Hi Reader,
Kit has released a few new features recently, and this week I’m sharing one I’ve been testing. But first, a common obstacle that came up during a customer call earlier this week...
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Remember you're running a business
(Unless, of course, you're a charitable hobbyist!)
Your email marketing system should help you sell your products or services to prospective and existing customers.
You know I'm not one for pushy sales tactics. My approach is simple: present relevant offers at appropriate times, and only offer something I believe will help.
During a recent Zoom call, a customer told me she hates selling to her list. She just wants to send helpful emails.
She's a fantastic coach who knows her stuff, but she's reluctant to invite subscribers to work with her. Instead, she relies on the ‘I hope they ask me’ approach.
Her worry? Mentioning her coaching would make her look like a sleazy marketer and send subscribers straight to the unsubscribe button. 🤷🏻♂️
Some people might unsubscribe. But when you've built trust and your service addresses a problem they want to solve, making an offer is part of helping them.
Your helpful emails can take them so far. Working with you could be the next step, but they need to know what you offer and how to buy it.
So today, send an email to your list, or a relevant segment, offering a product or service that could improve their life or business. Explain who it's for, how it helps, and how to get started.
As for managing unsubscribers... that's for another email. 😊
And, to put my own advice into practice...
Have me design & build your Kit system
Over a structured implementation project, I’ll plan and build the system you need to attract subscribers, nurture relationships and turn more of your audience into customers.
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Okay, now I've said that... let's get into one of Kit's recently introduced features.
Create broadcasts and sequences using AI
You can connect a compatible AI tool, such as ChatGPT or Claude, to your Kit account using Kit's MCP connector.
Think of it as a cable between the two: it lets your AI tool work with information in Kit and create draft broadcasts and sequence emails.
🙋🏻♂️ I'm not keen on handing over my email-writing to AI, but I'm happy to use it to improve my process or save me some tedious work.
MCP stands for Model Context Protocol, a standard for connecting AI tools to external systems.
👇 Here's a prompt I used during testing:
What I asked ChatGPT to do
"Review my last 50 broadcast emails, evaluate and categorise the content, and recommend topics for my next weekly newsletter as bullet points.
Create a draft in Kit using my 'Email First Newsletter' template. Make the content fully editable using native Kit text blocks, not an HTML content block.
Preserve the template's header and footer, including the unsubscribe and subscriber preferences links."
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Reviewing 50 emails and working out what to cover next would have taken me hours, and it's hardly my idea of an enjoyable afternoon. 😵💫
The result
It was mixed. The first few attempts needed nudges and corrections, but eventually I got something useful: a draft in my Kit account, using my newsletter template, with suggested talking points ready for me to develop.
The content was editable in native Kit text blocks, so I could work on it directly in the usual email editor.
It gave me a starting point, while leaving the writing and judgement to me.
My thoughts...
I think we're seeing only a sliver of what will become possible with Kit's MCP connector.
My concern is that some people will use it to churn out impersonal emails, treating their subscribers as numbers rather than people.
For me, the value lies in taking care of laborious tasks and helping me create a better experience for my subscribers. I'll keep testing it with that in mind.
I hope you've found something useful to try in your business.
How would you feel about using AI this way? Reply and let me know, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Have a wonderful weekend, whatever you've planned. I'll be spending some quality time with family, sprinkled with some F1® from Malaysia!
Cheers,
John