List Building

ConvertKit Review 2024 (for Mom Bloggers & Why I Switched from Mailchimp)

Let me guess:

You’ve been blogging for a while, and now you want to start an email list (ConvertKit can help you!) and here’s my Convertkit review for you!

No, wait…

Maybe you aren’t even thinking about an email list, let alone growing it because your main focus at this moment is to generate income from your blog. Well, I’ve got a secret for you – money is in the list.

If you’re a mom blogger, one of the best things you can have is an email list.

You don’t need a product to sell, and you don’t need a lot of popular services or tools to make cool landing pages or opt-in forms (those are the forms where visitors enter their name and email address and in return, usually get a free resource – that you created).

And that’s why this ConvertKit review is super helpful. Using Convertkit means no coding or no hard steps. Everything is there for me from landing page options to different types of optin forms – they got you mama!

Mom bloggers can and should have an email list. Here’s why.

Convertkit Review for 2023

What is Convertkit Used for?

Before we get into the importance of email marketing and how Convertkit can help you scale your blog into a legit business, I wanted to cover what Convertkit really is.

Convertkit is used for managing your email marketing strategy. If you started a blog, you need an email list to get to know your readers. You do this by providing a lead magnet – a checklist or eBook for example – and when people sign up to your free guide, they are put onto your Convertkit email list.

Now you can email your new subscribers your latest blog post or any promotional deals you have.

So, now let’s get into using email for your blog!

Email Lets You Know Your Audience On a Deeper Level

To start this Convertkit review let’s talk about understanding your audience on a deeper level.

As a mom blogger, we blog about a variety of things – from home decor to homeschooling to marketing to breastfeeding and more.

We create info-packed posts with beautiful Pin graphics in hopes of someone reading it, commenting and wanting to learn more about us and our blog.

Amiright?

You crave that connection with your readers. You LOVE when you receive a comment, are over the moon when someone shares your content and are surprised when readers email you for advice!

Well, an email list is so much more than all of that. It’s a personal message you give to loyal followers.

When someone gives up his or her email address in exchange to learn more about you, it’s like gold! They are the ones that will tell their followers about you and connect with you.

Don’t you want to communicate with your audience on a more personal level? Having an email list does that for you.

Email Trumps Social Media

You own your email list; you don’t own your social media followers. If Pinterest decides to close its doors (heaven no!), then you have no more Pinterest followers. Or worse, if they ban you!!

I almost had an anxiety attack when I COULDN’T LOG INTO PINTEREST when I was new to blogging!!!

Growing your social media followers is nice and everything – and it can help you grow your brand and credibility – but there is no real connection with your followers. They may not see every time you post, and you can only hope they will see your next posting.

At least with email, you’re in a subscriber’s inbox, and for a lot of bloggers, this is a sacred place.

Only the best of the best are in many blogger’s inboxes. So, when they open and read your email, that’s a small win for you! And, guess what?

Using ConvertKit can increase your deliverability. This means your email won’t go to Gmail’s promo tab but to their inbox. Many other email service providers like MailerLite fail to reach your subscriber’s inbox many times.

Email Converts Better Than Any Other Medium

Are you interested in making some money on your blog?

Maybe it’s with affiliate marketing, or maybe you want to write an eBook or create a course. Whether it’s a digital product or not, stats have proven time and time again that email yields higher conversion rates than social media and other mediums.

Why?

Because email is personal and people sign up to lists for a purpose. And when you are transparent, authentic and personal with your subscribers, they will stay with you and buy from you time and time again.

And with my ConvertKit review, this process seamless and easy.

Do you want to start an email list? You should do it sooner rather than later.

The earlier you can start your list, the better chance you have at monetizing your site successfully and connecting with your subscribers.

The question then becomes, how do I start and grow an email list?

Is ConvertKit Better Than MailChimp? 

MailChimp is a great email service provider for new bloggers. Don’t get me wrong. I used MailChimp for years (and I still do for one of my lists). But, at that time, I had a lot of help from my husband and I wanted to find a way to do email marketing on my own.

I found MailChimp limiting at that time.

I wasn’t generating more subscribers because I wasn’t creating a lot of freebies for my visitors.

At times, I also needed tech support from my husband to switch things or move things over.

But, once I switched to ConvertKit and was able to use their features, my subscriber rate soared! And it continues to soar.

Every month I gain around 1,000 new subscribers! Wh-what?

I think that’s incredible – and my email list started growing in only one month of switching!

As soon as I switched to using ConvertKit, I more than doubled my daily subscriber rate.

My ConvertKit Review for 2023

Let’s go through the three big reasons why you should use ConvertKit.

1. You Can Use ConvertKit For Free (Up to 1 Month)

If you use my special ConvertKit link, you are eligible for one month free! Yes (so that’s not bad if you switch email providers. You’re only paying for two accounts for one month instead of two!).

Does Convertkit have a free version? Yes!

You can start using ConvertKit for an entire month and grow your email list for free! When I started using ConvertKit it was on December 20th. For the next 30 days or so I gained 889 new subscribers!

Imagine how much you can grow your email list using ConvertKit during that one-month free trial? It’s awesome because you can test it out and see for yourself.

Don’t think you can grow your list that fast?

When you sign up to ConvertKit, they will walk you through how to use their platform and give you help on creating your forms.

How much is ConvertKit monthly? The Creator plan offers a 14-day free trial and then $29/month for your first 1,000 subscribers.

Keep reading my ConvertKit review, because I’ll show you exactly how I grew my list this fast in barely a month.

2. No Tech Involved to Make Your Forms and Landing Pages

Put your nerd girl glasses away – and no more emails or text messages to your web developer – because ConvertKit is a rockstar when it comes to making you a Mom #Boss.

ConvertKit helps turn your mom blog into a mompreneur blog! Aw, snap! Such a profesh feel, right?

There are more awesome features that you get when you sign up to ConvertKit it’s insane:

  • Automations are a breeze to do. You set it and forget it.
  • You can tag your subscribers (and don’t have to pay for subscribers twice if they sign up for more than one freebie you offer) based on which freebie they signed up to, which landing page they used or any other criteria that can help you categorize your subscribers. This helps nurture your list and provide the BEST value to the right subscriber.
  • Super easy to create an email series – they are called sequences in ConvertKit – which is perfect for free email courses or a welcome series to introduce new subscribers to your list.
  • Makes segmenting your list easy. You can send newsletters to only a portion of your list just by using tags. For example, I don’t send my weekly newsletters to my subscribers that are in my welcome series.
  • You can make an opt-in form, place it in your blog post in minutes. I’ll show you how to do this in a bit.

3. Bonus Feature: Trigger Links

If you’re ready to sell your own product or use affiliate links, ConvertKit makes it easy to set up a trigger links for people that want to still be on your email list, but don’t want to get any of your pitches or launch emails.

Maybe they aren’t interested in the affiliate product you are promoting in your emails. This is a great feature because it reduces your unsubscribe rate and retains your valuable subscribers on your list. And because they opt-out of one launch, that doesn’t mean they will opt-out on another one, so trigger links are a definite win-win.

To see it action, here’s what Krista does in her emails:

Personally, the features I mentioned are the ones that really convinced me that ConvertKit was for me. And what was best was that using these features were easy for a non-techie like me. Plus a great added feature for you is you can use ConvertKit completely free for a month!

Enjoying this ConvertKit review so far?

So, how do I use ConvertKit? Here are the four ways I use ConvertKit to help me grow and nurture my email list.

1. Creating a Form

A form is a sign-up form on your blog so that visitors can sign up and become a subscriber to your list. Usually, these forms can be placed on a sidebar, within a post, at the bottom of your post or as a pop-up.

There are three ConvertKit forms to choose from:

The one I use the most is the first one. When you click on Inline, you get more options to customize your inline opt-in form:

It’s fully customizable, which is great since you can make it fit your brand on your blog. This is what a form might look like:

2. Creating a Broadcast

ConvertKit calls email newsletters that you send your subscribers broadcasts. It’s up to you how often you want to send broadcasts to your list. I send my list an email once a week.

If you’re not sure what to send your subscribers, check out this post where I give you eight email ideas.

Some features of the ConvertKit broadcast are:

  • You can easily send a re-send of your broadcast. By “double dipping” you can increase your open rate.

  • ConvertKit makes it easy to set up your merge tags. This means you can personalize your broadcast with your subscriber’s name. What’s a bit unique is that it has the option for a fallback message. So, if a subscriber didn’t use their name when they signed up, there’s a fallback message that you can set up (or use ConvertKit’s default fallback message) for those subscribers.

These three features – sending a resend, segmenting my list and using a personal intro – helps me nurture my email list. This makes your subscribers comfortable and enjoy what you are sending.

Your emails no longer are marketing emails to get people to buy; they are personal emails that are given to the right subscriber.

3. Creating a Sequence

A sequence is a series of emails that are automated. This means you don’t have to send out an email each and every time. You create a series of emails to be sent out.

I use ConvertKit’s sequences as a welcome series for new subscribers. It’s a great way to introduce new people to your list about your blog and yourself. You can also set up sequences for a free email course or your sales funnel.

And what’s awesome about ConvertKit is how easy it is to set up a sequence. When setting up your sequence, ConvertKit gives you prompts for each day.

For example, if you have a product and you want to welcome new subscribers and tell them about your product, ConvertKit says that on day 4 of your sequence you should deliver a soft sell and on day 6 to deliver your hard sell.

If you’re new to email marketing, this is a great template for new bloggers with a product or service.

4. Automations and Tags

The heart of using ConvertKit is their easy automations and tagging system.

These two features alone is what can turn your blog into a business. It’s the beginning of email marketing and what can help you monetize your blog, earn more sales and grow a targeted email list.

And what I love about ConvertKit is how logical their automation system is.

You set a trigger – if a subscriber completes a sequence – and then set the action – the subscriber is tagged. For example, I tag all my subscribers based on how they came into my list.

This helps me segment my list so that I can focus on giving them value each time I email them. Here is one automation rule I set up for my list:

This automation rule says that when someone subscribes to my Mom Boss Vault, they are immediately tagged and put in the welcome series.

This rule even goes further; when they are finished with the welcome series, they are tagged that they completed the series.

Tagging just helps categorize your subscribers. This helps you keep your list clean and nurtured, something that I LOVE about ConvertKit.

ConvertKit now has visual automations to make it even easier to set up funnel systems for when a person signs up to your freebie.

My Convertkit Review for Mom Bloggers

ConvertKit can make it happen for you mamas! Their platform is totally easy to use (even for this tech illiterate person), and it’s fast.

And for time-starved mamas like myself, this is perfect to help me automate my business growth. And, you can get a month free to try ConvertKit out! Love it!

Tell me in the comments if you’re excited to use ConvertKit and if you enjoyed my ConvertKit review!

Learn the tactics successful bloggers use to grow their list to hundreds every month

Ramp up your email list in only 30 days

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95 Comments

what a great post thank you for sharing affordable content writing servicesReply to amanda
I have an email list but it is slow going. Is it better to import it into Substack to grow it faster? Do I have to ask for people’s permission again to email them from a 3rd party email provider? Thank you!Reply to Nicole
Hey Nicole, Not sure about your question. I don’t use Substack so not sure if that would work or if you could do this? Maybe ask Convertkit or Substack? As for asking permission again, you can do this but it’s best to offer them something like a lead magnet to opt into and let them know they are going on Substack.Reply to Elna
I am still learning about email marketing. Your post has helped me understand it a lot better. Great post. Thanks for sharing.Reply to Angela
Hi Angela, That’s great to hear! If you have any more questions reviewing Convertkit as your email service just ask me!Reply to Elna
Thank you for this detailed post! I have been trying to figure out how to start an email list! This was of great help.Reply to Kunika
Hi Kunika, So glad my Convertkit Review post helped you start an email list! BTW love your blog!Reply to Elna
Hi Elna. I have just discovered your web site as I embark on the world of blogging! Thank you for sharing your expertise! My question is, should a blog have both a Contact Form and an Opt-In Form? I’m wondering if having just an Opt-In form negates the need for a Contact Form? Or is it the Contact Form that lets readers ask question, connect one-to-one, etc.? Thank you so much! KJReply to KJ
Hi KJ! Excellent question. A contact form is just for questions related to your blog and business. People can contact you for sponsorships, just to ask for mentoring and basic questions or let you know something is wrong with your blog (like your comments don’t work). I personally like having a contact page. An opt-in is an email incentive to help your readers with a problem. It usually is a quick solution. Once a reader opts-in they are added to your email list on Convertkit. In CK you can email your list things about your blog and business! I hope this helps!Reply to Elna
From one busy mama, to another… thank you so much for your help and for taking the time to reply! I’ll go ahead and work on my Contact Me page now because I think that will be an easier place for me to start.Reply to KJ
I’m using mailerlite right now and want to switch. Does convert kit transfer over all the sequences and opt in forms or does everything have to be redone ? ThanksReply to Angela
Hi Angela, I would ask Mailerlite or someone that has switched from Mailerlit to CK to see if that’s what happens. I assume everything will be there!Reply to Elna
I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to start an email list! This has been SOOOO much help! I can’t wait to get started!Reply to Brittany
Hi Brittany! Awesome! Good luck on starting your email list using Convertkit! It’s one of the best email services I’ve used!Reply to Elna
Elna, I really appreciate your taking the time to create this post and for sharing it with us. I took your class and thought I had learned all there was to learn but then I come across this post. I am currently a convertkit user but I have no idea how to actually grow that list. I have tried making freebies but still I have no subscribers. Any tips for me? Your help is greatly appreciated!Reply to Brittanie
Hi Brittanie, I think the biggest barrier to list growth is finding that right freebie idea. It’s okay to create multiple freebie ideas until one clicks. This is what I did with Twins Mommy. This post might help you find more freebie ideas: https://twinsmommy.com/ideas-grow-email-list/Reply to Elna
Ahh. I need to make more time to read your blog. It’s always very helpful.I’m sure you get that all the time, but my dream is to have a comment section as full and inspiring as yours! I’ve been puttin money aside for my convertkit for a while now and then I thought you will probably have an affiliate link somewhere that I can use and help add up some $.. Thank you so much for the detailed tutorials on how to build forms and such. I’ll be coming back as soon as I migrate from Mailchimp which is happening tonight!!Yey!Reply to Delia
Hey Delia! Yes, ConvertKit really is a great deal in the long run! Enjoy using it!Reply to Elna
Elna, You’ve done it again! Although…I was recently re-studying your Mailchimp course because your style of teaching is WONDERFUL and somehow you make anything make sense to me! I was stuck formatting something in Mailchimp and just went to my “Elna” folder, pulled up your course and voila…question answered. Now I guess I’ll have to check out your CK course because I’ve tried CK TWICE but just couldn’t make sense of little things during segmenting or the part you talked about where you can give the option for someone to opt out of one TYPE of email but not another…I was lost and frustrated 🙁 But if you finally moved on up, there’s hope for me yet! Take care friend, JessReply to Jessica
Thank you so much! This was very helpful! I’m brand new to blogging and am determined to get started right. After reading this blog post, along with a few others, I’ve decided to get started with Convert Kit.Reply to Bobbi
Hey Jessica! Yes, I took the MC course down because it just needed too much updates and it’s not a hot course right now. So it’s been “put down.” CK is awesome and if you ever need help there are a lot of tutorials around and you can also ask CK too!Reply to Elna
Hi Elna, That is a great post and a wonderful review. I know this is kind of unrelated but what plugin do you use for your fantastic comment section.Reply to Aaron
Hi Aaron, Thanks for stopping by! Love your blog by the way! Very informative! For my comments section, I just use WordPress’ built in comments and Subscribe to Comments Reloaded for the email notification. It could be different depending on the theme you use! I hope this helped!Reply to Elna
Hello Elna, O’ve been looking into mailing list for about a month. I heard a lot about mailchimp but I can’t figure out how to use it. I will look into Convertkit. Thanks for the review and the free month.Reply to Marie-Lou
Hi Marie-Lou, Yes, Mailchimp is a bit challenging for the average bloggers. It is designed for big brands and businesses. I did have a intro to Mailchimp course a while back but took it off the market because of all the new updates they did and the fact that I primarily use ConvertKit!Reply to Elna
Hi Elna, I know that I need an email list! It’s a bit scary thinking about it when I’m still figuring out what direction to take the blog in. I’m currently using Mailchimp but am ready to take my blog to the next level! Thank you for your honest review and a free month too!Reply to Tranda
Hi Tranda! That’s awesome to hear! Yes, I still love Mailchimp, but it’s hard for me to grow my list with this service. I find Convertkit a thousand times easier to grow my list! Glad list building is your goal right now!Reply to Elna
Hey Elna!! I’ve been a silent follower for sometime and I had to say thank you so much for writing this post. It truly helped me to understand why Convert kit is better than MailChimp. You are awesomeReply to Tamanna
Hi Tamanna! Thanks so much! Yes, ConvertKit is looking more and more the 1 email service provider for bloggers!Reply to Elna
Elna, you make it sound so easy. I’ve had ConvertKit for a couple months and haven’t set up anything. I know, it’s such a waste. Email marketing is the most overwhelming part of the whole blogging thing for me – because managing the software is so far outside my convert zone. Thanks for simplifying some of it!Reply to Erica
Hi Erica! You’re welcome! Yeah, learning a new tool like ConvertKit can be a challenge. But, coming from MailChimp I found the comparison night and day! ConvertKit is intuitive so stick with it! There are a lot of tutorial videos on YouTube so make sure to check those out!Reply to Elna
Thank-you for this detailed post! I was feeling a bit overwhelmed on how to generate an email list, but now I feel like I can take this on 🙂Reply to Sarah
Hi Sarah! That’s awesome! I love hearing this! Email marketing is essential to help you create a successful blog for sure! Have fun using ConvertKit!Reply to Elna
Such an in-depth review! I’m saving this for later because tomorrow I’m starting the unit about creating an email list in the blogging course I’m taking. This will be very yseful. I am using mailchimp for now but I hate that I can’t connect a certain freebie to a segment in my list. I have a couple categories on my blog and segmenting would most likely make a huge difference. Looking forward to using convertkit once I get the money for it:(Reply to Delia
Hey Delia, Thanks so much for coming over! Yeah, CK is an easy email service provider for bloggers for sure! I’m not tech-y person and CK was easy for me!Reply to Elna
Elna, I have to admit I have been in the blogging industry for several years. I learned so many tricks on email marketing from your article. I took a look at ConvertKit as you suggested, it looks much better than other email marketing tools out there.Reply to Joanna
Hi Joanna! Thank you so much! Yes, ConvertKit really is simple to use. I am horrible with tech and if I can use CK on my own, then anyone can 🙂Reply to Elna
Hey Elna, Your insights are very helpful, particularly for someone just starting with the email list like me. Mailchimp simply crushed my nerves and eyes 🙂 with their design from the first moment. And ConvertKit seems to be half of the world’s choice these days.Reply to Lorraine
Hey Lorraine! I use MC, CK and Drip and I like all of them. All have limitations but MC has the most features and customization for you!Reply to Elna
Thank you so much for this post! I’ve struggled with this for awhile and ready to step it up. Thanks for your help!Reply to DeeDee
Hey Dee Dee, Thanks so much! So happy to here you are figuring out email marketing for mom bloggers! Yay! Enjoy ConvertKit!Reply to Elna
Hi Elna How do you get the pictures with your blog posts on the list of blog posts page? Does it depend on what theme you choose?Reply to Pauline
Hi Pauline, I’m not really sure what you mean about my blog posts. I have horizontal posts on my blog and then when you click on it, it’s a Pin image as my feature image.Reply to Elna
Hi Elna I tried signing up for freebies from your first email form but it went to Convert Kit?? I am loving your posts and videos. I am learning so much from you. I have recently started a personal finance blog, The Penny Genie but have a long way to go drawing traffic etc. I will be working on freebies and infographics this week. Thanks for all the great information. Have a great day.Reply to Pauline
Hey Pauline, Yes, right now I’m in ConvertKit, MailChimp and Drip for my email lists 🙂 As you can see I LOVE me some email 🙂 Good luck creating your freebie!!!Reply to Elna
HI! Does growing your email list matter if you are a new blogger and do not have a product or service you are selling yet?Reply to Mariella
Hi Mariella! That’s a great question! You have to look at your end goal. What’s your goal for starting an email list and wanting to grow it? Do you eventually want to monetize your list? If that’s the case great. You should start to grow it. But if you want to start a list to grow your brand only, then it’s up to you if you want to actively grow it or just grow your brand online. When I started my Twins Mommy list, I didn’t have a product to sell. It was almost a year later that I started marketing my affiliate types of post. So it’s okay to start a list and build it now and wait until you have a product or affiliates.Reply to Elna
Thanks for your tips. I keep coming back because of all of the great information you share! I would not have thought about the opt out when making a switch from a free provider to convert kit. Thanks for letting us know!Reply to Chanele
Thanks Chanele! Glad you enjoyed the post!Reply to Elna
Thank you! Great post! I just launched a blog and have been trying to decide what program to go with and you have definitely helped me decided! I am going to give it a try.Reply to Jacque
Hey Jacque, You’re welcome! Glad you found an email service provider!Reply to Elna
What a fantastic post! Thank you so much for sharing your insights! After months of hearing about ConvertKit, your article has finally convinced me to make the change. 🙂Reply to Dana
Hey Dana! <3 Thank you so much! I <3 ConvertKit so much. I just hope it's robust enough as my list is growing as well as my sales funnels!Reply to Elna
Thank you so much for your very helpful information!!Reply to Tachina
Thanks so much! Glad you found this helpful for starting an email list with ConvertKit!Reply to Elna
Hi Elna! Once again you’ve answered almost all my questions abour using CK! I’ve had doubts and was looking for some other solution but in the end cheaper or not, this is the email paltform to subscribe to! Many thanks!Reply to Céline
Hi Céline! Thanks so much. Glad you found the right email service provider for your needs! I love ConvertKit and it’s made my life easier for sure!Reply to Elna
Great post! I feel like I am on the right track I just need to keep creating my content. What program did you use to create your video above? I love ConvertKit since I switched a couple months ago. I am still setting up all the great features.Reply to Brenda
Hi Brenda! Thanks so much. I actually just use Quicktime for my videos (I’m so old school!). I know you’ll get going soon!Reply to Elna
Ok. SOLD! I don’t know if this post was before or after my email to you about this topic (sort of) but THIS is what needed!! Trying to set up MailChimp has been a thorn in my flesh. My only question is…can I/should also get rid of Sumo Me? I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of email marketing and I haven’t even STARTED, so I just want to come back to earth. Thank you! I will share this!Reply to Xani
Hey thanks so much! As for SumoMe, you can use that since it’s not related to your email service provider (although you can do some form of emailing with SumoMe but it’s limited). Go with CK! 🙂Reply to Elna