You’re about to migrate to ActiveCampaign and frankly you’re a little nervous about the move – or maybe you already started migrating to ActiveCampaign – so this blog is for you. Migration is a great opportunity to for positive change – but it’s also pretty daunting, and risky – so I’m here to help.
You’re in safe hands – I’m Kay Peacey expert ActiveCampaign consultant and chief myth-buster of all things email automation, here to help you do it right first time based on many years of supporting businesses to migrate successfully to ActiveCampaign.
We;ve got 10 things you must know before (or during) your migration to ActiveCampaign.
And trust me: these are the things that will save you revenue, time, and actual tears!
And we’ve thrown in a free ActiveCampaign Migration tips checklist you can download too – win win! – scroll down for the optin…
Grab the FREE Migration Checklist – 10 tips to migrate better to ActiveCampaign
FREE tips to migrate better to ActiveCampaign
from ActiveCampaign Consultant Kay Peacey
Try ActiveCampaign now with a two week free trial
Follow these steps to migrate to ActiveCampaign without breaking things
Watch for expert Kay Peacey on how to migrate to ActiveCampaign without breaking things (20 mins)
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Learn why to use just a few Lists when you migrate to ActiveCampaign
Lists work very differently in ActiveCampaign compared to other platforms. LESS is more.
Why you need way fewer Lists than you think in ActiveCampaign
- Keep it minimal
The ideal is 1 List – or maybe a Master List and a Customer List - Too many Lists cause chaos
The more Lists you have, the more likely it is that unsubscribes and preferences get messed up - Don’t migrate loads of Lists
Having fewer Lists during migration helps sanity and deliverability
Read our blog here for more on what Lists really do in ActiveCampaign.
Or come see how we do it in our FREE Accelerated ActiveCampaign training!
Using ActiveCampaign already, or thinking about getting it?
Get our FREE Accelerated ActiveCampaign training now
Understand when to use Field vs Tags as you migrate to ActiveCampaign
Tags and Fields are not interchangeable. Both are great when used in the right places.
Migrating to ActiveCampaign is a great opportunity to tidy up and Tags and Fields the easy way.
Quick rules for using Tags and Fields in ActiveCampaign
- Fields are for holding sortable searchable values
Use these if you need filter/search Contacts based on the value in the field
Great for showing values inside Emails too – that’s Personalisation - Tags are like sticky labels
They’re there, or they’re not there
Easy to count how many Contacts have a particular Tag
Great for groups, triggers, or behind-the-scenes counting & organising
FREE Checklist – 10 tips to migrate better to ActiveCampaign
from ActiveCampaign Consultant Kay Peacey
Get insider tips on how to name things in ActiveCampaign for an easy life
In ActiveCampaign you need to name a LOT of things.
Do yourself a massive favour and name things right from the start.
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How to name everything in ActiveCampaign for a clear future
- Use short, consistent, readable names
Put the important bit at the start as long names get cut off, and be concise
Example: REG: webinar is better than Webinar – Registration for the May 24th 2024 Masterclass - Avoid brackets and weird symbols
Use colons or hyphens instead
Example: ACADEMY: welcome - Use this as an opportunity to tidy as you migrate
Clean up any sloppy legacy naming as you move things over
We teach a full course with a system for Naming things in ActiveCampaign in our Academy, with plenty of examples, clear explainers, and a fast easy way to document everything to keep track of what’s what.
Learn more about our Slick Business Academy
Fast effective Email & Automation training & support from Kay Peacey
Avoid costly errors when you import contacts to ActiveCampaign on migration
This is the #1 mistake that messes up new ActiveCampaign accounts and can destroy your Deliverability…
Migrating to ActiveCampaign: import dos and don’ts
- Don’t import unsubscribed Contacts as active
You’ll get reported for spam if you email people who previously unsubscribed - Clean your Contacts before importing
Remove bounces, old, and cold leads – they’re costing you money! - If you must import unsubscribed Contacts, mark them correctly
There’s a box for importing as unsubcribed – look out for it in the Import features
Read our blog here on how to identify unwanted Contacts and clear them out once you’re in ActiveCampaign
Academy members get our Contact Cleanup guide and Deliverability training course so they can keep their Contacts lean and clean and get their emails delivered reliably to the inbox.
Learn more about our Slick Business Academy
Fast effective Email & Automation training & support from Kay Peacey
Let go of fancy templates with fast easy & effective email design in ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign’s Email Designer is powerful, and there’s some really fun stuff in there that you might not have had in your old platform – but it pays to keep your emails simple and familiar, especially when you first migrate to ActiveCampaign.
How to design ActiveCampaign emails that work
- Stick to mainly text emails with a few images
This speeds up building, lands better into inboxes, and is more readable than fancy layouts - Use Global Settings in the ActiveCampaign Email Designer
Set up your fonts, headings, spacing and button colours once – then every new text block will look good automatically - Don’t obsess over fancy templates – at least at first
Consistency and simplicity win, especially during a transition
Authenticate your email domain early when you migrate to ActiveCampaign
When you move into ActiveCampaign, don’t start sending emails until you’ve done your domain authentication.
If you don’t do this, you risk your ActiveCampaign emails ending up in spam (or not arriving at all). And you want your deliverability to stay really good and strong when you migrate to ActiveCampaign.
Try ActiveCampaign now with a two week free trial
FREE Checklist – 10 tips to migrate better to ActiveCampaign
from ActiveCampaign Consultant Kay Peacey
What to do before you hit send on emails in ActiveCampaign
- Go to Settings > Advanced > Sending Domain
Add and configure your sending domain - Wait for the green status
Only send emails after your domain is fully authenticated
We have a stonkingly good course inside our Academy that will take you step by step through everything you need to know, and exactly what you need to do, to get your ActiveCampaign email and domain authentication done fast, and right, first time. Find out more about our deliverability course here.
Learn more about our Slick Business Academy
Fast effective Email & Automation training & support from Kay Peacey
Warm up email sending as you migrate to ActiveCampaign
When you’ve just moved to a new platform, one of the most common migration mistakes is blasting everyone with emails on day one.
Moving platform means taking care with sending so you warm up your new home.
How to safely start sending in ActiveCampaign when you migrate
- Warm up by sending to highly engaged Contacts or new subscribers
Once you’ve emailed these, you can build up gradually - Don’t do a massive blast send first
Ease into mass sends once you’re sure your deliverability is stable - Use enticing lead magnets to pull new, engaged subscribers into your ActiveCampaign account
Lead magnet subscribers are more likely to be excited to open and click
FREE Checklist – 10 tips to migrate better to ActiveCampaign
from ActiveCampaign Consultant Kay Peacey
Don’t break your integrations when you migrate to ActiveCampaign
Integrations are one of the most exciting things you’ll find in ActiveCampaign that you may not have had in your previous platform.
But many businesses forget which forms or tools they have connected to their previous platform, and don’t remember until they stop working after a migration, and customer-facing stuff breaks.
No one wants that. So read on and protect yourself.
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Integration steps for a safe migration to ActiveCampaign
- List out every integration BEFORE you move – document it all
e.g. website forms, appointment schedulers, payment tools, Zapier - Move and test each integration one-by-one
Migrate thoughtfully so everything continues to work seamlessly - Check out ActiveCampaign’s built-in integrations
Some are way more powerful than you’re used to – set them up fresh so all your settings are correct
Use documentation to keep in control when migrating to ActiveCampaign
You might think you’ll remember what you’ve set up, built and decided as you migrate over to ActiveCampaign.
Spoiler: you won’t
Effective (but fast) documentation is essential to keep everything in order and know where to find everything.
Future you will thank you for it!
Try ActiveCampaign now with a two week free trial
How to document in ActiveCampaign as you migrate your integrations and processes
- Keep a record of each process, Automation and integration
The what, the why, and the how - Use and record naming conventions
So team members or future you aren’t lost - Keep your documentation up to date
Makes troubleshooting, team training, or future migrations so much easier
We are expert at documenting things in the Academy. Come find us to learn how to document everything for success, without breaking a sweat. There are some very fast workflows to get this done that I’d love to show you.
Learn more about our Slick Business Academy
Fast effective Email & Automation training & support from Kay Peacey
FAQ on what you really need to know to start using ActiveCampaign
Why do I need only one or two Lists in ActiveCampaign?
Trust me on this – many Lists is way harder to work with than just one or two.
- Lots of Lists causes confusion with unsubscribes and permissions
Use ActiveCampaign Segments with Tags and Conditions to get your emails sent to the right people
What happens if I import unsubscribed people to ActiveCampaign as active contacts?
Bad things that will hurt your email deliverability!
- They may receive emails they previously said they didn’t want
This is a big No as it leads to spam reports and damages your deliverability
How should I clean my contact list before importing?
Yes!
- Remove bounces, old, and cold leads
Only import contacts who are still interested and valid
Check out our awesome blog on contact cleanup
What’s so special about the Email Designer in ActiveCampaign?
So many things… but let’s start with the big one:
- Global Settings are brilliant for setting your font styles, sizing, spacing, buttons and more
Get these right and you’ll be ready to roll straight away with everything looking at it should
Why is documenting ActiveCampaign things so important?
Basically, without it, you will get into a costly time-consuming mess in the future!
- Without documentation you’ll forget what connects to what, how it works, and how you set it up
Documentation saves future headaches for you and your team – fact.
Try ActiveCampaign now with a two week free trial
FREE Checklist – 10 tips to migrate better to ActiveCampaign
from ActiveCampaign Consultant Kay Peacey
Get more help with migrating to ActiveCampaign
In our Academy we help businesses move to ActiveCampaign without the stress, headaches and breakages that so often plague migrations.
For a fast, smooth migration with unbroken processes, working integrations, well-built emails and a confident happy team, join the Slick Business Academy with Kay Peacey. I’ll be right beside you for the dozens of tiny decisions that make or break a migration.
Sure – you could hire a consultant (expensive!) or trust ActiveCampaign’s free migration service to do this (risky!) – but you know how much value your email list and automations have to your revenue and well-being. So why not get reliable expert help on hand without breaking the bank?
Join here – for big migrations the Advanced level is best as you get more time direct with Kay for advice and questions.
Try ActiveCampaign now with a two week free trial
Learn more about our Slick Business Academy
Fast effective Email & Automation training & support from Kay Peacey