I have utilized a lot of different email list systems for many years. In the last couple of years, I’ve been a massive proponent of digital sovereignty and possessing your own system. For that reason (and the outstanding features), I have actually been using Can I Sell Products on Beehiiv.
So, it is undoubtedly a strange move for me to determine to make use of BeeHiiv. After all, it is an organized application and I am paying month-to-month for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I intend to review why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I want to attend to the problem of digital sovereignty while using the system and I would certainly additionally such as to deal with why I selected to use it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Constructed For E-newsletters
In Problem # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Hobby + A Large Shift In Strategy, I talked about how and why I chose to turn my recreational vehicle blog site right into primarily an e-newsletter. I decided that was business version I wished to seek with that building.
But, to deliberately seek it as an e-newsletter, I desired a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the email checklist for Gladly motor home, however FluentCRM is not a newsletter system. It is constructed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, frankly, using it for newsletters is a bit of a waste. Much more on that particular in a bit.
As I stated because concern of the e-newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a system with tools developed into it specific to my function. Points such as:
- Ability to release (to the blog site) and send out the email concurrently without having it be 2 separate actions.
- Integrated in e-newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in ability to do cross-promotions with various other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are generally one-click membership links. Great for promo in various other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, however, so there are means to do that.
- Capacity to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your e-newsletter.
- Integrated advertisement network, if I choose to monetize with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capacity to run a paid newsletter upgrade and primarily run a premium newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Essentially, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter publishers with features aimed at growth. The platform was actually developed by the people who accumulated the innovation for Morning Mixture. They know what they’re doing.
That is the point below. BeeHiiv is built from scratch for the objective of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a various objective.
And I ended off with this:.
I may undoubtedly be moving The Side over to BeeHiiv as well. At least, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. Actually, I just went for it. And as a matter of fact, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Morning WP, set off as it’s own residential or commercial property so that I can expand it more purposefully as well.
The objective is that each newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s own media entity and grown separately. Happily RV was young, so very easy to transition. Yet, The Early morning WP (formerly The Edge) was hidden in a sea of things 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 certainly always be very closely linked with the Blog site Marketing Academy, however doesn’t need to belong of it.
I changed to BeeHiiv since it was developed for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Simply A Normal Email Listing
There’s a distinction in between an e-newsletter platform and just an e-mail list.
You can hold your email list anywhere you want and there are a variety of them out there, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted options like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The main difference is that, with an e-newsletter system, the act of publishing means that it is going to your web site and to your e-mail customers concurrently.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a website. You are publishing to that internet site. Yet, you are also sending to all clients at the same time. The web site and it’s subscribers are done in one. This makes administration of the platform much simpler.
With the majority of email platforms, any e-newsletter you established is done as an email campaign. It is constructed entirely independently from your website. So, for instance, you could publish a short article to WordPress however then you would require to separately construct and send out an email to your checklist to send it to customers. These are then two separate collections of archives and two different actions since blog posts and your emails are not naturally linked.
The closest point that turns WordPress into a true e-newsletter platform is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name because it virtually “adhesives” your e-newsletter to your WordPress posts and allows them to be the exact same thing. Absolutely, something like E-newsletter Glue would be a strong option if I wanted to continue to self-host everything. However, you would certainly shed the development tools that include a platform like BeeHiiv.
Posting an e-newsletter inherently includes a different collection of needs than a common email listing.
You don’t normally need much marketing automation. You do not typically need autoresponder series, event tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO demand, however, is one smooth publishing experience and development tools to assist you build your customer base that specify to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I announced to my clients that I was going to switch the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many individuals 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 imply I assume Substack sucks. In fact, due to the fact that Substack has been around much longer, it is more mature and has even more features.
Although BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair points that initially obtained my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is particularly customized to e-newsletter publishers. As a matter of fact, it is actually constructed by the exact same folks that built the modern technology behind Morning Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, does not matter. But, the evident positioning of BeeHiiv towards newsletter development called me out over the more common positioning of being a “developer”. Development is what I have an interest in here.
- That branding and differentiation likewise means that BeeHiiv has some relatively huge brands and huge magazines utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is aimed even more at solo developers. Again, it just informs me the client avatar difference in between both companies.
Sending our my newsletter via FluentCRM didn’t precisely suck. The only reason I would contemplate drinking things up is if I thought I can expand the checklist faster. And BeeHiiv talked precisely to that objective.
As a result of the targeting, I in fact don’t see BeeHiiv and Substack as direct rivals. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a different sort of consumer. In fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being a lot more direct competitors.
Yet, let’s dive much deeper than simply the positioning right here.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv seems like it was constructed by individuals who comprehending e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears much more geared toward developers.
For example, BeeHiiv uses personalized areas on subscribers. Now, it isn’t as developed as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv provides Automations. As a matter of fact, it is an aesthetic automation builder that functions a whole lot like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still quite limited in triggers and the only action is the capability to send an e-mail. Nevertheless, improvements are coming. Soon enough, automations will have brand-new triggers along with brand-new actions, such as changing personalized areas, sending webhooks, and so on. I have actually currently seen improvements to their automations simply since I started using the system. As an example:
- Capability to set off automations based on which particular embed kind they was available in on.
- Ability to instantly do re-engagement (and deal with people based on opens and non-opens).
- Capability to do standard conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations like this. Likely, it never will. Substack simply can’t do this because the target market of Substack simply wouldn’t believe to approach this like an email marketing expert.
When it comes to writing your newsletters, the composing interface of BeeHiiv is simply more geared toward newsletters. Actually, it really has similarities to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it functions. I find it to be much more instinctive, personally.
Substack’s writing interface behaves and tidy, but it would be much more equal to the classic editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This difference is greater than simply form. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can insert a “Section” and afterwards placed anything you want in it. After that, you can put Presence alternatives on that particular area to reveal it just to paid subscribers, conceal it from e-mail, conceal from customers, reveal just to subscribers, and so on. Substack supplies absolutely nothing similar to this.
And when/if the time comes that I begin a costs membership version, BeeHiiv does not take any type of income. Actually, you essentially link approximately your very own Stripe account and it bills straight to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your profits. Relying on the amount of clients you obtain, that 10% can be quite a bit even more cash than the monthly expense of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This might seem nerdy, however what it suggests is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can in fact make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outside using tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack essentially has … nothing. No integrations in all.
On the whole, I just seemed like BeeHiiv was much more built towards real email marketing. It was built by individuals who “get it”. Even the opt-in kinds and the landing page develops seem much better developed for conversions. Growth is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Even though there are still features I wish to see BeeHiiv include, I such as the direction it is going greater than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have said, Substack settings itself toward “developers” greater than e-mail marketing professionals and newsletter owners. Therefore, you see some things geared extra toward individuals that simply assume in regards to material production.
For example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Also, while BeeHiiv does support multiple magazines, they are dealt with quite individually. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to several magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I require, but … great for individuals that may need it.
Substack likewise has even more social functionality built-in. For instance, it has a chat feature to host talks with subscribers. It likewise has a “Notes” feature which functions kind of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share points from other “Stacks” you read. Fascinating. Generally, Substack is set up to be extra like a social media network which sustains long-form content.
In general, Substack is also extra … minimalist. You either take care of that or do not. Personally, I don’t. Nevertheless, if the goal is simplicity of user interface and, frankly, features … Substack functions pretty well.
Yet, I’ll be clear here …
When it concerns real marketing, I don’t believe there’s much doubt that BeeHiiv is better fit. I looked for more points that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, yet honestly … I have a tough time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are often with to be the closest rivals, I really see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer opponents. Both are pursuing the very same target audience and have comparable capacities.
ConvertKit is likewise positioned at designers (like Substack), yet it is much more strongly dealing with individuals that do it for service. ConvertKit has wonderful aesthetic automation structure, it’s very own business platform, and a lot more. ConvertKit is an actually nice system.
I’m not mosting likely to bore you with a full feature-by-feature breakdown here. ConvertKit is popular already. Yet, below’s just how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Points ConvertKit Is Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has a lot more versatility when it comes to it’s automations. I will certainly likewise say that I locate ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit more user-friendly than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains identifying. This is just a basic function of e-mail checklists that enables segmentation in an even more adaptable way than BeeHiiv presently does. I expect BeeHiiv to support tagging at some point quickly, frankly. It seems like an oversight that it is missing Can I Sell Products on Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does currently provide the capability to market things through their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is very important to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would certainly constantly choose an extra direct option anyway. For me, I prefer to use my very own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been about a lot longer and therefore has way extra integration options. Tons of web-based devices and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their very own WordPress plugin that is quite effective. For example, their plugin now also supports member-gated web content as well as auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your site. Basically, this more carefully places ConvertKit right into straight competition by having you be able to publish to your website and your email list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is badly doing not have in these kinds of third-party integrations presently. It’ll arrive. But, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even busy tackling the development devices of BeeHiiv. As an example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Referral Engine where you can not just incentivize individuals to share your e-newsletter with benefits, but you can also pay per lead within the interior advertisement network of BeeHiiv to expand your listing. These are really incredible features of BeeHiiv. But …
Did you understand ConvertKit got Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of the most popular viral promo systems for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the creating on the wall of what this implies for the platform going forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Better At … Can I Sell Products on Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means less features and less integrations, which is all-natural for this stage of the cycle. Nonetheless, it also indicates that they are quickly developing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually observed nearly regular release of brand-new features into the system. And these aren’t weak little features … yet large features that are quite crucial. Their speed of development now has actually been impressive.
I additionally significantly appreciate how responsive they are. As a matter of fact, among their item announcements concerning some style enhancements to the web design features actually included a tiny issue with the web content width. I merely responded to that e-mail to tell them. I promptly obtained a reply straight from the CEO:.
That very same day, the issue was dealt with.
Couple of days later on, I gave them one more recommendation …
Certainly, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to activate automations based upon the embed kind used was added to the system.
That type of responsiveness and straight involvement of the group is something I actually appreciate.
Another significant point of differentiation here is the price. Both systems supply cost-free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan provides extra capacity and more subscribers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
Once you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is additionally FAR more beneficial. ConvertKit appears less expensive at first glimpse due to the fact that their pricing web page reveals lower numbers, however the subscriber restrictions are much reduced and your rate swiftly enhances as your listing expands.
With BeeHiiv, your first degree paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid every year), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 subscribers. That exact same dimension listing 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 approximately 100,000. A checklist of that size 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, as well. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for just $84/month if you pay every year.
BeeHiiv is in a completely different organization when it concerns pricing (in a good way).
Will BeeHiiv ultimately increase rates? They could as time goes on. Yet, I’m presuming individuals like myself who are currently in will be locked-in. We’ll see just how things continue.
Points I Would Like BeeHiiv To Add
Among things you definitely require to keep in mind is that BeeHiiv is fairly young. They do appear to develop instead quickly and make brand-new item announcements rather commonly, but there are some basic features I truly wish they had that I need to simply wait for.
One is that they require to have a setting on membership forms where I could pick an automation to run right at the form level. That would certainly be remarkable for a lot of reasons. Already, subscription types look OK, but there’s extremely little settings for them to assist in division.
It would certainly behave to have marking at the client level. This would be powerful.
I assume webhooks must be part of automations to make built-in automations simpler and reduce dependence on outside tools like Zapier.
There are likewise some small management interface changes that would come in handy. For example:
- Capability to bulk edit/remove customers.
- Capability to bulk edit blog posts (for instance, to label a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a few fundamental fields as typical on clients (like the name).
- Some more customization alternatives for the web site (such as even more adaptable shade selections, headline control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some imperfections. Things I hope they make with it in the future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, however it isn’t ideal and definitely not nearly as created as something like FluentCRM or any other genuine CRM product.
It probably never ever will be, either. As I said, the purpose is different so it wouldn’t a lot a great deal of feeling for BeeHiiv to end up being a full marketing automation system. I think you never know, though.
Last Ideas On This BeeHiiv Review
I like BeeHiiv rather a lot. Enough where I chose to change my own e-newsletters over to the platform despite my individual preference for digital sovereignty and possessing my own platform.
Basically, for the e-newsletter posting version specifically, I saw enough value in their system to warrant the change.
Keep in mind, I do not use BeeHiiv as my special email list. I utilize BeeHiiv of what it is good at, however I purposefully have points set up so that I also maintain my list “in home” within FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the very same. It is just a good insurance plan, for one. However, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your list will certainly be of high usage (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will be).
So, the concern is … should YOU utilize BeeHiiv?
In my opinion, if you are making use of Substack right now, I ‘d most definitely consider switching to BeeHiiv. It will merely be a lot more business-friendly. It is targeting different capacities and various demands. Plus, BeeHiiv even has import devices for Substack, so the switch ought to be pretty uncomplicated.
If you are on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d possibly stay unless you have a huge e-mail listing and are therefore being fleeced with their high monthly expense. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, yet they are repeating quickly. There’s likewise a respectable possibility you’re not even making use of some of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you do not also require them. Therefore, BeeHiiv could easily be a far better and more economical fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be very willful about expanding an e-newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE platform to think about and keep and eye on for you.
If you make use of BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is created to be, it is among the best video games around today. This is the system to watch.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It is worth taking a look at on your own. And if you end up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll discover the totally free account to be quite feature rich.