ConvertKit is an example of a niche focused business.
And the focus is authors and bloggers. Nathan Barry was (and still is) running a very successful self publishing business of his own and found that the majority of his sales came through promotions he made to his mailing list. But he began to have problems. There were not enough options in his email software to segment people according to purchase history, interest levels, and more. The frustrations became so great that he decided to create his own solution, and ConvertKit was born. On this episode you’ll hear how Nathan came up with the idea, what ConvertKit can do that other email providers can’t, and why it’s the ideal choice for authors and bloggers.
I already purchased your book. Why do you keep asking me to buy it?
That’s an example of just one of the complaints Nathan was getting from his mailing list that forced him to create an email solution of his own. Tremendous success selling his books enabled him to be in touch with many of his customers – but his email software at the time didn’t have a way of excluding people who had already bought his books from receiving a second or third email encouraging them to buy. Nathan gives a quick walk through of the features of his software and highlights why it’s the perfect solution for authors.
ConvertKit is created by authors and bloggers, for authors and bloggers.
And that really matters. As an author you have some unique needs about interacting with the fans who have opted in to your mailing list. You want to be able to address them uniquely, according to purchase history, interests, needs, and more. Nathan and his team have created a customized solution for authors and bloggers and its growth has truly been phenomenal. You’ll find out what all the fuss is about on this episode of The Self Publishing Formula podcast.
How Does ConvertKit compare to MailChimp?
Many self published authors start out building an email list with MailChimp’s free plan. It enables them to get the basic features of an email list up to a certain number of subscribers. It’s a great way to get started from scratch that Nathan says is the way to go for most authors. But when you have a thousand or more subscribers to your mailing list and need to begin interacting with them in specific ways, you need something more – which is why Nathan created ConvertKit. Convertkit doesn’t have a free plan but offers so much more that fits your needs as an author. You can hear Nathan’s description of the software and learn more about how you can see videos and more of the software in action.
The transition from MailChimp or Aweber to ConvertKit could be a “done for you” proposition.
For authors who have already built a significant following and have 500 or more subscribers on their list at present, Nathan and his team provide a concierge conversion from any other email service provider to ConvertKit. All you have to do is ask.
Outline of this great episode
- [0:23] Mark and James introduce today’s episode and guest.
- [1:20] A new course in the works from the Self Publishing Formula team.
- [3:10] James’ book and process will be the demo for the course.
- [7:09] How the formatting stage will work within the course.
- [8:48] Chatting with Nathan Barry, owner of ConvertKit.
- [10:53] Why a mailing list and the benefit good software can be.
- [13:31] How and why Nathan created ConvertKit.
- [16:07] How ConvertKit works.
- [23:13] How Nathan’s team does direct sales for ConvertKit.
- [26:06] ConvertKit pricing and comparison to other services.
- [28:45] The user interface and features of ConvertKit.
- [25:20] How you can find out more about ConvertKit.