What is the Best Email Marketing Platform for my Business?
Email Marketing platforms seem to be a dime a dozen, and they offer a wide variety of features depending on your business needs. Three of the popular platforms that I have used, and will continue to use, in my business are Mailchimp, MailerLite, and ActiveCampaign. Full disclosure: I have an affiliate account with ActiveCampaign. Having said that, after trying many different email marketing platforms, ActiveCampaign checked all the boxes of what I was looking for, both for my immediate needs right now and for the future as my business grows.
Mailchimp
First, we have Mailchimp. Probably the most widely known email marketing platform out there. Mailchimp was the first email software I used and some of our clients still use it. Over the years, as technology improved, Mailchimp added several features to make marketing automation easier. However, this ease of use at the start has also come with a price. Though Mailchimp is one of the cheapest platforms to get started on, once you start growing your list, the price grows, too. I also find Mailchimp harder to use as you grow, and less intuitive, than the competition. There isn’t any visual editor for workflows, and what you can do in terms of workflow is very limited.
MailerLite
For me, MailerLite is a step up from Mailchimp. There are several more automation workflow features with a much easier, more visual user interface than Mailchimp. One of the nice things about MailerLite is that they offer a generous free tier that allows you up to 1000 subscribers and many of the automated features you will need to start creating email campaigns. When you sign up, they give you a 14 day trial with all the premier level features so you can test everything out. Also, there are tools that make it easier to switch accounts without having to log in and out. This also makes collaborating much easier. MailerLite easily connects with WordPress through a plugin or a little bit of code that can be added to any website. There is an easy to use form builder that comes standard with the platform, although only the embedded and pop-up forms are available on the free plans. If you need a promotional popup, you will have to upgrade to a paid plan. The downside to MailerLite is in the automation itself. Although there are some great automation features, I find it challenging to configure the workflow compared to other platforms. This isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker, but it does add some extra work if you are trying to accomplish a workflow that is a little more advanced.
Overall, if you need an email marketing platform that requires some automation, MailerLite is a good choice.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign has apparently been around for many years, however, I came across it by accident. I had been testing out a variety of Email Marketing Automation platforms because I needed some advanced features that MailerLite didn’t offer. I was ready to move to yet another platform when I discovered ActiveCampaign. Setup was so easy and the user interface is quite intuitive. The marketing automation feature is really what sets it apart though. The amount of customization that can be done to a workflow is outstanding. There is also a very active community where other ActiveCampaign users can share their workflows. Or, if you need to, you can copy an automation to a client’s account. Similar to most other platforms, you do pay for the number of users in your contact list, although the more expensive tiers also come with a CRM, as well as dynamic content options, making it the perfect choice to grow your business. You can use this link to signup for a free 14-day trial.
Depending on what your personal or business needs are, any one of these three platforms will get the job done without breaking the bank.
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