I have actually made use of a great deal of different e-mail list systems over the years. In the last number of years, I have actually been a big supporter of digital sovereignty and owning your very own platform. Therefore (and the outstanding features), I have actually been utilizing Beehiiv Thumbnail.
So, it is without a doubt an unusual move for me to choose to utilize BeeHiiv. Besides, it is a hosted application and I am paying month-to-month for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv testimonial, I intend to look at why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my newsletters. I want to attend to the issue of digital sovereignty while utilizing the platform and I would certainly also like to attend to why I chose to use it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Built For E-newsletters
In Concern # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Hobby + A Huge Shift In Approach, I discussed just how and why I made a decision to transform my motor home blog site into mostly a newsletter. I decided that was the business version I wished to seek keeping that residential property.
But, to purposefully seek it as a newsletter, I desired a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the email checklist for Happily motor home, yet FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter platform. It is constructed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, honestly, using it for e-newsletters is a bit of a waste. Extra on that particular in a little bit.
As I said in that issue of the newsletter …
Basically, BeeHiiv is a platform with tools developed right into it particular to my objective. Things such as:
- Ability to publish (to the blog site) and send out the e-mail simultaneously without having it be 2 different actions.
- Built in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Integrated capability to do cross-promotions with other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Links”, which are generally one-click registration links. Great for promo 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 e-newsletter.
- Integrated advertisement network, if I pick to monetize with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capability to run a paid newsletter upgrade and basically run a costs e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Primarily, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter authors with features focused on development. The platform was actually developed by the people that accumulated the innovation for Morning Brew. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the point below. BeeHiiv is developed from scratch for the purpose of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a different function.
And I finished off with this:.
I may undoubtedly be moving The Edge over to BeeHiiv as well. At least, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. As a matter of fact, I just went for it. And as a matter of fact, The side was re-branded over to The Morning WP, triggered as it’s own residential property to ensure that I can grow it a lot more deliberately too.
The objective is that each newsletter has the capability to be branded as it’s own media entity and expanded independently. Happily recreational vehicle was young, so very easy to change. Yet, The Morning WP (previously The Side) was hidden in a sea of things below 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 undoubtedly constantly be carefully linked with the Blog Marketing Academy, yet doesn’t need to belong of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv because it was built for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Simply A Typical Email Listing
There’s a difference between a newsletter system and simply an e-mail checklist.
You can host your e-mail listing anywhere you desire and there are a number of them around, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted alternatives like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The main difference is that, with an e-newsletter platform, the act of posting indicates that it is mosting likely to your website and to your e-mail subscribers simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have an internet site. You are publishing to that site. But, you are also sending to all subscribers at the same time. The internet site and it’s customers are all in one. This makes administration of the system much easier.
With many e-mail systems, any e-newsletter you set up is done as an e-mail campaign. It is developed completely separately from your internet site. So, for instance, you could publish a write-up to WordPress but then you would certainly require to independently construct and send an email to your list to send it to clients. These are after that 2 separate collections of archives and two different activities because article and your emails are not inherently connected.
The closest point that turns WordPress into a true e-newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name due to the fact that it practically “adhesives” your newsletter to your WordPress blog posts and allows them to be the exact same point. Definitely, something like Newsletter Glue would be a strong alternative if I intended to continue to self-host everything. Nevertheless, you would certainly lose the development devices that feature a system like BeeHiiv.
Publishing an e-newsletter inherently includes a various collection of demands than a normal e-mail list.
You do not generally require much marketing automation. You do not normally need autoresponder sequences, occasion tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO need, however, is one seamless publishing experience and development tools to help you develop your subscriber base that specify to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I announced to my subscribers that I was mosting likely to change 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 fact that I selected to go with BeeHiiv, that does not suggest I assume Substack draws. Actually, since Substack has been around much longer, it is more mature and has even more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair points that originally got my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is especially tailored to e-newsletter authors. In fact, it is actually built by the same folks that built the innovation behind Morning Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, does not matter. However, the apparent positioning of BeeHiiv toward e-newsletter development called me out over the even more common positioning of being a “designer”. Growth is what I want here.
- That branding and differentiation also implies that BeeHiiv has some rather huge brands and huge publications utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is aimed even more at solo creators. Once more, it simply informs me the customer character difference between the two companies.
Sending our my newsletter through FluentCRM really did not exactly suck. The only factor I would contemplate trembling points up is if I thought I can GROW the list much faster. And BeeHiiv talked specifically to that objective.
Due to the targeting, I really do not view BeeHiiv and Substack as direct competitors. I think BeeHiiv is targeting a different sort of consumer. As a matter of fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being extra direct rivals.
However, allow’s dive deeper than just the positioning below.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Generally, BeeHiiv feels like it was developed by individuals who comprehending email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears extra geared toward designers.
For example, BeeHiiv uses custom-made fields on clients. Currently, it isn’t as created as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. Actually, it is an aesthetic automation builder that functions a great deal like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation capability is still early-phase. It is still fairly minimal in triggers and the only activity is the ability to send an e-mail. Nonetheless, improvements are coming. Soon enough, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers as well as brand-new actions, such as changing personalized fields, sending webhooks, and so on. I have actually currently seen improvements to their automations just given that I started using the system. For example:
- Capability to activate automations based upon which particular embed kind they can be found in on.
- Capacity to immediately do re-engagement (and manage individuals based on opens up and non-opens).
- Capacity to do fundamental conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack simply can not do this because the target audience of Substack just would not think to approach this like an email marketer.
When it pertains to creating your newsletters, the creating interface of BeeHiiv is just a lot more geared toward e-newsletters. As a matter of fact, it really has similarities to the WordPress block builder in how it works. I discover it to be much more intuitive, personally.
Substack’s writing interface behaves and clean, yet it would be extra comparable to the timeless editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This distinction is greater than just form. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can put a “Section” and then put anything you desire in it. Then, you can place Exposure alternatives on that area to reveal it only to paid subscribers, conceal it from email, hide from subscribers, reveal just to subscribers, and so on. Substack offers absolutely nothing such as this.
And when/if the time comes that I start a premium membership version, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any type of earnings. In fact, you essentially connect as much as your very own Stripe account and it bills directly to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your income. Relying on the amount of subscribers you obtain, that 10% can be quite a bit more money than the regular monthly expense of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This may appear unpopular, yet what it indicates is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can in fact make BeeHiiv deal with the outdoors making use of devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack actually has … absolutely nothing. No integrations in any way.
Overall, I just felt like BeeHiiv was a lot more built towards real email marketing. It was built by people who “get it”. Also the opt-in forms and the landing page makes appear better constructed for conversions. Development is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Although there are still features I wish to see BeeHiiv include, I like the instructions it is going greater than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have claimed, Substack settings itself towards “makers” more than email marketing experts and e-newsletter owners. For that reason, you see some things geared extra toward people that just believe in terms of material creation.
For example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Also, while BeeHiiv does support several publications, they are dealt with rather independently. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to several magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, yet … amazing for people who could need it.
Substack also has even more social performance built-in. For example, it has a conversation feature to host talks with clients. It additionally has a “Notes” function which functions kind of like a social networks newsfeed where you can share points from various other “Stacks” you’re reading. Interesting. On the whole, Substack is set up to be extra like a social media which supports long-form material.
On the whole, Substack is also extra … minimalist. You either look after that or don’t. Directly, I do not. Nonetheless, if the objective is simplicity of interface and, frankly, features … Substack works rather well.
But, I’ll be clear here …
When it involves actual marketing, I don’t believe there’s much uncertainty that BeeHiiv is better fit. I searched for even more points that make Substack much better than BeeHiiv, yet truthfully … I have a difficult time discovering them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are usually through 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 comparable capacities.
ConvertKit is likewise positioned at developers (like Substack), however it is far more strongly dealing with people that do it for service. ConvertKit has great visual automation building, it’s very own business platform, and extra. ConvertKit is a truly good system.
I’m not mosting likely to bore you with a complete feature-by-feature breakdown here. ConvertKit is popular already. But, here’s how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Points ConvertKit Is Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has more adaptability when it pertains to it’s automations. I will additionally state that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit extra instinctive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports marking. This is simply a fundamental function of e-mail listings that enables segmentation in a far more versatile way than BeeHiiv presently does. I expect BeeHiiv to support marking at some time soon, honestly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on Beehiiv Thumbnail.
ConvertKit does now give the capability to market things by means of their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is essential to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, however, I would certainly constantly pick a more straight alternative anyhow. For me, I choose to utilize my very own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been about a lot longer and because of that has way a lot more integration choices. Tons of web-based tools and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their own WordPress plugin that is fairly powerful. For example, their plugin now even supports member-gated web content in addition to auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your website. Basically, this much more very closely puts ConvertKit right into straight competitors by having you be able to release to your site and your email checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is seriously lacking in these kinds of third-party integrations right now. It’ll get there. But, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even hectic taking on the growth tools of BeeHiiv. For instance, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not only incentivize people to share your e-newsletter with advantages, however you can additionally pay per lead within the interior ad network of BeeHiiv to expand your listing. These are actually outstanding features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you know ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of the most popular viral promotion systems for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the writing on the wall surface wherefore this indicates for the platform moving forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Better At … Beehiiv Thumbnail
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that indicates 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 been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have experienced virtually once a week launch of brand-new features right into the platform. And these aren’t weak little features … however big features that are quite vital. Their speed of growth now has actually gone over.
I also significantly appreciate exactly how receptive they are. In fact, one of their item statements about some layout improvements to the website design features actually consisted of a tiny issue with the material width. I simply responded to that email to tell them. I rapidly obtained a reply directly from the chief executive officer:.
That same day, the problem was fixed.
Few days later on, I gave them an additional suggestion …
Indeed, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the ability to set off automations based upon the embed type made use of was contributed to the system.
That type of responsiveness and direct involvement of the team is something I truly appreciate.
Another major factor of distinction here is the price. Both systems use totally free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan provides much more ability and more subscribers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is likewise FAR more favorable. ConvertKit seems cheaper at first look since their pricing page shows reduced numbers, nonetheless the customer restrictions are much reduced and your price promptly boosts as your checklist expands.
With BeeHiiv, your initial degree paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid every year), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 clients. That exact same dimension list is mosting likely to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you update to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their finest plan and the one I personally utilize), you can expand your list up to 100,000. A checklist of that dimension would certainly 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 annually, too. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for simply $84/month if you pay annually.
BeeHiiv remains in a completely different league when it pertains to pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point enhance prices? They might as time goes on. But, I’m presuming individuals like myself who are currently in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see just how points continue.
Points I Would Like BeeHiiv To Include
Among the things you certainly need to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is fairly young. They do seem to develop instead promptly and make new item news somewhat usually, yet there are some standard features I actually desire they had that I require to just wait on.
One is that they require to have a setup on registration types where I might pick an automation to run right at the kind degree. That would certainly be outstanding for so many factors. Currently, membership kinds look OK, but there’s extremely little settings for them to aid in division.
It would certainly be nice to have marking at the subscriber level. This would certainly be powerful.
I assume webhooks must belong to automations to make built-in automations easier and lower reliance on outdoors devices like Zapier.
There are also some small administrative interface modifications that would come in handy. As an example:
- Capacity to mass edit/remove clients.
- Ability to mass edit articles (as an example, to identify a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of standard fields as common on customers (like the name).
- Some even more modification choices for the web site (such as even more flexible shade selections, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Points I hope they make with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, but it isn’t excellent and absolutely not almost as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM product.
It possibly never ever will be, either. As I said, the purpose is various so it would not a lot a lot of feeling for BeeHiiv to end up being a full marketing automation system. I guess you never ever recognize, however.
Final Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Testimonial
I such as BeeHiiv rather a great deal. Sufficient where I chose to switch my very own newsletters over to the system in spite of my individual choice for digital sovereignty and having my very own system.
Simply put, for the newsletter posting version particularly, I saw enough worth in their system to require the modification.
Remember, I do not use BeeHiiv as my special e-mail list. I utilize BeeHiiv of what it is efficient, but I deliberately have things establish so that I also maintain my listing “in house” within FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the exact same. It is simply a great insurance coverage, for one. Yet, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your list will certainly be of high usage (FluentCRM is a complete marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never will be).
So, the question is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my opinion, if you are using Substack right now, I ‘d certainly consider switching over to BeeHiiv. It will simply be extra business-friendly. It is targeting different capabilities and different requirements. Plus, BeeHiiv even has import tools for Substack, so the button needs to be quite simple.
If you get on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d most likely stay put unless you have a large email checklist and are for that reason being fleeced with their high month-to-month costs. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are iterating swiftly. There’s likewise a respectable opportunity you’re not even making use of a few of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you don’t even require them. Because of that, BeeHiiv can easily be a much better and much more cost effective fit.
Finally, if you plan to be very deliberate concerning expanding an e-newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE system to think about and maintain and eye on for you.
If you utilize BeeHiiv with eyes wide open about what it is made to be, it is among the best video games in the area today. This is the platform to see.
BeeHiiv supplies a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves checking out for yourself. And if you wind up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll discover the cost-free account to be rather feature abundant.