Best Email Marketing Platforms for 2021

Please note that while at Catdi Printing, we are huge advocates for direct mail marketing, it’s our recommendation that email marketing should have a place in your marketing efforts. This article reviews the top 5 platforms that our customers use and a little info on which ones might work best for you.

What is are Email Marketing Platforms?

Email marketing platforms are also known as Email Service Provider (ESP), email marketing services, email marketing software, or email marketing tool. These platforms are generally Software as a Service (SaaS) tools that are cloud-based.

These web-based tools offer promoters a sizable operating environment under which smaller application programs integrate. 

Email marketing platforms are strategies that work to help you develop and manage your email campaigns.

How Does Email Marketing Work?

Marketers and businesses use an Email Service Provider (marketing platform) to send and manage brand marketing campaigns.

Do You Need an Email Marketing Platform?

The short answer to this question is yes. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as Outlook, Yahoo, or Gmail do not allow email blasts because the application is made for personal use. As a result, a stack of emails sent from your email account is intercepted and flagged by spam filters. 

More so, sending mass mail from an ISP is considered suspicious activity and can lead to your account being disabled.

What to Consider When Choosing an Email Marketing Platform

Recent research indicates that 60% of marketing agencies agree that email advertising produces a high Return on Investment (ROI). However, if you desire to achieve this target, you must choose a platform that suits your business structure.

Integration

Selecting an email marketing platform that works well with your other software programs like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) allows you to manage your content easily. An operating system that blends with your CRM software helps you save time by automatically updating lists without physical interference.

Response Handling

You may not have a rigorous task sending monthly newsletters if you are a startup or a smaller business. However, large cooperatives that send thousands of journals to online clients need operating systems that allow users to send automated responses.

Reporting and Analytics

Marketers need to know when their marketing campaigns meet the expected goals. Unfortunately, this information is difficult to track if you send out thousands of emails every month. Even so, you can choose an email marketing software that incorporates reporting and analytics to help you track open rates.

Top Email Marketing Platforms

Depending on the size of your business or marketing need, you may decide to choose any of the following platforms to help you with your email marketing.

1. MailChimp Email Marketing Platform

Mailchimp is both a marketing automation platform and also email marketing service. This American company first started operations in 2001 in Atlanta, U.S.A.

This email marketing software is an All-in-One integrated marketing platform. It is ideal for small and medium-sized businesses.

Mailchimp Key Features

This email marketing platform contains a wide range of tools that are easy to use.

Audience Management includes the following functions; –

• CRM – This tool allows you to know your crowd.  Marketers use Mailchimp for customer relationship management (CRM) to help discover new ways to market to their audience.
• Free sign-up forms – This feature allows you to increase the number of your website viewers. It also enables you to gather relevant data that you can use to send your clients personalized content.
• Segmentation – Irrelevant adverts are annoying and can overwhelm you. However, segmentation enables marketers to send the ideal campaigns to the right market. The tool helps you disseminate relevant messages to your viewers.
• Predicted demographics – This Mailchimp feature helps you forge email marketing campaigns that appeal to your audience.

Creative Tools have the following functions; –

• Campaign templates – Mailchimp offers you pre-designed templates to help build emails and launch marketing campaigns within a few minutes. What’s more, you do not need to be a pro. The feature is simple, and you do not have a steep learning curve.
• Dynamic content – Creating personalized emails for thousands of customers can be exhausting and time-consuming. This feature helps you create multiple versions of emails with minimum effort. You don’t have to spend long hours crafting personalized emails for numerous customers because Dynamic content does the hard work for you.

Is MailChimp Good for Email Marketing?

Mailchimp aims at growing your business by providing a premium platform for email marketing. This all-in-one marketing software enables small businesses to develop better customer relationships and grow faster.

What makes Mailchimp a good marketing tool is that the platform puts your audience at the center.  Most of the features, including marketing automation and audience management tools, are automated. These tools save you time and make your interaction with the audience effortless.

Pricing

• Mailchimp’s Essentials paid plan starts at $9.99 per month.
• The Standard paid plan starts at $14.99 per month.
• Mailchimp Premium plan for high volume mail senders begins at $299 per month.
• However, the application offers you a free plan for up to 2,000 email contacts, inclusive of one audience.

2. Constant Contact Email Marketing Platform

Constant Contact Inc is one of the oldest and trusted email marketing platforms whose history dates to 1995. The company has since undergone several transitions and currently has its headquarters at Waltham, Massachusetts.

This marketing software program contains Smart features that help you create professional email marketing campaigns.

Constant Contact Key Features

Some of the tools that make this operating system worth considering include the following; –

• Ecommerce integrations – This software tool works well with your existing eCommerce platform to promote sales with targeted emails.      
• Automation – You can automate your messages and send personalized ads to your customers to help boost your sales. Automation allows you to put your email advertisement on autopilot with customized, scheduled, and selected emails. You can also send a welcome email for new visitors and resend emails to non-openers.
• Analytics tool – This feature allows you to view visitor metrics in the present. This action helps you to recognize and react to trends immediately. The Constant Contact analytics tool helps marketers to track performance in real-time.
• Email Marketing – This feature simplifies your writing. With the help of this tool, you spend less time thinking about how to draft custom and personalized emails. The Smart email editor helps you to customize professional-looking emails in a few minutes. All you need to do is to drag and drop, and it’s all done.

Is Constant Contact Good for Email Marketing?

Constant Contact is one of the best applications that you can use to build a professional online presence and also engage customers. This platform helps all businesses to grow by selling more online.

Constant Contact is good for email marketing because it allows you to send emails smarter, not harder. The automation tools help you build customer relationships by keeping them engaged. The powerful list-building feature helps you grow your customer base and boost sales.

Pricing

• Constant Contact Email plan starts at $20/month.
• The Email Plus plan starts at $45/month.

3. ConvertKit Email Marketing Platform

ConvertKit is one of the best email service providers (ESO) that offers marketers personalized sign-up forms and landing pages. This full-featured ESP is easy to use and comes with automation and a wide range of features.

ConvertKit is a cloud-based email marketing platform commonly used by online creators such as YouTubers, podcasters, and bloggers. It is also ideal for course creators and content-based businesses.

ConvertKit’s Key Features

• Email sign-up forms -ConvertKit offers you tools that direct you on how to create memorable first impressions for your customers. You can make your subscriber’s initial step into your website effortless by creating personalized sign-up forms.  This platform offers marketers unlimited sign-up forms and responsive templates.
• Email designer- Writing and editing emails can be tedious and time-consuming for any marketer. In addition, you can be overwhelmed and experience burnout if you have bulky mail loads to draft.  However, ConvertKit’s email designer enables you to compose appealing and straightforward emails. The tool assists you go through the editing and formatting while allowing you to focus on writing.
• Integrations – This is one of the best features contained in ConvertKit. This application works well with a wide range of other applications. Some of the tools which connect with ConvertKit include Crowdcast, Teachable, Shopify, and more.

Is ConvertKit among Capable Email Marketing Platforms

What makes ConvertKit a good email marketing platform? This email marketing platform helps you own the relationship with your viewers and also boosts your business. This application makes it easy for you to send customized content to your audience consistently.

The email marketing feature offers you easy email templates that help you design simple emails for your subscribers. Besides nurturing customer relationships, these emails show your expertise and help you establish trust with your viewers.

Pricing

• ConvertKit has a free plan for up to 1,000 subscribers.
• The paid plan prices start at $25 per month.

4. EmailOctopus Email Marketing Platform

EmailOctopus first launched in 2014 as a simple email marketing platform and has since continued to advance. This email service provider has worked with over 64,000 organizations and mailed more than 13 billion email messages.

The Software helps businesses create and manage unique email campaigns using customizable templates. Who uses EmailOctopus? Online stores, bloggers, authors, superstars, restaurants, charities, and more.

EmailOctopus Key Features

• Email editor – The feature allows you to import pre-designed HTML templates for complete creative control. You can also personalize your template with the easy-to-use email editor. In addition, the easy-to-use drag and drop editor helps make drafting campaign messages effortless and also saves you time.
• Automation – This feature allows you to set your marketing campaigns on autopilot. It helps you save time and also reach new subscribers with automated welcome messages. In addition, autopilot sends a series of marketing campaigns to new customers to create an awareness of your service.
• Tag – This feature helps you to keep your marketing data organized. With this tool, you can send tailored messages to target audiences. The targeting tool enables you to create unique content for different users. Marketers can decide who to deliver their campaigns to or not.
• Analytics – This tool allows you to observe your email marketing campaign activities presently. This feature leads you to realize what campaign strategy is working. You can also track opens and clicks to analyze which emails work best with your viewers. More so, you can use these findings to make your future campaigns better.

Is EmailOctopus a Good Email Marketing Platform?

EmailOctopus is a good email service provider for businesses that desire to save on cost and boost ROI. Observation indicates that, on average, individuals or companies that use this service save more than 60% on email marketing costs.

Startups prefer to use EmailOctopus because the service is free of cost. In addition, you can use this tool to disseminate weekly marketing inspiration to new businesses.

Pricing

EmailOctopus offers a free Connect Starter account which allows marketers to have up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails per month.

The Pro version costs $20 per month. It permits 5,000 subscribers each month and 50,000 per month.

5. AWeber Email Marketing Platform

AWeber is a popular email marketing platform that offers marketers everything needed to create successful email marketing campaigns. The easy-to-use interface allows you to navigate the features and manage your email marketing campaigns effortlessly.

AWeber Key Features

• Auto-Newsletters – This feature allows you to craft your ideal messages. You do not need to be a pro before using the drag, drop, and edit tool. 
• Segmentation – This feature enables you to send targeted emails. You can divide your list based on viewers who interacted with your latest message or re-engage those who didn’t. This tool helps you send customized marketing campaigns to the right group of people.
• Automation – You can use this tool to build stronger relationships with your clients by celebrating their special occasions with a customized message. Businesses can improve on sales by sending automated messages to upsell after a purchase.
• Pre-build campaigns – The tools offer a variety of pre-built samples to use. This feature enables marketers to edit and send marketing campaigns in minutes.

Is AWeber Among Efficient Email Marketing Platforms

AWeber allows you to start for free and grow as your business grows. This email marketing platform also offers you more than 6,000 royalty-free stock photos to help you engage subscribers.

More so, this platform gives you more than 150 custom-made email template choices. What’s more is that you have the freedom to choose when, how, and where to send your templates.

Pricing

• The free plan costs $0 and permits up to 500 subscribers per month.
• The Pro plan starts at $16, which is billed annually and allows up to 500 subscribers. 

Summary

Email service providers aim to help individuals and businesses to connect to more prospects through email marketing campaigns. 

There are various aspects to consider when selecting an email marketing platform for your business. For example, you may consider choosing a software that offers only one pro account with all the features. Why? Because three categories of paid accounts offer different features at each level.

However, there is no one fit- all email marketing platform. Bloggers, YouTubers, and other content writers may have different preferences when compared to businesses that trade on Amazon, eBay, or Alibaba. Therefore, individuals, marketers, and business owners must carefully consider what is best for business growth before selecting a good email marketing platform.