I have made use of a great deal of various e-mail list systems for many years. In the last number of years, I have actually been a big supporter of digital sovereignty and owning your very own platform. For that reason (and the incredible features), I have been making use of Beehiiv Launch Plan.
So, it is indeed an odd move for me to determine to make use of BeeHiiv. After all, it is a held application and I am paying month-to-month for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I want to discuss why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my newsletters. I intend to resolve the issue of digital sovereignty while making use of the platform and I would certainly likewise such as to deal with why I selected to utilize it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For Newsletters
In Problem # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Big Shift In Strategy, I discussed just how and why I chose to transform my recreational vehicle blog site right into mostly a newsletter. I chose that was the business design I wanted to pursue with that said residential property.
Yet, to deliberately seek it as a newsletter, I desired a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the email list for Gladly RV, however FluentCRM is not a newsletter platform. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, truthfully, utilizing it for e-newsletters is a bit of a waste. More on that in a bit.
As I stated because problem of the newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a system with devices constructed right into it details to my objective. Things such as:
- Capability to publish (to the blog site) and send the email concurrently without having it be 2 separate activities.
- Constructed in e-newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would have needed a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capability to do cross-promotions with other newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are essentially one-click registration web links. Great for promo in other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, though, so there are means to do that.
- Ability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to promote your newsletter.
- Built-in advertisement network, if I select to monetize with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in ability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and basically run a costs e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Primarily, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter authors with features focused on development. The platform was literally constructed by the people who accumulated the modern technology for Morning Mixture. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the factor here. BeeHiiv is developed from the ground up for the objective of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a different objective.
And I finished off with this:.
I might certainly be moving The Side over to BeeHiiv too. 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 for it. And in fact, The side was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, triggered as it’s own residential property so that I can expand it more deliberately too.
The objective is that each newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown individually. Happily recreational vehicle was young, so very easy to shift. However, The Early morning WP (formerly The Edge) was hidden in a sea of things here at the Blog 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 carefully linked with the Blog site Marketing Academy, but doesn’t have to be a part of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was constructed for this purpose. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Just A Typical Email Listing
There’s a difference between an e-newsletter platform and simply an e-mail list.
You can host your e-mail checklist everywhere you want and there are a variety of them around, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The main distinction is that, with a newsletter platform, the act of posting implies that it is mosting likely to your site and to your email clients simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a web site. You are releasing to that web site. However, you are also dispatching to all subscribers at the same time. The web site and it’s customers are all in one. This makes monitoring of the system much simpler.
With a lot of e-mail systems, any newsletter you established is done as an e-mail campaign. It is built completely separately from your site. So, as an example, you could release a post to WordPress however then you would certainly require to individually develop and send out an email to your list to send it to clients. These are after that two different collections of archives and two different activities due to the fact that post and your e-mails are not inherently linked.
The closest thing that turns WordPress into a real e-newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name due to the fact that it pretty much “adhesives” your newsletter to your WordPress blog posts and allows them to be the very same point. Certainly, something like Newsletter Glue would be a solid choice if I wished to continue to self-host whatever. However, you ‘d lose the development tools that feature a platform like BeeHiiv.
Publishing an e-newsletter naturally comes with a different set of demands than a normal e-mail listing.
You do not typically need much marketing automation. You do not normally require autoresponder sequences, event tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO need, though, is one smooth publishing experience and growth devices to aid you construct your subscriber base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my subscribers that I was mosting likely to change the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many people ask me why I was selecting it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the reality that I selected to choose BeeHiiv, that does not indicate I believe Substack sucks. Actually, due to the fact that Substack has actually been about much longer, it is more mature and has more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair points that initially obtained my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically tailored to e-newsletter authors. In fact, it is actually built by the very same folks that built the technology behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, doesn’t matter. However, the noticeable positioning of BeeHiiv toward newsletter development called me out over the even more common positioning of being a “creator”. Growth is what I want below.
- That branding and differentiation additionally implies that BeeHiiv has some rather large brands and big publications using it. Whereas SubStack is intended even more at solo makers. Once more, it just tells me the consumer avatar distinction between both firms.
Sending our my e-newsletter by means of FluentCRM really did not specifically draw. The only factor I would consider drinking things up is if I thought I could GROW the checklist much faster. And BeeHiiv spoke precisely to that goal.
Due to the targeting, I actually don’t check out BeeHiiv and Substack as direct rivals. I think BeeHiiv is targeting a various kind of consumer. In fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being more direct rivals.
However, allow’s dive deeper than simply the placing below.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv looks like it was constructed by people who understanding e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears a lot more tailored towards developers.
As an example, BeeHiiv supplies personalized areas on customers. Now, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. Yet, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv supplies Automations. As a matter of fact, it is a visual automation builder that functions a whole lot like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation performance is still early-phase. It is still fairly minimal in triggers and the only activity is the capacity to send out an email. Nonetheless, enhancements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will have new triggers along with brand-new activities, such as customizing personalized areas, sending out webhooks, and so on. I’ve currently seen enhancements to their automations just because I began making use of the system. For instance:
- Capability to cause automations based upon which details embed type they was available in on.
- Ability to immediately do re-engagement (and deal with people based on opens up and non-opens).
- Ability to do basic conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations similar to this. Likely, it never will. Substack simply can not do this due to the fact that the target audience of Substack just wouldn’t believe to approach this like an e-mail marketing expert.
When it concerns composing your e-newsletters, the writing interface of BeeHiiv is just more geared toward e-newsletters. In fact, it actually has similarities to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it works. I find it to be a lot more user-friendly, directly.
Substack’s composing user interface is nice and tidy, but it would certainly be extra equivalent to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This distinction is greater than just type. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can put a “Section” and after that placed anything you want in it. After that, you can place Exposure alternatives on that particular area to reveal it just to paid clients, conceal it from e-mail, conceal from clients, reveal only to clients, and so on. Substack supplies nothing such as this.
And when/if the moment comes that I begin a premium subscription design, BeeHiiv does not take any kind of earnings. In fact, you literally connect up to your very own Stripe account and it bills straight to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your income. Relying on the number of subscribers you get, that 10% can be a fair bit even more cash than the monthly expense of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear unpopular, yet what it indicates is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outdoors utilizing devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack essentially has … nothing. No integrations whatsoever.
Generally, I simply seemed like BeeHiiv was much more developed towards real e-mail marketing. It was developed by individuals who “get it”. Also the opt-in forms and the landing page designs appear better developed for conversions. Development is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Despite the fact that there are still features I would like to see BeeHiiv include, I such as the direction it is going more than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have claimed, Substack placements itself toward “creators” greater than e-mail marketing professionals and newsletter proprietors. Because of that, you see some points geared more toward individuals that simply believe in regards to material development.
For example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does support several publications, they are treated quite separately. Whereas Substack does have the capacity to cross-post to multiple publications at the same time. This isn’t something I require, yet … cool for individuals that may need it.
Substack also has even more social capability built-in. As an example, it has a chat feature to host chats with subscribers. It additionally has a “Notes” function which works sort of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share things from various other “Stacks” you’re reading. Intriguing. On the whole, Substack is established to be much more like a social media which sustains long-form web content.
On the whole, Substack is additionally a lot more … minimalist. You either look after that or don’t. Personally, I do not. Nonetheless, if the goal is simpleness of interface and, honestly, features … Substack functions rather well.
Yet, I’ll be clear here …
When it pertains to real marketing, I do not believe there’s much doubt that BeeHiiv is much better suited. I looked for more factors that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, however frankly … I have a difficult time locating them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are frequently via to be the closest competitors, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer opponents. Both are pursuing the very same target audience and have similar capacities.
ConvertKit is also placed at makers (like Substack), however it is much more strongly accommodating individuals who do it for organization. ConvertKit has wonderful visual automation structure, it’s very own business system, and much more. ConvertKit is a truly nice platform.
I’m not going to birthed you with a full feature-by-feature failure right here. ConvertKit is popular already. But, below’s just how I feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Things ConvertKit Is Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has a lot more adaptability when it comes to it’s automations. I will likewise say that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit a lot more intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports labeling. This is simply a fundamental function of e-mail lists that allows division in an even more flexible means than BeeHiiv presently does. I expect BeeHiiv to support tagging at some point quickly, honestly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on Beehiiv Launch Plan.
ConvertKit does currently provide the capacity to market things by means of their very own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is very important to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would certainly always choose an extra straight option anyhow. For me, I like to use my own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been about a lot longer and because of that has way much more integration options. Tons of web-based tools and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their own WordPress plugin that is fairly effective. For instance, their plugin now also supports member-gated content along with auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your site. Fundamentally, this extra very closely places ConvertKit right into direct competition by having you be able to publish to your site and your email checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is badly lacking in these kinds of third-party integrations at the moment. It’ll get there. However, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also hectic dealing with the growth tools of BeeHiiv. As an example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not just incentivize individuals to share your e-newsletter with advantages, but you can also pay per lead within the inner advertisement network of BeeHiiv to grow your listing. These are actually incredible features of BeeHiiv. But …
Did you recognize ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is among the most popular viral promo systems for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall surface for what this indicates for the platform moving forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Better At … Beehiiv Launch Plan
BeeHiiv is much earlier in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that implies much less features and much less integrations, which is natural for this phase of the cycle. However, it additionally implies that they are swiftly developing.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually seen nearly regular launch of brand-new features right into the platform. And these aren’t weak little features … however large features that are fairly important. Their speed of growth now has actually been impressive.
I likewise quite value exactly how receptive they are. In fact, one of their product announcements about some style enhancements to the website design features actually consisted of a small problem with the web content width. I just replied to that email to tell them. I rapidly got a reply straight from the CEO:.
That very same day, the issue was repaired.
Few days later, I gave them one more recommendation …
Indeed, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the ability to activate automations based on the embed type utilized was contributed to the system.
That kind of responsiveness and straight involvement of the team is something I actually value.
An additional major factor of differentiation below is the rate. Both systems supply totally free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan uses extra capability and even more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is also even more beneficial. ConvertKit seems more affordable at first look because their pricing web page shows lower numbers, nevertheless the subscriber limitations are FAR lower and your rate rapidly enhances as your list expands.
With BeeHiiv, your first degree paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid each year), nevertheless you can have up to 10,000 customers. That very same dimension list is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you update to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their ideal plan and the one I personally make use of), you can grow your listing as much as 100,000. A listing of that size 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 every year, too. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for just $84/month if you pay yearly.
BeeHiiv is in a completely various organization when it involves pricing (in a good way).
Will BeeHiiv ultimately boost costs? They could as time takes place. Yet, I’m guessing individuals like myself that are already in will be locked-in. We’ll see exactly how things continue.
Points I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
Among the things you certainly require to keep in mind is that BeeHiiv is fairly young. They do appear to progress instead quickly and make new product news somewhat typically, but there are some basic features I truly desire they had that I require to simply wait for.
One is that they need to have a setup on subscription forms where I can choose an automation to run right at the form level. That would be amazing for so many reasons. As of now, subscription types look OK, but there’s very little setups for them to assist in division.
It would be nice to have tagging at the client level. This would certainly be powerful.
I think webhooks need to become part of automations to make built-in automations easier and decrease dependence on outside devices like Zapier.
There are additionally some minor management user interface changes that would be handy. As an example:
- Capability to mass edit/remove subscribers.
- Capacity to mass edit articles (for example, to label a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a few basic areas as standard on clients (like the name).
- Some even more modification options for the web site (such as even more versatile shade options, headline control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Things I wish they make with it in the future. BeeHiiv is respectable, however it isn’t best and absolutely not almost as created as something like FluentCRM or any other real CRM product.
It possibly never will certainly be, either. As I said, the purpose is various so it would not a lot a great deal of feeling for BeeHiiv to become a full marketing automation platform. I think you never ever understand, however.
Final Ideas On This BeeHiiv Review
I like BeeHiiv fairly a lot. Enough where I determined to switch my very own newsletters over to the system in spite of my personal choice for digital sovereignty and owning my very own platform.
Put simply, for the newsletter posting design especially, I saw enough value in their system to call for the modification.
Bear in mind, I do not utilize BeeHiiv as my unique email list. I make use of BeeHiiv for what it is efficient, however I purposefully have points establish so that I likewise maintain my list “in house” inside of FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the very same. It is simply an excellent insurance coverage, for one. Yet, 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 will certainly be).
So, the question is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are utilizing Substack now, I ‘d certainly consider changing to BeeHiiv. It will merely be a lot more business-friendly. It is targeting various abilities and different needs. And also, BeeHiiv also has import devices for Substack, so the switch needs to be quite straightforward.
If you are on ConvertKit now, I ‘d probably stay unless you have a large e-mail list and are as a result being fleeced with their high regular monthly costs. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are iterating promptly. There’s likewise a respectable opportunity you’re not also using some of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you do not even need them. For that reason, BeeHiiv might quickly be a far better and a lot more economical fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be really deliberate concerning expanding a newsletter, I believe BeeHiiv is THE system to consider and maintain and eye on for you.
If you use BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is designed to be, it is one of the best games around today. This is the system to see.
BeeHiiv offers a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves checking out for yourself. And if you wind up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll locate the totally free account to be quite feature abundant.