When I started searching for an email marketing platform there are many to choose from. I started by signing up for the free trials of the most popular – Flodesk, Mailchimp, and Kit. Any marketing platform will be able to do the basics: put your brand into the email marketing platform, send an email, and create a form that can be placed on your website. The following covers a comparison of my experience when first diving into each platform.
Prefer to watch a video instead of reading? Everything I talk about in this blog post is here in this YouTube video.
Setting Up Your Brand in Mailchimp
I want to be able to set up my brand once in an email marketing platform and have those settings for everything I do in there. In my experience with Mailchimp, I found it a little hard to find. I had to navigate through a couple different areas until I found it. The font selection was grayed out and only gave me the option of one font, which might have been because I was on the free trial. After I did some researching, it looks like there are some YouTube videos that show you how to add Google and Adobe fonts, and itl ooks as though the font selection can be dropped down.
Setting Up Your Brand in Kit
I was able to find the brand settings a little faster in Kit, but then I got stuck. It showed the business name, brand colors and social links but I couldn’t find a place for fonts or to upload my logo. After looking around I can edit my fonts and insert my logo into emails, etc. individually but I still am unable to find a universal way to add these in.
Setting Up Your Brand in Flodesk
Flodesk is by far the easiest to set your brand up in. I found it quickly under settings and it actually says “Branding” so there isn’t any guessing. Everything is in this one area and there isn’t any guessing – logo, brand colors, fonts, even social links.
Review of Setting Up Brand in Email Marketing: Flodesk is the Winner
When I dive into each platform I didn’t have to Google anything when trying to add my brand guidelines into Flodesk. They were the clear winner with the ability to quickly find where to add the branding in, and the options available.
Next Review: Creating an Email
After you have your branding set-up in your email marketing system, the next step is most likely creating an email. I jumped into Flodesk, Mailchimp, and Kit to start creating an email to see how quickly I could figure out how to create one and the templates that were already available to use.
Creating an Email in Mailchimp
Mailchimp had a quick button right at the top of the main page to create an email, so that was easy to find! After that I tried to search for a template that I could start with, and it seemed like they all said I had to upgrade to use. Keep in mind, I am on the free trial for Mailchimp right now as I’m trying out different email marketing platforms. There weren’t any options to filter the results for free email templates, but they did have some basic layouts available to choose from. I ended up starting with one of those and could easily and quickly find different sections to add to the email. Overall, it seemed fairly easy to create an email with a basic layout and design that would work for me if I was just starting my email list.
Creating an Email in Kit
Kit I found the most confusing, but I think it was because they use the word “Broadcast” instead of Emails. I found myself stumbling around trying to find a template and a place to start, and then found it difficult to try to even build the email. It was hard to find some email templates to start with, and it didn’t seem as user friendly. After I found the email templates I couldn’t figure out how to add different sections. Eventually I found that if you hover in between sections a plus sign shows up. I also couldn’t figure out how to adjust the footer part of the email, which may have been because I was using a template. It was easy to swap out images and change fonts and text after that.
Creating an Email in Flodesk
I think you will find that creating an email in Flodesk is nothing like these other email marketing platforms. They have beautiful email templates that you can easily just update and use. Adding in sections to an email template is similar to Kit, where you have to hover in between sections and click the plus sign to see different options. Overall I think their library of templates and pieces they have to create your own email are far superior than any other platform.
Review of Creating an Email: Functionality, all kind of similar but Flodesk wins with email templates
They all have very similar functionality if you are starting out with email marketing. You can find an email template to start with, customize it and send it out. Flodesk has so many more options and more beautifully designed email templates that are available to you though.
Next Review: Creating a Form
As a website designer, creating a form and being able to embed it on your website is one of my top reasons for selecting an email marketing platform. You want to be able to embed the form on your website to collect emails and build your email list, and you want this form to look native to your website.
Every email marketing platform has the ability to create an inline form. You can create your forms that you want (name, email, subscribe) but there are some key differences between the platforms.
Forms in MailChimp
The pro side for Mailchimp forms: easy to create for a basic form.
The downside for Mailchimp forms: you need code to customize it.
You can see when I embed the code on my Showit site there isn’t a transparent background, and it does not look native to my site at all. As a website designer, I think this is a huge turnoff. As far as being user friendly, not many people know how to use code to make a form look the way they want it on their site.
Forms in Kit
The pro side for Kit forms: easy to create the forms and really easy to see the performance of each form on your main dashboard.
The downside for Kit forms: you need code to customize the font.
When I embed the code on my Showit site it looks really nice. The ability to have the transparent background in the form is a necessity to make it look like it is part of the website. The only downside is that you can’t change the font in the forms. You again would need to use code in order to make the fonts match your website.
Forms in Flodesk
The pro side for Flodesk forms: easy to create and customize to look native with your site
The downside for Flodesk forms: alignment on the website, and the code input for a Showit site
One thing that sets Flodesk apart from the other email marketing platforms when it comes to forms, is that it automatically asks you what segment you want the form to connect to. You can also do this with other email marketing platforms but I feel like it is a necessary step that you could forget. Flodesk puts it right in your face so you don’t forget! You can also edit the form completely to make it look 100% native to your website – again a HUGE plus. My only issue with Flodesk forms is the ability to make it line up nicely on your website. For example, the forms and the submit button are always aligned to the center and it takes a lot to get it positioned correctly on your site. Also, you are suppose to copy both the header and the inline codes into the embed box (on Showit), which may not be intuitive to someone that doesn’t know.
Final Choice for Email Marketing: Flodesk
Overall, I have chosen Flodesk for my email marketing. The templates, the new features they come out with, and the ease of using the platform are all superior to other email marketing platforms. If you are just starting out with email marketing, I believe you could start with any email marketing platform honestly.
- Kit and Mailchimp have free plans that you can start with if you are just starting with email marketing. This gives you the ability to put a form on your website and start collecting emails. This is what I did!
Another important note: when you are looking at the cost of email marketing platforms, they are typically based on the number of subscribers you have and/or the number of emails you sent. Currently until November 28, 2025 Flodesk is offering unlimited emails and unlimited subscribers. After November 28, 2025 if you sign up with Flodesk your pricing will scale with your audience size.
Sign up now with my link and you will receive 50% off your first year with Flodesk, PLUS you will be locked in with unlimited subscribers.
This is a great time to start your email marketing, or even switch email marketing platforms to Flodesk! Especially if you are with an email marketing platform that is priced by audience size. Make the switch before November 28 and get locked in!
