I have used a lot of different email list systems throughout the years. In the last number of years, I’ve been a massive proponent of digital sovereignty and having your very own platform. Therefore (and the amazing features), I have been using Beehiiv Local Newsletter Summit.
So, it is indeed an odd move for me to choose to make use of BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, it is an organized application and I am paying month-to-month for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv testimonial, I intend to go over why I made the switch to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I intend to address the problem of digital sovereignty while utilizing the platform and I ‘d also such as to address why I selected to utilize it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Constructed For Newsletters
In Problem # 435 of my newsletter called My Pastime + A Large Change In Technique, I spoke about exactly how and why I determined to turn my recreational vehicle blog right into largely an e-newsletter. I made a decision that was business version I wished to go after keeping that residential or commercial property.
However, to intentionally seek it as an e-newsletter, I desired a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was utilizing FluentCRM for the email checklist for Happily RV, yet FluentCRM is not a newsletter system. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, truthfully, using it for e-newsletters is a little a waste. Extra on that particular in a bit.
As I stated because problem of the newsletter …
Put simply, BeeHiiv is a platform with tools constructed right into it details to my purpose. Points such as:
- Capability to release (to the blog site) and send out the email at the same time without having it be two different actions.
- Built in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would certainly have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capability to do cross-promotions with other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Links”, which are generally one-click subscription web links. Great for promo in other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, though, so there are methods to do that.
- Capability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your e-newsletter.
- Integrated advertisement network, if I choose to generate income from with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capacity to run a paid newsletter upgrade and generally run a costs newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Essentially, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter publishers with features targeted at growth. The platform was actually developed by the people who built up the innovation for Early morning Brew. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the factor right here. BeeHiiv is constructed from scratch for the function of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a various purpose.
And I finished off with this:.
I might certainly be moving The Side over to BeeHiiv too. At least, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. In fact, I simply went for it. And in fact, The side was re-branded over to The Morning WP, set off as it’s own home so that I can expand it extra deliberately also.
The goal is that each newsletter has the capability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown individually. Happily recreational vehicle was young, so simple to transition. But, The Morning WP (previously The Edge) was hidden in a sea of things below 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 undoubtedly constantly be carefully linked with the Blog site Marketing Academy, however doesn’t need to be a part of it.
I switched over to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was built for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Just A Typical Email Checklist
There’s a distinction in between an e-newsletter system and just an email listing.
You can organize your e-mail list anywhere you desire and there are a variety of them around, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted alternatives like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The primary distinction is that, with a newsletter platform, the act of publishing indicates that it is mosting likely to your web site and to your email clients simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a website. You are publishing to that site. Yet, you are additionally dispatching to all clients at the same time. The internet site and it’s subscribers are done in one. This makes monitoring of the system much easier.
With a lot of e-mail systems, any kind of newsletter you set up is done as an email campaign. It is constructed entirely separately from your web site. So, as an example, you might release a post to WordPress however then you would certainly require to separately construct and send an e-mail to your listing to send it to subscribers. These are then 2 different collections of archives and 2 separate activities since blog posts and your e-mails are not naturally linked.
The closest thing that turns WordPress right into a true e-newsletter platform is E-newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name since it virtually “glues” your e-newsletter to your WordPress posts and permits them to be the same point. Certainly, something like E-newsletter Glue would be a solid alternative if I wanted to remain to self-host everything. However, you would certainly lose the development devices that feature a platform like BeeHiiv.
Publishing an e-newsletter naturally features a various set of demands than a normal e-mail checklist.
You don’t usually need much marketing automation. You don’t normally require autoresponder series, event tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO requirement, though, is one seamless posting experience and growth devices to help you develop your client base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I revealed to my customers that I was going to switch over the 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 select BeeHiiv, that does not imply I believe Substack sucks. As a matter of fact, due to the fact that Substack has been around 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 customized to e-newsletter publishers. In fact, it is literally built by the very same people who constructed the modern technology behind Early morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real world, does not matter. But, the noticeable positioning of BeeHiiv toward e-newsletter development called me out over the even more generic positioning of being a “creator”. Growth is what I’m interested in below.
- That branding and distinction likewise implies that BeeHiiv has some fairly huge brand names and big magazines utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is aimed more at solo developers. Again, it just tells me the client character difference in between both companies.
Sending our my newsletter through FluentCRM really did not exactly draw. The only factor I would contemplate drinking points up is if I thought I could GROW the checklist faster. And BeeHiiv spoke exactly to that objective.
Because of the targeting, I actually do not see BeeHiiv and Substack as straight rivals. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a different kind of customer. In fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being much more direct rivals.
But, let’s dive much deeper than just the positioning below.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Generally, BeeHiiv looks like it was developed by individuals that understanding email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems extra geared toward makers.
As an example, BeeHiiv supplies personalized areas on subscribers. Currently, it isn’t as created 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 great deal like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation performance is still early-phase. It is still fairly restricted in triggers and the only action is the ability to send an e-mail. Nonetheless, enhancements are coming. Quickly enough, automations will have new triggers in addition to brand-new activities, such as modifying custom fields, sending webhooks, etc. I have actually currently seen improvements to their automations simply considering that I started making use of the system. For instance:
- Capability to set off automations based on which particular embed type they was available in on.
- Capability to immediately do re-engagement (and handle people based upon opens and non-opens).
- Capacity to do basic conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations like this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack simply can not do this since the target market of Substack just would not believe to approach this like an e-mail marketer.
When it involves creating your e-newsletters, the composing interface of BeeHiiv is just a lot more geared toward e-newsletters. Actually, it really has similarities to the WordPress block builder in just how it functions. I find it to be much more instinctive, personally.
Substack’s creating user interface is nice and tidy, however it would be much more comparable 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 placed anything you want in it. After that, you can place Exposure options on that particular section to reveal it only to paid clients, hide it from email, conceal from subscribers, show just to subscribers, and so on. Substack provides absolutely nothing such as this.
And when/if the time comes that I start a premium membership model, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any type of income. Actually, you essentially attach approximately your very own Stripe account and it charges directly to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your profits. Depending upon how many clients you get, that 10% can be quite a bit even more money than the regular monthly price of BeeHiiv.
Lastly, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear nerdy, yet what it implies is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outdoors using tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack actually has … nothing. No integrations whatsoever.
Overall, I simply seemed like BeeHiiv was much more developed toward real e-mail marketing. It was constructed by individuals who “get it”. Also the opt-in kinds and the landing page designs seem far better built for conversions. Growth is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Despite the fact that there are still features I wish 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 positions itself towards “developers” more than email online marketers and e-newsletter owners. For that reason, you see some things tailored much more toward people who just think in regards to material development.
For example, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Also, while BeeHiiv does sustain multiple magazines, they are treated quite individually. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to numerous publications at the same time. This isn’t something I need, yet … awesome for people who might require it.
Substack also has more social functionality built-in. For instance, it has a chat function to host talks with subscribers. It likewise has a “Notes” function which works kind of like a social media newsfeed where you can share points from various other “Stacks” you’re reading. Fascinating. Generally, Substack is set up to be more like a social media which sustains long-form content.
In general, Substack is likewise a lot more … minimalist. You either take care of that or don’t. Directly, I don’t. Nonetheless, if the goal is simpleness of user interface and, honestly, features … Substack works quite well.
Yet, I’ll be clear right here …
When it concerns actual marketing, I do not believe there’s much question that BeeHiiv is much better matched. I tried to find even more factors that make Substack much better than BeeHiiv, yet truthfully … I have a difficult time discovering them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are frequently with to be the closest competitors, I really see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer rivals. Both are going after the same target audience and have comparable capabilities.
ConvertKit is likewise positioned at designers (like Substack), yet it is far more highly accommodating individuals that do it for service. ConvertKit has wonderful aesthetic automation structure, it’s own business system, and much more. ConvertKit is a truly nice platform.
I’m not going to birthed you with a complete feature-by-feature failure below. ConvertKit is well known currently. Yet, below’s exactly how I feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Things ConvertKit Is Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has a lot more flexibility when it involves it’s automations. I will certainly likewise say that I discover ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit a lot more user-friendly than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports identifying. This is simply a standard function of e-mail listings that allows segmentation in a much more flexible way than BeeHiiv presently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support labeling eventually soon, frankly. It seems like an oversight that it is missing out on Beehiiv Local Newsletter Summit.
ConvertKit does currently provide the capability to sell points through their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that’s important to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would certainly constantly select an extra direct option anyhow. For me, I prefer to use my very own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about much longer and for that reason has way more integration choices. Lots of online devices and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their own WordPress plugin that is quite effective. For example, their plugin currently also sustains member-gated content as well as auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your website. Essentially, this much more very closely places ConvertKit right into straight competitors by having you have the ability to publish to your website and your email checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is seriously lacking in these sort of third-party integrations presently. It’ll get there. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also busy taking on the development tools of BeeHiiv. As an example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Referral Engine where you can not just incentivize people to share your newsletter with advantages, however you can likewise pay per lead within the interior advertisement network of BeeHiiv to grow your listing. These are really remarkable features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you recognize ConvertKit got Sparkloop? Sparkloop is among one of the most popular viral promotion platforms for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the writing on the wall wherefore this indicates for the system going forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Beehiiv Local Newsletter Summit
BeeHiiv is a lot earlier in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that implies much less features and much less integrations, which is natural for this stage of the cycle. However, it likewise means that they are swiftly creating.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have witnessed almost weekly launch of new features into the platform. And these aren’t undersized little features … however large features that are rather crucial. Their speed of development at this point has been impressive.
I additionally very much value how receptive they are. Actually, one of their item announcements about some design improvements to the web design features in fact had a little trouble with the material width. I simply responded to that e-mail to tell them. I swiftly obtained a reply directly from the chief executive officer:.
That very same day, the problem was fixed.
Couple of days later on, I provided an additional pointer …
Certainly, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to set off automations based upon the embed type utilized was contributed to the system.
That sort of responsiveness and direct involvement of the group is something I actually value.
One more major point of distinction right here is the price. Both systems supply complimentary plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan supplies a lot more ability and even more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is also FAR more favorable. ConvertKit appears less costly initially glance due to the fact that their pricing web page reveals lower numbers, however the customer limits are much lower and your rate quickly boosts as your checklist grows.
With BeeHiiv, your very first degree paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid annually), however you can have up to 10,000 customers. That same size listing is mosting likely to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their ideal plan and the one I directly make use of), you can expand your checklist as much as 100,000. A listing of that size would certainly run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you desire their referral network, as well, 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 each year.
BeeHiiv remains in a totally different organization when it concerns pricing (in a good way).
Will BeeHiiv ultimately raise costs? They might as time goes on. However, I’m presuming people like myself who are currently in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see how points proceed.
Points I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
One of things you definitely need to keep in mind is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do seem to progress rather promptly and make brand-new item news somewhat frequently, however there are some basic features I truly desire they had that I require to simply wait for.
One is that they require to have a setting on subscription types where I can select an automation to run right at the form degree. That would certainly be remarkable for numerous reasons. Already, subscription forms look OK, yet there’s very little settings for them to assist in segmentation.
It would certainly behave to have marking at the customer degree. This would be effective.
I assume webhooks ought to be part of automations to make built-in automations much easier and minimize dependence on outside tools like Zapier.
There are also some minor administrative user interface adjustments that would be handy. For instance:
- Capacity to mass edit/remove customers.
- Capability to bulk edit blog posts (for instance, to label a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of fundamental areas as standard on customers (like the name).
- Some even more customization choices for the web site (such as more versatile shade choices, headline control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Things I wish they finish with it in the future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, however it isn’t ideal and definitely not almost as created as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM item.
It possibly never ever will be, either. As I claimed, the purpose is various so it wouldn’t much a great deal of sense for BeeHiiv to end up being a complete marketing automation platform. I guess you never know, however.
Final Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Review
I like BeeHiiv quite a great deal. Enough where I made a decision to change my own e-newsletters over to the system despite my personal preference for digital sovereignty and owning my very own platform.
Simply put, for the e-newsletter posting design especially, I saw sufficient value in their platform to call for the change.
Bear in mind, I do not make use of BeeHiiv as my special e-mail list. I use BeeHiiv for what it is good at, yet I intentionally have things establish so that I likewise maintain my list “in residence” within FluentCRM.
If you make use of BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the exact same. It is just an excellent insurance plan, for one. But, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your listing will certainly be of high use (FluentCRM is a complete marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will certainly be).
So, the inquiry is … should YOU utilize BeeHiiv?
In my point of view, if you are making use of Substack now, I ‘d definitely take into consideration switching over to BeeHiiv. It will simply be more business-friendly. It is targeting different capabilities and different demands. Plus, BeeHiiv also has import devices for Substack, so the switch needs to be quite simple.
If you are on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d probably stay unless you have a big email listing and are for that reason being wooled with their high regular monthly bill. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are repeating promptly. There’s likewise a pretty good opportunity you’re not even making use of several of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you don’t even require them. Therefore, BeeHiiv can quickly be a better and a lot more economical fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be really willful about growing an e-newsletter, I believe BeeHiiv is THE system to consider and keep and eye on for you.
If you utilize BeeHiiv with eyes wide open regarding what it is created to be, it is among the most effective video games in the area today. This is the system to see.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves looking into on your own. And if you end up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll find the totally free account to be quite feature abundant.