Today I have a story. A tale of a business mistake I made two years ago…which comes down to what you need to know about ConvertKit vs. Infusionsoft. (Note Convertkit is now called Seva)
Picture it. (Said in my best Sophia from the Golden Girls voice.)
December 2013. I was ready for the BIG TIME! 2014 was going to be the year that changed my business for good. (And for the record it was, but not the way I thought.)
So when a business friend said she could get me a deal on Infusionsoft, I thought, “alright, that makes sense.” and jumped right in. (For the record, this friend was not Brittany, she would have told me I was nuts!)
After all, the big name people use Infusionsoft, so it clearly was what I needed in order to grow my business. After all, Mailchimp was getting trickier by the minute with multiple opt-ins and the fact was that I needed an online shopping cart.
More than two years later, I can say this with confidence – I had NO business upgrading my email system then. I didn’t need Infusionsoft and that decision has cost me dearly.
Here are a few of the ways the decision to upgrade has cost me over the last two years:
Startup Cost: Infusionsoft requires a Kickstart package. I did mine directly with Infusionsoft (not knowing you could get this from a Certified Partner) and it was no bueno. I was pretty frustrated that my investment wasn’t giving me what I needed.
Cost of Kickstart = $1200
Support Costs: I quickly realized that I had zero interest in learning how to use Infusionsoft. I can do the basics, but my time is better spent elsewhere. I hired Brittany to manage Infusionsoft (and all the fancy things it does) on an ongoing basis. Smart move, but not exactly the most inexpensive one either. The reality is that a lot of people need support for Infusionsoft in order to make the most of it. Afterall, time is money, right?
Support Costs = $19,000
Subscription Costs: Then there’s the monthly subscription cost. The plus of Infusionsoft is you’re paying for email, plus e-commerce and other features in one shot. I could have simplified with another email system at $50/month or less, plus using PayPal or Stripe.
Subscription Costs: $6000
Total Infusionsoft cost over the course of two years, was $26,200. Which, given my revenue, isn’t totally bananas but it didn’t need to be this way as I really and truly didn’t need Infusionsoft until very recently.
Seeing that number, I just threw up a bit, and I wish I never upgraded. (Oh hindsight, you are tricky, aren’t you?!?!)
Why I Didn’t Need Infusionsoft
Honestly, my business isn’t that complicated as it’s primarily a service-based business. Clients and consulting gigs are invoiced through Xero, and for courses, we could have easily used a tool like Gumroad or a gateway like Stripe, along with an email service provider.
It’s a classic case of overbuying in an effort to uplevel. And while Infusionsoft is the perfect tool for many businesses (including where we are right now with Scoop), it’s complete overkill for many.
Why I’ve Kept Infusionsoft
You may be wondering why I decided to stick with Infusionsoft after the first three to six months. The truth was, at the time there was really nowhere for me to go.
I’d outgrown Mailchimp, and having used other systems, I knew I didn’t want to go there. As my business grew, Infusionsoft started to make more and more sense as we added more e-commerce, payment plans and other integrations that won’t bore you with.
Infusionsoft offered us the ease of having a single solution for multiple systems. That doesn’t mean everyone needs it. Not by a long shot.
Yes, we are Infusionsoft Certified Partners (well, not me, Brittany and Jo are) but we know one thing – Infusionsoft is not right for every situation. Nearly daily, we tell people to not buy Infusionsoft because it’s not what they need.
As the saying goes, honesty is always the best policy.
Which is where this post comes in. Infusionsoft may not be right for your business. Especially when you look at the ongoing costs for something that just using to send your emails.
If you’re not going to use e-commerce, the CRM or affiliate functionality, you likely don’t need Infusionsoft. This is the exact reason we’ve helped several clients migrate to a less robust system since the start of the year.
The solution they’re moving to? ConvertKit.
Why I’m Crushing on ConvertKit
ConvertKit is THE solution that I needed two years ago and could have saved me from the cost and headache of having “too much” of a system.
For what I needed to do in 2014 and 2015 in my business, ConvertKit was the answer. By my math, it would have cost me at the very most about $2000 total over two years, based on list growth.
That’s a major cost savings of over $24,000. That $24,000 could have been pure profit in my pocket. (Pretty compelling when you see those numbers and I’m definitely thinking about all the other ways I could have spent that money!)
I’m confident with ConvertKit, I could have eliminated the need for ongoing support (sorry Brittany!) and easily have had a lower cost resource on our team to support it, and I would have been more willing to learn the ropes. (I actually really like technology, I just knew me getting into Infusionsoft was a bad idea, and it may be the only system in our business I don’t regularly use.)
Having spent time in ConvertKit, I’m not going to lie. I have some email envy as it works beautifully with how my brain works. It’s intuitive and makes perfect sense once you understand the fundamentals.
I see ConvertKit as the solution that most online business owners and bloggers should be using to run their business as it provides the intelligence you need to build logic into campaigns and manage subscribers without needless complexity.
It was designed by a blogger (Nathan Barry) for bloggers as he got fed up with having to figure out workarounds for his business. His sweet spot is UX/UI design and it shows within ConvertKit. Look at this:
This system totally wasn’t an option for me two years ago as it wasn’t yet created, but it is for you now! Best of all, ConvertKit is affordable as all get out at $29 for 1000 subscribers or $119 for 10,000 subscribers.
You may wondering what you can do with ConvertKit, so here’s a quick rundown:
- Tag-based segmentation so you can manage who gets what emails, when, and market smarter.
- Basic marketing automations using If this/then that logic.
- Templated webforms and landing pages so you don’t need a third party solution.
- Integrations with third party shopping carts + Zapier so people can purchase online from you.
You can sign up now for a ConvertKit free trial using this link.
(Keep in mind that Convertkit is now Seva – so you’re signing up for a Seva free trial!)
The Recap: Is ConvertKit Right for You?
If you’re on MailChimp or Aweber and need to upgrade, ConvertKit could be a great step up without extra cost and complexity. And if you have an all-in-one solution that you’re not actually using, it could be a good move to switch to a simpler solution. You can get started with a FREE 30-day trial of ConvertKit right here.
Disclaimer: We are affiliates for both Infusionsoft and ConvertKit do receive a commission if you purchase either solution using the links in this post.
