I have utilized a lot of different e-mail list systems over the years. In the last couple of years, I’ve been a substantial advocate of digital sovereignty and having your very own platform. Therefore (and the amazing features), I have been making use of ThriveLetter Beehiiv.
So, it is certainly an unusual move for me to determine to use BeeHiiv. After all, it is a hosted application and I am paying month-to-month for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv evaluation, I wish to go over why I made the button to BeeHiiv for my newsletters. I want to deal with the problem of digital sovereignty while using the platform and I ‘d likewise such as to deal with why I picked to use it over Substack.
Allow’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Built For Newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Hobby + A Huge Change In Method, I discussed just how and why I made a decision to turn my RV blog site into largely a newsletter. I chose that was business version I intended to seek with that home.
Yet, to intentionally pursue it as an e-newsletter, I wanted a platform that was purpose-built for that. I was making use of FluentCRM for the email listing for Gladly motor home, however FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is constructed to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, honestly, using it for newsletters is a little bit of a waste. Extra on that in a bit.
As I claimed in that problem of the newsletter …
Basically, BeeHiiv is a platform with tools developed into it particular to my function. Points such as:
- Capability to publish (to the blog site) and send out the email concurrently without having it be two separate actions.
- Built in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capability to do cross-promotions with other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are essentially one-click membership web links. Great for promo in other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, though, so there are means to do that.
- Capability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your e-newsletter.
- Built-in advertisement network, if I choose to generate income from with ads in the newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated ability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and generally run a premium newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Primarily, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter publishers with features aimed at development. The system was essentially constructed by the individuals who accumulated the innovation for Early morning Brew. They understand what they’re doing.
That is the factor here. BeeHiiv is constructed from scratch for the objective of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a various objective.
And I finished off with this:.
I might without a doubt be relocating The Edge over to BeeHiiv too. At the very least, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. In fact, I simply went for it. And as a matter of fact, The side was re-branded over to The Morning WP, set off as it’s very own property so that I can grow it a lot more purposefully too.
The objective is that each newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and expanded individually. Happily motor home was young, so simple to change. But, The Early morning WP (formerly The Side) 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 certainly constantly be carefully connected with the Blog Marketing Academy, however does not have to be a part of it.
I switched over to BeeHiiv because it was constructed for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Simply A Typical Email Checklist
There’s a difference between a newsletter system and just an e-mail list.
You can hold your email list anyplace you desire and there are a variety of them around, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The key difference is that, with a newsletter platform, the act of publishing means that it is going to your website and to your email clients at the same time.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have an internet site. You are releasing to that website. Yet, you are also sending to all clients at the same time. The site and it’s clients are done in one. This makes monitoring of the system much less complex.
With many email platforms, any type of e-newsletter you established is done as an email campaign. It is developed totally separately from your site. So, as an example, you could publish a write-up to WordPress yet then you would require to separately construct and send an e-mail to your list to send it to clients. These are after that two separate collections of archives and two different activities due to the fact that blog posts and your e-mails are not inherently linked.
The closest point that turns WordPress into a real e-newsletter system is E-newsletter Glue.
It is a suitable name since it virtually “glues” your e-newsletter to your WordPress messages and allows them to be the very same point. Certainly, something like Newsletter Glue would certainly be a solid alternative if I intended to remain to self-host whatever. Nevertheless, you ‘d lose the growth devices that come with a system like BeeHiiv.
Publishing an e-newsletter inherently includes a various set of demands than a typical email list.
You don’t generally need much marketing automation. You don’t generally need autoresponder sequences, occasion monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO demand, however, is one smooth publishing experience and growth tools to help you construct your customer base that specify to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I revealed to my clients that I was going to change the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many individuals ask me why I was selecting it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the reality that I selected to choose BeeHiiv, that does not imply I think Substack draws. In fact, because Substack has been about longer, it is more mature and has even more features.
Although BeeHiiv is younger, there are a pair things that at first obtained my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is especially tailored to e-newsletter authors. Actually, it is literally developed by the exact same folks who built the modern technology behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets writers. In the real world, does not matter. But, the apparent positioning of BeeHiiv towards e-newsletter development called me out over the even more common positioning of being a “developer”. Development is what I want here.
- That branding and differentiation likewise means that BeeHiiv has some rather big brand names and large magazines using it. Whereas SubStack is intended more at solo designers. Once again, it just informs me the consumer avatar distinction between both firms.
Sending our my e-newsletter using FluentCRM really did not specifically draw. The only reason I would certainly contemplate shaking points up is if I believed I could expand the list faster. And BeeHiiv spoke specifically to that goal.
Due to the targeting, I in fact don’t see BeeHiiv and Substack as straight rivals. I think BeeHiiv is targeting a various type of customer. As a matter of fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being a lot more direct competitors.
Yet, let’s dive deeper than just the positioning right here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
On the whole, BeeHiiv looks like it was developed by people that recognizing e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears a lot more tailored towards developers.
For instance, BeeHiiv supplies custom-made areas on customers. Now, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. But, it has it. Substack doesn’t.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. As a matter of fact, it is an aesthetic automation builder that works a great deal like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation performance is still early-phase. It is still quite minimal in triggers and the only activity is the capability to send an e-mail. Nonetheless, improvements are coming. Quickly enough, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers in addition to brand-new activities, such as modifying customized fields, sending out webhooks, etc. I’ve currently seen improvements to their automations simply since I began utilizing the platform. For instance:
- Ability to set off automations based on which certain embed type they was available in on.
- Capability to instantly do re-engagement (and manage people based upon opens up and non-opens).
- Capability to do fundamental conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never ever will. Substack simply can not do this since the target audience of Substack just would not believe to approach this like an email marketer.
When it comes to composing your e-newsletters, the writing user interface of BeeHiiv is just a lot more geared toward newsletters. Actually, it actually has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it works. I discover it to be a lot more instinctive, personally.
Substack’s creating interface is nice and clean, but it would certainly be much more equivalent to the timeless editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This difference is greater than just type. For example, with BeeHiiv you can insert a “Area” and after that put anything you want in it. After that, you can place Visibility options on that section to show it just to paid subscribers, conceal it from e-mail, hide from clients, show only to subscribers, and so on. Substack supplies absolutely nothing such as this.
And when/if the moment comes that I start a premium registration design, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any profits. As a matter of fact, you literally attach up to your very own Stripe account and it charges straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your revenue. Depending upon the amount of clients you get, that 10% can be a fair bit more cash than the regular monthly expense of BeeHiiv.
Lastly, BeeHiiv has an API. This might seem unpopular, but what it indicates is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can actually make BeeHiiv deal with the outside using tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack essentially has … nothing. No integrations whatsoever.
Overall, I simply felt like BeeHiiv was extra developed toward real email marketing. It was built by people who “get it”. Even the opt-in types and the landing page makes seem far better developed for conversions. Growth is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Despite the fact that there are still features I want to see BeeHiiv add, I like the direction it is going greater than Substack.
Things That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have said, Substack positions itself toward “makers” more than email marketing professionals and e-newsletter proprietors. Therefore, you see some points geared much more toward people that simply assume in regards to material development.
For instance, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does sustain multiple magazines, they are dealt with fairly individually. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to several magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I require, yet … amazing for people who might need it.
Substack additionally has even more social functionality built-in. For example, it has a chat function to host chats with clients. It also has a “Notes” function which functions sort of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share points from various other “Stacks” you read. Intriguing. Overall, Substack is established to be more like a social media network which supports long-form material.
In general, Substack is likewise extra … minimal. You either take care of that or do not. Directly, I do not. Nevertheless, if the goal is simpleness of interface and, truthfully, features … Substack functions quite well.
However, I’ll be clear here …
When it involves real marketing, I don’t believe there’s much doubt that BeeHiiv is better suited. I searched for more points that make Substack far better than BeeHiiv, but honestly … I have a difficult time discovering them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are usually through to be the closest competitors, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer competitors. Both are going after the exact same target market and have comparable capabilities.
ConvertKit is also positioned at developers (like Substack), however it is much more highly satisfying individuals that do it for company. ConvertKit has good visual automation structure, it’s own commerce platform, and a lot more. ConvertKit is a truly great system.
I’m not mosting likely to birthed you with a complete feature-by-feature breakdown here. ConvertKit is well known currently. However, below’s exactly how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Things ConvertKit Is Better At …
As of now, ConvertKit has extra versatility when it comes to it’s automations. I will certainly likewise state that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit more intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports labeling. This is just a fundamental function of email listings that enables segmentation in a much more adaptable way than BeeHiiv presently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support tagging at some time quickly, frankly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing ThriveLetter Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does currently supply the capacity to market points via their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is necessary to you, it might be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would certainly always pick an extra straight alternative anyway. For me, I choose to use my own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been about a lot longer and therefore has way more integration alternatives. Lots of web-based tools and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit even has their own WordPress plugin that is rather powerful. For instance, their plugin currently also supports member-gated content as well as auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your site. In essence, this extra closely puts ConvertKit right into straight competitors by having you be able to release to your site and your e-mail listing at the same time.
BeeHiiv is seriously lacking in these kinds of third-party integrations currently. It’ll arrive. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also hectic taking on the growth tools of BeeHiiv. As an example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Suggestion Engine where you can not just incentivize individuals to share your e-newsletter with perks, yet you can additionally pay per lead within the inner advertisement network of BeeHiiv to grow your listing. These are truly outstanding features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you understand ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of the most popular viral promo systems for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the composing on the wall of what this implies for the system going forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Better At … ThriveLetter Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is much earlier in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that suggests less features and less integrations, which is natural for this stage of the cycle. However, it also suggests that they are swiftly developing.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually seen nearly regular launch of new features right into the platform. And these aren’t undersized little features … yet huge features that are rather vital. Their rate of advancement at this point has been impressive.
I also quite appreciate exactly how responsive they are. As a matter of fact, among their product news regarding some layout improvements to the web design features really had a tiny problem with the web content width. I simply replied to that e-mail to tell them. I promptly got a reply directly from the chief executive officer:.
That very same day, the problem was dealt with.
Couple of days later on, I gave them an additional suggestion …
Sure enough, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the ability to set off automations based upon the embed kind utilized was included in the system.
That kind of responsiveness and straight involvement of the group is something I really appreciate.
An additional major point of distinction here is the cost. Both platforms provide free plans, nevertheless the BeeHiiv free plan provides extra capacity and even more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is also much more favorable. ConvertKit seems cheaper in the beginning look since their pricing page reveals lower numbers, nevertheless the client limits are much reduced and your cost rapidly increases as your listing expands.
With BeeHiiv, your very first level paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid annually), nevertheless you can have up to 10,000 clients. That same dimension list is going 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 listing approximately 100,000. A checklist 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, also. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for simply $84/month if you pay yearly.
BeeHiiv is in a totally various league when it involves pricing (in a great way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point enhance rates? They could as time takes place. However, I’m thinking people like myself who are currently in will be locked-in. We’ll see exactly how things proceed.
Points I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Add
One of the important things you definitely require to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do appear to advance instead promptly and make new item announcements somewhat typically, but there are some basic features I really desire they had that I need to just wait for.
One is that they need to have a setup on registration kinds where I could choose an automation to run right at the form degree. That would certainly be incredible for many factors. Already, registration forms look OK, but there’s extremely little settings for them to assist in segmentation.
It would certainly be nice to have tagging at the subscriber degree. This would be powerful.
I assume webhooks should be part of automations to make integrated automations less complicated and decrease reliance on outside devices like Zapier.
There are also some small management interface changes that would certainly be handy. For example:
- Capability to bulk edit/remove clients.
- Capacity to bulk edit messages (for instance, to tag a number of them at the same time).
- Having a couple of basic areas as standard on clients (like the name).
- Some more customization choices for the web site (such as more adaptable shade selections, heading control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some imperfections. Points I wish they do with it in the future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, yet it isn’t best and definitely not almost as created as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM product.
It possibly never will certainly be, either. As I stated, the function is various so it would not a lot a lot of sense for BeeHiiv to come to be a full marketing automation system. I guess you never ever understand, however.
Final Ideas On This BeeHiiv Review
I like BeeHiiv quite a lot. Enough where I chose to switch my own e-newsletters over to the system regardless of my individual choice for digital sovereignty and owning my very own platform.
Basically, for the e-newsletter posting model especially, I saw sufficient worth in their platform to warrant the adjustment.
Keep in mind, I do not utilize BeeHiiv as my special e-mail listing. I make use of BeeHiiv wherefore it is efficient, however I purposefully have things establish so that I additionally maintain my listing “in residence” inside of FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the same. It is just an excellent insurance coverage, for one. However, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your listing will be of high usage (FluentCRM is a complete marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never will certainly be).
So, the question is … should YOU utilize BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are making use of Substack right now, I ‘d definitely think about switching over to BeeHiiv. It will merely be a lot more business-friendly. It is targeting different capabilities and various requirements. And also, BeeHiiv even has import devices for Substack, so the switch must be quite simple.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d possibly stay unless you have a big e-mail listing and are for that reason being wooled with their high regular monthly expense. You will not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are iterating swiftly. There’s additionally a pretty good chance you’re not even making use of a few of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you do not even need them. Therefore, BeeHiiv might quickly be a far better and extra cost effective fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be really intentional concerning growing a newsletter, I believe BeeHiiv is THE platform to take into consideration and keep and eye on for you.
If you use BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is made to be, it is among the most effective games in town now. This is the platform to enjoy.
BeeHiiv supplies a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves having 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 quite feature abundant.