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Despite rising inflation, consumers are still spending more. And with the events of 2020 still fresh in the national mindset, online shopping has changed the way that businesses communicate with their customers.

As a result, in-person interaction between customers and businesses has dramatically declined. It’s time for businesses to shift to a digital mindset and use online marketing methods like email outreach to secure customers.

The best email marketing tools in 2023.

Creating an email marketing campaign can be more complex than it might sound. There are right ways to do it, and there are wrong ways to do it

The easiest way to get started is to use one of the many email marketing software tools to optimize your digital marketing efforts with email automation tools, critical metric analysis, and customer support. 

Each of these companies can help you create an effective email marketing campaign to boost your customer base and cut your advertising costs.

1

Sendinblue

4.8
Learn MoreOn Sendinblue’s Website
Overview
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Sendinblue is one of the top email marketing tools for various reasons. 

The all-in-one email platform offers a variety of marketing features, CRM management tools, social media integration, and SMS text advertisement. Finding a better service provider to enhance your marketing strategy and meet your business needs would be hard. 

These are a few of the best features offered by Sendinblue:

  • Automated marketing
  • Contact segmentation
  • Integrated CRM management
  • Transactional emails and bulk emails
  • Intuitive subscription forms
  • Campaign layout templates
  • Shared inbox
  • Drag and drop email editor
  • Advanced report generator
  • Landing page builder
  • Facebook ads management
  • Live chat and SMS messaging

One of the best features of Sendinblue is the price. The free plan for Sendinblue permits unlimited contacts and the ability to send 300 emails daily. For additional features, you’ll have to choose between the Lite plan at $25 a month or the Premium plan at $65 a month.

2

ActiveCampaign

4.7
Learn MoreOn ActiveCampaign’s Website
Overview
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ActiveCampaign boasts more than 130,000 customers and is among the most popular email marketing tools. ActiveCampaign features machine learning and predictive tools that are incredibly accurate. 

Here are some of the best features that ActiveCampaign provides:

  • Visual marketing automation
  • Email funneling
  • 870+ third party integrations
  • Advanced security and compliance measures
  • CRM management and triggered emails
  • Live chat and email autoresponders
  • Automated workflows 
  • Contact and list segmentation
  • Dynamic content 
  • A/B testing
  • Drag and drop email editor
  • Goal tracking and win probability

You can try ActiveCampaign for free by starting a 14-day trial. After that, you’ll have to select a paid subscription plan. The Lite plan is available for $9 a month, the Plus plan is $49 a month, and the Professional plan is $149 a month.

ActiveCampaign also offers the Enterprise plan with customized features and pricing. 

3

MailChimp

4.6
Learn MoreOn MailChimp’s Website
Overview
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MailChimp has been around for many years and remains a top option for email marketing. The platform is easy for beginners and includes all the necessary features for creating an effective campaign. 

The most important features provided by MailChimp include the following:

  • Create, schedule, send, and track marketing emails
  • Drag and drop email editor
  • 300+ third party integrations
  • Templates for newsletters, landing pages, postcards, and social media posts
  • Real-time analytics
  • Advanced contact segmentation

MailChimp was a free platform for many years but recently changed its strategy. There is still a free plan which features 500 contacts and 2,500 emails. However, these caps are much lower than the previous limitations for free accounts. 

The paid plans for MailChimp include the Essentials plan for $11 a month, the Standard plan for $17 a month, and the Premium plan for $299 a month.

4

Constant Contact

4.6
Learn MoreOn Constant Contact’s Website
Overview
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Constant Contact is the best place to look if you need advanced tools for unbeatable email marketing campaigns. They offer a free trial and the tiered pricing is based on number of contacts.

With this app, you’ll have access to everything that you need to create an effective marketing campaign, including:

  • Drag and drop editor with more than 200 optimized templates
  • Facebook ad integration
  • Subject line A/B testing
  • Tiered pricing based on number of contacts
  • Easy to read analytic dashboard that provides more than standard data
  • Optional SMS marketing add-on
  • Award winning customer service 

Both plans have a monthly send limit of 24 times the total number of contacts, with an average fee of $0.002 per email.

There are two paid plans available, and the prices will be based on the number of subscribers that you have. For example, 5,000 subscribers will cost between $55 and $95 a month, while 15,000 subscribers will cost between $105 and $180 a month.

5

AWeber

4.3
Learn MoreOn AWeber’s Website
Overview
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AWeber is another platform that’s been around for many years. 

Using AWeber is an excellent option for anyone looking to launch an email campaign without spending much money. The free plan gives you the bare essentials and will be an inexpensive way to introduce email marketing. 

A few of the key features offered by AWeber include: 

  • Email automation features
  • Segmented contacts
  • Organized subscriber email list
  • Advanced analytics and reporting
  • Third-party integration (including Salesforce, Shopify, and Zapier)
  • Drag and drop email builder
  • Pre-made templates
  • Landing page creation
  • Multiple users granted access

The AWeber free plan allows you to send up to 3,000 emails to 500 subscribers. The AWeber Pro plan starts as low as $16.15 per month (when billed annually) and increases based on the number of subscribers.

6

Drip

4.2
Learn MoreOn Drip’s Website
Overview
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Drip is primarily focused on creating drip email campaigns (hence the name) for ecommerce businesses. A standard drip campaign would be focused on providing reminders for anyone who has abandoned their shopping cart, discounts for future purchases, and after-sales campaigns. 

Drip doesn’t include the same features as other options on this list, but it can still be valuable for specific businesses. 

Some valuable features offered by Drip include:

  • Automated email and SMS campaigns
  • Customizable email design tools
  • Advanced contact segmentation and list management

Drip offers a free 14-day trial before charging a subscription to continue service. The pricing plan is pay-as-you-go and starts at $39 per month with unlimited emails and 2,500 contacts. The more contacts you have, the more Drip will charge you.

7

EmailOctopus

4.0
Learn MoreOn EmailOctopus’s Website
Overview
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EmailOctopus features the most generous free plan of all the other options on this list. The features and tools offered by EmailOctopus are much simpler than others, but there’s no way to beat their pricing. 

It might be a good idea to start with EmailOctopus so you can learn how email marketing campaigns work before switching to a more detailed and advanced plan. 

These are a few of the features available with EmailOctopus:

  • Subscriber importing
  • Email templates
  • Automated drip campaigns
  • Contact segmentation 
  • Upload HTML content

The free version of EmailOctopus allows you to send 10,000 emails per month to up to 2,500 contacts. You’ll have to upgrade to the Pro plan if you need emails or subscribers. The more subscribers and emails you need, the more you’ll have to pay each month.

What is email marketing?

In 2020, there were more than 4 billion email users worldwide. These users would combine to send and receive roughly 306 billion emails daily. Projections indicate that the number of email users could reach 4.6 billion by 2025. 

Every one of these email users should be viewed as a potential customer. The best way to reach them is through email marketing. Email marketing is what it sounds like: marketing campaigns focused on using email as the primary method of communication. 

Email marketing allows a direct communication channel between a business and a consumer. You’ll be able to promote your products or services, build a relationship with the consumer, drive traffic to your website, and offer them discounts. 

Email is a critical touchpoint in the customer journey. With email marketing, you can:

  • Send well-timed follow-ups for customers with abandoned carts
  • Deliver high-quality email newsletters to build a sense of community around your brand
  • Gather customer data through signup forms and other tools to help the precision of your marketing efforts

The best part is that email marketing can be one of the least expensive forms of advertising. The average business will spend a percentage of its annual revenue on marketing. The percentage will vary based on the industry in which it operates.

These are a few of the average revenue percentages spent on advertising in 2022 by industry:

  • Financial services: 110.4%
  • Retailers: 9.1%
  • Healthcare: 9.7%
  • Hospitality: 8.4%
  • Business services: 9.6%
  • Media: 10.1%

Depending on the type of business you’re in, you might save a significant amount of money by using email marketing instead. You could potentially experience better results for a fraction of the cost.

How did email change the business world?

The business world was significantly affected by the rise of email. Internal communications were quickly switched to emails, and an entire etiquette developed around them. 

Co-workers could quickly and conveniently contact one another and transmit electronic data. Productivity and communication dramatically increased, and the business world would never be the same. 

Eventually, savvy business marketing departments would realize the untapped potential of using emails as a marketing tool. The concept was such a success that it would become something of an industry standard. Today, establishing an effective email marketing campaign can be the difference between success and failure for some businesses. 

Expand your customer base.

The rise of social media has resulted in many companies moving from email marketing. The idea is to achieve the same benefits of email marketing by making a few posts on various social media platforms. 

The problem is that social media marketing is nowhere near as effective as email marketing. Engaging your audience on social media is a good idea, as is utilizing SMS marketing solutions, but email marketing is still a valuable tool for any entrepreneur. 

The eight companies listed above are the best places to start your search for the perfect email marketing campaign. They can help you build your first one or update existing campaigns.

Of course, with email marketing services proving crucial to a business strategy, plenty of great options are available. 

Some other choices with various advanced features include:

  • HubSpot
  • Omnisend
  • Moosend
  • Benchmark Email
  • GetResponse

The benefits should outweigh the costs as long as you embrace the three essential tenets of email marketing: frequency, relevance, and action. If you do, then the sky’s the limit on the possibilities for your business.

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