I have actually made use of a lot of different email list systems throughout the years. In the last couple of years, I’ve been a massive proponent of digital sovereignty and having your very own platform. Because of that (and the amazing features), I have been making use of Top Beehiiv Newsletters.
So, it is without a doubt an unusual move for me to make a decision to make use of BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, it is a hosted application and I am paying regular monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I wish to go over why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my newsletters. I intend to address the problem of digital sovereignty while using the platform and I ‘d additionally like to resolve why I selected to utilize it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For E-newsletters
In Concern # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Hobby + A Big Change In Approach, I talked about just how and why I decided to transform my RV blog site into largely a newsletter. I decided that was business design I intended to go after with that building.
However, to purposefully seek it as a newsletter, I desired a system that was purpose-built for that. I was utilizing FluentCRM for the email list for Happily RV, however FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, honestly, using it for e-newsletters is a little bit of a waste. More on that particular in a bit.
As I said in that issue of the e-newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a platform with tools built into it details to my purpose. Things such as:
- Capability to publish (to the blog) and send out the email all at once without having it be two separate activities.
- Integrated in e-newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would certainly have needed a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Integrated capacity to do cross-promotions with various other newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are essentially one-click membership links. Great for promo in various other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, though, so there are means to do that.
- Ability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to promote your newsletter.
- Built-in advertisement network, if I select to monetize with ads in the e-newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and generally 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 actually built by the individuals who built up the innovation for Morning Brew. They know what they’re doing.
That is the factor below. BeeHiiv is constructed from the ground up for the purpose of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a various purpose.
And I ended off with this:.
I might indeed be relocating The Edge over to BeeHiiv too. At least, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. In fact, I simply went for it. And in fact, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Morning WP, set off as it’s very own home to make sure that I can grow it more deliberately also.
The objective is that each newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown individually. Happily recreational vehicle was young, so simple to shift. But, The Early morning WP (formerly The Side) was buried in a sea of things here at the Blog Marketing Academy. By separating it off, I can do what I can to grow it on it’s very own. It will obviously always be carefully tied with the Blog Marketing Academy, but doesn’t need to be a part of it.
I switched over to BeeHiiv because it was constructed for this purpose. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Simply A Normal Email List
There’s a difference in between an e-newsletter system and just an e-mail listing.
You can organize your e-mail checklist just about anywhere you want and there are a variety of them around, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted alternatives like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The primary distinction is that, with an e-newsletter system, the act of publishing indicates that it is going to your website and to your e-mail clients simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have an internet site. You are publishing to that web site. But, you are additionally sending off to all subscribers at the same time. The website and it’s clients are all in one. This makes management of the platform much simpler.
With many email platforms, any e-newsletter you set up is done as an email campaign. It is built totally separately from your site. So, as an example, you could publish a write-up to WordPress but then you would certainly require to independently develop and send out an e-mail to your listing to send it to clients. These are then two separate sets of archives and 2 different actions since article and your e-mails are not naturally linked.
The closest point that transforms WordPress right into a true e-newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name since it pretty much “adhesives” your newsletter to your WordPress blog posts and permits them to be the exact same point. Definitely, something like E-newsletter Glue would certainly be a strong choice if I wanted to remain to self-host everything. However, you ‘d lose the development tools that feature a platform like BeeHiiv.
Posting a newsletter naturally features a different set of demands than a common e-mail checklist.
You don’t typically need much marketing automation. You don’t normally need autoresponder sequences, event tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO demand, however, 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 announced to my customers that I was mosting likely to switch the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had lots of people ask me why I was choosing it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the reality that I chose to select BeeHiiv, that does not mean I think Substack sucks. Actually, because Substack has been around longer, it is more mature and has more features.
Although BeeHiiv is younger, there are a pair points that initially got my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is particularly tailored to newsletter publishers. Actually, it is essentially developed by the exact same people that constructed the technology behind Morning Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, does not matter. However, the noticeable positioning of BeeHiiv towards newsletter growth called me out over the even more generic positioning of being a “maker”. Growth is what I want here.
- That branding and distinction likewise implies that BeeHiiv has some relatively big brands and huge publications using it. Whereas SubStack is aimed more at solo creators. Again, it just tells me the client avatar difference between the two companies.
Sending our my e-newsletter via FluentCRM didn’t precisely suck. The only reason I would consider trembling things up is if I thought I can expand the checklist faster. And BeeHiiv spoke exactly to that objective.
Due to the targeting, I really don’t watch BeeHiiv and Substack as straight rivals. I believe BeeHiiv is targeting a different type of customer. As a matter of fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being extra straight competitors.
But, let’s dive deeper than just the placing right here.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv seems like it was developed by people who comprehending email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems a lot more geared towards designers.
For example, BeeHiiv provides custom fields on subscribers. Currently, it isn’t as created as something like FluentCRM. Yet, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv offers Automations. In fact, it is an aesthetic automation builder that functions a lot like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still quite limited in triggers and the only activity is the capacity to send out an e-mail. However, enhancements are coming. Quickly sufficient, automations will have new triggers as well as brand-new activities, such as changing custom fields, sending webhooks, and so on. I have actually currently seen improvements to their automations just since I began using the system. For example:
- Capacity to activate automations based upon which certain embed type they came in on.
- Capacity to instantly do re-engagement (and deal with people based on opens and non-opens).
- Capability to do basic conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack just can’t do this due to the fact that the target audience of Substack just would not believe to approach this like an email marketing professional.
When it involves composing your newsletters, the creating user interface of BeeHiiv is simply much more tailored towards e-newsletters. Actually, it in fact has similarities to the WordPress block builder in how it works. I discover it to be more intuitive, personally.
Substack’s writing user interface behaves and tidy, however it would be a lot more comparable to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This distinction is more than just form. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can insert a “Area” and afterwards placed anything you want in it. Then, you can place Exposure choices on that area to reveal it just to paid clients, hide it from email, conceal from customers, show just to clients, and so on. Substack offers absolutely nothing like this.
And when/if the moment comes that I start a premium subscription model, BeeHiiv does not take any type of income. In fact, you actually connect as much as your very own Stripe account and it charges straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your revenue. Relying on how many customers you obtain, that 10% can be quite a bit more cash than the regular monthly price of BeeHiiv.
Lastly, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear unpopular, however what it implies is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can actually make BeeHiiv deal with the outdoors using tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack essentially has … absolutely nothing. No integrations whatsoever.
Overall, I simply felt like BeeHiiv was more constructed towards real email marketing. It was built by people who “get it”. Also the opt-in kinds and the landing page creates appear far better constructed for conversions. Growth is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Despite the fact that there are still features I would like to see BeeHiiv include, I such as the direction it is going more than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have said, Substack settings itself toward “makers” greater than e-mail online marketers and newsletter owners. Therefore, you see some points geared much more towards people who just believe in regards to web content creation.
For instance, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does support numerous magazines, they are dealt with quite separately. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to several publications at the same time. This isn’t something I need, yet … amazing for individuals that could need it.
Substack likewise has even more social performance built-in. For example, it has a chat function to host chats with clients. It also has a “Notes” function which works kind of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share points from various other “Stacks” you read. Fascinating. Generally, Substack is set up to be a lot more like a social network which supports long-form material.
Generally, Substack is additionally a lot more … minimalist. You either take care of that or do not. Directly, I do not. However, if the goal is simplicity of interface and, frankly, features … Substack functions quite well.
Yet, I’ll be clear right here …
When it comes to real marketing, I don’t assume there’s much doubt that BeeHiiv is better matched. I tried to find more factors that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, yet truthfully … I have a tough time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are usually via to be the closest rivals, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer opponents. Both are going after the same target market and have similar abilities.
ConvertKit is additionally positioned at developers (like Substack), yet it is a lot more highly satisfying individuals who do it for company. ConvertKit has wonderful aesthetic automation structure, it’s own commerce system, and extra. ConvertKit is a truly good platform.
I’m not mosting likely to bore you with a complete feature-by-feature breakdown here. ConvertKit is popular already. Yet, below’s exactly how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Things ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has more versatility when it comes to it’s automations. I will also state that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit extra user-friendly than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains identifying. This is just a fundamental feature of email listings that enables division in an even more adaptable way than BeeHiiv presently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to sustain identifying at some time quickly, frankly. It seems like an oversight that it is missing out on Top Beehiiv Newsletters.
ConvertKit does currently give the capability to sell things using their very own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is very important to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would always select an extra straight option anyhow. For me, I prefer to utilize my own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been around a lot longer and because of that has way much more integration options. Tons of web-based devices and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their own WordPress plugin that is quite effective. For example, their plugin currently even sustains member-gated web content along with auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your website. Basically, this more carefully places ConvertKit right into direct competition by having you be able to release to your site and your email list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is severely lacking in these sort of third-party integrations presently. It’ll arrive. However, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also active taking on the development tools of BeeHiiv. For instance, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not just incentivize individuals to share your e-newsletter with perks, yet you can likewise pay per lead within the inner ad network of BeeHiiv to grow your listing. These are truly outstanding features of BeeHiiv. However …
Did you know ConvertKit acquired Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of one of the most well known viral promo systems for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall surface for what this indicates for the system moving forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Top Beehiiv Newsletters
BeeHiiv is much previously in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that suggests much less features and less integrations, which is all-natural for this phase of the cycle. However, it also means that they are rapidly creating.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually experienced practically weekly release of new features right into the platform. And these aren’t puny little features … but huge features that are rather essential. Their rate of development at this point has actually gone over.
I also significantly appreciate exactly how responsive they are. As a matter of fact, among their item news regarding some layout improvements to the website design features in fact had a tiny issue with the web content width. I just responded to that e-mail to tell them. I promptly obtained a reply straight from the CEO:.
That exact same day, the concern was fixed.
Couple of days later on, I gave them another idea …
Sure enough, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the ability to activate automations based on the embed form made use of was added to the system.
That type of responsiveness and direct involvement of the team is something I actually appreciate.
Another major factor of differentiation right here is the cost. Both platforms provide totally free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan uses extra capacity and more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is additionally even more positive. ConvertKit seems less expensive initially look since their pricing page reveals reduced numbers, nonetheless the customer limits are much lower and your price rapidly increases as your list grows.
With BeeHiiv, your initial level paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid every year), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 customers. That exact same size list is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you update to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their best plan and the one I directly use), you can grow your checklist approximately 100,000. A list of that dimension would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you desire their referral network, as well, that places you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay annually, also. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for just $84/month if you pay every year.
BeeHiiv is in a totally various organization when it involves pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv ultimately increase prices? They may as time takes place. Yet, I’m thinking people like myself who are already in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see how points proceed.
Things I Would Like BeeHiiv To Include
One of things you absolutely require to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do seem to develop instead quickly and make new item news somewhat commonly, however there are some standard features I really wish they had that I require to simply wait on.
One is that they require to have a setting on membership types where I can select an automation to run right at the type level. That would certainly be outstanding for so many reasons. As of now, subscription kinds look OK, but there’s really little setups for them to help in division.
It would be nice to have identifying at the customer degree. This would be effective.
I believe webhooks ought to be part of automations to make built-in automations easier and minimize dependence on outdoors tools like Zapier.
There are likewise some minor administrative interface adjustments that would certainly come in handy. As an example:
- Capability to bulk edit/remove subscribers.
- Capability to bulk edit posts (for instance, to tag a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of standard fields as common on customers (like the name).
- Some even more customization alternatives for the website (such as more adaptable shade choices, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Points I wish they finish with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, yet it isn’t best and certainly not nearly as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM product.
It possibly never ever will certainly be, either. As I stated, the function is different so it would not a lot a great deal of sense for BeeHiiv to become a complete marketing automation platform. I think you never ever understand, however.
Last Ideas On This BeeHiiv Evaluation
I like BeeHiiv quite a lot. Sufficient where I decided to change my very own e-newsletters over to the system in spite of my individual choice for digital sovereignty and possessing my very own platform.
Put simply, for the e-newsletter posting version especially, I saw enough worth in their system to require the modification.
Bear in mind, I do not utilize BeeHiiv as my special e-mail listing. I utilize BeeHiiv of what it is efficient, however I purposefully have things set up to ensure that I likewise maintain my checklist “in house” within FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the exact same. It is simply a good insurance policy, for one. Yet, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your list will certainly be of high usage (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never will certainly be).
So, the question is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are utilizing Substack right now, I ‘d absolutely consider changing to BeeHiiv. It will merely be much more business-friendly. It is targeting different capacities and different demands. And also, BeeHiiv even has import devices for Substack, so the button needs to be rather uncomplicated.
If you are on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d possibly stay unless you have a large e-mail checklist and are therefore being fleeced with their high monthly costs. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are iterating swiftly. There’s also a pretty good chance you’re not even utilizing several of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you do not also need them. Because of that, BeeHiiv can quickly be a much better and much more budget-friendly fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be really deliberate concerning growing an e-newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE system to take into consideration and maintain and eye on for you.
If you utilize BeeHiiv with eyes wide open regarding what it is created to be, it is just one of the very best games in the area right now. This is the system to see.
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 locate the complimentary account to be rather feature rich.