I have used a lot of various email list systems for many years. In the last couple of years, I have actually been a substantial advocate of digital sovereignty and owning your very own system. Because of that (and the remarkable features), I have been using How To Migrate From Campaign Monitor To Beehiiv.
So, it is without a doubt an odd move for me to make a decision to use BeeHiiv. Besides, it is a held application and I am paying monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv testimonial, I want to look at why I made the switch to BeeHiiv for my newsletters. I want to deal with the concern of digital sovereignty while making use of the system and I would certainly additionally such as to address why I picked to use it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For E-newsletters
In Problem # 435 of my newsletter called My Hobby + A Big Shift In Approach, I spoke about exactly how and why I decided to transform my recreational vehicle blog right into primarily a newsletter. I made a decision that was business design I wanted to pursue with that property.
But, to purposefully pursue it as an e-newsletter, I desired a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the email list for Gladly recreational vehicle, however FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, truthfully, utilizing it for e-newsletters is a little bit of a waste. A lot more on that in a little bit.
As I said because issue of the e-newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a system with devices built right into it certain to my purpose. Things such as:
- Ability to release (to the blog) and send the e-mail at the same time without having it be two separate activities.
- Integrated in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in ability to do cross-promotions with various other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are basically one-click registration web links. Great for promotion in other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, however, so there are ways to do that.
- Capability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your newsletter.
- Integrated advertisement network, if I pick to monetize with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in 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 aimed at development. The platform was essentially developed by the individuals that accumulated the modern technology for Morning Brew. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the point below. BeeHiiv is built from scratch for the objective of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a different purpose.
And I ended off with this:.
I may undoubtedly be relocating The Side over to BeeHiiv too. A minimum of, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. As a matter of fact, I simply went all out. And as a matter of fact, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, triggered as it’s very own residential property to make sure that I can expand it a lot more intentionally as well.
The objective is that each newsletter has the capability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown independently. Happily RV was young, so easy to change. However, The Morning WP (previously The Edge) was hidden in a sea of stuff here at the Blog 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 tied with the Blog site Marketing Academy, but does not need to be a part of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was developed for this function. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Simply A Normal Email Checklist
There’s a difference between a newsletter system and simply an e-mail listing.
You can hold your email list 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 difference?
The key distinction is that, with a newsletter platform, the act of posting means that it is going to your website and to your email subscribers at the same time.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a website. You are publishing to that site. Yet, you are additionally dispatching to all clients at the same time. The website and it’s customers are all in one. This makes administration of the system much easier.
With most e-mail platforms, any kind of e-newsletter you established is done as an email campaign. It is developed totally independently from your web site. So, as an example, you might release an article to WordPress however then you would certainly require to individually develop and send out an e-mail to your checklist to send it to clients. These are after that 2 separate collections of archives and two different activities because article and your e-mails are not naturally linked.
The closest point that turns WordPress right into a real e-newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name because it pretty much “glues” your newsletter to your WordPress articles and permits them to be the same thing. Definitely, something like Newsletter Glue would be a strong alternative if I wished to continue to self-host everything. Nonetheless, you ‘d shed the development tools that include a system like BeeHiiv.
Publishing a newsletter inherently includes a different collection of demands than a regular email checklist.
You do not normally require much marketing automation. You don’t normally require autoresponder series, occasion monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO need, however, is one smooth posting experience and growth devices to aid you build your customer base that specify to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my clients that I was going 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 fact that I picked to opt for BeeHiiv, that doesn’t indicate I think Substack sucks. In fact, because Substack has actually been about longer, it is elder and has more features.
Even though BeeHiiv is younger, there are a pair points that at first obtained my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is particularly tailored to newsletter authors. Actually, it is essentially built by the exact same folks that constructed the technology behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real life, does not matter. But, the obvious positioning of BeeHiiv towards e-newsletter growth called me out over the more common positioning of being a “maker”. Growth is what I want below.
- That branding and differentiation additionally means that BeeHiiv has some relatively large brands and large magazines utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is intended even more at solo developers. Once more, it simply tells me the consumer character difference between the two business.
Sending our my newsletter by means of FluentCRM didn’t precisely suck. The only factor I would certainly consider drinking things up is if I assumed I might expand the list much faster. And BeeHiiv talked exactly to that objective.
As a result of the targeting, I really do not see BeeHiiv and Substack as straight competitors. I think BeeHiiv is targeting a various kind of consumer. In fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being more straight competitors.
However, let’s dive much deeper than just the placing here.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Generally, BeeHiiv seems like it was developed by individuals who recognizing e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears much more tailored towards developers.
As an example, BeeHiiv supplies custom-made fields on clients. Now, it isn’t as created as something like FluentCRM. However, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. In fact, it is an aesthetic automation builder that functions a great deal like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation performance is still early-phase. It is still quite limited in triggers and the only action is the ability to send out an e-mail. However, enhancements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will have brand-new triggers in addition to new actions, such as customizing customized areas, sending webhooks, and so on. I’ve already seen enhancements to their automations just since I began making use of the system. As an example:
- Capacity to set off automations based on which specific embed form they can be found in on.
- Capability to immediately do re-engagement (and handle individuals based upon opens up and non-opens).
- Ability to do basic conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never will. Substack simply can not do this due to the fact that the target audience of Substack just would not think to approach this like an email online marketer.
When it pertains to creating your newsletters, the writing interface of BeeHiiv is just a lot more tailored towards newsletters. In fact, it in fact has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it functions. I discover it to be more instinctive, personally.
Substack’s writing interface is nice and tidy, but it would certainly be much more comparable to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This difference is greater than simply kind. For instance, with BeeHiiv you can put a “Section” and after that placed anything you desire in it. Then, you can place Visibility alternatives on that area to show it only to paid clients, conceal it from e-mail, hide from customers, reveal only to subscribers, and so on. Substack provides absolutely nothing similar to this.
And when/if the time comes that I start a costs subscription version, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any income. As a matter of fact, you literally connect approximately your own Stripe account and it charges straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your earnings. Depending on the number of subscribers you get, that 10% can be quite a bit more cash than the regular monthly expense of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear unpopular, but what it indicates is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can in fact make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outside using devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack essentially has … absolutely nothing. No integrations in any way.
On the whole, I simply seemed like BeeHiiv was much more built toward genuine e-mail marketing. It was developed by individuals that “get it”. Also the opt-in forms and the landing page makes appear better built for conversions. Development is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Although there are still features I would love to see BeeHiiv include, I such as the direction it is going greater than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually stated, Substack settings itself towards “creators” greater than email marketing experts and newsletter owners. For that reason, you see some points geared a lot more towards individuals that simply believe in terms of content creation.
As an example, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Likewise, while BeeHiiv does sustain several magazines, they are dealt with quite individually. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to numerous publications at the same time. This isn’t something I need, but … cool for people who could require it.
Substack additionally has more social functionality built-in. For example, it has a chat function to host chats with clients. It likewise has a “Notes” feature which functions type of like a social networks newsfeed where you can share things from other “Stacks” you’re reading. Intriguing. Overall, Substack is established to be a lot more like a social media which supports long-form web content.
Generally, Substack is likewise more … minimalist. You either care for that or do not. Personally, I do not. However, if the objective is simpleness of interface and, honestly, features … Substack functions quite well.
However, I’ll be clear right here …
When it pertains to actual marketing, I don’t assume there’s much question that BeeHiiv is much better fit. I searched for more points that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, yet frankly … I have a hard time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are typically with to be the closest competitors, I really see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer rivals. Both are going after the same target market and have similar capabilities.
ConvertKit is likewise positioned at makers (like Substack), but it is far more strongly catering to people who do it for company. ConvertKit has great aesthetic automation structure, it’s very own business system, and a lot more. ConvertKit is a really wonderful system.
I’m not going to bore you with a complete feature-by-feature malfunction below. ConvertKit is well known currently. However, here’s just how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Points ConvertKit Is Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has extra flexibility when it concerns it’s automations. I will likewise claim that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit extra user-friendly than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports tagging. This is just a standard function of email listings that enables segmentation in an even more adaptable means than BeeHiiv presently does. I expect BeeHiiv to sustain marking at some point quickly, truthfully. It seems like an oversight that it is missing out on How To Migrate From Campaign Monitor To Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does now supply the ability to market points using their very own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that’s important to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, however, I would certainly always pick a much more straight alternative anyhow. For me, I prefer to utilize my very own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been around much longer and for that reason has way extra integration options. Tons of online tools and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their own WordPress plugin that is fairly effective. As an example, their plugin currently even supports member-gated content in addition to auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your website. In essence, this extra closely places ConvertKit into direct competitors by having you have the ability to release to your website and your e-mail list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is drastically doing not have in these sort of third-party integrations presently. It’ll get there. However, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even hectic taking on the development devices of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Referral Engine where you can not only incentivize individuals to share your newsletter with perks, however you can likewise pay per lead within the internal ad network of BeeHiiv to expand your checklist. These are truly awesome features of BeeHiiv. However …
Did you know ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of one of the most popular viral promotion systems for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the writing on the wall surface of what this suggests for the platform moving forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Better At … How To Migrate From Campaign Monitor To Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that indicates much less features and much less integrations, which is natural for this phase of the cycle. Nonetheless, it likewise indicates that they are rapidly creating.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually seen almost regular release of new features into the system. And these aren’t undersized little features … however large features that are rather essential. Their rate of development at this point has been impressive.
I additionally significantly appreciate just how receptive they are. As a matter of fact, one of their product news about some layout enhancements to the website design features actually contained a tiny issue with the content width. I merely responded to that e-mail to tell them. I promptly got a reply directly from the chief executive officer:.
That very same day, the problem was repaired.
Couple of days later on, I gave them one more idea …
Sure enough, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to cause automations based on the embed kind made use of was contributed to the system.
That sort of responsiveness and direct participation of the team is something I really value.
One more major point of differentiation here is the price. Both platforms use cost-free plans, nevertheless the BeeHiiv free plan supplies a lot more capability and even more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
Once you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is additionally FAR more positive. ConvertKit seems more affordable at first glimpse since their pricing page shows lower numbers, nonetheless the subscriber limits are much lower and your rate rapidly raises as your list expands.
With BeeHiiv, your first level paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid yearly), however you can have up to 10,000 subscribers. That very same size listing is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you update to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their ideal plan and the one I directly utilize), you can grow your checklist up to 100,000. A checklist of that dimension would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, too, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay annually, also. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for just $84/month if you pay every year.
BeeHiiv remains in a totally different league when it concerns pricing (in a great way).
Will BeeHiiv eventually raise prices? They could as time goes on. But, I’m thinking people like myself who are currently in will be locked-in. We’ll see how points continue.
Things I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
One of the things you most definitely need to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is fairly young. They do appear to progress rather rapidly and make new item statements somewhat often, however there are some standard features I truly desire they had that I require to simply await.
One is that they need to have a setting on registration kinds where I could select an automation to run right at the form degree. That would certainly be amazing for numerous factors. As of now, registration forms look OK, but there’s really little setups for them to assist in division.
It would certainly behave to have identifying at the customer level. This would be effective.
I assume webhooks should be part of automations to make integrated automations easier and minimize dependence on outdoors tools like Zapier.
There are likewise some minor administrative user interface adjustments that would come in handy. As an example:
- Capacity to mass edit/remove customers.
- Capability to bulk edit messages (for instance, to mark a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a few fundamental areas as conventional on customers (like the name).
- Some more personalization alternatives for the internet site (such as more versatile color options, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Points I hope they finish with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, however it isn’t excellent and definitely not almost as established as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM product.
It probably never ever will certainly be, either. As I claimed, the purpose is different so it would not a lot a great deal of sense for BeeHiiv to come to be a full marketing automation system. I presume you never ever know, though.
Last Ideas On This BeeHiiv Review
I such as BeeHiiv quite a whole lot. Sufficient where I determined to change my own newsletters over to the platform regardless of my personal preference for digital sovereignty and possessing my own system.
Put simply, for the newsletter publishing design especially, I saw adequate worth in their platform to call for the adjustment.
Keep in mind, I do not utilize BeeHiiv as my unique email listing. I use BeeHiiv of what it is efficient, however I purposefully have points establish to ensure that I likewise keep my listing “in residence” inside of FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the same. It is simply a good insurance plan, for one. However, 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 will certainly be).
So, the inquiry is … should YOU make use of BeeHiiv?
In my point of view, if you are making use of Substack today, I ‘d certainly think about switching over to BeeHiiv. It will just be much more business-friendly. It is targeting various capabilities and different requirements. And also, BeeHiiv also has import tools for Substack, so the button needs to be quite straightforward.
If you are on ConvertKit now, I ‘d possibly stay unless you have a big e-mail checklist and are therefore being wooled with their high month-to-month costs. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are iterating rapidly. There’s also a respectable opportunity you’re not even using some of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you do not also need them. Because of that, BeeHiiv might conveniently be a far better and extra affordable fit.
Finally, if you plan to be really willful about growing a newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE system to consider and keep and eye on for you.
If you use BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is made to be, it is one of the most effective games in town today. This is the platform to view.
BeeHiiv supplies a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves taking a look at on your own. And if you end up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll find the totally free account to be rather feature abundant.