I have actually utilized a lot of different e-mail list systems over the years. In the last couple of years, I’ve been a substantial supporter of digital sovereignty and owning your own platform. For that reason (and the remarkable features), I have been utilizing Beehiiv Publications.
So, it is certainly a weird move for me to determine to make use of BeeHiiv. Besides, it is a hosted application and I am paying monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv testimonial, I intend to review why I made the switch to BeeHiiv for my newsletters. I wish to attend to the concern of digital sovereignty while using the system and I ‘d likewise such as to resolve why I chose to use it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Built For Newsletters
In Problem # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Huge Shift In Strategy, I spoke about just how and why I decided to transform my motor home blog site right into largely a newsletter. I chose that was business design I wished to seek with that home.
But, to purposefully pursue it as a newsletter, I desired a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the email checklist for Gladly RV, yet FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter platform. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, truthfully, using it for newsletters is a little a waste. Extra on that in a bit.
As I stated because problem of the newsletter …
Put simply, 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 the email at the same time without having it be 2 different activities.
- Integrated in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would require a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Integrated capability to do cross-promotions with various other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Links”, which are basically one-click subscription links. Great for promotion in various other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, however, so there are methods to do that.
- Ability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your newsletter.
- Integrated ad network, if I choose to generate income from with advertisements in the e-newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated ability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and basically run a costs e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Generally, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter publishers with features aimed at development. The system was literally developed by the people who built up the innovation for Morning Mixture. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the factor below. BeeHiiv is built from scratch for the purpose of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a various function.
And I ended off with this:.
I might undoubtedly be relocating The Side over to BeeHiiv as well. At the very least, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. Actually, I simply went for it. And as a matter of fact, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, set off as it’s own building to make sure that I can expand it much more purposefully too.
The objective is that each newsletter has the capacity to be branded as it’s very own media entity and expanded independently. Gladly recreational vehicle was young, so easy to shift. Yet, The Morning WP (formerly The Side) was buried in a sea of stuff below at the Blog Marketing Academy. By separating it off, I can do what I can to expand it on it’s own. It will obviously always be very closely tied with the Blog site Marketing Academy, but does not have to be a part of it.
I switched over to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was constructed for this function. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Simply A Typical Email List
There’s a distinction in between a newsletter system and just an email checklist.
You can hold your e-mail list everywhere you desire and there are a variety of them out there, 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 posting implies that it is going to your internet site and to your e-mail subscribers at the same time.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have an internet site. You are releasing to that web site. Yet, you are additionally dispatching to all subscribers at the same time. The web site and it’s clients are done in one. This makes administration of the platform much easier.
With most email systems, any kind of newsletter you established is done as an email campaign. It is constructed entirely independently from your website. So, for example, you could release an article to WordPress but then you would certainly need to individually construct and send an email to your listing to send it to customers. These are then 2 separate sets of archives and two different actions because blog posts and your emails are not inherently connected.
The closest point that transforms WordPress into a real e-newsletter platform is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name since it pretty much “glues” your e-newsletter to your WordPress messages and enables them to be the same thing. Absolutely, something like E-newsletter Glue would be a strong option if I wished to remain to self-host every little thing. Nevertheless, you would certainly shed the growth tools that come with a platform like BeeHiiv.
Posting a newsletter inherently features a various collection of needs than a regular e-mail listing.
You do not normally need much marketing automation. You do not typically need autoresponder sequences, event tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO requirement, though, is one seamless publishing experience and growth devices to assist you develop your subscriber base that specify to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I announced to my clients that I was going to change the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had lots of people ask me why I was selecting it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the reality that I selected to select BeeHiiv, that doesn’t indicate I assume Substack sucks. Actually, due to the fact that Substack has been around longer, it is more mature and has more features.
Even though BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair things that originally got my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is especially customized to newsletter authors. As a matter of fact, it is essentially developed by the exact same folks who constructed the modern technology behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, doesn’t matter. But, the evident positioning of BeeHiiv towards e-newsletter development called me out over the even more generic positioning of being a “designer”. Development is what I have an interest in below.
- That branding and distinction additionally suggests that BeeHiiv has some fairly huge brands and big publications using it. Whereas SubStack is intended even more at solo creators. Again, it just tells me the customer avatar difference in between the two companies.
Sending our my e-newsletter through FluentCRM really did not precisely suck. The only reason I would contemplate drinking things up is if I thought I can expand the checklist much faster. And BeeHiiv spoke specifically to that objective.
As a result of the targeting, I actually do not see BeeHiiv and Substack as direct rivals. I think BeeHiiv is targeting a various kind of customer. In fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being more direct rivals.
However, allow’s dive deeper than simply the placing right here.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
On the whole, BeeHiiv feels like it was developed by individuals that comprehending email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems more geared towards makers.
For example, BeeHiiv provides custom-made areas on subscribers. Currently, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. However, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv provides Automations. In fact, it is an aesthetic automation builder that works a whole lot like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation performance is still early-phase. It is still quite restricted in triggers and the only activity is the capacity to send an email. However, improvements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will certainly have new triggers as well as new actions, such as modifying personalized fields, sending webhooks, and so on. I have actually already seen improvements to their automations simply since I started using the platform. As an example:
- Capacity to set off automations based upon which particular embed kind they came in on.
- Capability to automatically do re-engagement (and manage individuals based on opens up and non-opens).
- Capability to do standard conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack simply can not do this due to the fact that the target audience of Substack just wouldn’t think to approach this like an e-mail marketer.
When it involves writing your e-newsletters, the composing interface of BeeHiiv is simply more tailored towards e-newsletters. Actually, it actually has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in just how it works. I locate it to be a lot more user-friendly, personally.
Substack’s creating interface behaves and tidy, yet it would certainly be a lot more equal to the timeless editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This distinction is greater than just kind. For instance, with BeeHiiv you can put a “Area” and afterwards placed anything you want in it. Then, you can place Presence alternatives on that particular area to reveal it only to paid subscribers, conceal it from email, hide from customers, show only to customers, and so on. Substack offers nothing such as this.
And when/if the moment comes that I begin a costs subscription model, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any kind of profits. Actually, you actually attach up to your own Stripe account and it bills straight to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your earnings. Relying on the number of subscribers you obtain, that 10% can be a fair bit even more cash than the monthly price of BeeHiiv.
Lastly, BeeHiiv has an API. This may appear nerdy, however what it means is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can in fact make BeeHiiv work with the outdoors making use of devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack actually has … absolutely nothing. No integrations whatsoever.
In general, I just felt like BeeHiiv was extra built towards real e-mail marketing. It was developed by people who “get it”. Also the opt-in kinds and the landing page makes appear far better built for conversions. Development is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Although there are still features I want to see BeeHiiv add, I like the instructions it is going more than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have stated, Substack settings itself toward “creators” greater than email marketers and newsletter proprietors. Because of that, you see some things tailored a lot more towards individuals that simply think in regards to web content creation.
For example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Likewise, while BeeHiiv does sustain several publications, they are treated quite separately. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to several publications at the same time. This isn’t something I need, however … great for individuals who might need it.
Substack additionally has more social functionality built-in. For example, it has a chat function to host talks with customers. It also has a “Notes” function which functions kind of like a social media newsfeed where you can share points from various other “Stacks” you read. Interesting. Generally, Substack is established to be a lot more like a social media which sustains long-form content.
In general, Substack is likewise extra … minimal. You either take care of that or don’t. Personally, I don’t. Nevertheless, if the objective is simpleness of interface and, honestly, features … Substack works pretty well.
However, I’ll be clear below …
When it comes to actual marketing, I don’t believe there’s much question that BeeHiiv is much better matched. I looked for even more points that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, yet truthfully … I have a tough time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are frequently through to be the closest competitors, I really see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer rivals. Both are going after the very same target audience and have similar abilities.
ConvertKit is also placed at developers (like Substack), yet it is far more highly accommodating individuals who do it for company. ConvertKit has great visual automation building, it’s very own commerce platform, and much more. ConvertKit is a truly great system.
I’m not mosting likely to birthed you with a full feature-by-feature break down here. ConvertKit is popular already. Yet, here’s exactly how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Things ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has extra flexibility when it comes to it’s automations. I will additionally say that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit much more user-friendly than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains marking. This is simply a standard feature of email checklists that enables segmentation in a far more versatile method than BeeHiiv currently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to sustain identifying at some point quickly, honestly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on Beehiiv Publications.
ConvertKit does currently offer the capability to sell things by means of their own platform. BeeHiiv does not. If that is essential to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would always select an extra straight choice anyway. For me, I favor to utilize my very own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about a lot longer and for that reason has way extra integration choices. Lots of online devices and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their own WordPress plugin that is rather powerful. For instance, their plugin currently even sustains member-gated material along with auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your website. In essence, this much more closely puts ConvertKit right into straight competition by having you be able to publish to your website and your e-mail listing at the same time.
BeeHiiv is badly lacking in these sort of third-party integrations at the moment. It’ll arrive. However, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even hectic dealing with the growth tools of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Suggestion Engine where you can not only incentivize individuals to share your newsletter with benefits, however you can also pay per lead within the interior advertisement network of BeeHiiv to grow your list. These are actually remarkable features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you understand ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is one of the most well known viral promo platforms for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall of what this suggests for the platform moving forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Better At … Beehiiv Publications
BeeHiiv is much previously in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means less features and much less integrations, which is natural for this stage 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 observed nearly regular release of new features into the system. And these aren’t puny little features … yet huge features that are fairly important. Their rate of development at this point has actually been impressive.
I likewise quite appreciate just how receptive they are. As a matter of fact, one of their item news concerning some design improvements to the website design features actually contained a small issue with the web content width. I just replied to that email to tell them. I swiftly got a reply directly from the chief executive officer:.
That exact same day, the problem was repaired.
Few days later, I provided an additional recommendation …
Sure enough, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the ability to trigger automations based upon the embed type made use of was included in the system.
That sort of responsiveness and direct involvement of the team is something I really value.
Another significant point of distinction below is the price. Both platforms use cost-free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan uses more ability and even more subscribers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is also even more favorable. ConvertKit appears more affordable in the beginning glimpse since their pricing web page reveals reduced numbers, nonetheless the customer limitations are FAR lower and your cost quickly boosts as your checklist grows.
With BeeHiiv, your first degree paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid each year), however you can have up to 10,000 customers. That same size checklist is mosting likely to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their ideal plan and the one I directly use), you can grow your checklist up to 100,000. A listing of that size would certainly run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, too, that places you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay annually, also. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for simply $84/month if you pay every year.
BeeHiiv is in a totally different league when it concerns pricing (in a great way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point enhance prices? They might as time goes on. However, I’m guessing individuals like myself that are already in will be locked-in. We’ll see just how points continue.
Things I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
One of things you certainly require to keep in mind is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do seem to evolve instead swiftly and make brand-new product statements somewhat frequently, however there are some basic features I really want they had that I need to just wait for.
One is that they need to have a setting on membership kinds where I might choose an automation to run right at the kind degree. That would certainly be remarkable for many factors. Already, subscription forms look OK, yet there’s really little settings for them to help in division.
It would behave to have labeling at the client level. This would certainly be powerful.
I assume webhooks should belong to automations to make integrated automations much easier and reduce reliance on outdoors tools like Zapier.
There are also some minor management user interface changes that would come in handy. For instance:
- Capacity to bulk edit/remove subscribers.
- Ability to mass edit articles (as an example, to label a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a few standard fields as common on subscribers (like the name).
- Some more personalization choices for the site (such as even more versatile color selections, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Points I hope they do with it in the future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, however it isn’t excellent and certainly not virtually as created as something like FluentCRM or any other genuine CRM product.
It probably never will certainly be, either. As I said, the purpose is different so it wouldn’t a lot a great deal of sense for BeeHiiv to become a complete marketing automation system. I think you never understand, though.
Last Ideas On This BeeHiiv Evaluation
I such as BeeHiiv quite a great deal. Enough where I chose to change my very own e-newsletters over to the platform in spite of my individual choice for digital sovereignty and owning my very own platform.
Simply put, for the newsletter publishing model specifically, I saw adequate worth in their platform to warrant the modification.
Remember, I do not utilize BeeHiiv as my special email list. I make use of BeeHiiv of what it is efficient, however I deliberately have points establish to ensure that I likewise maintain my checklist “in residence” within FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the exact same. It is simply a good insurance coverage, for one. Yet, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your list will be of high usage (FluentCRM is a complete marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will be).
So, the question is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are using Substack today, I ‘d absolutely consider changing to BeeHiiv. It will simply be extra business-friendly. It is targeting various capabilities and different demands. And also, BeeHiiv even has import devices for Substack, so the switch must be rather straightforward.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d most likely sit tight unless you have a big e-mail list and are consequently being wooled with their high monthly expense. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, yet they are repeating rapidly. There’s likewise a respectable possibility you’re not also making use of some of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you do not even need them. Therefore, BeeHiiv can quickly be a far better and a lot more budget friendly fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be extremely deliberate about growing an e-newsletter, I believe BeeHiiv is THE system to think about and maintain and eye on for you.
If you utilize BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is made to be, it is one of the most effective games around right now. This is the system to watch.
BeeHiiv supplies 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 complimentary account to be rather feature rich.