Every small business demands a good marketing strategy plan that will help it thrive steadily and effectively. And while each marketing strategy has its own advantages, email marketing remains one of the best and cost-effective approaches to adopt by small businesses.
As a business owner, finding the right email marketing service that will help you achieve a successful marketing campaign is easy. The challenge remains in choosing the service itself.
In this article, we have reviewed and compared the Top 11 Best Email Marketing Services for Small Business to help you find the best solutions that meet your goals.
Here are the 11 Best Email Marketing Services that can grow your business in 2020.
1. ConvertKit
ConvertKit is the best email marketing service for small businesses. Founded in 2013 by Nathan Barry, ConverKit helps creators all over the world to launch their project ideas into reality, ensuring an increased audience presence and successful business scale.
It helps you connect with your target audience via email marketing software. Simply create a free account to get started.
Once done, you will be able to use this software to convert your website readers into your subscribers. ConvertKit is designed from the ground-up to help you increase the size of your email list. Remember this list here will become your real asset which will help you increase your income.
The one selling trademark of ConvertKit is the use of visual email automation to boost conversions.
How Much Does ConvertKit Cost?
ConvertKit offers you 2 pricing plans from which you can choose. The first plan is free, it will help you start promoting your project idea.
The second plan costs $29 per month and if you are paying annually then you have a $4 discount, making it $25 per month. This latter plan is ideal for those who already run a growing small business.
Whatever plan you choose, you will be offered free online sessions to help you develop a prolific business.
Who is ConvertKit Email Marketing Service For?
ConverKit is for small businesses and all individuals who want to build an audience and use a seamless email automation editor.
It is also a good option for those who want to make the best use of subscribers’ segmentation and tags and be able to reach out to them with targeted and direct messages.
2. Drip
Drip is all about that bigger picture, great ideas got to turn into big projects. Drip has earned its spot among the Top 50 Fastest Growing Products and Best Products for Marketers records.
Thinking outside the e-commerce bubble is what makes this platform stand out. It emphasizes on the forward-thinking solutions when it comes to business development.
In fact, Drip highlights 4 key features, including Customer Data, personalization, engagement, and optimization.
Data wise, Drip makes sure to collect and store all your customer data securely to one focal center. This will make it easy and simple when it comes to their marketing strategy application and evaluation processes.
Personalization is all about what makes your business differ and stand out from others out there. This will enhance your competition level and makes your business emerge and stick out uniquely.
Engagement-wise, Drip ensures that your brand is well present in your readers and subscribers’ minds. It helps you create impactful, branded, and personalized emails to your audience.
Finally, the Optimization feature will help you identify and observe how each marketing strategy you are using is helping you grow your business. With the use of an automatic revenue attribution system by Drip, you will be able to distinguish which one is the biggest capital maker.
How Much Does Drip Cost?
Drip’s pricing depends on how many contacts you have in your account.
It ranges from $49 per month if you have 0 contacts to $1,740 if you have 140.000 contacts.
If you have 150.000+ contacts in your account, then you can get in touch with an in-house expert.
Moreover, you can start a free Drip trial for 2 weeks without using a credit card.
Who is Drip Email Marketing Service For?
Drip email marketing is ideal for product-based companies that seek to build effective and compelling marketing campaigns.
3. Constant Contact
Constant Contact is one of the leading email marketing services worldwide for over 20 years now. This platform never stops to amaze its customers with its powerful and persuasive strategies.
Depending on your industry or business domain, Constant Contact creates and personalizes professional or informal emails that showcase your brand at its best.
It also helps you to reach and engage with your customers hassle-free; no coding is required for this process.
Constant Contact offers its users customized, excellently designed, optimized, and mobile-friendly email templates. With email automation, your target audience will remain within reach and engaged on your website.
By using this marketing strategy, the active and increased engagement will not only help increase and raise revenue faster than you think, but it will also help you build a stronger and trustful customer service relationship.
Furthermore, Constant Contact offers its users real-time tracking tools. These tools will update you with your email marketing campaign analytic reports.
This involves numbers and statistics of subscribers who opened and clicked on your email. Consequently, by analyzing your report, you will be able to determine what are the necessary steps to make your business flourish.
How Much Does Constant Contact Cost?
With personalized templates and impactful features, Constant Contact comes with 2 packages.
- The first plan is Email and it starts with $20 per month/500 subscribers. The price will differ based on the number of contacts you have.
- The second plan is EmailPlus, and it starts with $45 per month/500 subscribers. The price will also differ based on the number of contacts you have.
If you pay for 6 months or 1 year ahead, you will be able to save $15 of the total price. Also, if you are prepaying as an NPO (Non-profit Organization), then you have up to $30 discount.
For both plans, the FIRST month is FREE.
Who is Constant Contact Email Marketing Service for?
Constant Contact is for small e-commerce businesses. It helps business owners to attract new leads and turn them into loyal customers.
4. MailChimp
Mailchimp is the 2020 Gold Stevie Award Winner. They were awarded for their achievements and contributions to the millions of companies and business owners around the world.
It is one of the best free email marketing services for those who just started their business. This marketing software platform encourages its clients to grow their business the way they want to while supporting them in their journey.
Mailchimp incorporates a wide range of different and effective features that can help you in your marketing campaign. Whether it is creation, design, content, this software has your back with its easy to use-and-apply templates.
The platform helps you collect and store your contacts in one place for an easy distribution. The collection and updating process is super easy and simple.
The audience dashboard will help you to better organize your audience based on segmentation, tags, personalization, and more.
Eventually, it becomes easier to determine the type of content you want to deliver for each targeted audience.
Moreover, the simple yet appealing templates are available for different purposes, let it be signup forms, landing pages, ads, promotions, and more.
The best of all is that Mailchimp is compatible with different applications and tools making it super convenient and practical.
How much does MailChimp cost?
Mailchimp offers 4 different plans including Free, Essentials, Standard and Premium. Each plan varies depending on the number of contacts you have. Once you choose a plan, you can calculate the final price based on the subscribers’ number.
- The Free Plan is for everyone who just got started with their business and looking for basic templates and behavioral targeting.
- The Essentials Plan costs $10 per 500 subscribers, and it is ideal for those who are opting for email marketing campaign support. It includes fundamental features and an unlimited number of emails template.
- The Standard Plan costs $15 per month for 500 subscribers. It ‘s the perfect choice for those who already run a business and looking to attract more customers and boost their business to the next level.
- The last plan, Premium, values $300 per month for 10k subscribers. This is for professionals who are seeking more customization and advanced qualities.
Who is MailChimp email marketing service for?
Mailchimp works for pretty much for everyone. However, it is one of the best free email marketing services for those who just started their business.
Your type of enterprise and your expertise level doesn’t count when it comes to using this marketing software platform. It will help you better reach and engage your audience and take your business goals to the next level.
5. ActiveCampaign
Designed with simplicity in mind, ActiveCampaign offers an excellent customer experience. This is an all packed email marketing platform which enables business owners to create an excellent customer experience.
In terms of email marketing, the platform offers Subscription Forms, Dynamic Content, Email Segmentation, and Split Testing. These tools help in setting up attractive campaigns in minutes.
By using precise and different segmentations as well as engaging content, customized email creation and design have never been easier.
Also, with the right customization and a better understanding and knowledge of your target audience, you will be able to recognize and determine what works the best for every approach.
How much does ActiveCampaign cost?
There are four different plans to choose from. Each of these plans is valued based upon a number of contacts. These plans include Lite, Plus, Professional and Enterprise.
Lite Plan:
- 500- 1,000 subscribers: $15- $29 per month
- 2,500- 5,000 subscribers: $49-$89 per month
- 10,000-25,000 subscribers: $139-$225per month
- 50,000-75,000 subscribers: $299-$379 per month
- 100.000 subscribers : $459 per month
For subscribers above 100,000, you will be directed to an in-house expert.
Plus plan:
- 500- 1,000 subscribers: $70 per month
- 2,500- 5,000 subscribers: $125-$169 per month
- 10,000-25,000 subscribers: $249-$399per month
For subscribers above 25,000, you will be directed to an inhouse expert.
Professional Plan:
- 500- 2,500 subscribers: $195 per month
- 5,000-10,000 subscribers: $239-$349 per month
- 25,000 subscribers: $599per month
For subscribers above 25,000, you will be directed to an inhouse expert.
Enterprise plan:
- 500- 2,500 subscribers: $279 per month
- 5,000-10,000 subscribers: $449-$499 per month
For subscribers above 10,000, you will be directed to an inhouse expert.
Who is ActiveCampaign email marketing service for?
The Active campaign platform is perfect for expert and trained marketers and small to medium-sized businesses.
6. Aweber
For more than 20 years now, AWeber has continued to support thousands of small businesses to thrive with effective and powerful email marketing strategies.
This platform incorporates several outstanding features. Without the hassle of coding, you can easily create and customize email templates and landing pages.
Also thanks to the Smart Designer, Landing Pages, Drag and Drop Creation, Free Template Library, and Auto-Newsletters features, everything is made easier for you.
Moreover, you can automate your emails to be delivered depending on a specific time for a specific segment, under a certain tag.
The platform also offers built-in analytics and reporting to help you better understand and determine the success of your email marketing strategy.
All in all, the available features are exactly what you need for your marketing campaigns. The Video Library will help you understand more about where to start, what to do, and how to do it. Check out the videos, here.
How much does AWeber cost?
There are four different plans to choose from. Each of these plans is valued based upon a number of contacts. These plans include lite, plus, professional, and enterprise.
Monthly Plan:
- 0- 500 subscribers: $19 per month
- 501-2,500 subscribers: $29 per month
- 2,501-5,000 subscribers: $49 per month
- 5,001-10,000 subscribers: $69 per month
- 10,000-25,000 subscribers: $149per month
For a list of 25,000 subscribers, you can contact them directly on their website or call at 1-877-293-2371.
There is a quarter and yearly prepaying which can help you save some money. If you pay quarterly, then you can enjoy 14% discounts, while the yearly one is 14,9%.
Finally, AWeber offers a 30 days free trial, and 24/7 support for its customers.
Who is AWeber email marketing service for?
Aweber email marketing service is for small businesses who are seeking efficient and up-to-date marketing strategies to incorporate them into their planning.
7. GetResponse
Operating for more than 15 years and a 2019 Gold Stevie Award winner, GetResponse is one of the easiest email marketing platforms that get the job done perfectly.
This platform is available in 27 languages, making it reachable to customers all around the world and enabling them to get their business scaled up.
When it comes to email marketing, GetResponse provides its users with a vast selection of professional email templates. It also provides extremely easy to use design tools thanks to the drag and drop editor.
Moreover, it features a segmentation feature that allows you to categorize and organize your contacts into specified groups.
This makes it easier to deliver relevant content to the right segment. Consequently, with the right and engaging content, more readers will be reaching out and converting, leading to higher conversion revenues.
Together with other advanced features, including, automated responses, A/B testing, email analytics, and compatible integrations, this platform makes an optimal choice for online marketing.
How much does GetResponse cost?
GetResponse features 4 pricing plans:
Basic Plan:
- 1,000 subscribers: $15 per month
- 2,500- 5,000 subscribers: $25-$45 per month
- 10,000-25,000 subscribers: $65-$145 per month
- 50,000-100,000 subscribers: $250-$450 per month
Plus Plan:
- 1,000 subscribers: $49 per month
- 2,500- 5,000 subscribers: $59-$79 per month
- 10,000-25,000 subscribers: $95-$179 per month
- 50,000-75,000 subscribers: $299-$499 per month
Professional Plan:
- 1,000 subscribers: $99 per month
- 2,500- 5,000 subscribers: $119-$139 per month
- 10,000-25,000 subscribers: $165-$225 per month
- 50,000-100,000 subscribers: $370-$580 per month
Enterprise Plan
- List size: 100,000 + subscribers: $1,199 per month
The pricing also includes 2 other billing periods 1-year package and 2-year package.
If you are using the one-year billing then you will get an 18% discount, whereas the 2 years billing comes with a 30% discount.
Who is GetResponse email marketing service for?
With its intuitive design and features, the small to medium-sized businesses make the ideal users of this platform. It requires no professional skills, it’s easy to use, and can be a great starting point to market your business.
8. Sendinblue
Sendinblue is another great email marketing software that offers advanced tools to efficiently scale among competitors.
Besides its free plan option, this platform stands out with its exceptional customer-service relations. Understanding the needs of your customers in terms of content and strategy is their core mission.
With that said, this platform offers you exactly the right set of tools to build this relationship, without high-price-tag in mind.
Seninblue offers 3 key features to help you thrive your business: Communicate, Personalize, and Convert.
The “Communicate” feature helps you to reach out to your audience via well designed and written emails. You can use a drag and drop builder to create these emails. Moreover, you can choose either to create your design from scratch or to use pre-made templates.
The “Personalise” feature presents different tools to manage and control your campaign. These tools include Customer Relationship Management CRM, marketing Automation, Transaction email, and Segmentation.
Finally, the “Convert” feature leads to more targeted customer experience and an increase in your subscribers’ list.
How much does Sendinblue cost?
Besides the free plan, Sendinblue features 4 other distinct programs, including Lite, Essential, Premium being the most popular, and Enterprise.
- The Lite Plan costs $25 per month and $22.50 for an annual payment.
- The Essential Plan costs $39 per month and $35.10 for an annual payment.
- The Premium Plan costs $66 per month and $59.40 for an annual payment.
Finally, for an Enterprise plan, you will get an in-house sales consultant who will give you more details on it.
For more details on pricing, check out their webpage, here.
Who is Seninblue email marketing service for?
Sendinblue is not based on the number of contacts you have, but rather on the number of emails.
For this reason, this platform will be an ideal option for those who are taking email marketing as their main marketing strategy. It is also an excellent choice for small businesses based on physical product sales.
9. CampaignMonitor
Founded in 2004, this is one of the most popular email marketing software out there. Whether to media moguls or to small businesses, this platform bills itself as one of the few platforms that offer a powerful set of features for its customers.
The platform takes its pride in the way the customers are able to engage and connect impactfully with their target audience.
With its drag and drop builder system, you can beautifully customize and design your email template to match and showcase your brand.
The builder is easy and simple to use and doesn’t require any coding. The best thing about using this builder is its mobile-friendly optimization, allowing your email to look exceptional on any kind of device used.
Moreover, the platform features email marketing automation. This feature enables you to set your delivery time and contacts segment to the right and relevant content. In effect, it will encourage subscribers and readers to convert and engage them more on your site.
Not to mention, that the platform integrates more than 250 applications and tools to their software including WordPress and more..
How much does CampaignMonitor cost?
The pricing plan depends on the number of contacts you have. Hence, there are 3 different plans you can choose from:
- Basic Plan costs $29 per month for 500 contacts. For 50,000conatcts it costs $299.
- Unlimited Plan costs $59 per month for 500 contacts. For 50,000conatcts it costs $699.
- Premier Plan costs $149 per month for 500 contacts. For 50,000conatcts it costs $989.
However, if you own a non-profit organization, then you are offered a 15% discount.
Who is CampaignMonitor email marketing service for?
The CampaignMonitor is prized by small and medium-sized businesses and enterprises. However, the platform has been working with big brands and media all over the world, making it ideal for any kind of business out there.
10. Keap
Keap, previously known as Infusionsoft, is all-in-one one customer relationship management, sales, and marketing service for small businesses.
It is a top-notch email marketing software that helps engage and increase visitors, generate leads, and raise capital. The primary focus of this platform is small businesses, who have just started turning ideas into reality and are seeking an effective marketing boost.
Keap, is this aspect, helps accelerate their growth pattern by supporting and monitoring marketing strategies approaches.
The platform helps you create customized emails and messages that are automated. It helps you generate leads with every further step you take. Eventually, this builds a consecutive sales system for more leads.
The platform also presents advanced features including segmentation and tagging. These features help to categorize your potential subscribers into different groups based on their interests and needs.
Ultimately, the right content will be sent to the right segment at the right time.
How much does Keap cost?
Depending on the growth level your business has reached, you can choose a plan that fits the best.
Generally, Keap offers 3 main plans including Keap Grow, Keap pro, and InfusionSoft.
- Keap Grow costs $79 per month. It includes 500 contacts and 1 user.
- Keap Pro costs $149 per month. It includes 500 contacts and 1 user.
- InfusionSoft costs $199 per month. It includes 500 contacts and 1 user.
Who is Keap email marketing service for?
This all in one platform is dedicated to small businesses who have just put their first steps in the market, and are looking for effective CMR and email marketing strategies. However, this may not be the best option for those who are on a tight budget.
11. Mailerlite
Founded in 2010, MailerLite is another simple email marketing platform. However, don’t let its simple design fool you.
The platform has the most powerful and latest set of features that can take your business one step ahead of competitors.
While growing your email list is one of the biggest assets in this industry, maintaining a strong relationship with your subscribers, and engaging them actively is the deal-breaker.
The platform incorporates a Drag and Drop editor for easy and effective email design and customization. No coding skills are required. It also includes automation features.
With the use of website builders and embedded patterns, it is easy to bring in new visitors and keep them coming back.
How much does MailerLite cost?
The pricing varies depending on the number of contacts you have.
- For 1-1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month, the platform is for FREE.
- For 1- 1,000 subscribers with an Unlimited number of emails, it costs $10.
- For 1,001 – 2,500 subscribers, the pricing costs $15.
- For 2,501 – 5,000 subscribers, the pricing costs $30.
- For 5,001 – 10,000 subscribers, the pricing costs $50.
The annual price comes with a 30% discount.
The platform also features add-ons which include MailerPro for $100/month, dedicated IP for $50/month, and sitesPro for $10/month.
Who is MailerLite email marketing service for?
This platform is ideal for those who are looking for a budget-friendly platform that can help them grow their business. It is also a good choice for freelancers and website managers.
Frequently Asked Questions
ConverKit is the best email marketing service for small businesses. It is also an ideal choice for a vast number of community creators who make a living online. You don’t need to have a website to use this software.
With the built-in landing page editor, you can use any source of traffic you work with, and start your email marketing campaign. Moreover, the platform allows you to automate your emails, segment, and tag your contacts, and keep up to date with your subscribers’ management.
Constant Contact and Drip are also a popular option when it comes to email marketing. They have been in the game for a long time, and they serve exactly what their customers need.
These software have easy and advanced features, including the drag and drop editor, which will help you customize and personalize your email to effectively reach your customer base with the right message, at the right time.
As a small business, you will need an email marketing service provider to help you grow step by step, reach out to your visitors, and engage in them on your website or whatever source of traffic you have.
Therefore, you need to look for a provider that has at least the basic features to achieve that.
Some of these basic features include:
a. Subscription to collect email addresses.
b. Easy to use drag and drop email builder for better customization
c. Free templates that will help you get inspiration
d. Integrations
e. Preview mode
f. Segmentations and tags
g. Reports and analysis
h. Customer support
i. A/B Testing
The interrelations of these features are crucial for an effective email marketing campaign.
Any type of business has a marketing plan to help it flourish and be prolific. And if email marketing is included in this plan, then an email marketing service is the first and best place to start, especially if you have no expertise.
These services are built-in to help you create attractively designed emails easily. They feature advanced tools to segment your subscriber’s list and keep up with reporting and strategy analysis.
This will help you better understand your target audience and be able to adjust to its needs accordingly.
Email marketing has always been a top-notch marketing strategy, and it continues to be so until today. It is the best way to reach your subscribers or readers and enhance your marketing approach.
Today, almost everyone works with email as an acknowledged communication channel. Therefore, your marketing message content is well channeled and delivered in that way.
In order to know if your email marketing strategy is working or not, you should at least report an open rate of 17,8%, according to the 2019 Email Marketing Benchmarks Report.
It is important to note that a good open rate depends on the email marketing software you are using and the type of business you are running.
A soft bounce indicates that the email could not be delivered to the recipient and bounced back due to several factors.
Some of these factors include:
a. The recipient box is full.
b. The email content is too large.
c. The recipient server is broken.
As a business owner, this will depend on three major factors.
The first one is the type of business you have;
The second factor is your target audience (Persona);
And lastly on the type of content.
A well understanding of your persona and some testing will help you properly assume the best timing to reach out to them.
According to Stephanie Baiocchi’ statement, IMPACT’s director of community and events, the best day and time to send mass emails are Tuesdays between 11 AM- 1 PM.
Hubspot, emphasizes this fact, based on data from 20 million emails.
Whereas, the weekends, on the other hand, turn to be the worst days to send emails.
The a/b testing, aka split testing, is a method that helps you determine which email campaign is more useful in terms of opens and clicks.
With that said, you will need two versions of the same campaign, get it tested on a small number of your segmented contacts, and then choose the one with the best rate.
A double opt-in email marketing happens when new subscribers receive an email to confirm their subscriptions. This ensures that they are more likely to check your upcoming emails, and less likely to classify them as spam.
The pricing of email marketing vary depending on 3 main factors:
a. The email marketing software you are using,
b. The number of contacts you have,
c. The number of emails you are going to send.
Each plan comes with a certain price.
Yet, generally, small businesses tend to spend up to $400/ month.
This is in case they conduct their campaign.
In case they opt for a marketing agency, the pricing may start from $500/month.
If you are on a tight budget, Sendinblue, Mailchimp, and MailerLite are the best email marketing services that can help you at this stage. They offer a free plan program with the basic features for their users.
If money is not an issue for you, then ConverKit and Constant Contact get you the best of both worlds, advanced features leading to higher revenues.
Final Thoughts
As you can tell by now, choosing the right and best email marketing service depends on several factors including, the number of subscribers, the number of intended emails, the selected plan, and what kind of features you need.
Your budget, your needs, your purpose play a major role in determining what works the best for you and your business.
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