Email Marketing Software >> 5 Points of Comparison
Email Marketing Software Services - How to Compare
by Brandon Cornett
As the Internet has expanded in scope in usage, so too has email marketing expanded as a viable method of reaching customers. As a result, email marketing software tools have become big business. If you did an online search for email marketing software programs, you'd probably find hundreds of companies -- and all of them proclaiming to be the best.
But how do you really know which email marketing company or software solution is best for your unique needs? How do you compare one email marketing software company to another? The first step is to identify important points of comparison, and then systematically compare leading email marketing services to see who measures up the best.
Here are some five points of consideration to keep in mind when shopping for an email marketing software service.
1. Web-based or Desktop-based Email Software?
The first thing you should determine is whether you want a web-based email solution or a desktop software product. It's only logical to answer this question because it will weed out a lot of companies, thus saving your time and effort during the screening process.
With web-based email marketing software, you would log into an account with the provider's website in order to upload lists, distribute email blasts, review reports, etc. With a desktop-based product, you will download the email marketing software onto your computer and manage the entire program locally. Each of these options has its pros and cons, but most small- to medium-sized businesses lean toward the web-based approach, because it eliminates a lot of the technical hassle.
Elsewhere on this website, you can read a review of two of the leading web-based email services.
2. Ease of Use
One of the primary benefits of email marketing software programs is that they simplify the entire process of sending marketing emails. When you consider the start-to-finish process of email marketing -- creating a subscription box, handling sign-ups, confirming email addresses, distribution emails, processing unsubscribe requests, etc. -- you can see the need for simplicity.
But not all email marketing services stack up evenly in this department. Some are rather technical for the layperson, while others have truly mastered the art of usability and simplicity. To find a solution that works best for you, there is not substitute for hands-on experimentation. Fortunately, most email management and marketing services offer free trials that will give you a firsthand look at their usability -- or lack of it.
3. Cost and Pricing Structure
The world of email software services is highly competitive. As a result of this competition, their email marketing products and services are reasonably priced. Still, you want to be sure to get all the pricing information in advance. Pricing structures vary from one email service to the next, so you'll need to do some careful reading. As of this writing, most email marketing software services allow free sign-up, charging only a monthly fee. The monthly fee is often based on the size of your list (for example, an email list with 10,000 names would cost more per month to maintain that a list of 500 names).
4. Personalization Features
Email personalization can help you increase response rates on your email marketing campaigns. The more you can personalize an email, the more relevant it becomes to the reader. I'm talking about going beyond "Dear Sally" in the message -- I'm talking about integrating multiple personalization fields, such as recipient name, company name, product or service of interest, etc. Each email marketing campaign service will offer different levels of personalization capability, so it's important to ask about them in advance.
5. Reporting Features
Marketing in general is about trial and error -- learning something from each marketing action, and then applying those lessons to future campaigns. Email marketing is no different. Every time you send a marketing message, you should review statistics such as the open rate, bounce rate, clickthroughs and unsubscribes to see how effective (or ineffective) your email marketing campaign is. This kind of analysis also lets you compare one email against another (with different creative, headlines, subject lines, offers, etc.) to achieve constant improvement.
But in order to practice this kind of trial-and-error analysis, you will need to choose an email marketing software service that offers strong reporting features. This is another area where the free trial comes into play. Taking an email service for a test spin will allow you to judge their reporting features for yourself.
Learn More About Email Marketing Software
This article is one of many on this website that cover the subject of email campaign management and software. Before signing up with an email marketing service, I recommend reading a few more articles on this website.