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When Circle announced their Email Hub (formerly Marketing Hub) beta, I received a flurry of messages from fellow community builders and clients: “Finally moving your emails to Circle, right?” “Are you excited to consolidate everything in one platform?” “Will you be ditching Flodesk now?”

My answer surprised many: an emphatic no.

As someone who’s built multiple successful communities and helped countless clients do the same, I’ve learned that using the right tool for each specific job creates better results than forcing everything into one platform. Here’s my comprehensive breakdown of why Flodesk remains my essential tool for community onboarding—and yes, there’s a reason I proudly partner with them as an affiliate.

The Template Dilemma: Starting from Zero vs. Ready-to-Go

Let’s address the elephant in the room: Circle’s Email Hub has zero templates. None. Not even the most basic layouts or sequences. Every single email requires building from scratch.

This might seem like a minor inconvenience if you’re sending occasional announcements. But for strategic community builders? It’s a deal-breaker.

With Flodesk, I’ve built a comprehensive 21-day onboarding workflow—complete with conditional logic, timing rules, and branded design—that I can duplicate with a few clicks. This isn’t just a single welcome email; it’s an entire sequence designed to nurture new members through their critical first three weeks.

My clients receive this proven workflow template as part of our work together. Instead of staring at a blank page wondering “What should I say on day 3?” or “How often should I email new members?”, they import my template and customize it for their specific community. One client estimated this saved her 15+ hours of work and weeks of testing.

The ability to share entire workflow templates—not just individual emails—is something Circle simply doesn’t offer. When you’re juggling community management, content creation, and member support, eliminating the need to reinvent the wheel is invaluable.

The Brand Consistency Equation

Communities aren’t just about information—they’re about experience. Every touchpoint with members, from welcome emails to resource recommendations, should feel cohesive and professional.

Flodesk’s design capabilities allow me to create emails that perfectly match my brand guidelines:

• Custom font pairings that align with my website
• Exact hex color codes that maintain visual consistency
• Spacing and layout control that feels intentional
• Image treatments that reflect my brand aesthetic

Once established, these design elements become part of my template, ensuring every email maintains the same professional look without additional effort.

Circle’s Email Hub offers basic formatting, but the level of customization is limited. With Flodesk, I can create an email that looks like it was professionally designed—because effectively, it was.

Brand consistency isn’t vanity; it’s about creating trust through professionalism. When new members receive beautifully designed, cohesive communications, it signals that you take your community seriously.

The Learning Curve Reality

Let’s talk about cognitive load—that mental effort required to learn and use a new system. When evaluating any tool, I consider not just my ability to use it, but how easily my clients can adopt it.

Flodesk’s interface is intuitive even for tech-hesitant users. The visual workflow builder makes complex automation accessible. Drag-and-drop email design removes the need for coding knowledge. Even conditional logic (if member clicks X, send them Y) is straightforward to implement.

This matters tremendously when I’m training clients. When I gift my onboarding workflow template, I include just 20 minutes of training. That’s all they need to understand, customize, and implement a sophisticated nurture sequence.

Circle’s Email Hub isn’t overly complicated, but it lacks the visual workflow mapping that makes Flodesk so user-friendly. For clients who experience tech anxiety, this difference can mean the difference between confident implementation and abandoned automation.

The Time Investment Calculation

Building community is already time-intensive. Between creating content, facilitating discussions, and supporting members, any tool that saves hours deserves serious consideration.

Let’s break down the time investment comparison:

Starting from scratch in Circle’s Email Hub:

• Writing copy for 8-10 onboarding emails: ~8 hours
• Formatting each email: ~2 hours
• Setting up automations and triggers: ~3 hours
• Testing sequence for errors: ~2 hours
• Total: 15+ hours minimum

Using my Flodesk template:

• Importing workflow template: 3 minutes
• Customizing copy for your community: ~2 hours
• Adjusting branding elements: ~1 hour
• Testing for personalization: ~1 hour
• Total: 4 hours maximum

That’s a time savings of 11+ hours—more than a full workday. For busy community builders, reclaiming this time means more energy for what matters: actually engaging with members.

The Hybrid Approach That Maximizes Strengths

Despite my preference for Flodesk, I’m not suggesting abandoning Circle. Quite the opposite—I believe in using each platform for what it does best.

Here’s my recommended setup for community builders:

Flodesk:

• Welcome sequences
• Educational drip campaigns
• Promotional announcements
• Nurture sequences for inactive members

Circle:

• Direct messages
• In-app notifications
• Discussion threads
• Real-time updates

Zapier:

• Connecting member actions between platforms
• Triggering emails based on community activity
• Syncing member information

This hybrid approach works because it leverages each platform’s strengths. Flodesk excels at nurturing email journeys. Circle shines with immediate, contextual communication. Together, they create a comprehensive member experience.

Why I Became a Flodesk Affiliate

In the spirit of full transparency: yes, I earn commission when you use my Flodesk link. But here’s why I feel confident in this partnership.

I was already paying for Flodesk and recommending it to every client long before any affiliate relationship existed. The program simply means I get rewarded for sharing a tool that genuinely transformed my community operations.

My onboarding workflow template has saved clients hundreds of combined hours. The fact that sharing this resource also provides me compensation feels like fair recognition of the value I’ve created.

I only partner with tools I use daily and would recommend regardless of financial incentive. Flodesk easily meets this standard.

Looking Toward the Future

Circle continues improving their Email Hub, and I applaud their progress. Perhaps someday they’ll add workflow templates, more sophisticated design controls, and visual automation builders.

Until then, if you want to:

• Use any email templates at all (remember, Circle offers zero)
• Implement proven workflows without reinventing them
• Create professionally designed emails without a graphic design background
• Save substantial time in your community operations

Flodesk remains the clear choice.

The bottom line is simple: community building is challenging enough without adding unnecessary obstacles. By choosing the right tool for each specific job—rather than forcing everything into one platform—you create a better experience for both yourself and your members.

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Ready to stop starting from scratch? Try Flodesk’s free trial through my link and get access to my tested onboarding workflow template. Just send me an email or drop me a note in the community with your trial confirmation and I’ll send you the workflow link.

Yes, I earn commission, but only because this tool eliminates the need to reinvent the wheel every time you set up community emails.