Why Flodesk is the Best Email Marketing Platform for Designers and Creatives
Why You Should be Using Flodesk for Email Marketing
I’m so thrilled that someone has finally heard the call and developed an email marketing platform that you just might fall in love with - especially if you are a jewelry designer, fashion designer, artisan or creative entrepreneur! All aspects of branding are interrelated and should be interconnected. The consistent messaging is what makes your brand memorable and ultimately desirable. For designers and creatives, it’s been a fairly lackluster choice of which email marketing platform to use as the majority do not put aesthetics and design in the forefront - until now!
I’ve used other email marketing platforms and Flodesk has come up with an array of templates and forms that really bridge the general cold static feeling of email marketing into a personalized email experience! Or you can totally unleash your inner creative being and easily build from scratch (my preference). For the past decade, I have used MailChimp (which I have always found clunky, frustrating and confusing), Constant Contact (straightforward and easy to use but highly generic in its ability to craft high level presentation) and Squarespace email marketing (my preferred choice - as it focuses on branded emails that look amazing!) and I have to say (other than Squarespace), Flodesk is currently leading the pack in email marketing, for those who value design, want to offer their customer with something that makes a lasting impression and want and/or need to stand out in the crowd! You’ll be able to create and send emails that not only look professional, but have a very ‘personal touch’ feeling to them. After all, providing emotional content to make connections with your customers is what it’s all about - and email marketing should provide the same exact experience! Flodesk provides the opportunity to elevate your email marketing to the next level - if you are able to customize and perfect your unique statement, you’ll appear as if you have a team of marketing experts and designers on your team - adding to your credibility and online trust.
Understand that Flodesk puts design in the forefront - unlike their competitors, who focus less on design on more on back end statistics and conversions. You have to decide which is more important to you. If you are a designer,you will appreciate the ability to send beautiful emails. If you are more interested in the back end statistics and analytics, and the ability to create complex segments, it may not be the right choice for you. I find this similar to choosing Squarespace vs. Shopify as your ecommerce platform. And I will be sharing my insights on this soon, as I work on both platforms - there are nuanced differences that I find most designers are not aware of - they just go with what their web designer or developer thinks is the “best.” Or some are convinced that the shopping bag logo somehow provides some inherent commerce success (it’s true, I have heard this from several people - yes, scratching my head..).
Other than the ability to create stunning emails (their tag line is simple, yet it speaks volumes - and is totally fitting), here are some of the other great features and benefits of using Flodesk:
No tiered pricing - grow your list for the same affordable rate - always. So whether you are sending out a few emails and just getting started or on your way to growing a huge list, the rate is the same! No penalty for being popular! I actually have clients who hold back on growing their list as they are on the brink of the next tiered level and face double the price they are paying now!
Creative Freedom! Not so much boxed in creative limitation here - a wide array of fonts, layouts, add video, collages, your Instagram feed…unleash your creative freedom! You can start from scratch - and stay on brand!
Click and drag - building interesting and personalized emails is so much easier - and no coding required.
Easy to add segments, which for most designers will be totally sufficient for their business needs.
Set up workflows to suit your needs.
Create inline forms that will attract and build your audience.You’ll see my opt-in at the end of this post. Note how you can really customize a customer experience by sending them content they really want and suits their needs!
Lack of visuals? No problem, you can upload images directly from Unsplash directly with Flodesk.
If you are a Squarespace user, you’ll find the backend of Flodesk has a familiar feel - only more expanded and with more options. You’ll find it extremely easy to get up and running, as it’s highly intuitive...and psst! It’s also fun!
I build and develop email marketing campaigns for my clients. While I have the advantage of creating beautiful emails, due to the assets I am provided, now the process is so much more streamlined and I can easily take my clients to their next level of brand elevation. I typically create high converting emails and now I am challenging myself to go even higher and see what results and feedback I am able to achieve with Flodesk! I’m a firm believer that building lasting relationships is a key to brand success, especially for independent designers and small businesses. This platform provides all the necessary tools to take the pain and frustration out of creating great email content that your customers will enjoy receiving - and you will enjoy creating! It’s a great solution for those who want to make lasting impressions - and also a great conversation starter! Presentation is so important and this platform offers a very streamlined and easy way to get your email marketing set up and ready to go. If you’re old enough to remember, there was a time when receiving a personal handwritten letter or getting a card in the mail was a personal touch point. Now with everything online (including cards), we have, in my opinion, lost a bit of personal care and connection. Flodesk reminds me of the personal notes, letters, cards and invitations I have received and saved. I think all romantic or sensitive people and/or nostalgia lovers will be able to relate!
“When it comes to purchases made as a result of receiving a marketing message, email has the highest conversion rate (66%), when compared to social, direct mail and more.”
Some handy tips on using Flodesk
Tips for Using Flodesk :
If you decide to break up with the chimp or move from another platform : while Flodesk is certainly impressive, the best results will come when you go beyond the templates - just don’t fill them out without your personalized flair and send them. You don’t want to show up in your clients inbox looking like a cookie cutter version of another Flodesk user! Be daring and start from scratch, so your emails suit your branding perfectly. Take some time to craft and create some unique content that is truly reflective of your brand.Ultimately all your extended content provided should look and feel as it was hatched directly from your website. This is why other than Flodesk, Squarespace email marketing has been my number one choice, because it does exactly that.
Remember that while the platform is fantastic, fun and easy to use, you still need to provide beautiful visuals and engaging language. A system is only as good as what goes into it!
The success of any brand is - consistency in messaging! While you have this new and unleashed creative freedom, don’t get carried away with all the goodies that are offered and fall out of and away from your own identity! Try a few different formats before you send out anything! There is a multitude of customization and you want to make sure you are sending out the very best version of yourself and your business!
Make sure you verify your domain, so your emails don’t fall into the junk inbox or get blocked from delivering. You should actually go through the process of setting up all the account info, as you’ll want to jump right in to creating amazing emails! It will be hard to resist the temptation!
While Flodesk is only integrated at the moment with Shopify, it is easy enough to connect to other platforms with a few simple steps.
While there is no free plan, you have a 30 day trial, which is plenty of time to decide if Flodesk is the right choice for you.I don’t know anyone who is still on a free plan with other platforms and free plans come with their own set of limitations. Eventually as you build a list with any other platform, you will wind up paying more.
Most important note : Now, more than ever, you should not be solely reliant on social media. With Flodesk, interpersonal connections can be built - so you can offer an all encompassing brand experience that is so vitally important for brand success. My clients are generally too busy or not interested in the process of creating their own email marketing content (which still requires planning, great visuals and engaging language). With Flodesk you now have the capability of sending emails that look and feel like your brand, and I’m sure your customers will appreciate this “personal” touch! I’m a firm believer in building lasting relationships and I do not believe that anyone should be solely reliant on any one social media platform as their sole promotional vehicle. While it’s important - of course - it is not the end all. If a popular platform goes down (how often has this happened?) or you get locked out and can’t recover your account - or it happens to your followers - how would you reach them? What if the platform you’re on now loses its popularity and another one rises as the “place to be”. You’ll have to rebuild your audience from scratch. There is statistical evidence that email marketing provides a much higher rate of return than social media. I’m actually surprised by some of the designers I speak with who have absolutely no list whatsoever and are solely reliant on one social media platform to try and attract customers! Or only send out an email once or twice a year - and yet they are disappointed when no one bothers to open the email, let alone take any action. This is one of the eight biggest mistakes independent designers make, and you can read all about it here.
Right now, Flodesk is still in beta, and they are rolling out new features all the time. While the initial subscription may seem a bit high at $38, if you are currently using a tiered pricing platform, you will most likely surpass this, if you haven’t already - and, you will never be charged more as your list grows and expands. What I appreciate is their help section, called Flodesk University, which provides a FAQ along with various helpful tutorials that have been produced by their users. It’s really a nice welcoming community type of feeling, so even if you are totally fresh to email marketing, you will feel at ease finding answers to most of the questions you might have.
As a subscriber to many different types of sites, I have can honestly say I sort of cringe when I see some of the content that is sent out by some independent designers. Regardless of platform, you absolutely need a marketing plan and strategy - including visuals, relative content and calls to action. If you don’t understand the system and the basics of crafting a good email, no platform is going to solve this problem. It’s much more important to understand what is effective - and reflects your brand, than just to send out anything. It’s the “throw spaghetti on the wall” thinking, which more often than not leads to not-so-great-results.
Now, more than ever, you should not be solely reliant on social media. With Flodesk, interpersonal connections can be built - so you can offer an all encompassing brand experience that is so vitally important for brand success. My clients are generally too busy or not interested in the process of creating their own email marketing (which still requires planning of content, great visuals and engaging language).
If this seems all too daunting and you are not yet ready to take on the task of creating the perfect email marketing campaign that is crafted specifically for your brand, please feel free to contact me to start your personalized branded email marketing campaign services. You’ll still need to set up your own Flodesk account :-)
The opt - in to my guide - was created in Flodesk. I hope you will subscribe, as it provides the key essentials to becoming a desirable brand. And yes, email marketing is addressed. Perfect for jewelry or fashion designers and other artisans, no matter what stage of your business.
Are you ready to #gowiththeflo?
Find Out More By Visiting Flodesk!
*Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. I only share companies that I truly believe in, use myself and/or use for my clients.