I have actually used a lot of different email list systems over the years. In the last number of years, I have actually been a huge proponent of digital sovereignty and possessing your very own platform. For that reason (and the outstanding features), I have been making use of Beehiiv Get a Demo.
So, it is indeed an unusual move for me to decide to make use of BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, it is a hosted application and I am paying regular monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv testimonial, I intend to review why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my newsletters. I want to resolve the problem of digital sovereignty while making use of the platform and I would certainly likewise such as to deal with why I chose to utilize it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For Newsletters
In Problem # 435 of my newsletter called My Pastime + A Big Change In Approach, I talked about just how and why I decided to transform my recreational vehicle blog into largely a newsletter. I decided that was business model I intended to pursue with that property.
But, to deliberately seek it as an e-newsletter, I wanted a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the email checklist for Happily recreational vehicle, but FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter platform. It is developed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, frankly, utilizing it for newsletters is a little bit of a waste. More on that particular in a bit.
As I stated because concern of the e-newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a system with tools built into it particular to my objective. Points such as:
- Capability to publish (to the blog site) and send the e-mail all at once without having it be two different activities.
- Integrated in e-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 other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Links”, which are essentially one-click registration links. Great for promo in other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, however, so there are ways to do that.
- Ability 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 e-newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capacity to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and primarily run a premium newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Primarily, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter authors with features aimed at development. The platform was literally built by the people who developed the technology for Early morning Brew. They know what they’re doing.
That is the point here. BeeHiiv is built from the ground up for the function of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a various objective.
And I ended off with this:.
I might undoubtedly be moving The Side over to BeeHiiv too. At the very least, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. As a matter of fact, I simply went for it. And actually, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, triggered as it’s very own residential property so that I can expand it a lot more deliberately also.
The objective is that each e-newsletter has the capacity to be branded as it’s own media entity and grown individually. Happily motor home was young, so simple to transition. However, The Early morning WP (formerly The Side) was buried in a sea of stuff below at the Blog Site Marketing Academy. By dividing it off, I can do what I can to expand it on it’s very own. It will clearly constantly be carefully connected with the Blog site Marketing Academy, but doesn’t have to belong of it.
I changed to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was built for this purpose. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Just A Typical Email Listing
There’s a distinction between a newsletter system and just an email listing.
You can host your email listing just about anywhere you desire and there are a number of them available, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted options like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The key distinction is that, with an e-newsletter system, the act of posting suggests that it is going to your site and to your e-mail customers simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have an internet site. You are publishing to that internet site. However, you are also sending to all customers at the same time. The web site and it’s customers are done in one. This makes administration of the platform much less complex.
With many email platforms, any kind of newsletter you set up is done as an email campaign. It is built entirely separately from your web site. So, for example, you could publish a write-up to WordPress yet after that you would certainly require to individually construct and send an email to your list to send it to subscribers. These are after that 2 different collections of archives and two different actions since article and your e-mails are not inherently linked.
The closest point that turns WordPress into a real newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name due to the fact that it virtually “glues” your newsletter to your WordPress blog posts and enables them to be the very same thing. Definitely, something like E-newsletter Glue would certainly be a solid option if I wished to continue to self-host whatever. Nonetheless, you would certainly lose the growth tools that feature a system like BeeHiiv.
Publishing a newsletter naturally includes a different set of requirements than a normal email list.
You don’t usually need much marketing automation. You do not typically need autoresponder series, event tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO requirement, however, is one seamless publishing experience and development devices to aid you construct your subscriber base that specify to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I announced to my subscribers that I was mosting likely to switch the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many people ask me why I was picking it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the fact that I picked to choose BeeHiiv, that does not indicate I believe Substack draws. In fact, since Substack has actually been about much longer, it is more mature and has even more features.
Even though BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair things that originally got my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is especially customized to newsletter publishers. As a matter of fact, it is actually built by the exact same individuals that constructed the technology behind Early morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real world, does not matter. But, the evident positioning of BeeHiiv toward newsletter growth called me out over the even more common positioning of being a “developer”. Growth is what I want below.
- That branding and distinction likewise implies that BeeHiiv has some rather big brand names and huge publications utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is intended more at solo creators. Once more, it simply informs me the client avatar distinction in between the two firms.
Sending our my newsletter via FluentCRM really did not precisely draw. The only reason I would certainly contemplate drinking points up is if I assumed I might expand the checklist quicker. And BeeHiiv spoke specifically to that objective.
Due to the targeting, I actually don’t check out BeeHiiv and Substack as straight rivals. I think BeeHiiv is targeting a various sort of customer. In fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being extra direct competitors.
But, allow’s dive deeper than simply the positioning here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv appears like it was developed by people that recognizing e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears much more tailored towards developers.
For example, BeeHiiv supplies custom fields on subscribers. Currently, it isn’t as developed as something like FluentCRM. However, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. As a matter of fact, it is an aesthetic automation builder that works a great deal like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still fairly limited in triggers and the only action is the capability to send out an email. Nonetheless, enhancements are coming. Quickly sufficient, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers along with new actions, such as customizing customized areas, sending webhooks, etc. I’ve currently seen enhancements to their automations simply given that I began utilizing the system. For example:
- Capacity to activate automations based upon which details embed kind they was available in on.
- Capability to immediately do re-engagement (and handle people based upon opens and non-opens).
- Ability to do standard conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never will. Substack simply can’t do this due to the fact that the target market of Substack just would not think to approach this like an email marketing professional.
When it pertains to composing your e-newsletters, the composing user interface of BeeHiiv is simply more geared toward newsletters. As a matter of fact, it actually has similarities to the WordPress block builder in just how it functions. I locate it to be much more instinctive, directly.
Substack’s writing user interface behaves and tidy, yet it would certainly be a lot more equivalent to the timeless 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 put anything you desire in it. After that, you can place Presence alternatives on that particular section to show it just to paid customers, conceal it from email, conceal from clients, show only to subscribers, etc. Substack supplies absolutely nothing like this.
And when/if the moment comes that I begin a premium subscription design, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any income. Actually, you actually connect as much as your very own Stripe account and it bills directly to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your revenue. Relying on the amount of clients you obtain, that 10% can be a fair bit more cash than the month-to-month price of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear unpopular, yet what it means is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can in fact make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outdoors utilizing devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … absolutely nothing. No integrations in any way.
Generally, I just seemed like BeeHiiv was much more developed towards genuine email marketing. It was constructed by individuals who “get it”. Also the opt-in forms and the landing page develops appear much better built for conversions. Growth is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Although there are still features I want to see BeeHiiv add, I like the instructions it is going greater than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have said, Substack placements itself toward “makers” greater than e-mail online marketers and e-newsletter proprietors. For that reason, you see some points tailored a lot more towards individuals that simply believe in regards to material creation.
As an example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does sustain several publications, they are treated fairly individually. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to several publications at the same time. This isn’t something I need, but … trendy for individuals who could need it.
Substack additionally has even more social functionality built-in. As an example, it has a chat feature to host talks with clients. It likewise has a “Notes” feature which functions sort of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share points from other “Stacks” you read. Intriguing. On the whole, Substack is established to be extra like a social media network which supports long-form material.
Generally, Substack is also extra … minimalist. You either care for that or do not. Directly, I do not. Nevertheless, if the objective is simpleness of interface and, frankly, features … Substack works pretty well.
But, I’ll be clear below …
When it comes to actual marketing, I don’t believe there’s much question that BeeHiiv is better suited. I searched for more factors that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, however truthfully … I have a difficult time locating them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are typically through to be the closest competitors, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer rivals. Both are pursuing the very same target audience and have similar capacities.
ConvertKit is likewise positioned at developers (like Substack), yet it is much more highly accommodating people that do it for business. ConvertKit has good visual automation building, it’s very own business system, and extra. ConvertKit is an actually good system.
I’m not mosting likely to birthed you with a full feature-by-feature failure below. ConvertKit is popular already. Yet, right here’s how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Points ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has a lot more adaptability when it concerns it’s automations. I will certainly additionally claim that I locate ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit more instinctive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports identifying. This is just a fundamental feature of e-mail listings that makes it possible for division in a much more adaptable way than BeeHiiv currently does. I expect BeeHiiv to sustain tagging eventually quickly, honestly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on Beehiiv Get a Demo.
ConvertKit does currently provide the ability to market things by means of their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is essential to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, however, I would certainly constantly choose a much more direct alternative anyway. For me, I choose to use my very own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been around much longer and for that reason has way much more integration alternatives. Tons of web-based devices and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their own WordPress plugin that is quite powerful. For example, their plugin currently also sustains member-gated content in addition to auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your site. Basically, this more closely places ConvertKit into direct competition by having you have the ability to publish to your website and your email checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is severely doing not have in these kinds of third-party integrations presently. It’ll get there. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also active tackling the development devices of BeeHiiv. As an example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Suggestion Engine where you can not just incentivize people to share your newsletter with benefits, yet you can also pay per lead within the internal ad network of BeeHiiv to expand your list. These are really remarkable features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you understand ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of the most popular viral promo platforms for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the writing on the wall for what this means for the system going forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Beehiiv Get a Demo
BeeHiiv is much earlier in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means less features and less integrations, which is all-natural for this phase of the cycle. Nonetheless, it also means that they are rapidly developing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually seen practically once a week launch of new features right into the system. And these aren’t undersized little features … however big features that are quite vital. Their rate of development at this point has actually gone over.
I also quite appreciate how receptive they are. As a matter of fact, one of their item news regarding some style enhancements to the website design features actually included a tiny trouble with the web content size. I merely replied to that e-mail to tell them. I promptly got a reply straight from the chief executive officer:.
That same day, the concern was repaired.
Few days later on, I gave them an additional idea …
Indeed, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to trigger automations based upon the embed type made use of was contributed to the system.
That sort of responsiveness and direct involvement of the group is something I truly appreciate.
An additional significant factor of distinction here is the price. Both systems provide cost-free plans, nevertheless the BeeHiiv free plan offers much more capability and more customers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is likewise FAR more beneficial. ConvertKit appears cheaper initially glimpse because their pricing web page reveals reduced numbers, nonetheless the subscriber limitations are FAR reduced and your cost quickly boosts as your listing grows.
With BeeHiiv, your initial level paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid every year), however you can have up to 10,000 subscribers. That same dimension listing is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their ideal plan and the one I directly utilize), you can grow your list up to 100,000. A list of that size would certainly run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you desire their referral network, too, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay yearly, as well. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for simply $84/month if you pay each year.
BeeHiiv remains in a totally different league when it involves pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv ultimately boost costs? They could as time takes place. But, I’m thinking individuals like myself that are already in will be locked-in. We’ll see just how things continue.
Things I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
Among the important things you absolutely require to keep in mind is that BeeHiiv is fairly young. They do seem to develop instead promptly and make brand-new item announcements somewhat often, yet there are some fundamental features I actually wish they had that I need to simply await.
One is that they need to have a setting on membership kinds where I could pick an automation to run right at the type level. That would certainly be AWESOME for many reasons. As of now, registration forms look OK, yet there’s very little setups for them to assist in segmentation.
It would certainly be nice to have labeling at the subscriber degree. This would certainly be powerful.
I believe webhooks ought to belong to automations to make built-in automations less complicated and minimize reliance on outdoors devices like Zapier.
There are likewise some minor administrative user interface adjustments that would certainly be handy. As an example:
- Capacity to mass edit/remove clients.
- Capability to mass edit articles (as an example, to label a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of fundamental fields as common on subscribers (like the name).
- Some more personalization choices for the site (such as even more flexible color choices, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some imperfections. Things I wish they finish with it in the future. BeeHiiv is respectable, yet it isn’t excellent and absolutely not virtually as created as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM product.
It probably never ever will be, either. As I claimed, the function is various so it wouldn’t a lot a lot of feeling for BeeHiiv to come to be a complete marketing automation platform. I guess you never understand, though.
Final Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Evaluation
I like BeeHiiv rather a great deal. Enough where I made a decision to switch my own newsletters over to the system regardless of my personal preference for digital sovereignty and owning my own system.
Simply put, for the newsletter posting version especially, I saw enough worth in their system to necessitate the adjustment.
Bear in mind, I do not use BeeHiiv as my special e-mail checklist. I utilize BeeHiiv of what it is efficient, however I purposefully have points set up to ensure that I also maintain my list “in residence” inside of FluentCRM.
If you make use of BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the very same. It is simply a good insurance policy, for one. But, 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 be).
So, the inquiry is … should YOU utilize BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are using Substack today, I ‘d most definitely think about switching to BeeHiiv. It will just be much more business-friendly. It is targeting various abilities and different requirements. And also, BeeHiiv even has import tools for Substack, so the switch should be quite simple.
If you get on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d most likely stay put unless you have a large e-mail list and are as a result being fleeced with their high regular monthly expense. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are iterating quickly. There’s additionally a respectable chance you’re not even utilizing several of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you do not even need them. Therefore, BeeHiiv can easily be a far better and much more cost effective fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be extremely willful concerning expanding an e-newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE system to take into consideration and maintain and eye on for you.
If you use BeeHiiv with eyes wide open regarding what it is developed to be, it is one of the most effective video games around right now. This is the system to see.
BeeHiiv supplies a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It is worth having 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 rich.