With many options available on the internet, finding the best email marketing software can be challenging. That said, most marketers usually want a tool that is easy to use and offers a range of features that can generate leads, increase conversions, and boost sales.
The following is a list of the top 10 email marketing software that can significantly improve your business.
1. Constant Contact
Constant Contact is the perfect email marketing solution for small businesses. It has several customization options and integrates seamlessly with other software while having a user-friendly and straightforward interface.
Since its inception in 1995, Constant Contact has stayed ahead of the game by consistently introducing new features that other email tools do not have. For instance, it supports event management and has an inbuilt social media tool that allows you to create and share coupons on social networks. It also has several integrations that enable you to connect the tool to other marketing platforms.
How it Works
Constant Contact has a robust drag-and-drop editor that simplifies the creation of email templates and design responsive emails that render correctly in every device. The tool also has an automation feature that allows you to segment your audiences, retarget non-openers, and trigger email series based on where contacts click.
The inbuilt real-time tracking tools will inform you of the people who are opening, clicking and sharing your emails. This information is critical for planning your email marketing strategy.
Best Use Case
The Constant Contact email marketing software is best suited for small businesses.
Pricing
The service offers a 60-day free trial. One this period elapses, you can either subscribe to the Email or Email Plus plans. The cheapest Email package costs $20 monthly, while the Email Plus package starts at $45. If you pay for six months, you will get a 10% discount.
2. SendInBlue
SendInBlue is a suitable email marketing solution for businesses with budget constraints. It offers a free plan, albeit with limited features. The service is relatively new to the market; it initially focused on transaction-based emails but has since integrated SMS to give its user a new rich set of features.
The pricing depends on the number of sent messages instead of the number of subscribers. Its standout features include layout optimization, subscriber management, and reports and analytics.
How it Works
SendInBlue is a straightforward tool. You can create an email quickly by either choosing a template from its vast library or creating yours from scratch. After selecting the template, you can personalize the content by using the inbuilt personalization feature.
The next step is sending the email; here, you can choose and segment various contacts according to parameters such as gender, geography, purchase history, and so on. Lastly, SendInBlue relies on A/B testing technology to ensure that you send catchy emails at the right time to maximize open rates.
Best Use Case
SendInBlue is ideal for businesses with a vast number of users on their mailing list since the pricing depends on the number of sent messages.
Pricing
There are four packages offered by SendInBlue — free, Lite ($25), Essential ($39), and Premium ($39). The costlier the package, the more email messages you can send.
3. HubSpot
HubSpot is a one-stop marketing solution that combines CRM, an email marketing automation tool, a content management system, and a landing page builder. Its most significant advantages are that it offers all tools in place and its excellent analytics feature.
How it Works
HubSpot is a comprehensive online marketing tool that combines a CRM, marketing, and sales platforms to create a data-driven campaign. The software includes email marketing, analytics, blogging for inbound marketing, and SEO, and so on. Thse tools can significantly transform your marketing campaign form an unsuccessful venture to a successful one.
Some of the notable features in HubSpot suite include the email management system, the social media manager, the landing page builder, and the content management system. They work in tandem with the CRM such that every new user gets added to the customer database once they sign up to your mailing list.
Best Use Case
HubSpot is the perfect solution for businesses that want to run their marketing campaigns from a single platform.
Pricing
The platform offers several plans depending on the number of features you want. The cheapest package goes for $50, while the most expensive cost $2,000 monthly.
4. MailChimp
MailChimp is an easy to use marketing tool that is ideal for bloggers and individuals who run small websites. The reliability of this platform makes it one of the leading email software in the world, as people use it to send over one billion messages daily.
Another reason behind the popularity of MailChimp is its continual introduction of new and useful features. Some of the notable ones include A/B testing, autoresponders, contact segmenting, third-party integrations, and so forth.
How it Works
MailChimp allows you to create emails at a breeze by granting access to vast library of predesigned templates and a powerful drag-and-drop template builder. You can manage and store all of your images in the inbuilt content studio so you can find them quickly if you need them in the future.
The tool also allows you to either use the ready-made email automations or create your own to reach the target audience at the right time. Lastly, you can monitor your campaigns using the real-time analytics tools and make data-driven decisions moving forward.
Best Use Case
Most people use MailChimp because it has a free plan. However, it is also useful to website owners who want a feature-rich email marketing tool.
Pricing
The lifetime free plan allows you to send up 12,000 emails monthly and have a subscriber list that does not exceed 2,000 users. The other two plans, namely Grow and Pro, start at $10 and $199, respectively.
5. SendX
Despite being new to the market, SendX is gaining popularity at a significant rate. The reason behind this is their unique ‘Opti-Send’ technology that automatically resends messages to subscribers who did not open the first email.
How it Works
SendX allows you to build and grow your email list using its highly-effective popup forms, inline forms and landing pages. The tool has a vast collection of readymade themes and integrates seamless with all websites.
It has a variety of automation features, such as drip sequence messaging, automation based on user activity, audience segmentation, and so forth.
The standout feature is the click heat map function that shows you where most readers clicked on your emails. Such information is vital if you are running an email marketing campaign.
Best Use Case
SendX is the best option for marketers who use email to send sales pitches. By automatically resending unopened messages, you can boost the open rates and improve conversion rates.
Pricing
The cheapest plan from SendX costs $29.99 monthly. Unlike other providers, SendX also accepts payments made in cryptocurrency.
6. Benchmark
Benchmark has a simple to use interface that makes it friendly even to beginners. Besides, it has excellent support and the basic features you would expect in an email marketing tool. Its standout feature is the drag-and-drop builder that allows you to customize emails.
How it Works
Similar to other email software Benchmark has a powerful drag-and-drop feature that allows to customize messages to your liking. It also supports live editing, in that you can make edits and see how they take effect as you type the email.
If you are good at HTML, you can make use of the inbuilt code editor to design your emails from scratch.
Best Use Case
Benchmark is best-suited for beginners who want a tool to communicate with multiple clients simultaneously.
Pricing
The tool has two plans; free and Pro, which costs $13.99 monthly. If you opt for annual billing, you save $2 monthly.
7. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is comprehensive marketing that intends to help marketers to send a few but effective email messages. It relies on an if/then logic to created automated email sending campaigns. Other useful features include user segmentation, sending SMS, and lead and contact scoring.
How it Works
ActiveCampaign is a one-stop marketing software that combines aspects such as email marketing, sales and CRM, marketing automation and machine learning.
Some of the most notable features of the email marketing software include multi-user editing, third-party integrations, mobile optimization, managed deliverability, analytics, and audience segmentation, and so on.
Best Use Case
ActiveCampaign is ideal for advanced users who want a complex automation tool that integrates CRM software.
Pricing
The tool offers four plans Lite, Plus, Professional, and Enterprise. The first three start at $15, $70, and $159, respectively. The last plan, Enterprise, starts at $279 monthly. There is a14-day free trial during which you can send up to 100 emails.
8. Ontraport
Ontraport is an email marketing tool that has a massive user community and continually gets updates to introduce new features.
How it Works
Similar to HubSpot, Ontraport allows you to manage your entire digital marketing campaign from one place. It starts with CRM, where all customer details are stored.
The inbuilt email software has targeting and scheduling functionalities that ensure that your messages get delivered to the right customers at the right time. You can also complement your marketing campaign with SMS texts.
Best Use Case
The tool is designed for small niche businesses such as fitness coaches and beauty enthusiasts.
Pricing
Ontraport has a plan that begins at $79 monthly for up to 1,000 contacts. You will have to pay more if you want to send messages to a bigger audience.
9. AWeber
AWeber is one of the pioneering email marketing solutions that has existed for almost 18 years. It was also one of the first options to include an autoresponder. The tool has a rich set of features, including a drag-and-drop email builder, a vast library of templates, and multiple integrations to third-party platforms.
How it Works
The standout feature is the autoresponder, and its primary objective is to simplify the email marketing process. It allows you to draft follow-up emails that are sent at pre-specified intervals.
Besides, you also get to enjoy unlimited follow-up messages, a web form creator for your website, detailed tracking and analytics, and customized web form templates.
Best Use Case
The excellent support and reliability offered by AWeber males it perfect for small businesses that want to streamline their email marketing campaign.
Pricing
The cheapest plan goes for $19 monthly and allows you to have a maximum of 500 subscribers. The costs increase gradually with the number of users up to 25,000, beyond which you have to get a custom quote from the company.
10. Drip
Drip is a newly-introduced email marketing platform that primarily targets bloggers, marketers, and eCommerce website owners. It has a user-friendly interface and multiple features that help your emails stand out from the competition.
For instance, you can segment your messages and target new and returning clients, visitors who abandoned their carts, and people who did not click on in-email links. It also allows marketers to send follow up messages via SMS.
How it Works
Drip gives you an unrivaled insight to the interests and preferences of your target customers. It has powerful ecommerce CRM features that allows you to bridge the gap between what your customers want and what you deliver.
The more you learn about your customers the better you are able to personalize experiences.
Best Use Case
Drip is the ideal solution for marketers who sell an enormous amount of products, such as eCommerce websites.
Pricing
Drip has four different plans, all of which allow you to send an unlimited number of emails — the only limitation is the number of subscribers on your mailing list. They include Starter (free), Basic ($49), Pro ($99), and Enterprise (customs).
Conclusion
The majority of email marketing software in the market offers similar services. The most crucial considerations when choosing the right tool are your budget and marketing objectives. It is advisable to go for an option that offers a free trial so that you can assess its suitability before paying for it.
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N.B. This article is also published on my Medium Blog.