This month (and next) we are concentrating on the world of email marketing. I have spent some time investigating email service providers (ESP) and reviewing them. As you shop around for an ESP (or a new one) there are a number of important things you need to consider. I’m going to touch on a few here – and give a version 1.0 recommendation (followed by my version 2.0 recommendations later on this month) based on some of these unique features.
PRICING
It seems many people base their ESP decision on pricing – and this can be the biggest mistake internet marketers make!! You should really pay attention to the restrictions the ESPs put on their pricing – depending on your list size and the amount of times you send out emails per month, the cheap $9.99 /month ESP you signed up for last year could end up costing you $99 /month when your list gets big. Steer clear of ESPs that charge per email – while you may have a small list and only send out one email a month, you need the functionality as you grow to send updates and notifications throughout the month. Look at the pricing scale with the idea that your business WILL be growing – most of the ESP’s have the same base rates for pay-by-subscriber plans, but some have little loopholes that may catch you by surprise.
BEST PRICE STRUCTURE: iContact
WORST PRICE STRUCTURE: MyEmma & Email Brain (it’s a tie)
LIST MANAGEMENT
A big thing to look for in an ESP is their ability to grow with you. Some ESP’s only allow you to set up one list of subscribers, some allow multiple lists but require you to use the same autoresponder welcome note (which can get confusing for someone signing up for a special program). Make sure your ESP has the capability to create multiple lists, multiple campaigns and custom sign up forms. Another part of list management – autoresponders. It’s worth a few extra bucks to use an ESP with this capability – even if you don’t use it now, you will probably want to in the future.
BEST LIST MANAGEMENT FEATURES: MailChimp & aWeber (another tie!)
WORST LIST MANAGEMENT FEATURES: Constant Contact
THOSE PESKY EMAIL CREATORS
This is probably the biggest complaint I get with ESPs – the method in which you have to create and send your actual email is infuriating! Some have custom templates (some are really good, some are really horrible), some have visual editors, some offer “build your own” – and some just don’t work at all. If you are looking for a fancy-pants html newsletter, choosing an ESP with a user-friendly editor and nice, clean templates to use is your best bet at success – and if you plan on having a custom template built for your business, make sure your ESP accepts copy & paste HTML code.
BEST VISUAL EDITOR / TEMPLATES: Vertical Response
WORST VISUAL EDITOR / TEMPLATES: iContact / Constant Contact (another tie!!)
WEB FORMS!
I’ve worked in the past with a few ESPs that had insane restrictions on their web forms and little to no customization on the success pages and welcome emails. While some ESPs tout their software “does it all for you”, be wary of the amount of stuff they do for you – because allowing an ESP to control your forms and follow up pages/emails takes the control away from you. As your business grows, you may want to incorporate tracking on your sign ups, require more then just a name or email in the form, or send people who sign up for a program to a page to download a freebie – and when you have no control over your form set up, you lose that something special that sets your business apart from your competitors. When shopping for an ESP, make sure they allow you to send subscribers to a URL of your choosing after sign up. Finding a program that allows you to customize your web form is key as well – I know of one ESP that houses their sign up forms in frames – which many people can’t even (or choose not to) accept in their browser – so you lose the opportunity to even get their info!!
BEST FORM FEATURES: Mail Chimp & aWeber (tie!!)
WORST FORM FEATURES: MyEmma
I’m going to leave you with those little sneaks at reviews on ESPs – as I dig deeper into the world of email marketing and test out all these programs, I will post my results so you can see the nitty gritty of the ESP world.
Again – if your having problems with your email marketing campaign or need advice on which one to use, please send me an email to admin@lynnraedesigns.com and I will investigate your issue in my research.
Thanks – and happy marketing!!
~Victoria Potts Keale is a newbie blogger, website designer, entrepreneur extraordinaire, mom, wife, daughter, sister… well, you get the gist. She lives in her hometown of St. Louis, MO in an old haunted farmhouse with her 2 kids and drummer hubby. She has 15 tattoos and wants more. She loves 80’s music. She thinks writing bios in the 3rd person is wacky. You should email her and tell her what else to put in her bio – victoria@lynnraedesigns.com – but don’t spam her, cause she’ll get angry.
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