Today, I want to talk all about the best email platform for creative entrepreneurs. As someone who's been in business for almost a decade now, I have a lot of opinions about email marketing. To be honest, email marketing is one of the things that has made the biggest impact in my business (despite the fact that it has not taken the most work—not by a long shot). And, since starting my business in 2016, I’ve explored most of the email marketing tools out there!
With that in mind, not all platforms are created equally, and today I specifically want to talk about what I consider to be the best email platform for creative entrepreneurs: Flodesk. PLUS, I'm also giving you an incredible discount code 
Get 50% off your first YEAR using the code ELIZABETH
In this post, we're going to be talking about:
- What email marketing even is
- Why I love Flodesk for creative entrepreneurs
- Flodesk features I love (and think everyone should use)
- Tips to actually email your list effectively
Ready? Let’s jump in.
What is email marketing anyway?
Email marketing can be something that feels kind of jargony or maybe it even feels like a bigger deal than it is. You hear a lot of people talk about it, but few people actually talk about how to do it. You might even already have feelings about email marketing because you’ve seen people do it really poorly (and doing shady practices like blowing up your inbox without you opting in).
At the end of the day, email marketing is just growing a list of email addresses with real humans and emailing them to sell your products or services. That’s it!
When someone talks about email marketing, they could be talking about:
- Setting up a lead magnet and writing a “welcome sequence” that welcomes new subscribers to their list
- Setting up an evergreen funnel which works similarly but ultimately the goal of the email sequence is to sell them something from your business
- Weekly or monthly emails you send out to your people (keep reading for more ideas on what to write about!). For example, we do this for the Breakthrough Brand Podcast! I share about the episode to my list every single Tuesday.
Does your business really “need” email marketing?
I’m coming in hot with an unpopular opinion here and saying NO, your business doesn’t need email marketing. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t think it’s a really great idea. If you ever want to scale your business, you'll be happier you started growing your email list sooner rather than later..
And by scale your business, I mean if you ever want to serve more clients, sell products, or have a more automated lead generation process, having an email list is a really great way to do that. But, any “guru” who tells you that any particular business thing is a “must-have for all businesses no matter what”... is probably just trying to sell you something.
I think you should start building your email list even if you aren’t ready to start emailing people regularly yet.
I’m going to get into why Flodesk can make emailing your people a lot easier in a second, but first I also want to say that you don’t need to email people regularly before you start trying to grow an email list. I’m a big believer that we should “start before we are ready” most of the time.
How do I know? Because I felt the exact same way when I started my email list. I knew when I set up my first email opt-in form that I was not going to be able to email those people weekly. NO WAY would I have the time, and I didn't have the audience to justify the time anyway. Besides, what would I even email them about?!
However, as I was writing my regular blog posts, I did create freebies or “content upgrades” where people could get more information and I grew my list that way.
I collected the email addresses of people who signed up for my freebies, and just SAT ON THEM. Then, when I WAS ready, I was starting with about 200 people on my list instead of zero. I started emailing those people more consistently, and it was a great jumping off point as I grew my business into things like websites templates and courses.
Enter: Flodesk (Why I Think It’s The Best Email Marketing Platform For Creative Entrepreneurs)
Flodesk is an email marketing platform that has literally been built for creatives with both function and aesthetics in mind. It is so user-friendly and design friendly (even if you aren’t a designer). If you love Showit as much as I do, it kind of reminds me of that because of the easy drag-and-drop nature. It's also similar to using Canva in that way!
When I think about the best email marketing platform for creative entrepreneurs, I also think of the “best one” as being the one that actually gets used. There are a lot of fancy funnel tools out there, but most are overly complicated for what the average solopreneur or small business owner really needs. When you sign up for Flodesk, you can have an email that you’re actually excited to send up within the hour. That’s not even the best part though…
With Flodesk, you can add as many subscribers as you like, at no extra cost.
I don’t know any other email marketing platform that doesn’t increase their pricing as your list grows. Honestly, this is one of the biggest advantages to Flodesk for me (especially if you’re just starting to grow your list and don’t want to have to move everything over once you actually build a list).
When I look at competitors, I would be paying 3-4x the amount that Flodesk charges for the size of my list. In that way, other platforms that charge you by subscriber almost encourage you to constantly be trimming your list and getting rid of inactive subscribers. But the reality is those subscribers do sometimes come back to you. And I have also personally experimented with over-trimming my list and ended up seriously regretting it. If I wasn’t paying for the number of subscribers I had, I wouldn’t have done that!
So needless to say, this is one of my favorite reasons to choose Flodesk as the best email marketing platform for creative entrepreneurs. And, I’d say it’s the most affordable email marketing platform too!
3 Email Marketing Features Creative Entrepreneurs Love
Spinner Forms
Who doesn't love to spin to win? The gamified nature of spinner forms makes signing up for your list more exciting, which then gets more and more people to opt in. We all love the idea of winning things and using a spinner form is a great way to get people engaged from the moment they land on your website. PLUS, they actually even convert up to 30% more visitors than your standard popup form. I’d argue that they're more memorable and set your brand apart too.
This is something I see commonly with e-commerce brands I love, but rarely with small businesses. BUT, what if you could use a spinner to give your audience different discount percentages on your template shop? Or, let them “win” a different freebie? So many options with this!
Countdown Forms
I love any piece of software that allows me to cut something else I’m paying (I run a Profit First business over here!). For creative entrepreneurs that launch products especially, you’re going to love the countdown forms that Flodesk has. They’ve made it easier than ever to encourage you to get users to act quickly before time runs out—without you needing to use fancy code or another piece of software. Plus, you don’t need to “remember to turn it off” because the form will automatically turn to a waitlist once the timer goes off (which means you can STILL collect email addresses from those who might miss the deadline). These countdown forms have been proven to increase conversions by up to 200%.
Video Forms
We have all gotten a lot better at making video over the last couple of years, haven't we? Flodesk recently launched video forms, which are kind of a game-changer in the email marketing space. The truth is, I think that we’ve also all gotten a little more discerning over who we give our email too. Video forms help you create a personal connection with your audience, show off your brand personality and voice, get people warmed up to you, and capture a new user’s attention.
Plus, not only have video forms been shown to increase your conversion rate up to 80%, they also ultimately deepen the experience someone might have on your website. Video is one of the best mediums we have as entrepreneurs for taking new people in our audience from cold traffic to ready to buy.
Bonus: Flodesk has great checkout options!
Remember how I said I’m always happy to cut extra software? One of the coolest things about Flodesk is their checkout pages and options—they actually look so good! If you’re just getting started selling digital products and don’t want to purchase something like Thrivecart to help people checkout, Flodesk Checkout is a GREAT option!!
The Best Flodesk Discount Code in 2024
While price is definitely not the only reason to choose a software, the truth is that Flodesk is also one of the most affordable email marketing platforms for creative entrepreneurs. And like I said, you lock in the price that you pay when you sign up and you don't have to pay more for growing your list.
Add as many subscribers as you want and they'll just cheer you on as your list grows. Use code ELIZABETH for 50% off!
Email Marketing Ideas for Creative Entrepreneurs
I hope that this has inspired you to take action and get started with email marketing. If this is something that has been on your to-do list, I want to just say this: it's not as intimidating as you think to get started. Especially with something like Flodesk because like I said before, it's so easy to make your emails so pretty and so strategic.
Here are some ideas to get you started.
First, what you're working on behind the scenes can be a really great thing to start emailing people about. People love a behind the scenes look and oftentimes email can feel like a more intimate space.
With that said, I also think sharing what you are working on publicly is a good idea. This can look like the emails I send weekly about my podcast episodes. It can also look like a roundup of content, like your favorite reels that went live or favorite things you read on the internet this week.
I also love the idea of sharing an industry hot take that you don't necessarily want every single person's opinion on. It can feel really intimidating to post something on Instagram or threads when you're not sure how it's received. Email can feel like a safer spot to do that and it feels authentic which in turn deepens your connection with your people.
Lastly, and honestly it probably goes without saying, but sell your products and services. Your email subscribers should be getting your best stuff, so make sure to add value to your emails, but don’t be afraid to sell to them too!
Email Marketing Resources for Creative Entrepreneurs
As you get started with Flodesk, here are a few resources to help make email marketing a little easier!
- 4 Must-Haves For Your Email Welcome Sequence
- 5 Ways to Leverage the Power of SEO to Build Your Email List
- Your Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Quiz Lead Magnet in 2024 (Using Interact and Showit)
- How to Write Emails That *Actually* Get Opens, Clicks, and Replies With Emily Conley
Don't forget to use Flodesk coupon code ELIZABETH for 50% off your first year!
