Hardly will anyone come up with a conclusion that a particular email marketing platform is the best. This is because it is a different platform for different purpose. However, there are few platforms that serve both small and big businesses effectively.
After comparing features such as deliverability, mobile optimization, analytics report, customer service, and ease of use with other top email marketing platforms, I came up with the top five email marketing platforms.
Using the right email marketing platform is like using the right implement on your farm. It simply makes your job easy.
A good email marketing platform makes it easy for you to build a profitable relationship with your prospects. But how do you choose the one that will suit your marketing objectives?
In this article, I discussed the best email marketing platforms and how you can choose the one that suits the kind of services you offer.
But first, let’s understand what an email marketing platform is.
What Is An Email Marketing Platform?
An email marketing platform is software that marketers use to create, send and track emails. These platforms have email templates you can edit to send to your email lists.
You also have options to automate these emails to suit your prospect’s behavioral history and interests.
Important performance metrics are embedded in these platforms to help you monitor your campaigns and know their success.
Performance metrics like open rates, clickthrough rates, and conversion rates make it easier for you to track the success of your campaigns based on your set goals.
How To Choose An Email Marketing Platform
There are a ton of email marketing platforms available in the market. Choosing the best one that suits your marketing objectives would be a really daunting task if you don’t know what to expect.
The platform’s functionality, ease of navigation, customer support, mobile optimization, and analytic report the are key things you should consider when choosing.
The best email marketing platform has these important features:
- Contact Management
- Audience Segmentation
- Email Templates
- Email Scheduling and Automation
- SMS and Push Messaging Features
- Detailed Statistics and Analytics
- A/B Testing
- Ecommerce functionality etc.
Most platforms have limited contact management services. If your customer base is above 10,000 subscribers, you might consider a platform that allows you to save up to that number and more.
While many platforms offer basic services like audience segmentation, email templates, and email automation, very few offer advanced services like SMS and Push Messaging.
If you run an ecommerce company, you might want to choose a platform that offers that functionality too. The same thing applies to campaign A/B Testing.
Personalization features are another important email marketing feature you should consider when choosing a platform.
Most email marketing platforms allow you to personalize your emails by adding the subscriber’s first name to the subject line or anywhere within the email.
But very few platforms have advanced personalization features like adding specific information like users’ birth date, job title, address, etc. and sending them automated emails like birthday wishes, anniversaries messages, etc.
Make sure you consider these features when choosing an email marketing platform.
Let’s look at the top email marketing platforms from which we selected the best.
Different Email Marketing Platforms
Here are different email marketing platforms you can use for your email marketing needs. I’ve taken out time to select the best among the pool of options available. This selection is based on personal experiences (as I happen to have used quite a few), public reviews and opinions, and their functionalities.
Mailchimp
Small Businesses and freelancers prefer Mailchimp because of its simple user interface. It is easy to navigate and comes at a budget-friendly price.
The free version allows you to save up to 2000 contacts and send up to 10,000 emails monthly. It has professional templates that make it easy for you to create email campaigns without hassle.
This platform has most of the features listed above, and you won’t be wrong in choosing it for your email marketing campaigns.
HubSpot
HubSpot email marketing platform, is one of the few out there with built-in Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
The platform offers you amazing features like lead generation, audience segmentation, email tracking, sales automation, and data reporting.
Its free version is one of the best you can find in the market, as it allows you to store up to a million contacts. However, the number of emails you can send out in a mail is greatly limited to just 2000.
HubSpot is a wonderful platform and highly recommended for sales-oriented businesses.
Salesforce
Salesforce is one of the oldest email marketing platforms out there. They’ve stayed up to date with the latest trends and features in the email marketing world.
Their personalization features are top-notch, as you can send personalized emails to your contact, even if you have 10 million subscribers.
Unfortunately, Salesforce does not have a free version. But its premium versions are worth every penny you spend to get them. They also offer a 10-day free trial.
Sendinblue
Sendinblue is a universal marketing platform. It offers you a wide range of marketing services like SMS marketing, CRM, sales automation, audience segmentation, and transactional emails.
Sendinblue offers its users a complete sales and marketing toolkit. The platform has one of the best email metrics measurement features.
It doesn’t just give you access to the basic metrics like open rates, clickthrough rates, etc. It gives you a detailed analysis of what happens on your campaigns.
The time people engaged your contents, the exact places they clocked on, and even where they read from.
With Sendinblue, you can send up to 300 emails a day. That’s about 9000 emails in a month. The free plan also includes over 40 email templates and customizable signup forms. It offers an unlimited number of subscribers.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is an awesome all-in-one marketing platform. It offers both email marketing, automation, and CRM functionalities.
It has a very user-friendly interface, and the price is really affordable. However, the price increases according to the number of subscribers in your list and the specific functions you want.
It offers a website integration functionality, where you can track your site’s activities and access some advanced personalization features. There’s also a built-in chatbot functionality.
ActiveCampaign doesn’t have a free version. But it offers a 14-day free trial where you have access to a good number of its premium services.
Pros Of Email Marketing Platform
Email marketing platforms offer a lot of benefits to marketers. Here are a few of them:
- Personalized customer interaction
- Measurable marketing results
- Premium shareable content
- Wider market reach
- Automated marketing etc.
Best Email Marketing Platform-FAQ
What Is The Best Email Marketing Platform For Bulk Email Marketing Services?
Sendinblue currently ranks number one in the area of bulk email marketing. The lite version of their premium plans allows you to send up to 100,000 emails in a month. You also have the option to send more than that when you subscribe for higher versions.