Are you just getting started with email marketing? Maybe you’ve been saying you are ready to start your list for the past year (or more)… we get it! Getting started is the scariest part. We were skeptical at first. But guess what? Email marketing is now our absolute favorite way to market our business and connect with our audience. Seriously!
We have invested in email marketing for our business for several years now. And when we say invested, we aren’t talking thousands of dollars. Email marketing doesn’t have to be expensive! We’ve earned new clients, built a loyal audience, and successfully launched new offers all from our efforts. And it’s about time you get started!
What’s the hardest part about getting started with email marketing? We have a feeling it’s choosing the best platform to support you! And a platform that’s going to make it extra easy too. With so many options and recommendations from other business owners, you might feel overwhelmed by the choice. So let’s make it easy for you.
Two of the most common platforms for entrepreneurs, especially those new to email marketing, are Flodesk and Mailchimp. Many business owners we’ve talked to have started their email marketing journey on one of these platforms and had great experiences. So, let’s narrow the choices down to just Flodesk vs. Mailchimp, compare the features of both, and decide which is right for you so you can reap the benefits of email marketing even faster!
DISCLOSURE: We use and love Flodesk, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right platform for everyone. Our opinions here will reflect that! So stick with us!
Flodesk vs. Mailchimp Feature Comparison
User-Friendliness
Both platforms are user-friendly. Mailchimp is mostly used by beginners because it’s easy to navigate and create basic emails. Flodesk has more advanced features but is still easy to use. Plus, their help center has always been responsive and able to answer our questions!
Both platforms utilize drag-and-drop features so you can build an email to your liking without coding or complex processes. They cater to beginners and non-designers!
Design and Aesthetics
Since one part of the Duo is in design, we value a custom-branded and beautiful email. It just elevates the experience and makes emails more fun! We think Flodesk has a leg up in this department. Mailchimp design capabilities are a little clunky and customizations are limited without coding knowledge.
For both platforms, you cannot remove the branding at the bottom of emails on the free plan – you have to upgrade to a paid plan for that feature. In our opinion, these aren’t deal breakers. Who cares if you are showing love and support for the platform you use with a tiny brand mention at the bottom of your email?
Flodesk gives you templates, custom fonts, and personalized domains with the free version, plus a ton of other features with their paid subscription. You can easily customize the templates to fit your branding, which we love.
Take a peek at our Tips and Sips Newsletter Template on Flodesk:
Segmentation
Basic segmentation is ultimately the same on any email marketing platform. You can organize your subscribers into different lists based on their previous activity (downloading a freebie, adding products to a cart, etc.)
To ensure that Flodesk integrates with our other systems like Thinkific, WebinarJam and Facebook Ads we leverage Zapier to make the connection and add emails to the right segments. More on this later.
A unique feature in Flodesk, though, is you can segment your audience based on the links they click within an email. Let’s say someone clicks a link to your sales page. That would put them on a list indicating they’re interested in that offer and you can nurture them from there. Anyone who doesn’t click that link isn’t added to the list because they haven’t indicated interest yet.
We love using this feature before launching our SEO on Tap course! We’ll have a few emails going out to tease the launch and encourage people to join the waitlist. When they click the link, they’re added to our waitlist segmentation.
Automation
How does Flodesk vs. Mailchimp compare when looking at automation capabilities? You need the standard plan on Mailchimp to get similar automation features as Flodesk. It allows you to create a customer journey based on activity.
So if someone downloads a freebie, they will automatically get an email with the freebie, as well as other emails to nurture them before adding them to your main newsletter list. All of this is automated so it’s working for your business 24/7, even when you’re logged off for the day.
Flodesk doesn’t limit how many journey points you can use, whereas Mailchimp limits to four on the essentials plan and 200 on the standard plan.
Integrations
No matter if you choose Flodesk vs. Mailchimp, both have several integration features you can utilize. We highly recommend integrating your email platform with your website so you can capture leads from freebies and automatically add them to your email list. At a minimum, make sure the platform integrates with your website (they both probably do!)
If you are selling anything via email, make sure the platform integrates with your payment processor, like Stripe or Quickbooks. Again, they probably both do, but it’s good to double-check! Ensure it has the capabilities you need to run your business on auto-pilot as much as possible!
For us, we are constantly capturing emails through different platforms like WebinarJam, Facebook Ads and Thinkific. For these integrations we use Zapier to make the connection. Mailchimp does offer more integrations without having to leverage Zapier, mainly because they have been around longer. But the Zapier connections are also very simple to set up. Just keep in mind that depending on how many emails you gather there could be an additional cost associated with this.
Pricing
Flodesk’s biggest differentiating feature is its pricing model. It’s a flat monthly fee, no matter how many subscribers you have. You can upgrade your plan if you want additional e-commerce features. Otherwise, everyone pays the same.
The opposite is true for almost every other email marketing platform. They increase their monthly pricing based on how many subscribers you have. Some can get up to hundreds of dollars a month! You shouldn’t have to pay more because you’re killing it at your email marketing.
Looking at Flodesk vs. Mailchimp pricing, Fodesk’s flat-rate fee was a big selling point for us especially when thinking long-term.
Analytics
Analytics are so important to understand the ROI of your email marketing efforts. It’s crucial to have easy access and easily digestible metrics information. We think Flodesk has better analytics than Mailchimp.
First, you need the standard plan on Mailchimp to access all the analytics. Otherwise, you’re only getting a sneak peek at basic reporting, which doesn’t give you a complete picture of how your emails are performing.
We love that Flodesk gives us a visual representation of our analytics. Data can be hard to read sometimes, but the visual aspect makes it much easier to understand. You can see charts, graphs, and tables that give you a detailed look at how your emails, forms, and workflows perform.
One of the things we love about Flodesk is that we joined in the early days and we’ve been able to watch the growth in these areas. Especially analytics. They are dedicated to adding more granular reporting, segmentation, and analytics without charging you more for the features. So although it might not be the best on the email market, it’s more than enough when you are just getting started with your list.
Who Are They Best For?
As you’re deciding between Flodesk vs. Mailchimp, consider who each platform is best for.
Honestly, both are ideal for new and seasoned business owners. Mailchimp is ideal for business owners who aren’t looking for unique branded templates and would rather just send out simple plain text emails. Unless you are familiar with code and want to get a little fancy.
Flodesk is the clear winner for creative businesses that want beautiful emails without spending a fortune. The beautiful templates will help you stand out from the crowd. We can’t tell you the number of compliments we get on our emails. We’d also argue that Flodesk is extremely easy to use for non-designers who want beautiful emails.
From a pricing standpoint, it’s best to research what integrations you might need. Honestly, when we first started we didn’t need much. As we grew, the integrations grew with us and Zapier has made it beyond easy to connect everything in our world.
Examples of How We Use Flodesk on Our Site
Since we are Flodesk users, we thought it would be helpful to show you real examples of how we use Flodesk on our website! When someone fills out a certain form, they will be added to a specific audience segment.
First, we have a pop-up that appears on our homepage for new users to download a free resource. This is our best-performing list builder! Homepage pop-ups have incredible conversion rates.
We also have a few inline forms embedded straight from Flodesk to sign up for our weekly newsletter. (You can see a workflow/customer journey come to life by subscribing here!)
P.s. this is the best SEO recommendation too. Because these pages can live on your own website and you can optimize them. Meaning they can get traffic from Google!
This is an example of a full-page form we did so people could join the waitlist for our coaching program. We’ve since chosen to embed all forms on our own website for SEO purposes, but this was the easiest way to get started. We love how easy Flodesk made it to get started and then grow as we grew.
FAQs
Which platform is easier to use?
We think both are pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it! From a design perspective, Flodesk is the clear winner. Mailchimp has proven to be a challenge for both a non-designer (Abbey) and even a designer (Courtney). Sign up for a free trial to see which layout you prefer.
Can I customize email templates on both platforms?
Yes, using the drag-and-drop features in both, you can customize templates.
Are the emails created in Flodesk mobile-responsive?
Yes! Mobile responsiveness is key to successful email campaigns. All emails in Flodesk will adapt to the screen size of whatever device it’s opened on.
Which platform has better automation capabilities?
In our opinion, Flodesk has better automation. All automation features are included with the one monthly fee and you aren’t limited to how much you can do.
Does Flodesk integrate with eCommerce platforms?
Yep! You can easily integrate your eCommerce website to Flodesk for fast checkouts and sales. Their new checkout features make it so easy to sell items without needing a sales page or a shop!
Do Flodesk’s image-heavy emails end up in spam folders?
This is actually a common question we get asked. The answer is no. Our deliverability rate is over 99%. Flodesk is very purposeful in how they design their templates to avoid this issue while creating a beautiful captivating design.
How Do Flodesk Emails Perform?
Rather than tell you, we will show you. 😉 Our open rates are above industry average along with unsubscribe rates and deliverability. We are pretty proud of these metrics!
What kind of support does Flodesk offer?
Their help center is so amazing! They have help articles and a way to contact their support team. You can also watch Flodesk University videos to learn more about email marketing best practices and how to utilize Flodesk to its fullest capacity. Personally, we love the Facebook group for quick answers to questions already asked.
What are some other Flodesk alternatives?
There are several other email marketing platforms on the market. A few notable ones are ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, and Constant Contact.
Do you have a Flodesk discount code?
We do! Use this affiliate link to save 50% off Flodesk for the first year!
How to Get Started With Email Marketing
Once you’ve decided on Flodesk vs. Mailchimp, sign up for a free trial and see how you like it! Everyone will have different opinions, preferences, and needs for their email marketing platform. The best way to see which works best for you is to try it out! We use and love Flodesk, and recommend it to business owners in our network.
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