I have actually made use of 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 having your own system. Therefore (and the incredible features), I have actually been utilizing The Runway Ventures Beehiiv.
So, it is undoubtedly a weird move for me to make a decision to use BeeHiiv. After all, it is a held application and I am paying month-to-month for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv testimonial, I wish to go over why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I want to address the problem of digital sovereignty while making use of the platform and I would certainly likewise such as to address why I picked to use it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Constructed For Newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my newsletter called My Pastime + A Big Shift In Technique, I discussed exactly how and why I decided to transform my recreational vehicle blog site right into primarily a newsletter. I chose that was business version I wanted to go after with that property.
Yet, to intentionally seek it as an e-newsletter, I wanted a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the e-mail list for Happily recreational vehicle, but FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, truthfully, utilizing it for newsletters is a little a waste. Much more on that in a little bit.
As I claimed in that issue of the newsletter …
Put simply, BeeHiiv is a system with tools constructed into it certain to my purpose. Points such as:
- Ability to publish (to the blog site) and send out the e-mail all at once without having it be two different activities.
- Constructed in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would certainly have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capacity to do cross-promotions with other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Links”, which are generally one-click membership 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 choose to generate income from with advertisements in the newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated capacity to run a paid newsletter upgrade and essentially run a costs e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Essentially, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter authors with features targeted at development. The platform was literally built by the people that developed the technology 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 various objective.
And I finished off with this:.
I might undoubtedly be relocating The Edge over to BeeHiiv too. At the very least, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. Actually, I simply went all out. And as a matter of fact, The side was re-branded over to The Morning WP, triggered as it’s own residential or commercial property to make sure that I can grow it extra intentionally also.
The goal is that each newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and expanded separately. Happily RV was young, so very easy to transition. Yet, The Early morning WP (formerly The Side) was buried in a sea of things here at the Blog Site Marketing Academy. By dividing it off, I can do what I can to grow it on it’s very own. It will undoubtedly always be closely connected with the Blog site Marketing Academy, however does not have to be a part of it.
I switched over to BeeHiiv because it was developed for this purpose. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Simply A Regular Email Checklist
There’s a difference between a newsletter platform and just an email listing.
You can organize your email listing everywhere you desire and there are a number of them available, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The key difference is that, with a newsletter system, the act of posting suggests that it is going to your internet site and to your email subscribers concurrently.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a site. You are releasing to that web site. However, you are likewise sending off to all customers at the same time. The site and it’s subscribers are all in one. This makes management of the system much easier.
With a lot of email platforms, any newsletter you set up is done as an email campaign. It is developed entirely individually from your website. So, for instance, you might release a write-up to WordPress but then you would certainly require to separately build and send out an email to your checklist to send it to clients. These are after that 2 separate sets of archives and two different actions due to the fact that blog posts and your emails are not naturally linked.
The closest point that turns WordPress right into a true newsletter platform is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name since it virtually “glues” your newsletter to your WordPress articles and permits them to be the very same point. Certainly, something like Newsletter Glue would certainly be a solid alternative if I wished to remain to self-host every little thing. Nevertheless, you would certainly shed the development devices that come with a system like BeeHiiv.
Posting a newsletter inherently includes a various collection of demands than a typical e-mail list.
You do not typically require much marketing automation. You do not usually require autoresponder series, event monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO requirement, though, is one smooth publishing experience and development devices to help you develop your subscriber base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I announced to my clients that I was mosting likely to change the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had lots of people ask me why I was selecting it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the reality that I selected to go with BeeHiiv, that doesn’t suggest I think Substack draws. As a matter of fact, due to the fact that Substack has been around longer, it is more mature and has more features.
Although BeeHiiv is younger, there are a couple points that initially obtained my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is particularly customized to newsletter publishers. In fact, it is actually built by the same folks who developed the modern technology behind Morning Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, doesn’t matter. Yet, the obvious positioning of BeeHiiv toward e-newsletter growth called me out over the even more common positioning of being a “designer”. Growth is what I’m interested in below.
- That branding and distinction additionally suggests that BeeHiiv has some fairly large brands and huge publications using it. Whereas SubStack is intended more at solo designers. Once more, it simply tells me the client character difference between both companies.
Sending our my newsletter by means of FluentCRM really did not precisely suck. The only factor I would ponder drinking points up is if I assumed I might GROW the list quicker. And BeeHiiv talked precisely to that objective.
As a result of the targeting, I actually do not view BeeHiiv and Substack as direct competitors. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a various type of customer. As a matter of fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being a lot more straight rivals.
Yet, allow’s dive deeper than simply the placing right here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
On the whole, BeeHiiv feels like it was built by people that comprehending email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems a lot more tailored towards creators.
As an example, BeeHiiv supplies custom-made fields on clients. Currently, it isn’t as established 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 capability is still early-phase. It is still quite limited in triggers and the only activity is the ability to send out an email. However, enhancements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers along with brand-new activities, such as modifying custom areas, sending out webhooks, etc. I’ve already seen improvements to their automations simply because I began making use of the platform. For instance:
- Capacity to cause automations based on which particular embed kind they was available in on.
- Ability to instantly do re-engagement (and manage individuals based on opens up and non-opens).
- Capacity to do basic conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations like this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack simply can’t do this since the target audience of Substack simply wouldn’t believe to approach this like an e-mail online marketer.
When it comes to writing your e-newsletters, the creating interface of BeeHiiv is just extra geared towards newsletters. As a matter of fact, it actually has similarities to the WordPress block builder in how it works. I discover it to be extra user-friendly, personally.
Substack’s composing interface is nice and clean, but it would certainly be a lot more equal to the timeless editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This distinction is more than just type. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can place a “Section” and then put anything you desire in it. Then, you can put Presence options on that section to show it just to paid customers, hide it from e-mail, conceal from clients, reveal just to subscribers, and so on. Substack offers absolutely nothing like this.
And when/if the time comes that I begin a premium subscription version, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any revenue. Actually, you actually attach approximately your very own Stripe account and it charges straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your income. Relying on how many clients you get, that 10% can be quite a bit even more money than the regular monthly price of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This may seem nerdy, yet what it suggests is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv deal with the outdoors utilizing devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack actually has … nothing. No integrations whatsoever.
Overall, I just felt like BeeHiiv was much more developed towards actual e-mail marketing. It was developed by individuals that “get it”. Even the opt-in types and the landing page makes seem better constructed for conversions. Growth is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Although there are still features I would like to see BeeHiiv add, I like the instructions it is going more than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have stated, Substack positions itself towards “developers” more than email online marketers and newsletter proprietors. Therefore, you see some things geared much more toward individuals who just believe in regards to content development.
For instance, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Likewise, while BeeHiiv does support numerous magazines, they are dealt with quite separately. Whereas Substack does have the capability to cross-post to multiple magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, but … amazing for people that could need it.
Substack likewise has even more social capability built-in. For instance, it has a chat feature to host talks with clients. It also 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 established to be much more like a social network which supports long-form material.
In general, Substack is additionally extra … minimalist. You either take care of that or do not. Personally, I don’t. However, if the goal is simplicity of interface and, frankly, features … Substack works pretty well.
But, I’ll be clear right here …
When it involves real marketing, I do not assume there’s much uncertainty that BeeHiiv is much better matched. I looked for more points that make Substack much better than BeeHiiv, however frankly … I have a difficult time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are commonly with to be the closest competitors, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer opponents. Both are pursuing the exact same target audience and have comparable abilities.
ConvertKit is likewise positioned at makers (like Substack), however it is much more strongly satisfying people that do it for business. ConvertKit has nice visual automation structure, it’s own business system, and extra. ConvertKit is a really wonderful system.
I’m not mosting likely to bore you with a full feature-by-feature break down here. ConvertKit is well known already. Yet, right here’s how I feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Things ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has much more flexibility when it pertains to it’s automations. I will additionally say that I locate ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit more user-friendly than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports marking. This is simply a standard function of e-mail lists that allows segmentation in an even more adaptable way than BeeHiiv currently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to sustain identifying at some point quickly, frankly. It seems like an oversight that it is missing The Runway Ventures Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does currently give the ability to market points by means of their 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 constantly select an extra straight option anyway. For me, I like to use my very own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been around a lot longer and because of that has way a lot more integration choices. Lots of online devices and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their own WordPress plugin that is rather powerful. For example, their plugin now even sustains member-gated content along with auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your site. Basically, this much more closely puts ConvertKit into direct competitors by having you be able to release to your website and your e-mail list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is severely lacking in these type of third-party integrations at the moment. It’ll get there. But, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even hectic tackling the development devices of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not just incentivize people to share your newsletter with advantages, yet you can additionally pay per lead within the internal ad network of BeeHiiv to grow your listing. These are really amazing features of BeeHiiv. But …
Did you recognize ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is one of one of the most popular viral promotion platforms for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the writing on the wall surface of what this means for the system going forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Better At … The Runway Ventures Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that suggests much less features and much less integrations, which is all-natural for this stage of the cycle. However, it also suggests that they are quickly creating.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually experienced nearly once a week launch of new features right into the platform. And these aren’t puny little features … yet huge features that are fairly important. Their rate of advancement at this moment has actually been impressive.
I also very much appreciate just how responsive they are. Actually, among their product news concerning some design improvements to the website design features really included a little trouble with the material size. I merely responded to that email to tell them. I swiftly obtained a reply directly from the chief executive officer:.
That exact same day, the issue was fixed.
Couple of days later on, I gave them one more tip …
Indeed, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to trigger automations based on the embed kind made use of was added to the system.
That type of responsiveness and straight involvement of the group is something I really value.
An additional significant point of differentiation right here is the price. Both platforms use totally free plans, however the BeeHiiv free plan offers much more ability and even more subscribers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
Once you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is also much more desirable. ConvertKit seems cheaper in the beginning glimpse since their pricing web page reveals lower numbers, nevertheless the customer restrictions are much reduced and your cost quickly raises as your listing expands.
With BeeHiiv, your initial level paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid annually), however you can have up to 10,000 customers. That same size list is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their ideal plan and the one I personally use), you can grow your checklist approximately 100,000. A checklist of that dimension would certainly run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, as well, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay every year, too. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for simply $84/month if you pay yearly.
BeeHiiv remains in an entirely various organization when it comes to pricing (in a good way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point enhance rates? They may as time takes place. However, I’m guessing people like myself who are currently in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see exactly how things proceed.
Things I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
Among the important things you definitely need to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is fairly young. They do appear to progress instead swiftly and make brand-new product announcements somewhat usually, but there are some standard features I actually wish they had that I need to just wait on.
One is that they require to have a setting on membership forms where I could choose an automation to run right at the form level. That would be outstanding for a lot of reasons. Currently, registration forms look OK, but there’s extremely little setups for them to assist in segmentation.
It would certainly be nice to have tagging at the customer level. This would be effective.
I think webhooks must be part of automations to make integrated automations less complicated and reduce dependence on outside tools like Zapier.
There are likewise some minor management user interface modifications that would certainly come in handy. For example:
- Capacity to mass edit/remove subscribers.
- Capability to mass edit blog posts (for example, to tag a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a few fundamental fields as typical on clients (like the name).
- Some even more customization options for the web site (such as even more versatile shade options, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Things I hope they make with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, however it isn’t excellent and absolutely not virtually as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other genuine CRM item.
It most likely never ever will certainly be, either. As I claimed, the purpose is different so it would not much a great deal of feeling for BeeHiiv to end up being a complete marketing automation platform. I presume you never ever know, though.
Final Ideas On This BeeHiiv Testimonial
I such as BeeHiiv quite a whole lot. Enough where I chose to change my very own newsletters over to the system despite my individual choice for digital sovereignty and owning my very own platform.
Basically, for the e-newsletter publishing version especially, I saw sufficient worth in their platform to necessitate the adjustment.
Bear in mind, I do not utilize BeeHiiv as my unique e-mail list. I make use of BeeHiiv of what it is proficient at, however I intentionally have things establish so that I also keep my listing “in house” within FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the same. It is simply a good insurance policy, for one. Yet, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your checklist will certainly be of high usage (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will be).
So, the concern is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my point of view, if you are utilizing Substack now, I ‘d most definitely take into consideration changing to BeeHiiv. It will just be extra business-friendly. It is targeting different abilities and different needs. And also, BeeHiiv even has import tools for Substack, so the button ought to be rather uncomplicated.
If you are on ConvertKit now, I ‘d possibly sit tight unless you have a large e-mail checklist and are for that reason being fleeced with their high month-to-month costs. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are repeating swiftly. There’s also a pretty good chance you’re not even making use of a few of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you do not also need them. Because of that, BeeHiiv might quickly be a far better and more inexpensive fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be extremely willful regarding expanding 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 regarding what it is made to be, it is just one of the best games in town now. This is the platform to watch.
BeeHiiv uses a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves looking into on your own. And if you end up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll locate the totally free account to be fairly feature rich.