I have actually utilized a lot of different e-mail list systems throughout the years. In the last number of years, I’ve been a massive advocate of digital sovereignty and having your own platform. For that reason (and the remarkable features), I have been using Guernsey Consulting LLC Beehiiv.
So, it is indeed an odd move for me to determine to use BeeHiiv. After all, it is an organized application and I am paying regular monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I wish to review why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I want to address the concern of digital sovereignty while utilizing the system and I ‘d additionally such as to attend to why I selected to use it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Built For E-newsletters
In Concern # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Huge Shift In Strategy, I talked about exactly how and why I made a decision to turn my RV blog site into mostly a newsletter. I decided that was the business design I intended to seek with that said home.
However, to intentionally seek it as a newsletter, I desired a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the e-mail checklist for Gladly recreational vehicle, but FluentCRM is not a newsletter platform. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, honestly, using it for e-newsletters is a little a waste. More on that particular in a bit.
As I stated in that concern of the e-newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a platform with devices constructed into it particular to my purpose. Points such as:
- Ability to release (to the blog site) and send the e-mail concurrently without having it be 2 separate actions.
- Constructed in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would certainly have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capability to do cross-promotions with various other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Links”, which are primarily one-click subscription web links. Great for promotion in other 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 newsletter.
- Built-in advertisement network, if I choose to generate income from with advertisements in the e-newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capacity to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and essentially run a costs newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Primarily, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter authors with features focused on development. The system was actually developed by the people who built up the modern technology for Morning Brew. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the point right here. BeeHiiv is constructed from scratch for the objective of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a different function.
And I ended off with this:.
I might certainly be moving The Edge over to BeeHiiv as well. A minimum of, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. Actually, I just went for it. And in fact, The side was re-branded over to The Morning WP, triggered as it’s own residential property to ensure that I can expand it more purposefully as well.
The goal is that each e-newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown independently. Gladly motor home was young, so easy to transition. Yet, The Early morning WP (formerly The Edge) was hidden in a sea of things right here at the Blog Site Marketing Academy. By dividing it off, I can do what I can to expand it on it’s own. It will obviously always be carefully linked with the Blog site Marketing Academy, however doesn’t have to be a part of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv because it was developed for this purpose. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Simply A Typical Email List
There’s a difference in between a newsletter platform and just an e-mail list.
You can hold your email listing anywhere you desire and there are a variety of them around, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The main distinction is that, with a newsletter platform, the act of posting indicates that it is going to your site and to your email clients concurrently.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have an internet site. You are releasing to that site. Yet, you are likewise sending to all subscribers at the same time. The site and it’s subscribers are done in one. This makes administration of the platform much easier.
With the majority of email platforms, any type of newsletter you set up is done as an e-mail campaign. It is built entirely individually from your internet site. So, as an example, you may publish a short article to WordPress but after that you would require to separately build and send out an email to your checklist to send it to customers. These are after that 2 different collections of archives and two separate activities due to the fact that post and your e-mails are not naturally connected.
The closest point that turns WordPress right into a true e-newsletter system is E-newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name since it practically “glues” your e-newsletter to your WordPress messages and allows them to be the same thing. Absolutely, something like E-newsletter Glue would certainly be a solid alternative if I wished to continue to self-host every little thing. Nevertheless, you would certainly shed the development tools that feature a system like BeeHiiv.
Posting a newsletter naturally includes a various set of demands than a typical e-mail listing.
You do not normally require much marketing automation. You do not typically require autoresponder series, occasion monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO demand, though, is one smooth posting experience and growth devices to aid you build your client base that are specific to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I revealed to my customers that I was mosting likely to change the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many people ask me why I was choosing it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the reality that I picked to select BeeHiiv, that doesn’t mean I think Substack sucks. Actually, due to the fact that Substack has been around longer, it is more mature and has more features.
Even though BeeHiiv is younger, there are a couple points that initially got my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is especially tailored to newsletter publishers. Actually, it is literally built by the exact same individuals who developed the modern technology behind Morning Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, doesn’t matter. Yet, the apparent positioning of BeeHiiv toward e-newsletter development called me out over the even more generic positioning of being a “maker”. Growth is what I have an interest in below.
- That branding and distinction additionally means that BeeHiiv has some fairly large brand names and huge magazines using it. Whereas SubStack is aimed more at solo developers. Once again, it simply tells me the consumer avatar distinction in between both business.
Sending our my newsletter by means of FluentCRM really did not precisely draw. The only factor I would contemplate trembling points up is if I thought I could expand the listing faster. And BeeHiiv spoke specifically to that goal.
Due to the targeting, I really do not watch BeeHiiv and Substack as straight competitors. I believe BeeHiiv is targeting a various sort of consumer. In fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being much more straight rivals.
However, let’s dive deeper than simply the positioning below.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv seems like it was developed by people that recognizing email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems more tailored toward creators.
For example, BeeHiiv provides customized fields on subscribers. Currently, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv provides Automations. In fact, it is an aesthetic automation builder that works a lot like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation capability is still early-phase. It is still rather minimal in triggers and the only action is the capacity to send an email. Nevertheless, improvements are coming. Quickly enough, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers as well as new activities, such as modifying custom-made fields, sending webhooks, etc. I have actually already seen improvements to their automations just since I started making use of the platform. For instance:
- Capacity to trigger automations based on which particular embed form they came in on.
- Capacity to instantly do re-engagement (and manage people based upon opens and non-opens).
- Capability to do fundamental conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations like this. Likely, it never will. Substack simply can’t do this since the target market of Substack just wouldn’t believe to approach this like an e-mail online marketer.
When it involves writing your newsletters, the writing user interface of BeeHiiv is just extra geared toward newsletters. In fact, it in fact has similarities to the WordPress block builder in just how it functions. I discover it to be a lot more user-friendly, directly.
Substack’s writing interface behaves and clean, however it would be extra equal to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This distinction is greater than just form. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can put a “Section” and then placed anything you want in it. After that, you can place Visibility choices on that section to show it only to paid customers, conceal it from e-mail, hide from clients, reveal only to subscribers, and so on. Substack offers nothing similar to this.
And when/if the time comes that I begin a costs membership version, BeeHiiv does not take any kind of earnings. As a matter of fact, you actually link as much as your own Stripe account and it charges directly to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your earnings. Relying on the amount of customers you obtain, that 10% can be quite a bit more money than the regular monthly expense of BeeHiiv.
Lastly, BeeHiiv has an API. This may appear nerdy, however what it indicates is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outdoors using devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack essentially has … absolutely nothing. No integrations in any way.
In general, I simply felt like BeeHiiv was a lot more constructed toward genuine email marketing. It was constructed by people who “get it”. Even the opt-in types and the landing page creates seem far better built for conversions. Development is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Despite the fact that there are still features I would like to see BeeHiiv include, I like the instructions it is going more than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have claimed, Substack placements itself towards “developers” more than e-mail marketing experts and newsletter owners. For that reason, you see some points geared more towards people who simply think in regards to material creation.
As an example, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Also, while BeeHiiv does sustain several magazines, they are treated quite independently. Whereas Substack does have the capacity to cross-post to numerous magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I need, but … trendy for people that might need it.
Substack likewise has more social performance built-in. For instance, it has a conversation function to host talks with clients. It likewise has a “Notes” feature which works sort of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share things from various other “Stacks” you’re reading. Intriguing. In general, Substack is set up to be extra like a social media network which supports long-form material.
Overall, Substack is also much more … minimalist. You either take care of that or do not. Directly, I do not. Nonetheless, if the goal is simpleness of interface and, frankly, features … Substack functions pretty well.
However, I’ll be clear below …
When it involves real marketing, I don’t assume there’s much uncertainty that BeeHiiv is better fit. I tried to find more points that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, but frankly … I have a tough time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are usually with to be the closest competitors, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer rivals. Both are pursuing the exact same target market and have similar abilities.
ConvertKit is also placed at designers (like Substack), however it is much more highly dealing with individuals who do it for service. ConvertKit has wonderful aesthetic automation structure, it’s own commerce system, and more. ConvertKit is a really great system.
I’m not going to bore you with a complete feature-by-feature breakdown below. ConvertKit is popular currently. Yet, right here’s exactly how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Points ConvertKit Is Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has extra adaptability when it concerns it’s automations. I will additionally state that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit more user-friendly than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports labeling. This is just a standard feature of e-mail lists that makes it possible for division in a far more versatile way than BeeHiiv presently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support identifying eventually soon, frankly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on Guernsey Consulting LLC Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does currently provide the capability to offer things using their very own platform. BeeHiiv does not. If that is essential to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nevertheless, I would certainly constantly pick an extra direct option anyhow. For me, I like to use my own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been about a lot longer and because of that has way a lot more integration alternatives. Tons of online devices and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their very own WordPress plugin that is fairly effective. For example, their plugin currently even sustains member-gated web content in addition to auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your site. Fundamentally, this much more carefully puts ConvertKit right into straight competitors by having you be able to publish to your website and your e-mail list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is seriously lacking in these kinds of third-party integrations currently. It’ll get there. But, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also active taking on the growth tools of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Referral Engine where you can not just incentivize people to share your e-newsletter with advantages, but you can additionally pay per lead within the interior ad network of BeeHiiv to grow your listing. These are actually remarkable features of BeeHiiv. However …
Did you know ConvertKit got Sparkloop? Sparkloop is one of one of the most popular viral promotion platforms for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the writing on the wall wherefore this indicates for the platform moving forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Better At … Guernsey Consulting LLC Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is much previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means much less features and much less integrations, which is natural for this phase of the cycle. Nonetheless, it likewise means that they are swiftly creating.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have witnessed practically weekly release of brand-new features right into the platform. And these aren’t puny little features … but large features that are rather crucial. Their rate of growth now has actually been impressive.
I likewise very much appreciate how receptive they are. Actually, among their product news about some style enhancements to the web design features actually consisted of a little problem with the content size. I just replied to that email to tell them. I quickly got a reply straight from the chief executive officer:.
That very same day, the problem was dealt with.
Couple of days later, I gave them another suggestion …
Indeed, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capacity to trigger automations based upon the embed form made use of was contributed to the system.
That kind of responsiveness and straight participation of the team is something I really value.
An additional major factor of distinction below is the cost. Both platforms supply free plans, nevertheless the BeeHiiv free plan offers a lot more capability and more customers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is also much more desirable. ConvertKit seems less expensive in the beginning look because their pricing page reveals reduced numbers, however the subscriber restrictions are much lower and your cost promptly enhances as your checklist expands.
With BeeHiiv, your very first degree paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid each year), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 customers. That very same dimension listing is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their finest plan and the one I personally utilize), you can grow your list as much as 100,000. A list of that dimension would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, too, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay annually, too. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for just $84/month if you pay annually.
BeeHiiv is in an entirely different organization when it pertains to pricing (in a great way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point increase prices? They may as time goes on. Yet, I’m guessing individuals like myself who are currently in will be locked-in. We’ll see exactly how points continue.
Points I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Include
One of things you definitely require to remember is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do appear to advance rather promptly and make new item news somewhat commonly, but there are some standard features I really want they had that I require to simply wait on.
One is that they need to have a setup on subscription forms where I could pick an automation to run right at the type level. That would certainly be remarkable for numerous reasons. Currently, membership types look OK, yet there’s extremely little setups for them to assist in division.
It would behave to have labeling at the customer degree. This would be effective.
I believe webhooks must be part of automations to make built-in automations much easier and lower reliance on outdoors tools like Zapier.
There are likewise some small management user interface changes that would come in handy. As an example:
- Capability to mass edit/remove customers.
- Ability to bulk edit messages (as an example, to identify a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a few fundamental areas as conventional on clients (like the name).
- Some more customization options for the website (such as more versatile color choices, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Things I hope they perform with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, however it isn’t best and definitely not almost as established as something like FluentCRM or any other real CRM item.
It probably never ever will certainly be, either. As I said, the function is different so it would not a lot a lot of feeling for BeeHiiv to come to be a complete marketing automation platform. I guess you never ever know, however.
Last Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Review
I like BeeHiiv fairly a lot. Sufficient where I chose to switch my own e-newsletters over to the system regardless of my personal preference for digital sovereignty and possessing my own platform.
Basically, for the newsletter posting design particularly, I saw sufficient worth in their platform to necessitate the change.
Remember, I do not make use of BeeHiiv as my exclusive email list. I make use of BeeHiiv of what it is proficient at, however I deliberately have things set up to ensure that I additionally maintain my listing “in house” inside of FluentCRM.
If you make use of BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the same. It is just a good insurance coverage, for one. However, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your list will be of high usage (FluentCRM is a complete marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never will certainly be).
So, the concern is … should YOU make use of BeeHiiv?
In my point of view, if you are using Substack now, I ‘d certainly think about changing to BeeHiiv. It will merely be extra business-friendly. It is targeting different capacities and various demands. And also, BeeHiiv also has import devices for Substack, so the button must be quite simple.
If you are on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d possibly sit tight unless you have a large e-mail listing and are consequently being wooled with their high month-to-month bill. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are iterating promptly. There’s also a respectable opportunity you’re not also making use of some of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you do not even need them. Because of that, BeeHiiv might conveniently be a far better and extra inexpensive fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be really intentional concerning expanding a newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE platform to consider and keep and eye on for you.
If you use BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is created to be, it is just one of the most effective games in town now. This is the system to view.
BeeHiiv offers a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves having a look at for yourself. And if you wind up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll discover the free account to be quite feature abundant.