I have actually used a great deal of different email list systems over the years. In the last couple of years, I’ve been a massive advocate of digital sovereignty and having your very own platform. For that reason (and the remarkable features), I have actually been using What Is The Difference Between Beehiiv and MailerLite.
So, it is without a doubt a strange move for me to make a decision to use BeeHiiv. Besides, it is an organized application and I am paying monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I intend to look at why I made the switch to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I intend to address the problem of digital sovereignty while making use of the platform and I ‘d additionally like to deal with why I picked to use it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For Newsletters
In Concern # 435 of my newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Big Change In Approach, I spoke about just how and why I chose to transform my motor home blog site right into largely a newsletter. I chose that was business version I intended to seek keeping that residential or commercial property.
However, to intentionally seek it as an e-newsletter, I desired a system that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the email list for Happily motor home, but FluentCRM is not a newsletter platform. It is constructed to be a CRM and marketing automation device and, honestly, using it for newsletters is a bit of a waste. Extra on that particular in a bit.
As I claimed because problem of the e-newsletter …
Put simply, BeeHiiv is a system with devices developed into it details to my function. Things such as:
- Ability to release (to the blog) and send out the e-mail simultaneously without having it be two different activities.
- Constructed in e-newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would certainly require a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capability to do cross-promotions with other newsletters on the BeeHiiv system.
- ” Magic Links”, which are essentially one-click membership links. Great for promo in various other e-newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, though, so there are ways to do that.
- Capacity to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your newsletter.
- Integrated ad network, if I pick to monetize with ads in the e-newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated capacity to run a paid newsletter upgrade and primarily run a costs newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Essentially, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for newsletter publishers with features focused on growth. The system was literally built by the people who developed the innovation for Morning Brew. They recognize what they’re doing.
That is the point right here. BeeHiiv is built from scratch for the function of running a newsletter. FluentCRM has a various objective.
And I ended off with this:.
I might certainly be moving The Edge over to BeeHiiv also. At the very least, I’m highly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. Actually, I simply went all out. And actually, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, set off as it’s very own building to ensure that I can expand it much more deliberately too.
The goal is that each newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and expanded separately. Gladly recreational vehicle was young, so simple to shift. However, The Morning WP (formerly The Edge) was hidden in a sea of things below at the Blog Site Marketing Academy. By dividing it off, I can do what I can to expand it on it’s very own. It will certainly constantly be closely linked with the Blog Marketing Academy, but doesn’t need to belong of it.
I switched over to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was constructed for this function. FluentCRM was not.
E-newsletters Versus Just A Typical Email Listing
There’s a distinction between an e-newsletter platform and simply an email checklist.
You can organize your e-mail list anyplace you want and there are a variety of them available, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The main difference is that, with an e-newsletter platform, the act of publishing indicates that it is mosting likely to your website and to your email subscribers simultaneously.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have an internet site. You are publishing to that web site. But, you are additionally dispatching to all customers at the same time. The web site and it’s customers are done in one. This makes administration of the platform much simpler.
With a lot of e-mail systems, any type of e-newsletter you established is done as an e-mail campaign. It is developed completely independently from your web site. So, for example, you could release an article to WordPress yet after that you would certainly need to separately construct and send an email to your listing to send it to customers. These are after that 2 different sets of archives and two different activities because blog posts and your emails are not inherently connected.
The closest thing that transforms WordPress into a true newsletter platform is E-newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name due to the fact that it practically “glues” your e-newsletter to your WordPress articles and enables them to be the exact same thing. Absolutely, something like E-newsletter Glue would be a strong choice if I wished to continue to self-host every little thing. Nevertheless, you would certainly shed the growth devices that feature a system like BeeHiiv.
Publishing an e-newsletter naturally features a various set of needs than a typical email listing.
You don’t typically require much marketing automation. You do not typically need autoresponder sequences, occasion tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO requirement, however, is one seamless posting experience and development tools to help you develop your subscriber base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my subscribers that I was mosting likely to change the newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many individuals ask me why I was selecting it over Substack.
To be clear, even besides the fact that I picked to choose BeeHiiv, that does not mean I assume Substack draws. As a matter of fact, due to the fact that Substack has been about longer, it is more mature and has more features.
Even though BeeHiiv is younger, there are a couple points that originally got my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is particularly customized to e-newsletter authors. As a matter of fact, it is literally built by the very same individuals who developed the technology behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real world, doesn’t matter. But, the noticeable positioning of BeeHiiv towards e-newsletter growth called me out over the more common positioning of being a “creator”. Development is what I want here.
- That branding and differentiation likewise suggests that BeeHiiv has some relatively large brand names and big publications utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is aimed even more at solo makers. Again, it just informs me the consumer avatar distinction in between the two companies.
Sending our my newsletter using FluentCRM didn’t exactly draw. The only reason I would contemplate shaking points up is if I thought I might GROW the list much faster. And BeeHiiv talked specifically to that goal.
Due to the targeting, I in fact do not check out BeeHiiv and Substack as straight competitors. I assume BeeHiiv is targeting a different kind of consumer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being more direct competitors.
But, let’s dive deeper than just the placing right here.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
On the whole, BeeHiiv looks like it was built by individuals who comprehending email marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems more tailored toward creators.
For instance, BeeHiiv supplies custom-made fields on clients. Currently, it isn’t as established as something like FluentCRM. However, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv supplies Automations. As a matter of 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 rather restricted in triggers and the only activity is the ability to send out an e-mail. Nevertheless, improvements are coming. Quickly sufficient, automations will certainly have brand-new triggers in addition to brand-new actions, such as changing customized areas, sending out webhooks, etc. I’ve currently seen enhancements to their automations just considering that I began making use of the system. As an example:
- Capacity to set off automations based upon which particular embed kind they was available in on.
- Capability to immediately do re-engagement (and take care of people based upon opens and non-opens).
- Ability to do standard conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations like this. Likely, it never will. Substack just can’t do this since the target market of Substack simply wouldn’t think to approach this like an e-mail marketing expert.
When it concerns writing your newsletters, the writing user interface of BeeHiiv is just more tailored towards e-newsletters. In fact, it really has similarities to the WordPress block builder in exactly how it works. I locate it to be extra instinctive, directly.
Substack’s writing user interface behaves and tidy, but it would be much more equal to the traditional editor for WordPress. Toolbar on top.
This difference is greater than just kind. As an example, with BeeHiiv you can place a “Section” and after that put anything you want in it. Then, you can put Visibility choices on that section to show it just to paid clients, hide it from email, conceal from subscribers, show only to subscribers, etc. Substack provides absolutely nothing like this.
And when/if the moment comes that I start a premium subscription design, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any income. Actually, you actually attach approximately your very own Stripe account and it charges straight to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your profits. Depending upon how many customers you obtain, that 10% can be a fair bit even more cash than the month-to-month expense of BeeHiiv.
Lastly, BeeHiiv has an API. This could seem nerdy, yet what it suggests is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can really make BeeHiiv collaborate with the outside utilizing tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … absolutely nothing. No integrations in any way.
Generally, I just seemed like BeeHiiv was much more developed toward actual email marketing. It was built by individuals that “get it”. Also the opt-in forms and the landing page develops seem far better developed for conversions. Development is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Although there are still features I would love to see BeeHiiv include, I like the direction it is going more than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually claimed, Substack positions itself toward “developers” more than e-mail marketers and e-newsletter owners. Therefore, you see some points tailored a lot more toward individuals who just believe in regards to material production.
For instance, Substack sustains podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Also, while BeeHiiv does support multiple publications, they are treated quite independently. Whereas Substack does have the ability to cross-post to numerous publications at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, yet … cool for people who may require it.
Substack likewise has more social performance built-in. For instance, it has a conversation feature to host talks with clients. It likewise has a “Notes” feature which functions kind of like a social media sites newsfeed where you can share things from other “Stacks” you’re reading. Fascinating. On the whole, Substack is established to be extra like a social media which supports long-form content.
On the whole, Substack is also more … minimal. You either take care of that or do not. Personally, I do not. However, if the goal is simpleness of interface and, frankly, features … Substack works quite well.
However, I’ll be clear here …
When it concerns actual marketing, I do not believe there’s much doubt that BeeHiiv is better matched. I looked for more points that make Substack much better than BeeHiiv, yet truthfully … I have a difficult time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are frequently through to be the closest competitors, I really see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer rivals. Both are going after the very same target market and have similar capacities.
ConvertKit is likewise placed at designers (like Substack), yet it is far more strongly dealing with people that do it for service. ConvertKit has nice aesthetic automation building, it’s very own commerce system, and much more. ConvertKit is an actually good platform.
I’m not going to birthed you with a complete feature-by-feature break down below. ConvertKit is well known already. However, here’s how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit compare …
Points ConvertKit Is Better At …
Currently, ConvertKit has much more versatility when it comes to it’s automations. I will certainly additionally claim that I locate ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit much more intuitive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit sustains tagging. This is simply a standard function of email listings that makes it possible for segmentation in a far more versatile means than BeeHiiv currently does. I expect BeeHiiv to sustain labeling eventually quickly, truthfully. It feels like an oversight that it is missing What Is The Difference Between Beehiiv and MailerLite.
ConvertKit does now provide the capacity to market points using their very own platform. BeeHiiv does not. If that’s important to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nevertheless, I would constantly pick an extra direct option anyhow. For me, I like to use my very own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been around a lot longer and for that reason has way much more integration options. Lots of online devices and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their own WordPress plugin that is fairly effective. For instance, their plugin now even supports member-gated content along with auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your site. Basically, this extra carefully puts ConvertKit right into direct competition by having you be able to release to your website and your e-mail checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is severely lacking in these sort of third-party integrations currently. It’ll get there. But, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is even busy dealing with the growth tools of BeeHiiv. For instance, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Suggestion Engine where you can not just incentivize individuals to share your newsletter with rewards, yet you can additionally pay per lead within the inner advertisement network of BeeHiiv to expand your listing. These are actually awesome features of BeeHiiv. However …
Did you know ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of the most popular viral promotion platforms for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the writing on the wall of what this implies for the platform moving forward.
Things BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … What Is The Difference Between Beehiiv and MailerLite
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that implies much less features and much less integrations, which is all-natural for this stage of the cycle. Nonetheless, it likewise means that they are quickly establishing.
In the short time that I have actually been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have experienced practically regular launch of new features right into the system. And these aren’t puny little features … however large features that are rather essential. Their rate of development at this point has been impressive.
I likewise very much appreciate just how receptive they are. As a matter of fact, one of their item news concerning some layout improvements to the web design features actually had a small problem with the web content width. I merely replied to that e-mail to tell them. I swiftly obtained a reply directly from the chief executive officer:.
That exact same day, the issue was repaired.
Few days later on, I provided another pointer …
Certainly, in a little bit over a week of that exchange, the ability to cause automations based on the embed kind made use of was added to the system.
That sort of responsiveness and direct involvement of the group is something I truly value.
An additional major factor of differentiation right here is the rate. Both platforms provide free plans, however the BeeHiiv free plan offers much more capacity and more clients (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is additionally even more beneficial. ConvertKit appears less costly initially glimpse due to the fact that their pricing page shows lower numbers, however the client limitations are FAR reduced and your price swiftly increases as your list grows.
With BeeHiiv, your first level paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid every year), however you can have up to 10,000 customers. That very same dimension checklist is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their ideal plan and the one I personally utilize), you can grow your list up to 100,000. A listing 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 each year, as well. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for just $84/month if you pay yearly.
BeeHiiv is in a completely various organization when it pertains to pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point enhance costs? They may as time goes on. However, I’m presuming individuals like myself who are currently in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see exactly how points continue.
Points I Would Like BeeHiiv To Add
One of things you absolutely require to remember is that BeeHiiv is relatively young. They do seem to advance rather promptly and make brand-new product announcements rather frequently, yet there are some standard features I actually desire they had that I require to just await.
One is that they require to have a setup on membership types where I might choose an automation to run right at the kind degree. That would certainly be amazing for numerous factors. As of now, membership types look OK, however there’s really little setups for them to aid in division.
It would certainly be nice to have tagging at the client degree. This would certainly be effective.
I think webhooks need to belong to automations to make built-in automations much easier and decrease dependence on outdoors devices like Zapier.
There are also some minor administrative user interface changes that would certainly be handy. For instance:
- Capacity to mass edit/remove clients.
- Capacity to mass edit posts (for example, to mark a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a few basic areas as typical on subscribers (like the name).
- Some more customization options for the website (such as even more adaptable shade selections, headline control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some drawbacks. Points I hope they make with it in the future. BeeHiiv is respectable, but it isn’t best and absolutely not virtually as created as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM item.
It most likely never will certainly be, either. As I claimed, the purpose is different so it would not a lot a great deal of feeling for BeeHiiv to come to be a full marketing automation platform. I think you never ever understand, though.
Final Thoughts On This BeeHiiv Review
I such as BeeHiiv fairly a great deal. Sufficient where I determined to switch my very own e-newsletters over to the platform in spite of my personal preference for digital sovereignty and owning my very own platform.
Simply put, for the e-newsletter publishing version specifically, I saw sufficient worth in their platform to require the adjustment.
Bear in mind, I do not make use of BeeHiiv as my unique e-mail list. I utilize BeeHiiv for what it is efficient, but I deliberately have things establish so that I additionally maintain my checklist “in home” inside of FluentCRM.
If you use BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the very same. It is simply an excellent insurance plan, for one. However, having a full-featured marketing automation system for your listing will be of high use (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never ever will be).
So, the question is … should YOU utilize BeeHiiv?
In my viewpoint, if you are using Substack today, I ‘d absolutely take into consideration switching over to BeeHiiv. It will simply be extra business-friendly. It is targeting different capabilities and various demands. And also, BeeHiiv even has import devices for Substack, so the button needs to be quite uncomplicated.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d probably sit tight unless you have a big email list and are therefore being wooled with their high monthly costs. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are repeating promptly. There’s additionally a respectable opportunity you’re not even using some of those fancier functions of ConvertKit and you do not also need them. For that reason, BeeHiiv might quickly be a better and more budget-friendly fit.
Lastly, if you plan to be very intentional regarding expanding an e-newsletter, I think BeeHiiv is THE platform to take into consideration and maintain and eye on for you.
If you use BeeHiiv with eyes wide open concerning what it is designed to be, it is just one of the most effective games around now. This is the system to enjoy.
BeeHiiv supplies a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It is worth having a look at for yourself. And if you wind up not sticking with the paid plan, you’ll find the free account to be rather feature abundant.