If you’re on the hunt for a feature-packed newsletter platform, our comprehensive Beehiiv review might just end your search. Join us as we explore the ins and outs of this creator-friendly platform to see if it’s the right fit for your newsletter ambitions.
Picture this: You’re engrossed in one of your favorite email newsletters when, at the email’s bottom, you catch a glimpse of the Beehiiv logo. You decide to click on it, and unexpectedly, you find yourself getting a little emotional.
As a full-time content creator, you’re no stranger to the constant barrage of tools and services pitched your way, few of which truly impress. This emotional reaction is perplexing, but there’s something about Beehiiv that resonates with you deeply.
Over the last half-year, you’ve explored various email and newsletter platforms in your quest to build your newsletter. While there are commendable options for crafting newsletters, none have compelled you to wholeheartedly commit. The problem with many of these existing platforms is their lack of a creator-centric focus. You yearn for a newsletter platform that empowers you to tailor your designs, simplifies email composition and distribution, and equips you with robust analytics and subscriber growth tools.
Your quest has led you to Beehiiv, and it feels like you’ve finally found the right tool. However, you recognize that Beehiiv may not be suitable for everyone. So, let’s dive deep into its offerings to determine if it’s the right choice for you.
What is Beehiiv?
Beehiiv stands as an all-in-one platform designed for newsletters, providing creators with a user-friendly solution for crafting, delivering, promoting, monetizing, and monitoring the performance of their newsletters.
Developed by former employees of the esteemed newsletter company, Morning Brew, Beehiiv draws from their extensive experience to assist creators in launching and monetizing their newsletters, drawing from the growth principles that propelled Morning Brew to over 4 million subscribers.
In this article, we will delve into my personal experiences with Beehiiv, discussing the elements that I adore, as well as those that raise concerns. We’ll cover all its features, shedding light on why Beehiiv became my preferred Beehiiv newsletter platform.
My Personal Experience with Beehiiv
Several months ago, I serendipitously stumbled upon Beehiiv while on the hunt for a modern newsletter platform. Launching my newsletter had been a procrastinated endeavor, marked by trial runs with Mailchimp, various indie platforms, and Substack. Eventually, I found my way to Beehiiv.
Like many creators, I admired popular newsletters boasting millions of subscribers, with the Morning Brew newsletter serving as a particularly inspiring example. Their compelling content, extensive subscriber base, and a clever referral program for gaining even more subscribers ignited my curiosity. This sparked a quest to uncover the logistics behind these successful newsletters. What platforms did they employ? How did they measure the return on investment (ROI) of their newsletters? How did they garner more subscribers? How did they maintain an on-brand newsletter design?
My first encounter with Beehiiv seemed to provide answers to all these questions. It became apparent that the creators of this tool possessed an in-depth understanding of newsletter creation and growth. Further investigation on LinkedIn revealed that Beehiiv’s co-founders were pioneers in marketing and growth at Morning Brew. It became evident that Beehiiv was a different kind of newsletter platform—one deeply committed to creator growth.
For any content creator, achieving growth is pivotal to making a living through a newsletter. Often, the search for the right newsletter stack that scales involves the use of multiple tools to fulfill distinct functions: one platform for crafting newsletters, another for monetization, and yet another for setting up referrals. Such an approach can be cost-prohibitive.
Beehiiv’s all-in-one platform offered the promise of combining all these functionalities while remaining free to start using. It was a no-brainer for me to give it a try.
Experience the Beehive difference – join now for a free 14-day trial.
Who Is Beehiiv For?
Beehiiv caters to the lean content creator who seeks a platform that enables custom newsletters, with or without the need for a website. Successful newsletters thrive on the right set of tools to build and scale, and Beehiiv strives to provide those tools.
Independent writers, media companies, startups, and content creators can all benefit from Beehiiv. The platform offers a free entry point, with payment only required once you exceed 2,500 subscribers on your list. If you find yourself needing to pay for Beehiiv, it’s a strong indicator that people are avidly engaging with your content.
Beehiiv vs. Substack
You might be wondering if there’s any room for another platform with Substack already in the game. Yes, there is. Substack is a popular platform used by thousands of independent writers, offering website hosting and an all-in-one solution for sending emails while archiving previous issues.
Beehiiv, however, differentiates itself through its unyielding commitment to growth. It encompasses all that Substack can do, while enhancing the experience with superior analytics, greater design flexibility, and a unique referral program to encourage your existing subscribers to spread the word.
Additionally, Beehiiv provides a website akin to Substack’s. If you already have your website, Beehiiv offers sign-up embeds that can redirect your website subscribers directly to your Beehiiv email list. You can also integrate Beehiiv with tools like Revue to allow people to subscribe to your newsletter directly from Twitter. This flexibility enables you to leverage various marketing channels to boost your newsletter’s visibility, making Beehiiv a compelling alternative to Substack.
How to Get Started with Beehiiv
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to embark on your Beehiiv journey:
Sign up for a free plan:
Begin by clicking the “Join for free” button on the Beehiiv website to sign up for the free plan. This plan grants you access to a wide array of features, allowing you to manage up to 2,500 subscribers. It includes website hosting, a newsletter content management system (CMS), advanced customization, analytics, external embed forms, and more.
Onboarding:
After registering, you will undergo an onboarding process, which includes questions such as whether this is your first newsletter, your previous platform experiences, and whether you have paying subscribers. During this phase, you will also name your newsletter and create a URL for its website. On the free plan, your newsletter will reside on a Beehiiv subdomain. For example, if your newsletter is named “Baking Cakes,” your website URL might look like “baking-cakes.beehiiv.com.” The onboarding process also allows you to select your brand colors and design to ensure your newsletter template aligns with your vision.
Experience the Beehive difference – join now for a free 14-day trial.
Navigating Your Dashboard:
Upon reaching your primary dashboard, you will have access to detailed information on your sign-up metrics, including their sources. The navbar offers options for “Dashboard,” “Write,” “Audience,” and “Settings.”
Dashboard: Serves as your control center.
Write: Facilitates the creation and publication of newsletters.
Audience: Provides insight into your subscriber base and segmentation.
Settings: Manages administrative tasks and email design.
Writing Your Newsletter:
Beehiiv streamlines the process of composing your newsletter with minimal friction. If you’re just starting out and have a topic in mind, the “Write” section in the navbar offers a “Start writing” option. You can fine-tune your template and styling at a later stage; for now, focus on your content. Beehiiv’s editor boasts a clean, user-friendly interface for your writing tasks. You can optimize headings, insert links, and style your content to your liking. Beehiiv offers various content types, including videos, links, images, and more. The Beehiiv team continuously releases product features and updates, so expect even more content-related features in the future.
Optimizing Settings and Templates:
Once your newsletter is ready to send, it’s time to design your email template and adjust settings. In the “Settings” panel, you can update the newsletter’s name, provide a description, add your logo, toggle a welcome email for first-time subscribers, and more. You can then head to the “Email Template” tab to customize your design further, modifying background colors, borders, spacing, fonts, image formats, and more. The extent of customization is impressive. Feel free to explore the platform’s capabilities for yourself.
Essential Beehiiv Features
Beehiiv offers a wealth of features that make it a robust publishing platform for all newsletter creators. Here are some of the standout features:
Newsletter Builder:
At its core, Beehiiv excels as a newsletter publishing platform, simplifying the process of crafting and sending emails. The intuitive, modern interface of Beehiiv’s newsletter builder sets it apart from other email editors, offering a minimalistic feel that enhances the user experience.
Website Hosting:
With Beehiiv, your newsletters can reside on a dedicated website, functioning as a repository for all previous issues and a platform for readers to subscribe. This feature is akin to what Substack offers. Even the free plan includes website hosting, but your site will be located on a Beehiiv subdomain. To remove Beehiiv branding and use a custom domain, you can upgrade to a paid plan.
Subscribe Forms:
Gaining subscribers is pivotal to the success of your newsletter, and Beehiiv provides various avenues for subscription. Readers can subscribe directly from your Beehiiv website or through embed forms. If you already have an existing website, you can use Beehiiv’s embed forms to allow visitors to subscribe to your newsletter. These forms come in three options: full width, fixed width, and slim embed. Beehiiv even offers an attribution tracking feature for monitoring subscriber sources.
Referral Program:
Beehiiv introduces a unique referral program feature, setting it apart from other newsletter platforms. This program empowers existing subscribers to share your emails with friends and colleagues. In return, you can reward them with incentives of your choosing, such as merchandise or stickers. This referral program transforms your subscribers into a word-of-mouth growth engine for your newsletter, providing an additional avenue for expanding your email list. To access this feature, you’ll need to upgrade to a more premium Beehiiv plan.
Premium Subscriptions:
Monetization of your newsletter is simplified with Beehiiv. You can create premium issues of your newsletter exclusively for paying subscribers, potentially generating substantial revenue based on the unique content you offer. Premium newsletters, like Trends.co, have proven to be lucrative and profitable.
Data Analytics:
One of the highlights of Beehiiv is its clean and straightforward analytics dashboard. It offers real-time data on your newsletter’s performance, including open rates, click rates, and subscriber count. These metrics grant you valuable insights into your newsletter’s performance and the satisfaction of seeing your subscriber count grow.
Beehiiv Pricing Plans
Beehiiv offers four pricing plans to cater to various needs. Here’s an overview of these plans:
Launch (Free):
The Launch plan provides an excellent starting point for new creators, offering a comprehensive set of features. You can manage up to 2,500 subscribers, enjoy website hosting, a newsletter CMS, advanced customization, analytics, external embed forms, and more.
Grow:
The Grow plan builds upon the Launch plan, accommodating up to 10,000 subscribers. Additional features include custom domain support, access to polls, and the option to enable premium subscriptions.
Scale:
The Scale plan extends the capabilities of the Grow plan, accommodating up to 100,000 subscribers. It includes priority support and access to the referral program feature.
All these plans are incredibly generous, especially when compared to alternatives. For instance, another creator email platform, ConvertKit, offers only 300 subscribers on its free plan. Even with 100,000 subscribers on the Scale plan, you’ll only pay $100 per month, a remarkable contrast to ConvertKit’s significantly higher costs.
However, the economics of this pricing model are puzzlingly favorable, making Beehiiv an exceptionally cost-effective option at the moment.
Beehiiv Pros and Cons
Like any platform, Beehiiv boasts its advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of the pros and cons I’ve encountered while using Beehiiv:
Pros of Using Beehiiv
Ease of Setup and Free Entry:
Beehiiv simplifies the process of setting up and initiating newsletter distribution, making it accessible for free. This generous free plan allows creators to begin their journey with minimal investment.
Clean and Modern Subscriber Analytics:
The analytics offered by Beehiiv are not only comprehensive but also presented in a clean, modern interface. This real-time data enables creators to monitor their newsletter’s performance effectively.
Flexibility in Email Designs:
Beehiiv offers considerable flexibility when it comes to email design. Creators can customize various design elements, ensuring their newsletters align with their brand and vision.
Referral Program Feature:
The introduction of a referral program sets Beehiiv apart from its competitors. This unique feature encourages existing subscribers to promote the newsletter, transforming them into an influential growth engine.
Website Hosting:
The inclusion of website hosting with all plans, even the free one, is a valuable offering. It provides creators with a platform to host their previous newsletter issues and facilitates subscriptions.
Monetization Options:
For creators looking to monetize their newsletters, Beehiiv offers the option to create premium content exclusively for paying subscribers. This can be a lucrative revenue stream for creators with unique content offerings.
Polls:
Beehiiv includes a polls feature, allowing creators to engage with their audience, gather opinions, and make informed content decisions.
Cons of Using Beehiiv
Limitations with Webflow Integration:
For those who prefer Webflow as their website building platform, there are limitations in terms of integrating Webflow and Beehiiv. The current integration methods, such as iframe embeds, can affect website loading times, which may not be ideal for all users.
Limitations with Custom Fonts:
While Beehiiv offers extensive customization options, there are limitations when it comes to adding custom fonts to your email templates. This may pose a restriction for creators with specific branding requirements.
Experience the Beehive difference – join now for a free 14-day trial.
Conclusion
In summary, Beehiiv emerges as an excellent solution for anyone looking to venture into the realms of email marketing and newsletters. The platform’s functionality surpasses that of many competitors in the market. With its generous free plan and reasonably priced premium options, Beehiiv offers an attractive proposition. The platform’s favorable pricing structure positions it as a cost-effective alternative to many existing solutions.
Please note that I do not frequently write review posts. I do so only when I genuinely use the tool and would recommend it to a friend. My hope is that this review has provided you with the clarity you sought regarding Beehiiv’s suitability for your needs.
