16 Best Email Marketing Software for Small Business
Email marketing and its role in digital marketing
As a small to mid-sized business owner, you have a lot on your plate. In this guide, I will explain the details you need to know to choose the best email software for your small business. As a serial entrepreneur, I have had my share of business successes and failures over the years. I can tell you that one of the keys to the successful ventures was getting an email platform up and running early on. So, let's jump in and explore the importance of email marketing software for small businesses and its role in your digital marketing efforts.
When done correctly, your email marketing software will help you generate sales and leads for your organization in a manner that is both repeatable and scaleable. Let's face it: sales are the lifeblood of your business, and a well-primed funnel of ongoing sales leads is the key to success for you and your team. There is a clear connection between email marketing software for small businesses and growth. Let's look more closely at how your solution can help you achieve this growth.
Generating New Sales and Leads
By getting your prospects into your sales funnel, you can keep them engaged and send them targeted and personalized communications to build rapport and trust. Your prospects and customers can learn about your services and products through your emails, and you can stay in front of them until they are ready to take action.
New Customer Acquisition
Let's face it: new customers are essential for any company that wants to maintain momentum and growth. An email marketing platform offers an ideal way to keep your funnel of prospects total. You are fueling your continued growth by converting these prospects into live customers. Two strategies for sales growth that have worked well for my teams over the years include expansion and diversification. I will explain how I have done this, and hopefully, these strategies will help you as you get your automated email system up and running.
Expanding your sales is pretty straightforward with email marketing software for small businesses. You get your prospects into your marketing funnel and convert those prospects into new customers, expanding your sales. Growing through diversification is an exciting strategy that you can implement for your existing customers to expand their business with your company.
The best way to do this is to segment your list into existing customers and new prospects from within your email marketing software for small business platforms. From there, you can focus your marketing efforts on existing customers to lead them towards exploring and eventually signing up for additional product or service offerings. It is much easier and more cost-effective to expand your sales to existing customers who already know your company than to land a new one.
Related Article: The Ultimate Guide To Email Marketing: Everything You Need To Know To Succeed
Branding
Email marketing lets you quickly develop brand awareness and loyalty from new and existing customers. Let's face it: when you are on the screen in front of your customers, it is your opportunity to shine. Ensure you keep consistent colors, fonts, logos, and designs across your channels.
Your marketing collateral, website, social media, and email channels should all have a uniform look and feel. The impact of branding does not happen overnight but over time. Picking the right email marketing software for the small business platform is just one part of your overall branding strategy. Keep your eye on the prize and stay true to your business vision, value, and branding in all of your communications, and you will gain a competitive advantage over your competitors.
Customer Loyalty
You can also implement customer loyalty, reward, and referral programs through email marketing. A small coupon or sign-up bonus is an excellent way to help prospects who are on the fence become customers. Loyalty and reward programs can include points for continued purchases that are redeemable. Referral programs can incentivize existing customers to refer friends and colleagues to your business.
There is nothing as powerful as a personal referral. According to Forbes, “Email marketing remains a powerful tool for businesses seeking to connect with their target audience and drive conversions. By providing personalized content, businesses can build relationships with their customers and prospects over time, leading to improved sales and customer loyalty.”
Expanding Your Market
The exciting thing about email marketing is that the entire process provides measurable results. You can easily integrate analytics software within the email marketing software for small businesses you use. Through the reporting and data, you can quickly figure out what is working and what is not. Quickly calculate your ROI on your campaign, adjust your advertising budget where it makes sense, and invest more where you see the most significant returns.
Benefits of Email Marketing Software For Your Small Business
Unlike other forms of communication, email is a bi-directional marketing platform. Your consumers can respond directly to your messages and campaigns and interact with you and your team. This level of engagement can drive exceptional results. OptinMonster says, “99% of us check our email daily. Some of us check our email as much as 20 times a day.”
Direct delivery of high-quality content
Delivering a consistent email newsletter with high-quality content directly to your email list will allow you to achieve exceptional results. Taking a personalized approach and crafting messages that are not only personalized but crafted to the unique needs of the list segment you are targeting can yield high open and click-through rates. This will help you get the best results from your email marketing software for small business solutions.
One case study from GetResponse is the InfoShare Academy email marketing campaign. The campaign aimed to promote their online courses and events to their subscribers. They used a personalized approach to interact with their audience while managing an extensive contact list. The campaign achieved a 30% open rate and a 10% click-through rate, demonstrating the effectiveness of personalized content.
Relationship building with prospects and customers
Let's face it: people buy from the companies they trust. An email list is a beautiful opportunity to share personal experiences and show your prospects that you are human. Take the time over the weeks and months of follow-up emails you send to develop this rapport. Email marketing software for small businesses will help you build customer relationships on a one-to-many scale.
One example of a company that was able to do relationship-building with prospects and customers through their email list using ConvertKit is the case study of The Write Life. The Write Life is a website that provides resources and tools for writers. They used ConvertKit to send personalized emails to their subscribers, providing them with valuable content and resources.
They also used ConvertKit's segmentation feature to divide their email list into specific groups based on interests and behavior, enabling targeted and personalized campaigns. As a result, they achieved a 40% increase in email subscribers and a 20% increase in revenue. This case study highlights the importance of personalized content and effective contact list management in email marketing campaigns and how ConvertKit can achieve these goals.
Building brand reputation and engagement
How your customers view and engage with your brand can make a big difference in the success of your business. If you aim to delight your customers in every way through each interaction with them, you will find yourself pulling away from the competition over time. The value of your brand will continue to grow as it develops meaning.
For example, when you think of Apple computers, you think of simple and easy-to-use products. When you think of Google, you think of a clean interface and accurate search results and answers. When you think of Rolex, you envision high-end luxury watches. The same goes for your brand; what do you want consumers to associate with your brand? Your branding may be well thought out and strategized, or this might be an area you must work on as you roll out your email marketing software for small business solutions. No matter where you are in your branding journey, email marketing will help you get there.
Achieving a high return on investment (ROI)
As we mentioned earlier, it is easy to calculate your return on investment with your email marketing software for small business solutions and the metrics it can provide. You can look at your ROI from a few critical perspectives. Look at the cost of generating and sending a consistent newsletter. Your time, system costs, writers, and all of the other inputs you must go into producing your content.
You can also look at your ROI on your advertising campaigns and budgets. No matter which angle you explore, the bottom line is that you need to know your numbers and pour over the details to be sure that you are making sound decisions that will propel your organization forward. We delve deeper into Achieving a high return on investment (ROI) in our article entitled Email Marketing Software: 13 Powerful SEO Boosting Ideas.
email marketing software for small business ROI Calculator
Top 16 Best Email Marketing Software of 2023
Our team has evaluated the pros and cons of 25 popular email marketing software for small business solutions to develop our expert opinion and top 12 picks for small to mid-sized businesses. Take your time and review the offerings below to find the feature set that calls out to you as the top email marketing software for small business solutions for your specific needs. We hope our pros and cons expert opinion research has saved you some time and helped you get up and running quickly.
- GetResponse
- ActiveCampaign
- ConvertKit
- AWeber
- Omnisend
- MailerLite
- SendX
- Benchmark Email
- EmailOctopus
- Moosend
- ClickFunnels
- Podia
- Pabbly
- Stripo
- Sitetrail
- Beehiiv
7 Factors to Consider When Choosing Email Marketing Software
Cost
The solutions on our list have plans that range from Free starter options to under $50 per month when paid annually. Your overall cost will increase as the size of your list scales. Some providers charge per subscriber, while others charge based on the number of emails sent out each month. From my real-world experience, having managed several large lists, keeping your email list clean is in your best interest. Doing this will make you the most successful as you scale your email marketing software for small business solutions' performance.
In other words, if a subscriber is not opening, reading, or taking action on the emails you send, you may want to purge them from your list. By keeping your list clean, you will not be paying to maintain subscribers who are not adding incremental value to your business. It will also reduce the number of false spam complaints you receive from subscribers who are on your list but have not taken the time to unsubscribe or do not remember signing up for your list and mark your email as spam.
User experience
If you need a tech consultant to help you each time you need to send an email, the solution is probably not for you. All of the solutions on our list range from easy to moderately straight, but none are in the category I consider complex. They are all designed for business owners, and the designers of these solutions want you to be successful and active users of their solutions.
Let's face it: the more emails you send and the success you see with their email marketing software for small business solutions, the more likely you will stick around. The other nice thing about a hosted email solution is that you will reap the rewards of constant development. These companies always keep up with the latest standards regarding features, security, and design.
Deliverability
Many factors can influence the ultimate deliverability of your emails. Be sure to read our article, which covers the nuts and bolts of email deliverability in greater depth. Suffice it to say that getting your message to your subscribers is the key to success.
email marketing software for small business Features
While a wide variety of features are available, I can tell you that one of the absolute most essential features to consider is the quality and speed of customer service. Having a team to help you navigate the intricacies of your new system can be invaluable.
Most of the top solutions do have an intuitive interface and UX design, but nevertheless, you will have times when you will need a point in the right direction. All of the top solutions we suggest in this article have exceptional service. We have used Aweber and Convertkit extensively over the years and have tested the customer service from the other companies on the list.
Here Are The Top 11 Features
- Visual Editor
- CRM Integration
- Analytics & Reports
- Autoresponders
- Mobile Optimization
- List Segmentation Capabilities
- Drag and Drop Editor
- Attractive Email Template Library
- List Management Capabilities
- Marketing Automation and Scheduling
- Third-party Integrations
CRM Integration
You have a lot going on with multiple systems, and they all need to communicate with one another. In my last company, we broke our systems into two broad categories: Order Management and Communications. You want everything to work together and for data to flow effortlessly and be shared across systems.
I will tell you that from my experience, the fewer systems the better. In our article entitled 10 Powerful CRM Software Features, we get into the details of integration capabilities and features. Read quickly to learn more about integrating your CRM with your Email marketing Software.
As you are looking to add integrations to your email solution, it is very possible that your solution does not have built-in options. In this case, do not panic. Several third-party solutions are available to jump in and save the day. Check with your solution provider to find out which options are compatible with their solution. Here are a few of the most popular options to integrate your email marketing software for small businesses.
Zapier
This is the product that started the integration revolution. It is straightforward and is the most popular solution with thousands of SaaS solutions.
Make
This automation and integration tool lets you easily connect and automate workflows from similar applications to Zapier. It offers a no-code graphical interface and data transformation capabilities, which are very nice.
Integrately
As the name suggests, Integrately is an integration platform providing a codeless, drag-and-drop solution for connecting different apps and automating workflows. While not as popular as Zapier, it does offer integrations with over 200 popular business apps and solutions and is worth checking out.
Workato
Whit Solutions is a bit more technical, so if coding is not your thing, this may not be for you. Like Zapier, it is an integration and automation platform that enables users to connect and automate workflows across various applications. What is nice about Workato for rookie coders is that It offers a visual interface and supports no-code and low-code development, so do not let it scare you away.
IFTTT
Having a bit of fun here, the name of this solution is an anacronym for If This Then That. It is a very logical name and a popular automation platform that allows users to create “applets,” which I like to think of as mini-programs used to connect and automate actions between different apps and devices. The good news for those who are not techies is that It offers many pre-built applets and supports many services. If this is compatible with your solution, it is certainly worth checking out.
Reporting
As we can see from our ROI calculator above, finding your system ROI is important. You can definitely learn a lot about the effectiveness of email marketing campaigns by digging into these reports. These insights allow you to make intelligent, data-driven decisions that make sense for your business. You can also refine and optimize your future campaigns to attain better results. Here are what we see as the critical types of reports that you will find in an Email marketing system and the types of insight you can glean from each:
- Email Marketing Report: This report provides data on how many people opened your email, clicked to your website, and unsubscribed from your list.
- Email Marketing Overview Report: This report offers in-depth insight into the performance of email marketing campaigns, providing statistics on open rates, click-through rates, unsubscribes, and bounce rates associated with email messages.
- Contact Management Report: This report provides information on the number of contacts in the list, including new subscribers, unsubscribes, and bounces.
- Revenue Report: This report provides data on the revenue generated from email campaigns, including sales, conversions, and ROI.
- Campaign Comparison Report: This report compares the performance of different email campaigns, allowing businesses to identify which campaigns are most effective.
- A/B Testing Report: This report provides data on the results of A/B testing, allowing businesses to optimize their email campaigns for better results.
- Segmentation Report: This report provides data on how different list segments respond to email campaigns, enabling businesses to target specific groups more effectively. A DMA (Direct Marketing Association) report found that segmented and targeted emails generate 58% of all revenue.
- Automation Report: This report provides data on the performance of automated email sequences, allowing businesses to evaluate the effectiveness of their automation strategy.
- Landing Page Report: This report provides data on the performance of landing pages associated with email campaigns, including conversion and bounce rates.
How to Choose the Right email marketing software for small business
Now that we have most of the foundational ideas and details behind us, it is time to take the plunge and pick out your new solution! From my experience upgrading and launching several email platforms over the years, here are my thoughts. I like to break down the decision-making process into a few key areas. This will help you analyze the options from several angles to find the best solution for your needs.
Identifying your business needs
Picking out an automation solution is easiest if you know your business needs. Where are you now, and where are you heading in the future? These are two critical things to consider. If you operate in a regional area, do you expect to grow nationally or internationally?
If you have an outside sales team, consider how they will interact with your email marketing software for a small business system. Be sure that your chosen solution has an excellent mobile interface if that will be important to your field team. Assuming the system is well integrated with your other systems, this may not be a key consideration, but it may be if it is your prospects' first point of contact with your organization.
Analyzing your target audience
Who will be entering the lead into the system? If it is someone from within your company, this can be done in a number of ways. It can be entered through a form on your website or through an integration with the tools you already use. If your prospective customers enter the lead and are older, make sure you make the entry points into your marketing funnel intuitive and easy. While a double opt-in is always the best for assuring permission, be sure that your sign-up flow makes sense to your target audience and that they can complete the steps quickly.
Evaluating the features and benefits of each software
We have highlighted the key features of the most popular email marketing software for small business solutions. Review these features to see which are the most important to you, and look at how the features are presented in the solution you are considering. Based on this, you should be able to whittle the contenders down to a shortlist quickly.
Once you have your shortlist in hand, take the time to sign up for a trial of each solution and put them through their paces. Most companies offer either a free option or a limited-time free trial of their email marketing software for small business solutions. Take advantage of that and get to know the software firsthand. Down the line, you will be happy that you did that. I can also tell you from experience that with your shortlist in hand, you will easily knock another solution or two off of your list after you have done a trial.
Considering the scalability of the software
While you may be a small to mid-size business today, hopefully, you will scale quickly with the right solution. Many of the email marketing software for small business solutions will be able to scale, but be sure to evaluate the capabilities from a growth standpoint. Enterprise clients may require SLA or Service Level Agreements. They may also require different levels of data compliance, such as GDPR, HIPAA, and FIPS 140-2, to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive data. Finally, an enterprise-level system may include additional data access controls, including password-based, multi-factor, biometric, and certificate-based authentication.
