Social media has proven to be the undisputed king in the marketing domain, and then there’s email. Think of it as a grandparent to social media marketing. Don’t be fooled, it’s still reliable if used the right way.
Today’s marketers may not be as email savvy, nor do they consider it to be a “cool” way of contacting clients, however, it has stood the test of time and proven itself to be an effective method of communication.
As long as you’re using it right for your small business, email is still one of the most valuable and targeted channels for reaching your audience. It’s also a great way to make money.
You can use your email marketing strategy to promote your app or website. You can also communicate with clients about your white label services or anything else that adds value to their needs.
Here are some of the best email marketing tools to ensure your small business hit the mark every time.
- What is the Best Email Marketing Service for Small Businesses?
- How do I Create an Email for Marketing?
- What is the Cheapest Email Marketing Service?
- Is Email Marketing still Effective?
- How do Email Marketing make money?
What is the Best Email Marketing Service for Small Businesses?
Hundreds of providers offer email marketing services. But you should really only be considering these top 10 for your business.
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Below, we will highlight the top features, price, benefits, and any potential drawbacks or downsides for you to consider. Let’s get started.
1. Convertkit
Free Plans: Allow you to start building your audience with useful features like unlimited landing page templates and forms to choose from and managing up to 1,000 subscribers.
Paid Plans: Paid plans range from $29 to upwards of $4,000 depending on how many subscribers you have
Convertkit gives you the fluidity and flexibility desired in email campaign creation and execution. You get great performance and increased productivity, you can use its automation to save time, in addition to creating a customer funnel, it is easy to use, powerful and functional, the cost is more affordable compared to other software.
Instead of traditional email marketing platforms, where you have to know coding and HTML, ConvertKit provides a seamless, drag-and-drop-capable experience to create professional emails that convert. There’s also an automation feature to view the whole layout of your funnel.
2. GetResponse
GetResponse is an email marketing platform that can be used by small and medium-sized businesses and, more generally, by those who have just started a new business. But even big corporations including Ikea and Unicef use GetResponse to create powerful, simplified emails in one easy-to-use tool.
It is a particularly economical and easy to use service. The service offers various functions and integrations, as well as detailed statistics. The weak point is linked to the automation processes, not mainly developed.
What makes GetResponse a fantastic email marketing service to invest in is the additional option to use the service for other marketing needs you may want to fulfill. This includes, but is not limited to, landing page creation and optimization, conversion funnels, and marketing automation.
3. ActiveCampaign
Small businesses and startups can opt for ActiveCampaign, an inexpensive Email Marketing platform that is easy to use and has several specific functions for SMEs.
This platform has its CRM system to manage leads and, therefore, automatically organize sales and marketing. Process automation is a point in favor of Active Campaign which presents ground-breaking, informative reports that tell users what is working in their email marketing efforts and what isn’t.
What makes ActiveCampaign a great email marketing service to look into is how it filters the customer experience acquisition process. The platform’s official website filters potential users by industry, product, and role.
This allows the platform to completely customize your email marketing service needs depending on who you are and what you are looking for.
4. Sendinblue
Sendinblue offers a good compromise between the expense it requires and the service that is simple to use and complete in the functions it offers (like the more famous ActiveCampaign).
Sendinblue also has a well-developed CRM section and offers excellent possibilities for automation, integration, and segmentation, representing the real competitive advantage over other platforms. The interface, however, can be more complicated than other services like Mailchimp).
It is also an excellent tool for SMS marketing. There is a range of templates for creating your emails.
Sendinblue allows you to create custom workflows that send emails automatically. You can even use your contact’s behavior on your website to trigger emails. For example, you could send an automated email if a customer adds an item to their cart but fails to check it.
Sendinblue offers an entirely free account for up to 300 emails per day and receive unlimited contacts. If you do want to send more emails than that, paid plans start at $ 25/month.
5. AWeber
AWeber is suitable for those who based their businesses in the web marketing industry and are looking for a reliable tool while having a limited budget.
In fact, according to their official website, AWeber’s mission statement is to “deliver powerfully-simple email marketing for small businesses that does 90% of the work for you. We leave 10% for you to have fun!” And who doesn’t want to have fun?!
Beginners can benefit from AWeber’s detailed and intuitive reports. The more experienced power users can take advantage of split-tests.
Features of AWeber include unique features like a prebuilt template library, an AI-powered design assistant, a drag-and-drop email and landing page designer, campaign marketplace, and automated campaign features.
6. Drip
Drip is a powerful email marketing platform, with high WooCommerce integration. It’s a particularly good option if you run an e-commerce website. It has smart marketing automation tools and intelligent email segmentation.
Drip also provides a ton of support through live chat, as well as with webinars, complete online courses, and excellent documentation.
It may not be the cheapest option depending on what your email marketing outreach needs are, but it’s worth the money to maximize your marketing efforts. Look at their pricing more here.
7. ConvertKit
ConvertKit is a robust and easy-to-use email marketing platform. It has some great features for creators and bloggers, but it’s also a popular option for small businesses.
ConvertKit makes it easy to segment contacts into existing contacts and customers to send different emails to each.
It has a simple email generator to create emails that will look great on all devices. You can even generate clickable CTA buttons and track conversions when users click on them.
8. OptinMonster
OptinMonster is one of the best conversion optimization software platforms on the market. It allows you to convert website visitors into email subscribers and customers easily.
It comes with easy-to-integrating lightbox popups, slide-in modules, welcome mats, coupon wheels, and more.
OptinMonster works with all popular email marketing services and quickly gets more subscribers for your email list.
It is packed with many features that help you automatically target users and show them personalized campaigns. For example, you can show targeted messages for different pages on your site. You can also show campaigns based on user activity and geographic location.
9. Intercom
Intercom is a live chat tool, but it does so much more. It allows you to use chatbots and integrate your chats with other elements of your marketing workflow.
Intercom allows you to send automatic in-app messages that go far beyond just text. You can use images, videos, emojis, and even apps to help you with your marketing. It’s easy to choose from many different massage styles, without the need to involve a developer.
Intercom also has several optional add-ons available. These include product tours, advanced lead generation, and sophisticated customer engagement.
10. Smash Balloon
Smash Balloon offers four different WordPress plugins that allow you to add social feeds to your website; this concerns Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
These WordPress plugins are a great way to make the most of the time you spend on social media while conveniently monitoring your email marketing. You can automatically include posts from your account or even posts with a specific hashtag, where applicable.
You can customize your social feeds in multiple ways. For example, you can create a shoppable Instagram feed, so clickable Instagram photos of your products are automatically added to your site.
How do I Create an Email for Marketing?
Step 1: Establish your goals
It can be tempting to simply sign up for an email marketing tool like Campaign Monitor and start sending your first campaign.
But before jumping in head first, it’s worth taking a minute to think about your goals and what you really want to achieve with email, as that will dictate the type of campaigns you send, who you target, the content you include, and how you measure success.
Email should be an important component of every digital marketing plan because of its effectiveness in driving conversions and building brand loyalty.
The key to establishing the correct goals for your email marketing initiative is to align them with your company’s wider marketing goals & KPIs. Is the goal to drive new signups for your product? New leads for your sales team? More attendees for your event? More donations for your cause?
Email marketing is the single most powerful channel to reach your audience, and it can be used to achieve a number of different objectives, so it’s worth spending some time thinking about what you want to achieve with it before jumping in.
Step 2: Choose an Email Marketing Platform.
There are a few ways you can go about doing this. If your email marketing needs are fairly simple, it’s possible your CRM provides email marketing features that fit your needs.
However, if you’re looking to build self-sustaining email marketing campaigns with email triggers and autoresponders, you’ll probably want a dedicated email marketing service provider.
There are several other credible email marketing solutions not included on this list above. It’s worth comparing vendors to determine which best meets your email marketing goals, fits within your budget, and can scale to accommodate your growth.
Step 3: Build and Segment an Email List
Your list may have humble roots with only a few subscribers, but prospects are prospects. It’s tempting to buy an email and bulk-send cold emails (hey, it works for some people), but you probably already have a fair number of contacts floating around in your records. If you choose to build an email list from scratch, there are ways to do that, too.
The basic identifiers for someone’s digital existence is their name and their email address. If you’re trawling your database and encounter very old email addresses, fair warning — emails tend to degrade.
People change email addresses when they change jobs, change webmail providers, adopt a different handle, or simply change their throwaway, but don’t worry about this now. When your campaign is underway, you’ll be able to track unresponsive email addresses and cull them from your list.
Step 4: Create a Campaign and Build an Email
Creating a campaign is fairly straightforward in an email marketing platform. There will usually be a page for campaigns; when you navigate to it, click the button that says ‘Create Campaign’ or something like it. There you go.
Depending on the provider, you’ll have a series of steps between this point and sending the email. You might need to choose recipients or a segmentation option. At some point, you’ll need to choose your template, which is where your creative juices can start flowing.
Step 5: Enable Autoresponders
Alright, so you created your first email. Nice! But of course, you already know there’s a lot more to an email campaign than the first email. It’s time to automate that baby.
What is an autoresponder?
An autoresponder is a program that automates the sending of emails. The emails can be triggered by specific actions or timed for regular release.
Autoresponders are used in email marketing to nurture leads, build trust, provide confirmation that data was received, and otherwise convey useful information about products, services, or promotions.
You’ll likely receive emails via autoresponder when you sign up for an email subscription, purchase items online, ask for customer service, or download an ebook.
In fact, any digital company with a robust digital presence likely uses an autoresponder simply because they’re an excellent, cost-effective way to send relevant content to different customers are various stages in the customer journey without taking the time, energy, or brainpower to personally write each one.
What is the Cheapest Email Marketing Service?
1. DirectIQ
DirectIQ is proud to be the cheapest email marketing service at all subscriber volumes. Whether you are sending one-thousand or one-million emails, we offer you the best price.
They also give you industry-standard list management features, segmentation and personalization functionality, a state-of-the-art delivery system, and your own a dedicated IP address.
You have full access to our Friendly Editor browser-app too, so you can create stunning email templates and designs to win over your subscribers. With DirectIQ you get a lot of bang for your buck.
| Number of Contacts / Emails Sent | DirectIQ Price (in $/Month) |
| 1,000+ contacts/month or 5,000 emails/month | 12 |
| 2,500+ contacts/month or 10,000 emails/month | 25 |
| 5,000+ contacts/month or 25,000 emails/month | 45 |
| 10,000+ contacts/month or 50,000 emails/month | 69 |
| 30,000+ contacts/month or 150,000 emails/month | 150 |
| 60,000+ contacts/month or 350,000 emails/month | 250 |
| 100,000+ contacts/month or 500,000 emails/month | 450 |
| 250,000+ contacts/month or 1000,000 emails/month | 950 |
2. GetResponse
GetResponse offers the second-cheapest email service after DirectIQ. It falls slightly behind at the 10,000+ subscribers mark, though the difference is minimal ($5). GetResponse has a reliable interface and a number of free email template designs for various purposes.
It also provides you with the means to personalize subject lines, segment your mailing list, and preview your emails in mobile formats, as with DirectIQ. The design of its real-time activity tracking feature is unique, pushing you updates on individual subscribers? interactions with your campaigns, though the benefits of getting data at this small scale could be debated.
| Number of Contacts / Emails Sent | GetResponse Price (in $/Month) |
| 1,000+ contacts/month or 5,000 emails/month | 15 |
| 2,500+ contacts/month or 10,000 emails/month | 25 |
| 5,000+ contacts/month or 25,000 emails/month | 45 |
| 10,000+ contacts/month or 50,000 emails/month | 75 |
| 30,000+ contacts/month or 150,000 emails/month | 165 |
| 60,000+ contacts/month or 350,000 emails/month | 280 |
| 100,000+ contacts/month or 500,000 emails/month | 490 |
| 250,000+ contacts/month or 1000,000 emails/month | 1199 |
3. AWeber
AWeber comes in at number three on the cheapest marketing services for 2018 list. AWeber is an established provider that has continued to develop its robust email marketing system since its 1998 debut.
Its browser-app is reliable and straightforward to use. It also has a great selection of pre-designed templates that you can edit with a good degree of flexibility.
Just as with DirectIQ, you can automate your emails to launch at whatever time you want, and AWeber also offers integration with WordPress, which some users might find useful. It won’t break the bank, but its slightly higher price seems more based on AWeber’s reputation than its superior functionality.
| Number of Contacts / Emails Sent | AWeber Price (in $/Month) |
| 1,000+ contacts/month or 5,000 emails/month | 29 |
| 2,500+ contacts/month or 10,000 emails/month | 29 |
| 5,000+ contacts/month or 25,000 emails/month | 49 |
| 10,000+ contacts/month or 50,000 emails/month | 69 |
| 30,000+ contacts/month or 150,000 emails/month | Not listed |
| 60,000+ contacts/month or 350,000 emails/month | Not listed |
| 100,000+ contacts/month or 500,000 emails/month | Not listed |
| 250,000+ contacts/month or 1000,000 emails/month | Not listed |
4. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign has a reasonable pricing structure that means it is only a little more expensive than the cheapest ESPs at low-volumes. For high volumes of over 10,000 subscribers, the price difference between it and its competitors ramps up.
This is something to bear in mind if your mailing list is already teetering on the edge of reaching this capacity. Nonetheless, the app has an admirable selection of tools, including a flexible triggered automation editor.
This is a bonus for experienced marketers looking to deeper automate their emails by customer behavior, though it lacks the unbox-and-go usability of user-friendly ESPs like DirectIQ.
| Number of Contacts / Emails Sent | ActiveCampaign Price (in $/Month) |
| 1,000+ contacts/month or 5,000 emails/month | 23 |
| 2,500+ contacts/month or 10,000 emails/month | 39 |
| 5,000+ contacts/month or 25,000 emails/month | 69 |
| 10,000+ contacts/month or 50,000 emails/month | 111 |
| 30,000+ contacts/month or 150,000 emails/month | 239 |
| 60,000+ contacts/month or 350,000 emails/month | 299 |
| 100,000+ contacts/month or 500,000 emails/month | Not listed |
| 250,000+ contacts/month or 1000,000 emails/month | Not listed |
5. ConvertKit
ConvertKit is an ESP promoted for its “features by bloggers, for bloggers.” Though this may be true, these features come at a steep price. The ConvertKit suite includes industry-standard capabilities such as segmentation and automation, as well as blogging add-ons, including integrations with a host of blogging platforms.
Its focus on plain-text emails is great for those looking for a personal touch, but we can’t help thinking that ConvertKit’s decision to omit responsive HTML emails from their offering may disappoint bloggers requiring a more professional look.
| Number of Contacts / Emails Sent | ConvertKit Price (in $/Month) |
| 1,000+ contacts/month or 5,000 emails/month | 49 |
| 2,500+ contacts/month or 10,000 emails/month | 49 |
| 5,000+ contacts/month or 25,000 emails/month | 79 |
| 10,000+ contacts/month or 50,000 emails/month | 119 |
| 30,000+ contacts/month or 150,000 emails/month | 259 |
| 60,000+ contacts/month or 350,000 emails/month | 439 |
| 100,000+ contacts/month or 500,000 emails/month | 679 |
| 250,000+ contacts/month or 1000,000 emails/month | 1579 |
Is Email Marketing still Effective?
For many people, the success of an email marketing effort can come in different forms. There’s the matter of open rates, engagement, and lead generation. But, before we can track these metrics as they relate to email, we will examine some of the more basic statistics.
For email marketing to be truly successful, it has to be used prominently. In this respect, email is in no danger of falling out of favor. In 2019, there are over 3 billion email users. That’s a massive demographic for marketers to reach.
Yet, just because a lot of people use email doesn’t necessarily prove it is still working, at least not on its own. To examine the impact of email marketing, one has to consider how impactful it is to the businesses that use it. Maybe more importantly, how many marketers consider it their best overall tool?
If email marketing is falling out of favor, you could assume it would be falling out to make room for other marketing tactics. But studies have shown this isn’t the case.
The numbers show email marketing is outranking popular tools like social media, SEO, and PPC advertising. While it still has its competition, it’s undoubtedly still working.
Email is not just a tool for extending offers to customers or generating leads; it’s a primary tool for generating a return on investment in marketing efforts. Those companies that utilize email and do it well can enjoy higher sales and a more cost-efficient approach to their marketing overall.
The main reason why people wonder if email still works is due to its age. Usually, we think older technologies will fall out of favor. Some do, but others evolve. This is what email marketing has done, and why it remains effective.
Does email marketing still matter?
We know email marketing still works in terms of providing returns, but so do a lot of marketing tactics. Just because they work doesn’t mean a company must automatically use them. Does email marketing still matter?
The benefit of email marketing is the return it provides: roughly $44 for every $1 spent. With so many platforms and email builders out there to help things along, marketers working on their own or in dedicated departments can still drive great results.
The results aren’t dependent on location either. Globally, roughly one-third of marketers say email marketing is their best tool for generating ROI.
With so many individuals and organizations across all industries benefiting from email marketing, it is safe to say it still matters, now more than ever.
How do Email Marketing make money?
Want to start earning money from your email list? Then follow these eight proven ways to make money with email marketing.
1. Sell a product or service
Already have a product or service to sell? Awesome! You can skip this section.
If not, this is your very first step. Find a physical or digital product or service to sell. Without a product to promote, it’ll be extremely difficult to make money with your email marketing efforts.
Not sure what to promote to your audience? Here are some ideas to get you started:
- eBooks
- Training guides
- Online courses
- Private virtual coaching sessions
- Classes or workshops
- Memberships
2. Sell other people’s products
You don’t always have to sell your products or services to monetize email marketing. Instead, you can be an affiliate for other businesses’ products or services. As an affiliate, you get commissions from a business that you generate for the company.
Here’s an example of a great affiliate connection: An online business coach offers planning advice to her clients. To help them turn her advice into reality, she recommends affiliate tools — like website builders and email marketing providers — to serve her clients’ marketing and sales needs.
Before you begin affiliate marketing, make sure you have a strong relationship with your subscribers and that you only recommend products and services that make sense for them. Otherwise, they may unsubscribe.
Many companies have affiliate programs you can join. Plus, AWeber integrates with tools like ClickBank that makes finding affiliate products to promote to your audience easy.
In fact, AWeber customer — GetOrganizedNow.com — uses the ClickBank integration to find and sell products that are aligned with her audience’s interests. During the COVID-19 pandemic, GetOrganizedNow.com promoted landscaping services, as they found their audience to be taking on more home improvement projects.
3. Upsell premium or exclusive products
One of the best opportunities for making money with email marketing is by offering additional products or services at the point of transaction — a.k.a. upselling.
Let’s say you’re a life coach, and your main product is an online monthly membership that includes access to a community of users, webinars, and a library of resources.
Once someone purchases your membership, you could then offer them exclusive one-on-one coaching sessions. A participant can pick the topic they want you to focus on and ask questions they may not feel comfortable asking in a live webinar in a virtual room filled with other members. Many people will pay top dollar to get this individualized attention.
Or it can be much simpler than that. If you’re an online personal trainer, you could offer a free downloadable upper-body workout. When someone requests it, they receive an automated email with the download — plus an upsell to a comprehensive 12-week program that guarantees them results.
4. Cross-sell related products
Every purchase a customer makes gives you insight into their likes and interests. You can use this info to entice them with other products they may also enjoy.
In fact, you probably have an email in your inbox right now that reads, “Because you bought this, you might be interested in this.” That’s because online shoppers who get targeted, personalized messages are more likely to purchase from you again.
5. Get repeat purchases
Along the same lines as cross-selling, you may have a product or service that calls for repeat purchases. Sometimes a friendly reminder email is an effective way to keep bringing in a steady stream of sales.
This method to make money with email marketing works extremely well for businesses that rely on recurring, seasonal, or perishable goods. For instance, a window cleaning service may email a client at the end of every season to remind them to schedule their next appointment.
Offering a discount or coupon can also go a long way. Offering a person a discount off their next cleaning may give them the boost they need to book another session.
Or, simply remind your customers that they may want to book their next appointment, and give them the option to set up reminders if they’re not ready to purchase with you.
6. Have a cart abandonment plan
We’re all a bit forgetful, so it’s no surprise that buyers often get distracted or step away from a purchase because they weren’t ready to buy at that moment. But if you’re using an e-commerce platform like WooCommerce, you know what they left behind.
Automatically send highly relevant emails encouraging them to buy the product or service they were considering. Customers who received multiple abandoned shopping cart emails are 2.4 times more likely to complete the purchase than those who receive only one followup email, according to Experian.
Try sending the first message one day after, a second message 48 hours after, and possibly a third message within three or four days of abandonment.
Keep cart abandonment emails short. It doesn’t hurt if you inject some humor or personality to catch the reader’s eye.
7. Ask people to spread the word
According to a Nielsen report, 84 percent of consumers say they either completely or somewhat trust recommendations from family, colleagues, and friends about goods and services. That makes personal recommendations the highest ranked source for trustworthiness when it comes to making a purchase.
So if you have an engaged, loyal customer base, send emails encouraging them to recommend your products and services to their friends and acquaintances. You can also go a bit further by asking them to give you positive online reviews and to “like” and share your social feeds.
Think about implementing referral links to incentivize your subscribers to spread awareness about your brand, too. Referral links allow your current customers to promote trackable links for your business.
In exchange for sending new paying customers your way, you can give them incentives like discounts, coupons, vouchers, cash, prizes or redeemable points.
8. Automate your email campaigns
With a partner like AWeber, you can set up automated email campaigns to make money with email marketing easily.
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Automated email campaigns — often called autoresponders — are a series of emails that are automatically sent to your new subscribers after they subscribe, saving you time and effort so you can keep your focus on your passion.
The first email in your autoresponder series is your welcome email, which should set the tone for the types of emails your subscribers can expect from you. It’s also a great time to make a sale since welcome emails often see higher engagement rates than other types of emails.
Then, expand upon your welcome email with a welcome series to provide ongoing value to your readers. For example, if you’re a podcaster, your welcome series could share top blog posts, more about you and your business, a survey of your subscribers to learn more about them and their interests, and more.
Conclusion
More and more people are reading emails on the go. That’s one of the biggest reasons why businesses need to invest in email marketing and a reliable service that gets the job done.
Check the prices and features of email marketing service providers. Choose the most convenient without compromising reliability, security, and single-use, regardless of whether your business needs are large or small and the industry.
