I have used a lot of various email list systems over the years. In the last number of years, I have actually been a huge supporter of digital sovereignty and owning your own system. Therefore (and the amazing features), I have actually been using Substack Vs Medium Vs Beehiiv.
So, it is indeed a strange move for me to decide to use BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, it is an organized application and I am paying regular monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I want to go over why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I want to resolve the concern of digital sovereignty while utilizing the system and I would certainly additionally like to attend to why I chose to use it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For E-newsletters
In Concern # 435 of my newsletter called My Hobby + A Large Shift In Method, I discussed exactly how and why I decided to turn my RV blog into mostly an e-newsletter. I determined that was business model I wanted to pursue with that said property.
However, to intentionally seek it as an e-newsletter, I desired a system that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the email checklist for Happily recreational vehicle, however FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, truthfully, using it for e-newsletters is a little a waste. Much more on that in a little bit.
As I stated in that issue of the e-newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a system with tools developed into it details to my function. Points such as:
- Capacity to release (to the blog site) and send the e-mail concurrently without having it be 2 different activities.
- Integrated in e-newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would certainly require a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capacity to do cross-promotions with various other newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are primarily one-click membership links. Great for promotion in other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, however, so there are methods to do that.
- Capacity to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your newsletter.
- Integrated advertisement network, if I pick to generate income from with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated capacity to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and primarily run a premium newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Generally, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter authors with features focused on growth. The system was essentially built by the individuals that built up the innovation for Morning Brew. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the point right here. BeeHiiv is built from scratch for the objective of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a various purpose.
And I finished off with this:.
I may undoubtedly be relocating The Side over to BeeHiiv as well. A minimum of, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I didn’t 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 Early morning WP, triggered as it’s very own property to ensure that I can grow it more purposefully as well.
The goal is that each newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown individually. Gladly RV was young, so very easy to shift. Yet, The Early morning WP (formerly The Side) was buried in a sea of stuff below at the Blog Marketing Academy. By dividing it off, I can do what I can to grow it on it’s very own. It will clearly constantly be carefully linked with the Blog site Marketing Academy, yet doesn’t have to be a part of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv because it was built for this function. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Just A Normal Email Checklist
There’s a distinction in between an e-newsletter platform and simply an e-mail checklist.
You can host your email list anyplace you want and there are a number of them available, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted alternatives like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The main distinction is that, with a newsletter platform, the act of publishing implies that it is mosting likely to your web site and to your e-mail subscribers all at once.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have an internet site. You are publishing to that website. Yet, you are additionally sending off to all subscribers at the same time. The internet site and it’s subscribers are all in one. This makes management of the system much less complex.
With the majority of email systems, any type of e-newsletter you set up is done as an e-mail campaign. It is constructed totally separately from your internet site. So, for example, you might release a write-up to WordPress yet then you would certainly need to independently construct and send an e-mail to your list to send it to subscribers. These are after that two different collections of archives and 2 different activities since article and your e-mails are not inherently linked.
The closest point that turns WordPress into a true newsletter platform is E-newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name due to the fact that it practically “glues” your e-newsletter to your WordPress articles and allows them to be the very same thing. Definitely, something like E-newsletter Glue would be a strong option if I intended to remain to self-host whatever. Nonetheless, you ‘d shed the growth tools that come with a platform like BeeHiiv.
Publishing an e-newsletter naturally includes a different collection of demands than a typical email list.
You don’t typically require much marketing automation. You do not usually require autoresponder sequences, event tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO requirement, however, is one smooth posting experience and growth tools to assist you construct your subscriber base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I announced to my clients that I was going to switch over the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many people ask me why I was selecting it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the reality that I chose to select BeeHiiv, that does not suggest I believe Substack sucks. Actually, because Substack has been about much longer, it is elder and has more features.
Although BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a couple things that initially obtained my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is especially customized to e-newsletter publishers. In fact, it is essentially built by the exact same people that constructed the modern technology behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, doesn’t matter. But, the apparent positioning of BeeHiiv towards newsletter growth called me out over the more common positioning of being a “maker”. Development is what I have an interest in here.
- That branding and distinction likewise means that BeeHiiv has some fairly big brands and big publications using it. Whereas SubStack is intended more at solo makers. Once more, it simply informs me the customer avatar distinction between the two business.
Sending our my e-newsletter through FluentCRM really did not specifically suck. The only factor I would consider trembling things up is if I assumed I might GROW the list faster. And BeeHiiv spoke exactly to that goal.
Because of the targeting, I in fact don’t view BeeHiiv and Substack as direct competitors. I think BeeHiiv is targeting a various kind of consumer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being much more direct rivals.
However, allow’s dive much deeper than just the positioning right here.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
In general, BeeHiiv feels like it was built by people that recognizing email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears a lot more tailored towards designers.
As an example, BeeHiiv supplies customized fields on subscribers. Currently, it isn’t as created as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv offers Automations. In fact, it is an aesthetic automation builder that functions a whole lot like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still quite limited in triggers and the only action is the capability to send an email. However, enhancements are coming. Soon sufficient, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers in addition to new actions, such as modifying custom areas, sending out webhooks, etc. I’ve currently seen improvements to their automations just since I began using the platform. As an example:
- Capacity to set off automations based on which particular embed form they can be found in on.
- Capacity to instantly do re-engagement (and handle individuals based on opens up and non-opens).
- Capability to do standard conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations similar to this. Likely, it never will. Substack just can not do this because the target market of Substack just wouldn’t believe to approach this like an e-mail marketer.
When it comes to creating your e-newsletters, the creating user interface of BeeHiiv is just more tailored toward e-newsletters. In fact, it really has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in how it functions. I find it to be more instinctive, personally.
Substack’s creating user interface is nice and tidy, however it would be much more equal to the timeless editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This difference is greater than just form. For instance, with BeeHiiv you can insert a “Section” and after that put anything you desire in it. Then, you can place Exposure options on that particular area to show it only to paid customers, hide it from e-mail, conceal from customers, show just to customers, and so on. Substack offers nothing similar to this.
And when/if the moment comes that I begin a premium subscription model, BeeHiiv does not take any kind of revenue. Actually, you literally attach approximately your very own Stripe account and it charges directly to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your profits. Depending upon the number of clients you get, that 10% can be a fair bit more money than the month-to-month cost of BeeHiiv.
Lastly, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear nerdy, yet what it implies 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 literally has … absolutely nothing. No integrations in any way.
Overall, I just felt like BeeHiiv was much more developed towards genuine e-mail marketing. It was built by people that “get it”. Also the opt-in forms and the landing page makes seem far better built for conversions. Growth is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Although there are still features I would like to see BeeHiiv add, I like the instructions 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 email marketers and e-newsletter proprietors. For that reason, you see some things tailored a lot more toward people that simply think in regards to material production.
For instance, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Likewise, while BeeHiiv does support numerous publications, they are dealt with fairly independently. Whereas Substack does have the capacity to cross-post to numerous publications at the same time. This isn’t something I need, yet … awesome for people who could require 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” function which works kind of like a social media newsfeed where you can share points from other “Stacks” you’re reading. Intriguing. Overall, Substack is established to be a lot more like a social media network which supports long-form material.
In general, Substack is likewise more … minimalist. You either take care of that or do not. Directly, I do not. However, if the goal is simplicity of interface and, honestly, features … Substack functions rather well.
But, I’ll be clear below …
When it concerns real marketing, I do not assume there’s much doubt that BeeHiiv is much better suited. I searched for even more points that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, but frankly … I have a tough time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are usually via to be the closest rivals, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer competitors. Both are going after the very same target market and have similar abilities.
ConvertKit is likewise placed at creators (like Substack), yet it is much more strongly catering to individuals that do it for service. ConvertKit has nice visual automation building, it’s very own business system, and much more. ConvertKit is a truly wonderful system.
I’m not mosting likely to birthed you with a full feature-by-feature break down below. ConvertKit is well known already. However, right here’s exactly how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Points ConvertKit Is Much Better At …
Currently, ConvertKit has a lot more versatility when it concerns it’s automations. I will also say that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit extra instinctive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports identifying. This is simply a basic function of e-mail lists that enables segmentation in a much more flexible means than BeeHiiv currently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support identifying eventually quickly, frankly. It seems like an oversight that it is missing out on Substack Vs Medium Vs Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does currently offer the ability to offer things through their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is essential to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, however, I would certainly constantly choose a much more direct choice anyway. For me, I like to utilize my own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been about much longer and for that reason has way extra integration choices. Tons of online tools and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their own WordPress plugin that is quite powerful. For example, their plugin now even sustains member-gated material as well as auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your site. In essence, this more very closely puts ConvertKit into direct competition by having you be able to publish to your website and your e-mail list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is badly lacking in these kinds of third-party integrations at the moment. It’ll get there. But, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also busy dealing with the growth devices of BeeHiiv. As an example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not only incentivize individuals to share your newsletter with perks, yet you can also pay per lead within the interior advertisement network of BeeHiiv to grow your listing. These are truly amazing features of BeeHiiv. However …
Did you recognize ConvertKit got Sparkloop? Sparkloop is one of one of the most popular viral promo platforms for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the creating on the wall for what this suggests for the system going forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Better At … Substack Vs Medium Vs 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. However, it also implies that they are rapidly creating.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have witnessed nearly regular release of new features into the system. And these aren’t undersized little features … however huge features that are fairly vital. Their rate of advancement at this moment has actually gone over.
I also quite value just how receptive they are. In fact, among their product statements about some style enhancements to the web design features actually consisted of a little issue with the web content size. I just responded to that e-mail to tell them. I swiftly got a reply straight from the CEO:.
That very same day, the problem was repaired.
Couple of days later, I provided another suggestion …
Indeed, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to activate automations based on the embed kind utilized was contributed to the system.
That kind of responsiveness and direct involvement of the team is something I truly value.
An additional significant factor of distinction here is the rate. Both platforms use totally free plans, nonetheless the BeeHiiv free plan offers extra capacity and more subscribers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
When you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is also much more beneficial. ConvertKit appears less expensive at first glance because their pricing web page reveals reduced numbers, nonetheless the subscriber restrictions are FAR lower and your price rapidly enhances as your list grows.
With BeeHiiv, your initial level paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid each year), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 customers. That same dimension checklist is mosting likely to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you update to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their best plan and the one I directly use), you can expand your list up to 100,000. A list of that dimension would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, also, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay annually, as well. With BeeHiiv, you can get all that for simply $84/month if you pay each year.
BeeHiiv is in a totally various organization when it concerns pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv ultimately increase prices? They might as time goes on. But, I’m presuming people like myself who are already in will be locked-in. We’ll see how points proceed.
Things I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Include
Among the things you absolutely need to remember is that BeeHiiv is fairly young. They do appear to evolve instead rapidly and make new product news rather often, yet there are some standard features I really desire they had that I require to simply await.
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 be remarkable for many factors. Currently, subscription kinds look OK, yet there’s really little settings for them to aid in division.
It would be nice to have tagging at the subscriber level. This would certainly be powerful.
I believe webhooks must belong to automations to make integrated automations less complicated and lower dependence on outside tools like Zapier.
There are also some small management user interface modifications that would certainly be handy. For instance:
- Capability to bulk edit/remove subscribers.
- Capacity to bulk edit articles (for instance, to mark a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a few basic areas as conventional on subscribers (like the name).
- Some more modification choices for the website (such as even more flexible shade selections, headline control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Things I wish they do with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, but it isn’t perfect and definitely not almost as created as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM item.
It most likely never ever will be, either. As I claimed, the function is various so it wouldn’t much a great deal of feeling for BeeHiiv to end up being a complete marketing automation platform. I guess you never recognize, though.
Last Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Testimonial
I like BeeHiiv quite a lot. Sufficient where I chose to switch my own newsletters over to the system in spite of my personal choice for digital sovereignty and having my own system.
Put simply, for the newsletter posting model especially, I saw sufficient worth in their system to call for the adjustment.
Bear in mind, I do not use BeeHiiv as my exclusive e-mail listing. I utilize BeeHiiv wherefore it is proficient at, yet I purposefully have things establish to make sure that I likewise maintain my listing “in house” within FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the very same. It is just an excellent insurance policy, for one. But, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your checklist will certainly be of high use (FluentCRM is a full 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 viewpoint, if you are using Substack right now, I ‘d most definitely consider switching over to BeeHiiv. It will merely be more business-friendly. It is targeting different capabilities and different needs. Plus, BeeHiiv also has import tools for Substack, so the switch ought to be quite simple.
If you are on ConvertKit now, I ‘d probably stay put unless you have a huge email checklist and are for that reason being wooled with their high month-to-month expense. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, yet they are iterating quickly. There’s likewise a pretty good chance you’re not even making use of a few of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you don’t also need them. Because of that, BeeHiiv can quickly be a far better and more cost effective fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be really deliberate about expanding an e-newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE platform to take into consideration and keep and eye on for you.
If you utilize BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is created to be, it is among the best games around right now. This is the platform to watch.
BeeHiiv uses a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It is worth taking a look at on your own. And if you end up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll find the totally free account to be fairly feature rich.