I have actually utilized a lot of various email list systems for many years. In the last number of years, I’ve been a substantial proponent of digital sovereignty and owning your own system. For that reason (and the outstanding features), I have actually been utilizing Beehiiv Product Updates.
So, it is indeed an odd move for me to choose to utilize BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, it is a held application and I am paying regular monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I want to review why I made the switch to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I intend to deal with the concern of digital sovereignty while making use of the system and I ‘d additionally like to deal with why I picked to utilize it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Constructed For E-newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my newsletter called My Pastime + A Huge Change In Approach, I discussed how and why I made a decision to transform my recreational vehicle blog site into mainly an e-newsletter. I decided that was business model I intended to pursue with that said residential property.
Yet, to purposefully pursue it as a newsletter, I wanted a system that was purpose-built for that. I was utilizing FluentCRM for the e-mail checklist for Happily recreational vehicle, but FluentCRM is not a newsletter platform. It is developed to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, truthfully, using it for newsletters is a little a waste. Extra on that particular in a bit.
As I claimed because issue of the e-newsletter …
Basically, BeeHiiv is a platform with tools developed right into it particular to my purpose. Things such as:
- Capability to release (to the blog site) and send out the e-mail all at once without having it be two different activities.
- Constructed in e-newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would certainly have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capacity to do cross-promotions with various other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are essentially one-click subscription links. Great for promotion in various 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 advertisement network, if I select to monetize with advertisements 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 doesn’t take a cut.
Essentially, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter authors with features focused on growth. The system was literally developed by the people that developed the innovation for Early morning Mixture. They know what they’re doing.
That is the point below. BeeHiiv is built from the ground up for the purpose of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a various purpose.
And I finished off with this:.
I might without a doubt be relocating The Edge over to BeeHiiv also. At the very least, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. In fact, I just went for it. And actually, The side was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, triggered as it’s own building to ensure that I can expand it extra intentionally too.
The goal is that each newsletter has the capability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown separately. Gladly motor home was young, so very easy to transition. But, The Early morning WP (previously The Side) was hidden in a sea of things here at the Blog Marketing Academy. By dividing it off, I can do what I can to grow it on it’s very own. It will clearly always be carefully tied with the Blog Marketing Academy, but does not have to belong of it.
I switched over to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was constructed for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Just A Regular Email List
There’s a difference between a newsletter platform and simply an email list.
You can host your email listing just about anywhere you desire and there are a variety of them out there, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The key difference is that, with an e-newsletter platform, the act of publishing suggests that it is mosting likely to your web site and to your email clients at the same time.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a website. You are releasing to that web site. Yet, you are additionally sending to all subscribers at the same time. The internet site and it’s clients are done in one. This makes management of the system much easier.
With many e-mail systems, any newsletter you set up is done as an email campaign. It is constructed completely individually from your website. So, for example, you might release a short article to WordPress however after that you would require to separately develop and send an e-mail to your list to send it to customers. These are after that two different sets of archives and 2 separate activities due to the fact that article and your emails are not inherently connected.
The closest thing that transforms WordPress into a true e-newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name since it pretty much “glues” your newsletter to your WordPress posts and enables them to be the very same thing. Absolutely, something like E-newsletter Glue would be a solid option if I intended to remain to self-host every little thing. Nonetheless, you would certainly shed the development tools that feature a system like BeeHiiv.
Publishing a newsletter naturally includes a various set of requirements than a typical email listing.
You don’t generally need much marketing automation. You do not generally require autoresponder sequences, occasion tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO need, however, is one smooth posting experience and development devices to help you construct your subscriber base that specify to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my clients that I was mosting likely to switch the e-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 chose to opt for BeeHiiv, that doesn’t indicate I believe Substack draws. As a matter of fact, because Substack has been about longer, it is more mature and has even more features.
Although BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a couple things that originally got my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is particularly tailored to e-newsletter publishers. In fact, it is actually constructed by the very same folks that constructed the innovation behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, doesn’t matter. However, the evident positioning of BeeHiiv toward newsletter development called me out over the even more generic positioning of being a “developer”. Growth is what I want below.
- That branding and distinction likewise indicates that BeeHiiv has some fairly large brands and huge publications utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is intended even more at solo makers. Once more, it simply tells me the consumer avatar difference in between the two companies.
Sending our my e-newsletter through FluentCRM really did not specifically draw. The only factor I would certainly consider trembling things up is if I thought I can expand the list much faster. And BeeHiiv talked specifically to that objective.
Due to the targeting, I actually don’t see BeeHiiv and Substack as straight competitors. I believe BeeHiiv is targeting a various kind of consumer. In fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being extra straight competitors.
But, allow’s dive much deeper than just the positioning right here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
On the whole, BeeHiiv feels like it was built by people that comprehending e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears a lot more tailored towards designers.
As an example, BeeHiiv uses personalized areas on subscribers. Currently, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. However, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. As a matter of fact, it is a visual automation builder that works a great deal like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still quite minimal in triggers and the only action is the ability to send an email. Nevertheless, enhancements are coming. Quickly sufficient, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers in addition to brand-new actions, such as modifying custom-made areas, sending webhooks, etc. I have actually already seen enhancements to their automations simply because I started using the system. As an example:
- Capacity to cause automations based on which particular embed form they was available in on.
- Ability to immediately do re-engagement (and handle individuals based upon opens and non-opens).
- Ability to do standard conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations similar to this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack just can’t do this because the target audience of Substack simply would not believe to approach this like an email marketing expert.
When it comes to composing your newsletters, the creating interface of BeeHiiv is simply extra geared toward e-newsletters. In fact, it in fact has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it functions. I discover it to be much more intuitive, directly.
Substack’s composing user interface is nice and tidy, however it would be much more comparable to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This distinction is more than simply kind. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can place a “Section” and afterwards put anything you want in it. After that, you can put Visibility alternatives on that area to reveal it just to paid subscribers, conceal it from e-mail, hide from clients, show only to clients, etc. Substack offers absolutely nothing such as this.
And when/if the time comes that I start a costs registration design, BeeHiiv does not take any kind of profits. In fact, you actually connect up to your very own Stripe account and it charges directly to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your earnings. Relying on how many customers you obtain, that 10% can be a fair bit more money than the regular monthly expense of BeeHiiv.
Lastly, BeeHiiv has an API. This may appear nerdy, yet what it implies is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outdoors using devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … nothing. No integrations at all.
In general, I just seemed like BeeHiiv was more constructed toward genuine e-mail marketing. It was developed by people that “get it”. Even the opt-in kinds and the landing page develops seem much better constructed 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 like the instructions it is going more than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually claimed, Substack positions itself towards “makers” more than e-mail marketers and e-newsletter owners. Therefore, you see some points tailored a lot more towards people that simply think in regards to web content creation.
For instance, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Likewise, while BeeHiiv does support several magazines, they are treated quite separately. Whereas Substack does have the capacity to cross-post to numerous magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, yet … awesome for people who might need it.
Substack additionally has even more social functionality built-in. As an example, it has a conversation function to host talks with subscribers. It likewise has a “Notes” feature which functions kind of like a social media newsfeed where you can share points from other “Stacks” you’re reading. Interesting. In general, Substack is established to be extra like a social media network which sustains long-form content.
On the whole, Substack is additionally more … minimalist. You either take care of that or don’t. Personally, I don’t. However, if the objective is simpleness of interface and, honestly, features … Substack works quite well.
However, I’ll be clear below …
When it comes to actual marketing, I don’t believe there’s much doubt that BeeHiiv is better fit. I tried to find more points that make Substack much better than BeeHiiv, but truthfully … I have a difficult time discovering them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are often via to be the closest rivals, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer competitors. Both are going after the exact same target audience and have similar capacities.
ConvertKit is additionally placed at makers (like Substack), however it is far more highly dealing with individuals that do it for business. ConvertKit has nice visual automation structure, it’s own business platform, and more. ConvertKit is a truly nice platform.
I’m not going to bore you with a complete feature-by-feature malfunction below. ConvertKit is well known already. Yet, here’s how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Things ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
Currently, ConvertKit has extra adaptability when it comes to it’s automations. I will additionally say that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit more user-friendly than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains labeling. This is just a fundamental function of e-mail listings that allows segmentation in a much more flexible way than BeeHiiv presently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to sustain marking eventually soon, truthfully. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on Beehiiv Product Updates.
ConvertKit does currently give the ability to sell things via their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that’s important to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nevertheless, I would certainly constantly select a much more direct choice anyway. For me, I choose to use my very own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about much longer and because of that has way a lot more integration choices. Tons of web-based devices and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their very own WordPress plugin that is fairly effective. For instance, their plugin currently even sustains member-gated web content in addition to auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your site. Essentially, this more carefully puts ConvertKit into straight competition by having you be able to release to your website and your email checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is severely lacking in these sort of third-party integrations presently. It’ll get there. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also active tackling the development tools of BeeHiiv. For instance, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Suggestion Engine where you can not only incentivize people to share your e-newsletter with perks, yet you can likewise pay per lead within the interior ad network of BeeHiiv to grow your list. These are truly amazing features of BeeHiiv. But …
Did you know ConvertKit got Sparkloop? Sparkloop is one of one of the most popular viral promo platforms for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the creating on the wall wherefore this implies for the platform going forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Better At … Beehiiv Product Updates
BeeHiiv is much previously in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means less features and much less integrations, which is all-natural for this stage of the cycle. However, it likewise indicates that they are rapidly developing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have observed practically weekly launch of new features into the platform. And these aren’t weak little features … yet huge features that are quite crucial. Their rate of development at this moment has actually gone over.
I also very much value how responsive they are. Actually, among their product statements regarding some layout enhancements to the website design features in fact had a little problem with the material size. I merely responded to that e-mail to tell them. I rapidly obtained a reply directly from the CEO:.
That exact same day, the problem was repaired.
Couple of days later on, I provided an additional recommendation …
Certainly, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capacity to activate automations based upon the embed form used was added to the system.
That type of responsiveness and direct involvement of the group is something I really appreciate.
One more significant point of differentiation here is the cost. Both systems supply totally free plans, nevertheless the BeeHiiv free plan offers a lot more capacity and even more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is likewise much more beneficial. ConvertKit appears less expensive initially glimpse due to the fact that their pricing web page shows lower numbers, nevertheless the client limitations are much lower and your rate swiftly enhances as your list expands.
With BeeHiiv, your very first degree paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid every year), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 subscribers. That very same size listing 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 use), you can expand your listing up to 100,000. A list of that dimension would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you desire their referral network, as well, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay every year, too. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for just $84/month if you pay annually.
BeeHiiv is in a completely different league when it comes to pricing (in a good way).
Will BeeHiiv ultimately enhance rates? They could as time goes on. But, I’m thinking individuals like myself who are already in will be locked-in. We’ll see exactly how things proceed.
Things I Would Like BeeHiiv To Add
One of things you absolutely need to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is relatively young. They do seem to progress rather quickly and make brand-new item news rather usually, but there are some standard features I actually want they had that I require to just wait for.
One is that they require to have a setting on registration kinds where I might pick an automation to run right at the kind degree. That would certainly be AWESOME for so many reasons. As of now, subscription forms look OK, yet there’s really little setups for them to help in division.
It would behave to have marking at the subscriber level. This would be powerful.
I believe webhooks ought to belong to automations to make built-in automations simpler and reduce dependence on outdoors devices like Zapier.
There are also some small management user interface modifications that would certainly be handy. For example:
- Capability to mass edit/remove clients.
- Ability to mass edit blog posts (as an example, to label a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a few fundamental fields as conventional on customers (like the name).
- Some even more personalization options for the internet site (such as even more adaptable shade options, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some imperfections. Things I hope they make with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, however it isn’t excellent and absolutely not almost as created as something like FluentCRM or any other real CRM product.
It most likely never will be, either. As I said, the purpose is various so it wouldn’t a lot a great deal of feeling for BeeHiiv to come to be a complete marketing automation platform. I presume you never understand, however.
Final Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Review
I like BeeHiiv quite a great deal. Enough where I chose to change my own newsletters over to the platform despite my individual preference for digital sovereignty and having my own platform.
Basically, for the e-newsletter publishing model specifically, I saw adequate value in their platform to call for the change.
Bear in mind, I do not make use of BeeHiiv as my special e-mail checklist. I make use of BeeHiiv of what it is good at, but I intentionally have points set up to make sure that I also keep my listing “in house” inside of FluentCRM.
If you make use of BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the same. It is simply a good insurance policy, for one. But, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your listing will certainly be of high use (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never will certainly be).
So, the question is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my opinion, if you are using Substack now, I ‘d certainly consider switching to BeeHiiv. It will simply be a lot more business-friendly. It is targeting various capabilities and various needs. And also, BeeHiiv also has import tools for Substack, so the switch should be quite uncomplicated.
If you are on ConvertKit now, I ‘d possibly stay unless you have a big email list and are as a result being wooled with their high month-to-month expense. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are repeating quickly. There’s additionally a pretty good possibility you’re not also utilizing some of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you do not even require them. For that reason, BeeHiiv could conveniently be a better and extra inexpensive fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be extremely intentional about growing an e-newsletter, I believe BeeHiiv is THE platform to take into consideration and keep and eye on for you.
If you utilize BeeHiiv with eyes wide open regarding what it is made to be, it is one of the most effective video games in the area today. This is the platform to watch.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves checking out for yourself. And if you end up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll locate the free account to be quite feature rich.