I have actually made use of a lot of various e-mail list systems throughout the years. In the last couple of years, I have actually been a massive proponent of digital sovereignty and possessing your own system. Because of that (and the awesome features), I have actually been using Inbox Collective Beehiiv.
So, it is without a doubt a strange move for me to determine to utilize BeeHiiv. Besides, it is a held application and I am paying monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv testimonial, I wish to discuss why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I wish to address the issue of digital sovereignty while using the platform and I would certainly likewise like to deal with why I picked to use it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Built For E-newsletters
In Problem # 435 of my newsletter called My Pastime + A Large Change In Strategy, I spoke about exactly how and why I chose to turn my RV blog site into mostly an e-newsletter. I determined that was the business design I intended to seek keeping that building.
But, to deliberately seek it as a newsletter, I desired a system that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the email checklist for Happily motor home, however FluentCRM is not a newsletter platform. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, truthfully, utilizing it for e-newsletters is a bit of a waste. A lot more on that particular in a bit.
As I claimed because problem of the newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a system with devices developed right into it details to my objective. Points such as:
- Ability to release (to the blog site) and send the e-mail at the same time without having it be 2 different actions.
- Constructed in 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 other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Links”, which are basically one-click subscription links. Great for promotion in various other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, though, so there are ways to do that.
- Ability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to promote your newsletter.
- Built-in ad network, if I select to monetize with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capability to run a paid newsletter upgrade and basically run a costs e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Essentially, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter authors with features focused on development. The system was essentially developed by the people that developed the modern technology for Early morning Brew. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the point here. BeeHiiv is constructed from scratch for the function of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a various purpose.
And I finished off with this:.
I might indeed be moving The Edge over to BeeHiiv too. At least, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. Actually, I simply went for it. And actually, The side was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, triggered as it’s own property to make sure that I can expand it much more deliberately as well.
The goal is that each e-newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s own media entity and expanded independently. Happily motor home was young, so easy to change. However, The Early morning WP (formerly The Edge) was hidden in a sea of stuff 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 certainly constantly be closely linked with the Blog site Marketing Academy, yet doesn’t have to belong of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was constructed for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Just A Normal Email List
There’s a difference between a newsletter platform and simply an email listing.
You can organize your e-mail checklist anyplace you desire and there are a number of them around, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The primary distinction is that, with a newsletter system, the act of posting implies that it is going to your internet site and to your e-mail clients simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have an internet site. You are releasing to that website. But, you are also sending to all clients at the same time. The website and it’s customers are done in one. This makes administration of the platform much easier.
With many e-mail platforms, any type of e-newsletter you set up is done as an email campaign. It is constructed entirely individually from your web site. So, as an example, you may release a write-up to WordPress however after that you would require to separately develop and send an e-mail to your checklist to send it to clients. These are then 2 separate sets of archives and two separate actions due to the fact that blog posts and your emails are not naturally linked.
The closest point that transforms WordPress into a true newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name due to the fact that it practically “glues” your newsletter to your WordPress posts and enables them to be the same point. Certainly, something like Newsletter Glue would certainly be a solid alternative if I wished to remain to self-host everything. However, you ‘d lose the development tools that come with a platform like BeeHiiv.
Posting an e-newsletter naturally comes with a various set of demands than a normal email list.
You don’t typically need much marketing automation. You do not generally require autoresponder series, event monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO need, however, is one seamless publishing experience and development devices to help you construct your subscriber base that are specific to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I announced to my subscribers that I was going to switch the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many people ask me why I was picking it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the reality that I picked to opt for BeeHiiv, that does not suggest I think Substack draws. As a matter of fact, since Substack has been around much longer, it is elder and has even more features.
Even though BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a couple points that originally got my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically customized to newsletter authors. In fact, it is essentially constructed by the same folks that built the technology behind Early morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, doesn’t matter. Yet, the obvious positioning of BeeHiiv toward e-newsletter growth called me out over the even more common positioning of being a “maker”. Growth is what I have an interest in right here.
- That branding and differentiation additionally implies that BeeHiiv has some rather huge brand names and huge magazines utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is intended more at solo makers. Again, it just tells me the client character distinction between both firms.
Sending our my e-newsletter through FluentCRM really did not precisely suck. The only reason I would consider drinking things up is if I thought I could expand the checklist much faster. And BeeHiiv talked precisely to that objective.
Because of the targeting, I actually do not check out BeeHiiv and Substack as straight competitors. I believe BeeHiiv is targeting a various type of customer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being a lot more straight rivals.
But, let’s dive deeper than just the placing below.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
On the whole, BeeHiiv looks like it was developed by people who understanding e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears much more geared toward developers.
As an example, BeeHiiv offers custom-made areas on clients. Now, it isn’t as developed as something like FluentCRM. However, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv offers Automations. Actually, it is an aesthetic automation builder that works a lot like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still quite minimal in triggers and the only action is the capacity to send out an email. Nonetheless, improvements are coming. Quickly sufficient, automations will certainly have new triggers in addition to new activities, such as customizing personalized areas, sending out webhooks, etc. I have actually already seen enhancements to their automations simply considering that I started utilizing the platform. As an example:
- Ability to cause automations based on which details embed type they can be found in on.
- Capability to instantly do re-engagement (and handle people based upon opens up and non-opens).
- Ability to do standard conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack simply can not do this since the target market of Substack simply would not think to approach this like an email marketing professional.
When it concerns composing your newsletters, the writing user interface of BeeHiiv is just more tailored towards e-newsletters. As a matter of fact, it actually has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in how it works. I locate it to be a lot more user-friendly, directly.
Substack’s writing interface behaves and clean, but it would be much more equivalent to the classic editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This difference is greater than simply kind. For example, with BeeHiiv you can insert a “Area” and then placed anything you desire in it. Then, you can place Presence choices on that area to reveal it only to paid subscribers, conceal it from email, hide from customers, show only to clients, and so on. Substack uses absolutely nothing similar to this.
And when/if the time comes that I begin a premium registration version, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any kind of revenue. As a matter of fact, you actually attach up to your own Stripe account and it charges directly to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your profits. Relying on the amount of subscribers you obtain, that 10% can be quite a bit even more cash than the monthly price of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This could seem unpopular, but what it suggests is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can in fact make BeeHiiv deal with the outside utilizing tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack essentially has … absolutely nothing. No integrations whatsoever.
On the whole, I simply felt like BeeHiiv was a lot more built toward genuine email marketing. It was built by individuals that “get it”. Even the opt-in types and the landing page designs appear much better developed for conversions. Development is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Even though there are still features I would like to see BeeHiiv include, I like the instructions it is going greater than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have stated, Substack positions itself towards “designers” more than email online marketers and newsletter proprietors. Therefore, you see some things geared more towards people that just believe in terms of content creation.
For example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does sustain several magazines, they are dealt with fairly independently. Whereas Substack does have the capacity to cross-post to multiple publications at the same time. This isn’t something I require, but … great for people who might need it.
Substack likewise has more social performance built-in. As an example, it has a conversation feature to host talks with subscribers. It also has a “Notes” feature which functions sort of like a social media newsfeed where you can share points from other “Stacks” you’re reading. Intriguing. In general, Substack is set up to be a lot more like a social media which sustains long-form content.
Generally, Substack is additionally much more … minimal. You either take care of that or don’t. Directly, I don’t. Nevertheless, if the objective is simpleness of user interface and, frankly, features … Substack works quite well.
However, I’ll be clear below …
When it concerns real marketing, I don’t believe there’s much question that BeeHiiv is much better matched. I tried to find more factors that make Substack much better than BeeHiiv, yet honestly … I have a tough time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are typically through to be the closest rivals, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer rivals. Both are going after the exact same target audience and have comparable abilities.
ConvertKit is also placed at developers (like Substack), but it is far more strongly accommodating individuals who do it for organization. ConvertKit has good visual automation structure, it’s own business platform, and much more. ConvertKit is an actually wonderful system.
I’m not mosting likely to birthed you with a complete feature-by-feature break down below. ConvertKit is well known currently. But, here’s just how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Things ConvertKit Is Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has more versatility when it concerns it’s automations. I will additionally state that I discover ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit extra intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports marking. This is simply a basic function of e-mail listings that enables segmentation in a far more flexible way than BeeHiiv currently does. I expect BeeHiiv to support identifying eventually soon, frankly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on Inbox Collective Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does now offer the ability to market points by means of 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 always select an extra straight choice anyhow. For me, I favor to utilize my very own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about much longer and therefore has way extra integration options. Lots of web-based devices and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their own WordPress plugin that is fairly effective. As an example, their plugin currently even sustains member-gated web content as well as auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your site. Basically, this a lot more closely puts ConvertKit into straight competition by having you be able to publish to your site and your e-mail checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is badly lacking in these kinds of third-party integrations currently. It’ll get there. However, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even hectic dealing with the growth devices of BeeHiiv. For instance, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Referral Engine where you can not only incentivize individuals to share your newsletter with advantages, but you can likewise pay per lead within the internal ad network of BeeHiiv to grow your listing. These are really remarkable features of BeeHiiv. But …
Did you understand ConvertKit got Sparkloop? Sparkloop is one of one of the most well known viral promo systems for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the creating on the wall surface for what this means for the system going forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Better At … Inbox Collective Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is much earlier in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that implies much less features and less integrations, which is all-natural for this stage of the cycle. Nevertheless, it likewise indicates that they are quickly establishing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually seen virtually weekly launch of brand-new features right into the platform. And these aren’t undersized little features … but huge features that are rather vital. Their speed of growth now has been impressive.
I likewise significantly value how responsive they are. In fact, among their item statements regarding some layout enhancements to the website design features in fact included a tiny trouble with the content width. I merely responded to that email to tell them. I swiftly obtained a reply straight from the CEO:.
That exact same day, the issue was repaired.
Few days later, I gave them an additional recommendation …
Sure enough, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the ability to activate automations based on the embed form used was included in the system.
That kind of responsiveness and direct participation of the group is something I really appreciate.
One more major point of differentiation here is the price. Both platforms offer cost-free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan provides more capacity and even more subscribers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is additionally much more desirable. ConvertKit seems more affordable in the beginning look since their pricing page reveals reduced numbers, nevertheless the subscriber limitations are FAR reduced and your price rapidly increases as your checklist grows.
With BeeHiiv, your first level paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid yearly), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 clients. That very same size listing is mosting likely to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you update to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their ideal plan and the one I personally use), you can grow your checklist approximately 100,000. A list of that size would certainly run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you desire their referral network, also, 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 every year.
BeeHiiv remains in a completely various organization when it involves pricing (in a great way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point raise prices? They could as time goes on. Yet, I’m presuming people like myself who are already in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see just how things continue.
Points I Would Like BeeHiiv To Add
Among the things you absolutely need to remember is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do seem to progress rather promptly and make brand-new item announcements rather commonly, yet there are some fundamental features I actually wish they had that I need to just wait on.
One is that they require to have a setup on membership types where I could pick an automation to run right at the type level. That would be outstanding for a lot of factors. As of now, registration kinds look OK, but there’s extremely little settings for them to aid in segmentation.
It would certainly behave to have labeling at the client level. This would certainly be powerful.
I think webhooks should belong to automations to make built-in automations much easier and reduce reliance on outdoors tools like Zapier.
There are additionally some minor administrative interface changes that would come in handy. For example:
- Capability to mass edit/remove clients.
- Capacity to mass edit posts (for example, to mark a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a few basic fields as conventional on subscribers (like the name).
- Some even more customization options for the website (such as more adaptable shade selections, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some imperfections. Points I wish they do with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, yet it isn’t perfect and definitely not virtually as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other genuine CRM item.
It possibly never ever will certainly be, either. As I claimed, the purpose is different so it would not a lot a great deal of sense for BeeHiiv to end up being a full marketing automation system. I presume you never recognize, though.
Last Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Review
I like BeeHiiv quite a whole lot. Enough where I decided to change my own newsletters over to the platform despite my personal preference for digital sovereignty and possessing my own platform.
Basically, for the e-newsletter posting version specifically, I saw enough worth in their system to require the change.
Keep in mind, I do not utilize BeeHiiv as my exclusive email checklist. I utilize BeeHiiv for what it is efficient, however I intentionally have points establish to ensure that I also keep my list “in residence” inside of 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 system for your list will be of high usage (FluentCRM is a complete marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never will certainly be).
So, the concern is … should YOU make use of BeeHiiv?
In my opinion, if you are making use of Substack right now, I ‘d definitely think about changing to BeeHiiv. It will merely be much more business-friendly. It is targeting different capacities and different requirements. And also, BeeHiiv even has import tools for Substack, so the button ought to be rather uncomplicated.
If you are on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d possibly stay put unless you have a large email checklist and are therefore being wooled with their high monthly expense. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are repeating promptly. There’s additionally a pretty good possibility you’re not also utilizing several of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you don’t even require them. For that reason, BeeHiiv might easily be a much better and extra affordable fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be very intentional about expanding a newsletter, I think BeeHiiv is THE system to consider and maintain 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 most effective video games in town right now. This is the platform to watch.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves taking a look at on your own. And if you wind up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll locate the complimentary account to be rather feature rich.