OUR OVERVIEW OF EARLY ACCESS

After months of patiently waiting, I saw an email hit my inbox the other day that had me practically jumping out of my seat.

Leave it to being a business owner to have an update about an email marketing provider that literally makes your day.

You’ve most likely heard the buzz about Flodesk – a new email marketing platform promising to help you “design emails people love to get.”

I mean I think we can all breathe a sigh of relief about that!

I will say, I agree with a lot of experts about how email marketing doesn’t necessarily need to be full of designs and graphics. Often times, more plain text emails have higher delivery rates and thus higher open rates.

However, in order to stand out in a competitive market, it’s the little things like adding joy to your subscribers’ day upon opening an email and seeing something that is not only helpful but beautiful!

Besides, anything that allows me to complete a task more efficiently without fiddling with code or clunky templates – sign me up!

All this to say, the Flodesk + Zapier integration is here!

 

The Backstory

I’ll get into what that even means, BUT FIRST…

Let’s back up to the very beginning.

I started my email list years ago on MailChimp. It was free, I was on a budget, and I figured I had nothing to lose. #amiright

After wanting to segment my list and create various email sequences, I found myself running into roadblock after roadblock with Mailchimp’s list-based platform. That’s not to say that MailChimp isn’t an incredibly economical and effective email marketing provider for A LOT of people, it just wasn’t for me.

I started to hear all the rave reviews about Convertkit and became extremely curious. After weighing it and exploring a bit, I signed up for their $29/month starting rate.

Which, at the time, it felt like a solid monthly expense for something I had no idea whether anyone other than my mom and dad were going to subscribe to.

After years of being on the Convertkit platform, I honestly have nothing overtly negative to report.

…Aside from my late-night, wine-fueled, hunched over my keyboard sessions of figuring out CSS + HTML hacks to create a branded email template for Copy Uncorked, that is. All before sending out my launch email.

{I shudder.}

I DO think it’s a flexible and effective platform with a great, hardworking team of people. So you may be wondering why go through all the effort of making a switch?

DESIGN, YOU GUYS.

As you have probably gathered by now, I’m a copywriter who wholeheartedly believes in the dynamic conversion duo of copy & design.

Words sell things. 100%.

Words sell things.

(Yes, I repeated myself for emphasis.)

AND, words realllly sell things when they’re also pretty. ‘Tis true.

Not to mention, time is THE most precious commodity as a creative entrepreneur.

So when I found myself feeling some serious friction every time I went to send out an email, I knew it was time to find another way.

I didn’t feel like it should take handfuls of test emails and loads of frustration getting a quick broadcast email to look & feel on-brand.

I just wanted to quit before starting.

Enter: Flodesk.

(I know you saw that coming…)

When I first saw it and heard about it, I was STOKED. Like, “Gimme, gimme.”

But after looking into it further, as one does, I hit a snag.

When evaluating a new program, I always question how it will help me grow and scale and if it will create a ripple effect that causes even more work, or if it will add efficiencies in the long run.

Given the recent launch of Flodesk, it only had an integration with Shopify so far.

Which I don’t use.  ?

Since I have:

 

(1) a quiz through Interact

(2) used SendOwl in the past for digital product delivery

(3) and am planning to launch a course in the new year on Teachery

 

…I NEEDED Flodesk to “talk” to all of these other platforms.

{I expressed these challenges in this IGTV video recently.}

 

Back to the Email I Received…

So, flash forward to the email I received letting me know about private, early access to the Flodesk & Zapier integration.

I’m assuming you know what Zapier is, but if you don’t, it’s essentially a “liaison” type online software that communicates between various tools based on triggers and rules.

i.e.:

Things as simple as: “When I post on Instagram, share it to Pinterest.”

To more complex tasks, such as: “When a new order is placed on Teachery (a course platform), add a new subscriber to my ‘Students’ segment on Flodesk.”

All. The. Praise. Hands. ??

Now, is this an IDEAL situation? Fine, not exactly. Would it be better if Flodesk was integrated directly with all the other platforms I use? Sure.

But hey, this is a KILLER start and for being as new as it is, I’m impressed. That team is doing WORK to get this all going.

As part of being given early access, I wanted to share an inside look with you at how you can set up your own “zaps” to get your tools a talkin’.

 

Setting Up Zaps for Flodesk

I hadn’t been using Zapier for anything so I needed to quickly set-up an account – which took all of 5 minutes max.

Then I used the private link provided to me by Flodesk co-founder, Martha, and I was in!

STEP ONE.

Here’s a look at the Zapier dashboard. (FYI: Note where it says “My Zaps” next to “Dashboard.”)

After landing here, I hit the orange “Make a Zap” button in the top right corner.

STEP TWO.

I then searched for Flodesk, SendOwl, Interact and Teachery from the available apps to ensure they were all there. Check, check, check, check!

After adding them, you can see them all listed under “My Apps”.

STEP THREE.

Next, you’ll want to title the name of your zap. (Make it something clear so you &/or your team will know exactly what is.)

Then, I proceeded to search for my course platform, Teachery, to create a starting point for my zap.

This one is pretty straightforward – basically; new student in Teachery, new subscriber in Flodesk.

OK, PAUSE!

Within Flodesk, you’ll want to make sure you’ve created any necessary audience segments. Which you can do from the top menu by hovering over Audience > Segments > Add Segment.

Again, title it something clear and descriptive.

For example, my segment is: “Purchased [Name of] Course”

STEP THREE.

When adding the first action to your zap, you’ll have to obtain the API key from the app/platform you’re connecting to Zapier.

This can usually be found within your account settings of the specific app.

However, when connecting Flodesk it’s even easier! They’ve integrated via Oauth, which means when you choose to create a Flodesk zap in Zapier, it’s only going to ask you to log-in to your Flodesk account and then voila, you’re all set. Way easier and more secure!

STEP THREE.

After completing the set-up for the first action, I then searched for Flodesk and repeated the quick set-up for it – choosing the account, subscriber info, and the segment I wanted it to pull data into.

STEP FOUR.

From there, I hit Done Editing and “Turn on Zap”.

And just like that, the first zap has been created!

You’ll, of course, want to test your zap(s) and ensure all are functioning and populating properly.

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The zap set-up for my Interact quiz is a bit trickier since it essentially depends on the quiz taker’s result. I’m still ironing that one out and will report back in more detail once it’s a go!

 

Considering Cost

Before I let you go, the one other grand benefit to Flodesk is that they charge a flat rate and do not increase monthly payments based on your number of subscribers.

Convertkit unfortunately does. I get whyyy they do, but it’s incredibly beneficial to know that as your list grows, you won’t see more money going out the door for email marketing.

Additionally, you can get 50% OFF for LIFE when you CLICK HERE and create a Flodesk account of your own. You can start on a trial and then once you’re ready to go, it’s only $19/mo…for LIFE.

And if you haven’t already, be sure to join the Copy Cru to get our new & improved email look! ?

There’s more to come on this whole Flodesk + Zapier integration and all things email marketing, so get on the list so you don’t miss a sip!

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Thank you to the Flodesk team for being awesome! This post is not sponsored. This post does contain affiliate links. All opinions are my own.