E mail is no doubt my #1, top-performing advertising and marketing methodology. I am keen on e mail advertising and marketing as a result of it:
- Has the next ROI than social or many different “free” platforms.
- Is mine. I can obtain my record and preserve it. No person can take it away from me.
- Retains me from turning into a sufferer to algorithmic modifications (such has these with web optimization and social) that fully destroy all the expansion I’ve obtained.
- And extra.
I take into account mine to be a small enterprise as a result of my record has underneath 10,000 individuals.
For years I fortunately used ActiveCampaign for my e mail advertising and marketing software program. Their Lite plan provided every thing I wanted at an inexpensive fee.
However, a few yr to a yr and a half in the past, I began having extra complaints than compliments and worth will increase got here extra incessantly.
This previous April, I acquired an e mail informing me that the speed for my plan could be elevated by $28 a month. That was greater than I used to be prepared to pay.
ActiveCampaign argued that they have been implementing enhancements which might be effectively price the fee. As a small enterprise, I don’t want lots of bells and whistles to earn a living so their new options weren’t definitely worth the quantity they have been asking for for my part.
I started to verify round to get suggestions for brand new e mail advertising and marketing software program. A powerful majority of on-line mates gave me their private ConvertKit overview. After I took a take a look at what they provided, and their pricing construction, I used to be impressed.
Let’s go over:
- ActiveCampaign’s pricing and options
- My ConvertKit overview with options I like
- My migration expertise with ConvertKit, and
- What I take into consideration ConvertKit after utilizing it for about two months (as of the publishing of this publish)
ActiveCampaign Pricing & Plans
There are professionals and cons with ActiveCampaign’s pricing construction as a result of it has broad gaps. For instance, they leap from 1,000 subscribers to 2,500 after which to five,000 and it doubles once more to 10,000 and so forth.
Sure, it takes longer so that you can attain the subsequent stage, and the upper fee that comes with that. Nevertheless, if you’re approaching board for the primary time, you possibly can end up compelled right into a a lot increased tier due to these broad gaps.
If in case you have 5,100 subscribers, for instance, you’ll have to begin and pay for the ten,000 stage.
ActiveCampaign Options
Plenty of options are widespread between ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit, however listed below are a couple of I appreciated and used each day.
- Versatile break up testing. I had the choice of sending one of many take a look at emails to a portion of my record to find out the winner. Then the successful topic line could be despatched to all the opposite subscribers.
Or, I might break up the take a look at between the 2 topic traces, and ship it out all on the similar time.
- Making modifications. If I made a decision to alter the ship date or time, if I wished to tweak one thing within the e mail, or make different modifications, I might try this with out having to unschedule the e-mail.
- Shaded bins. Utilizing shaded bins to spotlight data or draw consideration to essential data was easy with the clicking of a few hyperlinks.
What I Did not Take care of With ActiveCampaign
ConvertKit Pricing & Plans
ConvertKit pricing relies on the variety of subscribers, and their ranges are nearer collectively. The tiers go from 300 to 1,000 to five,000 then 8,000, and many others. When evaluating ConvertKit vs. ActiveCampaign, the ConvertKit costs are decrease total. Nevertheless, as a result of the tiers will not be as far aside you’re going to get further financial savings for not being compelled to leap to a a lot increased stage.
ConvertKit Options
As I discussed beforehand, there are numerous widespread options between ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit (and most different e mail advertising and marketing software program). Listed below are a couple of I significantly like with ConvertKit.
- Cleaner interface. To me, ActiveCampaign’s, interface appears to be like previous and somewhat cluttered. I feel ConvertKit’s interface is far more open, cleaner, and simpler to make use of.
- Stats abstract is less complicated to seek out. New subscribers, engagement, and e mail efficiency statistics can be found conveniently on the house web page.
- Searchable segments and different dropdowns. On the lookout for a phase to ship an e mail to? You’ll be able to search the dropdown record to seek out it instantly as an alternative of scrolling ceaselessly to seek out what you want. The identical holds true for many of the different dropdown menus. You’ll be able to’t try this with ActiveCampaign.
- Sequences (follow-up e mail collection) are simpler to arrange and work with because of a extra cohesive, construction and web page format than with ActiveCampaign.
- Broadcast e mail knowledge abstract is obtainable on the published house web page as an alternative of getting to click on by means of a number of menus to seek out. This makes it far more simplistic to see how particular person mailings carried out.
- Phenomenal assist. The assist workforce is quick, correct, and goes effectively past the decision of obligation.
- No mailing glitches, to this point.
That is clearly not an exhaustive record of options, somewhat those that I exploit most every day. And don’t overlook, ConvertKit has a complicated Creator Professional plan that provides extra options than the Creator plan.
What I don’t particularly take care of is:
- It’s essential to unschedule an e mail to make any modifications to it after which schedule it once more.
- Cut up testing is simply finished in a method. ConvertKit sends each topic traces to a portion of your record. Then 4 hours later the successful topic line is shipped to the rest of your record. This makes it extraordinarily troublesome to check final name emails which have an outlined reduce off time. You additionally can’t take a look at the physique content material; solely topic traces.
- No fast shaded bins. You’ll be able to accomplish this manually, nonetheless, in case you use HTML.
- A number of tags can solely be added to clickable hyperlinks in case you go to the additional step of mixing them into a gaggle tag. It’s not an enormous deal, nevertheless it does take a bit extra time.
My Migration Expertise
My ConvertKit overview wouldn’t be full with out a nod to the ConvertKit migration workforce. They have been improbable!
My VA and I had a pre-migration Zoom name to ensure every thing could be lined up correctly, and that we knew what to anticipate, earlier than we ever began. We have been requested to provide an summary of our ActiveCampaign use and we have been allowed to ask questions on how particular options labored in ConvertKit.
Then we have been assigned a private migration consultant that we communicated straight with. Working inside a workforce platform, we have been in a position to attain our consultant in a really well timed method about any points or questions we had.
There have been a few issues that wanted a little bit massaging to get them to work the way in which we wished together with a couple of together with a couple of visible automations. However the ConvertKit workforce received it finished and did all of it in a well timed method. Oh! Did I say that migration providers are free?
I’ve been by means of different migration processes for e mail advertising and marketing software program, web site, internet hosting and extra. I need to say that is the smoothest expertise I’ve had.
General, after I examine what I used to be paying for with ActiveCampaign (and what I used to be about to should pay after the speed hike) switching to ConvertKit has made far more sense for me.
Whereas ActiveCampaign’s Lite stage offered extra options, I had no want for many of them. Switching to ConvertKit is saving me $56 a month over what I might be paying at ActiveCampaign with the rise. That’s $672 per yr!
That is, after all, not a 100% complete ConvertKit vs. ActiveCampaign overview. However I wished to provide you a private account from somebody who has really used each of the providers as an alternative of a boilerplate overview.
If in case you have questions on both e mail advertising and marketing software program, let me know.
