When looking for the best email marketing service for small business, you have many options to choose from. Two of the most popular services are ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign. This article will compare the two services and help you decide which one is right for you.
Overview of ConvertKit
ConvertKit is an email marketing service targeted towards creators. That is, bloggers, podcasters, and other small business owners who want to build an email list and nurture relationships with their audience. It’s a fairly new platform, having only been founded in 2014, but has quickly gained a following among online entrepreneurs. Their growing audience has earned ConvertKit the honor of being one of the best email marketing service for small business.
One thing that sets ConvertKit apart is its focus on creating automated sequences. These are a series of emails that are sent out automatically to subscribers based on a set of rules that you create. For example, you could create a sequence that sends a “happy birthday” email to subscribers who have their birthday listed in their profile. Or, create a sequence that sends an ebook as a thank-you gift to new subscribers.
ConvertKit also offers a wide range of integrations, including popular platforms like Shopify and WordPress. This makes it easy to add sign-up forms to your website and start collecting subscribers.
Overview of ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is an email marketing service that offers a wide range of features, including:
- Email marketing: Create and send newsletters, autoresponders, and other email campaigns.
- Marketing Automation: Trigger automated marketing sequences based on customer behavior, such as subscribing to a list or making a purchase.
- CRM: Track customer interactions and manage customer data.
- Sales Automation: Automate sales processes, such as creating quotes and orders, tracking leads, and sending follow-up emails.
Overall, ActiveCampaign is a comprehensive email marketing service that can be used to automate a wide range of marketing and sales processes.
Features Comparison of ConvertKit and Active Campaign
If you’re looking for best email marketing service for small business, the features comparison is an important factor to consider.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit offers multiple automation sequences, which lets you create emails sent to subscribers based on their behavior or engagement. You can also tag subscribers based on their interests, so you can target them with specific content.
ConvertKit allows you to create more personalized emails with their merge tags. This lets you insert information like the subscriber’s name into the email content.
ActiveCampaign
Active Campaign offers dynamic content, which lets you change your email’s content based on the weather or the time of day.
Active Campaign offers a variety of automation options as well, but they also offer conditional content. This means that you can show or hide content in your email based on a subscriber’s answer to a question.
Comparing the Two
ConvertKit offers a built-in form builder, while Active Campaign does not. However, ActiveCampaign has integrations with various form builders like Wufoo and Formstack.
So which one is the best email marketing service for small business? It really depends on what features are most important to you.
Pricing Comparison for ConvertKit and Active Campaign
Now let’s compare the pricing. It really depends on the size of your business and the amount of emails you’re sending out, so there is only one that is the cheaper option for everyone.
Let’s start with ConvertKit. For solopreneurs or businesses with fewer than 1,000 subscribers, their pricing is $29 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers or $79 per month for up to 5,000 subscribers. If you need more than that, it quickly gets expensive at $149 per month for up to 10,000 subscribers.
Meanwhile, ActiveCampaign is a lot cheaper for small businesses with less than 500 subscribers; it’s $9/month and that will only increase once you reach over 2,000 subscribers. It then goes up to $49 per month if you have between 2-500 people in your list. Again, if you exceed this number, then it rapidly increases in price.
So when comparing ConvertKit vs Active Campaign in terms of pricing, if your business has fewer than 500 subscribers, it’s probably best to go with Active Campaign as it’ll be cheaper initially; however, if you’re sending lots of emails regularly or exceed 500 people in your list then ConvertKit may be the better option as they offer more user-friendly features and consistent customer service support.
Pros and Cons of ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign
Now that we’ve explored what ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign are and how they work, let’s delve into the pros and cons of each.
Starting with ConvertKit, one advantage is that it is more intuitive and comes with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor. They also have powerful segmenting options, automated funnels, tagging capabilities, and a robust automation dashboard to create complex automations. On the flip side, the email builder is limited to basic templates, there are no A/B testing options for email campaigns and no sign up forms other than embeddable forms.
As for ActiveCampaign, the biggest advantage is its wide range of features. It has an extensive feature set that includes dynamic segmentation capabilities, powerful automation options, impressive analytics capabilities, including A/B testing for emails and sign up forms. On the other hand, it can be overwhelming to use because of its complexity and lack of an intuitive user interface.
Ultimately, it comes down to what you need in your small business – ConvertKit or ActiveCampaign might offer the perfect solution, or a combination of both platforms may work best.
Tips to Choosing the Best Email Marketing Service for Small Business
Now that we’ve inspected the features of ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign, it’s time to consider some tips that can help you choose the best email marketing service for your small business.
The most important thing is to consider the size of your business and what you need from a service provider. Do you plan on having multiple users and sending out a high volume of emails? The number of emails you plan to send and the size of your list can also play a role in selecting an email provider.
Next, consider customer support and integrations. What kind of customer support does each platform offer? How many third-party integrations are available with each service? What kind of tracking and reporting capabilities do they provide? Consider the ease-of-use factor and pricing plans. It’s only possible to look at a service if it’s simple and inexpensive.
Ultimately, when comparing ConvertKit vs. ActiveCampaign to determine which one is right for your small business, it’s important to focus on what matters most: your goals and budget.
Conclusion
ConvertKit is a great choice for beginners because it’s easy to use and offers a wide range of features, while ActiveCampaign is a more advanced platform that offers more features and flexibility.
Ultimately, the best email marketing service for small business depends on your individual needs and what you’re hoping to achieve with your email marketing campaigns. Do your research, try out a few different platforms, and decide which one is the best email marketing service for small business.
