I have utilized a lot of various e-mail list systems for many years. In the last number of years, I’ve been a substantial supporter of digital sovereignty and having your own system. Therefore (and the outstanding features), I have actually been making use of Does Beehiiv Work with Shopify.
So, it is indeed a strange move for me to choose to utilize BeeHiiv. Besides, it is a hosted application and I am paying monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv evaluation, I intend to discuss why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I intend to address the concern of digital sovereignty while making use of the platform and I would certainly also such as to address why I picked to utilize it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Constructed For E-newsletters
In Concern # 435 of my newsletter called My Hobby + A Huge Change In Approach, I discussed just how and why I determined to turn my motor home blog site into mostly an e-newsletter. I determined that was business model I wanted to seek keeping that residential or commercial property.
Yet, to deliberately seek it as a newsletter, I wanted a system that was purpose-built for that. I was utilizing FluentCRM for the e-mail listing for Happily recreational vehicle, yet FluentCRM is not a newsletter platform. It is developed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, truthfully, utilizing 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 …
Basically, BeeHiiv is a system with tools built into it particular to my function. Points such as:
- Ability to release (to the blog) and send the e-mail all at once without having it be two different actions.
- Constructed in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would require a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Built-in ability to do cross-promotions with various other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Links”, which are basically one-click registration web links. Great for promotion in other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, however, so there are ways to do that.
- Capacity to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your newsletter.
- Built-in advertisement network, if I pick to generate income from with advertisements in the newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated capacity to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and basically run a premium newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Primarily, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter publishers with features aimed at growth. The platform was actually built by the people that accumulated the technology for Morning Mixture. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the factor below. BeeHiiv is developed from scratch for the objective of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a various objective.
And I finished off with this:.
I might undoubtedly be moving The Edge over to BeeHiiv too. At the very least, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. In fact, I simply went for it. And actually, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, set off as it’s own property so that I can expand it much more purposefully also.
The objective is that each e-newsletter has the capability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and expanded separately. Happily motor home was young, so very easy to transition. But, The Morning WP (formerly The Edge) was hidden in a sea of stuff below at the Blog Marketing Academy. By dividing it off, I can do what I can to expand it on it’s very own. It will obviously constantly be very closely tied with the Blog site Marketing Academy, however does not need to be a part of it.
I switched over to BeeHiiv because it was developed for this purpose. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Simply A Regular Email List
There’s a difference between a newsletter system and just an e-mail list.
You can organize your email listing anyplace you want and there are a number of them out there, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The key difference is that, with an e-newsletter system, the act of posting means that it is going to your website and to your email subscribers concurrently.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a site. You are releasing to that site. But, you are also sending to all customers at the same time. The web site and it’s customers are all in one. This makes monitoring of the system much easier.
With a lot of email platforms, any type of e-newsletter you established is done as an e-mail campaign. It is built totally separately from your internet site. So, for example, you might release an article to WordPress however after that you would certainly need to separately develop and send an email to your list to send it to clients. These are after that 2 separate sets of archives and 2 different activities since post and your e-mails are not naturally connected.
The closest point that turns WordPress into a real e-newsletter system is E-newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name because it practically “glues” your e-newsletter to your WordPress posts and enables them to be the very same thing. Absolutely, something like E-newsletter Glue would be a strong choice if I intended to remain to self-host whatever. Nevertheless, you would certainly lose the development devices that include a platform like BeeHiiv.
Posting a newsletter inherently includes a various set of demands than a typical e-mail list.
You don’t generally require much marketing automation. You do not usually require autoresponder sequences, occasion tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO demand, though, is one seamless posting experience and growth devices to aid you develop your subscriber base that specify to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I revealed to my clients that I was mosting likely to switch over the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many people ask me why I was selecting it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the reality that I picked to go with BeeHiiv, that doesn’t indicate I assume Substack sucks. Actually, because Substack has actually been about much longer, it is more mature and has more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is younger, there are a couple things that initially obtained my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is especially tailored to newsletter authors. Actually, it is literally developed by the very same individuals that constructed the innovation behind Early morning Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, does not matter. However, the apparent positioning of BeeHiiv towards e-newsletter development called me out over the more generic positioning of being a “designer”. Development is what I have an interest in right here.
- That branding and differentiation likewise means that BeeHiiv has some rather big brand names and big publications utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is aimed even more at solo designers. Once again, it just tells me the consumer character distinction between the two business.
Sending our my newsletter via FluentCRM didn’t precisely suck. The only reason I would certainly consider trembling things up is if I assumed I could expand the list faster. And BeeHiiv talked specifically to that objective.
As a result of the targeting, I in fact do not watch BeeHiiv and Substack as direct rivals. I believe BeeHiiv is targeting a different type of consumer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being extra straight rivals.
But, allow’s dive deeper than just the placing below.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv seems like it was built by individuals who comprehending e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems extra geared toward developers.
As an example, BeeHiiv supplies custom areas on clients. Now, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. Yet, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv supplies Automations. Actually, it is a visual automation builder that functions a great deal like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation capability is still early-phase. It is still rather restricted in triggers and the only action is the ability to send an email. However, improvements are coming. Quickly enough, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers along with new activities, such as changing custom fields, sending webhooks, and so on. I have actually currently seen enhancements to their automations just given that I began making use of the platform. As an example:
- Capacity to cause automations based on which particular embed type they came in on.
- Capacity to automatically do re-engagement (and manage individuals based on opens up and non-opens).
- Capability to do basic conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations like this. Likely, it never will. Substack simply can’t do this because the target audience of Substack just would not believe to approach this like an email marketing expert.
When it involves writing your e-newsletters, the creating user interface of BeeHiiv is simply a lot more geared towards e-newsletters. As a matter of fact, it in fact has similarities to the WordPress block builder in how it works. I find it to be much more instinctive, directly.
Substack’s writing user interface is nice and tidy, however it would be a lot more equal to the timeless editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This difference is greater than just kind. For example, with BeeHiiv you can place a “Area” and then placed anything you desire in it. After that, you can put Exposure options on that particular area to show it just to paid customers, hide it from email, hide from customers, reveal only to customers, and so on. Substack uses absolutely nothing such as this.
And when/if the moment comes that I begin a costs subscription design, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any type of profits. Actually, you literally attach as much as your own Stripe account and it bills straight to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your income. Relying on how many clients you obtain, that 10% can be a fair bit more cash than the regular monthly cost of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This may appear unpopular, but what it implies is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outdoors using tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … absolutely nothing. No integrations whatsoever.
In general, I simply felt like BeeHiiv was a lot more developed toward real e-mail marketing. It was developed by individuals who “get it”. Also the opt-in forms and the landing page develops appear far better built for conversions. Development is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Despite the fact that there are still features I would love to see BeeHiiv add, I such as the instructions it is going more than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have said, Substack settings itself towards “designers” greater than e-mail marketers and e-newsletter owners. Therefore, you see some points tailored more towards people who simply believe in regards to content creation.
As an example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does sustain numerous magazines, they are treated quite independently. Whereas Substack does have the capability to cross-post to several magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I require, however … great for individuals that could need it.
Substack additionally has even more social performance built-in. As an example, it has a conversation function to host talks with clients. It additionally has a “Notes” function which functions kind of like a social media newsfeed where you can share points from other “Stacks” you read. Interesting. In general, Substack is established to be a lot more like a social media network which supports long-form web content.
Generally, Substack is additionally a lot more … minimal. You either look after that or don’t. Directly, I don’t. However, if the goal is simpleness of user interface and, truthfully, features … Substack functions pretty well.
Yet, I’ll be clear right here …
When it involves real marketing, I do not believe there’s much uncertainty that BeeHiiv is better suited. I looked for more points that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, yet honestly … I have a tough time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are typically with to be the closest rivals, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer competitors. Both are going after the exact same target market and have similar capabilities.
ConvertKit is additionally placed at makers (like Substack), however it is much more strongly dealing with individuals that do it for service. ConvertKit has good visual automation building, it’s very own commerce system, and extra. ConvertKit is a truly nice system.
I’m not mosting likely to bore you with a full feature-by-feature malfunction below. ConvertKit is popular currently. However, right here’s just how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Points ConvertKit Is Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has much more versatility when it pertains to it’s automations. I will likewise state that I discover ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit extra intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains tagging. This is simply a basic function of e-mail lists that allows segmentation in a much more flexible method than BeeHiiv currently does. I expect BeeHiiv to support labeling eventually quickly, honestly. It seems like an oversight that it is missing out on Does Beehiiv Work with Shopify.
ConvertKit does currently provide the capability to offer things using their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is very important to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would always choose an extra direct alternative anyway. For me, I favor to use my own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about a lot longer and therefore has way extra integration options. Lots of web-based tools and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their own WordPress plugin that is rather effective. For instance, their plugin currently also sustains member-gated material along with auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your website. Basically, this extra closely places ConvertKit into direct competition by having you have the ability to publish to your site and your e-mail list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is significantly doing not have in these sort of third-party integrations right now. It’ll arrive. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also active dealing with the development devices of BeeHiiv. As an example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Referral Engine where you can not only incentivize individuals to share your newsletter with rewards, however you can likewise pay per lead within the interior ad network of BeeHiiv to grow your list. These are really remarkable features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you know ConvertKit acquired Sparkloop? Sparkloop is one of one of the most popular viral promo systems for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the writing on the wall wherefore this suggests for the system moving forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Better At … Does Beehiiv Work with Shopify
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means less features and much less integrations, which is natural for this stage of the cycle. Nevertheless, it likewise indicates that they are swiftly establishing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have observed virtually regular launch of new features into the system. And these aren’t weak little features … however large features that are quite crucial. Their speed of advancement now has actually gone over.
I also significantly appreciate exactly how receptive they are. As a matter of fact, one of their item statements about some layout improvements to the web design features actually had a little issue with the material width. I just replied to that e-mail to tell them. I swiftly got a reply straight from the CEO:.
That same day, the problem was repaired.
Few days later, I gave them another suggestion …
Indeed, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to activate automations based upon the embed type used was contributed to the system.
That type of responsiveness and direct involvement of the team is something I truly appreciate.
One more significant point of distinction below is the rate. Both systems offer complimentary plans, however the BeeHiiv free plan provides much more capability and more customers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is likewise even more desirable. ConvertKit appears less expensive initially glimpse since their pricing page shows lower numbers, however the subscriber restrictions are much reduced and your rate swiftly enhances as your checklist expands.
With BeeHiiv, your very first level paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid annually), nevertheless you can have up to 10,000 customers. That exact same size list is mosting likely to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their best plan and the one I directly use), 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, as well, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay yearly, also. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for just $84/month if you pay annually.
BeeHiiv is in a totally different league when it pertains to pricing (in a good way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point increase prices? They might as time goes on. Yet, I’m thinking individuals like myself who are currently in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see how things proceed.
Points I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Include
Among the important things you definitely need to remember is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do seem to evolve instead rapidly and make new product news rather frequently, yet there are some basic features I truly desire they had that I need to simply await.
One is that they need to have a setting on subscription types where I could select an automation to run right at the type degree. That would be incredible for many factors. As of now, subscription types look OK, however there’s really little setups 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 be part of automations to make integrated automations much easier and lower reliance on outdoors tools like Zapier.
There are also some minor management user interface modifications that would certainly be handy. For instance:
- Capacity to bulk edit/remove subscribers.
- Capacity to mass edit blog posts (for instance, to label a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of standard areas as conventional on subscribers (like the name).
- Some even more modification choices for the web site (such as even more adaptable color choices, headline control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some imperfections. Things I wish they finish with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is respectable, however it isn’t ideal and definitely not nearly as created as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM item.
It probably never ever will certainly be, either. As I said, the objective is various so it would not much a lot of sense for BeeHiiv to come to be a complete marketing automation platform. I presume you never know, however.
Final Ideas On This BeeHiiv Review
I such as BeeHiiv fairly a great deal. Enough where I decided to switch my very own newsletters over to the system despite my individual preference for digital sovereignty and owning my very own platform.
Basically, for the e-newsletter posting design especially, I saw adequate value in their system to require the adjustment.
Remember, I do not make use of BeeHiiv as my exclusive e-mail checklist. I make use of BeeHiiv of what it is proficient at, however I deliberately have points set up so that I additionally maintain my list “in residence” inside of FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the same. It is simply a good insurance plan, for one. However, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your checklist will be of high use (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will certainly be).
So, the inquiry is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are using Substack now, I ‘d most definitely take into consideration switching over to BeeHiiv. It will just be much more business-friendly. It is targeting various capabilities and different needs. Plus, BeeHiiv also has import tools for Substack, so the button ought to be pretty uncomplicated.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d probably stay put unless you have a large email checklist and are therefore being wooled with their high regular monthly costs. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are repeating promptly. There’s likewise a pretty good opportunity you’re not even using several of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you don’t even need them. For that reason, BeeHiiv can easily be a far better and more inexpensive fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be really willful regarding expanding an e-newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE system to consider and keep and eye on for you.
If you use BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is developed to be, it is among the most effective video games in town now. This is the system to see.
BeeHiiv supplies a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves taking a look at for yourself. And if you wind up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll discover the totally free account to be rather feature rich.