Email marketing is one of the oldest and most popular forms of marketing, and for good reason. Simply put, almost everyone has an email address, and the ability to send and receive emails, no matter where you go or what device you use, is almost always present.
With the right software platform, email marketing is a powerful and effective way to reach your audience. The right platform can help you to create automated email campaigns, build a community around your business, and track the success of your campaigns in real time.
So which is the best email marketing software platform available? We’ve compiled a list of the top 13 email marketing platforms, along with important information about each one. Consider this your ultimate guide to choosing the right software for your needs.
13 Best Email Marketing Software Platforms To Consider
The following list includes the greatest email marketing software platforms available today. Each one has been chosen for its ease of use, availability of features, and user review. Keep reading for more information on each product.
1. MailChimp
If you’re new to email marketing, or if you’ve been doing it for a while and want to try something new, then you should look into MailChimp.com. We’d recommend this product if you’ve had some difficulty using other platforms or simply want a no-brainer solution. Plus, MailChimp is extremely affordable, starting at just $3.95 per month.
With MailChimp, you can:
- Send weekly or bi-weekly emails
- Create automated email campaigns
- Manage subscriptions and unsubscribe rates
- Segment and target your email audiences based on any number of criteria
- Use pre-built emails to quickly & easily create new campaigns
- Use a combination of HTML, text and graphics in your emails
- Track results in real-time
2. ConvertKit
ConvertKit is a bit like AWeber, except that it’s specifically designed for sending emails. This makes it more suitable for beginners who are just getting started with email marketing. Another advantage of ConvertKit is that it allows you to have a different, one-of-a-kind email address for each of your campaigns (e.g. joe@yourcompany.com, info@yourcompany.com, and sales@yourcompany.com).
If you’re looking for a simple yet effective solution, then ConvertKit is a great choice because it’s beginner-friendly and provides a wealth of features. These include the ability to:
- Send out emails with automatically generated subject lines
- Track the opens, clicks, and conversions of each individual email
- Create email campaigns in no time
- Split test your messages to find out what works and what doesn’t
- Get comprehensive analytics on each email sent
3. Benchmark Email
Benchmark Email is a popular choice amongst experts and those who want to generate more sales from their email marketing. This platform has been around for a while and has established itself as the premier solution for automated email marketing. It’s priced fairly competitively, too: you get 10,000 free emails per month and can upgrade to a premium plan for just $5 per month. (You can also try the free plan for 30 days to see if it meets your needs).
With Benchmark Email, you can:
- Create automated email campaigns
- Get detailed reports on the performance of each campaign
- Identify user behavior patterns and segment your audience
- Benchmark offers a free trial, so you can test it out before you buy
4. ActiveCampaign
If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution and don’t want to deal with different platforms or software, then ActiveCampaign is a great choice. Not only does it offer an impressive array of features for just $5 per month, but it’s also completely free. Additionally, with ActiveCampaign, you can send out daily, weekly, or bi-weekly emails and track results in real-time. (Note that activecampaign.com will take you to a demo page, where you can sign up for a free account. After you’ve signed up, click the ‘Get Started’ button to head to the dashboard).
The power of daily, weekly, or bi-weekly emails is undeniable, as countless studies have shown that frequent emails promote greater engagement and higher conversion rates. This is why, as a marketer, you might want to consider trying out ActiveCampaign.com today.
5. HubSpot
If you’re looking for a fully-integrated solution, then HubSpot is a great choice. This platform makes setting up and running automated email campaigns extremely easy. You can use HubSpot’s built-in autoresponder to send out emails, or you can use the platform’s advanced features to create a series of emails with automatically generated subject lines and send them out at a later date.
At just $5 per month, HubSpot is one of the most affordable solutions on this list and, what’s more, you get a free trial so you can see how the platform works for you before you buy. HubSpot is a great choice for those who want to learn how to use email marketing tools effectively.
6. Highrise
Highrise is a fully-functional, all-in-one option for those who want to get started quickly and painlessly. This product is great for marketers who want to generate more leads and sales from their email list. Another plus is that Highrise is very easy to use and offers a wealth of features for just $5 per month. (You can also try out the free plan for 30 days to see if it meets your needs).
We’d recommend Highrise to anyone who’s looking for an easy-to-use solution, but whose needs aren’t quite met by the simplest of the simpler options (e.g. Constant Contact, MailChimp, and AWeber).
7. Flywheel
If you’re looking for something a little more advanced, yet don’t want to spend too much money, then Flywheel is the perfect choice. This platform offers everything from fully-integrated email marketing to custom CRMs and marketing automation. Just add a contact, choose a plan, and you can start building your marketing automation strategy. (You can choose between a free and a paid plan; the paid plan gives you more features and is worth considering).
What’s great about Flywheel is that you get a free trial, so you can try it out before you buy and see how much it can do for your business. Plus, it’s easy to use and configure.
8. Eloquent Content Suite
Eloquent Content Suite is a top pick amongst experts because it’s a full-featured, feature-rich solution. This product has a fairly high price tag of $15,000, but if you’re a business owner who wants to generate more sales, leads, and signups, it’s a worthwhile investment. Eloquent Content Suite provides a variety of functionality, including:
- Optimized blog posts designed for conversion
- Professional email marketing that looks like it was done by a marketing expert
- Automated email campaigns that can be scheduled to send out at any time
- Unlimited email campaigns per customer
- SEO-optimized
So if you’re looking for an all-in-one solution, powered by software engineers who do all the hard work for you, then Eloquent Content Suite is a perfect choice. Just remember to budget for this one!
9. Marketo
Marketo is the granddaddy of marketing automation software, thanks to its extremely successful and long product life cycle. This product is used by businesses of all sizes around the world and is guaranteed to be effective because it’s been around for so long and has been refined over the years by experts. (This is one of the few platforms on this list that you can’t try out for free).