If you happen to’re searching for your subsequent electronic mail advertising and marketing platform, and also you’re curious if Package is best for you, effectively, you’re in the suitable place! Right here’s our complete Package assessment for 2024, which can cowl:
- What Is Package?
- Why do I want an electronic mail service supplier (ESP)?
- The rebrand from ConvertKit to Package
- Package Options
- Package Pricing
- Key Advantages of Package
- Drawbacks of Package
- Package & E-mail Advertising: Extra Sources to Learn, Hear & Be taught
What’s Package?
Package is an electronic mail service supplier (ESP). Primarily, it’s a expertise service that permits you to ship electronic mail campaigns to a listing of subscribers. Package is one in every of actually tons of of ESPs on the market, and—full disclosure—it occurs to be the one we favor and use at SPI.
Though we’re biased, we are able to nonetheless be goal! On this put up, we’ll cowl the options, advantages, and drawbacks of Package as we see them, that can assist you resolve if it’s the suitable ESP for what you are promoting.
E-mail advertising and marketing technique: Why you want an ESP
If you happen to’re studying this, you may already know what an ESP is and why you want one. However in case you don’t, an ESP is an important piece of expertise to help your electronic mail advertising and marketing technique.
E-mail advertising and marketing is among the strongest strategies to construct relationships and market your services to your viewers. Let’s speak about why that’s.
In its most simple type, electronic mail advertising and marketing includes you sending emails to a bunch of people that’ve chosen to listen to from you by “subscribing” to obtain emails from you. You may technically use a easy electronic mail program like Gmail to perform this—however we don’t suggest it, since you’ll rapidly discover it inadequate (and since your private electronic mail account will get flagged as spam if you happen to ship too many emails from it!).
As what you are promoting grows and extra individuals subscribe to get your emails, you’ll need the flexibility to do extra refined issues along with your electronic mail advertising and marketing, like customizing the emails individuals get based on their pursuits, and utilizing reviews and analytics to find out what’s working effectively or not.
You additionally have to ensure you’re respecting individuals’s privateness and never spamming anybody. An electronic mail service supplier additionally lets you keep in compliance with authorities rules world wide, such because the CAN-SPAM act in america, the Basic Information Safety Regulation within the European Union (GDPR), and the Canada Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).
Issues can rapidly get out of hand with out the assistance of a devoted electronic mail advertising and marketing platform. That’s the place an ESP like Package is available in.
Okay, let’s get into the nitty gritty of Package’s options!
Psst… Need to develop your electronic mail listing and be taught highly effective segmentation and automation methods that permit what you are promoting to run by itself? Take a look at the E-mail Advertising Magic course.
Package options
These are the important thing options of Package, organized by the way you’ll use them.
Sending emails
- Autoresponders/drip campaigns (sequences): Ship a sequence of pre-written emails routinely to a particular section of subscribers in your listing, triggered by a particular occasion or motion, with the goal of guiding them to take a particular motion.
- Broadcast emails: Ship normal bulletins or one-time emails to your subscribers on a particular date.
- CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and CASL compliance: CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and CASL are legal guidelines that set the foundations and necessities for business electronic mail messages, and provides recipients the suitable to have you ever cease emailing them—so compliance is essential!
- Dynamic (personalised) electronic mail content material: Your electronic mail content material can show completely different textual content or photos, based on your buyer segmentation.
- Responsive electronic mail templates: Prepared-to-go electronic mail designs, in addition to the flexibility to create your individual customized templates. Package routinely codecs your touchdown pages for numerous units, equivalent to desktop computer systems and cellphones.
- WYSIWYG electronic mail editor: The built-in electronic mail editor allows you to see how your electronic mail will look along with your template’s styling utilized whilst you’re composing it.
Gathering new subscribers
- Customized responsive touchdown pages: Use the included instrument to rapidly create a touchdown web page to gather electronic mail addresses. Package routinely codecs your touchdown pages for numerous units, equivalent to desktop computer systems and cellphones.
- Embeddable kinds: Gather electronic mail subscribers wherever in your web site by dropping in a Javascript or HTML type, or through the use of the WordPress plugin.
- Website builder: Create a web site instantly on Package to publish newsletters, host a digital storefront to gather cost for one-time or subscription merchandise, and construct customized pages. Arrange a touchdown web page and acquire cost for one-time or subscription merchandise proper inside Package.
- Visible automations: Package means that you can create rule-based paths utilizing if-then logic, in order that when a subscriber takes a specific motion, you may ship them pre-defined emails or add them to a section.
Studying about your subscribers
- A/B testing: Package allows you to take a look at completely different topic strains on your emails, and routinely determines the winner primarily based on their respective open charges.
- Reporting/analytics/ROI monitoring: Find out how usually your subscribers open your emails, click on on hyperlinks, and full numerous actions.
- Segmentation/tagging: Segmenting your subscribers into completely different classes (just like however extra highly effective than different packages’ “lists”) means that you can ship them emails which can be higher tailor-made to their wants and pursuits.
- Polls. Add polls on to emails to have interaction with and acquire details about subscribers, which you’ll then use to construct segments.
Rising your revenue
- In 2022, Package Commerce was added to the platform, permitting customers to strive promoting digital merchandise to their subscribers by creating personalized product pages that may be embedded in your emails, together with automated gross sales funnels.
- The present iteration of Package additionally encompasses a web site builder. You possibly can create a web site instantly on Package to publish newsletters, host a digital storefront to gather cost for one-time or subscription merchandise, and construct customized pages.
Connecting with and supporting different creators: The Creator Community
- In 2023, Package launched the Creator Community, which helps customers information their viewers members to find different creators and get found in flip.
- You may as well receives a commission for Creator Community suggestions you make through the aptly named Paid Suggestions.
Increasing the platform’s capabilities: App retailer
- As a part of the 2024 rebrand, additionally they launched an app retailer, the place you could find customized apps to do extra with Package. The app retailer will launch with 5 apps: KitBoard (add CRM to your account), Wordsmith (flip YouTube movies into newsletters, SavvyCal (add reserving widgets to emails), Mighty (join your Mighty neighborhood and content material with Package), and SegMetrics (study the way you acquire, have interaction, and convert subscribers).
- Package additionally gives a self-service app builder to create your individual add-ons. (As of this writing, the service is at the moment in beta.)
Begin your Package account — free on your first 10,000 subscribers!
That is an affiliate hyperlink
From “ConvertKit” to “Package”: Behind the rebrand
In summer season 2024, the corporate beforehand often known as ConvertKit formally turned Package. The brand new title was introduced in July through the Craft + Commerce Creator Convention and went stay in October. (That they had beforehand rebranded to Seva in 2018, however appreciable unfavorable suggestions to the brand new title brought about them to revert to ConvertKit till this yr.)
The change to Package was greater than a reputation change, although, as a result of the corporate launched a number of large new capabilities to their platform as effectively. We lined a few of the new options within the part above, however listed below are the highlights:
- An app retailer the place builders can create add-ons to reinforce Package’s capabilities
- A central knowledge hub with enhanced reporting
- An expanded Creator Community to assist customers discover new collaboration companions
Package additionally made some extent of rebranding in public by sharing details about the rebranding course of via weblog updates, live-streamed design periods, and a four-part YouTube mini-documentary. This transparency offers an attention-grabbing perception into the corporate’s considering. And we expect it’s a sensible transfer given how their earlier rebrand went.
With that out of the best way, let’s speak about pricing.
Package pricing
For a very long time, Package solely supplied paid plans. However in December 2019, the corporate introduced a brand new free tier in case you have fewer than 1,000 subscribers. They lately expanded the free tier to incorporate creators with as much as 10,000 subscribers.
Listed below are Package’s pricing choices as of October 2024:
Package Publication Plan
- $0/month for as much as 10,000 subscribers
The Publication plan consists of:
- 1 fundamental Visible Automation
- 1 electronic mail Sequence
- 1 consumer
- Limitless touchdown pages, opt-in kinds, and electronic mail broadcasts
- Viewers tagging & segmentation
- Promote digital merchandise
- Run paid newsletters & subscriptions
- Publication feed & web site
- API Entry
- Free Suggestions (required—at the very least one suggestion slot to develop your listing by cross-promoting with different creators)
- Good Suggestions (auto-recommendation of comparable creators that can assist you develop your listing)
- 24/7 help
Package Creator Plan
- $9/month for as much as 300 subscribers (paid yearly; $15 if paid month-to-month)
- $25/month for as much as 1,000 subscribers (paid yearly; $29 if paid month-to-month)
- Tiered pricing as much as $1,916/month (paid yearly; $1,916 if paid month-to-month) for as much as 400,000 subscribers
The Creator plan consists of:
- All of the options of the Publication plan
- Limitless Visible Automations
- Limitless electronic mail Sequences
- 2 customers
- Free migration from one other instrument
- Free Suggestions
- Paid Suggestions
- Take away Package branding
- Third-party integrations
- RSS campaigns
- Polls
Package Creator Professional Plan
- $25/month for as much as 300 subscribers (paid yearly; $29 if paid month-to-month)
- $50/month for as much as 1,000 subscribers (paid yearly; $59 if paid month-to-month)
- Tiered pricing as much as $2,166/month (paid yearly; $2,599 paid month-to-month) for as much as 400,000 subscribers
The Creator Professional plan consists of:
- All of the options of the Creator plan
- Limitless Visible Automations
- Limitless electronic mail Sequences
- Limitless customers
- Fb customized audiences
- Publication referral system
- Edit hyperlinks in despatched broadcasts
- Subscriber engagement scoring
- Superior deliverability reporting
- Insights dashboard
- 24/7 Precedence help
Each the Creator and Creator Professional plans provide a 14-day free trial so you may see if it’s best for you earlier than committing.
We’ll hold this put up up to date with the newest Package pricing, however you may as well go to the pricing web page on the Package web site.
Let’s get into the explanations we like Package subsequent!
Advantages of Package
We’ve used Package to energy Good Passive Revenue’s electronic mail advertising and marketing for a number of years. In that point, we’ve discovered it to be the perfect ESP for our wants. We additionally suppose it’s an ideal answer for a variety of entrepreneurs and digital creators searching for a sturdy, feature-rich electronic mail advertising and marketing platform.
One of the best electronic mail service supplier for brand new entrepreneurs.
Straightforward to be taught, highly effective if you want it.
That is an affiliate hyperlink
From the place we sit, the facility of Package falls into two primary classes: consumer advantages, and viewers advantages.
Package advantages from the consumer’s standpoint
First, Package has all the things a enterprise proprietor wants to rise up and working rapidly:
- You possibly can acquire emails.
- You possibly can arrange a easy touchdown web page to gather emails.
- You possibly can promote merchandise (one-time buy or subscription).
These options permit somebody to begin promoting even whereas they’re within the strategy of establishing a web site elsewhere. It additionally makes it simple to execute on one of many primary classes in our Good From Scratch course: utilizing promoting as a key step within the idea-validation course of.
Second, the Package workforce designed their platform to develop with the sophistication of the consumer. Once you begin, you most likely simply need to acquire electronic mail addresses and ship emails. However as you develop, you’ll need to begin tailoring your message and segmenting your viewers. At that time you may reap the benefits of issues like automations and dynamic content material. As you and what you are promoting turn out to be extra superior, the Creator Professional Plan is the next step—you received’t have to change to a special electronic mail service supplier 5 years down the street. This units Package other than another ESPs, significantly Mailchimp.
Some individuals discover Package a bit daunting (see Drawbacks under), however if you happen to’re considerably tech-savvy we expect it’s fairly approachable. Specifically, we just like the accessibility of Package’s automation builder, which helps you to create automations in a simple, linear manner.
We tried Infusionsoft for a yr and located its automation builder revolutionary however overwhelming. You needed to already perceive how automations work, in addition to the varied symbols widespread in automation builders. We discover Package’s automation builder, alternatively, makes it simple to string automations collectively in a sophisticated manner. With a number of templates to select from, establishing an automation for the primary time is straightforward for any consumer.
We additionally like Package’s method to subscriber administration. With Package, all of your subscribers go into one large pool; there aren’t any lists. As a substitute, subscribers may be put into segments by assigning them attributes utilizing tags and customized fields. These allow you to deal with your subscribers as distinctive people with completely different wants; not all subscribers are created equal. The opposite advantage of the best way Package treats subscribers? You’re solely charged as soon as for every distinctive subscriber, in contrast to another ESPs.
Package’s lately launched Creator Community can also be an enormous plus in our eyes, from each a business-building and community-building perspective. It means that you can develop your subscriber base whereas additionally fostering connections with different entrepreneurs and creators.
Final however not least, if you happen to’re shifting from one other ESP like Mailchimp or AWeber, Package gives a free migration service that may take a few of the headache out of switching.
Package advantages on your viewers
Package offers you the chance to tailor your messaging to your viewers. You possibly can have as many kinds and touchdown pages as you need. You possibly can have as many tags, customized fields, and segments as you need. You may be as particular in speaking to your viewers as you need to be.
As you acquire details about your viewers, you can begin to section subscribers so that you don’t hassle individuals with issues they aren’t interested by. Package makes it simple to gather particulars about your viewers alongside the best way, and also you aren’t penalized for that via larger prices, as you’ll be with a list-based electronic mail platform.
Drawbacks of Package
No answer is ideal, in fact. Listed below are a few of the drawbacks we and different Package customers have observed.
- Reasonably steep studying curve. The interface is usually a little overwhelming for a newbie. Taking full benefit of all of Package’s options—like segmentation, tagging, and automations—requires some studying (and doubtlessly coding). You possibly can shorten this studying curve by following their Getting Began video sequence, in addition to the remainder of the content material on their well-organized help web site
- No list-based group. Though we like the best way Package allows you to set up subscribers utilizing tags (and doesn’t cost you for duplicate subscribers, as we talked about above), the shortage of a list-based group system may be complicated if you happen to’re coming from different platforms. Over time, although, we expect you’ll discover this technique extra versatile than managing lists.
- Barebones electronic mail and touchdown web page templates. Package requires CSS coding to create customized superior electronic mail templates and touchdown pages past the included choices. Some customers report that the e-mail design instrument may be buggy.
- Analytics might be extra sturdy. The free and Creator plans don’t provide the identical superior deliverability reporting, subscriber scoring, and analytics options of the Perception function that the Creator Professional plan gives, which is smart however could also be a hassle to some customers.
Fortunately, one of many earlier drawbacks of Package, that there was no free possibility, hasn’t been the case since 2019. This free tier makes Package comparable on the entry degree to different standard ESP choices like Mailchimp.
Lastly, that is under no circumstances a disadvantage, however as Package continues to develop its choices to incorporate issues just like the Creator Community and Package Commerce to its core electronic mail advertising and marketing capabilities, there’s an opportunity that the platform’s worth may get unfold skinny. To be clear, we don’t suppose that is going to occur and have quite a lot of confidence in Nathan and the Package workforce, but it surely’s value preserving in thoughts.
Our large takeaway on Package
With the latest updates, Package is coming nearer to being a one-stop store for creators who need to develop, nurture, and promote to their audiences with a platform that’s largely prepared to make use of and automatable. If you happen to’re searching for your first or subsequent electronic mail advertising and marketing platform, we expect it’s an ideal answer for rising your viewers and rising your revenue whereas retaining artistic management over what you place out into the world!
Package & electronic mail advertising and marketing: Extra assets to learn, hear & be taught
So there you’ve gotten it—our assessment of Package’s electronic mail advertising and marketing platform! We’ll depart you with just a few extra assets if you happen to’re inquisitive about Package, or need to dig additional into electronic mail advertising and marketing.
Package [Full Disclosure: As an affiliate, we receive compensation if you purchase through this link.]
SPI 825: Behind the Scenes of a Main Rebrand & Classes Realized After a Exhausting Fail—my dialog with Package CEO Nathan Barry about setting his firm’s sights on extra formidable objectives with the rebrand.
What Is E-mail Advertising? + Greatest Practices: An SPI How-to Information
E-mail Advertising Magic Course
AP 0712: How Do I Migrate an E-mail Record from AWeber to Package? – Good Passive Revenue
Why I Switched from Aweber to Infusionsoft to ConvertKitI hope this put up has been useful in deciding whether or not Package is the suitable ESP for what you are promoting. No matter electronic mail advertising and marketing platform you select, nothing is extra vital than having the suitable electronic mail advertising and marketing technique, so make sure you take a look at our important information to electronic mail advertising and marketing and take into account the E-mail Advertising Magic course if you would like extra hands-on help along with your electronic mail advertising and marketing, out there contained in the SPI Group. Good luck!
