I have actually used a great deal of different email list systems for many years. In the last couple of years, I have actually been a huge proponent of digital sovereignty and having your own platform. Because of that (and the incredible features), I have been using Why Is Beehiiv Better Than Substack.
So, it is undoubtedly a strange move for me to choose to utilize BeeHiiv. After all, it is an organized application and I am paying regular monthly for it.
Why did I do this?
In this BeeHiiv review, I wish to look at why I made the switch to BeeHiiv for my e-newsletters. I intend to resolve the problem of digital sovereignty while utilizing the system and I ‘d additionally such as to deal with why I selected to utilize it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Developed For Newsletters
In Concern # 435 of my e-newsletter called My Pastime + A Big Change In Strategy, I discussed exactly how and why I determined to turn my RV blog site right into largely a newsletter. I decided that was business design I wanted to pursue with that said residential or commercial property.
But, to intentionally seek it as a newsletter, I desired a system that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the e-mail checklist for Gladly recreational vehicle, however FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter platform. It is constructed to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, frankly, using it for e-newsletters is a bit of a waste. Much more on that in a little bit.
As I said in that problem of the newsletter …
Simply put, BeeHiiv is a system with tools built into it details to my function. Points such as:
- Capability to publish (to the blog) and send out the e-mail concurrently without having it be 2 separate activities.
- Integrated in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM does not have that and I would have needed a third-party device like Sparkloop.
- Integrated capacity to do cross-promotions with various other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Links”, which are generally one-click registration web links. Great for promotion in other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Links, however, so there are methods to do that.
- Capability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to promote your newsletter.
- Integrated advertisement network, if I choose to generate income from with ads in the e-newsletter. And I may.
- Built-in ability 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 newsletter authors with features targeted at growth. The platform was literally constructed by the people that accumulated the technology for Morning Brew. They know what they’re doing.
That is the factor right here. BeeHiiv is constructed from the ground up for the objective of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a various function.
And I ended off with this:.
I might undoubtedly be relocating The Edge over to BeeHiiv as well. At the very least, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I really did not consider it for long. Actually, I just went all out. And in fact, The EDGE was re-branded over to The Morning WP, set off as it’s own residential or commercial property to make sure that I can expand it more intentionally as well.
The goal is that each newsletter has the capability to be branded as it’s own media entity and expanded individually. Gladly recreational vehicle was young, so very easy to change. However, The Morning WP (previously 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 undoubtedly always be carefully tied with the Blog Marketing Academy, however doesn’t have to be a part of it.
I changed to BeeHiiv since it was built for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Simply A Typical Email Checklist
There’s a difference in between a newsletter platform and simply an e-mail list.
You can host your email listing just about anywhere you want and there are a number of them available, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted choices like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the distinction?
The primary difference is that, with a newsletter platform, the act of publishing implies that it is going to your web site and to your email customers all at once.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have a website. You are publishing to that web site. However, you are likewise sending to all clients at the same time. The internet site and it’s subscribers are all in one. This makes monitoring of the system much less complex.
With the majority of email systems, any kind of e-newsletter you established is done as an email campaign. It is constructed entirely separately from your internet site. So, as an example, you could publish a write-up to WordPress but then you would require to separately build and send an e-mail to your checklist to send it to subscribers. These are after that 2 separate sets of archives and 2 separate activities because blog posts and your e-mails are not naturally connected.
The closest thing that turns WordPress right into a real newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name since it basically “glues” your newsletter to your WordPress blog posts and permits them to be the very same thing. Absolutely, something like Newsletter Glue would be a strong alternative if I intended to remain to self-host every little thing. However, you would certainly shed the development tools that include a system like BeeHiiv.
Posting an e-newsletter naturally includes a various set of requirements than a regular email listing.
You don’t generally require much marketing automation. You don’t generally require autoresponder series, event tracking, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation platform.
What you DO demand, though, is one smooth publishing experience and growth devices to help you develop your subscriber base that are specific to newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I announced to my subscribers that I was mosting likely to switch over the e-newsletter over to BeeHiiv, I had many people ask me why I was picking it over Substack.
To be clear, also besides the reality that I picked to select BeeHiiv, that does not suggest I think Substack sucks. As a matter of fact, due to the fact that Substack has actually been about much longer, it is elder and has even more features.
Despite the fact that BeeHiiv is younger, there are a pair things that at first got my attention:.
- BeeHiiv is particularly customized to newsletter authors. As a matter of fact, it is literally constructed by the very same individuals who developed the modern technology behind Morning Brew. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real world, doesn’t matter. But, the evident positioning of BeeHiiv toward newsletter growth called me out over the even more generic positioning of being a “developer”. Development is what I want right here.
- That branding and distinction additionally implies that BeeHiiv has some rather huge brands and huge publications utilizing it. Whereas SubStack is intended more at solo designers. Once again, it simply tells me the consumer character distinction between both business.
Sending our my e-newsletter through FluentCRM really did not precisely draw. The only reason I would contemplate trembling points up is if I believed I could expand the list quicker. And BeeHiiv spoke specifically to that goal.
Due to the targeting, I actually do not view BeeHiiv and Substack as straight competitors. I think BeeHiiv is targeting a various sort of customer. As a matter of fact, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being more straight rivals.
However, let’s dive deeper than simply the placing below.
Points That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
Generally, BeeHiiv feels like it was built by people that comprehending e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack appears extra tailored towards makers.
As an example, BeeHiiv offers custom areas on subscribers. Now, it isn’t as created as something like FluentCRM. However, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv supplies Automations. In fact, it is a visual automation builder that works a great deal like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation functionality is still early-phase. It is still fairly limited in triggers and the only activity is the ability to send an e-mail. Nonetheless, enhancements are coming. Quickly enough, automations will certainly have new triggers along with brand-new activities, such as changing customized areas, sending out webhooks, and so on. I have actually currently seen improvements to their automations simply since I started making use of the platform. For example:
- Capability to trigger automations based on which details embed form they can be found in on.
- Ability to automatically do re-engagement (and manage people based upon opens up and non-opens).
- Capacity to do basic conditional logic branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never will. Substack just can not do this since the target audience of Substack simply wouldn’t believe to approach this like an e-mail marketing expert.
When it comes to composing your newsletters, the writing user interface of BeeHiiv is just more geared towards e-newsletters. In fact, it really has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in how it works. I discover it to be more user-friendly, personally.
Substack’s composing user interface behaves and clean, however it would be much more equal to the timeless editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This difference is more than simply type. For instance, with BeeHiiv you can insert a “Section” and afterwards put anything you desire in it. After that, you can put Exposure options on that particular section to show it only to paid subscribers, conceal it from email, hide from customers, reveal just to clients, and so on. Substack supplies absolutely nothing such as this.
And when/if the time comes that I start a costs subscription model, BeeHiiv doesn’t take any kind of revenue. Actually, you actually connect approximately your very own Stripe account and it charges directly to it. With Substack, they will certainly take 10% of your earnings. Depending on how many subscribers you obtain, that 10% can be quite a bit more cash than the regular monthly expense of BeeHiiv.
Lastly, BeeHiiv has an API. This might appear nerdy, yet what it indicates is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can actually make BeeHiiv deal with the outside utilizing tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … absolutely nothing. No integrations in all.
Generally, I simply seemed like BeeHiiv was extra built toward real email marketing. It was built by people that “get it”. Even the opt-in kinds and the landing page creates seem better built for conversions. Development is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Even though there are still features I want to see BeeHiiv include, I like the instructions it is going more than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have actually claimed, Substack settings itself towards “designers” more than email marketing professionals and newsletter proprietors. For that reason, you see some things geared a lot more towards people that simply believe in regards to web content development.
As an example, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Additionally, while BeeHiiv does support several publications, they are dealt with rather separately. Whereas Substack does have the capacity to cross-post to several magazines at the same time. This isn’t something I call for, but … awesome for people that might require it.
Substack likewise has even more social functionality built-in. For instance, it has a conversation function to host talks with clients. It also has a “Notes” feature which works type of like a social networks newsfeed where you can share things from other “Stacks” you read. Intriguing. Generally, Substack is set up to be a lot more like a social media which supports long-form content.
On the whole, Substack is also a lot more … minimalist. You either take care of that or do not. Personally, I don’t. However, if the goal is simpleness of interface and, truthfully, features … Substack functions quite well.
But, I’ll be clear here …
When it comes to actual marketing, I don’t believe there’s much question that BeeHiiv is better suited. I searched for even more factors that make Substack much better than BeeHiiv, yet honestly … I have a hard time discovering them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are usually with to be the closest rivals, I actually see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer competitors. Both are pursuing the same target market and have comparable capabilities.
ConvertKit is also placed at makers (like Substack), however it is far more highly dealing with people who do it for organization. ConvertKit has nice aesthetic automation structure, it’s very own business platform, and extra. ConvertKit is a truly good platform.
I’m not going to birthed you with a full feature-by-feature break down below. ConvertKit is popular already. But, below’s exactly how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Things ConvertKit Is Better At …
Already, ConvertKit has extra flexibility when it pertains to it’s automations. I will certainly additionally say that I find ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a little bit extra instinctive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports labeling. This is simply a basic feature of e-mail listings that allows division in an even more versatile method than BeeHiiv currently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support marking at some time soon, truthfully. It feels like an oversight that it is missing Why Is Beehiiv Better Than Substack.
ConvertKit does now give the capacity to sell points using their own system. BeeHiiv does not. If that is essential to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would certainly always pick a more direct alternative anyway. For me, I favor to utilize my own platform powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has actually been around much longer and for that reason has way much more integration choices. Tons of web-based devices and WordPress plugins incorporate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their own WordPress plugin that is fairly powerful. For example, their plugin now even supports member-gated content along with auto-embed of your newsletter archives right into your website. Essentially, this more very closely places ConvertKit into direct competitors by having you have the ability to publish to your website and your email checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is seriously lacking in these sort of third-party integrations right now. It’ll arrive. Yet, we’re not there yet with it.
ConvertKit is also active tackling the growth tools of BeeHiiv. As an example, BeeHiiv has the referral program and the Recommendation Engine where you can not just incentivize individuals to share your e-newsletter with rewards, however you can also pay per lead within the internal ad network of BeeHiiv to expand your listing. These are truly remarkable features of BeeHiiv. But …
Did you understand ConvertKit obtained Sparkloop? Sparkloop is among the most well known viral promotion systems for e-newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the writing on the wall for what this indicates for the system moving forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Why Is Beehiiv Better Than Substack
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s product cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that implies less features and less integrations, which is all-natural for this phase of the cycle. However, it also implies that they are quickly creating.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually observed almost weekly release of brand-new features right into the system. And these aren’t weak little features … yet huge features that are fairly crucial. Their rate of development now has actually been impressive.
I additionally very much value how responsive they are. As a matter of fact, among their item news about some style enhancements to the website design features actually consisted of a small problem with the content size. I merely replied to that email to tell them. I rapidly got a reply directly from the chief executive officer:.
That very same day, the concern was fixed.
Couple of days later on, I gave them another tip …
Certainly, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the ability to activate automations based on the embed type used was contributed to the system.
That type of responsiveness and direct involvement of the group is something I really value.
One more major point of distinction below is the price. Both systems use totally free plans, however the BeeHiiv free plan supplies extra capability and even more subscribers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
Once you go to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is likewise much more positive. ConvertKit appears less costly in the beginning look because their pricing web page reveals reduced numbers, however the subscriber limitations are FAR reduced and your price promptly increases as your checklist expands.
With BeeHiiv, your very first degree paid plan begins at $42/mo (paid yearly), nonetheless you can have up to 10,000 clients. That exact same dimension listing is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you update to the “Scale” plan with BeeHiiv (their ideal plan and the one I directly make use of), you can grow your list as much as 100,000. A checklist of that size would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you want their referral network, also, that places you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay every year, also. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for just $84/month if you pay yearly.
BeeHiiv remains in a totally various organization when it comes to pricing (in an excellent way).
Will BeeHiiv eventually raise rates? They could as time goes on. But, I’m guessing people like myself who are already in will be locked-in. We’ll see just how things proceed.
Points I Would Certainly Like BeeHiiv To Include
One of the important things you definitely need to keep in mind is that BeeHiiv is relatively young. They do appear to evolve rather quickly and make brand-new item news rather frequently, yet there are some fundamental features I actually wish they had that I require to simply wait for.
One is that they require to have a setup on subscription types where I can pick an automation to run right at the kind degree. That would certainly be incredible for so many factors. Currently, subscription forms look OK, but there’s very little setups for them to assist in division.
It would behave to have tagging at the client level. This would be effective.
I believe webhooks need to become part of automations to make integrated automations much easier and minimize dependence on outdoors devices like Zapier.
There are additionally some small administrative interface adjustments that would come in handy. For instance:
- Capacity to bulk edit/remove customers.
- Ability to bulk edit messages (for instance, to mark a lot of them at the same time).
- Having a few standard fields as conventional on subscribers (like the name).
- Some even more modification alternatives for the internet site (such as more adaptable color options, headline control, etc).
So, yeah … there are some shortcomings. Points I wish they perform with it in the near future. BeeHiiv is pretty good, yet it isn’t ideal and certainly not virtually as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other genuine CRM product.
It probably never ever will certainly be, either. As I said, the function is various so it wouldn’t a lot a lot of sense for BeeHiiv to end up being a complete marketing automation system. I think you never ever recognize, however.
Last Ideas On This BeeHiiv Testimonial
I like BeeHiiv rather a great deal. Sufficient where I determined to switch my very own e-newsletters over to the system in spite of my personal choice for digital sovereignty and having my very own platform.
Basically, for the newsletter posting model especially, I saw sufficient value in their platform to necessitate the modification.
Bear in mind, I do not utilize BeeHiiv as my unique e-mail checklist. I utilize BeeHiiv of what it is efficient, but I deliberately have things set up so that I additionally keep my list “in home” inside of FluentCRM.
If you utilize BeeHiiv, I recommend you do the very same. It is simply a good 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 certainly be).
So, the inquiry is … should YOU utilize BeeHiiv?
In my opinion, if you are utilizing Substack today, I ‘d absolutely consider switching to BeeHiiv. It will simply be extra business-friendly. It is targeting various capacities and different needs. Plus, BeeHiiv even has import devices for Substack, so the switch ought to be pretty straightforward.
If you are on ConvertKit now, I ‘d possibly stay put unless you have a huge e-mail list and are for that reason being fleeced with their high regular monthly expense. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, but they are repeating promptly. There’s additionally a pretty good possibility you’re not even making use of a few of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you don’t even need them. Therefore, BeeHiiv might easily be a better and much more inexpensive fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be extremely intentional about growing an e-newsletter, I assume BeeHiiv is THE system to consider and maintain and eye on for you.
If you make use of BeeHiiv with eyes wide open regarding what it is designed to be, it is just one of the most effective games around right now. This is the platform to view.
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 to the paid plan, you’ll locate the totally free account to be fairly feature rich.