I have utilized a great deal of different email list systems for many years. In the last number of years, I have actually been a massive advocate of digital sovereignty and possessing your very own platform. Therefore (and the incredible features), I have actually been making use of Launchy Beehiiv.
So, it is undoubtedly an unusual move for me to determine to make use of BeeHiiv. After all, it is a hosted application and I am paying monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I want to discuss why I made the switch to BeeHiiv for my newsletters. I intend to attend to the issue of digital sovereignty while making use of the platform and I would certainly likewise like to resolve why I chose to use 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 Method, I spoke about exactly how and why I decided to transform my motor home blog site right into mainly an e-newsletter. I decided that was business design I intended to seek with that property.
Yet, to intentionally seek it as a newsletter, I wanted a system that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the e-mail checklist for Gladly RV, but FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is constructed to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, honestly, utilizing it for newsletters is a bit of a waste. Much more on that in a little bit.
As I stated because concern of the newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a system with tools built into it certain to my objective. Points such as:
- Capability to publish (to the blog) and send the email all at once without having it be two separate actions.
- Built in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would certainly require a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capacity to do cross-promotions with other newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Links”, which are essentially one-click registration web links. Great for promo in various other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, however, so there are ways to do that.
- Capability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your e-newsletter.
- Integrated advertisement network, if I select to generate income from with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in ability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and generally run a costs newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Essentially, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter authors with features focused on growth. The system was actually built by the people that built up the modern technology for Early morning Mixture. They know what they’re doing.
That is the factor below. BeeHiiv is constructed from the ground up for the objective of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a various purpose.
And I ended off with this:.
I may indeed be relocating The Edge over to BeeHiiv too. At least, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. In fact, I simply went all out. And in fact, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Morning WP, set off as it’s own residential property to make sure that I can expand it extra deliberately as well.
The objective is that each newsletter has the capability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown independently. Gladly recreational vehicle was young, so very easy to transition. However, The Early morning WP (formerly The Edge) was buried in a sea of stuff below at the Blog Marketing Academy. By separating it off, I can do what I can to expand it on it’s very own. It will obviously constantly be very closely linked with the Blog site Marketing Academy, however doesn’t have to be a part of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was developed for this purpose. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Just A Typical Email Listing
There’s a distinction in between a newsletter platform and just an e-mail checklist.
You can hold your email list just about anywhere you desire and there are a number of them around, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted alternatives like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The primary distinction is that, with a newsletter system, the act of posting means that it is mosting likely to your site and to your email customers simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a web site. You are releasing to that site. However, you are likewise dispatching to all clients at the same time. The site and it’s clients are all in one. This makes monitoring of the system much simpler.
With the majority of e-mail systems, any kind of e-newsletter you set up is done as an email campaign. It is built entirely independently from your website. So, for instance, you might release an article to WordPress however after that you would need to independently build and send an email to your listing to send it to subscribers. These are then two separate sets of archives and 2 separate actions since blog posts and your e-mails are not naturally linked.
The closest thing that turns WordPress right into a real newsletter platform is E-newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name because it practically “adhesives” your newsletter to your WordPress articles and allows them to be the very same point. Definitely, something like E-newsletter Glue would certainly be a solid choice if I wanted to remain to self-host whatever. Nonetheless, you would certainly shed the growth tools that feature a system like BeeHiiv.
Posting an e-newsletter inherently comes with a various collection of demands than a normal email listing.
You don’t normally need much marketing automation. You do not usually need autoresponder series, occasion monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO demand, however, is one smooth publishing experience and development tools to assist you build your client base that specify to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my clients that I was mosting likely to switch the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many people ask me why I was choosing it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the reality that I picked to choose BeeHiiv, that does not mean I believe Substack draws. In fact, because Substack has actually been about longer, it is elder and has more features.
Even though BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a couple points that initially obtained my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically customized to e-newsletter publishers. In fact, it is essentially developed by the very same people who constructed the modern technology behind Early morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, doesn’t 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’m interested in right here.
- That branding and differentiation also implies that BeeHiiv has some relatively huge brand names and large magazines utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is aimed more at solo creators. Again, it simply informs me the customer avatar distinction in between both business.
Sending our my e-newsletter by means of FluentCRM really did not exactly suck. The only reason I would contemplate trembling things up is if I assumed I might expand the checklist quicker. And BeeHiiv talked specifically to that objective.
As a result of the targeting, I in fact don’t watch BeeHiiv and Substack as direct rivals. I believe BeeHiiv is targeting a various sort of consumer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being a lot more straight competitors.
However, allow’s dive deeper than simply the placing below.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv looks like it was built by people that recognizing e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears extra geared toward creators.
For example, BeeHiiv provides personalized areas on subscribers. Currently, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv provides Automations. As a matter of fact, it is a visual automation builder that works a great deal like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation performance is still early-phase. It is still quite minimal in triggers and the only activity is the capability to send an email. Nonetheless, improvements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will have new triggers in addition to brand-new activities, such as changing custom areas, sending out webhooks, etc. I have actually currently seen enhancements to their automations simply given that I began utilizing the system. As an example:
- Ability to activate automations based upon which specific embed type they came in on.
- Capacity to instantly do re-engagement (and take care of individuals based on opens and non-opens).
- Capability to do basic conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never will. Substack just can not do this because the target audience of Substack just would not think to approach this like an e-mail marketer.
When it concerns writing your newsletters, the creating user interface of BeeHiiv is simply more geared towards e-newsletters. Actually, it in fact has similarities to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it works. I discover it to be more intuitive, personally.
Substack’s writing interface behaves and clean, however it would be more equal to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This distinction is more than just type. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can put a “Area” and afterwards placed anything you desire in it. After that, you can place Exposure choices on that area to reveal it only to paid subscribers, conceal it from email, conceal from customers, show just to clients, and so on. Substack provides absolutely nothing like this.
And when/if the moment comes that I start a costs subscription model, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any kind of profits. In fact, you actually connect up to your own Stripe account and it bills directly to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your profits. Relying on the amount of customers you obtain, that 10% can be a fair bit even more money than the monthly cost of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This may appear nerdy, however what it means is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outdoors utilizing devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack actually has … nothing. No integrations whatsoever.
Overall, I just felt like BeeHiiv was more developed towards real e-mail marketing. It was built by individuals who “get it”. Also the opt-in kinds and the landing page creates seem much better developed for conversions. Development is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Even though there are still features I want to see BeeHiiv include, I like the direction it is going greater than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have stated, Substack placements itself toward “makers” greater than e-mail marketing professionals and e-newsletter proprietors. For that reason, you see some things tailored a lot more toward people who just assume in regards to material production.
As an example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Also, while BeeHiiv does sustain numerous publications, they are dealt with quite individually. Whereas Substack does have the capacity to cross-post to multiple publications at the same time. This isn’t something I need, yet … cool for individuals who might need it.
Substack likewise has more social functionality built-in. For example, it has a conversation function to host chats with clients. It likewise has a “Notes” feature which works sort of like a social media newsfeed where you can share things from various other “Stacks” you’re reading. Fascinating. On the whole, Substack is established to be much more like a social network which supports long-form web content.
In general, Substack is also a lot more … minimalist. You either care for that or don’t. Personally, I don’t. Nevertheless, if the goal is simpleness of user interface and, truthfully, features … Substack functions rather well.
But, I’ll be clear here …
When it comes to actual marketing, I do not believe there’s much question that BeeHiiv is better suited. I tried to find even more factors that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, yet honestly … I have a hard time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are typically with to be the closest competitors, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer rivals. Both are going after the very same target market and have comparable capacities.
ConvertKit is also positioned at makers (like Substack), yet it is a lot more highly accommodating individuals that do it for company. ConvertKit has nice visual automation building, it’s very own business system, and a lot more. ConvertKit is a truly nice platform.
I’m not mosting likely to bore you with a complete feature-by-feature malfunction here. ConvertKit is popular already. But, below’s how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Things ConvertKit Is Better At …
Currently, ConvertKit has more versatility when it pertains to it’s automations. I will additionally state that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit more intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports tagging. This is simply a basic feature of email lists that enables division in an even more adaptable method than BeeHiiv presently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to sustain labeling at some point soon, frankly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing Launchy Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does now supply the ability to market things by means of their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is essential to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nevertheless, I would certainly constantly select an extra direct choice anyway. For me, I choose to use my very own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been around much longer and for that reason has way extra integration alternatives. Lots of online tools and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their very own WordPress plugin that is fairly effective. For example, their plugin currently even supports member-gated content as well as auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your website. Basically, this more carefully places ConvertKit into direct competition by having you be able to publish to your website and your email checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is drastically lacking in these sort of third-party integrations right now. It’ll arrive. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even active tackling the growth devices of BeeHiiv. For instance, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Referral Engine where you can not only incentivize individuals to share your newsletter with benefits, but you can likewise pay per lead within the internal ad network of BeeHiiv to expand your checklist. These are really awesome features of BeeHiiv. But …
Did you understand ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is among one of the most well known viral promotion systems for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the writing on the wall surface wherefore this implies for the system going forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Better At … Launchy Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is a lot earlier in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means less features and less integrations, which is all-natural for this stage of the cycle. Nevertheless, it also suggests that they are rapidly developing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have witnessed nearly once a week launch of new features right into the system. And these aren’t puny little features … yet big features that are rather vital. Their rate of development at this moment has actually been impressive.
I additionally significantly value just how receptive they are. As a matter of fact, among their item statements regarding some layout improvements to the website design features in fact had a small trouble with the material size. I just responded to that e-mail to tell them. I rapidly got a reply straight from the CEO:.
That same day, the problem was repaired.
Few days later, I provided one more idea …
Certainly, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to activate automations based upon the embed form used was included in the system.
That sort of responsiveness and direct participation of the group is something I really value.
One more major point of differentiation below is the price. Both platforms supply free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan supplies more capacity and even more subscribers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is additionally even more beneficial. ConvertKit seems more affordable at first glimpse because their pricing web page reveals reduced numbers, however the subscriber limitations are FAR lower and your cost promptly boosts as your checklist grows.
With BeeHiiv, your very first level paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid yearly), however you can have up to 10,000 customers. That very same dimension list is mosting likely to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you update to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their best plan and the one I directly utilize), you can expand your checklist up to 100,000. A listing of that size would certainly 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 annually, as well. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for simply $84/month if you pay annually.
BeeHiiv remains in a totally various organization when it involves pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv eventually boost prices? They may as time goes on. Yet, I’m thinking individuals like myself who are already in will be locked-in. We’ll see how points continue.
Things I Would Like BeeHiiv To Add
One of the important things you most definitely require to remember is that BeeHiiv is relatively young. They do appear to evolve instead rapidly and make brand-new product news rather frequently, yet there are some fundamental features I really want they had that I require to simply wait for.
One is that they need to have a setup on membership types where I might select an automation to run right at the form level. That would be outstanding for a lot of factors. Currently, registration types look OK, yet there’s really little setups for them to aid in division.
It would behave to have identifying at the client level. This would be effective.
I assume webhooks should belong to automations to make integrated automations simpler and decrease dependence on outside devices like Zapier.
There are also some minor administrative interface changes that would certainly come in handy. For instance:
- Capability to bulk edit/remove subscribers.
- Capacity to bulk edit posts (for example, to mark a number of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of fundamental areas as conventional on subscribers (like the name).
- Some more customization choices for the site (such as even more versatile color options, headline control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Points I wish they make with it in the future. BeeHiiv is respectable, but it isn’t excellent and certainly not virtually as created as something like FluentCRM or any other genuine CRM product.
It most likely never ever will be, either. As I claimed, the function is different so it would not a lot a lot of sense for BeeHiiv to come to be a complete marketing automation platform. I presume you never recognize, however.
Final Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Review
I like BeeHiiv quite a great deal. Sufficient where I chose to switch my very own e-newsletters over to the platform despite my individual choice for digital sovereignty and having my own platform.
Basically, for the newsletter publishing version especially, I saw sufficient worth in their system to warrant the adjustment.
Remember, I do not make use of BeeHiiv as my exclusive e-mail listing. I utilize BeeHiiv for what it is efficient, however I intentionally have points set up to make sure that I likewise maintain my listing “in house” within FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the very same. It is simply a good insurance policy, for one. However, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your listing will certainly be of high usage (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will certainly be).
So, the concern is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my point of view, if you are making use of Substack today, I ‘d definitely take into consideration changing to BeeHiiv. It will merely be more business-friendly. It is targeting various capabilities and different needs. Plus, BeeHiiv even has import devices for Substack, so the button needs to be quite simple.
If you are on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d probably stay put unless you have a big email list and are therefore being wooled with their high monthly expense. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are iterating rapidly. There’s likewise a pretty good possibility you’re not also using some of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you don’t even need them. Therefore, BeeHiiv could easily be a much better and extra budget friendly fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be really willful regarding expanding 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 created to be, it is among the best games in town today. This is the system to enjoy.
BeeHiiv offers a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It is worth taking a look at for yourself. And if you end up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll discover the free account to be rather feature abundant.