One of the problems with searching the Internet for the “best” lists is that what is a great fit for one company is just average for another. One way to find your way through the maze of lists is to create or join a business network for your industry and let the voices of reason and experience guide you. It is likely you will also find some tools everyone agrees on.
Because this list not industry specific, its assembly required some creativity. A long list would be too intimidating, while a short list would miss too much and end up being useless. So we put together a list of popular, well-known programs, and a few odd choices for your perusal. Like Goldilocks and her visit to the House of the Three Bears, we hope our creation is just right.
When it comes to email marketing, there is a general consensus on the best email marketing software and services. Those are included here. After reviewing our list, be sure to read the short conclusion.
iContact
iContact lands in the number 1 or 2 position in most Best Email Marketing Service lists. It offers a solid package of services, is easy to set up, and has a number of sophisticated features that give it both flexibility and expandability. The program is free to use if you have less than 500 contacts. If your business has been growing or you are expecting rapid growth, this should be your choice.
MailChimp
MailChimp is both popular and simple to use. Its simplicity is one of the biggest reasons that it’s one of the most popular email marketing programs. One problem is that because it is so easy to use there is no customer support. For owners who are not comfortable with technology and learn-it-yourself programs, you may want to go in a different direction. The free version supports 2000 customers and as many as 12,000 emails a month.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact specializes in setting up small businesses for email marketing campaigns. In terms of sheer numbers of customers, Constant Contact out-volumes everyone. When you use their service you are given 5 megabytes of space to store images and documents. But you can forget about free. A list of 500 subscribers will cost you $20 and prices go upward from there.
JangoMail
JangoMail makes our list because it supports foreign languages. Obviously not every business will need this option, but it is a good choice for those who do. It has a spam checker with monthly pricing starting at $15 for a 2,500 subscriber listing.
Toutapp
Toutapp is for businesses that have a customer relation management system in place. The program integrates with popular CRMs such as Salesforce, as well as email programs such as Outlook and Gmail. But the monthly price is double of what most other email marketing services charge.
GraphicMail
GraphicMail is for those businesses who expect their email marketing campaign to be sent to heavy mobile device users. The emails can be shared on social media networks such as Facebook, and it comes with a template library so you can customize your email for reading on mobile device screens.
So, that’s our list, and it’s a good place to start The truth is, when there are hundreds of options to choose from, every list is useful and every list is useless. Finding what is best for you is a matter of searching for the key features you will use the most often. Everything else is probably non-essential.
