Changing something that you can use for free into a paid service just because something is prettier doesn’t sound like a wise business decision, right?

But in this post, I will tell you that when I changed the provider for my email newsletter, it turned out to be the complete opposite!

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission.
Keep in mind that I only share about companies that I truly believe in.

 

Was I really happy with my email marketing service?

For my email list I have been using MailerLite for years and have been very happy with it. When Flodesk launched a couple of years ago I was very interested, as you could create gorgeous emails,  but as I didn’t have to pay for using MailerLite I didn’t see the need to change to a paid service. Especially when the only difference was that I could create and send prettier emails.

Then the sweet Candice from The Blog Social convinced me to give it a try as they have a free trial month.

Email marketing heaven

As soon as I got access to the Flodesk dashboard I was very quickly convinced that I might not have been so happy with the MailerLIte as I thought. 

 

This might sound a bit shallow, but hey, I believe that you are going to agree with me…

When something is appealing to you, it’s easier to get the job done. And I feel that the whole Flodesk platform is designed for you and me, the small business owners. 

 

I love working there!! 

 

Since I moved my list I have moved from sending one mail every month to sending one mail every week. And that is because I now enjoy it. I’m so much more inspired to create emails now.

 

Flodesk is much easier

As I said in the beginning, I was pleased with Mailerlite. But after trying the Flodesk editor, I realised how wrong I was.

Here everything is so much easier. You can start with gorgeous templates, add well designed elements into them or start by scratch yourself. Nomatter how you choose to do it, it’s very easy to create a stunning result even if you are not good at designing. 

This was a struggle from time to time to edit the mails in Mailerlite. Difficult to find the right elements and change colors. 

 

View of the Flodesk editor.

 

I see that my subscribers enjoys it too

Another aspect is that my opening rate has increased. That can depend on many factors, as I mentioned earlier, that I now send my emails more frequently for example. But maybe also because they are pettier. I see that the click rate definitely has increased and that can only depend on that the emails encourage that as the elements in the mail are more magazine-like and highlight links in a more effective way.

This means that during the two months I have paid for Flodesk I have earned my monthly fees as the clicks have generated sales.

 

 

Anything negative?

If it’s something that I liked more about Mailerlite is the analytics part. It was much easier to have a good overview over both subscribers and emails. It’s not really that bad at Flodesk but it took me quite some time to find out where to look and click to find the insights that I wanted to see. So even if it is there, it needs some improvement as there is a lot of clicking back and forth. 

I would also love to see a feature where you can save your brand colors easier. So that you don’t have to update all elements everytime you create a new mail.

I have on the other hand solved that by saving my own emails as favourites and can use them as templates.

The Best Email Marketing Platform for Small Business Owners

Flodesk is made for small business owners and founded by two females. And I love that. Why? Because when you are a small business owner you are in most of the cases not interested in very advanced functions. And I feel that the level of advancedness is perfect in Flodesk, you can segment, build workflows and categorize your subscribers, for example. More features than that are often not needed.

For me, it feels like the whole interface is speaking my language, the way everything works is created for a person that doesn’t have full control over all technical parts, doesn’t have a master in marketing or have a whole marketing department as many of the other email providers do.

And to know that I support a female owned business makes my entrepreneur heart a bit extra happy.

Flodesk is prettier

As I said in the beginning, could “pretty” be enough for changing from a free service into a paid one.

And my answer is YES. I’m a designer so of course I would think so. But I’m also a business owner and that part of me needs more valuable reasons than that. .

But let me tell you, and this is both the designer and business owner in me that are talking. 

 

– We are all unconsciously more attracted by something that looks good. 

 

And the analytics of my emails confirms this. 

But one of the biggest changes for me has been my own motivation. Even if I always have known that my email list should be my priority, it has not always been shown in my actions. But since I moved to Flodesk, creating and sending emails to my subscribers are now one of my favorite things to do. It’s fun, because it’s easy and you always get a fantastic result. That is magic for your motivation.

And this is one so important. As I’m a firm believer that running your own business should come with feelings of happiness and joy, that is an important key in order to be successful.

If you are curious on Flodesk

Sign up for the free trial. Create an account (no credit card is required) and just get familiar with the platform. 
If you fall in love, just like I did, you get 50% of your subscription when using my link here blow.

 

read more?

• About why you need an email list for your business here. 
• In this blog post you have a lots of ides for opt-in/freebie. Read it here.
• Learn how you can put a magical touch on everything you do!
  
  
  
  
  

• 

•