I have actually utilized a lot of different email list systems throughout the years. In the last couple of years, I’ve been a substantial advocate of digital sovereignty and possessing your very own platform. For that reason (and the amazing features), I have actually been using Beehiiv Status.
So, it is undoubtedly an odd move for me to decide to use BeeHiiv. Besides, it is a hosted application and I am paying monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I want to review why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I intend to attend to the issue of digital sovereignty while making use of the platform and I ‘d likewise like to attend to why I chose to use it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For Newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my newsletter called My Hobby + A Large Shift In Method, I spoke about how and why I decided to transform my RV blog into mostly a newsletter. I chose that was business model I wished to seek keeping that residential property.
Yet, to deliberately seek it as an e-newsletter, I wanted a system that was purpose-built for that. I was utilizing FluentCRM for the e-mail checklist for Happily motor home, however FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter platform. It is constructed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, truthfully, utilizing it for newsletters is a little a waste. Extra on that in a bit.
As I stated in that problem of the e-newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a platform with devices built right into it specific to my function. Things such as:
- Capability to release (to the blog) and send out the e-mail at the same time without having it be two different activities.
- Integrated in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would certainly have needed a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capacity to do cross-promotions with other newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Links”, which are primarily one-click membership web links. Great for promotion in various other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, however, so there are means to do that.
- Ability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to promote your e-newsletter.
- Built-in ad network, if I pick to generate income from with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in ability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and primarily run a costs e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Basically, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter authors with features aimed at growth. The system was essentially built by the people that accumulated the technology for Morning Brew. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the factor here. BeeHiiv is constructed from scratch for the objective of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a different function.
And I finished off with this:.
I may undoubtedly be relocating The Side over to BeeHiiv also. A minimum of, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. Actually, I simply went all out. And as a matter of fact, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, triggered as it’s own home so that I can grow it much more deliberately too.
The objective is that each e-newsletter has the capacity to be branded as it’s own media entity and expanded independently. Gladly RV was young, so easy to change. However, The Morning WP (formerly The Side) was hidden in a sea of things here at the Blog Site Marketing Academy. By separating it off, I can do what I can to expand it on it’s very own. It will obviously always be carefully tied with the Blog site Marketing Academy, however does not need to belong of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was built for this function. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Simply A Normal Email List
There’s a distinction between an e-newsletter system and simply an email checklist.
You can hold 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 key distinction is that, with an e-newsletter platform, the act of posting means that it is mosting likely to your web site and to your e-mail customers simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a website. You are publishing to that web site. However, you are likewise dispatching to all clients at the same time. The internet site and it’s subscribers are done in one. This makes monitoring of the platform much less complex.
With the majority of e-mail systems, any type of newsletter you set up is done as an email campaign. It is constructed completely independently from your web site. So, as an example, you might publish a post to WordPress but after that you would certainly require to individually build and send an e-mail to your list to send it to subscribers. These are then 2 different sets of archives and 2 separate activities because article and your emails are not inherently connected.
The closest point that turns WordPress into a true newsletter system is E-newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name because it virtually “adhesives” your newsletter to your WordPress blog posts and enables them to be the very same thing. Certainly, something like E-newsletter Glue would certainly be a strong option if I wished to continue to self-host everything. However, you would certainly lose the growth devices that come with a system like BeeHiiv.
Posting an e-newsletter inherently comes with a various collection of demands than a normal e-mail checklist.
You do not normally need much marketing automation. You don’t generally need autoresponder sequences, occasion monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO need, however, is one seamless posting experience and development devices to help you construct your subscriber base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I announced to my subscribers that I was mosting likely to switch over the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had lots of people ask me why I was choosing it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the fact that I selected to select BeeHiiv, that does not indicate I think Substack sucks. In fact, since Substack has been around longer, it is elder and has more features.
Even though BeeHiiv is younger, there are a pair points that originally obtained my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is especially customized to newsletter publishers. As a matter of fact, it is literally constructed by the very same individuals who developed the modern technology behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, doesn’t matter. However, the obvious positioning of BeeHiiv toward newsletter growth called me out over the even more generic positioning of being a “developer”. Growth is what I’m interested in right here.
- That branding and distinction additionally means that BeeHiiv has some relatively big brands and large magazines using it. Whereas SubStack is intended more at solo makers. Once again, it simply tells me the client character difference in between both companies.
Sending our my newsletter by means of FluentCRM didn’t precisely draw. The only reason I would contemplate shaking things up is if I believed I might GROW the listing faster. And BeeHiiv spoke specifically to that objective.
Due to the targeting, I actually don’t see BeeHiiv and Substack as straight competitors. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a different sort of consumer. In fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being extra direct rivals.
However, let’s dive deeper than just the placing right here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv appears like it was built by individuals who understanding email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears much more tailored towards makers.
For example, BeeHiiv uses personalized areas on clients. Now, it isn’t as created as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv supplies Automations. As a matter of fact, it is a visual automation builder that functions a lot like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation performance is still early-phase. It is still quite minimal in triggers and the only action is the ability to send out an e-mail. Nonetheless, improvements are coming. Soon enough, automations will have brand-new triggers in addition to brand-new activities, such as customizing customized fields, sending webhooks, etc. I’ve currently seen improvements to their automations simply since I started making use of the platform. For example:
- Capability to activate automations based upon which particular embed kind they was available in on.
- Capacity to instantly do re-engagement (and take care of individuals based on opens up and non-opens).
- Capability to do standard conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations like this. Likely, it never will. Substack simply can not do this since the target market of Substack just wouldn’t believe to approach this like an email online marketer.
When it pertains to creating your newsletters, the creating interface of BeeHiiv is simply much more geared toward newsletters. In fact, it in fact has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in how it works. I discover it to be a lot more user-friendly, personally.
Substack’s composing interface is nice and clean, however it would certainly be much more equivalent to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This difference is more than simply form. For example, with BeeHiiv you can place a “Area” and after that placed anything you want in it. Then, you can place Visibility alternatives on that particular area to show it only to paid customers, hide it from e-mail, hide from customers, reveal only to customers, etc. Substack supplies absolutely nothing similar to this.
And when/if the moment comes that I start a premium membership version, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any type of revenue. In fact, you essentially connect as much as your very own Stripe account and it charges directly to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your profits. Relying on the amount of clients you get, that 10% can be quite a bit more cash than the regular monthly expense of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear unpopular, but what it indicates is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can actually make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outside utilizing devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … nothing. No integrations in any way.
In general, I simply seemed like BeeHiiv was more built towards real e-mail marketing. It was built by individuals that “get it”. Even the opt-in types and the landing page develops appear 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 add, I like the direction it is going greater than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have claimed, Substack settings itself towards “developers” greater than email marketing experts and e-newsletter owners. For that reason, you see some points geared much more towards individuals that just think in terms of content production.
For instance, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Also, while BeeHiiv does sustain several publications, they are treated quite individually. Whereas Substack does have the capability to cross-post to several publications at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, however … great for individuals who might need it.
Substack likewise has even more social functionality built-in. As an example, it has a chat feature to host chats with clients. It likewise 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. Fascinating. Generally, Substack is established to be extra like a social network which supports long-form content.
Generally, Substack is likewise extra … minimal. You either take care of that or don’t. Directly, I don’t. Nevertheless, if the objective is simpleness of interface and, frankly, features … Substack functions quite well.
But, I’ll be clear here …
When it involves real marketing, I do not think there’s much question that BeeHiiv is better matched. I tried to find even more points that make Substack much better than BeeHiiv, yet frankly … I have a hard time locating them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are commonly via to be the closest rivals, I really see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer competitors. Both are pursuing the exact same target market and have similar capacities.
ConvertKit is additionally positioned at creators (like Substack), but it is far more highly dealing with individuals who do it for business. ConvertKit has good visual automation building, it’s very own commerce system, and much more. ConvertKit is a truly good system.
I’m not mosting likely to birthed you with a full feature-by-feature malfunction here. ConvertKit is well known already. Yet, below’s how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Things ConvertKit Is Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has more flexibility when it comes to it’s automations. I will likewise claim that I locate ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit more intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains labeling. This is simply a fundamental feature of e-mail lists that allows segmentation in an even more adaptable means than BeeHiiv currently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to sustain labeling eventually soon, frankly. It seems like an oversight that it is missing Beehiiv Status.
ConvertKit does now give the capacity to market points 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, however, I would constantly pick an extra direct alternative anyhow. For me, I prefer to use my very own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about a lot longer and therefore has way extra integration alternatives. Lots of online devices and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their very own WordPress plugin that is quite powerful. As an example, their plugin currently even sustains member-gated web 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 e-mail listing at the same time.
BeeHiiv is drastically lacking in these sort of third-party integrations right now. It’ll get there. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even active dealing with the development tools of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not only incentivize people to share your newsletter with perks, yet you can additionally pay per lead within the interior ad network of BeeHiiv to expand your checklist. These are actually remarkable features of BeeHiiv. However …
Did you understand ConvertKit got Sparkloop? Sparkloop is among the most well known viral promo systems for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the writing on the wall surface for what this indicates for the platform moving forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Better At … Beehiiv Status
BeeHiiv is a lot earlier in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means much less features and less integrations, which is all-natural for this phase of the cycle. However, it likewise implies that they are quickly developing.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have observed practically once a week launch of brand-new features into the platform. And these aren’t weak little features … however large features that are rather crucial. Their speed of growth now has been impressive.
I additionally significantly appreciate exactly how responsive they are. As a matter of fact, one of their item announcements about some layout enhancements to the web design features actually had a little trouble with the web content size. I simply responded to that e-mail to tell them. I swiftly got a reply straight from the CEO:.
That same day, the concern was fixed.
Few days later, I provided one more recommendation …
Indeed, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to trigger automations based upon the embed type used was contributed to the system.
That sort of responsiveness and straight participation of the group is something I really appreciate.
An additional significant point of differentiation right here is the cost. Both systems use cost-free plans, nevertheless the BeeHiiv free plan supplies more capacity and more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is also even more desirable. ConvertKit appears more affordable at first glance due to the fact that their pricing web page reveals lower numbers, nevertheless the customer limits are FAR reduced and your price swiftly increases as your list grows.
With BeeHiiv, your very first level paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid yearly), nevertheless you can have up to 10,000 subscribers. That exact same size listing is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their best plan and the one I personally utilize), you can grow your checklist approximately 100,000. A checklist of that dimension would certainly 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 annually, also. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for just $84/month if you pay annually.
BeeHiiv is in a totally different organization when it pertains to pricing (in a good way).
Will BeeHiiv ultimately increase rates? They could as time goes on. But, I’m presuming people like myself that are currently in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see just how points proceed.
Points I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
Among the important things you absolutely need to keep in mind is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do appear to progress instead swiftly and make new product news somewhat commonly, however there are some basic features I truly desire they had that I need to simply await.
One is that they require to have a setup on subscription kinds where I can choose an automation to run right at the form level. That would be amazing for many factors. Currently, registration forms look OK, but there’s very little setups for them to help in division.
It would behave to have marking at the subscriber level. This would certainly be powerful.
I believe webhooks ought to be part of automations to make integrated automations much easier and decrease dependence on outside devices like Zapier.
There are likewise some minor administrative user interface changes that would certainly come in handy. For instance:
- Capacity to bulk edit/remove subscribers.
- Ability to bulk edit messages (for example, to identify a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of fundamental areas as common on customers (like the name).
- Some even more personalization options for the internet site (such as even more flexible shade choices, heading control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Things I wish they finish with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is respectable, yet it isn’t best and certainly not almost as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM item.
It possibly never will be, either. As I stated, the function is various so it would not much a great deal of sense for BeeHiiv to become a complete marketing automation platform. I presume you never ever recognize, however.
Last Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Evaluation
I such as BeeHiiv fairly a lot. Sufficient where I chose to change my very own newsletters over to the system in spite of my individual preference for digital sovereignty and having my very own system.
Basically, for the e-newsletter posting version specifically, I saw enough worth in their system to require the change.
Remember, I do not make use of BeeHiiv as my exclusive e-mail checklist. I make use of BeeHiiv for what it is good at, yet I deliberately have points establish to make sure that I likewise keep my checklist “in house” inside of FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the same. It is just an excellent 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 will certainly be).
So, the inquiry is … should YOU make use of BeeHiiv?
In my opinion, if you are utilizing Substack today, I ‘d most definitely take into consideration switching over to BeeHiiv. It will just be more business-friendly. It is targeting various abilities and various demands. And also, BeeHiiv even has import tools for Substack, so the button should be pretty simple.
If you are on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d probably sit tight unless you have a huge email listing and are therefore being wooled with their high monthly expense. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, yet they are repeating promptly. There’s additionally a pretty good opportunity you’re not also using a few of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you don’t even require them. For that reason, BeeHiiv could conveniently be a much better and extra economical fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be very willful regarding expanding an e-newsletter, I think BeeHiiv is THE platform to think about and keep and eye on for you.
If you make use of BeeHiiv with eyes wide open about what it is designed to be, it is just one of the very best games in town now. This is the platform to enjoy.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It is worth looking into for yourself. And if you end up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll discover the totally free account to be rather feature rich.