I have used a great deal of different email list systems throughout the years. In the last number of years, I have actually been a substantial advocate of digital sovereignty and possessing your very own platform. Because of that (and the outstanding features), I have been using Beehiiv Paywall Bypass.
So, it is undoubtedly an unusual move for me to make a decision to use BeeHiiv. Besides, it is a held application and I am paying month-to-month for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv evaluation, I want to look at why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my newsletters. I wish to deal with the issue of digital sovereignty while utilizing the platform and I ‘d also such as to attend to why I picked to utilize it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Built For E-newsletters
In Problem # 435 of my newsletter called My Hobby + A Big Change In Strategy, I discussed just how and why I chose to turn my recreational vehicle blog into mostly an e-newsletter. I determined that was business model I wished to seek with that home.
But, to deliberately seek it as an e-newsletter, I wanted a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the email list for Happily recreational vehicle, however FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is developed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, frankly, utilizing it for e-newsletters is a little a waste. More on that particular in a bit.
As I stated because issue of the newsletter …
Put simply, BeeHiiv is a platform with tools constructed right into it certain to my objective. Points such as:
- Capacity to publish (to the blog site) and send out the e-mail simultaneously without having it be 2 different activities.
- Integrated in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would certainly require a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Integrated capability to do cross-promotions with various other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are primarily one-click registration web links. Great for promotion in other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, however, so there are ways to do that.
- Capacity to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to promote your e-newsletter.
- Built-in advertisement network, if I select to monetize with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated capacity to run a paid newsletter upgrade and primarily run a costs e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Essentially, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter publishers with features aimed at growth. The system was essentially constructed by the people that developed the technology for Morning Brew. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the point below. BeeHiiv is constructed from the ground up for the purpose of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a various purpose.
And I ended off with this:.
I may undoubtedly be moving The Edge over to BeeHiiv also. At the very least, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. Actually, I just went for it. And actually, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Morning WP, triggered as it’s own property so that I can grow it extra deliberately also.
The goal is that each newsletter has the capability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown individually. Happily motor home was young, so easy to shift. Yet, The Early morning WP (formerly The Edge) 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 very own. It will obviously constantly be carefully tied with the Blog site Marketing Academy, yet doesn’t have to be a part of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv because it was constructed for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Just A Normal Email List
There’s a difference in between a newsletter platform and simply an email checklist.
You can hold your e-mail checklist everywhere you desire and there are a variety of them out there, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The primary difference is that, with an e-newsletter system, the act of publishing indicates that it is going to your site and to your e-mail customers all at once.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a site. You are releasing to that internet site. But, you are likewise dispatching to all subscribers at the same time. The web site and it’s customers are all in one. This makes monitoring of the system much simpler.
With the majority of email systems, any kind of newsletter you set up is done as an email campaign. It is constructed totally separately from your website. So, for instance, you may publish a post to WordPress however then you would certainly require to independently build and send out an email to your list to send it to subscribers. These are then 2 separate sets of archives and 2 different activities since post and your emails are not naturally linked.
The closest point that transforms WordPress into a real newsletter platform is Newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name since it basically “adhesives” your newsletter to your WordPress blog posts and enables them to be the same thing. Certainly, something like E-newsletter Glue would be a solid choice if I wished to remain to self-host every little thing. Nevertheless, you would certainly lose the growth tools that feature a platform like BeeHiiv.
Publishing an e-newsletter naturally comes with a various collection of demands than a normal e-mail list.
You do not normally require much marketing automation. You do not typically require autoresponder series, event monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO need, however, is one seamless posting experience and growth tools to help you build your subscriber base that specify to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I revealed to my customers that I was going to change the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had lots of people ask me why I was choosing it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the fact that I picked to select BeeHiiv, that doesn’t suggest I think Substack sucks. As a matter of fact, since Substack has been around longer, it is elder and has even more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair points that at first got my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is particularly customized to newsletter publishers. Actually, it is literally developed by the very same individuals that constructed the innovation behind Morning Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, doesn’t matter. Yet, the evident positioning of BeeHiiv toward newsletter development called me out over the even more common positioning of being a “creator”. Development is what I’m interested in below.
- That branding and distinction additionally means that BeeHiiv has some fairly big brand names and large magazines utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is aimed even more at solo designers. Again, it simply tells me the consumer avatar difference between both firms.
Sending our my newsletter using FluentCRM really did not exactly draw. The only reason I would consider drinking points up is if I assumed I can expand the list quicker. And BeeHiiv spoke specifically to that goal.
Due to the targeting, I really do not view BeeHiiv and Substack as direct rivals. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a different kind of consumer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being a lot more direct competitors.
Yet, allow’s dive much deeper than simply the placing right here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Generally, BeeHiiv seems like it was developed by people who recognizing email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears more tailored towards developers.
For instance, BeeHiiv offers custom fields on subscribers. Now, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. However, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. Actually, it is a visual automation builder that works a great deal like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation performance is still early-phase. It is still fairly limited in triggers and the only activity is the ability to send out an e-mail. Nonetheless, enhancements are coming. Soon enough, automations will have brand-new triggers along with new actions, such as modifying custom-made areas, sending out webhooks, etc. I have actually currently seen improvements to their automations just considering that I started utilizing the system. For example:
- Capacity to cause automations based upon which particular embed form they was available in on.
- Ability to instantly do re-engagement (and take care of individuals based upon opens up and non-opens).
- Ability to do basic conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations similar to this. Likely, it never will. Substack simply can not do this because the target market of Substack just would not believe to approach this like an email marketing expert.
When it concerns composing your newsletters, the creating user interface of BeeHiiv is just much more geared toward e-newsletters. As a matter of fact, it in fact has similarities to the WordPress block builder in just how it functions. I discover it to be extra instinctive, personally.
Substack’s writing interface is nice and clean, yet it would be extra equal to the timeless editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This difference is more than just type. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can insert a “Area” and afterwards placed anything you desire in it. After that, you can put Presence options on that area to show it only to paid customers, hide it from e-mail, hide from clients, reveal just to customers, etc. Substack provides absolutely nothing similar to this.
And when/if the moment comes that I start a costs registration design, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any type of earnings. In fact, you literally connect approximately your very own Stripe account and it charges directly to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your revenue. Depending on how many customers you get, that 10% can be quite a bit even more cash than the regular monthly price of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This may appear unpopular, yet what it implies is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can in fact make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outdoors using devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … nothing. No integrations in all.
Overall, I simply felt like BeeHiiv was more constructed toward genuine email marketing. It was constructed by people that “get it”. Even the opt-in types and the landing page designs appear much better built for conversions. Growth is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Although there are still features I want to see BeeHiiv include, I like the direction it is going greater than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually said, Substack placements itself toward “developers” more than e-mail marketing experts and e-newsletter owners. For that reason, you see some things geared extra towards individuals that simply assume in regards to content development.
For instance, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does support multiple magazines, they are dealt with rather individually. Whereas Substack does have the capability to cross-post to several magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I need, yet … cool for people that might require it.
Substack also has even more social capability built-in. As an example, it has a conversation function to host talks with customers. It additionally has a “Notes” feature which functions type of like a social media newsfeed where you can share things from various other “Stacks” you read. Intriguing. On the whole, Substack is established to be a lot more like a social media which supports long-form material.
Generally, Substack is also a lot more … minimalist. You either look after that or do not. Personally, I don’t. Nonetheless, if the goal is simplicity of interface and, honestly, features … Substack functions rather well.
However, I’ll be clear here …
When it concerns actual marketing, I don’t believe there’s much question that BeeHiiv is better matched. I tried to find even more factors that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, however frankly … I have a hard time discovering them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are often with to be the closest rivals, I really see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer opponents. Both are pursuing the very same target market and have comparable abilities.
ConvertKit is likewise placed at creators (like Substack), yet it is far more strongly dealing with individuals who do it for organization. ConvertKit has nice visual automation structure, it’s own commerce system, and more. ConvertKit is a truly good system.
I’m not going to bore you with a full feature-by-feature break down right here. ConvertKit is popular currently. 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 additionally state that I discover ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit extra intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains marking. This is simply a basic feature of e-mail lists that enables segmentation in an even more versatile means than BeeHiiv presently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support labeling at some time soon, frankly. It seems like an oversight that it is missing out on Beehiiv Paywall Bypass.
ConvertKit does now provide the ability to sell points by means of their very own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that’s important to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would certainly constantly select an extra straight alternative anyhow. For me, I favor to utilize my very own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been around a lot longer and for that reason has way extra integration alternatives. Tons of web-based tools and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their very own WordPress plugin that is fairly effective. As an example, their plugin currently also sustains member-gated content as well as auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your site. Essentially, this more closely puts ConvertKit into direct competitors by having you have the ability to release to your site and your e-mail listing at the same time.
BeeHiiv is badly lacking in these type of third-party integrations currently. It’ll get there. But, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also active taking on the growth devices of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Referral Engine where you can not only incentivize people to share your e-newsletter with advantages, but you can also pay per lead within the interior advertisement network of BeeHiiv to grow your checklist. These are truly awesome features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you recognize ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is one of the most well known viral promo systems for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the creating on the wall for what this means for the system going forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Beehiiv Paywall Bypass
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that indicates much less features and much less integrations, which is all-natural for this phase of the cycle. Nevertheless, it additionally indicates that they are swiftly developing.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have observed virtually weekly release of new features right into the system. And these aren’t weak little features … but huge features that are fairly important. Their rate of development at this point has been impressive.
I likewise quite appreciate exactly how responsive they are. In fact, among their product announcements concerning some design enhancements to the website design features actually had a tiny trouble with the web content width. I merely responded to that e-mail to tell them. I quickly obtained a reply straight from the chief executive officer:.
That very same day, the problem was fixed.
Couple of days later on, I provided one more idea …
Certainly, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the ability to trigger automations based upon the embed kind made use of was included in the system.
That kind of responsiveness and straight involvement of the group is something I really appreciate.
Another significant point of differentiation here is the cost. Both systems provide cost-free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan supplies much more capacity and even more customers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
Once you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is likewise FAR more positive. ConvertKit seems less costly at first glimpse due to the fact that their pricing web page reveals reduced numbers, however the subscriber limits are much reduced and your cost swiftly increases as your listing grows.
With BeeHiiv, your very first level paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid yearly), nevertheless you can have up to 10,000 subscribers. That very same size list is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you update to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their ideal plan and the one I personally utilize), you can expand your listing approximately 100,000. A list of that dimension would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, as well, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay every year, too. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for just $84/month if you pay every year.
BeeHiiv is in an entirely various organization when it concerns pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv ultimately enhance costs? They may as time goes on. However, I’m presuming individuals like myself that are already in will be locked-in. We’ll see just how points continue.
Points I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
One of the things you certainly need to remember is that BeeHiiv is relatively young. They do seem to evolve rather swiftly and make brand-new product news rather commonly, yet there are some fundamental features I really wish they had that I need to simply await.
One is that they require to have a setup on subscription forms where I can pick an automation to run right at the type degree. That would certainly be incredible for numerous reasons. Currently, subscription kinds look OK, but there’s really little settings for them to help in division.
It would certainly be nice to have marking at the customer degree. This would be effective.
I believe webhooks ought to belong to automations to make integrated automations simpler and minimize dependence on outside devices like Zapier.
There are additionally some small administrative interface adjustments that would certainly come in handy. For example:
- Ability to mass edit/remove clients.
- Ability to bulk edit articles (for example, to tag a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a few fundamental fields as standard on clients (like the name).
- Some more modification alternatives for the website (such as more flexible color options, headline control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Points I wish they finish with it in the future. BeeHiiv is respectable, but it isn’t excellent and certainly not almost as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM product.
It probably never will certainly be, either. As I claimed, the objective is different so it would not a lot a great deal of sense for BeeHiiv to become a complete marketing automation platform. I presume you never understand, though.
Final Ideas On This BeeHiiv Testimonial
I like BeeHiiv quite a whole lot. Sufficient where I made a decision to change my very own e-newsletters over to the system despite my personal choice for digital sovereignty and having my very own system.
Simply put, for the newsletter publishing model especially, I saw adequate worth in their system to warrant the change.
Bear in mind, I do not utilize BeeHiiv as my special email listing. I utilize BeeHiiv of what it is good at, but I intentionally have things establish so that I likewise maintain my checklist “in residence” within FluentCRM.
If you make use of BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the exact same. It is just a good insurance plan, for one. But, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your checklist will certainly be of high use (FluentCRM is a complete marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will certainly be).
So, the concern is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my opinion, if you are using Substack right now, I ‘d absolutely think about changing to BeeHiiv. It will merely be more business-friendly. It is targeting various capacities and various needs. Plus, BeeHiiv also has import devices for Substack, so the switch ought to be quite straightforward.
If you are on ConvertKit now, I ‘d probably stay unless you have a big email listing and are therefore being fleeced with their high month-to-month costs. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are repeating rapidly. There’s likewise a respectable chance you’re not even making use of several of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you do not also require them. Therefore, BeeHiiv could quickly be a better and much more cost effective fit.
Finally, if you plan to be really deliberate about growing a newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE system to take into consideration and maintain and eye on for you.
If you make use of BeeHiiv with eyes wide open regarding what it is created to be, it is just one of the best games around today. This is the platform to view.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves checking out for yourself. And if you wind up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll find the complimentary account to be quite feature abundant.