👋 Hi Reader,
Choosing an ESP platform for the first time is so unnerving. Most ESPs offer similar features like building newsletter with drag-and-drop features, email capture UI options, the works.
I hear this question across newsletter operators who are starting out on this journey. LetterStack doesn’t have a huge audience (yet), so I might be the right conduit to their concerns on ESP selection too.
One factor I wish more people paid attention to is: how responsive is the ESP team? To the market, to its customers, to the audience casually prospecting. Not necessarily to the competition.
In that regard, I have always admired Tyler Denk.
Regardless of the channel, the beehiiv CEO and his team are present wherever people are ranting about newsletters, listening, chiming in candidly to customer feedback.
And believe it or not, people take notes.
A recent case in point, is Tyler’s beehiiv Reddit AMA this week. By his own admission, he got roasted, but I believe as a CEO building in a crowded category, he shows up as a real one in a sea of sameness.
Tyler's Linked Post about his Reddit AMA
Beehiiv Site Builder Woes
I was a Typedream customer when beehiiv bought them. I was not a big fan of their builder interface, and I was surprised when beehiiv decided to fold that experience into the core product. Unsurprisingly, Tyler faced heat about the builder issues, but the candour in which he acknowledged and took notes, is refreshing.
One thing that also stands apart is how much does your product flex to suit your customer, instead of a blanket ‘our product does not support that’ pitch. There were users clamouring for API access and AdSense capabilities on the beehiiv site interface, and their team was offering to work around the product to make it a reality.
Beehiiv's reddit AMA thread
That does not mean beehiiv has always sided with the customer. There are instances where accounts have been shut down without prior explanation. but I would wager that happens across all ESP platforms, considering the amount of spam abuse all ESPs are experiencing these days.
That said, communicating around these and proactively explaining what leads to shutdowns would definitely help.
Meet the customer where they are
All things considered, I am hard pressed to find any other tech CEO, meeting their users on the ground floor as often as Tyler does. And that, I believe, is the singular reason, why beehiiv is making strides faster than any other newsletter platform has done in years.
And that might be how I would choose my newsletter platform, if I were to start today.
Need a sounding board in understanding the right newsletter platform for you to start today? I would love to talk to you.
Let me know by hitting ‘Reply’ on this email, or send a note to [email protected].
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Cheers,
Renga from LetterStack
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