MailerLite

MailerLite consistently ranks as the top email marketing recommendation for indie authors across Kindlepreneur, ScribeCount, Author Sidekick, and CreatorWood — a consensus driven by its combination of a real free tier, visual automation builder, and native BookFunnel integration available without additional tools.

What You Get#

• Visual automation builder: Drag-and-drop sequences with conditional logic, multiple triggers (subscriber joins a group, clicks a link, fills out a form), and the ability to draft emails directly inside the workflow — available on the free plan
• BookFunnel integration: Native connection syncs book download readers into MailerLite groups or segments, triggering automatic welcome sequences without Zapier
• Landing pages: Free plan includes 10 landing pages with countdown timers, embedded forms, and modular sections — sufficient for reader magnets, ARC sign-ups, and book launch promos
• Segmentation: Dynamic segments update automatically based on opens, clicks, tags, and survey responses; manage separate segments for series, genres, or reader types
• RSS-to-email automation: Growing Business and above can automatically send new blog posts as newsletters — key for authors blogging regularly about their writing
• AI writing assistant: Advanced plan adds AI copy and subject line generation in 30 languages; send-time optimization available on paid tiers

Who It's For#

• Authors starting from scratch: 500 subscribers and 12,000 emails/month on the free plan, with working automation and 10 landing pages — enough to run a welcome sequence and first reader magnet campaign
• Mid-list authors on a budget: Growing Business at $10–$73/month (500 to 10,000 subscribers) covers most authors through their first several thousand readers
• WordPress bloggers: Native WordPress plugin connects site sign-ups directly to MailerLite subscriber groups without manual configuration

Pricing: Free plan: 500 subscribers, 12,000 emails/month, single-trigger automation and 10 landing pages included; MailerLite branding on emails; no newsletter templates; support limited to first 30 days. Growing Business from $10/month (500 subs) to ~$73/month (10K subs), unlimited emails, templates, auto-resend, and A/B testing. Advanced from $20/month (500 subs) to ~$110/month (10K subs), adds AI writing, unlimited seats, multi-trigger automations, custom HTML editor, smart sending, and Facebook audience integration. Enterprise tier available for 100K+ subscribers with dedicated IP and success manager. Annual billing saves 10%; nonprofits get 30% off.

Strengths#

• Fair contact billing: Unsubscribed and bounced contacts are not counted against your subscriber limit — a meaningful advantage over Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign, which bill for inactive contacts
• Ease of use: EmailToolTester awarded MailerLite its Best for Ease of Use badge every year from 2023 to 2026; the automation builder is significantly simpler than Kit or ActiveCampaign at similar price points
• Strong integration for authors: BookFunnel, StoryOrigin, Prolific Works, and WordPress all connect natively — the standard author tech stack works out of the box

Limitations#

• Free plan subscriber reduction: MailerLite cut the free tier from 1,000 to 500 subscribers in September 2025 — affected accounts were locked immediately until lists were cleaned or upgraded; authors must move to Growing Business ($10/month) once they exceed 500 subscribers
• Free plan automation is single-trigger only: Free workflows support only one starting trigger; multi-trigger automations and conditional branching require Growing Business or Advanced
• Strict account approval: MailerLite manually reviews new accounts and has terminated accounts for affiliate-link-heavy newsletters; fiction and nonfiction author newsletters are generally approved, but affiliate-focused content can trigger rejection
• No advanced behavioral tracking: Website event tracking, lead scoring, and predictive analytics are absent; authors needing sophisticated subscriber journey data should consider Kit or ActiveCampaign
• No inbox preview testing: Unlike some competitors, MailerLite doesn't show rendering previews across email clients before sending

Alternatives#

Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is the main alternative — stronger creator-specific features and more automation depth at a higher price point. EmailOctopus offers comparable value at roughly half the cost with fewer integrations and a smaller template library.