Hi Reader,

So happy to be getting back into the swing of things & a more normal routine this week! Yesterday was SUCH a productive day but TBH my brain bounced around like a racquetball thrown too hard in small room. 😂 Felt like I was ducking to-dos flying at my head left & right! (side note: this time, I actually DID mean to type "ducking" but my text replacement/autocorrect made it funny!)

Since today's surprise topic is about email & managing your list in one of two different softwares (because of this post in the Freeloaders Club), ––We gotta talk about the ginormous elephant in the room: ConvertKit's rebrand to Kit. 🤭

I (obviously) recorded this week's tutorial before they officially & publicly switched everything over, and so of course they chose this week to make my video appear immediately outdated as soon as it published.

#itsallaboutme J/K 😆

So, here's my opinion on the strong opinions I've been seeing lately:

• Do I like the new logo? I think it's fine & better than the other options they were considering. I like the concept behind it & that's enough for me, otherwise I honestly don't really care. I'm not sure I really "love" the branding of any software/tool I use so...meh? 🤷‍♀️
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• Do I like the new name? Not really. I think they stripped the most important part out of it. 😂 I understand WHY they did it, but I'm not sure I agree it was a move worth making or spending so much $$ on. Super curious to see what their audience & potential customers think after this is live for a while.
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• Do I like the new colors? Actually, yes. I never liked the weirdly almost pink they used before, but the navy & other previous colors were fine. I like that these new colors are more vibrant, modern, clean, friendly/fun, but also more gender neutral IMHO.
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• Will this extreme change send customers packing? It may! Opinions are like assholes & everyone has one; some people's opinions are stronger than others & I really haven't seen that much "love" for the new vibes, which kinda makes me sad if I'm being honest. Because really, who TF cares if the service they provide is still the same & all the tools inside the software are in the same places? 😂 🤷‍♀️
  • I genuinely LOVE Kit/ConvertKit so I'm not going anywhere any time soon, no matter what confusing branding decision they make ––though I agree with some that they could've invested that 1/2 million into giving us a plan discount vs spending it on a rebrand that most of their audience doesn't understand. LOL But what do I know? 😉
• What will this actually change for me as a customer? If you're not an affiliate, it won't change anything but your bookmark to access your account, and maybe the link your password manager uses to recognize when you're trying to log in. If you're an affiliate... then there are links & graphics to update on potentially countless pages... so yay for that. Think I'll hold off on switching things over in my past content until it seems like the changes are permanent (they've tried this once before, had a revolt & switched back).
  • Also slightly annoyed because I can't create a pretty short (affiliate) link for /kit on my domain as that's already used for my Web Designer Starter Kit template for Squarespace designers. 😂 🤦🏼‍♀️

I've been working like a crazy person BTS to get ready for some big events & projects in my calendar this fall, including a new custom website build with a workplace trauma consultant (among other things/services), SquareKicker's template store launch in November, and Paige's semi-annual FREE Web Designer Bootcamp event later this month which of course I'll be hanging out in as always!

SquareKicker just started the review process on my Green Market template, so fingers crossed it'll be in the template store by the official launch next month! 😁🤞🏻 A third template is still in the works & should be available in the store shortly after launch, and I'll also be bringing back my original 3 templates built on 7.1 from 2020 –revamped for Fluid Engine, for a total of 5 designs for service providers, content creators, gyms, artists, farmer's market + more to come!

I just attended the 3-hr encore workshop from Ashley at Systems Over Stress to set up my Sales Hub in Airtable (moving it from ClickUp) and I cannot stress this enough ––it was SO much fun getting nerdy with her & the other attendees!! When this is done (I've got a lot of historical transactions to bring in) I'll be able to effortlessly see accurate & up-to-date financial data across all the platforms I receive money in my business which is HUGE.

That hub will help me answer questions like: Which of my offers is the most profitable? Which is most popular? Which is least popular? Which client does the most repeat business, & how much have they invested in my services? How long does it take a subscriber to become a customer? ––ALL without digging for the info in multiple places. 🤯

So I'm super (nerd-ily 🤓) excited about getting that wrapped up & up-to-date, but I have 9 years of transactions... If this is an exciting prospect for you, 1) don't wait to do it as long as I did because this data can help you make better decisions in your business based on facts not feelings, ––and 2) don't give up on the set up; it's not as hard you may imagine, with Ashley's help. 🙌

I was inspired to create this video/tutorial today because of 2 things that happened recently:

1) Someone in the Club asked about a common unsubscribe issue in email marketing –from the POV of a subscriber in someone's list, which was a great question! You can join or read through the discussion here if you want!

2) FloDesk recently released a looong-awaited feature that really amps up ConvertKit's (er, Kit's) competition & this was worth talking about & comparing to Kit's existing version of the same feature(s).

​FloDesk vs Kit: How to Set Up Subscriber Preferences & Link Actions​ Find Out Now

TONS of stuff happening & rabbit holes this week, so I'll just list my favorites (hard to choose!) 👇🏼

🏦 💸 Does Stripe have Fortitude? Will Myers recently sat down with the Founder of Fortitude, John Apostolo, to talk about chargeback issues & how to combat them in this SUPER fascinating interview: I shared it in the Club here & John joined in & explained some extra details that were really helpful! I'll be meeting with John myself soon to talk about possibly using Fortitude in my own business, so let me know (hit reply or comment/post in the Club) if you look & have Qs I can pass along!

📃✍🏼 Using The Foundry™️ This week I put my 'ol Web Designer Agreement to the test & generated a totally new customized copy using the Foundry™️ contract building app* for the first time. 😍 SO COOL. The AskLex feature (Creative Law Shop's GPT trained on her experience & all of her contract templates) was also super helpful to write the disclaimer on today's video too. 😉 Use code LAUNCH10 for 10% off if you try it & hit reply or ask in the Club if ya have any Qs about it!

🔎🧐 Adding SEO Services SEO Academy, created by Henry Purchase of SEOSpace, is opening again on Oct. 14th for the 2nd time so mark your calendar! Several people in the Club joined the initial cohort of SEO Academy's this summer & 'graduated' with badges (literally). I've been hearing nothing but great things about it! Henry's also got a FREE webinar/masterclass coming up next week, How to Make Income by Offering SEO Services* on Oct. 10th @ 12pm ET / 5pm GMT

HAPPENING NEXT WEEK! 🆓 How to Build a Successful Template Shop Masterclass! ​Join the free & actionable masterclass* with Kate Scott on Oct 7th @ 9am PST / 12pm EST / 4pm GMT; make sure ya come prepared to take notes!! A replay will be sent out afterward, but if you can make it live, you can ask questions during the Q&A at the end. ​ Register for FREE*

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I really do mean it –– if you have questions related to any of this, join Freeloaders (free) in my community (Club) & ask because I'm literally in there almost every single day, –or hit reply & I'll answer as soon as I can. 😁

I genuinely loooove to hear about the struggle-buses you're on, what your POV is when you think about things like processing fees (thus my interview with John at Fortitude), how to add new profitable offers to your business & where to learn from (why I'm sharing the SEOSpace webinar), or how to edit your service contract (...the CLS Foundry links) ––so I can find, share or create content & resources that are more relevant to whatever you need help with at the various stages of starting & running your business.

Because sometimes entrepreneurship is HARD! And I wanna make it easier for you wherever possible.
​I don't share these things lightly ––I hope you know that. 💛

Anyway, I'm peacin' out. This has been more than enough for now, I'm sure. 😂
Hope you have a great weekend ahead & I'll see ya next week!!

Katelyn Web Designer & Educator ​Thrivin' on coffee, community, cursing & carefully laid plans!

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