This week I made one of the biggest changes I've ever made to my business. I switched email providers from Mailchimp to ConvertKit (affiliate link). While this may not seem like a big deal to some, I've been a Mailchimp user for the last 5 and a half years, it's become the #1 I interact with and grow my audience and by my estimate and I've sent around 15 million emails using Mailchimp. It's a huge behind the scenes change to how my business operates (kind of like a liver transplant for your business). Moving to Convert Kit is a decision that's been years in the making and in this post I'm going to explain what lead to this change.
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I have considered switching to Convert Kit a few times in the past. There were a few things that really attracted me to the platform:
- It's designed for creators and bloggers, like me. After the founder, Nathan Barry, tried to find the right marketing platform for bloggers and creators, he couldn't find what he was looking for and ended up creating Convert Kit.
- Pat Flynn uses it. Among other successful online business peeps, Pat Flynn is now a user and advisor to Convert Kit. I've been following Pat for years and his stamp of approval means a lot.
- Visual automation. Convert Kit's visual automation makes it really simple and easy to map out email sequences and plan your subscriber's journey.
- Simple and clean design. Plain and simple, the platform looks nice to use.
Despite all this, when I've considered migrating in the past, I could never commit to making the leap. The main reason being that I really liked using Mailchimp, it was working well and would be a lot of work to switch for not a lot of extra benefit.
So, why change now?
First of all, I still really like Mailchimp and think it's a great product. Mailchimp has created an awesome brand and a product that's very easy to use.
However, earlier this year, Mailchimp announced that they're changing their focus to become more of an all-around marketing platform. I don't really want all the bells and whistles they have to offer. I'd rather they just focus on email and do it really well (like they have been). Also, Mailchimps target customer is small businesses like e-commerce stores and retailers whereas Convert Kit was designed with people like me in mind.
So, back in May, I decided to make the switch. It's been a lot of work and Convert Kit have helped a tonne along the way to help me re-create all my email sequences and opt-in forms.
Not a lot will change for you, my readers. Emails will now be plain text instead of a stylised HTML email (which I think comes across as more real and genuine). Other than that, I'm still going to be sending the same weekly newsletter every Monday.
Over the coming weeks, Mailchimp will be phased out as subscribers finish various email sequences. Mailchimp has been a central part of my business and I feel like I'm saying goodbye to a long-time friend. But we're ending things on good terms and I'm excited to start my journey with Convert Kit.
If you have any questions about why I switched or how I managed the change, please let me know in the comments below.