Best Email Marketing Service For Small Business

So, whether you’re in search of the best email marketing services out there or you have one, but you’re thinking of changing platforms, then this is the post for you. Because in this post, I will share with you 7 of the best email marketing services out there to help you grow your business.

So, if this is what you’re looking for, then let’s dive right into it:

What Is an Email Marketing Service

An email marketing service is a software as a service tool that digital marketers use to execute and monitor email marketing campaigns. An email marketing allows you to:

• Send mass email
• Automate your business
• Helps you build authority over your list
• Helps you make more money
• Plan, organize, monitor, and manage email campaigns

How To Choose The Best Email Marketing Service

You want to make sure that the email marketing software you choose offers features that are in line with your business goals are. You do not want to choose an email marketing service just because it’s popular. You want to figure out what exactly it is you want to do with the software.

For example, if you want a way to communicate with your customers, have access to a few email templates, collect email addresses, manage your unsubscribe features, and group your users by tags to help you manage multiple lists, then an email marketing software like GetResponse will be a great option.

Simply:

• Decide what you want to do with your email marketing service
• Go through the specifications of each software to see if it’s in line with your business goal

What To Look For In A Great Email Marketing Service

1. Look At Their Track Record and Reviews

Besides looking at the features the email service provider offers, it is a great idea to take a look at some reviews and also the track record of the company. This is because some of the new services come up with snazzy-looking websites, but once you sign up and start using their services, you’d notice that they have bad email deliverability (especially with unknown new providers).

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2. Customer Service

Customer service is essential when you’re using an email service provider. Whiles some email service providers have 24/7 live chat options, others just offer users resources and email support. So, you must check the customer support features of any platform before signing up. Also, some customer support services such as live chat are restricted to certain payment plans. For example, Mailerlite doesn’t offer live chat to support users who use their free account

3. Features and Capabilities

When it comes to the service capabilities of these email marketing services, you want to consider the web form design features and templates. Because you might want to put your web forms in different other places. Another capability is API integrations to make sure that you can connect the email marketing service provider with other services you might need.

You also want to take a look at the segmentation features and list management. This is because this allows you to segment your list to find the type of leads you want. For example, if you have more than 5,000 people on your list across your state, you really want to segment all the people in your list based on their country, activity, etc. using some of the advanced search features offered by the platform. This is a crucial feature if you want to do more targeted campaigns.

Another capability to look out for is the automation and intelligence aspect. These include things like RSS to email- this feature allows you to automatically send your blog post to your email list whenever you publish a new post.

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4. Pricing

When it comes to the prices there is a wide spectrum. For beginners, we highly recommend you try out the free account offered by platforms like GetResponse, ActiveCampaign among others to see what works for you and if you really want to invest in any email marketing platform. BTW you can start a free trial and give it a go.

However, before making any purchasing decision, you must note that for most platforms the high-tier payment options/ platforms such as require a pre-requisite knowledge of email marketing and might not be beginner-friendly. Also, you might not necessarily need all the features offered by the platforms e.g. advertising on Facebook via email marketing service.

So, before making any payment decision, take your time and read through our 7 best email marketing services to help you compare and contrast the platforms to see which one fits your budget and goal.

7 Best Email Marketing Services Out There For Small Business

1. GetResponse

GetResponse has a pool of digital marketing tools which are essential to helping you make conversions. This is a complete marketing platform thanks to features like landing pages, funnel builders, and webinar solutions. One thing most users love about GetResponse is their awesome automation tools, ease of use, great features, and affordable price.

Their drag and drop editor makes it easy for you to create emails and landing pages. Users can create targeted email campaigns for people by optimizing their workflow with scores, segmentation, and tags. Also, If you want to visually build your email sequences, then their email automation feature will do the magic for you.

If you want to promote your affiliate products to your subscribers, then GetResponse might be a good choice for you. This is because GetResponse has no limitation on what you can do as an affiliate marketer.

When it comes to customer support GetResponse offers you a 24/7 live chat, resources for those of you who might want to try out things on your own, a FAQ section, and email in 8 languages.

Pricing:

They offer users a 30-day free trial. This gives you access to all the various features without you paying a dime.

When you decide to opt-in for a paid plan, you have the following options:

• The Basic Plan ( $15/month) This includes autoresponders, unlimited landing pages, unlimited automation pages, 1 sales funnel, Facebook Ads, selling of e-products, basic email marketing, and many more.
• Plus Plan ( $49/month) This includes every feature the Basic plan has plus 5 automation builder, webinars, 5 sales funnel, and many more.
• Professional Plan ( $99/month) This includes every feature the Plus Plan offers plus unlimited sales funnel, unlimited webinar funnels, on-demand webinars, and many more.
• Max Plus ( custom pricing) This includes every feature the Professional Plan offers including transactional emails, dedicated support and IP, deliverability consulting, and many more.

These are prices for 1000 subscribers. Just like every other email marketing platform out there, the prices vary depending on the number of subscribers you have on your email list.

Pros:

• Great support
• Great value for money ( great price/performance ratio)
• Access to features such as spam testing
• Love automation feature
• A/B split testing

Cons:

• Limited features in the basic plan. e.g automation workflow.

2. SendinBlue

Features:

SendinBlue combines the simplicity of building emails and the customization and personalization options in modern email tools to give its user a great email marketing service. You are offered a simple drag and drop interface to create emails. Their personalization options are smart, and they have the option of sending emails at different time zones to your subscribers.

Also, you get an SMS marketing tool, as well as a landing page builder and regular feature that most email marketing tools have to offer.

When it comes to customer support, you get a chat feature and resources to help you navigate the system.

Pricing:

Unlike most email marketing software, SendinBlue charges its users based on the number of emails they send out rather than the number of subscribers a user has. This company offers attractive prices and an eye-catching free plan.

• The Free plan offers up to 300 emails daily. This I think is great for newbies who do not have plenty of contacts.
• Lite( $25/month) you can send up to 10,000 emails daily, email support, A/B testing, and many more.
• Premium ( $65/month) everything the Lite plan offers, and you can send up to 1,000,000 emails daily, market automation, landing pages, multi-user access, and many more.
• Enterprise ( You have to get a quote) you get everything the premium offers including custom volume emails, 20+ landing pages, SSO, and many more.

Pros:

• Great dashboard
• Easy to set up and configure
• Trial test of A/B

Cons:

• A bit complex to navigate

3. MailerLite

Features:

This is a simple-to-use email marketing tool, and I highly recommend this to beginners who do not have a lot of money to spend. This is by far the most competitive in price with great functionality. It is very user-friendly, easy to use, and you can get started right away.

They have a free account for up to 1000 subscribers. It doesn’t just stop there, but there have forms, landing pages, email automation, and auto resend capabilities.

You get access to their A/B split testing and delivery by time zone. However, you have to create the logos on emails, and you do not get an email template on their free plan.

Segmentation is a lot easier when using MailerLite.

One of the most outstanding features is their live chat support. Besides that, you have video tutorials, knowledge-based resources, and communication with customer support that can be done in almost any language.

Prices:

• With the free plan, you get to send 12,000 emails per month to 1000 subscribers
• The $10 plan offers you unlimited emails for up to 1000 subscribers
• The $15 plan offers you unlimited emails for up to 2500 subscribers
• The $30 plan offers you unlimited emails for up to 5000 subscribers
• The $40 plan offers you unlimited emails for up to 10,000 subscribers

Pros:

• Affordable price
• Availability of landing page
• Beginner-friendly

Cons:

• With the Free plan, you do not have live chat support and some other great features

4. ConstantContact

Features:

Even though the dashboard of Constant Contact might look simple, it is quite a challenge to find what you’re looking for. Also, some aspects of the design don’t give the interface a modern feel.

You get a decent amount of email templates, which you can save and reuse for future newsletters. You also have the option of creating new newsletters from scratch using HTML.

With Constant Contact, you get access to basic email automation such as birthday wishes, welcome notes, and anniversary wishes. Even though Constant Contact offers forms, users do not have the option to customize these forms.

With Constant Contact, you get a report on who opened your mail and who didn’t, and also, they offer users to integrate with Google Analytics to help you track your conversion rates.

Pricing:

• Email ( $20/month) with this offer, you get unlimited emails, logo maker, A/B testing, tracking & reporting, and many more.
• Email Plus ( $45/month) with this, you get everything offered in the Email plan including surveys, polls, access to up to 10 users, and many more.

Pros:

• High deliverability rate

Cons:

• Bad value for money (just my humble opinion)

5. ActiveCampaign

Features:

If you’re looking for an email service provider that allows you to send emails based on user behavior, then Active Campaign might be the choice for you.

Their email servers have deliverability. For those of you confused what this means is that your emails get sent directly to the subscriber’s inbox therefore there is a high open rate on each email you send.

They have a visual workflow builder and segmentation can be done based on the user’s location, or how they interact with your email– this is a similar feature in GetResponse.

What I love about Active Campaign is that you get the chance to send text messages to your subscriber whenever they input their telephone numbers.

Generally, if you are experienced in the world of email marketing, and you’re looking to build complex automation, then I highly recommend you purchase Active Campaign.

Pricing:

With Active Campaign, you get a 14 day free trial period, which gives you access to all their features. Their services are a bit hefty, and they offer users four payment options:

• Lite ( $9/month) This includes unlimited sending of email campaigns, newsletters, chat & email support, marketing automation, and many more.
• Plus ( $49/month) This plan includes every feature the Lite plan offers including a Facebook custom audience, leads & contacts, integrations, neat SMS feature and many more.
• Professional ($129/month) This includes everything feature from the Plus plan including predictive sending with machine learning, split automation, site messaging, and many more.
• Enterprise ( $229/month) This includes everything from the Pro plan plus custom domain, free social data, uptime SLA, and many more.

** These prices are for 500 contacts.

Pros:

• The deliverability is on point
• Detailed report
• Advanced workflow automation

Cons:

• Seems a bit expensive if you want more features

6. ConvertKit

ConvertKit is the software for creators. These include YouTubers, influencers, bloggers. They are a new company, and they have great features to offer its users.

ConvertKit offers users an email automation workflow builder and a landing page builder. Their design templates are limited, and they lack features such as in-depth reporting.

Besides having a great response, ConvertKit is easy to use compared to other platforms. So, for those of you who might just want to send emails, for beginners looking for a user-friendly service, then I highly recommend ConvertKit.

Pricing:

Convert Kit has three price plans:

• The Free plan offers users up to 1000 subscribers and also perform basic email marketing activities such as subscriber tagging, customizable domain, and many more.
• Creator( $29/month) with this plan, you get unlimited traffic, customizable domain, integrations, premium support, and many more.
• Creator Pro ( $59/month) with this plan, you get what the Creator plan has to offer, including, deliverability report, Facebook custom audience, newsletter referral system, and many more.

Just like any email marketing software, the price increases as you add more subscribers.

Pros:

• Visually appealing funnel
• user-friendly
• Great customer service

Cons:

• Limited subscriber management features.

7. MailChimp

This is one of the most recognized names in the industry. If you are concerned about cost, then MailChimp might be a great option because they have a free option for 2000 subscribers.

Perfect for small to medium-sized businesses. So, if you are an e-commerce service or a blogger that requires a lot of images, their drag and drop editor for creating their email templates.

Nevertheless, some features are confusing to use. This is because of the way they name certain functionalities. For example, learning the difference between a segment, a group, and a tag can get complicated quickly and it can be easy to mess up in many ways.

Pricing:

• The Free plan gives you up to 2,000 contacts, free CRM, MailChimp domain, website builder, and many more.
• The Essentials plan ( $10/month) up to 50,000 contacts, access for 3 people, A/B testing, custom branding, multi-step journey, and many more
• The Standard plan ( $15/month) gives you access to all the features of the Essential plan, up to 100,000 contacts, with access to 5 people, send-time optimization, behavioral targeting, and many more.
• The Premium plan ( $299/month) gives you access to all the features in the Standard plan, up to 200,000 contacts, with access to unlimited people, advanced segmentation, multivariate testing, comparative reporting, and many more.

Pros:

• Detailed reports
• Great integration options

Cons:

• Free plan lack of features
• Not friendly with some niches like affiliate marketing

Important: all services, which include completely free plans will lack features and functionality. Let’s be honest- No one is working for free and you have to understand that. Free plans are great to learn about the platform in general.

Those emails marketing services offer a free trial- yes, it is time-limited to try, yet you may have more benefits exploring them as usually, they open more features to try to give users a better experience.

Email marketing service comparison table

*Note prices may vary on the time you read this!

So, I hope this short review you’ve found the best email marketing service. It is more clear and you have picked what you like.