Should You Use Substack Or ConvertKit? Which Platform Is Better To Build Your Business In 2024
Substack vs. ConvertKit The Ultimate Guide.
Should you use Substack or ConvertKit?
How does Substack work if you’re already using ConvertKit?
What’s the best way to use both Substack and ConvertKit?
Questions about the intersection of Substack and ConvertKit have been piling up in my DMs, inbox, and comments.
Both platforms allow you to create a newsletter that lands in people’s inboxes. Leaving writers, creators, and marketers searching for the best option.
Peeling back the layers, the differences far outweigh the similarities.
The question remains… Which is better?
And which one should power your newsletter?
Today, I’ll attempt to answer this burning question for you.
The Similarities Between Substack And ConvertKit
Let’s start by understanding each platform, where they started, and how they’re alike.
What is Substack?
According to their website:
“Substack is much more than a newsletter platform. A Substack is an all-encompassing publication that accommodates text, video, audio, and video. No tech knowledge is required. Anyone can start a Substack and publish posts directly to subscribers’ inboxes—in email and in the Substack app. Without ads or gatekeepers in the way, you can sustain a direct relationship with your audience and retain full control over your creative work.” — (Substack.com)
While Substack is evolving beyond a newsletter platform, at its core this is where it began and why many started using it, including me.
What is ConvertKit?
(As of writing ConvertKit is undergoing a rebrand to Kit)
They label themselves as:
“The hub for your creator business. ConvertKit is a creator marketing platform with powerful features to help you optimize your most important asset—your audience.” — (ConvertKit.com)
They say they offer “Sustainable growth tools for creators.”
ConvertKit was started as an email marketing platform and it’s clear by their current messaging they are evolving into a one-stop-shop for creators.
Both are going through large evolutions—and targeting creators.
Spend a few minutes on their websites and you quickly see they are targeting a similar market. ConvertKit even offers a ConvertKit vs. Substack comparison offering more evidence of their similarities.
Here are a few of the similarities between platforms:
They both offer you a home to your Newsletter.
They both offer you an “owned” email list of your audience.
They both deliver your email newsletter to the inbox (not just an app).
They both offer a “Recommendation” engine to grow through their network.
Their messaging is beginning to converge.
Substack’s homepage now says “The home for great culture.”
A similar sentiment is echoed on ConvertKit’s homepage “We believe the future belongs to creators. Creators shape culture and culture shapes the world.”
Themes shared by both platforms:
Creators.
Culture.
Audience.
Both platforms offer newsletters for creators. But, when we begin to peeling back the layers we start to see a lot of major differences between them.
In my personal view, (as of writing)…
Substack is a newsletter publishing platform becoming a social media platform for creators to publish and build an owned audience.
ConvertKit is an email marketing platform now offering features for creators like newsletters.
Let’s take a look at what makes each of them unique.
What Makes Substack Unique
First are foremost Substack is a publication.
As they write on their website: “a new media ecosystem” where you can share text posts, audio podcasts, and videos, and build a community through chat. All while owning your audience.
The most distinctive feature of Substack.
Notes.
They’ve created a Twitter/X-like social media feature called Notes. Think Twitter without the character limit. You can share text, images, videos, links to your posts, likes, comments, shares, follows, and more.
This has transformed audience growth.
It’s no longer just a place for you to publish. It’s a place with massive growth potential. Something that is getting increasingly difficult with the maturity of other social media platforms.
My following has grown almost exclusively through their Notes feature.
I share thoughts.
Test content ideas.
Promote my long-form posts.
Build community through commenting.
Because of this feature alone, Substack has become my primary social media platform in place of Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I can grow my audience on Substack — Using the medium I prefer, written word.
I first came to Substack because I like to write.
I tried it all.
Instagram required professionally shot photos or highly designed images. This took too much time, money, and energy. I could never grow.
Podcasts require equipment, post-production and editing, names, and show notes. Not to mention they don’t grow without promoting them so you still need an audience somewhere else to drive people to it using clips.
YouTube I believe is a great platform but in my opinion, requires the most work. Well-researched topics, video scripts, mics, cameras, decent backdrop, post-production, titles, descriptions, thumbnails, I’m tired just writing that. I couldn’t maintain consistency with that much work as a solo-creator.
TikTok and reels had growth potential however I struggled to produce videos daily.
I loved writing.
I stopped fighting this and looked for platforms where I could use the written word. I tried Twitter and LinkedIn.
Except I was late to the game. Growth was a grind. And as I took courses and joined paid communities I learned everyone growing was using paid engagement groups. Only a select few seemed to be growing.
Then I found Substack.
A place where I could write. Grow. And, now even repurpose all those videos, images, and podcasts I’ve created. It wasn’t all for nothing ;-)
And if I’m feeling spicy I still share my written posts on LinkedIn.
YouTube is still on my to-do list. But only if (or once) I can manage the workload without it affecting anything else.
How to monetize with Substack.
Money factors into the decision.
Paid newsletters are the most commonly used way to monetize.
ConvertKit now offers this too. But it isn’t as simple. On Substack, you just turn it on and check a box when posting. ConvertKit requires you to create products and build landing pages to get started.
It’s evident it was the core of Substack and an addition with ConvertKit.
There are many other ways people are monetizing, such as:
Paid newsletters/subscriptions.
Ads/sponsorships.
Digital products (Courses, ebooks, templates, etc.)
Coaching, consulting, and services.
Affiliate marketing.
Joint ventures.
Books.
Etc.
It’s no longer limited to paid newsletters.
People are getting clever with monetizing on Substack. Making their “subscription” or “paid newsletter” more enticing through designing offers around it. Ex: Join and get access to their courses, books, templates, coaching calls, etc.
Optimizing their profiles/themes to build their email list or sell their products.
Running promotional campaigns, treating it like an email marketing platform, pushing people to other platforms, and even selling through the DMs.
Monetizing isn’t (and shouldn’t be) limited to a single stream.
A lot of those monetization revenue streams are shared with ConvertKit.
One big difference…
ConvertKit needs an audience for them to make money.
Whereas Substack is now a place where you can build that audience.
So, what makes ConvertKit unique?
Let’s Make A Case For For ConvertKit
I opened my first ConvertKit account in 2017.
ConvertKit started as an email marketing platform giving it many unique features that Substack does not have. You can now run a free or paid newsletter in ConvertKit making it a competitor to Substack.
Some of ConvertKit’s unique features.
Automations.
You can create automations and email sequences. For example, when someone joins your newsletter or downloads a lead magnet you can enter them into a welcome sequence or place them into an automated sales sequence.
Tagging and segmentation.
You can tag and segment everyone on your list. This allows you to place the right message in front of the right people. Increasing your conversion rates. Knowing if someone signed up for your newsletter, vs. lead magnet, knowing if they are a buyer, what type of industry they’re in, or income level. All “small things” you can do to increase the effectiveness and relevance of your email marketing campaigns.
Wordpress integration.
ConvertKit has a Wordpress integration. This allows you to automatically turn the newsletters you send from ConvertKit into blog posts on your Wordpress website.
Landing pages and forms.
Generate leads or sell products with a number of free landing page templates that can be deployed without writing a single line of code. This can also reduce overhead and potentially replace tools like ClickFunnels or LeadPages.
I’ve even recorded a video on how to create your first landing in less than 60 seconds on ConvertKit.
Sell products.
Create and sell products directly within ConvertKit. This was a major upgrade for them in becoming a one-stop shop for creators. It allowed them to be the email provider but also the commerce engine for creators. Handy for people seeking an all-in-one solution.
And, yes. Newsletters.
You can send emails of any type using ConvertKit and their ability to do paid newsletters allowed them to become a competitor of Substack and tools like Ghost and BeeHiiv.
How to monetize with ConvertKit.
You can technically monetize in all the same ways as Substack. From paid newsletters, to courses, to selling ad space.
(Recapped from above)
Paid newsletters/subscriptions.
Ads/sponsorships.
Digital products (Courses, ebooks, templates, etc.)
Coaching, consulting, and services.
Affiliate marketing.
Joint ventures.
Books.
Etc.
One additional way to generate money is through their recommendation engine which is powered by SparkLoop.
If someone who joins your list also joins someone else’s, you get paid.
As you can see, on the surface these platforms provide a similar solution but they have a lot of differences.
Both Of These Platforms Say “Grow Your Audience” But They Mean Very Different Things
Same claim, a different meaning.
ConvertKit: Grow your audience through landing pages and forms.
What this means: You need to drive traffic to ConvertKit.
Substack: Grow your audience through Notes.
What this means: Substack can become your traffic source.
Stop.
Re-read that.
Understand how BIG the difference is.
It plays a large role in why I actively use both platforms.
Here’s Why And How I Am Using Both Substack And ConvertKit
I use both Substack and ConverKit.
This is what I’ve found to work best for the business I’m building. This may change. Platforms evolve, features change, and my business may as well. As such, I always remain open to my marketing and tech stack evolving.
The differences between the platforms are the key reason I use both.
Reason 1:
Substack is my source of traffic.
Reason 2:
Email marketing feature set of ConvertKit.
Substack has become my “Social Media” platform.
To build a business we need an audience or a traffic source. We can either build it organically or we can run paid advertising. I discuss traffic sources more in this free guide.
Writing as my primary medium drew me to Substack. The fact I can now also utilize video, images, and podcasts only benefits me. It allows me to publish in more ways but it will also draw more people to the platform and expand my reach.
Why I’m using Substack.
It’s free.
It’s my ‘newsletter’.
It’s my publication ecosystem.
It allows me to grow my audience.
I can build community through Chat.
And I OWN the audience I’m building.
Substack is the only social media platform where you own the audience you build. Everywhere else it’s rented—The platform owns it.
I still require ConvertKit to accomplish my goals.
I do not plan to monetize through paid newsletters.
My business is (and will be) built through partnerships, services, consulting, books, and digital products. Not only a paid subscription.
ConvertKit gives me the features I need to accomplish this.
Why I’m using ConvertKit.
Email automations.
List tagging and segmentation.
Landing pages and forms.
Sell products.
Deliver my lead magnets.
Develop and nurture a customer journey.
I leverage email courses and lead magnets. ConvertKit allows me to deliver these and place people into welcome/indoctrination sequences.
I can create sales campaigns. I can tag my audience and deliver relevant and specific offers to them keeping conversion rates high and reducing churn.
Except my ConvertKit list doesn’t grow on its own.
You require traffic. Ads or organic. This is why I use Substack to promote my lead magnets and products. Pulling them onto my ConvertKit email list.
I can also quickly launch my lead magnet landing pages within ConvertKit — A feature even available on their free plan.
Note: ConvertKit’s creator network can be a source of traffic but I don’t believe this is the most effective way to grow or scale when you're starting.
How I match my content to each respective platform.
Same same but different?
Content on Substack.
Posts:
Long-form newsletters. Educational, how-to, experiences, typically 800-2,000 words.
Notes:
Short-form Tweet-like posts. I use it for growth. I use it for testing ideas. Building in public. Showing my journey. I turn my top notes into long-form posts, I turn my long-form posts into notes.
All my other social content (if posted) is repurposed from Substack. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, all originate from Substack.
Email content on ConvertKit.
Outside of my automations and sequences which allow me to curate a specific customer journey and series of messages (something I cannot do with Substack) I post broadcast emails 1-2x per week.
I plan days accordingly knowing there is audience overlap. I avoid people getting two emails in 1 day.
These are more personal. More behind the scenes. And more offers. I will sell a lot more through ConvertKit than I do publically on Substack. My automations sell. I create campaigns that sell. I place specific offers into the relevant people based on tags associated with them.
I actively grow my ConvertKit through social media (Substack) and paid advertising using various lead magnets.
I wrote an article describing how I generate new ConvertKit leads daily through optimizing my Substack profile.
Simplify Your Decision
I’ve just written over 2,000 words on this topic.
I’m aware your head might be spinning. My goal isn’t to tell you what to do, my role is to share the information and explain how and why I am doing this and help guide you to make the best decision for your needs.
Here are a few thoughts that may help you simplify where to start.
Consider Substack…
Focused on audience growth.
A simple ‘all-in-one’ non-techy solution.
You’re unsure where to start.
You want to monetize through paid newsletters.
Your growth on Twitter/LinkedIn has stalled.
Consider ConvertKit…
You have an existing list/audience.
You’re list grows exclusively through paid ads.
You have a mature Wordpress blog.
You require automations, segmentation, or tagging.
You have lead magnets.
You monetize through multiple revenue streams.
Consider both…
If you resonated with my story ;-)
Don’t fear the decision.
The great thing is that you own your list on both platforms.
At any time you can export your list on either, and import it to the other. Reducing the risk of needing to make the "right” decision, or “wasting” time somewhere.
Personally,
I will continue to use both but I hope this provided you with the information to know what’s best for your business.
Landon.
PS.
If you’re looking to get started on Substack here are a two free guides that might help you get started:
How I’d Teach Substack Growth To A Complete Beginner
I grew on Substack by treating it like a video game.
I use both, Substack for the love of writing and building a community and Convertkit to sell my offers via automations and to maintain a buyers list.
In the process of moving 2000+ subscribers from CK to Substack so I only have buyers on CK
Great breakdown, Landon. I’m personally in for Substack now (duh) as Kit didn’t give the community building option. And I craved it for a long time searching for the perfect social media platform too.