Over the years I have discovered that the KISS method of marketing has always allowed me to make more money than anything which has been extremely complicated. This website is a great example of that. When I first started it, I had a grandiose plan which encompassed way to many things. Eventually I learned that all I was doing was making things so complicated that there was no way it would be profitable.
Now, by using the KISS Method (Keep it Simple Stupid), I have found that not only is my business easier to run, but it is far more efficient than it has ever been.
In fact, at once point I was going to abandon this website and the ideas behind it, but now I am moving forward with it. I have a clear and simple vision for it which will not only help me, but also help those who visit and join.
By now you are asking yourself: What does this have to do with switching from Convertkit from Active Campaign? It has everything to do with it. Here's why.
From Complex to Simple
First and foremost I have to say I love ActiveCampaign and I still have an account with them. The problem is, the feature set which allowed me to create complex email automations based on user behavior was great, but the processes which allowed me to create email content were not.
I found it was taking me tons of time to create a single email and when I wanted to create an email sequence of any kind, it took forever. It just wasn't what I liked or wanted, so I began to search around for something which had a lot of the same power that ActiveCampaign has, but without the complexity.
Fast forward to July 2016. I was looking through a recommended reading list I put together back in September 2015 and was getting ready to delete it when I saw an old blog post from my favorite WordPress Theme company Thrive Themes. They had posted an article and video showing off their new integration for Convertkit with Thrive Leads. I clicked on the link and ultimately decided to take a look at this new service I had heard a little about, yet didn't really know anything about.
After watching several videos I was taken in by their main marketing message. Email Marketing for Professional Bloggers. But not only that, I was taken in by the "why" in their message. They said they wanted to create something "simple" yet elegant and powerful.
Simple.
With this in mind I decided it was time to take a deeper look. I wanted to see if their version of simple and powerful met my needs and more importantly; allowed me to improve my productivity and streamline my business systems and processes.
Here is what I found.
Subscribers and Integrations
ActiveCampaign integrates with everything. Their API is fantastic and I never had a single issue with getting new subscribers. In fact, using an Exit Pop on my viral sites via Thrive Leads and AC I average over 50 new leads per day per site.
How does Convertkit do after testing? The integration has worked seamlessly for me. In fact, not only does ConvertKit work with Thrive Leads just like AC does. It integrates with WordPress and quite a few of my other favorite tools as well.
Here are a few of their current integrations:
Being able to add new Subscribers via multiple different tools and services is an important feature for me. That being said, one of the things which really pulled me into Convertkit was the fact you can have Subscribers added multiple ways (Forms, Sequences, Tags, Purchases, Link Clicks, etc.).
More importantly though, these Subscribers are only added to your account once. So many services charge you for how many people are on each list you have, but in Convertkit there are no lists. You simply segment your Subscribers based on criteria you set.
Thrive Leads Shortcode could not be rendered, please check it in Thrive Leads Section!
Segmentation and Automation Rules
What does this mean?
It means that when you add a new Subscriber after they download a free ebook from you, the same Subscriber can make a purchase later and still only be added to your account once. Then when you want to send out an email sequence or broadcast, you simply select the Trigger or Segment for whom should receive your email.
The amount of Automation Rules for sending emails is incredible and with this you can also simply create segments of Subscribers for sending email sequences or single newsletter type broadcasts.
You can create even more complex segments in ActiveCampaign, but remember my reason for looking at Convertkit was simplicity. I wanted to simplify my systems and processes and once you see how this all works together seamlessly inside Convertkit you will agree it is very simple and easy to use.
Emails and Email Seqences
As I said in the beginning though, my main frustration with ActiveCampaign has been how long it takes me to create and write an email. If you haven't done this in AC, then you don't know how truly cumbersome it is. AC uses a modular system to build out Newsletters and it isn't easy to simply create a text type email at all.
What's even worse is that while AC thrives on being able to create complex automations for different actions based on user behavior, it can be quite timely to create an email sequence of any kind. It took me an hour and a half to put together a 4-email follow-up sequence for my grilling recipes site.
I was able to do the same type of email sequence in Convertkit in half the time. But even more so than being an efficient setup and system in Converkit, it is laid out so you can ensure all your emails flow together and make sense. They are all laid out in front of you in a very intuitive manner. Subjects and timelines are shown on the left and the actual email is on the right. The email Preview functions are fantastic as well. It is nice being able to see how things will look before you hit the send button.
Take a look: (*Courses are now called Sequences)
Single email blasts are just as easy and you can either create a new segment to send to or send to people you've Tagged, subscribed through a specific Form on your site, Purchased a product from you, downloaded an ebook, or a combination of all or none of these. The bonus is everything is simple and easy to use. I can send an email quickly and get instant feedback and reporting from Convertkit's awesome reporting features.
Conclusion
I'm sure you can tell by now that I am very happy with Convertkit. It might not have all the bells and whistles of ActiveCampaign, but for what it lacks in complexity, it makes up for in being highly efficient. Any tool which allows me to conduct my email marketing faster and better is a tool I need to use and promote to my followers.
So, if you are not happy with what you are using or if you are in the market for a simple, yet powerful email marketing service, I highly recommend Convertkit.
Original article and pictures take getstarted.net site
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