Why I left FloDesk for ConvertKit
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Okay, okay, –OKAY. You caught me! I’m not using FloDesk anymore.
If you’ve get my weekly emails, you’ve probably noticed some changes over there, and before you say anything else, –I KNOW.
You know I love FloDesk, genuinely. I have about 10 different posts on how to use it and set it up, and I still think it’s a fantastic product.
So why’d I cheat on FloDesk and have an affair with ConvertKit? Ultimately, I outgrew it. Plain & simple.
We just “grew apart.” We aren’t the same people anymore. 😂 Seriously though, I don't even have the same BRAND that I had when I started using FloDesk. My audience is changing, my brand-voice changed, my niche changed, –everything has changed!
I outgrew FloDesk; here’s why & what I’ll miss:
I needed the proverbial “more”
I have always loved FloDesk for its simplicity, but ultimately that’s also its downfall.
I used it for almost 2 years, and I kept hitting walls that frustrated me.
Here are some specific things I wanted that FloDesk couldn’t give me:
more stats and subscriber analytics
simpler freebie delivery automations
better subscriber organization with multiple ways to tag/segment the list
sequences that are separate from automations/workflows
rules, which can be separate or part of automations/workflows
subscriber-specific analytics details
adding (& optimizing) gifs to emails
to tag subscribers who click specific links in an email, without them being in a workflow
they’re not (completely) GDPR or CCPA compliant
And that’s not necessarily an exhaustive list, that’s just what I can think of right at this moment.
What I’ll miss
FloDesk offers things ConvertKit doesn’t, and I’m not ignoring that. In fact, I’ll miss those things, for sure. What are the features I’ll miss most?
allll those wonderful font options
allll those gorgeous design layouts
more email-design control
visual simplicity of the UI
What concerns me going forward with…
ConvertKit
Admittedly, I don’t love the idea of my bill growing with the size of my list. But I also logically know that as your list grows, so does your audience of true fans and along with that potentially your income can grow as well, so the two should at minimum break even with time & growth strategy.
That said, for me, the pros far outweighed the cons here. Real power, organization, automation & stats ultimately trump design any day. *sigh*
FloDesk
Something that concerned me about staying with FloDesk happened after they sent out a survey to pick our brains about some potential new features in the works. Usually, those are exciting! But what triggered my concern was that this survey was asking questions about money. Essentially, it was questions like:
how much extra would you be willing to pay for this or that feature?
what price point would make you consider switching to a competitor?
Frankly, with the missing features I listed above, I wasn’t willing to pay more for FloDesk without them addressing those main issues first and it didn’t seem like they were ready to do that yet.
So, I jumped ship and went back to ConvertKit. I haven’t used them since 2016! That was back when my list had a whopping 14 people on it. ––Okay, okay. It had like 6 people on it; the other 8 were family and friends. 😂
I’ll never bad-mouth FloDesk though.
I do genuinely love what they’re trying to do and commend them for it. After all, they’re the only ones out there with a product like that and offered at a flat rate that doesn’t grow with the size of your list, which is HUGE.
Sadly, as they’re still new to the game, they’re just not up to snuff yet for businesses that need more control & analysis of their subscribers.
My takeaway: I think they’re best for newer businesses or entrepreneurs & solopreneurs who don’t need that much control over their list yet.
Did you switch to FloDesk already? Don’t freak out!
As someone who’s switched email marketing platforms 4x since 2015, I’m here to tell you it’s not impossible to migrate your list more than 1x even if it’s more than 14 people. 😂 But I encourage you to use whatever works and feels the best for YOU, –no matter what the “popular” option may be and whether or not that’s different from whatever you’re using.
If you decide you’ve outgrown it though, it’s totally okay. Last year, a company I follow migrated their 100,000+ email list to a new platform, so if THEY can do it with that size list, so can we. Right?!
Remember: no decision is permanent. You just have to make the best decision that you can for the season you’re in right now, and that’s all you can do. You also have the right to change your mind whenever you need to.
After all, it’s your business!
Don’t feel guilty about all the time & effort you put into the thing you’re abandoning either; just live and learn! That’s how we grow. 😉 No harm, no foul.
