I have actually used a great deal of various email list systems over the years. In the last couple of years, I’ve been a big proponent of digital sovereignty and having your very own platform. Therefore (and the remarkable features), I have been using Beehiiv TechCrunch.
So, it is without a doubt a strange move for me to make a decision to make use of BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, it is a held application and I am paying monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I intend to discuss why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I want to attend to the issue of digital sovereignty while using the platform and I ‘d also such as to resolve why I picked to use it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For Newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my newsletter called My Hobby + A Big Change In Approach, I discussed just how and why I determined to turn my RV blog into primarily a newsletter. I decided that was the business version I intended to go after with that said property.
But, to intentionally seek it as an e-newsletter, I wanted a system that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the e-mail list for Gladly motor home, however FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter platform. It is constructed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, truthfully, using it for newsletters is a little a waste. Extra on that in a little bit.
As I claimed because issue of the e-newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a platform with devices developed right into it specific to my objective. Points such as:
- Ability to publish (to the blog site) and send out the email simultaneously without having it be 2 separate actions.
- Built in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would certainly have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Integrated capacity to do cross-promotions with various other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are primarily one-click registration links. Great for promo in various other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, though, so there are methods to do that.
- Ability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to promote your e-newsletter.
- Integrated advertisement network, if I pick to generate income from with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capacity to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and generally run a premium newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Primarily, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter publishers with features aimed at development. The system was essentially developed by the individuals who built up the innovation for Morning Brew. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the factor here. BeeHiiv is constructed from scratch for the purpose of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a different purpose.
And I ended off with this:.
I might certainly be relocating The Edge over to BeeHiiv too. At least, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. As a matter of fact, I just went for it. And in fact, The side was re-branded over to The Morning WP, triggered as it’s very own home to ensure that I can grow it a lot more purposefully also.
The objective is that each newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s own media entity and expanded separately. Happily RV was young, so simple to shift. However, The Early morning WP (formerly The Edge) was buried in a sea of things right 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 certainly always be closely tied with the Blog Marketing Academy, however does not need to be a part 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 Typical Email Checklist
There’s a distinction between a newsletter system and just an e-mail list.
You can organize your email checklist anywhere you want and there are a number of them available, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The primary difference is that, with a newsletter system, the act of posting implies that it is mosting likely to your website and to your email customers at the same time.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a website. You are publishing to that site. However, you are additionally dispatching to all subscribers at the same time. The web site and it’s customers are all in one. This makes monitoring of the platform much easier.
With most email platforms, any kind of e-newsletter you established is done as an e-mail campaign. It is built entirely separately from your site. So, for instance, you may release an article to WordPress yet after that you would certainly need to separately develop and send an email to your list to send it to subscribers. These are then 2 separate sets of archives and 2 different actions due to the fact that post and your emails are not inherently linked.
The closest thing that turns WordPress right into a true newsletter system is E-newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name since it pretty much “glues” your e-newsletter to your WordPress messages and permits them to be the exact same point. Definitely, something like Newsletter Glue would be a strong choice if I wanted to remain to self-host everything. Nonetheless, you ‘d shed the growth tools that include a system like BeeHiiv.
Publishing a newsletter naturally comes with a different set of requirements than a typical email listing.
You do not generally need much marketing automation. You do not generally require autoresponder series, occasion tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO need, though, is one smooth publishing experience and growth tools to help you build your customer base that specify to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my customers that I was mosting likely to switch the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many individuals ask me why I was picking it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the fact that I selected to select BeeHiiv, that does not imply I assume Substack draws. Actually, because Substack has been around much longer, it is more mature and has even more features.
Although BeeHiiv is younger, there are a pair points that initially got my focus:.
- BeeHiiv is particularly customized to newsletter authors. As a matter of fact, it is actually built by the same individuals that developed the technology behind Morning Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, does not matter. But, the obvious positioning of BeeHiiv toward e-newsletter growth called me out over the more generic positioning of being a “maker”. Development is what I want below.
- That branding and distinction additionally suggests that BeeHiiv has some fairly huge brand names and large magazines using it. Whereas SubStack is intended even more at solo designers. Once again, it simply tells me the client avatar distinction between the two companies.
Sending our my newsletter by means of FluentCRM really did not specifically suck. The only factor I would contemplate trembling points up is if I thought I could expand the checklist quicker. And BeeHiiv spoke specifically to that objective.
Due to the targeting, I actually do not view BeeHiiv and Substack as direct competitors. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a different kind of consumer. As a matter of fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being more straight rivals.
However, allow’s dive much deeper than simply the placing below.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
On the whole, BeeHiiv seems like it was built by individuals who comprehending email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears a lot more tailored toward developers.
For example, BeeHiiv supplies personalized fields on clients. Currently, it isn’t as developed as something like FluentCRM. Yet, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv supplies Automations. In fact, it is an aesthetic automation builder that works a great deal like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation performance is still early-phase. It is still rather restricted in triggers and the only action is the capacity to send an email. Nonetheless, enhancements are coming. Quickly sufficient, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers along with brand-new actions, such as modifying personalized areas, sending out webhooks, and so on. I’ve currently seen improvements to their automations just considering that I started making use of the system. For instance:
- Capacity to activate automations based upon which specific embed type they was available in on.
- Ability to immediately do re-engagement (and manage people based on opens and non-opens).
- Ability to do standard conditional reasoning 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 email marketing professional.
When it pertains to writing your newsletters, the writing interface of BeeHiiv is simply a lot more tailored toward newsletters. Actually, it actually has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it works. I locate it to be a lot more instinctive, directly.
Substack’s creating interface behaves and tidy, yet it would certainly be extra comparable to the timeless editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This distinction is greater than simply kind. For instance, with BeeHiiv you can insert a “Section” and after that put anything you want in it. Then, you can place Presence alternatives on that section to show it only to paid customers, conceal it from e-mail, conceal from subscribers, reveal only to customers, and so on. Substack uses absolutely nothing such as this.
And when/if the time comes that I start a costs subscription model, BeeHiiv does not take any kind of earnings. In fact, you actually connect up to your own Stripe account and it bills straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your income. Relying on the amount of customers you get, that 10% can be quite a bit more money than the month-to-month cost of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This could seem nerdy, however what it suggests is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can in fact make BeeHiiv work with the outside making use of tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … absolutely nothing. No integrations at all.
In general, I just seemed like BeeHiiv was more constructed toward actual email marketing. It was constructed by individuals who “get it”. Even the opt-in forms and the landing page develops appear better constructed for conversions. Development is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Even though there are still features I would love to see BeeHiiv add, I like the direction it is going more than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have claimed, Substack placements itself toward “makers” greater than e-mail marketers and e-newsletter proprietors. Therefore, you see some things tailored much more towards people who simply think in regards to content creation.
As an example, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Likewise, while BeeHiiv does support several magazines, they are dealt with rather separately. Whereas Substack does have the capacity to cross-post to numerous publications at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, yet … cool for individuals that might require it.
Substack likewise has more social functionality built-in. For example, it has a chat feature to host chats with subscribers. It additionally has a “Notes” feature which functions sort of like a social networks newsfeed where you can share points from other “Stacks” you’re reading. Interesting. In general, Substack is set up to be much more like a social media network which sustains long-form material.
In general, Substack is additionally much more … minimal. You either take care of that or don’t. Personally, I don’t. However, if the goal is simpleness of interface and, truthfully, features … Substack works rather well.
However, I’ll be clear below …
When it involves real marketing, I do not believe there’s much doubt that BeeHiiv is much better matched. I searched for more points that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, however frankly … I have a difficult time locating them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are commonly with to be the closest competitors, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer opponents. Both are pursuing the very same target market and have similar capabilities.
ConvertKit is also placed at designers (like Substack), but it is much more strongly accommodating people who do it for service. ConvertKit has good visual automation building, it’s very own business platform, and more. ConvertKit is an actually wonderful platform.
I’m not mosting likely to birthed you with a complete feature-by-feature malfunction below. ConvertKit is well known currently. Yet, right here’s just how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Points ConvertKit Is Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has a lot more adaptability when it comes to it’s automations. I will certainly additionally say that I locate ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit a lot more user-friendly than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains marking. This is just a basic feature of email listings that allows division in a far more adaptable method than BeeHiiv currently does. I expect BeeHiiv to support tagging at some time soon, truthfully. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on Beehiiv TechCrunch.
ConvertKit does currently supply the capability to market points by means of their very own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that’s important to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, nevertheless, I would constantly pick a much more straight alternative anyway. For me, I choose to utilize my very own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been around much longer and for that reason has way extra integration choices. Lots of online devices and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their very own WordPress plugin that is fairly powerful. For example, their plugin now even sustains member-gated content in addition to auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your site. Basically, this extra very closely puts ConvertKit into straight competition by having you have the ability to publish to your site and your e-mail checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is severely doing not have in these kinds of third-party integrations presently. It’ll get there. However, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also hectic taking on the development devices of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Suggestion Engine where you can not just incentivize individuals to share your e-newsletter with advantages, yet you can likewise pay per lead within the interior advertisement network of BeeHiiv to expand your listing. These are truly awesome features of BeeHiiv. But …
Did you understand ConvertKit got Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of the most well known viral promotion platforms for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall wherefore this means for the platform going forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Better At … Beehiiv TechCrunch
BeeHiiv is much earlier in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means much less features and less integrations, which is all-natural for this stage of the cycle. Nevertheless, it likewise means that they are quickly establishing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually observed nearly regular release of new features right into the platform. And these aren’t weak little features … however big features that are fairly vital. Their rate of growth now has actually been impressive.
I also very much appreciate just how receptive they are. In fact, among their item announcements concerning some style improvements to the web design features actually included a tiny trouble with the material width. I simply responded to that e-mail to tell them. I quickly obtained a reply straight from the chief executive officer:.
That very same day, the problem was taken care of.
Couple of days later on, I gave them one more suggestion …
Sure enough, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capacity to cause automations based on the embed form made use of was contributed to the system.
That sort of responsiveness and direct participation of the group is something I actually appreciate.
Another significant point of distinction right here is the rate. Both platforms provide cost-free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan supplies more capacity and even more subscribers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is likewise much more beneficial. ConvertKit appears more affordable initially glimpse because their pricing web page reveals reduced numbers, nevertheless the client limits are much lower and your price swiftly enhances as your listing expands.
With BeeHiiv, your first degree paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid every year), nevertheless you can have up to 10,000 subscribers. That same dimension list is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their best plan and the one I directly use), you can expand your checklist as much as 100,000. A list of that dimension would 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 each year, as well. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for simply $84/month if you pay each year.
BeeHiiv remains in an entirely various league when it pertains to pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv eventually raise rates? They could as time goes on. Yet, I’m guessing people like myself that are already in will be locked-in. We’ll see just how things continue.
Things I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
Among things you certainly require to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is relatively young. They do appear to evolve rather swiftly and make new item news rather usually, but there are some basic features I really want they had that I require to simply await.
One is that they require to have a setup on membership types where I could choose an automation to run right at the form level. That would be AWESOME for a lot of reasons. Already, membership forms look OK, yet there’s very little settings for them to assist in segmentation.
It would behave to have marking at the client degree. This would certainly be powerful.
I think webhooks ought to become part of automations to make built-in automations simpler and decrease dependence on outside devices like Zapier.
There are additionally some small administrative user interface modifications that would certainly be handy. For example:
- Capacity to bulk edit/remove clients.
- Ability to mass edit messages (for example, to label a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a few fundamental fields as common on clients (like the name).
- Some more personalization options for the site (such as even more flexible shade choices, headline control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Points I wish they finish with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is respectable, however it isn’t excellent and absolutely not nearly as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other real CRM item.
It possibly never ever will certainly be, either. As I stated, the function is different so it wouldn’t much a lot of feeling for BeeHiiv to become a complete marketing automation system. I guess you never know, though.
Final Ideas On This BeeHiiv Review
I such as BeeHiiv fairly a whole lot. Sufficient where I chose to change my own e-newsletters over to the platform despite my individual preference for digital sovereignty and owning my very own platform.
Basically, for the e-newsletter posting design specifically, I saw enough worth in their platform to warrant the modification.
Bear in mind, I do not utilize BeeHiiv as my special e-mail listing. I make use of BeeHiiv for what it is efficient, but I intentionally have things set up so that I also keep my listing “in home” within FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the same. It is simply a good insurance policy, for one. Yet, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your listing will certainly be of high use (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation system 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 definitely consider changing to BeeHiiv. It will just be much more business-friendly. It is targeting different abilities and various demands. And also, BeeHiiv even has import tools for Substack, so the switch needs to be rather uncomplicated.
If you get on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d probably stay unless you have a large e-mail listing and are therefore being fleeced with their high regular monthly expense. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are iterating rapidly. There’s likewise a pretty good chance you’re not also using some of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you do not even require them. Therefore, BeeHiiv can quickly be a much better and more economical fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be very deliberate about growing an e-newsletter, I believe BeeHiiv is THE platform to take into consideration and maintain and eye on for you.
If you make use of BeeHiiv with eyes wide open regarding what it is made to be, it is just one of the best games around today. This is the system to enjoy.
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 discover the free account to be quite feature rich.