I have actually used a great deal of various email list systems for many years. In the last couple of years, I have actually been a massive proponent of digital sovereignty and having your own system. For that reason (and the amazing features), I have actually been making use of Beehiiv Beach Club.
So, it is undoubtedly a strange move for me to decide to make use of BeeHiiv. After all, it is a hosted application and I am paying regular 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 e-newsletters. I intend to address the concern of digital sovereignty while using the system and I ‘d also like to address why I selected to use it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Built For E-newsletters
In Concern # 435 of my newsletter called My Pastime + A Huge Shift In Strategy, I discussed just how and why I decided to transform my RV blog site into largely a newsletter. I decided that was the business design I intended to pursue with that property.
Yet, to deliberately seek 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 listing for Happily recreational vehicle, but FluentCRM is not a newsletter platform. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, honestly, using it for newsletters is a little a waste. Much more on that particular in a little bit.
As I claimed in that problem of the newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a platform with tools constructed into it specific to my objective. Things such as:
- Ability to publish (to the blog) and send out the email concurrently without having it be 2 different actions.
- Built in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Integrated capacity to do cross-promotions with various other newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Links”, which are essentially one-click registration web links. Great for promo in various other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, however, so there are means to do that.
- Ability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to promote your newsletter.
- Built-in ad network, if I select to monetize with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in ability to run a paid newsletter upgrade and generally run a costs newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Primarily, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter publishers with features focused on growth. The platform was essentially built by the individuals that built up the technology for Morning Mixture. They know what they’re doing.
That is the point right here. BeeHiiv is built from scratch for the function of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a various objective.
And I ended off with this:.
I may indeed be moving The Side over to BeeHiiv too. A minimum of, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. As a matter of fact, I just went all out. And actually, The side was re-branded over to The Morning WP, set off as it’s very own residential property to ensure that I can grow it much more deliberately as well.
The objective is that each e-newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s own media entity and expanded separately. Happily RV was young, so very easy to shift. However, The Morning WP (formerly The Side) was hidden in a sea of stuff here at the Blog Site Marketing Academy. By dividing it off, I can do what I can to expand it on it’s own. It will undoubtedly constantly be very closely connected with the Blog Marketing Academy, however doesn’t have to belong of it.
I switched over to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was developed for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Simply A Normal Email Listing
There’s a distinction between an e-newsletter platform and just an email listing.
You can hold your email list just about anywhere you want 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 primary distinction is that, with an e-newsletter platform, the act of publishing suggests that it is going to your website and to your e-mail subscribers at the same time.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a website. You are releasing to that site. However, you are also sending off to all customers at the same time. The web site and it’s subscribers are done in one. This makes administration of the platform much easier.
With a lot of email systems, any kind of newsletter you set up is done as an e-mail campaign. It is developed totally separately from your internet site. So, as an example, you may release a post to WordPress yet after that you would certainly need to individually develop and send an e-mail to your listing to send it to clients. These are after that two separate collections of archives and two separate activities due to the fact that blog posts and your e-mails are not inherently connected.
The closest point that transforms WordPress right into a real e-newsletter platform is Newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name because it practically “glues” your newsletter to your WordPress articles and allows them to be the exact same thing. Absolutely, something like Newsletter Glue would be a solid option if I intended to continue to self-host every little thing. Nonetheless, you ‘d lose the development tools that include a platform like BeeHiiv.
Publishing an e-newsletter naturally features a different collection of needs than a typical email list.
You don’t typically need much marketing automation. You don’t normally need autoresponder series, occasion tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO demand, however, is one seamless posting experience and growth tools to aid you build your customer base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I announced to my subscribers that I was going to switch the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had lots of people ask me why I was selecting it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the reality that I chose to go with BeeHiiv, that doesn’t suggest I believe Substack draws. In fact, since Substack has been about much longer, it is more mature and has even more features.
Even though BeeHiiv is younger, there are a couple points that at first got my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically tailored to e-newsletter authors. In fact, it is essentially developed by the same individuals that constructed the technology behind Early morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, doesn’t matter. But, the noticeable positioning of BeeHiiv toward e-newsletter growth called me out over the even more generic positioning of being a “creator”. Development is what I have an interest in here.
- That branding and differentiation likewise implies that BeeHiiv has some rather huge brand names and large publications utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is aimed more at solo makers. Once again, it just tells me the customer avatar difference in between both firms.
Sending our my newsletter through FluentCRM really did not exactly draw. The only reason I would contemplate trembling things up is if I believed I could expand the listing quicker. And BeeHiiv spoke specifically to that goal.
As a result of the targeting, I actually do not watch BeeHiiv and Substack as straight competitors. I believe BeeHiiv is targeting a different sort of consumer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being extra straight rivals.
Yet, let’s dive much deeper than just the positioning right here.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv seems like it was built by people that recognizing e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems much more tailored towards makers.
For instance, BeeHiiv offers personalized areas on customers. Now, it isn’t as developed as something like FluentCRM. But, 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 inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still rather restricted in triggers and the only action is the capability to send an e-mail. Nevertheless, improvements are coming. Soon enough, automations will have brand-new triggers as well as brand-new actions, such as modifying customized fields, sending out webhooks, and so on. I have actually already seen improvements to their automations simply considering that I started using the system. As an example:
- Capability to set off automations based upon which specific embed type they was available in on.
- Ability to automatically do re-engagement (and take care of individuals based on opens up and non-opens).
- Ability to do standard conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations similar to this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack simply can’t do this since the target market of Substack simply wouldn’t think to approach this like an e-mail marketer.
When it pertains to writing your e-newsletters, the writing interface of BeeHiiv is simply much more tailored towards newsletters. As a matter of fact, it really has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it functions. I discover it to be more intuitive, personally.
Substack’s composing interface is nice and clean, but it would be more comparable to the timeless editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This difference is more than simply kind. For instance, with BeeHiiv you can place a “Section” and afterwards put anything you desire in it. After that, you can place Visibility choices on that particular area to reveal it only to paid subscribers, conceal it from email, conceal from subscribers, reveal only to subscribers, etc. Substack supplies nothing similar to this.
And when/if the moment comes that I begin a costs membership model, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any type of revenue. Actually, you actually link as much as your own Stripe account and it bills straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your profits. Depending upon the amount of customers you get, that 10% can be a fair bit more cash than the regular monthly cost of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear unpopular, yet what it means is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can actually make BeeHiiv deal with the outdoors making use of tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … nothing. No integrations whatsoever.
Overall, I simply seemed like BeeHiiv was much more built towards actual email marketing. It was constructed by individuals who “get it”. Even the opt-in types and the landing page develops seem much better developed for conversions. Development is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Despite the fact that there are still features I want to see BeeHiiv include, I like the direction it is going greater than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually stated, Substack settings itself toward “creators” more than email marketing professionals and newsletter owners. Therefore, you see some points geared a lot more towards individuals that simply assume in terms of material production.
For instance, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Likewise, while BeeHiiv does sustain numerous magazines, they are dealt with quite independently. Whereas Substack does have the capability to cross-post to multiple publications at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, yet … awesome for people that might require it.
Substack also has even more social capability built-in. For example, it has a chat function to host talks with subscribers. It additionally has a “Notes” feature which works sort of like a social media newsfeed where you can share things from other “Stacks” you read. Fascinating. Generally, Substack is set up to be more like a social network which sustains long-form material.
On the whole, Substack is additionally a lot more … minimal. You either care for that or do not. Personally, I do not. Nonetheless, if the objective is simplicity of interface and, honestly, features … Substack functions quite well.
However, I’ll be clear below …
When it concerns real marketing, I don’t think there’s much uncertainty that BeeHiiv is better fit. I looked for even more points that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, yet truthfully … I have a difficult time locating them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are frequently through to be the closest rivals, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer competitors. Both are going after the exact same target market and have comparable abilities.
ConvertKit is also placed at developers (like Substack), but it is a lot more highly dealing with individuals who do it for company. ConvertKit has wonderful aesthetic automation structure, it’s very own commerce platform, and extra. ConvertKit is an actually nice system.
I’m not mosting likely to bore you with a full feature-by-feature break down below. ConvertKit is well known currently. However, below’s exactly how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Things ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has more versatility when it pertains to it’s automations. I will certainly likewise claim that I locate ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit much more intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains identifying. This is just a basic function of email listings that enables segmentation in a much more flexible method than BeeHiiv presently does. I expect BeeHiiv to sustain marking eventually soon, frankly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing Beehiiv Beach Club.
ConvertKit does now supply the ability to sell points using their very own platform. BeeHiiv does not. If that is essential to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nevertheless, I would certainly constantly pick a much more straight choice anyway. For me, I like to use my own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been about much longer and therefore has way a lot more integration alternatives. Tons of online devices and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their very own WordPress plugin that is quite powerful. For example, their plugin now even sustains member-gated web content in addition to auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your site. Essentially, this extra closely puts ConvertKit right into straight competitors by having you be able to release to your site and your e-mail list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is drastically doing not have in these sort of third-party integrations at the moment. It’ll arrive. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even active taking on the growth devices of BeeHiiv. As an example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not only incentivize people to share your newsletter with benefits, yet you can also pay per lead within the interior advertisement network of BeeHiiv to grow your listing. These are actually outstanding features of BeeHiiv. But …
Did you recognize ConvertKit acquired Sparkloop? Sparkloop is one of one of the most well known viral promotion platforms for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall surface wherefore this means for the system going forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Beehiiv Beach Club
BeeHiiv is much previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that implies less features and less integrations, which is all-natural for this phase of the cycle. Nevertheless, it also suggests that they are rapidly establishing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have seen virtually weekly launch of brand-new features into the platform. And these aren’t puny little features … yet huge features that are rather crucial. Their speed of growth now has been impressive.
I additionally very much appreciate just how responsive they are. Actually, one of their product announcements about some layout improvements to the website design features actually consisted of a small problem with the web content width. I merely responded to that e-mail to tell them. I quickly got a reply directly from the chief executive officer:.
That exact same day, the problem was repaired.
Few days later, I gave them another tip …
Sure enough, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capacity to trigger automations based on the embed form utilized was contributed to the system.
That kind of responsiveness and direct participation of the group is something I really value.
One more significant point of distinction below is the cost. Both systems supply free plans, nevertheless the BeeHiiv free plan offers more ability and even more customers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is also much more beneficial. ConvertKit appears less costly in the beginning glimpse because their pricing page reveals reduced numbers, nevertheless the client limits are FAR reduced and your rate quickly boosts as your list grows.
With BeeHiiv, your very first level paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid every year), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 subscribers. That exact same dimension checklist is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you update to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their ideal plan and the one I personally make use of), you can grow your checklist approximately 100,000. A list of that dimension would certainly run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, too, that places you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay each year, also. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for simply $84/month if you pay yearly.
BeeHiiv is in an entirely various organization when it pertains to pricing (in a good way).
Will BeeHiiv ultimately enhance costs? They might as time takes place. But, I’m thinking people like myself who are currently in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see how points continue.
Points I Would Like BeeHiiv To Add
One of things you certainly need to keep in mind is that BeeHiiv is fairly young. They do seem to advance rather swiftly and make new item announcements rather often, yet there are some fundamental features I really desire they had that I need to just wait for.
One is that they require to have a setting on subscription forms where I might choose an automation to run right at the kind level. That would be amazing for a lot of factors. As of now, membership forms look OK, but there’s really little setups for them to help in segmentation.
It would be nice to have identifying at the subscriber degree. This would certainly be effective.
I believe webhooks must belong to automations to make built-in automations simpler and reduce dependence on outdoors tools like Zapier.
There are likewise some small administrative interface modifications that would certainly come in handy. For instance:
- Capacity to mass edit/remove subscribers.
- Capability to bulk edit blog posts (for example, to tag a number of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of standard areas as standard on clients (like the name).
- Some more customization options for the internet site (such as even more adaptable shade options, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some imperfections. Points I hope they finish with it in the future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, but it isn’t best and certainly not virtually as created as something like FluentCRM or any other real CRM product.
It possibly never ever will certainly be, either. As I stated, the purpose is different so it would not much a great deal of feeling for BeeHiiv to become a complete marketing automation platform. I guess you never recognize, though.
Final Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Evaluation
I like BeeHiiv fairly a whole lot. Sufficient where I decided to switch my very own newsletters over to the platform in spite of my personal preference for digital sovereignty and owning my own platform.
Basically, for the e-newsletter publishing model particularly, I saw adequate worth in their system to call for the modification.
Remember, I do not make use of BeeHiiv as my exclusive email listing. I make use of BeeHiiv wherefore it is good at, but I purposefully have points establish to ensure that I also keep my checklist “in residence” inside of 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 checklist will be of high usage (FluentCRM is a complete marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will be).
So, the concern is … should YOU make use of BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are making use of Substack right now, I ‘d certainly take into consideration switching to BeeHiiv. It will simply be extra business-friendly. It is targeting different capabilities and different requirements. Plus, BeeHiiv also has import devices for Substack, so the switch should be quite straightforward.
If you are on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d most likely stay unless you have a big e-mail checklist and are therefore being wooled with their high monthly expense. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, yet they are repeating swiftly. There’s also a pretty good chance you’re not even using several of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you don’t even need them. For that reason, BeeHiiv might conveniently be a better and much more budget friendly fit.
Finally, if you plan to be really deliberate about growing an e-newsletter, I believe BeeHiiv is THE system to take into consideration and keep and eye on for you.
If you make use of BeeHiiv with eyes wide open regarding what it is created to be, it is one of the very best games around today. This is the system to watch.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It is worth looking into on your own. And if you wind up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll locate the totally free account to be quite feature rich.