Last updated on February 15, 2021
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In 2013, ConvertKit was born. The company’s founder, Nathan Barry, challenged himself publicly to build a web application in six months that would generate $5,000 in recurring monthly revenue. Kudos to Barry for fulfilling his goal as his business is now making millions.
ConvertKit is “email marketing software the way it should be.” It’s also a platform that is “made by creators, for creators.” It “exists to help creators earn a living online.” Alongside email marketing services, it provides marketing automation, opt-in forms, landing pages, migration support, and a WordPress plugin. Tradecraft by ConvertKit has guides, articles, and podcasts about working online and making money.
Company Profile
- Founded by Nathan Barry in 2013
- CEO: Nathan Barry
- Headquarters: Idaho, United States of America
- 33,000+ customers globally
- ConvertKit publishes its sales data publicly via Baremetrics
- Sites like ConvertKit, competitors, and alternatives: GetResponse, Constant Contact, AWeber, and Mailchimp
Plans & Pricing
ConvertKit has three plans and pricing reflects subscriber totals.
- The “Free” plan up to 1,000 subs: $0
- The “Creator” plan up to 1,000 subs: $29/month
- The “Creator Pro” plan up to 1,000 subs: $59/month
ConvertKit Affiliate Program
ConvertKit has an affiliate program. LinkMink’s affiliate marketing software hosts it. Let’s review the benefits, drawbacks, commission rate, cookie duration, and program details. Here’s a snapshot.
- Cost per action (CPA): Cost per sale
- Commission rate: 30%
- Commission type: Recurring
- Cookie duration: 60 days
- Payout threshold: One sale
- Payment options: PayPal
- Affiliate software/network: LinkMink
Program Benefits
The affiliate landing page is excellent. An affiliate landing page is supposed to be informative, and ConvertKit’s updated landing page is much better than the one before. However, it’s still missing cookie details, and a FAQ section would be beneficial.
Affiliates can earn excellent recurring commissions. Many email marketing companies have affiliate programs and typically pay recurring commission rates of 20 to 30 percent. ConvertKit pays 30 percent, which is fantastic.
The program has a 60-day cookie. As of this writing, details about the referral period are missing on the landing page. However, if I recall correctly, an affiliate has a 60-day window to convert traffic (I used to be an affiliate). Sixty days are above the 30 days that many advertisers give. Separately, ConvertKit uses a first-click attribution, which means the commission will go to the affiliate whose link was clicked first, not last.
There’s no payout threshold. Once your sales/commissions are approved, ConvertKit will pay you on the 2nd of the following month. Commissions will be sent to your PayPal account.
Deep linking is available. Deep linking is available, and it’s how an affiliate creates a link to a specific page on the merchant’s site. Instead of using a standard homepage affiliate link, you can link to an article or product that relates to your content to increase relevance and conversion rates.
There’s a full-time affiliate marketing manager. When a merchant has the staff to support publishers, it quickens processes and shows commitment. Additionally, there’s an official ConvertKit affiliate Facebook group to ask questions, share tips, and celebrate successes.
ConvertKit is a well-known company that has quickly established itself. Its growth is due in part to forming marketing partnerships with top bloggers, vloggers, influencers, and marketers. Given its mass adoption and supporters, ConvertKit is a legit company to promote.
Program Drawbacks
The program is hard to find. You wouldn’t know ConvertKit has an affiliate program because it doesn’t list or mention it on its homepage. A common practice is to call out and link to a program from a primary or secondary menu. Why is ConvertKit hiding its program? (Update: ConvertKit added an affiliate program link to its footer menu. Great job!)
Creative assets and banners are missing. Affiliates are limited to using a few ConvertKit logos. A selection of creatives and sizes would be advantageous.
ConvertKit uses a subpar affiliate tracking solution from Ambassador. The software is dated, inconsistent, and features a confusing user interface. Furthermore, customer support and follow up are nonexistent. (Update: They now use LinkMink.)
ConvertKit isn’t helping you grow your brand, it’s helping Pat Flynn. They have enlisted the help of Pat to give tips and strategies to affiliates. He also appears on the affiliate landing page, which is excellent for his brand and business. However, merchants shouldn’t take a biased approach to their programs by singling out affiliates or playing favorites. It’s inappropriate and not fair to other publishers. Furthermore, I would hate to send traffic to a company that’s busy promoting specific partners.
ConvertKit is a below-average email marketing application. Its software is clunky, unfriendly, and overpriced. Also, there are better and more affordable email marketing services, for instance, GetResponse, MailerLite, and Mailchimp. If you think I’m alone in my assessment, the folks at EmailToolTester agree. The independent review site gives ConvertKit a disappointing score of 3.5/5 in an article entitled, ConvertKit Review – The Newsletter Tool for Bloggers Coders.
Making Money
Can you make $1,000 a month as a ConvertKit affiliate? It’s unlikely that you will make that amount or a significant income. Although ConvertKit’s affiliate program pays well, the email marketing software landscape is crowded, which produces a lot of options for customers. Secondly, ConvertKit’s software is below average, which could lead to low conversion rates.
Where should ConvertKit rank in your marketing activities? Unless you’re a customer and passionate about its services, it should be a low priority.
Why would anyone promote ConvertKit, given its high prices and substandard software? High prices mean high commissions, which appeal to affiliates. Secondly, you could argue that a smart way to make passive income and money in affiliate marketing is to prioritize profits over products and people (your audience). In doing so, the affiliate would selfishly partner with high paying merchants (like ConvertKit) regardless of how their products perform.
I don’t recommend joining ConvertKit’s affiliate program because there are much better email marketing providers to promote.
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