Best Email Service for Business (Plus 9 More Features!): My Full Kartra Review

Last Updated on November 15, 2022

What’s the best email service for business (especially an online biz)? Check out my full Kartra review with Kartra pricing, features, and more! 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What Is Kartra?
Kartra review of features: What can Karta do?
Why I switched to Kartra (and why I think it’s the best email service for business)
Kartra pricing & plans
The ultimate Kartra review question: Is Kartra worth the investment?
Frequently Asked Questions

Whether you’re thinking about launching an online business, you’ve just gotten started, or you’ve been doing this for a while, you’ve probably encountered the wilderness of choices out there when it comes to trying to choose the most robust marketing platform and the best email service for business.

Online businesses especially have a unique need: since everything we do is digital and virtual, we have to have a reliable way to reach ideal clients, stay in contact with our target market, and sell to them in a way that’s genuine and sustainable. 

In this Kartra review, I want to share with you not only the practical details of what the platform offers, but also why I believe Kartra is the best email service for business, why I decided to switch, and how that decision has affected my business. 

So if you’ve got questions about Kartra pricing, plans, and features — I’ve got honest, in-depth answers!

What Is Kartra?

Kartra is an all-in-one marketing platform and email service for people who want to start, nurture, and grow their online businesses. 

When I say a platform is “all-in-one,” what that means is that its features are designed to offer support at every step of the marketing journey, including things like: 

• Building, using, and maximizing the money-making potential of your website
• Finding, nurturing, and selling to the right people at the right time
• Being able to analyze what’s working in your biz (and what isn’t) so you can more easily (and wisely) make changes when you need to

For me (and for the purposes of this Kartra review), the key to really being considered all-in-one is the answer to this question: Do all these components work seamlessly together and “talk” to one another inside the platform? 

If the answer is no, then you’re just in for a bunch of headaches (see my story below). In Kartra’s case, I’ve found the answer to be a resounding yes.

Kartra is what is called Software as a Service (SaaS), which means it’s 100% cloud-based. So there’s no software that you download to your computer. It’s all happening in the cloud, and all you need is an Internet connection to access and use it anywhere. Updates are automatic, and you experience them in real time, and all your information is much more secure.   

Let’s look at some of Kartra’s specific features, and then I want to share my own story about why I switched and why I’ve found it to be the best email service for business (if you’ve wondered about Kartra pricing and if it’s worth it, you might be surprised by what I have to tell you below).

Kartra review of features: What can Kartra do?

As a new entrepreneur, I had a few basic questions: What’s the best service to help me market and sell my offerings? What’s the best email service for business? What’s the most reliable system that can help me track and learn so that I can pivot when I need to? 

I have seen (and tried) platforms that do a lot of things … but they don’t do them that well, or the level they’re operating at feels very beginner-y. 

I’ve seen (and used) platforms that do one or two things really well … but fall short on other features, or just don’t offer features that are also super important for the smooth management of an online business. (More on why this is a huge pain in the ass for an entrepreneur in the next section.)

I have never seen a marketing platform that can do as many things — and do them at a really high level — the way Kartra can. Truly, I am amazed by it. And they keep adding new features all the time, and seem to have nailed how to integrate new capabilities into the software. 

While I can’t cover every feature in this Kartra review, here’s a rundown of my favorite features, so you’ll start to get the picture of what’s available.

Segmented, organized lists for more targeted marketing

It’s really important to me to be able to talk genuinely to my ideal customer — and to be able to speak to them about things that I know matter to them and not bother them with things that don’t. 

Being able to create perfectly segmented lists allows me to meet people on their journey with me in a way that’s natural. I know where they found me, how they interacted with my site, what they’re looking for, and how I can help them. 

Automated emails & SMS for personalized communication

Kartra does an amazing job as an Email Service Provider, especially for me as an online business. I’ve found it, hands down, to be the best email service for business, regardless of whether you’re just starting or well-established. 

Once I have a potential client on a list, I can send them emails and messages that I know will speak directly to their interests and questions. The automation means I’m spending way less time tracking and managing each communication. The powerful funnel capability (see next point) allows me to bring them on a nurture and sales journey — and it’s all happening in the background with relatively little management from me. 

Robust funnels & campaigns 

Speaking of automation, y’all know how much I love evergreen funnels. They’ve been a total game-changer for my business and have allowed me to earn a very real, sustainable, scalable passive income. 

So while there are tons of things I’m highlighting in this Kartra review, I think the biggest shoutout probably goes to this incredible feature. This ability to “set it and forget it” is a HUGE boon for digital entrepreneurs. 

Yes, it takes some work to set up funnels on the front end, but once they’re humming along, the results are ah-mazing. I’m nurturing people, offering them tons of useful free content, converting them to customers, and building a relationship that keeps them coming back. Let me say it again: best email service for business!

Super easy forms, quizzes, and landing pages 

If you’ve got a promo coming up, or you want to create a special sales page, or you want to create a form or quiz for lead capture … you can make and track all of those in Kartra. And it’s surprisingly easy, with lots of lovely and customizable designs. 

And the landing page option isn’t some flimsy uninspiring template — they’re really lovely, customizable, and intuitive to set up. This feature allows a ton of creative freedom, because you can build and test product and service ideas almost on the fly. 

And speaking of web pages … 

Compatibility with WordPress

I am a big proponent of using WordPress for your website, for so many reasons (which you can find here).  

And Kartra understands what a powerful business-building tool WordPress is, because they’ve got tons of integrations that make it easy for WordPress and Kartra to “talk” to each other. You can even host Kartra web pages with ease right on your WP site. It’s a match made in heaven. 

Host courses and offer memberships (with included video hosting!)

If you’re a course-creator like I am, Kartra makes it easy to host and manage everything inside the platform. Courses almost always include some kind of video component, and video hosting can be a big headache for course creators. Kartra lets you host videos right on the platform, so everything is all in one convenient place.

Likewise, if your business structure is ideally suited for a membership model, you can manage all of that inside Kartra, as well.

Payment processing

Okay, so you’ve got a product or service, and you’ve got the best email service for business, and you’re ready to sell. What happens when they’re ready to buy? 

There is a TON of stuff going on in the background to make payment processing possible on a website — and Kartra gets it. The ability to sell things and manage all payments directly in the platform that’s also hosting and tracking everything else — it saves dozens of hours a month and eliminates all kinds of points of possible error with your customers. You can do discounts, codes, split payments, calculate shipping for physical delivery, payment plans, automatic withdrawal (for, say, membership programs), and more. It’s quite stunning.  

Clean, smart affiliate management

I love affiliate marketing. It’s a great passive income stream, and it allows you to share products and resources with other entrepreneurs that you truly believe in. 

Kartra has an entire affiliate center that allows your biggest fans to also become your promoters, and you can manage everything in one place. 

Integrated help desk

I love that Kartra also offers a native help desk for customer service, and I use this for all of our products and services. Because everything is being hosted and managed inside the platform, there’s a familiarity, so if a customer emails with a question or a tech issue, chances are higher that they’re going to be able to actually get the help they need.  

Data, data, data

With everything that Kartra allows you to create and build, it also provides an excellent way to track the results — so you know what’s working and what isn’t. For any entrepreneur, this information is worth its weight in gold.

You can see which products are resonating, which lists are converting. You can split test landing pages and messaging. You can troubleshoot underperforming campaigns. Once you learn how to read it, this data can become your best buddy, saving you tons of time and money. 

Why I switched to Kartra

One of the most frequent questions I get from other online business owners is about Kartra pricing: the monthly cost seems high, and they wonder if it’s worth it. 

So I like to tell them my story to put that Kartra pricing in context. (You can get the full story here.)

Before Kartra, I was using nearly a dozen different tools and trying to get them to all talk to each other. It was a mess. Things were always breaking down in the communication between platforms. I had to be present and manage and troubleshoot a lot. It was time-consuming, expensive, and really hard and frustrating to keep track of everything. 

I decided to give the 30-day free trial a shot in November of 2020, and I never really looked back.

And as far as that monthly cost, here’s the financial reality: switching saved me over $12,000 a year at the time — and now they’ve even launched other features that I wasn’t using or paying for before but I now need at this stage of my business. And I don’t have to pay any additional fees for it. Everything’s included, and I’m not paying for all of these services separately.

Here’s a quick snapshot of some of what I was using that all got integrated into my Kartra subscription: 

• I used Kajabi to host all of my programs. Kartra does that beautifully.
• Active Campaign was my email service provider. Kartra does that unbelievably well.
• I used Deadline Funnel, and now I use Kartra’s tagging and timers to create that authentic scarcity and urgency in any evergreen funnels if needed.
• SAMcart was for processing all my payments and running my internal affiliate partner program. I can do all of that inside of Kartra.
• I used Sortd which was a help desk or team email system. Now I use Kartra’s native Help Desk to process all customer service emails. This could also replace tools like Zendesk or Drift or Scout if you’ve looked into any of those.
• I used Demio. Now I no longer need fancy webinar software.
• I host all my videos inside of Kartra.
• I used Lead Pages, and I now host all landing pages and lead magnets and opt in forms directly within Kartra.

Kartra pricing & plans

As with most other platforms like these, Kartra pricing is based on tiered plans: Starter, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. 

The tier that’s right for you really has to do with the current size of your business; how many leads you’re looking to generate; how many domains, emails, videos, memberships, pages, etc. you need to host; and where you see yourself going. 

If your business is relatively new, the Starter plan offers a ton of features that can absolutely help your business grow. In the Silver through Platinum plans, the only differences are the number of leads and domans you want. Every other included feature is unlimited.

I know that that $99/month Starter Kartra pricing can seem a little steep if you’re just starting out. But hear me out: at just under $1,200/year, you’re getting dozens of services wrapped into one, they all work together, you can track everything in one place. Consider the monetary value of your time and what kind of income you could be earning if you don’t have to manage multiple platforms. And if your main offering is, say $500, all you have to do is sell three of those in a year to cover your costs. 

The ultimate Kartra review question: Is Kartra worth the investment?

I think by now you probably can guess my answer! 

Kartra is, for me, the technological hub for all the systems that hold everything in my business together. It’s by far the best email service for business, it hosts my videos and courses, it allows me to process payments, and the funnels, campaigns, and affiliate management are what let me generate reliable passive income.  

I think if you’re an online business owner, there’s no more powerful tool out there for assembling, organizing, and managing your business.

Do you have your perfect offer dialed? You can!

As you can see from this Kartra review — there are a LOT of ways that you can build a business, and a robust platform like Kartra can help with any of them.

But before you decide which platform to use …

… do you feel confident about your offering?

What I mean is: Are you selling what feels natural to sell — and are you putting it out there in a way that feels good down to your soul?

Maybe you’re wondering if you should you do an online course. Or offer a membership. Maybe you like 1:1 or group coaching, but you’re not sure if it’s the right fit. Or what about agency or VIP Days? 

You’ve likely seen it all at this point…which one will work best for you?

Good news! There is NO ONE RIGHT ANSWER. 

You get to decide, and we can help.

Check out our Launch It With Soul Mini-Course! This training will give you all the tools and strategies you need to create (or refine) your one-of-a-kind offer — ensuring it’s truly aligned with your soul’s desires, taking inspiration from those who’ve gone before you, and making it scalable so you don’t burn out, and building a holistic business that truly serves you.

Frequently Asked Questions about Kartra pricing & features