5 reasons I made the switch from Mailchimp to ConvertKit

A couple months ago we made the switch over from MailChimp to Convert Kit and after a few months of using it, I wanted to write up a blog post to share why we switched and why I’m loving Convert Kit so much!  Be sure to stay until the end for a freebie!

Multiple Subscribers

The number one reason I made the switch is that with Mailchimp in order to send a newsletter out, you must choose between one list or another.  So in order to differentiate between the people you’re wanting to target and send a newsletter to, you must choose which list to send to.  In my situation I had a newsletter list for my general subscribers, and I also had a list for everyone who has actually made a purchase through my site.  The problem with that is I have a lot of people who are on both lists, therefore they count for 2 subscribers.

Considering Mailchimp charges monthly depending on the number of subscribers you have, I found myself paying more than I needed because I had subscribers who were duplicated across my lists. In Convert Kit, a subscriber only has to be subscribed once and can be added under any tag, form, or sequence you’d like without being duplicated.

Automation

In Mailchimp I had an auto response set up for subscribers to gain access to our freebies area once they subscribed.  More often than not, this email was never received by the person subscribing.  This resulted in a lot of additional emails and my time spent responding to those emails.  Needless to say, I needed a solution that was a bit more reliable.

In Convert Kit, you can not only set up an Autoreponse, but you can set up an entire Automation Sequence however you want.  For instance, say I want to send an email to someone the moment they purchase a product and then send an email a few days later to check in.  I can easily set that up in Convert Kit and even target that Sequence directly to someone who just purchased the Market theme.  This simply wasn’t possible with Mailchimp, and this feature alone has completely changed the way business is run and has decreased the emails we receive on a daily basis, which is a huge win for us!

Statistics

In Mailchimp, you can see statistics based on the Campaign you send and that’s pretty well it.  I wanted to be able to see more statistics to determine what was and was not working within my newsletters so I knew how to improve and who to target.

In Convert Kit, oh the statistics are amazing!  I can see statistics on my Broadcasts (Mailchimp calls these Campaigns), Sequences, and each individual form.  This feature truly helps us to know what offers are working and what aren’t so we can determine how to tweak things in our marketing efforts.

Target Specific Subscribers

Like I mentioned above I can set up a Sequence to target a specific person who perhaps just purchased a specific theme.  I can also place links within my broadcast and set up automatic triggers based on who actually clicked that link.  This feature is oh so handy so we can direct our newsletters that go out to the people who actually want to receive that information versus junking up someone’s inbox with information they have no interest in.  And let’s face it, we all receive way too much email and I most certainly don’t want to be contributing to that if it’s not necessary.

Another example of this is, say I want to send out a newsletter to just the people who have purchased the Market theme because an update has been issued on that theme.  I don’t necessarily want that email to go to my entire list of over 14,000 people because not all those people have purchased that theme.  I can use the WooCommerce integration which I’ll talk more about in a moment and when someone purchases the Market theme it automatically tags them with that information and I can send those specific people a message at any time!  Total game changer for us y’all!

Integrations

Mailchimp does integrate a lot with other services and software so this isn’t really a reason I switched, but the integrations like I mentioned above with WooCommerce and Convert Kit allow me to use all the other features that Convert Kits offers that we’ve just discussed.  I currently have Convert Kit integrated with WooCommerce, Gravity Forms, Leadpages, and a few others.  This feature allows everything to communicate together nicely and allows me to focus on the other work that needs to get done!

In Conclusion

If you are just starting out, Mailchimp is a fabulous option for you!  I don’t want to bash Mailchimp in any way whatsoever because I do think they have an amazing service and their software is incredibly easy to use for the beginner.  In my own personal situation, I simply outgrew them and needed something a bit more robust.  If you find yourself in those shoes, it might be worth checking out Convert Kit to see how it can help your marketing work better for you!