E-mail is definitely 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 changing into a sufferer to algorithmic adjustments (such has these with web optimization and social) that utterly destroy all the expansion I’ve obtained.
- And extra.
I contemplate mine to be a small enterprise as a result of my record has underneath 10,000 folks.
For years I fortunately used ActiveCampaign for my e mail advertising and marketing software program. Their Lite plan provided every part I wanted at an inexpensive price.
However, a few 12 months to a 12 months and a half in the past, I began having extra complaints than compliments and worth will increase got here extra regularly.
This previous April, I acquired an e mail informing me that the speed for my plan can be elevated by $28 a month. That was greater than I used to be prepared to pay.
ActiveCampaign argued that they had been implementing enhancements which might be properly value the fee. As a small enterprise, I don’t want a variety of bells and whistles to make cash so their new options weren’t definitely worth the quantity they had been asking for for my part.
I started to test round to get suggestions for brand spanking new e mail advertising and marketing software program. A robust majority of on-line pals gave me their private ConvertKit evaluation. Once 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 evaluation 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 submit)
ActiveCampaign Pricing & Plans
There are execs and cons with ActiveCampaign’s pricing construction as a result of it has extensive 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 price that comes with that. Nonetheless, if you’re approaching board for the primary time, you may end up compelled right into a a lot greater tier due to these extensive gaps.
When you’ve got 5,100 subscribers, for instance, you’ll have to begin and pay for the ten,000 stage.
ActiveCampaign Options
Loads of options are frequent between ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit, however listed here are just a few I preferred and used every day.
- Versatile cut up testing. I had the choice of sending one of many check emails to a portion of my record to find out the winner. Then the profitable topic line can be despatched to all the opposite subscribers.
Or, I may cut up the check between the 2 topic strains, and ship it out all on the similar time.
- Making adjustments. If I made a decision to vary the ship date or time, if I wished to tweak one thing within the e mail, or make different adjustments, I may try this with out having to unschedule the e-mail.
- Shaded packing containers. Utilizing shaded packing containers to focus on data or draw consideration to vital data was easy with the clicking of a few hyperlinks.
What I Did not Look after 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 so on. When evaluating ConvertKit vs. ActiveCampaign, the ConvertKit costs are decrease general. Nonetheless, as a result of the tiers should not as far aside you’ll get extra financial savings for not being compelled to leap to a a lot greater stage.
ConvertKit Options
As I discussed beforehand, there are numerous frequent options between ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit (and most different e mail advertising and marketing software program). Listed here are just a few I significantly like with ConvertKit.
- Cleaner interface. To me, ActiveCampaign’s, interface appears outdated and relatively cluttered. I believe ConvertKit’s interface is rather more open, cleaner, and simpler to make use of.
- Stats abstract is simpler to search out. New subscribers, engagement, and e mail efficiency statistics can be found conveniently on the house web page.
- Searchable segments and different dropdowns. Searching for a phase to ship an e mail to? You’ll be able to search the dropdown record to search out it instantly as an alternative of scrolling without end to search out what you want. The identical holds true for a lot 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 due to 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 via a number of menus to search out. This makes it rather more simplistic to see how particular person mailings carried out.
- Phenomenal help. The help crew is quick, correct, and goes properly past the decision of obligation.
- No mailing glitches, up to now.
That is clearly not an exhaustive record of options, relatively those that I exploit most every day. And don’t neglect, ConvertKit has a sophisticated Creator Professional plan that provides extra options than the Creator plan.
What I don’t particularly look after is:
- It’s essential to unschedule an e mail to make any adjustments to it after which schedule it once more.
- Cut up testing is simply completed in a method. ConvertKit sends each topic strains to a portion of your record. Then 4 hours later the profitable topic line is distributed to the rest of your record. This makes it extraordinarily troublesome to check final name emails which have an outlined lower off time. You additionally can’t check the physique content material; solely topic strains.
- No fast shaded packing containers. You’ll be able to accomplish this manually, nevertheless, if you happen to use HTML.
- A number of tags can solely be added to clickable hyperlinks if you happen to 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 evaluation wouldn’t be full with out a nod to the ConvertKit migration crew. They had been unbelievable!
My VA and I had a pre-migration Zoom name to ensure every part can be lined up correctly, and that we knew what to anticipate, earlier than we ever began. We had been requested to present an summary of our ActiveCampaign use and we had been allowed to ask questions on how particular options labored in ConvertKit.
Then we had been assigned a private migration consultant that we communicated straight with. Working inside a crew platform, we had been capable of attain our consultant in a really well timed method about any points or questions we had.
There have been a few issues that wanted slightly massaging to get them to work the way in which we wished together with just a few together with just a few visible automations. However the ConvertKit crew acquired it completed and did all of it in a well timed method. Oh! Did I say that migration companies are free?
I’ve been via different migration processes for e mail advertising and marketing software program, web site, internet hosting and extra. I have to say that is the smoothest expertise I’ve had.
General, once I evaluate what I used to be paying for with ActiveCampaign (and what I used to be about to must pay after the speed hike) switching to ConvertKit has made rather 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’d be paying at ActiveCampaign with the rise. That’s $672 per 12 months!
That is, after all, not a 100% complete ConvertKit vs. ActiveCampaign evaluation. However I wished to present you a private account from somebody who has truly used each of the companies as an alternative of a boilerplate evaluation.
When you’ve got questions on both e mail advertising and marketing software program, let me know.
