I have actually used a great deal of various e-mail list systems for many years. In the last number of years, I have actually been a huge proponent of digital sovereignty and having your own system. For that reason (and the amazing features), I have actually been utilizing Beehiiv Shop.
So, it is certainly a weird move for me to make a decision to utilize BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, it is an organized application and I am paying month-to-month for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv evaluation, I wish to discuss why I made the switch to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I wish to deal with the issue of digital sovereignty while utilizing the platform and I would certainly also such as to resolve why I chose to use it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For Newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my newsletter called My Pastime + A Large Shift In Strategy, I talked about just how and why I determined to transform my RV blog site right into primarily a newsletter. I determined that was the business version I wished to go after with that said home.
Yet, to deliberately seek it as a newsletter, I wanted a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the email listing for Gladly motor home, however FluentCRM is not a newsletter system. It is developed to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, honestly, using it for newsletters is a little a waste. A lot more on that particular in a bit.
As I said because issue of the e-newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a system with tools developed into it particular to my purpose. Points such as:
- Capacity to publish (to the blog site) and send the email concurrently without having it be 2 separate actions.
- Constructed in e-newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would certainly have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in ability to do cross-promotions with other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are essentially one-click membership links. Great for promo in various other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, though, so there are ways to do that.
- Capability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to promote your newsletter.
- Integrated ad network, if I pick to generate income from with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and primarily run a costs e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Basically, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter publishers with features focused on development. The platform was essentially built by the individuals who built up the innovation for Morning Mixture. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the point below. BeeHiiv is constructed from the ground up for the objective of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a different function.
And I finished off with this:.
I may indeed be relocating The Edge 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 simply went all out. And actually, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Morning WP, set off as it’s own home to make sure that I can expand it extra intentionally also.
The objective is that each newsletter has the capacity to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown individually. Happily motor home was young, so easy to shift. Yet, The Early morning WP (previously The Edge) was buried in a sea of stuff below at the Blog Site Marketing Academy. By separating it off, I can do what I can to expand it on it’s own. It will clearly always be very closely linked with the Blog site Marketing Academy, however doesn’t have to be a part of it.
I changed to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was built for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Just A Regular Email Checklist
There’s a difference in between an e-newsletter platform and just an e-mail list.
You can hold your e-mail listing just about anywhere you desire and there are a variety of them available, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted alternatives like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The key distinction is that, with a newsletter platform, the act of publishing suggests that it is mosting likely to your internet site and to your e-mail customers simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a site. You are releasing to that website. Yet, you are also sending off to all clients at the same time. The internet site and it’s subscribers are all in one. This makes administration of the system much easier.
With a lot of e-mail systems, any newsletter you established is done as an email campaign. It is constructed entirely independently from your internet site. So, for example, you may publish an article to WordPress yet then you would certainly require to individually construct and send an e-mail to your listing to send it to subscribers. These are after that two separate sets of archives and two different actions because post and your e-mails are not naturally connected.
The closest thing that transforms WordPress right into a real e-newsletter platform is Newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name due to the fact that it pretty much “glues” your newsletter to your WordPress articles and permits them to be the very same thing. Absolutely, something like Newsletter Glue would be a solid choice if I wanted to remain to self-host every little thing. Nevertheless, you ‘d lose the development devices that feature a platform like BeeHiiv.
Publishing a newsletter inherently features a various set of demands than a normal email list.
You do not generally need much marketing automation. You do not generally need autoresponder series, event monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO requirement, however, is one seamless publishing experience and growth tools to aid you develop your client base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I revealed to my subscribers that I was mosting likely to switch over 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 truth that I chose to choose BeeHiiv, that doesn’t imply I think Substack sucks. As a matter of fact, since Substack has actually been around longer, it is elder and has more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is younger, there are a couple things that at first got my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically tailored to newsletter authors. As a matter of fact, it is literally developed by the very same individuals that constructed the innovation behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real world, doesn’t matter. Yet, the noticeable positioning of BeeHiiv toward e-newsletter development called me out over the more generic positioning of being a “creator”. Development is what I’m interested in here.
- That branding and distinction also means that BeeHiiv has some rather huge brand names and large publications utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is intended even more at solo designers. Once again, it just informs me the consumer character distinction in between the two companies.
Sending our my e-newsletter through FluentCRM didn’t specifically suck. The only factor I would certainly consider drinking things up is if I thought I could expand the list faster. And BeeHiiv spoke precisely to that goal.
Because of the targeting, I actually do not see BeeHiiv and Substack as direct rivals. I think BeeHiiv is targeting a different type of customer. As a matter of fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being more direct rivals.
Yet, let’s dive much deeper than just the positioning here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv looks like it was developed by people who understanding e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems extra geared towards developers.
For example, BeeHiiv provides custom fields on customers. Currently, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv provides Automations. As a matter of fact, it is an aesthetic automation builder that functions a whole lot like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still fairly limited in triggers and the only action is the capacity to send out an email. Nonetheless, enhancements are coming. Quickly enough, automations will certainly have new triggers as well as new activities, such as customizing custom-made areas, sending out webhooks, and so on. I have actually currently seen enhancements to their automations simply considering that I started making use of the platform. As an example:
- Ability to trigger automations based on which specific embed kind they can be found in on.
- Capability to automatically do re-engagement (and take care of people based on opens and non-opens).
- Capacity to do fundamental conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations like this. Likely, it never will. Substack simply can’t do this because the target audience of Substack simply would not think to approach this like an e-mail marketer.
When it pertains to creating your e-newsletters, the creating user interface of BeeHiiv is simply more geared toward newsletters. Actually, it actually has similarities to the WordPress block builder in just how it works. I find it to be much more intuitive, personally.
Substack’s creating interface behaves and tidy, however it would certainly be much more comparable to the timeless editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This distinction is greater than simply type. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can insert a “Area” and then put anything you desire in it. After that, you can put Presence alternatives on that particular area to show it just to paid clients, conceal it from e-mail, hide from clients, reveal just to subscribers, etc. Substack supplies absolutely nothing such as this.
And when/if the moment comes that I begin a premium membership model, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any type of earnings. In fact, you actually connect approximately your own Stripe account and it bills straight to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your income. Depending upon the amount of clients you obtain, that 10% can be quite a bit even more money than the monthly price of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This may appear nerdy, but what it indicates is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv deal with the outside using devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … nothing. No integrations at all.
In general, I just felt like BeeHiiv was a lot more built towards genuine e-mail marketing. It was constructed by individuals that “get it”. Even the opt-in types and the landing page creates seem far better developed 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 more than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have claimed, Substack settings itself toward “makers” more than e-mail marketing experts and newsletter owners. For that reason, you see some points geared more towards individuals that just think in terms of content production.
As an example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Likewise, while BeeHiiv does sustain numerous publications, they are dealt with rather independently. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to multiple magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, however … amazing for people who may need it.
Substack additionally has more social capability built-in. As an example, it has a chat feature to host chats with subscribers. It likewise has a “Notes” feature which works kind of like a social networks newsfeed where you can share things from various other “Stacks” you’re reading. Fascinating. Overall, Substack is established to be more like a social media which sustains long-form material.
On the whole, Substack is likewise much more … minimalist. You either care for that or do not. Personally, I do not. Nevertheless, if the goal is simplicity of user interface and, frankly, features … Substack works quite well.
But, I’ll be clear here …
When it comes to real marketing, I don’t believe there’s much doubt that BeeHiiv is better fit. I looked for more factors that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, however honestly … I have a hard time locating them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are commonly through to be the closest rivals, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer rivals. Both are pursuing the exact same target market and have comparable capabilities.
ConvertKit is additionally positioned at designers (like Substack), however it is a lot more strongly catering to individuals that do it for company. ConvertKit has wonderful visual automation structure, it’s very own business system, and more. ConvertKit is a really nice system.
I’m not mosting likely to bore you with a full feature-by-feature breakdown right here. ConvertKit is popular already. But, right here’s how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Things ConvertKit Is Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has much more flexibility when it pertains to it’s automations. I will likewise claim that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit much more intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains tagging. This is simply a standard feature of e-mail listings that makes it possible for division in a much more flexible method than BeeHiiv presently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support marking at some time soon, frankly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on Beehiiv Shop.
ConvertKit does now offer the ability to sell things via their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is necessary to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, however, I would constantly choose a much more direct alternative anyhow. For me, I like to utilize my very own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about much longer and because of that has way more integration alternatives. Tons of web-based tools and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their very own WordPress plugin that is fairly powerful. For instance, their plugin now even supports member-gated content in addition to auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your website. Basically, this more closely places ConvertKit right into direct competition by having you have the ability to release to your website and your email listing at the same time.
BeeHiiv is seriously lacking in these type of third-party integrations at the moment. It’ll arrive. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even busy dealing with the growth tools of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not just incentivize people to share your e-newsletter with benefits, however you can additionally pay per lead within the interior ad network of BeeHiiv to grow your checklist. These are really awesome features of BeeHiiv. However …
Did you understand ConvertKit acquired Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of the most popular viral promotion systems for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the creating on the wall surface of what this implies for the platform moving forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Beehiiv Shop
BeeHiiv is a lot earlier in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that implies less features and much less integrations, which is natural for this stage of the cycle. However, it also indicates that they are rapidly establishing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually seen almost once a week release of new features right into the platform. And these aren’t weak little features … yet big features that are quite vital. Their rate of growth at this moment has gone over.
I additionally quite appreciate exactly how receptive they are. In fact, among their item news concerning some layout enhancements to the website design features in fact contained a small trouble with the material width. I merely replied to that e-mail to tell them. I promptly got a reply directly from the CEO:.
That same day, the problem was taken care of.
Couple of days later on, I provided an additional tip …
Certainly, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the ability to trigger automations based on the embed type utilized was contributed to the system.
That type of responsiveness and direct participation of the team is something I truly value.
An additional major point of differentiation right here is the price. Both platforms provide cost-free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan uses extra capacity and even more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
Once you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is additionally FAR more desirable. ConvertKit seems less expensive in the beginning look since their pricing page reveals reduced numbers, nevertheless the subscriber restrictions are FAR reduced and your cost quickly boosts as your checklist expands.
With BeeHiiv, your very first level paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid yearly), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 subscribers. That exact same dimension listing is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their finest plan and the one I directly utilize), you can expand your listing up to 100,000. A listing of that dimension would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, also, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay yearly, as well. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for simply $84/month if you pay yearly.
BeeHiiv remains in a completely different league when it concerns pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv eventually increase rates? They might as time takes place. Yet, I’m guessing people like myself that are currently in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see exactly how points continue.
Points I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
Among the things you definitely require to remember is that BeeHiiv is relatively young. They do seem to develop rather promptly and make new item announcements rather usually, but there are some fundamental features I truly wish they had that I need to simply wait for.
One is that they need to have a setup on membership kinds where I might choose an automation to run right at the form degree. That would certainly be remarkable for many factors. Already, membership kinds look OK, however there’s really little settings for them to assist in segmentation.
It would be nice to have identifying at the customer level. This would certainly be powerful.
I believe webhooks need to belong to automations to make built-in automations less complicated and reduce dependence on outdoors devices like Zapier.
There are additionally some minor management interface adjustments that would certainly come in handy. For example:
- Capacity to bulk edit/remove subscribers.
- Capability to bulk edit articles (for example, to tag a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a few fundamental areas as common on customers (like the name).
- Some even more customization options for the web site (such as more versatile shade options, headline control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some imperfections. Things I wish they make with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is respectable, but it isn’t perfect and definitely not virtually as established as something like FluentCRM or any other genuine CRM product.
It most likely never ever will certainly be, either. As I claimed, the function is various so it would not a lot a great deal of feeling for BeeHiiv to become a complete marketing automation platform. I guess you never ever understand, however.
Last Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Testimonial
I like BeeHiiv rather a lot. Sufficient where I determined to change my own e-newsletters over to the platform despite my individual preference for digital sovereignty and possessing my very own platform.
Basically, for the e-newsletter publishing model particularly, I saw adequate value in their platform to require the change.
Bear in mind, I do not utilize BeeHiiv as my special e-mail list. I utilize BeeHiiv wherefore it is efficient, however I purposefully have things establish to make sure that I also maintain my list “in home” within FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the very same. It is just a great insurance policy, for one. However, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your listing will be of high usage (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will be).
So, the concern is … should YOU utilize BeeHiiv?
In my point of view, if you are using Substack now, I ‘d absolutely consider changing to BeeHiiv. It will just be much more business-friendly. It is targeting different capacities and various demands. And also, BeeHiiv also has import devices for Substack, so the button should be quite simple.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d most likely stay put unless you have a huge e-mail checklist and are for that reason being wooled with their high regular monthly costs. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are repeating promptly. There’s additionally a pretty good opportunity you’re not also using several of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you don’t even require them. Because of that, BeeHiiv can easily be a far better and a lot more inexpensive fit.
Finally, if you plan to be very intentional about expanding 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 designed to be, it is one of the best video games in the area now. This is the platform to view.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves taking a look at for yourself. And if you wind up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll locate the totally free account to be rather feature abundant.