Well fam, I’m trying it again…
As we’re all trying to figure out what to do with ourselves and how we’re going to get back to work, it’s a good time to revise our systems like our website, business tools, etc. If you’ve been with me for a while, you know that I a) Use email list services and that b) I’ve had to switch more than a few times.
Why is that? Because email marketing is… sigh…
On the one hand it’s AWESOME. I get to speak directly to my main MAIN people, share what’s going on with the brand, send helpful artistry and career tips, let folks know about new blog pots etc. It’s great.
But MAN OH MAN is it tough to send a decent looking email!!!! OH MY GOODNESS. These email list companies were definitely designed with the Corporate Email in mind. What’s a creative to do???
I started my email journey with Constant Contact. It was the only one I knew about and so I was like ‘Ok, I guess’ and… I tried. Not only were the emails utterly unattractive, it was a needlessly cumbersome interface to work with. Enter MailChimp… OK, still cumbersome, but with some elbow grease I could make the emails like a bit better, and the price was right. MailChimp is very generous on their price plans and allows users up to 2000 subscribers before the rates kick in, 👍. I stayed with MailChimp for a while until I discovered TinyLetter. TinyLetter is also free and super different. It’s JUST a newsletter, the end. There’s no whistles and bells, it allows minimal photos/graphics so my emails look basic but cute, but most of all it’s super easy to use and just *get an email newsletter out*. I don’t have tens-of-thousands, hundreds-of-thousands, etc. people on my list, and it’s unlikely that I ever will. I just need to say what I have to say to the people who are interested in hearing it, and move on with what I’m doing.
So why am I moving again? I think I may have found email nirvana.
As a makeup artist I keep up with product trends, application styles, etc. Even if I have zero intention of doing it myself, I need to know about it. As a makeup artist educator, particularly as someone who works in Media and hence teaches on the wacky world of freelance makeup artistry, I have to keep up with business trends. And over the past several months I’ve noticed I’m getting emails from a new platform – Flodesk.
Now – I’ve also tried ConvertKit, which is what a lot of the Influencer folks seem to use. I’m going to be honest: it was adequately confusing that I didn’t even really get into it. It seems very full featured, but it seemed full of features that at this moment it’s difficult to say I would ever use them. And then also too, ConvertKit emails look so-so. I mean they aren’t terrible but…
They aren’t what I’m seeing from these Flodesk emails. I did a bit of research and it seems that they were *built* for Creatives. The emails are very visual which is a 180 from the usually text-based emails that most email list companies feature. So designing an email with multiple images to showcase my work – which would take a couple of hours in MailChimp – took no time, really, in Flodesk because they have templates set up for this already! I am cautiously very excited about potentially switching over.
But not quite yet. Folks on my list just got an email from me explaining how I’m on *both* services right now while I test Flodesk out. (Best email list practice – I have to ask permission before just jacking subscribers onto a new list). As I said in that email, I won’t be sending the same emails twice. I’m just going to alternate sending in TinyLetter and sending in Flodesk and seeing what happens. I already know Flodesk is going to look better, but will folks actually get the emails is the question. I don’t go deep off into analytics – I’m no email list pro – but I know that people have to actually receive an email in order for it to be effective LOL
Join me over the next few months and let’s see how this Flodesk experiment goes. 👍. I like keeping a mailing list so I can engage more fully with my most engaged peoples in a way that doesn’t always translate in Social Media land. And especially now that we’re starting to see the TikTok-ification of Instagram, conveying information in something other than a 15 second sound-bite will become all the more paramount for folks like me. The blog will still be blogging, social social-ing, and the list will be listing. Hopefully now my emails will be able to match the rest of my vibe aesthetically.
May the best email list service win!
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