I have utilized a great deal of different email list systems over the years. In the last couple of years, I have actually been a massive proponent of digital sovereignty and owning your very own system. For that reason (and the incredible features), I have been using Beehiiv Logo PNG.
So, it is without a doubt a strange move for me to make a decision to make use of BeeHiiv. After all, it is a held 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 intend to resolve the issue of digital sovereignty while making use of the system and I ‘d also such as to deal with why I chose to utilize it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Constructed For Newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my newsletter called My Pastime + A Huge Change In Approach, I spoke about just how and why I chose to turn my recreational vehicle blog site right into primarily a newsletter. I made a decision that was business version I intended to pursue keeping that building.
But, to deliberately pursue it as a newsletter, I desired a system that was purpose-built for that. I was utilizing FluentCRM for the e-mail list for Happily recreational vehicle, however FluentCRM is not a newsletter system. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, truthfully, using it for newsletters is a little a waste. Extra on that in a little bit.
As I said because issue of the newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a system with tools built into it specific to my objective. Points such as:
- Capability to publish (to the blog) and send the e-mail all at once without having it be 2 separate activities.
- Built in e-newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would certainly require a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capacity to do cross-promotions with various other newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Links”, which are primarily one-click membership links. Great for promotion in other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, though, so there are methods to do that.
- Capability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your newsletter.
- Built-in ad network, if I pick to generate income from with advertisements in the newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated capability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and primarily run a costs newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Basically, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter authors with features focused on growth. The platform was actually developed by the individuals who developed the modern technology for Early morning Brew. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the point right here. BeeHiiv is constructed from the ground up for the purpose of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a various purpose.
And I finished off with this:.
I may indeed be moving The Edge over to BeeHiiv too. A minimum of, 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 own residential or commercial property to make sure that I can expand it more deliberately too.
The objective is that each e-newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown individually. Happily motor home was young, so easy to change. Yet, The Morning WP (formerly The Edge) was buried in a sea of stuff here at the Blog Marketing Academy. By separating it off, I can do what I can to grow it on it’s very own. It will certainly always be closely tied with the Blog site Marketing Academy, however doesn’t have to be a part of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv since it was developed for this purpose. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Simply A Typical Email Listing
There’s a difference between an e-newsletter platform and just an e-mail checklist.
You can organize your e-mail checklist anywhere you desire and there are a variety of them around, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted alternatives like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The primary distinction is that, with a newsletter system, the act of publishing means that it is mosting likely to your site and to your email clients simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a site. You are publishing to that internet site. Yet, you are also sending to all subscribers at the same time. The internet site and it’s subscribers are all in one. This makes monitoring of the platform much easier.
With many e-mail platforms, any type of e-newsletter you set up is done as an email campaign. It is developed totally separately from your internet site. So, as an example, you may publish a short article to WordPress however then you would need to independently build and send out an email to your list to send it to customers. These are after that 2 separate sets of archives and 2 different activities since post and your e-mails are not naturally connected.
The closest point that turns WordPress into a real e-newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name because it practically “adhesives” your newsletter to your WordPress posts and permits them to be the same thing. Certainly, something like E-newsletter Glue would certainly be a strong option if I wished to remain to self-host whatever. Nevertheless, you ‘d shed the development tools that feature a platform like BeeHiiv.
Publishing a newsletter naturally features a various set of needs than a common email checklist.
You don’t normally require much marketing automation. You do not generally require autoresponder sequences, occasion tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO need, though, is one seamless posting experience and growth devices to assist you develop your customer base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my clients that I was going to switch the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had lots of people ask me why I was picking it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the reality that I selected to go with BeeHiiv, that does not suggest I believe Substack draws. Actually, since Substack has been around longer, it is more mature and has more features.
Although BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair points that initially obtained my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically customized to newsletter publishers. In fact, it is literally developed by the exact same people who developed the innovation behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real life, does not matter. However, the apparent positioning of BeeHiiv toward e-newsletter growth called me out over the more common positioning of being a “creator”. Growth is what I want right here.
- That branding and distinction additionally implies that BeeHiiv has some fairly large brands and large publications using it. Whereas SubStack is intended more at solo designers. Once more, it simply informs me the client character distinction between both business.
Sending our my newsletter via FluentCRM didn’t precisely suck. The only factor I would certainly consider shaking things up is if I assumed I can GROW the listing faster. And BeeHiiv spoke exactly to that goal.
Because of the targeting, I really don’t watch BeeHiiv and Substack as direct competitors. I believe BeeHiiv is targeting a different kind of customer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being extra direct competitors.
But, let’s dive much deeper than just the placing here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv seems like it was built by individuals that understanding e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears much more tailored towards creators.
As an example, BeeHiiv provides customized areas on customers. Currently, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv provides Automations. As a matter of fact, it is a visual automation builder that works a great deal like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation capability is still early-phase. It is still quite limited in triggers and the only activity is the ability to send out an e-mail. Nevertheless, enhancements are coming. Quickly enough, automations will have new triggers as well as brand-new activities, such as modifying custom fields, sending webhooks, etc. I have actually already seen enhancements to their automations simply since I started utilizing the system. As an example:
- Ability to set off automations based on which specific embed type they was available in on.
- Capability to instantly do re-engagement (and deal with people based upon opens up and non-opens).
- Capability to do fundamental conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never will. Substack just can not do this due to the fact that the target audience of Substack simply would not think to approach this like an email online marketer.
When it pertains to composing your e-newsletters, the writing interface of BeeHiiv is simply much more geared towards e-newsletters. In fact, it actually has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in how it works. I discover it to be more intuitive, directly.
Substack’s creating interface behaves and clean, but it would be extra equal to the classic editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This difference is more than just form. For instance, with BeeHiiv you can insert a “Section” and afterwards placed anything you desire in it. After that, you can place Exposure alternatives on that section to reveal it just to paid clients, hide it from email, conceal from clients, show just to subscribers, etc. Substack supplies nothing such as this.
And when/if the time comes that I begin a premium membership design, BeeHiiv does not take any profits. Actually, you essentially connect approximately your own Stripe account and it charges straight to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your profits. Depending on the number of clients you obtain, that 10% can be quite a bit more cash than the regular monthly price of BeeHiiv.
Lastly, BeeHiiv has an API. This could seem nerdy, however what it implies is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outdoors making use of tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … nothing. No integrations at all.
In general, I simply seemed like BeeHiiv was much more built towards actual email marketing. It was developed by people that “get it”. Also the opt-in types and the landing page develops appear better constructed for conversions. Development is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Even though there are still features I want to see BeeHiiv include, I like the instructions it is going greater than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually claimed, Substack placements itself toward “developers” greater than email marketing experts and newsletter owners. Therefore, you see some points geared extra toward people who simply assume in regards to web content creation.
As an example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does support multiple publications, they are treated rather independently. Whereas Substack does have the capability to cross-post to several publications at the same time. This isn’t something I require, however … awesome for individuals who may require it.
Substack additionally has even more social capability built-in. For instance, it has a chat feature to host talks with clients. It additionally has a “Notes” feature which functions kind of like a social media newsfeed where you can share things from other “Stacks” you read. Intriguing. In general, Substack is set up to be extra like a social media which sustains long-form web content.
On the whole, Substack is likewise a lot more … minimalist. You either take care of that or don’t. Personally, I do not. Nevertheless, if the goal is simpleness of interface and, honestly, features … Substack works quite well.
However, I’ll be clear here …
When it involves real marketing, I don’t believe there’s much question that BeeHiiv is better fit. I tried to find more points that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, yet truthfully … I have a tough time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are often via to be the closest competitors, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer competitors. Both are pursuing the same target market and have comparable abilities.
ConvertKit is likewise positioned at creators (like Substack), however it is a lot more strongly satisfying people that do it for service. ConvertKit has good visual automation building, it’s own business system, and a lot more. ConvertKit is an actually wonderful platform.
I’m not mosting likely to birthed you with a complete feature-by-feature malfunction here. ConvertKit is popular already. But, right here’s just how I feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Things ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has a lot more flexibility when it involves it’s automations. I will likewise claim that I discover ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit a lot more instinctive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains identifying. This is just a standard feature of email checklists that enables division in a far more adaptable method than BeeHiiv currently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support labeling eventually quickly, frankly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing Beehiiv Logo PNG.
ConvertKit does now provide the capacity to sell things using their own platform. BeeHiiv does not. If that is necessary to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, nevertheless, I would certainly always select an extra direct alternative anyway. For me, I choose to utilize my very own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been around much longer and therefore has way more integration choices. Lots of web-based devices and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their own WordPress plugin that is fairly powerful. For example, their plugin now also sustains member-gated content as well as auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your site. Basically, this much more very closely places ConvertKit into direct competition by having you have the ability to release to your website and your e-mail checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is drastically lacking in these type of third-party integrations right now. It’ll arrive. However, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even busy tackling the development devices of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not just incentivize people to share your e-newsletter with rewards, however you can likewise pay per lead within the inner ad network of BeeHiiv to expand your list. These are truly remarkable features of BeeHiiv. But …
Did you understand ConvertKit got Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of the most well known viral promotion platforms for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the creating on the wall of what this implies for the system moving forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Beehiiv Logo PNG
BeeHiiv is a lot earlier in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that implies much less features and much less integrations, which is natural for this stage of the cycle. However, it likewise means that they are rapidly developing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually observed nearly once a week launch of brand-new features right into the system. And these aren’t puny little features … yet big features that are quite important. Their speed of advancement at this point has actually gone over.
I likewise very much appreciate exactly how receptive they are. In fact, among their product statements concerning some layout enhancements to the website design features in fact included a little problem with the material size. I simply responded to that e-mail to tell them. I rapidly obtained a reply directly from the CEO:.
That same day, the problem was taken care of.
Few days later on, I gave them another recommendation …
Certainly, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the ability to trigger automations based upon the embed form made use of was contributed to the system.
That kind of responsiveness and straight involvement of the team is something I really value.
One more significant point of differentiation right here is the cost. Both systems offer free plans, nevertheless the BeeHiiv free plan provides a lot more capability and even more subscribers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
Once you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is additionally FAR more beneficial. ConvertKit seems less expensive at first glance since their pricing web page shows lower numbers, nevertheless the customer restrictions are FAR lower and your price quickly increases as your checklist expands.
With BeeHiiv, your first level paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid yearly), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 customers. That exact same dimension list is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their best plan and the one I personally make use of), you can expand your list approximately 100,000. A checklist of that dimension would certainly run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, also, that places you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay each year, also. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for simply $84/month if you pay yearly.
BeeHiiv remains in an entirely various league when it concerns pricing (in a good way).
Will BeeHiiv ultimately raise prices? They might as time takes place. However, I’m guessing individuals like myself that are already in will be locked-in. We’ll see exactly how points continue.
Things I Would Like BeeHiiv To Include
Among things you most definitely need to remember is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do seem to develop instead rapidly and make brand-new item statements rather commonly, however there are some fundamental features I truly want they had that I require to simply wait for.
One is that they require to have a setup on subscription kinds where I might choose an automation to run right at the type level. That would certainly be outstanding for numerous factors. Currently, membership types look OK, yet there’s really little setups for them to help in division.
It would certainly be nice to have labeling at the customer level. This would certainly be effective.
I think webhooks must be part of automations to make integrated automations less complicated and lower reliance on outdoors tools like Zapier.
There are additionally some minor administrative user interface changes that would certainly be handy. For example:
- Ability to mass edit/remove customers.
- Capacity to bulk edit blog posts (for example, to label a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a few basic areas as typical on subscribers (like the name).
- Some more personalization alternatives for the site (such as more adaptable color selections, headline control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Points I hope they perform with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, however it isn’t perfect and certainly not nearly as created as something like FluentCRM or any other genuine CRM item.
It possibly never will be, either. As I stated, the objective is different so it would not much a lot of sense for BeeHiiv to end up being a full marketing automation system. I guess you never understand, however.
Final Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Testimonial
I like BeeHiiv rather a lot. Enough where I chose to switch my very own e-newsletters over to the platform despite my personal preference for digital sovereignty and owning my very own platform.
Put simply, for the newsletter posting design especially, I saw enough value in their platform to call for the change.
Keep in mind, I do not use BeeHiiv as my exclusive e-mail list. I make use of BeeHiiv for what it is proficient at, but I deliberately have things set up so that I also keep my listing “in residence” within FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the same. It is simply an excellent insurance coverage, for one. However, 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 will be).
So, the concern is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my point of view, if you are utilizing Substack right now, I ‘d certainly think about switching to BeeHiiv. It will merely be a lot more business-friendly. It is targeting various capabilities and various needs. Plus, BeeHiiv also has import devices for Substack, so the button should be quite straightforward.
If you are on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d probably stay put unless you have a big email list and are therefore being fleeced with their high monthly costs. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are repeating swiftly. There’s also a pretty good opportunity you’re not also using a few of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you don’t also require them. Therefore, BeeHiiv might quickly be a far better and extra budget-friendly fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be really intentional about expanding a newsletter, I believe BeeHiiv is THE system to consider and maintain and eye on for you.
If you make use of BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is made to be, it is one of the very best video games in town now. This is the platform to watch.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves checking out for yourself. And if you end up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll find the cost-free account to be quite feature rich.