How to Build a Course Email List Using Kit (ConvertKit)

Go to kit.com and sign up for the free plan. You'll need an email address and a name for your account. Kit's free tier supports up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited landing pages, forms, and broadcasts. You won't need to enter a credit card. During setup, Kit will ask about your audience size and goals — answer honestly, but don't stress over these questions. They customize your onboarding experience, not your plan features.

Your lead magnet is the free resource people get in exchange for their email address — a PDF guide, a short video series, a worksheet, a checklist. Whatever it is, you need a page that describes it and collects signups. In Kit, go to Grow > Landing Pages & Forms and click "Create New." Choose "Landing Page" and pick a template.

Kit's landing page templates are deliberately simple: a headline, a short description, and a signup form. That simplicity works in your favor. The best-performing landing pages are focused on a single action, and Kit's templates enforce that constraint. Write a headline that names the specific outcome your lead magnet delivers ("5 Discussion Prompts That Keep Online Students Engaged" is better than "Free Resource for Course Creators"), add two or three sentences about what the subscriber will get, and publish. Kit gives you a hosted URL you can share immediately, even if you don't have your own website yet.

If you have a website or blog, embed a Kit form so visitors can subscribe without leaving the page. Go to Grow > Landing Pages & Forms, click "Create New," and choose "Form" this time. Kit offers inline forms (embedded in your content), modal pop-ups, and slide-in forms. For course creators, an inline form placed at the end of blog posts tends to convert best — the reader has already engaged with your content and has context for why your lead magnet is useful.

Kit generates embed code (HTML or JavaScript) that you paste into your site. If you're using WordPress, Squarespace, or another common platform, Kit has integrations that make this even simpler. The key is placing the form where people have just consumed something valuable from you, not on a sidebar where it competes with everything else on the page.

When someone subscribes, the worst thing you can do is go silent. A welcome sequence — even a short one — sets expectations and starts building the relationship. In Kit, go to Automate > Visual Automations and create a new automation. The trigger is "Subscribes to a form" (select your landing page or embedded form). Then add your first email.

Your welcome email should do three things: deliver the lead magnet you promised, introduce yourself briefly, and tell the subscriber what to expect from your emails. Keep it under 300 words. Something like: "Here's the guide I promised. I'm [Name], and I teach [topic]. I send one email a week with [description of value]. Reply to this email and tell me what you're working on — I read every response." That last line matters. Replies boost your sender reputation with email providers, and they give you real information about what your subscribers need.

Note: Visual automations are a paid feature on the Creator plan ($29/month for up to 1,000 subscribers). On the free plan, you can still send a welcome email by setting up a simple automation rule, but you won't get the drag-and-drop visual builder. If you're just starting out, the free plan is fine — upgrade when your list and email strategy get more complex.

Tags are how Kit lets you organize subscribers without creating separate lists. When someone downloads your lead magnet about course pricing, tag them "interested-in-pricing." When someone attends your free webinar about community-based courses, tag them "interested-in-community." You can add tags manually, through automation rules, or based on which links someone clicks in your emails.

Why does this matter? When you eventually launch your course, you'll want to send targeted messages. Someone who downloaded a pricing guide and attended a webinar about your topic is a warm lead — they might get a direct launch email. Someone who subscribed six months ago and hasn't opened an email since needs a different approach, or maybe no launch email at all. Tags make this possible without maintaining multiple separate lists.

A broadcast in Kit is a one-time email sent to your subscribers (all of them, or a filtered segment). Go to Send > Broadcasts and click "New Broadcast." Write a subject line, compose your email, choose your audience, and send. Kit's email editor is intentionally minimal — it looks like a text editor, not a design tool. This is a feature, not a limitation. Emails that look like personal messages get higher engagement than elaborately designed newsletters.

For your first broadcast, don't overthink it. Share something useful — a tip, a lesson you learned, a resource recommendation. The goal isn't to sell anything; it's to establish the habit of sending and to see how your audience responds. Check your open rate after 24 hours. For a new list, 40-50% is good. If you're below 20%, your subject lines need work or your subscribers weren't expecting to hear from you.

A nurture sequence is a series of automated emails that go out over days or weeks after someone subscribes. Unlike broadcasts (which are one-time), sequences run on autopilot for every new subscriber. In Kit, go to Send > Sequences to create one.

A good starter nurture sequence for a course creator has four to six emails spread over two to three weeks. Each email should deliver standalone value while gradually introducing your perspective and expertise. Here's a structure that works well:

• Email 1 (Day 0) — Deliver the lead magnet and introduce yourself (this is your welcome email, which you may already have as an automation)
• Email 2 (Day 3) — Share a specific, actionable tip related to your course topic
• Email 3 (Day 7) — Tell a story about a student or client transformation (with permission)
• Email 4 (Day 10) — Address a common misconception in your field
• Email 5 (Day 14) — Mention your course naturally, with a link, as a next step for people who want to go deeper

The sequence builds trust before asking for anything. By email five, subscribers have received real value from you four times. The course mention feels like a natural progression, not a sales pitch out of nowhere.

One lead magnet attracts one type of person. If you teach yoga teacher training, a guide on "sequencing a vinyasa class" appeals to a different segment than "how to price your first workshop." Each lead magnet gets its own landing page and its own tag in Kit. Over time, your subscriber pool becomes richly segmented, and when you launch different courses or offerings, you know exactly who to email about what.

Every blog post, podcast episode, and social media post should have a path to your email list. This doesn't mean aggressive pop-ups on every page. It means ending your blog posts with a relevant lead magnet offer, mentioning your free resource in podcast outros, and linking to your Kit landing page in your social bios. The compounding effect of consistent, low-pressure invitations is significant over six to twelve months.

Kit lets you add a tag when someone clicks a specific link in an email. This is powerful for understanding what your subscribers care about. Include two or three links in a broadcast — each pointing to a different resource or topic — and tag anyone who clicks. Now you know not just that someone is on your list, but what they're actively interested in. That behavioral data is gold when you're deciding what to include in your course or how to position your launch messaging.

Kit's free plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers with broadcasts, landing pages, and forms. That's generous. But visual automations and sequences — the multi-step email flows that make nurturing efficient — require the paid Creator plan starting at $29/month. If you're building a list from zero, the free plan gets you started. Once you're ready for automated sequences, you'll need to upgrade.

The visual automation builder is Kit's most powerful feature, and it has a learning curve. Triggers, actions, conditions, and branching logic can get complex quickly. Start with simple linear automations (subscribe → send email → wait → send email) and add complexity only when you have a clear reason. Many course creators build elaborate automation trees they never actually need.

Kit's email templates are intentionally basic — closer to plain text than to designed newsletters. This is a strength for deliverability and engagement, but if you want brand-heavy, image-rich emails with multiple columns and custom HTML, Kit isn't the right tool. Mailchimp or Flodesk handle visual email design better. For course creators, though, the plain-text approach usually wins. Your subscribers signed up for your expertise, not your graphic design.