Are you trying to choose an email marketing platform to build an email list? Smart move. Whether you’re running a small blog or an e-commerce store processing millions in sales annually, a solid email marketing strategy is important to reach readers or customers. Finding the right email marketing platform to manage your email campaigns is the first step.
Some of the most popular email service provides (ESP) used by online entrepreneurs currently include MailChimp, Aweber, ConvertKit and Infusionsoft. Each has its own advantages and drawbacks that you should consider before choosing a given provider.
MailChimp Features Rundown
MailChimp customers can send emails based on user interests, past purchases, and site activity. MailChimp also integrates nicely with hundreds of other services like Salesforce, Twitter, Facebook, and Shopify.
Moreover, if you’re a more advanced coder, the MailChimp API makes automation customization a breeze.
MailChimp Pricing & Value
If you have fewer than 2,000 subscribers and send less than 12,000 messages per month, MailChimp is free to use with a few restrictions. Things like automation rules, IM chat support and staggered delivery schedules aren’t included.
The paid plans incrementally go up in price as you add subscribers. For instance, a customer with less than 10,000 subscribers can send out unlimited emails for $75 per month.
MailChimp Pros and Cons
MailChimp is a user-friendly service that makes it easy for beginner entrepreneurs to get started building their mailing list in a pinch. The paid version offers powerful automation and list segmentation tools that rival those of the major competitors.
MailChimp also has great introductory orientation guides for new users. One area where MailChimp could definitely improve is analytics. Their click tracking isn’t quite as powerful as other providers are.
Aweber Features Rundown
You can also link your Aweber dashboard with Facebook, WordPress, LeadPages, and PayPal. Lastly, Aweber provides users with topnotch analytics capabilities that are also accessible via mobile apps.
Aweber Pricing & Value
Aweber’s full range of email marketing tools can be yours for $19 per month as long as you stay under 500 subscribers. For $29 per month, you can bump up the subscriber count to 2,500. Up to 25,000 subscribers can be contacted for $149 per month.
After that, Aweber can give you a custom quote depending on your needs. All in all, Aweber compares favorably with the competition when it comes to price.
Aweber Pros and Cons
The best thing about Aweber is their reputation: they’ve been in the ESP business as long as anyone and they’re good at what they do. They also have great prices, awesome management apps, great analytics, and solid customer service considering their size.
Conversely, Aweber’s user friendliness isn’t the greatest when it comes to form creation and template modification. Aweber is not as easy to learn for a beginner compared to MailChimp.
ConvertKit Features Rundown
With ConvertKit, users can create custom opt-in forms for every blog post they publish. Email marketers can watch the conversion process unfold in real time via advanced click tracking.
ConvertKit Pricing & Value
If your list is smaller than 1,000 subscribers, you’ll pay $29 per month. Reaching up to 10,000 subscribers will run you $119 per month
Every plan supports unlimited forms, courses, landing pages and automation rules. Furthermore, ConvertKit clients can send ten times as many emails per month as they have subscribers.
Even though it’s more expensive than many ESPs, ConvertKit’s feature set arguably justifies the cost.
ConvertKit Pros and Cons
Long story short, ConvertKit brings a lot to the table with few real drawbacks. It’s as easy to use as MailChimp and makes opt-in form, landing page and email design a painless process.
It also boasts simple but powerful analytics that enable users to adjust their sales approaches.
The obvious downsides are pricing and app integration. As the newest kid on the block, ConvertKit simply supports fewer third-party services than its rivals.
Infusionsoft Features Rundown
Besides featuring most of the same functionality as every other ESP, Infusionsoft is a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) engine that can oversee all of your business contacts.
Lastly, Infusionsoft can administer multiple e-commerce stores from a single dashboard.
Infusionsoft Pricing & Value
The entry-level Infusionsoft Essentials package supports 2,500 subscribers, 12,500 emails per month and 3 users for $199. The Deluxe package bumps up the base figures to 5,000 subscribers, 25,000 emails per month and 4 users for $299.
While those numbers look steep, it’s important to remember that Infusionsoft is much more than a mere autoresponder and includes a variety of marketing management tools.
Infusionsoft Pros and Cons
Infusionsoft is a beast of a program that can manage any campaign you can dream up with aplomb. It supports hundreds of third-party apps that can be tacked on as you see fit.
Furthermore, the analytics firepower that comes with an Infusionsoft plan is nearly impossible to beat.
The main problem with the platform is that it’s expensive and is often overkill for small businesses and sites. There’s also a steep learning curve, and you’ll probably need the help of a professional to get set up.
What’s the Best Email Marketing Platform – Picking the Right ESP
Each of these ESPs can be a good solution under the right circumstances. Aweber is a great all-around program for email marketers and affiliates.
MailChimp is a good fit for starting entrepreneurs with middling technical skills.
ConvertKit is usually the preferred choice of writers and bloggers that sell digital products.
Large companies that need raw marketing power and flexibility often pick Infusionsoft.
Therefore, you must first figure what your needs are. From there, use the description we provide on this page to choose the right email marketing platform for your business.