There are many reasons to love ConvertKit but it may not be for everyone. I’ve been using ConvertKit to keep in touch with my over 29k email subscribers, make a living from my writing and digital products, and grow my email list. I love it because I’m a creator that teaches emotional intelligence and self-improvement through hard-won life lessons. And I feel that ConvertKit is a great fit for my creative projects.
Overall, I love the intuitive, easy-to-track stats, improved deliverability, and the ease of creating landing pages. Pricing is on a sliding scale, so whether you have 20 thousand followers or 2, you’ll pay a reasonable price for your level of business.
The features between the free version and the paid versions vary greatly. I didn’t make the switch to Convertkit until I already had a substantial following. So, while I’ll talk about the free version here, this is a moreso a review for the Creator and Creator Pro ConvertKit accounts.
By the end of this review you’ll have a better idea of whether ConvertKit is the right tool for your business.
What is ConvertKit?
ConvertKit is a cloud-based, email marketing software that helps you gain more subscribers from your creative work. Using embeddable forms and a visual automation builder, creators can build their email lists to create an automated business model.
These days, if you want to make an online living, setting up sales funnels from landing page to check out is the best option for writers, musicians, and podcasters. ConvertKit also allows you to build a subscription-based business whether you are selling courses, digital products, or a premium email newsletter.
ConvertKit features
- Automation - The autoresponder feature is the bread and butter of Convertkit. It’s only available to Creator and Creator Pro accounts but it’s well worth the upgrade. Through custom tagging, event-triggered actions, email list segmentation you can build a business that makes money while you sleep.
- Visual automation builder - This feature makes the platform more intuitive. The visual automation builder helps you see exactly what you are sending and what actions each subscriber has to take to enter a new funnel.
- Integrations - Convertkit integrates easily with 70+ other platforms to make it easier to make money online.
- Landing pages, opt-ins, & sign-up forms - These features are what an email marketing software like ConvertKit is made for. Your opt-ins are easy to embed in other websites. You can also use the landing page builder to create a one-page website.
- eCommerce - Sell digital products via your email list. Use the built-in checkout feature or easily integrate it with your established system.
- A/B testing & analytics - With this feature you’ll know exactly what’s working with your email list and what isn’t. Follow your deliverability reporting to monitor your opens and click through rates over time.
- Mobile optimized emails - 85% of people use smart devices to access their email. Having mobile optimized emails will ensure that your subscribers can easily read what you send on their phones and tablets.
- Edit campaigns once they’ve been sent - Put a wrong link in an email? No need to resend an email. The Creator Pro account allows you to edit links in campaigns that have already been sent out.
Who is ConvertKit for?
I legitimately feel like ConvertKit’s tools are designed for creators—not just for people who want to make money online. The platform makes it really seamless for bloggers, podcasters, writers, musicians, etc. to collect email subscribers via opt-ins and sign-up forms.
Small businesses looking for automation tools to ramp up their email marketing will also benefit.
What ConvertKit does really well
After using the platform for a while for various marketing campaigns and building out email sequences, there are some features standout. Here are a few of the things that I really like about Convertkit:
Deliverability
For me, the top benefit of ConvertKit is that it’s got great deliverability. You can write all the great emails with great subject lines in the world but they have to actually make it to your recipient’s inbox. ConvertKit’s stellar delivery rate has made a tremendous difference when it comes to open rates and making sure the emails don’t just go to someone’s spam folder.
Higher conversion rate potential
Convertkit makes it easy to boost revenue because it’s so easy to grow and nurture a large audience with their tools. It’s not so much that Convertkit itself has boosted revenue. It’s that Convertkit has served as a highly effective force multiplier for my writing and sales funnels.
I think logic flows that if I can reach more people with easier tools, then the potential to make more money also increases.
Ease of use
The ease of use of the platform and the easily readable metrics cause less headaches for me and my team. I primarily make my money online through several courses, cohorts, books, affiliate links etc. ConvertKit is a great tool for getting up a landing page for a project in no time. This way I can easily track how new subscribers are coming into my funnels. I can even segment my audience if I want to send half of them tools on quitting porn and the other half information on improving your engagement as a writer.
They’ve also got amazing backend creator tools to help their customers make more money by not just being an email service provider, but an education and inspiration hub for creators. They have their own options for processing payments, but they also easily integrate with other content creation platforms and plugins.
Landing page builder & metrics
Like I said, I feel like ConvertKit was made with a creator-first mindset. It’s a great tool for creating landing pages that grow my email list. Their stats are easy and intuitive to keep track of. My team is able to test out which headlines work best in A/B split tests and then Convertkit takes that information and uses it for the rest of the campaign.
Minor annoyances with ConvertKit
Here are some things I’ve found are drawbacks to the platform:
May not be as intuitive for complete beginners
I have prior experience with email service providers and autoresponders so I didn’t start using ConvertKit as a beginner. It seems most people switch to ConvertKit at the recommendation of a colleague and it’s not different for me. So, if you’re unfamiliar with email marketing platforms, the tagging, segmentation, and visual automation builders may not be as intuitive to you.
Pricing is on a sliding scale
There doesn’t seem to be a ceiling to how much you’ll pay with ConvertKit. The more email list subscribers you have, the more your monthly/yearly bill increases.
Also, the price increases automatically. If you suddenly start sending more emails over a preset limit, the price adjusts accordingly. This can make for a potentially unpleasant surprise if you happen to hit a surge in new subscribers. Their website mentions that this process is automatic, so I’m not sure if ConvertKit warns you prior to the bill increase. \
To be fair most tools like ConvertKit use a sliding fee based on email subscribers, so they’re not the only ones who do this.
How does ConvertKit stand up to the competition?
Overall, ConvertKit has unlimited email sends that even the most advanced services don’t offer. Here are two popular email marketing platforms compared to ConvertKit:
Vs. Mailchimp
The biggest difference I’ve found between ConvertKit and Mailchimp is that Convertkit integrates more easily with everything that I’m doing. I also believe the deliverability and open rates are better.
I started with Mailchimp because that was the platform that everyone was talking about. It was free up until 2000 subscribers, and then I paid for a while before I switched.
Mailchimp has been around since the 80s. In the last several years, they’ve added the full capabilities other email marketing platforms are established with. Compared to the ConvertKit’s free version, other than the email list limits (ConvertKit is free upto 1000 subscribers), you’re pretty much getting the same deal. You can’t build email campaigns with the autoresponder for example. There is A/B testing but advanced reporting is hidden behind a paywall.
As far as the pricing, Mailchimp can be less expensive if you don’t hit overages on your monthly send limit. ConvertKit has unlimited email sending also, while Mailchimp’s limits depend on the plan you choose.
Vs. Klavyio
Klaviyo is a robust email service provider that integrates with ecommerce platforms like Shopify. They’ve recently added SMS marketing to their list of services. Klaviyo is great for small businesses but is also used by multi-million dollar enterprises. You can typically send 10x the number of your email list. Like Convertkit, pricing is on a sliding scale with your number of email subscribers.
Klaviyo is free up to 250 contacts with a max of 500 email sends a day. It’s roughly twice the price of ConvertKit’s Creator tier at the same number of contacts. I believe Klaviyo was made chiefly for eCommerce integrations for physical products, though you can also sell digital products.
As far as ease of use, Klaviyo has a bit more of a learning curve than other email marketing platforms. And it may not be immediately accessible for creators. Though it does have visual automation builders, email sequence templates, landing page builders etc. There are also online tutorials but it’s difficult to get the best benefits from the platform unless you are Klaviyo certified.
FAQs
How easy is it to switch from one email service provider to ConvertKit?
For the free version you’re pretty much on your own with transferring emails from one email service provider to the other. I don’t know how much of a headache that is because I’ve never used ConvertKit’s free version. For the Creator ConvertKit account and the Creator Pro, you get free migration from another email marketing software.
If you have more than 5,000 subscribers and one of the advanced plans, ConvertKit will transfer all your campaigns, email templates, email sequences and automations for you in 1-3 business days. This process is a headache to do yourself and really time consuming so if you can get them to do it, I’d highly recommend it.
How much is ConvertKit?
ConvertKit pricing is on a sliding scale with the size of your email list. If you have no one on your email list, then the pricing for the Creator account and Creator Pro are $9 and $25 per month, respectively.
If you have the number of subscribers I do, your pricing will hover closer to $250 or more a month.
Is ConvertKit good for landing pages? How many landing pages can I have?
The landing page feature is the chief tool I use ConvertKit for. It comes with tutorials, insights and landing page templates to make the process easier for you. You can create an unlimited number of landing pages with Convertkit.
How easy is ConvertKit to use?
I think ConvertKit is very intuitive to use. Chat support is available if you have questions but I felt the functionality was easy to get the hang of.
Do I have to have a website for ConvertKit?
No, you don’t have to have a traditional website to use ConvertKit. You can use the platform to create one-page websites/landing pages that present your CTA in an attractive way. The forms are embeddable so you can use them on your social pages or other content creation websites.
Bottom line: Would I use ConvertKit again?
The bottomline is that Convertkit is more than just an email service provider. It’s an education in marketing and a hub for commerce. The ease of use, and improved deliverability, help me make more sales. And that makes up for the monthly fee. While I can’t say it’s substantially improved my income, it has made running my business far more streamlined.
If you found my review helpful I’d love for you to use my link here when you sign up (I get a small % cut of each sale made through the link, which helps pay my bills).
I legitimately feel like their tools are designed for creators. And I plan to remain with Convertkit as long as I’m a creator.
