ConvertKit vs AWeber in 2022
• This article contains affiliate links •
…or, why I almost switched, and why I stayed
This article is for you if you’ve had an email list for some time, you’re getting regular new sign ups, and you’ve got a clear idea of the features that are important to you. You’ve got several hundred subscribers, or possibly more, and you’re using automated messages to nurture your list and probably generate income too. If you’re in this position, then, like me, you might be ready to evaluate ConvertKit vs AWeber.
(On the other hand, if you’re just getting started with building your email list, it’s much better that you do something, rather than stressing about the “best” solution. For this situation, I have a related article with pointers for how to choose your author newsletter platform, but if you’re in a hurry, then for newbies my number one pick these days is MailerLite.)
Affiliate disclosure (but, this is a warts-and-all review)
Firstly, I want to disclose I’m a ConvertKit affiliate. However, unlike almost everything else you’ll read from an affiliate, this is not a glowing, unconditional tribute. ConvertKit has pros and cons. Although I’ve now decided to stick with it, the information here is my honest opinion. I’ll be telling you about some warts, as well as its strong points.
My email provider history
I started out with MailChimp and used the free plan for several years before I realized my frustrations, and needs, were accelerating.
Almost by coincidence, in summer 2019 I attended the Craft + Commerce conference offered by ConvertKit. I wasn’t looking for a new email provider, I simply liked the agenda and topics. I was impressed by both the company culture and values, glowing feedback from users, and also that they curated the conference to be valuable to all of us, whether or not we were using ConvertKit as our email tool.
But I didn’t actually switch my email list to ConvertKit until the end of 2020.
ConvertKit features that I like
ConvertKit has definitely been constructed with online marketers and content creators in mind. The interface is clean and easy, help is always available, and it’s really intuitive. I particularly like:
The whole thing is driven by your subscribers, who get tagged with activities and interests, not by a list. So, for example, I don’t end up with different lists for the authors versus service providers in my audience, or for folks who’ve told me they want to improve their website, versus starting from scratch.
One of my ConvertKit sign up forms.
Being able to create different sign up forms for different lead magnets, with appropriate tagging for how that person joined my email list.
Including links in the emails I send, where the recipient can choose a preference with just one click, again leading to a tag in their record.
That I can avoid sending my regular email communication to folk who are still receiving a welcome sequence. (You know when you join someone’s email list and you get bombarded? I hate that, and didn’t want to do it to others.)
ConvertKit integrates reasonably easily with MemberVault, which is where I host my small number of online courses and the checkout process for my Squarespace templates. I absolutely love MemberVault, so my email tool needs to play nicely.
ConvertKit now allows you to sell digital products, and/or create a paid newsletter. While I doubt I’ll use this myself, it’s a big factor in why I’m recommending it to other small business owners who want to dip their toe in the water with an ebook, exclusive content, or other PDF guide. As ConvertKit says, this allows you to take the first step toward monetizing your email list.
ConvertKit allows customers to use their address in your emails, for free!
This is a small but friendly detail: ConvertKit happily serves as your “office address” for the required physical mailing address at the bottom of every email. As long as you’re a current customer and only use this address for your email marketing footer, they will scan anything that’s received at 113 Cherry Street, and email it to you. In other words, yes, you can save a chunk of change by not having a PO Box for this purpose.
To finish with an obvious suggestion, if you’d like to see a ConvertKit automation in action, sign up for my free website starter kit here. You can, of course, unsubscribe at any time.
Why I was tempted to change
However, ConvertKit isn’t perfect. As my list grew, and I started to approach a step-up in pricing tier, I wondered if I could do better. In particular, I’ve been disappointed with ConvertKit for these reasons:
Reporting capabilities. I have a feeling if I upgraded from “Creator” to “Creator Pro”, this would get much better. However, on my current plan, I can’t make segments to answer questions like:
Who are my most engaged email subscribers? This means, for example, I can’t send a special offer or thank you to my strongest supporters.
Of the newcomers that joined my list from a high profile speaking event I did, how many of them stuck around? How many of them still open my emails?
Who are the people that purchased something through MemberVault, but never confirmed their email subscription? In other words, did they even receive the correct information, to help them access the resource they bought?
How is one lead magnet performing versus another, in terms of people staying on my list, opening emails, and clicking?
ConvertKit’s pricing. Let’s just put it out there. Every month, I pay for a multitude of tools to run my business (see my favorite tools here), and ConvertKit isn’t cheap. For what I pay, I felt particularly let down that I can’t answer the questions above, to make better business decisions.
What attracted me to AWeber
I spent several hours comparing and evaluating ConvertKit vs AWeber.
In a nutshell, I was trying to address those key problems of analytics and cost.
So, I admit it, I flirted. I signed up for an AWeber account and tried it out. In fairness to them, I must clarify this was a flirtation, not a whole-hearted attempt to make a go of it. It’s possible there are workarounds for the features I felt were missing. And I didn’t get as far as talking to their migration team to discuss my specific requirements.
Disappointments with AWeber
AWeber form design is old-fashioned
The first thing I tried to do was design a sign up form. I’d read another (biased) comparison that told me AWeber had hundreds more options than ConvertKit. The problem here is, that’s talking about quantity, not quality.
I couldn’t find a super-simple AWeber form I liked. For example, check the home page of my website and you’ll see the (ConvertKit) form at the bottom is actually just First Name, Email Address, plus a button, arranged horizontally. I put the other pieces there myself. I’m not going to name names, but when I checked the website of a business friend who uses AWeber, sure enough, her sign up form is ugly and clunky.
In my other forms, I like to show the lead magnet alongside the invitation to sign up. If you’ve encountered my popup, you’ll have seen an example. The same problem occurred here: the AWeber form designs are dated. (Thinking more about this, I’m wondering if ConvertKit shines because they focus on creators and content providers, whereas AWeber has been around a long time and tries to cater to many types of business, including traditional products and brick & mortar. They also got started before a lead magnet was an absolute necessity in getting someone to join your list.)
I knew that the click-to-tag feature I like in ConvertKit might be missing. AWeber does have an option where if someone visits a particular page on your website, you can tag them, so I was prepared for the inconvenience of making a bunch of pages, purely for this purpose. That was a drawback I could have lived with.
Around this time, I discovered the descriptions of AWeber as list-centric, not subscriber-centric, meaning there is the potential to end up with several different email lists, and subscribers duplicated across them. My research didn’t take me deep enough to know if there would be a huge problem here. I was ready and willing to tag my subscribers with their interests and activities, however, the potential risk of paying for duplicate subscribers, not to mention bombarding them with too many emails, didn’t thrill me.
Options when building an AWeber automation
My journey of exploration with AWeber ended abruptly when I tried to create my first automation.
When you build a sequence of emails in AWeber, the only “building blocks” available to you are send a message, wait, apply/remove a tag, and something called check feed, which frankly didn’t interest me.
In a ConvertKit automation, on the other hand, I can get part way through the logic and check if the subscriber has purchased the thing I’m trying to sell them. If they have, I want to remove them from that sales sequence, asap! Part way through an automation, I can also check for other conditions, and send them down a different branch, depending on their circumstance.
In other words, although AWeber allows for some checks before a sequence begins, once it starts, you’re going to blast your subscriber with certain information, regardless of whether it’s still appropriate for them.
That was game over, for me. Even though, by necessity, I rely on several automated sequences to communicate with my audience, I strive to be thoughtful and careful about what I send.
Did I consider other alternatives to ConvertKit?
Because integrating with MemberVault is enormously important to me, I took a quick look at the pricing plan of other email tools that play nicely, and decided I wouldn’t take this exploration any further.
Why I stayed with ConvertKit
Like many who stray from an OK relationship and then come back feeling much happier and more committed, I’m happy to report that going forward, I feel significantly better about staying with ConvertKit!
I now have a much deeper understanding of the subtle advantages from ConvertKit’s features. You, the business owner, benefit from its ease of use, clean interface, and pleasing form design. More importantly, I believe ConvertKit automations give your audience a better experience, because you can tailor what they get and be truly thoughtful about their needs. This, in turn, is going to pay off in your long-term growth and bottom line.
How to save money with ConvertKit
Given that ConvertKit’s pricing was a big reason why I started looking around, I’ll wrap up with suggestions for getting better value from your ConvertKit account.
Start with a free trial. Seriously, sign up, and start to create the components you actually need for your email marketing. When the rubber starts to hit the road, this will give you an excellent idea of whether ConvertKit is right for you.
For 2022, ConvertKit has confirmed a really attractive Black Friday discount of over 30% off their annual plan. This offer is available from November 21-28, 2022.
Ask for free migration help. If you’re bringing your email list from another provider, the ConvertKit team will help you transition smoothly. (Hint: don't run the risk of your automations triggering again!)
Clean your email list! Once you’re with ConvertKit, your pricing will go up when you cross certain thresholds of number of subscribers. At the time I’m writing this, 300 subscribers, 1000, 3000, 5000… and so on are all important numbers. If your list is getting close to a change point, this is a wonderful time to clean your “cold” subscribers. ConvertKit gives lots of information about why this is a good idea, and how to do it.
Consider attending the ConvertKit conference, called Craft + Commerce. No, it isn’t free, but the company subsidizes it heavily, so you’ll get amazing value for money, fantastic business insights, and meet some really inspiring, friendly people. If you’re going in 2023, let me know: I’m signed up to be there too. I like to think of this as a way to stretch the value I get from my ConvertKit dollars.
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If you’re aiming to get the most out of your email marketing, have you checked your website is up to the job?
There’s no point investing serious time and money in a tool like ConvertKit or Aweber if the “homebase” of your online marketing — your website — sucks.
No matter how someone initially discovers you, if you’re serious about appearing credible and professional, and if you want a long-term relationship with them, sooner or later they’re going to interact with your website. Make sure your website not only looks amazing, but actually works, too.
As a professional specializing in Squarespace website design, I’m an expert in designing a website that gets business results. If you’d like technical expertise, marketing advice, and all of the implementation taken care of, consider hiring me.
After careful preparation together, I’ll design, build and launch your site in just 1-2 weeks. Learn more, and then schedule our free and friendly chat.
