I’ve had the chance to use Kajabi emails for nearly 2 years now.

During this time, I’ve seen Kajabi email marketing capabilities improve from decent to the point where you can replace Kajabi alternatives, such as ActiveCampaigns and ConvertKit, with a single subscription to Kajabi.

Or can you, really?

In this review, we will be letting you know if Kajabi can really replace full-blown specialist email marketing tools. We will be focusing on two very important aspects: automation and email deliverability.

You may also need to be aware of certain trade-offs when switching. We’ll share that, too.

But first, a quick recap.

What does Kajabi emails do?

Kajabi’s email marketing service lets you collect email addresses from a website, landing page, podcast, webinar, and more.

Then you can segment your subscribers using tags, set up automated campaigns with triggers, and customize your emails to boost deliverability and conversions.

Now, if you’ve read our full Kajabi review, you know that Kajabi is an all-in-one platform for online business owners.

It’s perfect for creating and selling digital products like courses, coaching, group trainings, ebooks, and spreadsheets. You can even take payments directly through Kajabi Payments (with Google Pay and Apple Pay support).

Kajabi’s features reflect this emphasis on digital products.

The Kajabi email marketing system is built on 2 core components: Email Broadcast, and Email Sequence.

• Email broadcast: One-time emails for announcements, newsletters, reminders, and offers.
• Email sequence: Automated follow-up emails triggered by rules and subscriber behavior – perfect for email campaigns.

Now, let’s look at what Kajabi email marketing really delivers compared to alternatives like ConvertKit and Keap.

Quick note: I recommend viewing this review from the perspective of selling digital products, which is Kajabi’s strength.

If you’re focused on physical products or services, consider alternatives like Kajabi’s competitors such as Systeme, Ontraport or ActiveCampaign, or ThriveCart.

Explore Kajabi emails

What can you do with Kajabi emails?

Here’s what email marketing by Kajabi delivers.

Collecting emails, list management, and CRM

Your email list is your greatest asset.

Even if social media platforms suspend your account, you can take your mailing list anywhere and continue building relationships with your audience.

Kajabi offers multiple ways to build your contact list:

• Build a subscribe page for your website’s navigation
• Offer lead magnets using Kajabi’s Freebie Sales Pipeline
• Add email subscribe pop-ups, forms, and contact pages
• Create email subscribe landing pages
• Gate content through memberships, webinars, podcasts, and communities
• Include subscribe footers under blog posts

You can also bulk-upload emails to Kajabi’s built-in CRM.

From there, clean your list by removing duplicates and inactive subscribers, and add custom fields for better segmentation.

In fact, like ConvertKit, Kajabi’s email marketing is tag-based, not list-based.

This lets you tag subscribers based on specific behaviors like subscription status or purchase history, perfect for segmentation and creating personalized emails.

Email templates and email composer

I like that Kajabi provides plenty of email templates to get you started.

You can use these ready-made designs or create emails from scratch.

These templates are purpose-driven and clearly labeled for specific needs like cart abandonment, drip notifications, and assessment completion emails.

You can customize Kajabi emails to match your brand look and feel.

The Email editor lets you create beautiful emails from scratch too.

Plain text or simple emails actually get better engagement than overly designed ones.

Still, you can create impressive emails for your membership, community, training, webinar, and podcast to strengthen your brand connection.

Email personalization helps build brand recognition and boosts engagement.

One limitation: Kajabi’s visual email editor only works for Broadcasts, not Sequences.

You can use a custom email domain to improve deliverability, recognition, and trust.

You can even add your actual signature at the bottom of your emails by inserting HTML code in a Text block.

Kajabi also has native A/B testing to see which email type works best for you.

This feature lets you test different subject lines, content formats, and calls-to-action to find what connects with your audience.

By looking at the results, you can fine-tune your email strategy for better open rates and higher conversion.

Kajabi email automation

Kajabi offers a complete solution where you can create courses, communities, coaching programs, digital products, webinars, and more.

It includes a powerful automation engine that connects all these features with triggers and actions.

Think of it as having Zapier built right into Kajabi.

This saves you money since you don’t need to pay for separate integration tools.

For example, when someone clicks a link in an Event email, they can be automatically registered as an attendee.

You can set up multiple triggers based on your Campaign goals.

Here’s how it works, essentially.

From my experience, this email sequence system works great for most content creators (perfect as an autoresponder, too!).

Speaking of Kajabi email sequences, you can use the email campaigns tab under Marketing to:

• Create, customize, and schedule email sequences
• Provide a timeline for sending the emails after a contact subscribes
• Send multiple emails per day (if you don’t want immediate delivery)
• Add emails to sequences
• Add automations to your sequences

Simply pick a template, then customize it to meet your campaign goals.

You can then go to the sequence settings to add the specific automations you wish to have.

I like that Kajabi provides well-thought-out automations with simple “When/Then” conditions.

However, if you’re coming from dedicated platforms like ActiveCampaign or ClickFunnels, you might find Kajabi’s sequences somewhat limited.

Here are the key limitations:

• You cannot pause an active email sequence once it’s running
• There’s no way to set specific delivery times for individual emails
• Creating splits and paths requires setting up completely new sequences
• You can’t send more than one immediate email in a sequence (others must wait until the next day)

👉 You probably won’t need these advanced features when selling digital products, courses, or coaching sessions (Kajabi’s sweet spot).

Email deliverability in Kajabi

Kajabi takes email deliverability seriously.

They offer double opt-in functionality, requiring new subscribers to verify their email addresses before joining your CRM.

This ensures quality leads who actually want your content.

As these engaged subscribers interact with your emails, delivery platforms recognize your domain as trustworthy, further improving deliverability.

Here’s how a typical email makes its journey to your subscribers’ inboxes (if it ever arrives):

I like Kajabi’s SPF and DKIM spam detection systems that help reduce spam and protect your email domain’s reputation.

Kajabi’s auto-resend feature lets you retry delivering bounced emails – improving deliverability.

You can test your custom domain connection (DNS records) to prevent webmail disruption.

Kajabi provides tips for creating spam-free emails, including email warming – sending engaging emails to active contacts incrementally.

👉 One improvement needed: Kajabi should address its limited unsubscription options. Currently, subscribers who hit unsubscribe are automatically removed from all future emails.

It would be better to let subscribers choose what emails they want – like newsletters instead of marketing emails. This helps creators understand subscriber preferences without losing them completely.

Kajabi email marketing metrics

I like that Kajabi shows both individual and overall metrics for broadcasts and sequences.

Metrics include emails sent, delivered, opened, clicked, hard bounced, unsubscribed, customers, and revenue generated. Click any metric for more details.

You can view metrics for entire sequences and individual emails within them, including email statuses, under email campaigns.

You can track individual recipient actions and filter by name, action, email, and timestamp. This data helps you identify what’s working and what needs improvement.

While not fancy, these metrics provide the essential insights you need.

Kajabi email marketing pricing

Kajabi targets online entrepreneurs seeking an all-in-one business solution rather than just email marketing.

Consider this:

The Basic plan costs $149/month with unlimited marketing emails but caps you at 10,000 contacts. You also get unlimited landing pages for collecting emails or promoting products.

For full access to email automations, custom branding, and affiliate marketing, you’ll need the higher-tier plans at $199/month or $399/month.

If you want your entire email marketing system in Kajabi, you might eventually need the Pro plan ($399/month) with up to 100,000 contacts. This can be more cost-effective than using separate tools like ConvertKit while keeping everything integrated.

FAQs

1. Does Kajabi support email marketing automations and autoresponders? Yes, you can use Kajabi email campaigns for sequences (automations) and set up autoresponses.
2. Is ConvertKit better than Kajabi for email marketing? It depends. Kajabi functions as an all-in-one business platform for online entrepreneurs with robust email management and automation, while ConvertKit serves as a dedicated email marketing solution only, lacking Kajabi’s comprehensive features like podcasting and 1-on-1 coaching capabilities.
3. What are the limitations of Kajabi email marketing? Kajabi emails do not support A/B tests or split testing. Additionally, you cannot re-schedule individual emails in an active email sequence or send more than one sequence email per day.

Verdict

Here’s my take on Kajabi’s email marketing versus dedicated tools:

Kajabi’s built-in email marketing makes perfect sense if:

• You want everything in one place: Already using Kajabi for courses or digital products? The integrated email simplifies your workflow.
• Okay with basic automation: Most course creators don’t need complex email setups. Kajabi handles welcome sequences and product launches effectively.
• You prefer simplicity: If tech makes you anxious, Kajabi’s straightforward email system won’t overwhelm you.
• You’re on budget: Why pay for another tool when email marketing is already included? That’s potentially hundreds saved yearly.

Consider a dedicated email platform when:

• Need advanced features: If you’re serious about complex automations, or deep segmentation, tools like ConvertKit or ActiveCampaign serve you better.
• Email deliverability is a concern: Dedicated email platforms typically invest more in getting your emails to actually land in inboxes.
• Your list is massive: Once you exceed 100,000 contacts, you’ll need either a custom Kajabi plan or another solution.
• You need flexible scheduling: Kajabi’s limitations on pausing sequences or sending multiple emails per day might frustrate serious email marketers.

The honest truth

For most course creators and coaches, Kajabi’s email marketing is good enough. The convenience of having everything connected outweighs the limitations.

The integration creates a seamless experience that just works.

But if email marketing drives your business and you need advanced features, consider a hybrid approach – use Kajabi for everything else while connecting a dedicated email tool.

Your decision ultimately comes down to your specific needs, tech comfort, and budget. But for most Kajabi users? The built-in email tools will do the job nicely.