Whether Flodesk is the right email marketing platform for your business depends on a number of things. In this post I’m going to show you how to make an informed business decision and to avoid disappointments later.
In fact, these are the exact techniques that I used before I switched to Flodesk and migrated over my subscribers and workflows.
Let’s dive right in.
* The links to Flodesk in this article are affiliate links, which means I get a small reward when you join, but it also means YOU get 50% off!
Step 1: Don’t just switch to Flodesk yet
It may be weird to see this as the very first step knowing that I’ve switched to Flodesk, but hear me out.
Before you jump and start using Flodesk as your email marketing platform for your business, take a deep breath and think about a few things. If you’re tempted to move your existing email list over from another provider, consider whether you do it only because of the shiny object syndrome.
Flodesk is new, a novelty. It’s has gorgeous email templates and a refreshing distraction free user interface design. It’s sexy. A lot of creative business owners started using it. You see blog posts, Youtube videos, social media posts about Flodesk. About the ease of setting up automated email sequences. And you naturally get curious, excited even, and may want to jump over as well.
This may not be your best move though. Instead, think about your business, your audience and your overall goals first. If Flodesk fits into this vision, then jump. Otherwise I’d say wait a bit longer.
Step 2: Evaluate your current email marketing provider
Take a piece of paper or open a blank document and note down all the information about your current email marketing provider, like:
Name of your email marketing provider: MailChimp, Mailerlite, Covertkit, whatever you may use at the moment.
Total number of your subscribers: you need to move over via a CSV file all these subscribers. Now is a good time to take a look at them and to decide if you want to move over everyone.
- Are there any subscribers who haven’t opened your emails since months?
- Who never ever responded to you, never bought any of your offers or products?
If you may want to remove, delete, unsubscribe some people, it’s better to do it before you would switch.
Name of your segments, groups, audiences, tags: They may be called differently depending on what platform you use. But these are those important categories that you need to fine-tune subscriber behavior, so that you can send targeted and highly personalized email campaigns.
Are there any segments, groups, audiences, tags that don’t make any sense? You may have created them in the past, but things have changed in your business. Now is a good time to remove a few, merge some of them together or just rename them if needed. The best is to do all this while with your current provider. And even if at the end you don’t move over to Flodesk, you will have a better overview and structure!
Also note down how many subscribers there are in each of those segments.
How may automated workflows/email sequences do you have? Also, which are the best performing/worst performing (converting) automated workflows/email sequences? This is an important part as usually automated workflows are rather complex, with the exception of a single freebie delivery email perhaps.
- For each workflow, take a look at the steps and its logic, and also how many emails are being sent, with what frequency etc.
- How are those workflows performing?
- If you moved to Flodesk, would you want to change anything in the workflow or would you want to use it exactly as it is now?
- What specific features do you use in your workflows that you can’t live without? These should be non negotiable must-haves, not wishes or maybe-s.
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It’s very important to think about this because as of this writing (25-October-2019) Flodesk still operates in a private beta launch mode and with a limited core functionality feature arsenal. This will change, but if there are must-have, non-negotiable features that you use at your current email marketing provider and that you absolutely cannot live without, then don’t move to Flodesk yet. It would be a very poor business decision, that you would regret.
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How many opt-in forms do you have and where are they on your website? Which are the best performing/worst performing (converting) sign-up forms?
As you not only will move your subscribers, but you need to recreate your workflows and opt-in forms, evaluate them, too.
- Are there any must-have sign-up form functions that you have to have?
- What are those?
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If Flodesk doesn’t have them yet, it could be a deal-breaker for you. You may have a large blog with 30-40 sign-up forms here and there on your pages. Make a note where they are on your website. If you switch to Flodesk you would want to design new opt-in forms that you need to embed again. It will be a time consuming task. Plan accordingly!
The best part I like about Flodesk are the gorgeous email templates and how easy it is to redesign them and make them your own. But are there any special email features with your current provider, that you absolutely need in your campaign emails and not yet released with Flodesk? It could then be a potential risk for you.
Step 3: Let’s talk about money
A lot of people move from one service provider to another because of monetary reasons. The subscription plans and costs could be indeed expensive.
So write down to your piece of paper how much do you pay for your current plan at your email marketing provider? And: how much does their next plan cost that you would need to upgrade to if you wanted to use more features or if your subscriber list grew significantly.
What is the monthly cost? And sum it up as yearly cost, too.
Now take a look at your business finances:
- How much profit do you make monthly/yearly
- What part (%) of that is due to your email marketing efforts by using your current provider?
- Do you cover your subscription cost with the money you make?
- Barely? Significantly? Not at all?
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Have you subscribed in the past to paid business and personal convenience tools? Do you still use them all? Are there any that you could eliminate by moving to a different platform with more functions, less costs? Or completely as you don’t need it/don’t use it?
By now you should have a better view of where you spend money in your business and with what tools you generate your profit with.
How much does Flodesk cost?
Let’s look at Flodesk’s pricing strategy for comparison.
Flodesk offers a 30 days free trial. This is fair and you really need to take advantage of it and play around with the tool, so that you can make an informed business decision whether at the end of the trial period you’d want to subscribe.
Flodesk normally costs $38 per month – no matter how many subscribers you have – and you can use all their available features. Unlimited everything.
If you join with my link
https://flodesk.com/c/ARRADESIGNSTUDIO
you can get 50% off your first year of paid subscription, making it just $19 for your first year.
If you already signed up for the free trial, no worries. Before your trial expires you get notified by Flodesk. And if you decide to join the paid plan, you can add my 50% discount code that will be applied. Use my code, which is ARRADESIGNSTUDIO and you get the $19/month deal.
Step 4: Make the decision
By using the above questions you can objectively evaluate your business and email marketing needs and goals. Take every opportunity during your one month free trial with Flodesk to test, if it could work for you.
If not, than don’t switch. It’s as simple as that.
Do you want to invest into Flodesk? Into a new tool? Or you’re happy with your current email marketing setup as it brings in enough leads, customers, clients, profit.
If you make solid profit by using your current set-up, than you take a big risk by starting from scratch and moving to a new platform. In this case it’s better to wait till Flodesk’s full feature arsenal is released and to make the move later.
But what if I’m on a free plan with my email marketing provider?
The same steps would apply. Plus, if you move from a currently free plan to a paid Flodesk plan, you could look at it as a cost or as an investment.
And that’s actually where I was in my business. I was on Mailerlite’s free plan with a small subscriber list. I sat down and noted down why I like and use Mailerlite. What are the features and functions that I found useful. Can I live without them? Would that hurt my business?
During my free trial with Flodesk, I did not move over any subscribers, but recreated one of my workflows and redesigned the emails of that sequence. I linked it to a new signup form and segment and tested how new subscribers come in, move through the workflow steps and get added to a new segment after they have completed the workflow.
I also tested standalone email campaigns. One I sent out immediately, the other one was scheduled. My subscribers loved the new design. I admit I love it, too!
So having looked at my business finances, costs, profits, I made the decision to invest into Flodesk. And moved from the free Mailerlite plan to a paid Flodesk plan. Knowing that not all features are yet available. But for me it’s ok. My business can afford to grow with Flodesk and I know that I can enrich my workflows and email campaigns as new options and templates get released.
Stay tuned as in my next blog post I break down 4 business scenarios and how Flodesk could help in each case:
- has no website and no email list yet
- has website but with no email list yet
- has website with a cold/lukewarm email list or smaller email list
- has website with a huge email list
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Other posts in the Flodesk email marketing series that might be of interest to you:
How to build an email list from scratch with Flodesk
Flodesk: mini FAQ and quick tips to get you started swiftly
How to set up an email course opt-in with Flodesk
Flodesk tutorial: How to customize your emails
How to set up a double opt-in in Flodesk
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Blog post featured image photo credit: MOYO studio (referral link)
4 Responses
This is great info! I haven’t heard of this one but I want to give it a try now!
Hi Nicole! Flodesk is a new emerging email marketing service with a lot of potential. Though they’re still in a private beta launch you can do quite many things in terms of email marketing. Take it to the test ride and let me know if you have any questions. And check out the other posts in this topic. They give you a full overview of what to expect.
Awesome Petra! This was very thorough. I’m in your second group, above (and already with Flodesk!). I love how you answer so many questions on the Facebook group.
Hi Kathy! Thanks for commenting. I’m happy to hear that you found my tips and insights useful. I’m very happy with Flodesk as a tool and as a community on Facebook đź’›