Curious about small business email marketing?
Did you know the worldwide number of email users is forecast to grow to 2.9 billion by 2019? Over 105 billion emails are sent each day. Experts expect that number to increase to 2.46 billion by 2020.
Are you taking full advantage of this free marketing channel? If you answered yes, are you shouldering the responsibilities alone? Or have you already found an email marketing platform?
The benefits of email platforms are numerous, but one is worth mentioning right now. Building a segmented email campaign by hand would take hundreds of hours. The right email platform helps you do it in under an hour.
Since click-through rates are 101% higher in segmented email campaigns, it may be worth your while to use a platform. Read on to discover the best business email marketing platforms of 2018.
1. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign combines email marketing automation with sales and CRM. It comes bristling with tools you can use to build a smarter email marketing campaign.
After you sign up, you receive an email template editor and mobile-friendly signup forms. The software gives you the power to segment your contacts list. You can choose categories based on actions, locations, behaviors, and social data.
You can also ask the software to fetch additional data about your contacts by using only their email address.
The platform integrates with most third-party software, like WordPress. It even grants you the ability to send SMS messages to contacts to supplement your marketing channels.
Basic plans start at $9 per month and go up from there. We recommend you request a demo to see how the software handles. Your features may be limited, but you’ll quickly know whether the platform is right for you.
2. GetResponse
Another of the hugely popular email marketing services is GetResponse. It’s built from the ground up with beginners in mind. It’s easy to use but offers powerful tools that even experts love.
The tools give you the power to create smart automated campaigns. Use their drag-and-drop builder to segment contacts, and develop campaigns. You can even send expressly designed content to individual groups. You can’t do that effectively without specialized software.
It saves you time and boosts your profits.
Other tools include:
- Autoresponders
- Tracking
- A/B testing
- Landing pages
- Response forms
The software integrates well with third-party lead generating software. Think OptinMonster, Google Docs, ZenDesk, and SalesForce. Their support team will help you by live chat, email, and phone. They also offer a free help section full of how-tos, guides, webinars, and videos.
Their prices start at $15 per month for a basic subscription. Prices go up from there. We recommend you try their free 30-day trial to see if they suit your needs.
ConvertKit
Many experts tout ConvertKit as the best email marketing software. It’s used by professional bloggers, authors, and marketers alike. It’s easy to use but powerful.
It gives you the ability to offer incentives with your sign up forms, as well as content upgrades. Its auto-responders make it easy to manage drip email campaigns. Segmenting contacts is also simple.
ConvertKit only offers an email-based customer support line. That’s the downside. Fortunately, their software is simple to use and bug-free.
Basic plans start at $29 per month and go up from there. They don’t offer a trial membership, but they don’t need to. They’re worth the money.
AWeber
Here’s another big name in the industry. AWeber is one of the top three best email marketing services in the world. They offer a massive range of tools for small- to medium-sized businesses.
AWeber seamlessly connects to most website platforms, like WordPress. If you get lost, grab one of their how-to tutorials. It’s quick and easy.
After you subscribe, they grant you access to a whole slew of tools. Autoresponders, email tracking, metrics, list management, and ready-to-use email templates. They also offer a variety of customer support options:
- Live webinars
- How-tos
- Email support
- Phone support
- Live Chat
If you’re interested in their services, you can pick up a basic package for $19 per month. They also offer a free 30-day trial.
Drip
Drip is a robust email marketing platform. It’s built for marketers, bloggers, and eCommerce. They boast a wide range of tools.
This platform is arguably the most beginner-friendly marketing service. They’ve created addons for all your favorite website builders, including WordPress and WooCommerce. With them, you can quickly create sign-up forms on your website to capture more leads.
Drip is a little different than the other services we’ve discussed so far. It gives you all the same tools, but their better, smarter, and easier to use.
Their support also rocks. They offer a free trial account, but their most basic plan starts at $41 per month. Use the trial account to see if you love this platform as much as we do.
ConstantContact
This email service is popular and on the rise. Like Drip, it’s also simple to use and build for beginners. With it, you can easily manage email lists, email templates, contact lists, and more.
Every account grants you access to tracking and reporting software. They also host a 1GB file storage space for you, an image library, and built-in social media sharing tools. If social media marketing is part of your campaign, this platform is a solid choice.
They’re also big on support. Yes, they offer live chat, email chat, a library full of resources, and get this, live seminars in most large cities.
Plans start at $20 per month for a basic version. They even give you a 60-day free trial. Need we say more?
MailChimp
If you haven’t heard of MailChimp, you must’ve been hiding your head in the sand. They’ve been around for years and may be the largest, most accessible email platform. They come with all the bells and whistles:
- Autoresponders
- Segmentation tools
- Merge Tags
- Email Templates
- Tracking
- Analytics
- Geolocation
They also integrate beautifully with Shopify, Magento, WordPress, and a zillion other platforms. Best of all, they’re basic plans start at just $10 per month. They also offer a free plan for up to 12,000 emails.
After Small Business Email Marketing
Well, did you see any you liked? We hope at one of these small business email marketing platforms caught your fancy. We recommend you choose your top three and take advantage of their free trial memberships.
With that, you can get a feel for each service to see if it’s right for your company and marketing style.
If you found this article helpful, take five minutes to browse the rest of our other great articles.
So long and good luck.
P.S. If you write your own emails, check out these email marketing tips for small business owners.