I have actually utilized a lot of various e-mail list systems over the years. In the last couple of years, I’ve been a huge advocate of digital sovereignty and possessing your very own system. For that reason (and the outstanding features), I have been utilizing Beehiiv Vs Drip.
So, it is certainly a strange move for me to determine to use BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, it is an organized application and I am paying monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv testimonial, I want to look at why I made the switch to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I want to resolve the concern of digital sovereignty while using the platform and I ‘d additionally like to attend to why I selected to use it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Built For Newsletters
In Problem # 435 of my newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Huge Change In Technique, I spoke about how and why I made a decision to transform my RV blog right into largely an e-newsletter. I made a decision that was the business version I intended to go after with that said residential or commercial property.
But, to deliberately pursue it as an e-newsletter, I wanted a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the email list for Happily motor home, yet FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, honestly, utilizing it for newsletters is a little a waste. Much more on that particular in a little bit.
As I stated because problem of the e-newsletter …
Put simply, BeeHiiv is a system with tools constructed into it specific to my function. Points such as:
- Ability to release (to the blog) and send out 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 various other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are generally one-click membership web 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 promote your newsletter.
- Built-in ad network, if I choose to monetize with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated capability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and basically run a premium newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Generally, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter authors with features aimed at development. The system was literally constructed by the individuals who accumulated the technology for Morning Mixture. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the factor here. BeeHiiv is developed from scratch for the objective of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a various function.
And I ended off with this:.
I may indeed be relocating The Side over to BeeHiiv too. A minimum of, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. Actually, I simply went for it. And in fact, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Morning WP, set off as it’s own residential or commercial property to make sure that I can expand it much more intentionally also.
The goal is that each e-newsletter has the capability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown individually. Gladly recreational vehicle was young, so simple to shift. Yet, The Morning WP (formerly The Side) was buried in a sea of stuff right here at the Blog Site Marketing Academy. By dividing it off, I can do what I can to grow it on it’s very own. It will undoubtedly constantly be carefully tied with the Blog site Marketing Academy, but doesn’t have to be a part 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 Listing
There’s a difference between a newsletter platform and simply an e-mail checklist.
You can hold your email checklist everywhere you want and there are a number of them around, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The primary distinction is that, with an e-newsletter platform, the act of posting implies that it is mosting likely to your website and to your e-mail customers all at once.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a web site. You are publishing to that website. Yet, you are likewise sending to all customers at the same time. The website and it’s subscribers are all in one. This makes monitoring of the platform much simpler.
With most email systems, any newsletter you established is done as an e-mail campaign. It is developed entirely independently from your website. So, for example, you may release a post to WordPress however after that you would certainly require to independently build and send an e-mail to your listing to send it to subscribers. These are after that two different collections of archives and two different actions due to the fact that blog posts and your e-mails are not inherently linked.
The closest point that transforms WordPress into a real newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name because it practically “adhesives” your e-newsletter to your WordPress posts and allows them to be the same thing. Definitely, something like Newsletter Glue would certainly be a strong alternative if I wanted to continue to self-host every little thing. Nonetheless, you would certainly shed the growth tools that include a system like BeeHiiv.
Posting a newsletter naturally comes with a various set of demands than a normal email list.
You don’t normally need much marketing automation. You don’t usually require autoresponder series, occasion monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO requirement, however, is one smooth posting experience and growth tools to aid you construct your client base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my customers that I was going to change the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many people ask me why I was picking it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the truth that I selected to opt for BeeHiiv, that doesn’t mean I believe Substack draws. As a matter of fact, since Substack has been about much longer, it is more mature and has more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a couple things that initially obtained my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically customized to e-newsletter publishers. Actually, it is actually developed by the very same folks who constructed the technology behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, doesn’t matter. Yet, the evident positioning of BeeHiiv towards newsletter growth called me out over the even more common positioning of being a “maker”. Development is what I want right here.
- That branding and differentiation also implies that BeeHiiv has some rather big brand names and large publications using it. Whereas SubStack is aimed even more at solo makers. Again, it simply informs me the customer character distinction in between both firms.
Sending our my newsletter through FluentCRM didn’t exactly suck. The only reason I would contemplate trembling points up is if I assumed I can GROW the listing much faster. And BeeHiiv talked precisely to that objective.
Because of the targeting, I really do not check out BeeHiiv and Substack as direct competitors. I believe BeeHiiv is targeting a different type of consumer. In fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being much more direct competitors.
But, allow’s dive deeper than just the placing here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv seems like it was built by individuals that comprehending e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears a lot more tailored toward makers.
For example, BeeHiiv provides personalized fields on clients. Now, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. However, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. In fact, it is an aesthetic automation builder that functions a great deal like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still fairly limited in triggers and the only action is the ability to send out an email. However, improvements are coming. Quickly enough, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers as well as brand-new actions, such as changing customized fields, sending out webhooks, and so on. I have actually already seen improvements to their automations simply since I started using the platform. For example:
- Capacity to set off automations based on which particular embed form they came in on.
- Capability to instantly do re-engagement (and take care of people based on opens and non-opens).
- Capability to do basic conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations similar to this. Likely, it never will. Substack just can not do this since the target audience of Substack simply wouldn’t think to approach this like an e-mail marketer.
When it involves composing your e-newsletters, the creating user interface of BeeHiiv is simply much more tailored toward e-newsletters. As a matter of fact, it really has similarities to the WordPress block builder in just how it works. I discover it to be a lot more user-friendly, personally.
Substack’s composing interface is nice and clean, yet it would certainly be more equal to the timeless editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This difference is greater than just type. For instance, with BeeHiiv you can insert a “Section” and after that placed anything you want in it. Then, you can put Visibility alternatives on that particular section to show it just to paid subscribers, hide it from e-mail, conceal from customers, show only to customers, etc. Substack provides absolutely nothing such as this.
And when/if the time comes that I begin a costs registration design, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any kind of profits. In fact, you actually link up to your own Stripe account and it bills straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your revenue. Depending on the amount of clients you obtain, that 10% can be a fair bit even more money than the monthly cost of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This might seem nerdy, however what it implies is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can actually make BeeHiiv work with the outside using devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack essentially has … nothing. No integrations at all.
Overall, I just felt like BeeHiiv was much more built towards genuine email marketing. It was built by people who “get it”. Even the opt-in types and the landing page makes appear better constructed for conversions. Development is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Despite the fact that there are still features I would love to see BeeHiiv include, I such as the direction it is going greater than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have claimed, Substack positions itself toward “makers” more than email marketing professionals and e-newsletter owners. For that reason, you see some things geared more towards individuals that just believe in regards to content development.
For instance, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Likewise, while BeeHiiv does support numerous magazines, they are dealt with fairly individually. Whereas Substack does have the capacity to cross-post to multiple publications at the same time. This isn’t something I need, but … trendy for people that might require it.
Substack likewise has even more social performance built-in. For instance, it has a chat function to host talks with subscribers. It also has a “Notes” feature which functions type of like a social networks newsfeed where you can share points from various other “Stacks” you read. Fascinating. Generally, Substack is set up to be a lot more like a social network which sustains long-form content.
Generally, Substack is also extra … minimalist. You either care for that or do not. Personally, I do not. Nonetheless, if the objective is simplicity of interface and, frankly, features … Substack works rather well.
But, I’ll be clear right here …
When it concerns actual marketing, I don’t believe there’s much question that BeeHiiv is better fit. I looked for even more points that make Substack much better than BeeHiiv, but truthfully … I have a tough time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are commonly through to be the closest competitors, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer opponents. Both are going after the exact same target market and have comparable capacities.
ConvertKit is likewise positioned at makers (like Substack), however it is far more strongly accommodating people that do it for business. ConvertKit has nice visual automation building, it’s own business platform, and much more. ConvertKit is an actually wonderful platform.
I’m not mosting likely to birthed you with a complete feature-by-feature failure right here. ConvertKit is well known already. However, here’s exactly how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Points ConvertKit Is Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has extra versatility when it pertains to it’s automations. I will also say that I locate ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit extra intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains marking. This is just a basic feature of email listings that enables segmentation in an even more flexible way than BeeHiiv presently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support identifying at some time soon, honestly. It seems like an oversight that it is missing out on Beehiiv Vs Drip.
ConvertKit does now provide the ability to market things using their very own platform. BeeHiiv does not. If that is very important to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, however, I would always choose a more straight option anyway. For me, I like to utilize my own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been around a lot longer and for that reason has way extra integration alternatives. Lots of online tools and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their very own WordPress plugin that is fairly effective. For example, their plugin currently also sustains member-gated content as well as auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your website. Basically, this more closely places ConvertKit into straight competition by having you have the ability to publish to your website and your e-mail list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is significantly lacking in these type of third-party integrations presently. It’ll arrive. But, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even hectic taking on the growth tools of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not just incentivize individuals to share your e-newsletter with rewards, however you can additionally pay per lead within the inner ad network of BeeHiiv to expand your listing. These are truly remarkable features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you understand ConvertKit acquired Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of the most popular viral promo platforms for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall surface wherefore this indicates for the system moving forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Better At … Beehiiv Vs Drip
BeeHiiv is a lot earlier in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that implies less features and less integrations, which is all-natural for this phase of the cycle. However, it also means that they are quickly developing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have witnessed almost weekly launch of brand-new features into the system. And these aren’t puny little features … however big features that are fairly vital. Their rate of growth at this moment has been impressive.
I likewise very much value how receptive they are. In fact, among their product announcements about some layout improvements to the website design features actually consisted of a small issue with the material width. I simply responded to that email to tell them. I rapidly got a reply straight from the CEO:.
That same day, the problem was fixed.
Couple of days later on, I provided an additional suggestion …
Certainly, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capacity to trigger automations based upon the embed kind used was included in the system.
That type of responsiveness and direct participation of the group is something I truly value.
An additional significant point of differentiation here is the cost. Both systems use cost-free plans, however the BeeHiiv free plan supplies more capability and even more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
Once you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is likewise FAR more favorable. ConvertKit appears cheaper at first glimpse because their pricing web page reveals lower numbers, however the client limitations are FAR lower and your rate quickly increases as your list expands.
With BeeHiiv, your first level paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid annually), however you can have up to 10,000 clients. That same dimension listing is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you update to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their best plan and the one I directly make use of), you can expand your list approximately 100,000. A listing 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 every year.
BeeHiiv is in a completely various organization when it comes to pricing (in a good way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point enhance prices? They may as time goes on. Yet, I’m thinking individuals like myself who are currently in will be locked-in. We’ll see just how things continue.
Things I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
Among the things you most definitely require to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is fairly young. They do seem to advance instead quickly and make new product news rather typically, however there are some fundamental features I really desire they had that I need to just wait for.
One is that they require to have a setup on subscription kinds where I could select an automation to run right at the kind level. That would certainly be outstanding for so many reasons. Already, subscription types look OK, yet there’s very little settings for them to help in segmentation.
It would be nice to have marking at the subscriber degree. This would be effective.
I believe webhooks should become part of automations to make built-in automations much easier and lower reliance on outdoors tools like Zapier.
There are also some small management interface changes that would be handy. As an example:
- Capability to mass edit/remove customers.
- Ability to mass edit posts (as an example, to label a number of them at the same time).
- Having a few standard fields as basic on clients (like the name).
- Some even more personalization choices for the internet site (such as even more flexible shade options, headline control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Things I wish they make with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, however it isn’t perfect and certainly not nearly as established as something like FluentCRM or any other genuine CRM item.
It possibly never will be, either. As I said, the purpose is various so it would not a lot a great deal of sense for BeeHiiv to become a complete marketing automation platform. I think you never recognize, however.
Last Ideas On This BeeHiiv Review
I such as BeeHiiv rather a great deal. Enough where I decided to change my very own e-newsletters over to the system in spite of my personal preference for digital sovereignty and having my own system.
Basically, for the e-newsletter publishing model specifically, I saw enough worth in their system to call for the modification.
Keep in mind, I do not use BeeHiiv as my special email listing. I make use of BeeHiiv wherefore it is proficient at, yet I deliberately have things establish to ensure that I additionally maintain my list “in residence” inside of FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the exact same. It is just a good insurance policy, for one. But, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your listing will certainly be of high use (FluentCRM is a complete marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never will certainly be).
So, the inquiry is … should YOU utilize BeeHiiv?
In my opinion, if you are using Substack now, I ‘d definitely take into consideration switching to BeeHiiv. It will merely be more business-friendly. It is targeting different capacities and different demands. Plus, BeeHiiv also has import tools for Substack, so the switch must be quite straightforward.
If you are on ConvertKit now, I ‘d probably stay unless you have a big 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 repeating promptly. There’s also a respectable chance you’re not even using some of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you don’t even need them. Therefore, BeeHiiv could conveniently be a much better and a lot more affordable fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be very deliberate about expanding an e-newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE platform to consider and keep and eye on for you.
If you utilize BeeHiiv with eyes wide open about what it is made to be, it is one of the very best games in town today. This is the system to enjoy.
BeeHiiv offers a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves looking into on your own. And if you end up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll locate the totally free account to be quite feature rich.