ConvertKit is one of the most popular solutions for email marketing, landing pages, and automation – especially for online content creators, bloggers, authors, and influencers.
In this detailed ConvertKit review and tutorial, we‘ll cover everything you need to know, including:
- ConvertKit‘s core features and how they work
- An in-depth look at creating landing pages, email broadcasts, sequences and automations
- Pricing plans and what‘s included at each tier
- Pros and cons of using ConvertKit
- Alternatives to consider
- And much more
By the end, you‘ll have all the information you need to determine if ConvertKit is the right email marketing and automation platform for your needs.
Overview of ConvertKit
What is ConvertKit?
ConvertKit is an all-in-one email marketing and automation solution built specifically for online creators and digital publishers like bloggers, influencers, coaches, and podcasters.
Over 600,000 content creators use ConvertKit to grow their audience and run their email marketing. Some key stats:
- 30 billion emails sent by ConvertKit users over the past year
- Over 1 million landing pages and opt-in forms powered by ConvertKit
- 99.8% average email deliverability rate
What Makes ConvertKit Different?
Unlike other mainstream email service providers, ConvertKit is focused 100% on serving digital creators and bloggers.
It‘s not built for large corporations blasting out promo emails. Instead, ConvertKit gives creators tools to build relationships with their engaged subscribers through broadcasts, sequences, automations and more.
The platform also comes packed with features tailored to creators‘ needs like landing pages, lead magnet delivery, affiliate links, digital products, and detailed analytics for optimizing email performance.
Next, let‘s take a hands-on look at some of ConvertKit‘s key features…
Getting Started with ConvertKit
Signup and Setup
Getting started on ConvertKit is simple and straightforward. Just head to ConvertKit.com and click "Start Free Trial" to create your account.
You‘ll be asked a few quick questions about what you plan to use ConvertKit for and your experience level. This helps tailor your onboarding experience.
After creating a password you‘ll land on your ConvertKit dashboard, which gives you an overview of your account performance. This is also where you‘ll access all areas of ConvertKit.
Template Library
One of the best things about ConvertKit is the massive library of pre-built templates for landing pages, emails, automations and more.
Instead of starting from a blank page every time, you can simply tweak something from the template library to match your brand. This saves a ton of time and effort.
Let‘s check out some of the options…
As you can see, there are templates for pretty much anything you could need including:
- Landing pages
- Opt-in forms
- Welcome emails
- Sales sequences
- Automations
- RSS-to-email
- And more
The templates provide a great starting point, which you can then customize further using ConvertKit‘s drag and drop builders.
Now let‘s look at some of those key builders and features…
Creating Landing Pages and Opt-In Forms
High-converting landing pages and opt-in forms are critical for growing your email subscriber list.
Thankfully, ConvertKit makes it super easy to create beautiful, mobile-responsive pages that capture leads and convert visitors into subscribers.
Building Landing Pages
You can access the landing page builder under Grow > Landing Pages & Forms > Create a landing page. You‘ll then pick a template to customize or start from scratch.
ConvertKit‘s drag-and-drop landing page builder is very user-friendly while still providing extensive customization abilities. You can:
- Add/delete/rearrange elements like text, images, videos etc.
- Customize colors, fonts, padding
- Animate elements
- Connect forms or links to other pages
- Preview mobile responsiveness
And much more. You don‘t need any design or technical skills to build beautiful, effective landing pages that drive conversions.
Once published, you‘ll get a unique URL to share your new landing page. Or you can pop it on your own website using ConvertKit‘s WordPress integration.
Creating Opt-In Forms
Similarly, building high converting opt-in forms is made simple with ConvertKit‘s form builder. Access it from the same Grow > Landing Pages section.
You can choose from different form layout templates and then fully customize things like:
- Fields included
- Submit button text
- Success messages
- Redirect URL after submission
- Email integration
- And more
For example, you may want visitors to download a lead magnet in exchange for their email address. ConvertKit makes it easy to deliver ebooks, checklists, or other files automatically upon form submission.
Between the landing page and form builders, ConvertKit has everything you need to capture more email subscribers and grow your audience.
Next let‘s look at sending emails…
Sending Broadcast and Automated Emails
Once you have an audience, you need tools to send both one-off broadcast emails as well as automated sequences. ConvertKit includes both options:
Email Broadcasts
To send a standard email blast to your subscribers, head to Send > Broadcasts and click "Create an email."
From there, select a pre-made template or start from a blank email builder.
The email editor makes it very easy to put together beautiful, engaging emails with no coding or design skills required. You can:
- Drag and drop text, images, buttons, dividers etc.
- Customize colors and fonts
- Personalize content with merge tags
- Schedule emails
- A/B test subject lines
And more. Broadcasts are great for sending announcements, promotions, or other one-off communications.
Now let‘s look at…
Automated Sequences
For drip campaigns that send a series of emails automatically when subscribers take an action (like joining your list), ConvertKit hasSequences.
Head to Send > Sequences and click "Create a new sequence" to get started.
Pick your starter email then use the right sidebar to add more emails to the sequence. You control the delay between each message.
For example, you may send a "Welcome" email immediately after subscription, followed by a Tip #1 email 2 days later, Tip #2 after 5 more days, etc.
Well-crafted sequences help onboard subscribers, provide ongoing value, and prime them for future offers or broadcasts.
You can create unlimited sequences based around things like:
- New subscriber welcome series
- Content upgrade deliveries
- Shopping cart abandonment
- And more
Of course, ConvertKit provides much more advanced automation as well…
Advanced Automation with ConvertKit
For complex multi-branch automations, ConvertKit includes a visual workflow builder complete with pre-made templates.
Access it under Automate > Visual Workflows and click "Create an automation."
With the workflow builder you can:
- Trigger automations from emails, forms, tags, and more
- Create sequences, wait steps, and multiple branches
- Integrate with apps like Stripe for billing
- Personalize messaging with merge tags
- Set up every little automation detail
And because it‘s a visual builder, you don‘t need any technical skills. You simply drag, drop, and connect the different elements.
There are pre-made templates to cover common automations like:
- Welcome new subscribers
- Win back lapsed contacts
- Upsell current customers
- Reward loyalty program members
- And more…
The automation possibilities are nearly endless, especially since ConvertKit ties into so many other platforms.
ConvertKit Integrations
One of ConvertKit‘s biggest advantages is its seamless integrations with other popular platforms and tools including:
- WordPress
- Shopify
- Zapier (connects with 1,000+ apps)
- Stripe
- Discord
- And many more
Thanks to these integrations you can combine ConvertKit‘s marketing automation power with platforms like Stripe for automatic billing as subscribers join paid communities, Shopify for syncing customer purchase data, webinar platforms, and virtually any other tool you use to run your business.
This is incredibly important because it allows you to leverage ConvertKit‘s automation features across systems.
Up next let‘s discuss monetization options…
Monetization Tools
As you build an audience on ConvertKit, you may want to offer paid products, memberships, or services to subscribers.
Fortunately, ConvertKit comes with multiple built-in monetization features including:
Digital Products
Easily create and sell info products like ebooks, online courses, workshop recordings and more directly within ConvertKit.
Collect payments, instantly deliver digital files, and even set up drip-feed content via automation.
Subscriptions/Memberships
In addition to one-time products, you can also offer ongoing subscriptions for things like:
- Premium newsletter access
- Private community
- Coaching programs
- VIP masterminds
- And more
ConvertKit handles recurring payment processing, content dripping for subscribers, and advanced membership automation.
For example, when someone‘s subscription lapses you can automatically move them into a separate sequence that attempts to win them back and reactivate their membership.
Affiliate Marketing
Encourage subscribers to visit select affiliate offer pages and earn commissions when they purchase thanks to ConvertKit‘s built-in affiliate tools.
You receive unique affiliate links to promote plus the ability to track clicks and sales directly within ConvertKit.
This provides yet another excellent path to monetize your audience.
Now let‘s examine ConvertKit pricing…
ConvertKit Pricing and Plans
One very attractive aspect of ConvertKit is they offer a permanently free plan. Many competitors only provide trial periods then require paid plans.
Here is an overview of ConvertKit‘s pricing tiers:
Free Plan
- 1,000 contacts
- Unlimited landing pages
- Unlimited broadcasts
- Basic email and automation
Creator Plan
- Start $15/month
- Everything in Free plus:
- Unlimited contacts and emails
- Automations
- Advanced deliverability tools
- Facebook ads integration
- Priority support
Creator Pro Plan
- Start $29/month
- Everything in Creator plus:
- Advanced analytics
- Automation templates
- Mail migration tools
- Product fulfillment integrations
- 1:1 strategy help
Overall, ConvertKit strikes an excellent balance between value and affordability. And it‘s specifically designed for creator needs which is a major differentiator from other providers.
Now let‘s summarize some pros and cons…
ConvertKit Pros and Cons
ConvertKit has many excellent features along with some downsides to consider:
Pros
- Specialized for creators/bloggers
- Drag and drop builders
- Great templates
- Powerful automation
- Generous free plan
- Strong deliverability
- Works seamlessly with WordPress
Potential Cons
- Steeper learning curve for advanced features
- No native social media posting
- Can‘t publish blogs directly
Overall though, ConvertKit brings tremendous value specifically for content creators looking to drive traffic, capture leads, and build their email list.
ConvertKit Alternatives
While ConvertKit is great, here are some other options to consider:
- MailerLite – Easy drag and drop editor with free plan
- Drip – Advanced automation for marketing teams
- Mailchimp – Most well-known email provider
Each platform has strengths in different areas. Make sure to thoroughly evaluate your needs and priorities before deciding which solution is the best fit.
Conclusion
We hope this detailed ConvertKit review and tutorial provided helpful information explaining exactly how everything works and what ConvertKit provides.
While it may take some time mastering ConvertKit‘s advanced features, the platform makes it possible for bloggers, creators, and publishers to grow and engage their audiences in ways not possible on other email platforms.
If you want to easily create landing pages, deliver lead magnets, send broadcasts and sequences, set up automations, sell products, and more with email marketing tailored specifically to your needs as an online creator – we definitely recommend giving ConvertKit a try with their extended 30 day free trial.
Visit ConvertKit.com now to get started!
