I have actually used a lot of various email list systems for many years. In the last number of years, I have actually been a huge advocate of digital sovereignty and owning your own platform. Because of that (and the remarkable features), I have actually been making use of Learn Azure and AWS Beehiiv.
So, it is indeed an odd move for me to determine to use BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, it is an organized application and I am paying monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I want to look at why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my newsletters. I want to attend to the concern of digital sovereignty while utilizing the system and I would certainly additionally like to attend to why I picked to use it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For Newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Huge Change In Method, I discussed exactly how and why I decided to transform my recreational vehicle blog site into mainly a newsletter. I made a decision that was the business model I wished to pursue keeping that building.
However, to purposefully pursue it as a newsletter, I wanted a system that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the email list for Happily motor home, however FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter platform. It is constructed to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, honestly, using it for e-newsletters is a bit of a waste. Extra on that particular in a little bit.
As I said because problem of the newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a platform with devices built right into it certain to my purpose. Things such as:
- Capacity to publish (to the blog) and send the email at the same time without having it be two separate actions.
- Constructed in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would certainly require a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Built-in ability to do cross-promotions with various other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are basically one-click registration links. Great for promo in various other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, however, so there are means to do that.
- Capability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to promote your e-newsletter.
- Built-in ad network, if I choose to generate income from with advertisements in the e-newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in capability to run a paid newsletter upgrade and primarily run a costs e-newsletter. And BeeHiiv does not take a cut.
Generally, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter authors with features focused on development. The platform was actually developed by the individuals that accumulated the modern technology for Early morning Mixture. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the factor right here. BeeHiiv is developed from scratch for the objective of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a different 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. In fact, I simply went all out. And as a matter of fact, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Morning WP, set off as it’s very own property to ensure that I can grow it a lot more intentionally as well.
The goal is that each e-newsletter has the capability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown individually. Gladly RV was young, so very easy to shift. Yet, The Morning WP (previously The Edge) was hidden in a sea of stuff below 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 undoubtedly always be carefully connected with the Blog site Marketing Academy, however doesn’t need to be a part of it.
I switched over to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was constructed for this function. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Simply A Normal Email Checklist
There’s a distinction in between an e-newsletter platform and simply an email checklist.
You can organize your email checklist everywhere you want 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 difference?
The primary distinction is that, with a newsletter platform, the act of posting implies that it is going to your internet site and to your e-mail subscribers at the same time.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a site. You are publishing to that internet site. Yet, you are likewise sending to all clients at the same time. The website and it’s clients are all in one. This makes management of the platform much easier.
With most e-mail platforms, any newsletter you established is done as an e-mail campaign. It is built completely individually from your website. So, for instance, you may release an article to WordPress but after that you would certainly need to separately build and send out an email to your checklist to send it to customers. These are then 2 separate sets of archives and 2 different actions since post and your e-mails are not inherently connected.
The closest point that turns WordPress into a true e-newsletter platform is E-newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name because it pretty much “glues” your newsletter to your WordPress posts and allows them to be the same thing. Absolutely, something like Newsletter Glue would be a strong option if I intended to continue to self-host whatever. However, you ‘d shed the growth tools that feature a platform like BeeHiiv.
Posting an e-newsletter inherently features a different set of requirements than a common e-mail list.
You don’t typically need much marketing automation. You don’t typically require autoresponder series, event tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO demand, however, is one smooth posting experience and growth tools to assist you construct your subscriber base that specify to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I revealed to my clients that I was mosting likely to change the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had lots of people ask me why I was picking it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the fact that I selected to go with BeeHiiv, that doesn’t imply I believe Substack draws. As a matter of fact, because Substack has been around longer, it is elder and has more features.
Even though BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair things that initially obtained my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is especially tailored to newsletter publishers. Actually, it is literally developed by the exact same people that developed the technology behind Morning Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, doesn’t matter. Yet, the evident positioning of BeeHiiv toward newsletter development called me out over the even more generic positioning of being a “designer”. Development is what I want below.
- That branding and distinction also indicates that BeeHiiv has some rather huge brands and large magazines utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is intended even more at solo developers. Once again, it simply tells me the consumer avatar distinction between both business.
Sending our my newsletter by means of FluentCRM really did not precisely suck. The only factor I would contemplate trembling points up is if I assumed I can GROW the checklist faster. And BeeHiiv spoke exactly to that goal.
Because of the targeting, I actually do not watch BeeHiiv and Substack as straight rivals. I believe BeeHiiv is targeting a various kind of customer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being a lot more direct rivals.
However, allow’s dive deeper than simply the placing below.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Overall, BeeHiiv appears like it was constructed by individuals that understanding email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears much more tailored towards developers.
For example, BeeHiiv provides customized areas on clients. Currently, it isn’t as created as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. In fact, it is an aesthetic automation builder that works a whole lot 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 action is the ability to send an e-mail. Nonetheless, enhancements are coming. Soon enough, automations will certainly have new triggers along with brand-new actions, such as changing custom-made areas, sending out webhooks, etc. I have actually already seen improvements to their automations simply because I began using the system. For instance:
- Ability to activate automations based on which particular embed type they came in on.
- Capability to immediately do re-engagement (and deal with people based upon opens and non-opens).
- Ability to do basic conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations similar to this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack just can not do this because the target audience of Substack just wouldn’t think to approach this like an email online marketer.
When it concerns creating your e-newsletters, the composing interface of BeeHiiv is simply extra geared toward e-newsletters. As a matter of fact, it in fact has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in how it functions. I find it to be more user-friendly, personally.
Substack’s writing user interface is nice and tidy, yet it would certainly be much more 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 insert a “Section” and then put anything you desire in it. After that, you can place Visibility alternatives on that section to show it just to paid subscribers, conceal it from email, conceal from subscribers, reveal just to clients, and so on. Substack provides nothing like this.
And when/if the time comes that I start a costs subscription design, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any revenue. In fact, you essentially attach as much as your own Stripe account and it bills directly to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your profits. Relying on the number of subscribers you get, that 10% can be a fair bit even more cash than the month-to-month cost of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This might seem nerdy, but what it suggests is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can in fact make BeeHiiv deal with the outdoors using tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack essentially has … nothing. No integrations at all.
In general, I just seemed like BeeHiiv was more developed toward genuine e-mail marketing. It was built by individuals who “get it”. Even the opt-in types and the landing page designs appear better developed for conversions. Development is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Although there are still features I would like to see BeeHiiv add, I such as the direction it is going greater than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have stated, Substack positions itself toward “developers” greater than e-mail marketing experts and newsletter owners. Because of that, you see some points tailored much more toward individuals that just think in regards to material creation.
For example, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Likewise, while BeeHiiv does sustain numerous publications, they are dealt with fairly independently. Whereas Substack does have the capability to cross-post to numerous publications at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, but … amazing for individuals that could require it.
Substack also has even more social capability built-in. For instance, it has a conversation function to host chats with subscribers. It likewise has a “Notes” feature which functions kind of like a social networks newsfeed where you can share things from other “Stacks” you’re reading. Fascinating. In general, Substack is established to be a lot more like a social media which sustains long-form web content.
Overall, Substack is likewise a lot more … minimalist. You either care for that or don’t. Directly, I don’t. However, if the objective is simpleness of user interface and, truthfully, features … Substack functions rather well.
But, I’ll be clear below …
When it comes to actual marketing, I do not think there’s much doubt that BeeHiiv is much better matched. I searched for even more factors that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, yet truthfully … I have a difficult time locating them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are typically via to be the closest competitors, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer opponents. Both are going after the very same target audience and have similar abilities.
ConvertKit is likewise placed at makers (like Substack), however it is much more strongly catering to individuals who do it for business. ConvertKit has nice aesthetic automation building, it’s very own commerce system, and extra. ConvertKit is a really wonderful platform.
I’m not mosting likely to birthed you with a complete feature-by-feature failure below. ConvertKit is popular already. But, below’s how I feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Things ConvertKit Is Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has much more adaptability when it pertains to it’s automations. I will additionally state that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit much more intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains marking. This is just a basic function of email checklists that enables division in a far more flexible method than BeeHiiv currently does. I expect BeeHiiv to sustain labeling at some point quickly, honestly. It seems like an oversight that it is missing Learn Azure and AWS Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does currently supply the ability to offer points by means of their own platform. BeeHiiv does not. If that is very important to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would certainly always select an extra straight choice anyhow. For me, I favor to utilize my very own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about a lot longer and therefore has way more integration alternatives. Tons of online tools and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their very own WordPress plugin that is rather effective. As an example, their plugin currently also supports member-gated material along with auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your website. In essence, this extra closely places ConvertKit into direct competitors by having you be able to release to your site and your e-mail list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is severely lacking in these kinds of third-party integrations currently. It’ll get there. But, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also busy taking on the growth tools of BeeHiiv. For instance, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not just incentivize people to share your e-newsletter with advantages, yet you can likewise pay per lead within the internal advertisement network of BeeHiiv to expand your list. These are actually amazing features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you recognize ConvertKit acquired Sparkloop? Sparkloop is one of the most popular viral promotion platforms for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall surface of what this means for the system moving forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Learn Azure and AWS Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that suggests less features and much less integrations, which is all-natural for this phase of the cycle. Nonetheless, it likewise indicates that they are quickly creating.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have experienced nearly once a week release of brand-new features into the platform. And these aren’t puny little features … but large features that are rather vital. Their speed of development now has gone over.
I also quite appreciate exactly how receptive they are. In fact, one of their product announcements regarding some layout improvements to the web design features actually contained a small trouble with the material width. I merely responded to that email to tell them. I rapidly obtained a reply directly from the CEO:.
That same day, the problem was fixed.
Couple of days later, I gave them an additional tip …
Sure enough, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capacity to set off automations based on the embed kind utilized was added to the system.
That sort of responsiveness and straight participation of the group is something I truly appreciate.
An additional major factor of distinction right here is the cost. Both platforms provide free plans, nevertheless the BeeHiiv free plan uses more ability and even more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is also even more positive. ConvertKit seems cheaper at first glimpse since their pricing page reveals reduced numbers, nevertheless the subscriber limitations are much reduced and your price quickly enhances as your checklist grows.
With BeeHiiv, your first degree paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid annually), nevertheless you can have up to 10,000 subscribers. That exact same dimension listing is mosting likely to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their finest plan and the one I personally use), you can grow your listing as much as 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 every year, also. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for just $84/month if you pay every year.
BeeHiiv is in a completely various organization when it comes to pricing (in a great way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point raise prices? They might as time takes place. But, I’m thinking people like myself that are currently in will be locked-in. We’ll see just how points continue.
Things I Would Like BeeHiiv To Add
One of things you most definitely require to remember is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do appear to progress instead quickly and make brand-new item news rather typically, but there are some basic features I truly desire they had that I need to simply wait for.
One is that they need to have a setup on subscription forms where I could pick an automation to run right at the kind level. That would certainly be AWESOME for many reasons. Currently, membership kinds look OK, however there’s really little settings for them to aid in segmentation.
It would be nice to have labeling at the customer degree. This would be powerful.
I think webhooks should become part of automations to make built-in automations easier and decrease dependence on outside devices like Zapier.
There are additionally some minor management user interface modifications that would certainly be handy. As an example:
- Ability to bulk edit/remove clients.
- Ability to mass edit messages (as an example, to tag a number of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of standard fields as typical on clients (like the name).
- Some even more personalization choices for the website (such as even more flexible color selections, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Points I wish they do with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is respectable, yet it isn’t ideal and certainly not nearly as created as something like FluentCRM or any other genuine CRM product.
It probably never will be, either. As I stated, the function is different so it wouldn’t much a lot of sense for BeeHiiv to come to be a complete marketing automation system. I guess you never recognize, though.
Last Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Review
I like BeeHiiv fairly a great deal. Enough where I determined to switch my very own newsletters over to the system despite my personal preference for digital sovereignty and owning my very own system.
Simply put, for the e-newsletter posting model specifically, I saw adequate value in their platform to require the change.
Keep in mind, I do not utilize BeeHiiv as my unique email list. I use BeeHiiv of what it is efficient, but I intentionally have points set up to make sure that I additionally maintain my listing “in house” within FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the exact same. It is just a great insurance plan, for one. Yet, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your listing will certainly be of high usage (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation system and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will be).
So, the inquiry is … should YOU make use of BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are using Substack right now, I ‘d definitely think about switching over to BeeHiiv. It will simply be much more business-friendly. It is targeting different capabilities and different demands. And also, BeeHiiv even has import tools for Substack, so the button needs to be pretty uncomplicated.
If you get on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d probably stay put unless you have a big e-mail checklist and are consequently being fleeced with their high month-to-month costs. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are repeating swiftly. There’s likewise a respectable possibility you’re not even using a few of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you don’t also need them. Because of that, BeeHiiv can easily be a better and much more inexpensive fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be extremely intentional regarding growing an e-newsletter, I think BeeHiiv is THE system to consider and maintain and eye on for you.
If you utilize BeeHiiv with eyes wide open regarding what it is developed to be, it is just one of the very best games in the area right now. This is the system to enjoy.
BeeHiiv provides a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves having a look at for yourself. And if you wind up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll find the cost-free account to be quite feature rich.