I have utilized a great deal of different email list systems over the years. In the last number of years, I’ve been a significant supporter of digital sovereignty and owning your very own platform. Therefore (and the remarkable features), I have actually been making use of Beehiiv Discover Experts.
So, it is indeed a weird move for me to determine to use BeeHiiv. After all, it is a hosted application and I am paying month-to-month for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv testimonial, I wish to discuss why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my newsletters. I want to address the concern of digital sovereignty while making use of the platform and I would certainly additionally like to attend to why I picked to use it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Built For E-newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my newsletter called My Pastime + A Huge Shift In Approach, I talked about how and why I determined to transform my RV blog site into primarily a newsletter. I made a decision that was business design I intended to go after with that residential property.
Yet, to purposefully pursue it as an e-newsletter, I wanted a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the email listing for Gladly RV, but FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is developed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, truthfully, utilizing it for newsletters is a bit of a waste. More on that particular in a bit.
As I stated because problem of the e-newsletter …
Put simply, BeeHiiv is a system with tools constructed into it certain to my function. Things such as:
- Ability to release (to the blog site) and send out the e-mail concurrently without having it be 2 separate actions.
- Built in e-newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would certainly have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capacity to do cross-promotions with other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Links”, which are primarily one-click membership links. Great for promotion in various other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, however, so there are means to do that.
- Capacity to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to promote your e-newsletter.
- Integrated ad network, if I choose to monetize with advertisements in the e-newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated capability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and essentially run a premium e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Basically, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter publishers with features focused on development. The system was literally developed by the people that developed the modern technology for Early morning Brew. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the point right here. BeeHiiv is built from the ground up for the purpose of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a different objective.
And I finished off with this:.
I may without a doubt be moving The Side over to BeeHiiv as well. At the very least, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. As a matter of fact, I just went all out. And as a matter of fact, The side was re-branded over to The Morning WP, set off as it’s own property to ensure that I can expand it more deliberately as well.
The goal is that each e-newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s own media entity and grown independently. Gladly motor home was young, so simple to shift. However, The Morning WP (previously The Side) was hidden in a sea of stuff right here at the Blog Site Marketing Academy. By separating it off, I can do what I can to expand it on it’s very own. It will certainly constantly be closely linked with the Blog Marketing Academy, however doesn’t have to be a part of it.
I switched over to BeeHiiv because it was built for this purpose. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Just A Regular Email Checklist
There’s a distinction between a newsletter platform and just an e-mail listing.
You can host your email checklist anyplace you want and there are a variety of them available, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted alternatives like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The primary distinction is that, with an e-newsletter system, the act of publishing suggests that it is mosting likely to your website and to your e-mail subscribers simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a website. You are releasing to that website. However, you are also dispatching to all subscribers at the same time. The site and it’s subscribers are done in one. This makes management of the system much less complex.
With most e-mail platforms, any kind of newsletter you established is done as an e-mail campaign. It is constructed completely independently from your web site. So, for instance, you could release an article to WordPress yet after that you would certainly need to individually develop and send an e-mail to your listing to send it to subscribers. These are after that 2 separate collections of archives and 2 different actions due to the fact that blog posts and your emails are not naturally linked.
The closest thing that turns WordPress into a true e-newsletter system is E-newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name since it practically “adhesives” your newsletter to your WordPress posts and enables them to be the same thing. Definitely, something like Newsletter Glue would certainly be a strong choice if I wanted to continue to self-host everything. Nonetheless, you would certainly lose the development devices that include a platform like BeeHiiv.
Posting a newsletter naturally comes with a various collection of requirements than a normal e-mail listing.
You don’t typically need much marketing automation. You do not generally require autoresponder series, occasion tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO need, though, is one smooth publishing experience and development tools to aid you build your client base that specify to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I revealed to my clients that I was mosting likely to switch the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many individuals ask me why I was choosing it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the reality that I selected to select BeeHiiv, that does not imply I think Substack draws. As a matter of fact, since 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 customized to e-newsletter publishers. In fact, it is essentially built by the same folks who constructed the technology behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, doesn’t matter. Yet, the noticeable positioning of BeeHiiv toward e-newsletter growth called me out over the more generic positioning of being a “creator”. Development is what I have an interest in below.
- That branding and distinction likewise implies that BeeHiiv has some rather large brands and big magazines using it. Whereas SubStack is intended more at solo developers. Once more, it just tells me the client avatar difference between the two firms.
Sending our my e-newsletter via FluentCRM didn’t specifically draw. The only factor I would ponder shaking points up is if I believed I could GROW the listing much faster. And BeeHiiv talked precisely to that goal.
As a result of the targeting, I really do not check out BeeHiiv and Substack as straight competitors. I think BeeHiiv is targeting a various kind of customer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being much more direct competitors.
Yet, allow’s dive much deeper than simply the placing right here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Generally, BeeHiiv looks like it was built by individuals who comprehending email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears much more geared toward creators.
As an example, BeeHiiv offers personalized fields on subscribers. Currently, it isn’t as created as something like FluentCRM. Yet, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv provides Automations. Actually, it is a visual automation builder that works a great deal like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation capability is still early-phase. It is still rather limited in triggers and the only action is the capacity to send out an email. Nonetheless, improvements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will certainly have new triggers in addition to new actions, such as changing customized areas, sending webhooks, etc. I have actually currently seen enhancements to their automations just because I started using the system. For instance:
- Capability to trigger automations based on which particular embed kind they was available in on.
- Capacity to automatically do re-engagement (and deal with people based on opens up and non-opens).
- Ability to do standard conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations like this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack just can’t do this because the target audience of Substack just would not believe to approach this like an e-mail marketing expert.
When it involves creating your newsletters, the composing user interface of BeeHiiv is simply a lot more geared toward newsletters. As a matter of fact, it really has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it works. I locate it to be much more instinctive, directly.
Substack’s writing interface is nice and clean, but it would certainly be extra equal to the classic editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This difference is more than just form. For example, with BeeHiiv you can put a “Area” and then put anything you desire in it. After that, you can put Visibility options on that particular section to reveal it just to paid customers, hide it from e-mail, conceal from subscribers, reveal just to subscribers, etc. Substack supplies absolutely nothing similar to this.
And when/if the moment comes that I start a costs registration model, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any earnings. Actually, you actually link as much as your own Stripe account and it charges straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your profits. Relying on how many subscribers you obtain, that 10% can be quite a bit more cash than the month-to-month price of BeeHiiv.
Lastly, BeeHiiv has an API. This might seem nerdy, however what it means is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can in fact make BeeHiiv deal with the outdoors utilizing tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … absolutely nothing. No integrations in any way.
Generally, I just felt like BeeHiiv was extra built towards genuine e-mail marketing. It was constructed by individuals that “get it”. Even the opt-in kinds and the landing page designs seem better built for conversions. Growth is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Although there are still features I want to see BeeHiiv include, I like the direction it is going more than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually claimed, Substack settings itself towards “creators” more than email online marketers and newsletter owners. For that reason, you see some points tailored a lot more toward people who simply think in regards to material creation.
For instance, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does sustain several magazines, they are treated quite separately. Whereas Substack does have the capability to cross-post to several magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, yet … cool for individuals that might require it.
Substack additionally has more social performance built-in. For instance, it has a chat feature to host chats with clients. It likewise has a “Notes” feature which functions kind of like a social networks newsfeed where you can share things from various other “Stacks” you’re reading. Intriguing. Generally, Substack is established to be extra like a social network which sustains long-form content.
On the whole, Substack is also extra … minimal. You either take care of that or do not. Personally, I do not. However, if the goal is simplicity of interface and, honestly, features … Substack works quite well.
Yet, I’ll be clear here …
When it concerns actual marketing, I do not believe there’s much question that BeeHiiv is better fit. I looked for more factors that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, however honestly … I have a difficult time discovering them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are commonly through to be the closest rivals, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer rivals. Both are pursuing the very same target market and have similar capabilities.
ConvertKit is likewise placed at designers (like Substack), but it is a lot more strongly catering to people that do it for service. ConvertKit has nice aesthetic automation building, it’s own business platform, and extra. ConvertKit is a really great platform.
I’m not mosting likely to birthed you with a full feature-by-feature malfunction here. ConvertKit is well known currently. But, below’s how I feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Things ConvertKit Is Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has extra versatility when it concerns it’s automations. I will also say that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit more instinctive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports tagging. This is simply a standard feature of email lists that makes it possible for segmentation in an even more flexible method than BeeHiiv presently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support identifying eventually quickly, frankly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing Beehiiv Discover Experts.
ConvertKit does now offer the capability to offer things by means of their own platform. BeeHiiv does not. If that is essential 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 choose to use my own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been around much longer and for that reason has way a lot more integration choices. Lots of online tools and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their very own WordPress plugin that is rather effective. For instance, their plugin now even supports member-gated material as well as auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your site. Essentially, this extra carefully places ConvertKit into direct competition by having you have the ability to publish to your website and your e-mail listing at the same time.
BeeHiiv is severely lacking in these type 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 tools of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Referral Engine where you can not only incentivize people to share your newsletter with advantages, but you can likewise pay per lead within the interior advertisement network of BeeHiiv to grow your checklist. These are truly remarkable features of BeeHiiv. But …
Did you understand ConvertKit acquired Sparkloop? Sparkloop is among the most well known viral promo platforms for 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 Discover Experts
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that implies less features and much less integrations, which is all-natural for this stage of the cycle. Nonetheless, it also means that they are quickly creating.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have experienced nearly once a week release of brand-new features right into the system. And these aren’t puny little features … however big features that are quite crucial. Their speed of growth at this moment has actually gone over.
I also quite value just how responsive they are. Actually, one of their item announcements regarding some design improvements to the website design features really included a little problem with the web content size. I just replied to that email to tell them. I quickly got a reply straight from the CEO:.
That very same day, the problem was fixed.
Couple of days later, I gave them another recommendation …
Indeed, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capacity to cause automations based on the embed kind used was contributed to the system.
That kind of responsiveness and direct participation of the team is something I actually appreciate.
One more significant point of distinction below is the cost. Both systems provide complimentary plans, however the BeeHiiv free plan offers a lot more capability and even more subscribers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
Once you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is additionally FAR more beneficial. ConvertKit appears less costly initially glimpse because their pricing web page shows lower numbers, nevertheless the customer limitations are FAR lower and your cost swiftly increases as your list grows.
With BeeHiiv, your very first level paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid annually), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 clients. That exact same size 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 grow your listing approximately 100,000. A list of that size would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you desire their referral network, too, that places you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay each year, too. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for just $84/month if you pay each year.
BeeHiiv is in a completely different league when it comes to pricing (in a great way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point raise prices? They might as time takes place. But, I’m presuming individuals like myself who are already in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see exactly how things proceed.
Things I Would Like BeeHiiv To Add
Among the things you definitely need to remember is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do seem to evolve instead swiftly and make brand-new item announcements rather often, however there are some standard features I truly desire they had that I need to just wait on.
One is that they need to have a setting on subscription types where I could select an automation to run right at the form degree. That would be remarkable for many factors. Currently, registration forms look OK, yet there’s really little setups for them to assist in segmentation.
It would certainly be nice to have identifying at the subscriber level. This would certainly be effective.
I believe webhooks need to be part of automations to make integrated automations simpler and reduce reliance on outdoors tools like Zapier.
There are additionally some small administrative interface modifications that would come in handy. For example:
- Capability to mass edit/remove subscribers.
- Ability to bulk edit articles (as an example, to identify a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a few basic areas as typical on clients (like the name).
- Some more personalization options for the site (such as even more adaptable shade selections, heading control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Things I hope they make with it in the future. BeeHiiv is respectable, however it isn’t ideal and certainly not almost as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other real CRM item.
It probably never will be, either. As I said, the objective is different so it wouldn’t a lot a great deal of sense for BeeHiiv to come to be a full marketing automation system. I guess you never ever know, though.
Final Ideas On This BeeHiiv Evaluation
I like BeeHiiv fairly a whole lot. Enough where I chose to change my own e-newsletters over to the platform regardless of my individual preference for digital sovereignty and owning my very own platform.
Put simply, for the e-newsletter posting model specifically, I saw sufficient value in their system to call for the modification.
Bear in mind, I do not make use of BeeHiiv as my exclusive email checklist. I utilize BeeHiiv for what it is proficient at, yet I purposefully have points establish to make sure that I likewise maintain my list “in house” within FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the very same. It is just a good insurance policy, for one. But, 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 question is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my point of view, if you are utilizing Substack today, I ‘d absolutely take into consideration switching over to BeeHiiv. It will just be much more business-friendly. It is targeting different abilities and different needs. And also, BeeHiiv also has import tools for Substack, so the switch needs to be quite simple.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d probably stay unless you have a huge email checklist and are therefore being wooled with their high monthly costs. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, yet they are repeating quickly. There’s also a pretty good opportunity you’re not even utilizing several of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you do not also need them. For that reason, BeeHiiv can easily be a much better and more economical fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be really deliberate regarding expanding a newsletter, I think BeeHiiv is THE system to consider and keep and eye on for you.
If you use BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is developed to be, it is one of the most effective games around now. This is the platform to enjoy.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It is worth having a look at on your own. And if you wind up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll locate the cost-free account to be fairly feature abundant.