I have actually made use of a lot of different email list systems over the years. In the last number of years, I have actually been a massive proponent of digital sovereignty and having your own platform. Therefore (and the incredible features), I have actually been using How To Migrate From ActiveCampaign To Beehiiv.
So, it is certainly an odd move for me to choose to make use of BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, it is a hosted application and I am paying monthly 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 e-newsletters. I want to address the problem of digital sovereignty while making use of the system and I would certainly also like to address why I chose to use it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Built For E-newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Huge Shift In Method, I talked about just how and why I chose to turn my motor home blog site into largely an e-newsletter. I chose that was the business model I wished to pursue keeping that building.
However, 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 Happily RV, however FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter platform. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, truthfully, utilizing it for newsletters is a little a waste. Extra on that in a little bit.
As I said because issue of the e-newsletter …
Basically, BeeHiiv is a platform with tools constructed right into it details to my function. Things such as:
- Capacity to release (to the blog site) and send the e-mail simultaneously without having it be two different actions.
- Constructed in e-newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would require a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Integrated ability to do cross-promotions with various other newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Links”, which are generally one-click registration web links. Great for promotion in other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, however, so there are ways to do that.
- Capacity to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your e-newsletter.
- Integrated advertisement network, if I pick to generate income from with advertisements in the e-newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated ability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and essentially run a premium e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Generally, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter publishers with features aimed at development. The system was actually built by the individuals who accumulated the technology for Early morning Mixture. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the point here. BeeHiiv is developed from the ground up for the purpose of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a various objective.
And I ended off with this:.
I may certainly be relocating The Side over to BeeHiiv too. At least, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. In fact, I simply went all out. And actually, The side was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, set off as it’s own home to make sure that I can grow it a lot more purposefully also.
The objective is that each e-newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s own media entity and expanded individually. Gladly motor home was young, so very easy to change. However, The Morning WP (previously The Edge) was hidden in a sea of things right here at the Blog Marketing Academy. By separating it off, I can do what I can to expand it on it’s very own. It will clearly constantly be closely connected with the Blog Marketing Academy, but does not need to belong of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv since it was constructed for this purpose. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Just A Typical Email Checklist
There’s a distinction in between an e-newsletter system and just an e-mail listing.
You can host your e-mail list anyplace you desire and there are a number of them available, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted options like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The primary difference is that, with a newsletter platform, the act of posting suggests that it is mosting likely to your internet site and to your e-mail customers simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a web site. You are publishing to that website. But, you are also sending off to all subscribers at the same time. The website and it’s customers are done in one. This makes administration of the platform much easier.
With the majority of email platforms, any kind of newsletter you established is done as an e-mail campaign. It is constructed entirely separately from your internet site. So, as an example, you might release a short article to WordPress however after that you would certainly require to independently construct and send an e-mail to your list to send it to clients. These are then 2 different sets of archives and two separate activities since post and your e-mails are not inherently connected.
The closest point that transforms WordPress into a real newsletter platform is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name since it practically “adhesives” your e-newsletter to your WordPress posts and allows them to be the very same thing. Definitely, something like E-newsletter Glue would certainly be a strong option if I intended to continue to self-host everything. However, you ‘d shed the growth devices that include a platform like BeeHiiv.
Publishing an e-newsletter inherently comes with a different set of requirements than a regular e-mail checklist.
You do not usually need much marketing automation. You do not generally need autoresponder sequences, event tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO requirement, though, is one smooth publishing experience and development devices to assist you develop your customer base that specify to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my clients that I was going to switch the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many people ask me why I was picking it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the reality that I picked to opt for BeeHiiv, that does not indicate I assume Substack draws. Actually, because Substack has actually been around longer, it is more mature and has more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is younger, there are a couple points that at first got my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is especially customized to e-newsletter authors. Actually, it is literally developed by the very same people who developed the technology behind Early morning Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, doesn’t matter. But, the apparent positioning of BeeHiiv toward newsletter development called me out over the more common positioning of being a “developer”. Development is what I want here.
- That branding and distinction additionally indicates that BeeHiiv has some relatively big brand names and big magazines using it. Whereas SubStack is aimed more at solo creators. Again, it simply tells me the client character distinction in between the two business.
Sending our my newsletter by means of FluentCRM didn’t exactly draw. The only factor I would consider shaking points up is if I believed I can GROW the listing much faster. And BeeHiiv talked precisely to that goal.
Due to the targeting, I in fact don’t watch BeeHiiv and Substack as direct rivals. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a various kind of customer. As a matter of fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being much more direct rivals.
Yet, let’s dive deeper than simply the positioning below.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv looks like it was constructed by people who understanding email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems much more tailored towards designers.
For instance, BeeHiiv provides custom-made areas on customers. Now, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv provides Automations. Actually, it is an aesthetic automation builder that functions a great deal like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation performance is still early-phase. It is still rather minimal in triggers and the only action is the capability to send an e-mail. Nevertheless, enhancements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will have new triggers in addition to brand-new actions, such as modifying customized fields, sending webhooks, and so on. I’ve currently seen improvements to their automations simply since I began utilizing the system. As an example:
- Capacity to activate automations based on which details embed type they can be found in on.
- Capability to immediately do re-engagement (and manage people based on opens and non-opens).
- Ability to do fundamental conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never will. Substack simply can not do this since the target audience of Substack simply wouldn’t think to approach this like an email online marketer.
When it concerns composing your newsletters, the composing user interface of BeeHiiv is simply a lot more geared toward newsletters. Actually, it really has similarities to the WordPress block builder in just how it works. I discover it to be much more instinctive, personally.
Substack’s writing interface behaves and tidy, however it would certainly be extra equal to the classic editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This distinction is more than simply form. For example, with BeeHiiv you can put a “Section” and afterwards put anything you want in it. Then, you can put Exposure alternatives on that section to reveal it only to paid customers, hide it from email, hide from subscribers, reveal only to customers, etc. Substack supplies nothing like this.
And when/if the moment comes that I start a costs membership version, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any profits. As a matter of fact, you literally connect as much as your very own Stripe account and it charges directly to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your income. Relying on the amount of subscribers you get, that 10% can be quite a bit even more money than the regular monthly expense of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear nerdy, yet what it suggests is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can in fact make BeeHiiv deal with the outside using tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack actually has … nothing. No integrations in all.
On the whole, I just seemed like BeeHiiv was more built towards real email marketing. It was constructed by people that “get it”. Even the opt-in kinds and the landing page develops seem far better built for conversions. Development is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Despite the fact that there are still features I want to see BeeHiiv add, I like the instructions it is going greater than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually stated, Substack settings itself towards “developers” greater than email marketing experts and e-newsletter proprietors. Therefore, you see some points geared more towards individuals that just think in terms of content production.
For example, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does sustain several publications, they are treated quite independently. Whereas Substack does have the capability to cross-post to several publications at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, yet … cool for people who could require it.
Substack additionally has even more social functionality built-in. For example, it has a chat feature to host chats with clients. It likewise has a “Notes” function which works type of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share things from other “Stacks” you’re reading. Intriguing. On the whole, Substack is set up to be a lot more like a social network which supports long-form material.
On the whole, Substack is likewise much more … minimal. You either care for that or don’t. Directly, I do not. However, if the objective is simplicity of user interface and, honestly, features … Substack works pretty well.
Yet, I’ll be clear here …
When it concerns actual marketing, I do not believe there’s much question that BeeHiiv is better matched. I looked for even more points that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, however truthfully … I have a tough time discovering them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are frequently through to be the closest rivals, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer opponents. Both are going after the exact same target audience and have comparable capabilities.
ConvertKit is also positioned at creators (like Substack), yet it is much more strongly accommodating individuals who do it for company. ConvertKit has good aesthetic automation structure, it’s own commerce system, and extra. ConvertKit is an actually nice system.
I’m not going to birthed you with a complete feature-by-feature break down right here. ConvertKit is popular currently. But, right here’s just how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Points ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
Currently, ConvertKit has a lot more versatility when it comes to it’s automations. I will certainly also state that I discover ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit extra instinctive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains labeling. This is just a fundamental function of e-mail listings that enables division in a much more adaptable means than BeeHiiv currently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to sustain tagging at some point soon, truthfully. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on How To Migrate From ActiveCampaign To Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does now offer the capability to sell things by means of their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that’s important to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nevertheless, I would always pick a more straight option anyhow. For me, I prefer to utilize my very own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been about much longer and for that reason has way a lot more integration options. Lots of web-based devices and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their own WordPress plugin that is fairly effective. For example, their plugin now also supports member-gated web content as well as auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your site. Essentially, this much more closely puts ConvertKit right into direct competitors by having you have the ability to release to your site and your e-mail checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is drastically doing not have in these type of third-party integrations at the moment. It’ll arrive. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even busy dealing with the growth devices of BeeHiiv. For instance, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not just incentivize individuals to share your newsletter with benefits, but you can likewise pay per lead within the internal advertisement network of BeeHiiv to expand your checklist. These are actually remarkable features of BeeHiiv. But …
Did you know ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is one of one of the most popular viral promo systems for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall of what this indicates for the platform going forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Better At … How To Migrate From ActiveCampaign To Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is much earlier in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that suggests less features and much less integrations, which is natural for this stage of the cycle. Nonetheless, it also suggests that they are quickly creating.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually observed practically weekly release of new features right into the system. And these aren’t weak little features … yet big features that are fairly crucial. Their rate of advancement at this point has gone over.
I also quite value how receptive they are. Actually, one of their item news regarding some design improvements to the web design features actually consisted of a small issue with the material width. I just responded to that e-mail to tell them. I rapidly obtained a reply straight from the CEO:.
That very same day, the concern was repaired.
Couple of days later on, I gave them an additional pointer …
Indeed, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to set off automations based upon the embed type utilized was added to the system.
That sort of responsiveness and direct participation of the team is something I really value.
One more significant point of distinction below is the price. Both systems supply free plans, however the BeeHiiv free plan provides much more capacity and even more customers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is likewise even more desirable. ConvertKit seems less expensive initially look due to the fact that their pricing page shows lower numbers, nonetheless the client limits are FAR reduced and your cost swiftly increases as your list grows.
With BeeHiiv, your initial level paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid each year), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 clients. That very same size list is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their finest plan and the one I personally make use of), you can grow your list as much as 100,000. A listing of that size would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you desire their referral network, also, that places you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay annually, as well. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for just $84/month if you pay every year.
BeeHiiv remains in a totally different league when it comes to pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point boost prices? They may as time goes on. Yet, I’m guessing people like myself who are currently in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see how things continue.
Points I Would Like BeeHiiv To Include
Among things you most definitely need to keep in mind is that BeeHiiv is relatively young. They do seem to progress rather quickly and make new item statements rather often, but there are some basic features I really wish they had that I need to simply wait for.
One is that they need to have a setting on membership types where I can choose an automation to run right at the type degree. That would certainly be incredible for many factors. Currently, membership forms look OK, but there’s extremely little setups for them to assist in segmentation.
It would be nice to have tagging at the customer level. This would certainly be powerful.
I believe webhooks need to belong to automations to make built-in automations simpler and decrease dependence on outside tools like Zapier.
There are additionally some minor management user interface modifications that would come in handy. For instance:
- Capacity to bulk edit/remove subscribers.
- Capability to bulk edit posts (for instance, to label a number of them at the same time).
- Having a few fundamental fields as typical on subscribers (like the name).
- Some more customization options for the website (such as even more adaptable shade selections, heading control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some imperfections. Things I hope they make with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is respectable, however it isn’t best and definitely not virtually as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other real CRM product.
It possibly never will be, either. As I stated, the purpose is various so it would not much a great deal of sense for BeeHiiv to become a complete marketing automation platform. I guess you never recognize, however.
Final Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Testimonial
I such as BeeHiiv quite a lot. Sufficient where I determined to switch my own e-newsletters over to the platform despite my individual preference for digital sovereignty and possessing my own platform.
Basically, for the newsletter publishing model especially, I saw adequate value in their system to warrant the change.
Remember, I do not use BeeHiiv as my special e-mail listing. I make use of BeeHiiv of what it is good at, yet I intentionally have things set up so that I also keep my listing “in residence” inside of FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the exact same. It is simply a great insurance coverage, for one. Yet, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your list will certainly be of high use (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will be).
So, the inquiry is … should YOU utilize BeeHiiv?
In my point of view, if you are using Substack now, I ‘d definitely take into consideration switching over to BeeHiiv. It will just be more business-friendly. It is targeting different capabilities and various needs. And also, BeeHiiv also has import devices for Substack, so the button needs to be quite uncomplicated.
If you are on ConvertKit now, I ‘d possibly stay put unless you have a huge email checklist and are for that reason being fleeced with their high monthly expense. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, yet they are repeating swiftly. There’s additionally a respectable possibility you’re not even making use of several of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you don’t even need them. For that reason, BeeHiiv might easily be a far better and extra inexpensive fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be really deliberate concerning growing an e-newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE system to consider and maintain and eye on for you.
If you utilize BeeHiiv with eyes wide open about what it is developed to be, it is one of the most effective video games in the area today. This is the platform to view.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It is worth looking into on your own. And if you end up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll locate the free account to be rather feature rich.