What is ConvertKit?
ConvertKit is an email marketing software created by Nathan Barry.
And unlike many of the other email software out there, ConvertKit was made primarily for online creators.
People who have an audience and want to keep in touch with them.
Because if that is you, having an email list is vital, because the audiences you currently have on Instagram, Youtube, or Twitter for example are on rented land, which means that all those years of hard work, sweat, and tears building that could be taken away from you.
And a way to have insurance for your audience is with an email list with ConvertKit being made specifically for your needs.
So, this is you, you can sign up for ConvertKit with a 14-day free trial by clicking here (No credit card required).
Once you’ve done that, you can come back here and I’ll take you through setting up your account.
Signing up
If you don’t have an account already, then simply go to this link here and get started with setting up your ConvertKit account:
ConvertKit offers free plans for up to 300 subscribers, but features are super limited for this plan and would highly recommend getting the next one up which is called the Creator Plan.
Another thing worth mentioning, like most other email-sending software, ConvertKit’s pricing works on a sliding scale.
So, the more email subscribers you have, the more you’ll be paying each month (Or annually, depending on what you decide).
If you want to look into that more, you can click here.
And don’t worry, when you first sign up it’s a free 14-day trial (And you don’t have to enter your credit card) so you can get to grips with it first and see if you like it before you start paying for it.
Creating a lead magnet
Unless you have a massive audience that will automatically sign up to your email list because you’ve already built up that trust, then I’d highly recommend creating a lead magnet.
So, if you are to build a lead magnet, this would entail creating a free course, checklist, or some sort of free resource for your audience in exchange for their email address.
And make it clear to the audience that when they sign up for your lead magnet, they’re then being added to your mailing list.
This is possibly one of the most common ways to build up your email list.
Here’s an example of mine that you can take inspiration from:
“How to create A+ Emails in 40 Minutes Or Less”
Setting up email opt-in
When you go to set up your email opt-in, this is what you’ll see:
As you can see, you can either choose a form or a landing page.
The form is for if you have a website, and want to embed an email opt-in or pop-up to gather subscribers.
If you want to see an example of this, simply go to my homepage – EmailMaximalist.com and you can see there is an email opt-in for my lead magnet (You’ll also have been hit with a pop up as well, so these are two examples of the form).
But if you don’t have a website, then don’t worry.
One of the great things about ConvertKit is that you can host almost your entire business with the ConvertKit software.
From your email list to your website and your digital products.
As you can see, you can pick from a number of different landing pages to fit your needs.
You can also either use a convertkit domain name or get your own, I would recommend spending the $14/year (Or whatever it is) as it looks way more professional.
Plus – if you want to make some slight edits to your landing page, you can do so with some CSS code.
But if you don’t feel confident doing this yourself, I’d highly recommend getting on the ConvertKit live chat as, from experience, it is top-class.
And they’re always more than willing to help with these kinds of things.
Setting up an email sequence
One thing I notice with people who own email lists is the lack of email sequences that are set up.
And when done correctly, they can be extremely useful.
For example, one of the most powerful sequences you can set up is your welcome sequence, here are a few stats if you’re still not convinced:
- Email welcome sequences generate 4x more opens and 5x more click-through rate than regular email marketing campaigns (InboxArmy)
- Welcome emails can create an 86% lift in unique open rate. (Entrepreneur)
- 74% of consumers expect a welcome email as soon as they subscribe. (WordStream)
If you want to set up your own email sequence in ConvertKit, simply go to the ‘Automate’ button in the header and then click on ‘Visual Automations’ as seen in the screenshot below:
From this, you’re then presented with a number of different options to pick from.
After choosing which one you want, you’re taken to the visual automation builder.
Here’s a screenshot of mine:
As you can see, you can have multiple lead magnets and email opt-ins linking to the same email sequence which is extremely useful.
If you want a more in-depth guide on how to do this, you can click here.
Import your list from your previous email sending software
If you have a pre-existing email list on say… MailChimp (🤒), then you do have the option to get your whole list migrated over to ConvertKit for free!
Yep, it’s true. Completely for free.
And if this is you, then you simply click here to get started.
Before you go -
If you haven’t already seen it, I recently put together a guide on how I create emails for myself and my clients.
It’s everything I’ve learned over the past couple of years distilled into a simple and easy-to-consume guide.
You can get it by clicking here.
And, if you have any questions that I haven’t mentioned, either send me an email at jamie@Emailmaximalist.com
Or Just send me a DM on Twitter @EmailMaximalist
