Beehiiv Review: My Thoughts About the Newsletter Platform

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We all know that starting a newsletter is one of the most important things you can do for your business. If you’ve ever started an email list, you know it can feel overwhelming to know where to start. Getting past the welcome email can be a challenge.

When I first came across Beehiiv, I was excited! They’ve given us all the features we need and simplified them. Choosing a newsletter platform like Beehiiv can help you get started faster.

In this Beehiiv review, you’ll learn everything you need to know about how Beehiiv is changing how creators like us use newsletters.

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to amplify your email list, I’ll show you what makes Beehiiv different from the rest and why Beehiiv is worth a look.

What is Beehiiv?

Beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform designed to empower creators, writers, and marketers to easily publish, manage, and grow their email newsletters. A few early Morning Brew employees started the newsletter platform in 2021.

What I personally like about Beehiiv is that it’s easy to use for beginners, easy to customize to your brand as a content creator, and offers powerful tools like new SEO-optimized websites. It also gives creators several monetization options, like ads, subscription revenue, and a referral program feature.

Beehiiv Features

When it comes to creating content, you can create a Beehiiv newsletter, website, or both. You can also add Beehiiv to an existing site. To get new subscribers and sign-ups for your Beehiiv newsletter from your Beehiiv website, simply add a Beehiiv sign-up form to it. This lets visitors join your mailing list easily. If you use another form tool like Typeform or Jotform, you can use Zapier or Make to automatically send sign-up information straight to Beehiiv.

Creating Newsletters

Beehiiv’s newsletter editor is so easy to use. Its drag-and-drop interface allows you to easily add, arrange, and customize content elements, making the newsletter creation process more intuitive and efficient.

Beehiiv Dashboard

When you log into your dashboard, you’ll see it gives you an overall view of your newsletter’s performance, subscriber details, and content management tools.

Creating Content in Beehiiv

Beehiiv keeps it very simple, making the writing experience very easy to navigate. To write your newsletter and/or to the web, you’ll select “write” or “start writing.”. You’ll be directed to the page you see below.

When writing your own weekly newsletter below, focus on these parts:

• Post: Include the title, author’s name, and date.
• Email Settings: Use A/B testing and choose a catchy subject line.
• Website Settings: Adjust settings if you’re also posting online.
• SEO: Optimize for search engines to help people find your newsletter/Beehiiv website.
• Delivery: Plan when your newsletter will be sent out.

If you only want to send a newsletter and not a blog, you’ll make those changes in the delivery tab.

Advanced web builder

Beehiiv’s advanced features for its web builder allow you to customize and personalize your Beehiiv landing page and website. It allows you to change the colors, layout, themes, font, buttons, and forms.

It doesn’t give you the design options you’d have if you were building a website in Showit or GoHighLevel. Beehiiv aims to be simpler and easier to use, in my opinion.

Beehiiv SEO

Beehiiv SEO involves optimizing your newsletter content for search engines when publishing online. This can increase visibility and attract more readers. By using relevant keywords, crafting effective meta descriptions, and ensuring your content is SEO-friendly, Beehiiv helps your newsletters rank better in search results, driving more organic traffic to your content.

Email marketing

With Beehiiv, you can easily import and manage your subscriber lists. Beehiiv’s segmentation feature lets you organize your audience into different groups so you can send more targeted and relevant content, making your messages more effective.

Beehiiv has the best tools to track how your audience interacts with your newsletters and gives you data to help you understand them better. This information can help you grow your newsletter effectively.

Beehiiv offers customization and personalization to keep subscribers more engaged with content that feels made just for them.

Beehiiv Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Beehiiv AI integration assists in creating content that engages readers more, suggesting topics and optimizing your writing for better reader interaction. Having access to Beehiiv AI means you’ll have access to different tools, like an AI writing assistant, AI text tools, AI image tools, and an AI translator. It’s like having an assistant!

Beehiiv Pricing, Plans, and Comparison

Beehiiv Pricing

Beehiiv offers a tiered pricing structure with a generous free plan and two paid plans catering to creators with different audience sizes and needs. Let’s break down the key features and benefits of the free plan and each paid plan:

Launch Plan (Beehiiv Free Plan)

Beehiiv’s free plan is great for new or smaller creators. It offers essentials like drag-and-drop editing, customizable templates, and basic analytics for up to 2,500 subscribers.

It includes unlimited email sends and web hosting for your newsletter, along with a recommendation network for your audience.

This plan provides a solid foundation with user-friendly tools and essential features for newsletter creation and management, making it ideal for getting started or maintaining a modest subscriber base under 2,500 subscribers.

Grow Plan

The Grow Plan, at $42/month, is a paid plan suited for creators ready to scale. It supports up to 10,000 subscribers and builds on the free plan with a custom domain for branding, premium subscriptions for monetization, and audience segmentation for personalized content.

Additionally, it includes your own domain, advanced tools like polls and API access for integration, plus exclusive community access.

However, the cost might be a consideration for those weighing the benefits against their current audience size and revenue from newsletters.

Exclusive access to the Beehiiv Newsletter Community for networking and learning from other creators.

Scale Plan

The scale plan is $84/mo billed annually and is a paid plan ideal for established newsletter creators, with large audiences (up to 100,000 subscribers). This plan is for creators who want to make money with their newsletter and use Beehiiv Boosts for growth, offering advanced design control, targeted ad monetization, and detailed segmentation.

It includes a referral program, workflow automations, content Boosts for engagement, 3D Analytics for deep audience insights, Beehiiv AI for content recommendations, A/B testing for optimization, and priority support.

However, its higher cost may be a consideration for creators evaluating the return on investment for the expanded features and larger subscriber capacity.

However, compared to other newsletter platforms, up to 100,000 subscribers, the $84/month is relatively low.

Choosing the Right Plan:

The best Beehiiv plan for you depends on your audience size, budget, and specific needs.

• The free launch plan is a great starting point for new creators or those with a small audience.
• The Grow plan is perfect for creators who are actively growing their audience and want to explore monetization options.
• The Scale plan caters to established creators with large audiences who require advanced features for maximum control and audience engagement.

Behiiv Free Trial

Beehiiv offers a 30-day free trial of the Scale Plan’s features, with no credit card details required.

How to Make Money With Beehiiv

Beehiiv empowers you to make money. The user-friendly interface offers multiple ways to help creators generate revenue from their newsletters. There are several monetization options for successful newsletters:

1. Premium Subscriptions

Premium subscriptions allow creators to offer exclusive content to paying subscribers, adding a revenue stream for your Beehiiv newsletters. Offer your readers a monthly or annual subscription and convert them into paying customers/members. Beehiiv lets you keep 100% of the revenue from your paid subscriptions.

2. Beehiiv Ads

The Beehiiv Ad Network uses its ad marketplace to connect Beehiiv writers with sponsors. You can earn revenue by showing premium ads in your newsletter. Publishers on the Scale plan are invited to participate in the ads. With its ad network, the Beehiiv team sources the advertisers and creates the ads for you.

3. Beehiiv Boosts

Beehiiv Boosts involves promoting your newsletter within the Beehiiv ecosystem to gain new subscribers. You allocate a budget for promotions and set how much you’re willing to pay per new subscriber, essentially running an ad campaign for your newsletter. Other publishers in the network can choose to promote your newsletter, helping you expand your reach and attract new subscribers.

4. Beehiiv Referral Program

Join the Beehiiv referral program and get paid to promote Beehiiv through their referral program feature. You can earn a 50% commission just by introducing customers to a Beehiiv account.

Beehiiv Alternatives

There are several Beehiiv alternatives. Beehiiv, Substack, ConvertKit, and MailerLite are popular platforms for email newsletters, each with unique features and pros and cons.

Beehiiv vs. Substack

Beehiiv Pros

• Easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor for design customization.
• Beehiiv SEO-optimized website.
• Email pop-ups
• Detailed analytics, polls, survey forms, and A/B testing for content optimization.
• Additional monetization options include ad network, subscriptions, and a referral program.

Beehiiv Cons

• Your Beehiiv website on the free plan is on the Beehiiv subdomain.

Substack Pros

• Simple, minimalist editor for easy content creation.
• Substack Pages allows you to create a website within Substack
• Well-established platform with a good reputation.

Substack Cons

• Takes a 10% fee from subscription revenue.
• Limited website customization and template options.

Beehiiv vs. Convertkit Review

Beehiiv Pros:

• Cost-effective for large audiencesUnified content distribution platformBeehiiv Monetization: memberships, ad network, and referral program feature

Beehiiv Cons:

• Might need broader website customization options

ConvertKit Pros:

• Superior in content creation and customizationWide-ranging monetization, including digital products (Great for those with existing blogs or a focus on newsletter engagement

ConvertKit Cons:

• It may be more complex for beginners compared to simpler platforms

Beehiiv vs. MailerLite

Beehiiv Pros:

• Seamless integration of Beehiiv blog and newsletters under the same account
• Direct monetization avenues without fees on memberships and ads.
• SEO-optimized for visibility.
• Generous free plan for up to 2,500 subscribers.

Beehiiv Cons:

• It may require more extensive customization options for seasoned users.

MailerLite Pros:

• Advanced email automations extending beyond newsletters.
• Wide range of templates for email design.
• Email and SMS transactional messaging.

MailerLite Cons:

• Blogging capabilities and SEO features could be enhanced for full potential.

Beehiiv Newsletter Course

BeeHiiv is very easy to use, but for those of you looking to take your knowledge to the next level, BeeHiiv does offer the NewsletterXP Course for $999. It’s a comprehensive course on how to build, scale, and monetize your newsletter. Taught by the experts who have done it before.

Conclusion

After exploring Beehiiv, it’s clear this platform could be the game-changer you’ve been searching for. Its blend of intuitive design, comprehensive analytics, and creator-first monetization strategies align with building a meaningful connection with your audience. While it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, Beehiiv feels like home for creators eager to grow their newsletter into something remarkable and profitable.

FAQ’s Beehiiv Review

Q1: Is there a free version of Beehiiv?

A1: Yes, Beehiiv offers a free version with its Launch Plan, accommodating up to 2,500 subscribers. This plan is designed to help new or smaller creators get started with essential features for newsletter creation and management, making it an attractive option for those building their audience.

Q2: Is it okay to use the Beehiiv subdomain in the free plan?

A2: The Beehiiv subdomain is a feature provided in the platform’s free plan, allowing creators to host their newsletter content on a web page under the Beehiiv domain. This offers a convenient way to have an online presence without the need for a separate website, making it easier for new and growing newsletters to reach their audience online. However, for a more professional appearance and to strengthen brand identity, upgrading to a premium plan allows the use of newsletter templates on a custom domain, removing the Beehiiv branding from the URL.

For better SEO results in the long term, using a custom domain can help establish and grow your own domain’s authority, improving your content’s search engine rankings.

Q3: How do you get paid on Beehiiv?

A3: On Beehiiv, you can earn money as a content creator through various monetization strategies, such as premium subscriptions, ads, and a referral program. You set up premium content for subscribers who pay a monthly or annual fee, directly integrate ads within your newsletters, and earn from recommending Beehiiv to others. Beehiiv allows you to keep 100% of your revenue from subscribers, offering a creator-friendly platform to monetize your newsletter effectively.