As you begin giving some thought to your email marketing.. the first thing you have to do is decide which service provider will best suit your needs. In checking around you will find two of the major ESP’s are ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign.
You are likely asking yourself.. Which email service provider should I choose? How many emails should I send out each week? Do I need a landing page? If so.. how do I create a landing page? Can any of this be automated? I get it…the questions are endless.
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Sooo, let’s start off with a comparison between the two most popular email marketing services for bloggers.. Convert Kit vs Active Campaign: Which is the best for the Beginning Blogger?
CONVERT KIT (NOW KIT) VS ACTIVE CAMPAIGN:
WHICH IS BEST FOR A BEGINNING BLOGGER?
First of all.. let me start by congratulating you on making the leap toward email marketing! I know it can feel overwhelming when starting off because there is just so much to know and learn. But, when done correctly.. it can 100 percent pay off!
When I first started blogging.. I drug my feet for the longest time on starting any email marketing campaigns. I was like.. What would I say? How often should I contact the people on my list? I don’t want to be a pest.
If you wait until you have answers to every possible question.. you will never get going. Sometimes you just have to jump in and do it. You will figure it all out as you go along. And.. once you start getting it all figured out.. you will find that email marketing can be one of your largest money-making streams!
KIT VS ACTIVE CAMPAIGN – PRICE COMPARISON:
When you are starting out in the blogging world.. there are a lot of necessities you need to purchase to get off to a good start. You don’t want to spend a lot of additional money on tools and accessories until you decide which of these things are going to be of the greatest benefit to you.
Below you will find the pricing comparison between ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign.
Kit Pricing:
ConvertKit offers a free plan with basic features for up to 10,000 email subscribers. The free plan includes unlimited broadcasts, landing pages, and forms.. and you can even tag your audience and sell your own subscriptions or products.
Once you have passed the 10,000 mark.. then you have the choice between the Creator plan and the Creator Pro plan. Both of these plans offer more advanced features such as automation and migration (if moving from a different email marketing service). The cost for these plans depends on the number of subscribers.
To save a bit of money.. you can pay in full for a full year and get two months free!
ACTIVE CAMPAIGN PRICING:
ActiveCampaign does not have a free plan, but they do offer a free 14-day trial. After that.. their plans start at $29/month for the Lite plan and go up from there. All plans include unlimited contacts, unlimited emails, powerful automation and reporting tools, and more. You can see a breakdown of the plans here: ActiveCampaign
KIT VS ACTIVE CAMPAIGN – FEATURES COMPARISON:
ConvertKit (now Kit) and ActiveCampaign do have a lot of similarities and several differences as well in the features they offer. Keep reading to see which features are right for you considering your current blogging stage!
KIT FEATURES:
Kit is solely an email marketing platform.. but it is packed full of features to help you grow your business. Some of the features include customizable opt-in forms, email templates, automation (on the paid plans), segmentation, easy-to-manage subscribers, tagging, analytics and more.
Kit also has an intuitive user dashboard that makes it easy to quickly get up and running with email marketing for beginning bloggers. With ConvertKit, you can easily create and send engaging emails designed to convert your subscribers and drive sales with very little background knowledge of the email marketing world.
They also have a FREE ConvertKit University with 3 complete courses to help you get your email marketing strategy up and running in no time! ConverKit is an excellent choice for beginning bloggers!
ACTIVE CAMPAIGN FEATURES:
ActiveCampaign offers all the same email marketing features as ConvertKit.. as well as additional Sales CRM (customer relationship management) tools embedded within the software.
This makes ActiveCampaign a good choice for bloggers or business owners with a little more experience and/or a larger business.
With ActiveCampaign, you can create automated campaigns that streamline marketing tasks, manage contact lists, send newsletters and automated emails, create segmented customer lists, track website analytics, and so much more.
Additionally.. ActiveCampaign allows you to personalize your campaigns with custom templates, content blocks, and automated workflows. Finally.. ActiveCampaign also offers integrations with third-party apps such as Salesforce, Shopify, and Zapier, so you can easily add additional functionality to your campaigns.
I know that probably sounds like a LOT and if you are a beginning blogger you likely will not need (nor need to understand) all of those additional features. That knowledge and those needs will come with time. No need to overwhelm yourself in the beginning
CONVERT KIT (NOW KIT) PROS AND CONS:
Kit Pros:
- Easy to use, not overwhelming dashboard
- Free ConvertKit University with 3 complete courses
- Free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers
- Unlimited Landing Pages, forms, and broadcasts (even with the free plan)
Kit Cons:
- Limited design capabilities
- Only a few email templates are available
- Limited A/B Testing
- Analytics could be more in-depth
ACTIVE CAMPAIGN PROS AND CONS:
ActiveCampaign Pros:
- Customize your plan options to ensure you aren’t paying for more than you need.
- Easy-to-Use drag-and-drop design feature
- 150+ email templates
- Bundles include email marketing, marketing automation, and CRM tools to close and follow up on all leads.
ActiveCampaign Cons:
- No free plan for beginning bloggers
- Can be a bit overwhelming at first
- You may be paying for more features than you need if you are a beginning blogger
IN CONCLUSION – KIT VS ACTIVE CAMPAIGN:
WHICH DO YOU FEEL IS BEST FOR YOUR NEEDS?
As you can see there are many similarities between the two.. but also some differences. Each one offers great customer service, a plethora of features, and a variety of pricing options.
But, if you are just starting out, I would recommend starting with ConvertKit as they are the only one with a free starter plan. This way.. you can get the feel of email marketing and grow your list without digging into your wallet.
If you end up growing your list past the free point.. then you can consider whether you want to make the switch to Active Campaign in order to take advantage of their other Sales CRM resources and other additional features.
About the Author: Sherry Bennett
Ms. Bennett is a Professional Blogger, who has been earning a living online with niche websites for 25+ years.
Through hard work and dedication, she has turned her passion for blogging into a 7-figure business.. and you can do the same.
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