I have used a great deal of various e-mail list systems throughout the years. In the last number of years, I’ve been a big advocate of digital sovereignty and possessing your own platform. Therefore (and the incredible features), I have been making use of Young Money Beehiiv.
So, it is indeed a strange move for me to choose to utilize BeeHiiv. Nevertheless, 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 switch to BeeHiiv for my newsletters. I want to resolve the concern of digital sovereignty while utilizing the platform and I ‘d likewise such as to attend to why I chose to use it over Substack.
Let’s dive in …
BeeHiiv: Constructed For E-newsletters
In Issue # 435 of my newsletter called My Leisure activity + A Large Shift In Approach, I spoke about just how and why I decided to turn my RV blog site right into mostly a newsletter. I made a decision that was the business model I wanted to seek with that said building.
But, to deliberately seek it as a newsletter, I wanted a system that was purpose-built for that. I was using FluentCRM for the email list for Happily motor home, yet FluentCRM is not an e-newsletter system. It is built to be a CRM and marketing automation tool and, honestly, using it for e-newsletters is a little a waste. A lot more on that in a little bit.
As I said in that problem of the newsletter …
Put simply, BeeHiiv is a system with tools built into it details to my function. Things such as:
- Ability to publish (to the blog site) and send the email all at once without having it be two different activities.
- Constructed in newsletter referral program. FluentCRM doesn’t have that and I would certainly have needed a third-party tool like Sparkloop.
- Built-in capacity to do cross-promotions with other e-newsletters on the BeeHiiv platform.
- ” Magic Hyperlinks”, which are generally one-click subscription links. Great for promotion in other newsletters. FluentCRM has Smart Hyperlinks, however, so there are ways to do that.
- Capability to do paid “boosts” on the BeeHiiv network to advertise your newsletter.
- Integrated advertisement network, if I select to monetize with advertisements in the newsletter. And I may.
- Integrated capability to run a paid e-newsletter upgrade and basically run a premium newsletter. And BeeHiiv doesn’t take a cut.
Generally, BeeHiiv is purpose-built for e-newsletter authors with features focused on development. The system was literally built by the individuals that developed the innovation for Early morning Brew. They know what they’re doing.
That is the point below. BeeHiiv is constructed from the ground up for the purpose of running an e-newsletter. FluentCRM has a different objective.
And I ended off with this:.
I might undoubtedly be moving The Edge over to BeeHiiv also. A minimum of, I’m strongly considering it.
Well, I didn’t consider it for long. In fact, I simply went all out. And actually, The side was re-branded over to The Early morning WP, set off as it’s own residential or commercial property so that I can expand it more intentionally also.
The goal is that each e-newsletter has the ability to be branded as it’s very own media entity and grown separately. Happily RV was young, so very easy to transition. But, The Early morning WP (previously The Edge) was buried in a sea of stuff here at the Blog Site Marketing Academy. By separating it off, I can do what I can to grow it on it’s own. It will obviously always be carefully linked with the Blog Marketing Academy, however doesn’t need to be a part of it.
I changed to BeeHiiv due to the fact that it was built for this objective. FluentCRM was not.
Newsletters Versus Just A Regular Email List
There’s a difference between a newsletter system and simply an email listing.
You can host your e-mail listing anyplace you desire and there are a number of them out there, from Aweber, ActiveCampaign, Drip, ConvertKit … over to self-hosted options like GroundHogg and FluentCRM.
What’s the difference?
The primary difference is that, with a newsletter system, the act of publishing suggests that it is mosting likely to your internet site and to your e-mail customers at the same time.
With both BeeHiiv and Substack, you have an internet site. You are releasing to that web site. But, you are also sending to all subscribers at the same time. The site and it’s customers are done in one. This makes administration of the platform much less complex.
With many email systems, any kind of e-newsletter you established is done as an e-mail campaign. It is developed entirely separately from your web site. So, for example, you might publish an article to WordPress however after that you would require to independently construct and send out an email to your checklist to send it to subscribers. These are after that 2 separate sets of archives and two different activities due to the fact that article and your emails are not naturally linked.
The closest point that turns WordPress right into a true newsletter system is Newsletter Glue.
It is a fitting name because it practically “adhesives” your newsletter to your WordPress posts and allows them to be the very same thing. Definitely, something like Newsletter Glue would be a solid option if I wished to remain to self-host whatever. Nonetheless, you ‘d lose the development devices that come with a system like BeeHiiv.
Publishing a newsletter inherently features a different set of requirements than a normal email list.
You don’t generally need much marketing automation. You do not typically need autoresponder series, event monitoring, and all the bells and whistles of a marketing automation system.
What you DO demand, though, is one seamless publishing experience and growth devices to aid you construct your customer base that specify to e-newsletters.
BeeHiiv vs Substack
When I introduced to my customers that I was mosting likely 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 picked to opt for BeeHiiv, that doesn’t imply I think Substack draws. In fact, since Substack has been about longer, it is more mature and has more features.
Even though BeeHiiv is younger, there are a pair points that initially obtained my interest:.
- BeeHiiv is especially tailored to e-newsletter publishers. As a matter of fact, it is actually constructed by the same folks that developed the technology behind Early morning Mixture. On the other hand, SubStack targets authors. In the real life, does not matter. But, the evident positioning of BeeHiiv towards e-newsletter development called me out over the even more generic positioning of being a “designer”. Development is what I have an interest in right here.
- That branding and distinction additionally indicates that BeeHiiv has some fairly large brands and huge magazines using it. Whereas SubStack is intended more at solo creators. Again, it simply informs me the consumer character distinction in between both companies.
Sending our my newsletter through FluentCRM really did not exactly suck. The only factor I would certainly contemplate drinking things up is if I assumed I could GROW the list faster. And BeeHiiv spoke precisely to that objective.
Due to the targeting, I in fact don’t watch BeeHiiv and Substack as straight rivals. I think BeeHiiv is targeting a various type of customer. Actually, if anything, I see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being a lot more straight competitors.
However, allow’s dive much deeper than simply the placing here.
Things That Make BeeHiiv Better Than Substack
On the whole, BeeHiiv appears like it was constructed by individuals who comprehending e-mail marketing. On the other hand, SubStack seems a lot more geared towards makers.
As an example, BeeHiiv uses personalized areas on clients. Currently, it isn’t as created as something like FluentCRM. However, it has it. Substack does not.
BeeHiiv uses Automations. In fact, it is a visual automation builder that works a whole lot like what we have within FluentCRM.
To be clear, the automation capability is still early-phase. It is still rather restricted in triggers and the only activity is the capability to send out an e-mail. However, improvements are coming. Quickly enough, automations will certainly have new triggers in addition to brand-new activities, such as modifying custom areas, sending webhooks, and so on. I’ve currently seen enhancements to their automations simply since I began utilizing the platform. As an example:
- Ability to trigger automations based upon which specific embed type they can be found in on.
- Ability to instantly do re-engagement (and manage individuals based on opens and non-opens).
- Ability to do basic conditional reasoning branches.
Substack does not have automations such as this. Likely, it never will. Substack just can not do this due to the fact that the target audience of Substack just would not think to approach this like an email marketer.
When it involves creating your e-newsletters, the composing user interface of BeeHiiv is just more tailored towards e-newsletters. Actually, it really has resemblances to the WordPress block builder in just how it functions. I locate it to be a lot more user-friendly, personally.
Substack’s writing interface is nice and tidy, however it would certainly be much more equivalent to the timeless editor for WordPress. Toolbar at the top.
This distinction is more than just type. For instance, with BeeHiiv you can insert a “Area” and afterwards put anything you desire in it. Then, you can put Exposure choices on that section to show it only to paid clients, hide it from e-mail, conceal from clients, reveal only to customers, and so on. Substack provides nothing like this.
And when/if the time comes that I start a premium registration design, BeeHiiv does not take any type of income. As a matter of fact, you essentially connect approximately your very own Stripe account and it bills straight to it. With Substack, they will take 10% of your revenue. Relying on the number of customers you get, that 10% can be quite a bit more cash than the monthly expense of BeeHiiv.
Last but not least, BeeHiiv has an API. This might seem unpopular, however what it implies is that there are integrations with BeeHiiv. You can in fact make BeeHiiv work with the outdoors using tools like Zapier or Make.com. This is HUGE. Substack literally has … nothing. No integrations in all.
Overall, I just felt like BeeHiiv was more constructed toward genuine email marketing. It was constructed by people who “get it”. Also the opt-in types and the landing page designs appear better built for conversions. Growth is nitty-gritty with BeeHiiv.
Despite the fact that there are still features I would like to see BeeHiiv add, I such as the direction it is going more than Substack.
Points That Make Substack Better Than BeeHiiv
As I have said, Substack settings itself towards “developers” greater than e-mail marketers and e-newsletter proprietors. Therefore, you see some things tailored a lot more toward people that just assume in regards to content production.
As an example, Substack supports podcasts. BeeHiiv does not.
Also, while BeeHiiv does sustain multiple publications, they are treated rather independently. Whereas Substack does have the capability to cross-post to multiple publications at the same time. This isn’t something I require, yet … amazing for people who could need it.
Substack additionally has more social capability built-in. For example, it has a conversation function to host chats with customers. It also has a “Notes” feature which functions kind of like a social media newsfeed where you can share points from various other “Stacks” you read. Fascinating. Overall, Substack is set up to be more like a social media network which supports long-form material.
Generally, Substack is also a lot more … minimal. You either look after that or do not. Personally, I do not. Nevertheless, if the goal is simpleness of interface and, honestly, features … Substack works rather well.
Yet, I’ll be clear right here …
When it comes to actual marketing, I don’t assume there’s much uncertainty that BeeHiiv is much better suited. I tried to find even more points that make Substack better than BeeHiiv, yet honestly … I have a tough time finding them.
BeeHiiv Vs ConvertKit
While BeeHiiv and Substack are usually with to be the closest competitors, I in fact see BeeHiiv and ConvertKit being the closer competitors. Both are going after the same target audience and have comparable abilities.
ConvertKit is also placed at makers (like Substack), but it is far more highly catering to people that do it for service. ConvertKit has good visual automation structure, it’s very own business platform, and a lot more. ConvertKit is an actually wonderful platform.
I’m not going to birthed you with a full feature-by-feature malfunction right here. ConvertKit is popular currently. Yet, below’s how I really feel BeeHiiv and ConvertKit contrast …
Things ConvertKit Is Better At …
Currently, ConvertKit has much more flexibility when it pertains to it’s automations. I will also say that I locate ConvertKit’s automation builder to be a bit more instinctive than that of BeeHiiv.
ConvertKit supports identifying. This is just a standard feature of e-mail listings that allows segmentation in a far more adaptable way than BeeHiiv currently does. I anticipate BeeHiiv to support labeling at some time quickly, honestly. It feels like an oversight that it is missing out on Young Money Beehiiv.
ConvertKit does currently give the ability to market things using their very own platform. BeeHiiv does not. If that is very important to you, it may be a big deal for you. For me, nonetheless, I would always pick an extra direct option anyway. For me, I prefer to utilize my own system powered by WooCommerce.
ConvertKit has been about a lot longer and therefore has way extra integration choices. Tons of online tools and WordPress plugins integrate with ConvertKit. ConvertKit also has their own WordPress plugin that is rather effective. For instance, their plugin currently even supports member-gated web content in addition to auto-embed of your e-newsletter archives right into your website. Basically, this a lot more closely places ConvertKit into direct competition by having you be able to release to your site and your email checklist at the same time.
BeeHiiv is significantly doing not have in these sort of third-party integrations presently. It’ll get there. But, 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 Recommendation Engine where you can not just incentivize individuals to share your e-newsletter with perks, but you can also pay per lead within the inner advertisement network of BeeHiiv to expand your checklist. These are truly incredible features of BeeHiiv. Yet …
Did you understand ConvertKit acquired Sparkloop? Sparkloop is just one of one of the most popular viral promotion platforms for newsletters … and ConvertKit bought it. You can see the writing on the wall surface wherefore this means for the platform going forward.
Points BeeHiiv Is Much Better At … Young Money Beehiiv
BeeHiiv is a lot previously in it’s item cycle than ConvertKit. Part of that means much less features and much less integrations, which is natural for this stage of the cycle. Nevertheless, it likewise means that they are rapidly creating.
In the short time that I have been a customer of BeeHiiv, I have actually experienced nearly regular launch of brand-new features right into the system. And these aren’t undersized little features … yet huge features that are fairly vital. Their speed of advancement now has been impressive.
I also significantly value just how receptive they are. As a matter of fact, one of their item news concerning some design enhancements to the website design features really contained a small trouble with the content size. I just responded to that email to tell them. I rapidly obtained a reply directly from the chief executive officer:.
That very same day, the problem was taken care of.
Couple of days later, I provided an additional recommendation …
Sure enough, in a bit over a week of that exchange, the capability to trigger automations based upon the embed type used was included in the system.
That kind of responsiveness and direct involvement of the group is something I actually value.
An additional significant factor of differentiation here is the price. Both platforms use cost-free plans, however the BeeHiiv free plan provides much more ability and even more subscribers (2,500 vs 1,000) than ConvertKit.
As soon as you most likely to paid plans, the pricing of BeeHiiv is also much more beneficial. ConvertKit seems more affordable initially glance due to the fact that their pricing web page reveals reduced numbers, however the subscriber limits are much lower and your price quickly increases as your listing expands.
With BeeHiiv, your first level paid plan starts at $42/mo (paid every year), nevertheless you can have up to 10,000 clients. That exact same size checklist is going to run you $100/month with ConvertKit.
If you upgrade to the “Range” plan with BeeHiiv (their best plan and the one I personally make use of), you can expand your checklist approximately 100,000. A list of that size would run you $566/month with ConvertKit. If you desire their referral network, also, that puts you at the $733/month plan. That’s if you pay yearly, as well. With BeeHiiv, you can obtain all that for simply $84/month if you pay yearly.
BeeHiiv remains in a completely various league when it involves pricing (in a good way).
Will BeeHiiv at some point raise rates? They might as time takes place. Yet, I’m guessing people like myself that are currently in will certainly be locked-in. We’ll see how points proceed.
Things I Would Like BeeHiiv To Add
Among things you absolutely need to bear in mind is that BeeHiiv is reasonably young. They do seem to progress rather quickly and make new item statements rather frequently, however there are some fundamental features I really wish they had that I require to just wait for.
One is that they require to have a setting on registration forms where I might pick an automation to run right at the type level. That would certainly be outstanding for a lot of reasons. Currently, membership types look OK, yet there’s really little settings for them to aid in division.
It would certainly behave to have labeling at the client level. This would certainly be powerful.
I believe webhooks ought to belong to automations to make built-in automations much easier and decrease dependence on outdoors tools like Zapier.
There are additionally some minor administrative user interface modifications that would certainly come in handy. As an example:
- Capability to mass edit/remove clients.
- Ability to mass edit articles (for instance, to label a bunch of them at the same time).
- Having a few basic fields as conventional on clients (like the name).
- Some more customization alternatives for the site (such as even more adaptable shade options, heading control, and so on).
So, yeah … there are some imperfections. Things I wish they make with it in the future. BeeHiiv is respectable, yet it isn’t best and certainly not nearly as developed as something like FluentCRM or any other actual CRM item.
It probably never ever will be, either. As I claimed, the purpose is different so it would not a lot a lot of feeling for BeeHiiv to become a full marketing automation system. I presume you never recognize, though.
Last Ideas On This BeeHiiv Review
I like BeeHiiv quite a whole lot. Enough where I decided to change my very own e-newsletters over to the platform despite my personal choice for digital sovereignty and having my very own system.
Simply put, for the e-newsletter publishing design especially, I saw adequate value in their platform to necessitate the change.
Remember, I do not make use of BeeHiiv as my special e-mail listing. I make use of BeeHiiv wherefore it is efficient, yet I deliberately have points establish so that I also maintain my listing “in residence” inside of FluentCRM.
If you make use of BeeHiiv, I suggest you do the exact same. It is just a good insurance coverage, for one. But, having a full-featured marketing automation platform for your list will be of high use (FluentCRM is a full marketing automation platform and BeeHiiv is not and likely never will be).
So, the question is … should YOU use BeeHiiv?
In my opinion, if you are using Substack right now, I ‘d certainly take into consideration switching over to BeeHiiv. It will simply be more business-friendly. It is targeting various abilities and different needs. And also, BeeHiiv even has import devices for Substack, so the switch needs to be pretty straightforward.
If you get on ConvertKit now, I ‘d most likely stay put unless you have a huge e-mail checklist and are consequently being fleeced with their high regular monthly expense. You will certainly not (yet) have every feature of ConvertKit with BeeHiiv, however they are iterating swiftly. There’s additionally a pretty good chance you’re not also using several of those fancier features of ConvertKit and you do not even require them. Therefore, BeeHiiv can quickly be a much better and extra cost effective fit.
Last but not least, if you plan to be extremely willful about expanding a newsletter, I think BeeHiiv is THE system to consider and maintain and eye on for you.
If you use BeeHiiv with eyes wide open regarding what it is created to be, it is among the most effective video games around today. This is the system to see.
BeeHiiv uses a 14-day trial on their paid plans. It deserves having a look at on your own. And if you wind up not sticking to the paid plan, you’ll find the totally free account to be quite feature abundant.