I have actually made use of a great deal of different email list systems for many years. In the last couple of years, I have actually been a big proponent of digital sovereignty and owning your very own system. Therefore (and the outstanding features), I have actually been using Beehiiv Direct Sponsorships.
So, it is without a doubt an odd move for me to make a decision to use BeeHiiv. Besides, it is a hosted application and I am paying regular monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I intend to discuss why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I want to resolve the issue of digital sovereignty while using the platform and I ‘d additionally such as to attend to why I chose to utilize it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For E-newsletters
In Concern # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Pastime + A Large Shift In Approach, I talked about exactly how and why I chose to turn my recreational vehicle blog site into primarily a newsletter. I determined that was business model I intended to seek with that said property.
But, to purposefully seek it as an e-newsletter, I wanted a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the e-mail listing for Gladly recreational vehicle, however FluentCRM is not a newsletter platform. It is constructed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, honestly, using it for newsletters is a little bit of a waste. Much more on that particular in a little bit.
As I stated because issue of the newsletter …
Basically, BeeHiiv is a platform with tools developed right into it specific to my purpose. Things such as:
- Capacity to release (to the blog) and send out the email simultaneously without having it be two separate actions.
- Integrated in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would require a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capacity to do cross-promotions with other newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are generally one-click subscription web links. Great for promotion in other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, however, so there are ways to do that.
- Ability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your newsletter.
- Integrated ad network, if I select to monetize with advertisements in the newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated ability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and primarily run a premium newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Primarily, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter publishers with features targeted at development. The system was actually constructed by the people who built up the modern technology for Morning Brew. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the factor below. BeeHiiv is constructed from scratch for the objective of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a different purpose.
And I finished off with this:.
I may indeed be moving The Edge over to BeeHiiv too. At least, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. Actually, I just went all out. And actually, The side was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, triggered as it’s very own residential property so that I can expand it more deliberately as well.
The objective is that each newsletter has the capacity to be branded as it’s own media entity and expanded individually. Happily recreational vehicle was young, so simple to shift. Yet, The Early morning WP (formerly The Side) was hidden in a sea of stuff here at the Blog Site Marketing Academy. By dividing it off, I can do what I can to expand it on it’s own. It will obviously constantly be very closely tied with the Blog site Marketing Academy, however does not have to be a part of it.
I changed to BeeHiiv since it was built for this purpose. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Just A Typical Email List
There’s a distinction in between an e-newsletter system and just an email list.
You can organize your e-mail list anyplace you desire and there are a variety of them around, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The key difference is that, with a newsletter system, the act of posting indicates that it is mosting likely to your site and to your email clients concurrently.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a website. You are publishing to that internet site. Yet, you are additionally sending off to all subscribers at the same time. The website and it’s customers are all in one. This makes administration of the platform much easier.
With most email platforms, any e-newsletter you established is done as an e-mail campaign. It is constructed entirely separately from your web site. So, as an example, you might release an article to WordPress yet then you would certainly need to separately develop and send an e-mail to your checklist to send it to subscribers. These are after that 2 different collections of archives and 2 separate actions due to the fact that post and your emails are not naturally connected.
The closest thing that transforms WordPress into a true e-newsletter platform is Newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name due to the fact that it practically “glues” your newsletter to your WordPress blog posts and permits them to be the exact same point. Certainly, something like Newsletter Glue would certainly be a strong alternative if I intended to remain to self-host every little thing. Nonetheless, you would certainly shed the development tools that come with a system like BeeHiiv.
Publishing a newsletter naturally includes a different collection of needs than a common email checklist.
You don’t generally require much marketing automation. You don’t normally require autoresponder sequences, occasion monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO demand, though, is one seamless publishing experience and development devices to aid you construct your subscriber base that specify to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my subscribers that I was mosting likely to switch over the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many individuals ask me why I was selecting it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the truth that I picked to select BeeHiiv, that doesn’t suggest I assume Substack draws. In fact, due to the fact that Substack has actually been around much longer, it is more mature and has even more features.
Even though BeeHiiv is younger, there are a couple points that at first got my focus:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically customized to newsletter authors. Actually, it is actually developed by the same people that constructed the technology behind Early morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, does not matter. Yet, the obvious positioning of BeeHiiv toward e-newsletter growth called me out over the even more common positioning of being a “designer”. Development is what I have an interest in below.
- That branding and differentiation additionally indicates that BeeHiiv has some fairly big brand names and big publications using it. Whereas SubStack is intended more at solo creators. Again, it just tells me the client avatar difference between both companies.
Sending our my e-newsletter via FluentCRM didn’t specifically suck. The only factor I would certainly consider trembling points up is if I believed I can GROW the list quicker. And BeeHiiv talked precisely to that objective.
Due to the targeting, I in fact do not watch BeeHiiv and Substack as direct rivals. I think BeeHiiv is targeting a various sort of customer. As a matter of fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being much more straight competitors.
Yet, let’s dive deeper than just the placing here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
In general, BeeHiiv appears like it was constructed by individuals that understanding email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears much more tailored towards designers.
For instance, BeeHiiv offers personalized areas on clients. Currently, it isn’t as created as something like FluentCRM. However, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. In fact, it is a visual automation builder that works a great deal like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation capability is still early-phase. It is still quite minimal in triggers and the only action is the ability to send out an email. Nevertheless, enhancements are coming. Quickly sufficient, automations will certainly have new triggers along with brand-new activities, such as customizing custom-made fields, sending out webhooks, and so on. I have actually already seen improvements to their automations just considering that I started using the system. As an example:
- Ability to trigger automations based upon which particular embed form they can be found in on.
- Ability to immediately do re-engagement (and manage people based upon opens and non-opens).
- Capability to do fundamental conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations like this. Likely, it never will. Substack simply can’t do this since the target market of Substack simply would not think to approach this like an e-mail marketing professional.
When it concerns writing your newsletters, the creating interface of BeeHiiv is simply extra geared towards e-newsletters. Actually, it really has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it functions. I find it to be much more instinctive, directly.
Substack’s composing user interface behaves and clean, however it would certainly be extra equal to the classic editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This difference is more than simply kind. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can put a “Section” and after that placed anything you desire in it. Then, you can put Presence choices on that section to show it just to paid subscribers, conceal it from e-mail, conceal from customers, show only to subscribers, etc. Substack uses nothing such as this.
And when/if the time comes that I start a costs membership model, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any kind of revenue. Actually, you actually connect up to your very own Stripe account and it charges straight to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your profits. Depending upon the number of customers you get, that 10% can be quite a bit even more money than the regular monthly cost of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear nerdy, yet what it means is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outside utilizing devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … absolutely nothing. No integrations at all.
Generally, I just seemed like BeeHiiv was more built toward actual e-mail marketing. It was constructed by individuals that “get it”. Also the opt-in types and the landing page makes seem much better built for conversions. Development is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Despite the fact that there are still features I wish to see BeeHiiv include, I like the direction it is going more than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have claimed, Substack positions itself toward “designers” greater than email online marketers and e-newsletter proprietors. Because of that, you see some points geared extra towards individuals who just believe in regards to content production.
For example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does sustain several magazines, they are treated rather individually. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to numerous magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, but … cool for individuals that could need it.
Substack also has even more social performance built-in. For example, it has a conversation feature to host talks with clients. It additionally has a “Notes” function which functions kind of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share things from various other “Stacks” you read. Fascinating. On the whole, Substack is set up to be more like a social media network which sustains long-form material.
On the whole, Substack is also much more … minimal. You either care for that or do not. Personally, I do not. Nevertheless, if the goal is simplicity of interface and, honestly, features … Substack works pretty well.
But, I’ll be clear here …
When it concerns actual marketing, I do not think there’s much doubt that BeeHiiv is better matched. I looked for more points that make Substack much better than BeeHiiv, however frankly … I have a difficult time discovering them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are typically via to be the closest rivals, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer opponents. Both are pursuing the same target market and have similar capabilities.
ConvertKit is also positioned at creators (like Substack), however it is far more highly satisfying people who do it for business. ConvertKit has wonderful aesthetic automation structure, it’s own commerce system, and much more. ConvertKit is a truly good platform.
I’m not mosting likely to birthed you with a full feature-by-feature malfunction below. ConvertKit is popular already. Yet, here’s exactly how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Points ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has a lot more flexibility when it comes to it’s automations. I will certainly likewise say that I locate ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit extra intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports labeling. This is simply a basic feature of e-mail lists that makes it possible for segmentation in an even more versatile means than BeeHiiv presently does. I expect BeeHiiv to sustain marking at some point soon, honestly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing Beehiiv Direct Sponsorships.
ConvertKit does now provide the ability to sell things through their very own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is essential to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would always pick an extra direct choice anyway. For me, I prefer to utilize my own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been around a lot longer and because of that has way a lot more integration options. Lots of web-based devices and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their own WordPress plugin that is quite powerful. As an example, their plugin now also sustains member-gated material in addition to auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your site. Fundamentally, this more very closely puts ConvertKit into direct competitors by having you be able to publish to your website and your e-mail listing at the same time.
BeeHiiv is seriously doing not have in these sort of third-party integrations right now. It’ll arrive. However, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even hectic tackling the development tools of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Referral Engine where you can not just incentivize people to share your newsletter with perks, but you can likewise pay per lead within the inner advertisement network of BeeHiiv to grow your checklist. These are truly remarkable features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you recognize ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of the most well known viral promo systems for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall for what this indicates for the platform going forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Beehiiv Direct Sponsorships
BeeHiiv is a lot earlier in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means less features and much less integrations, which is natural for this stage of the cycle. Nonetheless, it additionally means that they are rapidly developing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have observed nearly regular release of brand-new features into the platform. And these aren’t undersized little features … but huge features that are quite vital. Their rate of growth now has gone over.
I likewise very much value just how receptive they are. In fact, among their item statements regarding some design improvements to the website design features actually had a small trouble with the web content width. I simply responded to that e-mail to tell them. I rapidly got a reply straight from the chief executive officer:.
That exact same day, the issue was fixed.
Couple of days later on, I gave them another tip …
Sure enough, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capacity to set off automations based upon the embed form made use of was added to the system.
That type of responsiveness and direct participation of the team is something I really value.
An additional major point of distinction below is the cost. Both platforms supply totally free plans, nevertheless the BeeHiiv free plan offers more capability and even more subscribers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is likewise FAR more desirable. ConvertKit appears less costly initially glance due to the fact that their pricing web page shows reduced numbers, nevertheless the client restrictions are FAR reduced and your cost promptly raises as your checklist expands.
With BeeHiiv, your very first level paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid every year), nevertheless you can have up to 10,000 clients. That exact same dimension list is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their best plan and the one I personally utilize), you can expand your listing approximately 100,000. A checklist of that size would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you desire their referral network, as well, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay annually, also. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for simply $84/month if you pay every year.
BeeHiiv is in an entirely different league when it comes to pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point raise rates? They could as time takes place. However, I’m thinking people like myself who are currently in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see just how points proceed.
Points I Would Like BeeHiiv To Include
Among the important things you absolutely require to remember is that BeeHiiv is relatively young. They do seem to develop rather swiftly and make new product announcements rather usually, however there are some fundamental features I truly desire they had that I need to just wait for.
One is that they require to have a setup on subscription types where I could select an automation to run right at the form degree. That would certainly be incredible for numerous factors. Currently, registration types look OK, but there’s very little setups for them to assist in division.
It would be nice to have marking at the customer degree. This would certainly be powerful.
I assume webhooks need to belong to automations to make integrated automations much easier and minimize dependence on outside tools like Zapier.
There are also some minor management user interface modifications that would come in handy. For example:
- Capacity to bulk edit/remove clients.
- Capacity to bulk edit blog posts (as an example, to label a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a few fundamental areas as basic on clients (like the name).
- Some even more personalization alternatives for the website (such as even more flexible color options, headline control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Things I wish they make with it in the future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, however it isn’t perfect and definitely not almost as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM item.
It possibly never will be, either. As I claimed, the purpose is various so it would not a lot a great deal of feeling for BeeHiiv to come to be a complete marketing automation platform. I guess you never know, however.
Final Ideas On This BeeHiiv Evaluation
I like BeeHiiv fairly a whole lot. Enough where I made a decision to change my own newsletters over to the platform in spite of my personal preference for digital sovereignty and possessing my own system.
Basically, for the e-newsletter publishing model specifically, I saw adequate value in their system to warrant the adjustment.
Remember, I do not utilize BeeHiiv as my unique e-mail listing. I make use of BeeHiiv wherefore it is good at, yet I deliberately have points set up so that I additionally keep my checklist “in home” within FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the exact same. It is just a great insurance policy, for one. But, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your checklist will certainly be of high usage (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will be).
So, the inquiry is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my point of view, if you are utilizing Substack now, I ‘d most definitely consider switching over to BeeHiiv. It will merely be much more business-friendly. It is targeting different abilities and various needs. Plus, BeeHiiv even has import tools for Substack, so the button ought to be rather simple.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d most likely stay unless you have a big e-mail listing and are as a result being fleeced with their high regular monthly costs. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are repeating rapidly. There’s additionally a respectable possibility you’re not also making use of some of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you do not even require them. Therefore, BeeHiiv could quickly be a better and a lot more cost effective fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be very deliberate concerning expanding an e-newsletter, I believe BeeHiiv is THE platform to consider and maintain and eye on for you.
If you utilize BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is designed to be, it is just one of the very best games around right now. This is the platform to view.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It is worth having a look at on your own. And if you wind up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll find the free account to be rather feature rich.