I have made use of a lot of various email list systems throughout the years. In the last couple of years, I have actually been a big advocate of digital sovereignty and owning your own system. For that reason (and the amazing features), I have been using How To Migrate From HubSpot To Beehiiv.
So, it is undoubtedly a weird move for me to make a decision to make use of BeeHiiv. After all, it is an organized application and I am paying regular monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv evaluation, I want to discuss why I made the switch to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I wish to resolve the concern of digital sovereignty while making use of the platform and I would certainly additionally such as to address why I selected to use it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Constructed For Newsletters
In Concern # 435 of my newsletter called My Pastime + A Big Change In Method, I spoke about how and why I chose to turn my recreational vehicle blog site into primarily an e-newsletter. I made a decision that was business model I wanted to go after with that building.
However, to deliberately pursue it as a newsletter, I wanted a system that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the email checklist for Gladly RV, however FluentCRM is not a newsletter system. It is developed to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, truthfully, using it for newsletters is a little bit of a waste. More on that particular in a bit.
As I said because problem of the e-newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a system with devices constructed into it specific to my purpose. Things such as:
- Capability to publish (to the blog site) and send out the email concurrently without having it be two different actions.
- Constructed in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not 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 generally one-click registration web links. Great for promotion in other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, however, so there are means 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 capacity to run a paid newsletter upgrade and basically run a premium e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Essentially, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter authors with features aimed at growth. The system was literally constructed by the people who developed the technology for Early morning Brew. They know what they’re doing.
That is the factor below. BeeHiiv is built from scratch for the objective of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a various objective.
And I ended off with this:.
I might without a doubt be relocating The Side over to BeeHiiv too. At the very least, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. In fact, I simply went for it. And as a matter of fact, The side was re-branded over to The Morning WP, set off as it’s very own building to make sure that I can expand it extra intentionally too.
The goal is that each newsletter has the capability to be branded as it’s own media entity and grown individually. Happily RV was young, so simple to shift. Yet, The Morning WP (formerly The Side) was buried in a sea of stuff here at the Blog Marketing Academy. By dividing it off, I can do what I can to grow it on it’s own. It will certainly constantly be closely connected with the Blog site Marketing Academy, but doesn’t need to belong of it.
I switched over to BeeHiiv because it was built for this function. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Just A Normal Email Listing
There’s a distinction in between a newsletter platform and just an e-mail listing.
You can hold your e-mail listing anywhere you want and there are a number of them around, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted options like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The primary difference is that, with a newsletter platform, the act of posting implies that it is mosting likely to your website and to your email subscribers concurrently.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a web site. You are releasing to that internet site. But, you are additionally sending off to all customers at the same time. The web site and it’s subscribers are all in one. This makes administration of the platform much less complex.
With many email systems, any type of newsletter you established is done as an email campaign. It is developed totally individually from your website. So, for example, you could release a post to WordPress but then you would certainly need to separately build and send out an e-mail to your list to send it to clients. These are after that 2 separate sets of archives and two separate actions due to the fact that post and your emails are not inherently linked.
The closest point that turns WordPress right into a true e-newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name because it practically “glues” your newsletter to your WordPress blog posts and permits them to be the same point. Absolutely, something like E-newsletter Glue would certainly be a solid choice if I intended to remain to self-host everything. Nevertheless, you would certainly shed the growth tools that include a platform like BeeHiiv.
Posting an e-newsletter inherently comes with a various set of demands than a common e-mail list.
You do not generally need much marketing automation. You don’t usually require autoresponder series, occasion monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO requirement, though, is one smooth posting experience and development devices to aid you develop your subscriber base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I revealed to my clients that I was going to switch the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many individuals ask me why I was selecting it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the truth that I picked to select BeeHiiv, that doesn’t indicate I think Substack sucks. In fact, because Substack has actually been about much longer, it is more mature and has even more features.
Even though BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair points that at first obtained my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically tailored to newsletter publishers. As a matter of fact, it is literally built by the same people who constructed the innovation behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real life, does not matter. Yet, the noticeable positioning of BeeHiiv toward newsletter development called me out over the even more common positioning of being a “designer”. Growth is what I have an interest in below.
- That branding and distinction additionally means that BeeHiiv has some relatively large brand names and big magazines using it. Whereas SubStack is aimed more at solo developers. Once more, it just informs me the client avatar difference in between both business.
Sending our my e-newsletter by means of FluentCRM really did not specifically suck. The only reason I would certainly consider drinking points up is if I assumed I can expand the list faster. And BeeHiiv talked exactly to that objective.
Because of the targeting, I actually don’t see BeeHiiv and Substack as straight competitors. I believe BeeHiiv is targeting a different kind of consumer. In fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being much more straight competitors.
But, let’s dive deeper than just the positioning right here.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
On the whole, BeeHiiv looks like it was developed by people that recognizing email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems more geared towards makers.
For instance, BeeHiiv uses personalized fields on subscribers. Now, it isn’t as created as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. As a matter of fact, it is a visual automation builder that works a whole lot like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still quite restricted in triggers and the only activity is the capacity to send out an e-mail. Nonetheless, enhancements are coming. Quickly sufficient, automations will have brand-new triggers as well as new actions, such as modifying customized fields, sending webhooks, and so on. I have actually already seen enhancements to their automations just since I began utilizing the platform. As an example:
- Ability to set off automations based upon which specific embed kind they can be found in on.
- Capability to immediately do re-engagement (and deal with individuals based upon opens and non-opens).
- Capacity to do fundamental conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations like this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack simply can not do this since the target audience of Substack just wouldn’t think to approach this like an e-mail online marketer.
When it concerns composing your newsletters, the writing user interface of BeeHiiv is just a lot more tailored towards e-newsletters. Actually, it really has similarities to the WordPress block builder in how it works. I locate it to be a lot more instinctive, directly.
Substack’s creating user interface is nice and clean, but it would certainly be a lot more comparable to the classic editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This difference is more than just type. For instance, with BeeHiiv you can place a “Area” and after that put anything you want in it. After that, you can place Exposure alternatives on that section to reveal it only to paid clients, hide it from email, conceal from subscribers, show only to subscribers, etc. Substack uses nothing like this.
And when/if the time comes that I start a costs membership model, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any kind of income. Actually, you actually attach as much as your own Stripe account and it bills straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your profits. Depending on how many subscribers you obtain, that 10% can be a fair bit even more money than the month-to-month cost of BeeHiiv.
Lastly, BeeHiiv has an API. This could appear unpopular, but what it suggests is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv work with the outside making use of tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack actually has … absolutely nothing. No integrations in all.
On the whole, I just felt like BeeHiiv was a lot more constructed toward genuine e-mail marketing. It was built by individuals that “get it”. Even the opt-in types and the landing page makes appear far better built for conversions. Development is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Despite the fact that there are still features I wish to see BeeHiiv add, I such as the direction it is going greater than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have claimed, Substack settings itself towards “creators” more than email marketing experts and newsletter owners. Therefore, you see some points tailored more toward people who simply assume in regards to content development.
For example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does sustain numerous publications, they are dealt with quite independently. Whereas Substack does have the capacity to cross-post to several magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, yet … trendy for people who may need it.
Substack also has more social performance built-in. As an example, it has a chat function to host talks with customers. It also has a “Notes” feature which functions sort of like a social media newsfeed where you can share points from other “Stacks” you’re reading. Fascinating. Overall, Substack is set up to be much more like a social media which sustains long-form web content.
In general, Substack is also extra … minimalist. You either care for that or do not. Directly, I do not. However, if the goal is simpleness of user interface and, honestly, features … Substack works pretty well.
But, I’ll be clear below …
When it involves actual marketing, I do not think there’s much question that BeeHiiv is much better suited. I tried to find more factors that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, however truthfully … I have a hard time locating them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are commonly through to be the closest rivals, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer competitors. Both are pursuing the very same target audience and have similar abilities.
ConvertKit is additionally placed at designers (like Substack), however it is far more highly accommodating individuals who do it for company. ConvertKit has wonderful visual automation building, it’s own business platform, and much more. ConvertKit is an actually nice system.
I’m not going to bore you with a full feature-by-feature break down below. ConvertKit is popular already. Yet, right here’s how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Points ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has extra flexibility when it involves it’s automations. I will also claim that I locate ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit a lot more intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains marking. This is simply a basic function of e-mail listings that makes it possible for division in an even more adaptable way than BeeHiiv presently does. I expect BeeHiiv to sustain tagging eventually soon, truthfully. It feels like an oversight that it is missing How To Migrate From HubSpot To Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does now provide the capability to offer points through their very own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that’s important to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, nevertheless, I would constantly choose a more direct choice anyway. For me, I like to use my very own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about much longer and for that reason has way much more integration choices. Tons of online devices and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their very own WordPress plugin that is rather effective. For instance, their plugin currently also supports member-gated material in addition to auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your website. In essence, this much more very closely places ConvertKit into direct competitors by having you be able to publish to your website and your email checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is severely doing not have in these sort of third-party integrations right now. It’ll get there. However, 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 Suggestion Engine where you can not just incentivize people to share your newsletter with rewards, yet 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 acquired Sparkloop? Sparkloop is among the most popular viral promo systems for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the creating on the wall surface for what this means for the system going forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Better At … How To Migrate From HubSpot To Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is a lot previously 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. However, it likewise implies that they are quickly establishing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have experienced almost regular release of new features into the system. And these aren’t weak little features … however large features that are fairly essential. Their speed of development at this point has actually been impressive.
I also very much appreciate how receptive they are. In fact, among their item news concerning some layout enhancements to the website design features really had a small problem with the material width. I merely replied to that email to tell them. I promptly got a reply straight from the CEO:.
That very same day, the concern was fixed.
Few days later on, I provided one more pointer …
Sure enough, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capacity to cause automations based upon the embed form made use of was contributed to the system.
That sort of responsiveness and straight involvement of the group is something I truly appreciate.
One more significant point of differentiation below is the cost. Both platforms supply cost-free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan offers a lot more capacity and even more customers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is also much more favorable. ConvertKit seems less costly initially glance because their pricing page reveals lower numbers, however the client restrictions are much reduced and your cost swiftly boosts as your listing expands.
With BeeHiiv, your initial degree paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid annually), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 clients. That exact same dimension list is mosting likely to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their ideal plan and the one I directly use), you can grow your checklist approximately 100,000. A checklist of that dimension would certainly run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you desire their referral network, too, that places you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay yearly, as well. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for just $84/month if you pay yearly.
BeeHiiv is in a totally various organization when it pertains to pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv ultimately increase costs? They could as time goes on. However, I’m presuming people like myself that are already in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see exactly how points continue.
Things I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
One of things you certainly require to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is fairly young. They do seem to develop rather rapidly and make new item statements somewhat often, yet there are some fundamental features I actually want they had that I require to just await.
One is that they require to have a setting on subscription forms where I might pick an automation to run right at the kind level. That would be incredible for a lot of reasons. Currently, registration types look OK, but there’s really little settings for them to assist in division.
It would certainly be nice to have marking at the client degree. This would be effective.
I believe webhooks ought to become part of automations to make integrated automations easier and lower dependence on outside tools like Zapier.
There are likewise some small management interface adjustments that would be handy. For instance:
- Capability to mass edit/remove customers.
- Ability to mass edit posts (as an example, to mark a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a few standard areas as typical on clients (like the name).
- Some more customization alternatives for the internet site (such as even more flexible shade choices, heading control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Points I hope they finish with it in the future. BeeHiiv is respectable, however it isn’t best and absolutely not virtually as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM item.
It most likely never ever will certainly be, either. As I stated, the function is different so it would not a lot a lot of sense for BeeHiiv to come to be a complete marketing automation platform. I think you never ever understand, however.
Final Ideas On This BeeHiiv Review
I such as BeeHiiv rather a great deal. Enough where I decided to change my own newsletters over to the system despite my personal preference for digital sovereignty and having my own system.
Basically, for the e-newsletter publishing model especially, I saw enough worth in their system to require the adjustment.
Remember, I do not use BeeHiiv as my unique e-mail checklist. I utilize BeeHiiv of what it is efficient, yet I deliberately have points establish to ensure that I also keep my listing “in home” within FluentCRM.
If you make use of BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the same. It is just an excellent insurance coverage, for one. Yet, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your listing will be of high use (FluentCRM is a complete marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will certainly be).
So, the inquiry is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my opinion, if you are using Substack now, I ‘d certainly consider changing to BeeHiiv. It will merely be a lot more business-friendly. It is targeting different capacities and different needs. Plus, BeeHiiv even has import devices for Substack, so the switch should be rather straightforward.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d probably stay put unless you have a huge email list and are for that reason being fleeced with their high regular monthly expense. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are iterating promptly. There’s likewise a pretty good chance you’re not even utilizing some of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you don’t even require them. Because of that, BeeHiiv can quickly be a far better and more budget-friendly fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be really intentional regarding expanding a newsletter, I think BeeHiiv is THE system to take into consideration and maintain and eye on for you.
If you use BeeHiiv with eyes wide open about what it is developed to be, it is among the most effective video games around right now. This is the system to enjoy.
BeeHiiv offers a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It is worth taking a look at on your own. And if you wind up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll find the complimentary account to be fairly feature rich.