I have made use of a lot of various email list systems for many years. In the last number of years, I’ve been a big supporter of digital sovereignty and having your very own platform. For that reason (and the remarkable features), I have actually been making use of ConvertKit Vs Beehiiv.
So, it is indeed an unusual move for me to decide to use 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 wish to review why I made the switch to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I intend to deal with the concern of digital sovereignty while utilizing the system and I would certainly likewise such as to resolve why I chose to utilize it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For E-newsletters
In Problem # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Pastime + A Large Change In Technique, I spoke about just how and why I decided to transform my motor home blog right into largely an e-newsletter. I chose that was business design I wished to go after with that said home.
However, to purposefully seek it as a newsletter, I desired a system that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the e-mail listing for Happily motor home, yet FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter platform. It is constructed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, frankly, utilizing it for e-newsletters is a little a waste. A lot more on that in a little bit.
As I claimed in that issue of the e-newsletter …
Basically, BeeHiiv is a platform with tools built right into it particular to my objective. Things such as:
- Ability to release (to the blog site) and send out the e-mail concurrently without having it be two different actions.
- Constructed in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would require a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Integrated capacity to do cross-promotions with other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Links”, which are primarily one-click registration links. Great for promo in other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, however, so there are methods to do that.
- Capacity to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to promote your e-newsletter.
- Built-in advertisement network, if I pick to generate income from with advertisements in the newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated capability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and generally run a premium e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Primarily, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter authors with features targeted at development. The platform was essentially constructed by the people who developed the modern technology for Morning Mixture. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the factor here. BeeHiiv is built from the ground up for the purpose of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a different function.
And I ended off with this:.
I might indeed be moving The Edge over to BeeHiiv as well. At the very least, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. In fact, I just went for it. And in fact, The side was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, set off as it’s very own residential property so that I can expand it more intentionally also.
The objective is that each newsletter has the capability to be branded as it’s own media entity and expanded separately. Gladly motor home was young, so very easy to change. Yet, The Morning WP (formerly The Side) was buried in a sea of stuff here at the Blog Site Marketing Academy. By separating it off, I can do what I can to grow it on it’s own. It will clearly constantly be closely linked with the Blog site Marketing Academy, but doesn’t need to belong of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv since it was developed for this purpose. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Simply A Normal Email List
There’s a difference between a newsletter system and just an email checklist.
You can hold your e-mail checklist anyplace you desire and there are a variety of them available, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The key distinction is that, with an e-newsletter system, the act of publishing implies that it is mosting likely to your site and to your e-mail clients simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a web site. You are publishing to that website. 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 administration of the system much simpler.
With the majority of email platforms, any e-newsletter you established is done as an email campaign. It is built totally individually from your website. So, for instance, you could release a post to WordPress yet then you would certainly require to independently construct and send an e-mail to your listing to send it to customers. These are then 2 separate collections of archives and two separate actions because post and your emails are not naturally linked.
The closest thing that transforms WordPress right into a real newsletter platform is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name since it virtually “adhesives” your newsletter to your WordPress blog posts and permits them to be the same thing. Definitely, something like Newsletter Glue would certainly be a strong option if I wanted to remain to self-host every little thing. Nonetheless, you would certainly shed the development devices that feature a system like BeeHiiv.
Posting an e-newsletter naturally includes a different set of needs than a typical e-mail listing.
You do not generally require much marketing automation. You don’t generally need autoresponder sequences, event tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO need, though, is one seamless posting experience and development devices to help you build your client base that specify to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I announced to my subscribers that I was mosting likely to switch over the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many people ask me why I was choosing it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the fact that I selected to go with BeeHiiv, that doesn’t suggest I believe Substack draws. In fact, because Substack has actually been around longer, it is elder and has even more features.
Even though BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a couple points that at first obtained my focus:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically customized to e-newsletter publishers. Actually, it is actually built by the very same folks that constructed the modern technology behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, doesn’t matter. However, the noticeable positioning of BeeHiiv towards e-newsletter development called me out over the even more common positioning of being a “maker”. Growth is what I’m interested in here.
- That branding and differentiation likewise indicates that BeeHiiv has some relatively huge brand names and big magazines utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is aimed more at solo creators. Again, it just tells me the client character difference between both firms.
Sending our my newsletter through FluentCRM didn’t specifically suck. The only factor I would certainly consider drinking points up is if I thought I can expand the checklist much faster. And BeeHiiv talked specifically to that goal.
Due to the targeting, I in fact don’t see BeeHiiv and Substack as straight competitors. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a various sort of consumer. As a matter of fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being much more direct competitors.
But, let’s dive deeper than just the placing here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
On the whole, BeeHiiv feels like it was built by individuals that understanding e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears much more tailored towards creators.
As an example, BeeHiiv provides custom fields on customers. Currently, it isn’t as created as something like FluentCRM. Yet, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv supplies 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 performance is still early-phase. It is still quite limited in triggers and the only activity is the capability to send an email. However, enhancements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers in addition to new actions, such as customizing custom-made areas, sending webhooks, and so on. I’ve currently seen enhancements to their automations just considering that I began utilizing the system. For instance:
- Ability to set off automations based upon which certain embed kind they can be found in on.
- Capacity to automatically 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 like this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack just can’t do this since the target market of Substack just wouldn’t think to approach this like an e-mail marketer.
When it comes to composing your newsletters, the creating interface of BeeHiiv is just much more geared toward e-newsletters. Actually, it actually has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it functions. I find it to be more user-friendly, personally.
Substack’s creating interface behaves and tidy, however it would be much more equivalent to the classic editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This distinction is greater than simply kind. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can put a “Area” and after that put anything you want in it. After that, you can place Exposure choices on that area to show it just to paid clients, conceal it from email, conceal from clients, show only to customers, etc. Substack uses absolutely nothing like this.
And when/if the time comes that I begin a costs subscription version, BeeHiiv does not take any earnings. As a matter of fact, you actually connect approximately your very own Stripe account and it bills directly to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your revenue. Relying on how many customers you obtain, that 10% can be quite a bit more cash than the month-to-month price of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This could appear unpopular, but what it means is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outside utilizing devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack actually has … nothing. No integrations in all.
On the whole, I just felt like BeeHiiv was extra constructed toward real e-mail marketing. It was constructed by individuals who “get it”. Even the opt-in types and the landing page makes seem much better built for conversions. Development is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Despite the fact that there are still features I would love to see BeeHiiv include, I like the instructions it is going greater than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have said, Substack placements itself toward “designers” more than email marketers and e-newsletter owners. Because of that, you see some points tailored much more towards individuals that simply think in regards to web content creation.
For example, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Also, while BeeHiiv does support numerous magazines, they are dealt with fairly separately. Whereas Substack does have the capacity to cross-post to multiple publications at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, but … awesome for individuals who could need it.
Substack additionally has even more social capability built-in. For example, it has a conversation feature to host talks with subscribers. It additionally has a “Notes” feature which functions kind of like a social networks newsfeed where you can share points from various other “Stacks” you’re reading. Intriguing. Generally, Substack is set up to be a lot more like a social media network which supports long-form web content.
On the whole, Substack is additionally much more … minimal. You either care for that or do not. Directly, I do not. Nonetheless, if the objective is simpleness of interface and, honestly, features … Substack works rather well.
However, I’ll be clear here …
When it comes to actual marketing, I don’t assume there’s much question that BeeHiiv is much better matched. I tried to find more factors that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, but frankly … I have a difficult time locating them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are typically through to be the closest rivals, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer opponents. Both are pursuing the very same target market and have comparable capacities.
ConvertKit is additionally positioned at makers (like Substack), yet it is a lot more strongly catering to individuals who do it for business. ConvertKit has wonderful aesthetic automation structure, it’s very own commerce platform, and extra. ConvertKit is an actually nice platform.
I’m not mosting likely to bore you with a full feature-by-feature failure below. ConvertKit is well known already. Yet, below’s exactly how I feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Points ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
Currently, ConvertKit has much more versatility when it concerns it’s automations. I will certainly likewise state that I discover ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit much more instinctive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains identifying. This is just a fundamental function of email listings that allows division in a far more flexible way than BeeHiiv presently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support tagging eventually soon, honestly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on ConvertKit Vs Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does now provide the capability to offer points through their very own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is necessary to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nevertheless, I would certainly constantly pick a more direct option anyhow. For me, I choose to utilize my very own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about a lot longer and because of that has way a lot more integration choices. Lots of web-based tools and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their own WordPress plugin that is fairly powerful. For instance, their plugin currently even sustains member-gated web content as well as auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your website. Basically, this extra closely puts ConvertKit right into straight competition by having you be able to publish to your site and your e-mail listing at the same time.
BeeHiiv is seriously doing not have in these type of third-party integrations presently. It’ll arrive. But, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also hectic tackling the development devices of BeeHiiv. For instance, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Referral Engine where you can not only incentivize people to share your newsletter with advantages, however you can also pay per lead within the interior ad network of BeeHiiv to grow your list. These are truly awesome features of BeeHiiv. But …
Did you know ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is among the most well known viral promo platforms for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the creating on the wall surface for what this suggests for the platform going forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … ConvertKit Vs Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that implies less features and much less integrations, which is all-natural for this stage of the cycle. However, it additionally indicates that they are quickly developing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have witnessed practically weekly launch of brand-new features right into the system. And these aren’t puny little features … yet huge features that are quite essential. Their rate of development at this moment has gone over.
I also very much appreciate just how receptive they are. As a matter of fact, among their item announcements concerning some design improvements to the website design features actually contained a little problem with the content width. I simply responded to that email to tell them. I quickly obtained a reply straight from the chief executive officer:.
That same day, the problem was dealt with.
Couple of days later on, I gave them one more suggestion …
Indeed, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to set off automations based upon the embed kind utilized was added to the system.
That kind of responsiveness and direct involvement of the group is something I actually value.
An additional major point of distinction here is the rate. Both platforms provide free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan supplies extra capability and even more customers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is likewise much more favorable. ConvertKit seems cheaper at first glimpse due to the fact that their pricing web page shows lower numbers, however the customer restrictions are FAR reduced and your rate rapidly boosts as your listing expands.
With BeeHiiv, your initial level paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid every year), however you can have up to 10,000 clients. That same size list is mosting likely to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their best plan and the one I personally make use of), you can expand your list as much as 100,000. A checklist of that dimension would certainly run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, as well, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay annually, also. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for simply $84/month if you pay annually.
BeeHiiv remains in a completely different organization when it concerns pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv ultimately enhance prices? They might as time takes place. However, I’m guessing people like myself who are already in will be locked-in. We’ll see just how points continue.
Points I Would Like BeeHiiv To Include
Among the things you definitely need to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do seem to advance rather quickly and make new product statements somewhat commonly, yet there are some fundamental features I really wish they had that I need to just wait for.
One is that they need to have a setup on membership types where I might pick an automation to run right at the form level. That would certainly be outstanding for many factors. As of now, membership types look OK, yet there’s extremely little setups for them to assist in segmentation.
It would behave to have tagging at the customer degree. This would certainly be powerful.
I think webhooks need to be part of automations to make built-in automations much easier and lower reliance on outdoors devices like Zapier.
There are additionally some minor administrative user interface changes that would certainly be handy. As an example:
- Capacity to bulk edit/remove subscribers.
- Capability to mass edit blog posts (for instance, to tag a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a few basic areas as common on customers (like the name).
- Some more modification options for the web site (such as more versatile shade choices, heading control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Things I hope they perform with it in the future. BeeHiiv is respectable, but it isn’t perfect and certainly not nearly as established as something like FluentCRM or any other real CRM item.
It possibly never ever will be, either. As I said, the objective is various so it would not much a lot of sense for BeeHiiv to become a complete marketing automation system. I presume you never know, however.
Last Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Evaluation
I such as BeeHiiv fairly a great deal. Sufficient where I decided to change my own newsletters over to the platform despite my personal preference for digital sovereignty and having my own system.
Basically, for the newsletter posting version specifically, I saw enough worth in their system to necessitate the modification.
Remember, I do not use BeeHiiv as my special e-mail listing. I use BeeHiiv of what it is good at, but I deliberately have things set up to make sure that I also maintain my list “in residence” within FluentCRM.
If you make use of BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the same. It is just an excellent insurance coverage, for one. Yet, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your list will be of high usage (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will be).
So, the concern is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are utilizing Substack today, I ‘d most definitely take into consideration switching over to BeeHiiv. It will simply be extra business-friendly. It is targeting different capacities and various demands. Plus, BeeHiiv also has import devices for Substack, so the button must be rather simple.
If you are on ConvertKit now, I ‘d probably stay unless you have a big email checklist and are therefore being wooled with their high monthly costs. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, yet they are repeating quickly. There’s likewise a pretty good opportunity you’re not also utilizing several of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you don’t even need them. For that reason, BeeHiiv could quickly be a much better and much more inexpensive fit.
Finally, if you plan to be very willful regarding expanding a newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE platform to consider and maintain and eye on for you.
If you use BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is made to be, it is just one of the very best games in town right now. This is the platform to enjoy.
BeeHiiv offers a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves taking a look at on your own. And if you wind up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll find the cost-free account to be quite feature abundant.