Tech Stack Simplified: How I Run My Entire Business on Kartra Without a Single Zap

Last Updated on September 17, 2024

When it comes to running an online business, the tech stack you choose can make or break your efficiency—and your sanity. Managing a bunch of different tools to create sales funnels, handle email marketing, host webinars, and support customers is not only time-consuming but expensive. Enter Kartra, an all-in-one sales funnel builder and tech stack solution that does everything for you, seamlessly. Say goodbye to juggling multiple tools and subscriptions—Kartra handles it all without the need for a single zap.

Watch the video below to see a behind-the-scenes walkthrough of exactly how I Run My Entire Funnel System + Tech Stack with 1 Tool (Kartra) and not a single Zap! ⬇️

When it comes to building an efficient, automated online business, the less you have to patch together with duct tape (aka third-party apps and zaps), the better.

This is where Kartra, an all-in-one sales funnel software, has been a game-changer for my business. Not only does Kartra streamline my entire tech stack, but it also replaces every other tool I was paying for from landing page builders to email marketing platforms, payment processing and checkout software, course hosting, and customer service helpdesks—all in one place.

If you’re tired of juggling multiple tools and paying for a bunch of different subscriptions, buckle up. I’m going to show you exactly how I run my entire business on Kartra, saving time, headaches, and money.

The Problem With Most Tech Stacks: Expensive + Complicated

Before discovering Kartra, I was piecing together a tech stack that included:

Sales funnel builders like Clickfunnels and GoHighLevel
Email marketing platforms like ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign
Course hosting platforms like Teachable, Kajabi and Podia
Checkout software like ThriveCart
Webinar software like Demio
Scheduling tools like Calendly and Acuity
Customer service systems like Zendesk

On top of that, I had to pay for Zapier and create Zaps to make all these platforms talk to each other. While this can work, it’s a hot, complicated, expensive mess.

And when something inevitably breaks (hello, mercury retrograde!), you’re left scrambling to figure out where the process went wrong. Not to mention all those separate subscriptions add up fast.

In fact, switching everything over to Kartra saved me $12,000+ every single year!

Enter Kartra: My One-Stop Sales Funnel Builder

Kartra is the Swiss Army knife of sales funnel software. When you first log in, you’ll see the dashboard, which gives you a bird’s eye view of everything—emails sent, revenue earned, active subscriptions, and more. It’s essentially mission control for your online business.

What makes Kartra different is that it combines the functionalities of so many tools into one seamless platform. You don’t need to duct tape together ten different services and hope it works.

Let me walk you through my entire sales funnel setup using Kartra.

Sales Funnel Builder: Landing Pages and Forms

Every sales funnel starts with a landing page, and Kartra’s built-in sales funnel builder makes this easy with its drag-and-drop page editor. You can create high-converting landing pages, sales pages, webinar registration pages, and opt-in forms, all without needing additional tools like Leadpages or ClickFunnels.

For example, I set up a lead magnet page where visitors can grab a freebie in exchange for their email address. Once someone fills out the form, Kartra automatically tags them, subscribes them to the right automated email sequence, and redirects them to a tripwire page, complete with a seamless checkout experience including a bump offer and 1-click upsell to increase average order value.

Why This Matters:

• Sales funnel builder with no need/extra cost for landing page and form builders or checkouts/payment processing or email marketing platforms
• Customizable templates to match your branding
• Seamless integration with follow up email sequences and automations

Email Marketing Platforms: Automating Your Communication

Kartra isn’t just a sales funnel builder—it’s also a powerful email marketing platform. Once someone subscribes to your email list, the magic begins.

With Kartra, you can automate your email sequences, nurture leads, segment your audience based on behavior (e.g., only send specific emails to people who didn’t buy your tripwire), and sell your offers—without ever leaving the platform.

You can personalize emails with dynamic variables (like including someone’s name), segment your audience with tags, track open and click-through rates in real-time (and how much revenue each email makes, and the value of your subscribers), and even use their built-in AI generator to save time on writing emails.

For example, I have a welcome sequence that kicks off as soon as someone joins my list. This sequence introduces them to my brand, delivers value, and eventually pitches them a paid offer. All of this happens on autopilot.

Why This Matters:

• Say goodbye to expensive, standalone email marketing platforms like ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, or Mailchimp
• No more cost-prohibitive Zapier/Make to connect your email service to your landing pages and checkouts
• Automation is king—Kartra’s robust, advanced functionality and features set it high and above its competitors

Seamless Payment Processing + Checkout Flow

So many coaches and course creators use tools like ThriveCart for their checkouts, and while the software is an affordable option with lifetime access and a lot of features, it’s also buggy as hell and requires a handful of other tools and expenses to make everything work.

Kartra takes your checkout process to the next level. Not only can you set up tripwire offers (low-cost, one-time offers that appear immediately after someone opts into your freebie), but you can also add bumps and upsells.

For instance, after someone opts in for one of my freebies, they’re taken to a tripwire page offering them a discounted product for the next 15 minutes. If they buy, they’re taken to a checkout page with a bump offer that leads to a one-click upsell page where they can add another product to their cart with a single click—no need to re-enter payment information.

Plus, if someone abandons their cart, Kartra automatically tags them so I can follow up via email with a friendly reminder (and maybe even a discount code).

Why This Matters:

• No more ThriveCart, SamCart, or PayPal buttons—Kartra does it all
• Increase your average order value with upsells and bumps
• Simplified checkout flow means fewer abandoned carts and more sales

Complete Your Tech Stack: Course Hosting Platform

If you’re like me, you’re selling courses, memberships and/or digital products. Instead of paying for platforms like Kajabi, Teachable, or Podia, you can host everything inside Kartra.

Kartra allows you to create fully customizable membership portals where students can log in, access courses, track their progress, and even purchase additional products.

And unlike others like ThriveCart, you can embed videos, PDFs, and quizzes right into the membership area, all hosted directly on Kartra without needing to pay for something like Vimeo, Wistia or Dropbox. Kartra does it all for no extra fees!

Why This Matters:

• No separate course hosting platforms like Kajabi, Teachable, or Podia
• All your videos and course content are hosted directly in Kartra (no extra hosting fees)
• It’s a one-stop shop for digital product delivery

Analytics and Tracking: Real-Time Insights for Your Sales Funnel

Another thing I love about Kartra is its robust analytics. You can track every step of your sales funnel—landing page views, email opens, click-through rates, sales conversions, and even abandoned carts.

Want to know which emails in your funnel are converting best? Kartra’s got you. Need to check how many people purchased your upsell versus your main product? Done. Some other cool stats Kartra can tell you that most others can’t:

• Lifetime Value of a Subscriber (as in how much your subscribers pay you over time)
• Revenue generated per email sent
• Replaces Hotjar with heatmaps for Kartra pages

They even have a funnel simulation builder so you can visualize each of your sales funnels and then see how they’re converting. See screenshot below for an example.

Why This Matters:

• Real-time analytics for tracking every step of your sales funnel
• Optimize funnels based on data, not guesswork
• Get insights on email performance, purchase behavior, and customer engagement

Customer Support and Helpdesk Integration

Kartra also has a built-in helpdesk feature that lets you manage customer service, support tickets, and even live chat—all within the platform.

I have a support email address from Gmail that links directly to my Kartra helpdesk. When a customer emails me, their inquiry is automatically turned into a ticket. I can assign tickets to different team members, use canned responses for common questions, assign tickets to different team members, and even track response times.

Why This Matters:

• No need for Zendesk or other third-party customer service tools
• Track every interaction with a lead or customer in one place
• Speed up customer service with automations and canned responses

Affiliate Program Management: Expand Your Reach

If you run an affiliate program, or want to start (which I highly recommend), Kartra has you covered. You can manage affiliates, set up commission structures, track sales, and even offer JV affiliates (where affiliates get paid for referring other affiliates). All without paying for an external service like Refersion or Tapfiliate.

With Kartra, I can easily see which affiliates are driving the most traffic and sales, and I can manage their payments directly through the platform.

Why This Matters:

• No need for affiliate tracking software like Refersion or Tapfiliate
• Track affiliate performance and pay them from the same dashboard
• Build a robust affiliate program that scales with your business

Webinars, Calendars, and Surveys: Extra Features You Didn’t Know You Needed

Kartra isn’t just about sales funnels and email marketing—it also includes additional features that replace other tools you might be using, like webinar hosting, calendar scheduling, surveys, and quizzes. Yes, really.

I no longer pay for Demoio or Calendly because Kartra can do it all. I host live webinars for my launches, I use the calendar feature to schedule group calls and send automated reminders, and I also create interactive surveys or quizzes for lead generation, intake forms, segmenting and more (no need for tools like Typeform or Interact).

These extra features are the cherry on top, allowing you to streamline your business without needing a dozen different tools.

Why This Matters:

• Host webinars and automate recordings within Kartra
• Integrated calendar system for scheduling and reminders
• Create surveys and quizzes to engage your audience without needing external quiz software

Cost: How Kartra Compares to Other Sales Funnel Builders

Now that you’ve seen everything Kartra can do, let’s talk about cost. Here’s a quick comparison of Kartra versus some of the most popular tools out there:

• Kartra: $59/month with my discount for the Starter plan
• Kajabi: $159/month (only for course hosting)
• ConvertKit: $25/month (only for email marketing)
• ClickFunnels: $97/month (only for sales funnels)
• ThriveCart: One-time payment of $495 (only for checkouts)

If you were to combine all these tools, you’d easily be spending over $500 a month—while Kartra does it all for a fraction of the price.

In fact, I’ve created a FREE calculator tool for you to figure out exactly how much you’ll save by switching to Kartra here.

Final Thoughts: The Best Sales Funnel Software for Entrepreneurs

Since switching to Kartra, I’ve not only simplified my tech stack but also saved thousands of dollars in software fees. As in, switching to Kartra has saved me over $12,000 a year in software costs. But beyond the savings, it’s given me peace of mind knowing everything is under one roof.

If you’re serious about growing your business, building out automated sales funnels, and scaling your offers without drowning in tech overwhelm, Kartra is the way to go.

Ready to ditch your scattered tech stack and move everything into one seamless platform? Try Kartra free for 30 days and get 40% off your first payment by using my link and the code SWS40.

With Kartra, you’ll get more done, save money, and streamline your entire business—without needing a single zap.

Did I mention I have affiliate bonuses when you sign up through my link? Check them out here!