If you read my last blog post, then you already know what makes email marketing so important. You’ve decided that your business can benefit from email marketing in 2019, and kudos to you for making that call. Knowing why email marketing matters doesn’t give you the tools to make it happen, though, so I’m back again to share the four email marketing tools that my team swears by.
1. Constant Contact
Constant Contact has been in the email marketing game since 1995, so you’re getting a trusted name with this brand. They also have 650,000 customers and some unique features. With event management tools, surveys, and an active app marketplace, Constant Content offers something to fit virtually every business.
No tool can be perfect, though, and Constant Contact’s lack of automation makes using it more of a time investment than some of its competitors. This isn’t a deal-breaker by any stretch, but it’s worth noting when you’re shopping around.
What my team loves most about Constant Content is their high delivery rates. After they spend so much time strategizing and writing, my team wants to know that those emails will make it to people’s inboxes! On the whole, Constant Contact has definitely earned its place as one of the top email marketing tools.
2. Mail Chimp
When it comes to their advantages, there’s a big elephant (or chimp) in the room—Mail Chimp has free options. You can send 12,000 emails per month to 2,000 subscribers, and there are affordable, pay-as-you-go plans if you’re only going a bit above those numbers.
What’s worth noting is that Mail Chimp isn’t cheap for long. As you collect subscribers, your bill will skyrocket. This doesn’t mean that nobody should use it, but it’s important to compare pricing for your specific campaign before making a decision.
Beyond their lower price point, Mail Chimp also boasts some of the best analytics integration. You can accurately track all of your relevant metrics, and their platform works seamlessly with Google Analytics. This all makes it a great tool for our clients with new, low-volume email marketing plans.
3. Pardot
Pardot is, short and sweet, the go-to email marketing tool for B2B campaigns. Because B2B sales tend to take much longer and have multiple steps, Pardot is automated and optimized for these longer campaigns. This makes it popular with B2B marketers who are used to following a sale over a prolonged period of time.
Much like Mail Chimp, Pardot’s main drawback is its price. This automated platform will run you $1,250 per month. It’s worth keeping in mind, though, that you do get a lot of extra features for this steep price tag.
My team has noted that Pardot comes with some built-in social media management and customer relationship management tools that make it a particularly comprehensive platform. While it is (by far) the priciest item on this list, it’s worth it for large-scale campaigns that have the resources to invest in email marketing.
4. AWeber
AWeber‘s big claim to fame is that they invented the autoresponder, which revolutionized the world of email marketing. For that reason, AWeber stresses their commitment to automizing email marketing, which makes it a great tool for anyone who can’t allocate too much time to their campaign.
My team’s biggest point against AWeber is that even when someone unsubscribes from your email list, they’re still counted toward your overall subscriber count until you individually remove their email address. This can lead to some steep billing if you’re not careful, but it hasn’t precluded my team from moving forward with this platform (with a bit of extra caution).
If you’re particularly interested in how your email marketing leads to revenue, AWeber is one of the few platforms that directly tracks sales from emails. There are a lot of other metrics worth looking at, but the ability to monitor sales has been helpful in explaining to clients how their investment in email marketing is earning them more money than they’re putting in.
Take Your Pick
The “best” email marketing tool is going to be dependent on what your business does and what your goals are. These four tools are a great place to start your search though, and my team and I can attest that each platform is one of the best out there. As you begin your research, start by looking at each of these options and evaluating their fit for your business’ email marketing campaign!
It’s normal to feel a little overwhelmed by all these options. If you’re looking for some help with your email marketing campaign, just contact The Go! Agency!
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