I have made use of a great deal of various e-mail list systems for many years. In the last couple of years, I have actually been a significant advocate of digital sovereignty and having your very own system. Because of that (and the awesome features), I have actually been making use of Beehiiv Email Deliverability.
So, it is undoubtedly a strange move for me to make a decision to use BeeHiiv. Besides, it is an organized application and I am paying month-to-month for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I wish to go over why I made the switch to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I want to attend to the concern of digital sovereignty while making use of the system and I would certainly additionally like to resolve why I chose to utilize it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For Newsletters
In Problem # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Hobby + A Huge Shift In Approach, I discussed how and why I chose to transform my RV blog site into primarily an e-newsletter. I decided that was the business model I wished to pursue keeping that building.
But, to deliberately pursue it as an e-newsletter, I desired a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the email checklist for Gladly motor home, but FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is constructed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, frankly, using it for newsletters is a little a waste. More on that in a bit.
As I said in that concern of the newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a system with devices developed right into it particular to my objective. Things such as:
- Capacity to release (to the blog) and send out the e-mail simultaneously without having it be two separate activities.
- Built in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would certainly require a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capability to do cross-promotions with various other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are basically one-click subscription links. Great for promotion in other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, however, so there are ways to do that.
- Capacity to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to promote your newsletter.
- Integrated ad network, if I select to generate income from with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated capability to run a paid newsletter upgrade and essentially run a costs newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Basically, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter publishers with features aimed at growth. The platform was actually built by the people that built up the modern technology for Early morning Mixture. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the factor below. BeeHiiv is constructed from the ground up for the purpose of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a various objective.
And I ended off with this:.
I might undoubtedly be relocating The Side over to BeeHiiv as well. At least, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. In fact, I simply went for it. And actually, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, set off as it’s very own building so that I can grow it more purposefully as well.
The goal is that each newsletter has the capability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown individually. Gladly recreational vehicle was young, so very easy to shift. Yet, The Early morning WP (previously The Edge) was hidden in a sea of things below 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, but does not have to belong 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 Regular Email Listing
There’s a difference in between an e-newsletter system and just an e-mail list.
You can hold your email listing anywhere you want and there are a number of them out there, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted alternatives like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The key distinction is that, with a newsletter platform, the act of posting implies that it is going to your web site and to your email clients concurrently.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a web site. You are releasing to that internet site. But, you are also dispatching to all customers at the same time. The site and it’s clients are all in one. This makes monitoring of the platform much easier.
With a lot of e-mail systems, any kind of e-newsletter you set up is done as an e-mail campaign. It is constructed completely independently from your website. So, for instance, you may release a post to WordPress but then you would require to separately develop and send out an email to your checklist to send it to clients. These are after that two different sets of archives and 2 separate actions because post and your emails are not inherently connected.
The closest thing that turns WordPress right into a true newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name since it basically “adhesives” your newsletter to your WordPress messages and permits them to be the very same thing. Definitely, something like E-newsletter Glue would be a solid alternative if I wished to remain to self-host everything. Nevertheless, you would certainly lose the development tools that include a platform like BeeHiiv.
Publishing an e-newsletter inherently features a different collection of needs than a common email list.
You do not generally need much marketing automation. You do not normally need autoresponder series, occasion tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO requirement, however, is one seamless posting experience and development tools to aid you construct your customer base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my subscribers that I was mosting likely to change the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had lots of people ask me why I was picking it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the fact that I picked to select BeeHiiv, that does not suggest I think Substack sucks. Actually, since Substack has actually been about much longer, it is more mature and has even more features.
Although BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a couple points that initially obtained my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is especially customized to e-newsletter publishers. Actually, it is actually constructed by the same people that developed the innovation behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real world, doesn’t matter. Yet, the noticeable positioning of BeeHiiv towards e-newsletter development called me out over the more generic positioning of being a “designer”. Growth is what I have an interest in here.
- That branding and distinction likewise indicates that BeeHiiv has some rather huge brand names and huge magazines using it. Whereas SubStack is aimed even more at solo makers. Again, it just informs me the client avatar difference in between the two companies.
Sending our my newsletter using FluentCRM really did not exactly draw. The only factor I would ponder shaking points up is if I assumed I can expand the listing quicker. And BeeHiiv spoke precisely to that objective.
Due to the targeting, I actually do not watch BeeHiiv and Substack as straight rivals. I think BeeHiiv is targeting a various sort of customer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being extra direct rivals.
Yet, allow’s dive much deeper than simply the positioning below.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Generally, BeeHiiv looks like it was built by people that understanding e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems a lot more geared towards designers.
As an example, BeeHiiv uses custom areas on customers. Now, it isn’t as developed as something like FluentCRM. Yet, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv provides Automations. In fact, it is an aesthetic 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 limited in triggers and the only activity is the capability to send an e-mail. Nevertheless, improvements are coming. Soon enough, automations will have brand-new triggers as well as brand-new actions, such as modifying personalized areas, sending webhooks, and so on. I’ve currently seen improvements to their automations simply because I began using the platform. For example:
- Capacity to activate automations based upon which specific embed kind they came in on.
- Capacity to immediately do re-engagement (and handle people based upon opens up and non-opens).
- Capability to do fundamental conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack simply can not do this because the target market of Substack simply wouldn’t believe to approach this like an email marketing expert.
When it concerns composing your e-newsletters, the writing user interface of BeeHiiv is simply more tailored toward e-newsletters. In fact, it actually has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in how it works. I locate it to be extra user-friendly, personally.
Substack’s creating user interface behaves and tidy, however it would be a lot more equal to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This difference is greater than simply 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 Visibility choices on that particular section to reveal it just to paid customers, hide it from e-mail, conceal from subscribers, show only to subscribers, etc. Substack offers absolutely nothing such as this.
And when/if the moment comes that I begin a costs registration version, BeeHiiv does not take any type of earnings. Actually, you literally link as much as your own Stripe account and it charges straight to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your income. Depending on how many customers you obtain, that 10% can be quite a bit more money than the monthly cost of BeeHiiv.
Lastly, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear unpopular, yet what it implies is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv deal with the outside using tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … absolutely nothing. No integrations at all.
In general, I just seemed like BeeHiiv was a lot more built toward actual e-mail marketing. It was constructed by people that “get it”. Also the opt-in types and the landing page makes appear better constructed for conversions. Growth is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Although there are still features I would like to see BeeHiiv add, I like the direction it is going more than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have said, Substack placements itself toward “makers” greater than email marketing professionals and e-newsletter owners. Therefore, you see some points tailored a lot more towards people who just think in terms of material creation.
For instance, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Likewise, while BeeHiiv does support numerous magazines, they are treated rather separately. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to several publications at the same time. This isn’t something I need, however … amazing for people that could need it.
Substack also has more social performance built-in. As an example, it has a chat feature to host chats with clients. It likewise has a “Notes” function which works type of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share points from various other “Stacks” you’re reading. Intriguing. Generally, Substack is set up to be a lot more like a social media which supports long-form material.
Generally, Substack is likewise extra … minimalist. You either take care of that or do not. Personally, I do not. Nonetheless, if the goal is simpleness of interface and, frankly, features … Substack functions pretty well.
Yet, I’ll be clear here …
When it comes to real marketing, I don’t believe there’s much question that BeeHiiv is much better suited. I searched for more factors that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, however truthfully … I have a hard time discovering them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are frequently with to be the closest rivals, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer competitors. Both are going after the very same target market and have comparable capabilities.
ConvertKit is likewise positioned at designers (like Substack), yet it is much more strongly accommodating individuals who do it for company. ConvertKit has wonderful aesthetic automation structure, it’s very own commerce platform, and extra. ConvertKit is a really great system.
I’m not mosting likely to birthed you with a full feature-by-feature malfunction below. ConvertKit is well known currently. But, here’s just how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Things ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has a lot more flexibility when it comes to it’s automations. I will certainly also say that I discover ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit a lot more intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports labeling. This is simply a fundamental feature of email checklists that enables division in an even more flexible way than BeeHiiv presently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support identifying at some point quickly, honestly. It seems like an oversight that it is missing Beehiiv Email Deliverability.
ConvertKit does now supply the capability to offer things via their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that’s important to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would certainly constantly select an extra straight alternative anyway. For me, I favor to use my own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about much longer and because of that has way much more integration choices. Tons of online devices and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their own WordPress plugin that is quite powerful. As an example, their plugin currently even supports member-gated web content along with auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your website. Fundamentally, this much more closely places ConvertKit into direct competitors by having you have the ability to publish to your site and your e-mail list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is seriously lacking in these sort of third-party integrations at the moment. It’ll get there. However, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even hectic dealing with the growth devices of BeeHiiv. As an example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Suggestion Engine where you can not only incentivize people to share your e-newsletter with benefits, yet you can additionally pay per lead within the internal advertisement network of BeeHiiv to expand your list. These are really remarkable features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you know ConvertKit acquired Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of the most popular viral promo platforms for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the creating on the wall surface wherefore this suggests for the platform going forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Better At … Beehiiv Email Deliverability
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that indicates less features and much less integrations, which is natural for this phase of the cycle. Nonetheless, it likewise means that they are quickly developing.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually observed almost weekly launch of new features into the platform. And these aren’t weak little features … but large features that are quite crucial. Their rate of growth now has gone over.
I likewise very much value how receptive they are. In fact, one of their item announcements regarding some layout enhancements to the web design features really had a little problem with the content width. I merely responded to that e-mail to tell them. I swiftly obtained a reply directly from the CEO:.
That same day, the problem was repaired.
Few days later on, I provided another tip …
Indeed, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to set off automations based upon the embed type utilized was added to the system.
That sort of responsiveness and direct involvement of the group is something I actually value.
One more major factor of distinction below is the price. Both systems use cost-free plans, however the BeeHiiv free plan provides extra capacity and more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is likewise FAR more beneficial. ConvertKit appears cheaper initially look because their pricing web page shows lower numbers, nonetheless the customer limits are FAR lower and your rate rapidly enhances as your checklist expands.
With BeeHiiv, your initial degree paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid each year), nonetheless 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 upgrade to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their finest plan and the one I directly utilize), you can expand your listing approximately 100,000. A checklist of that dimension 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, too. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for just $84/month if you pay yearly.
BeeHiiv is in a totally various organization when it pertains to pricing (in a great way).
Will BeeHiiv ultimately enhance costs? They might as time goes on. Yet, I’m thinking individuals like myself that are currently in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see exactly how points proceed.
Things I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Include
Among the things you most definitely need to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is fairly young. They do appear to evolve rather swiftly and make new product statements somewhat commonly, however there are some standard features I actually want they had that I need to just await.
One is that they need to have a setup on membership types where I can select an automation to run right at the form degree. That would certainly be amazing for a lot of factors. Currently, registration kinds look OK, however there’s really little settings for them to assist in division.
It would behave to have labeling at the customer level. This would be effective.
I think webhooks should become part of automations to make integrated automations easier and lower dependence on outdoors tools like Zapier.
There are likewise some small administrative user interface changes that would be handy. For instance:
- Capacity to bulk edit/remove subscribers.
- Capacity to mass edit posts (for example, to label a number of them at the same time).
- Having a few standard areas as standard on clients (like the name).
- Some even more customization alternatives for the web site (such as even more flexible shade choices, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Things I hope they perform with it in the future. BeeHiiv is respectable, however it isn’t ideal and absolutely not almost as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM product.
It possibly never ever will be, either. As I stated, the objective is different so it wouldn’t a lot a lot of feeling for BeeHiiv to come to be a complete marketing automation system. I think you never ever recognize, though.
Final Ideas On This BeeHiiv Review
I like BeeHiiv rather a great deal. Enough where I decided to change my own e-newsletters over to the platform despite my personal choice for digital sovereignty and owning my own system.
Simply put, for the newsletter posting design specifically, I saw sufficient worth in their platform to require the change.
Keep in mind, I do not make use of BeeHiiv as my special email listing. I utilize BeeHiiv for what it is efficient, but I deliberately have things establish to ensure that I also maintain my list “in home” inside of FluentCRM.
If you make use of BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the exact same. It is simply a great insurance plan, for one. However, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your list will 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 make use of BeeHiiv?
In my opinion, if you are utilizing Substack today, I ‘d most definitely consider switching over to BeeHiiv. It will simply be a lot more business-friendly. It is targeting various capabilities and various requirements. Plus, BeeHiiv even has import devices for Substack, so the button should be pretty simple.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d possibly sit tight unless you have a big e-mail listing and are as a result being fleeced with their high month-to-month expense. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are repeating quickly. There’s additionally a respectable chance you’re not also utilizing several of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you don’t even need them. For that reason, BeeHiiv could easily be a far better and much more budget friendly fit.
Finally, if you plan to be extremely intentional concerning growing a newsletter, I believe BeeHiiv is THE system to consider and maintain and eye on for you.
If you make use of BeeHiiv with eyes wide open regarding what it is developed to be, it is among the most effective games around right now. This is the system to watch.
BeeHiiv uses a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves having a look at on your own. And if you end up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll find the complimentary account to be rather feature abundant.