I have actually utilized a great deal of different email list systems for many years. In the last couple of years, I have actually been a big advocate of digital sovereignty and owning your own system. For that reason (and the amazing features), I have been using EJ White Beehiiv.
So, it is indeed a weird move for me to decide to utilize BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, it is a hosted application and I am paying month-to-month for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv testimonial, I intend to look at why I made the switch to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I intend to deal with the issue of digital sovereignty while using the platform and I ‘d also such as to attend to why I selected to utilize it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Built For E-newsletters
In Problem # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Pastime + A Large Shift In Strategy, I discussed exactly how and why I chose to turn my recreational vehicle blog site right into primarily a newsletter. I determined that was the business model I wished to seek keeping that home.
But, to purposefully seek it as a newsletter, I desired a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was utilizing FluentCRM for the e-mail list for Gladly recreational vehicle, however FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter platform. It is developed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, honestly, using it for e-newsletters is a little a waste. A lot more on that in a little bit.
As I stated because concern of the e-newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a platform with tools constructed right into it particular to my function. Points such as:
- Capacity to release (to the blog) and send the e-mail simultaneously without having it be 2 separate actions.
- Constructed in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would certainly require a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Integrated ability to do cross-promotions with other newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Links”, which are primarily one-click registration web links. Great for promo in various 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 advertise your e-newsletter.
- Integrated ad network, if I choose to generate income from with ads in the e-newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and basically run a costs newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Primarily, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter publishers with features targeted at growth. The system was actually constructed by the individuals that accumulated the technology for Early morning Mixture. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the factor below. BeeHiiv is built from scratch for the function of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a different function.
And I ended off with this:.
I might certainly be relocating The Edge over to BeeHiiv also. At least, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. In fact, I simply went for it. And in fact, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Morning WP, set off as it’s own property to make sure that I can grow it more deliberately too.
The goal is that each newsletter has the capacity to be branded as it’s very own media entity and expanded individually. Gladly RV was young, so simple to transition. But, The Early morning WP (previously The Side) was buried 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 very own. It will clearly constantly be closely connected with the Blog Marketing Academy, yet doesn’t have to be a part of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv because it was built for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Just A Typical Email Checklist
There’s a difference in between an e-newsletter system and simply an email list.
You can organize your e-mail checklist just about anywhere you want and there are a variety of them out there, 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 platform, the act of posting means that it is mosting likely to your website and to your email clients all at once.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a website. You are releasing to that site. Yet, you are also sending to all customers at the same time. The internet site and it’s subscribers are done in one. This makes monitoring of the system much simpler.
With many e-mail systems, any newsletter you set up is done as an e-mail campaign. It is built totally independently from your internet site. So, for example, you may release a short article to WordPress however after that you would need to independently develop and send out an e-mail to your listing to send it to customers. These are after that 2 different sets of archives and two different activities due to the fact that blog posts and your e-mails are not naturally linked.
The closest thing that turns WordPress right into a real e-newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name because it practically “glues” your e-newsletter to your WordPress messages and permits them to be the same point. Definitely, something like E-newsletter Glue would certainly be a strong option if I wished to remain to self-host whatever. Nevertheless, you would certainly lose the development tools that include a system like BeeHiiv.
Posting an e-newsletter naturally includes a different collection of demands than a normal email list.
You do not usually need much marketing automation. You do not typically need autoresponder sequences, event monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO demand, however, is one smooth posting experience and growth devices to help you construct your client base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I announced to my clients that I was mosting likely 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, also besides the fact that I picked to opt for BeeHiiv, that does not indicate I believe Substack sucks. In fact, because Substack has actually been about longer, it is elder and has even more features.
Although BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a couple things that at first obtained my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically customized to newsletter publishers. In fact, it is essentially constructed by the exact same folks who constructed the modern technology behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, does not matter. However, the apparent positioning of BeeHiiv towards e-newsletter growth called me out over the more generic positioning of being a “designer”. Growth is what I want below.
- That branding and distinction additionally suggests that BeeHiiv has some fairly large brands and big publications utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is intended more at solo designers. Again, it simply informs me the client character distinction between both business.
Sending our my e-newsletter through FluentCRM didn’t precisely draw. The only factor I would certainly consider trembling points up is if I believed I could expand the listing quicker. And BeeHiiv spoke precisely to that objective.
Due to the targeting, I actually do not see BeeHiiv and Substack as direct rivals. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a different sort of consumer. In fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being more straight competitors.
Yet, let’s dive much deeper than just the positioning below.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv seems like it was constructed by individuals who recognizing e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems extra tailored towards designers.
For instance, BeeHiiv uses personalized areas on clients. Currently, 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 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 action is the capacity to send an email. However, improvements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers in addition to new activities, such as customizing personalized fields, sending out webhooks, etc. I’ve currently seen improvements to their automations simply because I began utilizing the system. For example:
- Ability to activate automations based on which certain embed type they can be found in on.
- Capacity to immediately do re-engagement (and deal with individuals based on opens and non-opens).
- Ability to do standard conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations like this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack just can’t do this due to the fact that the target market of Substack simply wouldn’t believe to approach this like an email online marketer.
When it comes to composing your newsletters, the composing interface of BeeHiiv is simply a lot more tailored towards e-newsletters. Actually, it actually has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in just how it functions. I discover it to be a lot more instinctive, personally.
Substack’s creating user interface behaves and clean, however it would be a lot more equal to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This difference is more than just type. For example, with BeeHiiv you can place a “Area” and after that put anything you want in it. After that, you can place Presence choices on that section to reveal it only to paid customers, conceal it from email, hide from clients, show only to customers, etc. Substack offers absolutely nothing similar to this.
And when/if the time comes that I start a costs membership model, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any revenue. Actually, you actually attach approximately your own Stripe account and it charges straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your earnings. Relying on the number of subscribers you obtain, that 10% can be a fair bit even more money than the month-to-month expense of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear nerdy, but what it suggests is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv work with the outdoors utilizing tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack essentially has … nothing. No integrations in all.
On the whole, I simply seemed like BeeHiiv was extra constructed towards actual email marketing. It was developed by individuals who “get it”. Also the opt-in types and the landing page creates appear better constructed for conversions. Growth is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Even though there are still features I would love to see BeeHiiv add, I like the direction it is going more than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have claimed, Substack positions itself towards “designers” greater than e-mail marketers and newsletter owners. Therefore, you see some points tailored extra towards individuals who just believe in regards to material production.
As an example, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does sustain multiple 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 call for, but … cool for people who could require it.
Substack additionally has more social capability built-in. For example, it has a conversation feature to host chats with clients. It likewise has a “Notes” function which works sort of like a social networks newsfeed where you can share things from other “Stacks” you’re reading. Intriguing. In general, Substack is set up to be much more like a social media which sustains long-form web content.
On the whole, Substack is likewise a lot more … minimalist. You either take care of that or don’t. Personally, I do not. Nevertheless, if the goal is simpleness of user interface and, truthfully, features … Substack functions quite well.
However, I’ll be clear right here …
When it involves actual marketing, I don’t think there’s much doubt that BeeHiiv is better fit. I searched for more factors that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, yet honestly … I have a difficult time locating them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are commonly with to be the closest competitors, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer opponents. Both are going after the very same target market and have similar capacities.
ConvertKit is additionally positioned at designers (like Substack), yet it is much more highly satisfying individuals who do it for organization. ConvertKit has great visual automation building, it’s own business system, and a lot more. ConvertKit is a really great platform.
I’m not mosting likely to bore you with a complete feature-by-feature breakdown below. ConvertKit is well known already. Yet, here’s just how I feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Points ConvertKit Is Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has more versatility when it comes to it’s automations. I will certainly also say that I discover ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit extra intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains labeling. This is simply a fundamental feature of email checklists that enables division in a far more versatile means than BeeHiiv currently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to sustain tagging eventually quickly, frankly. It seems like an oversight that it is missing EJ White Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does now offer the capacity to offer points via their very own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that’s important to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, however, I would constantly pick an extra direct choice anyway. For me, I prefer to use my own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about a lot longer and therefore has way more integration choices. Tons of web-based tools and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their very own WordPress plugin that is fairly effective. For instance, their plugin currently also supports member-gated web content along with auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your site. Basically, this a lot more carefully places ConvertKit right into straight competitors 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 type of third-party integrations currently. It’ll arrive. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even active tackling the growth devices of BeeHiiv. As an example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not just incentivize people to share your newsletter with benefits, however you can additionally pay per lead within the inner advertisement network of BeeHiiv to expand your checklist. These are actually amazing features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you know ConvertKit got Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of the most popular viral promo platforms for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall surface of what this indicates for the system moving forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … EJ White Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is much previously in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that suggests much less features and much less integrations, which is natural for this phase of the cycle. Nonetheless, it likewise indicates that they are rapidly creating.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have observed practically once a week launch of brand-new features right into the platform. And these aren’t undersized little features … but large features that are fairly important. Their speed of advancement at this moment has gone over.
I likewise significantly appreciate just how responsive they are. Actually, one of their item news about some layout enhancements to the website design features really consisted of a tiny issue with the content width. I merely replied to that e-mail to tell them. I swiftly got a reply directly from the chief executive officer:.
That very same day, the issue was dealt with.
Few days later on, I gave them another suggestion …
Indeed, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capacity to trigger automations based upon the embed type utilized was included in the system.
That type of responsiveness and direct involvement of the team is something I actually value.
One more significant factor of distinction here is the cost. Both platforms offer cost-free plans, nevertheless the BeeHiiv free plan supplies more capability and more subscribers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is additionally much more favorable. ConvertKit appears more affordable at first look since their pricing page shows reduced numbers, nonetheless the client restrictions are much lower and your rate promptly enhances as your checklist grows.
With BeeHiiv, your very first degree paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid yearly), however you can have up to 10,000 subscribers. That exact same size list is mosting likely to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you update to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their finest plan and the one I personally utilize), you can expand your checklist as much as 100,000. A checklist of that size would certainly run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, too, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay annually, also. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for just $84/month if you pay every year.
BeeHiiv remains in an entirely different organization when it pertains to pricing (in a great way).
Will BeeHiiv eventually increase costs? They could as time takes place. However, I’m guessing individuals like myself who are currently in will be locked-in. We’ll see just how things continue.
Things I Would Like BeeHiiv To Add
Among things you most definitely require to keep in mind is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do appear to evolve instead rapidly and make brand-new item news rather often, but there are some fundamental features I truly desire they had that I need to simply wait for.
One is that they need to have a setting on membership types where I can select an automation to run right at the form level. That would certainly be amazing for so many factors. As of now, registration kinds look OK, however there’s really little setups for them to assist in division.
It would certainly behave to have tagging at the client degree. This would be powerful.
I believe webhooks should become part of automations to make built-in automations much easier and reduce reliance on outside devices like Zapier.
There are likewise some minor administrative user interface adjustments that would come in handy. As an example:
- Ability to bulk edit/remove subscribers.
- Capacity to mass edit blog posts (for instance, to mark a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of fundamental areas as standard on clients (like the name).
- Some more customization options for the web site (such as more flexible color selections, heading control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Things I wish they do with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, yet it isn’t excellent and definitely not nearly as established as something like FluentCRM or any other real CRM product.
It probably never will be, either. As I claimed, the function is various so it would not a lot a lot of sense for BeeHiiv to end up being a full marketing automation platform. I guess you never ever recognize, however.
Last Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Review
I such as BeeHiiv fairly a whole lot. Sufficient where I chose to change my own e-newsletters over to the platform despite my individual choice for digital sovereignty and owning my very own platform.
Simply put, for the e-newsletter posting design particularly, I saw adequate worth in their platform to call for the adjustment.
Remember, I do not use BeeHiiv as my exclusive email list. I make use of BeeHiiv for what it is proficient at, yet I deliberately have points set up so that I likewise keep my list “in home” inside of FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the exact same. It is simply an excellent insurance coverage, for one. Yet, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your list will be of high usage (FluentCRM is a complete marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will certainly be).
So, the inquiry is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are using Substack today, I ‘d definitely think about changing to BeeHiiv. It will simply be a lot more business-friendly. It is targeting different capabilities and various requirements. And also, BeeHiiv even has import tools for Substack, so the switch needs to be rather straightforward.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d possibly sit tight unless you have a large email list and are therefore being fleeced with their high regular monthly costs. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are repeating rapidly. There’s additionally a respectable chance you’re not even using several of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you don’t also need them. For that reason, BeeHiiv might quickly be a far better and more cost effective fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be extremely intentional regarding growing a newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE platform to think about and maintain and eye on for you.
If you use BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is created to be, it is one of the best games around right now. This is the system to see.
BeeHiiv supplies a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It is worth checking out for yourself. And if you wind up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll find the free account to be quite feature abundant.