I have actually made use of a great deal of various email list systems for many years. In the last couple of years, I have actually been a massive advocate of digital sovereignty and owning your own system. Because of that (and the amazing features), I have actually been using Beehiiv Updates.
So, it is indeed an odd move for me to choose to utilize BeeHiiv. After all, it is a hosted application and I am paying monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv testimonial, I intend to review why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I want to attend to the issue of digital sovereignty while utilizing the system and I would certainly likewise like to resolve why I selected to use it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For Newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my newsletter called My Pastime + A Big Change In Strategy, I spoke about how and why I determined to transform my recreational vehicle blog right into mainly an e-newsletter. I determined that was the business model I intended to seek keeping that property.
But, to deliberately pursue it as an e-newsletter, I wanted a system that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the email checklist for Happily recreational vehicle, however FluentCRM is not a newsletter platform. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, truthfully, utilizing it for newsletters is a little bit of a waste. More on that in a little bit.
As I claimed in that concern of the e-newsletter …
Put simply, BeeHiiv is a platform with devices developed into it certain to my purpose. Points such as:
- Capability to release (to the blog site) and send out the e-mail concurrently without having it be 2 different actions.
- Integrated in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would require a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Integrated capability to do cross-promotions with other newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Links”, which are generally one-click membership links. Great for promotion in various other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, though, so there are methods to do that.
- Capability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your newsletter.
- Integrated ad network, if I choose to monetize with advertisements in the e-newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capacity to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and generally run a premium newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Primarily, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter publishers with features focused on development. The platform was literally built by the individuals who developed the modern technology for Early morning Mixture. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the point here. BeeHiiv is constructed from the ground up for the function of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a various purpose.
And I finished off with this:.
I may without a doubt be relocating The Side over to BeeHiiv as well. A minimum of, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. Actually, I simply went all out. And in fact, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Morning WP, triggered as it’s very own property to ensure that I can grow it more purposefully too.
The goal is that each newsletter has the capacity to be branded as it’s own media entity and expanded independently. Happily recreational vehicle was young, so very easy to shift. But, The Morning WP (previously The Edge) was buried in a sea of stuff below at the Blog Marketing Academy. By dividing it off, I can do what I can to expand it on it’s very own. It will clearly always be carefully linked with the Blog Marketing Academy, yet doesn’t need to be a part of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv since it was developed for this function. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Just A Regular Email Checklist
There’s a distinction in between a newsletter system and just an email checklist.
You can organize your e-mail checklist 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 primary distinction is that, with an e-newsletter platform, the act of publishing means that it is going to your site and to your email customers at the same time.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a site. You are releasing to that internet site. However, you are also sending off to all subscribers at the same time. The web site and it’s customers are done in one. This makes administration of the system much easier.
With many e-mail systems, any type of e-newsletter you set up is done as an email campaign. It is constructed entirely separately from your website. So, for example, you could publish a short article to WordPress however after that you would need to separately build and send out an e-mail to your checklist to send it to clients. These are then two separate sets of archives and two separate actions due to the fact that post and your emails are not naturally connected.
The closest thing that transforms WordPress right into a real e-newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name since it practically “adhesives” your newsletter to your WordPress blog posts and permits them to be the exact same thing. Certainly, something like Newsletter Glue would be a solid choice if I wanted to continue to self-host everything. Nevertheless, you would certainly shed the development devices that include a system like BeeHiiv.
Posting a newsletter inherently features a various set of requirements than a normal e-mail listing.
You don’t usually need much marketing automation. You do not generally need autoresponder series, event tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO need, however, is one seamless publishing experience and growth devices to aid you develop your client base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I announced to my customers that I was going to change the e-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 picked to choose BeeHiiv, that doesn’t mean I assume Substack sucks. In fact, due to the fact that Substack has been around longer, it is elder and has more features.
Even though BeeHiiv is younger, there are a pair things that initially obtained my focus:.
- BeeHiiv is particularly customized to e-newsletter authors. As a matter of fact, it is actually developed by the very same individuals that constructed the modern technology behind Early morning Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real world, doesn’t matter. However, the apparent positioning of BeeHiiv toward newsletter development called me out over the more common positioning of being a “developer”. Development is what I want here.
- That branding and distinction additionally means that BeeHiiv has some relatively huge brand names and huge magazines utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is aimed even more at solo designers. Once more, it just informs me the customer avatar difference between both companies.
Sending our my e-newsletter using FluentCRM didn’t exactly draw. The only factor I would consider trembling points up is if I believed I might GROW the list quicker. And BeeHiiv spoke exactly to that goal.
Due to the targeting, I actually don’t check out BeeHiiv and Substack as direct competitors. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a different kind of customer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being a lot more direct competitors.
But, let’s dive much deeper than just the positioning right here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
In general, BeeHiiv feels like it was constructed by individuals that understanding e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems a lot more tailored toward creators.
For example, BeeHiiv offers customized areas on subscribers. Currently, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv offers Automations. In fact, it is an aesthetic automation builder that works a whole lot like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still quite minimal in triggers and the only activity is the capacity to send an e-mail. Nevertheless, enhancements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will have new triggers as well as brand-new actions, such as modifying custom-made fields, sending webhooks, and so on. I have actually already seen improvements to their automations just given that I started using the system. For example:
- Ability to trigger automations based upon which details embed kind they was available in on.
- Ability to automatically do re-engagement (and deal with people based on opens and non-opens).
- Ability to do standard conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations similar to this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack just can not do this because the target market of Substack just would not think to approach this like an email online marketer.
When it pertains to writing your e-newsletters, the composing interface of BeeHiiv is simply much more tailored towards e-newsletters. In fact, it really has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it functions. I discover it to be a lot more user-friendly, personally.
Substack’s creating user interface behaves and tidy, yet it would certainly be extra equal to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This difference is more than simply form. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can place a “Area” and after that placed anything you desire in it. Then, you can place Exposure alternatives on that particular section to reveal it just to paid subscribers, hide it from email, hide from subscribers, show just to clients, and so on. Substack provides absolutely nothing like this.
And when/if the moment comes that I begin a costs membership version, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any kind of revenue. In fact, you essentially link approximately your own Stripe account and it bills straight to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your profits. Relying on the amount of clients you get, that 10% can be quite a bit even more money than the monthly expense of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This could appear unpopular, however what it implies is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can actually make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outdoors using tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … nothing. No integrations whatsoever.
Overall, I simply felt like BeeHiiv was much more constructed toward actual email marketing. It was built by individuals that “get it”. Even the opt-in forms and the landing page creates appear better built for conversions. Growth is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Although there are still features I wish to see BeeHiiv include, I like the instructions it is going more than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually claimed, Substack settings itself toward “designers” more than e-mail marketing professionals and newsletter owners. Because of that, you see some points tailored much more towards people that just think in regards to web content creation.
For example, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does sustain several magazines, they are dealt with fairly independently. Whereas Substack does have the capability to cross-post to multiple magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, yet … amazing for people that might require it.
Substack additionally has more social functionality built-in. As an example, it has a chat feature to host chats with customers. It additionally has a “Notes” feature which works type of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share points from other “Stacks” you read. Intriguing. In general, Substack is set up to be a lot more like a social media network which sustains long-form content.
On the whole, Substack is likewise much more … minimalist. You either care for that or do not. Personally, I do not. However, if the goal is simpleness of interface and, truthfully, features … Substack functions pretty well.
However, I’ll be clear below …
When it concerns actual marketing, I don’t think there’s much question that BeeHiiv is much better suited. I looked for even more points that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, yet truthfully … I have a hard time discovering them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are frequently via to be the closest competitors, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer opponents. Both are pursuing the very same target audience and have similar abilities.
ConvertKit is additionally positioned at designers (like Substack), however it is much more strongly dealing with people who do it for company. ConvertKit has good aesthetic automation structure, it’s own commerce platform, and a lot more. ConvertKit is a truly great platform.
I’m not mosting likely to birthed you with a full feature-by-feature breakdown here. ConvertKit is popular currently. Yet, below’s just how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Points ConvertKit Is Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has more flexibility when it pertains to it’s automations. I will likewise claim that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit more user-friendly than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains tagging. This is simply a basic function of e-mail lists that enables division in a far more flexible way than BeeHiiv presently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support labeling eventually quickly, honestly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on Beehiiv Updates.
ConvertKit does now give the ability to market things using their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is essential to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, however, I would always select an extra straight alternative anyway. For me, I prefer to use my own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been about a lot longer and therefore has way a lot more integration options. Lots of web-based tools and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their very own WordPress plugin that is quite powerful. As an example, their plugin currently also sustains member-gated material as well as auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your website. In essence, this more closely puts ConvertKit into straight competitors by having you be able to publish to your website and your email list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is drastically lacking in these type of third-party integrations currently. It’ll get there. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also active dealing with the development tools of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not just incentivize individuals to share your e-newsletter with advantages, however you can likewise pay per lead within the interior ad network of BeeHiiv to grow your checklist. These are really amazing features of BeeHiiv. However …
Did you know ConvertKit got Sparkloop? Sparkloop is among the most well known viral promotion platforms for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the creating on the wall of what this indicates for the system moving forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Beehiiv Updates
BeeHiiv is much earlier in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that implies much less features and less integrations, which is natural for this stage of the cycle. However, it likewise suggests that they are swiftly establishing.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have seen almost once a week release of brand-new features right into the system. And these aren’t undersized little features … but big features that are quite crucial. Their rate of advancement at this moment has gone over.
I likewise significantly value how responsive they are. In fact, one of their item announcements regarding some style enhancements to the web design features actually contained a little problem with the web content size. I just replied to that e-mail to tell them. I quickly got a reply directly from the CEO:.
That very same day, the issue was taken care of.
Few days later, I provided one more recommendation …
Certainly, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capacity to trigger automations based upon the embed type used was added to the system.
That type of responsiveness and direct participation of the team is something I actually appreciate.
Another significant factor of differentiation here is the rate. Both platforms use complimentary plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan offers much more ability and even more subscribers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is additionally much more positive. ConvertKit seems more affordable at first look due to the fact that their pricing web page reveals reduced numbers, nonetheless the client limitations are much reduced and your cost swiftly enhances as your list grows.
With BeeHiiv, your initial level paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid yearly), nevertheless you can have up to 10,000 subscribers. That exact same size listing is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their finest plan and the one I directly use), you can expand your checklist as much as 100,000. A list of that dimension would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you desire their referral network, too, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay yearly, too. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for simply $84/month if you pay annually.
BeeHiiv remains in a totally various organization when it comes to pricing (in a great way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point increase prices? They might as time takes place. However, I’m thinking people like myself who are already in will be locked-in. We’ll see just how points continue.
Points I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Include
Among things you most definitely need to keep in mind is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do seem to evolve instead promptly and make new product news somewhat frequently, but there are some fundamental features I actually desire they had that I need to simply wait for.
One is that they need to have a setup on subscription forms where I could select an automation to run right at the form level. That would be AWESOME for numerous factors. Currently, registration types look OK, yet there’s extremely little setups for them to help in division.
It would certainly be nice to have marking at the customer level. This would certainly be effective.
I believe webhooks need to become part of automations to make built-in automations easier and decrease dependence on outside devices like Zapier.
There are also some small management interface modifications that would come in handy. As an example:
- Capability to bulk edit/remove subscribers.
- Capability to mass edit posts (for example, to label a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a few standard fields as conventional on subscribers (like the name).
- Some more modification alternatives for the website (such as even more flexible color options, heading control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Points I wish they finish with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, but it isn’t perfect and definitely not virtually as created as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM product.
It most likely never will be, either. As I stated, the function is various so it would not much a lot of sense for BeeHiiv to end up being a full marketing automation platform. I guess you never recognize, though.
Final Ideas On This BeeHiiv Testimonial
I like BeeHiiv fairly a whole lot. Enough where I decided to change my very own newsletters over to the system despite my individual preference for digital sovereignty and having my own platform.
Basically, for the newsletter posting design especially, I saw sufficient value in their platform to warrant the adjustment.
Remember, I do not use BeeHiiv as my unique email listing. I make use of BeeHiiv for what it is proficient at, however I deliberately have things set up to make sure that I likewise keep my listing “in residence” within FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the same. It is simply a great insurance coverage, for one. Yet, 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 inquiry is … should YOU make use of BeeHiiv?
In my point of view, if you are making use of Substack today, I ‘d certainly take into consideration switching over to BeeHiiv. It will just be extra business-friendly. It is targeting various capacities and different demands. Plus, BeeHiiv also has import tools for Substack, so the button needs to be rather uncomplicated.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d probably sit tight unless you have a large email checklist and are therefore being wooled with their high regular monthly costs. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are iterating swiftly. There’s also a respectable opportunity you’re not also making use of a few of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you don’t also need them. Therefore, BeeHiiv can easily be a far better and a lot more economical fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be really intentional about growing an e-newsletter, I think BeeHiiv is THE platform to consider and keep and eye on for you.
If you make use of BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is developed to be, it is one of the very best video games around right now. This is the platform to see.
BeeHiiv uses a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves having a look at on your own. And if you end up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll locate the totally free account to be fairly feature rich.