Newsletter platform ConvertKit helps thousands of creators monetize their business by offering more than just digital newsletter deliveries.
It serves over 600,000 creators on its all-in-one newsletter creation platform. That may seem routine. The unlikely factor, though, is how founder and CEO Nathan Barry bootstrapped his startup strategy 11 years ago with only $5,000 and a small garage to grow his fledgling firm into a $30 million business.
What sets ConvertKit apart is not just its financial success. Barry’s journey traveled the span of a creator selling ebooks to a creative venture fed by his personal and professional experiences.
His steadfast commitment to independence, innovation, and the creator community shaped his digital enterprise into a platform and company that understands and addresses the challenges today’s content creators face.
Two mileposts along his path to success are turning down a Spotify acquisition worth hundreds of millions to keep his company independent and operating ConvertKit like a publicly traded company, making corporate financial status public.
“I’ve always leaned into the journey over the destination. Building companies is tough, but it’s about making it rewarding — not just tolerable until an exit,” Barry told the E-Commerce Times.
Innovating Creativity Drives the Business
The biggest risk is not missing out on a big offer. It is burning out or losing interest, Barry divulged about why he rejected the purchase offer.
“That’s why I’m all about optimizing for what keeps me showing up excited every day — serving creators and helping my team reach financial independence,” Barry said.
As he sees it, a $200 million exit sounds amazing, but then what? Jump back in and do it all over again?
“I have so many ideas for ConvertKit that I am just not done here. Plus, I made sure we lived well along the way — retiring our parents, spending time with my kids, and enjoying life on our farm. It’s about finding that balance, not just racing to the finish line,” he revealed about his approach to running his life and business.
Treating CovertKit’s public image is part of that view of life management. Teaching everything you know is a core value of ConvertKit.
“It’s the best way to build an audience, the shortcut to a great online business, and helps others to follow in your footsteps,” he shared.
Paying It Forward Is a Business Essential
Barry adopted that concept in 2016 when two authors shared their ebook sales numbers, showing that ordinary designers with small audiences could earn a great living. That was part of what inspired him to write his book and pay it forward by sharing all of his numbers.
According to Barry, ConvertKit was one of the first companies to make its Baremetrics dashboard completely public. Those numbers have been public, from the company’s $3,000 monthly revenue to its current monthly take of over $3 million.
“Sharing numbers is about inspiring other entrepreneurs, keeping us accountable to grow, and providing public benchmarks that other founders can learn from. It also helps to get attention, which is easy to turn into customers,” he explained.
Overcoming Obstacles Proved Innovation Works
ConvertKit started as a project as part of a public web app challenge. During the challenge, Nathan became frustrated using MailChimp to engage his email subscribers, pivoted, and started building an email marketing platform to better suit his needs, according to ConvertKit Manager of Creator Growth Alyssa Dulin.
ConvertKit was one of a few SaaS companies working and growing remotely when it launched in 2013. One of the obstacles was finding the right talent who could work well from home. Since then, the team has grown to almost 80 people across 65 cities globally.
“Managing cash flow and savings as a bootstrapped company was also a challenge. We had to be conservative with our spending, which bought us the runway we needed to help us take off,” Dulin told the E-Commerce Times.
Early on, the company struggled with customer support. The first iterations of the product were buggy and complicated. The rapid growth made it tough to provide quality, responsive support, she added.
Building a Creative Difference
Over half the team are creators themselves, so the staff understands the specific needs and challenges of the community better than others. According to Dulin, the needs of staff and clients were the same.
“Every feature and update is designed and tailored to make the creator experience better,” she said. The creatives’ platform offers concierge-level support, which is rare.
The support helps subscribers’ newsletters reach their maximum potential. It includes email deliverability, migration of accounts and email lists from other platforms for free, and strategic growth advice from the company’s creator growth team.
ConvertKit is more than a tool, Dulin continued. It is a partner in a creator’s journey. For instance, email automation helps platform users create personalized buying journeys that guide customers through purchasing and their likelihood of buying from a creative.
The tagging feature automatically excludes new customers from receiving further sales emails about the same product, which makes for a better user experience and prevents sending unwanted emails to people who are already customers.
“Other advanced features help deliver the right message to the right people at the right time, which makes a creator’s newsletter more successful,” she said.
Transforms Subscribers Into Purchasers
Dulin explained that several components differentiate ConvertKit from other marketing platforms available to e-commerce merchants. In essence, CovertKit serves creatives as both a customer relationship management tool and a sales platform.
For instance, if non-subscribers purchase from a subscriber through ConvertKit Commerce, it’s easy to turn them into loyal subscribers, creating opportunities to forge deeper customer relationships and repeat business.
Creatives can sell products through the Commerce feature and use the Ads features to tap into the platform’s advertising base to monetize their newsletter. People often think they need a large email list to start making money from newsletter ads, said Dulin. ConvertKit makes it easier for creators to begin monetizing much earlier in their careers.
“If you are a new creator, running ads lets you monetize your newsletter even if you have a small list. If you are an established creator, running ads opens up another revenue stream from email,” she explained.
Dual Creative Purposes
ConvertKit is not a one-stop business shop since so many creators rely on things like social media to grow their audience, cautioned Dulin. It is the place to turn social media followers into email subscribers. You can grow your audience, reach your audience, and monetize your audience, all through email.
“This is increasingly crucial in an era where platform algorithms are unpredictable, and platforms like TikTok may face restrictions or bans,” she clarified.
A newsletter secures a stable, reliable way to connect with your audience without worrying about algorithm updates, app bans, or policy changes. By encouraging followers to share their email addresses and opt into a mailing list, creatives take control of their communications and business stability.
“ConvertKit supports this transition, ensuring you can continue to grow, engage, and monetize your audience no matter how the digital landscape shifts,” Dulin added.
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