Email marketing is simply a must.
Learn about email marketing software that can make your life easier and increase revenue.
Email Marketing Software
There are a few necessary elements in any email marketing campaign:
- A solid email list
- A great email
- Consistency
- Testing and tracking
Luckily, there’s software designed to cover all the bases.
Email Marketing Software by the Numbers
I could tell you all about the benefits of email marketing (and do so in this guide), but sometimes it’s best to let the numbers speak for themselves:
- Email is the third most influential source of information for B2B audiences
- 73% of millennials identify email as their preferred means of business communication.
- When a prospect or customer who opens an email on a mobile device opens that same email again on another device, they are 65% more likely to click-through to your site/offering.
- The number of email users worldwide is forecasted to rise to 2.9 billion by 2019.
- About 105 billion emails are sent each day, and the number is expected to reach 246 billion before 2020.
- 49% of businesses use some form of email automation.
- 91% of the most successful users agree that marketing automation is “very important” to the overall success of their marketing across channels.
- 79% of top-performing companies have been using marketing automation for more than 2 years
You might have noticed the words “marketing automation” in there a few times. That’s because most successful marketers use some sort of software to help them.
What is Email Marketing Software?
In plain terms: it’s any software that aids in deliver emails and email marketing strategy.
They serve a variety of purposes, some more robust than others.
Most will help you create emails and templates, grow subscriber lists, and set auto-responses. Key features generally include A/B testing and some sort of conversion tracking.
Others take it a step further with social media integration, Javascript capabilities, and full automation sequences.
(For the record, marketing automation is software created to automate marketing work and actions. For email specifically, it takes over otherwise repetitive tasks).
When choosing which software is best for you, you’ll first need to evaluate your goals and what you want to get out of it.
If you’re just starting out, a more basic platform will likely suffice.
Those looking to set a full automation process – repeat emails over a consistent period of time – may be better off with a full-service software.
Often, you’ll find it’s really a matter of personal preference.
Many of the software below offer the same (or similar) features and functionality; it ultimately comes down to which you like interacting with the most.
You’ll know pretty quickly as you navigate around the site whether you like the interface and find using it pretty intuitive.
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MailChimp Email Marketing Software
Pros: Great Anyone new to the email marketing industry; easy to use and navigate, and has built-in help features
Cons:Limited email automation and advanced options
Pricing: Free small business plan; Subscriptions begin at $10/month for 500 subscribers
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Constant Contact Email Marketing Software
Pros: Easy to use with built-in templates and Google analytics integration
Cons: A little pricier than similar platforms
Pricing: Free 60 day trial; basic plan starts at $20/month, Plus plan starts at $45/month
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Silverpop Email Marketing Software
Pros: Flexible integration, reasonable pricing, ability to make quick changes and offers many features including full marketing automation
Cons: More difficult to use for those inexperienced with automation software
Pricing: Contact Silverpop for pricing information
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HubSpot Email Marketing Software And More
Email Marketing Software
Pros: Easy to use and invests a lot in educating users; easy to create subscriber lists and workflows
Cons: One of the more expensive automation softwares available and requires a 12 month contract
Pricing: Free trial period; basic plan starts at $200/month
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Pardot – Email Marketing Software
Pros: Easily customizable, good customer support; owned by Salesforce which provides additional marketing insights and
Cons: Price – aimed primarily at bigger, B2B businesses
Pricing: Standard plans starts at $1000/month
Pros: Ideal for small businesses and startups; low price point, creates simple marketing automation sequences, easy to use interface
Cons: No native integrations
Pricing: Basic plan starts at $9/month
Email Marketing Software
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Emma Email Marketing Software
Pros: Best for basic newsletters and scheduled campaigns, easy to edit and import lists; offers Google Analytics integration
Cons: Doesn’t have its own basic analytics
Pricing: Free 30-day trial; pro plans start at $89/month
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Zoho Campaigns – Email Marketing Software
Pros: Offers pay-as-you-go plans and all basic automation features, as well as Google Analytics integration; great starting price point
Cons: Requires more customization
Pricing: Basic plan starts at $5/month
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InfusionSoft Email Marketing and CRM Software
Pros: Well-designed, easy to use user interface; great campaign builder, intuitive and not hard to navigate
Cons: Less templates to choose from; expensive for small businesses
Pricing: Plans start at $199/month
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GetResponse – Email Marketing Software
Pros: Free 30 day trial (including advanced features), Google Analytics integration and tracking tool
Cons: Less customer support
Pricing: After free trial, basic plans start at $15/month
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SendinBlue Email Marketing Software
Pros: Offers a free plan and responsive designs
Cons: Set up isn’t easy and doesn’t allow uploads of third-party contacts
Pricing: It’s free plan allows up to 9,000 emails/month; lite plans start at $7.37/month
Pros: Email builder is easy to use and offers suite of analytics
Cons: Limited support and no photo library; cannot import contacts from third-party software
Pricing: Basic plan starts at $9/month
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Campaigner – Email Marketing Software
Pros: Customer service 24/7 and many template options to choose from; social media integration (Facebook and Twitter)
Cons: Limited spam checking, costly advanced features, offers less app integrations than competitors
Pricing: Free 30 day trial; basic plan starts at $19.95/month
Email Marketing Software
Pros: Easy to use, ideal for those new to email marketing; drag and drop email builder
Cons: No templates
Pricing: Free plan for up to 100 contacts; starts at $10/month after
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SendLoop Trackable Email Marketing Software
Pros: Great audience targeting abilities; can track their interactions to tailor your messaging; live chat support
Cons: Doesn’t offer many third-party integrations; no free trial
Pricing: Plans start at $9/month
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BombBomb Video Powered Email Marketing Software
Pros: It’s specific to video-powered emails; offers free trial
Cons: Importing contacts can be tricky; doesn’t offer multi-variant testing
Pricing: Basic plans start at $39/month
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Knowtify – Email Marketing Software
Pros: Easy to use, drag and drop interface; can launch campaigns based on goals: transactional, digest, or behavioral emails; recently acquired by Kissmetrics
Cons: Functionality can be confusing between in-app and email
Pricing: Startup plan starts at $59/month
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AWeber Email Marketing Software
Pros: Offers follow-up emails to quickly get new subscribers up to speed on latest news; easy to target messages to certain segments of your list
Cons: Lacks advanced automation features like certain integration features and activity reports
Pricing: Free 30 day trial; basic plans starts at #19/month
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Drip (People Love This Email Marketing Software)
Pros: Offers plenty of automation features and visual work flow, as well as good support and goal tracking
Cons: Not the most user friendly and less intuitive to use for beginners; higher price point
Pricing: Free for up to 100 contacts; basic plans start at $41/month
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ConvertKit – Email Marketing Software
Pros: Built specifically for professional bloggers; simple platform based on subscriber experience; allows you to create landing pages or forms for list building
Cons: Doesn’t offer as much customer support as other platforms; lacks advanced features
Pricing: Plans start at $29/month
Pros: Focus is on vetting contacts – gathers contacts from email, social media sites and website and gathers as much information as possible to further target your messaging
Cons: Lengthy set-up process
Pricing: First two weeks are free; basic plan starts at $39/month
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iContact Email Marketing Solution
Pros: Designed for smaller businesses; easy-to-use interface and integrations with social sites; comprehensive customer support
Cons: Limited auto-responder capabilities
Pricing: Plans start at $32/month
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Mailgun – Email Marketing Software
Pros: Designed with developers in mind for transactional emails
Cons: Complicated set up; basic analytics
Pricing: First 10,000 emails free
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E-goi Email Marketing and SMS or Voice Message
Pros: In addition to emails, you can send messages via fax, SMS or voice message
Cons: Limited language selections
Pricing: Offers monthly or pay-as-you-go; monthly starts at $88/month
Pros: Great features and customer support; combines email marketing activities with sales activities
Cons: CRM management could use improvement
Pricing: Plans start at $200/month
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Intercom (Email Marketing Software But More Live Chat)
Pros: Easy to implement and offers real time communication with customers
Cons: Offers many features, but most aren’t very in-depth
Pricing: Free 14 day trial; plans start at $53/month
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Hatchbuck – Email Marketing Software
Pros: Easy to use; allows you to assign tags to contacts in different stages of the sales funnel
Cons: Limited customer support
Pricing: Small business plans start at $89/month
Email Marketing Software
Pros: Advanced analytics and email workflows
Cons: Not easy to use for beginners; designed more for those with a technical background
Pricing: Full automation (with social, lead management, etc.) runs at $1995/month
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Act-On (More Of A Tool Than Email Marketing Software)
Pros: Combines multiple marketing activities; integrates inbound, outbound and lead nurturing programs
Cons: Takes time to get accustomed to software
Pricing: Starts at $900/month
Pros: Offers excellent stats and email tracking
Cons: Limited customer support; advanced features are harder to get accustomed to
Pricing: Free up to 250 contacts; starts at $25/month after
Pros: Easy to use and create emails; has a great spam checker
Cons: No free or small business plans
Pricing: Starts at $49/month
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1PointMail – Email Marketing Software
Pros: Custom template creation and storage; responsive customer service
Cons: Learning curve to get used to the software
Pricing: Starts at $49/month
Pros: Easy to use; intuitive
Cons: Software updated often create issues
Pricing: Free trial; contact sales for more information
Get Started With Email Marketing Software
Remember, choosing a software system starts with evaluating your goals.
From there, this list will help guide you to the right email marketing software fit.
Email Marketing Software FAQ:
1. Are There Any Free Email Marketing Software Solutions?
There are plenty of them. Just remember: you do get what you pay for.
Most of the “big boys” in email marketing offer free solutions. As you might suspect, though, those free solutions are limited.
However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take advantage of them. If you’re running a cash-strapped small business, a free solution might be the only thing you can afford at the moment.
Then, when your business grows later on, you can move up to a paid solution.
Keep in mind: when you sign on with a free solution, you also get to “test drive” that email marketing software for a while so that you can determine if it’s right for your business.
HubSpot and MailChimp both offer free email marketing.
2. What’s the Difference Between an Autoresponder and Email Marketing Software?
An autoresponder automatically sends an email in response to a user taking some action (such as completing a form).
Email marketing software, on the other hand, offers a comprehensive set of solutions for people interested in reaching an audience via email.
Typically, email marketing software includes an autoresponder plus a variety of other features.
3. Isn’t Email Marketing Spamming?
No.
While there were many marketers who practiced spamming in the past, email marketing is much more targeted today.
For starters, the only people on your email distribution list should be people who’ve volunteered their email addresses because they want to receive emails from your business.
Second, your email marketing software should require you to include an unsubscribe link on all emails you send out. That makes it easy for people to remove themselves from your distribution
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