I have actually used a great deal of various e-mail list systems for many years. In the last number of years, I’ve been a big advocate of digital sovereignty and possessing your own platform. Therefore (and the remarkable features), I have actually been using Beehiiv Subscribe Forms.
So, it is certainly a strange move for me to determine to make use of BeeHiiv. After all, it is a hosted application and I am paying month-to-month for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv testimonial, I wish to discuss why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I intend to attend to the problem of digital sovereignty while utilizing the platform and I ‘d likewise such as to deal with why I chose to utilize it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For E-newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Big Shift In Technique, I discussed how and why I decided to turn my RV blog site right into mainly a newsletter. I made a decision that was the business design I wished to go after keeping that home.
However, to deliberately pursue it as a newsletter, I wanted a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the e-mail list for Happily motor home, but FluentCRM is not a newsletter system. It is constructed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, frankly, using it for newsletters is a bit of a waste. A lot more on that in a bit.
As I stated in that issue of the e-newsletter …
Put simply, BeeHiiv is a system with devices built right into it certain to my objective. Things such as:
- Capacity to release (to the blog site) and send the e-mail at the same time without having it be two different activities.
- Integrated in e-newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would require a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Integrated capability to do cross-promotions with various other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are basically one-click membership web links. Great for promotion in various other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, however, so there are methods to do that.
- Capacity to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your newsletter.
- Integrated advertisement network, if I pick to monetize with ads in the e-newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capability to run a paid newsletter upgrade and basically run a premium e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Generally, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter publishers with features targeted at growth. The system was essentially constructed by the people that accumulated the modern technology for Early morning Mixture. They know what they’re doing.
That is the factor below. BeeHiiv is developed from scratch for the objective of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a different objective.
And I finished off with this:.
I may certainly be relocating The Edge over to BeeHiiv also. A minimum of, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. As a matter of fact, I just went all out. And as a matter of fact, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Morning WP, triggered as it’s own property to make sure that I can expand it much more purposefully also.
The objective is that each newsletter has the capability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown individually. Gladly motor home was young, so easy to change. Yet, The Morning WP (previously The Side) was buried in a sea of stuff right here at the Blog Site Marketing Academy. By dividing 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 Marketing Academy, but does not need to belong of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was built for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Just A Normal Email List
There’s a difference in between an e-newsletter platform and just an email listing.
You can host your email listing everywhere you want and there are a number of them available, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted options like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The main difference is that, with a newsletter platform, the act of posting means that it is mosting likely to your site and to your e-mail customers all at once.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a website. You are publishing to that website. But, you are also dispatching to all clients at the same time. The website and it’s subscribers are all in one. This makes administration of the platform much simpler.
With the majority of email systems, any type of newsletter you set up is done as an e-mail campaign. It is built totally separately from your website. So, as an example, you could publish a post to WordPress but then you would certainly require to independently build and send out an email to your listing to send it to subscribers. These are after that 2 separate sets of archives and 2 different activities due to the fact that post and your e-mails are not naturally linked.
The closest thing that turns WordPress right into a true newsletter platform is E-newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name since it pretty much “adhesives” your newsletter to your WordPress messages and enables them to be the same point. Certainly, something like Newsletter Glue would certainly be a strong alternative if I wanted to remain to self-host every little thing. Nevertheless, you ‘d lose the growth devices that include a platform like BeeHiiv.
Posting an e-newsletter naturally includes a various collection of needs than a common email listing.
You do not typically need much marketing automation. You do not typically need autoresponder sequences, occasion monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO demand, though, is one seamless posting experience and development tools to aid you develop your subscriber base that specify 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 selecting it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the truth that I selected to choose BeeHiiv, that does not imply I think Substack draws. As a matter of fact, since Substack has been around much longer, it is elder and has more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair things that originally obtained my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is especially customized to e-newsletter publishers. Actually, it is literally built by the exact same individuals that developed the innovation behind Early morning Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real world, does not matter. However, the obvious positioning of BeeHiiv towards newsletter growth called me out over the even more generic positioning of being a “designer”. Development is what I want below.
- That branding and distinction additionally suggests that BeeHiiv has some rather huge brand names and big publications using it. Whereas SubStack is aimed even more at solo makers. Again, it simply tells me the customer avatar difference between the two firms.
Sending our my newsletter using FluentCRM didn’t exactly draw. The only factor I would certainly contemplate trembling points up is if I assumed I could GROW the checklist faster. And BeeHiiv talked precisely to that goal.
Because of the targeting, I really do not check out BeeHiiv and Substack as direct competitors. I believe BeeHiiv is targeting a different sort of customer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being a lot more straight competitors.
But, let’s dive deeper than just the placing here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
In general, BeeHiiv feels like it was developed by people who comprehending e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears a lot more geared towards designers.
As an example, BeeHiiv provides personalized areas on customers. Now, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv supplies Automations. In fact, it is a visual 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 limited in triggers and the only activity is the capacity to send an e-mail. Nevertheless, enhancements are coming. Quickly enough, automations will certainly have new triggers as well as new actions, such as customizing customized areas, sending out webhooks, and so on. I’ve currently seen improvements to their automations just because I began using the platform. For example:
- Capability to trigger automations based upon which certain embed type they came in on.
- Capacity to instantly do re-engagement (and manage people based on opens up and non-opens).
- Capacity to do fundamental conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations similar to this. Likely, it never will. Substack just can not do this due to the fact that the target market of Substack just wouldn’t think to approach this like an email marketing professional.
When it concerns creating your e-newsletters, the composing user interface of BeeHiiv is simply more geared towards e-newsletters. Actually, it actually has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in how it functions. I discover it to be extra instinctive, personally.
Substack’s composing interface is nice and clean, however it would be extra comparable to the classic editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This difference is greater than just form. For instance, with BeeHiiv you can put a “Section” and afterwards placed anything you want in it. Then, you can place Exposure choices on that area to reveal it only to paid customers, conceal it from email, conceal from customers, reveal only to clients, and so on. Substack uses nothing like this.
And when/if the time comes that I start a premium subscription version, BeeHiiv does not take any profits. Actually, you literally link up to your very own Stripe account and it charges directly to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your earnings. Relying on the number of subscribers you get, that 10% can be quite a bit even more cash than the regular monthly price of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear unpopular, but what it indicates is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can actually make BeeHiiv deal with the outdoors utilizing devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack actually has … absolutely nothing. No integrations at all.
In general, I just seemed like BeeHiiv was extra built towards real email marketing. It was constructed by individuals that “get it”. Even the opt-in types and the landing page creates seem far better constructed for conversions. Growth is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Although there are still features I want to see BeeHiiv include, I such as the instructions it is going more than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have stated, Substack settings itself toward “creators” more than email marketing professionals and e-newsletter owners. For that reason, you see some points geared much more toward individuals who simply think in regards to content production.
For example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does sustain several publications, they are dealt with fairly independently. Whereas Substack does have the capacity to cross-post to multiple publications at the same time. This isn’t something I need, yet … cool for individuals who could require it.
Substack likewise has more social functionality built-in. As an example, it has a chat function to host talks with subscribers. It also has a “Notes” feature which functions sort of like a social media newsfeed where you can share things from other “Stacks” you read. Intriguing. In general, Substack is set up to be a lot more like a social media network which supports long-form web content.
Overall, Substack is additionally much more … minimal. You either care for that or don’t. Personally, I do not. Nevertheless, if the objective is simpleness of user interface and, truthfully, features … Substack functions rather well.
Yet, I’ll be clear here …
When it concerns actual marketing, I do not assume there’s much question that BeeHiiv is better fit. I looked for more points that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, however honestly … I have a difficult time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are commonly through to be the closest competitors, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer rivals. Both are going after the very same target market and have comparable capabilities.
ConvertKit is also positioned at creators (like Substack), yet it is far more strongly satisfying people that do it for business. ConvertKit has nice aesthetic automation building, it’s very own business system, and a lot more. ConvertKit is an actually great platform.
I’m not mosting likely to bore you with a full feature-by-feature malfunction below. ConvertKit is popular already. Yet, here’s exactly how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Points ConvertKit Is Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has much more adaptability when it pertains to it’s automations. I will likewise state that I discover ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit much more intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports identifying. This is simply a basic feature of email listings that makes it possible for division in a much more flexible method than BeeHiiv currently does. I expect BeeHiiv to support tagging at some point quickly, honestly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on Beehiiv Subscribe Forms.
ConvertKit does currently supply the capability to market points through their very own platform. BeeHiiv does not. If that is essential to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, however, I would certainly constantly choose a more direct alternative anyhow. For me, I favor to use my very own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about a lot longer and therefore has way more integration options. Lots of online tools and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their very own WordPress plugin that is quite powerful. For example, their plugin currently even supports member-gated web content as well as auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your site. Basically, this more carefully puts ConvertKit right into straight competitors by having you have the ability to publish to your website and your e-mail checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is seriously lacking in these kinds of third-party integrations presently. It’ll get there. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also hectic dealing with the development devices of BeeHiiv. As an example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not just incentivize individuals to share your newsletter with perks, but you can likewise pay per lead within the internal advertisement network of BeeHiiv to expand your listing. These are really remarkable features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you know ConvertKit acquired Sparkloop? Sparkloop is among the most popular viral promo platforms for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the creating on the wall wherefore this indicates for the system moving forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Better At … Beehiiv Subscribe Forms
BeeHiiv is much earlier in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that implies less features and less integrations, which is natural for this phase of the cycle. Nevertheless, it also means that they are quickly establishing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually witnessed almost regular release of new features right into the system. And these aren’t undersized little features … however large features that are rather important. Their speed of advancement at this point has gone over.
I likewise significantly appreciate exactly how receptive they are. Actually, among their item announcements about some layout enhancements to the web design features in fact consisted of a small issue with the material width. I merely replied to that email to tell them. I promptly obtained a reply straight from the CEO:.
That exact same day, the problem was repaired.
Few days later on, I provided one more pointer …
Sure enough, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to activate automations based on the embed form used was added to the system.
That kind of responsiveness and direct participation of the team is something I actually appreciate.
An additional significant factor of distinction here is the cost. Both systems use complimentary plans, nevertheless the BeeHiiv free plan uses a lot 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 additionally FAR more beneficial. ConvertKit seems cheaper at first look due to the fact that their pricing page reveals lower numbers, however the client limitations are FAR reduced and your rate promptly boosts as your checklist grows.
With BeeHiiv, your first level paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid every year), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 clients. That very same dimension list is mosting likely to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you update to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their best plan and the one I personally make use of), you can grow your checklist approximately 100,000. A list of that dimension would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, also, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay every year, too. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for just $84/month if you pay each year.
BeeHiiv is in a totally different league when it concerns pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point enhance prices? They may as time takes place. However, I’m guessing individuals like myself that are currently in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see how things proceed.
Points I Would Like BeeHiiv To Include
One of things you absolutely require to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is relatively young. They do appear to advance instead swiftly and make new product announcements somewhat usually, however there are some standard features I actually wish they had that I need to just wait for.
One is that they need to have a setting on subscription forms where I could pick an automation to run right at the kind level. That would be AWESOME for many reasons. Already, subscription forms look OK, but there’s really little settings for them to aid in division.
It would certainly be nice to have marking at the client level. This would certainly be powerful.
I assume webhooks must be part of automations to make integrated automations much easier and decrease reliance on outside devices like Zapier.
There are likewise some small administrative interface modifications that would come in handy. For example:
- Capacity to mass edit/remove subscribers.
- Capability to bulk edit articles (as an example, to identify a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a few fundamental areas as conventional on subscribers (like the name).
- Some more customization choices for the web site (such as more flexible shade selections, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Things I hope they do with it in the future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, but it isn’t best and definitely not nearly as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other real CRM product.
It most likely never will be, either. As I stated, the function is various so it would not much a lot of feeling for BeeHiiv to become a complete marketing automation system. I guess you never ever recognize, however.
Final Ideas On This BeeHiiv Evaluation
I like BeeHiiv rather a lot. Enough where I decided to change my very own e-newsletters over to the system regardless of my personal preference for digital sovereignty and possessing my very own platform.
Simply put, for the newsletter publishing model particularly, I saw adequate value in their system to necessitate the modification.
Bear in mind, I do not use BeeHiiv as my unique email checklist. I use BeeHiiv for what it is proficient at, but I deliberately have points establish to make sure that I likewise maintain my list “in house” inside of FluentCRM.
If you make use of BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the exact same. It is just a great insurance policy, for one. But, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your checklist will be of high use (FluentCRM is a complete marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will be).
So, the question is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are utilizing Substack today, I ‘d definitely think about switching to BeeHiiv. It will simply be more business-friendly. It is targeting different capabilities and various needs. And also, BeeHiiv even has import tools for Substack, so the button must be quite uncomplicated.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d probably stay put unless you have a big email listing and are consequently being fleeced with their high month-to-month costs. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are iterating promptly. There’s likewise a pretty good opportunity you’re not even utilizing a few of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you do not even need them. Therefore, BeeHiiv could easily be a far better and extra budget friendly fit.
Finally, if you plan to be extremely willful regarding expanding a newsletter, I think BeeHiiv is THE platform to take into consideration and maintain 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 best games in the area now. This is the platform to watch.
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 with the paid plan, you’ll discover the complimentary account to be rather feature abundant.