Any great international marketing consultancy should know that email marketing is one of the best ways to promote a business’s brand, product, and services to its target audience. If done correctly, research has already shown that email marketing consistently delivers better ROI than any other marketing channel. Aside from allowing you to build up an email list – which remains yours, so if anything happens to your social media channels, you still can contact your audience – it also lets businesses build a community while at the same time engaging on a one-on-one level. As such, it is highly recommended that businesses use email as one of their marketing channels and start building their email list as soon as possible.
However, unlike social media channels, creating an email marketing newsletter takes slightly more time and effort. For one, you need to use email marketing software to help build your newsletter and send it out to your audience. If you are unsure where to start, don’t worry; we’ve covered you. Here are a few popular email marketing platforms that you should check out. As always, be sure to do your research before committing to a platform.
Mailchimp
If you’ve heard of email marketing campaigns and platforms, then you will most likely have heard of Mailchimp. This email marketing platform is one of the most popular and well-established, with many companies choosing to use it. It is also well-suited to beginners, startups, and small businesses and offers a variety of robust tools and features, such as email automation, personalization, A/B testing, data segmentation, templates, and more. If you have no idea where to start, you can use their templates and customize them to your heart’s content. Everything is drag and drop, so you do not need to know any coding (although that would be a bonus if you want more specific customizations).
Although Mailchimp started as purely email marketing, it has expanded into different niches. For instance, you can use the platform to build a landing page, create paid ads, publish social media posts, and send printed postcards anywhere around the world.
For the free plan, you get up to 500 contacts, one audience, and 2,500 sends per month with a daily limit of 500. If you want to upgrade, paid plans start at $10.86 per month.
Hubspot
While some people may know Hubspot as an information hub for all things digital marketing, they also provide email marketing. Aside from its beautiful templates, you also have access to its Hubspot CRM and accurate customer data, which is vital in customizing emails. Because Hubspot has so many features, it offers users a full marketing suite, including social media and blogging capabilities, which is great if you are looking for something that is a one-stop-shop.
Other key features of Hubspot include A/B testing for the optimal email campaign, and a drag-and-drop editor, so you can create beautiful emails without a single line of code. You can also use the platform to track leads across their buying journeys and keep track of all your deliverables.
However, Hubspot does not have a free forever plan. Instead, they only allow a 14-day free trial. Afterward, you must subscribe to one of their three paid plans. These are the starter, professional, and enterprise plans. Prices start at $45 monthly (if you choose the monthly option), including 1,000 marketing contacts. You can buy 1,000 for $45 a month if you need more.
Sendinblue
Sendinblue is another all-in-one email marketing platform. Founded in 2007, it has expanded to include chat functions and CRM alongside marketing automation, segmentation features, personalization, a landing page builder, sign-up forms, and the capability to publish Facebook ads. The platform’s main mission is to help small businesses grow, and they are ranked as one of the top 500 software companies in 2021. They are also rated as the best Marketing Automation platform for small and medium-sized businesses.
Aside from all these tools, Sendinblue also includes more than 150 integrations to help with e-commerce marketing. They have integrations with WordPress, Elementor, Shopify, PayPal, Wix, Google Analytics, Outlook, Eventbrite, and more. As such, it’s not a stretch to say that they are a fantastic business marketing platform.
Their free plan allows for 300 emails per day for unlimited contacts. However, if you want more emails, their paid plans start at $25 monthly for up to 20,000 emails.
Mailerlite
Mailerlite boasts one of the most easier email marketing software to use because its drag-and-drop interface is especially fun and intuitive to use. It is also a strong competitor in targeting small and medium businesses. The platform includes all the basics – surveys, automation, landing pages, and popups. You can also use Mailerlite to set up paid newsletter subscriptions, signup forms, and beautiful websites without knowing how to code. Unlike more cluttered platforms, everything is clean, minimalistic, and functional, meaning there is a lower learning curve when using their features. Its user-friendliness is also exemplified by its robust customer service. Should users have any questions, email support is there to troubleshoot problems for them.
Mailerlite also includes a variety of different integrations, especially with e-commerce platforms. These include Shopify, Stripe, Typeform, WordPress, Zapier, WooCommerce, Airtable, Google docs, Gumroad, Slack, and more.
However, the platform’s free plan is only up to 1,000 subscribers, with 12,000 emails per month. If you have more subscribers, then paid plans to start at $9 a month. Although, if you choose the yearly option, which starts at $108 annually, you can save up to 15%. If your business is a non-profit, you can get a 30% discount on their paid plans. You just need to provide a document that proves your business’s non-profit status
Substack
Substack is a slightly different platform when compared to most email marketing software. Instead, it is geared toward long-form writers. Starting in 2017, the platform is designed to create and publish email newsletters and blog posts, free or monetized. Any writer of any skill can use the platform, as Substack will always be free to use – until a user decides to charge their subscribers. Then Substack will take 10% of all profits.
Customization is slightly limited on all emails, blogs, newsletters, and landing pages. Although your Substack domain can be changed for a $50 fee, all emails will still be sent from a substack.com domain.
Despite the low amount of features on the platform, Substack is still very alluring to journalists and writers of all stripes. This is because users can build an email list and deliver their content directly to subscribers without worrying about censorship and gatekeeping.