ConvertKit is one of the more popular paid email service providers on the market and one I have no hesitation in recommending to the Virtual Assistants I interact with. Not only does ConvertKit give you access to the email marketing tools and automations you need to grow your business, it gives you a simple and easy way to connect with your subscribers and tailor your email marketing strategy to suit their needs. 

One of the main reasons why ConvertKit is my email service provider of choice is that it enables you to spend less time on your email marketing and more time growing your Virtual Assistant business. With that being said, let me give you a breakdown of what exactly ConvertKit is, along with the key features of note.

[PLEASE NOTE – this blog contains affiliate links! But rest assured, I will only recommend products and services I (or my team) have personally used. If you click on any of the links within this post and subsequently make a purchase, this may result in me receiving a small commission – at no extra cost to yourself. You can learn more about my privacy policy here.]

What is ConvertKit?

ConvertKit is an email service provider that allows you to bulk send emails to your mailing list and to create automated email marketing funnels and campaigns. It’s one of the more popular paid ones, thanks in part, to the ease of use and its willingness to give you marketing automations and funnels, without the huge cost normally associated with those features. It enables you to quickly and easily create an email marketing strategy that suits your needs.

Designed primarily for creators but embraced by all online marketers, ConvertKit gives you the best of both worlds – the functionality you need to create suitable email marketing campaigns, combined with the visual workflows needed, to make it easier to improve your email marketing strategy.

Unlike other email service providers, ConvertKit also gives you a detailed breakdown of each subscriber and their journey along your funnels. You can see where and when they signed up, what else they’ve signed up for, as well as every email and sequence they’ve received and opened. This information is critical, if you want to troubleshoot what is and isn’t working within your email marketing strategy.

The benefits of ConvertKit over other email marketing providers

When it comes to comparing Convertkit to other email marketing providers, there are a few things that Convertkit does that leaves it standing head and shoulders above the rest. The first; the ability to have all your subscribers on one list. Far too many of the cheaper alternatives dictate that, if you create a new form, you have to associate it with a new list. And, as a lot of online businesses have several different opt-ins and upgrades, this can lead to a messy mailing list in no time! 

The second thing that helps ConvertKit stand out is the fact that a subscriber can sign up to multiple opt-ins and still only count as one subscriber – because you only have one list. A lot of the cheaper alternatives will count that subscriber as a new signup for every form they use – and this eats into your overall subscriber count. 

And thirdly, you don’t need a website, to start building your email list. In ConvertKit you have the option to create forms and standalone landing pages. This means, you can create and upload your opt-in incentives and freebies to start collecting email sign-ups, before you’ve even got your website up and running. Now this doesn’t mean you don’t need a website (because you definitely do!), but it gives you the time and space to set up your website right, without it affecting your ability to build a mailing list.

Funnels and automations are an essential part of your email marketing strategy

Convertkit makes automation a lot easier for the online business owner. Being a visual-based platform it gives you the option to see a visual breakdown of your marketing funnels and automations. You can then see where your subscribers are in the layout, as well as how the overall automation works

You can easily tailor your email marketing strategy, by using simple automation rules (If subscriber does this, do that), to move subscribers through email sequences and between automations. For example, if you have a subscriber who goes on to buy something, you can move them from your welcome sequence, into your buyers sequence.

Talking of automation rules, you cannot use them without the ability to use tags and segments in your email marketing strategy – and ConvertKit enables you to use as many automations as you need. You can easily organise subscribers by interests and buying patterns with these. Want to see who unsubscribed from a particular list? You can. If you want to check how many subscribers have read your email and clicked on the link inside – it’s easy within Convertkit.

ConvertKit makes email creation simple and logical

VAs who are using other email marketing software often complain that there’s no way to design pretty looking emails. You either have to stick with functional plain ones or hire someone to create a template for you. But in Convertkit, email design is simple. You can make your email as plain or pretty as you want, using the templates and easy design navigation panels provided. You can even upload your own template if you want to, and if you really love using code, you can use HTML coding for each email and/or within it!

What makes ConvertKit stand out from its competitors is the unlimited emails they allow you to send. They understand the importance of building a relationship with your clients and having an efficient email marketing strategy in place – something you can’t do, if you’re worrying about how many emails you’re sending each month!

Are there any downsides to ConvertKit?

Like any other software, ConvertKit does have its downsides. For new businesses, the price is often a sticking point for them. Having said that, if you’re serious about growing your business and have more than 100 subscribers, it’s a small price to pay each month. It is set up to be affordable and is priced well for the functions you gain access to, but if you’re used to having a free option, it can be a bit of a wrench, having to find $29 each month. 

Since writing this blog (and literally on the original day of publishing it) Convertkit have announced a free plan.

The free plan allows you to make unlimited landing pages and forms, choose from a variety of templates, add personalisation and design, including an incentive email, create a thank you page, manage subscribers and send broadcast emails. (All pretty awesome stuff!)   If you first sign up for the free plan via their site you  will have immediate access to landing pages and opt-in forms to start building your community. But in order to unlock the ability to manage subscribers and send broadcast emails, you must first refer a friend to the free plan.

But, if you go via my link here – I have the ability to gift any new free plan customer that signs up through my link with 100 subscribers to manage and send broadcasts to immediately.  Winner!

Sequences, visual automations, and RSS feed management are not included in the free plan. To gain access to these features, you must upgrade to a paid plan.

I don’t come across many Virtual Assistants that have more than one business, but if that’s you – ConvertKit may not be suitable for you. You can still use it well with the implementation of tags and segmentation, but if you want to keep your businesses as separate lists, you won’t be able to in ConvertKit.

If I had to sum it all up

If you’re looking to upscale your email marketing strategy this year, you need a system that works to make your email marketing strategy easier and simpler to implement – and that’s something that a lot of the free alternatives simply cannot give you. Free will only get you so far, because they cannot give you access to premium tools on a zero investment and you cannot expect them to keep adding in improvements and additional functionality to a free option.

So if you’re ready to take advantage of the premium tools on offer to you, ConvertKit is one I’d recommend. It is one of the more popular paid email marketing solutions, and it isn’t hard to see why. Not only does it give you access to the email marketing tools and automations you need, it’s designed in such a way that you can spend less time on your email marketing and more time on growing your business. And that’s something we all ultimately want!

Why not give ConvertKit a try?

Remember if you have more than 100 Subscribers – you’ll find more information on their awesome features, along with access to a 14-day free trial, when you click through to ConvertKit’s website – (go via here if you have more than 100 subscribers). I’d recommend you take advantage of those 14 days to go through the process of setting up a lead magnet opt-in and add in a welcome email sequence. You can then see how easy it is to implement an email marketing strategy with them, but you’ll also get firsthand experience of how user-friendly their platform can be! So head on over and sign up for their 14-day free trial!  

BUT… If you have less than 100 subscribers – click here to create your free account – because I have gifted you the ability to send to your first 100 subscribers.