I have actually made use of a lot of different e-mail list systems throughout the years. In the last number of years, I have actually been a big advocate of digital sovereignty and owning your very own system. Therefore (and the incredible features), I have actually been making use of Is Beehiiv Free.
So, it is indeed a weird move for me to determine to use BeeHiiv. Besides, it is a hosted application and I am paying regular 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 want to address the issue of digital sovereignty while making use of the platform and I would certainly also like to address why I chose to use it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Constructed For Newsletters
In Problem # 435 of my newsletter called My Pastime + A Big Shift In Approach, I talked about how and why I determined to turn my recreational vehicle blog right into mainly a newsletter. I decided that was business version I wished to seek with that building.
However, to deliberately seek it as a newsletter, I desired a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the e-mail list for Gladly recreational vehicle, but FluentCRM is not a newsletter platform. It is developed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, truthfully, using it for e-newsletters is a little a waste. Extra on that in a little bit.
As I said in that concern of the newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a system with tools built into it particular to my objective. Things such as:
- Ability to publish (to the blog site) and send out the e-mail concurrently without having it be 2 different activities.
- Integrated in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in ability to do cross-promotions with other newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Links”, which are essentially one-click membership links. Great for promo in other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, though, so there are ways to do that.
- Ability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your newsletter.
- Integrated ad network, if I select to monetize with advertisements in the newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated capability to run a paid newsletter upgrade and basically run a costs e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Generally, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter publishers with features aimed at growth. The system was actually developed by the people who built up the innovation for Early morning Brew. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the factor below. BeeHiiv is developed from the ground up for the objective of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a various purpose.
And I finished off with this:.
I may certainly be moving The Side over to BeeHiiv as well. A minimum of, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. Actually, I simply went for it. And in fact, The side was re-branded over to The Morning WP, set off as it’s very own residential or commercial property so that I can grow it more deliberately also.
The objective is that each newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s own media entity and expanded independently. Happily RV was young, so simple to change. However, The Morning WP (previously The Side) was buried in a sea of stuff right here at the Blog Marketing Academy. By separating it off, I can do what I can to grow it on it’s own. It will clearly constantly be carefully connected with the Blog Marketing Academy, however does not need to belong of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv because it was constructed for this purpose. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Just A Typical Email Checklist
There’s a difference between an e-newsletter platform and just an e-mail listing.
You can organize your e-mail checklist anywhere you desire and there are a number of them out there, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted options like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The key difference is that, with an e-newsletter system, the act of posting suggests that it is going to your site and to your e-mail customers simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a site. You are publishing to that web site. But, you are also sending to all customers at the same time. The web site and it’s clients are done in one. This makes management of the system much easier.
With many e-mail platforms, any kind of e-newsletter you set up is done as an e-mail campaign. It is constructed totally individually from your website. So, for example, you could release an article to WordPress however then you would require to separately construct and send out an e-mail to your list to send it to customers. These are then 2 different collections of archives and 2 different activities since post and your e-mails are not naturally connected.
The closest thing that turns WordPress right into a real newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name due to the fact that it virtually “adhesives” your newsletter to your WordPress posts and allows them to be the very same thing. Definitely, something like Newsletter Glue would certainly be a strong alternative if I intended to continue to self-host every little thing. Nonetheless, you would certainly lose the development devices that feature a system like BeeHiiv.
Posting a newsletter inherently comes with a various collection of demands than a common email checklist.
You don’t generally need much marketing automation. You do not generally need autoresponder sequences, event monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO need, though, is one smooth posting experience and development tools to help you develop your client base that are specific to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I announced to my subscribers that I was mosting likely to change the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many people ask me why I was selecting it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the fact that I picked to choose BeeHiiv, that doesn’t indicate I think Substack draws. In fact, due to the fact that Substack has actually been about longer, it is elder and has more features.
Although BeeHiiv is younger, there are a couple things that at first obtained my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is particularly customized to e-newsletter publishers. Actually, it is essentially developed by the very same individuals who developed the innovation behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, doesn’t matter. But, the evident positioning of BeeHiiv towards e-newsletter development called me out over the more common positioning of being a “creator”. Development is what I have an interest in below.
- That branding and distinction additionally suggests that BeeHiiv has some rather big brand names and big magazines using it. Whereas SubStack is intended even more at solo creators. Again, it just informs me the client character distinction between the two firms.
Sending our my e-newsletter via FluentCRM didn’t specifically draw. The only factor I would ponder shaking things up is if I thought I might GROW the checklist quicker. And BeeHiiv talked specifically to that goal.
As a result of the targeting, I really do not watch BeeHiiv and Substack as direct rivals. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a different kind of consumer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being extra direct rivals.
But, let’s dive deeper than just the placing right here.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv seems like it was constructed by people that comprehending email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems more geared towards creators.
As an example, BeeHiiv uses personalized fields on customers. Currently, it isn’t as developed as something like FluentCRM. However, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. Actually, it is a visual automation builder that functions a whole lot like what we have inside of FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation capability is still early-phase. It is still quite limited in triggers and the only action is the capacity to send an email. Nonetheless, enhancements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will certainly have new triggers as well as brand-new actions, such as changing personalized fields, sending webhooks, etc. I’ve already seen improvements to their automations just given that I started using the platform. As an example:
- Capacity to set off automations based on which particular embed kind they can be found in on.
- Ability to immediately do re-engagement (and take care of individuals based on opens up and non-opens).
- Ability to do basic conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack just can’t do this due to the fact that the target market of Substack just wouldn’t believe to approach this like an email marketer.
When it comes to composing your e-newsletters, the creating user interface of BeeHiiv is just much more geared toward newsletters. As a matter of fact, it actually has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in just how it functions. I find it to be a lot more intuitive, directly.
Substack’s creating user interface behaves and clean, however it would be more comparable to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This difference is more than just type. For instance, with BeeHiiv you can put a “Area” and afterwards put anything you want in it. Then, you can put Exposure choices on that particular area to reveal it only to paid subscribers, conceal it from email, conceal from customers, show just to customers, and so on. Substack uses nothing similar to this.
And when/if the moment comes that I begin a premium membership version, BeeHiiv does not take any earnings. In fact, you actually connect approximately your own Stripe account and it bills straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your revenue. Depending on the number of customers you obtain, that 10% can be quite a bit even more money than the monthly expense of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This could seem unpopular, but what it indicates is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can in fact make BeeHiiv work with the outdoors making use of devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack essentially has … nothing. No integrations in any way.
On the whole, I simply felt like BeeHiiv was more developed towards genuine e-mail marketing. It was constructed by people that “get it”. Also the opt-in types and the landing page designs seem much better constructed for conversions. Development is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Even though there are still features I would like to see BeeHiiv add, I such as the direction it is going greater than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually stated, Substack positions itself towards “developers” more than e-mail marketing experts and e-newsletter owners. Because of that, you see some things geared much more towards people who just think in terms of content development.
For example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Also, while BeeHiiv does support multiple magazines, they are dealt with rather separately. Whereas Substack does have the capacity to cross-post to numerous publications at the same time. This isn’t something I require, yet … trendy for people who could need it.
Substack likewise has even more social capability built-in. For example, it has a chat feature to host talks with customers. It also has a “Notes” function which works sort of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share things from other “Stacks” you read. Interesting. Overall, Substack is established to be extra like a social network which sustains long-form material.
In general, Substack is additionally more … minimal. You either look after that or do not. Personally, I do not. However, if the goal is simpleness of interface and, frankly, features … Substack works quite well.
Yet, I’ll be clear right here …
When it comes to actual marketing, I do not believe there’s much uncertainty that BeeHiiv is much better suited. I looked for more points that make Substack much better than BeeHiiv, however honestly … I have a tough time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are frequently via to be the closest rivals, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer competitors. Both are going after the same target market and have comparable capabilities.
ConvertKit is additionally positioned at developers (like Substack), yet it is a lot more strongly catering to individuals who do it for company. ConvertKit has great aesthetic automation structure, it’s very own commerce system, and a lot more. ConvertKit is a really good platform.
I’m not mosting likely to bore you with a complete feature-by-feature failure below. ConvertKit is popular currently. But, below’s how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Things ConvertKit Is Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has much more versatility when it concerns it’s automations. I will certainly additionally claim that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit a lot more intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports identifying. This is just a basic function of e-mail lists that makes it possible for division in a far more versatile means than BeeHiiv currently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support marking at some time quickly, honestly. It seems like an oversight that it is missing out on Is Beehiiv Free.
ConvertKit does now supply the capacity to sell points by means of their own platform. BeeHiiv does not. If that’s important to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, however, I would always choose a much more straight alternative anyhow. For me, I choose to use my very own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been around a lot longer and for that reason has way extra integration alternatives. Lots of online devices and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their very own WordPress plugin that is quite powerful. For instance, their plugin now even supports member-gated content as well as auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your site. Basically, this extra carefully puts ConvertKit right into direct competition by having you have the ability to publish to your website and your e-mail listing at the same time.
BeeHiiv is drastically doing not have in these kinds of third-party integrations presently. It’ll arrive. However, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also hectic taking on the growth devices of BeeHiiv. As an example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Suggestion Engine where you can not only incentivize individuals to share your e-newsletter with advantages, however you can also pay per lead within the internal ad network of BeeHiiv to expand your checklist. These are really remarkable features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you recognize ConvertKit acquired Sparkloop? Sparkloop is one of the most well known viral promo systems for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the writing on the wall for what this implies for the platform going forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Is Beehiiv Free
BeeHiiv is much previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means much less features and less integrations, which is all-natural for this phase of the cycle. However, it likewise suggests that they are swiftly creating.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have experienced practically weekly release of new features into the system. And these aren’t undersized little features … yet huge features that are quite crucial. Their rate of advancement at this moment has gone over.
I additionally quite value how responsive they are. As a matter of fact, among their product announcements about some style improvements to the web design features in fact included a little trouble with the content width. I just replied to that email to tell them. I rapidly obtained a reply directly from the CEO:.
That same day, the problem was dealt with.
Few days later on, I gave them one more idea …
Certainly, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capacity to cause automations based on the embed form made use of was added to the system.
That kind of responsiveness and direct participation of the group is something I really value.
Another major point of differentiation below is the price. Both systems supply cost-free plans, however the BeeHiiv free plan provides more ability and even more customers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is additionally even more desirable. ConvertKit appears less costly in the beginning glimpse since their pricing page shows reduced numbers, nevertheless the client limitations are much lower and your cost quickly enhances as your list expands.
With BeeHiiv, your first degree paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid annually), however you can have up to 10,000 customers. That very same dimension listing is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you update to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their best plan and the one I directly utilize), you can grow your checklist as much as 100,000. A checklist of that dimension would certainly 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 simply $84/month if you pay yearly.
BeeHiiv remains in a totally different organization when it pertains to pricing (in a good way).
Will BeeHiiv eventually increase prices? They could as time goes on. Yet, I’m guessing people like myself who are already in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see exactly how things proceed.
Things I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
Among the things you most definitely need to remember is that BeeHiiv is relatively young. They do seem to evolve instead swiftly and make new item statements somewhat frequently, however there are some basic features I truly want they had that I require to just wait for.
One is that they require to have a setting on registration kinds where I might pick an automation to run right at the kind degree. That would be remarkable for numerous reasons. As of now, subscription forms look OK, yet there’s extremely little settings for them to assist in division.
It would certainly be nice to have marking at the subscriber degree. This would certainly be effective.
I think webhooks ought to belong to automations to make built-in automations simpler and minimize reliance on outdoors devices like Zapier.
There are likewise some minor management user interface modifications that would be handy. For instance:
- Capability to mass edit/remove customers.
- Capacity to bulk edit posts (as an example, to tag a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a few standard areas as conventional on clients (like the name).
- Some more customization options for the web site (such as more versatile color choices, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Points I wish they do with it in the future. BeeHiiv is respectable, yet it isn’t ideal and absolutely not almost as established as something like FluentCRM or any other genuine CRM item.
It most likely never ever will certainly be, either. As I claimed, the purpose is various so it would not a lot a lot of feeling for BeeHiiv to become a complete marketing automation system. I presume you never ever understand, though.
Last Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Evaluation
I such as BeeHiiv rather a lot. Sufficient where I chose to switch my own newsletters over to the platform in spite of my individual choice for digital sovereignty and owning my very own system.
Put simply, for the newsletter posting version specifically, I saw adequate worth in their platform to warrant the modification.
Bear in mind, I do not use BeeHiiv as my unique e-mail list. I make use of BeeHiiv wherefore it is proficient at, yet I intentionally have things establish so that I also maintain my list “in house” within FluentCRM.
If you make use of BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the very same. It is simply a great insurance coverage, for one. But, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your list will certainly be of high usage (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never will certainly be).
So, the question is … should YOU make use of BeeHiiv?
In my point of view, if you are utilizing Substack right now, I ‘d most definitely take into consideration switching to BeeHiiv. It will just be extra business-friendly. It is targeting different abilities and various needs. Plus, BeeHiiv also has import tools for Substack, so the button ought to be rather straightforward.
If you are on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d most likely stay unless you have a huge email list and are for that reason being wooled with their high monthly bill. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, yet they are repeating promptly. There’s also a respectable chance you’re not also using a few of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you don’t even need them. For that reason, BeeHiiv can quickly be a far better and extra affordable fit.
Finally, if you plan to be extremely willful regarding growing an e-newsletter, I think BeeHiiv is THE platform to take into consideration and maintain and eye on for you.
If you utilize BeeHiiv with eyes wide open regarding what it is developed to be, it is one of the best video games around today. This is the system to enjoy.
BeeHiiv uses a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves looking into for yourself. And if you end up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll discover the cost-free account to be rather feature abundant.