I have utilized a lot of different email list systems for many years. In the last number of years, I have actually been a significant proponent of digital sovereignty and owning your very own system. For that reason (and the awesome features), I have been making use of Is Beehiiv Good.
So, it is undoubtedly a strange move for me to choose to make use of BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, it is an organized application and I am paying monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv evaluation, I wish to review why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my newsletters. I want to attend to the problem of digital sovereignty while making use of the platform and I ‘d also such as to resolve why I selected to utilize it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For E-newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Big Change In Approach, I discussed just how and why I chose to turn my RV blog into largely an e-newsletter. I decided that was business design I wanted to pursue with that said building.
However, to intentionally pursue it as an e-newsletter, I desired a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the e-mail list for Happily RV, yet FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is constructed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, truthfully, using it for e-newsletters is a bit of a waste. Much more on that particular in a little bit.
As I claimed because issue of the newsletter …
Basically, BeeHiiv is a platform with tools developed right into it specific to my function. Points such as:
- Capability to release (to the blog) and send out the email all at once without having it be two separate activities.
- Constructed in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would certainly have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in ability to do cross-promotions with various other newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Links”, which are generally one-click registration web links. Great for promotion in various other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, though, so there are methods to do that.
- Capability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your newsletter.
- Built-in advertisement network, if I select to generate income from with advertisements in the newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated capacity to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and primarily run a costs newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Basically, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter publishers with features targeted at development. The system was essentially constructed by the individuals who accumulated the innovation for Early morning Brew. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the point here. BeeHiiv is constructed from the ground up for the purpose of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a various function.
And I finished off with this:.
I may without a doubt be moving The Side over to BeeHiiv as well. At the very least, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. Actually, I simply went for it. And actually, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Morning WP, triggered as it’s very own home to ensure that I can expand it more purposefully too.
The objective is that each newsletter has the capacity to be branded as it’s own media entity and expanded independently. Happily RV was young, so simple to shift. Yet, The Morning WP (formerly The Side) was hidden in a sea of stuff here at the Blog Marketing Academy. By dividing it off, I can do what I can to expand it on it’s very own. It will clearly constantly be very closely linked with the Blog site Marketing Academy, however does not have to be a part of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv since it was developed for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Simply A Typical Email Listing
There’s a difference in between an e-newsletter system and simply an e-mail list.
You can organize your email checklist everywhere you want 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 key difference is that, with an e-newsletter system, the act of publishing implies that it is going to your web site and to your email customers simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have an internet site. You are releasing to that internet site. However, you are additionally dispatching to all subscribers at the same time. The internet site and it’s clients are all in one. This makes monitoring of the platform much easier.
With a lot of e-mail platforms, any newsletter you established is done as an email campaign. It is built entirely independently from your web site. So, for example, you might publish an article to WordPress yet after that you would certainly require to individually develop and send out an email to your checklist to send it to subscribers. These are after that 2 different collections of archives and two separate actions because article and your e-mails are not inherently linked.
The closest thing that turns WordPress right into a true newsletter platform is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name because it practically “glues” your e-newsletter to your WordPress posts and allows them to be the exact same thing. Certainly, something like Newsletter Glue would be a solid choice if I intended to remain to self-host every little thing. Nonetheless, you would certainly lose the development devices that feature a system like BeeHiiv.
Publishing an e-newsletter naturally comes with a different collection of needs than a regular email listing.
You don’t typically need much marketing automation. You do not usually require autoresponder sequences, occasion tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO need, however, is one seamless posting experience and growth tools to help you develop your client base that specify to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I revealed to my clients that I was going to change the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had lots of people ask me why I was picking it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the truth that I picked to select BeeHiiv, that does not suggest I think Substack sucks. In fact, because 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 couple points that originally got my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is especially customized to newsletter publishers. In fact, it is literally constructed by the very same folks that constructed the technology behind Early morning Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, doesn’t matter. But, the obvious positioning of BeeHiiv towards newsletter growth called me out over the even more common positioning of being a “maker”. Development is what I have an interest in here.
- That branding and distinction additionally means that BeeHiiv has some fairly large brands and huge magazines utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is intended even more at solo designers. Again, it simply informs me the customer character distinction between both firms.
Sending our my e-newsletter by means of FluentCRM really did not specifically draw. The only factor I would contemplate shaking things up is if I believed I can expand the checklist much faster. And BeeHiiv talked specifically to that objective.
Due to the targeting, I really do not view BeeHiiv and Substack as straight competitors. I believe BeeHiiv is targeting a various kind of consumer. As a matter of fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being more direct competitors.
Yet, let’s dive deeper than simply the positioning here.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
On the whole, BeeHiiv feels like it was constructed by people that comprehending email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems a lot more geared toward designers.
As an example, BeeHiiv offers custom-made fields on customers. Now, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. Yet, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv supplies Automations. In fact, it is an aesthetic 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 quite minimal in triggers and the only activity is the ability to send out an e-mail. Nonetheless, enhancements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will have new triggers along with brand-new activities, such as modifying customized fields, sending webhooks, and so on. I have actually already seen enhancements to their automations just considering that I started utilizing the system. As an example:
- Capacity to set off automations based on which particular embed kind they came in on.
- Ability to automatically do re-engagement (and manage people based upon opens up and non-opens).
- Capacity to do basic conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations similar to this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack just can’t do this due to the fact that the target audience of Substack simply would not think to approach this like an e-mail online marketer.
When it involves composing your e-newsletters, the writing interface of BeeHiiv is just much more tailored toward newsletters. As a matter of fact, it really has similarities to the WordPress block builder in how it works. I locate it to be extra user-friendly, personally.
Substack’s creating user interface behaves and tidy, but it would certainly be more comparable to the classic editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This difference is greater than just type. For example, with BeeHiiv you can place a “Area” and afterwards put anything you desire in it. After that, you can put Visibility options on that section to show it only to paid clients, hide it from email, conceal from clients, show just to customers, etc. Substack provides absolutely nothing similar to this.
And when/if the time comes that I begin a costs subscription design, BeeHiiv does not take any type of profits. Actually, you essentially link as much as your very own Stripe account and it bills directly to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your income. Relying on the amount of customers you get, that 10% can be quite a bit more cash than the month-to-month expense of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This might seem unpopular, however what it means is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can actually make BeeHiiv work with the outdoors utilizing tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack essentially has … absolutely nothing. No integrations at all.
In general, I simply felt like BeeHiiv was much more built toward real e-mail marketing. It was built by people who “get it”. Also the opt-in kinds and the landing page makes appear far better built for conversions. Development is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Even though there are still features I would like to see BeeHiiv include, I like the direction it is going more than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have claimed, Substack placements itself towards “developers” greater than email marketing professionals and newsletter owners. Therefore, you see some points geared more towards individuals who simply think in terms of content production.
As an example, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Likewise, while BeeHiiv does support numerous magazines, they are dealt with quite independently. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to numerous magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, yet … great for individuals that may require it.
Substack also has more social capability built-in. As an example, it has a chat feature to host talks with clients. It additionally has a “Notes” function which works type of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share points from other “Stacks” you’re reading. Fascinating. In general, Substack is set up to be more like a social media network which supports long-form material.
Generally, Substack is likewise much more … minimalist. You either look after that or don’t. Directly, I do not. However, if the objective is simpleness of user interface and, honestly, features … Substack functions rather well.
However, I’ll be clear below …
When it involves real marketing, I don’t assume there’s much uncertainty that BeeHiiv is better suited. I looked for even more factors that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, but truthfully … I have a hard time locating them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are often with to be the closest rivals, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer opponents. Both are pursuing the very same target audience and have similar abilities.
ConvertKit is also positioned at creators (like Substack), yet it is far more strongly catering to people who do it for company. ConvertKit has great visual automation structure, it’s very own commerce platform, and a lot more. ConvertKit is an actually good platform.
I’m not going to bore you with a complete feature-by-feature failure below. ConvertKit is well known already. Yet, here’s just how I feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Points ConvertKit Is Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has more adaptability when it concerns it’s automations. I will certainly likewise say that I locate ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit extra user-friendly than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports marking. This is just a fundamental feature of email listings that enables segmentation in a far more flexible way than BeeHiiv currently does. I expect BeeHiiv to sustain marking at some time soon, truthfully. It seems like an oversight that it is missing out on Is Beehiiv Good.
ConvertKit does currently give the capacity to sell points by means of their very own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is essential to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nevertheless, I would certainly always select a much more straight option anyway. For me, I favor to utilize my own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been about much longer and for that reason has way much more integration alternatives. Lots of online tools and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their very own WordPress plugin that is rather powerful. For instance, their plugin currently even supports member-gated content in addition to auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your website. Basically, this much more closely puts ConvertKit right into straight competition by having you be able to publish to your website and your e-mail list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is significantly doing not have in these type of third-party integrations presently. It’ll get there. But, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even hectic dealing with the growth tools 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 benefits, however you can likewise pay per lead within the internal ad network of BeeHiiv to expand your checklist. These are truly outstanding features of BeeHiiv. However …
Did you know ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of one of the most popular viral promotion platforms for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the creating on the wall of what this suggests for the platform moving forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Is Beehiiv Good
BeeHiiv is much previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that suggests much less features and less integrations, which is natural for this stage of the cycle. However, it also suggests that they are rapidly creating.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually experienced practically weekly release of new features right into the system. And these aren’t puny little features … however large features that are rather crucial. Their speed of advancement at this moment has been impressive.
I also significantly appreciate just how responsive they are. Actually, one of their product news about some style improvements to the website design features really contained a little trouble with the material width. I just replied to that email to tell them. I rapidly got a reply directly from the CEO:.
That exact same day, the concern was fixed.
Couple of days later on, I provided one more suggestion …
Sure enough, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to activate automations based upon the embed type utilized was added to the system.
That type of responsiveness and straight involvement of the group is something I truly appreciate.
Another major point of differentiation right here is the price. Both platforms offer free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan offers much more capacity and more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
Once you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is likewise even more desirable. ConvertKit seems more affordable in the beginning glance due to the fact that their pricing page shows reduced numbers, nonetheless the customer restrictions are much reduced and your rate promptly enhances as your list grows.
With BeeHiiv, your first level paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid yearly), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 customers. That exact same size listing is mosting likely to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their best plan and the one I personally make use of), you can grow your listing as much as 100,000. A listing of that size 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 each year, as well. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for simply $84/month if you pay every year.
BeeHiiv is in a completely different league when it concerns pricing (in a good way).
Will BeeHiiv eventually increase rates? They may as time takes place. However, I’m thinking individuals like myself that are already in will be locked-in. We’ll see exactly how things proceed.
Points I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
One of things you absolutely need to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do seem to evolve instead rapidly and make brand-new item statements somewhat often, however there are some basic features I really wish they had that I need to just await.
One is that they need to have a setting on membership forms where I could select an automation to run right at the type degree. That would be incredible for a lot of reasons. Currently, subscription kinds look OK, however there’s extremely little settings for them to assist in segmentation.
It would behave to have tagging at the subscriber degree. This would certainly be effective.
I assume webhooks must be part of automations to make integrated automations simpler and lower reliance on outdoors devices like Zapier.
There are also some small management user interface adjustments that would come in handy. As an example:
- Capacity to bulk edit/remove customers.
- Capability to bulk edit posts (as an example, to tag a number of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of basic areas as common on customers (like the name).
- Some more personalization alternatives for the internet site (such as even more flexible color choices, headline control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Things I wish they make with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is respectable, but it isn’t ideal and certainly not nearly as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other real CRM item.
It most likely never will be, either. As I claimed, the function is various so it wouldn’t much a great deal of feeling for BeeHiiv to come to be a full marketing automation system. I presume you never recognize, however.
Last Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Testimonial
I such as BeeHiiv fairly a great deal. Sufficient where I made a decision to switch my own newsletters over to the system in spite of my individual preference for digital sovereignty and having my own system.
Basically, for the e-newsletter posting design especially, I saw adequate worth in their platform to necessitate the change.
Keep in mind, I do not make use of BeeHiiv as my exclusive e-mail listing. I utilize BeeHiiv wherefore it is good at, however I purposefully have things set up to ensure that I likewise keep my list “in home” within FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the exact same. It is simply a great insurance policy, for one. Yet, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your listing will be of high use (FluentCRM is a complete marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will certainly be).
So, the question is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are utilizing Substack right now, I ‘d definitely think about switching over to BeeHiiv. It will simply be extra business-friendly. It is targeting various abilities and different requirements. And also, BeeHiiv also has import devices for Substack, so the switch needs to be pretty uncomplicated.
If you get on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d most likely stay put unless you have a large email list and are as a result being wooled with their high month-to-month expense. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are repeating rapidly. There’s additionally a pretty good chance you’re not also making use of some of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you don’t also require them. Because of that, BeeHiiv can quickly be a far better and a lot more economical fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be really willful about growing an e-newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE platform to consider and maintain and eye on for you.
If you utilize BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is developed to be, it is just one of the very best video games around now. This is the platform to view.
BeeHiiv provides 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 discover the free account to be quite feature rich.