I have used a lot of various email list systems over the years. In the last number of years, I’ve been a big proponent of digital sovereignty and owning your own platform. Therefore (and the outstanding features), I have been making use of The Neuron Beehiiv.
So, it is indeed an unusual move for me to determine to utilize BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, it is an organized application and I am paying monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv evaluation, I want to discuss why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I intend to deal with the issue of digital sovereignty while making use of the platform and I would certainly additionally like to resolve why I picked to utilize it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For Newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Hobby + A Big Change In Approach, I discussed exactly how and why I made a decision to transform my RV blog right into largely a newsletter. I determined that was the business model I intended to go after with that property.
But, to intentionally seek it as an e-newsletter, I desired a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the email listing for Happily recreational vehicle, but FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter platform. It is developed to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, frankly, utilizing it for newsletters is a bit of a waste. Much more on that particular in a little bit.
As I claimed because concern of the newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a system with tools constructed right into it details to my objective. Things such as:
- Capability to publish (to the blog site) and send the email simultaneously without having it be 2 separate actions.
- Constructed in e-newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would certainly have needed a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capacity to do cross-promotions with various other newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are generally one-click subscription links. Great for promo in other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, however, so there are ways to do that.
- Capacity to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your e-newsletter.
- Integrated advertisement network, if I select to generate income from with advertisements in the e-newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in ability 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 e-newsletter authors with features focused on development. The system was essentially constructed by the individuals that built up the innovation for Morning Brew. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the point below. BeeHiiv is constructed from the ground up for the objective of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a different function.
And I finished off with this:.
I might certainly be moving The Edge over to BeeHiiv too. A minimum of, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. As a matter of fact, I just went all out. And actually, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, set off as it’s own home so that I can expand it much more deliberately also.
The objective is that each e-newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s own media entity and grown individually. Gladly motor home was young, so simple to change. But, The 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 closely linked with the Blog site Marketing Academy, however doesn’t need to be a part of it.
I switched to BeeHiiv since it was constructed for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Simply A Regular Email Listing
There’s a difference in between an e-newsletter platform and just an email list.
You can organize your e-mail listing just about anywhere you desire and there are a number of them around, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted alternatives like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The main difference is that, with an e-newsletter platform, the act of publishing means that it is mosting likely to your internet site and to your e-mail customers simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have an internet site. You are publishing to that website. However, you are additionally sending to all clients at the same time. The website and it’s subscribers are done in one. This makes management of the platform much simpler.
With the majority of e-mail platforms, any e-newsletter you set up is done as an e-mail campaign. It is constructed entirely individually from your website. So, for instance, you might publish a short article to WordPress yet after that you would require to individually build and send out an email to your list to send it to clients. These are after that 2 separate sets of archives and two different activities since blog posts and your e-mails are not inherently connected.
The closest point that transforms WordPress into a real newsletter platform is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name due to the fact that it basically “adhesives” your e-newsletter to your WordPress blog posts and enables them to be the exact same thing. Certainly, something like E-newsletter Glue would certainly be a solid choice if I wished to remain to self-host whatever. Nonetheless, you would certainly lose the growth tools that include a system like BeeHiiv.
Publishing an e-newsletter inherently comes with a different set of needs than a regular email listing.
You do not usually need much marketing automation. You do not generally require autoresponder series, event tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO requirement, though, is one seamless posting experience and development tools to help you build your customer base that are specific to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my clients that I was going to change the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had lots of people ask me why I was selecting it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the reality that I chose to opt for BeeHiiv, that does not indicate I believe Substack sucks. As a matter of fact, because Substack has actually been about longer, it is elder and has even more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is more youthful, there are a pair points that initially got my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is specifically customized to e-newsletter authors. Actually, it is actually developed by the same folks that developed the technology behind Early morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real world, doesn’t matter. Yet, the noticeable positioning of BeeHiiv towards e-newsletter development called me out over the even more common positioning of being a “creator”. Growth is what I want right here.
- That branding and distinction likewise suggests that BeeHiiv has some relatively huge brands and huge publications using it. Whereas SubStack is aimed more at solo creators. Once again, it just informs me the customer avatar difference between the two business.
Sending our my newsletter by means of FluentCRM really did not precisely draw. The only factor I would certainly ponder drinking points up is if I thought I can GROW the checklist faster. And BeeHiiv spoke exactly to that goal.
As a result of the targeting, I in fact do not watch BeeHiiv and Substack as direct rivals. I think BeeHiiv is targeting a different kind of consumer. As a matter of fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being much more direct competitors.
However, allow’s dive much deeper than just the placing here.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
On the whole, BeeHiiv appears like it was constructed by individuals that understanding e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears much more geared toward developers.
For instance, BeeHiiv supplies custom-made areas on clients. Currently, it isn’t as developed as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. In fact, it is a visual automation builder that functions a whole lot like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation performance is still early-phase. It is still rather limited in triggers and the only activity is the capacity to send out an email. Nevertheless, improvements are coming. Soon enough, automations will certainly have new triggers along with brand-new activities, such as customizing custom-made fields, sending out webhooks, etc. I have actually already seen improvements to their automations just given that I started utilizing the platform. For instance:
- Capacity to cause automations based upon which details embed kind they came in on.
- Capability to immediately do re-engagement (and take care of individuals based upon opens up and non-opens).
- Capacity to do fundamental conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack just can’t do this because the target audience of Substack just wouldn’t believe to approach this like an e-mail marketing professional.
When it comes to writing your newsletters, the creating user interface of BeeHiiv is simply much more tailored towards newsletters. In fact, it really has similarities to the WordPress block builder in how it functions. I discover it to be much more intuitive, directly.
Substack’s composing interface behaves and tidy, however it would be extra equivalent to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This distinction is more than just form. For instance, with BeeHiiv you can put a “Section” and afterwards put anything you desire in it. Then, you can place Presence choices on that section to show it just to paid subscribers, conceal it from e-mail, hide from customers, reveal only to clients, and so on. Substack supplies nothing like this.
And when/if the time comes that I begin a costs subscription design, BeeHiiv does not take any revenue. As a matter of fact, you actually connect up to your own Stripe account and it charges straight to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your profits. Relying on how many clients you obtain, that 10% can be a fair bit even more money than the monthly cost of BeeHiiv.
Finally, BeeHiiv has an API. This may appear nerdy, however what it indicates is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can actually make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outdoors using devices like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack actually has … nothing. No integrations in all.
On the whole, I just felt like BeeHiiv was a lot more developed towards genuine email marketing. It was constructed by individuals who “get it”. Even the opt-in forms and the landing page designs seem better developed for conversions. Growth is the name of the game with BeeHiiv.
Although there are still features I would like to see BeeHiiv include, I such as the direction it is going more than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have said, Substack settings itself toward “designers” more than e-mail marketing professionals and e-newsletter proprietors. Therefore, you see some things tailored much more toward individuals that simply believe in regards to web content production.
For instance, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does sustain multiple publications, they are dealt with rather independently. Whereas Substack does have the capability to cross-post to multiple magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I require, but … awesome for people that could need it.
Substack also has even more social capability built-in. As an example, it has a conversation feature to host chats with clients. It likewise has a “Notes” feature which works kind of like a social networks newsfeed where you can share points from various other “Stacks” you read. Fascinating. Generally, Substack is set up to be more like a social media network which supports long-form content.
In general, Substack is also more … minimal. You either care for that or don’t. Directly, I do not. However, if the objective is simplicity of user interface and, frankly, features … Substack works quite well.
Yet, I’ll be clear here …
When it involves actual marketing, I do not believe there’s much uncertainty that BeeHiiv is much better fit. I looked for more factors that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, yet frankly … I have a tough time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are usually 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 market and have similar capabilities.
ConvertKit is likewise placed at makers (like Substack), yet it is much more highly catering to individuals who do it for business. ConvertKit has great visual automation building, it’s 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 here. ConvertKit is well known currently. However, below’s just how I feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Things ConvertKit Is Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has a lot more adaptability when it comes to it’s automations. I will additionally say that I locate ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit a lot more intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains labeling. This is just a standard function of email listings that enables segmentation in a far more flexible method than BeeHiiv currently does. I expect BeeHiiv to sustain tagging eventually soon, honestly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on The Neuron Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does now offer the ability to market things through their very own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is essential to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nevertheless, I would always select a more direct option anyway. For me, I favor to use my own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been about a lot longer and for that reason has way more integration alternatives. Lots of web-based tools and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their very own WordPress plugin that is rather effective. For instance, their plugin now also sustains member-gated content as well as auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your site. In essence, this more closely puts ConvertKit right into direct competition by having you have the ability to publish to your site and your e-mail list at the same time.
BeeHiiv is seriously doing not have in these type of third-party integrations presently. It’ll get there. However, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even busy dealing with the growth tools of BeeHiiv. For example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Suggestion Engine where you can not only incentivize individuals to share your newsletter with advantages, however you can likewise pay per lead within the interior ad network of BeeHiiv to expand your list. These are truly amazing features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you recognize ConvertKit got Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of the most well known viral promotion platforms for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall surface of what this implies for the platform going forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … The Neuron Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means less features and less integrations, which is natural for this phase of the cycle. However, it also suggests that they are rapidly developing.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually experienced practically regular release of new features right into the system. And these aren’t puny little features … yet huge features that are fairly vital. Their speed of development at this moment has actually gone over.
I additionally significantly appreciate just how responsive they are. In fact, among their product statements about some style improvements to the website design features actually consisted of a tiny problem with the material size. I simply replied to that email to tell them. I quickly obtained a reply directly from the CEO:.
That exact same day, the issue was dealt with.
Couple of days later on, I provided an additional tip …
Certainly, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capacity to set off automations based upon the embed kind used was added to the system.
That sort of responsiveness and direct involvement of the group is something I actually appreciate.
One more major point of differentiation here is the cost. Both platforms use free plans, however the BeeHiiv free plan provides much more capacity and 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 cheaper in the beginning glance since their pricing page shows lower numbers, nonetheless the subscriber restrictions are much lower and your price promptly raises as your listing grows.
With BeeHiiv, your first degree paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid yearly), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 subscribers. That very same dimension list 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 directly utilize), you can expand your list up to 100,000. A checklist of that size would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, as well, 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 every year.
BeeHiiv is in an entirely various organization when it pertains to pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv eventually raise prices? They might as time goes on. But, I’m guessing people like myself that are currently in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see just how things proceed.
Things I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Include
Among things you absolutely need to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do appear to progress rather promptly and make new item announcements rather often, but there are some fundamental features I actually want they had that I require to just await.
One is that they require to have a setup on registration forms where I might select an automation to run right at the form level. That would certainly be incredible for numerous factors. Already, membership kinds look OK, yet there’s really little settings for them to assist in division.
It would certainly be nice to have tagging at the subscriber degree. This would certainly be effective.
I believe webhooks should belong to automations to make built-in automations much easier and minimize dependence on outdoors devices like Zapier.
There are also some minor administrative user interface changes that would be handy. As an example:
- Capability to bulk edit/remove subscribers.
- Ability to mass edit blog posts (as an example, to tag a number of them at the same time).
- Having a few standard fields as basic on customers (like the name).
- Some more modification choices for the site (such as even more flexible color choices, headline control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some imperfections. Points I hope they make with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, but it isn’t ideal and definitely not almost as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other real CRM item.
It probably never will certainly be, either. As I claimed, the purpose is various so it wouldn’t a lot a great deal of feeling for BeeHiiv to become a complete marketing automation system. I guess you never recognize, however.
Final Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Evaluation
I like BeeHiiv fairly a whole lot. Enough where I chose to switch my own newsletters over to the platform despite my individual preference for digital sovereignty and owning my very own platform.
Basically, for the newsletter publishing design specifically, I saw enough worth in their platform to necessitate the modification.
Bear in mind, I do not utilize BeeHiiv as my unique e-mail checklist. I use BeeHiiv for what it is good at, but I intentionally have points establish to ensure that I additionally keep my list “in residence” within FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the exact same. It is just an excellent insurance plan, for one. Yet, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your listing 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 inquiry is … should YOU utilize BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are utilizing Substack right now, I ‘d certainly think about switching to BeeHiiv. It will merely be much more business-friendly. It is targeting various abilities and various needs. Plus, BeeHiiv also has import tools for Substack, so the button must be rather straightforward.
If you get on ConvertKit currently, I ‘d probably sit tight unless you have a big email listing and are as a result being wooled with their high month-to-month bill. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, yet they are repeating promptly. There’s likewise a pretty good opportunity you’re not even making use of a few of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you do not also require them. Because of that, BeeHiiv might quickly be a much better and a lot more economical fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be very intentional regarding expanding an e-newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE system 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 one of the best games in the area right now. This is the platform to watch.
BeeHiiv supplies 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 with the paid plan, you’ll find the totally free account to be rather feature rich.