I have actually made use of a great deal of various e-mail list systems for many years. In the last couple of years, I’ve been a huge supporter of digital sovereignty and having your very own platform. Because of that (and the outstanding features), I have been making use of Wit & Wire Beehiiv.
So, it is undoubtedly a strange move for me to determine to utilize BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, it is a held application and I am paying month-to-month for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv evaluation, 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 utilizing the platform and I would certainly also like to attend to why I picked to use it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Built For Newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Big Shift In Technique, I spoke about exactly how and why I made a decision to turn my recreational vehicle blog into mainly an e-newsletter. I chose that was the business version I wanted to pursue with that building.
However, to deliberately pursue it as an e-newsletter, I wanted a system that was purpose-built for that. I was utilizing FluentCRM for the email listing for Happily motor home, 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. A lot more on that in a bit.
As I said because concern of the newsletter …
Put simply, BeeHiiv is a platform with devices built right into it details to my function. Things such as:
- Ability to publish (to the blog) and send the e-mail concurrently without having it be 2 different activities.
- Built in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would have needed a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capacity to do cross-promotions with other newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are basically one-click registration links. Great for promotion in various other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, however, so there are ways to do that.
- Ability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to promote your e-newsletter.
- Integrated advertisement network, if I select to monetize with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capability to run a paid newsletter upgrade and basically run a premium newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Basically, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter authors with features aimed at growth. The system was essentially constructed by the individuals that accumulated the innovation for Morning Brew. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the point below. BeeHiiv is developed from the ground up for the function of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a different function.
And I ended off with this:.
I may undoubtedly be moving The Side over to BeeHiiv also. 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 Morning WP, set off as it’s own property to ensure that I can expand it a lot more deliberately as well.
The goal is that each newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s own media entity and grown independently. Gladly recreational vehicle was young, so simple to change. But, The Morning WP (previously The Side) was hidden in a sea of stuff here at the Blog Site 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, yet doesn’t have to be a part of it.
I changed to BeeHiiv since it was constructed for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Just A Regular Email Checklist
There’s a difference between a newsletter platform and simply an email checklist.
You can organize your email listing anyplace you desire and there are a number of them out there, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted options like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The main distinction is that, with an e-newsletter platform, the act of publishing suggests that it is going to your site and to your email clients concurrently.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a site. You are publishing to that site. Yet, 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 less complex.
With a lot of e-mail systems, any type of e-newsletter you established is done as an e-mail campaign. It is constructed totally independently from your site. So, for example, you could release a short article to WordPress yet after that you would need to independently develop and send an e-mail to your checklist to send it to customers. These are then two separate collections of archives and 2 separate actions because article and your emails are not inherently connected.
The closest point that transforms WordPress right into a real e-newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name since it basically “glues” your newsletter to your WordPress messages and permits them to be the exact same point. Certainly, something like E-newsletter Glue would be a solid option if I wished to remain to self-host whatever. Nevertheless, you would certainly lose the development tools that include a platform like BeeHiiv.
Posting an e-newsletter naturally comes with a various set of needs than a regular email list.
You do not normally need much marketing automation. You don’t usually need autoresponder sequences, event monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO demand, though, is one seamless posting experience and development devices to aid you develop your subscriber base that specify to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my clients that I was going to switch over the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many people ask me why I was picking it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the fact that I selected to choose BeeHiiv, that does not imply I believe Substack draws. As a matter of fact, since Substack has been around longer, it is more mature and has more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair points that originally got my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is especially tailored to newsletter authors. As a matter of fact, it is literally constructed by the exact same folks that developed the technology behind Morning Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, does not matter. But, the noticeable positioning of BeeHiiv towards newsletter development called me out over the even more generic positioning of being a “developer”. Growth is what I want right here.
- That branding and differentiation also suggests that BeeHiiv has some fairly big brands and large publications utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is intended even more at solo makers. Again, it simply tells me the customer character difference in between the two firms.
Sending our my e-newsletter using FluentCRM didn’t exactly suck. The only factor I would consider drinking points up is if I assumed I might GROW the checklist much faster. And BeeHiiv spoke precisely to that objective.
Due to the targeting, I in fact don’t watch BeeHiiv and Substack as direct rivals. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a different type of customer. In fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being much more straight competitors.
However, allow’s dive deeper than just the placing here.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Generally, BeeHiiv seems like it was constructed by individuals who understanding e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears much more tailored toward makers.
For example, BeeHiiv uses customized fields on clients. Now, it isn’t as created as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv offers Automations. In fact, it is a visual automation builder that functions a whole lot like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation performance is still early-phase. It is still rather restricted in triggers and the only activity is the ability to send out an email. Nevertheless, improvements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers along with brand-new actions, such as customizing personalized fields, sending out webhooks, and so on. I’ve currently seen improvements to their automations simply since I began making use of the system. As an example:
- Capacity to cause automations based on which certain embed type they was available in on.
- Ability to automatically do re-engagement (and handle people based upon opens and non-opens).
- Capacity to do basic conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never will. Substack simply can’t do this because the target audience of Substack just wouldn’t think to approach this like an e-mail marketing professional.
When it comes to composing your newsletters, the composing user interface of BeeHiiv is simply more tailored toward e-newsletters. As a matter of fact, it really has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in how it functions. I find it to be a lot more instinctive, personally.
Substack’s composing user interface is nice and clean, however it would be more equal to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This distinction is greater than just type. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can place a “Section” and after that put anything you want in it. After that, you can place Exposure options on that section to reveal it only to paid clients, conceal it from email, hide from subscribers, show only to subscribers, etc. Substack uses nothing similar to this.
And when/if the moment comes that I start a premium subscription version, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any type of profits. In fact, you actually link up to your very own Stripe account and it charges straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your profits. Relying on the amount of subscribers you obtain, that 10% can be a fair bit more cash than the month-to-month expense of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This may seem unpopular, however what it suggests is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can actually make BeeHiiv work with the outside using tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … absolutely nothing. No integrations in any way.
In general, I just felt like BeeHiiv was more built towards actual email marketing. It was developed by individuals that “get it”. Also the opt-in kinds and the landing page creates seem much better developed for conversions. Development is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Even though there are still features I wish 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 actually said, Substack positions itself towards “designers” more than email marketing experts and newsletter owners. For that reason, you see some things geared much more towards people who simply assume in regards to material creation.
As an example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does support several publications, they are treated rather individually. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to multiple magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, however … cool for people that might require 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 kind of like a social media newsfeed where you can share things from other “Stacks” you read. Interesting. In general, Substack is established to be more like a social media network which supports long-form content.
In general, Substack is additionally extra … minimal. You either care for that or do not. Personally, I don’t. Nonetheless, if the objective is simplicity of user interface and, truthfully, features … Substack works rather well.
Yet, I’ll be clear right here …
When it pertains to real marketing, I do not think there’s much doubt that BeeHiiv is better fit. I looked for even more factors that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, but frankly … I have a tough time discovering 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 rivals. Both are going after the exact same target market and have comparable capacities.
ConvertKit is likewise positioned at makers (like Substack), but it is a lot more strongly satisfying individuals who do it for company. ConvertKit has wonderful aesthetic automation structure, it’s very own commerce system, and extra. ConvertKit is a really good platform.
I’m not going to bore you with a complete feature-by-feature break down below. ConvertKit is popular currently. But, right here’s how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Points ConvertKit Is Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has a lot more versatility when it concerns it’s automations. I will also state that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit much more instinctive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports tagging. This is simply a basic feature of email listings that allows division in an even more adaptable means than BeeHiiv currently does. I expect BeeHiiv to support labeling at some time quickly, honestly. It seems like an oversight that it is missing Wit & Wire Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does currently offer the ability to sell things by means of their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is necessary to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would constantly choose a much more direct choice anyway. For me, I like to use my very own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been around a lot longer and for that reason has way much more integration options. Lots of web-based tools and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their very own WordPress plugin that is fairly effective. For example, their plugin now also supports member-gated material along with auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your site. In essence, this much more carefully puts ConvertKit 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 kinds of third-party integrations presently. It’ll get there. But, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even busy taking on the growth devices of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not only incentivize individuals to share your newsletter with perks, but you can also pay per lead within the internal ad network of BeeHiiv to expand your list. These are truly incredible features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you know ConvertKit got Sparkloop? Sparkloop is among one of the most well known viral promotion systems for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall surface wherefore this indicates for the platform going forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Better At … Wit & Wire Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is much previously in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that implies less features and less integrations, which is natural for this phase of the cycle. However, it additionally indicates that they are rapidly developing.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have witnessed virtually weekly release of new features into the system. And these aren’t puny little features … however huge features that are rather important. Their speed of growth now has actually been impressive.
I also quite value exactly how responsive they are. In fact, among their item statements about some layout enhancements to the website design features really had a small issue with the material size. I merely responded to that e-mail to tell them. I swiftly obtained a reply directly from the chief executive officer:.
That exact same day, the concern was fixed.
Couple of days later on, I provided another suggestion …
Certainly, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to set off automations based on the embed kind made use of was added to the system.
That kind of responsiveness and straight involvement of the team is something I truly value.
Another major factor of distinction below is the price. Both platforms provide totally free plans, however the BeeHiiv free plan offers a lot more capacity and more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is additionally FAR more positive. ConvertKit seems less expensive initially glimpse due to the fact that their pricing web page shows reduced numbers, however the customer limits are FAR lower and your cost rapidly enhances as your listing expands.
With BeeHiiv, your initial degree paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid each year), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 subscribers. That same dimension list 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 use), 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, too, that places you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay annually, also. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for simply $84/month if you pay every year.
BeeHiiv is in an entirely various organization when it comes to pricing (in a great way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point enhance rates? They could as time takes place. Yet, I’m thinking individuals like myself who are currently in will be locked-in. We’ll see how points proceed.
Things I Would Like BeeHiiv To Include
One of things you certainly require to remember is that BeeHiiv is relatively young. They do appear to evolve instead quickly and make new item news somewhat typically, but there are some fundamental features I really want they had that I need to just wait for.
One is that they need to have a setup on membership kinds where I could select an automation to run right at the type degree. That would be AWESOME for a lot of factors. Already, registration forms look OK, but there’s very little settings for them to assist in division.
It would be nice to have marking at the subscriber level. This would be powerful.
I assume webhooks need to belong to automations to make integrated automations easier and reduce dependence on outside tools like Zapier.
There are also some small administrative interface adjustments that would certainly come in handy. For instance:
- Capacity to mass edit/remove clients.
- Ability to mass edit messages (for example, to label a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of standard areas as common on subscribers (like the name).
- Some more modification choices for the website (such as more adaptable color choices, headline control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some imperfections. Things I wish they do with it in the future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, yet it isn’t ideal and definitely not nearly as established as something like FluentCRM or any other genuine CRM item.
It most likely never ever will certainly be, either. As I said, the function is various so it wouldn’t much a lot of feeling for BeeHiiv to end up being a full marketing automation system. I guess you never ever know, however.
Last Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Testimonial
I like BeeHiiv fairly a whole lot. Enough where I chose to switch my very own newsletters over to the system despite my personal preference for digital sovereignty and possessing my own platform.
Put simply, for the newsletter posting design especially, I saw sufficient value in their system to require the adjustment.
Remember, I do not use BeeHiiv as my unique e-mail listing. I make use of BeeHiiv for what it is proficient at, however I deliberately have things establish to make sure that I also keep my list “in residence” within FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the very same. It is simply a great insurance policy, for one. But, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your list will certainly be of high use (FluentCRM is a complete marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never will certainly be).
So, the question is … should YOU make use of BeeHiiv?
In my opinion, if you are making use of Substack today, I ‘d most definitely consider switching to BeeHiiv. It will merely be more business-friendly. It is targeting various capacities and different demands. Plus, BeeHiiv even has import devices for Substack, so the button ought to be rather straightforward.
If you get on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d probably stay put unless you have a big e-mail checklist and are as a result being wooled with their high month-to-month expense. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, yet they are repeating quickly. There’s also a respectable opportunity you’re not also utilizing some of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you don’t also require them. For that reason, BeeHiiv could conveniently be a much better and extra affordable fit.
Finally, if you plan to be extremely intentional concerning growing a newsletter, I think BeeHiiv is THE platform to think about and keep and eye on for you.
If you make use of BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is made to be, it is one of the very best video games in town right now. This is the platform to view.
BeeHiiv offers a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves looking into on your own. And if you end up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll discover the complimentary account to be quite feature abundant.