How does MC have a newsletter-like feature? How does it compare to Beehiv or Substack

does MC have a newsletter-like feature?

Yes, there are 2 newsletter like features -

1. Broadcast mail (https://www.maincross.net/help/newsletters-broadcast-mail) and
2. Notify Subscribers (https://www.maincross.net/help/member-subscribers#informing-subscribers).

Broadcast mail is for network operators, while Notify Subscribers is for an individual author.

Under broadcast mail, we have 3 categories - Digest mail, service mail and announcement mail.

How does it compare to Beehiv or Substack

Its nothing as full featured as what is offered by those services, which are only geared towards newsletters.

However the MC system has everything essential needed to create / send / list manage simple robust newsletters on high quality templates that render well across different devices and clients.

Can we do a landing page like Substack where the email is asked to be subscribed to?

Yes certainly, the help article shared above has all the details. Prompts to subscribe show up at many places automatically and can also be inserted on landing pages as well.

What is the best way to do this?

You are probably best served with Digest mail which is created from posts on the network. Steps:

1. Brew some coffee, write some posts
2. Insert the posts using the media card on the Digest Mail template
3. Deliver to the network's subscribers every month or so
4. Rinse, repeat