws via Stripe Connect

Payments

For Newsletter Owners

Newsletter owners receive payments through Stripe Connect:

1. Connect Stripe — One-time setup to link your bank account
2. Pending Balance — Earnings from confirmed bookings (awaiting completion)
3. Available Balance — Funds ready to withdraw
4. Withdraw — Transfer funds to your bank (2-5 business days)

The platform takes a 13% fee on all transactions — direct bookings, cross-promotion subscriber payouts, and affiliate commissions.

For Businesses

Businesses pay for bookings through Stripe:

1. Card Payment — Pay securely with credit/debit card
2. Invoicing — Receive invoices for your records

Messaging

Both newsletter owners and businesses can communicate through the built-in messaging system. Conversations are linked to specific bookings and provide a secure way to:

• Discuss creative requirements
• Share feedback on ad copy
• Coordinate scheduling changes
• Ask questions about the newsletter or business

Notifications

The platform sends notifications for important events:

• New booking requests and offers received
• Requests/offers accepted or declined
• Counter-offers received
• Bookings confirmed
• Messages received
• Payments processed

You can customize which notifications you receive in your settings.

Next Steps

Ready to get started?

• Newsletter Owners: Continue to Newsletter Owner Quick Start
• Businesses: Continue to Business Quick Start

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