ConvertKit Review: How I Beat My Fear of Email Marketing & Built a 6-Figure Blog

ConvertKit Review: Introduction

In this review, I’m going to walk you through the key features, pros and cons of ConvertKit.

It’s the email marketing software that I both use myself and recommend to all my blogging clients.

I’ve tried many email marketing tools, but ConvertKit is hands down the best. Although saying that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. That’s why I’ll also cover the main cons.

Despite having built a profitable blog, I’ve always found email marketing challenging.

There’s just so much to get to grips with, like sequences, broadcasts, segments, and tricky tech – to name but a few.

What’s more, I’ve gone through my fair share of email marketing tools. They all felt clunky and complicated, until I discovered ConvertKit.

So this is my ConvertKit review after using the tool for over two years. I can confidently say it’s one of the best email marketing tools on the market. In fact, it’s the only tool I’ve actually managed to build a functioning email list with.

Not only is ConvertKit easy to use and customize, but it also offers advanced automation features to help me engage with my readers in a more authentic way.

What Exactly Is ConvertKit?

ConvertKit is an email marketing tool that helps bloggers and online creators grow their audience and make money from their content.

It was created by Nathan Barry, an online entrepreneur and author who recognized the need for a more creator-focused email marketing solution.

That’s why ConvertKit is designed specifically for creators. It comes with a ton of features for managing subscribers, creating opt-in forms, and sending automated email sequences.

It’s made a huge difference in how I handle my email list and my online business.

Personal Experience With ConvertKit

ConvertKit played a major role in helping me earn over 180K USD from my blog last year.

I took a long time to get started with email marketing, partly due to my struggle with finding the right tools. I’ve tried GetResponse, Mailerlite and Mailchimp – but I couldn’t get traction on building my list with any of them.

I felt like a failure. Everyone was saying how important email marketing was, but I couldn’t even build my list.

Then I discovered ConvertKit – and everything changed for my business.

That’s what compelled me to write this ConvertKit review.

ConvertKit has tons of features specifically tailored for bloggers and online business owners. Importantly, it manages to present all of those in an intuitive and easy to use dashboard.

In particular, the automations feature has been a total game changer – it saves me so much time every day. I can focus on other aspects of my business while my email marketing runs in the background.

The smart tagging and segmentation feature is a powerful way to ensure your messages are highly targeted and relevant to your audience.

What’s more, ConvertKit‘s forms and landing pages are super easy to customize. They may not be the most sophisticated ones available, but they’re easy to get started with.

And in marketing– especially as a solopreneur – “just getting started” is one of the biggest keys to success.

Overall, ConvertKit is the perfect tool for bloggers and online business owners because it allows you to grow your audience, increase engagement, and monetize your blog efficiently.

Key Features

• Create landing pages and forms to easily capture leads
• Offer multiple lead magnets to a single list for easy segmentation based on interests
• Organize subscribers using tags for easy segmentation based on specific criteria
• Use link triggers to automatically send targeted messages based on subscriber actions
• Use smart automation features to set up automated email sequences for lead nurturing and conversion

How Easy Is ConvertKit To Use?

Compared to other email providers I’ve tried in the past, ConvertKit is pretty much a breeze. The interface is clean and intuitive, making it simple for me to navigate and find what I need.

I can easily create and customize forms and landing pages that match my brand. Once I’ve got my forms set up, I can add them to my blog with just a couple of clicks, with either the ConvertKit WordPress plugin or a handy shortcode.

ConvertKit’s tagging feature is also a game-changer for me. It allows me to easily segment my audience based on specific criteria and send them targeted messages. The automation feature is also a plus – it’s straightforward and easy to use. I can set up automated sequences with just a few clicks, made it even easier with the visual automation feature.

I often create automation workflows that follow up with my subscribers, welcome them to my list or even send them a specific sequence of emails based on the lead magnet they subscribed for. It also allows me to trigger a specific automation workflow based on the link clicked in my email.

What’s more, ConvertKit is well supported across the digital marketing ecosystem, so most of my main tools integrate with it seamlessly.

Integration with WordPress

If you’re blogging on WordPress, I’ve got good news for you. There are two easy ways to integrate ConvertKit with your WordPress blog.

The first is by installing the ConvertKit for WordPress plug-in. This makes all your forms available in the plug-in, so you can easily pop them into your site wherever you want.

Alternatively, you can add ConvertKit forms to your site using a simple shortcode.

Support

So far, I’ve had a pretty good experience with the ConvertKit support team. I normally contact them via the dashboard online chat feature. They respond quickly and usually manage to help me solve whichever problem I have.

On several occasions, the customer support agent sent me links to articles that weren’t helpful for my query. I solved this by closing the chat, and trying again with another agent.

Where ConvertKit Falls Short

No tool is perfect, and that includes ConvertKit. Firstly, it can become expensive quickly, especially if you have a large list, because the pricing increases with the number of subscribers (once you go beyond 1,000).

If you’re using the free version, you won’t have access to any of the automation features, including visual automations or sequences. These features are what makes ConvertKit stand out, so not having them is a big loss.

Lastly, ConvertKit‘s forms, landing pages and email templates aren’t as as visually pleasing as other email marketing tools. The platform lacks some design freedom, so it can sometime be tricky to make your emails look exactly the way you want them to.

In fairness, this hasn’t been an issue for me as I write all my emails in simple text, without using elaborate designs.

Overall (and after trying three other competing email marketing tools) I’ve decided the pros of ConvertKit outweigh the cons for me.

Pricing Plans

Free Plan

• Up to 1,000 subscribers
• No access to visual automations or sequences
• Unlimited landing pages
• Unlimited forms
• Unlimited broadcasts
• Audience tagging and segmentation
• Sell digital products & subscriptions
• Community support

Creator Plan (from $25/month, for up to 1,000 subscribers)

Everything in the free plan plus:

• Live chat & email support
• Free migration from another tool
• Automated email sequences
• Visual automation builders
• Third-party integrations

Creator Pro Plan

Everything in Creator Plan, plus:

• Advanced reporting
• Facebook custom audiences
• Subscriber scoring
• Newsletter referral system
• Change a URL after sending

I recommend you get started with the free plan, then upgrade to the Creator Plan once your email list gains traction.

Check out my deep dive into ConvertKit pricing.

The visual automations and sequences are worth paying for, because they’ll play a key role in putting your business on autopilot.

Next up, let’s take a look at some specific ways I use ConvertKit in my business.

8 Ways ConvertKit Helped Me Earn Over 180K USD With My Blog

#1. Managing my email lists for two websites

I’m currently running two different websites, so I need two separate email lists.

ConvertKit offers the option to segment your subscribers within a single list, meaning you don’t need to set up another account or purchase another plan if you have a different website. This is a good cost-effective option, especially if you have less than 1,000 subscribers across both websites.

But eventually, I decided to get a separate plan for each of my websites. The smaller site (this one) runs on ConvertKit‘s free plan (which allows up to 1,000 subscribers, and no automations). The other site runs on a separate account using the ConvertKit Creator plan (annual subscription: $290/year).

#2. Sending my weekly newsletters

Every week, I fire up ConvertKit and send a weekly newsletter to both of my lists. I use the Broadcast feature to create and schedule a one-off email. It’s a useful feature for when you want to contact your list with just a single update, rather than creating a whole sequence.

ConvertKit offers a number of email templates, but I prefer to write my newsletters in plain text, using headers and bulleted lists to break things up. To me, this makes the email feel more authentic, as if it’s coming from a friend rather than from a company.

#3. Creating funnels

The concept of email funnels was a mystery to me for a long time.

It was only when I started using ConvertKit that it started to make sense. ConvertKit‘s visual automations feature really helped with this.

Seeing the different stages of the funnel mapped out visually, made everything fall into place in my brain. Now, I build all my email funnels using the visual automations feature.

#4. Promoting affiliate products

I often promote useful affiliate products to my audience, woven into the informative emails that I send them weekly.

Many of my emails are educational in nature, making them a perfect fit for mentioning affiliate products to help my audience achieve their desired results.

ConvertKit allows me to easily include nice easy-to-read buttons in the text of the emails, where I can add my affiliate links. I’ve also set up a template email which automatically includes my affiliate disclaimer every time.

#5. Promoting my latest blog posts

My favorite way to promote my blog posts is by attracting lots of organic search traffic to them. But it’s always good to promote them through alternative channels too.

That’s why I use ConvertKit‘s Broadcast feature to easily share my latest blog posts with my audience via my email list.

This simple tactic gives me yet another way to maintain regular contact with my audience, even when I don’t have anything specific to sell to them.

#6. Creating landing pages

The easiest way to launch a new product or service is by setting up a simple landing page. ConvertKit is superb for doing this, with its range of clean and simple templates.

With these, I don’t have to procrastinate over design or choosing the right landing page platform. It’s all there in ConvertKit. Anytime I want to launch something new, I simply fire up a template, add my product information, and launch it to my audience.

#7. Selling digital products on autopilot

ConvertKit has a handy built in feature called ConvertKit Commerce. This is a great alternative to Gumroad or Samcart. It allows you to easily host and take payment for digital products, while also taking care of sales tax issues on an international scale. I’m in the process of building several digital products, which I’ll be selling via ConvertKit Commerce.

#8. Selling my consulting services

Every edition of my weekly email newsletter includes a section at the bottom of the email, where I invite people to book a consultation session with me. To save time, I’ve got this section set up using ConvertKit‘s template feature, so it automatically gets added at the footer of every new draft.

Final Thoughts

Before discovering ConvertKit, my email marketing game was non-existent.

Now, not only am I building two healthy email lists for two different websites – but I’m actually sending them regular emails and seeing returns on my ConvertKit investment.

If you’re just starting out in blogging, you can go a long way with the ConvertKit free plan.

The next step up is the Creator plan, which makes sense for those with a large lists or who want to use automations to sell with more ease. I particularly recommend this plan if you’ve already got a digital product that you want to sell on autopilot.

ConvertKit is popular in the blogging space for good reason. While it’s not the cheapest option out there, it’s certainly the one with the most balanced feature set.

Not only that, but it’s an intuitive platform with strong customer support that will help you get over the hump with email marketing.

I hope you found my ConvertKit review useful. Ready to try it out for yourself?