4 Key Points to Consider While Choosing an Email Marketing Service
Before we begin, here are two of the biggest lies in the marketing world!
- Email marketing is no longer relevant
- Your email marketing software or service is not important
Yes, that is right! We are well aware that a lot of talks have been floating around the internet about how email marketing is not very effective. The reality is that it is very much alive and a very important part of marketing in today’s digital world.
The email marketing service you choose for your company is your gateway to better customer service, engagement, and more. Today, there are plenty of email marketing tools to choose from, and comparing them may seem tedious. However, the bottom line is that it is worth the effort.
Right from a plethora of inexpensive email marketing platforms to some highly pricey alternatives, there is something for everyone. However, the decision of selecting an email marketing service for your business should not depend solely on the pricing. There are other factors that need to be considered before you jump the gun.
Remember that in your quest of saving a few dollars, you could potentially lose hundreds and thousands of dollars in the long run if you choose a sub-par or the wrong type of email software for your business.
Before we take a look at some of the main points you should be looking for while choosing an email marketing service, let’s discuss the downsides of free services.
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Common Issues with Free Email Marketing Services
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Limited Features
Almost all, if not all offer limited features in the free plan. For instance, you might not be able to collect more than a certain amount of email addresses or deliver emails beyond a cap.
Furthermore, you may not be able to bifurcate your lists, which prevents you from automating your emails. Before you choose the limited or the free plan of an email service provider, be thorough with your research and understand the drawbacks of the account.
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Deliverability Problems
One of the biggest hurdles users face when they opt for a low-cost or a free provider is deliverability. Some of the most popular email service providers such as Gmail, Yahoo, and more give it their all to ensure their user’s accounts are free from spam.
These email services could mark your marketing emails as spam, solely on your IP address. A low-cost email marketing tool may not have the required resources to fend off false spam reports and keep a high delivery rate. This is why you should be aware of the pros and cons of opting for a free email marketing service.
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Scalability
Instead of juggling between different email marketing platforms through your journey, it is better to stick to one platform right from the start. This will take away the stress of importing your lists to a new provider every now and then and recreating landing pages.
Important Features to Look For in Email Marketing Services
Some of the best email marketing services are cost-effective and are fairly easy to use. Besides, the best vendors are also very transparent when it comes to pricing and other additional charges (if any). Here are some key features you should be looking for in an email marketing tool.
1. Autoresponders
In the current digital era, autoresponders are a must-have feature. Autoresponders will streamline your communication with program participants and customers. This is a key step toward building successful business relationships.
2. Triggered responses
Triggered responses allow you to schedule follow-up emails based on the actions taken by the recipients. For example, you can send a welcome email to individuals who have just subscribed to your newsletter. Similarly, send a thank you email to customers who have just finished purchasing your product.
You can use triggered responses for welcome messages, abandoned carts, event-based emails, and more.
3. Templates
You should ensure that your email marketing service offers a wide range of templates you can customize. In addition, these templates should be responsive so that they appear correctly on all devices.
4. Flexible pricing
Last but not least, pricing is one of the key factors you cannot afford to overlook while choosing an email marketing software. Pick a tool that offers flexible pricing and comes with a free trial. The free trial will give you a perfect opportunity to explore the different features of the tool.
Apart from these critical factors, you should also look at a few other areas. Think about the longevity of the technology in question, find out if there are enough personalization options, and how the tool will improve the efficiency levels in your company.
You should treat this process as an investment opportunity. After all, if you choose the right tool that fits your business model, you stand to gain more than you spend.
Wrapping it Up!
Investing in an email marketing service is not straightforward. It requires critical analysis and a deep understanding of what your requirements are. In addition, you also need to identify if the tool can serve you in the long run.
Ask yourself some important questions. Do you need a tool for your short-term or long-term needs? Does the tool have all the features you need? Does the pricing fit into your budget?
The next step would be to figure out the type of experiences you want to provide to your customers. This is why the degree of personalization provided by different tools is important. After careful consideration, shortlist a few tools and try them out before you make a choice.
Since we understand the pain companies have to go through, we have made your job a bit easier. Apart from providing an in-depth analysis of various email marketing software, we allow you to compare the different specifications of various tools. Pick the tools you want to compare and leave the rest on our tool comparison feature.
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Image 1 Source: Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
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