Why I Switched to Flodesk for Email Marketing: A Complete Review for Business Owners

Oct 02, 2024

Flodesk made email marketing easy and beautiful, which means I actually send emails now. Here's how it transformed my business and why it could do the same for you.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. Kate Waldo + Co. only recommends products and services that we personally use and/or recommend. 

Two years ago I nearly gave up on the one marketing "thing" that made me the most money: emails. I had done what the 'experts' told me to do; I paid for a pricey subscription to a very high-tech (but somehow still very non-user-friendly) email service that spliced and diced my email list in a million different ways and gave me all sorts of ways to write an email. 

Approximately about 60% of my revenue came from my email marketing. I've always been a big believer in email marketing for 2 reasons: 1. It's vital to own your list versus just relying on reaching people via social media where your account can disappear in an instant. 2. People spend more money in their inbox. 

Wanna see the emails I send? Take this quiz to check out one of my favorite email workflow automations! 

The moment of nearly quitting emails happened in the spring of 2023 when I got an email from said email marketing service that their rates were DOUBLING and I had, oh yeah, only 30 days until the new rates kicked in. OMG.

At that point, I had hardly even sent any emails in the last 6 months because using their platform was just so clunky. I love pretty things, so I love sending out pretty emails. Problem was, you basically needed a degree in computer science to make an aesthetically pleasing email. I would spend no less than 2 hours per email on making the spacing look right, adding in photos or GIFs, changing the font colors, etc. Honestly, it was maddening, and by the time I figured out what to write I didn't have the energy left to make it look good too. 

Enter: Flodesk ✨👩🏼‍💻💌

What is Flodesk? An Overview for Entrepreneurs

Flodesk is a visually-driven email marketing platform, designed with simplicity and ease of use in mind, perfect for bloggers and small businesses.

I had seen Flodesk mentioned by my blogger friends at The Blog Societies for at least a couple of years. They touted its great layouts for blogging newsletters and freebie delivery. That was great, but since my business is a bit more complex with online offerings like courses, consulting, downloads, and email nurture workflows, I doubted Flodesk could do what my aforementioned "high-tech" email marketing platform could. Plus, you get 50% off your first year when you use this link, so why not? 

Switching Email Providers to Flodesk

However, at that point, I had nothing to lose. I flat out was not sending emails (ya know, that one thing that made me the majority of my income?!) because it was too complex and I didn't feel like the message I was sending was representative of my business, my brand, and how I wanted to serve people. So why would I pay double NOT to send any emails? 

Deep breath in. Deep breath out...

I bit the bullet and transferred my email list over to Flodesk.

I honestly thought it would be a painful experience but it was so smooth and straightforward. Flodesk gave me step-by-step instructions for the transfer process - I appreciated this not only because it made it easy, but also because it helped me avoid any common mistakes people make when transferring to a new email provider. (There are several that can land you in spam purgatory, so make sure to pay attention to their instructions!)

Top Features of Flodesk: Why It Stands Out in 2024

Now, over a year and a half later, I am as obsessed with Flodesk as ever. Here's what I love most:

  • Drag-and-Drop Editor: Add a brief mention of how quickly you could create a beautiful email with Flodesk's drag-and-drop editor compared to the hours you used to spend.
  • Beautiful Email Templates: Designing an email is so easy - they have a bunch of beautiful templates to work from. You can also design your own and save elements you want to reuse. I highly recommend setting up your branding in your profile once you get an idea of the colors and fonts you like to use. It will make it so much easier to start an email with your preferences already in place! 
  • Fair Pricing: Their pricing is so fair - they charge one set (very reasonable) price instead of it varying based on how many subscribers you have.
  • Unlimited Emails: Flodesk doesn’t limit the number of emails you can send - thank you!
  • Workflows and Automation: If you know my work, you know I love a good system. The workflows in Flodesk are so easy and intuitive. Other email marketing services offer workflows but they make your brain want to melt just trying to figure out how to set up the logic to make the workflow actually function.  

Flodesk Pros and Cons: What You Need to Know

It's safe to say that every bullet point above is a point in the "Pro" column for Flodesk. If we are being honest, no one technology is perfect. There's always something we'd love to add if we could. One downside is that Flodesk doesn’t have as many third-party integrations as some competitors, which may be limiting for users needing advanced functionality.

But let me say, I have sent so many more emails since I simplified my workflows. As a Professional Organizer and systems expert, I will always recognize the benefit of stripping it back, pairing down, and taking a really good look at what you're working with. Do you still need it? Is it truly serving you? It might not be. 

Flodesk is Worth a Try

If you’re looking for a simple, beautiful, and effective way to do email marketing, give Flodesk a try. It’s transformed how I run my business (sending more emails that make more $$ and help more business owners like you!), and it could do the same for you. Here's an example of one of my top-performing emails that I sent from Flodesk: 

Click here for a desktop version of the email.

It is so versatile and easy to use for all types of businesses. I actually have used Flodesk for all three of my businesses - Kate Waldo + Co., Orchid Organizing (now sold to new owners 🤍), and our safety tools + training business, Heartbeat Safety. Give it a try - I think you'll love it!

Use THIS LINK to try Flodesk for free using my affiliate link and get 50% off your first year. Then, I would love for you to forward me the first email you send out via Flodesk to [email protected] because I want to see your beautiful work in action! 

Talk soon,

Kate 

Kate Waldo + Co. 

P.S. Curious about what other systems and technology I recommend? Check out this blog post - The Best Automation Tools for Business Owners!

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