I have actually made use of a lot of various e-mail list systems throughout the years. In the last number of years, I’ve been a substantial proponent of digital sovereignty and having your own platform. Because of that (and the outstanding features), I have been using Beehiiv Affiliate Program.
So, it is certainly a weird move for me to make a decision to use BeeHiiv. Besides, it is an organized application and I am paying regular monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I intend to look at why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I intend to attend to the concern of digital sovereignty while using the platform and I would certainly also such as to resolve why I selected to utilize it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For E-newsletters
In Problem # 435 of my newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Large Change In Approach, I spoke about exactly how and why I determined to turn my recreational vehicle blog site right into primarily an e-newsletter. I chose that was the business design I intended to seek with that said building.
But, to deliberately seek it as an e-newsletter, I wanted a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the e-mail list for Happily motor home, yet FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is developed to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, frankly, using it for newsletters is a little bit of a waste. Much more on that in a little bit.
As I said because issue of the e-newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a platform with tools developed into it details to my objective. Points such as:
- Capability to release (to the blog site) and send out the e-mail simultaneously without having it be 2 different activities.
- Constructed in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capacity to do cross-promotions with other newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are essentially one-click membership links. Great for promo in other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, though, so there are ways to do that.
- Ability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to promote your newsletter.
- Integrated advertisement network, if I pick to generate income from with advertisements in the e-newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in ability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and basically run a costs e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Primarily, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter authors with features aimed at growth. The platform was actually developed by the individuals that developed the modern technology for Early morning Brew. They know 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 different purpose.
And I finished off with this:.
I might undoubtedly be relocating The Edge over to BeeHiiv too. A minimum of, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. Actually, I just went for it. And as a matter of fact, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, set off as it’s own residential property to make sure that I can grow it a lot more purposefully too.
The objective is that each e-newsletter has the capacity to be branded as it’s own media entity and expanded individually. Happily RV was young, so easy to shift. But, The Morning WP (formerly The Side) was hidden in a sea of things 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 obviously constantly be carefully tied with the Blog site Marketing Academy, however does not need to belong of it.
I switched over to BeeHiiv since it was developed for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Simply A Typical Email Checklist
There’s a difference between a newsletter system and simply an email listing.
You can organize your email listing everywhere you desire and there are a variety of them around, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The primary difference is that, with a newsletter system, the act of publishing means that it is going to your web site and to your e-mail customers simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a website. You are publishing to that site. But, you are also sending to all customers at the same time. The website and it’s customers are all in one. This makes management of the platform much simpler.
With many email platforms, any newsletter you set up is done as an email campaign. It is developed entirely separately from your website. So, for example, you might publish a write-up to WordPress but after that you would need to separately build and send an e-mail to your listing to send it to clients. These are after that 2 different collections of archives and 2 different activities since article and your e-mails are not naturally linked.
The closest point that transforms WordPress into a true e-newsletter platform is E-newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name since it practically “glues” your newsletter to your WordPress articles and enables them to be the exact same point. Certainly, something like Newsletter Glue would be a solid option if I wanted to continue to self-host whatever. Nonetheless, you would certainly lose the development devices that feature a system like BeeHiiv.
Posting a newsletter naturally comes with a different collection of needs than a typical e-mail checklist.
You do not typically require much marketing automation. You don’t generally require autoresponder sequences, occasion monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO need, though, is one smooth posting experience and growth tools to assist you build your subscriber base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I revealed to my clients that I was mosting likely to switch over the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many individuals ask me why I was choosing it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the reality that I selected to choose BeeHiiv, that does not mean I assume Substack draws. As a matter of fact, since Substack has been about much longer, it is more mature and has more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is younger, there are a couple things that initially got my focus:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically customized to newsletter publishers. Actually, it is literally developed by the same folks that constructed the technology behind Early morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, does not matter. Yet, the obvious positioning of BeeHiiv towards e-newsletter development called me out over the more common positioning of being a “maker”. Growth is what I’m interested in below.
- That branding and distinction also suggests that BeeHiiv has some relatively large brands and big publications using it. Whereas SubStack is intended more at solo creators. Again, it just informs me the client character difference in between the two firms.
Sending our my newsletter via FluentCRM didn’t exactly draw. The only reason I would contemplate drinking points up is if I believed I could GROW the checklist quicker. And BeeHiiv talked exactly to that goal.
Due to the targeting, I actually do not see BeeHiiv and Substack as direct rivals. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a various sort of customer. As a matter of fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being more straight competitors.
But, allow’s dive deeper than just the placing right here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
In general, BeeHiiv seems like it was developed by individuals who understanding email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems much more tailored towards designers.
For instance, BeeHiiv provides custom-made areas on subscribers. Now, it isn’t as developed as something like FluentCRM. However, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. Actually, it is an aesthetic automation builder that works a great deal like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still rather restricted in triggers and the only activity is the ability to send an e-mail. Nonetheless, enhancements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will have brand-new triggers in addition to brand-new activities, such as modifying personalized fields, sending webhooks, etc. I have actually already seen enhancements to their automations just since I began using the system. For instance:
- Capability to trigger automations based upon which particular embed type they came in on.
- Ability to instantly do re-engagement (and manage individuals based on opens and non-opens).
- Ability to do fundamental conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations similar to this. Likely, it never will. Substack just can’t do this because the target market of Substack just would not believe to approach this like an email marketer.
When it concerns composing your e-newsletters, the writing interface of BeeHiiv is just more tailored toward newsletters. Actually, it in fact has similarities to the WordPress block builder in how it works. I locate it to be extra user-friendly, directly.
Substack’s composing user interface is nice and tidy, however it would certainly be a lot more equivalent to the classic editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This distinction is more than simply type. For example, with BeeHiiv you can insert a “Section” and after that put anything you want in it. Then, you can place Visibility alternatives on that particular area to show it just to paid subscribers, conceal it from email, conceal from subscribers, show only to customers, etc. Substack provides nothing similar to this.
And when/if the moment comes that I start a costs subscription design, BeeHiiv does not take any kind of income. In fact, you essentially attach as much as your own Stripe account and it bills straight to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your revenue. Depending on the number of subscribers you get, that 10% can be a fair bit even more money than the month-to-month cost of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This could appear nerdy, however what it implies is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can in fact make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outside utilizing devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack essentially has … nothing. No integrations in any way.
In general, I just seemed like BeeHiiv was a lot more developed toward actual email marketing. It was developed by people who “get it”. Also the opt-in kinds and the landing page creates seem far better constructed for conversions. Growth is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Even though there are still features I wish to see BeeHiiv add, I like the direction it is going greater than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have stated, Substack placements itself toward “designers” more than email marketing professionals and newsletter owners. Therefore, you see some points tailored extra towards people that simply think in regards to material creation.
For example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does sustain numerous publications, they are treated fairly separately. Whereas Substack does have the capacity to cross-post to several magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I need, but … cool for people that may require it.
Substack likewise has even more social performance built-in. For example, it has a conversation feature to host talks with subscribers. It also has a “Notes” function which works type of like a social networks newsfeed where you can share points from other “Stacks” you’re reading. Interesting. On the whole, Substack is established to be more like a social network which sustains long-form content.
Generally, Substack is additionally more … minimalist. You either look after that or don’t. Directly, I don’t. Nonetheless, if the goal is simpleness of user interface and, honestly, features … Substack works rather well.
However, I’ll be clear below …
When it comes to actual marketing, I do not assume there’s much uncertainty that BeeHiiv is better suited. I searched for more points that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, yet frankly … I have a hard time locating them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are frequently through to be the closest competitors, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer competitors. Both are going after the same target market and have similar capabilities.
ConvertKit is additionally positioned at designers (like Substack), however it is much more strongly catering to individuals that do it for organization. ConvertKit has wonderful aesthetic automation structure, it’s very own business platform, and much more. ConvertKit is an actually good platform.
I’m not going to birthed you with a full feature-by-feature malfunction right here. ConvertKit is popular already. But, here’s just how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Points ConvertKit Is Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has a lot more adaptability when it pertains to it’s automations. I will certainly also claim that I locate ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit extra instinctive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains marking. This is simply a standard function of email listings that makes it possible for division in an even more adaptable method than BeeHiiv presently does. I expect BeeHiiv to support identifying at some time quickly, honestly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing Beehiiv Affiliate Program.
ConvertKit does now offer the capability to offer points through their very own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is very important to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nevertheless, I would certainly always choose a much more direct option anyhow. For me, I choose to utilize my very own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about a lot longer and therefore has way a lot more integration choices. Tons of online tools and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their very own WordPress plugin that is fairly effective. For example, their plugin currently also sustains member-gated material in addition to auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your site. Basically, this extra closely places ConvertKit into direct competition by having you have the ability to release to your site and your e-mail checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is seriously lacking 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 development tools of BeeHiiv. As an example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not only incentivize people to share your e-newsletter with perks, however you can additionally pay per lead within the inner advertisement network of BeeHiiv to grow your listing. These are truly incredible features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you understand ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of the most popular viral promo platforms for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the creating on the wall surface for what this implies for the platform going forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Better At … Beehiiv Affiliate Program
BeeHiiv is much earlier in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means less features and less integrations, which is all-natural for this phase of the cycle. However, it additionally implies that they are rapidly establishing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have seen nearly weekly launch of brand-new features right into the platform. And these aren’t weak little features … yet large features that are quite important. Their speed of advancement at this moment has actually gone over.
I likewise quite value just how receptive they are. In fact, one of their item announcements concerning some design improvements to the web design features really contained a little problem with the material width. I merely replied to that email to tell them. I swiftly got a reply directly from the chief executive officer:.
That same day, the concern was repaired.
Few days later, I provided one more pointer …
Sure enough, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capacity to set off automations based upon the embed form used was included in the system.
That kind of responsiveness and direct involvement of the team is something I truly value.
One more major point of distinction below is the rate. Both platforms offer complimentary plans, however the BeeHiiv free plan supplies much more ability and even more customers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is likewise much more favorable. ConvertKit appears less costly in the beginning glance due to the fact that their pricing web page reveals reduced numbers, nonetheless the subscriber restrictions are FAR reduced and your rate rapidly increases as your list expands.
With BeeHiiv, your initial level paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid every year), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 clients. That exact same size listing 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 personally utilize), you can grow your list approximately 100,000. A checklist of that size would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, as well, that places you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay annually, too. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for simply $84/month if you pay every year.
BeeHiiv remains in a totally different league when it concerns pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv ultimately raise prices? They may as time takes place. But, I’m guessing individuals like myself who are already in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see just how points continue.
Points I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Include
Among things you certainly require to remember is that BeeHiiv is fairly young. They do seem to develop rather rapidly and make brand-new item statements somewhat often, but there are some basic features I truly wish they had that I require to simply wait for.
One is that they need to have a setup on registration types where I can pick an automation to run right at the kind level. That would be outstanding for many factors. Already, registration forms look OK, yet there’s very little settings for them to help in division.
It would behave to have marking at the customer degree. This would certainly be powerful.
I assume webhooks need to belong to automations to make integrated automations easier and reduce dependence on outdoors devices like Zapier.
There are additionally some minor management interface changes that would come in handy. As an example:
- Capacity to mass edit/remove customers.
- Capability to bulk edit posts (as an example, to tag a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of standard fields as conventional on subscribers (like the name).
- Some even more customization choices for the internet site (such as more flexible color options, headline control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Points I wish they do with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is respectable, yet it isn’t excellent and absolutely not virtually as established as something like FluentCRM or any other genuine CRM item.
It possibly never ever will certainly be, either. As I stated, the objective is different so it wouldn’t much a lot of feeling for BeeHiiv to end up being a full marketing automation system. I think you never ever know, though.
Last Ideas On This BeeHiiv Evaluation
I such as BeeHiiv rather a great deal. Sufficient where I decided to change my own newsletters over to the system in spite of my individual preference for digital sovereignty and having my own system.
Basically, for the newsletter posting design especially, I saw enough value in their system to require the modification.
Bear in mind, I do not use BeeHiiv as my unique e-mail checklist. I make use of BeeHiiv wherefore it is good at, however I deliberately have points establish to make sure that I additionally maintain my checklist “in house” within FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the exact same. It is just an excellent insurance policy, for one. However, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your list will certainly be of high use (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never will be).
So, the question is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are using Substack today, I ‘d definitely take into consideration changing to BeeHiiv. It will merely be extra business-friendly. It is targeting different capacities and various needs. Plus, BeeHiiv also has import tools for Substack, so the button should be pretty straightforward.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d most likely stay put unless you have a huge e-mail checklist and are consequently being fleeced with their high monthly costs. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are iterating quickly. There’s additionally a respectable possibility you’re not also making use of several of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you don’t even need them. Therefore, BeeHiiv can quickly be a better and more inexpensive fit.
Finally, if you plan to be very intentional about expanding a newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE system to consider and maintain and eye on for you.
If you make use of BeeHiiv with eyes wide open about what it is developed to be, it is just one of the very best games around now. This is the platform to watch.
BeeHiiv supplies a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves having a look at on your own. And if you wind up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll locate the complimentary account to be quite feature rich.