I have actually made use of a great deal of different e-mail list systems for many years. In the last number of years, I’ve been a massive proponent of digital sovereignty and having your very own system. For that reason (and the amazing features), I have actually been making use of Frame and Flame Beehiiv.
So, it is indeed an unusual move for me to choose to utilize BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, 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 discuss why I made the switch to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I intend to resolve the issue of digital sovereignty while making use of the system and I ‘d likewise such as to resolve why I chose to use it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Built For Newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Huge Change In Strategy, I spoke about exactly how and why I decided to turn my recreational vehicle blog right into primarily an e-newsletter. I decided that was the business model I wanted to pursue with that said home.
Yet, to purposefully seek it as a newsletter, I desired a system that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the e-mail listing for Happily RV, however FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, honestly, using it for newsletters is a bit of a waste. Much more on that in a bit.
As I claimed in that concern of the newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a platform with devices developed right into it specific to my function. Points such as:
- Ability to release (to the blog) and send the email simultaneously without having it be two separate activities.
- Integrated in e-newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would require a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Integrated ability to do cross-promotions with other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are basically 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.
- Capacity to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your newsletter.
- Built-in ad network, if I select to monetize with ads in the e-newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and basically run a costs e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Generally, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter publishers with features aimed at growth. The platform was essentially developed by the people that accumulated the innovation for Early morning Mixture. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the point right here. BeeHiiv is built from scratch for the objective of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a different purpose.
And I finished off with this:.
I may without a doubt be moving The Edge over to BeeHiiv too. At the very least, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. As a matter of fact, I simply went for it. And actually, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Morning WP, triggered as it’s own building so that I can expand it much more purposefully too.
The objective is that each e-newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown separately. Gladly RV was young, so very easy to shift. But, The Morning WP (formerly The Edge) was hidden in a sea of stuff right here at the Blog Marketing Academy. By separating it off, I can do what I can to grow it on it’s very own. It will certainly constantly be closely connected with the Blog Marketing Academy, yet does not need to belong of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv because it was built for this purpose. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Just A Regular Email Listing
There’s a difference between a newsletter system and simply an e-mail checklist.
You can organize your e-mail checklist anyplace you want and there are a number of them out there, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted alternatives like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The main distinction is that, with an e-newsletter system, the act of posting implies that it is going to your web site and to your email customers concurrently.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a site. You are releasing to that website. But, you are likewise dispatching to all subscribers at the same time. The web site and it’s customers are all in one. This makes management of the system much simpler.
With the majority of e-mail platforms, any kind of e-newsletter you established is done as an email campaign. It is built completely individually from your site. So, for instance, you might release a post to WordPress however then you would certainly require to individually develop and send an email to your checklist to send it to customers. These are after that two separate collections of archives and 2 separate actions due to the fact that article and your e-mails are not inherently connected.
The closest thing that turns WordPress right into a true e-newsletter system is E-newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name because it practically “adhesives” your newsletter to your WordPress messages and permits them to be the exact same thing. Definitely, something like E-newsletter Glue would certainly be a solid choice if I intended to remain to self-host every little thing. Nonetheless, you ‘d shed the development devices that feature a platform like BeeHiiv.
Publishing an e-newsletter inherently comes with a various set of demands than a normal email list.
You do not normally require much marketing automation. You do not generally need autoresponder sequences, event tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO requirement, however, is one seamless posting experience and development tools to assist you develop your subscriber base that specify to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I announced to my customers that I was going to switch the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had lots of people ask me why I was picking it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the truth that I picked to select BeeHiiv, that doesn’t imply I assume Substack draws. As a matter of fact, because Substack has actually been around much longer, it is elder and has more features.
Although BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair things that initially obtained my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is particularly tailored to e-newsletter authors. In fact, it is actually built by the very same people that constructed the modern technology behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, doesn’t matter. Yet, the evident positioning of BeeHiiv toward newsletter development called me out over the more generic positioning of being a “creator”. Development is what I’m interested in below.
- That branding and differentiation additionally means that BeeHiiv has some fairly big brands and large publications using it. Whereas SubStack is aimed even more at solo developers. Once more, it just informs me the client character distinction between both business.
Sending our my newsletter by means of FluentCRM really did not specifically draw. The only reason I would certainly consider drinking things up is if I thought I might GROW the list much faster. And BeeHiiv spoke exactly to that objective.
Due to the targeting, I really do not see BeeHiiv and Substack as straight competitors. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a various sort of customer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being more direct competitors.
But, let’s dive deeper than simply the placing right here.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv seems like it was built by people that recognizing email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears more tailored towards creators.
For example, BeeHiiv supplies customized fields on subscribers. Currently, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. Yet, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. In fact, it is a visual automation builder that works a great deal like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation capability is still early-phase. It is still quite limited in triggers and the only action is the capability to send out an e-mail. Nevertheless, improvements are coming. Quickly sufficient, automations will have brand-new triggers along with new activities, such as changing customized fields, sending webhooks, etc. I have actually already seen improvements to their automations just because I began using the system. For instance:
- Capability to activate automations based upon which certain embed form they came in on.
- Capability to instantly do re-engagement (and deal with individuals 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 simply can not do this due to the fact that the target audience of Substack just would not think to approach this like an email marketer.
When it pertains to creating your newsletters, the composing interface of BeeHiiv is just more tailored toward newsletters. In fact, it in fact has similarities to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it functions. I find it to be more instinctive, personally.
Substack’s composing interface is nice and clean, but it would be much more equal to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This difference is greater than simply form. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can insert a “Area” and after that put anything you want in it. After that, you can place Presence alternatives on that section to reveal it just to paid clients, hide it from email, hide from customers, show only to subscribers, etc. Substack provides nothing like this.
And when/if the time comes that I start a costs registration version, BeeHiiv does not take any profits. Actually, you essentially link approximately your own Stripe account and it charges straight to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your revenue. Depending upon the amount of subscribers you get, that 10% can be a fair bit more money than the regular monthly expense of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This may seem unpopular, however what it means is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can actually make BeeHiiv deal with the outdoors utilizing tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … nothing. No integrations in all.
On the whole, I simply seemed like BeeHiiv was extra built towards genuine email marketing. It was constructed by people that “get it”. Also the opt-in types and the landing page makes appear better developed for conversions. Development is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Even though there are still features I would like to see BeeHiiv add, I like the instructions it is going greater than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have claimed, Substack settings itself towards “creators” more than email marketers and newsletter proprietors. For that reason, you see some points tailored much more towards individuals who just think in regards to content creation.
For example, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does support numerous publications, they are dealt with rather separately. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to numerous magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, yet … amazing for people that may need it.
Substack additionally has more social functionality built-in. For instance, it has a conversation function to host chats with subscribers. It additionally has a “Notes” feature which functions type of like a social media newsfeed where you can share points from other “Stacks” you’re reading. Fascinating. Generally, Substack is set up to be extra like a social media network which sustains long-form web content.
On the whole, Substack is additionally extra … minimal. You either care for that or don’t. Directly, I don’t. However, if the objective is simpleness of user interface and, honestly, features … Substack functions quite well.
However, I’ll be clear below …
When it concerns actual marketing, I don’t think there’s much doubt that BeeHiiv is much better suited. I tried to find even more factors that make Substack much better than BeeHiiv, however truthfully … I have a hard time locating them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are typically with to be the closest rivals, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer rivals. Both are pursuing the same target audience and have similar capacities.
ConvertKit is likewise positioned at designers (like Substack), yet it is much more strongly catering to people who do it for business. ConvertKit has great aesthetic automation building, it’s own business platform, and more. ConvertKit is a really wonderful system.
I’m not going to birthed you with a full feature-by-feature malfunction right here. ConvertKit is popular currently. But, right here’s how I feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Points ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has more flexibility when it concerns it’s automations. I will certainly likewise claim that I discover ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit extra instinctive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports labeling. This is just a basic function of email lists that enables segmentation in a much more flexible way than BeeHiiv presently does. I expect BeeHiiv to sustain tagging at some time quickly, honestly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing Frame and Flame Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does currently give the capacity to sell things using their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that’s important to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, however, I would always choose a more straight option anyhow. For me, I like to utilize my own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been around a lot longer and because of that has way extra integration alternatives. Tons of online tools and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their very own WordPress plugin that is rather powerful. As an example, their plugin currently also sustains member-gated content in addition to auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your website. Basically, this a lot more very closely places ConvertKit right into direct competitors by having you be able to release to your website and your email list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is severely lacking in these kinds of third-party integrations right now. It’ll arrive. But, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also busy dealing with the growth tools of BeeHiiv. As an example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not only incentivize individuals to share your e-newsletter with advantages, however you can also pay per lead within the internal ad network of BeeHiiv to grow your checklist. These are truly incredible features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you recognize ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is one of one of the most well known viral promotion systems for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall of what this means for the system going forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Frame and Flame Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is much previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means much less features and less integrations, which is all-natural for this stage of the cycle. However, it additionally means that they are quickly developing.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have observed virtually once a week release of new features right into the system. And these aren’t puny little features … however big features that are fairly essential. Their speed of advancement now has actually been impressive.
I additionally very much value just how receptive they are. As a matter of fact, among their item announcements concerning some style enhancements to the web design features really included a tiny trouble with the material size. I simply replied to that e-mail to tell them. I quickly obtained a reply directly from the chief executive officer:.
That exact same day, the concern was taken care of.
Couple of days later on, I provided one more pointer …
Certainly, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to cause automations based upon the embed kind used was included in the system.
That sort of responsiveness and direct involvement of the group is something I truly appreciate.
An additional significant point of distinction here is the cost. Both platforms supply free plans, nevertheless the BeeHiiv free plan provides much more ability and more customers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
Once you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is also much more beneficial. ConvertKit seems less expensive in the beginning look due to the fact that their pricing web page reveals reduced numbers, nevertheless the client limitations are much reduced and your cost quickly enhances as your checklist grows.
With BeeHiiv, your first level paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid yearly), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 customers. That same dimension list is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their best plan and the one I directly make use of), you can grow your listing as much as 100,000. A checklist of that size would 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 yearly, also. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for just $84/month if you pay every year.
BeeHiiv remains in an entirely various organization when it involves pricing (in a great way).
Will BeeHiiv ultimately raise prices? They might as time takes place. However, I’m presuming people like myself who are already in will be locked-in. We’ll see just how points proceed.
Things I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
One of the important things you most definitely require to keep in mind is that BeeHiiv is relatively young. They do seem to evolve instead quickly and make new item statements rather typically, yet there are some basic features I truly want they had that I require to just wait for.
One is that they require to have a setup on registration types where I can select an automation to run right at the form degree. That would be AWESOME for numerous reasons. Already, membership types look OK, however there’s very little setups for them to aid in segmentation.
It would behave to have labeling at the client level. This would certainly be effective.
I assume webhooks ought to belong to automations to make built-in automations simpler and minimize dependence on outside devices like Zapier.
There are additionally some minor management interface changes that would be handy. For example:
- Capability to bulk edit/remove customers.
- Capacity to mass edit blog posts (for example, to identify a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a few basic areas as basic on clients (like the name).
- Some even more personalization alternatives for the web site (such as even more flexible shade choices, heading control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Things I wish they perform with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is respectable, but it isn’t excellent and definitely not virtually as established as something like FluentCRM or any other genuine CRM product.
It probably never ever will certainly be, either. As I claimed, the function is various so it wouldn’t much a lot of feeling for BeeHiiv to become a complete marketing automation system. I presume you never ever know, however.
Last Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Evaluation
I like BeeHiiv rather a lot. Enough where I decided to switch my own e-newsletters over to the platform regardless of my individual choice for digital sovereignty and having my own platform.
Basically, for the newsletter posting version specifically, I saw sufficient worth in their platform to require the modification.
Keep in mind, I do not use BeeHiiv as my unique email listing. I utilize BeeHiiv wherefore it is efficient, however I purposefully have points establish to make sure that I also maintain my list “in home” within FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the very same. It is just an excellent insurance coverage, for one. However, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your listing will be of high usage (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never will certainly be).
So, the concern is … should YOU make use of BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are utilizing Substack today, I ‘d absolutely take into consideration switching to BeeHiiv. It will merely be more business-friendly. It is targeting different capabilities and various demands. And also, BeeHiiv also has import devices for Substack, so the button should be pretty uncomplicated.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d possibly stay unless you have a big e-mail list and are therefore being fleeced with their high regular monthly expense. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are iterating promptly. There’s additionally a respectable chance you’re not also utilizing several of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you don’t even require them. Therefore, BeeHiiv can conveniently be a better and extra budget friendly fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be really deliberate about expanding an e-newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE platform to think about and keep and eye on for you.
If you utilize BeeHiiv with eyes wide open regarding what it is designed to be, it is one of the very best video games around now. This is the platform to watch.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves taking a look at on your own. And if you end up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll discover the cost-free account to be fairly feature rich.