Which Top Email Marketing Platform is the Best Choice for Your Business?
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In a world powered by digital connections, one marketing strategy remains an ever-reliable workhorse: email marketing. Imagine having a direct line to your audience's most personal space – their inbox.
It's a place where stories unfold, products shine, and brands come to life. It also has a return on investment that can’t be beat.
But with an abundance of email marketing platforms vying for your attention, each touting its own unique set of bells and whistles, how do you choose the perfect platform to power your email campaigns?
Whether you're a newbie taking your first digital steps or a seasoned marketing maven, we’ll help you figure out which email marketing platform would be your best companion for the journey. So let’s dive right in!
What is Email Marketing?
Before we begin, let’s address the question that’s probably at the forefront of your mind: What even is email marketing?
Simply put, email marketing is a marketing method that allows you to communicate directly with your target customers.
Direct access to your audience is one of the biggest advantages of email marketing. When someone subscribes to your business’s email list, they’re basically giving you permission – and trust – to enter their email inbox and market to them. That’s like being invited into their living room!
When done well, email marketing can be powerful.
But is email marketing still relevant in 2023 when we have so many other ways of communicating with customers?
Sure, there are popular social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and much more.
But more people use this “outdated” technology (called emails) than social media. According to the technology market research firm The Radicati Group, the number of email users worldwide is expected to grow to over 4.7 billion by the end of 2026.1
But the biggest reason to pay attention to email marketing is the ROI (return on investment). Email marketing has an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent.2 In other words, if you invest a dollar, you may receive $36 dollars in return.
Contrast that 3600% ROI with this: The average ROI for Facebook ads in 2021 was just 152%.3
This means email remains the king of cost-effective digital marketing channels. It would simply be a disservice to your own business to ignore it.
What is an Email Marketing Platform?
Now that you know the importance of email marketing, you might be wondering: What’s the best way to go about it?
If your business is just starting out, you might have gotten by with emailing contacts through your personal email account, like Gmail, AOL, Yahoo, etc.
But as your business grows, you’ll likely notice some limitations, such as:
Limited personalization of emails
Problems getting your messages delivered
Not being able to see if your emails are even getting opened
Difficulties with keeping track of your email contacts
Email marketing platforms make it easy to send well-designed and customized marketing emails to a mass group of subscribers. They also have features that allow you to keep track of metrics like opens, clicks, popularity of each link, and shares. This is all essential information you can use to build your future email campaigns.
Email marketing platforms can also help ensure legal compliance, something that’s not possible with personal email accounts. Since all emails you send must comply with email privacy laws (see the CAN-SPAM Act for example), an email marketing service can help you comply with regulations.
4 Email Marketing Platforms We Recommend for Small Businesses
Before we break down the list of our Top 4 faves, keep this in mind — the best email marketing platform for you is the one you’ll use.
It's easy to get lost in the decision-making process. But at the heart of successful email marketing lies consistency and engagement. It's not just about having access to a range of fancy templates, automation tools, or in-depth analytics – it's about finding the platform that seamlessly integrates into your workflow and encourages you to connect with your audience regularly.
Okay? So let’s get to it!
For each option below, we’ll provide a basic overview, notable pros and cons, and price so that you can make the most informed decision for your business.
Squarespace Email Campaigns — Best for Tech & Business Newbies
Overview
Squarespace has made a name for itself in the world of website builders with its simplistic yet slick designs and easy-to-use interface.
Recently, Squarespace has expanded its services to become more of an all-in-one digital marketing platform, which includes its Email Marketing Campaigns add-on.
If you’re already using Squarespace to build and maintain your website, Squarespace Email Marketing Campaigns may be the ideal email marketing service for you. The benefits of having one centralized place to manage everything are appealing, especially those who may not be as comfortable with tech.
Pros
Convenience (manage everything from within your website’s site panel)
Incredibly user-friendly interface
Solid selection of beautiful email templates that match your website
Affordable for small business who aren’t sending many emails (see pricing below)
Consistent look (your emails can look just like your website)
Cons
Lack of more advanced features, such as A/B testing and complex automations
Low send limits (a monthly limit of 250,000 emails for the most expensive plan)
Very basic analytics
Inability to track revenue from emails unless you have the Basic Commerce or Advanced Commerce plan for your website
Pricing
Some features of Squarespace Email Campaigns* are free with a Squarespace account, including:
Building mailing lists
Creating draft campaigns
Sending up to 3 trial blast campaigns
Once the free trial is over, you’ll need to purchase a plan to continue using the service. Plans range from $7 to $68 per month, though Squarespace offers a slight discount* with annual payments. See the graphic below for details of the various plans.
Our Verdict
Despite the lack of advanced features, we still recommend Squarespace Email Campaigns if you’re just starting out and if you already have a Squarespace website (or are planning to build one). This is a great option for people who just want to send emails to their audience and aren’t too concerned about testing and analytics. Also a great option if the mere thought of learning and managing yet another platform makes you break out in hives.
Flodesk — Best for Design & Simplicity
Overview
If content is king, design might be queen. Plain, boring emails are so 20th century. An eye-catching email design can be extremely effective at increasing conversions.
That doesn’t mean you should spruce up your emails with random images though. The key is to make your emails stand out, not steal the show. After all, your words are still the star. ⭐
If you want eye-catching email designs or want a high level of design control, Flodesk may be the email marketing platform for you.
Flodesk makes it easy to design (and customize) gorgeous emails, unlike many other email marketing services that offer rather clunky-looking ones.
Pros
Heavy focus on designs
User-friendly drag-and-drop editing feature
No need to have a website to grow your email list
Access to essential, easy-to-understand analytics
Ability to sell stuff with Flodesk Checkout
Time-saving automatic workflows or email sequences
Ability to connect to multiple third-party services
Folders that can help organize emails
Cons
Higher price than many other email marketing services
Few advanced features like in-depth analytics, A/B testing, or complex sales funnels
No custom HTML code
Email automations are not very advanced
Heavy focus on designs (may turn off some people)
Pricing
Flodesk doesn’t have a free version, but its pricing is very straightforward. You can also receive 50% off your first year of Flodesk with our affiliate link here.*
For just email services, Flodesk is a flat rate of $35 per month, regardless of how much your business’s email list grows. You get unlimited subscribers, emails, landing page forms, workflows, and more. A flat-rate pricing model is actually pretty rare in this industry!
To get everything in Flodesk’s email and checkout services, you’ll have to pay $59 per month, which some may consider a steep investment when starting out.
Our Verdict
If you’re a designer or someone who simply appreciates great aesthetics in emails, Flodesk might be the option for you. Its intuitive interface makes it a powerful tool for both experts and beginners alike. However, if you are really serious about monetizing your email list and creating sales funnels, you’ll eventually need to look at one of the options below.
ConvertKit — Best for Growth, Best All-Around
Overview
With so much content available online these days, how do you stand out?
ConvertKit is designed for content creators – YouTubers, bloggers, podcasters, designers, etc. If you want to grow your email list, do highly targeted email campaigns, automate your marketing, and earn an income from doing it, ConvertKit may be the right choice for you.
Pros
Ability to run ultra-targeted campaigns
A tagging system that makes it easy to manage subscribers in workflows
Attractive landing page templates and easy-to-use landing page builder
Consistently good deliverability rates
Ability to monetize your newsletters
User-friendly nature
Features that allow you to sell digital products
Pro plan offers the ability to edit links in emails after they’re sent out (and who hasn’t sent out a broken link?)
A creator network that allows you to recommend and be recommended by other creators
Ability to connect to many third-party tools you may already use, like Stripe or Wordpress
Cons
Limited reporting (only covers the basics like open and click-through rates)
Limited A/B testing
Poor design options
Few customization options for email templates
Pricing
ConvertKit does offer a free plan, which allows access to features like unlimited broadcasts, audience tagging and segmentation, and ability to sell digital products and subscriptions. But as you can see from the image below, the free plan is very limited in what you can do with it.
If you’re serious about growing an email list, we recommend either the Creator or the Creator Pro plan. For businesses that are just starting out, the Creator plan is probably the better choice and only costs $9 per month.
Once you hit more than 300 subscribers, you can upgrade your plan to Creator Pro.
Our Verdict
ConvertKit is the perfect email marketing platform for businesses that create tons of content. Well-known creators like Amy Porterfield and Ramit Sethi have used ConvertKit for their businesses.
If you’re a business owner looking for a perfect blend of ease and versatility, give ConvertKit a try. But if you’re sending emails only casually, it likely won’t give you the ROI you’re looking for.
ActiveCampaign - Best for Automation
Overview
Looking for an all-in-one powerhouse email marketing service? There’s a reason ActiveCampaign makes the shortlist of many professional marketing teams.
With over 135 triggers and actions you can build workflows from, ActiveCampaign’s automation capabilities are second to none.
But having lots of features doesn’t mean ActiveCampaign is hard to use. In fact, ActiveCampaign’s flowchart-style automation builder is so easy to use that it’s virtually self-explanatory.
And if you’re out of automation ideas? No worries. ActiveCampaign offers over 500 pre-built automation recipes. The possibilities are pretty much endless.
In other words, look no further than ActiveCampaign if you want to design highly targeted, personalized, automated email campaigns.
Pros
Powerful automation capabilities
User-friendly interface
Easy tagging and segmenting
Lots of integrations
Innovative machine learning-based features
Split testing
Ability to personalize emails to various audiences
Thorough reporting
Great deliverability
Cons
Very pricey
Steep learning curve as the number of features offered can be overwhelming
Fee for client preview (how your email looks on various email clients)
Pricing
ActiveCampaign doesn’t offer a free plan, but we like that they’re transparent about their prices. For small teams with up to 3 users, ActiveCampaign’s Plus plan starts at $49 per month and offers email marketing automation, email content generation, integration with third-party apps, and more.
Our Verdict
ActiveCampaign can be summed up in one word: Powerful.
It allows you to organize your email list and personalize emails in ways that most other email marketing platforms can’t. Such sophistication can lead to higher conversion.
However, we don’t recommend starting out with ActiveCampaign if you’re a beginner. Its features can be overwhelming for business owners who only want to send out simple emails.
But if you’re serious about marketing automation and have a dedicated marketing team (or feel comfortable learning new tech tools), ActiveCampaign is one of the best tools in the field.
Top Email Marketing Platforms Drive Results and Growth for Your Business
Email marketing isn’t just for large businesses. Growing your health and wellness business – or any business – requires the use of email marketing platforms to:
Build your subscriber lists
Connect regularly with your clients and customers
Increase conversions, and
Generate more sales
So, which email marketing platform is the best for your business?
That depends. Each of the options we discussed is a natural fit for different types of brains. If you’re more tech-savvy, you might love ActiveCampaign. But if you lean towards simplicity, Squarespace or Flodesk might be the choice for you. For businesses producing tons of content, ConvertKit has everything you need to stand out.
The best choice for you is the one you feel the most comfortable with that also meets the needs of your business. Some of them also offer free trials, so go ahead and try them out before committing to one.
The most important thing is to get started!
If you’re struggling to build a website that captures your vision and integrates with any email marketing platform, take a look at our website templates. They’re built with SEO and copywriting strategy so they don’t just look pretty, they set you up for success.
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