Is ConvertKit Better Than MailChimp for Growing My Email List?
Are you just starting your email list and trying to decide between MailChimp and ConvertKit?
Or, are you wondering if you should switch from MailChimp to ConvertKit?
I’ve used both and – in fact – was a long-time MailChimp user.
After having experienced both, I have some strong opinions about both services.
In this 2019 ConvertKit review, I’ll tell you about why I switched from MailChimp to ConvertKit and haven’t looked back.
I’ll also help you decide if which email software is right for you.
ConvertKit Is Ultimately a Better Choice vs. MailChimp
When you are brand new as a blogger or online marketer, you may want to use MailChimp.
Afterall, it’s free for the first 2,000 subscribers. And it has really pretty templates.
And if you are not going to put much effort into growing your list and you aren’t serious about monetizing it, then MailChimp might be a good fit.
The truth is that I was a loyal MailChimp user before ConvertKit was founded.
It was the best option for me in the early- to mid-2000s.
I ended up upgrading my MailChimp subscription to the $30/month version from the free option pretty quickly, however. In addition to growing my list above 2,000 subscribers, I also wanted access to their paid features which gave my more flexibility. I wanted to organize my subscribers and send the targeted emails to specific people.
Unfortunately, I found even the paid options to be limiting as an online business owner and blogger.
I think offering a number of lead magnets and content upgrades on your blog in order to grow your list should be easy. Unfortunately, with MailChimp, it wasn’t easy.
In fact, trying to hack my way around list segmentation and creating opt-in forms was a downright nightmare.
The platform just isn’t built for list segmentation and email automation and autoresponders.
Now, I’ll always have a softspot in my heart for MailChimp. They are a good platform for me for a while.
The truth is, MailChimp just wasn’t a good fit for me based on the type of business I run.
As a person who runs a business that has multiple online dimensions, I absolutely needed a smarter system that would save me time, improve my email marketing efforts, and scale with my needs as my business grew.
I wanted a system I didn’t have to “hack” in order to make it work for me.
I just knew that there had to be a better solution.
And then Nathan Barry rolled out ConvertKit…
It turns out that – as a blogger and online marketer – Nathan had experienced similar growing pains in his business when it came to email marketing.
He evaluated the available email platforms and realized they were actually preventing him from being strategic with his email list.
So when he couldn’t find the email list system he wanted, he went ahead and created a system from scratch!
Why ConvertKit Outperforms MailChimp for Bloggers and Online Business Owners
If I had to pick just one word to descibe ConvertKit, it would be “smart.”
I like ConvertKit better than other options (especially if you want to monetize your blog and list) because you can easily:
- deliver lead magnets to your audience and tag the lead as interested (over time, this will help you know what your customers are most interested in)
- create many different types of forms for your website and blog
- get great form stats to see which convert best
- segment your subscribers based on which lead magnets they download
- build multiple automated email sequences (super important as your funnels get more sophisticated)
In addition, ConvertKit has a dedicated deliverability team to make sure that emails get into inboxes (instead of junk folders).
This means that the people who opted in to your list are more likely to see all of that important content you send them!
You can try out ConvertKit for free (up to 1 month). Yes, before you commit to using ConvertKit, you can try it out for an entire month for free by using my special link.
Note: Some links on this post are affiliate links and I may earn a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you use them.
