I have actually utilized a great deal of different email list systems throughout the years. In the last number of years, I’ve been a big proponent of digital sovereignty and possessing your very own platform. Therefore (and the outstanding features), I have been utilizing Beehiiv Vs Patreon.
So, it is certainly a strange move for me to make a decision to make use of BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, it is an organized application and I am paying month-to-month for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I want to review why I made the switch to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I wish to deal with the concern of digital sovereignty while using the system and I ‘d additionally like to deal with why I picked to use it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Constructed For Newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Large Shift In Approach, I talked about just how and why I decided to turn my RV blog site into mainly an e-newsletter. I made a decision that was the business version I wished to pursue with that said property.
But, to intentionally seek it as an e-newsletter, I desired a system that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the e-mail listing for Gladly motor home, but FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, frankly, using it for e-newsletters is a bit of a waste. More on that in a bit.
As I said in that concern of the e-newsletter …
Basically, BeeHiiv is a platform with devices built right into it certain to my function. Things such as:
- Capability to release (to the blog site) and send out the email at the same time without having it be two different activities.
- Built in e-newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would have needed a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Built-in ability to do cross-promotions with various other newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are primarily one-click subscription web links. Great for promotion in various other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, though, so there are means to do that.
- Capability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your e-newsletter.
- Built-in ad network, if I select to generate income from with advertisements in the newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated capacity to run a paid newsletter upgrade and generally run a premium e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Generally, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter publishers with features focused on growth. The platform was essentially built by the people who developed the innovation for Morning Brew. They know what they’re doing.
That is the factor here. BeeHiiv is built from the ground up for the purpose of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a different purpose.
And I finished off with this:.
I may certainly be moving The Side over to BeeHiiv also. At least, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. In fact, I just went all out. And actually, The side was re-branded over to The Morning WP, set off as it’s very own residential property to make sure that I can grow it extra purposefully too.
The objective is that each e-newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and expanded independently. Happily recreational vehicle was young, so very easy to transition. But, The Early morning WP (previously The Side) was hidden in a sea of stuff below at the Blog Site Marketing Academy. By separating it off, I can do what I can to expand it on it’s own. It will clearly always be very closely linked with the Blog Marketing Academy, but does not need to belong of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was developed for this function. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Simply A Regular Email Checklist
There’s a difference between an e-newsletter system and simply an e-mail checklist.
You can host your email checklist just about anywhere you desire and there are a number of them out there, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted alternatives like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The primary distinction is that, with an e-newsletter system, the act of posting suggests that it is going to your website and to your e-mail subscribers simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have an internet site. You are publishing to that site. However, you are additionally dispatching to all subscribers at the same time. The site and it’s clients are all in one. This makes administration of the system much less complex.
With the majority of email systems, any newsletter you set up is done as an e-mail campaign. It is built completely individually from your internet site. So, for instance, you may release a post to WordPress however after that you would certainly require to separately construct and send an email to your checklist to send it to clients. These are then 2 different sets of archives and 2 different actions because article and your emails are not naturally linked.
The closest point that transforms WordPress right into a real newsletter platform is E-newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name due to the fact that it basically “adhesives” your e-newsletter to your WordPress posts and enables them to be the same thing. Absolutely, something like E-newsletter Glue would be a solid option if I intended to remain to self-host whatever. Nevertheless, you would certainly shed the development tools that come with a platform like BeeHiiv.
Publishing an e-newsletter inherently includes a various set of requirements than a normal e-mail checklist.
You don’t generally need much marketing automation. You do not normally require autoresponder sequences, occasion monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO demand, though, is one seamless posting experience and development tools to help you build your client base that specify to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my clients that I was mosting likely to switch the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many individuals ask me why I was choosing it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the reality that I selected to opt for BeeHiiv, that does not suggest I think Substack sucks. In fact, due to the fact that Substack has actually been around much longer, it is elder and has even more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair points that originally obtained my focus:.
- BeeHiiv is particularly customized to newsletter authors. In fact, it is essentially constructed by the exact same individuals who developed the modern technology behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, does not matter. Yet, the apparent positioning of BeeHiiv toward newsletter growth called me out over the even more common positioning of being a “designer”. Development is what I want here.
- That branding and distinction also implies that BeeHiiv has some rather large brands and large magazines using it. Whereas SubStack is intended more at solo makers. Once more, it just tells me the customer character distinction between the two companies.
Sending our my newsletter through FluentCRM really did not precisely draw. The only reason I would certainly consider shaking things up is if I thought I might expand the listing quicker. And BeeHiiv spoke precisely to that objective.
Because of the targeting, I really do not check out BeeHiiv and Substack as straight rivals. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a various sort of customer. In fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being extra direct rivals.
However, let’s dive deeper than just the placing right here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv feels like it was constructed by individuals that recognizing e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems much more tailored toward developers.
As an example, BeeHiiv supplies custom areas on customers. Now, it isn’t as developed as something like FluentCRM. However, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. As a matter of fact, it is an aesthetic 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 rather minimal in triggers and the only action is the capacity to send an email. However, improvements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers along with brand-new activities, such as customizing personalized fields, sending webhooks, and so on. I’ve currently seen improvements to their automations simply given that I started utilizing the system. For instance:
- Ability to trigger automations based on which particular embed kind they was available in on.
- Capacity to instantly do re-engagement (and take care of people based upon opens and non-opens).
- Capacity to do standard conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations like this. Likely, it never will. Substack simply can not do this due to the fact that the target audience of Substack just wouldn’t believe to approach this like an e-mail marketing professional.
When it comes to writing your newsletters, the writing interface of BeeHiiv is simply a lot more tailored towards 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 a lot more intuitive, directly.
Substack’s composing interface behaves and clean, but it would be more equivalent to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This difference is more than simply form. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can place a “Area” and after that placed anything you want in it. Then, you can put Visibility alternatives on that section to show it only to paid subscribers, conceal it from e-mail, hide from customers, show just to clients, and so on. Substack supplies absolutely nothing similar to this.
And when/if the moment comes that I begin a premium membership model, BeeHiiv does not take any type of revenue. As a matter of fact, you literally attach as much as your very own Stripe account and it bills straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your earnings. Depending upon the number of customers you get, that 10% can be a fair bit more money than the monthly price of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This could appear unpopular, however what it suggests is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outside making use of tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack essentially has … nothing. No integrations whatsoever.
Overall, I simply felt like BeeHiiv was extra built towards actual email marketing. It was constructed by individuals who “get it”. Also the opt-in types and the landing page develops appear far better developed 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.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually stated, Substack positions itself toward “designers” more than email marketers and e-newsletter proprietors. Therefore, you see some points tailored more towards people who just believe in regards to content development.
For instance, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Likewise, while BeeHiiv does sustain several publications, they are treated quite separately. Whereas Substack does have the capability to cross-post to numerous magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I need, yet … cool for individuals who could require it.
Substack additionally has even more social functionality built-in. For example, it has a conversation function to host talks with customers. It likewise has a “Notes” feature which works kind of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share points from other “Stacks” you read. Interesting. In general, Substack is set up to be extra like a social media network which supports long-form web content.
Overall, Substack is likewise much more … minimalist. You either look after that or don’t. Personally, I don’t. However, if the goal is simpleness of user interface and, frankly, features … Substack functions pretty well.
But, I’ll be clear right here …
When it pertains to real marketing, I don’t assume there’s much doubt that BeeHiiv is better suited. I looked for more points that make Substack much better than BeeHiiv, but honestly … I have a tough time locating them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are usually through to be the closest competitors, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer rivals. Both are pursuing the very same target audience and have comparable abilities.
ConvertKit is also placed at makers (like Substack), yet it is much more highly catering to people that do it for organization. ConvertKit has nice visual automation structure, it’s very own commerce platform, and extra. ConvertKit is a really good platform.
I’m not mosting likely to bore you with a complete feature-by-feature breakdown here. ConvertKit is well known already. Yet, right here’s just how I feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Things ConvertKit Is Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has much more versatility when it involves it’s automations. I will certainly likewise claim that I locate ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit more instinctive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains marking. This is simply a basic feature of e-mail listings that makes it possible for division in an even more versatile way than BeeHiiv presently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support identifying at some point quickly, honestly. It seems like an oversight that it is missing Beehiiv Vs Patreon.
ConvertKit does now give the capability to sell things via their very own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that’s important to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would certainly constantly choose an extra direct option anyhow. For me, I prefer to use my own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been around much longer and for that reason has way extra integration alternatives. Tons of web-based devices and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their very own WordPress plugin that is quite effective. For example, their plugin currently also supports member-gated web content in addition to auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your site. Basically, this more closely puts ConvertKit right into direct competition by having you be able to release to your website and your email checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is seriously doing not have in these type of third-party integrations currently. It’ll get there. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also busy tackling the growth tools of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not just incentivize individuals to share your e-newsletter with benefits, yet you can likewise pay per lead within the interior ad network of BeeHiiv to grow your list. These are truly remarkable features of BeeHiiv. But …
Did you understand ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of the most popular viral promo platforms for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the creating on the wall surface of what this indicates for the system going forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Beehiiv Vs Patreon
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means less features and less integrations, which is natural for this phase of the cycle. However, it likewise indicates that they are swiftly establishing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have experienced almost regular release of brand-new features right into the platform. And these aren’t puny little features … but huge features that are fairly important. Their speed of advancement now has actually been impressive.
I likewise very much value just how receptive they are. As a matter of fact, among their product statements concerning some layout enhancements to the web design features in fact included a little issue with the web content width. I simply responded to that e-mail to tell them. I promptly got a reply straight from the CEO:.
That same day, the concern was dealt with.
Few days later on, I gave them one more idea …
Indeed, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to set off automations based on the embed type utilized was added to the system.
That sort of responsiveness and straight participation of the team is something I truly value.
An additional major point of distinction here is the price. Both platforms offer free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan supplies extra capacity and even more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is likewise much more positive. ConvertKit appears less expensive in the beginning glance since their pricing page shows reduced numbers, nevertheless the client limits are much lower and your price rapidly enhances as your listing expands.
With BeeHiiv, your first degree paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid annually), however you can have up to 10,000 subscribers. That exact same size list is mosting likely to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their ideal plan and the one I directly use), you can grow your listing up to 100,000. A checklist of that dimension would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you desire their referral network, too, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay yearly, too. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for simply $84/month if you pay annually.
BeeHiiv remains in an entirely different league when it concerns pricing (in a great way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point enhance rates? They might as time takes place. But, I’m guessing individuals like myself who are currently in will be locked-in. We’ll see exactly how points continue.
Things I Would Like BeeHiiv To Add
One of the important things you definitely require to remember is that BeeHiiv is fairly young. They do appear to develop instead quickly and make new product news somewhat usually, however there are some standard features I truly wish they had that I need to just wait on.
One is that they need to have a setting on subscription kinds where I can pick an automation to run right at the type degree. That would certainly be remarkable for so many reasons. As of now, membership types look OK, however there’s very little settings for them to aid in segmentation.
It would behave to have labeling at the subscriber level. This would be effective.
I assume webhooks need to become part of automations to make integrated automations much easier and reduce reliance on outside devices like Zapier.
There are likewise some small administrative interface changes that would certainly come in handy. For instance:
- Capability to bulk edit/remove customers.
- Ability to bulk edit posts (for instance, to mark a number of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of standard fields as conventional on clients (like the name).
- Some more modification choices for the web site (such as even more flexible color options, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Points I hope they finish with it in the future. BeeHiiv is respectable, yet it isn’t ideal and absolutely not virtually as established as something like FluentCRM or any other real CRM product.
It possibly never ever will be, either. As I said, the objective is various so it would not much a great deal of feeling for BeeHiiv to come to be a full marketing automation platform. I think you never ever recognize, however.
Final Ideas On This BeeHiiv Testimonial
I like BeeHiiv fairly a lot. Enough where I made a decision to change my very own e-newsletters over to the system regardless of my personal preference for digital sovereignty and having my very own system.
Simply put, for the newsletter publishing model specifically, I saw adequate value in their system to require the modification.
Bear in mind, I do not use BeeHiiv as my special email list. I use BeeHiiv wherefore it is good at, yet I intentionally have things set up so that I also maintain my listing “in home” within FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the same. It is just a good insurance coverage, for one. However, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your listing will be of high use (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will certainly be).
So, the question is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my point of view, if you are making use of Substack today, I ‘d most definitely consider switching to BeeHiiv. It will merely be more business-friendly. It is targeting various capabilities and different needs. Plus, BeeHiiv even has import tools for Substack, so the switch must be pretty simple.
If you are on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d most likely sit tight unless you have a large email listing and are for that reason being wooled with their high regular monthly expense. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, yet they are iterating promptly. There’s additionally a respectable opportunity you’re not also utilizing several of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you do not also need them. Therefore, BeeHiiv can easily be a much better and extra inexpensive fit.
Finally, if you plan to be extremely deliberate concerning growing a newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE platform to consider and maintain and eye on for you.
If you use BeeHiiv with eyes wide open regarding what it is created to be, it is just one of the most effective video games around today. This is the system to see.
BeeHiiv supplies a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves having a look at for yourself. And if you end up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll find the cost-free account to be rather feature abundant.