I have used a great deal of different e-mail list systems throughout the years. In the last number of years, I have actually been a massive advocate of digital sovereignty and possessing your own system. Because of that (and the amazing features), I have been utilizing Beehiiv 30 Day Free Trial.
So, it is certainly an unusual move for me to choose to use BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, it is an organized application and I am paying regular monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv testimonial, I want to review why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I intend to deal with the concern of digital sovereignty while utilizing the system and I would certainly additionally such as to attend to why I picked to use it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For E-newsletters
In Concern # 435 of my newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Large Change In Method, I talked about just how and why I determined to turn my RV blog site into primarily an e-newsletter. I determined that was business model I wished to seek keeping that residential property.
Yet, to deliberately seek it as a newsletter, I wanted a system that was purpose-built for that. I was utilizing FluentCRM for the email list for Happily motor home, yet FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter platform. It is developed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, frankly, utilizing it for e-newsletters is a bit of a waste. Extra on that in a bit.
As I claimed in that issue of the newsletter …
Basically, BeeHiiv is a system with tools developed right into it details to my function. Things such as:
- Capability to release (to the blog site) and send out the email all at once without having it be two different activities.
- Constructed in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would require a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in ability to do cross-promotions with various other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Links”, which are basically one-click subscription web links. Great for promotion in various 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 ad network, if I pick 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 publishers with features aimed at development. The system was actually built by the individuals that developed the innovation for Early morning Brew. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the factor right here. BeeHiiv is built from scratch for the function of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a various purpose.
And I finished off with this:.
I might certainly be relocating The Side over to BeeHiiv also. At least, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. As a matter of fact, I simply went all out. And in fact, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Morning WP, set off as it’s very own residential or commercial property to ensure that I can grow it extra purposefully too.
The goal is that each newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s own media entity and grown individually. Gladly RV was young, so simple to transition. But, The Early morning WP (formerly The Side) was hidden in a sea of things right here at the Blog Marketing Academy. By dividing it off, I can do what I can to grow it on it’s own. It will clearly always be carefully linked with the Blog Marketing Academy, but doesn’t have to be a part of it.
I switched over to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was built for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Simply A Normal Email Checklist
There’s a difference between a newsletter system and simply an e-mail list.
You can organize your e-mail listing just about anywhere you desire and there are a variety of them available, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted options like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The primary distinction is that, with an e-newsletter platform, the act of posting suggests that it is going to your website and to your email customers at the same time.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a site. You are releasing to that web site. But, you are also sending to all subscribers at the same time. The website and it’s subscribers are done 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 email campaign. It is constructed entirely separately from your internet site. So, for example, you might release a post to WordPress but after that you would certainly need to individually develop and send out an email to your checklist to send it to clients. These are after that 2 different sets of archives and 2 separate actions since post and your emails are not naturally linked.
The closest point that transforms WordPress into a true e-newsletter platform is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name because it practically “glues” your newsletter to your WordPress posts and enables them to be the exact same point. Absolutely, something like Newsletter Glue would certainly be a strong choice if I wished to continue to self-host whatever. Nevertheless, you would certainly lose the growth devices that come with a platform like BeeHiiv.
Posting a newsletter inherently features a different collection of demands than a common email list.
You don’t typically require much marketing automation. You do not typically need autoresponder sequences, occasion monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO requirement, however, is one seamless posting experience and development tools to assist you construct your customer base that are specific to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my customers that I was going to change the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had lots of people ask me why I was selecting it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the reality that I selected to choose BeeHiiv, that doesn’t imply I think Substack draws. In fact, because Substack has actually been about much longer, it is elder and has more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a couple points that at first obtained my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is particularly customized 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 Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real life, does not matter. Yet, the apparent positioning of BeeHiiv toward newsletter growth called me out over the even more generic positioning of being a “developer”. Development is what I have an interest in here.
- That branding and differentiation likewise means that BeeHiiv has some relatively large brands and huge magazines using it. Whereas SubStack is aimed even more at solo makers. Once more, it just informs me the consumer character difference in between the two companies.
Sending our my newsletter via FluentCRM didn’t specifically draw. The only reason I would certainly ponder trembling things up is if I thought I could expand the checklist quicker. And BeeHiiv spoke precisely to that objective.
Because of the targeting, I in fact do not view BeeHiiv and Substack as direct competitors. I think BeeHiiv is targeting a various kind of consumer. As a matter of fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being more straight competitors.
Yet, let’s dive much deeper than simply the positioning right here.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
On the whole, BeeHiiv appears like it was constructed by individuals that recognizing e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears a lot more tailored towards designers.
As an example, BeeHiiv offers customized fields on customers. Now, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. However, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv provides Automations. In fact, it is a visual automation builder that functions a lot like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still fairly minimal in triggers and the only action is the capacity to send out an email. Nevertheless, enhancements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will have brand-new triggers as well as new activities, such as changing personalized areas, sending webhooks, etc. I have actually currently seen enhancements to their automations simply because I started making use of the platform. As an example:
- Capacity to set off automations based on which particular embed type they was available in on.
- Ability to instantly do re-engagement (and deal with people based upon opens and non-opens).
- Capability to do basic conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations like this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack simply can not do this due to the fact that the target market of Substack just wouldn’t believe to approach this like an email marketing expert.
When it pertains to creating your e-newsletters, the creating interface of BeeHiiv is just much more tailored towards newsletters. In fact, it in fact has similarities to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it functions. I find it to be much more instinctive, personally.
Substack’s creating interface behaves and tidy, yet it would be much more comparable to the classic editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This distinction is more than just form. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can put a “Section” and after that placed anything you want in it. After that, you can put Exposure alternatives on that area to reveal it just to paid subscribers, conceal it from email, hide from clients, reveal only to clients, etc. Substack supplies nothing like this.
And when/if the moment comes that I start a premium registration version, BeeHiiv does not take any type of profits. As a matter of fact, you essentially connect approximately your very own Stripe account and it charges directly to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your income. Depending upon how many customers you obtain, that 10% can be quite a bit more money than the month-to-month cost of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear unpopular, however what it indicates 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 literally has … nothing. No integrations whatsoever.
In general, I just felt like BeeHiiv was much more built toward real email marketing. It was developed by people that “get it”. Also the opt-in kinds and the landing page designs appear better developed for conversions. Development is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Even though there are still features I would like to see BeeHiiv include, I like the direction it is going greater than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually said, Substack placements itself towards “makers” greater than email marketers and e-newsletter proprietors. Because of that, you see some things tailored much more toward people that just think in terms of material development.
For instance, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Likewise, while BeeHiiv does support numerous publications, they are dealt with quite independently. Whereas Substack does have the capability to cross-post to multiple publications at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, but … amazing for individuals who may need it.
Substack likewise has even more social capability built-in. As an example, it has a chat feature to host chats with clients. It likewise has a “Notes” feature which functions kind of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share points from other “Stacks” you read. Interesting. On the whole, Substack is set up to be extra like a social media network which sustains long-form material.
In general, Substack is likewise a lot more … minimal. You either look after that or don’t. Directly, I don’t. Nonetheless, if the goal is simplicity of user interface and, truthfully, features … Substack functions rather well.
But, I’ll be clear right here …
When it comes to actual marketing, I do not believe there’s much question that BeeHiiv is much better fit. I searched for even more factors that make Substack much better than BeeHiiv, however frankly … I have a difficult time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are usually through to be the closest competitors, I really see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer rivals. Both are pursuing the very same target audience and have comparable capabilities.
ConvertKit is likewise positioned at creators (like Substack), however it is a lot more strongly dealing with individuals that do it for company. ConvertKit has wonderful visual automation building, it’s own commerce system, and a lot more. ConvertKit is an actually good platform.
I’m not mosting likely to birthed you with a complete feature-by-feature break down here. ConvertKit is well known currently. However, right here’s how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Points ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has extra versatility when it concerns it’s automations. I will certainly also say that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit much more user-friendly than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains tagging. This is just a standard feature of e-mail listings that makes it possible for segmentation in a much more versatile means than BeeHiiv currently does. I expect BeeHiiv to sustain tagging at some time soon, truthfully. It seems like an oversight that it is missing Beehiiv 30 Day Free Trial.
ConvertKit does now supply the capacity to sell things using their very own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is necessary to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, however, I would certainly constantly select an extra direct alternative anyhow. For me, I prefer to use my very own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about a lot longer and therefore has way more integration alternatives. Tons of online tools and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their very own WordPress plugin that is rather effective. As an example, their plugin now also supports member-gated web content in addition to auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your site. Essentially, this more very closely places ConvertKit into direct competitors by having you be able to release to your site and your email listing at the same time.
BeeHiiv is seriously lacking in these kinds of third-party integrations currently. It’ll get there. But, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even active dealing with the growth devices of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not just incentivize people to share your e-newsletter with rewards, yet you can also pay per lead within the inner ad network of BeeHiiv to grow your checklist. These are actually incredible features of BeeHiiv. But …
Did you recognize ConvertKit acquired Sparkloop? Sparkloop is among one of the most popular viral promo systems for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall surface for what this indicates for the platform moving forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Better At … Beehiiv 30 Day Free Trial
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that suggests much less features and much less integrations, which is natural for this stage of the cycle. Nonetheless, it additionally implies that they are quickly creating.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually seen nearly weekly launch of brand-new features right into the platform. And these aren’t weak little features … but big features that are quite essential. Their speed of growth at this moment has gone over.
I likewise quite value exactly how receptive they are. Actually, among their item statements regarding some layout enhancements to the website design features in fact contained a little problem with the material width. I simply responded to that e-mail to tell them. I swiftly got a reply straight from the CEO:.
That exact same day, the problem was dealt with.
Couple of days later, I provided another recommendation …
Sure enough, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capacity to activate automations based upon the embed kind made use of was contributed to the system.
That sort of responsiveness and direct involvement of the team is something I actually appreciate.
One more major point of differentiation below is the rate. Both systems provide cost-free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan provides extra ability and more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is also much more desirable. ConvertKit seems more affordable in the beginning glimpse due to the fact that their pricing web page reveals reduced numbers, however the subscriber limitations are FAR lower and your cost rapidly enhances as your listing grows.
With BeeHiiv, your very first level paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid annually), nevertheless you can have up to 10,000 customers. That exact same size listing 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 personally use), you can expand your list approximately 100,000. A listing of that size 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 yearly, also. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for simply $84/month if you pay yearly.
BeeHiiv remains in a totally different organization when it comes to pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point increase costs? They might as time goes on. 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 Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Include
One of the things you most definitely require to remember is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do seem to advance instead swiftly and make brand-new item announcements somewhat usually, however there are some standard features I really desire they had that I need to simply wait for.
One is that they require to have a setting on subscription forms where I could select an automation to run right at the type level. That would certainly be AWESOME for so many reasons. As of now, membership kinds look OK, yet there’s really little settings for them to help in division.
It would certainly behave to have tagging at the subscriber level. This would be effective.
I believe webhooks need to become part of automations to make integrated automations much easier and reduce dependence on outdoors tools like Zapier.
There are also some minor administrative user interface modifications that would certainly come in handy. For example:
- Capability to mass edit/remove subscribers.
- Capacity to mass edit posts (for instance, to label a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of basic areas as basic on subscribers (like the name).
- Some even more personalization choices for the internet site (such as even more flexible shade selections, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Points I hope they do with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, yet it isn’t perfect and certainly not nearly as established as something like FluentCRM or any other real CRM product.
It possibly never ever will be, either. As I stated, the function is different so it would not a lot a lot of sense for BeeHiiv to become a full marketing automation system. I guess you never ever know, though.
Final Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Review
I like BeeHiiv fairly a great deal. Sufficient where I decided to switch my own e-newsletters over to the platform in spite of my individual preference for digital sovereignty and having my own system.
Put simply, for the e-newsletter posting version especially, I saw adequate value in their platform to call for the change.
Keep in mind, I do not use BeeHiiv as my exclusive email checklist. I make use of BeeHiiv wherefore it is proficient at, however I intentionally have points establish to make sure that I likewise keep my checklist “in house” inside of FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the very same. It is simply an excellent insurance coverage, for one. Yet, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your checklist will certainly be of high usage (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will certainly be).
So, the question is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are making use of Substack now, I ‘d certainly think about switching over to BeeHiiv. It will simply be a lot more business-friendly. It is targeting different capabilities and various needs. Plus, BeeHiiv also has import tools for Substack, so the button ought to be rather straightforward.
If you are on ConvertKit now, I ‘d probably stay unless you have a huge email list and are consequently being wooled with their high regular monthly expense. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are repeating rapidly. There’s also a pretty good possibility you’re not even utilizing some of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you do not also require them. Because of that, BeeHiiv might conveniently be a far better and extra budget friendly fit.
Finally, if you plan to be very willful concerning growing a newsletter, I believe BeeHiiv is THE system to consider and maintain and eye on for you.
If you use BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is created to be, it is among the best video games in the area today. This is the system to see.
BeeHiiv supplies a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves checking out for yourself. And if you end up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll find the complimentary account to be quite feature rich.