Best Email Marketing Services
Email has been around for as long as the Internet, and email marketing followed not long after. It is an old strategy, for sure, but it is also one of the most effective ones in terms of returns on investment (ROI).
Estimates vary, but a report by Litmus puts the ROI of email marketing at $42 for every $1 spent – depending on your business, these sound like returns you simply can’t ignore!
However, much of that success depends on the efficacy of the email marketing service you use. A good one will be easy to use and have the features you want to create an engaging email that converts, preferably one that automates personalization and bulk email sending. Automating the process goes a long way towards making the whole email marketing schtick work, especially in the long term.
We’ve rounded up a great list of options – check out our picks for the best email marketing tools on the market today:
Constant Contact
Constant Contact is probably one of the most recognizable names in email marketing services globally, and it is still growing. Add in the fact that it has an idiot-proof user interface that any beginner can understand, is just icing on the cake.
Constant Contact allows you to create email templates, fill up a marketing calendar, upload email lists, and segment contacts, among other features. When you sign up for an account, you get to create unlimited emails that you can track and generate reports for and share on social media.
You get access to a free image library as well as integration to platforms such as Shopify and Facebook ads.
Advanced features you can access through its email Plus account are drip campaigns, email automation, coupons, polls, online donations, and even A/B testing for your subject lines. If you have a problem, you can reach their customer support through phone, email (of course), or live chat.
Constant Contact also has a lively community to which you can reach out for support. For startups and small businesses, Constant Contact is bound to be a favorite owing to its combination of great functionality and ease of use.
Constant Contact does not have a free version, but you can try it for free for 30 days. If you like it, paid plans start at $20 a month for five users.
SendinBlue
SendinBlue is a complete email marketing and SMS service for businesses that are making waves in Europe. It is very user-friendly, with a plethora of tools for creating great emails. It has an intuitive drag-and-drop editor that newbies in email marketing are sure to appreciate.
Aside from email creation, SendinBlue also includes AI-based marketing tools that automate the sending of transactional and follow-up emails as well as the optimal scheduling of bulk emails for best deliverability.
Advanced features include a landing page builder, sales CRM, live chat, and integration with Facebook ads. SendinBlue users also can purchase an SMTP bulk email marketing service to automate emails from a WordPress site. This can come in handy if your website is large and you prefer to send content-based emails automatically.
SendinBlue has a free version good for up to 300 emails a day and unlimited contacts, but the emails have their branding. Paid plans start at $25 a month for up to 10,000 sends, no daily limit, but still with branding. If you want to remove the SendinBlue branding, you need to purchase the Lite+ add-on for $12 a month. All plans come with unlimited contact storage.
Drip
Drip is an email marketing service designed for bloggers, eCommerce, and digital marketers. It offers a wide range of marketing automation tools to simplify personalization and get down that sales funnel.
The email software integrates well with most website builders, such as WooCommerce and WordPress. That makes it easy to add pop-up ads and sign-up forms for that all-important lead-generating opt-ins.
However, Drip’s e-commerce market automation, email segmenting, and A/B split testing features really set it apart. The goal is to laser-target customers to increase sales, and Drip allows you to do exactly that. You can even see how much revenue your email campaigns generate from its e-commerce revenue attribution tool.
Drip has recently added an SMS notification feature, so you can now connect with customers via SMS. Finally, Drip has excellent customer support, including live chat, automation training, webinars, and free guides.
Drip does not have a free version, but it offers a free trial for paid plans with no credit card needed. Paid plans start at $19 a month for up to 500 contacts, unlimited sends, and email support.
Mailchimp
Mailchimpis another widely recognizable name in email marketing services, but it is much more than that now. An all-in-one marketing platform, it helps small businesses market smarter through its AI-powered, user-friendly tools.
Of course, Mailchimp still allows you to send marketing emails and automated messages as well as build landing pages, create targeted ad campaigns, facilitate reporting and analytics, send postcards, and even sell online.
Its email builder continues to be easy drag-and-drop, and you can segment your contacts into groups. It comes with autoresponders and sets up delivery times according to the recipient’s time zone, timing it just right for best results.
MailChimp integrations include Shopify, WordPress, and Magento. You can get customer support via email and live chat or just check out its knowledge base.
Mailchimp has a feature-rich forever-free plan for up to 10,000 sends per month, a daily limit of 2,000, and 2,000 contacts. Paid plans start at $9.99 a month.
Special note: Intuit has recently acquired Mailchimp, so expect potential software changes.
Hubspot
HubSpotis known primarily as a CRM first and an email marketing service second. However, the email marketing features have some powerful automation features, and they come free for new users.
The email builder is easy to use. You just need to choose a template and drag and drop the elements you want to create engaging and customized emails and newsletters to complement your brand colors and tone.
Because the email marketing service integrates natively with the CRM features, HubSpot allows you to personalize emails for each of your subscribers based on country, membership, device, and any other customization data you have available.
You also have access to A/B testing, performance analytics, send-time optimization, drip campaigns, and marketing automation, among others. Many customers choose HubSpot because it is an all-in-one platform for marketing, and as the site claims, it is ‘powerful, not overpowering.’
HubSpot offers its email marketing service for free forever and includes marketing, sales, operations, and service tools. With the free version, you can send up to 2,000 emails and store unlimited contacts. The emails do include HubSpot’s branding, but if that doesn’t bother you, then it’s okay. You can build landing pages, create pop-up forms, track online ads, and so on.
If you want even more features and want to remove the branding, you must pay. Paid plans start at $45 a month and include storage for 1,000 marketing contacts. You can also store non-marketing contacts on the platform without charge.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit is unusual as it targets authors, bloggers, and others with a creative bent, although it is also a great email marketing platform for marketers. The templates are peculiarly suited for bloggers and creators, hence the special mention.
The unique thing about ConvertKit is that you can include content upgrades and other incentives in your sign-up forms. The service also comes with autoresponders that you can easily manage, providing you with a way to send drip emails.
Everything about ConvertKit makes it easy to use. You can segment subscribers and automate the personalization of emails to improve conversions. In other words, you can do targeted email marketing with ConvertKit.
Aside from ease of use, the service includes A/B testing, smart workflows, landing page builder, etc. If you are so inclined, you can also sell subscriptions and products right from the ConvertKit platform.
You can find advanced features such as subscriber scoring, advanced reporting, referral systems, and Facebook custom audiences in the Creator Pro plan. If you need help, you can check the comprehensive knowledge base for quick info or send an email for other issues.
ConvertKit has a free-forever plan for up to 1,000 subscribers with unlimited sends. Paid plans come with a free trial and start at $9 a month for up to 300 subscribers with advanced features not available in the free plan. If you are not happy with your paid plan, you can ask for your money back within the first 30 days of your subscription.
AWeber
AWeber is one of the first email marketing services, and it is still one of the most popular. Talk about staying power! It offers small and mid-sized businesses a plethora of tools for managing their email marketing campaigns.
AWeber has an intuitive user interface and integrates seamlessly with many platforms, including WordPress. You have access to email templates, list managers, autoresponders, A/B testing, and email trackers with detailed insights. Its powerful AMP emails, tag-based subscriber segmentation, and automated RSS-to-email feature make AWeber particularly effective for enterprise users.
Active customer support includes email, phone, and chat, but you can also attend the webinars or check out the library of tutorials if you need help.
AWeber has a free-forever plan for up to 500 subscribers, and 3,000 sends a month with AWeber branding. Paid plans start at $16.15 a month with no branding.
