I have used a lot of various email list systems throughout the years. In the last number of years, I have actually been a huge supporter of digital sovereignty and having your own platform. For that reason (and the incredible features), I have actually been making use of How Many Publications Can I Have on Beehiiv.
So, it is certainly a strange move for me to determine to utilize BeeHiiv. Besides, it is a hosted application and I am paying month-to-month for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I intend to review why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my newsletters. I wish to resolve the concern of digital sovereignty while making use of the platform and I ‘d likewise such as to resolve why I picked to utilize it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Built For Newsletters
In Concern # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Hobby + A Large Shift In Method, I talked about just how and why I determined to transform my motor home blog site into mainly a newsletter. I chose that was business version I intended to pursue keeping that property.
Yet, to intentionally seek it as a newsletter, I wanted a system that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the email list for Happily recreational vehicle, but FluentCRM is not a newsletter platform. It is developed to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, frankly, using it for e-newsletters is a little a waste. Much more on that particular in a little bit.
As I stated in that issue of the e-newsletter …
Put simply, BeeHiiv is a platform with devices built into it particular to my purpose. Points such as:
- Capacity to release (to the blog) and send out the email at the same time without having it be two separate activities.
- Integrated in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would require a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capability to do cross-promotions with various other newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are primarily one-click membership web links. Great for promo in other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, however, so there are means to do that.
- Ability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your newsletter.
- Built-in advertisement network, if I pick to monetize with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capacity to run a paid newsletter upgrade and primarily run a premium newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Primarily, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter authors with features targeted at development. The system was actually developed by the individuals who built up the innovation for Morning Mixture. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the point right here. BeeHiiv is constructed from the ground up for the function of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a different objective.
And I ended off with this:.
I might without a doubt be relocating The Edge over to BeeHiiv too. A minimum of, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. As a matter of fact, I just went for it. And in fact, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, triggered as it’s own residential or commercial property to ensure that I can expand it much more intentionally too.
The goal is that each newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and expanded independently. Happily RV was young, so simple to transition. But, The Early morning WP (formerly The Edge) was hidden in a sea of stuff here at the Blog Marketing Academy. By separating it off, I can do what I can to grow it on it’s own. It will undoubtedly constantly be closely linked with the Blog site Marketing Academy, yet doesn’t have to be a part of it.
I switched over to BeeHiiv because it was built for this purpose. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Simply A Typical Email Checklist
There’s a difference between a newsletter platform and simply an email listing.
You can hold your email listing everywhere you want and there are a variety of them around, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted alternatives like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The primary difference is that, with an e-newsletter platform, the act of posting suggests that it is going to your internet site and to your e-mail customers all at once.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a site. You are releasing to that internet site. Yet, you are additionally sending to all subscribers at the same time. The website and it’s customers are all in one. This makes management of the platform much easier.
With a lot of e-mail platforms, any kind of newsletter you established is done as an e-mail campaign. It is developed totally individually from your website. So, for instance, you may publish a short article to WordPress but then you would certainly require to individually build and send an email to your listing to send it to subscribers. These are after that 2 different collections of archives and two different activities because blog posts and your emails are not naturally linked.
The closest thing that transforms WordPress right into a real e-newsletter platform is Newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name due to the fact that it virtually “glues” your e-newsletter to your WordPress messages and allows them to be the exact same thing. Absolutely, something like Newsletter Glue would certainly be a strong alternative if I intended to continue to self-host everything. However, you would certainly lose the development devices that come with a platform like BeeHiiv.
Publishing a newsletter inherently comes with a various collection of requirements than a regular email listing.
You don’t normally require much marketing automation. You don’t generally need autoresponder series, event monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO demand, though, is one seamless publishing experience and growth devices to help you construct your client base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I revealed to my subscribers that I was mosting likely to switch the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many people ask me why I was picking it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the reality that I chose to go with BeeHiiv, that doesn’t suggest I believe Substack draws. In fact, since Substack has actually been around longer, it is elder and has more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair points that at first got my focus:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically tailored to newsletter authors. Actually, it is actually developed by the same individuals who built the innovation behind Early morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, does not matter. However, the obvious positioning of BeeHiiv towards newsletter development called me out over the even more generic positioning of being a “developer”. Growth is what I’m interested in right here.
- That branding and differentiation also implies that BeeHiiv has some fairly big brand names and big publications utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is intended more at solo designers. Again, it just informs me the customer avatar difference in between the two companies.
Sending our my e-newsletter by means of FluentCRM really did not specifically suck. The only factor I would contemplate drinking points up is if I believed I might GROW the checklist much faster. And BeeHiiv talked exactly to that goal.
Due to the targeting, I actually do not watch BeeHiiv and Substack as direct rivals. I believe BeeHiiv is targeting a various kind of customer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being extra straight rivals.
Yet, let’s dive deeper than simply the positioning here.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
On the whole, BeeHiiv appears like it was constructed by individuals that recognizing email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears more tailored towards developers.
As an example, BeeHiiv offers custom areas on subscribers. Currently, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv provides Automations. Actually, it is a visual automation builder that functions a whole lot like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still quite minimal in triggers and the only activity is the ability to send an e-mail. Nonetheless, improvements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers along with new actions, such as modifying custom-made fields, sending webhooks, etc. I have actually already seen enhancements to their automations just considering that I began making use of the system. For instance:
- Capacity to set off automations based upon which details embed type they can be found in on.
- Ability to automatically do re-engagement (and take care of people based on opens up and non-opens).
- Ability to do standard conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations similar to this. Likely, it never will. Substack simply can not do this since the target audience of Substack simply wouldn’t think to approach this like an e-mail marketing professional.
When it comes to creating your newsletters, the creating user interface of BeeHiiv is just a lot more tailored toward e-newsletters. In fact, it really has similarities to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it functions. I find it to be more instinctive, directly.
Substack’s writing interface behaves and clean, yet it would certainly be much more comparable to the classic editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This difference is greater than just kind. For example, with BeeHiiv you can place a “Section” and after that placed anything you want in it. After that, you can place Visibility choices on that particular section to show it only to paid customers, conceal it from email, conceal from clients, reveal just to customers, etc. Substack provides absolutely nothing such as this.
And when/if the moment comes that I begin a premium registration version, BeeHiiv does not take any revenue. As a matter of fact, you essentially connect as much as your very own Stripe account and it bills straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your income. Relying on the amount of subscribers you obtain, that 10% can be a fair bit even more money than the regular monthly cost of BeeHiiv.
Lastly, BeeHiiv has an API. This may seem unpopular, but what it suggests is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outdoors making use of tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … nothing. No integrations whatsoever.
Overall, I just seemed like BeeHiiv was much more constructed toward genuine e-mail marketing. It was constructed by individuals who “get it”. Even the opt-in forms and the landing page creates appear far better constructed for conversions. Development is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Despite the fact that there are still features I wish to see BeeHiiv add, I such as the instructions it is going more than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually stated, Substack positions itself towards “makers” greater than email marketing experts and newsletter owners. Because of that, you see some things tailored extra toward individuals who just believe in regards to web content creation.
As an example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Likewise, while BeeHiiv does sustain numerous publications, they are treated quite independently. Whereas Substack does have the capacity to cross-post to several magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I require, but … cool for people who might require it.
Substack additionally has more social performance built-in. As an example, it has a chat feature to host chats with subscribers. It likewise has a “Notes” function which works sort of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share things from various other “Stacks” you read. Fascinating. Generally, Substack is established to be extra like a social network which sustains long-form content.
On the whole, Substack is additionally a lot more … minimal. You either care for that or don’t. Directly, I don’t. Nonetheless, if the objective is simplicity of user interface and, frankly, features … Substack functions rather well.
Yet, I’ll be clear right here …
When it concerns real marketing, I do not assume there’s much question that BeeHiiv is much better suited. I tried to find even more factors that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, yet truthfully … I have a difficult time locating 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 going after the same target audience and have similar capabilities.
ConvertKit is additionally placed at developers (like Substack), however it is much more strongly satisfying people that do it for organization. ConvertKit has great visual automation building, it’s very own business system, and much more. ConvertKit is a really good system.
I’m not going to bore you with a complete feature-by-feature break down here. ConvertKit is popular currently. But, below’s just how I feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Things ConvertKit Is Better At …
Currently, ConvertKit has much more adaptability when it involves it’s automations. I will certainly additionally state that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit extra instinctive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains identifying. This is simply a fundamental feature of email lists that allows division in an even more versatile method than BeeHiiv currently does. I expect BeeHiiv to support marking at some point soon, frankly. It seems like an oversight that it is missing out on How Many Publications Can I Have on Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does now offer the capacity to offer points through their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is necessary to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, however, I would constantly select an extra straight choice anyway. For me, I prefer to utilize my own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been around a lot longer and therefore has way extra integration alternatives. Lots of online devices and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their very own WordPress plugin that is rather effective. For example, their plugin currently even sustains member-gated web content in addition to auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your website. In essence, this extra very closely places ConvertKit right into straight competitors by having you be able to publish to your website and your e-mail list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is badly doing not have in these type of third-party integrations at the moment. It’ll get there. However, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also busy dealing with the growth tools of BeeHiiv. For instance, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Suggestion Engine where you can not just incentivize individuals to share your e-newsletter with perks, yet you can also pay per lead within the interior advertisement network of BeeHiiv to grow your listing. These are actually amazing features of BeeHiiv. However …
Did you understand ConvertKit got Sparkloop? Sparkloop is among one of the most well known viral promotion systems for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall wherefore this indicates for the platform moving forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … How Many Publications Can I Have on Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that suggests much less features and less integrations, which is all-natural for this phase of the cycle. Nonetheless, it additionally indicates that they are quickly creating.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have witnessed nearly weekly launch of brand-new features into the system. And these aren’t puny little features … however huge features that are fairly important. Their rate of development now has gone over.
I additionally very much appreciate exactly how responsive they are. Actually, one of their item statements concerning some style enhancements to the web design features actually included a small trouble with the material width. I just replied to that email to tell them. I quickly obtained a reply straight from the chief executive officer:.
That very same day, the problem was taken care of.
Few days later, I provided another tip …
Certainly, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capacity to cause automations based on the embed kind utilized was included in the system.
That type of responsiveness and straight involvement of the team is something I actually appreciate.
One more major point of differentiation below is the rate. Both platforms offer free plans, nevertheless the BeeHiiv free plan uses much more capability and more subscribers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
Once you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is also even more desirable. ConvertKit appears less costly at first glance due to the fact that their pricing page shows reduced numbers, however the customer limitations are much reduced and your rate swiftly boosts as your checklist expands.
With BeeHiiv, your first degree paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid yearly), nevertheless you can have up to 10,000 clients. That exact same size checklist is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their best plan and the one I personally utilize), you can grow your list up to 100,000. A checklist of that dimension would 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, too. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for simply $84/month if you pay annually.
BeeHiiv remains in a totally different league when it involves pricing (in a good way).
Will BeeHiiv eventually raise rates? They might as time goes on. However, I’m guessing individuals like myself who are already in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see just how points continue.
Points I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
Among things you certainly require to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do seem to progress rather rapidly and make new item announcements rather commonly, yet there are some fundamental features I actually desire they had that I need to just await.
One is that they need to have a setup on subscription forms where I could choose an automation to run right at the form degree. That would be outstanding for so many factors. Currently, subscription forms look OK, however there’s extremely little settings for them to help in segmentation.
It would behave to have identifying at the customer level. This would be effective.
I think webhooks ought to belong to automations to make built-in automations simpler and decrease reliance on outside tools like Zapier.
There are additionally some small administrative user interface changes that would come in handy. For instance:
- Capability to bulk edit/remove customers.
- Capacity to bulk edit blog posts (as an example, to identify a number of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of basic fields as typical on clients (like the name).
- Some more modification choices for the web site (such as even more adaptable color selections, headline control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Points I hope they do with it in the future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, however it isn’t best and definitely not virtually as created as something like FluentCRM or any other real CRM item.
It probably never will certainly be, either. As I claimed, the function is different so it wouldn’t a lot a great deal of sense for BeeHiiv to come to be a complete marketing automation platform. I presume you never ever recognize, though.
Last Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Testimonial
I like BeeHiiv quite a great deal. Sufficient where I decided to change my very own e-newsletters over to the system in spite of my personal choice for digital sovereignty and having my own platform.
Basically, for the e-newsletter publishing version specifically, I saw sufficient worth in their platform to warrant the adjustment.
Bear in mind, I do not utilize BeeHiiv as my special e-mail list. I make use of BeeHiiv of what it is efficient, however I intentionally have points establish to ensure that I also keep my checklist “in home” within FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the very same. It is simply a great insurance coverage, for one. But, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your listing will certainly be of high use (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never will certainly be).
So, the concern is … should YOU utilize BeeHiiv?
In my opinion, if you are making use of Substack today, I ‘d certainly consider switching over to BeeHiiv. It will just be extra business-friendly. It is targeting various abilities and different demands. And also, BeeHiiv even has import devices for Substack, so the button ought to be pretty uncomplicated.
If you are on ConvertKit now, I ‘d possibly sit tight unless you have a large email checklist and are as a result being fleeced with their high regular monthly costs. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are iterating rapidly. There’s likewise a pretty good opportunity you’re not also using several of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you do not also need them. For that reason, BeeHiiv might quickly be a much better and much more budget-friendly fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be really deliberate regarding growing an e-newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE platform to think about and keep and eye on for you.
If you use BeeHiiv with eyes wide open about what it is made to be, it is just one of the most effective 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 discover the cost-free account to be fairly feature rich.