You know what you want to include in your emails and have a broad notion of how they should look. The next step is to choose an email platform.
The email platform you choose will influence a number of factors, including the following:
- The cost of email marketing
- The appearance of your templates
- The kind of signup and opt-in forms that will be available to you
- Which additional add-ons and programs are compatible with (ex. pop-ups)
Let’s analyze some of the most popular email platforms accessible and their associated perks in order to evaluate which one is best for you.
MailChimp
MailChimp is undoubtedly the most popular entry-level email marketing platform. Its versatility, many integrations, and simple-to-use, completely responsive templates make it an excellent alternative for beginner email marketers. And, perhaps most importantly, it is free for the majority of users.
For businesses with up to 2,000 subscribers, MailChimp is completely free (or 12,000 monthly emails). Once you reach that threshold, your monthly fee increases to $10 and continues to escalate from there. As a result, MailChimp is one of the most economical solutions accessible, particularly for businesses just getting started with email marketing.
MailChimp’s interactive email designer is a significant perk. The drag-and-drop designer enables you to quickly create a reusable email template by dragging text, graphics, and links across a blank canvas.
Having said that, if you’re looking for a service that goes beyond basic email marketing, MailChimp may not be the ideal fit. Utilizing it for transactional email on an ecommerce site needs integration with a third-party platform, Mandrill, and the email automation supplied is at best rudimentary.
AWeber
AWeber is another low-cost email marketing solution created exclusively for small enterprises. They offer a free plan for lists with less than 500 subscribers, and then charge a monthly fee based on the size of the list.
AWeber has over 700 email templates, as well as an email builder that enables you to quickly generate messages. However, AWeber’s true advantage is that they offer bespoke email template design, which means they’ll create an entirely new email design based on your ideas or sketches.
If you’re unsure whether AWeber is the appropriate answer for you, the company offers a free 30-day trial to new users. However, if you’re just getting started with your email list, chances are the platform will be free to use.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact is one of the industry’s most established and well-known email marketing systems. They, like MailChimp and AWeber, provide a drag-and-drop email composer that simplifies the process of creating messages. However, they provide certain more robust features and integrations that larger firms may choose.
Constant Contact has a higher monthly fee than competing email services, starting at $15 for up to 500 subscribers. They do not, however, impose a limit on the number of emails you can send every month (or ever), which is an excellent feature. Additionally, they provide discounts for pre-paying plans and nonprofit organizations.
Constant Contact offers a huge catalog of apps and integrations due to its longevity and popularity. You can connect your email list to virtually anything, from a Facebook opt-in form to Quickbooks, and many of the connections are completely free.
Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor is an email marketing platform with a difference: it enables you to send email on behalf of yourself or clients.
For individuals, Campaign Monitor is a straightforward email client with several useful features. It includes an email builder, but it is far from as sophisticated as those available elsewhere, so you’re better off developing your own HTML template to import and reuse instead. Additionally, it comes pre-integrated with a variety of websites and applications.
Campaign Monitor truly shines in two areas. The first is in its email automation, which enables you to quickly and easily create emails that are sent automatically to subscribers who are added to a list. The reports linked with these automated emails are comprehensive, allowing you to make data-driven changes.
Second, if you work as an agency or on behalf of multiple clients, Campaign Monitor enables you to virtually replicate their email marketing infrastructure. You may customize the dashboard with your own logo, colors, and other elements. Clients can send emails on their own or you can send them on their behalf. And the cherry on top? You get to choose your own pricing, which means you can successfully earn from Campaign Monitor.
Which One Should I Choose?
The email marketing platform that is best for you will be determined by a variety of criteria. There are numerous email marketing services. And it is not sufficient to choose one or the other based on price or the appearance of their website.
While thinking of the email marketing platform to choose, ask yourself the following questions:
- How many subscribers am I anticipating sending to?
- What level of time and financial investment am I willing to make in this program?
- Am I capable of creating my own template from scratch?
- How frequently will I send emails?
- Will I send emails just for my own benefit, or will I also send emails on behalf of a client or customer?
- Are there any third-party applications or programs that my platform needs to integrate with?
By answering these questions, you should be able to determine which platform is the greatest fit for your unique requirements.
Bear in mind that if your email requirements alter over time, you can always switch platforms. These businesses do not own your email list; you have the option to export it at any moment. Indeed, each of the sites we’ve highlighted here includes a “import” feature that enables you to transfer subscribers acquired on another platform.