I have utilized a great deal of different email list systems for many years. In the last number of years, I have actually been a substantial advocate of digital sovereignty and possessing your very own platform. Because of that (and the outstanding features), I have been making use of Beehiiv HubSpot Integration.
So, it is undoubtedly an unusual move for me to make a decision to use BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, 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 go over why I made the switch to BeeHiiv for my newsletters. I wish to address the concern of digital sovereignty while making use of the platform and I would certainly additionally like to deal with why I chose to use it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Constructed For E-newsletters
In Concern # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Pastime + A Big Change In Approach, I discussed how and why I decided to turn my recreational vehicle blog into mainly an e-newsletter. I decided that was the business version I wished to pursue with that residential or commercial property.
But, to deliberately pursue it as a newsletter, I desired a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was utilizing FluentCRM for the e-mail listing for Happily recreational vehicle, but FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is constructed to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, frankly, using it for newsletters is a bit of a waste. More on that in a bit.
As I said in that problem of the newsletter …
Put simply, BeeHiiv is a system with devices constructed right into it particular to my purpose. Things such as:
- Ability to publish (to the blog site) and send the e-mail simultaneously without having it be two different activities.
- Constructed in e-newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in ability to do cross-promotions with other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Links”, which are basically one-click membership web links. Great for promo in various other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, though, so there are methods to do that.
- Capacity to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your newsletter.
- Integrated ad network, if I pick to generate income from with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capacity to run a paid newsletter upgrade and basically run a premium newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Basically, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter authors with features aimed at growth. The system was essentially built by the individuals who accumulated the innovation for Early morning Brew. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the factor below. BeeHiiv is developed from scratch for the function of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a various function.
And I finished off with this:.
I might indeed be relocating The Side over to BeeHiiv too. A minimum of, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. Actually, I simply went for it. And as a matter of fact, The side was re-branded over to The Morning WP, triggered as it’s own residential property to make sure that I can expand it much more purposefully too.
The objective is that each newsletter has the capability to be branded as it’s own media entity and expanded separately. Happily RV was young, so easy to transition. Yet, The Morning WP (formerly The Side) was buried in a sea of things 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 obviously constantly be very closely linked with the Blog Marketing Academy, yet does not have to be a part of it.
I switched over to BeeHiiv since it was developed for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Just A Normal Email Listing
There’s a difference in between an e-newsletter platform and simply an email listing.
You can organize your email listing just about anywhere you desire and there are a variety of them available, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The primary distinction is that, with an e-newsletter platform, the act of publishing indicates that it is going to your website and to your e-mail subscribers all at once.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a site. You are releasing to that website. Yet, you are also sending to all clients at the same time. The site and it’s subscribers are done in one. This makes administration of the system much easier.
With most email systems, any newsletter you established is done as an email campaign. It is constructed completely separately from your web site. So, for instance, you may release a short article to WordPress but then you would need to individually construct and send out an e-mail to your checklist to send it to subscribers. These are after that 2 separate sets of archives and 2 separate actions due to the fact that post and your emails are not inherently linked.
The closest point that turns WordPress into a true e-newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name because it practically “adhesives” your e-newsletter to your WordPress articles and enables them to be the very same thing. Definitely, something like E-newsletter Glue would be a strong choice if I intended to continue to self-host whatever. Nevertheless, you ‘d shed the development tools that feature a platform like BeeHiiv.
Publishing an e-newsletter inherently features a various set of requirements than a normal e-mail list.
You don’t usually require much marketing automation. You do not typically require autoresponder sequences, event tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO requirement, however, is one smooth publishing experience and growth tools to assist you develop your client base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my subscribers that I was mosting likely to switch over the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many people ask me why I was choosing it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the fact that I chose to choose BeeHiiv, that doesn’t mean I assume Substack sucks. As a matter of fact, since Substack has been about longer, it is elder and has even more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair points that initially got my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is particularly customized to newsletter publishers. In fact, it is actually built by the very same people that constructed the innovation behind Early morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real life, does not matter. But, the noticeable positioning of BeeHiiv toward newsletter growth called me out over the more common positioning of being a “creator”. Development is what I have an interest in right here.
- That branding and distinction also indicates that BeeHiiv has some fairly huge brands and huge publications using it. Whereas SubStack is intended more at solo developers. Again, it just informs me the consumer avatar difference between the two firms.
Sending our my newsletter through FluentCRM didn’t exactly suck. The only factor I would certainly ponder drinking points up is if I assumed I might expand the listing much faster. And BeeHiiv spoke exactly to that goal.
As a result of the targeting, I actually do not watch BeeHiiv and Substack as straight rivals. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a various type of customer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being extra direct rivals.
However, allow’s dive deeper than just the placing below.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv feels like it was built by people who comprehending e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears more tailored toward creators.
For instance, BeeHiiv uses personalized fields on clients. Currently, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. However, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv supplies Automations. Actually, it is an aesthetic 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 quite limited in triggers and the only activity is the ability to send out an email. Nevertheless, enhancements are coming. Quickly enough, automations will have brand-new triggers as well as brand-new activities, such as customizing custom areas, sending webhooks, and so on. I’ve currently seen improvements to their automations just since I started utilizing the system. For example:
- Capability to activate automations based on which particular embed kind they came in on.
- Ability to automatically do re-engagement (and deal with people based upon opens up and non-opens).
- Capacity to do fundamental conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never will. Substack simply can not do this since the target market of Substack just would not think to approach this like an email marketing professional.
When it involves creating your newsletters, the composing interface of BeeHiiv is just a lot more tailored towards e-newsletters. In fact, it actually has similarities to the WordPress block builder in how it functions. I discover it to be a lot more user-friendly, personally.
Substack’s creating user interface is nice and tidy, yet it would certainly be much more comparable to the classic editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This difference is greater than just form. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can place a “Area” and after that placed anything you desire in it. After that, you can put Exposure options on that particular section to reveal it just to paid subscribers, conceal it from e-mail, hide from clients, reveal only to subscribers, and so on. Substack supplies nothing such as this.
And when/if the time comes that I begin a premium subscription design, BeeHiiv does not take any type of earnings. Actually, you actually connect approximately your very own Stripe account and it bills straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your revenue. Depending upon the amount of subscribers you get, that 10% can be a fair bit even more money than the monthly expense of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This may appear nerdy, but what it implies is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can in fact make BeeHiiv deal with the outside using devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … absolutely nothing. No integrations in any way.
On the whole, I just felt like BeeHiiv was much more developed toward actual e-mail marketing. It was constructed by individuals who “get it”. Even the opt-in types and the landing page develops seem much better constructed for conversions. Growth is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Despite the fact that there are still features I would like to see BeeHiiv add, I like the instructions it is going greater than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually stated, Substack settings itself towards “developers” greater than email online marketers and newsletter proprietors. Therefore, you see some points geared a lot more towards people who just assume in regards to material production.
As an example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does support numerous magazines, they are treated quite independently. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to multiple publications at the same time. This isn’t something I require, however … amazing for individuals who could need it.
Substack additionally has more social performance built-in. For example, it has a conversation function to host talks with customers. It likewise has a “Notes” feature which functions sort of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share things from other “Stacks” you’re reading. Intriguing. In general, Substack is established to be much more like a social network which sustains long-form content.
Overall, Substack is also more … minimal. You either take care of that or do not. Directly, I do not. However, if the objective is simplicity of user interface and, frankly, features … Substack functions rather well.
However, I’ll be clear right here …
When it involves real marketing, I don’t believe there’s much question that BeeHiiv is much better matched. I tried to find more factors that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, yet truthfully … 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 same target market and have comparable capacities.
ConvertKit is also positioned at developers (like Substack), however it is far more strongly dealing with individuals that do it for service. ConvertKit has wonderful visual automation building, it’s own commerce system, and more. ConvertKit is an actually great system.
I’m not going to birthed you with a full feature-by-feature breakdown right here. ConvertKit is well known currently. But, here’s how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Things ConvertKit Is Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has a lot more versatility when it involves it’s automations. I will certainly also claim that I discover ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit extra intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains identifying. This is simply a basic function of e-mail listings that enables division in a far more adaptable means than BeeHiiv currently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support tagging at some point quickly, frankly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on Beehiiv HubSpot Integration.
ConvertKit does currently provide the capability to market things via their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is very important to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nevertheless, I would certainly always select a more straight option anyway. For me, I prefer to use my own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been around much longer and for that reason has way much more integration options. Lots of web-based devices and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their own WordPress plugin that is fairly powerful. For instance, their plugin currently also sustains member-gated material along with auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your site. Essentially, this more very closely places ConvertKit into straight competition by having you be able to release to your site and your email listing at the same time.
BeeHiiv is significantly doing not have in these sort of third-party integrations presently. It’ll arrive. However, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also active dealing with the growth tools of BeeHiiv. For instance, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not only incentivize people to share your newsletter with perks, however you can likewise pay per lead within the inner advertisement network of BeeHiiv to grow your list. These are actually amazing features of BeeHiiv. However …
Did you recognize ConvertKit obtained 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 implies for the system moving forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Beehiiv HubSpot Integration
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that implies less features and much less integrations, which is natural for this stage of the cycle. Nevertheless, it likewise indicates that they are quickly establishing.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually seen almost regular release of brand-new features right into the system. And these aren’t weak little features … yet large features that are quite important. Their rate of growth at this point has gone over.
I also significantly value how receptive they are. As a matter of fact, among their product news concerning some layout enhancements to the web design features in fact included a little trouble with the content width. I merely replied to that email to tell them. I promptly obtained a reply straight from the chief executive officer:.
That same day, the problem was taken care of.
Few days later, I provided another recommendation …
Sure enough, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to set off automations based upon the embed kind utilized was added to the system.
That type of responsiveness and direct involvement of the team is something I truly appreciate.
Another significant point of differentiation here is the cost. Both systems supply cost-free plans, however the BeeHiiv free plan offers extra capability and even more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is additionally even more positive. ConvertKit appears less costly initially look because their pricing web page shows lower numbers, nonetheless the customer limitations are much reduced and your rate quickly increases as your listing expands.
With BeeHiiv, your initial degree paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid every year), however you can have up to 10,000 subscribers. That very same size list is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you update to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their ideal plan and the one I personally utilize), you can grow your checklist approximately 100,000. A checklist of that dimension would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, too, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay yearly, also. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for just $84/month if you pay each year.
BeeHiiv remains in a totally different organization when it involves pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point raise prices? They may as time goes on. Yet, I’m thinking individuals like myself who are currently in will be locked-in. We’ll see how things proceed.
Points I Would Like BeeHiiv To Include
Among the important things you definitely need to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is relatively young. They do seem to evolve instead promptly and make new product news somewhat frequently, yet there are some fundamental features I really want they had that I require to just wait on.
One is that they require to have a setting on registration forms where I can pick an automation to run right at the kind level. That would certainly be outstanding for many factors. Currently, subscription types look OK, yet there’s really little setups for them to aid in segmentation.
It would certainly behave to have tagging at the customer level. This would certainly be powerful.
I think webhooks should become part of automations to make integrated automations simpler and decrease dependence on outside tools like Zapier.
There are additionally some small management interface modifications that would certainly be handy. As an example:
- Ability to bulk edit/remove clients.
- Capability to bulk edit posts (for example, to label a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of standard areas as typical on clients (like the name).
- Some more customization alternatives for the website (such as even more flexible color options, heading control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Things I hope they finish with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is respectable, however it isn’t best and absolutely not virtually as created as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM product.
It probably never will certainly be, either. As I stated, the purpose is different so it wouldn’t a lot a lot of sense for BeeHiiv to come to be a full marketing automation platform. I guess you never ever know, however.
Final Ideas On This BeeHiiv Evaluation
I such as BeeHiiv rather a whole lot. Enough where I determined to change my own e-newsletters over to the system in spite of my personal choice for digital sovereignty and having my own system.
Simply put, for the e-newsletter posting version particularly, I saw sufficient value in their system to warrant the change.
Bear in mind, I do not make use of BeeHiiv as my exclusive email checklist. I use BeeHiiv of what it is efficient, but I deliberately have points establish to make sure that I additionally keep my listing “in house” inside of FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the exact same. It is just a good insurance plan, for one. Yet, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your list will be of high usage (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will certainly be).
So, the concern is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my point of view, if you are making use of Substack now, I ‘d most definitely take into consideration switching over to BeeHiiv. It will simply be extra business-friendly. It is targeting various capacities and various needs. And also, BeeHiiv even has import tools for Substack, so the button ought to be quite straightforward.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d possibly stay unless you have a large email checklist and are for that reason being wooled with their high monthly expense. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are repeating rapidly. There’s additionally a respectable possibility you’re not even utilizing several of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you don’t even need them. Therefore, BeeHiiv could conveniently be a much better and much more budget friendly fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be extremely deliberate about expanding an e-newsletter, I think BeeHiiv is THE system to take into consideration and maintain and eye on for you.
If you make use of BeeHiiv with eyes wide open about what it is made to be, it is among the very best games around today. This is the system to enjoy.
BeeHiiv supplies a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves looking into on your own. And if you wind up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll locate the totally free account to be rather feature abundant.