With 4.2 billion email users worldwide, it's safe to say email marketing enables businesses to have a long reach. The even better news is that email marketing is still as profitable as ever, with an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent. Add in the equation the other advantages like the ability to build strong customer relationships and increase brand awareness, and it's evident why email marketing is a can't-miss opportunity for organizations.
The only difficulty is choosing the right email marketing tools for your company. After all, there are countless options out there, all coming with their advantages and disadvantages. In this guide, we'll cover everything you need to know about these marketing tools and list the best prospects for you to choose. After you finish reading, you'll be ready to start reaping email marketing's many benefits.
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What to Consider When Choosing an Email Marketing Tool
There are some factors to consider with your team before choosing an email marketing tool for your company. Having these considerations in mind will help you make the best choice and avoid wasting time, money, or resources:
Your email marketing goals: Depending on your marketing goals, you may need a basic or advanced tool. Consider what you want to achieve with your marketing campaign. Are you planning to send monthly updates or product announcements to your customers? Or are you hoping to scale your campaigns over time to include many features? The answers to these questions can help you set your goals and decide on the right solution for achieving them.
Your budget: You'll also have to think about your marketing budget, both in the short term and long term. Most email marketing tools charge per number of subscribers or emails sent per month. Fortunately, many of these same programs allow you to start for free and select different plans as you scale up.
Integrations with other tools: Are there any integrations you want to use with your email marketing? For instance, these can be social media platforms, signup forms, or blog sites. Some marketing tools offer hundreds of integrations, while others just a few, so it's good to think about it beforehand.
Your brand design: Consistent design in your email marketing makes your campaigns recognizable to subscribers. Email marketing platforms usually offer their campaign templates or the option to create one for your brand. Do you want to get fancy with your campaign and brand design? Or do you prefer to let an email marketing tool do the work for you? Don't forget that you may need tech knowledge for custom templates. They are more suited for advanced users.
Top Email Marketing Tools to Use Today
Once you've decided what you want from your email marketing strategies, you can start exploring the options. Below are the top email marketing tools for 2023. We selected them by the best thing they offer.
1. Easy to Use: Mailchimp
If you're a newbie to email marketing or want to replace your current email marketing tool with a simpler one, search no further than Mailchimp. The ever-popular automation and email marketing platform has advanced tools that make email marketing for businesses simple and effective. It also operates very well — the latest Mailchimp annual report stated Mailchimp customers sent over 330 billion emails in 2020 alone.
What makes Mailchimp a top choice? Its user-friendly interface uses drag-and-drop templates to create stunning campaign designs. There's also the Creative Assistant for those who need inspiration in crafting a template based on the brand aesthetics. Moreover, with each campaign you send, you can use the platform's automated Subject Line Helper to design catchy subject lines that will grab your subscribers' interest.
As you work on campaigns, you can also A/B test emails to see what's most effective on your subscribers' journey. A/B testing lets you test two different versions of an email to see which gets the better performance. If you need any spicing up, you can incorporate many integrations, including social media scheduling.
The one notable downside to Mailchimp is that, for experienced email marketing users, the tool might come off as too simple. If you're looking for more elaborate automation, you may want to explore other options.
With Mailchimp, you can get a free plan for up to 2,000 subscribers. After that, programs range from $11 per month to $600 per month.
Pros
- Easy and quick to create email campaigns
- Free forever for under 2,000 contacts
- Ability to receive actionable campaign insights
Cons
- Limited customer support
- Lacks detailed marketing automation software
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2. Advanced Automation: ActiveCampaign
If you'd prefer a fully automated tool, ActiveCampaign will most likely fit your needs. Like Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign allows you to use a drag-and-drop feature to create attractive email campaigns. What makes it stand out is the large number of automated emails you can send, including replies, trigger emails based on user behavior, and email funnels to get leads.
Another great feature of this email marketing tool is its email deliverability practice. To ensure your emails get delivered to the recipients and avoid bounces, ActiveCampaign provides you with reputation checks, email authentication, and double opt-in. The double opt-in feature sends users an email to confirm their subscription to your service, avoiding the risk of being placed in the dreaded spam folder by users.
The disadvantage of ActiveCampaign is the exact opposite of Mailchimp, as the former uses a difficult-to-learn system. With so many features and nearly 1,000 available integrations, there's a learning curve here. Unfortunately, there's no free trial with ActiveCampaign, with the lowest price starting at $15 per month and the highest at $549 per month.
Pros
- Detailed personalization options for each campaign
- Easy segmentation for different types of subscribers
- Speedy customer support
Cons
- The basic plan offers only a few features
- Prices for advanced programs can be high
3. Best for E-commerce Sites: Drip
Drip is many e-commerce businesses' go-to choice in email marketing. Though the company is relatively new compared to competitors, it gained popularity among small and independent e-commerce shops for its ease of use and dynamic workflows. Specifically, the business focuses on drip marketing or email marketing triggered purely by user behavior with your company.
For instance, you can set up email campaigns on Drip for situations when customers add items to their cart, abandon their cart, or make a purchase. These personalized and timely follow-ups ensure users are consistently updated with your brand and their interactions with it, making the entire customer experience more engaging. Even better, Drip uses in-depth list segmentation so that you can categorize emails by just about every type of user.
Drip also allows you to build 100% custom email templates from the ground up or choose among its many different email templates. There's no drag-and-drop editor here, though, which can make designing a little tricky.
The good thing is that you can get a 14-day free trial with Drip and see whether the tool works for you. After that, you'll pay anywhere from $19 to $1,600 per month, depending on your amount of subscribers.
Pros
- Many training guides and resources
- Fast and friendly customer support
- Measures email performance
Cons
- Not many integrations
- No drag-and-drop option
4. The Finest Customer Support: Scorpion
Last but not least, Scorpion is among the best email marketing tools you can choose. A top choice for local businesses such as home services and law firms, Scorpion offers plenty of marketing services, with email marketing being one of the most notable. What makes Scorpion different than the other tools on this list is its mission to work alongside you to achieve your email marketing goals. From deciding your goals over planning your campaigns to sending emails out, Scorpion is there every step of the way.
Moreover, Scorpion helps you create meaningful and impactful content to build brand image and subscriber loyalty. As for the subscribers themselves, Scorpion's software allows you to easily manage your contact lists, including deleting inactive or invalid accounts.
Scorpion is another good choice for newbies or those wanting to experiment with new features with their campaigns. Even those with more advanced knowledge may still appreciate the assistance offered by the team. As if that wasn't enough, the pricing for this email marketing tool is custom and tailored to your own needs and services.
Pros
- Knowledgeable and up-to-date staff
- Easy to use interface
- An excellent option for local, smaller businesses
Cons
Better for beginners over more advanced users
The Takeaway on Email Marketing Tools
The best email marketing tools use automation, personalization, and segmentation.
There you have it — the best email marketing tools to get started with now. Any of the choices listed above are sure to keep your email marketing campaigns fresh, easy, and affordable. Choosing the best one comes down to your goals, budget, and plans for scalability. Once you've made a choice, you can watch your marketing and your revenue expand over time.
If you'd like help with email marketing planning, initiating campaign ideas, or other tasks along the way, get in touch with Scorpion and enjoy expert guidance.
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