I have actually utilized a great deal of various e-mail list systems for many years. In the last number of years, I have actually been a substantial proponent of digital sovereignty and owning your very own system. For that reason (and the awesome features), I have actually been making use of Dakota Robertson Beehiiv.
So, it is indeed an unusual move for me to determine to utilize BeeHiiv. Besides, it is an organized application and I am paying monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I intend to review why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I want to attend to the problem of digital sovereignty while using the system and I ‘d additionally like to resolve why I selected to utilize it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Constructed For E-newsletters
In Concern # 435 of my newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Big Shift In Method, I talked about just how and why I decided to transform my motor home blog right into mainly a newsletter. I chose that was the business model I intended to pursue keeping that building.
Yet, to deliberately seek it as an e-newsletter, I desired a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the email list for Gladly motor home, but FluentCRM is not a newsletter system. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, frankly, utilizing it for newsletters is a little a waste. A lot more on that particular in a little bit.
As I stated because concern of the e-newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a system with tools built right into it specific to my function. Points such as:
- Capacity to publish (to the blog) and send the email concurrently without having it be two different actions.
- Built in e-newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would certainly have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Integrated ability to do cross-promotions with other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Links”, which are generally one-click subscription web links. Great for promotion in various other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, though, so there are ways to do that.
- Capability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your e-newsletter.
- Integrated ad network, if I pick to generate income from with ads in the e-newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in ability to run a paid newsletter upgrade and basically run a premium e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Basically, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter publishers with features targeted at development. The platform was essentially constructed by the people who built up the modern technology for Early morning Mixture. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the factor here. BeeHiiv is constructed from the ground up for the objective of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a various function.
And I ended off with this:.
I might indeed be relocating The Side over to BeeHiiv too. At least, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. Actually, I just went all out. And as a matter of fact, The side was re-branded over to The Morning WP, triggered as it’s very own residential or commercial property to ensure that I can expand it more deliberately too.
The objective is that each newsletter has the capability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and expanded independently. Gladly RV was young, so simple to shift. However, The Early morning WP (previously The Edge) 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 grow it on it’s very own. It will clearly constantly be closely connected with the Blog site Marketing Academy, yet does not need to be a part of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv since it was built for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Simply A Normal Email Checklist
There’s a distinction between a newsletter system and simply an email list.
You can host your email list just about anywhere you want and there are a variety of them available, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The primary distinction is that, with a newsletter system, the act of posting indicates that it is going to your internet site and to your e-mail customers concurrently.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a website. You are releasing to that internet site. However, you are additionally sending to all subscribers at the same time. The internet site and it’s subscribers are done in one. This makes management of the system much simpler.
With many email platforms, any kind of newsletter you established is done as an e-mail campaign. It is developed completely independently from your web site. So, for instance, you may publish an article to WordPress but then you would certainly require to separately build and send an e-mail to your listing to send it to customers. These are after that 2 separate collections of archives and two different activities because post and your emails are not inherently linked.
The closest point that turns WordPress right into a real e-newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name due to the fact that it basically “glues” your newsletter to your WordPress posts and permits them to be the very same point. Certainly, something like E-newsletter Glue would certainly be a strong option if I intended to remain to self-host every little thing. Nevertheless, you ‘d lose the growth tools that feature a system like BeeHiiv.
Posting a newsletter inherently comes with a various set of demands than a regular e-mail list.
You don’t usually need much marketing automation. You do not usually require autoresponder series, event tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO requirement, however, is one smooth posting experience and development devices to aid you build your client base that specify to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I announced to my subscribers that I was going to change the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had lots of people ask me why I was choosing it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the truth that I selected to select BeeHiiv, that doesn’t mean I believe Substack draws. As a matter of fact, because Substack has been around longer, it is more mature and has even more features.
Even though BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair points that initially got my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically tailored to e-newsletter publishers. As a matter of fact, it is essentially constructed by the very same folks who built the innovation behind Early morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, does not matter. But, the evident positioning of BeeHiiv toward newsletter development called me out over the more common positioning of being a “maker”. Growth is what I have an interest in below.
- That branding and differentiation also suggests that BeeHiiv has some fairly large brand names and big publications using it. Whereas SubStack is aimed more at solo developers. Once more, it just tells me the customer avatar difference between the two firms.
Sending our my e-newsletter via FluentCRM didn’t exactly draw. The only reason I would consider shaking things up is if I assumed I can GROW the checklist much faster. And BeeHiiv talked exactly to that objective.
Due to the targeting, I actually do not see BeeHiiv and Substack as direct competitors. I think BeeHiiv is targeting a different sort of consumer. As a matter of fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being much more straight competitors.
However, let’s dive deeper than just the placing right here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Generally, BeeHiiv looks like it was built by individuals that comprehending email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears a lot more geared toward makers.
For example, BeeHiiv uses customized fields on subscribers. Now, it isn’t as developed as something like FluentCRM. Yet, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv provides Automations. Actually, it is a visual automation builder that functions a lot like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still fairly limited in triggers and the only action is the ability to send out an e-mail. Nevertheless, improvements are coming. Quickly enough, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers along with brand-new activities, such as changing personalized areas, sending webhooks, and so on. I have actually already seen improvements to their automations just because I began utilizing the system. For example:
- Ability to activate automations based on which particular embed type they came in on.
- Ability to automatically do re-engagement (and handle individuals based upon opens and non-opens).
- Capability to do basic conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations similar to this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack simply can’t do this because the target audience of Substack just would not think to approach this like an e-mail marketing professional.
When it involves writing your newsletters, the composing interface of BeeHiiv is just extra tailored towards e-newsletters. As a matter of fact, it actually has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in just how it functions. I discover it to be extra user-friendly, personally.
Substack’s creating interface is nice and clean, but it would be a lot more comparable to the timeless editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This distinction is greater than simply form. For instance, with BeeHiiv you can put a “Area” and after that placed anything you want in it. Then, you can place Presence choices on that particular section to show it only to paid subscribers, conceal it from e-mail, hide from subscribers, show only to subscribers, etc. Substack uses nothing similar to this.
And when/if the time comes that I begin a premium registration design, BeeHiiv does not take any kind of earnings. As a matter of fact, you actually attach 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 clients you get, that 10% can be quite a bit even more money than the regular monthly cost of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This could appear unpopular, however what it suggests is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv work with the outside making use of devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack actually has … nothing. No integrations whatsoever.
Generally, I just seemed like BeeHiiv was much more developed towards real e-mail marketing. It was constructed by people who “get it”. Also the opt-in kinds and the landing page develops seem much better developed for conversions. Growth is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Although there are still features I would love to see BeeHiiv include, I like the instructions it is going more than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have claimed, Substack positions itself towards “creators” more than e-mail marketers and e-newsletter proprietors. For that reason, you see some points geared more toward individuals that just think in terms of material production.
For example, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Likewise, while BeeHiiv does sustain numerous publications, they are treated fairly separately. Whereas Substack does have the capacity to cross-post to numerous publications at the same time. This isn’t something I require, yet … great for people that may require it.
Substack additionally has more social capability built-in. For example, it has a chat feature to host chats 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. Interesting. In general, Substack is established to be a lot more like a social media network which sustains long-form web content.
In general, Substack is additionally more … minimalist. You either take care of that or do not. Directly, I don’t. Nevertheless, if the objective is simplicity of interface and, frankly, features … Substack functions pretty well.
Yet, I’ll be clear here …
When it comes to actual marketing, I don’t believe there’s much uncertainty that BeeHiiv is much better fit. I searched for more factors that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, yet truthfully … I have a difficult time discovering them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are typically through to be the closest rivals, I really see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer opponents. Both are going after the exact same target audience and have comparable abilities.
ConvertKit is likewise placed at makers (like Substack), however it is a lot more strongly dealing with individuals that do it for business. ConvertKit has good aesthetic automation structure, it’s very own commerce system, and more. ConvertKit is a really great platform.
I’m not going to birthed you with a complete feature-by-feature failure here. ConvertKit is well known already. However, here’s exactly how I feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Points ConvertKit Is Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has extra versatility when it involves it’s automations. I will likewise state that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit extra instinctive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains marking. This is just a fundamental function of email checklists that enables segmentation in a far more flexible method than BeeHiiv presently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support identifying at some time quickly, honestly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on Dakota Robertson Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does now provide the capability to offer things by means of their very own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that’s important to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would always choose a more straight choice anyhow. For me, I favor to use my own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about much longer and therefore has way much more integration alternatives. Lots of web-based devices and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their own WordPress plugin that is fairly effective. For example, their plugin currently even sustains member-gated web content as well as auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your website. Essentially, this a lot more closely puts ConvertKit right into direct competition by having you have the ability to publish to your website and your email checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is badly lacking in these kinds of third-party integrations at the moment. It’ll arrive. But, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also active taking on the development tools of BeeHiiv. As an example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Referral Engine where you can not only incentivize individuals to share your e-newsletter with rewards, but you can additionally pay per lead within the internal ad network of BeeHiiv to expand your list. These are really awesome features of BeeHiiv. However …
Did you recognize ConvertKit acquired Sparkloop? Sparkloop is among the most popular viral promotion systems for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall surface wherefore this means for the platform moving forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Better At … Dakota Robertson Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is much previously in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that indicates much less features and less integrations, which is all-natural for this phase of the cycle. Nonetheless, it also implies that they are rapidly establishing.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have seen practically weekly launch of brand-new features into the system. And these aren’t weak little features … yet big features that are quite important. Their rate of development now has actually been impressive.
I also quite appreciate how receptive they are. Actually, one of their item announcements concerning some style enhancements to the website design features really had a small trouble with the content size. I simply replied to that email to tell them. I promptly obtained a reply straight from the chief executive officer:.
That same day, the issue was repaired.
Few days later, I gave them an additional recommendation …
Certainly, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to cause automations based upon the embed kind made use of was contributed to the system.
That type of responsiveness and direct involvement of the group is something I really appreciate.
An additional major point of distinction here is the cost. Both systems offer complimentary plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan uses extra capability 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 even more favorable. ConvertKit seems less expensive at first glimpse due to the fact that their pricing page shows lower numbers, however the customer limitations are much lower and your price promptly raises as your list grows.
With BeeHiiv, your very first degree paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid yearly), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 clients. That same dimension list is mosting likely to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their finest plan and the one I personally use), you can expand your listing as much as 100,000. A checklist of that dimension would 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, also. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for simply $84/month if you pay each year.
BeeHiiv is in an entirely different league when it comes to pricing (in a good way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point increase costs? They might as time takes place. Yet, I’m presuming individuals like myself that are currently in will be locked-in. We’ll see just how points proceed.
Points I Would Like BeeHiiv To Add
One of the important things you most definitely need to keep in mind is that BeeHiiv is relatively young. They do seem to develop rather quickly and make new item statements somewhat typically, yet there are some fundamental features I really wish they had that I need to just wait on.
One is that they need to have a setup on registration kinds where I might choose an automation to run right at the kind level. That would be remarkable for a lot of factors. As of now, subscription kinds look OK, but there’s really little setups for them to aid in division.
It would certainly be nice to have identifying at the subscriber level. This would be powerful.
I assume webhooks should belong to automations to make built-in automations less complicated and decrease reliance on outdoors devices like Zapier.
There are likewise some minor management interface modifications that would come in handy. For instance:
- Capability to mass edit/remove subscribers.
- Capability to mass edit articles (as an example, to mark a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of fundamental fields as standard on customers (like the name).
- Some even more modification alternatives for the web site (such as more flexible shade choices, headline control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Things I wish they do with it in the future. BeeHiiv is respectable, yet it isn’t perfect and definitely not almost as created as something like FluentCRM or any other real CRM item.
It most likely never will be, either. As I stated, the purpose is different so it would not a lot a great deal of feeling for BeeHiiv to become a full marketing automation system. I guess you never know, though.
Final Ideas On This BeeHiiv Review
I such as BeeHiiv quite a great deal. Sufficient where I made a decision to switch my own e-newsletters over to the system regardless of my personal choice for digital sovereignty and having my very own system.
Simply put, for the e-newsletter posting design especially, I saw sufficient value in their system to warrant the change.
Bear in mind, I do not use BeeHiiv as my exclusive e-mail listing. I utilize BeeHiiv for what it is proficient at, but I purposefully have points establish to make sure that I likewise keep my checklist “in home” within FluentCRM.
If you make use of BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the exact same. It is just an excellent insurance plan, for one. But, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your list will be of high usage (FluentCRM is a complete marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never will be).
So, the inquiry is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my point of view, if you are making use of Substack now, I ‘d definitely consider changing to BeeHiiv. It will simply be a lot more business-friendly. It is targeting various capacities and different demands. Plus, BeeHiiv also has import tools for Substack, so the switch ought to be quite straightforward.
If you are on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d probably stay put unless you have a huge e-mail checklist and are consequently being fleeced with their high regular monthly bill. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are repeating swiftly. There’s likewise a respectable opportunity you’re not also making use of several of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you do not also need them. Because of that, BeeHiiv could easily be a far better and more budget-friendly fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be very intentional about growing an e-newsletter, I believe BeeHiiv is THE platform to take into consideration and maintain and eye on for you.
If you use BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is designed to be, it is among the very best video games around right now. This is the platform to view.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It is worth checking out on your own. And if you wind up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll locate the free account to be rather feature abundant.