I have actually used a great deal of different email list systems throughout the years. In the last number of years, I have actually been a big supporter of digital sovereignty and having your own system. For that reason (and the incredible features), I have been making use of Beehiiv Customer Support.
So, it is undoubtedly an odd move for me to make a decision to use BeeHiiv. After all, 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 look at why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my newsletters. I intend to attend to the concern of digital sovereignty while making use of the platform and I ‘d additionally like to resolve why I picked to utilize it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Built For Newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Big Shift In Method, I talked about how and why I chose to transform my motor home blog right into largely a newsletter. I made a decision that was business version I wished to pursue with that said property.
However, to deliberately seek it as an e-newsletter, I wanted a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the email list for Gladly RV, but FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, honestly, utilizing it for newsletters is a bit of a waste. More on that in a little bit.
As I claimed because problem of the e-newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a platform with tools built right into it certain to my function. Points such as:
- Capability to publish (to the blog site) and send the email all at once without having it be two different activities.
- Constructed in e-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 various other newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are basically one-click membership web links. Great for promotion in other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, though, so there are means to do that.
- Capability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your newsletter.
- Built-in ad network, if I choose to monetize with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated capability to run a paid newsletter upgrade and primarily run a costs e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Basically, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter publishers with features targeted at growth. The platform was actually developed by the individuals who built up the innovation for Early morning Brew. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the factor right here. BeeHiiv is constructed from scratch for the objective of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a various function.
And I finished off with this:.
I may indeed be moving The Side over to BeeHiiv also. At the very least, 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 as a matter of fact, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, set off as it’s own residential property to make sure that I can grow it a lot more purposefully also.
The goal is that each e-newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s own media entity and grown independently. Happily motor home was young, so simple to transition. But, The Morning WP (formerly 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 grow it on it’s very own. It will certainly always be carefully tied with the Blog Marketing Academy, but does not have to be a part of it.
I changed to BeeHiiv since it was developed for this function. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Just A Normal Email Listing
There’s a difference between a newsletter platform and just an email checklist.
You can organize your email checklist just about anywhere you want 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 distinction?
The main difference is that, with an e-newsletter platform, the act of posting indicates that it is going to your internet site and to your email clients at the same time.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a website. You are publishing to that website. But, you are also sending off to all clients at the same time. The web site and it’s customers are all in one. This makes administration of the platform much less complex.
With most e-mail systems, any kind of e-newsletter you set up is done as an e-mail campaign. It is developed completely individually from your internet site. So, for instance, you might publish a write-up to WordPress yet after that you would certainly need to individually build and send an e-mail to your listing to send it to customers. These are then two separate collections of archives and two different activities since article and your e-mails are not naturally linked.
The closest thing that turns WordPress right into a true e-newsletter system is E-newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name because it basically “adhesives” your newsletter to your WordPress messages and permits them to be the same thing. Absolutely, something like E-newsletter Glue would certainly be a strong alternative if I wished to remain to self-host whatever. Nonetheless, you would certainly shed the growth tools that include a platform like BeeHiiv.
Publishing a newsletter inherently features a different set of requirements than a normal e-mail checklist.
You do not typically need much marketing automation. You do not generally require autoresponder series, event monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO need, however, is one seamless posting experience and development tools to help you construct your subscriber base that specify 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 many individuals ask me why I was choosing it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the truth that I picked to choose BeeHiiv, that does not indicate I believe Substack draws. In fact, because Substack has been around longer, it is more mature and has more features.
Although BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a couple points that initially got my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically tailored to e-newsletter authors. In fact, it is essentially constructed by the same individuals that developed the innovation behind Early morning Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, doesn’t matter. But, the apparent positioning of BeeHiiv towards e-newsletter growth called me out over the even more common positioning of being a “designer”. Growth is what I have an interest in here.
- That branding and distinction also indicates that BeeHiiv has some rather huge brands and huge publications utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is aimed even more at solo creators. Again, it just informs me the client avatar difference in between both business.
Sending our my e-newsletter by means of FluentCRM really did not specifically suck. The only factor I would ponder shaking points up is if I assumed I could GROW the listing quicker. And BeeHiiv spoke specifically to that objective.
Because of the targeting, I actually don’t watch BeeHiiv and Substack as straight rivals. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a different sort of customer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being a lot more straight rivals.
However, let’s dive deeper than just the positioning right here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
In general, BeeHiiv feels like it was constructed by people that understanding e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears extra tailored toward creators.
As an example, BeeHiiv supplies custom-made fields on clients. Now, it isn’t as developed as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. Actually, it is a visual automation builder that works a whole lot like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation capability is still early-phase. It is still quite minimal in triggers and the only action is the capability to send an email. Nevertheless, enhancements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will have new triggers in addition to new activities, such as changing personalized fields, sending out webhooks, etc. I’ve currently seen enhancements to their automations simply considering that I started using the platform. For instance:
- Capacity to trigger automations based on which certain embed type they can be found in on.
- Capacity to instantly do re-engagement (and handle individuals based upon opens and non-opens).
- Capacity to do basic conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations like this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack simply can not do this since the target audience of Substack just wouldn’t believe to approach this like an email marketing professional.
When it comes to creating your newsletters, the creating user interface of BeeHiiv is just a lot more geared toward newsletters. As a matter of fact, it really has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it functions. I discover it to be extra user-friendly, directly.
Substack’s composing interface is nice and tidy, but it would be more comparable to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This difference is greater than just kind. For instance, with BeeHiiv you can place a “Section” and afterwards put anything you want in it. After that, you can put Visibility choices on that section to reveal it just to paid subscribers, hide it from email, conceal from clients, reveal only to customers, and so on. Substack supplies absolutely nothing such as this.
And when/if the moment comes that I start a costs membership version, BeeHiiv does not take any kind of earnings. As a matter of fact, you actually attach as much as your own Stripe account and it bills directly to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your revenue. Depending upon the number of customers you get, that 10% can be quite a bit even more money than the month-to-month expense of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear unpopular, yet what it suggests is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv deal with the outdoors utilizing devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack actually has … absolutely nothing. No integrations at all.
Overall, I just felt like BeeHiiv was extra built towards real email marketing. It was constructed by people who “get it”. Even 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 want to see BeeHiiv include, I such as the instructions it is going more than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually claimed, Substack placements itself toward “creators” more than e-mail marketing experts and e-newsletter proprietors. Because of that, you see some points geared extra toward people that simply believe in regards to material production.
For instance, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does sustain numerous magazines, 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, however … cool for people that may require it.
Substack likewise has more social functionality built-in. For example, it has a chat function to host chats with clients. It additionally has a “Notes” function which works sort of like a social networks newsfeed where you can share points from various other “Stacks” you’re reading. Intriguing. Generally, Substack is established to be extra like a social network which supports long-form content.
In general, Substack is also much more … minimalist. You either look after that or don’t. Directly, I do not. Nonetheless, if the goal is simplicity of user interface and, honestly, features … Substack works quite well.
But, I’ll be clear here …
When it involves actual marketing, I don’t assume there’s much doubt that BeeHiiv is much better suited. I searched for even more points that make Substack much better than BeeHiiv, but frankly … I have a tough time discovering them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are commonly with to be the closest rivals, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer rivals. Both are pursuing the exact same target market and have comparable capabilities.
ConvertKit is also placed at makers (like Substack), yet it is a lot more strongly catering to people that do it for service. ConvertKit has nice aesthetic automation structure, it’s very own commerce platform, and extra. ConvertKit is a truly wonderful system.
I’m not mosting likely to bore you with a complete feature-by-feature failure here. ConvertKit is popular currently. Yet, here’s how I feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Things ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has much more versatility when it concerns it’s automations. I will certainly likewise say that I discover ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit much more intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains identifying. This is just a basic function of email lists that makes it possible for segmentation in a much more versatile method than BeeHiiv presently does. I expect BeeHiiv to sustain identifying eventually quickly, truthfully. It feels like an oversight that it is missing Beehiiv Customer Support.
ConvertKit does now provide the capability to offer points using their own platform. BeeHiiv does not. If that is necessary to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would always pick a much more direct alternative anyhow. For me, I prefer to use my own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been around much longer and for that reason has way much more integration options. Lots of online devices and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their very own WordPress plugin that is fairly powerful. As an example, their plugin currently even sustains member-gated content along with auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your site. Basically, this extra closely places ConvertKit right into straight competition by having you be able to release to your site and your e-mail checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is badly lacking in these type of third-party integrations at the moment. It’ll get there. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also hectic dealing with the development tools of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Referral Engine where you can not just incentivize people to share your e-newsletter with rewards, yet you can also pay per lead within the internal advertisement network of BeeHiiv to expand your listing. These are truly incredible features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you understand ConvertKit got Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just 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 suggests for the platform going forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Beehiiv Customer Support
BeeHiiv is much earlier in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that indicates much less features and less integrations, which is natural for this stage of the cycle. Nevertheless, it likewise means that they are rapidly establishing.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have experienced virtually regular release of new features right into the platform. And these aren’t puny little features … however huge features that are rather vital. Their speed of development now has been impressive.
I additionally very much appreciate just how responsive they are. Actually, one of their product statements concerning some style improvements to the website design features in fact consisted of a little trouble with the content width. I just responded to that e-mail to tell them. I promptly obtained a reply straight from the CEO:.
That very same day, the issue was dealt with.
Couple of days later, I gave them another recommendation …
Certainly, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the ability to activate automations based upon the embed kind utilized was contributed to the system.
That kind of responsiveness and direct participation of the group is something I truly appreciate.
Another major factor of differentiation below is the cost. Both platforms use cost-free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan supplies extra ability and more customers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is additionally FAR more favorable. ConvertKit appears less costly initially glance because their pricing web page reveals lower numbers, however the customer limits are much reduced and your price rapidly increases as your checklist grows.
With BeeHiiv, your first degree paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid yearly), nevertheless you can have up to 10,000 clients. That very same dimension listing is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their ideal plan and the one I directly use), you can grow your list up to 100,000. A checklist of that dimension would certainly run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, also, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay every year, too. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for simply $84/month if you pay each year.
BeeHiiv is in a totally different league when it pertains to pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point increase rates? They may as time goes on. Yet, I’m thinking individuals like myself who are currently in will be locked-in. We’ll see exactly how things continue.
Things I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
Among the things you definitely require to keep in mind is that BeeHiiv is fairly young. They do seem to evolve instead quickly and make brand-new product news somewhat commonly, yet there are some standard features I truly desire they had that I need to just wait for.
One is that they require to have a setting on subscription types where I could select an automation to run right at the type level. That would be amazing for a lot of factors. Already, registration types look OK, however there’s very little settings for them to assist in segmentation.
It would be nice to have identifying at the customer degree. This would certainly be effective.
I assume webhooks must be part of automations to make built-in automations simpler and reduce dependence on outdoors tools like Zapier.
There are likewise some small management user interface modifications that would certainly come in handy. For example:
- Ability to mass edit/remove subscribers.
- Capability to bulk edit blog posts (for instance, to mark a number of them at the same time).
- Having a few standard fields as typical on customers (like the name).
- Some even more customization alternatives for the website (such as more adaptable color selections, heading control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Things I hope they make with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, yet it isn’t perfect and certainly not nearly as created as something like FluentCRM or any other genuine CRM item.
It probably never ever will be, either. As I claimed, the objective is various so it would not much a lot of feeling for BeeHiiv to become a complete marketing automation system. I think you never recognize, however.
Last Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Review
I like BeeHiiv rather a lot. Sufficient where I made a decision to change my very own e-newsletters over to the system in spite of my individual choice for digital sovereignty and owning my very own platform.
Simply put, for the e-newsletter publishing model especially, I saw sufficient worth in their system to warrant the change.
Remember, I do not use BeeHiiv as my unique e-mail listing. I make use of BeeHiiv of what it is good at, but I deliberately have things set up to ensure that I additionally keep my list “in house” within FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the same. It is just a great insurance coverage, for one. Yet, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your listing will certainly be of high use (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never will be).
So, the question is … should YOU utilize BeeHiiv?
In my point of view, if you are utilizing Substack right now, I ‘d definitely take into consideration changing to BeeHiiv. It will simply be a lot more business-friendly. It is targeting various capabilities and different needs. Plus, BeeHiiv also has import devices for Substack, so the button ought to be rather uncomplicated.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d probably stay put unless you have a huge e-mail list and are consequently being fleeced with their high regular monthly costs. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are iterating swiftly. There’s also a respectable chance you’re not also making use of some of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you don’t even require them. For that reason, BeeHiiv can easily be a better and a lot more cost effective fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be very intentional about expanding an e-newsletter, I believe BeeHiiv is THE system to take into consideration and maintain and eye on for you.
If you utilize BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is created to be, it is just one of the very best games in the area right now. This is the system to enjoy.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It is worth taking a look at for yourself. And if you wind up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll locate the cost-free account to be rather feature abundant.