I have actually made use of a great deal of various e-mail list systems throughout the years. In the last couple of years, I’ve been a significant supporter of digital sovereignty and owning your own platform. Because of that (and the outstanding features), I have been making use of Beehiiv Weekly Wisdom.
So, it is certainly a weird 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 intend to look at why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I wish to attend to the concern of digital sovereignty while making use of the system and I would certainly additionally such as to address why I chose to use it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Constructed For Newsletters
In Concern # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Big Shift In Approach, I spoke about how and why I chose to turn my RV blog into mostly a newsletter. I chose that was the business version I wanted to go after with that said building.
However, to purposefully seek it as a newsletter, I desired a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the email checklist for Gladly recreational vehicle, but FluentCRM is not a newsletter system. It is developed to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, honestly, using it for e-newsletters is a little a waste. Extra on that in a bit.
As I said because issue of the e-newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a system with devices developed into it particular to my objective. Things such as:
- Capability to release (to the blog) and send out the e-mail at the same time without having it be 2 separate activities.
- Constructed in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would certainly have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in ability to do cross-promotions with various other newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are generally one-click registration web links. Great for promo in other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, though, so there are methods to do that.
- Capacity to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your e-newsletter.
- Built-in ad network, if I choose to generate income from with advertisements in the e-newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated ability to run a paid newsletter upgrade and essentially run a premium e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Primarily, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter authors with features aimed at growth. The system was actually built by the individuals who built up the modern technology for Early morning Brew. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the factor right here. BeeHiiv is built from the ground up for the objective of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a different objective.
And I finished off with this:.
I might undoubtedly be relocating The Edge over to BeeHiiv too. At least, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. In fact, I simply went all out. And in fact, The side was re-branded over to The Morning WP, triggered as it’s very own residential or commercial property so that I can grow it extra purposefully also.
The objective is that each e-newsletter has the capacity to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown independently. Happily RV was young, so simple to transition. Yet, The Early morning WP (previously The Side) was hidden in a sea of stuff below at the Blog Marketing Academy. By dividing it off, I can do what I can to grow it on it’s own. It will obviously always be very closely connected with the Blog site Marketing Academy, but doesn’t need to be a part of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv because it was built for this purpose. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Just A Typical Email Listing
There’s a distinction between an e-newsletter system and just an e-mail list.
You can host your email checklist anyplace 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 difference?
The key difference is that, with an e-newsletter system, the act of publishing indicates that it is going to your web site and to your e-mail subscribers at the same time.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a site. You are publishing to that web site. But, you are also dispatching to all subscribers at the same time. The web site and it’s subscribers are done in one. This makes monitoring of the system much easier.
With most email systems, any type of e-newsletter you set up is done as an e-mail campaign. It is constructed entirely independently from your internet site. So, for example, you may release a post to WordPress but after that you would certainly need to independently develop and send an email to your checklist to send it to customers. These are then 2 separate sets of archives and 2 separate activities because article and your e-mails are not naturally connected.
The closest thing that transforms WordPress into a true newsletter platform is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name because it practically “adhesives” your e-newsletter to your WordPress posts and allows them to be the exact same point. Definitely, something like Newsletter Glue would be a strong choice if I wanted to continue to self-host whatever. However, you would certainly shed the growth devices that come with a platform like BeeHiiv.
Posting an e-newsletter naturally includes a various collection of needs than a typical e-mail listing.
You do not usually require much marketing automation. You do not generally need autoresponder sequences, occasion tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO need, though, is one seamless publishing experience and development tools to aid you build your customer base that specify to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my subscribers that I was going to switch over the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had lots of 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 doesn’t indicate I assume Substack sucks. Actually, because Substack has actually been around longer, it is elder and has even more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a couple points that initially got my focus:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically tailored to newsletter publishers. As a matter of fact, it is essentially constructed by the very same folks that constructed the innovation behind Early morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real life, doesn’t matter. However, the evident positioning of BeeHiiv towards newsletter growth called me out over the even more common positioning of being a “creator”. Growth is what I’m interested in below.
- That branding and distinction additionally indicates that BeeHiiv has some relatively huge brands and big publications using it. Whereas SubStack is intended even more at solo creators. Once more, it just informs me the client avatar distinction in between both firms.
Sending our my newsletter via FluentCRM didn’t exactly draw. The only reason I would certainly consider shaking points up is if I believed I can expand the list much faster. And BeeHiiv spoke exactly to that goal.
Due to the targeting, I actually don’t see BeeHiiv and Substack as direct rivals. I believe BeeHiiv is targeting a different sort of consumer. In fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being a lot more direct competitors.
However, let’s dive much deeper than simply the placing below.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
On the whole, BeeHiiv feels like it was built by individuals that comprehending email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears extra tailored towards designers.
For example, BeeHiiv supplies personalized areas on subscribers. Now, it isn’t as developed as something like FluentCRM. Yet, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv provides Automations. As a matter of fact, it is an aesthetic automation builder that functions a great deal like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still rather limited in triggers and the only action is the capability to send an email. However, enhancements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers as well as new activities, such as customizing custom fields, sending out webhooks, etc. I have actually currently seen improvements to their automations simply considering that I began making use of the system. As an example:
- Ability to activate automations based upon which specific embed form they came in on.
- Capacity to automatically do re-engagement (and handle individuals based on opens and non-opens).
- Capability to do standard conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations similar to this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack just can not do this due to the fact that the target market of Substack simply would not think to approach this like an e-mail marketing expert.
When it pertains to writing your newsletters, the creating user interface of BeeHiiv is simply a lot more geared towards e-newsletters. In fact, it actually has similarities to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it functions. I discover it to be extra instinctive, directly.
Substack’s creating user interface is nice and tidy, but it would certainly be more comparable to the classic editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This difference is more than simply form. For example, with BeeHiiv you can put a “Area” and after that placed anything you want in it. Then, you can put Presence options on that particular area to show it just to paid subscribers, conceal it from e-mail, hide from customers, show just to subscribers, and so on. Substack supplies absolutely nothing similar to this.
And when/if the moment comes that I start a costs membership version, BeeHiiv does not take any type of profits. In fact, you actually attach up to your very own Stripe account and it charges straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your revenue. Relying on the amount of subscribers you obtain, that 10% can be a fair bit even more cash than the monthly cost of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear unpopular, but what it indicates is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can in fact make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outdoors utilizing devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack actually has … nothing. No integrations at all.
Generally, I simply felt like BeeHiiv was more built toward actual email marketing. It was built by individuals who “get it”. Even the opt-in forms and the landing page develops appear better constructed for conversions. Growth is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Although there are still features I wish to see BeeHiiv include, I like the direction it is going greater than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually claimed, Substack settings itself toward “makers” greater than e-mail marketing professionals and e-newsletter proprietors. For that reason, you see some points tailored a lot more toward individuals that simply assume in terms of web content creation.
For instance, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Also, while BeeHiiv does sustain multiple magazines, they are treated quite separately. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to numerous publications at the same time. This isn’t something I require, but … great for individuals who could require it.
Substack likewise has more social performance built-in. As an example, it has a conversation function to host talks with subscribers. It likewise has a “Notes” function which functions kind of like a social networks newsfeed where you can share points from other “Stacks” you read. Fascinating. In general, Substack is set up to be much more like a social media network which supports long-form web content.
In general, Substack is additionally a lot more … minimal. You either care for that or do not. Personally, I do not. However, if the objective is simpleness of user interface and, truthfully, features … Substack functions quite well.
But, I’ll be clear here …
When it pertains to actual marketing, I do not assume there’s much uncertainty that BeeHiiv is better matched. I looked for more points that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, however honestly … I have a difficult time discovering them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are usually through to be the closest rivals, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer competitors. Both are going after the same target audience and have similar capacities.
ConvertKit is likewise positioned at developers (like Substack), however it is far more strongly accommodating individuals that do it for business. ConvertKit has great aesthetic automation building, it’s very own business system, and more. ConvertKit is an actually wonderful platform.
I’m not mosting likely to birthed you with a full feature-by-feature break down right here. ConvertKit is well known currently. However, here’s how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Points ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has much more versatility when it involves it’s automations. I will also say that I discover ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit more intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains labeling. This is just a basic feature of e-mail checklists that enables segmentation in a far more adaptable method than BeeHiiv currently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to sustain tagging at some time soon, truthfully. It seems like an oversight that it is missing out on Beehiiv Weekly Wisdom.
ConvertKit does now supply the capability to sell points through their very own platform. BeeHiiv does not. If that is very important to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would always select an extra straight choice anyhow. For me, I prefer to use my own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been around a lot longer and because of that has way extra integration options. Tons of online tools and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their own WordPress plugin that is fairly powerful. For instance, their plugin currently even sustains member-gated material as well as auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your website. Fundamentally, this a lot more very closely places ConvertKit into straight competitors by having you have the ability to publish to your site and your email list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is badly doing not have in these type of third-party integrations presently. It’ll arrive. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even hectic dealing with the development tools of BeeHiiv. For instance, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not just incentivize people to share your newsletter with rewards, but you can also pay per lead within the inner advertisement network of BeeHiiv to expand your list. These are truly awesome features of BeeHiiv. However …
Did you understand ConvertKit acquired Sparkloop? Sparkloop is one of the most well known viral promotion systems for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall surface for what this means for the system moving forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Beehiiv Weekly Wisdom
BeeHiiv is a lot earlier in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means much less features and much less integrations, which is natural for this stage of the cycle. However, it also indicates that they are quickly establishing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have seen nearly regular release of brand-new features into the system. And these aren’t undersized little features … however huge features that are quite essential. Their rate of growth at this moment has been impressive.
I additionally very much value just how responsive they are. Actually, among their item statements concerning some style enhancements to the website design features really consisted of a little problem with the web content width. I merely replied to that e-mail to tell them. I promptly obtained a reply directly from the CEO:.
That exact same day, the concern was fixed.
Couple of days later, I gave them an additional suggestion …
Indeed, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to cause automations based upon the embed kind made use of was contributed to the system.
That type of responsiveness and straight involvement of the group is something I actually value.
Another major point of differentiation here is the cost. Both platforms offer totally free plans, nevertheless the BeeHiiv free plan provides much more capability and more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is additionally even more beneficial. ConvertKit appears cheaper initially look due to the fact that their pricing web page reveals lower numbers, nonetheless the client limits are much lower and your price quickly increases as your list expands.
With BeeHiiv, your very first degree paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid every year), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 clients. That exact same size listing 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 personally make use of), you can grow your list approximately 100,000. A listing of that size would certainly run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, as well, that places you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay yearly, also. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for simply $84/month if you pay yearly.
BeeHiiv is in a totally various league when it concerns pricing (in a great way).
Will BeeHiiv eventually increase costs? They could as time goes on. Yet, I’m presuming people like myself who are currently in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see exactly how things proceed.
Points I Would Like BeeHiiv To Include
One of things you certainly need to keep in mind is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do appear to advance rather rapidly and make new item announcements somewhat frequently, but there are some standard features I truly want they had that I require to simply await.
One is that they need to have a setup on registration types where I can select an automation to run right at the kind level. That would be incredible for so many factors. Already, registration kinds look OK, however there’s extremely little setups for them to help in division.
It would be nice to have tagging at the client level. This would certainly be effective.
I think webhooks should be part of automations to make built-in automations easier and reduce reliance on outside tools like Zapier.
There are likewise some small management interface adjustments that would be handy. As an example:
- Ability to mass edit/remove subscribers.
- Capability to bulk edit articles (as an example, to identify a number of them at the same time).
- Having a few standard areas as conventional on subscribers (like the name).
- Some even more customization alternatives for the website (such as more flexible color selections, headline control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Things I wish they make with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is respectable, however it isn’t perfect and absolutely not virtually as established as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM item.
It most likely never ever will certainly be, either. As I claimed, the purpose is various so it would not much a lot of sense for BeeHiiv to become a complete marketing automation platform. I presume you never ever recognize, however.
Final Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Evaluation
I such as BeeHiiv rather a whole lot. Enough where I made a decision to change my very own newsletters over to the platform despite my personal preference for digital sovereignty and having my very own platform.
Simply put, for the newsletter posting version particularly, I saw enough value in their system to warrant the adjustment.
Keep in mind, I do not use BeeHiiv as my exclusive e-mail list. I use BeeHiiv wherefore it is proficient at, but I purposefully have things establish to make sure that I also keep my checklist “in residence” inside of FluentCRM.
If you make use of BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the same. It is simply a great insurance coverage, for one. However, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your listing will be of high use (FluentCRM is a complete marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never will be).
So, the question is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are making use of Substack today, I ‘d definitely consider switching to BeeHiiv. It will simply be more business-friendly. It is targeting different abilities and various requirements. And also, BeeHiiv also has import devices for Substack, so the button must be quite uncomplicated.
If you get on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d probably stay unless you have a big e-mail list and are therefore being fleeced with their high monthly expense. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are repeating promptly. There’s likewise a respectable opportunity you’re not even using several of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you don’t also require them. Therefore, BeeHiiv could quickly be a much better and extra budget-friendly fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be really willful regarding expanding a newsletter, I think BeeHiiv is THE system to take into consideration and keep and eye on for you.
If you make use of BeeHiiv with eyes wide open regarding what it is designed to be, it is among the best games around today. This is the platform to enjoy.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It is worth looking into on your own. And if you end up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll find the cost-free account to be fairly feature abundant.